POISON IVY AND A VIDEO ON MULTIPOTENTIALITES THAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT WHO YOU ARE

It's been a horrible weekend. Last week Destyni and I had a boho style photography session in a field here by the lake. We took a few pics of each other as well, and apparently I chose the wrong place to take a seat.

You see, I have a raging case of poison ivy that decided to crop up Saturday morning on our way out of town. My entire right leg is about twice the size it should be, is so raw and painful from the blisters and plaques, and I can hardly bear weight on it. I went to urgent care Sunday to make sure it wasn't cellulitis, because all the signs were there minus a high fever. The doctor took one look at my legs, touched the leathery plaque that has replaced my thigh, and went oh my you need a steroid injection. Yes. Great. I thought. PLEASE.

Until she found out I was still nursing. Then she changed her mind and sent me home with a worthless cream. I cried the entire way home.

Luckily Chris stayed home from work yesterday to help me out with Camden. Otherwise I don't know what I would have done. It was pure misery and hell.

I have such an amazing husband. He went out and got us a rotisserie chicken for lunch, popcorn, and a few movies. This definitely helped ease the blow of the hellfire that was consuming my skin.

I have been a blob on the couch ever since.  I know these pictures were the culprit. I must have sat/laid down right on top of some poison ivy/oak/sumac/satan like a dumbass.

Ok enough ranting about my skin and poor choices. Yesterday, my Zite app delivered this awesome article from TED talks that I just wanted to share with you. The video is embedded below, but if you just want to read the transcript because you're sitting somewhere you can't watch a video (ike sitting next to a sleeping baby/sitting in a jury/generally afraid of getting caught watching videos at work or while out to dinner with a spouse) visit here. It's an incredible speech though, so it's definitely worth taking a moment to read/watch.

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HURRAY TO GETTING LOST AT EVERY AGE

I get Quora emails that come across my phone every once in a while that really spark my interest. This morning this one came across and I was so moved with the answer that I had to share it.
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Q: "Why are people in their twenties anxious about figuring out their life and career?"
By Dushka Zapata

A: "I am 46 years old. By this I mean that I have been 20 and 25 and 29 (and everything in between.) I have at every age been "anxious" to "figure it out".

If someone asked me what these years have given me, I would say "Hello. My name is Dushka, and I am an expert at getting lost".  Fortunately for me, stumbling around being lost is the only way to accumulate the experience required in getting found.

Here is the big fat secret adults keep from younger people. 

Ready?

The age where you think you will have everything figured out never comes. 

It doesn't exist.

To more directly answer your question, people in their late twenties are anxious about figuring out life because everyone is convinced that happiness lies on the other side of "figuring it out".  Instead, happiness is now.

Figuring it out is supposed to be fun. It's why we are here. Feeling like you are the only person who hasn't is an illusion created mostly by yourself. Figuring it out is another expression for the pursuit of happiness. 

Happiness is not "when I turn 30" or "when I find a boyfriend" or "once I get a job" or anywhere in the future. It's within the actual pursuit. 

Resolve to make it an adventure.

Finally, if you were to ask me if it was normal/common to feel lost at 20, 30 and 40 I would say yes. We are all trying to find ourselves.  Here is why: finding yourself is a moving target. The world changes constantly. We change constantly. Once you find yourself you have to begin again. 

Hurray to getting lost at every age."

"MAKAYLA" REVEAL JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Good morning lovelies!  It's finally October! Hooray!

Actually I'm not a crazy fan of October or anything like that. I'm not the pumpkin obsessing, sweater loving, boot wearing, straw bale sitting, hot chocolate sipping, fall fanatic like most girls. I know. Here is my female card.

I'm just really excited because I'm about to reveal my next painting in the Paint Our World in Gold project now that it is October, and I couldn't be more ecstatic.

Makayla is a beautiful 4 year old girl who won her battle with brain cancer. Her story is inspirational and she is a cancer warrior who came out swinging (and smiling). Stay tuned as I post sneak peeks of her artwork and her story!

HELP SOME KIDS WHILE YOU SHOP FOR ART

With September drawing to close, I want to remind everyone to take a step back and think about something for a minute for me.

1 in 300 kids are getting cancer these days.

Are you ok with these numbers? Are you ok knowing that those numbers are getting worse? What about the rest of these numbers?

Roughly 40,000 children are undergoing cancer treatment this year, and childhood cancer rates have been steadily increasing over the last 20 years, up 29%, despite recent scientific advances. 

Some speculate that our chemical laden environment is to blame. It has recently been discovered that babies today are born with over 200 toxic chemicals detected in their bloodstream at delivery. These children need answers. And unfortunately, there is not enough funding to get to those answers quickly enough and things are going to get worse. Less than 4% of federal cancer research funding goes to childhood cancer research, only 3 new pediatric cancer treatment drugs have been approved by the FDA in the last 20 years, and children are dying every day waiting for promising new treatments that they’ll never see.

"Jaxon" is now available, and prints and reproductions are available through fineartamerica.com through September 2016. All proceeds go to helping these kids! 

“By combining medicine, humanity, and art, I think this is an opportunity to raise awareness, increase financial support, and provide a little inspiration out there for kids who might need it,” she says. "Each month I'll be sharing one story of hope, strength, and courage. An accompanying painting will be created using the children's toys as inspiration, and reproductions will be available to the public. Because the symbol for pediatric cancer is the gold ribbon, each painting is created with gold leaf to stand as a representation of their fight, to share a piece of their courage with the world and leave their mark on it forever. These children represent the very definition of hero, and they want to share a small symbol of their heroism with you through art. So that we may be reminded in a world of overwhelming uncertainty and pain, there can also be an abundance of community, strength, and hope."

GOLD LEAF ALL THE THINGS | roundup of some pretty little goldish items for your Monday morning

May your coffee be strong and your Monday be short. Happy Monday lovelies!

Today I want to roundup some of my favorites over on my Pinterest board. Gold will never ever go out of style. It is a classic, and it is a timeless necessity that will be around forever, whether you like it or not. Gold can do so much for your decor, bringing shimmer and lovely to what is otherwise dull and boring. Here, I've compiled a whole bunch of photos with a single theme: gold leaf. I think it goes without saying that I think it looks SPECTACULAR on EVERYTHING HERE.

What do you think about all of this goldish decor? Would you outfit your home/self with any of these gold inspirations??

How about we start off our roundup with a nice pretty cake with some edible gold leaf?

Or how about gold leafing your entire ceiling? I'm pretty sure I would have a permacramp in my neck from staring at my ceiling day in and day out if this was my house.

Or how about these DIY gold leafing coasters that are pretty much the prettiest thing I've seen in my whole life.

I could definitely live with my decision to incorporate gold leaf into my wall dressings/staircase/baseboards/flooring.

How about this cute little canvas? Anybody with a few hours, some gold leaf skills, and a canvas could pull this one off pretty easily.

GASP. This backsplash is TO.DIE.FOR. It is absolute perfection and will probably end up in my next house...

How about gold leafing your globe?

Paper mache bowls? Yes please.

Um. Must. Have.
These business cards have definitely caught my eye and given me a few ideas for my next round of cards...

Big ol' sigh. I just love this chair.

And last but not least. Gold makeup. Loving her eyeshadow and lipstick, however the weird gold leaf mask covering her face...that I could probably do without.

All original image sources can be found here

What do you think? Do you have any fun gold leaf ideas you'd like to share with me? I'd love to hear about them.