Miss Modish- Mojo Maker

July/August Flowers

We've had so many pretties blooming in our little backyard garden over the last couple months. Here are some of my favorites... (check out may and june's flowers if you missed em!)

dahlia- from old house dahlias, in our hood

impatiens, with a litlte geranium bud peeking in

chocolate cosmos that ACTUALLY SMELL LIKE CHOCOLATE. No joke.

cally lily

bee balm- the hummingbirds love this one!

potato vine goin' buckwild- covers our chain link fence, we love it

little friend, watching me take pictures

yarrow

dahlia

so many roses

hydrangea

And here's a wider view of our garden and little backyard shed, where I film my doses of mojo videos!

Ok so it's techincally video, singular, at this point, but I'm filming more and have so much good stuff coming up soon soon- can't wait to share! The fall feeling of shifting into high gear is starting to catch me. I love this time of year!

Although today's my Mr's birthday (I love you, Mr!) and I'm off to play hooky with him at the coast to eat ice cream, take pics, drink a beer and take in the ocean breeze. Squeezing the last out of summer where we can!

What's been blooming in your neck of the woods lately? Feeling that fall buzz yet, or dreading the end of summer?

CAR-MA: Find still moments

{collabo project by my mister and I- original photo by him, @drsmoothdeath}

Kitty Photo Friday!

Kitty in a box! This is an old one from around when we got married that I found on my camera and thought was so cute. And look at this!

One of my awesome mojo clients, Lior from Artnbed, sent me the link to this kitty cartoon by Molly Brandenburg, 7 ways cats help you decorate! Thought you guys would like it too, it's super duper cute.

Hope ya'll have a good weekend! We're supposed to get thunderstorms here... I hope!! Meet you back here next week, friends!

<3 jena

Grow Your Handmade Business, with Kari!

I recieved a surprise package on my doorstep yesterday- a copy of Grow Your Handmade Business by Kari Chapin. And I'm oh so thrilled to say that I'm included in it!

You can find bits from me, Nicole Balch, Jay McCarroll, Lisa Congdon, Jessica Swift, Tara Gentile, Sue Eggen, Kelly Rae Roberts and so many other awesome voices from the "creative collective" amongst Kari's own advice and exercises.

And it covers everything you need to know to grow your handmade business from the ground up, from identifying your dream biz and goals for it, to writing your business plan, managing your time, getting your marketing plan together (I have a section in there on PR for indie biz owners, woot!), how to get the dolla dolla bills and where to find professional support when you need it.

Plus- it's pretty! And the letters bump up on the front cover and it feels good to hold in your hands.

Hope you guys check it out- it's an essential addition to an indie biz owner's bookshelf! Get more info and pick up a copy from Kari's site here, and check out her first book, Handmade Marketplace too if you don't have that yet!

{You did an amazing job, Kari, congrats! And thanks so much for including me! So much love.}

Truthy Tuesday: Having "one of those" days?

{This is part of our Truthy Tuesday series over at The Maven Circle, where we openly share our struggles and thoughts around a different topic each week. Join us in getting truthy on your own blog, and we'll link up and spread the love!}

Bad day... it's not me...

That's a Radiohead lyric that kept popping up in my head every time I thought about what I wanted to say about having a bad day. And maybe the answer's right in there. Your bad day, your mood, the feeling like fates are conspiring against you and nothing's going your way? That's not you.

There are a lot of external circumstances sweeping us up, diverting our attention and taking our energy away. And when we start focusing on the annoyance and frustration and everything that's not going our way, then the day's going to feel like it sucks, for sure.

I started noticing that my self-care plays a huge proactive role in creating less days where I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Turns out when you're well slept, getting some good nutrition and making time to center yourself, a lot of those minor annoyances and frustrations that can quickly pile up to a ruined day, slide right off your back instead- go figure!

We have a greater capacity to let go when we feel filled up, taken care of- from that vantage point, we can see what really matters and what doesn't.

But when we're in that depleted space- that haven't slept well, too much to do, no time for me, 3 cups of coffee before noon space- we like to grab on and hold tight to those minor daily frustrations, to all the stuff that's not working out, because it's all we can see in front of us from that state of mind.

We end up putting our energy into whining and groaning and wishing things were different, and that's when the day starts to feel like a bad one.

When I used to get in those funks, I'd try to shove it down, ignore it and just get thru the day ending up crabbier and crabbier by the end of it (lucky are those who didn't cross my path on days like that.)

Now, when I'm feeling funkified, I:

Acknowledge it- out loud. I say "I'm having a crappy day!" or "I'm really feeling stressed out!" and just saying those things out loud triggers something in me immediately that responds- "Ok so, let's change that."

Instead of letting myself just fester in a bad mood like I used to, now I try to detach from whatever's causing my mental drama- whether it's a person, the computer (ugh!), a project I'm working on- I get away from the trigger point and give some space to that feeling of ughness, to figure out why it's there.

Then I give myself something I want: decompression in front of the boobtube, a long afternoon shower, a new flower to plant, new album off itunes, painting my nails, a scoop of ice cream, kitty cuddles- I give myself some instantaneous satisfaction.

Then I give myself something I need: a nap, a walk, a big glass of water, vitamins, stretching, meditation, a smoothie, a dance break- I take a moment and put my energy back into me for a bit.

Usually that's enough to refuel and look on the brighter side of things for the rest of the day. But even if it ends up being the absolute highlight of my day, at least it had a highlight!

Just as much as all the little bad things can tend to bring us down, the little good things in life can boost you right back up again.

So when the day's taking a turn for the worse, I try to remember that the day is what I make of it. And I choose to have a good day, today.

What do you do when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or find that your good day is taking a turn for the worse? We all have bad days- let's help each other get through them!

CAR-MA: Play around

{collabo project by my mister and I- original photo by him, @drsmoothdeath}

Kitty Photo Friday!

Passed out paws up on the dog's bed, in a catnip coma...

I wouldn't mind doing something similar this weekend, it's been another busy week! But ain't gonna happen as I'll be putting the finishing touches on our private Catalyst Course site and getting all the behind the scenes stuff ready for class to begin Monday! We can't wait!

Only a couple days left til we begin- wanna come spark your awesome with us and a great group of women? We want you in there- join us!

And thanks so much for all the amazing comments on my b-day post, I love you guys! I haven't had time to write you all back but I want you to know how appreciative I am.

Thanks also to Create Hype for the awesome interview they did with me this week! I share why I've made so many biz changes and why that isn't such a bad thing, and lots more!

And speaking of kitties, one of my favorite artists Susie Ghahremi is in P-town and has a solo show at Land tonight! I'll definitely be stopping in to see her awesome work in person- you should too!

Well, that's all I got. Back to work I go. Thanks for hanging out with me here this week and I'll see you Monday!

<3 jena

 

Creating Change- Finding time to make the life you want

As you know, I've gone through a transition here on the blog, a transition in my business (well, that happens a lot :) and I've been making a lot of changes in my life during it all. It's been the year of change, for sure! And I'm so grateful for it all, even though a lot of bits have sucked, and continue to be hard in some ways, I feel like it's all been so well worth it.

Even from this tenuous growing spot I'm in at the moment, I can see fulfillment at the end of the road in a way I haven't experienced before- and that's because I feel fulfilled NOW. I haven't gotten where ever it is I'm going yet, but it doesn't matter because right now I feel happy, headed in the right direction, I feel taken care of and confident that I can handle whatever twists & turns life will throw my way.

And it's all because of the inner changes I've been making that are totally rooted in self-care. And I mean self-care in it's truest sense, care for yourself- treating yourself with love.

I think too many of us struggle with that- we harp on ourselves, hamper ourselves, talk ourselves out of the things we really want for our lives because they seem too scary.

Well, I got sick of it. I got sick of being my own worst asshole. I got sick of not doing the things I dreamed of out of fear. Sick of not taking care of myself and ending up overwhelmed & rundown way too often. Sick of having a really awesome life that I wasn't enjoying much at all, cause I was too busy being busy!

Enough was enough, so I decided to change. I decided to commit to taking better care of myself and to treat myself with as much love as possible. I realized that not only does it matter, it may matter most of all, because if we're not even taking care of our own basic needs, how can we possibly bring our best selves to the table?

It's like we're operating at half-tank all the time and that's why we become so easily depleted, especially when stressful situations arise.

I feel like I've finally traded in my stress, anxiety and constant overwhelm for peace of mind and a sense of wholeness. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

And part of that new sense of fulfillment has come from you guys, actually. From feeling like I'm actually helping people in ways that are meaningful.

A big part of that is the work we're doing over at The Maven Circle, especially with the Catalyst Course we put together. That's where we share everything we've learned over the years of not only why self-care is so important, but how to fit it into your busy life!

Believe me, I'm no less busy now than I've ever been, but I've been able to fit in more self-care by shifting my life to better match my priorities. I would say that health, family and pursing my passion were my priorities out loud, but the way I was spending my time didn't align with that- and actions speak louder than words, so I decided to act.

Which is another thing I realize now. You have to MAKE TIME for what's most important to you, your own self care included. You have to create shifts, get out of the same way of thinking that's been keeping you stuck, get a vantage point from a new perspective- and that's where change will happen.

And that's exactly what our Catalyst Course focuses on- helping you make time for what matters most. And hey, for starter practice? Make time for this course! It's our hearts, brains & experience on a plate, plus the actual exercises and everyday practices & tools we use to keep stress at a minimum, and awesome on the up and up.

Fulfillment for both me & Jen comes from knowing that we've helped someone see a situation, or themselves, differently and helped them create action toward the change they want to see in their life. We'd love the opportunity to help you, too. Our course starts this Monday, Aug 13th and we'd be over the moon to have you join us!

Make the time for what matters most to you. Make the time to create change!

Getting Truthy about Jealousy & Comparison

I'm over at The Maven Circle today sharing my experiences around The Green Eyed Monster & Comparison Trap and how NOT to get got!

....continue reading over at The Maven Circle blog. See you there!

CAR-MA: Go with the Flow

{collabo project by my mister and I- original photo by him, @drsmoothdeath}

See ya, 20's! Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!

This little flower child with an attitude is turning 30 tomorrow! And honestly, I don't feel like I've changed much since I was a kid (except no more belly shirts for me :) In fact, I may have had things figured out better when I was younger!

I was looking through old journals and two entries totally stood out and smacked me in the face.

One from when I was almost 17- this was the last entry in the journal after pages and pages of talking about boys, boys, boys, life sucks, schools sucks, I wish I had/was this/that- suddenly, I had this to say:

{full excerpt}
Everything dies : It is known that all living creatures who take in oxygen to live shall surely cease in existence  but I've learned that thoughts and feeling, emotions and lifestyles shall surely fade away too. The pure state of being may remain, but it can never remain the same. Don't ever expect tomorrow to be the same as today cause it can't happen, and frankly, why would you want it to?

Wanting is painful : I want to go to college in Cali. I want a hot as hell, sweet, trusting, snowboarding boyfriend. I want to be a cinematographer or director. I want that new cd. I want those cute pants I saw yesterday. If you dwell on all the things that you desire, not only will you never get them, you can never possibly be happy without them. It's natural to want things that you don't have, but if you let it become a main focus in your life, the only outcome there can be is suffering.

I am important : Everywhere I go, everything I do, I make a difference. Each step, each breath, each smile or wave, it ALL matters. I affect someone or something every second of my life. My life is meaningful.

It's like, woah man! A little dark and blunt in some spots, but you had some stuff figured out, 17 year old me.

Then in a journal from college when I was about 2 weeks from my 20th birthday, I wrote this, also the last entry in that journal:

{full excerpt}
I realize I must always try to think positively, find the bright side of the situation. I can't feel bad about "not doing enough" and not pushing myself "hard" enough. I need to go with how I feel at all times and live my life in a way that is acceptable to myself, and it will thus be acceptable to others.

I must remember to breathe, chill out. If fear, stress, anger or other negative gremlins get stirred up, I must not be quick to react. Do not dismiss the feeling but regard them as a genuine emotion and consider why you feel them at a certain time.

Keep doing yoga. I'm already seeing benefits in my physical, mental and spiritual life. I feel happy and healthy. Do not make up excuses. Do no flake out on yourself. You owe it to yourself to do this one amazing thing each and every day, and you owe it to the world around you.

You can and will do great things with your life. Just stay open and listen to your heart. TRUST YOURSELF. You know what is right for you. Do not focus on other's opinions on what is best for you. You are the only one who truly knows.

Calm down. Listen. Take time to be still. Just be. 

Uh, hello future Maven Circle me at 19 years old! So, so weird to read everything I'm talking about now from a journal way back then.

It's like between 20-29, with school, work, relationships, rent money due, starting businesses, moving around, aquiring 4 fur babies, a house and lots of STUFF, and trying to figure out who the hell I am and where I want to go- I kinda sorta forgot who I was, and where I wanted to go.

Life got in the way of those things I've always really believed in and known deep down to be true. And reading these entries from younger me I can't help but think, "Shit girl, why haven't you been taking your own advice all these years?"

Well I'm starting to now. I feel like my 20s were so much about acheiving, striving, searching and now it's like I've come back full circle, back to what I've always known, back to my true self.

I'm so excited and hopeful for my 30's to be more about just BEING and enjoying moment by moment. So, on that note, I'm off to go flower shopping, berry picking, antique hunting and Mexican food eating, playing a little early birthday weekday hooky with the mister! And then tomorrow, I enter a NEW DECADE! Yippee!!

Are there things you believed in when you were younger that have slipped thru the cracks of your adult life? Some advice from younger you that you haven't been taking?

Truthy Tuesday: Mind Gremlin Mania & Meditation

{This is part of our Truthy Tuesday series over at The Maven Circle, where we openly share our struggles and thoughts around a different topic each week. Join us in getting truthy on your own blog, and we'll link up and spread the love!}

I have so many mind gremlins to contend with up in that noggin of mine.

You know what those are- the negative, nasty things we tell ourselves about our abilities, about who we are. And all of those mean things we tell ourselves are so SO totally wrong most times, but we have such a skewed perspective when we're stuck in our heads that we start to believe what they're saying.

Some of my many mind gremlins that like to come out and play:

• one is that I'm "too shy", definitely too shy to go up and talk to a stranger, to feel comfortable in a crowd or to speak in front of one!
• I have a problem believing anyone is interested in what I have to say, or that they find value in it in anyway. I've always doubted that any of my words are worthwhile.
• I worry about the outcome of things more than the process of doing the thing and that starts the anxiety and stressing out
• I do care what (some) people think and want to live up to whatever their perception/expectation is of me, and I often 2nd guess whether I can/do/ever will
• And then there are my own expectations of myself which are basically beyond human and leave me feeling disappointed in myself, guilty for not getting it all done, or not by now, or not doing "enough"

And I could go on and on...

There was a time when I was so consumed with what those voices told me, I was convinced that my amazing, lucky life was more of a burden, cause it felt like one just trying to get up every morning and keep all the balls in the air and keep everyone happy and just get through the day, day after day. 

I ended up overwhelmed, on the brink, and needing a serious change because I realized, I wasn't really considering- what about my own happiness?

Our mind gremlins can convince us we're not deserving of happiness, or that we'll find it somewhere "out there" if we just conquer the next accomplishment, and the next one, and the next one...

But that feels so empty and unsatisfying in the long run because your own happiness is only going to come from within. And a large part of that happiness is going to come from battling your mind gremlins!

My recommended tool for battle: Meditation

It's life-changing, seriously. Even 10-15 minutes a day can be life-changing.

It's also really difficult to start trying to do too, yes I'll give you that. You know what helped me in the beginning? Guided meditations- they help you stay focused and make it not so difficult to sit there with yourself and your thoughts for a few minutes. Here are some to try if you're interested:

• I recorded a "present moment" guided meditation for The Maven Circle! You can get it free with sign-up to our inner circle- I've had so many amazing, positive responses about it. Hope you enjoy it!
• I also like these free guided meditations by Davidji at the Chopra Center- most 10 minutes or less
• And these by Tara Brach, most 15-30min long. She also has a great introduction on how to meditate.

Meditation has not only helped me lessen the gremlin banter, but not heed it anymore. By helping me gain distance from those thoughts, it gave me perspective enough to see that these things I've been telling myself over so many years are NOT TRUE!

You are what you say you are. You are what you think you are. If you can shift both your thinking and the verbiage you use to talk about/to yourself, you'll be able to make some headway in the mind gremlin battle!

Meditation is one way. Getting out of your head and into your body can happen in many forms tho. The key is to realize that you don't have to believe what those mind gremlins say. You don't have to define yourself in limiting ways. You have the choice to change the way you think and to shift into a new perspective!

You have the choice to do battle with those gremlins! And if you need help, our Catalyst Course has an arsenal of tools and support to help you do just that!

We just opened up registration for the next round of the course, to start Aug 13th! We'd love to help you dig in and identify what's going to make you really deep down happy and how to start breaking down all the mental and emotional obstacles along that path to your most awesome life.

The change starts from within- it really does, as cliche as it is. I learned firsthand that simply by changing my relationship to my thoughts (we need some distance, us two) I'm able to feel differently about who I am and what I'm capable of. I'm able to tell those nasty gremlin buggers to shut the eff on up, and it feels invigorating!

I still have a lot of gremlins to fend off or ignore, and they do still get the better of me sometimes, but knowing that I have the power to break through them inspires more confidence in myself than anything else.

You have the power to break-through them too! It's in you, it's in us all.

Are you doing battle with some mind gremlins right now? How do you fend them off? Or are they getting the better of you?

Share, open up, I'd love to hear in the comments below, or join us with your own Truthy Tuesday post!

CAR-MA: Throw yourself a Party of One

{collabo project by my mister and I- original photo by him, @drsmoothdeath}

Kitty Photo Friday!

Butt-to-butt birdwatching buds- that's the only time you'll find these two this close together really :)

...........

This will probably be another working weekend because next week we're opening up registration for our Catalyst Course! We're so excited to do another run of it, the first one was amazing! If you're interested in the course, TODAY is the last day to sign up to our inner circle to receive a special discount for early birds!

It's funny, just talking about procrastination this week really lit a fire under my butt and I feel like I was really productive! Will share how the self-hypnosis works (or doesn't) next week- I linked to the exact ones I'm using over on the Maven Circle resources today, plus a couple books I got to help cure my procrastinating ways!

Well hope to see you round here next week (I'm turning 30 on Aug 4th- new decade, here I come!!)
<3 jena

New Perspective: Begonia

So I got one of these olloclip lenses for the iphone, and it's pretty dang fun! Do you have one? I LOVE the macro view- I really like looking at things in depth and seeing different perspectives, it totally shifts your world. The above shots are of my begonia plant- it's like a strange and beautiful alien landscape!

In other news, I'm seeing Fiona Apple tonight and am so. freakin. excited! I grew up playing piano and she was my idol, I was obsessed with her! (ok, still kinda am :) I have butterflies! Whee!  

Hope you're having a good Thursday! 

Project: Kick Procrastination’s Ass

I'm sick of being controlled by this ever-pervasive habit of procrastination! I'm getting truthy about my life-long struggles with it over on The Maven Circle today and feel like it's one of my last barriers to getting where I want to go in life.

I think procrastination can be good in some ways- especially when it comes to creative projects- but in lots of ways, it's so not helpful. It creates stress and pressure and overwhelm that doesn't even need to exist, and I'm sick of feeling the guilt of not getting stuff done. I'm sick of feeling like I'm always catching up with yesterday, rather than participating in today!

So edging upon my 30th birthday, I've decided it's high time to break this nasty habit of mine- it's time for Project: Kick Procrastination's Ass!

(see, I could've taken time to figure out a better name, but instead I'm doing it now and just putting it out there! ;) Plus the accountability factor of having you guys out there listening along and expecting things really helps me get into gear!

It's time I actually use some of the many resources I've bought on a whim to help me figure out why I'm procrastinating so much and how to take steps to fix it. And since I know it's something that so many of us struggle with, I want to do it here, in front of you all to share my journey, progress and hopefully all the oh so helpful tips I learn along the way.

So my first step? Stop calling myself a procrastinator and instead, a "do-it-now-er, in training!"

My second step? I'm going to listen to this Overcoming Procrastination self-hypnosis mp3 that I downloaded, uh, last year, and see what happens!

Self-hypnosis is basically like a guided meditation, very relaxing and helps imprint things into your subconscious mind. And it's supposed to be more effective if you listen to the same script for 5 days in a row to really help those subliminal triggers and messages start to shift- so that's my plan. I'm going to listen once a day, for at least 5 days in a row, and report back next week if I notice any differences in my thinking or behavior.

Are you a procrastinator too? Want to change that? Join me here and hopefully this new series can work some wonders for us both! :)

CAR-MA: Blaze your own trail

{collabo project by my mister and I- original photo by him, @drsmoothdeath}

Kitty Photo Friday!

Fluffy Lulu belly says "Have a relaxing weekend, I know I will!"

I, on the otherhand, might not be relaxing so much as catching up on housework, emails, projects, posts- such is the life. But I can't complain because I love love what I'm doing!

Over at The Maven Circle, Jen and I are getting ready for our next round of The Catalyst Course, re-vamping, re-structuring and re-filming all the video content. It's going to be a 4 week course, starting Aug 13th, all about sparking your inner awesome and finding a place of happiness, direction and freedom from constant stress!

Next week we'll be sending out a special first dibs registration to our inner circle list at a discounted price! You can reserve your spot before they sell out and get a good deal on it- win-win! Hop on the list by Monday, Jul 23rd to make sure you get the deets when they're sent out next week.

Hope you have a happy weekend and I'll meet you back here next week!

<3 jena

Take a Summer Stroll With Me (Part 2)

More photos from a walk around the neighborhood in the sunshine. See the first set of photos here, and let's take a summer stroll together!

Have a happy day! <3 Jena

Truthy Tuesday: Is Finding Balance Really Possible?

Photo by me, and a peek at Take a summer stroll with me part 2, which will be up tomorrow! Beautiful words by Rumi, one of my favorites, always, for a dose of perspective.

Find me getting Truthy today over on The Maven Circle blog about work/life balance, and whether such a thing exists! (hint: no, I don't think it does!)