Recently I booked a plane ticket for an arrival date a few days earlier than I needed to be there.  Then I booked the wrong time on the plane ticket, because the cheapest flights are super late and highlighted at the top versus super early flights are at the bottom of the selection list.  And unfortunately, I needed to be there early.  But, I must say Frontier Airlines were awesome and change the flight time to an earlier flight and just charged the difference versus the difference and a $150 change fee.  At that point, I should have started to work out that there was a lesson in all this.  But, no I didn’t quite get it.  So to make sure I got the lesson, there was my race on Saturday. 

I trained diligently for the Heart Center of the Rockies Half Marathon.  It was to be my third half marathon this year.  But, here is where I missed the lesson.  The race had three start locations.  The half marathon was several miles away from the 10K and 5K.  I mistakenly drove to the 10K, because I just wasn’t paying attention to the instructions of where the half marathon started.  By the time I worked it out, it was too late to get back to the start of the half marathon.  

The bottom line is that with all that has been going on, I just wasn’t Present.  So, to say I was tremendously disappointed is an understatement.  On Saturday morning, I was inconsolable.  I finally stopped feeling hurt, disappointed, sad, and embarrassed about it sometime yesterday (probably when I started making art and writing yesterday’s post).  My husband kept saying, “no one died and no one is injured”.  And this is extremely true; the problem is that the running is helping me manage the pressure and stress I’ve been under over the last year.  And instead of eating, I have chosen/committed to run.  

So, I finished this collage tonight to remind me of the criticality of being Present.  To be Present can only serve me at every level in my life.  And for that, Saturday’s events were a valuable lesson.  Now I need to find one more ½ marathon for 2009. 

To my family and friends who have written or commented on my Facebook and blog, thanks for all the support.  I am Thankful for all of you.  

All the very best…

I got up this morning with an attitude change, a significant attitude change.  Like so many of us, I have a day job.  Though stressful, it is a very cool job.  However, with that said, like so many others, we are going through downsizing, restructuring, and “right-sizing.”  And being a stress eater coupled with the work stresses, I have gained somewhere between 15 to 20 lbs in less than six months.  Hypertension and high cholesterol run in my family.  I am extremely fortunate, due to exercise and proper eating, I have avoided many weight induced maladies that befall my age and culture. 

So, off I went running this morning down our old dirt road.  The photo you see here, I took last month on a run.  The cows for whatever reason came over to the fence to watch me run by.  And I wondered what they were thinking about.  And I realized finally, I knew what I really needed to be thinking about.

I thought about the discussion I had last night at the opening for “Transformation of the Mundane” (see my post from last month for more details), why I have gained this weight, and what is going on at work.  And something just struck me.  I have allowed the stress to take away my joy.  And no one has the right to take away your joy.  And I thought with two small kids, it is time to let go of the list of things that I can’t change and move on.  There is so much to look forward to right now, the last thing I need is to be unhealthy.  So, back to Weight Watchers, running, and exercising to regain control of my health. 

Last year I took this class, I can’t even remember the name.  But, I do remember one key thing.  If you want to do something, you need to make a commitment, not just set a goal.  The teacher said “try, what is try? If you want to do something, you need to commit to it.”  I have committed to my art this year and continuing to make sure my family and friends know I love them.  I am re-committing to being healthy and fit, because this is the only life I will get.  Pray for me….

Now that I have a blog, I want to participate in some “challenges.”  So, with that said, I have been working this week to submit an image to Mixed Media Monday.  I first discovered the site via an article in Artful Blogging by Somerset Studio Summer 2008 issue.  There are several cool articles in their newest magazine and I really liked the interview with Diane Whatford.  So last Monday, I went out to the site to see what the upcoming swap would be about.  And this week’s challenge is to do something you have never done before.  AHHH!!  Did that open the floodgates or what? 

What should I do?  What should I do?  Well I decided I would do a collage via software.  No paper.  That has been, suffice it to say, for me a huge challenge.  I don’t have or know Photoshop.  But, I do have Microsoft’s Digital Imaging Suite.  I have made at least 15 different images to get to just two that I could share in a public forum and am happy with.  I called the piece “She protects us from Evil.” 

I love Our Lady Guadalupe.  And I found the background image from “Crumble.Crackle.Burn” by Von Glitschka.  It is a kind of cool book and comes with all the backgrounds on CD.  I purchased it here locally at the Creative Underground at Timeless Creation.  Christi definitely has some cool stuff.  I used the Private Property sign as the base and then tinted it with the hue function, then overlaid an image of collage roses (that I cropped from another art piece of mine).  And then turned it transparent and tinted it as well.  Then finally I cropped an image of Our Lady Guadalupe, turned her transparent, and then over laid her on the piece.  And there you have it.  It seems so simple and took all week to learn.  And as you can see, I like that transparency function allot!!!  LOL!!!

I also made an equivalent piece with an American Indian on the same background.  The imagery really resonated with me.  The thought of the Indians seeing their once free lands sectioned off into ranches and farmland, truly spoke to me.  I will show that in another entry this week.

All in all, this has been a good exercise (albeit a touch difficult).  But, I am glad I did it and it got me out of my comfort zone, which I think was really the point.  I think moving forward, where feasible I will create my challenges in digital format, so I can really get comfortable with the medium.  But, give me paper and paint anytime!!