i am 31

today, i turned 31 years old, and let me just say that i feel so loved with all the phone calls, messages, cards, and packages from my friends and family. it means the world to a girl who is in the throws of full-on chaos with moving details. today was a much needed retreat from the tangles and stress of the past few days, and my heart was lifted and freed with each and every phone call and message received today. i am incredibly blessed.

last year, when i turned 30, i instictively knew big things were on their way for my 30th year. and i was right. this past year has been life changing for me in the very best ways possible. so much has happened, so much growth.

my 30th year will forever be defined as the year i discovered my art. and i can’t tell you how much that led to the discovery of myself. finally, it has all fallen into place. those hopes and dreams that were once undiscovered, unknown, and tucked away in the corners of my heart, have found themselves revealed, and brightly exposed and running with ideas and songs of freedom. it’s been huge for me. huge. and it’s all just really begun. how cool is that?

here are just some of my favorite highlights from my 30th year:

here i am on my 30th bday, with soul sisters gina and lisa. i had such hopes for my 30th year on this very day. we were chowing down on a good italian meal. john had just given me that gorgeous necklace moments before. he has the best taste and that necklace remains one of my favorites.

i ran this half marathon last summer with my friends jessica, roxanna, david, and john. it was, and still is, one of my greatest achievements. having never been a runner, training for this event was an awakening for me. it was the first time i had ever stuck to any physical training in my life. in many ways i believe the running led me to my art. and i made a wonderful and lifelong friend in jessica, my running partner.

our trip to kauai last summer was one of the best vacation we’ve ever taken. we traded in our usual travel habits of roadtripping, camping, backpacking and lived it up in a condo on the beach, swam with gigantic sea turtles, hiked the napali coast, and lounged like never before.

oh yes. the nyc trip with the girls. that was a wild, wild trip. i will never forget it. it was emotional, crazy, and fun. i love each one of these girls so, so much. they are all hilarious, intelligent, creative geniuses.

some very humbling art beginnings. i started making stuff around the holidays, mainly scrapbooky style, then started experimenting with faces and girls in february. i’ve come a long way, but my beginnings, which are still so recent, are special to me. for me, each piece represents another step in the journey.

and then there was ArtFest 2006, my first ever art retreat. another huge thing for me. i was on a high for several weeks following this experience, and thankfully, liz was there, too. together, we savored every moment and discovered an entire world of people that felt like home. i wish i had more pics of ArtFest. i encourage everyone i know who is interested in mixed media art to go. you will never, ever, ever regret it.

there were several trips to the coast. oh how i will miss the oregon coast.

and finally, the next adventure awaits us…we’ll be there soon!