Creativity

I’ve always been a creative person. When I was little I loved coloring and drawing, doing arts and crafts, writing. Even now that I’ve reached “grown up” status, that hasn’t changed. Some things I’ve been more consistent with than others – writing and coloring for example – but I haven’t given up any of the creative things I loved when I was little.

Lately I’ve rediscovered how much I like to draw. I’m not necessarily creative enough to come up with my own ideas to draw. But if I find an image that I like I can recreate in in my sketchbook (if it’s simple enough). A long time ago I took oil painting lessons, and when we go on vacations to Disney we often go to the animation studios to draw the characters.

I’ve been having a lot of fun drawing, and I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes me. I’m hoping to share some of this adventure with you. I’ll keep you posted.

BrittanyM

Five Things

I wanted to do something different for this post. Normally I write about one thing that I really love, but I thought it would be fun to share five things that I really love as the last Friday post of the month.

1. Reading. It’s no secret that I love reading, and that I’m always looking for new books to read. Not everything is my cup of tea, but I am willing to give anything a fair try. If you have book recommendations, feel free to share them with me!
2. Coloring. I just wrote a post about coloring a couple of weeks ago. It’s something that I love to do, and I love to unwind by coloring after a long day. It’s a great way to calm my brain down at the end of the day and not worry about everything.
3. Weekend Adventures. Weekend adventures are one of my favorite things ever. I love going out with my family or my friends and going shopping or finding a new place to eat or just finding a fun place to be.
4. Writing. I love writing. Writing helps me shut my brain down. It lets me create entire worlds on paper. It lets me explore my thoughts and my ideas.
5. Blogging. This blog will be 3 years old in May. I haven’t missed a month since I started, and this month has been an especially good month for posting regularly. I love sitting down and deciding what I’m going to share with you and everything else that goes along with it.

BrittanyM

Coloring

It’s been a while since I’ve written about something fun, something I just really love doing. I’ve shared quotes, and I’ve written Sweet Sunday posts, but I haven’t just talked about something that I love.

And I love coloring.

Seriously. I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember, and I don’t plan on ever not loving it. I have an array of coloring books. I have simple ones and holiday ones and Disney ones – lost of Disney ones. I also have “grown up” coloring books, which just means that the pictures are more intricate and require more thought.

My favorite “grown up” coloring books are Johanna Basford’s. She has 3 out currently, and I own all of them. I love them. I love the detail that goes into them. I love the pictures. I love figuring out what colors go together and what colors will make the pictures come to life. Coloring in these books is a great way to unwind and decompress after a long day.

What about you? Are you someone who colors? What are you coloring? If you aren’t someone who colors, how do you unwind after a long day?

BrittanyM

22 Things I’m Thankful For

It’s November, and the big event in everyone’s mind is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving isn’t as huge a thing at my house as it is in other places, but I wanted to take some time to focus on what Thanksgiving should really be about: being thankful. In honor of that I’ve decided to share 22 things I am thankful for this year.

1. My awesome family. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my family. They are awesome and amazing and supportive and fun and goofy and just the best.
2. My fantastic friends. I have a group of friends I’ve known since high school, and I am still good friends with them. Plus there are friends from other parts of my life – elementary school and college and grad school – that I hold near and dear and love very very much.
3. My career path. I am done with grad school officially on Tuesday. I’ve been done with my masters degree since August. I’ve interned and student taught. I love teaching, and I can’t wait to secure my first teaching job.
4. My health. I’m in good health, and I’m grateful for that every day.
5. My home. Yes, I still live at home with my parents. And yes, I’m a little bit ready for a place of my own. But, I am so grateful to have a roof over my head. Especially now that the weather is getting progressively colder and wetter, I am grateful that I have a place to call home.
6. Food! Anyone who knows me knows that I love food. A lot. And I’m grateful that I don’t have to worry about where my next meal is coming from.
7. Writing. I love writing. I’ve always loved writing. And I’m grateful that after all this time I’m still writing, that I still love it, and that I’m still pursuing it.
8. Passions. I am grateful that there are things in my life that I love and that I’m pursuing. There are things in the world that interest me. There are things in the world that I want to do.
9. Opportunities. I am grateful that there are opportunities in my life, not just in regards to teaching, but in general. There are opportunities for me to meet people, go places, and do the things I am interested in doing. And that’s pretty awesome.
10. Family Vacations. I love my family, and I love doing things with them. I love when we go on family vacations. I’m grateful that we are able to go on such adventures and that we get along well enough to have a good time when we go on those adventures.
11. Transportation. I am grateful that I have a car that works and that I am able to drive. I don’t have to worry how I’ll get from place to place. I’m really grateful for that.
12. Coloring. I have the maturity level of a small child sometimes, and that’s OK. I love unwinding at the end of a long day by coloring. I’m grateful that that’s something I’m able to do.
13. Reading. Before I have real memories, I know I loved reading. It’s something my mom introduced into my life somewhere around Day 1. Just like I love writing and I love coloring, I love reading. I’m grateful it’s something I’m able to do on a regular basis.
14. My coworkers. Between my internship last year and my student teaching this year, I’ve met and been able to work with some wonderful amazing people. I am so grateful that they have been willing to help me, guide me, support me, and befriend me.
15. Technology. Technology is a huge part of life in today’s world, and I’m grateful that I have ready access to it. I’m grateful that I can use it. It’s a huge advantage in my profession, and I’m grateful I’m able to use and utilize it.
16. Snail Mail. I love snail mail. I’ve always love snail mail. I am a firm believer in snail mail. I’m grateful that it still exists and that I’m able to utilize it on a regular basis.
17. My faith. I am grateful that I believe there are bigger forces at work in the world than simply me. I am grateful that there is a greater force I can voice my concerns to. I’m grateful that I have something to believe in.
18. My students. I am grateful for my students who have taught me so much already, and who I am confident will teach me so much in the future. As much as I teach my students, they teach me, and I am so grateful for that.
19. My education. I am grateful that I’ve received a great education from all the institutions I’ve attended, and I’m grateful for that. Education is important, and I’ve received a solid foundation to work with.
20. Seasonal Weather. I love that I live in New England and that we have seasonal weather. I love that the leaves change colors in the fall, that it snows in the winter, that it gets warm in the summer. I am so grateful that I’ve been able to experience all of that.
21. Quality family time. I love my family, and I love that even when we’re not on vacation we spend quality time together. I think family is so important, and I love spending time with mine.
22. You, my readers. Finally, I am so grateful for you, my readers. The ones who have stuck by this blog when there weren’t a lot of posts, and the ones who pop in and out. This blog wouldn’t exist after all this time if it weren’t for you, so thank you.

BrittanyM

Grown Up Coloring Books

It’s no big secret that I love to color. I have color books galore. I have an entire Pinterest board devoted to coloring pages. I grew up coloring and certainly haven’t given it up as I get older. I don’t plan on ever giving up coloring. Why would I? It’s fun and relaxing and I get to be creative without going completely bonkers. For me that’s a winning scenario.

I still love to color Disney pictures and Hello Kitty and coloring pages that are generally meant for younger children. I think that’s all pretty fabulous. I also think that grown up coloring is pretty fabulous. I like the intricate patterns and the more detailed pictures. It’s a fun challenge for me, and I like challenges so long as I can find some fun in them. So I’ve scoured Pinterest for “grown up” coloring pages, and I’ve found oodles.

And then I read about something cool on the internet.

Johanna Basford hand drew these two amazing coloring books – Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest. They are seriously some of the coolest things I have seen in a really long time. These picture are most definitely meant for grownups and for the finest tipped markers. My dad got my mom and I the Enchanted Forest coloring book, and I’ve had so much fun with it since getting it. I’m only on the second picture because they are definitely a labor of time and love, but I’m so excited to color this coloring book and invest in the Secret Garden one.

Happy Coloring!

BrittanyM

Love of Simple Things

I’m not the type of person who’s ever really wanted big and complicated things. I have simple tastes in terms of jewelery and I look for good deals when it comes to clothing shopping. I like simple food and don’t actually go out that much. Granted, I like a good Disney vacation, but for me that’s always been a family affair.

The truth of the matter is that I like simple things. Simple things make me unbelievably and incredibly happy. And by simple, I mean really simple. I like coloring books. I like warm weather. I like stickers and snail mail. I like pretty paper. I like to write. I like to spend time with family and friends. These are the types of things that just make me so happy.

I appreciate and like many other things in life. But it just doesn’t take too much to make me happy. I like to do the things I love and I like to spend time with the people I love. And as life goes forward I want to keep my love of simple things and simplicity in tact. I hope that you do too.

BrittanyM

You’re Never Too Old to Color

Some people might not agree with the title of this post. They might feel that coloring is for little kids, for art class, maybe for when someone is babysitting. And that’s fine. Some people don’t want to color for forever. I do think it’s something worth considering though, because coloring is pretty awesome.

I was most definitely someone who colored when I was little. I had lots of coloring books and an entire Rubbermaid of crayons. (In my defense it was a shoebox sized Rubbermaid.) I loved to color. I spent a lot of time coloring. It’s something I’ve always found very enjoyable.

And as I got older I continued to color. Eventually we got rid of the Rubbermaid of crayons and I worked my way up in terms of the size of my Crayola boxes. I got new coloring books and found a lot of coloring pages on the internet. It’s been pretty fabulous.

It’s not just that I love coloring, even though I really do. For me there’s something very therapeutic about coloring. It’s just me and the picture and the crayons. (Or sometimes colored pencils). All I have to worry about is choosing the right color and staying inside the lines. (You don’t have to worry about staying in the lines, but I tend to.) I don’t have to think about the million things going on in my life. I don’t have to worry or be stressed. I just have to live in the moment and remember that sometimes life really is simple.

You’re never too old to color. You’re also never too old to start coloring again.

BrittanyM