Monday

It's the start of a brand new week, and I think New makes a great theme for my work today. So far, it's been very successful. I've made new discoveries, new commitments, and am learning new techniques which will hopefully bring my shop more success and my personal life, more fulfillment.

My Monday morning discovery:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MODERNART999?page=2#
This artist shares my passion for pushing artistic boundaries and creating what's never been seen. I must say, he does it far better than I do. Thank you, MODERNART999 for the inspiration!

My new commitments for the week:
1) Per an agreement I made with my husband, I'm going to finish the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Persig. This will be challenging for me, as I've come to cringe at the language of Taoism and Zen, the fluffy, stream of consciousness musings. I do enough of that already by myself - in fact, it's an integral part of my creative process. What I like and what balances me is linear, hard-hitting, left-brain kind of stuff. That's why I'm having him read my all-time favorite book by Ayn Rand, called "Atlas Shrugged" in return. I'll be sure to post more on this when I'm finished with my end of the bargain! Our goal is to learn to speak each others' languages better, and this should help. There are always new ways to get to know the one you love.

2) I will prepare my supply list, jewelry ideas, themes, and marketing campaign for March. I'm sorry to have missed February trends like Valentine's Day and Amethyst because I wasn't prepared. It won't happen again! From now on I'll always be a month ahead.

3) I will take a few inches off of this couch butt I've developed from sitting down all day. I experienced a brilliant paradigm shift recently: I realized that my body image was largely set in my mind by a Cathy cartoon strip I saw in the papers when I was still a pre-teen. Somehow I got it in my head that like her, I would always have big thighs and a saggy gut. So I never made the lifestyle changes that would free me from that unnecessary flabbage. With this new realization, I'm able to consider my decisions and weigh them against my new self-image: I DON'T HAVE TO be overweight. This paradigm works for me because every time I go to the pantry, I'm thinking, "I don't have to make decisions that add to my gut. I GET TO choose an apple instead. I like apples." I actually feel privileged to be the one in control and not some flabby cartoon character. It's exciting!
For anyone else who's looking for ways to lose some of their holiday pounds, here's a resource that I've found inspiring!
http://www.bodyrock.tv/

My New Techniques:

I've been experimenting with photography to get the perfect images of jewelry that would make you want to buy them. There are so many details to take into account, and I've found it to be pretty challenging. Most of it is experimentation. So this week's experiment is with a white sheet and a rolling pin. Let me know what you think!