Well… we did it! My daughter and I braved the huge crowds at the Mall yesterday and found the most beautiful and perfect blue dress for her Home Coming dance this next Saturday… plus some incredible black heels… and small clutch purse to match! She looks like a princess in this dress…and just when did she grow up?

The dress is a deep blue… strapless… full skirted with a very sheer patterned black lace on top… a smart looking black satin bow around the waist… and just a tinge of black lace showing through around the hem…very feminine and elegant.

We then went to the hobby store and had to purchase the garter supplies for her date… and she at first didn’t think she could make anything worth while to give him to wear… when you guessed it…her inner creative goddess emerged! This mum garter she is making is stunning… who would of known?

This Home Coming dance and the football game is so steeped in tradition and rituals… just helping a young lady shop and prepare herself for a night of beauty… is timeless isn’t it?

I love it!

P.S. Will try to post a few pictures of her in her blue dress!
Victoria

I am excited today because I am taking my youngest daughter to the mall to pick out her Homecoming dance dress… shoes… and getting her carter for the big Homecoming dance next Saturday night.

If your a mom… you know how honored and pleased you feel when your daughter actually wants you included in decision making for these major rites of passage in her young adult years! Plus you kinda feel… as her mom… and a woman…that just for a few brief moments… you can relive these events that happened for you… how many years ago?

Anyhoo… off we go this afternoon in hopes of finding that perfect dress… perhaps just a little bit different than all the other gals bought… but not to weird to look like a geek.

Wish us luck!
Victoria

Okay…I have finally joined the modern world ( what is that anyway)?… and I now have a face book page!

Can you believe it?
My family doesn’t!

See you on the web…
Victoria

I made my hubby a handcrafted appreciation box this Father’s Day for his gift.

The box is decoupaged… and inside are written all the things we appreciate about him.

Make something handmade for Dad this year… it is gifts like this… made with love…that are cherished the very most!

Happy Father’s Day to all
Victoria

My update on my veggie patch… well we were able to eat 3 tomatoes… and they tasted so very wonderful! Like real food!

However… a sweet little family of birds has also taken a fancy to my home grown tomatoes!

What can I say… it makes me feel good to feed wild life… so I can’t get upset… perhaps this was my purpose in growing them.

Feeding the birds…
Victoria

I have decided this year to grow veggies… as I mentioned in an earlier post.

And I am excited to say… my 3 kinds of lettuce, cucumbers and tomato plant are THRIVING!!!

I check them each day… water them with care and even talk to them… as I feel they respond to my kind and loving words.

I am becoming a garden nerd… and happily browse veggie seed packets and herbs at garden centers… and drool over veggie gardens in magazines.

I know my biggest thrill will be when I can pick some beautiful, green leaves… plucked straight from my heads of lettuce… in my garden… splatter them with olive oil, vinegar and salt… and eat them happily… and with a sense of pride… that I grew them myself!

Ya hoo… for home grown!

Living green… Victoria

Today April 7th is my daughter’s 15th birthday… ya hoo!

Happy birthday Aurora!

I love you…Mom

Every year… at exactly the same time frame (early March) two dove’s appear in my front yard. I can hear them each morning…cooing… and it is their sweet song that has become my natural alarm clock.

These two birds also signal to me… the renewing energy of this season… I can begin again… start over… and try new and different ways of living my life.

Each day… I am doing small tasks of my Spring cleaning… wiping away the dust that has claimed a home on my furniture during the Winter months of having the central heat on. I like to imagine as I wipe away a layer of dust… I am wiping clean… unwanted energies from my mind and spirit… or letting go of inner ” stuff ” that no longer fits who I am right now.

Spring cleaning is therapy… and I look forward to this ritual each and every Spring cycle.

The longer I live… the more I crave the simple life… and so later this week… I will pick up some herbs to grow on my patio… and purchase some tomato plants to plant… and try my gardening skills at growing lettuce. I love the whole feeling of being resourceful… and growing my own veggies… not just to eat… but to return and embrace the land herself.

I will keep you all posted on my progress with my veggie growing… and in the mean time… let the sweet sound of the bird’s song… up lift your spirit… and get you going on your journey this Spring cycle… of inner renewal and the joy of being alive!

Victoria

This year… I am not making goals… it seems so left brained to me… and I soon let them go anyway… so what is the point really?

Instead I want to honor life more… not just about being alive… because of course that is huge on my “being thankful” list.

I mean… I want to honor life by walking in the rain more… and being with my daughters… laughing and hugging and eating really good food together.

I want to play in the dirt more… planting seeds that will eventually grow into beautiful flowers… and veggies and herbs that I can harvest… and then eat.

I want to honor life more… by being kind to everyone… and lending a helping hand when needed… and take more long baths… just to be in the water.

I want to honor life more… by following the seasons always… instead of my watch or a calendar.

I want to honor my life more… by telling my hubby how much I appreciate him and love him… even when he makes me so mad… I wish I could turn him into a frog!

I want to honor life more… by connecting to my heart in each moment… and feeling my faith of a ” SOMETHING BIG THAT CREATED EVERYTHING” and knowing that this something… does in fact look like me… and everyone else for that matter… not what a book says God looks like!

I want to honor life more… by loving myself… just the way I am… and all of you too!!!

I want to honor life more… by saying yes more often… instead of the word and feeling of no!

Love to all… and how can you honor life more?
Victoria

This morning I lit a bee’s wax candle and placed it on the kitchen table.

I then stood before the glowing light of the flame… closed my eyes… opened my heart and blessed everything and everyone that I had experienced in 2009.

Even the negative… like finding out my oldest daughter is moving to Michigan this Spring… being aware that my dad has been gone for a year now… and I will not see him again and my sweet dog passing away.

Although all these events were painful and always will touch on sad moments throughout my life… they have all taught me the valuable lesson on “letting go”.

Letting go opens the doorway to change and rebirth… and I want to trust and be in the flow of my own life cycles and all the ups and downs that life truly is all about.

So I bless my year of 2009… hold its memories in my heart… and trust that 2010 will be all that I hope for… and my wish for all of you is the same.

Happy New Year,
Victoria

This last Saturday my dear friend Susan G. and I went to a Lavender farm… about an hour ‘s drive from where we live. We had been planning this adventure for awhile… as we both love Lavender… and I have been to several Lavender farms that were first rate… and had an awesome time. I wanted to share this with Susan.

We stopped and ate at a country cafe… ( we had heard they had the best pie in the world… and badly wanted some ) … strolled through shops and enjoyed the perfect Fall weather. I even suggested we leave the cafe and come back for pie later…  so we wouldn’t be late getting to the Lavender farm… to cut our own Lavender and browse the gift shop there… which I had anticipated would be stocked with the sweet and lovely smell of Lavender. And I could see in my mind the huge bundle of fresh picked Lavender that we both would come home with… after all… this is what I had experienced at the other Lavender farms I have been to… and I expected the same or at least similar experience at this farm. And frankly… I wanted to show Susan a great time that day. Susan works very long and intense hours at her job… and her time is valuable… and with my busy life also…  running my business, seeing clients and being a mom and wife…the time we both had created to take a day off and go play  was special and important to the both of us… and  I wanted our visit at the Lavender farm to be perfect.

Life being the way life is…this Lavender farm wasn’t perfect. You could only pick a small amount  of Lavender in the field and the products in the gift shop were old. I felt no energy there. I felt disappointed, to be honest. After that fleeting moment… I thought to myself…  what part of me feels like I had to make this outing perfect? And even deeper… what part of me still thinks and feels… I have to be perfect? In front of a good friend?

This morning… I understand clearly that going to the Lavender farm with Susan… wasn’t about having a perfect experience or picking Lavender, or me having to be perfect or her either… for that matter.

It is about friendship.

And what that truly means between women. At least between Susan and me.

When I am around Susan, we can we talk about everything and anything… as women often do when with their friends. I am able to share my concerns, my fears and my opinions openly. And I know Susan will always listen… no judgment on me for speaking my truth… or making me feel wrong.  In a world that now strives for being “politically correct” and “spiritually correct”… Susan is just wonderfully human. But with an angelic quality about her. She opens her heart, and is in the moment. She’s like that, so real, and honest and authentic. And out spoken. She has a way at looking at life and being in life… that feels well… downright feel good… and yet wise. I always feel like I have learned something about myself and life after being around her. Like I can take off a mask. And be human. And did I mention how funny she is and how much I laugh when I am around her?

She is special… and a blessing in my life.

Our outing wasn’t about it being perfect, or expectations… it was about two women 50 “something”… being free for the day… and laughing like young school girls again. It was about getting lost in back roads ( we really did ) and really not being concerned about where we would end up… or not… we were up for any adventure. It was about creating a memory… a wonderful time spent with my friend Susan… and really cherishing the friendship and bond I have with her.

It was and is about two women…. traveling the journey… with its ups and downs… tears and joy… getting to that place that is real…. authentic and true… a place where you can let the real you out… wrinkles and bad hair included…  and where venting, disagreeing and being a grump at times is welcomed. Because we are human… and also more than that… we are two women trying to live from their hearts… sharing their feelings,  speaking their own truth, valuing life, and appreciating the gifts that friendship brings.

Together we are Just being real friends.

And girls just wanting to have fun.

Thank you Susan…. I owe you a piece of pie!

Love… Victoria

When my oldest daughter Andrea, was a little girl… she loved mermaids… and still does for that matter!

Her favorite movie was “The little Mermaid” now a Walt Disney classic. She would watch this movie, over and over again… never tiring of its message, and singing the theme song constantly. There was something in this sweet movie that called to her heart and moved her young spirit.

She also spent hours upon hours in the bathtub… I suppose daydreaming that she was a mermaid herself. She would take her rock collection with her into the tub… washing and polishing each stone… as if they were priceless jewels.

It was only fitting that I started calling her my little mermaid… and I even wrote a poem about her… capturing in words the sweet and magical soul of my daughter.

Like everything in life… my little mermaid has changed… and she is now a wonderful and intelligent woman… getting ready to begin a new journey in her life… she is getting married next August 14th… in a simple ceremony… by the water… where else for her?

This joyous change for her, is of course… bittersweet times for me. I wish somehow that she was still that girl… eyes and heart glued to her video of  “The little Mermaid” and hearing her splash in the bathtub… one more time.

Where has all the time gone? So quickly? And without my permission?

It seems like.. when I wasn’t looking… or paying attention… my “little mermaid” grew up and found her prince… just like the story in her favorite movie. I guess… mermaid magic is real!

Victoria

Today is my wonderful husband’s birthday!!! Ya Hoo!

I want to thank him for being such a great guy… for always supporting me with my creative ideas… for understanding that I am not “normal”… and think and live outside the box… and loving me anyway !

You are the best… and a gift to me! Happy Birthday Todd…. I love you!

Victoria

I love glass bottles and jars… but especially love the bottles that olive oil comes in. Often tall and slender, with beautiful old world design labels… the glass bottles that holds this golden liquid comes in shades of greens, golden hues and earthy amber tones…. so beautiful are these olive oil bottles…. who would want to throw them away… I ask you?

I never do… because to me they are my future works of art… for my decoupage designs with recycled glass. After the olive oil is gone, I soak these wonderful bottles in the sink with hot sudsy water… to remove the paper labels and any oil residue. They are then lovingly placed in the dishwasher for a complete “washing” and set on the kitchen counter for a few days to dry.

Sometimes… these glass beauties sit on my art work table in my office for weeks… as I get the feel for what the bottle wants… as far as the images for the decoupage design. Many times…. I think of a person who might receive  this decoupage bottle as a gift… and the design unfolds in my heart… infusing my mind with creativity… setting in motion a work of art using paper, ribbons, charms… paintbrush… and the vintage feel and look that only  decoupage gives.

I know that this finished piece… that once was filled with olive oil… will someday soon… hold a single flower to sit prettily on a desk somewhere.. or be placed in a windowsill or bookshelf… adding beauty and grace to a person’s life…  and I feel I am doing a little something to add to recycling.

So… the next time you feel the urge to throw away a beautifully shaped or colored bottle or jar… ask your creative self what you could make this bottle or jar into… that could be useful, beautiful or collectable.

Seeing through the looking glass,

Victoria