ELEMENTS OF SELF - SELF ART

The love of purple and "sparklies"!

This weeks theme of Elements Of Self is “self art” where we get to do a self portrait using what ever medium we choose.  I like working with my hands and there is so much more I would like to learn, pottery, oil painting and creative art using fabric, but my hours looking after children does not leave much free time to get my own creative juices flowing. It seems my creative focus is primarily based on what one can do with finger paints and play dough. So for this prompt, I incorporated “self portraits”  as part of this weeks  daycare theme...

”FRIENDS MAKE US HAPPY!”

Body tracing is always a fun but somewhat squirmy activity especially if you have tickle spots or you are trying to trace a one year old...not an easy task. The kids enjoyed painting themselves and choosing stickers and sparklies to embellish their self portraits. I am including my little friends as they play a big part in defining who I am.

The Gang - Sydney, Kaiden, Elliot, Jonah, Me, and Kaidince...missing - Caeden

 With the addition of  leaves and pumpkins we will soon be painting, this mural will become a "Fall Fair."

For more Elements Of Self, visit Juliana at Shakti Mama.

BODY BASHING - ELEMENTS OF SELF

Today's post for Elements Of Self - Least Favorite Body Part is done in jest.
Although there is always something for which I can find fault in myself,
I have for the most part accepted that,
to borrow a phase from Popeye,

"I is what I is!"

I am...imperfect

but

I am healthy

I am active

and

I am happy

all for which I am very grateful.

...but I can still body bash with the best of them

so

...lets take it from the top!

...drum roll please...

(I will keep my list limited to the "B's" in order to keep it short)

THE B'S OF BODY BASHING

The Beak

...too big

The Boobs
...too big

The hubby would argue
that these are my best feature
but he tends to think primarily with his "lower" mind
and he doesn't have to bra shop
nor
does he have to carry this rack around.
(did I mention that I'm pretty good at male bashing too?)

We'll just skip past the Belly rolls...all three of them.

And now for the grand finale...

The Butt!

Unlike Sam at Emerging Into Wholeness,
I do not have the courage to post a picture of my ass
wearing nothing but my undies.
That's one brave woman!

Join guest host Sam at Emerging Into Wholeness
for more Elements Of Self
- Least Favorite Body Part.

ELEMENTS OF SELF - FAVORITE BODY PART

This weeks prompt for "Elements Of Self - Favorite Body Part" required a lot more thought than previous weeks. Perhaps a fitting title should be "The Good...The Bad...And The Ugly" since this post is about what I feel I good about and actually like about my body while the next prompt will focus on my least favorite body parts. I feel like I have been playing a game of "Head and shoulders...knees and toes trying to come up with what I like...a very short list... while the self critical part of me can easily we pick apart all the things...cognitive, physical, emotional, and spiritual etc. about my self that I don't like. Generally the list shifts depending on the circumstances and where I am in my life. When life is a bummer it's is much easier to fall into a negative pit of self hating. Liking myself was much more difficult when I was younger, shyer and more self conscious but I have found that the older I get the less important it is to me. Perhaps I have finally grown into my body or maybe I have reached a point in my life that I just really don't give a shit anymore and accepted the fact that I never had an hour glass body...and I never will. I try to focus more on trying to keep my weight in check, staying active and eating a healthy diet because, saggy boobs, belly rolls, bad skin and frizzy hair I do want to stay in the game for many, many more years.

My Two Favorite body parts are:

...my wrist

...because no matter how the rest of my body fluctuates
from a healthy weight
to a heavier weight
after falling off the wagon,
my wrist never change,
always staying slender
...a reminder that underneath all the padding,
there is a little person.



... and my feet

...not much to look at and painful at times,
they keep me mobile and when placed in the right hands,
they give me immense pleasure.

I would have to say that there is little that tops
the pleasure of a good foot massage...

For More Elements Of Self join
host Juliana at Shakti Mama.

ELEMENTS OF SELF - THE SHADOW

The theme for this week's "Elements Of Self...The Shadow" with host Juliana at Shakti Mama had me connecting a lot with my faithful companion, my shadow. Unlike a lot of people who need people around them all the time, I am quite comfortable being with myself...just me, myself and I, and sometimes I let my shadow tag along. I don't feel the need for constant conversation which is probably why I enjoy my solitary early morning walks and why I can spend hours alone digging in the dirt and tending to my gardens. Although I like to have hubby's help, I will send him off to a different section of the garden so I can be alone with my thoughts.

Walking is my time to clear my head of negative "garbage", collect my thoughts and recoup, ready to start the day fresh. Even on days that I need to push myself to get started, I will always feel better after, and will only skip my walk on very hot humid mornings. I am looking forward to the cooler fall weather when the air is crisp. My favorite walks are ones just after a snowfall with the sun is just coming up on the horizon, and the only tracks in the snow are my own.

Being a "shortie"
I like the way the early morning sun cast me
as being really....
tall.

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature.
It is earth's eye;
looking into which the beholder measures
the depth of his own nature.

Thoreau, Henry David

I took this picture at the shallow lake edge just as I was leaving after spending the afternoon swimming and kayaking with hubby and our daughter. I like the solidness of the stones, the smoothness of some while others are a little rough around the edges, the variety of colors, the fluid softness of the water transparent and calm at the moment but constantly changing...characteristics that can be used to describe my ever changing moods and feelings.

As a child, I loved the water
and put me in it now,
I will become that kid again.

Just fooling around
...me and my shadow
...I love how well we get along together!

THE POWER OF THE EYE - ELEMENTS OF SELF

~ The eye speaks with an eloquence and truthfulness surpassing speech.
It is the window out of which the winged thoughts often fly unwittingly.
It is the tiny magic mirror on whose crystal surface
the moods of feeling fitfully play,
like the sunlight and shadow on a still stream. ~

Henry Theodore Tuckerman

The focus this week for "Elements Of Self", hosted by Juliana at Shakti Mama is the eyes. Eyes fascinate me, especially it they are accompanied by laugh lines. I am drawn to them more than than any other facial feature...which is why most of the photos I take are close ups focusing on the eyes. They are truly windows of the soul...often reflecting thoughts and feelings ...adapt communicators when words are not needed. Being verbally shy and quiet by nature, I let my my eyes do most of my talking for me. A firm believer in "Loose lips sink ships" I tend to hold back my words when angry or upset...after all, words once released can't be reclaimed...but my eyes give me away all the time.

My girls, now grown and making their own way in the world, were always well behaved...most of the time...well... at least in comparison to horror stories told by other parents at the time, and it seems now that I can't remember ever having to "get after" them much. They would tell you that I didn't have to...that one look from me...with my "I'm only going to tell you once" eye, was enough to keep them in line.

I had The Power!

We were able to skip over the adolescent and teen years relatively unscathed due partly to of the "power" of the eye. They hated to see the look of disappointment in my eyes and would do the best they could to avoid it. They often joke about it now, laugh over times past and teasingly remind me that they had no choice but to behave because they would "wither" under my disappointed gaze if they didn't.

I still had The Power!

The hubby has become an experienced reader of my eyes too, although he has come to it much more slowly than the girls...probably because he is a man, and like most men is a slow learner when it comes to the wants and needs of women. But he can see when I am not feeling well or when something is bothering me. He has learned by reading my eyes when I need some extra love and attention or when I need some space and he is slowly beginning to learn when it is best to just shut up. Being the talker in the family, he really struggles with this one.

Yup, still got it...The Power!

Mostly, my eyes are smiling eyes ...sparkling blue jewels encased in a setting of deep laugh lines and it is when I am happy that you see the real power of my eyes.


I have been fooling around with the camera a lot lately since Juliana started this self portrait challenge, deleting many, many pictures before finally settling on the above close up of my eye, and the next one that I photo shopped to make look old.

I chose this one because I was struck by just how little my eyes have change from when I was the child seen in the next photo, taken when I was in grade three.

And here is a picture of one happy mother of the bride
where my eyes are indeed
...sparkling!