Santa’s #7 Seasonal Tip-Eat Forbidden Food

 Day 7 in our “Santa’s 12 Tips for an Ideal Christmas” series is entitled, “Eat Forbidden Foods”. This art piece features Santa Claus gobbling up a plate full of Christmas cookies. Santa’s tip- Take a vacation from dieting during this holiday season. 

“Experts” admonish us to avoid fatty foods and to exercise several times a week. To our credit, we do our best to follow their well intentioned advice. But dieting all the time gets boring. If you find yourself craving a chocolate cringle, go ahead, indulge the urge. Soon enough you will be back in a dieting mode again. Santa’s tips in this series are about “ideally living”. Spend some time this season to define what “ideally living” means to you. Usually it’s about achieving balance in your life. In this instance it’s about finding the balance between over-indulgence and absolute denial. Happy eating… (to see more of Santa’s tips go to http://tinyurl.com/ydjde88.  

Santa’s Tip #6, “Sing at the top of your Lungs”

Day 6 in “Santa’s 12 Tips for Celebrating an Ideal Christmas” is, “Sing Holiday Songs” (see image below for a visual on this tip). This whimsical sculpture features Santa, head thrown back, warbling a favorite Christmas carol. 

This series is about “ideally living” during the holidays. Nostalgia is an element of ideally living. Regardless of whether your childhood was a happy one, there were those moments of excited anticipation as you counted down the days until Santa’s arrival. You can recapture some of those sweet memories by singing familiar favorites like “Jingle Bells” or “Joy to the World”. Go ahead, lose the grown up in you, with all those pesky responsibilities, throw your head back, and with all that childhood gusto, sing “Oh Christmas Tree” at the top of your lungs. (It will make you feel much better about the season.) Go to http://tinyurl.com/ydjde88 to see more of Santa’s 12 tips for an Ideal Christmas.

 

Santa’s Tip#5- Enjoy Others’ Traditions

Day 5 in “Santa’s 12 Tips for Celebrating an Ideal Christmas” series is, “Enjoy Others’ Traditions”. We manage to get fairly narcissistic in this country about our holidays, particularly as it relates to Christmas. December is host to other holidays, including Chanukah, Kwanza and even Boxing Day. A little participation and recognition of someone else’s tradition will go a long way toward making this an ideal holiday for you. Be like Santa in the image below as he lights a menorah in observance of Chanukah. Very enriching! Go to http://tinyurl.com/ydjde88 to see Santa’s other tips for an ideal Christmas.

Santa’s Tips for an Ideal Vacation

Day four of “Santa’s 12 Tips for an Ideal Christmas” is, “Go On Vacation”. This piece features Santa in a tourist mode, complete with camera, luggage suggesting an island destination, and, what everyone needs during an island vacation-a surfboard. Santa’s suggestion implied in this vignette is- Use the holiday season as an excuse to take a much needed vacation..now that’s an ideal Christmas present.

Do Traditional Things

 Day three in our “Santa’s 12 Tips for Celebrating an Ideal Christmas” series is called “Do Traditional Things”. This whimsical art piece (picture below) features Santa Claus trimming a Christmas tree. Santa’s tip- Trim a real tree this year, not an artificial one.Don’t you love the smell and look of a slightly asymmetrical Christmas tree? In our 12 day pursuit of creating an “ideal” Christmas this year, number 3 is really about making your holiday an authentic one. Check out the sculpture and Christmas cards at http://tinyurl.com/ydjde88 

Hang Out With Friends

 This is day two of “Santa’s 12 Tips for Celebrating an Ideal Christmas.” These are a series of clay sculptures I created which have been made into Christmas cards. To see them, go tohttp://tinyurl.com/ydjde88.

Today’s tip is “Hang Out with Friends”. The sculpture features Santa, arm in arm with his pal, Frosty the Snowman. The holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is often fraught with frenzy. Try to set aside at least a little time to just hang out with your pals.

Color Your Christmas

 Dreading those holiday hassles? While there is so much to enjoy during the holidays – kids coming home, the colorful sights and delicious smells of the season, the anticipation – it can get overwhelming. Today begins 12 days of blog posts featuring my “Santa’s 12 Tips for an Ideal Christmas”. These are clay sculptures I created which have been made into Christmas cards. Go to http://tinyurl.com/ydjde8 to see the sculptures and cards.

The name of my little art company is ideaLizms. ideaLizms inspires and encourages people to live their lives creatively and with fun. So why shouldn’t the holidays be celebrated in the same way?

The first of Santa’s 12 tips (see image below) is called, “Color Your Christmas” and features Santa Claus draped in colorful Christmas Lights, the message being, keep the color and delight in the holiday season.  

 Hope your holiday this year is “ideal”.

Sark’s Juicy Journaling

Anyone interested in journaling might want to sign up for SARK’s “Juicy Journaling” program.  It looks great – http://www.planetsark.com/JuicyJournaling.htm

 It’s Friday, the eve of the weekend, one of the most fun and anticipated days of the week. Why not go on a retreat without going anywhere. After all, there is no place like home. According to an article in the November issue of Yoga Journal, an at home retreat would involve no costs, no times to adhere to,  and no one else’s agenda to accommodate. This rare luxury could be for a day or a weekend.

An essential component of such a retreat is solitude. Solitude means turning off the telephones (all of them) the computer(s), television, and notifying your friends and family you are taking a time out. Clear away the responsibilities and to-do lists so you have the open space to turn inward.

Time appears to move more slowly. Practice yoga, meditate, read, drink healthy teas, or prepare nourishing meals. Taking a long bath, riding a bike, taking a walk, or picnicking in the park, all can be a part of your at home retreat. As noted in Yoga Journal, “when approached with intention and a quite inward focus, all of your activities can be nurturing.”

 If not this weekend, how about the next one. We deserve it. To see the entire article go to www.yogajournal.com.

Lot’s of Creativity in “The Creative License”

I have done several posts about journaling. In fact, I’m writing a book about journaling entitled, “Be Brave, Lose the Beige” (obviously the same title as my blog). I am reading Danny Gregory’s “The Creative License” about illustrated journaling. “Writing is really drawing”, he says. The lettering in journaling is also an opportunity to create. Handwriting is drawing. He urges us to “Think about the shape of our paragraphs. There is nothing wrong with vertical sentences or upside down writing. “( I like this because in a previous post I talk about upside down, sideways, outside of the margins journal writing). “Play!” He commands. A journal can be a place of contemplation and catharsis. He goes on to write, “Ironically, journaling can make one less self absorbed and more connected to the things that fill your life. Journaling is about believing in yourself, celebrating your life, feeling a part of (not separated from) the universe.” A very inspiring book. Go to www.dannygregory.com for more inspiration.