Jumping In

"...if we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin." - Ivan Turgenev "If we wait until we are ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives, let's go." - Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) "Just Do It" - Nike slogan Whether it's a 19th-century or 21st-century writer, or a 20th-century ad campaign, the sentiment is the same; this idea has been quoted by a lot of people in my universe recently. I am increasingly ready to embrace this philosophy. I plunged into podcasting without much preparation when starting on The Digiscrap Geek Podcast, learning on the job. I had been a guest on podcasts but doing one is a whole different ballgame. When that show went on hiatus, and I decided to start A Creative Approach Podcast, I had this foundation but still was very unprepared for the task of doing it alone. Now, three months in, I've learned a lot and am pretty proud of what I've accomplished. The web page is still a work in progress. Like most beginning podcasters without a professional broadcasting education, my interview skills need to be honed. Marketing is coming along. I am so grateful for my professional contacts who are teaching me a lot and helping me to improve the podcast experience for my listeners. I think my web page will be up-to-date within the next week, or so, I'm finally feeling relaxed during interviews, and I love the pearls of wisdom about creativity that come from the shows. My guests are amazing. Even when I've known some guests for years, there are always surprises. Kit from Royal brush I am trying to apply the idea of just going to a lot of things. I'm taking part in the American Medical Women's Association annual meeting soon. I've planned a paint night which sounds easy enough. I mean, theoretically, everyone participates in producing a piece of art that allows room for some personal interpretation but involves the same paint and canvas and a guideline to reproducing something pretty close to what the original artist has designed. It's pretty much a project designed for socialization and "spirits," but I have heard doubts about the idea from some young artists. The arguments I've heard include, "too much like a class," "might not allow enough individual expression," "might not fit with a theme (white coat) focus." I just want to have fun and show other people that art can be fun! I'll report back how it goes. I'm just going to just do it and not analyze too much. I have these fabulous ready to go Art Instructor Painting Party Packs from Royal Langnickel. Royal Brush sent me some sample products after the AFCI Creativation show in Phoenix, and I placed an order for 9 more of these kits to use for our AMWA Paint Night. My ad for AMWA program Marketing is another area where I have questioned just what I need to do. I'm pretty much an extroverted introvert. Are you saying, "What?" Here's a link to an article about this because we all fall somewhere on the bell curve of these personality types. However, I think that may not be a good analogy because I think that rather than the middle, I bounce from end to end of the curve! So, in this case, my thinking went, "Ads? Well, of course." Then, "Gulp! OMG, my photo is part of my podcast logo, am I calling too much attention to myself?" I decided to go ahead and put an ad for A Creative Approach Podcast into the program for the AMWA meeting and not worry too much about it. I also decided it would not hurt to put a Patreon section on my podcast web page. I love Jess and Elsie from She Podcasts. They admit that it is not the primary source of income for their podcast and that it took a while for people to sponsor them. Nonetheless, they had no problem including a Patreon sponsor link. So, I did it, too. I mean, even $1 a month is significant to me. It's a way you can encourage podcasts you enjoy. I support Jess and Elsie at a small level because I really want to say thanks for their show, it's helped me a lot. I hope some of my listeners will feel the same.

Style decisions and Horses in the Morning

It is delightful to travel, but being home is nice. I am not getting as much done as I'd like, isn't that always what folk say? Stuff gets done, though, slowly.

I'm dealing with pain, of course. The neck flares a bit more quickly recently. Unfortunately, the doctor who did my epidurals left Stockton Kaiser, and they need to reschedule my appointment. It'll likely be this summer now instead of this month.

Yes, I do things like laundry and fitness that  I probably might avoid. I do feel these are things I must do, though. Getting fitter helps in the long run, even if short term it's a problem.

I have a stylist, Chantera Gunn.

Closet now

                                 Chantera

Some of the clothes headed for charity

Chantera helped me purge my closets. She did the heavy lifting and the decision making but let me keep a few things that do not fit what she deems my style, only if I promised to wear them in very particular circumstances. I rarely argued with her. The funny thing is after purging over 233 items of clothing, 41 pairs of shoes and 22 purses and assorted other articles, I feel like I have so many more clothes! I now can see how to put things together. Beautiful trendy stuff is no longer buried. If you live in the San Francisco/Sacramento area, you can out Chantera's services. I believe I now only need a few items to fill some gaps in my wardrobe or to update or pull together ensembles.

It does cost money for a stylist, but I think it will save a lot in the long run.

Today I had a brief spot on the Horses in the Morning podcast.

 

 I'm not a horse person; not that I did not want to be. My husband and I tried a trail ride early in our marriage, and his hip arthritis made him miserable. I decided I did not want to go down a path toward a passion of which he could not be a part; so, I have never taken riding lessons. Pity, as horses are the one animal to which I am not allergic. It was funny listening to the guest podcasters befuddled over horse terms. My word was "founder." I did not have a clue! To be in the know you can find a glossary of horse health terms here. Check out the March15 episode of Horse in the Morning with me and fellow podcast guests. Maybe there is a new show you'd like to follow on iTunes or Stitcher? Of course, you are always welcome to listen to A Creative Approach Podcast.

Time for Scrapbooking and Crafts

The very cluttered and messy craft room/studio in near 360 view

March is hinting about spring, though I've not yet been to the mountains and the snow. I need to get some winter in, and if there are "stormless" days ahead, the snow should be delightful. You know that I like it in small doses.
Over at Get It Scrapped it's "Calvinball" time. People are striving to be productive and amass points in an ever changing rules environment with friendly SMACK talk, too. I only made a commitment to get more than 3 points this year. Yes, feeble-hearted on my part. One can get points for cleaning a scrap space, and that is a formidable task - I'll redeem my cowardice that way.
I had an excellent conference filled February where I met so many friendly people. Well, there was one inelegant guy at GreenBiz in Phoenix, but everyone else was delightful! I think most folks like others who are open and honest and I try hard to be that. Sometimes it takes time for people to learn. The universe knows that I've had to learn a lot.
This month is Craft Month, and that means it's time to work on projects. I got some great paints from a manufacturer while I was away and I'm contemplating using them for home decor projects. Those may need to be done this summer when the rain stops. It's so odd to say that, "after the rain stops." Rain is such a novelty after years with hardly any rain at all.
It was nice to begin and end February with my communities. I did learn so much at GreenBiz, but the craft world and my podcast peeps restore my soul!
I'm catching up with family now that I am back home. I have grand plans every morning to get stuff done, but I'm not making much progress. Today I cleaned up a corner of my very cluttered craft room/studio. I have done a few things related to the podcast; but, substantial things like taxes keep getting deferred. On the positive side, I am sticking with my diet and exercise program. I'd like to be more aggressive with that. However, I realize that any progress is good progress. So, I'm off to clean up another few square feet of the room and toss a load of laundry in the machine. My appointment for tomorrow is delayed until the afternoon, so I'll catch up a bit in the morning. I think I need to set goals for the next day each evening. It'll be my new resolution!