a little about me...

OUR MEMORIES

LIKE OUR

Dreams

ARE OURS ALONE

AND TELL

Our

STORY

{Flavia}

Today I am participating in a blog tour ~ I've been asked to answer four questions and then invite some of my blogging friends to do the same. I have found these questions very thought provoking and have enjoyed reading the answers of so many of my blog friends! I was officially tagged by Tamar, a fellow Bostonian, Sox Fan and inspiring young woman. She blogs at Random-osity and hosts my favorite Monday link up! A few days after Tamar tagged me, May from Achieving Clarity tagged me as well! She's my favorite Kansan and, I sometimes think, my alter ego! We've seen kids leave the nest and find comfort in each other's words. Her answers are up on her blog today too.

On to the questions:

One: What are you working on? In my heart, I believe that I am a storyteller. Whether I am scrapbooking, blogging, taking photographs or writing, at the heart of all of it, I am thinking about the story. I love the notion that each of us has a story - is living a story. And I value the telling and passing on of each narrative. This summer I am focusing on launching a business which would {hopefully} connect me to people who want to tell their stories through scrapbooking....with any luck they will entrust their photos to me and I will create for them a keepsake to hold their stories. It is my fervent hope that this space will always be filled with stories...as, to me, it is a living scrapbook.

Two: How does your work differ from others in the same genre? As a scrapbooker, I do my best to let the photos do the talking. I try to highlight the photos, do what I can to enhance them...and not distract from them. I would say that my style is fairly simple - clean lines and clear themes. When I began this blog, I thought it would be all about scrapbooking...and, in fact, it rarely is! It has become more about finding my voice and sharing my heart and my little corner of the world. Through blogging I've discovered a love of nature and rekindled a love of photography...two things I'm learning about as I share...a trial and error kinda thing! I find with myself, as with others I enjoy visiting, that our work is as unique as we are - the more we stay true to ourselves, the better it is.

Three: Why do I write/create what I do? For me, to write is to process. To create is to work through what's happening in my life. Or what has happened. It has always been my pathway to clarity. I can't seem to hold on to what's inside ~ I have to work with it until it finds expression. 

Four: How does your writing/creative process work? I am a synthesizer. I like finding a beautiful piece of paper and combining it with a photograph...or taking a prompt and using it as a vehicle for my story...or discovering a quotation that brings meaning to a picture I've taken. I am, like all of us, I suppose, a collector of tid-bits. Of ideas. And images. It is the weaving together of all these morsels from my life that brings me the most joy and feeds my creative process.

Thanks, also to Jill from Daily Bread for inviting me to share ~ visit her next Monday, discover her blog and her creative process! I've sent an invitation to Deborah from Learning as I Go, Ayala from A Sun Kissed Life, Brandi from Picking Peonies,  and Deb at It's All About Purple to share with us their answers to these questions! Hope you all visit their lovely blogs ~ they all bring me so much inspiration to my life.

And today,

as every Monday.

I'm linking with Tamar!

These random questions were good for me to think through.

And I hope you had fun reading my answers!

Link up is HERE

My Sundown

Today I'm linking up with a community of writers known as Bigger Picture Blogs. We were paired up with other bloggers to collaborate on a post in honor of the Bigger Picture Blog's second blog-a-versary! My writing partner, Julie, blogs HERE - working with her was a JOY!! The prompt we were given was the song My Sundown from Jimmy Eat World. Enjoy!

I see it around me, I see it in everything.

The phones, the paper shuffling and the office supplies that fill my days leave me restless and longing for more. The truth is, they exhaust me. Lifting my eyes and listening to my heart, I know I’m called to create....to decorate this world, not to help keep it organized.

Surrounding me, my little world is so raw leaving me feeling exposed and draining the energy from my body with every movement I make. Something needs to change within. All signs point to using my talents, to put things in writing and to live life like there is no tomorrow. I need to show the strength that I have within and be the person that I am created to be.

I could be so much more than this.

The longing to express myself is very powerful. This dream gets diluted as the whispers of insecurity, doubt and fear inject their poison. Deep down, I know the potential is in me - the talent to write, to create. I just know it.

Hearing from others how much talent lies deep down inside makes me believe that the change is possible. That opening up to share the beauty of the words will not only help me discover the beauty within myself but in others. To invent other realms and see the possibilities of what this world may offer.

I'm gonna be so much more than this.

What’s the antidote? How can I dilute the poison instead of letting it suck the life out of my dreams? This is the answer. As I sit here and write, I know the answer is in the doing. In diving in and putting myself through the process. I am determined to just keep doing it.

Having confidence that this change will propel me into a life I had no idea was possible, makes me feel like I am opening myself to those around me. The feelings coursing through my skin... my veins... my nerves... my heart generates a feeling within me that makes me believe I am more alive than I have felt in ages. It keeps a smile on my face as everything within me feels like it is about to burst forth to share this true calling.

I wanna be so much more than this.

And with the doing, comes the letting go - the letting go of the words. Whether I’m sending the words out to readers, or simply covering journal pages, I’m admitting to myself how much I want to be doing just this. To be writing more and more.

The desire to do something bigger than what I ever thought possible catapults my dreams into taking the forefront of my brain, my imagination running wild with the success that will surround me.

With one hand high, you'll show them your progress.
You'll take your time, but no one cares.

The truth is, this isn’t about anyone but me. It’s not as  much about being read, or seen or accepted as it is about journeying through it. It’s about staring down a blank page until it holds little pieces of my soul.

There will be those that doubt and rain on my parade, but I will keep believing. I will keep trusting that this is what is meant to be in my life. The words that emerge from my mouth, my hands, my fingers hold my dreams and lifeblood. I am made for taking chances.

Good Goodbye, I'll be fine.





To read other birthday collaborations just head over to Hyacynth's Blog!!