Squidooing on the Ragged Edge

I do love creating art journals. I find it relaxing, entertaining, diverting and simply a good way to express how I’m feeling. I don’t always do the art and the writing part in the same session. Often I will prepare pages ready for adding text at a later date. The text and art don’t always go together and that’s okay. I suppose it can be like some kind of elaborate stationery.

Created a single page especially for a Squidoo lens and it was great fun to do. It was too big to fit into the scanner properly so I had to use my camera as well.

Create a Journal Page

Have just finished raving about all my latest Squidoo news over at: CrabbysBeach. Oh there’s so much going on… Zentangle being nominated for the Potential Giant Squid Awards and reaching #16 in the Top 100 (slipped back a little now). Then completing my 50th lens, Appreciate Your Way to Happiness, ready for the Giant Squid Challenge. Then getting a little fed up with the whole Christmas thing… talk about kid-pressure!

After all the excitement, I find my caffeine levels are in need of replenishment.

Photo courtesy of Ballistik Coffee Boy

I made these two:

Best Coffee Recipes

Gifts for Coffee Lovers

Now, I’m going to make myself one. Instant. Dammit.

Repeated and probably boring squawking about reaching the Top 100 with Zentangle. Sorry, can’t help it!

Also got over 1,000 visits to m’lenses, which is also a significant milestone. Interestingly, visits are increasing steadily now, rather than fluctuating, which is what they were doing prior to the 1,000/Top 100 milestones.

Have a WIP sitting on my dashboard and just need to get myself into gear to finish it. Why on earth it didn’t occur to me to use this popular children’s book character for a Halloween lens I’ll never know. Only got the idea because daughter left one of her books for me to trip over outside the bathroom door. The Universe works in mysterious ways.

What else?

Nothing.

Going for a walk.

With the kids.

A big thank you from me to Kimberly who mentioned I Hate Housework a couple of days ago in Kimberly’s Morning Coffee. Even better was that she put it at the top of her list of housework related lenses. It’s had loads more traffic and received four Angel Blessings.

A short excerpt:

The essentials – or what you can’t get away with

1. Wash the dishes. Just do them, it will make you feel better.
2. Make the bed. You never know who might visit and take a peep.
3. Quick clean of bathroom/s. Ditto.

The non-essentials – all the things you can get away with – yay!

1 Drying the dishes. They’re clean; what more d’you want?
2. Dusting. Open the windows if there’s a nice breeze. Spray some lavender polish into the air. That’ll do.
3. Laundry. Wait until there is nothing left to wear (check your husband’s wardrobe if there’s nothing in yours, failing that, then you’ll have to start wearing the kids’ clothes) then make an effort and do all the laundry in one go.
4. Fridge. Explain to anyone who’ll listen that there’s a biology experiment happening in the fridge and it’s best if they don’t open it at all.
5. Kids’ rooms. Don’t touch ‘em. Shut the doors.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons (Hardeep Singh)

I used to be a glammy sort of a girl. Most days I wore jeans at home and a suit for work but when there was any hint of a special ‘do’, I was up for it. I prided myself in being slightly bohemian in my approach to getting all dressed up. I liked experimenting with clothes and I had a tidy little figure to show them off. Nowadays and three kids later, I’m not quite so confident. However, I found myself harking back to my youth and decided to create these two lenses.

My love of dressing up as a kid sparked this one:

Girls’ Christmas Party Dresses

I never had a dress like that… but, oh boy, I would have loved one.

And I fondly recalled my favourite low-backed, hour-glass figure-enhancing dress while making this:

Golden Dresses

Photo courtesy of melloveschallah

Oh those were the days!

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours completely revamping one of my lenses. The subject was “Things That Make Me Happy“.  While I worked on it, added to it and improved it, the thing decided to change itself into a lensography.  The curious thing was that as I continued adding more things that I love, I found myself getting happier and happier. It was like a gratitude/appreciation list on steroids. Another curious thing was that my overall traffic increased and increased throughout the day the happier I got.

I’m going to try the same thing today… all week… the rest of my life!

I love this little book. I’ve had it for years. Got rid of over a hundred witchy books a couple of years ago but this one I kept. It’s simply a lovely little reference to turn to when you feel like you’re up a creek without a hope in hell.

Read my full review: Everyday Magic.

Been doing some work for my ex-husband, who has found himself thrown on the scrapheap after 29 years of loyal service in the same job. He’s been having a go at running his own business but he just ain’t the type. So I came up with the idea of ‘putting him out there’ on a Squidoo lens. Poor chap – he’ll never live it down.

Anyway, find him for sale here: Michael Smith Wants a Job

A few years ago, a moderately hairy chest was all the rage. I remember being very proud of the fact that I had a boyfriend with at least three hairs on his chest. These days it seems that more and more men prefer the hairless look.

I can’t say that I like it – I think I prefer a hairy chest on a man. What do you think?

Who likes a hairy chest? Cameron Diaz does:

(She) admits there is nothing sexier than a hairy chest.

She said: “I love chest hair. Mmm-hmm. I’m not saying I want a huge amount, but the right amount is very sexy! I don’t like the smooth, hairless body.”

Update on BLT – The Perfect Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich

I am thrilled to have BLT angel blessed no less than three times! Can’t wait to see where it ends up after lensranking – it’s not even ranked yet.

Squidoo is so much fun!