Category: Fitness

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What we can control

Fluid art can be so unpredictable. Much like life, there are times you feel like you are in control and can see how things are going to play out beautifully, just to be thrown off course if you make one wrong move.

While some may think this art is “easy” and just thrown together, there is a lot of precision, thought, hard work, and time that goes into trying to produce specific results and mastering certain techniques. It takes effort and research to determine what pigments work well together, how you need to layer your paints based on their weights, and so on. Sometimes it goes as planned [or even better]! Other times, surprise! Everything has been blown out of proportion [literally].

It reminds me of just how precise things need to be with our nutrition and our habits in order to produce specific results for our bodies. One minute, I’m chugging along thinking I’ve figured it all out – I’ve got a handle on my health, and I know the key components and how they work together to make me feel and look my best. Then that one wrong move comes along in the form of a Mooyah double cheeseburger and oreo shake, accompanied by a side order of sleeping in instead of working out…and BAM! I’ve lost control and it now feels out of my hands and I may as well give up, right? WRONG. Just because I have one bad painting, or one bad night of painting, doesn’t mean I’m going to give up. I chalk it up to a learning experience, I switch up my recipe and try again next time until I get it right.

It’s time for me to get that mindset back with regard to my health and wellness journey. I can accept that I lost control, and that things haven’t turned out quite how I planned when I started this journey a few years ago. But what I cannot do is allow myself to let it consume me and make me quit. I’m no longer going to allow myself to believe that I have nothing to work for and that I’ll never get where I want to be. If I can put that kind of passion and dedication into my art and my business, then I absolutely demonstrate that attitude and passion for other areas of my life and figure out what will work for me and my health to achieve the desired results. I need to take control over the things I know I *can* control. Which I’m learning isn’t everything… #recoveringcontrolfreak

I’ve gone many miles down the wrong road, so you can bet this is going to be one hell of a mess. But we all know by now, out of the mess comes the masterpiece…

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Saying Yes

Let me switch gears on you for a minute…

This business, my blog, my social media… They aren’t intended to be only for sharing my artistic side. It’s not just to promote and sell my work.

It is meant to be a space where I can share about every messy facet of life. It’s about encouraging others to embrace the mess, experience it, and grow through it to find the masterpiece waiting on the other side. I know I haven’t share much to that effect as of yet, but I want you to know that you can expect it. That may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and some may prefer to follow just for the art and choose to unfollow if it gets to personal up in here or if it seems like I’m completely switching lanes. But that’s okay, because this is my space, and I intend to be unapologetically me – with regards to my art, my parenting, marriage, my personal growth and overall journey through this messy, magnificent life.

I believe that being real and sharing more about myself will help my followers relate to me more, and that’s what I want. When I came up with the idea for this page, I struggled to find a way I could incorporate my love for art and desire to turn it into something MORE, with my desire to add value to the lives of others and blog about daily struggles [messes, if you will] and all the trials and triumphs that are experienced along the way. I finally settled on a name that I adore, and think is absolutely fitting for my “bigger picture.” However, I got swept up in creating art and not being ready to be vulnerable again. I wasn’t sure how to transition into something more serious, but I suspect I do it the same why I did it all to begin with: Just START somewhere. So that’s what I’m doing. This post is my “start.”

“Say Yes to The Mess” means all messes. It doesn’t just mean to let go and get creative and forget about the cleanup that eventually comes after. It means to say YES to the blankets and pillows strewn around the room covered in dog hair. Say YES to there not being a chair to sit at the dining table for a few nights while your 6-year-old continues to be the creative, fun-loving kid she still is in her blanket fort. Hell, say YES to the mess of getting down there with her! Say YES to playing one more game, to treating yourself to a nap, to reading a book or going for a walk – by saying YES to letting the dirty dishes sit awhile longer and the floor go unswept until another day. Say YES to her helping with the sprinkles, even though you know you’ll be finding little nonpareils underfoot for the next year.

It’s about letting go of the unattainable idea of perfection. It’s about trying to step aside from my anxiety and letting go of the need to be in control. It’s about enjoying the little moments, the precious memories that come from those messes. It means to say YES to the hard things. My workouts sure as hell aren’t done in proper form and don’t look pretty. It’s not easy any more right now. They are tough. They are a MESS. But I know I need to say YES to that one, too!

This isn’t my “highlight reel.” This is my unedited, uncensored, unapologetic, raw self. I’m a little bit awkward, and a whole lotta weird. This is my mess, and I want to share it with others and inspire them to share theirs, too. So hopefully you’ll stick around and muddle through it with me while we create and find the masterpieces that await us at the end.