Sara Free

May-June-July//Currently

Falling off the face of the internet...only because we were

Floating away from flood waters in May...which had us

Hunting quickly for a new place to live...and then we were

Moving into a new house...whoo-ee...not planning on that for the summer.

Running around checking off Noah's camp list. 

Taking Noah to camp. 

Missing Noah.

Having a cousin in town and showing him all the fun things we do. 

Swimming and swimming and swimming.

Sitting and sitting and sitting in an interesting training (at least for me)

Overhearing tons of Minecraft talk, building and video watching. 

Watching Sons of Anarchy nonstop (me)

Adding Daredevil to the TV rotation.

Loving the kids enthusiasm about American Ninja Warrior. 

Celebrating Father's Day and Kyle's birthday...not together, but within this three month window where I fell down the rabbit hole. 

Writing 50k plus words for Camp Nanowrimo, excited to make it through the process even if my book is crap, I've got more ideas. 

Lazing about some days, rushing about others, finding the balance with an open schedule. 

Preparing for the back to school and lining up fall activities. 

Opening my arms to try to take it all in and not feel overwhelmed with all the projects I want to do. 

Wanting more summer, but not really, just like that it feels like I can get so much done even when I'm complaining about how I can't get anything done.

 

April//Currently

Examining a season of Brave.

Dressing up as superheroes, well, the girls, not me so much. 

Going to the library often to get new books.

Attending field trips - science museum and fire station.

Taking on new responsibilities for the next school (yes, already).

Partying out at two bars, two separate night outs with Kyle's work friends - which means we turn into grumpy pumpkins at midnight.

Having fun at a girls night out and trying a new restaurant. 

Booking every weekend with birthday parties and scouts and religious school.

Watching a friend's wedding and being able to share in the joy.

Finishing up the soccer season with sunnier days, there was so much rain this season.

Trying a different approach to exercise - more HIIT workouts and keeping up with Fitbit walking goals.

Eating lunch with the boys at their school, hoping to make this a consistent practice next year.

Feeling that life is running by too fast-slow down please?

Embracing the slow moments when possible.

Painting, reflecting, and writing.

Fearlessly Welcome Guests

Fearlessly welcoming guests was not such a great idea for April. I didn't schedule one playdate. 

Before I start examining how my fears took over and didn't allow me to have people over, I want to look at the bigger picture in April. We were running around often and weekends were extended weekdays with the amount of crap we had scheduled. Yes, our own fault, but there were things we had committed to and wanted to show up for those things. 

When looking at it from that perspective, I really chose an awful month to try to have people over. Summertime would have been better with our schedule on the more lax side. The home space was sacred this month. It needed to be a place to unwind from the socializing. 

I will continue to explore fearlessly having guests over. Having people over is great motivation to clean up, cook food for people, and enjoy the company of friends. 

Next up: Fearlessly plan - I'm excited about this one. I want to fearlessly plan for the summertime -  the activities, the art we will do, the books we read, and oh the places we will go. I want to go into summer with some ideas and a mild amount of structure. Camp mommy needs to get organized, and fear of the messy days ahead cannot get in my way. 

Paint, Reflect, Write || 14-20/366

Fourteen

Fifteen - Sixteen

Seventeen - Eighteen

Nineteen - Twenty

Somedays the inspiration is there, other days - I'm really reaching and trying to connect with something in my life. That lightbulb one was popular. While I enjoy the Instagram likes, I'm trying not to get attached or let it derail me when my pictures aren't clicked. It's not about that, it's about my practice and figuring out what I enjoy making. 

Here's to everyone who likes a good art adventure. 

Paint, Reflect, Write || 7-13/366

My internet died last week. Now it's fixed! Hooray! Thankfully, painting, reflecting, and writing does not require the internet. 

Last week's creations:

Seven & Eight

Nine & Ten

 

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Hoping the flow will come back. April has been a wild month filled with celebrations, rain, and go-go-going. These few minutes with paint are not always easy, but I like the challenge and when I keep the drawings simple I find I want to make them more often. I'm contemplating writing a wee little story through this medium. Now that I've said it, I should make that happen.

I started  #the100dayproject last week as well, which is keeping me motivated. It's interesting to see what other people have chosen for their 100 day project. Check it out!

Paint, Reflect, Write || 1-6/366

The first week of painting, reflecting, and writing was successful. The process was mostly smooth. I'd sketch something, then paint it, think about it a little, then write. I don't have a time limit on myself. My time is broken up throughout the day, do a little here, add a little more there. Overall, it probably takes about 30-40 minutes total. 

This week's creations:

One

Two & Three

Four & Five

Six

I'm having fun looking at the world from where I stand and seeing what I can paint. My favorite this week was number three, capturing Eli learning to swing all by himself. 

I'm figuring out how I'm going to travel with my supplies and keep up the habit. I'll be adding this project to #the100dayproject to keep me motivate with the painting in it's new born phase. I'd say 100 days should get it's to at least a school age child or an even bigger baby.

Have a great weekend!

March//Currently

 

Finishing the first season of Get Messy Art Journal Challenge strong.

Celebrating many birthday days, it's a great month. 

Watching my oldest one perform at his school, it was nice to see him so into the songs, very proud of him and would love to see him do some more stage acting! 

Stocking up for Passover - matzah, matzah, matzah

Loving see our Chicago friend Frankie two times and wishing he lived closer.

Finding delicious Whole 30 recipes for dinner. 

Reading Wendy Higgins Sweet Evil series, almost done with book number 3.

Painting with watercolors. 

Shopping way too much, but I needed to update my spring wardrobe. 

Watching Backyardigans (kids) and Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (grown-ups), excited about Game of Thrones starting soon!

Purging, purging, purging. 

Feeling disbelief that the school year is almost over but looking forward to having some summer fun soon. 

Beginning a new birthday project. 

Taking in all the beauty of spring - the sun, the flowers, the liberation from the cold!

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Fearlessly Healthy

I wanted to fearlessly be healthy this month by attempting a Whole 30. I think it was more like a Whole 26, but darn it was so good to feel better from healthier choices. 

I went 26 days without alcohol. I might have been noncompliant on a few Saturdays and Fridays for a few dinners. I liked filling my afternoons with a Whole 30 snack. I discovered my favorite snacks are apples with coconut butter or an almond milk smoothie with bananas+cacao nibs+shredded unsweetened coconut. I enjoyed finding new dinner possibilities and collected new recipes on Pinterest. 

It was a challenge to say no to the birthday cake at many a kids birthday party. It was a challenge to walk away from the food left out in the work room. I had to be fearless about my choices. I had to discuss with myself that there would be food at a future date and possibly that very same food I might be craving. I was capable of waiting until the end of the 30 days. I did not need to fear a food shortage. That talk worked and steered me away from the food. 

I'm planning to continue to examine my food choices from a Whole 30 perspective. I like that I feel healthier. It's tough to fearlessly choose my health over a glass of wine for stress management, but it's so worth it!

Fearlessly Welcome Guests: I am terrified of this one. Terrified that we won't be accepted because of the state of our house (it's not hoarder bad, it's just in constant chaos). I will attempt to have people over to our house and make at least 1 playdate. I'll start small and wimpy like that but I plead the busy soccer schedule. Add to that the lack of time in our schedule to have a playdate. There goes the fear ---making excuses. 

Image via Pinterest

Paint, Reflect, Write || 365

  

My birthday project this year will focus on painting, reflecting, and writing. The goal is to watercolor everyday, think about the drawing, then write something, probably in a whimsical poetic manner - everyday.  

I don't know how to watercolor paint. I only know I am drawn to it when I look at the colorful watercolor sets. I've played with gouache and know this is where a love for water and color began. I've taken one brief watercolor painting class. Next, I'm going to watch some videos at Creative Bug. I have a lot to learn. 

These will be my tools:

 some paper

 

 Michael's watercolors and Pelikan Watercolor Set

 

Tools not pictured: various paint brushes, pencil and eraser to sketch, and I'm may incorporate a waterproof marker too. 

As usual, it's the beginning and I am excited to get started and have already begun. I'm hoping to push through the middle, figure out how to handle this project when I travel or when I'm out of control busy with our schedule, and to make it to the end with a fun experience behind and something I made to look back upon. 

It's one process, everyday, I can do this! The plan is to do one weekly post to show the week's work. Easy peasy, right? I know I'm excited to see what I learn and what decides to show up each day in this process. I'm hoping a daily practice will give me some focus. Stay tuned!

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February//Currently

Reading and reading, not anything of epic proportions, but it's nice to be reading again, my current favorite is Angelfall. 

Attempting to slow down when possible, there's a lot of activities going on.

Looking forward to some unpacked weekends, we've had one thing after another. 

Getting quite tired of the super warm, then super cold trend going on around here. 

Celebrating my oldest ones 9th birthday with some laser tag. 

Dressing up in our rodeo gear with eagerness. 

Loving art journaling and the Get Messy group. 

Watching the legos strewn our floors, as they create and have fun.

Hoping I connect with some good doctors soon. 

Longing for the sunny days that accompany spring.