The Creative Notebook

I need to lose weight, a lot of weight, and I want to do it without the latest trends to use diet pills or surgery.  I’m a nervous eater.  I’m a bored eater.  I’m trying to substitute creativity for food. 

Whenever I catch myself putting food in my mouth, I’m trying to put it down and pick up an art or craft project.  So far it’s worked.  I’ve lost over 25 pounds by consciously substituting knitting and spinning yarn for unconscious eating.  Not only am I losing wieght at a healthy pace, I’ve almost finished a pair of socks. 

Hello, Creative Pals!  Hope all is well with all of you and that your muse is blessing you with much creativity.  All is well here.  Just the day to day obstacle and joys of living.  My son’s computer isn’t working.  I credit that to being in storage through a cold three months after our house fire.  I’m searching for the best deal on a barebones computer for him.  That’s never any fun.

I thought I would add a couple of new things to the blog.  I’d like to showcase some creative projects as I come across them in blogland.  I’d also like to talk more about the creative process, enhancing creativity, and spotlight other creative people.  I’ll still talk about journals and offer springboards, because I feel journaling is so essential to the creative process.  Hope you enjoy the expanded content.

That’s exactly how some people see it.  Creativity is some magic pixie dust owned by a selective few people, held close to your heart like your grandfather’s  pocket watch and sprinkled around in tiny little precious portions for only the most amazing projects.

In reality, creativity is in everyone.  Every single one of us is creative every day and we don’t even realize it.  Did you rearrange the living room furniture today?  Creativity.  Did you plan a meal for your family?  Creativity.  Did you put together an outfit for a night out?  Creativity.  Did you find a way to solve an emergency at work?  Creativity. 

You don’t have to paint like Van Goh to live a creative life.  Look around your day and see if you can find any ways you were creative and give yourself credit for it.

Now that we have spend a couple months in our new house, obviously homes, and what makes a house a home are on my mind.  So bear with me if I seem a bit obsessed right now. 

I’m finding things here, now that we’ve lived with it for a while, that I’d like to change.  One of them is my bathroom.  It horrible dark.  The wallpaper is dark.  The fixtures are all black….tub, toilet, shower, sinks.  Carpet is a dark burgundy.  It’s very dimly lit.  I’ve been looking at bathroom lighting to try and light it up a little better and looking at cheap fixes to brighten the walls a bit. 

What would you change about your house if you could?  Write about it.

How do you see your future?  Are you a planner with retirement savings already started and term life insurance plans up and running?  Do you fly by the seat of your pants, living for now?  Do you already have your dream home blueprints drawn out complete with rocking chairs on the front porch?  Maybe you plan to travel the world like a nomad without any one home tying you down.  Write about it.

Are you harder on yourself than anyone else is?  Do you have confidence in your abilities and take criticism with a grain of salt?  When it’s time for your yearly review at work, what does your self assessment look like?  Are you harder on yourself than the boss is?  Write about it.  Remember, you are your own biggest fan.  If you have a loud inner critic, what can you do to silence him?  Freewrite as the words come to your mind.  Don’t censor, even if it doesn’t make sense.

What do you like?  Wine or water?  Blue Jeans or Business Suits?  Fine China or paper plates?  Pillows on the floor, or home theater furniture?  The farm or the city?  Are you happy with just about anything, or do you like the finer things in life?  I myself am happier with a simpler life.  Of course that could change if I hit the lottery, but…….

You know what I mean.  Write about it!  Paste in magazine pictures.  Take your own pictures.  This is an excellent prompt for visual journaling.

Are you a planner or are you more impulsive?  Are you the type that deals with things as they come, or are you the type to have retirement all planned out and family insurance in case of emergencies?  Do you take a trip with a planned agenda, or get there and see what catches your eye?  Do you make out a grocery list ahead of time, or walk through the isles and see what looks yummy?  Dinner reservations or take your chances?  How do these habits affect your life?