Devos Art Museum–North of the 45th

My photograph, Man on Bench, has been accepted into “North of the 45th” at the DeVos Art Museum. Out of 135 artists submitting 750 works I had a photo make it in. I cannot begin to explain how I feel at this moment!

The DeVos Art Museum is on the campus of Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. The exhibit will run May 25-July 3, 2009. This year’s exhibition was juried by MaryAnn Wilkinson, Curator of Modern Art at the Detroit Institute of Art. The closing reception is July 3rd, and I would love to see you all!

Congrats to the other artists! both the ones who made it into the show and the ones who gave it a shot.

I need to thank Beth Millner who asked if I was thinking of submitting. It was her prompt that gave me the guts!!

Spring Love at Founder’s

My apologies to the young couple, your Public Display of Affection was caught by my camera and my heart. I thought before the ice leaves Marquette, love has bloomed. Before daffodils and crocus, before the men on the ice stop fishing, before boats can sail, there is love. Thank you! It’s all we really need. Love.

The Push of Coming Spring

I noticed it earlier in the week. The sun reflecting on snow had more yellow, less blue. The angle of light higher, warmer. The melt off roofs forming twisty icicles in the warmer winds. The snow levels going down. The roadsides looking dirty with sand and snow no longer fresh, nor clean.

I started thinking of music festivals and art shows. I started thinking of long hikes on camping trips. Macro shots of moss. Fishing and clicking digi-captures of herons and eagles. I thought how blue in summer is warmer than blue in winter. The days so long they feel like a good stretch, an adjustment of energy. Paths underfoot, soft like massage, healing. The scent of lilac. The song of birds.

I thought…OH CRAP! I am not ready! I do not have my life where it needed to be. I want to be Beth Millner when I grow up! Beth travels creating and selling art. I want that. Check out Beth’s blog and Etsy shop, too. I know life on the road is not idyllic–it is dang hard. But you wake to owls in trees, meet interesting new friends, get teeth pulled in foreign countries (I might skip that part, though).

So, I have to get ready. I need to prepare for that life. Here’s a list of To Dos:

• Passport
• Redesign blog and integrate sales whether at an Etsy store or another location.
• Choose a printer for home, and a commerical printer for sales.
• Get a digital recorder for doing interviews.
• Voice recognition software
• Get PDF software to write ebooklets.
• Increase freelance assignments.
• Travel write: build list of ideas/projects, do research of market.
• Have an exhibit and fundraiser.
• Build publications.
• More dependable, younger car.
• Build savings, pay down debt.
• Get Adobe CS2 or 3.
• Purchase a full DSLR camera–begin savings and research.

Guest Writer, Christine Kane–The Universe is Your Dog

“Start by becoming a pack leader in your own world and healing your own world, and the effects will ripple.” – Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer

One of the fun assignments in my Uplevel Your Life Mastery Program is what I call “Mental Dress Up.”

This is a game that you can play daily. It is designed to bring intentions to life by literally embodying them in your own being.

Here’s how it works:

Take a few moments throughout your day and Be [Fill in the Blank with Desired Thing].

As you’re driving you can become a published writer. What would that feel like? When you’re at a party, try being someone that everyone wants to talk to. Be wise. Be someone who has so many clients, you can hardly get through a day without turning people down. Be someone who is certain of what she wants. What does that feel like?

Don’t get all scrunchy-faced and try to VISUALIZE – which is a very high-pressure word.

Instead feel the effortless shift in you, and BE successful. BE a fun person. BE wealthy. BE a rock star. Whatever!

My client Isabella started using this technique when she decided to “be someone who loves to run with her dog in the morning.” She was amazed at the results.

Typically after a few blocks of running, she’d start wheezing and feel awful. But when she became “someone who loved running with her dog,” she had more stamina and felt great during the run. She got better and better at this game until she actually began to love running with her dog!

One morning, she was returning from a run. Another dog and his owner were walking in her direction. Isabella’s dog, Bruno, is still healing from an abusive past and can be aggressive with other dogs. So, Isabella started to get anxious, clinging to Bruno’s leash.

Then, she remembered Mental Dress Up.

Instead of getting nervous and reacting to her dog’s bad behavior, she focused on how calm she felt and how much she loved her dog. She also played Mental Dress Up on Bruno, feeling that he was always very loving and peaceful around other dogs.
It worked! Bruno was fine. He followed her energy, and they both headed home without incident. To Isabella, this was a nice little miracle. 

At this same time, Isabella was beginning a new business. She had experienced a whole range of emotions from enthusiasm to fear tone. He followed her energy, and they both headed home without incident. To Isabella, this was a nice little miracle.

excitement to disappointment during the process. At one point, she met with her accountant. The accountant was skeptical, issuing warnings to Isabella about the numbers and telling her the reasons why the business wouldn’t work.

During our coaching call, she shared these stories – about the triumph with her dog, and about the discouragement from her accountant. She wanted to know how to deal with her emotions after this deflating meeting.

Here’s what I told her:

I said, “Your accountant is your dog.”

Huh?

It’s true!

People follow your energy. It doesn’t matter if they are mentors, accountants, lawyers, audience members, listeners, friends, or customers. People follow your energy, just like dogs. You always have a choice to step up and lead them. Just like Cesar Millan has been telling dog owners for years. And just like Bruno showed Isabella in that one situation.

I told her that the success of her business would always be up to her. I told her that every business owner, artist or entrepreneur experiences bad news, good news, depression, loss, gain and insecurity. The decision to quit, fail, or succeed is always hers.

In that moment, her accountant might have sensed her fear and found all the negative stuff he could muster up to dissuade her. He became her dog and followed her energy.

You don’t have to be a Jedi master to tap into someone’s emotional state of being. You just have to be human. Had Isabella been feeling confident, most likely the accountant would have presented his views in a different light.

Ultimately, during our coaching call, I told Isabella this:

“The Universe is your dog.”

Everything and everyone follows the energy and emotional state you bring to it. Decide that you can do something, and the Universe follows that decision. Choose to radiate love and wisdom, and the Universe follows that radiance. This is not always an easy place to go. But it almost always teaches us about our own power to create or transform any situation.

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

Super Bowl Sunday & My Week In Review

My Super Bowl Sunday rarely circles around football. Instead, it was a photo-shoot in the morning, yoga in the evening, preparing salads for the coming week, and finalizing a freelance job or two.

I worked out four times last week. It should have been more, though, as my weight actually climbed for a couple days. I have been eating 1200-1600 calories each day and tracking my nutrition and progress at sparkpeople.com. Tomorrow I have a weigh-in (my first) at the YMCA for the Biggest Loser program. So today I ate salads with chicken breast and low-cal yogurt and cereals. My weigh-ins are in the mornings and I am worried about the Y weigh-in at 6pm, which followed by a work-out means I have to eat well enough to have energy, but lite enough to show decent progress. I started at the YMCA I was 184lbs. My lowest weight in the last 3 weeks has been 180.2. Drat, the last three days have had my weight higher by 2-3 lbs!

Despite the weight fluctuation I am wearing a size 16 jean, needing a belt! Size 14 here I come. Mike took a good photo of me out on the ice today. I noticed I am standing straighter and I have less belly in front. I will bug him to get me a copy so I can post it.

When I was on the treadmill Wednesday, I was able to break into a 4.3 mph jog three times during my 25 minutes. I did not need my inhaler. My first mile was a 15 minute mile. I was at a 3-6% incline during the whole workout. The new running shoes are awesome and my big toe did not even swell (much). Each night I massage arnica into my toe and ice or heat it. I am being as kind as possible to my great toe.

This past week marked our second meeting of our Wealthy Spirit group. I commited to working on my Artist in Residence application(s) and asked for accountability from the group for our next meeting on the 18th of February.

I also submitted two Creative Inspiration columns to my publisher at Health and Happiness. Both were abundace realted.

This week also marked my status change with Bay Human Services–I am now officially full-time and my BCBS insurance bennies will go active on May 1, 2009.

I transferred money from an MMA account that had fallen to less than 1/2 percent to my savings and will get it snuggled into a good CD at 2-3 percent, instead.

I am using affirmations from Chellie’s book and a couple I have developed as well. Due to the job market one of the affirmations I have devised is: My ship has come into the Lower Harbor and it is loaded with treasures for the whole community!

All said, it was a very abundant week.

Please check-out A Winter Journal for some of the digital captures taken today!

Birthday Hike–Seize the Day

These are the shots I love to share, a combo of both my own and Mike’s. They give a glimpse into our lives that words and stories cannot share. Today was my birthday and where I have been suffering from serious seasonal disorder with symptoms complicated by stress and my own drive to change, today was calm. Like the hush of snow. The laughter over on the next hill. The slient flight of birds. My day was a gift.

Mike I am so blessed to share these moments with you. I think of how many times we are on the trail together, your ability to play, to appreciate the day, scene, moment (even in yet another snowstorm), and I know that you, too, are a gift.

My years with you are filled with magic. Your better than the icing on my 45th birthday cake, baby!

See the digi-captures of Kim on a snowtube taken by Mike at A Winter Journal.

Kim’s Power Foods:Go-to Grabs

My go-to power foods are easy to grab, pack, and quick to eat. As a Community Living Specialist I cannot always take breaks when I want. This can throw off my eating patterns. I portion out and plan ahead. Here are some of my stand-bys.

Stonyfield Farm Organic Fat-Free Yogurt with Fruit on the Bottom

I like this yogurt for multiple reason. The consciousness of the company to provide a great healthy product and to better the environment. Two words Fat Free! This yogurt has vitamin d added and contains a blend of active cultures. It comes in a 6oz container. I mix this with an organic granola and add some nuts like almonds. Visit Stonyfield.

Quaker Simple Harvest All Natural Multigrain Instant Hot Cereal

This hot instant cereal is perfect for the person who hates to take a lot of time in the morning . I use two packets for a meal of 320 calories. It is proven that eating within 30 minutes of waking speeds your metabolism. My favorite is the maple brown sugar and pecan. Visit Quaker.

Breakstones’s Lowfat Cottage Cheese with Live Active

This cottage cheese comes in a 4 oz package (90 calories) and couples well with a cup of pineapple. Making a perfect go-to food for before workouts or mid-afternoon slumps. Visit Breakstone’s.

Weight Watcher String Cheese and Pink Lady Apple

The cheese stick at 60 calories also gives you 20% of your calcium for the day and 9 grams of protein to balance out your afternoon until dinner. Plan ahead if you’re going to have a late dinner. Combine protein with crackers or fruit so you don’t put yourself in a bad place.

Next week I will share my power foods that are not prepackaged and commercial products.

Guest Writer–56 Things You Can Toss Out Now

56 Things You Can Toss Out Now
by Christine Kane

We hold onto our stuff for two reasons: Love or fear. We either love things. Or we fear letting them go.

We cherish them and know they have value to us.

OR…

We fear that we’ll need them someday. We fear that we wasted our money on them. We fear what others will think if we let them go. We even fear making the decision to release our mistakes, so we don’t make any decision at all. Instead we passively hold onto stuff out of guilt.

Well, guess what?

When you begin to make choices from a place of LOVE and EXPANSION, then your world will change. Love is the clearest reason to do anything. If you don’t love it, toss it. Give it away. Your abundance and energy will increase when you begin to live by love, and not by fear.

Here are 56 things you can toss out (or give away) right now…

1. All the hotel key cards you forgot to turn it when you checked out.

2. The doilies your Aunt Missy crocheted 45 years ago that got handed down to you.

3. CD’s you haven’t listened to in three years or more.

4. The boxes of cassettes you’ve been meaning to transfer to CD’s.

5. The bread maker you haven’t used since 2003.

6. Your wedding dress

NOTE: You can say you’ve been saving it for your daughter, but here are three signs that your daughter doesn’t want to wear it: a] she’s already married and wore her own dress, b] she’s been roommates with a woman named Pat for nine years, or c] you don’t have a daughter.

7. Credit card bills from 1995.

8. The Allen wrenches from every piece of IKEA furniture you ever assembled.

9. The jacket you spent way too much money on and never wore. NOTE: Keeping it around just to punish yourself for your bad choices is like going to parochial school all over again.

10. Every scratching post or toy your cat doesn’t like. NOTE: Your cat didn’t go to parochial school so there’s no sense punishing him.

11. House plants you no longer love.

12. The stacks of O Magazine you swear you’ll re-read.

13. Every little zippy bag that came with a Clinique purchase.

14. Every unopened perfume that came with a Clinique purchase.

15. Leftover scrunchies in case you grow your hair long again.

16. The “Cherries Jubilee” flavored lip balm that makes you nauseous.

17. Every single regretful lipstick color you bought on a whim. (“Cherries Jubilee” is probably there, too.)

18. Your last four cell phones and all their chargers and blue teeth.

19. Single socks.

20. The Spode Christmas plates and mugs you don’t like. (Along with the Christmas bath towels and welcome mat.)

21. The framed posters you had in your college dorm room.

22. Old stereo wires.

NOTE: If your husband refuses to let go of any of these mysterious wires, try this: Put them (not him!) in a bin and label it “Random Cables and Wires.” After two years, bring it out of storage and kindly note that no one has thought about it in two years. Ask if it would be okay to let go of half of them. Repeat process until all mysterious cables and wires are gone.

23. The nails, screws, anchors, and cup hooks rusting in the bottom of your tool chest.

24. Remote controls that don’t remotely control anything you own.

25. Lamps, toasters, blenders, coffeemakers that no longer work.

26. The notion that you will ever be one of those moms that makes beautiful scrapbooks.

NOTE: Put your photos in boxes. No one will judge you.

27. Old blankets and linens you keep in case you suddenly have 27 sleepover guests.

28. College text books

29. Any boring decorative item that does little more than fill space.

30. Vases you don’t love or use.

31. Candle holders you don’t love or use.

32. Picture frames you don’t love or use.

33. Class notes from college.

34. The idea that you have to save every piece of your children’s artwork and school work because it might mean you don’t love them if you don’t.

35. The “good silver” you don’t use that was passed down to you.

36. Old VHS movies

37. Unlabeled VHS tapes. (And don’t waste your time watching them just in case.)

38. The stationary bike that got even more stationary after you got it.

39. The fabric pieces you’ve been collecting in case you ever become a quilter.

40. Flashlights that dimly light up only after you bang them over and over on your thigh.

41. Old keys that open some door somewhere in the past.

42. Suitcases you don’t use.

43. Old computers.

44. Old stereos.

45. Promotional duffel bags with ugly logos and bad acronyms stitched all over them.

46. Anything that makes you say, “But I got such a good price on it!”

47. Anything that makes you say, “But I paid so much for it!”

48. Half-full cans of paint.

49. Extra baby items/Old baby items.

50. Record albums. NOTE: Don’t spend your extra hours in a day trying to figure out if someone will buy them. Really. They won’t.

51. Gifts you never liked.

52. All the cross-stitch, knitting, or sewing projects you never finished.

53. Any glassware or dinnerware that is a “memorabilia” item from proms or sororities or sports events.

54. Old information packets you no longer need or that you can easily find on line.

55. All the hotel soaps that you took with you. (And stop taking them. You’ve got plenty of soap!)

56. The belief that you only have to go through the de-cluttering process once and won’t ever have to do it again.

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?

See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

183.4 and Dinner

Today, I rearranged the living room which helped me add 45 minutes of heavy cleaning to my work-out log at the Biggest Loser Club online.

I also did an Ishpeming photo-shoot tromping through snow drifts. Then jumping jacks while uploading photos to my Flickr account.

My car broke down this week and it has been challenging to get my “to-do list” completed. But I managed to connect buses on Wednesday and get my registration in for the Biggest Loser at the YMCA in Marquette.

I am shocked at how the weight is coming off. Seriously, my metabolism hardly ever cooperates. But I am down to 183.4 on the scale. I feel more energetic even though my old injury is inflaming my muscles and causing pain (on a level of 1-10, perhaps a 5 or 6 by the close of the day).

This dinner was made with lots of goodies. I started off with olive oil, sliced garlic (lots), and two chicken breasts. In a separate pot I boiled whole wheat noodles. To the pot with chicken, I added baby carrots and cooked until somewhat caramelized adding slight bits of organic free-range chicken broth. Then came the red peppers, broccoli florets and black olives. After draining the pasta I added to the stir fry to mingle, along with a bit more chicken broth. Seasonings included: sea salt, fresh grnd. blk. pepper, garlic and onion powder, lemon peel and basil. The amount of pasta was one uncooked cup. Mike and I had leftovers from this meal.

Coffee Can Inspires in Early Morning

This morning I woke early and made coffee. I opened the can and the rich aroma and beautiful grounds inspired me to proclaim what a wonderful rich country we live in. I was happy. I had woke before Mike as the plan was for me to ride share with him. We would drop my car down the hill first. You see, my coolant-light keeps coming on, my service-engine-soon-light started flashing. I thought stuck thermometer.

I was wrong. Blown head gasket.

1500 hundred dollars.

Angst. Shock. Awful dread.

I have so many plans to start off the new year. The night before I ran my budget and it is tight, too tight. I was trying to see where the abundance was going to come for me to join the Biggest Loser at the YMCA. I was trying to see how to pay down my debt. I was trying to see how I could upgrade my equipment. I was already feeling nervous. But I have a plan.

Part of that plan is a group of friends will be reading “The Wealthy Spirit “by Chellie Campbell. Many of my actions in ths new year are to center on Abundance of  spirit, health and wealth.

Today I felt tested. My toe is twice the size it ought to be–kinda makes foot power difficult. It also makes this whole weight loss and fitness thing difficult. Remember I also have an upper body issue from a car accident. I was already looking for pennies and nickels. Then the car.

It was a rough day.

But I have taken part in abundance groups before. I have seen the power of affirmations and goals come to fruition.

My toe, which I broke 5-years ago will get calmer. I will lose weight.

I can cut my spending and increase my earnings.

My car will get fixed, too.

I will learn to save money for a rainy day–well actually learn to double my efforts–I am already a saver with reserves to support my life…kind of.

Maybe I am being tested. But tomorrow I will have a can of coffee in my hands again. The aroma will greet me. I will head into my day with confidence and hope.

(At my weigh-in this morning I was 185.2 lbs. Another new low.)