Busy Little Bee

So I haven't been posting much because I've been having so much fun quilting. Here are some of my projects...

Accepting Myself

When I am truly myself,
I find it easy to smile.
I feel joyous and enthusiastic about my life.
I know where I am going.
I feel at peace, inside and out.
~Soul Catcher

I love this little poem so much that I have it on the desktop of my computer. It reminds me to be myself. Whenever I try to force myself into the mold that someone else has set for me, I end up being very unhappy and unfulfilled with my life.

A few things I've had to accept:
~I just do not like to garden. I love gardens, but I truly detest having to create and maintain one.
~I will never look like the women on TV. I do need to be at a healthier size, but I have to accept that I will never have the long legs and torso of Julia Roberts.
~It is okay that I am not a helicopter parent who has to live her life through her children. It is okay that I have a separate identity from my children.

It is okay for me to be ME! That's why I love the commandment that Gretchen Rubin has in The Happiness Project - Be Gretchen. So that is what I try to do - be Lynn. It's a pretty great place to be!

Latest Projects

Here is my latest quilting project. It is a wall hanging for my living room. I've become obsessed with trees. I've been looking everywhere for some tree wall art and have only found one picture that I like (and can afford), so I decided to make my own wall art.

The tree was made from various fabric scraps as well as some charm squares cut into 2.5" inch squares. I haven't quilted it yet, I always seem to mess things up when I quilt them, so I'm just enjoying my beautiful top for now.

I didn't really end up completing any other Cha-Cha Challenges, although maybe my tree can count for the quilt since I did use some charm packs. I did make an apron though. The fabric is Portobello Market from 3 Sisters by Moda. Turned out a little plain, but it's not too bad for my own design.And last but not least, here is a quilt that I made for my mother-in-law. I am seriously loving this new hobby!

Happiness Challenge #1 - Live Longer

In my quest for joy, I have found many new bits of inspiration. One that I love the most is Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project. You must, must MUST visit Gretchen Rubin's blog at http://www.happiness-project.com/. I even recommend that you read the book, which is a New York Times Bestseller.

Gretchen's memoir about trying to increase the happiness in her everyday life instead of running off to find herself (a la Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love - whom I also happen to love), has inspired me to create a happiness project of my own. Like Gretchen, I love the idea of creating lists and resolutions and giving myself a gold star for accomplishing them. I also love the idea of focusing on one aspect of my life at at time. Since I tend to get overwhelmed by possibilities, this is a good strategy for me.

I am going to follow Gretchen's example and have a happiness project of my own. Each month I'll focus on a different goal. For June, I decided to start with my health. I have long battled with my weight and have tried every diet there is, but I just can't work with diets or deprivation anymore. I do, however, still need to lose forty pounds in order to be healthier. Carrying around forty extra pounds on my short 5'3" frame just isn't conducive to a long life. Plus, it makes me unhappy - and I'm supposed to be getting rid of all the things that make me unhappy. I'm still fairly young, but I know that this extra weight will take its toll on my body and could lead to many nasty things, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Instead of a diet, I am reading The Spark

and I have joined SparkPeople, a lovely place to hang out and get motivated about being healthy. SparkPeople has a calorie tracker, fitness tracker, recipes, exercises, message boards, and teams you can join to motivate you. Best of all, it is FREE!!!

I'm loving SparkPeople and how it is helping me to live a more healthy lifestyle. You should check it out http://www.sparkpeople.com/.

So far, I've managed to keep my resolutions AND keep up with the week one challenges set forth in The Spark. I'm drinking more water and eating less (having to count my calories really opened my eyes to how much I had been eating). The next step I hope to focus on is being more active. I absolutely HATE exercising, but I've found that if I only have to do it for 15 minutes, then it isn't so bad. I'm hoping to find something I love enough to actually WANT to do it, but so far, no luck. Oh well, the month isn't over yet...

New Cha-Cha Challenge Project

Here is my second completed Cha-Cha Challenge project, which was actually the first challenge given to us. It took me a while to complete it because I knew I wanted to make pillows for my mom, but couldn't find a pattern that I was happy with, that used half square triangles. The challenge was to create something that incorporated half square triangles made from charm packs. Here is what I finally came up with:


I hope my mom likes her Mother's Day Gift.

To find out more about Stitchin' Heaven and the Cha-Cha Challenge click the button below.

Day 100!!!!

Well, I made it to day 100 (which is better than I did with the wellness challenge), and I feel that I have gained a lot from my little project.

I have found 90 things that I am grateful for.

I've rediscovered how to use the Law of Attraction to get what I want from the universe.

I have removed the negative energy in my life.

I've discovered that contentment is not a bad word.

I've taken on new challenges in hobbies that I love.

I understand my role as a mother and wife better.

I've enjoyed this challenge, it has forced me to rethink joy and helped me discover more ways to bring it into my life. Am I 100% more joyful? Not really. But I am more aware of what brings me joy, and I do those things more often. I know what drains the joy from my life and I know what triggers frustration and sadness. I am now more likely to avoid those things or cut them out of my life completely.

I discovered that I have a pretty fantastic life and I have many awesome people who surround me. I have so many little things to be thankful for and I need to not focus on the big things that I cannot change.

So what's in store for me now? Well, I'm going to continue to use this blog to bring me joy. Even if no one reads my posts, I love writing them and I love knowing that I am putting forth some good karma to combat the negative energy on the Internet. I will continue to share my thoughts on joy and happiness as well as share my love of quilting and stamping. Who knows where my life will take me?

"But what is happiness except the simple harmony between man and the life he leads?" ~ Albert Camus

Day 96 - Contentment

One thing that I have come to learn in the past 96 days is that being content doesn't mean I am settling. I used to fear the word contentment. I felt that being content wasn't the same as being happy. To me, being content meant the same as being satisfied and being satisfied meant that I'd accepted my lot in life. Which, of course, I hadn't. There was so much more that I wanted in my life and so much more that I wanted to do.


But lately I've come to realize that contentment is not the same as accepting my fate. Feeling content means that I am happy with the moment. I am mindful of what is around me and what surrounds me makes me feel good. It doesn't mean that I am settling, it means that I am accepting the gift of the moment. I can still continue to strive while enjoying what I have.

Letting go of this misconception has really changed how I create happiness in my life. Occasionally, while I am puttering about, I will think to myself, "I am content," and a feeling of warmth radiates through me. It is easier for me to accept contentment as a state of mind, than it is to believe that I am happy. I think that this is because of my misconception of happiness. I suppose to me happiness equals giddiness and since I rarely feel giddy, I thought I was never happy. Contentment on the other hand is different. Being content means that I feel good, which I have noticed is how I feel most of the time. How refreshing to finally understand that while I am not giddy with happiness, I am content and feel good. I am not settling, but I am able to accept the blessing of the moment. WOW!!

Now the definitions of happiness and contentment may be very different for you, but it has been very unburdening to finally understand how I felt about these words and how my perceptions were coloring my daily life. Do you feel there is a difference between happiness and contentment?