re-purposed art

I saw this idea on Pinterest, and I REALLY liked it.  So, I thought I'd try it out, considering we have papers of scribbles almost everyday!


This is such a simple idea.  Honestly, anyone can do it!


I started out with one of Isabelle's scribbled pieces of art and a blank canvas.

First, I chose the color I wanted the background of the canvas to be, and painted it.  (This is the fun part) Try to enjoy and experiment with different techniques, take your time and enjoy the therapeutic benefits of "painting". I put my ipod on and enjoyed this part of the process

Then, I cut out petal shapes from the scribble art.  At first, I drew a template of the pieces I wanted to cut out on the back of the paper.  But, this shape is so easy to cut out, that I ended up just cutting random petal shapes.  Try to make some of them larger, or make sure you cut out pieces that "fit" the space of the canvas you're using.  (I started out making the petals too small, and had to adjust my plan and make larger pieces)


Then, I laid out the petals on the canvas to make sure they were where I wanted them to be.  I suggest doing this before actually gluing them down.  I also took a picture which helped me to focus on the space of the canvas, rather than the space AROUND the canvas.  (Or, just squint to focus only on the canvas.) Then I glued the pieces down.

Now, we are ready to hang!


I am looking forward to using today's scribble art to make another one or some smaller ones. (I will amend this blog post with any follow up art)

big love comes in little packages

My attempt at meditation didn't go as planned last night. My two crazy dogs kept perking up and freaking me out a little each time, which did not make for a peaceful environment!

I will say, however, I did find a great new mantra:

"I am beautiful compassion"

It reminds me to be peaceful and loving in all I do. It gives me a sense of calm.

In my new sense of calm I realized something today, I hadn't put much thought into before.

The hallway of our house is adorned with photos, mostly of our children. I look at these photos everytime I walk down my hallway. But, today, it was different.

Today I realized how profound of an effect these photos have on me. A few in particular.

This one embodies so much emotion, a moment of pure love and happiness. A moment I shared with the love of my life, the man I will spend the rest of my wonderful life with.

For me, this photo brings together 2 lifetimes. Two versions of the same person. Two lifetimes in one life. One could not exist without the other.



This is love in it's purest form.



These moments are the ones people live for. The moments people strive for. And I have had them.

It's not that I have never appreciated these moments and how lucky I am to have them. More that I want to make sure I appreciate them everyday and remember that these moments brought us to where we are. That we fought through the tough times to get to these moments. And it has all been worth it.

So, now, I am going to enjoy watching Toy Story 2 for the 300th time in bed with my beautiful little product of true, unconditional love.

And I am going to appreciate this moment.



Oh, before I go, let me share with you a piece of my own little heaven. Oh how I wish her great-grandmother could witness this.

enjoy <3

rebirth

For a few mos now, there has been a lot of chaos in my once peaceful (mostly) home. Not bad chaos, just different. More people, more noise, more to clean.

Tonight, however, my house is silent. My sister and her children are at our mom's house, my husband is at a friend's birthday party, my son is with his father and my baby girl is sleeping soundly in the room next to me.

As my husband and son were getting ready to leave to their respective destinations, I began to ask myself "what am I going to do?" I'm not used to being alone, like this. I am alone everyday, I feel alone most of the time. But, tonight, my house is quiet.

I thought I'd fill my time with mindless television and reading on the internet. As I read, I began to feel the calm. A calm I have not felt in a long time. My mind was quieting, my nerves were settling and I began to think. To REALLY think. Not about what I should do now, who is making so much noise, or how I would handle the next "episode".

I started thinking about how wonderful my life is. How lucky I am in spite of the difficulties/struggles we have. I start thinking about how lucky we are to live in a 3 bedroom house in a mostly quiet and safe neighborhood in Valencia (so lovingly referred to as "Awesometown"). How lucky I am to be able to stay home and not have to deal with the stresses of being a working mother. How lucky we are that we don't have to live in a 1 bedroom apartment somewhere, both of us working to make ends meet and barely making it. Things may not always go the way I want them to. My timelines may not always work out. But, things are always taken care of.... eventually. Bills are paid, food is made.

So, I am sitting here, looking around my house and I realize it is quite a lovely house. We have nice things, comfortable things. And really, do we need nicer? more? bigger? No. I think we don't. I think that as long as we have eachother, and support and love eachother we are fine. I think it's time to write those little "pep talks" and mantras in a visible place. To remind myself of the beauty of simplicity.

I sit here, thinking these things and I realize that it is time for a rebirth. The rebirth of Christine Nicole Brandes. A simpler, happier more content person. Time to appreciate, fully, the beauty that is my life. To appreciate, fully, the love of a wonderful man. To appreciate, fully, the beauty of my children.

I turn on "New Age" channel 856 on DirecTv music channel, I start typing this blog and when I finish it's time for some quiet meditation. To relish in the silence, to be peaceful, to be content.

i fell in love with you

I'm not much as a writer. Here is my attempt at a [simple] heartfelt "poem"

-------------------------------------------

i fell in love with you the moment i saw you, the moment you spoke my name
the road has been rough, but the pain has been tamed

we fought through the hard times, made it to the other side
we've been through things, that make weaker people hide

some words were meaningless, said in vain
to get the advantage, to play the game

an unfaithful moment, an ego fed
an emotion and feeling, taken straight to the head

a moment in time, that tore us apart
a moment in time, that gave a fresh start

a start that was clean and true
to change the things we thought we knew

to make us stronger, to make us real
to understand each other, and how love can really feel

now we're a story, people wish they could tell
the envy of relationships, where the relationship fell

i saw in you, what love could truly mean
a love that seems possible, only in a dream

a true love, through and through
what it means, to have someone see the real you

to love so deeply, it brings tears to your eyes
to make it worth, all the failed tries

i love you more and more, with every passing day
even more than I can explain or say

i see you, in the eyes of our child
a love and passion, untamed and wild

our future is exciting, it's beautiful and bright
my day is complete laying next to you each night

you hold me, and tell me it will be okay
and life gets better with every passing day

i fell in love the moment I saw you
my love will always be strong and true

thank you for being you
and letting me be me too

change is in the air!

"some things have come to light"

I'm not sure if it's the impending doom of officially being over the age of 30... or if I'm "growing up".

Things have been changing... things are... well, great!

A lot has happened in the last 2 mos. Mostly not to me, but to other people. Things that make me realize, "Hey! It REALLY could be worse!" These are the things I think about when the day isn't going as planned. (mostly)

So, cheers to turning a new leaf. And cheers to a bottle of formula so you can finish your blog entry!

If I were a religious person, I'd say God is telling me to slow down. However, the force is not strong with this one. So, I say "The universe is telling me to slow down." to take things one day at a time. To see the beauty in everyday.

Here is where I will begin...

Aaron and I have been married for just over 2 years, and together for just over 7. I believe this is a record in both our books. The first several years were difficult to say the least, but we came through it and fought when most couples would have given up either on the relationship itself or the other person. So, let's put that on the "good" list.

I recently read a blog in which the girl stated she was the luckiest girl in the world. I beg to differ. I happen to believe that I am the luckiest girl in the world, despite my complaints! I am married to a man who accepts me for who I am, accepts my bad days and walks on egg shells when it's been a bad day. (which recently has been frequent) We live in a house, not a tiny apartment. We are not famous, no one will even read this blog. But I think we're rich. Rich in friends, rich in family and rich in our lives. We eat well, we have fun and have amazing kids.

Hate to cut it short, I seem to be on a roll. But duty calls. And her name is Isabelle.

We are off to Target to do more shopping for the party this weekend. (more on that later)

Cheers!

Happy Day.

Fibromyalgia diet

Here are the diet guidelines that I'm supposed to follow...

Foods to avoid

These products are thickeners/emulsifiers/binders. The thickeners are sometimes used in bulk laxatives, spice products, ice creams, salad dressings, toothpaste and sauce & gravy mixes.

Pepper is a nervous system irritant, as is apartame and glutamate.

Aspartame is related to asparate, and MSG/glutamic acid is related to glutamate.

Wheat
Xanthan gum
Carrugeenan gum
Glutamic acid
Textured vegetable protein
BHA BHT
Aspartame
Pepper - both peppercorns & whole peppers, especially green bell peppers

Foods that are questionable

Mushrooms
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Eggplant
High fructose corn syrup

Foods that are usually ok

Oats
Corn
Rice
Sweeteners: Spenda and Stevia
Breads: Spelt & Ezekial


Most of these things I'm ok with... but I really like Potatoes!! Does "potatoes" include sweet potatoes?! I'm ok with using Splenda or Stevia. But have you ever tried Ezekiel bread?! It's like uber wheat bread!

I also recommend avoiding alcohol, it makes you really toxic and sore the next day.

I've also been told not even to have 1 cup of coffee in the morning because it could effect my sleep at night. THAT I find interesting! I may need to break that rule.

Ok, coffee is ready! Baby needs to eat soon. As soon as the boys get up I will make breakfast. Today will be my first day on the higher does of Savella, a little nervous and I want to make sure I have something in my stomach before I take it.

I'll post later with my response on Savella.

Happy Sunday!