What Feeds My Soul...

remodeling

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:47:00 +0000

Still working on changing things up around here, so excuse the dust...

xo Lisa

sharing what I have been doing

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:27:00 +0000

I just posted a long little whooohaha over on Chubbas 'n Boop about what I have been working on and where I have been. Not sure who is still peaking over here on this blog to see if anything is new, so I am sharing it here as well.

The new project is called Visionary Mom.

(this is what I already posted on CnB)

Visionary Mom is a place for me to express my love of making a difference and helping people. That is what I did before I became a mom. My life was about making a difference, helping people live lives that they truly love. The past 5 years have been all about being a mom for me. I love being a mom. I love my children more than anything in the whole wide world. They are why I exist.

But, I also miss contributing to people, giving them something that helps make their lives a little better. I have been dwelling on how can I be doing that again, but in a way the incorporates and celebrates my love of motherhood, that allows me to be home with my babies, but still make an income and do what I love. (and give us the freedom to travel and pursue our own dreams)

I've spent months working on this.. exploring, trying to figure out what is it I want to do. And here I am sharing it with you now.

Visionary Mom is a place for us moms to dream.. to live lives we love.. to make a difference and express our hearts. It is a place for moms to get a little inspiration and encouragement to get out there and pursue their passions.

And, it is also a place for me to offer what I am good at - working with people to experience the love and joy in their everyday lives. To be in touch with the core of who they really are, to express themselves fully.

My focus is on mothers because I think far too often, we put our needs aside in favor of caring for our little ones. I've been starting to feel a little fed up and annoyed with myself for putting my needs last. I actually think we do a dis-service to our children by putting our dreams on the back burner.

Our kids need to learn FROM US how to live full, magical, dream fulfilled lives. They need to know that it is okay to dream and to chase those dreams. We can teach them this by doing it ourselves. They want us to thrive and be happy, creative, passionate human beings. They don't want us sacrificing our lives for them. Really, they don't. Trying to be supermom is so last century! :) This decade is about us moms ROCKIN IT!

So, there you have it, Visionary Mom in a nutshell. Oh! Almost forgot to say that I am offering coaching, e-courses and retreats. (that's the business side of it and a way to make even more of an impact by giving people a chance to really work on themselves). I am practically giving these services away right now as a way to collect some great testimonials, if you are interested.

So, pop on over and say hi. I hope you love it!

And, now that VM is off the ground, I am hoping to come back over to this space and do what I am thinking about here. Creating a space for me to share my creative inspiration....

yes i am still alive

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Lots going on for me, we are super busy with our toy business and I have a new project... which is occupying a bit of my time.. researching like mad. and not telling yet. :)

(More of what we have been up to here)

I still need to take some time to revamp this blog, refocus on what I want to do here. So, don't give up on me yet and don't expect much until after the new year.

Until, then.. I hope you have a lovely, magical, cozy holiday celebration!

rethinking

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:22:00 +0000

At the risk of you all thinking I am a flaky nut case, I am reorganizing this blog space once again. I know, you are thinking, here she goes again. But, I have to do this. All my visions for what I wanted to do with it just are not happening, and I have felt a little confused. Yes, confused.

That is because I originally started blogging as a way to capture the happy moments of our days as a family. I would like to one day take all my blog entries and get them printed in books for my kiddos to have when they are older. I often wonder about what life was like growing up, the things we did, what me and my sister liked to do. I think it is important to take note of the growing up of my children.

I am not the kind of mom that keeps a baby book, most of my printed photos are stuffed into a box. But, I do want to remember what our family was like years and years from now. I find blogging to be a really easy way to organize and keep our memories all together.

The thing is that I am also doing some of my own personal soul searching, exploring my artistic side, etc. Some of that is more difficult to write about and I am not sure I want it in a forever book that my kids will have some day. You know?

I am not sure all this personal exploration stuff is even worth capturing and sharing about. But, I do know that I really enjoy reading about the inner thoughts of other moms and artists. I find it inspiring and it helps to hear what other women are dealing with.

When I fist started this blog, that was my intention, to share some more of that stuff. But, I also want to keep a journal of sorts about my kids and our family life. The two things just are not meshing for me here. So, I end up thinking of lots of things I want to say, but keeping silent because I am not sure how much or how to share it all.

Sooooooo... (long story to get here, sorry!)

I am going to go back to blogging at Chubbas 'n Boop. And I am going to keep this blog as my own personal space. Our life as a family, the daily happy moments, will be over there and over here, I am going to keep it all about me and my journey.

Which might get boring and annoying. Sorry. But, that makes keeping the 2 things seperate all the better. If you are interested in my own personal creative journey stick around, we'll see where this takes us.

If you are more interseted in the slow family rhythm I like to keep, homeschooling, raising my kiddos, what's happening with Anabel and Enrique, art groups, etc. then you can follow all of that over at Chubbas 'n Boop.

And if all of my wonderful ramblings fascinate you, then you can visit both blogs. :) (cuz I am so interesting, I know!)

It will take a bit to get back into the groove, I am sure. And I need to do some house keeping here, so be patient while I move things around.

Oh, and I want you to know that I really do appreciate all of you who stop by! I do. I think all of us human beings just want to feel like what we are doing matters and what we have to say is heard. So, thanks for listening. xoxox ~Lisa

seven days of small wonders :: five

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:53:00 +0000

my son

seven days of small wonders :: four

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:41:00 +0000

It was a snowy busy day yesterday, a day I would normally want to stay inside and cuddle under the covers. But, we were out and about, taking care of our weekly errands. Which had us get to experience and frolic in the snow. It was a happy day.

Two of my favorite moments...

one cent horse
(found at our local grocery store)

winter joy

seven days of small wonders :: three

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:31:00 +0000

early morning window

Now, if I could only figure how to accurately capture the most spectacular color that this sunrise produced. If I could bottle that up and sell it - I would be rich..

It was amazing.

Amazing doesn't even really do it justice.

seven days of small wonders :: two

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:04:00 +0000

discovering the magic of story

Anabel today discovered the world of books. She sat on my lap and savored story after story. Normally she squirms, tries to steal the book, or runs off before I've finished reading. Today she brought me one book, then another, then another..taking in every word.

And, no accident, I think, today she also said her first real, complete, clear as day sentence: "I want some more!"

seven days of small wonders :: one

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:24:00 +0000

a tree in fall

self portraits

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:49:00 +0000

I never ever want to be in front of the camera. I always think I look awful. I'm sure most everyone thinks that. But, for me it is often true. I take BAD pictures. Ask my mom, she'll tell you.

Well, I am doing this little online class to push me with my creativity and to surround myself with like minded souls. It is awesome and so far I am loving it! We get assignments every week. A photo taking assignment and some journal work to get us thinking about our creative process. The class is called "Bones of Poet" - how romantic and wonderful is that in and of itself?

This past week, we were to do a self portrait. Lots of stuff to think about it shooting the picture (who am I, what inspires me, etc.) I totally avoided it all week. But, today is the day we get a new assignment and I wanted to make sure to get it done before I read the new project.

So, this morning in the freezing cold, I grabbed my coffee and headed outside to see what I would come up with. I took so many pictures of myself. Seriously. More pictures were taken of me today than have been taken in the past 5 years. Of course, I deleted a ton of them. But here are some that I liked...(enjoy)

self portrait: silly, happy faces of me

self portrait: wishing

self portrait: dance

self portrait: leap

my journey

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:22:00 +0000

I have not been around here much lately. I have had a lot on mind. Too much to share here. Or, more accurately, not sure how to really share it all. I have been focused on ME these days..

Who am I?
What do I want?
How do I want to express myself?

Sometimes these thoughts leave me feeling deflated and hopeless and annoyed with myself. Not exactly the inspiring stuff that I want the whole world to know about.

Sounds a little dismal, I know. But it hasn't been, really, I promise. It is more like I am finding my footing again. Re-learning and discovering who I want to be in the world.

My focus for many years now has been on being a mom. Researching, reading, experimenting with what works to bring out the best in my kids. That is all that has mattered. And it has been great.. I love my kids and I am so, so proud of who they are becoming. But my attention lately has not been on that. It has been on me, who am I becoming? I find sharing about that is more difficult than talking about my kids. Hence, the silence.

You see, there is this whole art thing. If you have been following this blog for awhile, you know that Don and I really value the creative process and work really hard to make sure creativity is part of our everyday lives. BUT, most of that creativity has been focused on giving my children the space and freedom to be artists, to create. Yes, I will whip out the sewing machine and make stuff every now and then.. craftiness is easy (for me). But what about ART?

You know, creating something for the beauty of it. Just because. Expressing something deep within my heart and soul. Nope. Have not been focusing on that.

Until recently. I have been exploring this question of who I am and what I want to create in the world. It has been an interesting thought process for sure. Full of inspiration, doubts, questioning myself. Some days - not so pretty. But here I am looking, seeking, delving in (and now telling about it).

It's funny, all growing up, I always surrounded myself with creative friends, have always been drawn like a moth to the light toward creative souls. But, I have never really thought of myself as an artist. I studied math in college! There was a period when I was living in Seattle that I declared "I am an artist!" My living room became my studio and I painted most every day. Ugly, awful painting, but I did it. Then I moved to Europe and was working myself silly, so I stopped. And that was the end of that.

But, in the back of mind, I knew. I know. There is an artist inside me. Lurking, dying to get out. It is who I am.

What I will create, I have no idea.. but create I am now doing.

(The pictures here are from last night. My friend Jenica started these RAW nights (RAW = Random Art Workshops) in Salt Lake City and when I read about it on her blog, I knew that this was something I wanted to do. So, last night I invited a bunch of friends over to hang out, make art and just be with each other. There was painting, beading, crocheting, collaging. All of us just doing whatever we felt like doing. It was AWESOME! Having support in my own artist journey I think is the key to keep on moving forward...)

art

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:40:00 +0000

This is amazing...

photo wishes

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:05:00 +0000

One of my big dreams is to get REALLY good at taking pictures - it is something I really, really love. But, I have noticed myself lately feeling not too inspired and waiting "until later" to get back to practicing. Not very motivating, is it?

I seriously make myself crazy sometimes. For all the exciting things happening in my life right now, I have a gazillion other things I wish I was doing. This is one of those things.

So, in the spirit of going for it and not waiting and making my dreams happen, I am going to start playing in the weekly I ♥ Faces photo contest again. Their website if FULL of tons of great tips for taking pictures. I receive new updates in my blog reader all the time from them, but I have been just skipping over those posts for awhile now! Boo on me...

Last night I saw the prompt for this weeks theme, "Completely Candid" and decided it was time to get back on the court and start playing again. To delve in and learn from the awesome community that has formed over there.

Here is a picture I took of Anabel on our recent camping trip, I may have already shared it here on my blog, but I love this shot of her totally celebrating the freezing mountain lake water!

After today, I am going to take a new picture each week to enter, kinda like a homework assignment and share it with all of you on Monday or Tuesday. For me, it is not about winning this contest (though that would be totally cool!) it is about getting out there, doing it, taking action toward fulfilling my dreams.

So, what dreams are YOU cooking up these days?? I seem to be sharing alot of mine here lately and I want to know, what do you wish for?

when i grow up...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Danette, over at The Drawing Board just started an awesome new project called Self Expression Springboards. Basically she is providing a creative catalyst, a springboard to help get us inspired. She says, "My catalysts will invite your imagination, creativity and curiosity to find new ways of expressing yourself - and maybe discovering new things about yourself you didn't even know you knew!" Her blog is totally amazing, full of tons and tons of creative motivation.

This Week's Creative Catalyst: Imagination

Imagine you at your most powerful. You rock. You are a freaking champion, and everyone knows it. We are filling a stadium to the brim, voices cheering and hearts splashing in anticipation of you making your entrance. We all know what song is going to blast through the speakers as you walk into the ring. It suits this moment perfectly. It makes you feel so good, to step into the light with this song playing...

Freekin' LOVE this song by Michelle Shocked. And, wow, she is a total whack job in this video, which I kinda love also! (and totally didn't expect) So, yeah this one is perfect for me. It makes me feel happy and silly and funky and free.

This is one of those songs that I love to blast REALLY LOUD while driving down the road pretty fast. It would be the perfect soundtrack for Don and I driving through the desert in a convertible Cadillac, pulling an airstream...

Photo credit: NCReedplayer on flickr.

about me and this blog

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:51:00 +0000

Hi! My name is Lisa Delzer and I live in Colorado with my husband, Don and my 2 little ones. Enrique is 4 1/2 and Anabel will be 2 in October.

I used to have a blog called Chubbas 'n Boop, but recently felt the need to start something new. Why? Well, I really loved that blog, but I was feeling like it was a little too much just a journal of our days and I am wanting to express something more here on this new blog. Not just stories of me and my kids (though there will be plenty of that, I am sure).

Becoming a mom has been the most wonderful, amazing experience for me. But, I also struggle with who I am as a woman, what I want to do with my life, who I am in this world. I want to share more of that here. A little more about me and my journey to live my life in a way that inspires and nourishes me.

I have dreams and aspirations that include, but are not exclusively about my kids. I dream of making art, traveling, and learning new things. I am also really passionate about things like living simple, being creative, being a good mom, keeping the love alive with my husband and being happy in this life.

So, this blog will still FOR SURE be about my kiddos, because they are so silly and cute and fun. But it will also be a place for me to share what I am loving, struggling with, learning and wanting - not just as a mom, but as a woman.

I hope you enjoy reading my rambles.. maybe they will inspire you to live in a way that feeds YOUR soul!

(Note: I did transfer over all my old posts from Chubbas 'n Boop, so if you are looking for something, you should be able to find it!)

my dreams and goals

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:59:00 +0000

Part of why I created this new blog is because there has been lots of dreaming happening in our household, but not alot of making those dreams come true. You know how when you are dreaming all the time, the present moment starts to seem not so great? That has been happening alot as well.

So, how does one (meaning me) go about perusing our family's dreams and goals but enjoy where we are at right now? I love the old saying, "wherever you go, there you are." I know the grass is not always greener, but there are things that I still want to experience in this life.

AND, I want to enjoy, cherish and celebrate what is happening RIGHT NOW. It is a tricky path to be on, enjoying the journey, but looking forward to where we are going.

So, where are we going? Well, Don and I spend ALOT of time talking about what we want for us and our kiddos in this life. We have a few big dreams we can see us doing:

1. Build a house in the mountains of Colorado. Buy some land, live in a trailer or a cabin or something and build a house ourselves. It may take many years, but in the end, we will be debt free and have the house of our dreams.

2. Go live abroad in someplace like Costa Rica for a long time, or even until we get old. We sometimes talk about doing #1, but in another country.Photo by maveric2003 on flickr.

3. Buy an old Airstream and some cool old car to tow it and live on the road for as long as it is making us happy. Travel and see the country with our kids. Homeschool on the road, move whenever we feel like it.
Photo by koocheekoo on flickr.

4. Buy an old house in a smaller town and fix it up. Live a really simple life, but travel lots and make tons of art.
Photo by joseph a on flickr.

Now, which of these are we going after? None of them really. We are just talking. We would love it if we do all of it before we die. At this rate, it won't happen. Talk is cheap, you know?

So, lately we have been talking about making some goals that will allow at least one of the above daydreams to actually happen. The thing all four of those things have in common? Money. We need money and/or a means to support ourselves while doing them. So that is what we are focusing on right now. Learning to live really frugally so we can pay off our debts and save some money.

Our present goal is to pay off our debt. Writing this, I am not even sure exactly how much that is. I will find out in the next few weeks and come back here to update that. We are taking on some money challenges to help us confront and change our spending habits. You can read about our money games here.

And, you can follow us on our dreaming journeys here. We are all about chasing our dreams these days!

links i love for a little inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Yes, it's true. I am addicted to blogland. There are just so many really cool people out there talking about stuff that interests me. I get tons of my ideas of things to do from these guys. I have a gazillion blogs in my feed reader, so I am only going to list a few here at a time. I will update this list every few weeks or so. Here are some of my favorite places on the internet right now...

Amber Dusick :: A really craft mama to a sweet little boy with another on the way. They just bought a house so she has been sharing some really great home improvement projects.

Boho Girl :: A seriously honest, from the heart, amazing woman. She and her husband adopted a little boy not too long ago (amazing story). I wish I could take pictures like her, wow!

Simple Notebook :: Lots of great tips and ideas for simple living. She is the one who gave me the idea for the "no spend month" that we are doing.

Soulemama :: You probably already know about her and her super inspiring blog. But, I think she deserves a permanent spot here on my list because I just can't get enough. She definitely challenges me to be more creative with myself and my kiddos!

The Artful Parent :: This mom really knows how to keep the creativity flowing with her daughter! TONS of great ideas, by far one of my favorite blogs.

The Nourishing Gourmet :: I just found this blog, but I love it already! She has some really yummy recipes and good ideas for eating well on a budget.

This is Reverb :: Totally from the heart, awesome blog, written by a dad, who is also a wonderful photographer. I know it is kind of stereotypical to say, but I am always surprised that this is written by a guy. He is pretty great, his wife is a lucky lady.

Ok, go check these guys out.. and check back here later to see new ones I've added!

blog readers are THE BEST!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:15:00 +0000

Just about a month ago, I made the best ever internet discovery. And for those of you who already know, please forgive my over excitement! But, the discovery of the handy dandy blog reader, is.. well, wow! What a time saver!

If you know me, I love to read blogs. So much inspiration and good stuff out there. Well, I always book marked the ones I liked (or tried to remember them). That meant that I had to go back to each and every one of them to see if anything new had been posted. Sometimes this got a little annoying, especially when quite a few of my favorites had nothing new to read. This also wasted quite a bit of time for me, and I don't need one more thing to waste time on these days.

Well, I had heard about subscribing to a blog, but never really checked out what that meant. Once I got over that, all I can say is "what was I waiting for?!"

Here is how it works:

1. You pick a blog reader that you like. I use the one from google. But there is also bloglines, newsgator, yahoo, and others.

2. Open up/set up your account. With google, there is a button I added to my toolbar, which makes adding new blogs really easy.

3. When you come across a blog you like, simply click the subscribe button on your toolbar or on the blog itself. For example, on this blog, I have a place on the right side where you can subscribe via the most popular feed readers. You can select new posts or you can subscribe to the comments if you want to follow along with what others have to say here.

4. On many blogs (this one included), you can also sign up for email notifications when something new has been added. This is a great way to keep on top of things if you are not a a crazy blog addict like me!

5. Open your blog reader whenever you feel like having a good internet read. All the new posts from your favorite blogs will be waiting for you! It's kind of like opening up the newspaper every morning (only way more fun and exciting).

The only thing I don't like about this system is that you are reading the material straight from your blog reader, so you don't get to see all the fun info, pictures, etc. that people have all over their blogs. But, you can always open up the blog to read it, which is what I do every now and again to leave comments and check out if they have any new goodies for me on their sidebars.

Oh, and some people have their settings set so you only get a little teaser on your blog reader so you will HAVE to open up their blog to read the whole post.

I think this is the best way to manage all the blogs I like to read. I do go through my reader periodically and get rid of blogs that I no longer find interesting or I find myself skipping over more often than not. No sense spending hours reading blogs every day. I DO have other things to do with my time, (really).

Hope this helps. Feel free to leave a note if you have any other tips or tricks for saving time cruising around the internet.