Kinda Ironic....

that I'm making a DreamWheel on the Full Snow Moon when it's 70 degrees outside, eh?

Love the glitter, don't you? Especially on Buddha's nipples ;)

I was having so much fun that my nephews decided they needed to get in on the action.

And here are their finished DreamWheels---

Logan, age 3

 

 

Dawson, age 6

Sometimes....

the best laid plans....
you know what I mean.

I've been regaining a bit of strength the last few days, so I had a little more planned for today.
I was behind, naturally, so I had no Wishcasting post for today, nor did I have my full pink moon dream wheel completed.

Ahh....home alone today; I could easily accomplish those things this morning.

But first came the phone call from an Athens musicians wife, giving me some great ideas for the next step in the Georgia Theatre art quilt project. Of course my mind started racing, expanding on those ideas and planning, planning.

I also had a call scheduled just before noon with the delightful Lisa Rough of Sacred Circle Creative Coaching
No problem.....I knew that the call would leave me refreshed and feeling able, ready for the rest of my busy day.
We had a lovely conversation, which would've allowed me to have the afternoon to myself, with not a shred of guilt....and I fully intended to take it.

And THEN.....
good ol' DB showed up on my doorstep, grinning from ear to ear with our latest project in hand.
How can I possibly turn down an adorable 5 year old who claims that he loves to come to Aunt Jennifer's house just to see what she's creating??

Papa had built a wooden tic tac toe board for him, and DB had very particular ideas about how it was to be finished. Could I help him?
You bet I could! That's just what Aunt Jennifers are for!

He completed his paint job--- yellow on the inside, green on the outside, mauve and gold on the bottom. The game pieces were painted a lavender-ish color.
DB had seen some of these games that I'd painted years ago, so he wasn't going to be content to have mere x's and o's on the pieces....oh no.

His first idea was....I kid you not.... angels vs. devils.....I half expected him to give me a lecture on the age-old battle between good and evil.
Soon he'd changed his mind---- cats and dogs; they go together....dogs chase cats you know.

While paint dried, we made oatmeal cookies, but we included several "extras", again at his insistence, to ensure that no one else in the house would like them. I was thinking that maybe the devils and angels were the better choice.....

Oh dear....the artist in me kicks in.
I just happened to have puppies and kittens that I'd drawn years ago. We dragged them out, scanned them, sized and printed them, cut them all out, then decoupaged them onto the lavendar squares.
Then there was a stern lecture about being sure I used the clear spray finish outside, because it was "fume-y" and therefore bad for my lungs. But of course.

Needless to say, the blog post wasn't done; the dreamboard wasn't finished, but you know what?
I had a great day!
I let go of my "grown-up" plans with no guilt; I had some fun, and hopefully, I created some life-long memories for this little guy.
What could be more important?

So I suppose a wish was granted today after all---
I invested in family, relationships, memories, and love....all in the space of an afternoon.
Beautiful!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day Y'all!

My comical little nephew Dawson came home from pre-school yesterday talking about building a leprechaun trap. He knew to come to his Auntie Jennifer for such a project, and over a shared pizza, we made our plans.

While he napped, I painted our little pizza box green and dug up some appropriate embellishments for him to choose from (he had specified some of my jewelry for bait!). Hannah painted a pair of chopsticks glittery gold.
Then I whipped up a batch of green sugar cookie shamrocks for him to share today with his classmates.

Shown above is his finished creation, a pizza box decorated with glittered paper coins, finished with alluring golden chopsticks to prop his trap open...all awaiting the cunning and elusive leprechaun.
I can't wait to hear his story of the leprechaun's visit later today! *wink wink*

************************************************************************

This St Patrick's Day Jamie Ridler asks: What do we wish to pay attention to?
A couple of Wednesdays ago I brought up the idea of taking the time to listen to others' needs, to be a loving and supportive friend. This, of course, is still my wish, and it does require paying attention.

Recently though, I was speaking with Lisa Rough of Sacred Circle Creative Coaching about being still and paying attention to the ways in which I was compromising.
Lest any of you jump to conclusions, let me clarify---compromise is a good thing, an essential thing for getting along in this world, especially in intimate relationships.

However, when one starts to compromise themselves....giving away pieces of themselves to satisfy another's wishes or needs....THAT'S when there's a problem with compromise!

Compromise is meant to be a win-win situation, right?
Never should there be a "winner" or a "loser"!
True compromise also requires effort on the part of both/all parties involved (which again requires attention!).

Since that conversation with Lisa (thanks Lisa!) I am focusing more, paying more attention to how much of myself I give away in order to please others.
I've been shocked!
And I'm sure I've left several people confused, if not downright angry, by learning to say "now wait just a minute....that's NOT what I want" or "hey, my needs are being trampled here"

It is my wish this Wishcasting Wednesday for myself, and for all of us, that we might learn to pay more attention to just how many pieces of ourselves we give away, diminishing our own power and light.