hello loves.

you know that feeling when everything is so fantastic that you can't seem to even get a breath in or out due to all of the fun, all of the love, and all of the things going on??? i think it looks something like this:

and it's exactly where i've been and what i'm feeling.
so i'm sorry for not checking in to announce the winner of our impossible dream giveaway. but here i am! and the winner is...
erin who said: I'd actually like to win this giveaway for my best friend, whose 3 yr old son was just diagnosed with verbal Apraxia. We'd all desperately like to believe he will speak someday.
 
i am so grateful to all of you who dared to dream big last week, the responses were so lovely. and while i tried to directly email you my support as you commented there are some that don't list their email addresses on your comments... to YOU, i believe in your impossible dream and sincerely hope that you'll continue writing it, believing it, moving and shaking towards it.

i believe firmly that there is no impossible dream, that all things are possible. so my possible dreams for this week: to get everything ready to go to squam on time, to create love and beauty in the woods of new hampshire, to travel with peace in my belly and ease in my stride, for my family to be taken care of as if i was here (it apparently takes 5 adults to replace me, hrmmmm), and for squam to ignite my creative spirit and send me on another soul journey. now, is that too much to ask?

i've also got a huge bloggie announcement that i'm hoping to make before i leave wednesday morning... we shall see. stay tuned.

when i originally configured this giveaway i knew there were 8 of us in the cabin with 8 weeks left until squam. but then one of our roommates, elizabeth (who i can't wait to meet!), didn't have a website. so then i had this one week to fill... hrmmm... there are so many, many, many lovelies that are coming to squam how do i possibly fill this last week with only one of them? if i had a cabin of 40 women i'd still have a hard time narrowing it down; there's just so much goodness. so i picked two instead knowing that i can't cover everyone that i care for so deeply.

meet nina

and brittany

these are my soul mama's. last year they were both pregnant at squam, brittany had her twins on january 22 and nina had lulu on january 28th. and while i wasn't pregnant i tend to pamper myself for at least 2 years after giving birth (i am a pampered princess!), so plenty of snacks were shared, bellies rubbed and time spent at the back of the pack walking down the trails at a slower pace. not being close for the births of their babies was extremely difficult for me, i wanted to be there to mop floors and do dishes, make dinners and hold babies for mama's to shower... and we're 2100 miles apart. ouch.

for nina's half of the giveaway she writes:

giveaway is for some nina beana randomness, including-

1. quilted woobie (little blankie of love) that's backed with soft vintage chenille for snuggly snuggling

2. pack of notecards and envelopes with a boy scout theme

3. pack of postcards with a wilderness/chickenpox theme

4. pack of scrap/notes with a sesame street theme

and for brittany's half she writes:

I was trying to think about what I could offer for Jenica’s giveaway and I remembered how last year I made myself a journal just for Squam Art Workshops. I loved it. I still love it. So I decided to make one for this giveaway. If you’re going to squam you can fill it up with squammish things. If you’re not going to squam, you can fill it up with whatever your heart chooses. (But in my mind I’m picturing that it will get filled up with plans and dreams and impossible things that really come true because you want them to.)I love this quote from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll:

“There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Write it down, baby. When you write it, it’s like meaning it for reals. Like an affirmation to yourself: Your dreams are worth it; you can make the things that seem impossible HAPPEN.

to have a chance of winning all this loveliness leave a comment with your one impossible dream for this week. comments will close on thursday, sept 10th, 2009 @ 11:59 PM MST.

nina can also be found in her shop, where she's liquidating in prep for fall (she's getting ready to post a bunch of vintage yummies... so keep on eye on her!) on flickr, at her blog and on wishmama's (you MUST see this video).

brittany can also be found in her shop (go see her delicious aprons!), on her flickr, on her blog (did i mention she has FIVE kids?), and also at wishmama's.

do not miss out on these two ladies.

kirsten's daughter did the picking for this week's giveaway.
brittany, you've won!

i may be out of roommates that are giving...
but i'm not out of giveaways. ;-D
come monday!

kirsten is very simply:
a full~time momma,
part~time photographer,
occasional blogger,
photo collaborator,
and newbie etsy owner

but really, she's so much more than even these big things. she was the first friend i met online that perpetuated into a fully fledged kinship. she was the reason that i jumped into squam last year. she was the best roommate anyone could ever ask for, bringing everything (including an electric tea kettle) to make our time in the woods a magical one. she is thoughtful and kind. intuitive and insightful. despite our relationship spanning over national borders, she's always been willing and able to make the distance seem tiny.

and she sees the world in the most amazing ways:

basically our friendship could be summed up by this video, even up to the little cabin in the woods. and ironically by squam she may be a redhead and i'll be a brunette. ;-D

for her giveaway she is offering:
One 8x8 Original Fine Art Print* ~your choice from the mosaic below~
& a postcard set*

to enter to win leave a comment with something lovely in your life right now. comments will be tallied on thursday, SEPTEMBER (are you freakin' kidding me?) 3rd, 2009 @ 11:59 pm.

last week we were on our way to a neighborhood party, when i saw her.
i stopped dead in my tracks and then changed course and ran to meet her.
this couch then proceeded to tell me stories,
stories of the life she had lived
and of all the things she still planned to do.
with her quirky smile i knew that i had to help her continue on her journey.
so we brought her home.

i guess what speaks to me is that when i'm down and frustrated in my work
i need to talk it out with someone i feel completely comfortable with.
and maybe that person has been through a few rough times as well,
making them that much more compassionate to your situation.
as susan tuttle said of her time at squam,
"we spoke the same language and there was never any reason to curb one's words or to explain what we meant by them -- we all knew and understood."

i think when we are shrouded with doubt about ourselves and our talents
it can often be those that know our inner parts that can remind us
of who we really, truly are.

and i love what brittany said in her comment,
"remember that we were made to create beauty. pray and leave it in His hands."

through it all, just don't give up,
press forward, fake it till you make it,
allow yourself to stumble
but always pick yourself back up and continue on.

the winner of liz's giveaway, picked by a random number generator is sarah!!!
she said, "Coming to a place (like this) - where you know that those around you are lifting you up...encouraging you to reach out...to not give up...to do something new - that is where I go."

thank you all for your thoughtful comments.
these giveaways have been so much more soulful then i could have imagined,
much more than just handing out some stuff. ;-D

come next week for kirsten's offering.