New Year's Resolution

Everyone comes up with resolutions which I presonally find a bit humerous-Shouldn't we always be looking towards self improvement? However I understand it often slips our minds to do so and with the turning of the year it seems to be a reminder from father time. With everyone else reminding themselves to reflect it makes me think- "Oh maybe I should too".  So here ya have it. Professional, personal, trivial and introspective towards grandeur. Mine run the gambit but all towards a "greater" me.

1. More adventures-Both big and small with everything from travel to trying new food.
2. More spontenaity-  right in line with #1. I love a good plan but sometimes it's also wonderful to strip it down a bit. Perhaps bullet points....
3. More self reflection through meditation, writting etc and try to takle more of the big world ethos issues that no one seems to answer ever.
4. Learn German- I'm working on it and as long as there's progress I'm happy.
5. Find mroe creative dishes; perhaps with less meat- I don't know if I want to one day eliminate all meat or just some meat but I certaintly shouldn't be AS dependent upon it as I am.
6. Enter more art competitions- perhaps at least 1 a month.
7. Stick to my work out!- I know, how cliche' but I've always done yoga and I've started kettle bell. Both are very enjoyable so I'd like to get more regular.
8. Finish this damn novel. It's a work in progress but I get distracted from actually ya know- writting.
9.Think more of our(Danny, pups & myself) happi
ness and less of the outsiders , influences or effects because in the end it's us and we have a dream.
10. Stress less and no drama.
11. Learn more about wine- which means more sampling . You can't sell or make a product without knowing it's in's & out's.
12. Regularly create new art work and promote, promote, promote! My exposure and sales have risen but they're not done.

There ya have it. My 12 steps of improvement and exploration as a human for the upcoming year. So, what are yours?

Yamato Shrine Sale

Growing up as a little girl I LOVED going to antique stores with my Grandmother. I know I was the odd 8 year old eyeing old photos, books, clothes, knick knacks and evening furniture. Anything unique really. It was like they drew me in and transported you to another time and place. Literal living history that deserved to be preserved and passed on; not thrown into a junk drawer. I thought to my young self- I must try to preserves little snippets of history and hopefully others will too. Like I said... I was a little odd.

AND that hasn't changed..... Now in my mid -20's and in Japan I went to my first Shrine Sale. I'm assuming some are at actual shrines but this one however was not. I know very misleading. I went to one of the largest- Yamato. I'd equally like to go to the smaller ones in the future because even though the mass amount of vendors is nice it can also be overwhelming quantity of product and descent amount of repeats. That being said there were  a lot of wonderful items and interesting treasures to be found. In reality there were a few specific items I was on the hunt for and perhaps anything else that would catch my eye. You can haggle but that's assuming either you speak Japanese, they speak English( or admit it) or a bit of both.

In the end I walked away with : a Japanese book (of who knows what- I can't read it), 2 family portraits (black & white with traditional garb), 2 sake cups, 1 sake decanter, a mini wooden horse (because we arrived in the year of the horse), 5 little ceramic plates with hand drawn imagery, 4 mini wooden kokeshi dolls, a woodblock print that's at least 40 years old from the styling and a lightweight kimono - ALL for roughly $80 . So yes I'd say it's a successful


day. Why does any of this matter to the artist. Simple. I believe in preserving the past and giving value to the items that once meant something to someone. They have a story of its one time owner. In a way if someone doesn't give it value it's like that part of history is forgotten or erased from the outside world. In my art I talk about preserving nature in it's purity. This is just another nostalgic aspect of me and my loves.

To a Far off Land

This year for holiday leave we knew that going to the states was not going to be a possibility due to when it fell and the length. So instead where shall we go? Well there were a few criteria points. 1) beautiful landscapes 2)a true cultural experience and adventure 3) bang for our buck and 4) to NOT see loads of other Americans or military families on leave(just want to escape on a vacation). There are loads of wonderful options out there but in the end we chose : NEPAL!

Nepal is between India and China (just south of Tibet). It has never officially been ocupied though it has switched from a monoarchy to a state of democratic rule. Nepal not only hosts 8 of the 10 tallest mountains in the world but also hosts elephant polo. It has an incredibly diverse culture and extrodinarily welcoming people. They use the Nepali Rupee and the dominant language is Nepali (though there are various dialects depending on the region). The country is predominanty Hindu and Buddhist. Siddhartha's birthplace is actually in Nepal. Cows are considered holy not only becuase of Hinduism but it's the "country's animal". Tigers, bears, snow leopards, crocodiles and more.

They all roam free and there's a variety of landscapes from mountains to jungles to grasslands. They're a proud, friendly people with a colorful culture and beautiful landscape filled with adventure all of which we are so incredibly enthralled to be a part of !

Curious about all that we'll see? Here's our itinerary:
Day 1: Welcome to Kathmandu w/ a welcome dinner
Day 2: Kathmandu Valley Sightseeing . We'll visit Pashupatinath, Bouddhanath, Monkey Temple & Kathmandu Durbar Square.
Day 3: Go to Sundarijal and hike to Chisopani
Day 4: Hike to Nargakot
Day5: Morning sunrise at Nargakot and then off to Chitwan National Wildlife Reserve. We spend the night in the park.
Day 6: Explore Chitwan and the elephants there. Then off to Pokhara and boat in the lake.
Day 7: Go to Sarangkot for sunrise above the clouds. The afternoon in Pokhara Vallery and return to Kathmandu by evening for our last night and a farewell dinner.

We are VERY excited so stay tuned for photos in about 2 months :D

All I Want For Christmas....

     All is want for Christmas is....nothing. Well sorta. This year we are doing something different. We are requesting that all those who would typically get us gifts don't. INSTEAD please give to one of the four charities we have chosen (links & info below).

Why this change? Well there's 4 brief reasons really:

1) We don't need/want anything
              
2)Anything we need/want I would like to proudly say we're able to take care of
              
3) There are kids, adults and animals in the world who have nothing and desperately need our help in various forms. THEY deserve this.
             
 4) Christmas is NOT about giving/receiving material stuff. It SHOULD be about spending time and enjoying the spirit of Christmas so instead of buying into the commercialism enjoy the festivities and give to someone who needs it.

     So we have carefully looked through many organizations and selected 4. To us these 4 touch upon general inate rights and liberties everyone deserves. If you participate in this please donate to at least 1 of THESE 4 ....NOT a random one of your choosing in our honor. We chose these 4 for specific reasons.

1)ASPCA ( https://www.aspca.org/donate )
Every animal deserves to be loved and the BEST critters come from shelters like the ones these guys operate. We chose them because they rescue animals, give shelter critters training, love and new homes plus they fight for the environment (a little planet we call home ) and animal rights.
              
2)Pencil of Promise ( http://pencilsofpromise.org/ )
Every child deserves an education regardless of location, religion, gender, sex, politics, finances, etc. We chose Pencil of Promise because they create schools all around the world, provide books, resources and train teachers. They may just be a drop in a pool of a worldwide problem but they put their heart and soul into education which is a step in the right direction.

3) Water ( http://water.org/ )
In America we take clean, drinkable water for granted and don't think twice before consuming tap water . Sadly though in many countries this is not the case and "clean"   is far from it. Water is an organization that helps provide clean water to communities around the world through wells, filtration and more.

4)International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission
( https://iglhrc.org/content/support )
 EVERYONE deserves the right to love WHOMEVER they want regardless of whether they are a man or woman without being persecuted verbally or physically. Each country is on their own crusade for this cause but it's a world wide issue. We need to spread love and equality of love. International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission fights for  just that.

Final 2 minor notes: 1) We chose these organizations for a reason and they are all near and dear to us. I know there's a lot of great organizations out there or perhaps these aren't your favorite. Well please don't suggest your own instead because we chose THESE organizations . 2) We are still cool with birthday items so please don't forget Danny's Birthday! His birthday may be close to Christmas but NO it's not the same (unless he's Jesus and then I've seriously been out of the loop lol) so no, one does not count for the other :)

Happy Holidays...to come!

26: A Year in Review

26. I am no longer "mid 20's" and on the demographics I am gauranteed in the next bracket. This year I celebrated my birthday as I best could with my other half in a land further off than this far off land. The idea was peace and indulgence. So after a normal morning and wonderful walk with the pups I went off to the spa  where I recieve a fantastic experience! A 2 hour herbal body massage and a free facial to boot. Not only did it feel fantastic but she was able to get the knots of out my shoulders! Those of you who have known me long know what a big deal this is and she is literally the ONLY massuse that has ever been able to. After my relaxation I picked up my favorite Indian food from my favorite Indian place (Delicious) and went home to the pups where I was able to indulge in yummy food, yummy wine, yummy ice cream and fun tv. A perfect time.

So what have I been up to during the year of 25? A lot actually. Lets see .... Paul Mitchell was put on pause so we could move to Japan! Moving in itself was long, tiring and a bit of a headache but all 4 of us are happily in Japan in one piece and learned some pointers along the way. We have traveled to many places in central Japan including Tokyo, Chiba, Fuji, Jogashima and more. We've seen sumo, flower carpet, winter illumination and river boating. I can't even list all the new food we've tried. The pups have gone hiking all over and even to an aquarium! I've had quiet and interesting year with a spouse organization (those of you who know understand what I'm talking about ) and may I say...never...never again. That being said though I've made some incredible friends and found deep seated loyalty. Traveled to South Korea and saw the wall amongst many other things. Surprisingly fell in love with Seoul- like a Asian Chicago. Visited Singapore which I can only refer to as the Vegas of Asia as they like to charge extra for everything. However we did hike in rainforest, went to the most southern point of mainland Asia, fed giraffes and elephants, rode and elephant and had breakfast with an orangutan . Hiked Mt. Fuji at night to see the sunrise. Have gotten accustomed to rolling earthquakes and typhoons.  Visited Kirin Brewery. Also not only have I been quadrupling my Ardent Prints business online and at bazaars I've been teaching both at the school and private art lessons Looking at where we will go next for our shore tour but no official word yet. Looking into schools to finish cosmetology and it's looking good. Oh and we're planning a really awesome trip for this winter but more to come of that later. Oh and my hair is not blonde for now, symmetrical and growing out .

Thank you to all those who sent well wishes, my incredible family, my playful pups and my wonderful husband . I look forward to what 26 is brewing to have in store.

Fall Bazaar in Review

     Wowsers ! What an interesting bazaar it turned out to be. To set the stage I had increased my inventory including smaller items, stocked the cards and appropriately priced items adjusting for the cut that organization take. I was ready! On the downside one of the largest ships from base was pulling into a close port so it seemed like 1/2 the wives associated with that ship were gone! Oh and then there was the typhoon that kept creeping in causing the bazaar to be shut very early on Sunday.
     Interestingly enough I actually did very well. I can only attribute it to my work, the vairety and the better vendor spot. Even then though it was a pleasant surprise. My profits actually went up by 20% compared to the last bazaar even though in total the bazaar was open 5 less hours than the last event. Makes me wish we could have stayed open longer and makes me wonder the possibilities had more people been around. That being said I will gratefully take it.
    Along with that since the 2nd day was cut so short I offered a limited time deal for my Etsy page , (Ardent Prints) with a "Typhoon Sale" so that all those who missed out because of the storm could still purchase items at a better deal. The great thing is that this offer actually worked.
     Overall I'd say it was a great success. Now the debate is on as to whether I should participate in the spring one. Why a debate you may ask? Well we SHOULD, (key word should) be PCS'ing in the spring meaning our packout could far very close to the spring bazaar. Luckily I have time to decide.

New Gadget

     You may have great product or great adventures but what good does it do if the photo itself cannot convey it. Instead of robbing ourselves in the isolation of the iPhone's capabilities we decide it was time to grow up and purchase a grown up camera. Say hello to our new gadget.

    It's a Nikon D5200 with an 18-55 mm lens. Along with our purchase price the strap, charger, SD card and bag were all included. There's various settings, zoom, focus, effects, a flip screen, additional flash ability and more.
We've spent some time playing around with the features and it's abilities though to be honest we've only scratched the surface. There's plenty of research to read up on especially for upcoming adventures.

     Needless to say we are very excited with our new gadget and all the incredible photos yet to come. Make sure to stay tuned as the pics start streaming in.