Creative Pursuits

18 Jun

After 3 long months I finally pulled out my art supplies and began creating. I almost didn’t. In fact I tweeted the following….

First thing I’m doing after the move is pulling out my art supplies & creating. I miss that. #art #create #happiness

But then I realized that my heart literally NEEDED to create. I missed the feel of painting. I missed the calm that always comes over me when I lose myself in my art. It’s a different kind of peace from when I’m writing. I just wanted to submerge myself in the nonverbal aspect of art. I wanted to get in touch with my creative soul without thoughts or words. I hope that makes sense. I can’t describe it any other way.

You see, for those of you that don’t know my husband and I are in the midst of moving. This first move is a transition that will last a few months. Then come September we are heading out west to Vancouver, BC. Relocating to the city (and to a greater extent, Province) that has captured our hearts. The move has been in the works for quite some time and finally it’s becoming a reality. Perhaps one day I’ll write more about it ;)

In any case, this post is to share some pictures of my newest piece. It’s not finished yet but I hope you enjoy.

Also I’d like to give out a piece of advice. Never let life get in the way of your creative pursuits. Creating (in whatever form you choose) is pure happiness for the soul. Don’t wait like I did. Go and enjoy RIGHT NOW!

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Is It For Me?

13 Jun

Not sure if Coaching is right for you? No problem!

I offer a complimentary, no-obligations discovery session! For more details visit the Connect page to email me directly . I’d LOVE to hear from you. :)

Here’s what others are saying…..

There is something wonderful about stumbling around the internet, reading through blog posts or twitter feeds, and finding a real gem. This was my good fortune the day I found Angie Richmond’s post asking “Are you ready for a Change?” Like most people I know, there are days that I am quite certain that life could be much much more than I allow…but a big change feels elusive and even impossible.  Yet, after only one month of coaching sessions with Angie I can say with complete honesty, that my life has become much much more!

While there are no magic wands in coaching techniques, Angie offered an invitation for me to envision more than a muddled path ahead; she gave me clear strategies to take positive steps forward. The “Mentor’s Table” and the “Vision Walk” were two techniques that had immediate results, and even today, weeks later, are still manifesting effects. My desire to write more, feel more at peace, and move into a more creative life, have become more than a dream. Through Angie’s safe and careful coaching, I have discovered that I am closer than I had hoped!

I am glad to have Angie and her bag of tricks nearby, and look forward to all I can gain with her supportive and caring approach.

Thank you Angie!

Moira Donovan

www.ninecentgirl.com

Serendipity, writing and Twitter put me in touch with Angie, and it’s been a delight to work with her. Her individual guidance has been tremendously helpful in helping me sight some goals and begin to make my way towards achieving them. It has been thought-provoking and challenging to explore some of the barriers that get in the way of living a life more closely aligned with my passions, and I’m grateful for her input. I look forward to working on some concrete steps to go from plan to action.

Thanks again.

Clara

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Super Highway or Backroad – Which Are You On?

11 Jun

I had a mini epiphany the other day. It was right about the time when I was knee deep in a bout of am I really good enough self-sabotaging guilt.

Ever been there?

It’s those days when no matter what you do, you feel like it’s not enough. Yeah…right there.

So I turned to my journal because for me, journaling is the best way to turn my negative thoughts around. Sure it starts off as a stream of pure, unadulterated negative energy, but I always find my positive gnome inside and she helps me push through.

Note: My inner critic is male and my positive attitude is a female gnome. Don’t judge ;)

It was during this bout that I discovered that the source of my guilty stress could be summed up quite easily by looking at life as a series of roads. Stick with me here, people. It will all make sense in the end….I hope.

For the last 18 (or so) years I’ve been on the Mega-Super-Highway. I’ve been speeding along with a million other people (cars?), desperate to reach the end. To get “there”. No time to stop and pay attention to your surroundings, oh no! The Mega-Super-Highway is NOT for dilly-dallying, sight-seeing or lollygagging. It’s about fast-paced, GO, GO, GO, get there NOW.

Eyes forward! Stop looking around! No LOLLYGAGGING!

Eyes forward! Stop looking around! No LOLLYGAGGING!

I dislike this road.

For years I’ve been trying to find the nearest exit. I wanted to dilly-dally. I wanted to sight-see. I WANTED TO LOLLYGAG! I wanted to enjoy life and the Mega-Super-Highway was just too fast. Life was literally flying by. I was rushing towards…well I wasn’t sure. I hate to be morbid but if you look at life as linear, then I suppose I was rushing towards aging and dare I say death? Except for years I didn’t see it that way.

In my head I was rushing towards the days when I didn’t have to go to that crappy job. When my days were my own spent doing what I love. I was rushing towards RETIREMENT. Good gravy, that’s no way to live! Especially when you have just as many years till retirement as you’ve already lived.

I’ve been longing to get off the Mega-Super-Highway and take the Super-Lovely-Backroad. Ahhhh the Backroad! Where you can stop and smell the proverbial roses. You can enjoy the journey without the crazy chaos. Without the GO, GO, GO mentality. For me, the Super-Lovely-Backroad represented doing what I love. Following my heart, my dreams and passion and making a career of it too! It represented LIVING instead of EXISTING. I was seriously longing for that.

Super-Lovely-Backroad!

Super-Lovely-Backroad!

And then an opportunity arose, or should I say my exit came up. I was able to get off the Mega-Super-Highway and slip onto the Super-Lovely-Backroad to enjoy my life! And do you know what the very first thing I did was?

I tried to SPEED.

Have you ever tried going really fast on a gravel backroad? Let me tell you, it’s not good. You kick up dust that clouds your vision and stones that leave dents and welts. It’s like the Super-Lovely-Backroad is saying,

This place ain’t for rushin’, Yo! Stop and enjoy.

18 years of GO, GO, GO, get there NOW attitude is pretty hard to break. I was conditioned for rushing through life, wanting everything NOW and ignoring all those roses I so desperately wanted to smell.

Okay they aren't roses but whatever!

Okay they aren’t roses but whatever!

What I’m trying to say is that sometimes even the things we really want require practice. This is a new way of life for me.

A slower, more thoughtful life and I need to practice how that’s done. I need to get over the GO, GO, GO mentality and smell some roses. When I forget, which of course I will (18 years is some pretty strong conditioning) the Super-Lovely-Backroad will cloud my vision and throw a few rocks to remind me that this is what I’ve wanted and NOW is the time to slow down and enjoy it.

And now gentle readers I leave you with one last thought.

Sometimes the Mega-Super-Highway is useful – even necessary – but if you’re always rushing for the end you miss a WHOLE LOT along the way.

 

 

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Grit – Do You Have It?

6 Jun

Something to think about folks…..enjoy :)

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Something Special for Writers

4 Jun

Writers are my people. Have I mentioned this before? I LOVE Writers, I UNDERSTAND Writers and I AM a Writer. And because writers are one of my favorite groups of people, I’m always looking to support them. It’s like it’s engraved on my soul or something.

So it will come as no surprise that when I started cooking up my Creative Newsletter, I automatically began gearing it for Writers. Now I love ALL Creatives! Anyone willing to infuse a bit of their creative self into everything they do makes me want to dance around tossing Skittles in the air. (Yes, that’s how I celebrate) But because it’s June and I’m participating in JuNoWriMo it seemed fitting to reach out to my fellow Writers.

And now for the awesomeness! Sound the trumpets….

Write That Novel!

  • In this free interactive eWorkshop we’ll discuss the 3 main road blocks that stop writers from writing and how to tear those suckers down!
  • Practical strategies includes: outsmarting your inner critic, making more time for writing and keeping the inspiration flowing.
  • Who should attend? Writers, regardless of level or skill! Open to everyone Worldwide.
  • Is there a cost? Nope! It’s completely free for Members.
  • When? Two sessions will be held on June 20th. Times to be confirmed. (Note: Sessions are held via Webex. There is no cost for participants to join)
  • How do I join? Just sign up to receive your Creative Newsletter to receive details.

 

Writer’s Bloc

Come and enjoy an evening mingling with other writers! The last Tuesday of every month I’ll be hosting an interactive, virtual writing group. Writer’s Bloc allows you to talk (or if you prefer chat) with writers from all over this wide world about writing topics. Here we can discuss challenges, characters, self-publishing, ask for advice, network with other writers, collaborate or WHATEVER!

  • Who should attend? Writers, regardless of level or skill! Open to everyone Worldwide.
  • Is there a cost? No way! It’s completely free for Members.
  • When? The first meeting is June 25th and will be held via Webex (Note: There is no cost for participants to join)
  • How do I join? Just sign up to receive your Creative Newsletter to receive details.

 

So there you have it folks, some totally free, totally awesome stuff for my writing peeps! Sign up for the Creative Newsletter today so you don’t miss out.

BONUS: Those that attend any one (or all) of these events will receive exclusive offers, which of course I won’t tell you about till later. ;) Muahahaha

 

 

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Hello, June! Back So Soon?

30 May
IMG_0692

All aboard the Insanity Ship! TOOT TOOT.

It’s that time again. A chance to jump aboard the insanity ship and set sail with all my awesome writerly friends.

Yes, June signals the beginning of JuNoWriMo or in layman’s terms June Novel Writing Month. Hosted by the lovely A.E. Howard and Becca J Campbell, JuNoWriMo encourages writers to…well write (duh) 50,000 words during the month of June.

See where the insanity part comes in? One way ticket to the padded white room.  I kid, I kid.

Seriously though, JuNoWriMo is more than just writing 50,000 words – an entire novel (or a good start) – it’s about community, unity and networking. It’s about developing our craft as writers. It’s about sitting our butts down – no excuses – and starting or finishing that pesky novel. It’s about supporting each other and having a lot of fun in the process!

So this year I am attempting to reach the 50k mark. I fell short last year and if I’m being honest…which I suppose I should be…I fell short during November (NaNoWriMo). But this year I’m doing it because gosh darn it I have way too many novels that need to be finished!

I hope you decide to join me and the other crazy awesome writers! We can lose our minds together!

Novel-Writing-Machine-2103-Button

 

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Hiding Behind Realism

28 May

To say that I spent most of my life as a pessimist is an understatement. In fact from where I used to stand, pessimism was a step up from where I was. As good as optimism.

I was the kid that gave her barbies cancer. They had terrible, and rather short lives in my make-believe world. Bad things just happened and I was aware of it. As I grew older I became what I used to term a realist. I wasn’t being negative, I was being realistic. It was easier to accept disappointment that way.

These were the things I told myself. Seriously.

I struggled with depression and wrote it off as realism. I planned for the worse, actually I expected it. And that’s exactly what I got. LOADS of it.

Just before I turned 30 I’d fallen into a serious bout of realism. Everything just sucked. The weather sucked, my city sucked, of course my job did too. I was unhappy and though I claimed I wanted to change, I realize now that I was quite happy with my unhappiness. It proved my realism point. It justified it all.

On a rather low day my Mom – who hated seeing me this way – told me about a book she read called The Secret. She gave me the run down and explained it was all about thinking positive to attract positive things.

Ha! Yeah right, I thought. Positive? Happy? I actually said something to the effect of “I’m to busy being unhappy to be happy.”

See where I’m going here?

And like most things that people suggested I brushed it off. Chalked it up to touchy-feely nonsense. I’m a realist, don’t you know!

Then something happened. That darn book kept being mentioned EVERYWHERE. It’s like something was conspiring against me. Call it the Universe or God or a Higher Power but whatever it was, it was aimed at me. After several encounters I finally called my Mom and said “Fine! Give me the darn book!”

And I read it….in two days.

Now I’m not saying The Secret saved my life. I’m saying it got me thinking. I’m a logical, prove-it-to-me person. I question things, I analyze them and then I process the info. After reading the book I started thinking Why Not?

As in – well what I’m doing isn’t working so let’s give this a shot.

And darned if it didn’t work. I started thinking positive. I started imagining myself in a better mood with all the things in my life just falling into place. And they did. Pretty soon I was giving other things a try. Meditation, positive affirmations and smiling. Yes even smiling had become a challenge for me.

The more positive I was, the better things turned out. I started seeing life in a completely different way. Instead of being a realist (pessimist) I became an optimist!

Was some higher power sending positive energy in my direction? Was I conspiring with the Universe to attract all that awesome energy my way? Or was it a simple case of acknowledging that I needed to change my attitude?

To be honest I don’t know.

I’d like to believe the World is all connected and each positive thought attracts another. There are endless articles on quantum physics that suggests that’s how the Universe works.

But let me tell you, it doesn’t matter. I made the decision to live my life looking on the bright side and I’m much happier for it. :)

I’m Back!

23 May

Yes, I’m finally back from holidays and I’m fresh and revived and ready to start focusing my attention on my NEW career! In case you missed the announcement, I’ve embarked on a new journey that includes coaching, writing and art FULL TIME! Yes, it’s my dream come true and I’m LOVING it.

And before I show you some super cool pics from my trip, I just want to let you all know that I’m cooking up some delightful things to share with you all.

Members Only Newsletters, Giveaways, eWorkshops, Special Promotions on Coaching and Art…it’s all coming this way so make sure you stay tuned. ESPECIALLY for the Members Only sign up…it’s FREE and it holds the key to awesomeness…just saying. ;)

And now commence the photos!

Seattle Goodness….

Vancouver Living….

That’s just a sample of the hundreds of pictures we took. Wish I could share more but I think my site might implode ;)

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Birthday Giveaway Winner is….

21 May

Aggie!

Congratulations Aggie on winning Chris Guillebeau’s book the $100 Startup. Now go out there and make your dreams a reality!

 

Thanks to everyone that entered. There will be a lot more giveaways coming your way soon ;)

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

11 May

Hello lovely people!

Just a quick update to let you know that I’ve hopped a plane to Seattle to visit friends, then I’ll be hopping a train to Vancouver. With that said I’ll be absent on the blog this week. I’ll resume again May 20th. Winners from the Birthday Giveaway will be announced then.

See you then!

MegAng

Sunny Seattle! Working on my tan.

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