My friends,
Yesterday after watching the big son’s wrestling tournament, then returning home to a messy house, I did nothing. The icy rain allowed a guilt-free couch plopping session. My family ate frozen pizza.
Today the big son has day two of his wrestling tournament. The delicate daughter goes to work in the early afternoon. The giant husband plans to start working down his winter ‘to do’ list. Rocky the Shepherd and Mojo the Dachshund will get their outdoor exercise. I must empty the fridge of all holiday food remnants then fill it with resolution food after grocery shopping. I’ll take down Christmas and all its trappings. I will return to my studio in the evening and mentally prepare for a new work week. Laundry must also be done or my family will travel naked tomorrow.
This morning I find myself struggling to ignite my New Year’s resolve. I’m fighting the ennui smothering my warm slippered feet. Sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee, the Christmas Tree taunts me while nearby wildlife drawings stare at me. My eyes begin focusing.
AnnMarie, wildlife doesn’t feel sorry for itself. Wildlife doesn’t put on slippers and ‘veg.’ Wildlife pushes through each day until physically unable.
Today, I resolve to embody the wildlife spirit – to live without complaint, to care for my young without issue, to live each day as if it’s the one I must get through to see tomorrow. Today I resolve to be as wise as wildlife.
Thank you. May you dream of accomplishing your resolutions…
Staring Gorilla created in 2008
anntogether 
such fascinating and powerful blog!
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WOW! I’m fascinated by your powerfully encouraging and kind words 🙂
AnnMarie 🙂
Warmest wishes in this New Year
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It’s my pleasure – let your magic ink always continue to bring such powerful blog and post!
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I promise to do my very best 🙂
Thank you,
AnnMarie 🙂
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I love the gorilla !
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Thank you! Gorillas have such special faces 🙂
AnnMarie
Happiest of Mondays to you!
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My hobbies are my great escape. They allow me to put away life’s challenges and persevere through boring tasks. It’s becoming Thanksgiving for me every day of my life. When I look around me at the beautiful home God provided and my friends that worry if they don’t see me on a regular basis I know I’m not alone, that I can make it through another day. I’m totally free, free to enjoy my art, my photography and my passion to teach others what I know for sure.
If I had such a thing as a resolution it would be to reach outside myself even more in 2015, to offer my services in new way to new people. My 3 blogs are a starting point. Now to just get out of this chair and make breakfast…. 🙂
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Getting out of the chair is step one… 🙂
I’m glad you have such wonderful friends, Bob. Good friends support as well as expand creativity better than the sturdiest easel or the grandest tripod 🙂
I’ve no doubt you’ll make 2015 a banner year. You are a determined and passionate person (with a genuine funny bone 😉 ).
AnnMarie 🙂
Here’s to 2015!
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What a great message, AM, especially for these cold, gray first days of a new year. You’re absolutely right about wildlife; it just does what it has to do to survive another day. Yesterday I meant to exercise, eat well, and start reading and writing — and did none of those things (I did drink a lot of coffee, though, as we ended up “entertaining” friends in a coffee shop). Now, today, a 5-year-old’s birthday party … but THEN … well, I hope I can do what needs to be done. You had an extremely busy day yesterday, so you deserve to have a slow-down today! BTW: Love that gorilla! His eyes are great. Also BTW: Why didn’t this post show up in my email, I wonder? Good thing you’re on FB, which is how I saw that you’d posted! Hope you have a very productive, but relaxing as well, day, Miss AnnMarie!4,.
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Hi Deb,
I was still in serious slug mode this morning. I was thinking through everything to be done and I wanted none of it. Then, I did the old self talk thing which is great if you can listen to yourself. That darn gorilla was staring at me and saying, “What the hell is your problem? Just get up. Just do what needs to be done and be on with your day. Playtime later.”
Entertaining friends in a coffee shop is my idea of heaven, lucky you! 🙂 Hope the b’day party went well and wasn’t too noisy. Sometimes kiddie parties aren’t fun, when you can’t yell at the kiddies 😉
I don’t know why the post didn’t show. I haven’t changed anything on my end. Hmm….
And I still don’t know what the heck I’m doing with FB. I have the blog page but other than that, I’m not sure if Im supposed to do anything with it? I’m glad you found the post though 🙂
AM 🙂
With Keith home and the kiddies going back to school, I might play hooky and we might go to Home Depot to pick kitchen paint…always fun 🙂 except when I pick the wrong color. 😉
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I’m in the mode where I’m raring to go, but can’t seem to clear out the space to take off. Yesterday there was our coffee fun, and then a friend came over to watch the football game last night, and then BD party today (it was okay, kids well-behaved, and Bob and I learned that “Frozen” is a VBD with 5-year-olds). 🙂 And the reason your post didn’t show on my end was pure “user error,” yep, your’s truly, moi. My freakin’ fingers accidently erased it! No worries now! Oh, man, painting — you go girlfriend! I’m the world’s worst house painter — you can see my brushstrokes a mile away! LOL Play hooky, enjoy! School kids around here go back tomorrow — if the weather isn’t too bad. I’m writing this as I wait for Bob to fix dinner — but he keeps sitting down watching football! At this rate, we’ll be eating at midnight (I know, I shouldn’t complain — he’s cooking and I’m not! LOL).
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Sounds like you had a weekend packed with fun, Deb! (I think VBD = very big deal?) And yes, kids are Frozen freaks. I enjoyed Frozen but felt I was being setup to buy play tickets via the movie. They seemed to have duets in weird places and the opening score was a bit too staged for my liking – it was almost reminiscent of Lion King (still on Broadway I think). Glad you figured out the post booboo ’cause if it was on my end, I’d be pulling out my (lice free) hair 😉 You know what’s weird, sometimes I can hit the return when commenting and sometimes I can’t. I can’t right now. SO this will be one mongo paragraph. Keith’s dad was a house painter by trade. Keith worked with his father during his summer breaks from school.My husband is a stickler for proper paint strokes. He is particular about straight lines… My wall painting is really bad. I lack the fortitude to paint properly… Keith sticks me on baseboard detail… Though, last year I graduated to closets and lower walls 😉 You’re so lucky Bob cooks. I wish… Keith’s watching the game now too. I watched a bit last night. I can’t get past some of the uniforms…I want to redo them. Who designs these things? Enjoy your dinner, Miss. Maybe it’ll be a romantic candlelit affair ’cause the moon has gone to sleep 😉 AM – have a great tomorrow!!!
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Great idea but you do know that wildlife forages all day or sleeps all day and when their offspring made a mess they just MOVE away from it and start again…and they don’t have to pack. A lot of them sleep in trees or ‘dens’ and they don’t use dishes, just their fingers or maybe a stick. They sleep in a pile, for warmth or go all WILD on each other when they are not happy. They do not have anywhere to keep frozen pizzas:( and, this is the worst part, they don’t have chocolate. I would think about your resolution again, while your at the kitchen table in your slippers, cuz they don’t have kitchen tables, coffee, hot chocolate OR slippers. I’m just sayin’
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LOL!
I was thinking from afar in lofty, regal, and idealistic imagery…perhaps too far 😉
You are right. I should rethink the entire thing. What was I thinking?
There is no Toblerone in the woods 😉
Maybe I should just aim for exchanging my slippers for sneakers once the clock strikes 10 am 😉
Thanks for you terrifically candid and intelligent suggestion 🙂
AnnMarie 🙂
Here’s to 2015!
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wow. inspiring. strong and powerful. happy 2015 🙂
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Thank you much!
2015 happiness and peace to you as well.
AnnMarie 🙂
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Well, if there is no chocolate in the wild, I’m not going there! At least not to stay very long…you have such a knack for drawing eyes, magnetic, reaching-into-the-soul eyes, AnnMarie. I remember trying to draw women when I was a teenager. They all had eyelashes out to “there” and were slightly cross-eyed. Not my gift, for sure.
I think there is still some fudge left in the kitchen. Time to forage. – Fawn
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LOL – I know I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote this 😉 I truly believe a sleeping artist dwells in everyone. I bet if you tried again (perhaps on a rainy day with those talented granddaughters of yours) beautiful eyes could appear on paper. Especially today, there are so many how-to videos and books – one could acquire the basics and create magical surprises! I can’t make fudge – even with a recipe. So maybe things even out in the end. And paper eyes aren’t very tasty! AnnMarie 🙂
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Great googly-moogly — there were OREOS! – Fawn
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Keith and Bob should start a painting company. Bob’s picky, too, and I get to do the closets — I don’t even get to touch the baseboards (lucky you). You and I could drink coffee and talk shop while they paint, and then we’d all go “out to eat” (so no one has to cook), and then you could get down to business and redesign uniforms for the NFL . . . this is starting to sound like either a weird dream or an episode for “Seinfeld.” 🙂
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Hey, best idea yet! We drink coffee and yak writerly…while the men paint. Why didn’t I think of that! And no cooking – that’s like chocolate on top of chocolate on top of, yes, more chocolate 🙂
And while energized on chocolate, those darn NFL uniforms could be ‘reconcepted.’ Instead of the, “The Summer of George,” we call it, “The Season of Coffee Drinkers!”
AM 🙂
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Like minds think alike . . . that’s what I’m thinking. 🙂 And with coffee, it’s all good!
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😉
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