I’m writing to you, today, about something I’ve never actually talked to anyone about before.  Something that has me both puzzled and troubled.  Something you may or may not understand and may or may not be able to help with.

You know that freckled ginger girl that always seems to have a smile on her face?  The girl that grins at adversity and conspires against failure?  Oh, stop acting confused.  You know who I’m talking about! ME!

At least I think that describes me.

But inside my head, there is a fierce battle going on.  Its constant and never ending.  A battle between Positive Polly and Debbie Downer…kind of.  Let me explain.

I’m an analyzer.  You know those people who over analyze everything?  Yeah, that’s me.  I have a serious problem with over analyzing myself and my life.  I constantly find myself looking back and wondering ‘what if,’ trying to reason why my life and myself are the way they are, and comparing my life to others and how they are different and why.  And then I worry about my future and if I’ll ever actually reach my goals.

You’d be preaching to the choir to tell me I’m supposed to look at the positive, not compare myself to others or regret what I cannot change.  I know this already.  I actually make a point of practicing it.

But its not always negative, per say.  When I say I compare myself, its not to see if I’m better than someone or not.  Its actually no contest, because I do love the person I’ve become and I am super thankful for all that I have {and don’t have}.  My life is mine only and changing it would change me and everyone around me.  That’s not what I want, either.

So, what’s the problem, you ask?  The analyzing.  Its seriously driving me crazy.  I don’t know about you all, but my brain is kind of insane.  I’m not kidding.  I can’t control the stuff that goes on up there.  If I even began to tell you my random thoughts, you’d probably call for help.  That’s where my choice of positive attitude and outlook on life come in to save the day.  That and some prayer.

But the thoughts are still there.

I have said on several occasions that a psychologist really could do me some good.  But who has the time and money for one of those?  And I don’t want or even think a drug could fix this.

I don’t know that I explained it well enough, but that’s it.  Its kind of complicated and sounds kind of silly, though.  But if you have any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

Thanksgiving is upon us.  My favorite holiday.  And yet I can’t help but feel a little disgusted.  Give me a moment to rant, would you?

Frankly, I’m pissed {excuse my language}.  I’m pissed off at the  commercial industry an what its done to the holiday season.  Its as if Thanksgiving no longer even matters.  They’re just in a hurry to push it out of the way so they can sell more crap to an already financially weak people.

Black Friday, for most stores, now starts at midnight.  Midnight!!  Are you kidding me?!  And we wonder why other countries think we’re so superficial.

Ok, enough of that.  Moving on to more joyful subjects.

I have a great recipe to share with you. Not one of my own, but yummy, none the less.  Butternut squash soup.  From scratch.  Its easy, quick and healthy.  The recipe tells you to peel the squash.  Well, that led to a broken veggie peeler and a bit of frustration.  My super smart cousin, Lauren, however suggested baking the squash for a while and then scraping the ‘meat’ away from the skin.  Sounds much easier.

Saturday was the Christmas parade in our home town.  We’ve missed taking Lilie to the parade the past couple of years.  Honestly, I probably haven’t been since high school.  So, we filled our travel mugs with hot cocoa and made our way downtown.

Monday, was Lilie’s Thanksgiving dinner at school.  Though I was a bit under the weather and missing an appetite, I refused to miss it.  We had the pleasure of eating with little Frankie and her daddy, as well.  I love participating in these school activities with her.  Memories in the making.

They had made little pilgrim hats {which were adorable} so that night, we made Native American head bands.  Lilie loved the idea so much, she insisted on making several extra to share with her friends.  Great little arts and crafts activity for her.  She loves this stuff.

Like I said before, I love Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for and this is a time to celebrate just that.  But I would like to remind you this isn’t the only time of year we should reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.  We need to remember to do this more often, throughout the year.

I’m thankful for my family, my friends, my general good health, the roof over my head, the reliable car in my garage, the food in my belly, the right to worship my God the way I see fit, and the right to be a strong, independent, educated woman.

I’m also ever so thankful for you, my dear readers.  I’m so thankful for the time you take out of your day to sit down and read what I have to say.

Thank you so big!!

Welcome back, friends!  Ready for another run with some self discipline?  Here’s a little lesson I learned in a most unexpected place.

{a linscape drawing I did with charcoal and India ink. the goal was to create atmosphere and mood.}

When I was in high school, I took as many art classes as I could.   I took almost every single one they offered {which was more than more school’s offer}.  Well, the other day, as I though about my drawing projects so far this semester, I started comparing my high school art classes to my college ones.  The different way they were taught, the types of projects, and the way we were/are expected to execute them.

Then I thought about the quality of work I’ve done for each level.  That’s where I stumbled upon my lesson.

In high school, I raced through each project, excited to see the finished product and impatient to start the next idea I’d dreamed up or been assigned.  College is a little different, however.  Most of your hands-on classes are called ‘studio’ classes.  Both of my art classes are only two days a week but for three hours at a time.  That means I have to sit and work on that project for at least three hours at a time and generally for more than one class session.

Woa.  That was something new and a little intimidating for me to think about.  Three hours of nonstop drawing?!

Two things happened because of this, though.  For one, I found a way to let me mind go and sort of meditate, per say.  It has turned out to be quit relaxing.  And, two, the time spent really shows in my work.  I once thought of myself as just a lover of the arts, but not really possessing much talent for them.  Now, I might not be so hard on my self.  Now, I’m definitely no Jackson Pollock, but I’m thinking my skills aren’t quite as lacking as I’d thought, either.

So, what’s the moral of the story?  Haha, no, really, there is one this time.

Talent or not, masterpieces are made with patience and self discipline.  Two things I need a tremendous amount of work on.  But this lesson doesn’t stop at my art/school projects.  It runs over to the rest of my life as well: home projects, cooking, parenting, exercising, blogging, my relationships with friends, family and God and so much more.

The art projects are just proof.

What about you all?  Any lessons learned, lately?  Any projects you’re finding you may just need to slow down and use some self discipline to make yourself put a little extra time into?  Share them below in the comments section!

Happy Friday, friends!  Are you as glad its here, as I am?  Not that the week was bad, but the weekend should do me some good.  I’m getting a cold sitting by the fire {in lazy clothes} does a body {and mind} good.

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, then you’ve probably noticed my posts about design services.  Yep, that’s right. I’m open for business.  Greeting cards, invitations, business cards, web design…. I’m your girl–err–designer.

Anyway, I want to share something with you.  I received my first design gig this week and I want to share my results.  There’s a new blogger in town and her name is Becky Wilson.  She’s a country fried, born and raised southern country girl.  Much like myself.

Aunt Becky {yep, aunt} has been talking about starting a blog for some months, now, but just didn’t quite know how to get started.  So when she sent me an email asking me to go review a post she had just written, I jumped at the opportunity to design.  I hope you’ll hop on over to her sunny little corner of the blogosphere and say ‘hi.’

So, what’s the moral of the story?  Haha there isn’t one!  I only ask that you allow me the pleasure of assisting you with all your design needs.  

Have a great weekend!

I haven’t really touched on the topic of self improvement in a while.  And, boy, my day to day life sure shows it. Back in the Summer when I was regularly adding to my Summer of Growth series, I found myself constantly in check to make sure I didn’t let myself get lazy and worthless in the ‘land of little girls.’

Then summer ended, along with my series and eventually my self improvement.  And something has been nagging me again lately.  The dreaded self discipline monster.  Ugh.

I have two points I’d like to touch on this subject {slacking & drawing}.  We’ll talk about the first one today.

First of all, I have totally slacked off.  I have completely lost my waking up early habit, my quiet time is pretty much nonexistent and I simply cannot seem force myself to commit to a jogging schedule again.  Its pitiful, really.  I should be ashamed of myself.

But I’m not, because I have a plan.

I plan to start tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow is a day I can normally sleep in a little extra.  Instead, I’m going to make myself get up at least by my regular time.  Just to make myself do it.  I already know I can, because its my regular wakeup schedule.  Its forcing myself not to take those extra few minutes of sleep that will really show me who’s boss.

And I have to show myself who’s boss, you know.

To conquer the running, I’m going to really read and check out the couch to K program.  Billy has promised to run with me this time.  Crazy.

Also, I plan to start writing and reading about self improvement a little more.  I know I don’t have much time for reading books, right now, but their are plenty of great blogs I can read in my free time.

I also want to share a small epiphany I had.  It deals with drawing and more self discipline.  I hope you’ll check back for part two.

How are your self discipline levels lately?  Are you down and slacking like me?  Or are you reaching your goals and moving up?

I had to fuss at myself real good, the other day.  Yep.  Had to sit myself right down for a good ole come to Jesus talk.  I think I was well over due for a good conviction, anyway, though.

I consider myself both a forgiving and optimistic person.  Well, all that time spent keeping my chin up must have got me holding my head a little high.

There has been a situation and a person {no, I’m not going to write about drama}.  I’ve just been so frustrated with the whole thing.  The time and energy I {and others} have put into it and the current status of it all….  How it only seemes to get worse.  And I was just frustrated with this person and my relationship with them.  Then I kind of lashed out.

Then I felt bad.  Ugh, my conscience is so loud.

And then I took a step back and thought about the other side a little more.  Yes, the very thing I’m always preaching.

But, like I said, I remembered I needed to take a look from their shoes.  Not a look at myself from their shoes {yes, me thinking of myself again} but to look at their life and their situation from their shoes.  I needed to reanalyze everything.

This is what I came up with.  I’m going to stop advising and talking and helping.  I’m going to stop trying to help all together.  Because no good seems to come from it.  I don’t mean this as a negative thing at all.  Who cares about how many wrong decisions they’ve made?  Maybe they already know their mistakes.  In fact, I bet they do know.    Now, I don’t know about you, but I hate strongly dislike being reminded of my mistakes.

I really couldn’t see how anyone would like that or benefit from it.  More than that, I couldn’t think of a way that might even benefit the relationship I have with them.  God teaches us to forgive, but he blessed us with minds to remember.

So, I’m done helping.

Confused still?  Hang on, I promise I’m making sense here.

I’m done giving my opinions {in this situation}, reminders of the past, and best advice.  I’m going to try love.  Just lovin’ on ‘em.  I’m going to have to soften myself.  Make myself a little more vulnerable to others.  Quit being so cold.  Stop fending for myself.

My new game plan for this person and situation is love.  Be there and show my love and support.  I’m going to check my opinions, conclusions, lessons, and advice at the door and just bring my support.  Give them a little bit of what everyone needs.  Just a simple little “how was your day” can make a person feel a little more cared about.  Especially in a world of chaos, no matter what the cause of their troubles.

*deep breath* Whew.  It feels a lot better to get that out there.

What about you?  Is there a situation or person you’re ready to just throw the towel in on?  Maybe you just need to take a step back and look at it from a different perspective.  Maybe you need a new strategy.  Whatever the case, I hope you’re able to turn it all around and go in a better direction.

Hey there!  I want to take a quick second to thank you all so much for sticking around while I’m so in and out.  School has me busy and the fact that I’ve had to take on another blog just makes it worse.  Don’t even ask how I’m doing on that one.  I’m actually thankful I don’t have any followers over there, yet.

Oh, the pressure.

I’ve noticed its been a while since I’ve done a Locks and Ringlets post.  I don’t mean to leave you hanging, so I’m working on that.

I had a question from a reader that I’m sure others would find help as well.  She recently had her super long hair wacked.  Cut.  Gone.  Feeling refreshed and new, she loves the new cut.  But its been a couple months, now, and she’s running out of styling ideas.  What’s a girl to do?

Wishballs to the rescue!

{source: updosforshorthair.org via Meghann on Pinterest}

{Source: TheSmallThingsBlog.com via Meghann via Pinterest}

{Source: CuteGirlsHairstyles.com via Meghann via Pinterest}

Don’t find any ideas you love here?  Or maybe they just look more complicated than you want to get into.  Here’s another suggestion I’ve turned many a times whilst in the mist of growing out a short cut.  I quickly {and rather carelessly} run a curling iron through my hair just to give its some body and a little curl on the ends.  Then, I grab a handful of bobby pins and just start pinning.  I twist, bunch, wad and mess all the while, throwing pins in to hold it.

Completely effortless, completely put together.  This easy, messy up-style always gets compliments.  I’d create my own little tutorial for you, alas, I’m too chicken to cut my hair off again. Buuut…. I did find one that kind of follows the same idea.  Watch this!

I hope this helps!
p.s.  Have a hair question of your own?  Check out my Facebook page and ask your questions there! 

Monday!  Hope the weekend treated you ever so well. Mine was nothing to complain about.  Friday night I went in to tack the job of cleaning our bedroom and ended up redoing the whole thing. Oops. Maybe those energy drinks aren’t all bad?  Saturday was spent at a school thing for Lilie, drawing for hours and visiting my in-from-Florida aunt.  Sunday was church, lunch with grandparents and being home bodies.  It was fabulous.

For your Musical Monday, I’m switching it up a bit.  I have a piece for you that really doesn’t go along with anything else I’ve featured before.  The music is a little different and the animation has a different feel than the rest.  Its fun and fresh.  I think you’ll love it, though. I think this sweet little tune will really put a little pep in your step.

The artist is Goldfish and the song is Soundtracks & Comebacks.  I’m not going to lie.  This one is probably as new to me as it is to you.  I’m totally digging it, though, and I hope you like it as well.

Enjoy!!

Goldfish – Soundtracks and Comebacks (OFFICIAL) from Goldfish live on Vimeo.

Another glorious Friday is upon us once more!  I love Fridays.  Its generally been a good week, but I am still pretty overjoyed about it being over.  I really don’t have much work I need to do on here, so I think I will spend my weekend with my family, reading and working on a few drawings for school.

Like I said, its been a generally good week.  And now that I have to chance to sit down and upload some photos, I figure I’ll go can go ahead and do a smiles-of-the-week post.

My smiles started Monday night with Halloween.  At the last minute, Lilie changed her mind about a costume for the…fourth of fifth time within the month.  This last time was from Batgirl to a zombie princess.  We dressed up together and scoured the neighborhood for candy.  It was a great night and full of fun.  I love our neighborhood.

Also, we received a gorgeous wedding gift {candle stick holders} from my Mamaw.  I am just in love with these little beauties.

Lilie and I made a trip to the book store.  I love those trips.  Her love for books warms my heart.  We used to go on a weekly basis in the summer.  I hate it that we haven’t been able to go as much since school started.

I’ve started crocheting, again, this past week.  I love the scarves the feel of a thick home made scarf.

This is a photo I woke up to this morning.  This is Snowball, my childhood pet, who lives in Omaha with my Dad and Stepmom.  He’s get old and slow in his day.  At one time, he was up with the alarm cat every day with my parents.  Now days he occasionally chooses to sleep in ignore everyone.  He’s getting so old.  My stepmom said he had decided to take a sick day instead of getting up this morning.

And that’s that!  That’s all I really caught on my phone this week.  I can’t help but share a couple more from Halloween, though.

How was your Halloween?  Do any dressing up?

A few weeks ago, I decided Lilie’s bedroom needed some sprucing.  I more than just a new bed and linens.  I wanted something big for her wall.  Something bold to match her awesome personality.  I looked in stores and a little online for some DIY ideas but just didn’t quite find what I wanted.

Then I was body-slammed by an awesome idea: I’ll just get a big canvas and let her paint it.  So, we loaded up the girls {Lilie & Frankie} and ventured out to our creative home-base: Hobby Lobby and which offered a sweet little surprise.  The bigger canvas’ weren’t as expensive as I’d thought.  Being that I was so overcome with happiness, I bought a 48’‘x24’’ size canvas.

I first covered the canvas with a gray background before releasing them. I found big tshirts for them both, filled a couple of egg cartons with paint, put a paint brush in each hand and set them loose.

They loved it.  I think the size of the canvas {and the fact I was taking photos} made them feel like this was really important.  You could see so much effort and concentration in their little faces.

The painting took a while to dry but turned out great.  I hung it in the very center of Lilie’s largest wall.  It makes such a statement for the little room.

LIlie loves it and is so excited to tell everyone she and Frankie painted it.  Them two are so cute.  Their little relationship is so interesting to watch grow as they both learn the ways of the world.  I’m glad I was able to help create a moment in time for Lilie to hang on to for years to come.  I hope this canvas and color can someday bring back lots of great memories for her.