All posts by Life of Joy

Tulsa Zentangle Group ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Ideas for Wednesday Posts

I had been floundering with what to do for my weekly tile long before I took the break from blogging this year because Laura Harms stopped doing a weekly Zentangle challenge. I managed to find inspiration from here and there but it was even more difficult after I got off of facebook, as the MeWe tangling community isn’t very prolific just yet.

Honestly, I don’t think I have tangled but one thing since February this year and am so out of touch with the community that I completely forgot about Inktober this year. By the time my daughter reminded me, it was too late for me to push myself.

When I was looking for things I’d like for Christmas I remembered that Zentangle Inc puts out activity packs that are more expensive than what I am comfortable purchasing for myself throughout the year but decided it would make a great Christmas present. So I looked through the 15 or so packs they had at the time and chose one that the supplies were such that I could appreciate receiving it for a Christmas gift.

While looking through them I got the idea to tangle through the project packs. You don’t have to have their kits and they have the videos on youtube to show you how to do the projects. They even encourage people to follow along with whatever supplies you do have. So that is my plan: to work through the project packs and share pics and my experiences here. I’ll also share the links so you can give it a try yourself.

I hope this will be inspiring for you. I also hope it encourages you to try your hand at tangling with whatever supplies you have on hand, even if it is just copypaper and a ballpoint pen with a number 2 pencil for shading. :)

I hope that I will begin this series soon but right now I’m crunching through getting the rest of my Christmas shopping done and hopefully wrapped soon. I like my shopping done by USA Thanksgiving and my wrapping done by the end of the month but no later than the first week of December. I’ve had way too many late night wrapping sessions the night before gifts are opened and it is not enjoyable for anyone. :D

I’ll keep you updated as to when I will start. I hear they have a new pack out for 12 days of Zentangle again this year, so maybe that will be what I start with. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out. ;)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Hello Again :)

Well, things have not gone as I had hoped nor have I been diligent to work here. To this point, this blog has not been a job, notice there are no ads here at all, but a ministry and hobby. I posted every day, Monday through Friday, because I wanted to be dependable/reliable. However, it became difficult after several years to feel like I had something worthwhile to share.

At this point there are over 6 years worth of posts to go through to update this site. :o So the updating is overwhelming.

In the past months, something would happen and I’d think what a good blog post it would make but since I wasn’t currently posting, I didn’t write it. After a bit of this happening, I thought I might be ready to start posting again but then when I tried to remember anything about which I wanted to write, it was gone.

I’m thinking that what I might do is make posts as I feel I have something decent to share, rather than forcing myself to come up with something just because “the show must go on.” :D And I’ll make it a point to be diligent to keep at the hard stuff here, trying to make it look a bit more appealing and easy to find things. ;) In the meantime, remember that if there is a topic you are interested in, using the search bar above should be very helpful. We use it all the time to find certain recipes (oven baked pancakes and minestrone are two recently search recipes) here since I’ve lost my hard copy. I really should print those out in case I want to make them when the electricity is out! (We have a gas stove/oven.)

I did install an email notification system here, to help keep you informed of new posts, since I’m not going to be as consistent as I had been. You can find it at the bottom of the page. I do have some ideas for my Tuesday and Wednesday posts that I will share on those days. ;)

I hope this finds you well. As always, if you have questions, I’d love to try to help, just leave a comment on whichever post is relevant; I’m notified of all new comments, so I will see it. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Life and Site Update

Well, I was sick for about three weeks! Yikes! Daughter was sick for about a month starting the last part of January. Then hubby went down about a week or so later for a full month. I thought I was going to get away scot-free but then I got sick on the tail end of hubby. Thankfully Tiffany was feeling better by that time and could play nursemaid. :D

Then when I started feeling better I began having this excruciating jaw/sinus pain. By the end of that week I went to the dentist and found that I had an abscess around a tooth that I’d already had a root canal done on. Unfortunately, since my dentist doesn’t do this kind of second “root canal” there wasn’t much he could do.

I’d had some issues with this tooth for a long while and so we decided to just pull it. To say it was painful is an understatement but it did start the road to recovery. Thankfully it isn’t very noticeable. To put in a replacement of some kind will cost around $3000. Yeah, I have a whole lot I can do with $3000 and I’m eating okay without it. (I was concerned because I had to have a bottom molar pulled on the other side of my mouth quite a few years ago and hadn’t been chewing as well on that side but since this escapade, I’ve been managing quite well.)

While I was sick, one day I just realized that I hadn’t done a blog post in a few days. That’s when I made my last entry. Since then, I’ve been catching up on some clerical work and household things that needed to get done. And inertia took over and I couldn’t get myself to blog.

So things are better around here and I’m ready to put some energy into this again. ;) However this site is in desperate need of updating and consequently things may go offline or wonky for a bit while I get it sorted out. I have some serious updates to do and it may cause some problems that I’m unable to fix on my own and will have to enlist the help of my sons, who are quite capable of fixing it. ;)

So, know that I will be back to posting regularly as soon as I can and that I am working on the site in the background.

I hope the many posts here are a help and encouragement to you, as that is the only reason I do this. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

I’m Sick

I got sick and completely forgot about even doing this blog, which is totally unlike me. I’m still not able to focus much. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get back to this soon but it just isn’t that day yet. ;)

I hope you are feeling well and have thawed out and enjoying a bit of warmth.

Until I’m able, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Marriage Tidbit: Little Touches

While I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

Michael likes me to touch his feet at night before we go to bed.  He’s usually in bed first, so I I touch his feet as I go past him and get into bed.

In the mornings when I am making Michael’s breakfast, he comes up and rubs my back lightly. It feels so nice.

Little touches mean a lot.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Friday Tidbit: Cold Weather and Elevated Bed

While I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

We’ve gotten a winter blast and some beautiful ice. I’m just thankful we have not lost our power. :) The ground was quite slippery. :)

In an effort to keep our lungs clear, the kids gave us an incline created with extra pillows and egg crate/memory foam. :D It’s actually quite comfortable.

Sorry the pictures are not great but I wasn’t feeling up to much. ;) You can see it is inclined a bit and it has actually squashed down a bit in the last several days; I need to puff it up before I got to bed tonight. :)

I hope you have a great weekend.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Thursday Tidbit: Make Your Children Feel Loved

While I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

Valentine’s Day is coming on Sunday. So many times it is simply focused on “lovers” rather than simply love. I have written my children (as long as they still live in my home) a letter most every year, telling them of my love for them, God’s love for them, and some of their good qualities.

I also make sure we have a special dessert and a dinner we enjoy (which is usually red ;) ). Also, Michael typically purchases something little for each of them.

I hope you’ll take time to tell your children how much you love them this Sunday and of course, remind them of God’s love for them too.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Art Tidbit: How to Zentangle

While I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

We have been fighting sickness here, so I have nothing created this week. So I thought I’d share some information about how to do a Zentangle. :) Here is a wikihow with info on how to do one. The thing about the wikihow though is that the pictures used a pencil and zentangles are done in ink.

Then you can go to someplace like tanglepatterns.com or pattern-collections.com for a multitude of tangles to use in your pieces.

I hope this is helpful to you and I hope I’ll be back next week with some actual art to share. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Spaghetti ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Tasty Tidbit: Valentine’s Day Food

While I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

On Valentine’s Day, which is Sunday, I typically make spaghetti or lasagna. However if it is cold Sunday, I may make Chili. ;)

I also generally make some kind of chocolate dessert because that is our preference but a nice strawberry cake would be nice too.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Marriage Tidbit: Valentine’s Day is Coming

While I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

Well, Sunday is Valentine’s Day! Do you have plans to make your hubby and family feel loved? Michael prefers homemade cards, so I usually make him one. I’ve also written the children letters each year. Tiffany has looked forward to them each year.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº