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Each day is filled with work. My work is fun, but there are still decisions to make and a path to stay on. There are meetings to schedule and deadlines to meet. It can be a constant process of thought and movement.
I have stopped for the day. I stopped to look over my idea book and enjoy the summer breeze. The are ideas everywhere and sometimes you cannot find the ones that are in the calm of the day if you don’t stop to look and listen.
My doggie stands guard to protect me from squirrels, my other doggie wanted the cool of the air in the house. I listen to the wind kicking up. I hear cars from a nearby street. I feel sure that the birds are discussing what’s for dinner. My feel are hot in my sneakers that are still on since my morning walk. My daisies look like they are reaching for the sky. The weeds are tall on the north side of my house. My thoughts travel to what to make for dinner. (I resist that thought for now). My daughter turned 35 today! That makes me smile as I remember her entrance into this world and her loud voice!

All of these are but fleeting thoughts. Sometimes a fleeting thought will make into a story, but you must take the time to stop, look and listen.

Now I dive into my idea book!

December and January… my favorite time of year!

How funny! I found this unpublished blog post while looking through my WordPress site. It was fun to read it now that we are midway till Christmas! I suppose it’s a bit of a mile marker for me to measure up what I’ve accomplished so far. It’s also fun to read where my head was at during that time of year .

*********************************tàke a peek* and Merry Christmas! HA!****************************

I love the holiday bustle, I love the atmosphere of giving. The giving of time tops it all. Why? because it is setting down your busy life to pour yourself into someone else. People are precious! From the tiniest soul to the well worn senior. That is why we cry when they die. Our hearts can be wrapped around complete strangers when we hear they have died. It is a fascinating thing to be human being.

When the holidays end, it is time to move into the new year. I imagine it this way. I am about to board a train that will take me through 2013. I have a destination in mind. I begin to pack what I need. I look back at my 2012 journey to determine how I will pack for this year and where I will be headed. I can only take what I need. Why lug about unnecessary items? Do I really need this and that? My gaze shoots around my house. I think.. “I have been taking this item on my trip for 30 years and I never use it! It’s time to get rid of it.”

What did you accomplish in the year 2012? Did you fulfill a dream? Did you start on a new dream? Did you fail miserably? ha! The answer, “yes” to the last question need not discourage you. Life is a journey. We often have our “falling on face” moments. They prepare us for success. They hone us. They often times show us what NOT to do. They may actually set our course to success if we do not give up.

*******************6more months to go! How are you doing in the advancement of your goals?*******

There is so much involved in designing.  One must be up on the trends for color and pattern and more. I always have my eyes open to finding things I love to look at!

Here are the Pantone color trends for 2013.

http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr.aspx?pg=21005&ca=4

I had to take a close look at them. . . some of them bore me unless they are paired with an “eye-catching” color.  Color is so amazing!  It can make your day!  It can bring a smile to your face, and warm your heart.  It can also bring you down. Why else do people get depressed when they experience too many gray rainy days?  All that because of color? Yes!  Think of the feeling you get when you take a walk and come upon a beautiful scene.  Do you ever “OOOOoooh and Aaaaaahhhh?”  Do colors grab you?

Colors can calm the soul.  One of my favorite movies is Miss Potter.  I like her spunk, I LOVE that she talks to her cartoons,  and I also love the scenes of her beautiful English countryside.  The colors speak peace and tranquility.

One might want calm and peaceful and serene colors for the baby nursery.  So why did I decorate my first child’s nursery in bright sunshine yellow with brown and Kelly Green accents?  ha!  Because I crave bold colors!  All I could think of was that my baby would wake up and want to be inspired by what she saw.  The room had to be warm and happy and that is was!!

As the room progressed to fit two more daughters into it, we moved to pinks and browns. I loved it, but the girls were not really drawn to it.  Interesting.  In my house, you will find that colors change often.  If I could, I would paint my house every year!  My husband jokes about our bathroom being smaller because of the many times I have painted it!  I am thinking of a new color as I type!!!  I am leaning towards a beautiful blue with just the right amount of purple in it!  Baby blue is okay, but I always want something with a little PUNCH in it! I like to walk into a room and hear my heart sing! La la!  Wall colors can be muted but if that is the case, in my house, the paintings must sing!  Oh how I love a noisy house filled with color.

So what am I to do?  Follow the trends?  Or start my own trends?  Am I brave?  These are the questions every designer must face.  I always lean towards being a renegade trend setter!  ha!