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  • " Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow." -Helen Keller

January 30, 2009

Re-creational break.

So much, yet so little has happened around here.  With the New Year, the house fire and other events, my brain is on overload with "What's next?  Where do we go from here?  Shoulds, Coulds, Can'ts and even Fuck it's".  I have found myself in a bit of a freeze.  My creativity is a bit lacking.  My motivation waiting for the word "go". 

So what have I been doing?  Reading books and magazines.  Daydreaming.  Researching schools for my soon to be Kindergartener.  Organizing.  Housecleaning.  Making a Vision Board.  Having lunch dates and coffee dates with friends.  Hosting dinners.  Stockpiling fresh steamed and pureed vegetables for my children (and for us adults) by then freezing in ice-cube trays.  Talking, praying and making an appointment to get a tattoo.  Watching my children grow.  Watching movies with my husband.  Going on "listening walks" as a family.

Re-creating.

Creativity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Creativity is a mental and social process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts, creativity is fueled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight. An alternative conception of creativeness is that it is simply the act of making something new.

From a scientific point of view, the products of creative thought (sometimes referred to as divergent thought) are usually considered to have both originality and appropriateness.

Although intuitively a simple phenomenon, it is in fact quite complex. It has been studied from the perspectives of behavioural psychology, social psychology, psychometrics, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, philosophy, history, economics, design research, business, and management, among others. The studies have covered everyday creativity, exceptional creativity and even artificial creativity. Unlike many phenomena in science, there is no single, authoritative perspective or definition of creativity. And unlike many phenomena in psychology, there is no standardized measurement technique.

Creativity has been attributed variously to divine intervention, cognitive processes, the social environment, personality traits, and chance ("accident", "serendipity"). It has been associated with genius, mental illness and humour. Some say it is a trait we are born with; others say it can be taught with the application of simple techniques. Creativity has also been viewed as a beneficence of a muse or Muses.

Although popularly associated with art and literature, it is also an essential part of innovation and invention and is important in professions such as business, economics, architecture, industrial design, music, science and engineering.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the ambiguity and multi-dimensional nature of creativity, entire industries have been spawned from the pursuit of creative ideas and the development of creativity techniques.

Leonardo Da Vinci is well known for his creative works.

Creativity has been associated with right or forehead brain activity or even specifically with lateral thinking.

Some students of creativity have emphasized an element of chance in the creative process. Linus Pauling, asked at a public lecture how one creates scientific theories, replied that one must endeavor to come up with many ideas — then discard the useless ones.

Another adequate definition of creativity is that it is an "assumptions-breaking process." Creative ideas are often generated when one discards preconceived assumptions and attempts a new approach or method that might seem to others unthinkable.

January 04, 2009

Starting Anew

A new year has started and so we start anew.  I have put off posting here on my blog for a bit.  It has been some rough going for the past few weeks.  I'll just get to the point.... We had a house fire on December 12th.  WE ARE OKAY!!!  We're better than okay really...  We were home when it happened.  It started on the front porch.  It was a bit after 9:30 pm.  Schon and I were in bed watching TV and Schon was rocking Lucas to sleep.  Maya was sound asleep in her room.  We heard a crackling noise and I jumped up to investigate.  I walked out into the living room and saw through the window that the porch was engulfed in flames.  I (apparently, because I don't remember) yelled out "the house is on fire!"  Schon jumped up and yelled "get the baby! get the kids! get out of the house!"  I yelled for Maya and she came right out.  I grabbed Lucas and my cell phone.  We went out the back door.  Schon went out and grabbed the garden hose.  I called 911.  Within 5-10 minutes there were 5 fire vehicles on our street and I pointed back to our house (the back house).  Schon had put out most of the flames and the team of firefighters took over from there.  There was a lot of smoke pouring out of the attic.  So they began chopping through the roof looking for hot spots.  They doused out the rest of it and sprayed some foam all over the place.  They were great. 

Whew!  Getting quite emotional here...  We had alot of friends show up.  We stayed at the front house with Julie, Jay, Aimee, Dave and Emma that night.  The American Red Cross came and offered their assistance.  This is an organization that I will be indebted to for the rest of my life.  They really did come to our aid.  They gave us a hotel room for a few nights as well as money for clothes and food to get us through for a while.  They brought teddy bears for the kids and care packages with all the necessities... toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, etc.

Now for a public service announcement:  If you do not already have Renters or Home Owners Insurance... run, don't walk to your insurance agent and GET IT NOW!!!  It doesn't cost that much and in our case it actually lowered our car insurance rates when we grouped it all together.  "Like a good neighbor", our State Farm agent showed up the next morning to check things out, to give the kids teddy bears and us some cookies.  He let us know what would be happening.  So here is what has happened with our coverage.  We went from the hotel we were in, into a Residence Inn.  Which is a nice hotel with a kitchen.  They covered our stay until they found us a temporary home to live in until repairs are done on our home.  They found us a very nice (very big) town home just 1.3 mi. from our house.  We continue to pay our what we usually pay for rent and they pay the remainder of the lease.  They completely furnished it for us!  Down to the linens, cookwear, even a vacuum.  We can stay here for up to 24 months if needed.  Also, of course, we will assess damages to our personal belongings and they will cover that as well.  We just have a $500 dedudctible.  I am truly blown away at how well we are being taken care of. 

Beyond that we have had so much love and support from family and friends.  We are blessed beyond belief.  The Pasadena Fire Department brought a firetruck with a surprise visit from Santa Clause who brought toys to Maya and Lucas.  They have a program called the "Spark of Love".   If you can, please donate toys to this great program.  The joy they brought to Maya that day is indescribable.  And if you are moved to do so, please donate to The American Red Cross.  They really are using the donations to help people in need.

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December 01, 2008

Holiday Sale

All blankets in my Etsy Shop are 40% off!!  Contact me before purchasing and mention this ad in my blog.  I will apply the discount and tell you what to do next.

Boutique Also, come see me at the holiday boutique and yard sale happening in Monrovia, CA on Sunday, December 7, 2008.  I will be selling all my goodies along side the talented Emma, who will have some goodies of her own for sale. 

The picture above is from the holiday boutique I participated in a couple of weeks ago.  I met some other talented ladies there.  Check out:  Creasol Mosaic Art , KnitMePieces, Baby Mulholland and Anise Mouette.  Buy handmade for Christmas!

November 29, 2008

Pattern Making

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I am presently working on writing out a pattern for this neckwarmer.  It is totally one size fits all.  As you can see, it works well for teens (this is my beautiful almost 14 year old niece).  It is great on adults and little ones too! It will be available for sale soon in my Etsy shop.  I will announce it here as soon as it is up.  Hope you like it!

November 23, 2008

Sneak Peek

Linda lu handmade crochet neckwarmer scarf pink purple  Burg neckwarmer Coming Soon.... 

November 12, 2008

Right here, right now.

Maya shoes airington photography portrait denver la 

This great photo was taken by Angelique over at www.peachtreebliss.com.  Now I realize that some of you already know who Angelique is and have heard me blubber on about her before, but can you blame me?  Her work is amazing.  I am the luckiest girl ever, because she is my friend and because she came to visit me and my family and took SO MANY pictures!!

Check out these:  Maya portrait airington photography denver la 



My beautiful girl.  Maya turned 5 on October 20th.  Hard to believe.  5 years go by so quickly, yet I can hardly remember my life before she entered the picture.  They say that the first 5 years are the most important as far as what we teach them.  Thankfully, she has many beautiful teachers in her life.  That takes some of the pressure off of us.  If there's anything we've missed, I am reassured that Nanna or Papa covered it.  That Yaya talked to her about it.  That Nina told her how important it is.  That Auntie Marisa and Auntie Em showed her.  That Uncle G wrote it down somewhere.  That her Great Grandma Dot painted it.  That the Carrascos sang a song about it.  That Angelique took a picture of it! lol.

 The list goes on and on.... We are so blessed.

And so the saying goes, "it takes a village to raise a child." 

Mud pies maya portrait airington photography denver la



Maya loves her mudpies!!  We had a lot of fun on this day with the photo shoot.  The great thing about Angelique is that it was such a wonderful relaxed time together.  We did some posed pictures and she also took pictures when no one was looking. It really was some of the candids like this one that turned out to be favorites.  This is what Maya does... she makes mudpies... in dresses...

I'll look back at this picture and not only remember what she looked like, but I'll remember this day, this time in our lives, her imagination, the dirt in our yard at our little back house that gave her countless desserts and a place to be a kid.  Even though I wished it were grass! lol

October 01, 2008

Sock Monkeys at the Rockin' Kid Shop

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The Rockin' Kid Shop is a cute, hip kiddie boutique in Eagle Rock, CA.  As of Monday they are now rockin' Linda Lu Sock Monkeys!  I'm so happy to have them in this shop.  It's a great (temporary) home for my fun little friends.  I hope they find their permanent homes with wonderful children to love them.   

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(Sock Monkeys shown here are similar to the ones for sale at the Rockin' Kid Shop.)

August 25, 2008

The Jonas Brothers

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So, the other day I'm driving myself, my baby and my NOT EVEN FIVE YEARS OLD YET daughter around town.  Maya says in her oh so sweet voice "Mom?"

me: "Yes, honey?"

maya: "I think I'm in love...

with the Jonas Brothers."

me: "oh..... you mean you really like their songs?"

maya: "No mom!  They're real people!  I think I'm in love with them!!"

me: "oh."

Two days later, we're in a public  restroom with 3 stalls.  Maya makes a wonderful discovery.  "Mom!  There's three bathrooms, just like there's three Jonas brothers!"

sigh.

July 31, 2008

LA Arboretum- I didn't even know!

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The Arboretum located in Arcadia, CA.  15 minutes from my house!! Okay, so I've been there once...  a long time ago.  I forgot how beautiful it is there!  And it's always good to see things again.  And it's even better to see things through your child(ren)'s eyes.

We endured a bit of heat this afternoon to see some native plants of Africa, Asia and Australia.  We'll return another day to visit The Americas and see their Art-in-the-Garden "Catawampus".  We had some hot and tired children by the time we got through all of what we saw.  We took lots of pictures.  Feel free to visit my flickr pages.  Here are a couple of my favorites.  First, we stopped for lunch at the Peacock Cafe...

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And another great stop was The Meyberg Waterfall.

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We had a fantastic time and will tell everyone we know what a treasure we have right here in our backyard.  Tomorrow we're off to the O.C. Fair.  I'm charging my camera and emptying my memory card.  I guess I'd better get some sleep too.

 

July 21, 2008

Baby blankets, throw blankets and sock monkeys... oh my!

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I have put up many new products in my shop.  Please stop by and see all of the new baby blankets, throw blankets and sock monkeys.  The blankets are my signature luxury designs, made with Asian brocade, backed with plush furry fleece and finished with satin binding.  And the sock monkeys are as fun as ever.   Shipping is FREE and I'm offering my readers a 40% discount!!  Just convo me with the item you are interested in and type in your discount code: TP72108.  I will adjust the price before you make the purchase.

And here are my most recent distractions.  I was getting irritated that most of the shirts I own are difficult to breastfeed in and I still wanted something cute and light for summer.

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And last but not least, I'd like to introduce my good friend Emma Pintado.  She has just opened her own Etsy shop and has some great things for sale.  My personal favorite is the "hippie bag".  It's not just for hippies, it's just worn on the hip!  It's the modern, trendier version of the fanny pack.  I LOVE mine!  I use it when I don't want to carry a purse or when I'm wearing a skirt or anything else that doesn't have pockets.  It's such a cute accessory and it's very functional.  Here's a peek, but please take a look at her shop and let her know that linda lu sent you!

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