My "Creative" Oasis in the Desert

3/2/16

Coloring_Not Just for Kids

Hey everyone! I truly hope your week is perfectly perfect so far. Last week I wrote a post about multitasking, and I have concluded that most of us do that to at least a certain degree. Now, if you are like me, multitasking comes in certain combinations. For example, I love to listen to audio-books, and often combine that with home-keeping....mopping, scrubbing the bathroom, or ironing. At night, while watching tv with The Man, I will generally crochet or hop around on IG. Lately though, I have discovered something new (to me) that is so much fun and definitely keeps my hands busy....Coloring for Adults! Do you remember coloring with your children, and how much fun that was? Well, yes it was fun, but crayons are kind of messy and too thick to actually stay inside the lines....come on, does staying in the lines really surprise you about me?

I would buy these beautiful big boxes of crayons in the hopes that I might get to use them before my kiddos discovered them and determined that they should all be in at least two pieces & the paper torn off!

Well, you can certainly imagine my excitement when the Adult Coloring phase took off, and I discovered I could have these.......

Big beautiful books filled with lovely, intricate designs in black and white on high-grade smooth paper! And, I could use colored pencils & pens!

I had quite an assortment of colored pencils already, but I ordered the pens from Amazon. I did some research before I purchased this set, and I am so happy with them. The colors are brilliant and they do not bleed through the page....unless I press down super-hard.

Nothing personal, Strawberry Shortcake, but this Nana has her own coloring book now! You will always have a home in the "Activities Drawer," however, for whenever the youngest Grands are here!

Adult coloring professes to be meditative and calming, and I must agree with that. It actually lowers my blood pressure, even when watching the political ~~nonsense~~ news. How's that for an endorsement...HA!

My first two efforts, using some pens I already had but didn't like the result....they bled through the paper very badly.

The more pages I do, the more experimenting I do with colors and blending. There is absolutely no wrong or right way....you just do your own thing!

I think as you go along, you develop your own techniques. When I look at a fresh new page, I typically decide what colors I want to use and generally put them aside from the rest or simply hold them in my hand. I have even mastered coloring with Abby on my lap!

Some of the coloring books can be a bit spendy and usually don't qualify for store coupons. So if you aren't sure you will enjoy this craft, there are plenty of FREE downloads....go to Pinterest & do a search for Free Adult Coloring Pages. All of the above are from Pinterest, but I'm sorry, I do not remember the site. I may just frame a few of these to hang in my craft room. Aren't they cute?

I would love to know if any of you have taken up this craft and what you think about it. If not this, what do you do (if anything) while watching tv? If my hands aren't busy, I will fall asleep....total "bobble-head!" Keeping my hands busy does not deter me from tv snacking, but I'm sure there are plenty who do find it a great deterrent.

I hope you are enjoying some Spring weather wherever you are. We may just skip Spring and jump right into Summer here in AZ. It's been 90 the last couple of days! I'm just going to stay inside, because I've heard there are bunnies around here, and they may want to play! Thanks for stopping by.

I often party with these lovely bloggers:

Monday
Dee at Meatloaf and Melodrama for Merry Monday

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday
Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Tuesday

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday

Wednesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Thursday
Jemma at At Home With Jemma for Thoughts of Home on Thursday

Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

2/28/16

Radiation Begins

Hey everyone! Some of my friends have been asking about how I'm doing, so I thought I would share a bit of an update. The final phase of my treatment began last Tuesday.....Radiation Therapy. The week prior, I had a Radiation Simulation, where "mapping and marking" were done to come up with a "Radiation Plan" that was fitted to my body. No kidding, my upper right chest, from just below my neck to my waist, looks like "varicose veins".....red, black and purple markings covered with water-risistent tape. I have to be careful when I shower, no scrubbing.

All of that bright light on my face is from the glorious Arizona sun shining in through the wall of windows in the Radiation waiting area.

This boxy little number on my boxy little body is the latest in radiation attire. Velcro tabs all the way down the front, make it easy for my radiation therapists, Kaleb & Justin, to expose my "lady bits." Early on, this might have been embarrassing, but so many "professionals" have viewed my lady bits at this point, I truly don't care.

This is the radiation room and machine that I have each time. The therapists remain the same as well. The always have a little step-stool for me to get on the table....I'm short!

The machine is pretty awesome. The table and machine both move and rotate to get me all lined up with the mapping on my body. Total time that radiation is actually coursing through my body is less than a minute total, and that's from 3 different locations.

I've become quite good at napping just about anywhere, but I'm not gonna fall asleep on this! Part of my simulation involved this large gray bag-type thing, that once I was in position, was filled with air that formed a mold of my body. It's rigid and is covered by the sheet above. The form is a major part of getting me in the exact right position each time. It has a label with all of my pertinent ID, & hangs with many others across the back wall of this room.

Four treatments down and 16 to go! Then I will follow many, many others who have taken this journey. The ringing of this bell is a tradition, and I am really looking forward to my day.

I truly wish all of you who have been such great cheerleaders for me from my first chemo, through my surgery, and now on to this final phase, could be with me when it's my turn to ring the bell. I would love to hug you all!

I expect March 21st to be a very emotional day.

I hope this is a wonderful week for everyone!

2/22/16

Do You Multitask?

Hey everyone! Welcome to week 8 of the new year....it sometimes feels that time is moving at lightening speed, doesn't it? So many things to do and not quite enough time to do them seems to be the main reason we turn to multitasking. Some say that a person cannot multitask and actually be successful at any of the things they are doing. Hmmm....sounds like something a man might say! If you've ever carried a crying baby on your hip while putting dinner together, you are a multitasker! If you've ever cooked a large meal (like for Thanksgiving), you are a multitasker! If you knit, crochet or blog while watching tv with your hubby, you are a multitasker! Whether you work outside the home or run an in-home business, you are a multitasker!

I'm a multitasker! I've carried on lengthy phone conversations while putting together "Welcome Bags" for a business I owned. I've cleaned up my whole kitchen and solved all the world problems while talking with a friend. If you've ever answered email or written a blog post while eating your breakfast or lunch, then you are a multitasker! I don't think it's a bad thing, do you?

There are many things that do require our undivided attention.....listening to a child, because they know every time if you're mind is on something else and they will call you on it! Talking with teens requires your full-attention, because you just may not get that many opportunities. Listening to and lending a shoulder to someone who needs you is an all-in situation. Driving...NO PHONE & NO TEXTING......enough said on that subject! And please, please don't forget yourself. Sometimes you are the most important person in need of your full attention, because if you haven't tended to your needs -- physically, mentally and emotionally -- how can you be strong and sharp for anyone else? You cannot!

List-making and multitasking seem to go hand-in-hand. The habit of making lists can be a very good thing, unless it puts us into over-drive in multitasking. We are assured of a major breakdown if we don the cape and cuffs of Wonder Woman! As I shared my thoughts on "home keeping" last week, we have to keep things in perspective and not feel the need to do it all or do it all right now.

As women, wives, mothers, daughters, sisters & friends, a lot is expected of us and we expect a lot of ourselves. Go ahead, multitask when the situation calls for it, but learn to recognize the signs that call for single-mindedness and blinders. Don't become a wreck because you forgot to stop in time!

As always, thank you for stopping by. I hope this is a great week for you! And just remember:

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.