We all have hopes and dreams. You can look at your goals as never being achievable, or you can break your goals into smaller steps and work toward your goals a tiny bit each day.
Day One
During the last week, while visiting my Mom, I sat down one night and wrote out a practical list of what to do each day to follow my dreams while still being productive around my home. I knew the List needed to be realistic. I had to keep in mind my health, how much I dislike lists, and how I tend to take on too much and end up burned out.
What I want to accomplish is too crucial to my happiness to wait months getting over burnout. I made the List. I had a plan—a well throughout procedure. I was ready, or so I thought.
Day Two
I will say before I left for Mom's house to backtrack a little bit, I had ordered her a set of colored pencils and a brand new coloring book by a prevalent adult coloring book artist named Johanna Basford.
My Mom is an avid reader who finds herself unable to read anymore due to needing cataract surgery on her eyes. Unfortunately, she can not get the surgery because her eyes are not considered bad enough yet. So she is now stuck in a waiting game while seeing less and less each day.
Day Three
The summer months in Florida are sweltering and humid. It is best for her health if she limits her time outside during the Summer months. Buying her the coloring book was my hope she would have some other activity during the summer. While I was there, she did color a few pages in the coloring book I had sent. I had also started coloring a page in the book too.
Each time I sat down to color on my page, I would look at all the colored pencils, then at the page, get overwhelmed, and soon stand up and walk away. Finally, one day I opened the book and looked at one of the pages Mom had colored. She had done a great job of picking out the colors of the flowers and plants. It was beautiful, but it could be better if it had some shading added and the colors deepened. Without thinking, I grabbed some colored pencils and started doing just that.
Day Four
I worked on the coloring page off and on for about four days. I love seeing it come to life. I now understood why people loved coloring in books wherein each space a number will tell you what color goes there. I had never thought of getting a coloring book like that because you can always see the number when you are finished.
Once home, I didn't bounce back like I thought I would. More than once, I wished for a coloring page that was already colored but needed to be shaded deeper. I wasn't willing to order a color by number book. I knew seeing those numbers when I finished the drawing would just upset me to no end. I was also getting very frustrated not being able to work on my art or writing. Everything I wanted to do left me overwhelmed just thinking about it.
Day Five
Then the magic of Hive hit me. My friends I had met on Hive were worried about me. They all were asking how they could help. I told them just by putting up with me, and my whining about being so freaking hot was enough. Then, @Inthenow called and talked to me. He is a fixer of things. We live each day with many the same health issues, so it is always relaxing when we talk. You don't have to explain yourself as much.
His words of advice stick with me even now as I am writing this post.
"Try and do something, anything, each day that is a Snook thing to do."
Day Six
Okay, then...
...
...
Important Snook things to do:
Writing.
Art.
Art.
Writing.
The writing was not going to happen anytime soon. My brain was fried from the heat and was leaking oil, making writing out of the question—that left art.
I had an interesting discussion with myself about what art all entails.
"Try and do something, anything, each day that is a Snook thing to do."
Day Seven
I opened my bullet journal and drew a person. It was a start. The next day I took that drawing and refined it on a larger sheet of paper. That same night I found a video about a tool that makes picking color pallets easy. I love easy! Easy has Snook written all over it!
After finding the color pallet program, I decided to turn my drawing into a coloring page. But, of course, that is a very Snook thing to do. I became excited. Over the next week, I worked on the coloring page. I added drawings to it and deleted parts of it too. I asked the best QC people I know to tell me what they thought of the page. I was given sincere opinions, for which I am grateful.
Day Eight
I documented the progression of the coloring page each night before I went to sleep. Then, each morning I would come downstairs, see the paper with the drawing on it, and it made me smile. I was careful not to overdue each day. I do not think mentally I could have handled going backward again.
What you see in the photo above is a prototype of my first coloring page. It is the beginning of my journey to finally tell Willow's, Toad's, and so many other characters' stories!
Help someone smile today. It can not hurt you.
Snook
All photos are mine unless otherwise stated.
I suppose the green swirly thing with the bow on it is some sort of carefully-pruned shrubbery, but I prefer to think of it as a giant ice cream cone. I really want to know where that path leads to. And where the lovely lady with the purple gown and blue clutch purse is going, all dressed up fit to kill. I do hope there is a story to go with this some day. Eventually.
That is what I am working toward.
but..... I needed to find a way mentally and physically to make it happen in its own time. Not to rush me which is VERY hard NOT to do......... I hate waiting but it is something I have come to have to learn how to deal with whether I like it or not.
HUGS!
"No hurry," said the carpenter. :)
Every word and every coloring page calmed me more and more as I read through this journey. It just made me so happy. and you're gonna laugh at this - but her boobs were so cute ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL i'm serious!!!! her little cleavage was so perfect hahahahahahahaha
I am the SAME WAY with color by number - but you know what they have??? paint by number that is with like - acrylic paint? so it covers the numbers and it looks SUPER cool when you're done hehehe
but don't buy that
just keep doing what you're doing now - because this is so Snook! hehehehe
The way the pages kept developing with the shading was so magical. It kept drawing me deeper into each picture hehehehe The dress was was perfect - PERFECT. the way the light hit the folds of the skirt and then it faded into the deeper purple shadows!!!
I love it - and I can't wait for more and I can't wait to be #1 in line for..... hehehehehehehe shhhhhhhhhhh its coming :)
i'm removing my vote so I can put it back with 100% hehehe cuz i think i put up a curation trail vote on auto hehehehe but this needs 100% :)
i love you!!! one day at a time!!!!
I have seen on YouTube the paint by numbers. I would go blind LOLL but they do look like fun :D but I do not need another hobby either. I think Hubby would kill me! HA :D
Thank YOU!! I am so happy you like it :D I can not wait to do more too. I just need to NOT overdue any day which is hard for me cuz I am having fun :D
I hope you have a wonderful; Wednesday!!
HUGS!
hehehehe i agree... keeping your mind fresh for your hobbies is essential hehehehe
I have to tell you something funny!
there was this really pretty picture of me on my wedding day. I was turned to the side - a profile pic of me in my wedding dress with this beautiful lacey window behind me.
my mom thought it would be fun to turn that into a paint by number so i'd have a portrait to paint - a little project that would end with this neat painting at the end.
Snook - the last I saw it - it was 1/5 of the way painted.
I've been married for 27.5 years
ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
I AGREE - DON'T TAKE UP ANY MORE HOBBIES HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
aweeeeeeee
I REALLY want to say send it to me so I can paint it and send it back to you!!!!!!!!!!!! s a Mom I can see her thinking ti was the perfect gift :D
what a great story!!!!!!!!
If i could even find it - I think it was under my bed at our old house hahahaha
then we moved 3 years ago - and now??? hmmm
if i find it - i'll take a picture of it for you - we will have a good laugh at my 1/5 painted face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOLOLOLOL
but snook! hahahahahahaha
can you imagine???
TWENTY SEVEN YEARS?!?!?!?!
the paints were a specific color - customized to the photo 🤣 and they are FOR SURE little dried up paint pots by now.
WHY DID I EVEN PACK THAT TO MOVE???? hahahahahahahahaha
oh my gosh - am I a hoarder?!?!?!?! LOLOLOLOL
I think you will need new paint LOLLLLL
and YES........ Horder :D
but for real NO, you love your Mom and You loved the gift and could not throw it away. Nothing wrong with that!
hahahahahahaha
my mom would have been like ARE YOU CRAZY - THROW THAT AWAY! lololol
hahahahahaha
maybe the paint pots will be so dry- that i'll be able to grind them into powder and make new paint 🤣
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Are you going to get back to your old self here soon? All signs point to...
One step at a time, and you got this.