My creative space entourage.

This song (and video) are both so fun. Shame on you if you don’t tap your feet or clap along while listening.

Over the past two weeks I’ve been without cable since the cable box broke. Initially, I tried to get the issue resolved during my lunch hour but if you’ve ever visited a Comcast office, you know that an hour there is as good as not going at all because the line was already out the door. Sure, I could set up an appointment to have them come to me, but even then the hours aren’t that reasonable. So, needless to say it’s on my “to do list.”

Although I don’t consider myself a huge TV junkie, knowing the cable is out has forced me to do other things when I get home. And since restarting The Artist’s Way, I remembered Week 4’s assignment to forgo reading. It initially sounds absurd, but once you do it, you actually miss it. No books, blog reading, and certainly no Twitter or Facebook time. It’s all about less reading (mental clutter and time wasting) and more doing, creating, and being.

Interestingly, I came across an Etsy blog post earlier this week regarding a “holiday” called Present Day in which the first Sunday of the month you give up your computer and phone:

Present Day helps you connect to where you are and who you’re with. It reveals what cell phones and computers bring to your life and what they take away. It helps the earth and it feels good.

If interested, you can join their Present Day Facebook Group. I agree that those individuals most appalled by this idea are the ones who need it most. Trust me I was (and in some ways still am) one of them. So if you’ve ever thought or said out loud, “I don’t know how I ever survived without my (iPhone/Blackberry/laptop),” this challenge is for you. Even though I’m only in the beginning of week 2 of the Artist’s Way, I’m already finding myself needing to unplug from the technology around me.

Here’s to first Sundays and enjoying experiences not requiring a 3G or WiFi connection.

This photo was taken during a family picnic. In searching for photos of my mom I realized I don’t have any recent portraits of her. Not sure why it never occurred to me to take more photos while I was living at home. So, I’m making it a goal of mine to do so in the near future.

When I think about my mother, I think of someone who is completely selfless. She played both roles of a mother and father to my brother and I, and for that I am forever grateful. Looking back on our relationship growing up, I feel fortunate to say that we actually got along really well, even though some of my friends could barely stand to be in the same room with theirs.

Aside from her unselfish nature, she is also probably one of the most creative and talented individuals I know. Whenever I go back home to visit she is always working on a new project or trying to hurry up one to start another. As a kid/teenager my friends would always make comments and give compliments on her quilts, holiday decorations, and other crafty creations. Afterall, she is the one who made my Jem costume as a kid. And whether she is living in a house or a 2 bedroom condo, my mom puts her spin on everything she touches and inhabits.

To the one who brought me life, loves unconditionally, and put up with my sassiness; I love you.

Happy Birthday Mom.