Half Way Through the Year Check-In

We are actually past the official half-way point of the year. That would be June 30th, but it's only been 21 days since then so I think it's safe to still call this post a half way check-in. 

I'm still collaging like crazy. Some weeks more than others because life, work, other things come up. I've definitely found my niche and I love creating collages with vintage materials. I love old books, old children's books illustrations, old letters, old envelopes and stamps, old ledger books with actual handwriting in them, old newspapers... basically anything old. And my newest obsession is anything tiny.. like tiny flowers, small old keys, tiny hearts and shapes, etc... If you have anything tiny hanging around your house throw it my way. 

I love creating all size collages, even big oversized ones, but my favorites have to be the minis, anything 4 inches by 4 inches or smaller. I've created a 4 piece set on some playing cards and would like to do more. 

I'm taking a huge leap and doing something that's brave for me. I'm entering an art show on July 27. 

I'm entering four 4x4 pieces and a four matchboxes. Yes, you read that right. I collaged on four tiny matchboxes with some of those tiny things inside. So if you're in Houston next weekend, come on out and see me! I'll be there from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. peddling my wares. There will be a lot of great art by many artists. 

My collages have definitely been evolving. Here's one that I made with my mother's old cigar box. My mom didn't smoke, but apparently she liked old cool stuff too. I must have gotten it from her. I scanned the cigar box with my phone and came up with these cool images.

Other than making collages I'm taking on way too much in my life as usual. Sometimes my life reminds me of that last semester of college before I graduated. I insanely took 22 hours and four of those were literature classes. I made all As and Bs. For some reason, when I have a lot to do I organize myself and I get it all done. When I don't have enough to do I get lazy and I procrastinate. Insane, I know. 

I'm still active with the Westcott Cemetery Association and our mission to restore the historical McDaniel Street Cemetery. I'm starting a fundraising campaign in the next week so I'll be posting a lot about that on social media. 

I celebrated my 54th birthday in February and so far so good! First I celebrated with a fabulous dinner at Union Kitchen with all my close friends. Then I celebrated by treating myself out to a night of dancing at my friend's son's club, Mi Amor. So much fun dancing the night away!  I'm going in for my annual physical in August so hopefully I'll have good things to report.

I didn't go to as many Rodeo events as years past, but Miranda celebrated her birthday there and was happy. We had a fun night watching the concert and celebrating at the various tents. 

I won a Publisher's Club award at work, which means I was one of the best over-all sales people for 2023. That was really cool and my work is what makes it possible for me to support my family and do all the things I love to do. 

Miranda and I did a long weekend in New Orleans in March and had a blast. So much fun! I love that city. 

I continued to work on Hearst Gives Back and as a Hearst Change Agent in Action and this makes my heart happy. I love the work that we do as a corporation and as a newspaper. We volunteered again to serve dinner at the Star of Hope Women and Family Development Center and we volunteered with Nerdy Girl Success. 

In April we got to view the amazing total eclipse of the sun in San Antonio. Even though it was super cloudy we got to view a little bit of it and were part of history. The most special part was that we were able to share it with the kids' grandmother Yolanda and their sister and nephew who were visiting from New Orleans. 

The school year ended and my son Seth did really well and was on the Dean's List both the fall and spring semesters at LIU Brooklyn! That always makes a mama's heart happy. He was 6 months old when I started this blog!

My mentee Ashley graduated from the University of Houston Downtown and received a promotion at work right after. She works at one of my customers, the Houston Humane Society, which on a personal level is close to my heart. They helped when Seth rescued some kittens from a mechanic shop last summer. 

In June I had the privilege of having a front row seat watching my cousin, the author Oscar Casares add to his creative project, Postcards from the Border. I can't wait to see the finished production in January. He conducted family interviews at a family party in the Rio Grande Valley. Here is a link to view what the production is all about and now he's adding in the interviews. 

Then finally my own writing. The whole reason I started this blog on November 25, 2004. The novel I mentioned 20 years ago, Broken Cousins, can be found on Amazon's KindleVella. It only took me 18 years to publish it. It's not my best work, but I had to put it out there to move on mentally. 

Yes, I am still writing and working with the Central Nebraska Writing Group. I've read and re-read my novel to them and I know where I need to do the work. I know what I need to do to make it better. I just have to make the time to do it. Meanwhile (yes I'm insane) I'm also going to start a new Kindle Vella short novella, publishing one episode at a time, as I go. Keep an eye out for that soon. You can google me on Amazon and see what I've written.

I still have five Little Libraries in Laundromats, but I'm delegating it to Miranda while she's working and still living in Houston. She's already designed a new business card for us! 

Yes, I live a busy life, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I work full-time selling advertising and defending the free press, I try to exercise regularly and eat well. I volunteer with work sponsored events, I volunteer with the historic cemetery, I make collages and I write. Soon I'll be adding another board position to my plate, but more on that later. Life is good and I am grateful. 

Recap of 2023 and Onward Forward into 2024

As we enter 2024 here's a recap of what I was up to in 2023.

My Art/Collaging

I have to mention collaging first because this is something that I have really been enjoying and it's so good for my soul. It's soothing and almost like meditating. It's funny because I've always considered myself an artist because I'm a writer, but I've never considered myself a visual artist. Collaging has made me realize I am an artist. Honestly I think all of us can be artists.

I've created over twenty collages since February when I started collaging with Scissors of Texas. Some are good, some are okay, some are simple and some are elaborate. This one is one of my favorites. The prompt word was Magic and I decided to represent everything that is magic to me-Art, writing, corporate philanthropy, cemeteries and books. 

My Novel/My Writing

It's a slow process and I need to be more self-disciplined. That's my goal for 2024. I'm going to buckle down and really work on editing my novel the way it should be edited and not half-ass. I still meet with the Central Nebraska Writing Group every month to read what I'm working on and to push ahead. It keeps me honest and consistent. I'm so grateful to this group for being my sounding board.

Corporate Philanthropy

I've served as the Hearst Gives Back Champion at the Houston Chronicle for almost a year and half. It's interesting to think about what brought me to this point in my career. It all started with Little Libraries in Laundromats and serving on the board of the Westcott Cemetery Association. Those were two passions that I pursued on my own time. 

In 2022 I received a service award for my work with the little libraries. I feel like that was my butterfly effect. After I received the award our HR VP asked me if I was interested in leading our Hearst Gives Back efforts at the Chronicle. Somewhere around that same time I also completed our DEI training called Hearst Conscious Inclusion. When I graduated I became a Change Agent. In 2023 I was asked to lead a team a team of Change Agents in Action and I've been busy organizing volunteer efforts for the Chronicle team, but also to fulfill our goal to volunteer with organizations that empower women and girls. I also lead our United Way campaign efforts.

This volunteer work with the Houston Chronicle and Hearst has really awakened something in me. I've realized how much I enjoy working in corporate philanthropy and it's made me feel like I have a purposeful career. I'd like to explore this in the future, after Seth is done with college.

My Career

I had a phenomenal 2023 and I only hope to match and surpass it in 2024. I'm grateful all the good things that happened in 2023 and I will work hard to keep it going. I'm constantly looking for ways that I can refill the bucket and keep my pipeline full. I believe that the energy I put in is the energy I get out of it. 

Zig Ziglar said, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." I have this quote as a screen saver on my computer. 

As I approach my 54th birthday next month it's hard to believe that I will be retiring from my day job in 11 years. Eleven years will pass me by in no time. I need to make sure that I have everything in place for when that day comes, so I have both a 6 year and an 11 year plan. 

My Family

We had a graduation in the family. Miranda graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences in May. She started working in the Pathology and Bone Marrow department at MD Anderson Cancer Center in July. Seth finished his freshman year and got his first real job during the summer. He went back to school in the fall and finished the fall semester strong. He's home for winter break now. 

I am grateful for all the great things that happened this year.