Hope Has a Warrior

You should totally watch this show if you never have- it is simply fantastic. I think I stumbled across it one Saturday when I was flipping though stations. Seeker has a really great storyline, and I think I have become somewhat obsessed ...just a little :) ... Sadly, I think they might be canceling it just after 2 seasons. BUT! The show has a huge fan base that is trying to save the show. So here is my little plug in support--- Watch it. Just do it. You will definitely not regret it.

A dream is a wish that will come true

These last few months, I've been giving a lot of thought (or stress) to what I truly want to do with my life, what I want to go to school for, what my career should be, etc. What I've discovered is that the things that I am really passionate about that I always just put aside in my mind for the sake of realism are the very things that I should be doing. I think, oh one day that might be a great idea, or well maybe if I get enough money with a different job then I can start doing that full time. There are certain things that I have prayed and prayed for direction with. I keep asking God to make my desires His desires. Yet overwhelmingly, the more I seek His will, His wisdom, and His guidance, the desires of my heart and the things that I love and feel passionate about, as "unrealistic" as they may seem, are the very things that I feel I now must do. These are the things that God is calling me to- He is calling me to be ME of all people! What a blessing.... the more I follow after Him and the more He transforms and renews me, the more I become the me He created me to be.

All of this has really given me a desire to make a list of the things I really want and now must do. So here it is.....

Pursue my MFA (in painting most likely)

Paint a new series

Create a new series in color pencil

Really go after a self-employed career as much as possible---including selling my artwork, prints of my artwork, being a muralist, perhaps even taking commissions for portraits, etc.

Enter juried exhibitions in hopes of getting into a few shows

Find a publisher to publish prints of some of my pieces, to publish my work as a part of a book, or to use my pieces/commission me to do pieces as artwork/covers for books

Or self-publish my art myself

Learn Irish Gaelic

Travel to Ireland, Scotland, and England

Learn to sew, crochet, and knit (perhaps take a class on one or all 3)

Run a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon, and eventually... a marathon! (dreaming REALLY big here)

Practice yoga regularly

Read more classic literature

Research my ancestry and further build on the family tree that my family has started working on

Write a book (a novel perhaps)

Be a better friend

Show the love of Christ more actively


What about you? What have you always wanted to do? Don't wait until 5 or 10 years from now, or even until next week. Plan it out and do it now! Don't live in fear any longer. Pursue the life God is calling you to, and don't look back!

"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland."

-Isaiah 43:18-19

Tuesday Treat Day

Happy Tuesday. Or as my mom and I like to call it, "Tuesday Treat Day!" We decided long ago that Tuesday was the one day of the week that was not as exciting as the other days and thus needed something extra special, usually in the form of a yummy treat! So now, we try to celebrate our weekly holiday every Tuesday with a special treat :)
In honor of our happy Tuesday, I might try to occasionally update here for Tuesday Treat Day and blog about a special treat.... a great recipe, a yummy snack that I love, or maybe something not food at all that just makes me happy :)

So for today's Tuesday's Treat.....

MUDDY'S CUPCAKES!

Muddy's is a locally owned bake shop in East Memphis. And these cupcakes are fantastic!!! To be honest, I'm one of those people that does not normally like cupcakes because I can't handle all of the sugar in the icing. But these are SO good!!! The ones in the picture here are the Strawberry Fields Forever, one of my personal favorite flavors that I even had as a cake for my birthday. They have been on vacation all last week, so today was their first day back. (And there was much rejoicing!) Check out their website from the link above, or, better yet, if you live in Memphis and have never had a Muddy's- Treat yourself!

And hello!

Welcome to my new blog! I finally did it! I hope you will join me on this new blogging adventure :)
If you live anywhere near the central time zone, you will probably notice that I am still awake at 2 AM, but for whatever reason, I find that I am most productive and creative late into the night. When I can, I sleep/nap most of the day and then I love to paint at night. Must be one of those artist/creativity?craziness things! Right now, it's storming outside, which I love- there is something so cozy about being inside when it's raining outside, and then hearing something so powerful in the thunder. And I am watching the I Love Lucy marathon :)
This is actually the episode I'm watching. Love this show. After all these years, it still cracks me up!

So let's have a little bit of getting to know you since this is my new blog----
I love love love anything artsy! Painting is my favorite thing, and I feel God has called me to a life of creativity. I just received my undergrad degree in studio arts, and I will be starting grad school in the fall.
My blog name comes from the idea of "reverie" which I used for my BFA exhibit. I base a lot of my current pieces on this idea of reverie, which I defined in my artist statement like this: The word “reverie” comes from the Old French rêverie meaning “revelry; delirium” and from Middle French resver meaning “to dream; to wander.” The dictionary defines “reverie” as “A state of abstracted musing; daydreaming” or “The condition of being so lost in solitary thought as to be unaware of one's surroundings; an illusory mental image” Within a psychoanalytic perspective, the term reverie refers to “an imaginary representation created to help realize a desire.”
So put that with a word describing a state of color, and tada..... "Shades of Reverie"

I do believe that is all for now. Let me know what you think about my new blog!