Would you like baby announcements like Nadim’s? Contact me! ☮

I am not talking about grocery shopping or laundry, or calling your neighbor.

I am talking about all those things that you want to change around the house.
All those things that you really want to make, or paint, or draw, or knit, or sew, or build, or sculpt…
you name it.
All those things you want to create, that are very clear in your mind.
All the things you want to learn! A new language, a new program, dance, instrument, workout, skill…
And the challenges you want to start, like training for a marathon, writing or drawing more, eating healthy, or training for public speaking…

Really, how long is your list? How long have these things been on it?
And what are you waiting for to start?

There is no time…

After doing what you need to do – the work that pays the bills (that I hope you love), taking care of the family and kids if you have any, making dinner, answering some emails, showering and taking care of yourself and your health – you are tired and the day is over before you know it.
Every now and then, you think of that list of things you would like to do, and feel bad because you ‘don’t have time’.

Prioritize your dream list

What you should do first is revisit your list and prioritize the things you want to do or learn.

Sometimes you’d read an article or watch a movie that gets you totally obsessed with a certain skill or activity. For months, I have thought of taking sword fighting classes after watching Kill Bill (Uma Thurman is more gracious than a ballerina…), and learning Swedish after falling in love with Lisa Ekdahl’s song Benen I Kors. But I got over this eventually. I didn’t give up; I recognized the passing obsession. I would like to know how to handle a sword, and speak Swedish, but it’s not really important for me right now.
I ended up watching some videos about sword fighting and reading about Sweden, and removing the to-learn’s from my list.

Baby steps

After cleaning up your list, you can start with baby steps.
If you have kids, or an irregular schedule, you probably can’t commit to spending two hours every day painting or learning spanish, no matter how disciplined you try to be. But can’t you find chunks of 10 minutes here and there to do your thing? You would think it’s not worth it and that you can’t have anything done in 10 minutes. But isn’t 10 minutes better than nothing? You can learn 5 new Spanish words in 10 minutes, do 50 squats and 50 crunches, or draw the rough outline of that new children’s book character you had in mind. (You can’t swim or hike in chunks of 10 minutes, so stick to the other things on your list for now…)

It takes a while to convince yourself that 10 minutes will make a difference, but I dare you to try.
And before you go, read these motivating words and quotes that I gathered on Pinterest, in my Words board.

The secret to a happy mind

Actions will get you there

If you don’t start now, then when?

There is no such thing as perfect conditions

Know what you are and be good at it

The power of your thoughts

I will bike for 20 minutes today. What will you do? ☮

The Little Prince – originally in French, Le Petit Prince – is an enchanting little story about the encounter of an aviator, with a boy who’s visiting earth from his own little planet.
Throughout that encounter, the kid keeps astonishing the aviator with his simple and true thoughts about life, and how ‘grown-ups’ make it complex. It is such an inspiring book that reflects the purity and wisdom of childhood, which fades when we become ‘grown ups’.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was an aviator himself, and (apparently) he tells some of his true experiences through the book’s character. The Little Prince is written in a simple, childish way, and it seems like a book for kids. However, every ‘grown-up’ would enjoy the simple and very true observations that the charming kid has to share.

The Little Prince was published in 1943. It has been translated into more than 190 languages and sold more than 80 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books ever. It was the author’s most famous book.

The lovely, colorful watercolor drawings throughout
the book have been created by the author himself.

To mark Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s birthday today, I have drawn my version of the Little Prince – or should I say princess, whose style was inspired by the Little Prince’s.

You will find her on Pokidots! July’s calendar; free to download and keep through the month of July 2011!

If you haven’t read The Little Prince, I suggest you do. It is a small book that you will probably read entirely in one sitting, and then read again every once in a while.☮

I’ve been offline and away from the blog (and Twitter) for a while, and I am not proud of letting you down for so long! I have been very busy, adapting to the changes that have been happening in my life and with Pokidots! studio.

New country.

I have moved to Seattle, WA! I have been a Seattle resident for about 3 weeks now, and I am loving it. I have visited often since I’ve moved to Vancouver, BC and I decided to live here for a while (♥). Seattle is a nice, vibrant city, not as rainy as the ‘outsiders’ think. There are always interesting events happening, many things to do, gorgeous scenery and a friendly ambiance.

Yes, you read that right!

I’ve moved from Canada, remember? In order to stay in Seattle as a resident, I have found a full-time design job and got a working visa. I started working 3 weeks ago. I am a presentation designer at a company that creates corporate presentations and videos for large events and business conferences.

I was a bit worried about going back to the 9 to 5 world that I ran away from a couple of years ago, but I was really surprised how well it turned out and how easily I readapted. The people I am working with are the nicest, the work is very interesting and challenging, the office is beautiful and sunny and just a few blocks from home.

I am truly happy.

Pokidots! is still here!

Obviously, I don’t have as much time for Pokidots! projects, but I am still planning on achieving my business goals.

Believe it or not, now that I don’t have the constant-money-making pressure, I can see my plans more clearly and I am more focused. I am considering working with a licensing agent so I could use all the time that I have to create art. In the end of the summer, I will have a new art collection, and I will be looking for a suitable agent to help me market it.

I am still taking illustration jobs; I will only be more picky about what I want to work on, and will probably take one project at a time.

Taking it easy this summer at Pokidots!

I am focusing on my new job and getting used to living in a new city – a new country that is quite different from its neighbor. I am working out more consistently and I am back to bicycling (on my nice new bike, up and down Seattle’s killer hills!) This gives me more energy during the day, and it fuels my inspiration.

I am currently completing a set of illustrations for a yoga e-book. It is a fun project featuring a pretty yoga lady that I named Inès. I will share some of the drawings, when they are all done. Don’t forget to check back soon!☮

I also created these colorful illustrations to complement the website design. I added a lot more highlights than I am used to, to make the images look more fresh and feature a healthy lifestyle.☮