Give 52 Week 52 - Laugh Like Crazy

Give 52 Week 52
Cheryl Houston 2016

So, I'm an artist but I have a job I go to Monday through Friday. I've worked in this office for ten years. Ten years! Now, I don't want to sound ungrateful because this job has provided so much financially for me but there are days that you can hear me say, "I'm going to stab someone with my scissors!" (Just to be clear, I would never really stab anyone with my scissors. I just like the shock value of the way it sounds. Really. I wouldn't. I might be tempted. But, I wouldn't.) This is where my friend and co-worker, Nita, comes in.

If I ever have the scissors gripped in my hand ready to stab someone, or standing on the ledge threatening to jump, I know I can go down to her office first and spew the annoyance de jour to her and she will talk me down and make me laugh. And, boy do we laugh. Y'all would look at us like we were crazy if you only knew.

There were some snarky sayings I wanted to write on her drawing but they didn't have a positive spin to them and only the two of would understand the hilarity of it so I refrained and settled on what I like to do best with Nita: Laugh Like Crazy!

Her friendship and her insight have been so helpful to me over the last ten years and I don't know that I would have gotten through the last five without her. I might have really stabbed someone with my scissors! (No,no. I told you I would never really do that.)

She has been a gift to me in this office and I completely appreciate her in so many ways that words will never be able to express.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 50 - This Beautiful Life

Give 52 Week 50
Cheryl Houston 2016

I don't remember the first time someone tagged me in a photo of Alisa Burke's big, beautiful flower wall but I fell in love with her work immediately. There's so much to love.

She is my art hero in many ways. Her story inspires and encourages me. 

Her and her husband were living in California and when they decided to have a baby, they also decided to chose a simpler life. They moved back to Oregon where Alisa grew up. They quit their jobs and they developed Alisa's art business. 

Dreams. Goals.

The other really cool thing I learned about Alisa is her parents are potters. Potters. They make pottery! I'm sorry mom and dad, but why couldn't you be potters? That sounds totally amazing! If my parents were potters, I would totally be a potter too! 

I love that Alisa paints on everything. She paints big flowers on her walls, a refrigerator and she recently painted their wood deck. It's amazingly cool. She takes the simple things in life and makes them into art creating a beautiful life. I could go on and on about all that she creates but I feel the need to stop and say this:

Friends, as many of the people on our televisions and in our Facebook feeds tell us that the world is falling apart and they can't believe the hell we're living in, I encourage you to look at your own life. Really look at it. Be grateful for the things and the family and friends you do have and realize that your life is beautiful. 

This is my gift. I give it to you.

GIve 52 Week 49 - Brave Hearts

Give 52 Week 49
Cheryl Houston 2016

If you are not reading Emily and Tim Loerke's website, stop what you are doing and go take a look-see.

I started following them when a friend sent me a link to their site in 2011 - the Year of Love - and I fell in love with the pictures and the stories of their lives.

What I love most about following along with their story is they are living such a genuine life. Truly authentic and true to them. That's what is most encouraging to me and I'm so grateful they share it online.

I love to see them fishing (momma's backpacking with their babes! So brave!) and gardening and they have chickens and bees and this beautiful home that they repair themselves and it's not that I want any of those things but I love how they live to the beat of their own beautiful drum and I hope that I can be brave enough to live to the beat of my own beautiful drum. That my children will do that too.

Emily introduces me to new music too and I'm in completely enamored with John Lucas' song Love is Kind. Whenever I feel troubled I listen to it, my heart fills with peace and it makes me feel loved. I also think of Emily. I can picture her and Tim hanging out in their gorgeous backyard with their daughter, Brave, and the beautiful tribe of family and friends that they surround themselves with and it makes me smile.

Sharing our lives - in person or online - is a beautiful gift.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 46 - Love One Another

Give 52 Week 46
Cheryl Houston 2016

Last June 26th, Margaret married Greg.

I knew I wasn't going to give them a gift right away but instead, because Emily Post or which ever etiquette expert said, you can give a wedding gift up to a year after the happy couple weds.

Since Margaret and Greg already had their home established, I thought I would wait for all the excitement to settle down and then give my gift on their anniversary therefore standing out as special because it's all about me! :) Not really. It's not about me at all.

This quest is all about being grateful and spreading love. I'm grateful for the laughs and friendship that I share with Margaret. And for the occasional bag of peach rings she sends up.

I wish nothing but unconditional and unending love for Margaret and Greg. Happy Anniversary you two!

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 43 - Internet Friendship

Give 52 Week 43
Cheryl Houston 2016

Do you have any friends that you met on the internet but that you've never met in person? I do.

Her name is Denise.

I found Denise in the days that I was searching out and reading blogs. She was writing a blog and I became this crazy stalker always commenting on her posts. Then she found Facebook and she stopped blogging. Boo!

Denise is a lover of motorcycles. She's the only girl that I know that rides and it's so cool to watch her embrace something that is so male dominated. She totally makes it her own. I love it.

Gosh, I'm sorry this isn't a drawing of a motorcycle, Denise. Maybe next time.

When I was getting my Etsy shop up and going she was my first purchaser and I was so appreciative of the support. Denise always has a funny comment for me when I least expect it and it just adds to the beauty of my day.

I hope to always have this small internet friendship with a woman that I've never met but appreciate so much. It's the small things.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52 Week 39 - I Won't Forget

 Give 52 Week 39
Cheryl Houston 2016

None of us will. Forget.

No voy a olvidar is Spanish for I won't forget. (And if the translation is incorrect and you know it, just let me keep believing it is correct. Muchos gracias!)

What is it that we won't forget? The love and sacrifice that our mothers have made for us.

Week 39 was sent out to my mom in honor of Mother's Day. And I won't forget the many things that I love about her and the many things she has done for me over the years.

I won't forget when I was small we would curl up on the couch together because I wanted to be close to her.

I won't forget the bond she has forged with her sisters and the many family vacations we have had together. They brought my childhood so much fun.

I won't forget how independent and giving she is, rarely asking for help or for anything in return.

I won't forget the picture I have of her in my mind, dancing in our living room, smiling while eating what I think was a cup of ice cream (or some other kind of desert).

And so much more!

No voy a olvidar. I won't forget.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52, Week 31 - Be Happy

Give 52 Week 31
Cheryl Houston 2016

This weeks flowers were sent out to one of my friends that I grew up with, Nancy.

I have tons of fun memories of Nancy growing up along with some fun adult memories. I follow along with her life on Facebook. She's got the two cutest, ginger boys you've ever seen.

She's always encouraging and supporting her friends (a lucky crew indeed to have her in their lives) and when I think of her I can hear her voice and laughter. She's got a sarcastic spunk to her that I'm immediately drawn towards.

I picked Nancy for this weeks Give 52 because she was in one of my recent dreams. I was in this studio where artist were making art and I guess she was running it. She knew I wanted to be a part of it and she told me, "Cheryl, you have to submit 90 photos to even be considered. So get busy. You have to get in here." 90 photos! Isn't that a little much!

I don't have a clue what the dream means if anything, but I felt very supported and encouraged and that's what this project is all about, right?

I'm so blessed to have had Nancy as my friend for my whole life. I wish we lived near each other so she could make me laugh on a regular basis.

This is my gift. I give it to you.

Give 52, Week 30 - Chase Joy

Give 52 Week 30
Cheryl Houston 2016

Oh how I love how this piece turned out. The flowers are wild and funky and the splatter is fun. This week's Give 52 was sent to Robin Whitney in Park City, Utah.

When I worked at Jess Reid Real Estate, we hired Whitney Advertising to re-brand the company. Jim and Robin were so great to work with.

I remember sitting around the conference table and Robin having a very pensive, contemplative look on her face and Jess asking her, "What's wrong."

I can't remember her exact words but I think she said, "That's my thinking face."

Since I left Park City in 2006, I friended Robin on Facebook and I love seeing her photos of her, her friends and her family. She radiates joy. Whenever I see her photos,  I think: "She isn't just choosing joy, she's chasing joy!"

I want to be like that. I want to chase joy. No amount of doldrums or boredom can stop me and making this piece for Robin will help remind me to do just that: Chase Joy!
This is my gift. I give it to you.