Happy Snow Day from Seattle

Seattle just had a snow storm last night. Today a lot of people don't go to work or school because of snow. At where I live the snow is about 7 inches. That's really a lot for Seattle! :)

I took Lucy out for her first snow. She looked super cute standing and watching white snow around her.

and here's the snow view from our window. I'm loving these scenes from my window! I wish I can see it everyday. 

We still going to have two days of snow coming up. We will try to stay warm inside. 

Ira. 

De-Cluttering My Home

Dear Lillie Blogspot

Last week, our home was so messy, from the bathroom, bedroom, living room and kitchen, there are stuff everywhere. Lucy's toys dominate our living room area, kitchen counter is full, I can barely find a place to cut my fruits and vegetables, not just that there is only one counter space area that we can use. Our kitchen is small.

Have you had those moments when you just have too much things in your house and can't find a place, a serene place where you can sit down and relax without having to think of when is this place going to be clean? 

It's funny the messiness at our home also affects my days at work. At work, I stressed out so easily. I didn't know why I was so frustrated over little things that week. I looked around at my work table, I have a lot of tiny little things that I don't need, and I  told myself that all this habit of cluttering a space starts to follow me wherever I go.

So, I look up online how to de-clutter and create a space, a serene space where I can function well and not being frustrated over time. I came across California Closets video at Youtube.

Peter Walsh from California Closets mentioned that to start organizing your home is by creating a vision for a home and start asking yourself, "What do I want from this space, is my home giving me the thing that I want in terms of nurturing, warmth, motivation and focus." Then go from room to room and ask yourself, "does this item bring me closer to my vision or far away?"

After watching this video, I picked up everything that I know I don't need in my living room, put them in a laundry basket and store them temporarily in a different room. Once I do that, I started to see a better vision of what I want for my home. I put Lucy in her little bouncer, vacuumed the whole place, picked up and stored her toys away in a basket. Took away all of the things I didn't need and cleaned up the living room.

Once I vacuumed that area clean, I went to the main entrance, again, took everything that I didn't want in my console table, organized the shoes area and hide them in the closet. I wanted nothing else on my floor, no shoes, no trace of papers, and certainly no dust. Nothing on my console table except lamp and basket to put all of our keys. That's about it.

A few hours later, I found my home so clean, so free of clutter, all vacuumed and dust-free. My husband was happy with the new cleaned space. I also noticed that Lucy's attitude change towards the room. She was more playful, she can  pretty much crawl everywhere she wants, nothing that is within her reach worried me - if she's going to get hurt or if she was going to pick up anything from the floor and eat them without my knowledge.

That week helped me see that uncluttered home really makes a difference in my day-to-day routine. I functioned better as a mom, providing what Lucy needs, my husband loved staying at a clean home. We just need to keep maintaining that kind of environment forever!

Isabella and Max Room Blogspot

“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.”
- John Howard Payne (1791 - 1852)

Labor Day Weekend Coming Up

Labor Day is coming up! Did you know that traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as a symbolic end of the Summer? IT is also the last day of the year when it is fashionable for women to wear white. I thought I'll share with you a little bit about Labor Day fun facts before you head out and enjoy the three-days weekend!

So, what's your plan this weekend?... Will some of you be out of town, going to the beach, or BBQ in the park? hope you will get to enjoy that Sunshine before Fall comes in. Well at least in some part of the States Fall has already started!

I'm really enjoying my Summer. Although here in Seattle, Summer is a little too short! We don't get much sunshine as it is in other places. Especially with the heat wave coming through across major part of the country! I actually appreciate our gloomy weather! HA!

Seriously, I love our weather! I know for some of you it's like that's weird! Guess what it is 64 degrees F in Seattle (Cloudy - as expected). Although this weekend would be nice... Enjoy your weather!

Just want to share few fun things I see this week. I met my daughter's look-alike. She's a little older, but Oh Boy - it cracks me up when I see them sitting together! :)

Few things along with that- I also have been enjoying watching Happyslip Channel from Youtube :) I tell you, Christine Gambito is one funny young lady! She is a American born Filipinos who makes fun characters that represent her family growing up.

Here's one of my favorite video of hers 'Freak Out'. See her video below.

Another few groups of Youtube Channels that I also enjoy is Japanese Cooking Channel called Cooking with Dog.  I know the title is very misleading.. but I can assure you - your dog is safe!

Here's how to make Oyakodon video.

 I hope you have a wonderful weekend everyone!..

xoxo,

Ira.

Tip on How to Stay Being Creative

Welcome to Story Monday - I thought this week would be fun to start off our story Monday with sharing my own story about how I started to get back on creativity.

If you are an artist, maybe you have struggled with finding your creative niche, or keeping that creative juice within you, or even starting/continuing a creative project that you have once had in mind to do or have postponed. I was once missing from the creative world for quite a long time, but ever since the birth of my daughter, inspirations started to come up and new ideas soon developed into creative projects.

I have had many late night sleeps, trying to get those ideas I have in mind come into reality. The little time I have in hand, becomes more precious as time goes by. It always started with ideas, then it became a process of thought, and I would write it down, at least I could visually see and remember to work on those ideas. After these process of thoughts had been written down carefully, then I started to gather materials and work on to making those ideas into reality.

One thing I learned about being what I called myself "an artist", is that I just have to DO IT! I have few years of silence, thinking of new ideas, but never wrote it down or even thought about the process carefully. Those ideas in the past went away just like a vapor in the wind.

Just Do It! is Nike brand's tagline. They have been so successful delivering this message for a while now. That tagline just works! THINKING is different than ACTING. Have you ever been in any play before? When you read the script in your mind is different feeling than when you say and act it out.

Start with a journal. Write down your process of thought. Make it into reality. Bottom line is 'Just Do It!

Christine Kane has written an article of 21 ways on to be more creative that you might have fun reading it.

Photo found here

Live, Love, and Be Creative.

Ira.

The Ideaology of Whimsicality

Last week I mentioned something in my comment post to Vicki from Simply Hue in my blogpost about Beauty and Whimsical that I will show something that I create of the topic "whimsical" (part of the exercise of Raining Umbrella). Today, I'm going to show you my idea of whimsical. For me, whimsical depicts something that is out of the ordinary. It is something different and often times impossible to achieve without imagination.

I love this exercise topic, because the word whimsical itself forces me as artist to create something different from my usual approach. I made a drawing of my daughter, and anything around her consists the topic of nature.

I have a few more drawings that I'd like to show you in the next few posts, they're not done yet, however, I promise I will show you more whimsical drawings. One of these days, I'll take those drawings and turn it into a painting :)

What do you think about the word 'whimsical'?

Live, love and be creative.

Beauty and Whimsical

RAINING UMBRELLA EXERCISE

The last week's exercise for Raining Umbrella is to describe, draw, or photograph the word 'Whimsical'. Since I have not done the 'beauty' exercise too, I thought I would post something related to both of these topic. Let me just introduce you to a really fun artist, her name is Kelly Lish. She is from Portland, OR and she is an amazing whimsical painter. Her art is mainly mixed media. The basic materials that she uses are acrylics, ink, pastels, collage and wax.

For me, her work really reflects whimsical aspect of life. Also, she mostly portrays women in her art work, which makes me think of the word 'beauty'. Beauty is also reflects in the innocence face of a women or child, in which she depicts a lot in her artwork.

Blessings of Love and Angel of the roses mixed media.

She let her music fill her soul and Mermaid and Seahorse

What is your definition of whimsical and beauty in our culture? Have a great weekend everyone!.. See you next week.

Live, love and be creative,

Ira.http://kelly-loveismyreligion.blogspot.com/

Friendship

RAINING UMBRELLA EXERCISE.

To be honest, I have so much things that I want to talk about regarding the word 'friendship'.

Photo can be found here. Image by Sascalia.

Sermon Illustrations website describes the word 'friend' better than I do. So here they go:

"What is a friend?

Friends are people with whom you dare to be yourself.
Your soul can be naked with them.
They ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you are.
They do not want you to be better or worse.
When you are with them, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent.
You do not have to be on your guard.
You can say what you think, as long as it is genuinely you.
Friends understand those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you.
With them you breathe freely.
You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your meannesses and absurdities, and in opening them up to friends, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of their loyalty.
They understand.
You do not have to be careful.
You can abuse them, neglect them, tolerate them.
Best of all, you can keep still with them.
It makes no matter.
They like you.
They are like fire that purges to the bone.
They understand.
You can weep with them, sing with them, laugh with them, pray with them.
Through it all--and underneath--they see, know, and love you.

A friend? What is a friend? Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself."

After reading these powerful words, I have to think back and ask myself, am I a friend to someone with this kind of strength and love?... I still need to learn to be a friend.

Live, Love and Be Creative.

Ira.

Things that Caught My Eyes from Facebook

As I was looking through my facebook this morning, I saw three things that caught my eyes. One is a thank you note that my friend made, second was a picture of a bear in my friend's backyard, and third was a beautiful pizza made by my friend's pizza bar that just recently opened around the neighborhood.

Picture can say 1000 words more than what I can describe. So, here you go:

Here's a picture of a BEAR at my friend's backyard this morning!.. Shocking!!! It's a view from her window.

I've never seen a bear in someone's backyard before, but apparently they do come up once in a while when you live near the mountain area.

Last but not the least, below is a picture taken by my friend and it's a pizza by Bar Del Corso, a new pizza bar area in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Live, Love and Be Creative,

Ira.