Blog - Stuffed with Aloha

Getting back to "Normal"

4/15/2019

As those of you (I'm hoping three by now) who've been reading my recent blog posts know, 2018 did a number on my family. We had many changes, both good & bad, many adjustments & the loss of any semblance of "normal".

Let me start by saying that "normal' is relative. What's normal for me (requiring a decent amount of coffee to function as a human) may not be normal for you (how do some of you human on just regular beverages?). So when I use the term "normal" in this post (yes, going forward I will ditch the quotation marks) I'm referring to a routine that was standard for me & mine.

Meet the Mewlings!

4/13/2019

Anxiety, my invisible nemesis...

4/8/2019

Yes, I have anxiety.

I'm still alive...

3/30/2019

Apologies to the handful of you that still try to follow this blog. 2018 was undisputedly (so far) the worst year for me & mine. (It doesn't sound grammatically correct, but I'm declaring that it is so deal with it.)

I'm still recovering from last year & so far this year has been better, but not by a ton. So, this post will be short, ish.

Not prepared to go into details, but let me just say that there were WAY TOO MANY deaths in my family & as we're approaching (or have passed) the one year anniversaries of those losses I'm struggling.

I've been trying to find my way back to myself, back to the people I care about, but it's not easy. Not by a long shot. As always money (or lack thereof) weighs heavy on my mind. Anxiety pounces on everything, even the sadness of a Hallmark movie (because they don't show the commercials like they used to). Stress, depression & fatigue take over; worries fill in the nooks & crannies.

I've not been able to create much; the inner critic monsters have stepped up with megaphones & protest posters, echoing the unknowingly/unintentionally insensitive comments of strangers, family & friends. They've no permits, but because there is no inner positive police force to deal with them, they persist.

But I'm on a tiny ledge of "you can tryness" right now, so I've taken the first step. This post. Which I will not share on Facebook or Twitter. Which I will publish before I change my mind. Which will hopefully be the start to more.

I hope you've been well....

Aloha hugs,
-Clare

Entertain me....

8/8/2017

Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook know that I get bored easily & am randomly prone to challenging/asking my friends to entertain me.

Whether it's answering questions about themselves, me or life in general, coming up with short stories on topics I pick because or just commenting on random things that pop into our (collective) heads, I look to others to entertain me, because I'm bored/lazy/squirrel-brained?whatever.

I'm now going to attempt the same thing here. Yes, this does require audience participation, so if you are not inclined to be silly because I want you to, go ahead, click one of the links on my 'Friends' page & experience some of the awesomeness that is the people I love.

If you've got nothing better to do, click 'Read More'....

I'm still here...

8/7/2017

***Warning: The following post is not all bubbles & cawfee, so if you're one of the two people that read these & are feeling depressed or just not in the mood for less than bouncy kitty happiness proceed with caution.***

The Chicken Arrived!!!!!!

3/2/2017

Because my babiest baby, the Chicken, is turning SIXTEEN! (Insert every sad face emoji imaginable here)

Yes gang, my sweet boy is sixteen & I'm bawling.

December 31st, 2016

12/31/2016

Dearest you,

Before 2016 ends I want to remind you that despite everything that has happened, you were, are & always will be loved. No matter what the future has in store for us, you will always be important & there will always be someone (besides me) who thinks you are amazing, because you are.

In the new year, be good to yourself. Be good to others. Make a difference. Remember even if you only change one person's life for the better, that's one more person changed than yesterday.

Have a beautiful life, share your light & love with the world, make time to play with bubbles & dance in the rain whenever possible.

💖 -Me

It's October & I'm Sad

10/3/2016

It's been about a week since my last post. I've not arted. I've not created. I've not done anything (really) to refresh my soul. I suck right now.

September's Almost Over...

9/27/2016

and I'm still here. It's been a rough few months here & it's been all I can do to not go crazy. I haven't created anything in I don't know how long & truthfully the last two months have been so overwhelmingly challenging that I've basically just been doing what I had to do to get things done.

Wow

3/29/2016

So here it is the end of March 2016 & I haven't posted anything in ages.

That's because sometimes life people suck, life sucks & things happen. Or they don't happen, which can be just as bad.

I won't make excuses, I just haven't posted. I've been doing the responsible adulting, the involved parenting, the dutiful spouse & offspringing, the loyal friending & all of the other things that people do when they either don't have the time or desire or motivation to do the themselfing. (I fall into the realm of the last two there, just so you know.)

Of significant import is that the advanced aging of the Chicken, who is now fifteen. He is currently studying the driver's manual in preparation for driver's ed, which may or may not happen here soon. He is now five foot six inches tall, growing a nice mustache that I have named 'Ricardo' (always pronounced with my best & most sultry Ricardo Montalbán accent) & turning into a man whether I like it or not. *Insert mournful, nostalgic sigh*

Not allowed to post pictures of him, so here is the Rainbow Chocolate Chip Birthday Pancake I made him.

Anyway, my banana bread timer is going off which means it's also time to start dinner. So I'll stop here & post this for now.

Hoping to get back into posting more often. Hoping even more that you'll still be interested in reading these. Sorry there's no new art; I ran out of me & have been lackadaisically attempting to want to get some of me back.

Until later my darlings, much aloha & giant hugs,
-Clare

Welcome to 2016!

1/26/2016

Well, we survived yet another year.

I have to admit, I have no idea what I'm going to end up writing about.

I had thought I'd just make this a Quoteful Cop out, but that seemed like too much work.

“Quotes are nothing but inspiration for the uninspired.”- Richard Kemph

So I decided to share some pictures of the CoW. Because I can. Because I may or may not have promised pics back in November or so, when we started rearranging rooms here. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any of the pre-rearranging pics; I think the sock monster crawled out of the laundry room & deleted them from my phone. He's a brat that way.

Anyway, these are just a few pics of what the CoW looks like now. It is still a work in progress as I still have rearranging & more downsizing/purging of unused things to do. I'm pleased though, because you can see the floor & I think the energy flows better.

Some people have altars for remembrance, prayer or faith based reasons, meditation, ritual sacrifices...I just have one for soap. (The pics above it are the Squab [l] & Chicken [r] from waaaay too long ago.

At the top of the southwest corner of the room I have Wiener Schnitzel Von Hasenpfeffer (WSVH). He likes to swing & keep watch over everything.

Above my (north facing) window is the most awesome 'Mitch' by my amazing friend Shani. There's a story behind him, but basically Mitch is a six foot tall candy cane in a powder puff blue tuxedo. I love Mitch.

In the northwest corner (above the picture of a Weeping Angel that the Squab's friend gave me) I have my wind chime. Because I like wind chimes. I also like this pic better in black & white.

The northeast corner, behind the entrance to the Cave of Wonder is Babooze. He's WSVH's best friend & also watches over things.

Behind these doors lies a magical portal to worlds of excitement & wonder. Or, if you are the Stork it's the closet with the holiday decorations, all my blank canvases & office supplies. I like my interpretation better.

Every creative space should invite/invoke some magic. This is the faerie chime I made to let the magical beings know that they are welcome. It has a couple of tiny bells (for beautiful, magical music), a pendant that says 'Believe' (to let them know I do believe in magic) & heart (to let them know this space is full of love).

Below the faerie chime is my desk/headquarters/place where most everything happens. And all the stuff. The little bookcase (not visible but the lamp is sitting on it) has my permanent markers, & various other createy weapons. Fun fact: the blue lei (closest to the corner) on the wall is a money lei (don't get greedy, it's all pennies) that my sister's best friend gave me when I graduated from high school. I might be mistaken, but I think it has the same number of pennies as the year I graduated ('92).

Well, there you have it. The only pics of the CoW that I deem not blurry enough to share. I hope you enjoyed them. By the way...

Yes, I do have various pieces of art from both my boys & my friends on the walls, as well as some of my creations (there is a lot of my stuff on the walls of our guest room).

Yes, I do name my stuffed animals. Doesn't everybody?

Aloha hugs until later gang,
-Clare

So long 2015....

12/27/2015

Carlee & Carl enjoying the view from our Christmas tree.

Yes, my sock monkeys have clothes on. The tutu that Carlee is wearing & the overalls that Carl are wearing were handmade by yours truly. I did not make the leather bomber jacket that Carlee is wearing (she mugged an elf on the shelf for it, because I couldn't find anything small enough to make her a coconut bra).

UGh...

11/27/2015

Aloha my lovelies! Sorry for being AWOL for so long. I hope that while I was gone you all used that time to hone your evil powers & use them solely for the greater good. I know I tried. Once or twice anyway.

TIme flies....

10/6/2015

Many thanks to the Google for this completely appropriate pic.