AEDM Day 26: Family Collage

No, I don’t have a bun in the oven!  Nor is there one planned for anytime soon.  However, when I was pulling magazine clippings for my values collage cards earlier this month, I happened to come across several Asian-American babies, kids and moms (and a dad!).  I figured I’d grab them while I could since it’s rare to see faces like me in the mainstream media (although it’s getting better).

I’m still not 100% sure I’m ready to take the parenthood leap (and who ever is?!)  I love my quiet mornings where I get to wake up without an alarm clock.  I worry that being an HSP would make motherhood ultra-draining.  Plus, Brian and I are used to living pretty independent and flexible lives (which include lots of sleep and a deep involvement in our work).  Life is good.  Sure, we’ve talked about having a family… in the future.  When I look at this collage, I see a vision that’s fun, creative, loving, connected, healthy and joyful, so that makes the whole idea a little less scary.  And it reminds me of the magic of childlike wonder.

Last week, I was in Montclair after my dentist appointment and I walked by this super cute storefront called The Tulip Grove.  I’m going to a friend’s baby shower this weekend, so I figured I’d go in and get a gift.  This is not just a baby shop, it’s also a community/education center complete with a classroom for workshops and support groups.  I was talking to the store owner because I love to connect with local entrepreneurs and it turns out that I met her business partner last year at a Ladies Who Launch event.  I remember her talking about this vision she had to create a destination spot for new moms.  It was awesome to see how beautifully her vision came to life!  And I love knowing that should the time come for me to need a resource like that, I know where to go!

Oh, and one other random thing about my collage… The strawberry is actually scratch n’ sniff!  I just had to cut it out cuz it smelled so good.   I used to have a scratch n’ sniff sticker collection when I was a kid, so it seemed appropriate for this piece. 🙂

AEDM Day 11: What I Love About Me

Tonight’s art is inspired by my week four question to Kate and Molly on the sisters’ blog Kiss The Paper.  This week’s prompt is “What do you love most about you?” as a follow up to last week’s prompt “What do you love most about your sister?”  It’s been so cool to witness the amazing creations from this dynamic duo!  Makes me wish I had a sister!

I had fun answering the same question as my Art Every Day challenge for Day 11.  You can click on the image above to see a larger version.

I’d love to hear… What do you love most about YOU?

On The View From The Bay: Lessons in Visioning

On Wednesday, I was live on a local San Francisco TV talk show The View From The Bay.  I talked with co-hosts Spencer Christian and Janelle Wang about balancing acts for busy moms (you can watch it here).  Janelle, Spencer and everyone at the studio are so incredibly nice which made the whole experience even that much more enjoyable.  I am extremely grateful to the several Lady Launchers who cheered me on from the studio audience and to Adryenn Ashley who was by my side backstage for extra moral support.

Over the past couple of days, I’ve reflected on a few important lessons that this experience underscores for me.  These lessons include the power of:

  • Visioning and writing things down
  • Showing up
  • Taking care of myself.

Lesson 1: Visioning and writing things down. Being on The View From The Bay was one of my goals for this year.  I wrote about it in a letter to myself from the future.  Also, in the marketing section my Right-Brain Business Plan, I included “be on The View From The Bay this year using creativity to get clear on vision.”  You bet I was excited that I got to show an Unfolding Your Life Vision collage book as one of the tips on getting more balanced!

Right before the Sacramento & Co. show and VFTB, I even wrote on my wish cards to get clear about how I wanted to show up.  My visions for each appearance included descriptions like being calm, comfortable, poised, engaging, informative, personable, positive, clear, present, relaxed, and inspiring.  I brought my cards with me and also printed out of all the lovely comments and e-mails people shared from the Sacramento show to help ground me.  It was really cool to get feedback afterward that was very much in alignment with my intention.

Lesson 2: Showing up. A few people have asked me how did I get on the show. It started simply by showing up!  Adryenn sometimes gets tickets to the studio audience, so when she offered tickets at the end of September, I said, “Yes!”  I was a geek and read up on the show and the hosts before I went.  I didn’t know this, but on commercial breaks they ask the audience trivia questions.  I actually won a prize because I got one of the questions right from reading the bios and I got to wave into the camera!  After the show, I had Adryenn introduce me to Janelle and I gave her one of my Unfolding Your Life Vision Kits.   Adryenn highly encouraged me to come back the next day and I did.  To my surprise, Janelle remembered me!  She said she had a story idea and to come see her after the show!  I worked with Adryenn to develop a formal pitch, sent it in and then was asked to be on for the end of October.  It all happened in about a week!

Lesson 3: Taking care of myself. I really had to pay attention to this since I was pushing myself out of my comfort zone.  The day before the show, I was starting to get anxious so I made sure to go to yoga.  After class I felt so much more grounded, focused and ready to prep for the next day.  The day of the show, while I was in the green room, there was a moment where this introvert/HSP got too overwhelmed by all the talking that I had to go find a quiet spot to just sit and breathe.  It definitely helped me center right before going on.

Lots of great learnings here from a truly wonderful experience!  I loved being on the show and getting to share tips and ideas about something I’m passionate about.  I hope to be on again and to also venture into other shows, too…  like Martha and Oprah, of course!  I’m including that in my next future letter to myself and on my new Right-Brain Business Plan!

There’s No Place Like Home

After two business trips in less than a month, this introvert is happy to be home! I really enjoyed journaling from the comfort of my own bed this morning and doing sun salutations in my meditation room with the sun shining in through the windows. Being on the road and around so many people reminds me that as an INFP and an HSP it’s vital for me to take quiet time to recharge.

During the conference this past weekend, when I found myself getting overstimulated and drained from all the sights, sounds and crowds, I sought the solitude of my hotel room. After taking a quick nap or simply just lying still for 20 minutes I felt ready to re-enter the hustle and bustle of the event and mingle with all the wonderful women there.

I’m glad that I now know what I need to do to take care of myself instead of judging that I’m not able to “keep up.” Learning my MBTI type several years ago and reading more about introverts and Highly Sensitive People has helped me embrace these traits as gifts. I now own that I naturally bring a sense of stillness, reflection and calm and by slowing down and observing, I often have intuitive insights on things that others may not notice right away.

I had a nice exchange with Leah of Creative Everyday after reading her blog entry “Introverts Go Out.” A great resource we both recommend for learning about what it means to be an introvert is “The Introvert Advantage.” I also liked “The Happy Introvert” which is a quick, fun read with some whimsical illustrations.

Not all introverts are Highly Sensitive People and you don’t have to be an introvert to be an HSP. I happened to learn about HSPs while reading “The Introvert Advantage” and discovered that I fit the bill for being highly sensitive, too. It sure helped explain a lot of things for me! Some books that were helpful for me where “The Highly Sensitive Person,” “Making Work Work for the Highly Sensitive Person” and “The Highly Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide.”

I love how instead of working against my inherent personality traits like I did in my old corporate life, in my new life of working for myself I’m relishing in creative, personal, meditative endeavors that nourish my soul.

[tags]MBTI, Myers-Briggs, INFP, HSP, Highly Sensitive Person, type and temperament, introverts, introversion[/tags]