Renaissance Faire 2007 Prep!

Hurray!!!!! Another year has passed, and we are once again preparing for our adventure to the Renaissance Faire! Here is the first of our costumes to be posted.




Miss AudreeJo will be a Jester for this upcoming festival!

The bodice was designed and everything else created by Miss AudreeJo herself...well, except that smashing hat which was knitted by Miss Chelsie!




I'm loving the colors, and the yellow ties up the back of the bodice, and the jingly bells! I'm celebrating Audree's genius for creating and sewing with such ease and fun!

Creating in the Kitchen

In case you all forgot, we love food! The creation of a delicious meal shared among family and friends is very filling of more than just our emotional tanks! Here are some of our recent creations:





A cool smoothie on a warmish winter day.







An amazing lasagna! I love my grandfather from Italy who shared his passion for good food.



"Chicken" breast wrapped in ricotta cheese yum and filo dough! WOW!!!






Hot Chocolate Souffle...need I say more than heaven in every bite?



Served on the fun new plates I picked out at Pier One (thanks Trac for the gift card).

Emotional Tanks

I've been reflecting on the varying differences in people's expression of joy in their lives...or lack of joy. Why are some people so apparently unhappy when others are obviously happy? What makes a connection with one person so filling and a connection with another person so draining? Hmmmmm...yes, this has been the wondering this week through my own connections with people around me...

Creativity...if you are expressing your genius, your passion, stepping into your potential for this life... you are going to be bubbling over with a flow of joy.

Persona's...the persona's we wear and believe they are who we really are...when they are really just energetic hats we can take on and off.

I observed the foul mood persona this week in another...and wondering who's hat that really was...maybe a parent had worn that hat/mood and passed it on to their children...and this child all grown up thinks being in a foul mood is natural...because it's what they had known most of their lives. It's not really who they are...it's like a habit. Another person I observed this week was wearing the abandonment persona, a persona dating back more than 50 years. With this abandonment hat on, life is filtered through the fear of being left...which makes it really hard to be present in connection... loving...or truly happy.

I also observed positive persona's this week too. The expressive writer persona hat that Gay Hendricks puts on each day...he also calls it his loner hat...as has found the positive magic of putting on the loner hat as he goes into his office and shuts the door each day...to write and create!...then remembers to take it off so he can connect with others. (to check out Gay's blog go to http://www.gayhendricksblog.com/?cat=1 )


Creativity...persona's...2 aspects that play parts of our joyfully experience of life...what else is there...hmmmmmm

A book I read when my kiddos were little is...How To Really Love Your Child by Dr. Ross Campbell. He writes about Emotional Tanks and how children express joy (and better behavior) when their emotional tanks are filled up. Ways of filling those tanks include Focused Attention, Eye Contact, and Physical Contact.

Adults have emotional tanks too...I call them emotional bank accounts.

When I have made enough deposits in my emotional bank account through being in the flow of my creative expression, I am way more happy! When I make connections with my loved ones through focused attention, eye contact and physical contact, we all are more happy!

My invitation to each of you is to fill your emotional tanks! If you are parents, and want an easier more happy home, make sure your kids tanks are filled up! If you are in relationship, enjoy filling each other up! Make more deposits in your emotional bank account than withdrawals!

Create a life you love, and love the life you create!