[i] LoveLife

EASY vs HARD

EASY: taking the road most traveled
HARD: teething + unhappy baby (any suggestions?)

EASY: peanut butter + jelly for lunch AGAIN
HARD: potty training a very stubborn two year old (any suggestions?)

EASY: eating chips on the couch
HARD: riding my spin bike three times a week

EASY: outdoor activities with toddlers
HARD: finding things to do inside when it's raining

EASY: blogging
HARD: twitter (#iamsoboring)

EASY: talking passionately about LINKwithlove.org
HARD: waiting for the word to spread (please LIKE the facebook page, twitter, and pinterest!)

EASY: getting jacked up about content + ideas
HARD: staying on task

Today: it's a girl tribe day and I have learned that the best way to put myself in line for success is to lower my expections, slow my pace and LISTEN. Be in the moment. We're staying close to home to help Penn master her potty training and that means we are gonna need three pots of coffee (EASY) and ten thousand crafts (HARD!). What's EASY + HARD for you today?

GO!

Exhale.

[Photo by Rachael King Johnson ]

It's been a little crazy around here. LINKwithlove.org launched itself. I was on the cover of the newspaper. I did some radio interviews (you can listen to the interview at the bottom of the story.) I made some really far-out, but awesome connections. And then I got a little overwhelmed by it all. The exposure has been good (even when it has been hard) because it means MORE people will think about how they use information on the internet. And THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT.

The LINKwithlove.org idea is something that YOU can (and should) be a part of if you:

• contribute or display your work (art, photography, words, crafts, music, intellectual property etc) online
• know or LOVE someone who does
• appreciate passion, arts, sharing or positivity
• think that together we can make a difference.

Please do not think that if you are not an artist or photographer that you can't contribute. The very best thing we all can do is keep our eyes open - working together. AND JOIN THE FACEBOOK, TWITTER and PINTEREST PAGES. It may sound outrageous, but my goal is 100,000 'likes' on Facebook. If you're going to do something - DO IT UP RIGHT. Right?

Big, big, SUPER BIG thanks to everyone who has joined LINKwithlove.org. Thank you for the emails and kind words and shout-outs. There's lots of work to do now.

Today: Sweet, sweet, sweet CRANKY Poet has been teething up a storm and making long nights REALLY, REALLY long. The coffee isn't cutting it and my calendar booked up fast + furiously with LINKwithlove meetings. Which means this week is pulling me in all kinds of directions and making life intestesting. I predict big things for this week. I do.

GO!

LINKwithlove.org

The past two weeks have been full of reflection around here. Starting with this post about a little word-painting of mine that was stolen, misplaced and disrespected. And how that unfolded. It wasn't cool, but the UNCOOLNESS gave me an idea. And that idea gave me the courage to talk to some amazing artists, photographers, crafters, designers and friends. And now that idea is more like BIG dream for the internet. Dear Internet: I want you to look at art, at photographs at words, at music, at crafts, at design, at blogging and at all the magical bits that fall into the broad and incredible category marked INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - in a different light.

I'm asking you - as the best parts of the internet - to help change the way we treat art. I'm asking you to share information. To educate. To LEAD. To be conscious as you surf and pin and tweet and flutter about on the world wide web. Give credit. Keep links. I'm asking you - not to do this because it's RIGHT - but to do this BECAUSE IT PROTECTS THE SPIRIT OF PASSION. The heart of art. The very reason we make things.

I can't do this by myself. There is more information here. We are just starting to build a site and add content. Visit linkwithlove.org to get a badge that you can post on your own blog or site that shows the internet YOU RESPECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. That you LINK WITH LOVE. "Like" LINKwithlove.org on facebook. On twitter. On Pinterest.

Join me and the amazing people that supported my meager request with a HELL YA. Ali Edwards, Karen Walrond, Elise Blaha, Maile Wilson, Heidi Reimer-Epp, Tara Whitney - THANK YOU for leading change.

Let's do this. (Oh, yeah - and I caved and joined twitter and am lost.)

I don't write speeches. I don't write speeches because when I do I spend the whole speech time trying to remember what I wrote instead of letting the idea take over. And flow. I have found that what needs to be said - GETS SAID. Sure, there are extra 'ummmms' and I might take a round about route to get to my destination. But 'the moment brings the magic'. For sure.

I shared my BIG project for the first time last night.
I saw old friends.
I met new friends.
I felt encouraged + supported TIMES TEN.
I have media interviews this week and weekend.
I have a LOT to do to get things ready for that.

I can't wait to share the rest. I need A LOT of help to make this work AND I AM COUNTING ON YOUR HELP.

Today: I'm going to make it happen.

GO!

Art as a superpower.

[SUPER photos by Rachael.]

I'm not cool. I'm less like an X-Men personality and more like someone from Strawberry Shortcake. I try to pretend I'm cooler-than-I-am by drinking coffee dangerously and getting some ink. But at the end of the day - to the cool kids I'm just an old lady. A ma'am. The 3 P's Mom. Eww. I'm okay with that because what isn't obvious when you first meet me - is that I am actually in the top echilon of super-power holders. (STOP LAUGHING DAN.) It's true. I was reminded of that the other day when our awesome neighbour (of the small person variety) broke his arm and got his solid cast. To him I'm just Pilot, Penn + Poet's 'mom'. I'm an old lady. But, this little hardcore neighbour of ours (let's call him Coop-Dog to protect his real identity). He's somewhere between 4 and 5 and he asked me to paint a skull and cross bones on his cast. He asked me like it was perhaps something out of my repetoire - but I accepted his challenge.

AND NOW? Oh, his little blue eyes look at me like I am a bit of a superhero. I'm STILL AN OLD LADY. But, I'm one of those old-ladies that is kind of a mysterious super-spy because I have a special power. I know this because NOW when the sidewalk chalk comes out - there's Coop-dog hanging out beside ME with a very long list of requests.

Coop-Dog says: Can you draw a truck?
Which actually means: Can you leap tall buildings in a single bound?

Coop-Dog says: Can you draw a road with those yellow squares?
Which actually means: Can you see my bones with your xray vision?

Coop-Dog says: Can you draw a hopscotch?
Which actually means: Can you shoot run around the world in three seconds flat?

And I say:

YOU KNOW IT. ;)

Today: I am painting and thinking of random things to talk about at PechaKucha Volume 6. I like winging it MORE than organizing specific thoughts because I feel like the moment brings the magic. So I'm going to do that and hope they are not too disappointed if there's no pixie dust happening. I'm also going to talk publicly for the first time about my BIG project and see if I can guage the waters and get some supporters.

Coffee up. GO!

Behind Door No.1.

Oh, I love doors. They are such an amazing metaphors. Opportunities. Changes. Surprises. Chapters. Transition. All that good and beautiful jazz. I took some time this week to paint a couple of doors in my paintings studio with chalkboard paint. IN FACT - I have been painting EVERYTHING with chalkboard paint. I love the matte look and smooth texture. If black wasn't just a light sucker - I would paint every wall, ceiling and door with that paint. SO perfect in its opportunity for impermanence.

BIG DOORS around here:

• the theme/name for my next art show is Tipsy Tipsy. September 28. (opportunity)
• my BIG project is building momentum and I want to launch June 20. (change)
• summer is coming! (chapter)
• our rad nanny is leaving us mid august (EEEK!) Know anyone who might want to work with us? (change + chapter)
• Penn is about to take potty training seriously... I CAN FEEL IT (transition)
• I am making great progress on my core (thank you pilates) and it is changing MY ATTITUDE (surprises!)

What BIG DOORS are popping up for you?

Today: The girls and I are off to spend time loving life and minimizing whining, crying, falling, melting down and other toddler things because I have had little sleep and I can't handle it.  WE ARE PROBABLY HITTING UP THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME. And if it doesn't rain - I think we should picnic in the sun (with proper SPF protection!). Yay for the mid-week Girl Tribe Day!

GO!

Shelved.

Nailed it. My studio shelves are up and my what a difference it makes when you CAN SEE THINGS instead of just losing them into teetering piles. I like it a lot! It would be AMAZING if a handyman-fairy swooped in and finished the rest of it up while I was asleep. Until then - I'll just plod along and make small steps to what I'm after. It's coming along.

YESTERDAY:
- I finished my presentation slides for a talk I'm giving later in the week
- I had an interview with the local news
- I did pilates
- I spray painted some stuff
- I drank green tea - but it gave me the shakes
- continued fiddling with a BIG project that I want to launch in 1 weeks time

TODAY:
- I have meetings that were postponed yesterday
- I have prints to pack
- I have a painting to finish
- I have to find a way to slow down my brain so I stop missing things.
- I need coffee.

GO!

On being true. (new print!)

So here's the thing. This painting went on a journey of its own. Around the internet without consent. Stolen and battered. It was printed and sold and posted and reposted and found itself in some pretty unsavoury spaces and places. A million and a half times. It started to represent to me a bit of a bedbug phenomenom. It was disgusting. And sad. In all honesty I just wanted to delete it and forget it ever happened. AND GET ON WITH THINGS. But that seemed counter-productive and it would only be a matter of time before it happened again. It's happened before. That's how the Universe works... Every time I looked at those pretty brushstroke words they SCREAMED at me: BE TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE.

BE TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE.
BE TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE.
BE TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE.

SO I WAS. I stood up for myself. I surprised myself. I redefined myself and all kinds of new ideas were formed. New paths were forged. NOW - when I see this graphic I THINK ABOUT HOW AWESOME IT IS and how important it IS to be TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE. I'm excited.

In honour of THAT - this text-painting is now available as a print in 2 sizes. 8x10 or a whopping 16x20. Right here. (For a limited time.)

Remind yourself to be TRUE to YOU.

THREE things.

FIRST. Weekends are picking up speed! Pilot + Penn are officially done with naps and Poet is an easy-going nap-where-you-are kinda gal. We take full advantage of that after 3 years of a rigid napping regime. THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO when you are not staying close to home so little ones can sleep. This weekend we made sure to visit the newly renovated Children's Museum AND IT WAS MIND BLOWING. So great. So inspiring. So proud of our city to have something like this on the go.

SECOND. Dan blew my mind and put up the shelves I was waiting for in my painting studio. THREE CHEERS FOR DAN! I am back on the fast track to getting my studio where I want it. Let the painting begin!

THIRD. I have plenty to share this week and my goal for the next three months is staying organized and diligent so that I can WORK when I have to and ENJOY everything that comes with summer around these parts. BBQs. Spray parks. Margaritas. Neighbours. Friends. Fresh air.

Today: I have meetings and a date to rearrange my office, finish a painting, work on my BIG project, tinker with the art show details, spray paint some frames, ride my spin bike, do a little pilates AND enjoy some tea.I am going to try a green tea habit for a week to see if it makes me feel any different than coffee... Poet is giving me a run for my money and the NIGHTS ARE LONG. Whew.

GO!

New print.

This text-painting gave me a bit of a bumpy ride this week. It ended up in a lot of places that were a little heart breaking and THE IRONY WAS NOT LOST ON ME. Be true to who you.

Challenge accepted.

I have an idea. I think it's a big idea. And a bunch of incredible forces are making that idea into something that has the potential to be really awesome.

******

Hey. I promised the release of a new print today. AND AT THE SAME TIME CanadaPost went on strike. Which is kind of junky timing so I'm going to hold off on releasing it just yet. But, this photo is a hint.