Thankful November

 When I think of November, the first thought that comes into my mind is Thanksgiving.  But not what is the purpose of Thanksgiving except to be thankful for all that you have.  Being mindful of gratitude is a special skill that one has to develop; it doesn't just come naturally for most.   Last year I participated in a group activity called "Thankful November."  Each day, we were given a journal prompt which helped us to explore our lives and the latent gratitude that we have in our lives and for our lives.  Through this daily exercise, I gained a new perspective on life.  I recognized the importance of practicing gratitued daily, even for the small things.  Now, I keep a daily gratitude log in my Bullet Journal Weekly Layout.  I simply write one thing I am grateful for each day, and at the end of the year, I will have a list of 365 items for which I am grateful.  So, I encourage each of you to find time in your day to answer the following prompts in your Thankful November journal so that you, too, can begin to find your own path to gratitude.

Journal Prompts for Thankful November 2021

1. Who is someone special that has taught you about unconditional love?  What did they teach you?  How can you show unconditional love to someone else?  To yourself?

2.  What five personality traits are you most thankful for?

3.  What about your upbringing are you most grateful for?  How has it influenced your life?

4.  Write about the family members you are thankful for?  What makes each one special?

5.  List five things you are currently doing well.

6.  Who or what in your life are you happy to have let go?  Why?  How has your life improved since?

7.  List three good things that have suddenly caught your attention that make your feel grateful.

8.  Whom do you take for granted? How can you show your appreciation for that person?

9.  Name five things that always put a smile on your face.

10.  What possessions do you own that make your life easier?

11.  List three things that you love about your favorite room in your home?  Why are these your favorite?  Do they make life easier or more enjoyable?

12.  Focus on your five senses.  What can you do to make yourself more mindful of each of the senses?

13.  Do you have a special relationship with your pet?  In what ways can you thank your pet for all of the joy and comfort that it brings to you?

14.  What about your career or job are you most thankful for?

15.  Create a list of twenty ways you are fortunate.

16.  What meals/recipes do you enjoy making?  Why do you enjoy it?  What does this meal give you?

17.  Write about a time when someone went out of their way to help you.

18.  Describe your favorite moment of the day.

19.  Has anyone ever performed a random act of kindness for you?  Write about that experience.

20.   Do you have a favorite hobby?  What does that hobby create in you?  

21.  Write about something you did to make someone happy today.

22.  When was a time you were successful?  Write a thank you speech to the people who helped you achieve that success.

23.  Describe something good that you saw in your community.

24.  Where is somewhere that you have been that you are thankful for?

25.  What is someone or something that makes you feel safe?

26.  Which public servic or organization are you most grateful for?

27.  Write about a family tradition that you are thankful for.

28.  Describe the piece of clothing that you are most grateful for.

29.  Explain the role of gratitude in your life.

30.  In what ways can you be more mindful of gratitude?

Happy Thankful November!

When Life Gives You Lemons

 This past year, I turned 40 years old.  Within 4 months of my birthday, I was told that I needed a total left hip replacement.  I was not expecting this news, so it came as a great surprise and was very overwhelming.  I knew that I would have months of recovery ahead of me.  Unfortunately, I did not anticipate the amount of time that I would be sitting in a recliner without anything to take my mind off of the pain after surgery.  So, when Life game me Lemons, I made Lemonade.

First of all, as I prepared for my hospital stay, I packed everything that I use on a daily basis for personal growth and order including my Bullet Journal supplies, my daily journal, and my tablet for reading and watching documentaries.  Mind you, not all of my BuJo supplies were able to transport, so I only took what would fit in my traveling journal case.  It was still more than I thought I would need.  This down-time would be an excuse to catch up on my list of 101 Goals in 1,001 Days (see the Bullet Journal Page for a complete list of my goals).  And, on top of everything, it would be a temporary distraction from the post-operative pain.  I would highly suggest that when packing for surgery (or any long-term trip) you take advice from Coco Chanel. "Take off the last item that you put on."  

Secondly, use your time wisely.  I stick to a "growth agenda" on a daily basis.  Schedule time when you will work on each separate goal.  I allocate one hour a day for reading literature, 1 hour a day for reading Latin (I am a Latin tutor), 30 minutes for journaling, and up to 1 hour for Bullet Journaling.  If I don't use all of the time, that is okay.  I have allocated time for each goal to be completed so that I don't have to rush through anything.  Although perfection is not the key to Bullet Journaling, it never hurts to aim for it.  I suggest that any time not spent in creating your Bullet Journal should be used for reading blogs and searching Pintrest for inspiration.  Do you have a favorite blog site or Instagram page?  These are great ways to gather ideas for your BuJo.  Feel free to list your favorites in the "Comments" section.

Finally, be easy on yourself during recovery.  Down time does not mean that you just sit and watch television or Netflix the entire recovery period.  Unfortunately, we have less energy and less clarity during recovery than we would have on any other given day.  For that reason, I like to create templates on the computer (you can find these under Free Bullet Journal Printables) for each layout that I use in my journal.  The Bullet Journal community is very big on sharing ideas and adapting them for your personal needs.  If you are planning for a long recovery, I suggest printing out (or Pinning) any template you wish to use during this healing period.  I love my Leuchtturm 1917 because I always know exactly how many dots there are per page which helps me to plan accordingly.  Make sure to have a pencil and eraser handy during this process.   Use this time as an opportunity to create layouts that you always wanted to include but did not have the time, plan the month ahead with weekly spreads, and simply explore your creativity.  Make sure you are having a "good time" with more emphasis on GOOD rather than TIME.  

Do you have an upcoming surgery or event that will cause you to have a lot of free time?  What are your "rules" for recovery?  Planning ahead of time will allow you more opportunities for personal growth and creativity.  This is a time to explore your wants and needs with the focus on healing yourself.  May you find both during this period of excessive free time!

Start the New Year with a Vision Board! (Happy Rosh Hashanah!)

 There are so many beginnings in a year, one hardly knows when to start a new goal, project, or program.  There is the Jewish New Year (September), the Solar New Year (January), and the Lunar New Year (March).  So, how do we know when to actually begin again.  In my opinion, I think it is useful to learn from and celebrate all three.  

The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) is the time when The Almighty determines who will have a happy, successful life during the next year.  We apologize for all of our wrong-doings (both intentional and unintentional) and eat special foods to welcome a Sweet New Year.  The Solar New Year begins on January 1st every year.  As with all holidays, we eat special foods, make resolutions, and try to be better in mind, body, and spirit throughout the calendar year.  Lunar New Year begins in March, and is the start of the Chinese Zodiac.  The characteristics of the Zodiac sign for the year determines who and what will prosper and how.

As a follower of Judaism, I have developed my own rituals that include elements of all three.  This Rosh Hashanah, I decided to develop a Feng Shui Vision Board for the upcoming year which will be posted on January 1st.  I learned about Feng Shui from a practioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  She introduced me to the idea that various colors and the arrangement of color can influence the outcome of the future.  I must admit that I was a skeptic (and still am), but as life wasn't going peachy for me, I decided that it could not hurt any worse.

Let's start with the idea of a Vision Board.  It is widely agreed upon that if you want something to come to fruition, you must first envision the goal for yourself and commit it to paper.  You often see these based on jobs, projects, weddings, or even what you want your house to look like.  So, if you can visualize the goal, then you can achieve it.  Feng Shui Vision Boards do the exact same thing, but they look at all aspects of your life.

Each color on a Feng Shui Vision Board represents a different area of your life that you wish to improve upon.  

Purple = wealth and prosperity

Red = fame and reputation

Pink = love and relationships

Green = family and physical health

Yellow = spiritual well-being and health

White = children and creativity

Teal = knowledge and wisdom

Black = career

Gray = travel and helping people

I created this easy to follow template which can be found under the FREE Bullet Journal Printables tab.  After laying out my format, I decided to find clip art in each color that represented what I want for my life this year.  I also found quotes that matched my goals and included those in each box as well.  For example. if I wanted to get married, I would find a picture of a pink engagement ring to paste on the printable.  For knowledge, I found an image of a blue bookshelf with the phrase "Knowledge is Power."  And for spiritual well-being, I looked for a yellow Torah scroll.  I encourage each of you to take a few moments to ask yourself what you truly want from the year ahead and make an effort to put it down on paper.

Most Feng Shui practitioners will tell you that it is important to hang this vision board where you will see it often in the place where you want things to happen.  That is why this Vision Board always goes in the very front of my Bullet Journal.  I can easily envision what I want to take place in the year to make my goals come true.  Now, I am not exactly sure if this works, but I did revive my tutoring business this year, I have established my library, I have lost 10 lbs., and I have started a series of creative blog posts.  

I wish you all peace, prosperity, and creativity in the New Year!  L'Shanah Tova!

~ Melissa

Igniting the Flames of Creativity

 How many times have you sat down with a pencil and piece of paper, determined to create *something*?  During the past several months, I have done this at least two dozen times.  I doodle, I sketch, I erase.  Nothing seems to ignite my creative flames anymore.  That is until I picked up my Bullet Journal at the behest of a Facebook group leader.  She forced me to ask myself several questions which I had not thought about for several years: 

1 - Why do I have so many art supplies that are just sitting and wasting space if I don't encourage myself to use them?

2 - How much joy does art create for myself and others?

3 - What feelings does creating art elicit in me that are idly sitting by the wayside?

4 - When is it ever time to give up on something that you love?

With these four questions, my creative flames were rekindled.  So, I began slowly.  I decided to create a doodle of my favorite insect (a honeybee) that turned out so beautifully that I pulled out my Micron Pen Set to give the drawing more depth.  I even posted the image to my Instagram account (which so far only had a few pictures of my cat).  It is going to be the cover page of my next Bullet Journal.  From that point, I decided to blog about the process of Bullet Journaling.  I have spent hours searching Pinterest, Amazon, and AliExpress looking for the perfect *new* supplies for my newly rekindled passion.  Then, yesterday, it hit me!  The only way to encourage myself to use my skill and imagination is to write down an attainable goal for my creative endeavors.  

Goal setting is a great way to get yourself out of a creative rut.  First, you need to set a specific goal.  A teacher friend once told me that a goal is just a dream until you write it down.  It isn't enough to say, "Practice art for 15 minutes a day."  If that were my goal, I would set a timer and hold a pen for 15 minutes without ever drawing on the page.  Instead, I have set a challenge to "Create a Hamsa coloring book with at least 15 different Hamsas."  Now, I have an outline to work from and a specific image with which to work.  Secondly, make the goal attainable.  If I had simply said. "Make a Hamsa coloring book," then I would have not known when enough were created to satisfy my goal.  Last of all, your goal needs to have a timeline.  For this, I researched 101 Goals in 1,001 Days.  This gives me a definite time period (2 1/2 years) to complete my goals.

If you happen to find yourself in the same position as I did, I encourage you to create an art goal.  Creative endeavors only take up about 10 of my 101 Goals ranging from drawing and writing to cooking and photography.  Please look at the Bullet Journal page on this blog to find out the rest of my 101 Goals.  I wish you all the best on your artistic journey!

~ Melissa

Creativity during COVID-19

 It has been years since I posted anything to this blog's main page. (I have added to subpages though.)  Life has changed dearly for me in the last 7 years.  From teaching to being disabled, engaged to single, the death of loved ones to the rise of new friendships, the world is full of new experiences.  However, the one constant I have had is the desire to produce creative works.  Now, with the prolonged self-imposed isolation due to COVID-19, I have a new-found passion for art.

I have written a book in Latin, taught homeschool art to my niece and nephew, sketched, doodled, photographed, cooked new dishes, and composed poetry.  Why do we feel the need to create, especially when the world around us seems to be chaotic?  Artistic endeavors allow us to delve into a world entirely of our own making.  It is the one thing we can control.  

At the end of 2019, I created a Bullet Journal for the new year.  I meticulously planned, counted, drew layouts, and decorated my journal with the hope of taming the unknown.  However, once COVID-19 hit in March, I have not opened it once.  Resistance seemed futile.  With the beginning of the school year, my interest in creativity rejuvenated.  For those of us whose year begins in September, it seems like the optimal time to renew passions and perfect practice as much as possible.

That being said, I will now begin the preparations for a Do-over Bullet Journal.  I am using the time left to refresh supplies, plan pages and lists, gather necessary information,  rethink my goals, and most importantly, CREATE.  I would like to encourage all of those who have stagnated during this epidemic to join me in this creative rejuvenation.  Please follow my creative processes for the BuJo on the respective page to the left of this post.

May you find the strength to return to creativity!

~Melissa

When the Lord closes a door, He often opens a window!

Lately, I have been down.  And that is putting it nicely.  Nothing seems to be going right in the world.  My significant other moved to Texas without me, my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and I failed to obtain a teaching job in Latin this year.  I have tried crawling into bed and not coming out before, but I promise that it never works out for the best.  Instead, I chose to vent.  Luckily for me (and you), I vent through art.  Sometimes I journal in my Moleskine, sometimes I make Artist Trading Cards, and sometimes I dive into digital scrapbooking.  Whatever the case may be, I always have something tangible to offer for my efforts.  So recently, I applied to work on the creative team of Touched By a Butterfly, a digital scrapbook design firm.  And finally, after viewing my blogsites, I was chosen to be a member.  Digital scrapbooking was there for me when I needed it (as well as those of you who have supported me here), and now I have the opportunity to give back to the artistic community in a meaningful way.  I hope that you will enjoy my designs as well as the opportunities it will bring for the digital scrapbooking community.  And in the end, maybe I will have more time to work on the things that I love...my relationship, my family, my education, and my art.

If at First You Don't Succeed ...

After my last rant about telling my Muse to be quiet, she bravely spoke up and offered me a chance to rectify the situation.  Mind you, that seldom ever happens.  If it does, you better buckle up and be ready for a ride on the horse of a different color.  Several of the digital scrapbooking designers offered yet another creative team call.  I am not sure if it is hubris at this point or just another attempt at deflating my ego, but I needed a change and a challenge.  So, once again I submitted my information, several layouts, and my blogsite for review by perfect strangers, patiently waiting for the response that my designs were "bland" and "didn't pop."  But, as Old Blue Eyes once said, Luck can be a Lady.  Finally, several people enjoyed my writing well enough to invite me to join a Blog Team for digital scrapbooking.  So now, I can add that I work for www.creativeartistry.com writing about creations from Missy's Bits Designs and Sugar Moon Designs.  I look forward to blogging each week, trying a hand at designing, and using my words to entice others to do the same.  I am considering this a learning experience given to me by the heart of my Muse, and hopefully she will lead all of us on an exciting journey.

Now... I am ready to go make a memory or two and write about them!!!