Just because...10-30-2016

This occurred to me earlier when I was packing and cleaning stuff out for the move.  Yes, I realize we have a couple weeks left to move as our house is being demolished and I am trusting in God to show us our space.  But the landlord was outside doing I don't know what and muttering and grumbling and I was thinking he likely wishes we were already gone and to him it doesn't look like anything is happening here and yet there is plenty.  So I was picturing a duck, paddling like crazy under the surface and yet looking calm and serene.

And it hit me that even in the Universes plan when I don't see anything happening, it doesn't mean that nothing is.  I know I was working hard and he couldn't see it just as the universe is working for me even when I cannot see it.

And so: Just because you don't see anything happening doesn't mean that nothing is happening.

You are not always what you think you are 10-27-2016

This is so true.  Case in point:  I am a baseball fan and have not been able to find the World Series on TV here and given that people from other parts of the country have issues with being able to watch football games in their area I was about ready to join them in commiserating about the media blackout for some of us.  I searched many terms to try to find it in my local listings to no avail.  I think of myself as a pretty good researcher, even given my tendency to be easily distracted and amused while doing so.

I was ready to give up and pout a bit and was thinking I am not a good researcher after all, when I realized that many times I have gone to the best resource available, my housemate Anita.  She can find anything and do it fast and efficiently, which she did.  And I realized at that moment that I am not a bad researcher at all, she is just quicker at it and thinks a little differently so she is able to find what she is looking for without wasting any time at it.

In that moment, as I criticized myself, I was not giving myself any credit at all.  Did being less quick make me a bad researcher?  No, it did not, it just made me a less quick researcher.  In the end I did know how to get the answer to my query and sometimes the resources we use are not just on the internet and therefore my research was completed.

No, I am not a bad researcher after all and I did come to the conclusion that:

You are never what you think you are if you are not giving yourself any credit while thinking it.

Awesome 10-24-2016

Okay, this is more for my own amusement than anything else but I think we can all say this because it is true.  We are created in our makers' image and that is pretty awesome.

And I am chilly.  I am finding lately that I really love my sleep/dream time.   It could be the onset of winter with the cooler temperatures and yes we do experience that here on the islands as evidenced by locals wearing sweaters and sweatshirts or at the least long sleeves.  While it may not seem chilly here to you, you are likely from the mainland and have thicker blood and are not going to feel it like we do.  But I digress.  We have that tendency to want to hibernate when it is cooler and yes there is nothing quite like throwing on the extra quilt and snuggling up under your bedding. 

But part of it is the dreaming.  It could be because I can control them and I don't have the instantaneous ability in waking life as I do in dreams.  But they also tell us so much about ourselves and honestly mine have baffled me lately.  To the point I wake up and ponder them, sometimes asking what did I just do and why did I do that?  Nothing horrible I assure you, just strange.  Sometimes the dreams are messages, other times just working things out from waking life while I sleep.  But oddly, I still enjoy them all.

I found myself waking up early this morning and laying there for a couple more hours recalling my dreams and enjoying the warmth of my cozy bed.  It was almost hard to get up.  It was cold and the covers so warm and I really had nowhere I had to be but I have a thing about actually getting my butt out of bed in the morning even when I have no plans for the day.   I also am one of those people who it takes a while to really wake up once I am out of bed.  Unless I have to be somewhere and then I am likely to get up early enough to sort of wake up before I go anyway.

On the upside I did get my TWIC  in the mail today and I only applied for it last Wednesday, that is pretty quick, less than a week.  So I am very happy about that, just another step forward on my new job journey.  If I could only find a new pet friendly house as fast, everything would be perfect.  Everything is already good, just another little hurdle to pass.  But that is why I said:

Awesome ends with "me".  Coincidence?  I think not.

Anything is possible 10-19-2016

I believe this.  It is one of my strongest beliefs. It is quite possible and easy to make another person's day.   I was out doing errands today and I passed a homeless guy who looked up and said hello to me.  I said hello, how are you doing today and he said hanging in there and then proceeded to have a lengthy conversation with me.  His name was Todd and he told me that he was grateful I talked to him without looking down on him like so many others do and I told him that he was a person and no less than anyone else, which is true.  He said I made his day.  That felt nice, just being myself and showing kindness to all, it made his day.

Later in the day I passed a rather large woman and as we passed each other I said out loud "you are very beautiful" because I found her stunningly beautiful.  She said well thank you and I turned around and said I was sincere, she was breathtaking and she, too, said I made her day.  I was merely being honest, I did not look at her size as much as her face and the sweetness that radiated from her eyes, it made her beautiful, she just had that "something".

So step 1) interview, check

     step 2) physical, check

     step 3) TWIC completed, check

     step 4) MMC printed, signed and scanned to return, check.

Now I just have to wait to here when I ship out to Piney Point and I will be on my way into my wonderful new career.  I am happy.

Meanwhile, I look for new housing and make chimes and think how blessed I am, life is great <3  And so, yes,

Anything is possible.

All is well 10-18-2016

Indeed it is.  I have managed to jump through a couple more "hoops" for the new job and have only a couple more to do so yes, all is well.  Although being out and about keeps me from my computer, I like it just fine as I am getting in shape at the same time, what with all the walking and hiking my hill home.

I am so excited about this new adventure and will do whatever it takes to pass with flying colors, I really will.  Add to that the fact that we (my housemates and I) have to move in the next month as the owner is going to demo the house and start over, which adds another layer of busy to our schedule but I am even accepting that with great anticipation and a positive attitude and with my strong, unshakeable faith I know it will be amazing.

We don't care where we find a place as long as it accepts pets and for me personally I really want a bathtub.  Given the way the city is built and the living spaces small, tubs are not a common commodity unless you can find an older (or newer) house but they are pricey, let me tell you.  And given that once I "set sail" I will be gone 10 months of the year, it seems impractical to pay a ton of money for so little use but I do want the housemates to have a place they love, too.

This also means that once I conclude all my hoop jumping and have a sail date that I will be closing my Etsy shop since I won't be around to ship packages and such once I am aboard.  Also my public page will be left alone although I will put a link to follow me here for those who really care to see what I am really up to and if they are just there for the uplifting and motivational posters and choose not to come here then my page may self destruct itself.  Whatever ;-)  If you follow me here, please feel free to share the link to those you think may enjoy my adventures.

Tomorrow I have an appointment for my TWIC card so I can get my MMC and if you have no idea what these are, it is credentials saying you are an upstanding citizen who is no threat to the security of a maritime port.  That would be me :-D  Once these credentials are complete then I will eventually be sent off for training in Maryland for my final "hoop" and then get my offer to start.

So, even if I may lag on here, or elsewhere for that matter, I want you to know that:

All is well.

Spilling the beans, in a manner of speaking 10-15-2016

Yes, I have been a bit of a blog slacker the past 10 days but there is good reason why my attention has been focused elsewhere.  For those who actually follow me here this is my little secret (depicted in the photo) that I have been busy manifesting.  No, I did not buy it, do not own it, but I did get a conditional offer to work and live aboard it and so I have many things I have to achieve and complete for the offer to go from conditional to REAL offer.

My dream job, as it were.  Not that I dream of working because that would just be crazy, nobody dreams of working their whole life.  But if one must work then one should, at the very least, enjoy where they do their job and what could be more perfect than cruising around the Hawaiian islands for a living?  I mean seriously? 

It has always been somewhat of my dream to write a travel blog, to share pictures of the beauty I see and tell the stories of what they are about and this is the best place for someone my age to do just that.  I have not shared this info publicly anywhere else as I am still in the process of "jumping through the hoops" to make it a reality and I don't want praise for following my dreams until I am actually living them or closer to that.  But Lordy I am bursting to tell the world!

So, when I do go aboard, this blog will be so much more consistent and contain more of the local beauty that is Hawaii as well as my thoughts and experiences on board.  Okay it may not technically be a "travel" blog since it will not be all over the world or even the country but it is a place to start and then maybe transfer to another of NCL's ships with an international destination.  I don't know if that is even possible but I believe all things are possible, so why not?

Plus I have been making my new chime "curtains" to sell to help pay the rent and given that we have to move next month I need to make serious funds.  So yeah, I get a little preoccupied with other things from time to time but once on board my beautiful new home those thing will no longer distract me from doing what I really love doing.

Just because they are beautiful I am sharing this photo of one of the chimes I did recently:

This one is over 4 feet long!  So pretty, I do good work ;-)  and should you be interested in buying them, you can find them here:

Chimes

Life is amazing and I just love how the Universe always conspires in our favor, we just have to get out of the way and let it.

I've been a little busy 10-5-2016

As you can see from my photos, I have been more than a tad busy this past week.  Not that I haven't thought about blogging, but since the orders were all prepaid, I felt an obligation to finish these chimes before I moved on to anything else.  And so the answer is yes, other areas may have been neglected.

That said, I do love making my chimes and creating beauty for others' enjoyment, it gives me a great deal of pleasure AND it is also true that it is a rather zen-like process in creation.  I am free to let my thoughts go where they will and not be attached to them as they do because many times amazing thoughts come through.

Like the fact that ANYTHING is possible.  Anything at all. History has repeatedly shown and told us this is the case, from the bible, to The Wizard of Oz movie, to many great thinkers.  We have the power within us to do anything at all, to create whatever it is we desire.  Even Jesus said you can do these things (I do) and more if only you believe.  The many He healed were healed because of their belief, as much as His touch.  Think about it.

Great things are happening in Chrissyland over here and as much as I would love to share them with you now I must wait as they manifest themselves, but they ARE manifesting.  And in the kindtime, I make my chimes and do house cleaning jobs as they pop up and sadly my blog sits, lonely, waiting for my return.  I know I said I would make an effort to be more present and I have been, just not here.  Because, as you can plainly see:

I have been a little busy.

P.S. If you would like to order yourself a beautiful piece of artwork (chimes) you can message me here:

Chimes

I'm all about the chimes 9-30-2016

It really was my intent to blog more this week, sitting on a stool and all, but inspiration happens.  And thus my week has been full.  I created this first one (above) just to see what it would look and sound like and it was stunning.  So I posted it to my facebook page, as I do, to get the pictures from my camera to my PC because I do not have a suitable cord to do it directly, and BOOM--people were all over it and it sold within  2 hours of my posting it with more orders that so far will keep me busy for the next week at least (currently).

This makes for a happy Chrissy, but a busy Chrissy and I get so in the zone in the making of my chimes that all my other online endeavors take a back seat for the ride.  They truly are works of art, in my humble opinion, but the majority seem to agree with me.

This was #2

Yes, the picture is darker than I like but I got so wrapped up in starting #3 that I almost forgot to get pictures before the sun started going down.  It's a zone, I can't resist a zone when I am in it.  I am so present when I am creating and I love that space.  And honestly, it is paying the bills so this is a very good thing.  And that is why, for now:

I'm all about the chimes.

The cat wins 9-25-2016

Yes it has been a bit since my last entry and there is a reason for that.  Part of it is explained by my last entry and the other half is explained by the poster above.  Right now I am sitting on a stool because the cat, China, has decided that my chair is the most comfortable place in the house.

Yes, the chair is on wheels and I could have rolled her away from the desk a week ago but I just couldn't bring myself to disturb her because then she gets vocal and screams at me and nobody wants to hear that.  But I decided it was high time to catch up online and so I rolled the chair and cat into the middle of the room and grabbed my little stool to perch upon.

And here we are.  I spent the past couple of days making a lovely wind chime which I will likely post here tomorrow because I am rather proud of it.  And the more I look at it the more I love it.  How is that for a little teaser?

Been busy looking for work to carry me through until my new gig starts and it is something I enjoy as well as making my chimes and the combination of the 2 would be quite nice I believe.

I also went on a cleaning streak here at home, it needed it and I am pleased with that effort as well.  I have spent some time time in the past week with a good friend, too, and so the past week has been good since I left the job that was sucking the soul out of me.  Sure, finances are not perfect but there is no dollar amount you can place on peace of mind and following where your soul leads you.

I will make the effort to be more present here no matter where the cat is but until now she has been the big obstacle to me getting on my computer lately because...

When it comes to the furniture... the cat always wins.

My cup runneth over 9-14-16

Most of the time I am just thankful for the cup and today is no exception.  Another day off and since it has been pouring rain off and on and otherwise quite overcast I have been just relishing doing nothing.  Well almost nothing as I have been thinking but then unless one is meditating it is difficult to not think at all.

I am not a quitter although I do believe it is time to move on from the current JOB, as in just over broke, and get out of what I mostly consider to be a bit of a hellish hole I got myself into.  I thought employment would be wonderful for getting me out of a financial hole but it turns out that I spend a minimum of 16 hours a week commuting to a thankless job that is barely making rent.  My bad.

This week I have been thinking about how when you step out in faith the door will open and I am going to trust that it will.  Wearing myself out physically, mentally and emotionally is also dragging me down spiritually and I am worthy of far better than that and self inflicting it is just nonsense.

I want to be energized by the things I do, not drained by them.  When I was much younger my husband held the same job for many years and I did not do the same.  He asked why I never stayed anywhere longer than 2-3 years and I said I got bored and I need stimulation to thrive.  He said there was something to be said for stability and I said yes, it is boring unless you have a true passion for it.

I still believe that to this day and although stability is nice, nothing lasts forever and when we are young I think it is the perfect time to try many things to see what fits us, what excites and empowers us.  I know for me it allowed me to see my many strengths, gifts and talents as well as my weaknesses and to be able to grow by learning all of that.  And isn't that why we are here?  To learn?

I was watching a revival on facebook last week and it was repeated many times: RELEASE (the praise), RECEIVE (the blessings), REPEAT and it stuck with me.  I know that we have to believe to see what we ask for and I am all for releasing the praise as I do on a regular basis. Release, receive, repeat.  And so I have been doing that.  Well, the releasing anyway.

I was on my way in to work yesterday and my gut said, NO, don't go! and so I asked myself one question:  Does doing this bring me joy?   And honestly the answer was no, it does not.  So I had my answer, it is time to get out while there is a trace of ME left.  And while I did continue in to work, I was regretting it 5 minutes later.  Life is far too short to have regrets and I knew it.

So I am looking for other means of making finances that will allow me to be joyful about what I am doing and that will also allow me to do things I love, writing here for example.  And so today I can say:

My cup runneth over.