Heather Eddy Art

Kenneth is going to grow up to be a siren. He is LOUD! I spent a lot of my day running away from him when my ears started ringing with the ever-present noise. For about a half an hour, I was going around the house trying to find all of my painting stuff. Some of it was in Kenzie's room (where it was all *supposed* to be) and I found the rest of it in a box in the garage (I also found that I have several more boxes of old books that "look cool" - what am I going to DO with them? How do I justify their existence?). Next, to the kitchen to get a cup for water. Then into my room. Kenneth followed me (AGAIN!!!!) and I made him get his crayons if he wanted to be with me (he did it!). I like the light in there... I painted for about 10 minutes - all I could handle after the energy I spent putting it together. Perhaps more tomorrow...

I read an article in Meridian Magazine tonight about focusing on the moment . I then went on to another article that dovetailed it - it was on that feeling of always wanting more . Here's a passage I found striking: “Fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks . . . (D&C 98: 21) Gratitude is the opposite mindset of “I need more.” When gratitude fills my heart I’m trusting God’s wisdom to give me just enough of everything I need to fill my life’s mission and His purposes for me. When I rail against my circumstances, thinking I need more time, more energy, more money in order to do what I want to do, I am not trusting the Lord, but pitting my will against His. I HAVE just enough in my life, don't I? How can I find the wisdom in these two articles, both focusing on my moment NOW and being grateful for that moment instead of wishing for more moments, bigger moments, more intense moments? Food for thought. Good for Sunday tomorro...

I love working at the library! Look what is on my bedside table, just waiting for me to come home tonight! I am working on a project for my sister which will help her have a pretty bedside table area. The problem is that her favorite colors are sooooo far away from my favorite colors! (Red and yellow together) (and dark blue) (I think of mustard and ketchup) (and blueberries) (together) (yuck) We used to have a way of choosing presents for each other once upon a time: pick the one you hate the most. It usually worked like a charm. All these books are to help me come up with ideas for making her plastic 5-drawer storage container prettified for a bedside table. Wish me luck! And I will rest between idea-searching by reading the new Jasper Fforde book: Shades of Grey. Can't wait!

This sky reminds me of my little watercolors . I haven't painted in forever, but the tug is still there to pull out the paints and pour out the water. Isn't it weird how you feel like you've just done something (painted) because you think about it so much, but in actuality, you haven't for more than a year? Perhaps that's not such a good thing. Thinking you've done something (which you haven't) keeps you from doing it... Maybe I need to add another goal to my list: Paint before the end of February. Post it here on the blog. I read another quick book the other night: Claim to Fam e by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I love her books and was excited to see another science-fiction-y type story out. The story is about a 16-year old girl that can hear everything said about her by anyone anywhere. That wouldn't be so bad except that she was a child star on TV and when the reruns come on (she knows the schedule of reruns around the world), she has to hide in ...

There is a goal I've wanted to accomplish for quite some time now and I went ahead and started working on it last November. Although I'm not a children's librarian, I think it's important to be familiar with core children's literature. I went through my children's area and, author by author, went through and made a list of the 24 books I wanted to read in a year's time. I only made it up to M before my list was full to bursting. I began with Paddington Bear. That was one of the dumbest books I've read. Although it was cute that he was from "Darkest Peru," his shenanigans were nothing short of idiotic - only stupid people wouldn't see that he was going to get into trouble and stop him. But I read it. Then I read Lloyd Alexander's The Book of Three. Just so you know, The Book they are talking about in the story isn't even the main topic of the story. It's just a cool title. Apparently it is based on Welsh legends. An assistan...

When I was single, I loved spending time at home. I loved being able to have my stuff just so and to be working on projects that made my home prettier. Now I am married and I have a husband whose taste is, um, different than mine (think ceramic busts of Scottish golfers painted by aunts). I also have kidlets (a couple of them only a few days a month, but OH the mark they leave on the house!) who are with me. Right now, Kenneth is three years old and he loves being with me. Touching me. All the time. I have to get him to stop leaning on my arm so I can type or use my glue gun or whatever else it is that I'm doing. When I get frustrated, I remind myself what my doctor said when I brought Kenneth in for his two-month checkup: "Enjoy this time because before you know it, he'll be graduating from high school like my kid is...". The past three years have gone SCHWOOP! I bet it will keep going like that, too, so I'm going to enjoy being a wife and a mom. Even when I can...

In reading another woman's blog today, I was inspired by her commitment to make her blog Happy Content Warm Loving Bright Me, too. I want that. Perhaps the best thing I can do is provide opportunities for peace and happiness. I'm sure that won't happen all the time, what with life being what it is, but for the most part, I want to make the world a better place.

It's still stormy here in Bako-town. I'm loving it, but it's not as much fun watching rain through the windows at work rather than at home. Still, I'd rather be employed! I hear that we're due for another 20% in cuts for the library. Last year's cuts of 18% lost us 27 full-time staff and 42% hours of library services. I can't imaging what another 20% would do to us. Maybe I will be enjoying rain from home more often... How do I improve on faults that I can't seem to stop doing? I feel like such a failure when I become aware in the very act of saying things I oughtn't. I seem to not be able to let silence reign. Shh... (you ARE a librarian, right?)

It rains so rarely here in Bakersfield that I thoroughly enjoyed today's downpour. After the rain, the sun came out and everything was so clean and bright. It was warm (enough) for the rain to steam off of the fence. Very pretty! I love the look of this sap oozing from my nectarine tree (which I get to have fruit from this coming year!) (I hope). When I was little, I wished fairies were real. This looks like a place they would have played. That's a bit of the pretty in my otherwise plain old backyard.

Okay, now it's the 16th. I have been doing relatively well with most of my goals. I modified the soda goal to be only for home - not for when I'm out to eat. For heavens sake! There is NO OTHER CHOICE. Perhaps this is an opportunity for creating a grassroots movement to get diet, caffeine-free soda into fast food establishments. Somehow it doesn't seem important though. Duh. About the chocolate, it's been good until the past couple of days. I can't stop thinking about chocolate. Hormonal? Maybe it's just late withdrawals... And my book: am still plugging away at it. I finished a folded book with the title of my tutorial on it. The picture above is a sneak peek... I'm not as natural at writing as I wish I were. Brian has been helping me a lot because he writes like a champ...