MONDAY'S PHOTO OF THE WEEK

I know, I know, it's Wednesday, but we can ignore that fact can't we? ;)

Here is a pic I took from my art room window last week during a huge dust storm we had. It was crazy! Although we locked ourselves inside with every door and window shut tight, we could still smell and taste the dust in the air.

Everything got coated in the dust that traveled all the way from Australia's red center, and now everyone is busy cleaning their cars and houses. We are actually on pretty big water restrictions due to the drought, but they have been lifted this week for the clean up. The dust has actually caused a lot of people to get sick (my partner Alex included). I hope to never experience one of these again.

It was so eery and you couldn't see very far

THE ARTIST'S WAY - CHECK IN WEEK 3

Hi all,

Sorry that I have been absent from my blog, but we lost our Internet connection about mid last week due to something breaking in the line. The phone company has fixed it now (finally) and hopefully nothing else will go wrong.

I am so exhausted with everything that has been going on lately. This has to be the busiest most complicated move I have ever experienced. I thought I would be back on track with everything by now, but obviously that is not the case. Maybe this week will be different and I will finally get a break.

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Anyway, I am here to start catching up with the Artists way journey that I started just before the move. I am a bit behind now, but I will still continue as I think I still have much to learn from this book. I also plan on getting around to all of the group members blogs this week to see how everyone is doing.

Week 3 was all about recovering a sense of power. With all that has been going on around me it seemed like this chapter was meant for me.

1. How many days this week did you do your morning pages? How was the experience for you?

I have only just started to do my morning pages again since the move. I have done the past three mornings and plan to continue.

I missed doing them though. It was weird because although I didn't actually write in my journal because I was so busy I would often find myself thinking about doing them and start mentally jotting down my thoughts just to get them out of my head. It kind of helped me relax and de-stress.

2. Did you do your artist date this week? If so what did you do?

No date sorry :(

3. Did you experience any synchronicity this week? What was it?

Not that I can recall

4. Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery?

I am learning to stop my self criticism and replace it with something nice instead. I feel much happier about myself and my art by doing this.

An Exercise (just a few of my answers) -

1. My favourite childhood toy was... these little plastic farm animals that me and my brothers would play with for hours on end.

2. My favourite childhood game was... hands down.

3. The best movie I ever saw as a kid was... The little Mermaid.

4. I don't do it much but I enjoy... playing tennis.

5. If I could lighten up a little, I'd let myself... do Karaoke.

6. If it weren't too late, I'd... pay more attention in class.

7. My favourite musical instrument is... a guitar.

8. If I weren't so stingy with my artist, I'd buy her... a big painting easel.

9. My favourite way to dress is... in flowing dresses.

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Now I'm off to start chapter four :)

MONDAY'S PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.

I am trying to get back into the swing of things at the moment. All last week Alex was home on holidays, so we spent most of our time finishing unpacking and setting everything up. This week I can get back into my usual routine of painting. I have a couple of orders to finish so they are my main priority at the moment.

Here are a couple of pics of my art room. I still need to add a few things here and there, but it's on its way to being my perfect little studio.

WHAT A WEEK!!

Hi everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since I have been on my blog or visited any of yours. I have been missing it terribly. I can't wait for things to settle down here so I can get back into my normal routine.

We have almost finished unpacking and are settling into the house, and all I can say is -

"I can't wait for the day we own our own home and don't have to deal with real estates anymore!"

What a nightmare I have been through! Moving is already a stressful time, but to have to deal with an unprofessional, rude and degrading property manager on top of it all has been very upsetting. Never have I been spoken to so rudely in all my life. She has abused me over the phone, made me feel like and idiot and called me a liar! Nothing seems to be going right at the moment. I am just trying to do the right thing and it just keeps blowing up in my face. I think this woman is on a power trip and can tell I am a quite person so she is taking full advantage.

I have also been dealing with a lot of tooth problems at the moment on top of everything else. I originally went in to the dentist to get my wisdom tooth looked at as it started coming through and was causing some pain. He referred me to an oral surgeon as it was too close to the nerve for him to remove it.

While I was there the dentist recommended that I get a filling in one of my teeth as there was some decay. I got the filling done but as soon as the numbness wore off later that night my whole jaw was throbbing. I took some pain killers which helped, but for the next five days it still continued to hurt and was very sensitive to hot and cold foods. I called the dentist back and they told me to come in right away and that I shouldn't be having any pain from a filling.

He then said I would need a root canal on the tooth to stop the pain. I found it weird that I didn't have any problems with this tooth before and now I needed a root canal! It's no wonder so many people hate going to the dentist. Any who, I agreed for him to do the root canal as I wanted the pain to stop and I really didn't have another choice.

(Fast forward) I got the last part of the root canal done the day before we moved, it has now been just over a week and I am getting really bad pain down the left side of my face and numbness that is spreading from my lip to my chin and is getting worse. I am so scared about it, and will be seeing a different dentist today. Obviously something is putting pressure on my facial nerve. I hope it isn't serious and that I didn't just fork out all my money for this root canal just to get it pulled out in the end :(

The worst part is he did another filling on the other side of my mouth and it is starting to have the same sensitivity to cold. I really, really don't want to go through another root canal. Especially with all the trouble I am having with this one.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this before? It would be great to find out what I may be dealing with. I have tried looking on the Internet, but can't really find much *sigh*.

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And since I always like to have a picture to go with my posts, here is a quick one we took yesterday after cleaning our old house -

Alex and I saying goodbye to our first house together

UPDATE: I went to the dentist yesterday and found out that the root canal I just got done has an infection that is putting pressure on my facial nerve which is causing the numbness. I am on antibiotics at the moment, but I will probably have to loose the tooth :(

The dentist who did the root canal left a gap at the base of one of the roots so bacteria is building up in there. I am really upset that I have just wasted over $1200 in getting it done, not to mention the painful process of it all. I am trying not to dwell to much on it though.

At least I still have my wisdom teeth, so the dentist said they would just replace the ones I get removed. I can't wait for this all to be over and done with. It has been a nightmare.

Thanks so much everyone for all of your well wishes, it has made me feel a lot better. Hopefully I will get around to all of your blogs in the next week to see what I have missed.

OUR ARTIST'S WAY - CHECK IN WEEK 2

How are things going for you this week with your Artists Way journey?

Things are still going well for me this week. I haven't had much time to concentrate on the book though and only got around to reading the second chapter yesterday. I have been really busy organising and packing things for our house move this Saturday.

I find a lot of what Julie Cameron says really hits home with me. It has made me more aware of the people and things around me and the impact they have. I have definitely had crazy makers in my life who have always made everything about them. I didn't realise at the time what this was doing to me, but I can see it so clearly now.

Did you do the morning pages?

Yes, I did my morning pages everyday. I am actually starting to really enjoy doing them. I am definitely feeling more clearer and focused since doing them.

Did you get to do an Artists date this week?

No, I did not do my artist date. Unless you count packing boxes by myself. I really wanted to do it this week and feel like I let myself down. Hopefully once this move is out of the way I can get more organised.

What about the set tasks at the end of the chapter? Did you complete any of these? if so, would you like to share or discuss?

I have been doing my daily affirmations and I believe these are really helping me to focus on the positive rather then let the negative thoughts take over and bring me down.

I haven't really been able to finish the other tasks yet, but intend to as soon as I am settled.

What lives did you discover this time round?

1. Singer

2. Aura reader

3. Dress maker

4. Photographer

5. Craft shop owner

Did you get to go on a walk with your inner artist?

No, I didn't do this either :(

MONDAY'S PHOTO A WEEK

Even though it's Tuesday, whoops!

I have been busy packing for our move on Saturday, so I haven't really got anything interesting to post about.

Except...

Boxes,

boxes,

and more BOXES!

Sorry it's not more interesting this week. I will try and do better next Monday :)