One happy moment at a time

Greetings from frozen Indiana. Can't believe it's February already. Time for my very least favorite holiday...Valentine's Day. Never has worked out great for me, so I usually choose to ignore it. Everything but the chocolate, of course, once it goes on sale at Kroger!

Woke up at 4:30 this morning for some reason. Made coffee, drank a couple of cups, then laid down on the couch and went back to sleep. 

I dreamed that I was at work (although it wasn't really my work..you know how dreams are!) and my grandmother, Mema, who has been dead since 1995, came to me and told me that I was going to die tomorrow. (Not tomorrow, tomorrow, but tomorrow in the dream...at least I hope so!)  She said I would die in the bathroom down the hall from my office. I won't bore you with too many details but let's just say I spent a lot of time in the dream looking for a bathroom without electricity! Eventually, an earthquake did me in, and I realized I had, indeed, passed on, as only she and my boss could see me. Just goes to show you can't escape your boss no matter what you do! Finally, thank God, I woke up. 

But I am troubled. I have been seriously thinking about this dream, and have been wondering...what would I do if I really did know it was my last day on earth? I know that any day could be for any of us, but if we had warning. What would we do? What would I do? Go spend the money I put aside for bills? Probably. Go to the Golden Corral and eat everything in sight..definitely. Spend time with my daughter, absolutely! 

In my dream, though, after the initial denial and running away from electrical things, and the bargaining, there came a point where I accepted what was happening, and turned to the "future" with hope and peace, and almost a sense of excitement. Seeing Mema again, well, that was a good sign, because I'm sure my Mema went to Heaven. I don't think she would have it in her to come collect me from my life only to deposit my soul at the gates of Hell! It really made me think about the afterlife..believing in God. I know a lot of the time I don't act like I should..and probably if you looked at my life you would laugh if someone told you I am a Christian.  I am, but this isn't about that...

What would you do if you KNEW it was your last day to live? Nickelback did a song that has always made me think about it..

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothin' stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side
Complete song and lyrics here.

But you know..I go through so much of my life thinking..oh, tomorrow I'll do the art I have always wanted to do. I'll paint that picture, I'll do that craft, I'll tell someone I love them, I'll tell someone I DON'T love them, I'll be happy...tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow. 

This dream has made me realize...today is what counts. I am going to do something that makes me happy TODAY! Even if it's just cleaning off my art table to get it ready to paint something. That's what I'm going to do. Too much time is used working and being unhappy, and today could be the last day. I'm not saying sell everything and move up to the mountains to wait on the end of the world. But do something that makes you happy every single day! Maybe we could make the world a better place, one happy moment at a time!

What would YOU do?

I Care!!!

You know…Day after day things happen in our lives. Good, bad..boring..indifferent…SSDD…one day after another the time goes by. All of a sudden a year is gone. But if you look at my blog..apparently nothing has happened to me since July of 2013!

This has made me wonder why I started writing a blog in the first place. I used to fancy myself some kind of writer. Maybe I would eventually write a book. Maybe I would write something that people would re-post on Facebook.  Maybe someone would find me interesting.  Lots of maybes…but still I don’t write much. Why is this? 

Some things, I suppose, are too personal to put out there for all to see. There are things that are deliberately kept secret, and they sure don’t need to be broadcast on the internet.  I don’t know if this is just my issue or not, but I read other people’s blogs and it’s obvious they write just for the joy of writing.  Some write very well, others…not so well, but still entertaining. But I compare my writings to theirs and I seem to be so boring!! And I ask myself…who cares about my cats and my decorations and my car and all the other things that make up my mundane existence? 

The answer is: I do! I care! And therein lies the problem with me and my blog. I have been writing because I think people might want to read it. What I should be doing is writing because I want to write.

I keep a little journal. It’s a 10 year journal and I have pretty much faithfully written in it at least once a week since I got it in January 2012. Not too bad considering. But it’s mostly just a record of daily “stuff” with a few extra things thrown in. It’s a really nice journal. If you’re interested, you can get it here:  http://www.journal10.com/   My daily entries mostly consist of:  I worked. I’m tired. I’m still not smoking. I still am not on my diet. I gained weight. I lost weight. I smoked. Cold today. Hot today. Gas $3.50. Gas $3.99. Gas $3.20. Rain, snow, sleet, hail, tornado, blizzard,etc. It’s like the old Chinese restaurant menu. Choose one from Column A and one from Column B. This is my day.

But what is IN that day? THAT’S the interesting stuff. The things my mind comes up with on a daily basis. These are the roadmaps for following my dreams. Being creative. Doing the things that I love doing. Getting out from in front of the TV or computer long enough to actually DO something creative. That’s the rub. Because I hadn’t realized that I shouldn’t do creative stuff for others. I need to do it for myself. It makes me happy to create and yet I get bogged down in the daily crap and only do it in small bursts. People who create for a living do it because they love doing it..not to make the money..but because they CAN!

Another thing I just realized is that people who are successful bloggers just assume that there are people who want to read what they have to say! **LIGHTBULB MOMENT!!** 

This is the lesson of the day. I’m not trying to please my mother, my boss, that future Mr Right, my art teacher, or any of my 271 friends on Facebook and Pinterest. I am going to create to please myself, because I am good at it, and it makes me happy. And I want to be happy!!

So hopefully there will be more blogs with my creations pictured. No, not hopefully, there WILL be more blogs with my creations pictured.   And if you like, please let me know.

It will also make me happy to know you enjoy my blog.

Just sayin’!  

Baby, it's colllllld outside!!!

Across the frozen tundra she went...wind whipping snow around sometimes making it hard to see...very little fuel..no coffee..not even water..scary creatures creeping up on either side and flying past..yet on she went...

A story of a great explorer of the Antarctic? nah...Karen B driving to work!! Be safe everyone!