The Obnoxiously Emotional Art Hour With Sassy

Hello! This post is a fun one. Well. Rather, it plans to be. Eventually. You see, I will digress obnoxiously for the next paragraph (or three), then it'll get good. Just bear with me a sec...I'm awkward. It's been awhile since I've posted, but (I think) I'm back in the game now. 


If you read us regularly you know it's been a rough month, but it's not been interminable doom and gloom. I keep pretty quiet when the going gets tough; it has little to do with repression or denial but rather a choice not to expend energy where it's not necessary. I wake up with a certain amount of energy each day - then I choose how to "spend" that energy throughout the day. I know what saps my energy, so I stay away from those things, and then I do whatever replenishes my energy. It's simple: you don't run your car out of gas each time you take a road trip, do you? Of course not. You don't take a detour when the tank is low, either. You stop and fill up again when you need to. It costs you something, but not much, really, not when you budget and plan for it. Physiologically, we work the same way.  

When I'm stressed, when it feels like the world is caving in, I batten down the hatches and I ask myself: am I in check? Grace? Dignity? Integrity? Self-Worth? Check, check, check and check. Ok, now I can kick some ass. Sometimes that ass-kicking involves being quiet and listening to my lover pour his heart out, and being strong for and with him. Sometimes it means being Invincible Mommy, Giver of Hugs and Safety. Sometimes that ass-kicking comes in the form of singing my heart out until my lungs hurt, or dancing until I can't move anymore; or hardest yet, learning to talk through the hurt with my best friend, when I've known silence as my respite for so many years. In other words: strength comes in the lesson as you're learning it, not in the win. 

I've been through hell and back before; really, who hasn't? We adapt. Survive. Make the choice to set in roots and flourish, no matter how turmoiled the soil. I began to believe in myself when I was 26; sometime after the kiddo was born, during the gnarly divorce and seemingly never ending custody-soap-opera; as I was rebuilding a better life for my son and I, brick by ever-loving-I'm-tough-enough-to-do-it-don't-let-em-see-you-cry-brick. My life began to matter when I had to fight for it; finding my root strength was like pulling Camelot's sword out of my own heart. But the point is: once you grab that sword, you never let go. 

So anyway, want to know a secret? A great stress reliever? Coloring. You betcha. We color a lot around here, in good times and bad. It's good for you, don't laugh! I know this is a lame way to transition through the blog, but whatever. I'm not the writer around here. I'm the artsy-fartsy one. Here are a few recent masterpieces. (Our favorites are the dorky noir scenes from the Batman coloring books from the 99 Cent Store.  They're so awkward, they're brilliant.) Enjoy...!

OMG DRAMA

El Dio de los Batman

BOOM POW

The Joker

It's Speed Race-AH!

Oh yeah, and Trixie too!

And here's one special to my heart; it helped calm me through the storm at the beginning of August. I didn't sleep or eat much during one particular week; rather than allow the stress or anxiety to overcome me, I worked on this mandala (pen/oil pastels/pencil). I found that the act of applying color in concentrated areas had a soothing, calming affect on my mind. The time it took to complete this piece allowed my mind the freedom to wander and heal. 

  Namaste

Happy Monday, all.  :)