RAZ | Tangled Tranquility

The first two weeks of my Fearless Journal

“Fear stops a lot of people. Fear of failure, of the unknown, of risk. And it masks itself as procrastination.” Lisa Anderson

I’ve been absent from my blog for a very long time. Many upheavals in our home life over the past 18 months have sidelined my “writing muse.” To quote John Lennon “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” I’m happy to say we have adjusted to the changes, embraced them and are looking forward to a great year ahead for our family.

Our once empty nest is now pretty full. Our two teenaged grandchildren now live with us and are thriving. Said children come with pets, so we are now up to five dogs in the house. Yes, five-three mini-schnauzers and two cairn terriers. For long time followers who remember our bride, she is now expecting her first child! A new grandchild after a 14-year gap – we are so excited. After nearly forty years in his chosen industry, my husband found his dream job and loves what he does.

As for me, I’ve changed job titles a couple of times, but still work for the same great company. I logged a lot of travel miles for them last year and it looks like more of the same for 2015. I’ve been teaching around my local area and I’m almost done with my studio – The Wren’s Nest. I still speak regularly as an advocate for safe driving and spoke to my granddaughter’s classmates this week about the impacts of distracted driving. I had surgery last May, it went very well and I’m feeling great. My latest new adventure is to sign on as a consultant for Rodan+Fields. I’ve used their skin care for quite a while and it’s the best ever for specific skin concerns and anti aging. I’d love to have you as a preferred customer or business partner. Take a look.

Through it all, I have been tangling – how else would I relax? This year, a group of CZT’s decided to select a word of the year. We would begin a journal for 2015 guided by our word and the prompts posted by the group each week. My word is FEARLESS, thus the quote for today’s post. When I saw that quote as I was trying to find my word, it resonated with me and I knew that was it. So many times, when you really look at why you can’t seem to move forward, the very heart of the situation is fear. I’m a bit behind on the prompts, but should find some time to dedicate to my journal today. This group has reached its limit, but feel free to find your own word and follow where it leads you. I want to recommend a great Facebook group started by fellow CZT’s, Chris Titus and Jenny Perruzzi. They saw a lot of groups for Zentangle, but none that followed the original, purest form of Zentangle. This would be specific to the materials – 3.5” square white paper, pencil and black ink. Only pieces adhering to these guidelines are allowed to be posted. They also add a “challenge” tangle once a week. This group is so refreshing for me. So often, we think more is better and can get away from what makes Zentangle so helpful when we really need that mindful meditation. Take a look if you are on FB and join us there if it appeals.

Thank you all for waiting out my dry spell and I hope you enjoy some of the work I’ve done while I’ve been living life outside the plan.

PS: Some images are small and little blurry – they were taken with my iPhone as many were RAZ’s left somewhere after they were completed.