Happy New Year!

Thank you all for making it an awesome year. Hold onto your dreams and believe in your goals. Nothing is impossible!! Happy New Year!

Peace and Love.
Cindy

Blessings

This is the time of year when I do some Blessings counting. I make sure I remind myself all through the year exactly how blessed I am and stay in gratitude for it. Even the not so great stuff has it's purpose and I'm grateful for it as well.

October zoomed through here like lightening and the rest of the year will do the same, I'm sure. It's been busy in my world, lots of activities with the grandkids plus I'm in the center of a wonderfully creative wave and have been taking full advantage of it as it crests. I know it'll crash to shore soon, to continue the metaphor, but while it's here, I'm Hanging 10!!

I'm sharing a lot of what I make in my online shops in hopes of a sale. It would be nice to have one but it's not something I dwell on. The joy is in the creating! Staying focused on lack produces more of the same and I'd rather not go there. Spending my day filled with short walks with the camera when the weather permits it, my sweet family (including the cats) and creative endeavors with mosaics, acrylics and polymer clay is much more my speed.

In case you're interested, there is another Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge happening now. It is already Day 10 but there's still time to join, I believe. It's always fun for me to do and I encourage any of you who like to spend 10-15 minutes quietly contemplating to do them. They are free! Go here: http://www.chopra.com/

Wishing you Peace.

The Peaceful Approach

Having just had another slow spin around the sun, turning 58 three weeks ago has been good for me. I seem to have acquired an inner voice that guides me more now than ever before. No ... let me correct that ... I seem to be listening to the inner voice allowing it to guide me.

In each instance when I start to feel that opinionated Grumpy Cindy who used to live in this body, I hear a peaceful voice saying to lose the judgement of others, which is what made me opinionated. I always thought I knew exactly what the one I was about to hurl an opinion at was feeling, doing, living and of course I knew better than they did what they should do. After all, I'm me, someone who knows so much because I'm older than they are. Whew, so glad I grew out of that after over 40 years of thinking that way. It never served me well, caused me stress because these people weren't doing what I wanted them to do and felt they should be doing. I learned to let go. It's none of my business what they do with their lives and in truth, just because I was older, didn't mean I was wiser. Only you know what you have to do and no one should ever force their opinions on you - ever - because they don't know what's best for you. Only YOU know what's best for YOU!

Today I'm watching grandchildren and dealing with the high voltage of a tween of 9, a 6 year old and a 5 year old. I find myself, instinctively wanted to yell at them as loudly as they are yelling at each other. It takes a tick for me to listen to the voice inside and make the outer noises go away briefly so that I may really hear it. It always says: "Take the peaceful approach".

I still have to discipline them, of course. I can't just tune them out completely although it's tempting. My solution was to send one to bed for a nap after a long and apparently not so great day in 1st grade, the tween just left, heading off with the other set of grandparents for dinner and quality time without sharing it with a sibling which is then reciprocated a few days later when they take the other sibling without her and the littlest guy is watching animated TV, happily playing with his LEGO's and waiting for a cookie, his dessert, which comes only after eating dinner.

It would be the old me to try to force you to start listening more to what you already know. Knowing what's good for others as I do is a blessing and a curse, as the awesome TV detective "Monk" used to say. It should never be shared even when asked "what do you think I should do?". My answer these days is: "I can't tell you that. Only you know the answer to that.". My kids get so mad at me when I say that, but in the end, they know I'm right.

I can finally start work on Deepak Chopra's 2nd step towards the Spiritual Law of Success. It's taken 2 years, but I suppose that's not relevant. It doesn't matter how long it takes. It only matters that I finally "get it". It took a long time to learn, listen and really accept what the inner voice is saying. Lots of meditation and quiet time was used to get here.

The first spiritual law's example affirmation is: "I will practice non-judgment. I will begin my day with the statement, 'Today, I shall judge nothing that occurs,' and throughout the day I will remind myself not to judge."

Done! But I'm never really finished with this law or the next 6, once they really click. It is a daily reminder that each day is new, filled with challenges and peaceful moments. I experienced one day of non-judgment and will work again towards the next day and the day after that.

I'd celebrate but I have 6 more to get through and have been working on #2 for a few years too but not like I should. It is "The Law of Giving". Never forgetting the first one because it is part of me now, I can move on to the second. Celebration will be once all 7 have not only been read and practiced, but learned.

Be at peace.

Birthday Week Celebration Ends Tomorrow!

Today is my 58th birthday and because I love to celebrate and enjoy life, I decided to have a week long sale on both of my online sites. While this blog is meant for personal things and not business (after all I've got 2 blogs dedicated to that already!) I felt I should share the info here. Not until this morning, when someone who actually reads and likes these posts asked me why I wasn't using this one to share the info too? So, one request is enough to do just that!

It is rare that I do these kinds of things. I hadn't used a coupon code or offered freebies in over a year. I may not do it again or I might decide to have another one next month. That is the way of things. Some folks say it is the best way to make sales but I haven't found that to be true. There is no best way for me. I make mosaics in all shapes and sizes. Some are useful, some are decorative, some are made using all recycled items and some are made using all brandy new things. And I make mosaics for me first and always, which is why I love the muse so very much! Making the creative one inside happy is as important for my health as any diet or exercise program.

Now, business ... FYI: both sales end tomorrow at midnight EST.

On Etsy: Use COUPON CODE 58BDAY and get 10% off your order. This item has been used most often in treasuries so I thought I'd share it here.

Gazing Ball, Gold Mirror, Centerpiece, Home Decor, Wedding, Anniversary, Measures 6 inches in diameter. Price: $42.89
http://www.etsy.com/shop/earthmothermosaics


Thanks goes to a new customer (a former co-worker) who took advantage of the sales events this week and bought 2 items on IndieMade. This was really exciting for me because it was a first sale for that site! I learned that the shipping was wonky and had to alter that and also learned the items don't go away on the site just because they are purchased so I decided to add the word ****SOLD*** where applicable. And did so with a smile. That lucky customer bought 2 pendants which means they got 4 pieces of jewelry for the price of 2!

On IndieMade, I'm having a BOGO sale with a twist. Buy a handmade mosaic buckle and get 2 handmade mosaic pendants and a handmade mosaic ring for FREE. Buy a one-of-a-kind mosaic pendant and get another pendant of equal value for FREE! And because I like to celebrate, I wrap up the freebies so you have gift(s) to open on my birthday!! Yay!!
http://earthmothermosaics.indiemade.com/

Mosaic Belt Buckle - Silver Oval - Beach Rock Star - 4 x 3 inches, Price: $55.95 (includes shipping/handling/insurance)

Mosaic Pendant - Pewter Yellow - 1-2/4 x 3/4 inches, Price: $22.95 (includes shipping/handling/insurance).

I really do love giving things away and will always find ways to share the love!

Celebrate!

Photo A Day - August 22 - August 31

#22. home

#23. pair

#24. path

#25. fresh

#26. dream

#27. tap

#28. clock

#29. down

#30. card

#31. hidden

Be grateful.

Photo A Day - August 15 - August 21

#15. ready

#16. food

#17. faces

#18. inside

#19. hole

#20. today

#21. cool

Another week plus 3 days are left in the month and then I'm taking a break from this awesome daily challenge. Expect a few posts about thoughts and musings soon.

Be peaceful.

Photo A Day - August 8 - August 14

#8. glasses

#9. messy

#10. ring

#11. purple

#12. spoon

#13. simple

#14. arrow

Be peaceful.

Photo A Day - August 1 - August 7

#1. outside

#2. one

#3. coin

#4. somewhere you sat

#5. logo

#6. writing

#7. 8 O'Clock

Be creative.

Photo A Day for August

Just like last month, I will be participating in the daily photo challenge for August. This month, however, I'll post weekly, sharing the 6 or 7 photos I used for the week all in one post. I'm doing this differently because I am having some time crunch problems between family life and my crafts and want to spend as much time as I can with both.

Be present.

#31. toothbrush

Be playful.

#30. calm

Be peaceful.

#29. last thing you bought

Be strong.

#28. cup

My favorite cup. I have 2 - one in green (shown) and one in blue. LOVE THEM. Made by Emily at Moorefield Pottery (moorefieldpottery.com).

Peace.

#27. on the road

When I first took this shot, all I saw at the time was the can in the road. Taking a closer look, I think it looks like the contents of the can caused the cracks in the concrete above it. Cool, huh?

Be creative!

#26. sunshine

See the beauty around you every day.

Be present in the now.

#25. heart

"Whenever a choice needs to be made in any area of life, your body provides a message of either comfort or discomfort, and for most of us the message is felt in the heart."—David Simon

Feel from the heart.

#24. a stranger

I had trouble with today's challenge. I'm very uncomfortable taking photos of people. In a group, crowd or other gathering, it's fine, but my photos are better if I take them of nature and art, not moving subjects. I had nothing planned for today other than dropping my daughter off at her job later today and knew I had to push beyond my comfort zone to get the photo I wanted this morning because I didn't want to wait. I admit it, I looked through some of my daughter's wedding pictures I took in April and found one I could use. I decided to just go for a walk and get some shots for the next few days and see what happened. I like to play with the editing software, so it gives me a reason to play if nothing else. I walked up to the mini-mall and took a few photos from a distance of a few men working on a truck in the parking lot but you couldn't see the people and I wouldn't go closer. I headed home again and was taking pictures of flowers, ivy and a few other nature type things when I saw this poor woman across the street valiantly attempting to exercise. It was already over 80 degrees at 9 AM when this photo was taken. She's got the look - headphones, bottled water, and a wilted look about her body. I hope she made it home okay!

Stretch a little bit. Be creative.

#23. mirror

Shine on! Sparkle brightly.

#22. upside down

Be playful.

#21. 9 o'clock

Be peaceful.

#19. animal/insect/pet

Sweet girl whose name is Tramp or Trampie (named after the Cher song, "Gypsy, Tramps and Thieves" - her sister's name is Gypsy and I share space with them both) - 1 of 3 grand fur babies (Suki, Tramp and Gypsy) - she spends time with me every day to share the sun or a snuggle when it's cold.

Be peaceful.

Note: Title was edited on 7/21/12

#20. eyes

Be peaceful.

#18. plate

It's impossible for a plate collector to pick just one plate!

Be peaceful.