Sundays

Woke up this morning with a raging migraine. I actually went to bed with it, slept terribly and woke up with it.  I wasn't sure if I was getting the flu or a head cold or just a migraine.  I took a warm bath, popped a few Execdrin Migraine (those are the bomb) and crawled back in bed.  I woke up like a new person!

Today is our day to host Sunday dinner (we alternate with my brother's family), so I prepped the food, made a pie, had the kids help with salad and dishes.  I was enjoying my mellow Sunday mix on my Bose system and walked out on our deck. It was warm!  Like finally not freezing, no cold wind, warm.

I put the cushions in a chair and assumed the position of a serious loafer.  Sweatpants. Check.  Slippers. Check.  Mellow mix of James Taylor, Neil Young, John Denver, and Elton John. Check.

Here I am.

And I was sitting here, I was overcome with PURE gratitude.  Like a crazy, big, fat, warm hug from God kind of gratitude.  I was thinking to myself, He knew I didn't feel great ~ headache gone.  He knew I was in a funk because of the gray blahs of January and he gave me this AWESOME sunny moment to just chill.  I closed my eyes and let the sun warm my cheeks.  It was pure bliss.

As I was enjoying the moment, the sun slipped behind a cloud and it instantly grew chilly. I opened my eyes, as if to say "what the heck?".  And then it slipped right out from behind that cloud and immediately resumed warming. This little moment made me think.  When things are going great in our world we are pleased as punch, and we have our eyes closed to God.  But as soon as we start to face challenges and storms, we immediately open our eyes and think/say, "hey ~ where are you God?".  But He is ALWAYS there.  We just let the crappy "clouds" of our life (the temporary setbacks, the bad days, the disappointments) block our faith to KNOWing God is always there.

Makes me think of the verse:  "Be still and KNOW I am God."

I hope you have a pure bliss, full of gratitude, kind of day!

January Blahs

I  have to admit January is by far my least favorite month.

There is no fabulous holiday...unless you consider New Year's a fabulous holiday and I don't.  I almost never go out. It's just not my scene.  Plus my dog has a little freak fest all night while people shoot off fireworks.

My husband insists on making black-eyed peas that cook all day and make my house stink like sewer full of dirty diapers. (We have since compromised that he cook them in a crockpot in the garage) Now after 20 years together I have learned to like them, but I definitely don't love them and I eat them only once a year.  I can honestly say they have never brought me good luck, because statistically I have had as many good years as I have bad ones.  But I eat them anyway because it makes him happy (and I don't have to smell them).

The weather in January is cold and gray. Blah.  I don't like either. Everything looks dead.

Football season is over.  I really love to watch college football (the Gators and the Sooners) and unless they are in the championship or a bowl game, the season is pretty much over.

I always feel this pressure to make resolutions, clean, and fix everything wrong in my life. I spend lots of time crafting lists and then by May I am depressed because I have done little or nothing on said lists.

To make things worse, January has an extra day.  I really think it should take notes from February and follow suit.

I was feeling especially cold and blah today...dreaming of the beach so I painted this little scene. (It's only a 4x4 canvas).

Now I think I'll go back to bed and dream about waking up somewhere warm and sunny!

Hello 2013

I have no idea how the last half of 2012 slipped by so fast, and I know people say it all the time, but I think this past year we really were moving at warp speed.  I mean Christmas didn't even seem to come at the right time of the year. So I am hoping that 2013 brings a little more sanity and normal pace to my life.

I haven't made any New Year resolutions or written down any goals.  Not that I don't have any floating around in my crazy mind, I do, but I want to carefully select what I do this year. I want to say "no" to things that don't align with my values.  For example, I would love to grow my art and photography business where I can write a check for my mortgage and pay it off (lol!!) but does that really fit with the things I value: such as spending more time with my kids especially as they grow older and will be leaving home in a blink of an eye?  So, what things will I say "yes" to and where will I draw the line? I am not sure and I am sure much of it will be decided by a higher power than myself!

Speaking of art... I spent much of New Year's Eve painting.  In fact, most of the day I jammed to some tunes in the solitude of my basement "studio" letting my intuitive side take over.  I had started a couple canvases in October after taking a wonderful online class from Flora Bowley.  However they were pushed to the side the past two months.  Flora teaches you to let your inhibitions go...which I have to admit is very hard for me at times because I am so "type A" in other facets of my life. But I admit, it feels soooo good!

Here is the first phase of my painting:

Then it turned into this (at this point I really thought maybe a fish diving into water or a tree):

After New Year's Eve, it was looking like this:

Here are some close ups:

I think I am in LoVe....with her.  She is how I would like to see me in 2013. (who chuckled when I said that?!!)  She is full of ideas, creativity, love, passion, imagination, strength, wonder, joy, and openness. Although she isn't quite finished, I love her because she is a reflection of how I feel and who I hope to be.  I hope you see her in me this year!

Would love to hear your vision for 2013!

Funky Junk & {me}

The last few months have been so hectic in my life, I couldn't even begin to explain it all.  Long story short, I committed to doing my first "show" and have been trying to get my business up and running.  I am an experiment in the works! I love, love, love to create but I kind of stink at the business aspects of it all.

That being said, the visions of sitting around creating all summer were popped and I realized I needed to do things like file with the state and federal government for tax ID, purchase things to build a booth, set up an accounting system, buy merchandising items like bags and signs, and the list goes on.

So the day is finally approaching ~ this weekend Sept 28-30, I will be showing at Bella Rustica.  This is an annual fundraiser show where people come to sell their "funky junk" ~ sort of a flea market on steroids.  It all benefits AGAPE Nashville.  Now, typically this is the kind of show I would love to come to as a customer, scouring through piles of old windows and doors and seeing potential in making something for my home.  Instead I will be one of the vendors, one of the minority vendors not selling furniture, but showing and selling my art to an expected crowd of 5,000.

If you love some funky junk and art, jewelry, clothing, etc. you should definitely make a trip out to the Milky Way Farm and come by my booth for a visit!  Yes, this farm was originally owned by the man who started the Mars Company.  Hence, all the horse stalls (aka booths) are named after candy bars.  I am in stall Mars (right next to Snickers)! :)

Check out the link to Bella Rustica and their facebook page too.  I have a feeling this will be a great event ~ regardless of my sales!  The organizers are friendly and I might find a treasure or two!

Here are some photos of my initial booth setup. I still have to add lights to brighten the place up a bit but they didn't have electricity running to my space yet.

Hope to see you there!!

Friends, family & neighbors...I would like to introduce you to a very special little girl, Cami Kinser. She has been diagnosed with lymphoma at the young age of 10. I first learned of her when my sister asked me to create a piece of art for her with her favorite bible verse for her room to encourage her while she battled cancer. 

I wanted to do more, so I decided to find ways to help her family pay her medical bills. Having been faced with enormous medical bills for our own daughter, I can empathize with their fight. There are several ways you can help. (1) if you would just like to donate money to the family you can visit a link I have set up to collect donations for them athttp://www.gofundme.com/KinserMedicalFund or click directly on the link to your right in my blog.

(2) you can purchase a print of the art "believe" ($30) I made especially for Cami or a set of notecards ($15), just contact me locally or msg me 


(3) if you don't live here in the local area and would like to purchase, you can visit my etsy store and purchase the "believe" print (shown above)


(4) if you know any local businesses who would like to help in any way, please contact me.


(5) you can share this link with others you know via email, facebook, twitter.


 Thank you in advance for your help!!! 

Around Here...

around here...we are enjoying "cooler" temperatures in the high 80s instead of the record-breaking heat we had at the beginning of the month.

around here...I have been perusing my cookbooks for new recipes to cook, made jalepeno hummus from our garden jalepenos, and canned pickles from our cucumbers.

around here...I am working hard to organize, brand and create a new look and website for Kirsten Reed Designs which I hope to launch by the end of August.

around here...I have been on a creative binge, painting almost everyday and loving my new creations (not always the case).

around here...Ben is getting ready to leave to spend 10 days with my parents (which he loves) and I will have 10 long days of missing him!

around here...Sarah has been busy with soccer tryouts and is nervous about making the team as the coach informed them he will have to cut about 1/4 of the girls. I am praying she makes it ~ it will break her heart!

around here...Ben and I have been working on our biggest puzzle yet, a 2,000 piece Coca-Cola puzzle. We are about halfway finished.

around here... there is already back to school emails in my mailbox and paperwork on my desk to fill out before orientations on August 1 and the first day of school on August 10.


around here...my office is in need of a desperate extreme makeover as I dodge piles on the floor of 'things to do'.


around here...Vince has been working and traveling as usual.


around here...I found out two more of my close friends are moving away and I am wondering what my year will look like without them.


around here...I am savoring my last few days of summer with my kids and trying not to be too busy with other stuff so I can embrace the moments.

Been Absent...

My grand plans for documenting every day of our Planes, Trains and Automobiles trip failed miserably. Partly because we had no internet connection most of the trip and partly because by the time we did, we were homeward bound and I was overwhelmed with the whole "back to reality" phase of life.  Two days after we came back from our 18 day trek, I flew to Florida for a reunion with classmates from my high school in Germany (more on that in another post).  So you see, I was REALLY busy.

So what to do ~ now that it has been more than a month since the MOST AMAZING trip ever!?? Well, I thought I would break it down into two posts ~ this one with a slideshow of the sights we saw, and a second one with some insight on "things we learned" with input from the whole family. We really are a funny family ~ something I discovered on this journey.

Here is a slideshow of our trip ~ above, because I could not get it to cooperate and embed into this post. (my apologies for my lack of techie knowledge) enjoy!