Football Fun

For Day 10, I was having so much fun that I didn't have a chance to post. But I baked pumpkin cupcakes, got to hang out with family and friends and rooted on our home team on their way to the Super Bowl.

I Love Sunsets

I love sunsets! I never tire of taking pictures of them either. It's like my way of paying respect to one of Mother Nature's wonderful creations. Lately though, my smart phone, which doubles as my camera when I'm on the go, hasn't had enough memory for many pictures, so when I'm unable to photograph the amazing colors and marvelous shapes of the clouds, I really try to stay present and savor the view I'm lucky enough to witness. I'm almost sad on the days when I miss the sunset or can't see it for some reason. I'm beginning to feel equally about sunrises but I most definitely regularly miss those on the weekends. It's such a treat though on the weekdays as I start my long drive to witness such extreme beauty. It's a gift from the earth. And I happily open this gift as often as I can, everyday if possible. Also one of the next best parts is sharing the beauty with friends and family, and Facebook makes it so easy to connect with loved ones from all eras in my life and unite to enjoy the simple beauty of nature together. I love that.

So here is my gift to you tonight, on the 9th day of fun. :-)

What do you love about nature? I know, it's hard to choose. Thankfully we don't have to. Nature is so abundant--we can pick something different everyday and never run out of beauty! 

Twinkly Lights and Fog

This is all I can show for my Fun-A-Day #8. Over all it was a good day but a long commute which pooped me out. But I saw this beautiful fog over my mom's lake after I dropped her off at home and loved the twinkly lights across the lake. Yes, it's a cell phone picture and a bit blurry but I think it almost looks like a painting that way. Add that to my creative to-do list: paint fog. This is in addition to painting clouds, drawing a mandala, art journaling more, and using more random (or not-so-random) print in my collages. I like keeping a creative to-do list. I keep it on my phone in a note and add to it when I think of another artform I'd like to try. That's the benefit of Fun-A-Day--it brings creativity to the forefront of my mind. Helps awaken the natural born habit within me to express myself creatively.

Do you have a creative to-do list?

Yoga for Fun

So for today, I mustered up my energy after a long drive and went to yoga. And the yoga instructor was luckily gentle with us and even passed out little twinkly lights. I love those! So for my Fun-A-Day today, I went to yoga. The end. :)

Here is a flashback from last January when I incorporated yoga into my Fun-A-Day as well.

Selfie Adventures

A year of adventures wouldn't feel as adventurous without some selfies and self portraits, right? I know it feels a bit narcissistic but I recently read about the power of the selfie and how it brings us greater self-empowerment. So for this sixth day of fun, here is another photo collage but this time of yours truly, la Ecua-Gringa. :)

Let Water Roll Off

Thanks to one of my favorite Facebook posters, Liz Gilbert, I decided on New Year's Day to notice what the first animal I saw was that day and that animal would be my totem animal for the year. Without really knowing what that meant, I saw ducks on my mom's lake that day and thought it was pretty fitting, because ducks let water roll off them, just as I would LOVE to let stress roll right off of me this year. 

And as I began to think about ducks more, I realized I'd been photographing them all last year. I also grew up feeding them by the lake near our house, and I think I remember that my babysitter from when I was little loved ducks too. :) 

I read a little about ducks as totem animals on a site appropriately named spirit-animals.com and I saw words like "grace" and "clear emotions" and "living in the moment" and "emotional strength" and "self expression" and "new opportunities." It sounds like a perfect theme for me! And I'll be reminded of my theme when I see my totem animal throughout the year. 

Sometimes Good Enough is the Best Way

Sometimes "good enough" is all I can do, and it's about time to stop beating myself up about not always having the time/energy/motivation to be original all the time. 

I say this because today is the 4th day of the new year and the 4th Fun-A-Day and I find myself making yet another photo collage of my favorite pictures from 2014, this time of our kitty cats. Being it's Sunday and we're supposed to have more time on the weekend, I guess I hoped I'd be more creative and do something different. 

But you know what? It's okay to do something simple and fun. Things don't always have to be extravagant or complicated to be worth it. And I have to remember that one of the points of Fun-A-Day is to have fun! And I like looking back at the past year's photos and I like photo collages, so this really is a great low-key, uncomplicated fun activity I can do entirely from my phone. 

In the process, I'm also writing more and creating a new blog post everyday, which helps me express my creativity in another way. And feeling creative and connecting with friends are some of the best ways and relatively simple ways to have fun and feel less stress. 

So meet Gus and Roo, our Siamese almost twins. :)

What is a low-key fun activity you enjoy?

Nature Lover

For my third day of fun this year, I've created another photo collage but this time of my favorite nature shots from 2014.

"The earth has music for those who listen."

~George Santayana

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles."

~Anne Frank

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."

~Lao Tzu

When You Look Up More Often, You'll See More Beauty

I love clouds and I might love photographing them even more. They bring me peace when I gaze up in the sky and it's so much fun to spot different shapes and animals up there. One of my ideas for reflecting on the past year and ushering in the new was to create some top 10 lists or in today's and yesterday's cases, top 12 lists. So today I looked back at all my cloud pictures and picked my favorites from 2014. And you know what? I used to think it would be rare to see a really cool shape in the sky. Now I know that if you look up more often, you'll see more beauty. One of my favorite take-aways from attending Oprah's big weekend event back in November was when Rob Bell talked about reverence for life. Being in nature and capturing it with my camera (or smart phone) to share with friends and family is so rewarding and breathing in the fresh air while reveling in the sheer beauty of this earth brings me great peace.

So on this second day of the new year and second day of the Fun-A-Day challenge, I created a collage of my top 12 clouds.

An opening, a feather, a streak, a blanket, a heart, a raccoon extending his paw, angel wings, Dumbo, a crane, a cross, an eye, and waves.

You may not see each of those shapes or animals, but isn't it fun to take another look at the sky we see everyday and imagine?

What do you see?

Fun Everyday

My life was truly shaped in such a positive way as I began last year with daily creativity projects through the Fun-A-Day challenge. So as the year came to a close, I knew I needed this challenge again to have a little (or a lot of) fun everyday. And starting the new year in this way is the best medicine! Creativity mixed with friends is also the best medicine for whatever ails you, especially in the winter months.

As I've been brainstorming ideas for themes and cool projects to do this month for my 2nd Fun-A-Day challenge, I noticed that I'm putting some pressure on myself to do something really original and unique. But then I remember that I set out to go easy on myself and show myself lots of love and compassion this year. I don't need to do something elaborate and detailed for it to be fun. And I have to remember that I'm doing this for ME. It's great if, in sharing what I do for fun this month, others feel inspired or happy when they see what I create, but the true benefit of daily creativity is the process of creating and the flow one feels when they're letting all their creativity hang out. 

So no matter what theme I might choose for the day or week or month, for my Fun-A-Day 2015, I'm going to blog about what I create. Everyday. And one of my intentions and possible themes is opening my heart through art--song, dance, words, photography, collage, painting.

For today, I wanted to create a top 12 sunset photos from 2014 collage. I feel great comfort and satisfaction in photographing nature's beauty and sharing my reverence for our amazing planet. 

This quote from Henri Matisse sums up why putting our creative projects out there in a public arena like the internet is an incredible practice in vulnerability: 

"Creativity takes courage." 

May we all have the courage to let our creative juices flow in this new and shiny year. And may we share what we create with our loved ones and make new friends in the process. :) 

Happy creating!