The artist in me.

Over the past several months, I feel as if I have lost the artist inside myself. This is not for any reason in particular. Work just tends to take its toll after a while and I become bogged down by stress. Each day I travel to work, stay there for about 8 hours, leave work, eat dinner, and catch up with my Husband. By the time I finish doing all of these things each day, I'm exhausted. Who wouldn't be, right? The wear and tear of the every day has caught up to me and I feel as if a change is in order. So I'm developing a plan. This plan involves taking a little bit of time each day to exercise my creativity.

The best time to start is now, but I doubt that I will be used to a new routine by tomorrow. So I'm using May as a starting point, of sorts. Each day I will do something creative. The best part is that I get to choose and it can literally be anything. I could chose to embrace my inner child for a day and color a page in a coloring book. Or perhaps I want to practice my wire wrapping and create a new piece of jewelry for my shop. Either way, my brain will get some exercise in being creative each day.

I mean, you exercise at the gym to keep your body in shape right? You probably care about what you eat or what goes into your body. Well, what about mental health? Sure, I read books and watch the news, but how often do I exercise my creativity? Not as often as I should really.

I think that my brain may need a little exercise in creativity. Won't you join me?

Post a photo from your daily creative activity or share a tweet. Suggest creative activities for everyone to try. Let's be creative!

Gearing Up.

I cannot believe that we are halfway through the month of April already. Seriously, where did the first half of the month go? Before you know it, summer will be over. (No, Sara Bareilles pun intended - I swear.)

I just find it weird. Last time I checked the calendar it was March. March, people. Now it is April and temperatures are finally rising, the pollen has hit full force, and everything is practically in bloom. Don't get me wrong, I love the spring and seeing everything in bloom. There is a riot of color everywhere you look and that is truly one of my favorite things about spring. However, what I don't appreciate is the pollen. But hey, let's not talk about that evil stuff. It doesn't deserve the attention.

What does deserve some attention is the plethora of art and craft festivals that will be starting up this month. There is one in particular that interests me, the Marietta Artist's Market, which I believe I have mentioned previously (well - last year, actually). It is a small craft fair that takes place in downtown Marietta Square, a lovely little place, and is filled with some of the nicest people. There are quite a few artists who do the market each month, some of which I've gotten to know a little, and so I look forward to seeing them again. Meeting and talking with fellow art/craft enthusiasts is awesome. Truly it is!

I think that I will be partaking in the May markets, so if you are in the area, feel free to stop by and visit me! I'll post the exact dates and locations as we get closer to the day of the actual market.

Year One.

It has been a while since my last post, but I thought I would poke my head in and check on things. Not much has been happening recently. Since I began working full-time, I've had a severe case of computer-itis. Computer-itis, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, is basically aversion to using your computer at the end of the work day. I've been spending a lot of time on our computer at work, therefore the absolute last thing I feel like doing when I get home is dragging out my laptop, despite its portability. I mean I could use it while lounging on the couch, but I just have very little motivation. When I get home, I usually reach for a nice glass of wine, cozy up to my husband, and then we get to talking about our days at work. Oh, we also tend to scrounge up whatever we can for dinner, especially since I have not been in the cooking mood as of late.

However, tonight I had some bills to pay. Sad, but true. So, I thought I would see if I could suppress my computer-itis and update you all on life. Well, the most recent happenings. About a month ago, Husband and I celebrated our one-year anniversary of marriage. I still can't believe that we've been married for a WHOLE year. It just boggles my mind. I've heard from many friends and family members that this is a good thing. It feels like a good thing. We've had some minor ups and downs over the course of our first year of marriage, but we have come through stronger and wiser. I love him just as much as the day we got married and am looking forward to our many years ahead.

We celebrated our anniversary by taking a trip to Asheville, a place we have been many times and fell in love with long ago. It was also our honeymoon spot. We stayed for a little less than a week and as usual, our stay was wonderful. We had lots of good food, did some shopping, and enjoyed some of the local micro-breweries. That last one was mostly for the Husband though. He loves his beer. I love my cheese. Enough said.

In our second year, we plan to tackle some more house remodeling projects. This will be a test of our strength as a couple, I'm sure. We are going to remodel our two main floor bathrooms, merging them in order to create one really nice bathroom. There is just no purpose in having two tiny bathrooms - and I do mean TINY. Beyond that we might update our kitchen some and add some more storage in for clothing and other random objects that seem to float around our house. Oh and paint. Good lord, we are finally going to paint. Hallelujah.

Shield your eyes and ears, because here comes the mush.

I wish I could express just how wonderful my husband is, but words just cannot describe how I feel. All I can say is that I am truly grateful for all that we have shared together and delight in the fact that we will share so much more. He chose me to be his wife and I chose him as my husband. There is no question that saying yes to him was the right decision. There could not be a better choice. It is the single greatest choice we have made so far. Being his wife is a blessing and something that I will always strive to appreciate. I never want to take him for granted. I hope to be worthy of him and his love for the rest of my days, whether they be long or short. I will always love him.