Monday Musings

MANIC MONDAY


Hey! Hope all of you are having a great start to the new week.  It's cold and rainy here, and hard to believe that June is right around the corner.  It's been raining almost non-stop for a week and I'm itching to get into my garden area and plant the new lettuce and cucumber seeds that just came in the mail.  I don't think cold mud is conducive to starting seedlings, so I guess it's going to have to wait another week.  


The exhaust fell off of my car on Saturday afternoon when we were headed to a friends' home for a cookout. We were within a mile or so of our friend's house and he came to the rescue with wire and a board (to place on the cold, wet, rainy ground).  Anyway, my son came by to get me this morning so we could go pick up the new exhaust system and he and hubby will put it on this evening.


Meanwhile, I've been busy in Art Land, playing with my new moleskin, taking registrations for my new Art Journaling class which I'm over-the-top excited about, and practicing the new colored pencil technique I learned in a workshop this past Saturday. (I'll be posting more about that tomorrow)

PANIC


I'm not much for panic, but it caught me off guard twice on Friday; first, when I discovered my last post GONE (which Blogger was having issues that seem to now be corrected), and secondly as  I went to the senior center to register participants for my Art Journaling Class.  Sharing my art and journaling techniques is all I've been working towards for the past three years.  Completely unexpectedly, that annoying inner critic arose from slumber and propped herself on my shoulder.  Don't you just hate that?  She was trying her best to fill me with doubt as I gathered my fliers and supplies together to share with anyone who would listen.


"What if no one is interested in your journaling", she asked.  "What if they look at your journal and tell you it's too hard and they can't do it?".  She continued to nag me.  "What if they aren't friendly?"  "What if they don't like you?".  I think I'm pretty secure in who I am and what I have to offer, but it took everything in me to shove her back to where she came from and to tell her to "Shut UP!!!"


What really happened when I got to the center?  I set up my table with fliers, business cards, my registration sheet and a completed journal.  I pulled out my water soluble pastels and started working on my "Panic" page.  I was there for two hours and I had a blast! I made some new friends, saw some old friends, and registered 3 people for my first class.  I later got messages from 2 others who said they are also going to register.


What does your inner critic know anyway except to be annoying?  We all have that inner critic who sits in wait for any opportunity to fill us with self doubt and self loathing.  I hope that you're keeping your inner critic in check, as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!".  If you need help getting rid of her, let me know - I'll be happy to help!


TODAY'S PHOTO

"Cat Bird"

This is a Cat Bird.  They also love grape jelly and frequent the feeder just as much as the Orioles do.  They have the cutest little "Mohawk" on top of their heads, and they have a brick red spot just on their underside just above the tail feathers.  The most amazing thing about them though, is that they "meow" like a very loud cat.  When I hear them from inside the house, they sound convincingly like a cat.