Life Should be a Crazy Ride

Don't know where I found this quote by John Mallow, but I love it!

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely,

in a well preserved body,

but rather to skid in sideways,

totally worn out,

shouting, 'Holy Shit...what a ride!'"

Reading this makes me want to go out and really hoot it up.  Make some trouble (well as much trouble as a 39-year-old mom can make).  Climb a tree and hang by one arm from it.  Scream at the top of my lungs driving my car with the windows down. 

I know, that doesn't sound too exciting but it forces me to think about the shortness of life and how we often forget to just fly around on a crazy whim and just tear up the town.  Really use this life and this body to "skid in sideways" screaming and singing like there's no tomorrow.

The best I could do for a wild picture was my husband and daughter acting like goons on a 2008 trip to Mexico.  I guess we do need some more crazy in our life, hey?

Have you done any wild, screaming things that have made YOU feel super alive?  Any suggestions?



Shine your Light

Shine your light.

Sing your song.

Show your true, wonderful colors.

Be an original.

Laugh really loud if you feel it inside.

Share your gifts.

Celebrate YOU.

New painting on etsy titled "Shine your Light"

Enjoy EVERY Moment

"If I had to live life over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.  I would go to more dances.  I would ride more merry-go-rounds.  I would pick more daisies."

~Nadine Stair

Here's another one of my favorite quotes.  I actually think about it every winter because I can't wait to go barefoot again and I try to remember to stretch it out as long as I can because once that snow comes that soft, cold grass will be a distant memory. 

Aside from just encouraging me to LIVE IN THIS MOMENT and not have any regrets, these images are so beautiful, whimsical and carefree.  Sometimes those kind of moments get shoved to the side when we go from day to day being busy people.  I don't want to get to the end of life and wish I had done these things more often.  I want to do them now.  I try to do them now.  Having written this poem/saying in every journal I've ever kept gives me the gentle reminder as much as possible as I see it every time I get the urge to write. 

 It is such an inspiring and happy message to remind everyone to live fully and without regrets.  To enjoy the sweet things in life like running around barefoot for as long as possible, dancing, going on thrilling rides and picking flowers.  Sweet and simple, but so thrilling.





You Make Me Smile

I just finished this colorful painting and titled it, "You Make Me Smile."  I was inpired by the song "You Make Me Smile" by Uncle Kracker as I was driving home from work today.  Then in turn I thought of my daughter Isabella who will be turning 10 on Tuesday because she truly does make me smile.  (Not always of course--she's quite a spitfire).  But I have truly noticed that I have so much more joy in my life since she's been in it.  I have become a MUCH calmer person.  She's taught me to live in the moment and that it is fun to play board games and color silly pictures with her.  She's also taught me how important it is to really listen to a person and look them in the eyes when they are telling you something, even if it might only  be about a game they played at recess.  I'll admit I get quite sad when I realize how old she's getting because I LOVE babies and she's so far from that stage now.  However, each new age gives us new things to experience and learn about life with her.

When I think of how lucky I am to be her mommy and have her as my daughter, I feel so blessed.  It kind of makes all the other fears, worries and anxieties seem a bit smaller.

Amazing Quote

I am up at 4:30 am on a day that I have off of work.  Really?  Seriously.  Yes. 

However, I'm reading some amazing blogs and just found this quote on the Daisy Yellow blog that was so vivid and inspiring I had to put it down here. 

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift." — Shauna Niequist

Wow.  It honestly blows me away.  I need to print this out and read it EVERYDAY to remind myself to fully live my life every single moment.

I am thrilled that there are sooooo many creative and inspiring people out there sharing their lives on the blogs they've created.  When I feel discouraged, these women don't even know me and I feel encouraged, truly, by their words and experiences!  

A Wonderful Life

French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette said, "What a wonderful life I've had!  I only wish I'd realized it sooner."  Pretty powerful.  Things don't always seem wonderful or spectacular but maybe they really are or maybe they don't have to be.  Maybe just the ordinary moments are wonderful.  Maybe if we look at them differently we'll enjoy our one and only life more.  Perhaps I can look at my messy kitchen and just love it because it's mine and dinners and memories are made there.  Things don't have to be shiny and perfect to be wonderful, right? 

The Little Things

I found this quote in Patti Digh's book Creative is a Verb and it really is a great reminder to enjoy what we have and not expect all moments to be momentous ones.  "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize that they were the big things," by Robert Brault.  An eye opener for sure especially something we should pass on to our children, you know when they're bored or only are happy when huge things are happening.  Some of the little things that I am so thankful for and KNOW that they are the big things in my life:  reading a picture book with my nine-year-old daughter, singing screaming really loudly to Lady Gaga in the car with my husband and daughter, baking moon dust cookies together even though I pretty much hate baking, touching her soft cheeks as she sleeps at night. 

I wonder if more people saw the "little" things this way, would they be happier, more content with their everyday lives, more in the moment?  I'm not an expert but I think so.