Welcome New Readers

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Dee Clark

I would like to take this moment and Welcome all of my New Readers!

I am very pleased that you have accepted my invitation and have joined me here at Insight From A Woman’s Heart.

Come around anytime that you need a generous helping of encouragement, hope and love. We’ll have a little heat to heart chat and your soul leave a little lighter. Invite your friends to join us as well. The more the merrier.

Feel free to share your experiences, ask questions or encourage others. We need to hear your voice, too.

It is so nice to meet you! You are a valuable member of my blogosphere and I will look forward to seeing you often.

Happy Reading,

New

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Dee Clark

Hello, beautiful people,

I hope that your year is already feeling new and fresh. I am in-joy with my summer. I think that is what enjoying something is all about, being in the fulness of joy. I have been de-cluttering my house today since I think that is a great way to get my environment feeling fresh and new. As I’ve been going through things and ruthlessly chucking away “stuff” that we just don’t use but sits around and around and around, I’m seeing projects that I had full intentions of tackling in 2014 but just didn’t get around to completing. Some of them are never going to be completed and I am alright with that…I’ve moved forward and they are no longer necessary. (But I promise you that on Wednesday morning after my husband reads this post today, he will be going through the rubbish bin left for the garbage truck to collect. 😉 Bless his heart he can’t help himself. Nonetheless, I will persevere and things are going. Hear me, honey?)

I have also been busy in my creative element during these new days of 2015. I have been combing my local beach for sea glass,walking (I’m counting that as exercise),

inhaling the salt air and exhaling any stress,

admiring and photographing the beautiful scenery

and allowing the warmth of the sun to kiss my face.

It’s good for the soul.

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is “New”. While the beaches in Bluff aren’t new, I have discovered a, new-to-me, little beach that is richly covered with sea glass. I’ve been down there everyday collecting sea-tossed treasures.

I’ve also been reading about sea glass and have found that some colors are quite rare, like pink and purple. I have already come across several pieces with a little pink or purple hue to them. How fun is that?

My husband keeps telling me that they are just broken pieces of glass and therefore, he’s not that excited about the “junk” I’m collecting. We, men and women, are so different in how we perceive things, aren’t we.

Yet, when I look at those tiny shards of glass that have been tossed, plummeted, ground and eventually smoothed, I can’t help but think of the broken, shattered pieces of our hearts. Life has a way of shattering us and we can feel like we are being tossed to and fro. Difficulty rounds our rough, jagged edges. Although the brokenness may still exist, the process creates beauty and usefulness for new purposes. We just have to be able to recognise how to use them. They will be useful.

As I have been reading, I have discovered that some pretty creative people have used sea glass for pictures, mosaics, jewellery making and I’ve even seen them fashioned as bowls. What once was a bottle, plate, or other vessel that was shattered to bits, can be repurposed as an art form and enjoyed.

If your heart is feeling disappointed and broken today, don’t lose hope. Follow the journey to the end and watch as your life transforms and beauty emerges once again. Those broken pieces will take on a new shape and form that will be useful and possibly even enjoyable (in joy). You might not be able to see it today, but give it time. Time won’t heal (sorry, I don’t believe that time heals all things) but over time, change occurs and life takes on a newness that is worth while.

Do you want proof? Look at some of the most beautiful people in your life. I guarantee they have been where you are, witting with a pain filled heart. They have made it through and so will you.

You are not junk…you are a treasure. I’m sure of it!

Creative Beginnings: Homemade Krispy Kreme Donuts…Hot Now in My Kitchen

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Dee Clark

You know you are from Chattanooga, Tn if I say, “Hot Nows” and you immediately know what I am talking about! Who can resist a fresh, hot Krispy Kreme donut? It’s happiness in your mouth. It is. See the happiness on our faces? That’s my friend, Blake. Hi, Blake! I miss you guys! This picture was taken on my last night in Chattanooga this past summer (USA summer) when my friends, Lori, Karene and I made a midnight run for Krispy Kreme donuts. I hope no one was counting because I may have put away a dozen all by myself.

I ws telling some of my NZ friends about my utter disappointment the first time I ordered a milkshake and donuts here. I ordered a chocolate milkshake and the waitress sat a glass of chocolate milk in front of me…I don’t drink milk (no need for milk-loving soap boxes). I figured she had misheard me when I placed my order so questioned her about it. I was politely told that if I wanted an American style milk shake I should have ordered a thick shake. Lesson learned. But my stepson drank the chocolate milk. The donut I ordered was a hotdog bun with pink icing. I’m thinking about biting into a Krispy Kreme donut and I’m staring at a hotdog bun with pink icing. I could have cried.

Telling the story about my experience combined with my desire to start the new year with a creative flare, I decided today that I would create homemade copycat Krispy Kreme donuts. Thanks to Foodfanatic.com I did just that.

Look closely and you will see that I only got a few of them iced before I stopped…

brewed a cuppa (I can spell..but I’m trying to sound like I live in NZ) coffee with the Christmas present (A Dolce Gusto coffee maker) that my daughter gave me…

and sat down, my mouth watering in anticipation, to see if I had accomplished my goal. Ohhhh, ohhhh, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. SUCCESS!

Yes, I ate all three. Don’t judge. It’s technically still the New Year holiday…at least until Monday!

The most heavenly taste sensation – You have got to try these! Especially if you are like me and you don’t live where you can jump in the car for a midnight run for the most delicious donuts known to man.

Would you like the recipe? I thought you would! This is really easy to do, and didn’t take too much time to prepare. Click on the Foodfanatic link for the original post. You will be glad you did because she has other copycat recipes you might want to try: http://www.foodfanatic.com/recipes/krispy-kreme-glazed-donut-recipe/iframe/

Now, I probably better get the dishes cleaned up because I expect to have some company as soon as this post is published.

Did you take me up on the challenge yesterday to begin 2015 by being creative? If you did, please share what you are creating with me…I’d love to see what you are doing.

I think creativity was a perfect way to begin my year. I’m already having a great time and we’re only two days in.

Look what I did last night:

I had a go at wire wrapping some of my seaglass. This was the best of the pieces I worked on. It’s not perfect but I quite like how it came out. I added a ball link chain and then I made a decision…I’m going to give it away…

So, if like handcrafted gifts and you would like to be in the draw to win this little creative NZ masterpiece (well, ok, it’s a cute little handcrafted necklace)…share this post with your friends and leave a comment below.

See, 2015 is already off to a fun start!

Thanks for reading!

2015, New Beginnings and Creativity

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Dee Clark

Well, we did it! You and I did 2014 like a boss! We smoked it! And we’re still standing to tell about it! Good for you!

I bet you were wondering there for a second or two, weren’t you?

There is always a moment when we think, ” I can’t do this.”

But we can! Every single time! We can do hard things, and fun things and new things…we can!

And we have 2014 and this first day of 2015 to prove it.

You got through like the shining star that you are.

And now, we are looking square in the face of a brand new beginning. A new, clean slate.

What in the world will you do with it?

I was thinking about this brand new beginning today. And I think a great place for me to start is to get creative. After all, in the very first new year…or rather the first new beginning, God created…

And I thought I’d start there.

Oh, I think I just heard someone say, “But I’m not creative.”

Sure you are. We all are. We all have a very creative part to our wonderful selves. And we all create differently.

My mom always tells us kids (her kids) that she isn’t creative. She told my daughter that not long ago and Morgan immediately responded, “oh, yes you are. You play the piano beautifully. I can’t do that.” Not only that but I’m pretty sure that my mother has played a variety of instruments in her day.

I know women who create an amazing atmosphere of encouragement.

Others who create hospitality in a way that makes me a bit jealous.

One of my friends back home can create laughter in a room like no one I have ever met.

Our world needs people who will create peace in the face of turmoil. Can you pursue and create a peaceful atmosphere? I like this one. I like it a lot.

Creativity comes in many and varied forms.

So, if you are wondering where to begin in this new year, here’s my creativity challenge: Begin 2015 by discovering your creative genius and share that with the world. (If you need a soul to share it with…I’ll be more than happy to help 😉.)

And if you are one of those people who feel less than a creative genius, do this simple step…ask those closest to you what they see you do exceptionally well. Go ahead. Do it. It’s really good to see ourselves through someone else’s -eyes of admiration.

I have been to the beach the past few days collecting drift wood and sea glass. I’ll get to work and then I’ll show you how I started my creativity challenge.

If you accept my challenge, please share what you create with me and my readers. Help me inspire my readers. Let’s get as many people as we can creating a beautiful 2015.

Happy New Year! It’s going to be fabulous!

I’m sure of it!
D