One Year Blogger: Gifts and Books and Giveaways.

One year ago today, I got the idea to start a blog from Caroline and the BB Dishchicks which is a fantastic blog dedicated to Big Brother. I started this blog because I had so much inside me to say, and no one to say it to. I needed a place to drop my thoughts before I dropped from the exhaustion of carrying them. The blog was dark, unadorned, imageless.

I had two loyal, loving friends reading; Danette and Emily.

Since then, my blog lightened. Images came to being. I made more friends. Loyal, supportive, inspiring, wise and kind. It started with Jamie Ridler and her amazing book club- Soul Coaching. It helped me meet the most wonderful group of angels on earth, and through them, I met more. All of you.

And so to thank you, I am giving away some of the wallpapers I made. But I am going to go one step further...

I will be making something for each of the 19 people who commented on the giveaway post as a thank you. When I complete your gift, I will contact you on your blogs. :) It may take some time, but I will make it!

Without further ado here are the winners which I drew out of an empty purse. I don't have pics as my camera batteries died. :) You can trust me that I did this fairly.

The winners please email me at [genie1sea][at][yahoo][dot][com] with your preferences in order of 1.2.3.

I also drew two extra names for good measure as there are 5 wallpaper giveaways.

1st choice goes to: Pamela from A Touch of Inspiration

2nd choice goes to: Steve from Color Sweet Tooth

3rd choice goes to: Robyn from Tales of Inglewood

In 4th place are two more fabulous bloggers who will each also receive one of the wallpapers:
Caroline from Caro's Lines
Serena from Art by Serena

Whether you won or not, whether you commented or not, know that I am thankful daily to have met you, and that you are somewhere in this world making it a better place.

Thank you!

And today being Wednesday, it means it's Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting !

The prompt is: What do you wish to read?

I have countless books on my list of reads as I am a voracious reader. The one thing I wish to keep on reading because it is my daily source of inspiration is all of your blogs.

Because.

Of all the books I have read in my life, and have yet to read, your blogs have given me the most to think about, rejoice about, laugh about, write about, paint about. You are all wonderful!

Blessed be :)

Anniversary Giveaway!

Here they all are! My Blog anniversary Giveaways! Click on images to enlarge.

I painted all these in Photoshop. The originals are in 1024 x 768! As a special treat to the winners, I will be adding a poem written especially for each of them on the wallpaper!

How do you enter?

Leave a comment in this post, up to and including 10 pm EST on the 28th. On the 29th, I will be announcing the 3 winners by draw. They will get to pick the wallpaper of their choice in order. First, gets 1st pick, second gets 2nd pick, 3rd get third pick! :) It's as easy as that!

Thank you all for coming to my blog and giving it support. You are all precious to me!

Blessed be :)

Surrender the Paradox

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This weekend was extremely busy but productive. I finished the first draft of the text book I was commissioned to write. It was a lot easier and more fun to do than I thought. Working with a partner helped a lot in the process. It reminded me that writing in isolation, which is something writers do most often, is not necessarily the only way.

Paradox is what I have been pondering lately. The seeming contradictions that are simply facets of the same thing.

Like.

The need for solitude, yet the need for companionship. It's very difficult striking the right balance between these two needs. Too much of each is not healthy. Enjoyment of both is vital.

Life like an intake and exhalation of breath, fills and empties. Both are necessary to sustain and nurture. Yet it is the balance of the two that ensures we continue living.

The balance.

If we focus too much on one and not the other, the balance seems out of keel. Yet it never is; our perceptions are. That's when panic sets in and we hyperventilate.

I have often found myself gasping for air in my life, thinking life has gone off kilter. But it hasn't. I have. So, I decided to surrender and let it be. To let the spaces be empty and the lungs fill. To enjoy the companionship and the isolation in the moment, and stop worrying.

Thus the above painting was born for my blog anniversary giveaway which will be next Wednesday. Arms open, calmly being.

Painting is like meditation. It engages me in a way no other thing does, not even writing. My mind becomes more fluid and in tune with my senses. It's more tactile. When my brain has been overloaded with thoughts, painting makes my mind unbend and relax. It provides me with another kind of balance. Like waking and sleep. So different both. Both so necessary.

Life as a human being is such a paradox, yet it isn't.

Face Value

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This is the last of my giveaways, painted in photoshop, the original is 1024 x 768, and will be one of four choices for my blog anniversary coming up at the end of this month. I will be posting the details on how to enter soon :)

The world has seemed a little different lately. I would like to attribute it to the lovely weather we have been having, the glowing sun, the awakening in the air, the first flowers budding from the dry ground.

But that is not just it.

I attribute it to the phenomenon called Susan Boyle. If you don't know who she is, just run a search on her; it will surely lead you to her viral video audition on Britain's Got Talent. There is a reason this video has over 25 million hits to date.

She brings us hope.

Not just that our dreams can come true, but that our dreams can come true despite jeering, eye-rolling and small-minded assumptions that have reigned in this Face Value, judgement-plagued era.

This one angelic performance has served to undermine some of the biggest misconceptions that have served to belittle many, and cause much misery.

The assumption that only Hollywood beauty is worthy of attention.
The assumption that outer appearance is the only measure of beauty.
The assumption that "beauty" is inextricably linked to talent and worth.
The assumption that there is only one measure by which a person can be praised.

Bullocks to them.

This wake-up call has sounded quickly and clearly throughout the world. The crystal clarity and heavenly smoothness of her voice has rung the alarm on our superficiality and cynicism.

It would be easy to blame this attitude on the media, but the media is fed by us. We have been more than ready to tear people down simply because of how they look. We have been sitting back on the sofas of our judgement in smug satisfaction for too long. Susan Boyle unseated us, and it's about time.

So today I take a moment to thank Ms. Boyle for liberating us, more soundly and effectively than any revolution could have.

Sing on beautiful one. Sing on! :)

Spring Clean

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The calendar says it's spring, but when I look outside, I'm not so convinced. SNOW!

To cheer myself up, I decided to paint this in photoshop and include it as one of the choices for my upcoming giveaway! The original is 1024 x 768 and can be used as a desktop wallpaper. If the winner prefers I can print out a smaller version and send it to them. :)

I am still fighting this super virus that has gotten a hold of me. My voice was mostly back yesterday, but I went to work and almost lost it again! So, I made myself stay home again today.

Not that I'm complaining. I don't want to go out in that! :)

As the season awakens to new life, budding blooms and fresh perspective, I am taking this moment to clear out, clean up and make way for renewal. It's time for Spring Clean!

My home:

I am not one to hold on to clutter, but there are boxes here and there that have stayed packed and stowed away since my move almost three years ago! I am taking them out, looking through them, and chucking stuff out! If I have not missed those things in all this time, they are not essential to me.

My body:

I will be doing a cleanse to get rid of toxins and prepare my fleSHrine for health and restoration. I have an appointment with the naturopath on the 20th, and I want to get rid of the debris in my system first. I am going to be mindful of what gets inside of me, looking for healthier and more meaningful alternatives.

My heart:

As I open my heart to others' happiness, I open my heart to mine. I rejoice without expectation, and release the emotional baggage that has been weighing my heart down. Open the windows and valves of my heart, for fresh spring air and possibilities.

My mind:

There is something brewing there. Something exciting. I can feel it under the surface, percolating and getting ready. I have a couple of projects on the go, but I know it's not them. Something is about to be born of my mind. Something I have been awaiting for a long time.

My life:

I have been cocooning for a while. It's time to step out into the sunshine, and revel in the beauty of what is experience.

It's time.

Yes it is!

What does your spring cleaning look like?

Spring has Sprung

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The above image is one of the choices for a giveaway I will be hosting very soon. I will be posting details on how to participate and have a chance to win one of these 1024 x 768 wallpaper paintings/collages I have made in photoshop. The winner will get to choose their favorite from the ones I will be posting over the next few days.

I am nearing my one year anniversary in blogging this month, and what a ride it has been. This blog and I have gone though quite the transformation. Its once dark template reflected the darkness that surrounded me a year ago, the despair, the loneliness. I posted random musings about random things, not really knowing why. I had no readers at first, except for a couple of loyal friends who cheered me on.

It's not as if the circumstances of my life have drastically changed in a year, but my attitude has. I feel lighter, freer, more resilient. And that, my friends is huge.

I have been able to reconnect with my painting and my writing, and that, to me, is monumental.

I have come to terms with the various facets of myself; the brooding loner, the ironic social commentator, the champion of lost causes, the joyful child, the loving woman, the friend, the teacher, the humorist.

It's all me.

And as spring awakens, so I am awakening. To change, to acceptance, to growth.

Over the past few days, the virus that took hold of my body allowed me the time and silence to ponder my next steps. My life mission. Having lost my voice, I have had to journey further inward and examine the patterns, the debris I have been carrying around, and begin to organize and clean house. Inside of me.

I let go of one of the biggest obstacles in my life: determining my self-worth based on what others think or seem to think about me. No matter with how much bravado I used to say, "I don't care what anyone thinks", that was a bold-faced lie. It shattered me when someone didn't seem to warm up to me, when I was not immediately accepted as one of the group, when my efforts were not applauded. How self-centered is that? That attitude has been like carrying around a corpse on my back, stinking up everything and exhausting me. It has been so liberating to finally bury that Mofo.

And now, here I am.

It's not that I don't care what others think; it's that it does not affect the way I feel about myself and what I am doing. So? I might always be a little bit of an outsider. I might always find myself dancing to a drum of a different beater. But you know what? It's okay! I am where I am because I am, and there is not a damn thing anyone can do about it! :)