SOME SERIOUS CATCHING UP!

I know it has been awhile since I posted much of anything and I do apologize.  I have been SOOOO busy with work, creating things AND reading a GREAT book that was a million pages long!  ( I exaggerate 579 pages...but it felt like a million.)  SO...now to catch up in a flurry of posts.

First...photos from January 8th thru the 13th for the PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE...YES, I have been keeping up.  It's just a task in itself to download from my camera to labeling to posting here or anywhere.  I wish Kindle had a way to do Instagram.  :(  Anyway, here they are...drum roll.

Jan 8th was SOMETHING BEGINNING WITH "T":  Tarot cards from a deck that a good friend of mine gave me by an artist named Ian Daniels.  It has a Vampyre theme.  They are beautiful.

Jan 9th was PAPER:  I took a photo of all the scrapbook paper I have.  I LOVE scrapbooking and paper is my obsession.  This is also one of the new places that my kitten, Nicholas, likes to sleep when he is in his "room".

Jan 10th was ONE O'CLOCK:  Katrina had been playing hard with Nicholas all morning.  When I came into the living room to eat lunch, I found her like this!  Poor baby was SO wiped out.  >O.O< 

Jan 11th was WATER:  This is ALL the water I drank in one day.  I was astounded at the amount.  I am an avid tea drinker and on occasion I will drink Diet Coke or my favorite Diet Dr Pepper...so the fact that I drank this much water in one day...well, it HAD to be documented.

Jan 12th was SURPRISE:  I was surprised by a co-worker with this beautiful post card from Seattle, Washington.  I was KIDDING with him about buying me one for my collection and he took me up on it.  I love it!  It made me smile when I needed a smile the most that day.

Jan 13th was CIRCLE:  I have ALOT of circles in my life...but I immediately thought of my 3 Superhero "sound" dessert plates that hang beside my kitchen for this photo. I liked how I caught the reflection of the plates off of the wood cabinet next to them.

I am trying to make my every day photos have some interest to them.  Do you think they are interesting?  Are there any suggestions or hints you would like to share?  I am sure I am not the only one out there who would love to share tips and advice on such things.  So please feel free to comment below.  :)

There is ALOT more to post...so without further ado...I move along to the next.

Stay warm and keep smiling and CREATING.

B



@Copyright 2013 B Godfrey

NO EXCUSES...I PROMISE!

I realize that I haven't posted anything in 3 weeks...but it is only because I have been such a Busy B...creating, working, writing, and I just can't seem to catch up fast enough with the photos on my camera to post things.  LOL  I PROMISE dear followers in the next few days there will be SO many things on here that YOU won't be able to catch up.

It has been a 4 year hiatus from creating ANYTHING to a flood of projects that I can't get out of my head fast enough...LOL

I know I should TRY Instagram, but as I am technologically challenged and I am just learning all the things my Kindle Fire can do...I can't add anymore in my head right now or it might explode.  That would just make a mess and delay more posts.  So...in the meantime...please just hang in there a little longer and check back on Wednesday for the next post.

I appreciate your input as well...so feel free to leave comments.

Warmly, B

Catch ya on the flip side.
@Copyright 2013 B Godfrey

ONE WEEK IN...ONE CHALLENGE DOWN!

I can't believe that we are already one week into 2013!  What an AMAZING week it has been for me already!  I have accomplished so much...but still have so much to do!  :)  As I have committed to a few Yearlong challenges I think I will post them in separate blog posts.
By the way, I would LOVE to hear your comments or see what YOU are creating as well and if you have a blog you would like me to check out please post it!  I am ALWAYS looking for inspiration and I like to support fellow artists, writers, creative gurus, and bloggers.  :)

So here's my photos from the first week of 2013 using the suggestions from Fatmumslim's PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE list...I started with Dec 31...it only seems right to start there since I got this CREATIVE epiphany ON New Year's Eve!  :)

Dec 31st was a SELF PORTRAIT:  I took mine with Nicholas.  He had fallen asleep on me as the ball was dropping.  >o.o<   



 Jan 1st was TODAY:  I took a photo of my 2013 GOALS which was what I based my 2nd blogpost on.

Jan 2nd was SOMETHING NEW:  My Kindle Fire made it's appearance ON New Year's Eve.  I am SO excited to have it...just need Wifi now.  Oops!  

Jan 3rd was HEART:   It is a heart dish that I have had since I was 12.  From a long passed Aunt. I have always treasured it and it makes me smile.

Jan 4th was THE VIEW FROM HERE:  I thought I would lie on the floor and get a perspective from my kitties point of view...Nicholas has run down the hall to pounce on his toy mouse when the flash went off.

 Jan 5th was MOVEMENT:  My friend Charlotte had just left and Katrina and Nicholas had started to wrestle so I thought what perfect time to capture my photo of the day...It's harder than it looks to catch movement on camera.  As I was leaning down to click the shutter, Nicholas ran up and tried to grab the string on the camera...I caught his ear and his tail and thought, "what a PERFECT photo!"  LOL  It makes me laugh every time I see it.

Jan 6th was MINE:  I thought I would show you my Christmas present from Charlotte.  A brand new...beautiful shot glass.  I LOVE swirls, glass (I am my Father's Daughter) and of course, Jameson is in it.  Careful kids:  This glass holds 2 full shots!  Remember...Don't drink and drive. 

Jan 7th was STREET:  I caught this photo while driving ever so slowly at 430am on the street outside my apartment complex...it was DARK cold and dreary.   

So onto the next blogpost...as I have taken photos everyday this week...it does meet the criteria for my CREATE EVERY DAY challenge, but I would NEVER make things THAT easy!  :)

Catch ya on the flip side.

@Copyright 2013 B Godfrey

BACK TO REALITY...BUT...

Luckily, I have a job where I can be creative everyday...I frame other people's art, memories and so on.  I enjoy it thoroughly even though some days have more challenges than others. Today was NOT one of those days. 

I knew it was going to be a busy day, but I didn't realize how AWESOME all my customer's were going to be.  I accomplished a few of my goals in one shift of work!  Amazing what happens when you strive to achieve and change your mindset. 

It started with a small handmade Christmas card...Every year this customer brings in these beautifully designed Christmas cards that her neighbor gives her to have framed.  This one was was an "experiment" the neighbor said.  So the backing colors weren't what they could be...SO...my customer and I decided to change it up and have some FUN with it!  For the FIRST TIME EVER I used a mat with glitter on it!  I know this doesn't sound like a big deal...but I don't usually offer the glittery mats to my customers, but for this one it just seemed to fit!  My boss even complimented me on my choice of "thinking outside of the box" on another order, which was two diplomas, where I used an unusual colored silk mat that just seemed to work.  My creativity was challenged on this one for sure.

Today I also helped a lady design a collage of her precious dog named Henry, who lived to be 16 years old!  I LOVE when people talk about their animals like family.  In conversing, we realized our pets and our lives had some parallels and in the end she thanked me for helping her make it such an easy project when her heart was so sad.  It's these orders with so much heavy sentiment behind them that I live to do.  Projects from the heart.

It was then followed by the most charming and amusing older lady I have met in a long time...she had a HANDMADE doll that one of her relatives had made 100 years ago!  It looked like it hadn't been touched since the day it was made.  We spoke in length about the intricate details of the hand painted face, the sweet attention paid to the little bows tied at the base of the pantaloons, and the amazing colors of the fabric used for the dress.  She was such a hoot to talk to and it reminded me of my Grandmother on my Mom's side.  She made me smile and my heart felt the genuine warmth she gave to everyone in her life and path.  I felt blessed to have helped her with her family heirloom.  We even named the doll Betsy!  But in the end what I found fascinating ...which I believe was one of those messages from the universe...she said she had been taking care of little things she has wanted to do for YEARS in a matter of a few days (framing Betsy for one).  I told her I was on the same type of journey and we both wished one another luck and perseverance.

But the BEST thing that happened all day was my two last customers.  The first lady, who had driven 30 extra minutes to see me, was SO excited about her art that she couldn't stop smiling and saying it.  Her boss had the same print framed just a month ago with me and she liked it so much she would only come to see me, which I have to say I felt so proud after she said that.  As she told me thank you and that her boss was right about me, the customer following her smiled and said, "I am glad to know I am in good hands then!"

I decided with all the praise of the day, which I didn't mind at all and really helped me stay motivated and inspired with each new challenge, that I would do a Random Act of Kindness for the last lady of the day.  It was a "generic order" she said, "but an easy one."  Yes...it was...but unfortunately she was given only one choice of frame and it wasn't on the sale wall, which made her face fall.  When I told her not to worry about the discount that I would take care of her...her face lit up and the biggest smile appeared.  At which she told me she had just made partner at her law firm and this was her gift to herself in recognition of it.  As I LOVE when people achieve a big personal goal such as this... I IMMEDIATELY praised her, high fived her, and told her how proud she should be of herself for such an accomplishment.  You could tell no one had truly rejoiced with her yet...she hadn't even really grasped the AWESOMENESS of the moment until I had made such an enthusiastic proclamation.  Just to see her smile and rejoice through every cell in her body was SO worth making the comment.  I think she floated away on a cloud of happiness as we ended our brief meeting.

So when you question whether to talk to a stranger or even your Mom on her birthday...remember...you might have been the first person to say Hello to them all day;  you might celebrate a monumental moment in someone's life;  you might even make your Mom rejoice just in remembering her special day; or you might get praise and love you didn't even know YOU needed.  So who did you talk to today?

Till next time...be kind to one another.  Be creative and be grateful.  :) 

P.S. Mom...Happy Birthday again!  I love you and wish I could be there to celebrate with a cup of tea and a good movie.  You are my mentor; my friend; and the best Mom a girl could ever have!  xo B

@Copyright 2013 B Godfrey

THEN THERE IS THIS...GOALS OF 2013

This year seems to already have a little bit of ...oh, I don't know...MAGIC to it.  Maybe it's the fact that "13" IS my lucky number... Maybe it's the fact that I have FINALLY found inspiration in myself.  But whatever it is...I am EXCITED by it and about it.

With that being said...a list of my TOP 13 goals (in no particular order).  I know some of them may appear literal or a little simplistic, but they ARE goals and ones I haven't been able to acknowledge or pursue in a VERY long time.

First, there was THIS blog...I wanted to revamp the blog I started 3 years ago and refurbish it into something with a little more energy and fun.  (So far so good.)   ...AND to keep writing on it!

Second, I accomplished a big goal for me last year of reading 100 books and keeping track of them on Goodreads.com ...I have upped the ante this year to read 125!  As a writer it s important to read as well as write..so this IS a goal for me...but I also find reading calms my inner soul.  :)

Third,  I WILL write everyday...whether it is this blog, in my new notebook, or my journal...I WILL write!

Jan 2013 #FMSPHOTOADAY

Fourth, I AM going to accomplish working on the Challenges from 2 other blogs... The Create Every Day Challenge from the blog I spoke on last night AND the Photo a Day Challenge from Fatmumslim.com .

Fifth, I WILL finish researching my Family Trees on the Greeson / Summers sides...for it IS important to know where someone's roots began.  (Note to self:  Next year the Family trees of my Birthparents.)

Sixth, I WANT to reconnect with those friends with whom I like to craft with and add a few more friends to the bunch...to be more creative with our time together and more inventive with how we spend it and where we go...AND to document it for posterity because it's just FUN!  :)

Seventh, I AM going to restart my personal fitness goals and aim for a beginning goal of walking a 5K in October of this year...with eventually a goal of a 1/2 marathon next year.

Eighth, I WANT to travel more.  Mainly, I want to visit some of my family and friends who are spread out throughout this great country of ours...or settle on them visiting me.  :)  If there is one thing I realized in 2012 is that time is not our own and we NEED to make it count!

Ninth, I WANT to be more successful at selling Avon than I have been in the past month...That's right I am selling Avon as a side business...so I NEED to get more involved with it and get me Blog on their website up to par as well!  Obviously, since no one even really knew I was selling it!  LOL

Tenth, I want to TRY and do a random act of kindness EVERY DAY for someone else...whether it is a stranger or someone I know.  For you never know what someone is going thru and that ONE act might turn their whole day, world, or life around.  :)

Eleventh, I WILL find my true happiness in myself, in my life's work, and in my life in general.  I am on the lookout for those messages from the universe...but in the meantime...

Twelfth,  I WILL just keep thinking POSITIVE thoughts; keep moving FORWARD; and have a lot more FAITH in myself and in the world around me with a lot less fear.

And...Finally, my Thirteenth goal for 2013...to find INNER PEACE...because if I can find MY inner peace then MAYBE it will have the butterfly effect and MAYBE flourish into the energies of the world and EVENTUALLY...we can have WORLD PEACE?  I know THIS is a lofty goal...but one I will ALWAYS strive for...pray for...and hope for in my lifetime.  WE ALL should!

One last note:

I am blessed to live in a country that I CAN have such goals...where I CAN have an opinion and HAVE the freedom to speak that opinion and NOT be persecuted or shunned for it.  I live in an AMAZING country where I CAN be a unique, independent, strong-minded WOMAN and be treated with RESPECT and KINDNESS regardless of whether one agrees with me or not.  We all DESERVE that no matter gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or age...  I am BLESSED to have family and friends who Love, Cherish and Support me, even when I am at my worst in body, mind and soul.

So with that... I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart...You ALL know who you are... for every ounce of love, support, understanding, humor, HONESTY, and respect you have given me without expectations...for without you ALL in my life I would not be where I am today!  I am TRULY blessed and I try every day to return EXACTLY what you give me and then some.

So here's to a new year with new goals!  Be sure to make you own and remember if you don't achieve them...there is ALWAYS next year!  :)  LOL

Warmly yours, B
 

 @Copyright 2013 B Godfrey

THE CREATIVE EVERY DAY CHALLENGE 2013

Are YOU up to the Challenge?

I discovered THIS through a fellow Facebook friend AFTER I posted my first entry on my blog...I thought "How FUN and APPROPRIATE for my newly renovated creative self!  A YEARLONG...EVERY DAY CREATIVE CHALLENGE!" 

I LOVE what Leah,  the woman who started it, says on her blog..."Creativity is meant in the broadest sense, so it doesn't have to be something art related. Your creative acts could be in cooking, taking pictures, knitting, doodling, writing, dancing, decorating, singing, playing with your kids, brainstorming ideas, gardening, or making art in the form of collage, paint, or clay...or whatever!"  SO...WHY NOT?!?!  :)

So as one of my FIRST Goals of 2013 is to accept her challenge and go forth and create!  She even gives you a starting point by putting a THEME to every month.  January 2013 has the theme: DARK.  I can already think of so many things I could do around this theme!  :)

As a side note...if YOU are interested in taking the challenge with me...just connect to her blog...  http://creativeeveryday.com/creative-every-day-challenge  and accept the challenge.  If you don't have a blog but want to post your creative musings along with the rest of us...go onto Twitter and use #ced2013 at the end of your post.  It's that easy!

I took a photo of Nicholas...my 8 week old kitten who happens to be a DARK black kitten...as my Jan 1st post of creativity!  #CED2013  Catch ya on the flip side with my other goals of 2013!  >o.o<


@Copyright 2013 B Godfrey

2013...REFLECTION. REINVENTION. INSPIRATION...

Welcome to my new blog!  :)

With the ending of 2012...a year not really worth remembering... I found myself on New Year's Eve alone and yet...  INSPIRED!!!   I could have sunk into my warm, cozy bed and awaited the coming of a new year with a lack of enthusiasm that one would almost expect...but instead...I EMBRACED all it's POTENTIAL and found MOTIVATION.   

A motivation mind you that has been dormant for a good 4 years now and on one dark cold New Year's Eve night EXPLODED from it's hibernation like those fireworks from around the world that signified the coming of 2013!

In the days prior to such a monumental moment...I found myself receiving an array of messages from the universe, but ESPECIALLY from the closest of friends.  It all began with a double reading of Tarot cards where my friend proceeded to tell me that 2013 was a year of reinventing myself...to reflect on the lessons of the past year...to look into doing several different things that intrigue and spark my imagination...to be creative...to find my groove again in the world and inside myself...to be open to the signs and messages the universe and those around me are giving me... and to actually listen.  SO...from THIS I began to observe, listen and make steps towards what I hope is to be an AMAZING year.

As I ventured into a long weekend away from the hustle and bustle of work, I was FINALLY able to quiet my mind; I found a sense of urgency in organizing my apartment and my life (so as to start the new year off on the right foot); and I couldn't stop "observing" through Facebook postings mostly...the FASCINATING and TRULY INSPIRING things that my friends and acquaintances had done in 2012 or were wanting to do in the coming year.

One artist friend posted how she accomplished painting a picture A DAY for the whole year...I thought,  "WOW!  What an accomplishment!  I could do that...be creative in some way EVERY DAY for a year." 

A close friend and beer blogger extraordinaire revisited his 2012 "goals" and what he managed to accomplish.  However, it wasn't until he posted today his 2013 "goals" that I remembered something my Grandmother said to me one New Year's Eve when I had experienced the toughest year in my life...

 "Reflect on the past...write it down...burn it in the present (at which we would put the papers into the fireplace)...and don't RESOLVE to make things better in the coming year, but make it a "GOAL" for you to pursue.  If you don't succeed, then try again the year after that.  But don't make resolutions for they only set you up for failure and goals can only push you to succeed."  So I am making GOALS this year and NOT resolutions.

Lastly, an author who I discovered this past year and read EVERYTHING she has written so far in a month! (and a strong woman who kicked cancer's ass!),  posted: "what are your 3 magic words for the coming year?"  She listed her 3...but it got me thinking of what my 3 would be...Hmmm... 

SO blog readers, friends and family... 2013 for me is a year of REFLECTION...  REINVENTION....and INSPIRATION.  In the words of Sarah Addison Allen,  "What 3 "magic" words are you going to choose for 2013? "  

Happy New Year!

@Copyright 2013 B Godfrey

COMING SOON to a Blog near you:  GOALS OF CREATIVITY AND INSANITY FOR 2013