Cheeseburgers and Goldfish.

Gone are the days of the .39 cent cheeseburgers. (Thanks for that reminder, Leslie.) Gone is the day of the dorm-approved goldfish pet that somehow birthed at least a dozen little swimmers (get your minds out of the gutter) that we housed in a bucket. And let's not forget the death of our beloved Mrs. C. from Y & R. Those were the days. The good 'ol days. These current days look a lot different. The goldfish is long gone. RIP Nameless Goldfish (The name escapes me. I am sure it had something to do with Jackopierce or some random Smokejumper). And the cheeseburgers, oh the cheeseburgers. Curse you McDonald's. Curse you for jacking up your prices. And curse you for your processed food. And curse you body for not being able to eat 4 of those preservative filled patties without adding extra pounds just looking at you. I add 6 inches to my backside just pulling through that blasted drive-thru. Thankfully, the only thing about that economy cabin fast food joint I guilt on now is their iced coffee.

Anyhow, I am continuing in this process of navigating...I read through my blog posts and this blog seems more like an aimless wandering through unwritten chapters. I have not had afforded you all the grace of my indecent humor or my dry smirks. I have been dying to share with you my obsession with Quinoa (the girl, not the grain). Nor have I truly been able to share with you the life of Juanito, my long lost who-knows-what out in Gustine. Or that Byron Scott is seriously the new head coach for my beloved Lakers. (I bleed the purple and gold--even through the rare, but atrocious seasons.) And my days of sharing about my reality trash TV obsession are non-existent. Bummer for you. Or should I say, bummer for me because my TV is somewhere in storage.

I hear you, Stella. This is exhausting.

Instead, I do all sorts of introspective reflection. Ugh. Gross. And I am in the midst of having (or getting) to share those skeletons with my sponsor to clean out the cobwebs. Cuss. Trust me, I have a hilarious side. I often tell people I am the funniest person I know. Rather these days, I question who I truly trust. The funny is on reserve. There are few I let in the sacred rooms of my heart. And there are those I want to let in, but they have declined the invite. Or maybe it is just that they get lost trying to find their way (again or at all). And then comes a bucket of other wonderings...Who am I now? What the heck am I doing? Who do I want to allow in my inner circle? This crap is exhausting. I long for the days when the biggest question was "What am I going to wear tomorrow?" Or "What day of the week is it so we can get those .39 cent cardboard delights?" First world problems.

There are so many other "crazy" things to share. Like random (or more like divinely orchestrated) encounters with people that say they were supposed to meet me at this time or that, as they have something to share with me. I still marvel at the friendships that have rallied and taken root in the land of foreverness. (That is better than BFFs.) The void of one is filled with many. I am fulfilled. I am happy (working on the joy part). And I am thriving (on most days). All of it seems to be part of a bigger puzzle assembling behind the scenes. And I am in this holding pattern wondering what it all means and how this all will play out.

#partyanimals

So as this journey continues, I hope to share the brighter sides of life (or at least my brilliant humor). The good mixed with the bad. The days when you can eat whatever and not care. (Curse you, Whole 30!) Or spend excessive amounts of time watching goldfish. Because that is real important. Reals important. For now, I share today's highlight (other than two a-mazing client meetings and talking with a few different friends at random) was watching Duke continue his pursuit of fly-chasing as well as an impromptu photo op for a dear friend's birthday. With that, let me present to you, Duke and Stella.

Giants.

"Measure your giants not by our abilities but by the greatness of God." --Pastor Kurt

What a morning it was to return to church. Never anymore is God's timing surprising. Nor do I bat an eye anymore when I hear God's message that seems to speak directly to me. Of course, I highly doubt that Pastor Kurt (or as I know him as Kurtle, with rights to call him as such) writes his messages specifically with me in mind, but God definitely uses him to convey messages that pierce my soul and rock me to the core of my being. It isn't often I get on my spiritual soapbox, but there are moments that keep happening that shake me.

And so, like David defeated Goliath, we have Jehovah Sabaoth--God and His armies. There are giants in our lives that are far greater than anything we can slay. Instead, we have a God that has armies ready to lay (lie, lay, whatever--I retired my English teaching career) out flat. He wants to defeat the giants that are before us. Those giants might be people--bullies. I have bullies that I am currently facing. The things that I want to put to my rest. I am tired of the things that haunt my sleep. Perhaps the giants are finances. You (I) wonder how finances will be provided. And as Pastor Kurt said, the bills may not have the bank account to pay it, but it is not about OUR money that we need to consider. God's got you covered.

I wonder how things are going to play out. Where will I end up? What will I do? It is confusing. It is an act of complete faith and trust. We can't figure out what tomorrow will bring when God has already taken care of our todays. This season of life for me, as challenging as it may be, is a moment when I get to be in the homes of others. I still marvel at how I get to be part of families. I get to see the moments that make a family work and the things I want to model for my future. I am thankful I get to sit at the tables of others for meals. That I get to continue to spend time with friends near and far.

There are moments when I struggle thinking I had all the security in the world, or what I considered security. A full-time job. Benefits. A home of my own. A great car. Today, I don't have a steady full-time job. I am trying to start a company (great people have been part of that journey--bringing attention to the happy juice you have to drink when the highs and lows hit in entrepreneurship). I am navigating Obama Care (gotta do it). I live with friends (thankfully--and what a godly example they are to me and others. What a gift it is that they offered up their home to me as I am making some different decisions that have been unexpected). And my car is now always on the fritz these days (a current smell of mildew is lingering as there is a new leak--it is pretty amazing. Take a whiff). But in all reality, as I have been stripped from my comforts and routines, this is most definitely teaching me to give my heart FULLY to the God that created me. I have started the process to give Him part of it, but here I am, ready to give Him ALL of it. Back where I started. Home (which has a crazy new meaning). And ready to finish what has been started.

Thank you, Pastor Kurt, for your words. And thank you, Ed Plant, for saying it through art.

And on a sidenote, it is no coincidence that there is an Art Show at church this Saturday, right after I blogged about needing to tap into my creative side.

(Stepping down from spiritual soapbox)

p.s. I also feel like in the near future, I am going to share some things that tend to lean on the funny and on the vulnerable. As of late, I feel as though I have been a bit reflective and introspective, which suits my journaling needs, but I say this as I plan to share the other humorous pieces to this puzzle.

Creating Within.

In this transition of life, I am just barely tapping in to my creative side. Some people know my artistic roots, but not everyone knows how much my art is part of me. In the past, it was a way to communicate. It allowed me to escape. To dream. To create. And to be honest, in recent years, I can see how I stuffed my creativity to live the status quo. The dreams were just that too. Status quo and definitely on hold. I don't know if it can be attributed to the circumstances of life or the people with which I chose to have in my intimate circles. Somehow, I still let remnants of that crap still linger. Grrrr.

Anyhow, as I venture in this new chapter and in this year to thrive, I know that the creative stirring needs attention. I long to put pen to paper, brush to canvas, cloth to machine, party to planning. And to channel my energy into the avenues of making this a profession to become a possibility, which will turn the crud into creativity.

In having tea with a friend the other day, it became apparent through my confessions to her that I may have a fear of actually succeeding with anything creative, but with that also comes the accompanied anxiety of some forms of potential rejection. I don't think that it is really the rejection that scares me, but more of navigating through an unknown, though that seems to be such a strong reoccurring theme for me in this stage. For so long, I had chosen what was safe, expected, and what seemed the most convenient. I am beyond exhausted with that kind of living, but this fog isn't any more clear to me. Sometimes I feel like a zombie walking and we all know my gravitation towards zombies and monsters (not all of which are healthy).

All this to say, I suppose I journal these things in my blog to keep me accountable. To remind me that I need to use this time as a springboard to more creativity. And I am also promising to continue to step out of the mundane. The things that haunt my nights and storm my days will soon be defeated. I will not let the things of the past define what will be my future. There are things that I know are better left behind. Time to dream. To hope. To dust off the sewing machine and get all of my art supplies out. The visions are reviving. Characters are being born. Stories are being written. I am surrounded by those that celebrate with me and give me moments and space to think and design. There are those that believe so strongly in me that it gives me the strength and courage to do this. Some even provide the outlets. And so let the creating begin.

Paralyzing Drama.

It is hard to put into words what has transpired in the last 4 weeks, let alone the last 4 days or even 4 hours. My San Fran man "Bestest" says I have enough change to paralyze a small child. He's right. But somehow, I am making it work. There are those moments when you see it all at work, but I am now watching the pieces move so fast and there isn't even time for a pause button. As fast as I moved to San Diego, it looks as though I am moving back to the LA area. Opportunities are surfacing there that are potentially too good to pass up. Nothing is going according to plan, but in some ways, I think that this plan is better. Detours are being encountered, but it is nothing we can't overcome or celebrate.

There are many changes yet to endure. People are coming out of the woodworks to help me put together this second life. I am being offered places to live and job opportunities that are beyond expectations. I am learning so much about myself in this process. I don't regret one step of this journey thus far. Someone quite familiar with my path said to me that she understands the nights when you want the floor to swallow you whole, but that on the other side of this, I will see that life is far richer and that the experience has strengthened me more than I will ever know.

The cool part: The world is my oyster. (insert cheesy groans and a few yadah yadah yadah's) But I am getting to be creative. I feel the most alive I have ever felt. Maybe it is because I am clawing my way out of struggles, pains, and hardships to get to a place where people are real and genuine. Where I don't dread every minute of the clock. For now, am I scared? Heck yeah. Nervous? Beyond belief. But thankful still. I am getting to meet people that are way out of my comfort circle. I am spending time in the homes of so many wonderful people. I get to see their real life. To be part of their families for a bit. So many people are reaching out to be kind. To help. To love. To offer different things.

The hard part: Not knowing what is next. I suppose you could say that this is part of the ride, but it is also scary as I am not sure what tomorrow brings. This is humbling as I have never worked so hard, but I am learning what that work truly means. I will (hopefully soon) celebrate when the fruits of labor are fully manifesting, but I will celebrate with a great team of people that are supporting this process. It is shaping up to be one heck of a party (and we all know I love to plan a good party!)

So with vague-ness aside, let me be specific about what I am currently doing...I am working to build an event planning business called Studio Black Sheep. It is in the infant stages. After doing just about 200 of my own events, I have partnered with a party soulmate that matches, if not supersedes, my energy level. We have launched our website: www.thestudioblacksheep.com. If you have a birthday celebration, engagement, Christmas party, wedding, non-profit gala, whatever, we are in the business to make your life easier by being your own personal planners. We offer a range of services, so hit us up!

With Studio Black Sheep, one of our concierge services is in partnership with my former website: www.stellabluedress.com. We offer personal shopping for home and fashion as well as home organization. (Who doesn't need a good closet re-organize/purge?!) Let me shop with you and for you. One of my specialties is stretching a buck so don't be afraid that your credit cards will get maxed. You often can do some of the best shopping in your own closet!

So, as I am accustomed to saying...let the adventure continue.