Soul Whispers - Live Better Stories

It is my belief that messages from the universe speak to me and remind me of something that is inside of me. When I first see them, I often don't even know what is really being advertised. Instead, the message conjure emotions or thoughts relating to something that is going on within me; in my heart, in my mind, in my soul. I see them on billboards, in magazines, store windows, church plaques...everywhere.

I secretly call them soul whispers.

The messages are all around us

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We all have a story to share.

How you see your world is unique 

and therefore your interpretation

is yours and yours alone.

I believe that it is important to share your story.

You can do it, like me, through a blog.

Maybe you share your story through your children.

Maybe you've written a book, 

painted pictures, 

made a movie, 

written a diary...

I saw this sign in a store window recently

 and it made me wonder if my story was good enough.

Parts of my 44 years

 (yes, as of today 44 - where does the time go) 

have been an adventure. 

More exciting, scary, and wonderful than I could have ever dreamed.

I moved from a town of 5,000 people (my home town) 

to Manhattan with a fiance 

who months later was no longer my fiance and I chose to stay.

Yes, I chose to stay - I needed to embrace the city and I did it alone.

It was the biggest leap that I've made so far.

I've been here for twelve years. 

It changed my story in a big way.

I've discovered my creativity beyond my camera 

during the past 18 months and you've been a part of that story.

I reconnected with the love of my life (we dated back when I was 19) 

all because of the internet.

I took a huge leap and contacted him out of the blue 10 years ago.

And, guess what, he has been my SuperMan now for 5 or 6 years, 
we lost count.

It is like time stood still - he is my everything.

There are so many things that make up my story.

And, I believe that the little things define a person's story more 

than the big life changing things, like I mentioned above...

Coffee in the quiet of the morning.

Walks in the park to embrace nature.

Autumn is my favorite time of year because of the colors.

Flowers make me smile and remind of my Mom and Gram.

I love sand between my toes.

I would be happy to never wear shoes again.

The sun makes me smile.

If it is going to be cold out then I want there to be snow.

The purr of a cat will lull me to sleep.

I love to watch people.

I eavesdrop - so easy to do in this city.
I can sit for hours and listen to live music.
I still love to hold hands.
Little kids fill me with joy.

Hmmm, I think I have a really great story 

but I'll work each day at making it better.

Live Better Stories

Tell me a little about your story... 

Giveaway Winner Announced

Thanks to all of you who commented on my 300th post on Monday.

The giveaway, one of my favorite photos, Cold Morning Horse will have a new home.

This photo was taken on a back road in Wisconsin on a very cold winter's morning. 

I love the gray blue light that the morning light brings. 

The multiple patterns in the photo 

(the horse, the fence, the snow in the foreground) 

make my eye wonder. 

But, my favorite part is his breath. 

I wrote the names of those of you who commented on slips of paper.

I folded and placed them in a mug.

And, the winner is Kat at Feed Your Soul Art. Yahoo!!! Yippee!!! 

Kat, send me an email 

lorimoonstudio at gmail.com 

and I will happily get your 

photographic print in the mail along with a bonus goodie. 

Thanks everyone!

WOYWW - Art Journaling

Fellow WOYWW bloggers and followers, thank you for all the love last week!

Here is my desk (after many piles were moved). 

Living in a 320 square foot apartment means that my desk has multiple uses and for the past couple of weeks it has served as a collecting space for mail, magazines, collected art supplies, and other random "I'm not sure what to do with this" stuff. (Secret, I finished my sketchbook by creating a workspace on my bed.)

So, here is my desk this week:

I recently purchased a journal at a discount and I decided that my first page was going to be a reminder to myself. This journal is going to be a place for me to play with paints, inks, stamping, etc.

Be Brave

I'm not sure what it is about the blank page but sometimes I can stuck on it. 

Does a blank page ever intimidate you?

By the way, if you missed my post on Monday you can find it here. Monday was my 300th post and I'm giving away one of my photographic prints to one of you who comment on that post. So hop over and leave a comment. 

I'm linking up with Julia's WOYWW. I encourage you to visit a few desks for inspiration.

Soul Whispers - The World IS Listening (and a GIVEAWAY)

It is my belief that messages from the universe speak to me and remind me of something that is inside of me. When I first see them, I often don't even know what is really being advertised. Instead, the message conjure emotions or thoughts relating to something that is going on within me; in my heart, in my mind, in my soul. I see them on billboards, in magazines, store windows, church plaques...everywhere.

I secretly call them soul whispers.

The messages are all around us

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Today is my 300th post so I'm celebrating with a giveaway. 

Keep reading until end to learn how.

This ad is everywhere in NYC. The Grammys will be publicized on February 10th and this ad is all over the city.

I, of course, had to really look to figure out what the ad was about because my brain created it's own story.

The World IS Listening

This is how I read it, with an emphasis on IS...that is the meaning that it held for me...a reminder

that the world needs my story and that it IS listening.

I believe that sometimes we can get too caught up in our own day-to-day, our own problems, our own drama and we forget that what we do, how we say things, and the people that we interact with all have a ripple effect on our world. 

The smile that you share with a total stranger.

Saying good morning to the person that serves you coffee.

The simple act of asking your waitress her name and using it next time she stop by your table.

Simply saying Thank You.

I believe that these simple acts are part of how you tell/share your story.

They are a part of you.

The World IS Listening

Your perspective on life is yours and yours alone. 

Two people that stand on a busy street corner and witness the same 2 minutes of time do not have the same experience.

How you see and experience your world is unique.

The World IS Listening

How will you share your story?

Through pictures?

By a simple act of kindness saying thank you?

Making art?

Singing a Song?

By helping others?

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This is my 300th post and to celebrate 

I am giving away an 8x10 photographic print 

of one of my favorite photographs, "Cold Morning Horse".

To enter just leave a comment on this post.

All comments left between now and Thursday, 1/31, at noon EST will be eligible. 

The winner will be announced on Friday's, 2/1 post.

Corks...

There is a project in my future. 

I'm still not quite sure what it is but I am collecting corks.

WOYWW & The Sketchbook Project

Well, I did it.

I finished.

My Sketchbook Project is in the mail, postmarked in time, and off to The Brooklyn Art Library.

I created a book which includes a combination of my photographs (mostly messages from the universe) and a few of my favorite doodles, stamping projects, or art journaling creations from 2012.

Here is a sneak peek of a few pages:

I signed up to be part of the digital library for The Sketchbook Project too.

This means that they will scan my sketchbook and post it online. When this occurs, I will post a link so that those of you who are unable to attend the 2013 tour and hold my book in your hands will be able to view and see what I've created.

I'm hooking up with Julia over at Stamping Ground and What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday even though I am too embarrassed to share my workdesk - it is a mess and piled high at the moment.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my corner of the world.

Soul Whispers - Love What You Do!

It is my belief that messages from the universe speak to me and remind me of something that is inside of me. When I first see them, I often don't even know what is really being advertised. Instead, the message conjure emotions or thoughts relating to something that is going on within me; in my heart, in my mind, in my soul. I see them on billboards, in magazines, store windows, church plaques...everywhere.

I secretly call them soul whispers.

The messages are all around us

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This lovely message is in a second floor window on 33rd street in Manhattan.

It makes me smile.

love what you do!

We all have some thing that lights us up...

that while you do it you lose yourself...

that thing that makes us dance on the inside...

for me it is when I have a camera in my hand, 

when I am painting, carving a new stamp,

or making a book out of beautiful paper.

I know that my heart sings when I making art no matter what the medium.

What makes you dance on the inside?

Do you know what you love to do?

Now, the challenge is to figure out a way to spend a little time doing it.

I say a little time because I still have a crazy day job 

and to keep me balanced I know that I need to be creative.

So, I encourage you to love what you do.

(even if you can only do it for little moments at a time)

A New Word for 2013 - BLOOM - and a blog hop

As many of you know on Monday's I typically do a message from the universe post but today I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled programming to participate in the Fly Tribe blog hop to help embrace my one little word for 2013.

Choosing a word to embrace the entire year means to me that I have a reminder of my goals for the year.

Once again my word chose me...a few months ago but I didn't realize it until recently.

A couple of months ago I created this page in my journal.  

Bloom: a flowering state, a state or time of high development or achievement.

I played and considered a few other words: evolve, flourish, grow but for me bloom seems less daunting.  

To me bloom also can reflect a single thing and the other words made me think that I needed to make multiple things happen. I know that I will do more than one thing but balancing my creative life with my day job means I can only do one at a time, right now.

So, bloom it is for 2013.

Bloom

With my word I am committing to blooming creatively.

More art, more photos, more blogging (I promise to get back on the blogging bandwagon this week - sorry to have been a little inconsistent).

Hop over to the Fly Tribe blog and visit a few other posts and see what words they have chosen to embrace in 2013.

Oh, and if you haven't done so already, consider what your word will be for 2013.