10 Birds

Well, we're nearing the end of this project!

The cool thing about coloring as a hobby, problem solving activity, stress reliever, or therapy is, that it can go with you anywhere you go.  There are books of all sizes so you can pop them in a purse, briefcase, suitcase etc.  I did one bird in rainbow colors because my niece loves rainbows and is always giving me rainbows.

Hopefully, I've inspired some others to try coloring!  I always look forward to seeing my mom's art too now.  She's very creative with hers.  I think in another few days I should be able to post the finished project here and move onto another one.  Hopefully this helps others too, to see that you don't have to finish a picture in one day, unless you absolutely want to.

It's always an exciting prospect to be finished with a project too, so you can look at it and feel great about a job well done too!  Happy coloring folks!!

Escitalopram Oxalate.......Lexapro

I could have sworn my Doctor I saw said an M name, but I guess when I looked it up it's L .......yay PTSD and poor focus.

Ok so, today was day 3 and I remembered to take it IN THE MORNING, half a tab 5 mg.  So yes, I was celebrating my new found ability to remember something new LOL.  Until......dun dun dun......later that day........dun dun duuuuuun.  Ok so I go outside when I let out the fuzzylumpkins because I knew my neighbor was out there eating a hot dog.  She's the type that runs up on little fuzzy things and is over-exuberant in her desire to hug them.  This is not necessarily a bad thing mind you, I can appreciate her love for all things furry and adorable.  I just know the fuzz having previously been lost, left or had an owner die, I'm not sure what happened, has made her a little cautious of people.  So, knowing my neighbor's desire to make friends with her, I went out with fuzz and sat down on the step, and of course my neighbor came over, as I expected she would.  I comforted fuzz and told her it's ok, and she sniffed her finger, so that's pretty good!  Well, after the neighbor decided fuzz would take more time to get to know her, I tried to stand up........TRIED being the operative word.

I started going sideways, and reached out to steady myself, and OF COURSE the apartment complex's cheap particle board solution for a fence was NO HELP, and I broke off the top of it.  I think my neighbor or her boyfriend must have helped steady me because I didn't fall all the way over.  I DID however, destroy my ankle on the concrete corner of the doorstep LOL OOOOOOWWWWWYYYYY!  It STILL burns and I put peroxide and triple antibiotic stuff on it, so I am fairly sure I won't lose the leg.  Yes, that IS a joke, I'm quite sure no one ever lost a leg from scraping it on their doorstep, but I can't be positive.

Ok, so I'm trying to evaluate how I feel, because there are some danger signs on this medication.  I think I feel ok, other than randomly falling over, but I'm not sure, I also feel a bit hostile, but not, and a bit anxious but not.  I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but it's a constant presence in me at the moment.  I guess I should keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get worse.  I feel a bit like I have cotton in my head, and have a headache that's not there.  What I mean is, I'll randomly get an ache, but then it's gone soon after.  It could be that I'm not adjusted to the medication yet, but it definitely bears watching since I have no desire to constantly fall, feel constantly hostile or anxious but not, and have random aches in my brain.

I came inside and asked "Did that Doctor say that I might get dizzy on this medicine?"  And the answer of course was yes, and then I was told that I sometimes zone out so he made sure to listen as he was sure I'd be off somewhere at points, and I guess I was because I could have sworn he said an M medicine name AND did NOT hear anything about falling over randomly.  I did make sure to ask if I'd randomly decide jumping off bridges was a good idea, and the Doctor said that is was highly unlikely on this particular med and he was giving me the lowest dose, so that made me feel better because I'm a bit afraid of heights.

I guess for now I'll try to be vigilant because I do have some concerns, but again, it may be because it's new and my body needs adjusting.  Oh here's a beautiful picture of my ankle LOL looks kind of like a dragon....or maybe a wolf howling at the moon.

6 birds

It's been a few more days and now there are 6 lovely birds done.

I went to mom's today and she shared her coloring with me.  She's doing a lovely job in her books, and even did one in the cute post card books I found for her for mother's day.  So proud she's liking her gifts and proud of her for taking time out to do fun things.  I hope it makes her feel awesome.  She said she felt a little overwhelmed when she first started feeling like she couldn't do it, or maybe bet it done.  I'm not sure.  But she found she could and does a beautiful job.  She's been mixing mediums, pencils and pens, AND shading with other colors to come up with the colors she sees in her mind's eye when there isn't a pen or pencil in that color.

I'll share the progress I've mad on this large picture I've shared in the previous few posts.

So happy my mom and sis are getting into the swing of coloring and perhaps they will share either here or other places if and when they're ready.  I am super excited to give my mom the last of her presents for this month since it's also her birthday month.  I'll just give a small hint in case she reads this, I would have LOVED to have something like this from my Grandmother's before they passed.  They always told such great stories about when they were little girls, and other such things, so hopefully this will help my mom pass on some of her own stories to my nephews and niece.  I may take a picture of what it is to post about AFTER I give it to her, SO SUPER EXCITED and hope she loves it LOL.

Anyway, more later when I've progressed a bit more.  Happy coloring!!!

Three Little Birds

Ok so I'm going to try and keep up with posting an in progress picture to help people that don't have a lot of time feel better about undertaking a project.

The first picture was about a week into coloring and I'd just finished the tree.  I colored for a bit longer than normal yesterday and got 3 of the birdies done.

As you can see, going bit by bit can be fun too because it gives you time in between to decide how you want to proceed next.

More Color Therapy

I thought it might be fun to share some "in progress" color therapy.

As I said before, there's no wrong way to do it, you can do a whole picture at once or bits of them over days or weeks.  This posting is another of Ms. Marotta's pieces from her Tropical World collection.  This particular one is a 2 page piece so it takes up both sides, so for me, I try to do all the colors that are the same throughout both sides so I have a continuous look.

I can add more posts as this goes along.  This is probably a week's worth of adding colors to the tree, beaks and eyes.  I'm still looking forward to others sharing their progress and comments of how coloring helps them in their lives.  I'm also looking forward to how this will turn out since I'm undecided of what colors to make the birds, though I think they should be colorful since it's a Tropical location, and the birds there are typically vibrant.

Happy coloring!!! And be sure to add your pictures, and comments!

Sad and Lost

Feeling melancholy today.

Trying to figure out how I can possibly move, if I can maybe buy a place to go that will be my permanent place so I don't have to move anymore.  I've been wanting to move for a year or more since the new mismanagement company took over and things have gone downhill fast, and also when the wall paper started to come off a part of the wall revealing the reason for wallpaper and not paint......mold.  Today, I'm feeling sad and conflicted.  The saying is God will provide a way, but if there is one I am not seeing it.  I feel like I already have enough medical issues without adding constant mold exposure into it, and raising the chances of adding more to it.

I'm supposed to give 60 days notice if I plan to not renew according to the office here, though I'm sure that other people have left without giving it in the past, in fact I know it, and I know it's been recent.  Time is already gone for that to happen if I were to follow that "rule", though, tbh after all the idiotic rules recently, such as, if your pipes break they'll hold you financially responsible....uuum, yeah NO, that wouldn't happen because I know how long it's been since they updated ANYTHING in these units.  The plugs have to be duct taped into the walls FFS, because it's been so long since that's been updated, and that's a fire hazard, not to mention exorbitant electric costs due to outdated electrical wiring.

I look at some of the homes I've seen in the 20k range, and think.....wow, I'm paying about 5x what I would to mortgage that place, but I am not sure if I can even qualify for a loan, even a VA one since I've had some big hits on my credit due to my meager income since I can't pay student loans as every penny I have currently goes to survival.  I'm trying to keep a positive outlook and trying to keep looking for the answer, but it gets a little hard to see with so many negatives piled up.

On top of that, I'm going to owe my mom and stepdad for the rest of eternity because there's something wrong with my old heap yet again.  I recently had the power steering fluid filled, and the steering is acting poopy AGAIN, which means I might have to have that looked at and God only knows how much that will cost, meaning I'll likely have to borrow from them AGAIN to pay for repairs.  Sometimes I wish I could just climb under a rock and just stay there so I don't have to deal with this stuff anymore.

I pray every day, just about all day.  At this point in my life I'd love to be able to say, mom, you never have to worry because I can and will take care of you if anything ever happens.  I pray every day that I'll be able to do that if and when that time ever comes and I pray it never does.  I know for certain that if a way opens and I'm able to move I'm going to go with all due speed and "rules" be damned, they can't POSSIBLY ruin my credit anymore than circumstances already have.  But I will go, and will make sure that where ever I do go it's permanent and has room for mom if she ever needs it too.

Usually I blog to get my thoughts straight and try to unload so I feel better....well, I don't feel better, but I do feel resigned on a course.

Color Therapy

For those of you that haven't tried it and want to, I'll try and share a few hints to help you have an awesome coloring experience.

Coloring helps with so many things, including relaxation, an outlet for those that can't draw to have a chance to be creative, an outlet to help your mind wander when you're troubled about problems and to come up with creative solutions to them that your logical mind wouldn't think of and so much more.  I've said this for years before adult coloring books were available, and have a great many regular coloring books including precious moments which I adore and think they're awesome too.  Now that there are adult coloring books there is even more opportunity to find something that really speaks to you and will allow you to feel comfortable and free to explore how coloring might be beneficial for you.

I've recently gotten a few books illustrated by Millie Marotta, and want to get more from her printed ones because I just love the whimsical way she illustrates them.  I'll share a few from her illustrations here that I've recently completed and will share more as I do them in later posts.  I'd love to also take the time to thank Ms. Marotta for being so creative and sharing her art with us, along with all the other illustrators that are helping people to have this outlet.

I would like to share some hints to help you have the BEST EVER coloring experience.  First, if you can find friends that also want to try this form of self Therapy, I encourage you to come together similar to something like a book club, or crafting group and make it a social occasion.  You can also just take quiet time to be alone and unwind.  There is no wrong way to do it....that's great huh!?  Next, you don't have to sit and color for hours and hours and hours, or even finish a picture the same day you started.  I think the two I've put here took about a month and a half or so.  Sometimes I just color one item like the pineapple in the 2nd picture and then put it away.  Each time I look at a picture I see different color possibilities, so taking time to do something is fun because you can see it transform from what you originally thought of to something much different.  Sometimes I just pick one color I want to work with that day and do all the places I'd like to put it and then put it away.  You can do an entire picture at a sitting if you like, there are books of all sizes with large pictures like this one, and pocket sized books for those that feel compelled to complete an entire picture at once but don't have the time for a larger sized one like these.  I've recently even found some AWESOME postcards that you color, then fill out and send to friends or loved ones, keeping REAL MAIL alive.  It's so much more fun to get real mail than bills.  So that's a neat idea also.

Now, coloring, these books are great for using a LOT of different mediums for coloring.  If you would like to try water colors, I would suggest finding the ones with one picture on either side of the paper so that if you get it wet it won't affect the other side.  You can use markers, crayons, pencils and even the art chalks which would be great for blending and blurring edges for different effects.  I personally LOOOOVE colored pencils.  I have 4 different sets so far and each one has different properties.  One colors heavier than the others for example without having to press harder for a darker shade, though you absolutely can make it darker that way.  Another has such a light touch that it's just barely touching color shades into the paper, it's also great to use them to shade and come up with new colors or effects.  If you look closely at the pineapple you can see I've done that both on the body and the leaves of the pineapple to get a more natural effect like what you'd see on an actual fruit.

For me, coloring helps me greatly because of my anxiety, and is a great relaxation tool.  Though I tend to lean more toward realism when it comes to what the items are.  I try to be whimsical, but I'm afraid I fail a bit in that department.  I do love how the first picture here looks a bit like a bird in the way that it's drawn.  So I guess the whimsy at least gets achieved from the overall look of the picture.  No matter what your style or medium is, take your time and have fun with it.  I'd love it if people trying this would share their pictures in the comments too so I can have fun sharing your experience too!

Happy coloring people!!!