Gratituesday: The Eye of An Artist

This one's going to be short and sweet because I need to be dashing out the door, but I couldn't resist. Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

The above photos were taken by the artist who made these pieces. She happens to be multi talented: she sews her own creations, makes jewelry, has hand made cards, tried her hand at sketching and drawing, just to name a few. I am privelaged to see many of her things because she's my sister, Kathleen Sweeny. 
  My absolute favorite artist is our own Creator, God. Not only did he create us, he formed the earth itself and all in and on it. If you look at nature, you can see beauty all around you. I think artists inherited that from the Lord, because they see beauty in things, and they see possibility where others might miss. I like to think God sees the possibilities in all of us that others, including ourselves might miss.  
  Had to brag on her a little today. I'm thankful not just because she's so talented and consistently inspires me to cultivate my own creativity, but because she's my sister and friend. Thank you for being one who points out beauty in life. 

Life's Ups and Downs

Helloooo! Anyone there? 
  I've been MIA a bit longer than I'd expected. We've had a lot going on to keep me from the blogging world. J has had a few meltdowns and has needed some attention to address those. Thankfully they haven't been too bad, just heartbreaking that they've been happening.
  The kittens have provided their own drama. Two kittens somehow got sick within a week of each other, and both have passed away, the second one just this morning as I held him. I had nursed him the best I could, but it just wasn't meant to be. One got caught in a shut door accidentally, and died from his injuries. And a fourth one got attacked by a tom cat and was killed. So we have three rambunctious little ones left, and I'm anxiously looking for homes for them, along with two of the tom cats and maybe a mama. As much as I love these critters I can't keep them all.
  Then there is me. I've been busy with my mom, and trying to get this house back in order. I also started walking a bit. That lasted a few days, before I started feeling ill, but I'm going to return to my walking today.
  While I've cried a lot the last few days, I still can see that life is good, even with its ups and downs. We live a blessed life, not a charmed one where everything is perfect and good all the time. As a Christian, I understand that if everything was all roses and no thorns here on earth, I might not have my sights set on heaven where everything is good. I'm thankful to have a place where there is no end. The earth will eventually be destroyed --whether it be in my time or not, I don't know. What i do know (but sometimes ignore or forget) is that this life and all its pleasures, frustrations, hurts and joys, is temporary. The next life is the permanent one. We each have a choice in life. Do we want to live in heaven, or hell?  Are we going to follow Jesus or not?
  I'm not perfect by any means. I make mistakes and I sin. But I won't give up trying to live the way Jesus wants me to. I have a long ways to go. I want to continue learning, and encouraging others in all aspects. On this blog I want to encourage you in your daily walk, help you begin the daily walk if need be, and also to share my life and triumphs as well as troubles. If I'm struggling with weight issues, organization (household and life), have a special needs (adult) child, and like to craft and/ or make art, I know that some of you have at least some of those things in your own lives. I've started and stopped a few times on this blog, so today is sort of like a new year. Time to start over and follow the path and see where it leads.
  My goals/ plans for this blog:

•   Spiritual. I want to post something at the very least once or twice a week that is encouraging, yet honest to my life. I'm not going to tell you everything is all rosy and lovely when it isn't, but I want to be positive.  Each Tuesday I will continue linking with Heavenly Homemakers  for Gratituesday.
• Autism. I'm going to continue discussing life with an adult child with autism. J is a great part of my life, and sometimes I struggle with what to do for him. My heart aches at times because I don't know how to help him. My heart sings when he makes the next milestone, or as a friend with a special needs child of her own calls them, inchstones. We celebrate each tiny thing that others sometimes take for granted.
• Organization. If you're looking for perfection and how to keep a house spotless every second of the day, sorry, wrong blog. If you want commiseration on "I just cleaned a minute ago now it looks like a whirlwind hit" and tips that work for me, and sometimes links to where to go for help in this, as well as updates on how the house is coming together and encouragement for you, this is the place. I'm not where I want to be in this house yet, but hey, although I'm learning to be content with my life, I'm also seeing room for improvement in many areas. I hope you're along for the journey.
• Health. Let's face it. I'm not eighteen anymore and I've been blessed with two pregnancies that netted me two healthy babies. As Ma Kettle once said, I used to have an hour glass figure. The sand's still there, its just shifted some. I wont tell my age yet, but I'm old enough to have two grown boys. My oldest would have been 21 this July. So health wise, I'm not looking to be a size 0. Not even close. While I would love to be a size 10 again, I think I'd be happy to be a 12 or even 14. I want nothing to do with society's view of perfection. I want to be healthy, as well as look and feel it. 

                 I know basically how to eat healthy, but I also am a lover of chocolate. There are just some times I need it more than others. I like desserts of all types, although I don't have them all the time. And although i want to eat healthier, I still eat fast food at times. I don't drink sodas most of the time, its less than once a month that it even comes into the house. I don't do substitute sugars, and I tend to stay away from low fat anything because (for me at least) if it's full fat I am aware of it, and it takes a lot less to satisfy me. As for oils, I use coconut oil, olive oil, and occasionally, lard. I make no excuses for that. There are just some things I need it for. And I use butter. NOT MARGARINE. As much as I'd like to use only grass fed meat in my cooking, my budget simply won't allow it. We eat meatless meals sometimes but I'd like to bump it up to two to three times weekly.  So for health I'll be sharing meal plans, how I'm doing on exercise (hope you'll join me and let me know what you're doing to get healthier too!), and I want to get back to sharing recipes. Yes, some will be desserts. If you feel the need to modify the recipes to fit your needs, feel free. Most won't be mine though. I like cooking but I'm not that great at coming up with my own recipes. :)

• Art. I talked a few months ago about a project for my bedroom wall using a scripture I like. I also mentioned to another blogger about using toilet paper rolls to make a mini album. I haven't forgotten. I am still formulating a plan for both in my head and hopefully I can get them both done. I'll share them as soon as I'm done. Eventually I'd like to show a project once a week.

I have some lofty plans for this blog, I have to admit. Can I do it all? I hope so. Will I stumble some? Most likely. Life gets in the way, and sometimes the situation is I simply fall prey to fits of fiction writing --something I should be doing every day, but I don't get it done. I'm not ready to share my fiction just yet. Eventually though.We shall see. Anyway, that's the plan for this blog from this moment on, with random posts about other subjects along the way. I hope you'll join me. Let me know what you think when you see it. I'm still learning the ropes of the blog world so if any bloggers would like to offer suggestions and somehow teach me a few things, I'd welcome it.  Until next time, have a great day.