Inspirational Tuesday(11/24)

Picture courtesy of Sparrow Farm Creations

"If the only prayer you said in your life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice."

--Meister Eckhart



What are you inspired by today?

Mother Nature's Bidding-Nature's Art Melbourne

Last week, I found myself fresh out of talented artists, so hopefully by now you know what that means-Off to the Etsy Forums! I went ahead and posted my 'wanted' threat and was hit with many promising and wonderful people, many of whom are located all over the world! So for today's featured artist, we are traveling down under ;-)

Say hello to Martina of Nature's Art Melbourne on Etsy!

Located in Melbourne, Australia (if you didn't get that out of her shop's name), Martina is a glorified employee of Mother Nature-Well, I personally like to look at it like that! If you take a look at her work, you can certainly see why I say that...

Martina migrated to Australia in 2001 because she found the the love of her life-Awwww :)
Before that, she was Social worker in Austria and found herself bored with her job and the daily routine-so she just quite. Both her and her new gentleman decided to travel outback Australia for about 3 months with just a 4 wheel drive and a tent, and in that time, Martina found her calling!

Unbenounced to her at the time, she started to gather and collect random objects: rocks, timber, feathers, and other things that caught her eye, thinking like any crafter, 'I can do something with this!'

"Here I am 8 years on making a living with it!"

In her own words, she creates what nature tells her to: jewelery, sculptures, cards, mobiles and anything else she is inspired to create. Everything Martina does is from scratch-From the shaping, sanding and drilling to the polishing and setting of the stones. Once she has a project in mind, she is dedicated to it no matter how long it takes to create! You can definitely tell her pieces are unique works of art and filled with Nature's spirit!

Things to know about Martina, her jewelry, and her shop:

*All creations come from a smoke-free, pet-free environment.

*Become a Facebook Fan!

*I'm seriously in love with Martina's photographs, as well as her stunning jewelry and if you are too, go ahead and check out her Flickr Page for more eye candy.

*For payment, shipping, and other important information, check out her Shop Policies Page.

Advice from Martina: "Don't worry about competition - do what you love to do and trust in yourself!"

I absolutely adore her Shop Announcement Page! It's beautifully written, and at the same time it gets her point across that what she does is for Nature-I can definitely respect and admire that! If you or someone you know appreciates Mother Nature and would love something from her, brows the selection at Nature's Art Melbourne.

Love and Energies.
Kayla

Items in Post:

River Stone Pyramid Necklace

Hearts Shaped by Nature 4x6 Card

Ammonite Fossil Earrings

A Buddhist Monk Named Sal

I had the most wonderful and seldomly offered opportunity on Saturday at about two in the afternoon.

What pray tell would that be? Glad you asked!

I was able to study meditation from a Buddhist monk named Sal (his given name was too hard to pronounce, let alone spell, so he was nice enough to let us call him Sal).

This opportunity was brought into fruitation by Rachel, my yoga instructor-Apparently it's a monthly occurrence, so I knew about it for awhile (a couple of weeks at least) and ever since I heard about it, I've been looking forward to it like a kid would look forward to going into a candy store!

Needless to say, it was more amazing then I can even put into words-There were some great like-minded people in the class, so we all felt at ease with one another and our surroundings. For most of us, this was our first time in a big group, so there was a question and answer round before and after the meditation.

Sal was able to help us get into the 'spirit,' and for our first meditation, we did what's called a love and energy meditation, which is basically you work on bringing self love to yourself and you also send out loving energies to those you are close to and care about.

Like I said, it was just pure amazingness through and through.

There is a retreat on December 5th that I REALLY want to go to in Woodstock, IL, that's like an all day thing and it's lead by these three suburban monks and a nun (I know, it sounds like a bad joke)-Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to go! If not, I can look forward to another meditation class in December :)

Love and Energies.
Kayla

Monday Mingle(11/23)

Okay so if you remember, I was all ready and gung ho to do my Monday Mingle vlog last week, when what happens?

My camera dies and I can't find the damn charger(isn't that the way it goes though?!).

Well after turning my room upside down, then trying in vein to scrounge it up in many other places, I finally just said screw it and waited it out.

Guess what?! It was plugged into my wall the whole damn time. Before you ask, yes, I am that blonde. LOL

So this week I'm ready and raring to go(again). Here are this week's Monday Mingle questions:

1. Men: When your spouse asks you "how does this outfit make me look" - how do you respond?

Ladies: Do you really want him to answer honestly?

2. Both: What is one thing you should always do to keep your spouse/partner happy? What do you do/say to avoid friction in your relationship?

3. Both: What were the first thoughts about your spouse/partner that came to mind when you first met him/her?

4. Both: What is your favorite physical feature of your spouse/partner?

5. Both: What are the key ingredients to a successful marriage/relationship?

6. Are you ready for more Speedy Cop movie quotes?

Seriously?! Well this is going to be a very short vlog...Lol

**Technical Difficulties-Video will hopefully be up soon**

Mailbox Monday(11/23)

Mailbox Monday divulges into the inner workings of my mailbox throughout the week. From books to jewelry to free samples to random magazines and letters-You never know what will be in the mail this week...

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1. I got some very lovely birthday cards in the mail this week!!
Thanks to everyone who loves me :D




2. My Lymie friend Suzy, bless her big ol' heart had flowers delivered to me ON my birthday!! Can you believe it? And she lives in California/Arkansas. She actually looked up the nearest florist in the area and placed a delivery-I have to say I was almost in happy tears just thinking about how thoughtful she is.

If your reading this Suzy Q, I love you!!

3. As you know, Max of Krafty Max Originals makes some beautiful jewelry (If you didn't know for some reason, I suggest you check her out) and she was so wonderful to send me a little Birthday present care package-I was seriously stunned!

Thank you so much again Max!! You are one amazing lady and I'm so happy to be able to know you :)

4. Thanks to Valerie of Sweeps4Bloggers, I won a Yoga to Go system a few weeks back and just got it on Friday-Three words: I. LOVE. IT.

I hope I will be able to do a review when my other blog get's launched :)

5. Don't you LOVE these cards from Lemontree Cards?! Another one of my winnings, but this time from Angie of A Simple Kinda Life! I'm so excited because hopefully within the next few weeks, I'll be reviewing the cards I got(and there is talk of a giveaway surprise, but you didn't hear it from me)!

6. My lovely and incredibly thoughtful Aunt's both sent me a little something in the mail as well, so I can't wait to see them and be able to thank them in person!

7. Nope, not a present-Another giveaway winning! This came thanks to Cher of Mama's Money Savers.

I got to choose what I wanted from The Natural Bath & Body Shop, so I chose something that I could give as a gift for Christmas-Hopefully I can find someone to give it to :)

In case you were wondering, yes, I did have a particularly lucky week last week(averaged 2 wins a day roughly). I'm planning on putting a series together within the next few weeks on how to win giveaways so if you want to know my secrets, keep coming back!


So what did you all get in the mail this week?

Slapdash Sunday(11/22)

Slapdash Sunday is a day for your proverbial week 'leftovers.' Is there something you wanted to say, but just forgot? Is there something you want to write about, but isn't worth a whole page? Do you have a random thought, funny or otherwise that needs to be written down?

That is what Slapdash Sunday is for!

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1. So the 20% off for my 20th Sale in both Etsy shops was a big flop-Although I think that was because of me...I really didn't promote well and it was a seriously LAST minute thing so I shouldn't get too down on myself.

There is always more sale opportunities :)



2. The basement didn't go so well....Actually, the basement didn't go at all. LOL
Although I was able to put my beading station together so pictures are on their way!!


3. "If this is what giving birth feels like, I want to be euthanized."
--My Sister who was trying to refer to an epidural

May I just say: HAHAHA








4. I have so many ideas running around in my head it's insane!

At least they make for good blog posts.

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Wanna be apart of Slapdash Sunday?
Grab the button below and blog along!

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Small Talk Six(11/21)-I'm Thankful

From MomDot:

"We would like to invite everyone to join in on a new weekly meme on MomDot called “Small Talk Six!” Since weekends are generally a little slower around the blogosphere, we thought this would be a great way to have a quick, fun, interactive meme.

All you need to do is grab one of the graphics below for your “Small Talk Six” posts and your sidebar. Then make a short (or an elaborate) post on your blog in response to the assigned topic of the week (see list here).

You can respond to each topic with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, or 6 photos. Get the idea?"

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This week's Small Talk Six topic is:

6 Things Your Most Thankful for This Year



1. First and foremost, I'm thankful for my family. Yes, they may get on my nerves (A LOT) and yes, I may want to leave and strike out on my own (VERY SOON), but I'm So Lucky to have them in my life.


2. My Friends-I love my friends dearly and even though they have come and gone throughout my life, I still consider all of them life changing whether they are currently in my life or not.


Photo Curtsy of Sawa Global

3. The Basics-I know there are many people out there who don't have food on a daily basis or a stable household, so I'm very thankful to be one of the lucky ones.




4. Love-With my family and friends, non-Lymie and Lymie alike, I have all the love one person could possibly need!



5. My health-Even though it's not optimal and it hasn't been for 6 years, I'm SO thankful I'm still up and moving and actually able to DO things.



6. Chocolate-Do I really have to explain this one!?




Happy Saturday Everyone!!

Love and Energies.
Kayla