Have a HaPpY, HaPpY.....

Happy New Year to all; 

may we have happiness and less division in our world.

We're Smack Dab in the Middle of the Holidays: and it's RAINING!

But that's ok....my Oma would say.

It's been a little dark and dreary in Vancouver of late and it reminds us that these months are for hibernating a bit as the bears do. 
I actually have found that the cozy twinkle lights we use this time of year has inspired me to be more creative. I've done some of my best designs lately!
When one walks out the home door these days the craziness starts! It's a traffic battle out there and if we all chilled a bit, it wouldn't be so bad. I find I cycle and walk everywhere despite the rain, just to not get into the stress that comes when you're behind the wheel. 

This time of year I'm drawn to many things including color, light, warmth, quiet, solitude, gentle movement, good books, and wholesome food. Appreciating all these things helps me through the long dark days of winter. And much like life, setting an intention to celebrate this seasonal journey instead of merely riding it out until its over, is high on my list of priorities.
So I'm done.

Done my shopping, work designing, gift making, home decorating, blah, blah, blah...
Now I'm dancing the stress away in some random Vancouver bar. 
Come say hi. I'm the old bird doing the funky chicken at the back of the room playing the imaginary bongos. 

with lots of love,

What's it really like to freelance for a living?

 

I am a full-time freelancer. A hired gun. A mercenary of the creative bent.
Cool people give me money, I create stuff for them.
For the most part, I wake up when I want, work on projects I care about, and very rarely wear real pants (typing this in a pair of pjs my daughter gave me for my birthday).
I sometimes make good money.
I sometimes don't.
I didn’t graduate University. 
I’m not particularly talented (better than some; not as good as maybe others).
But…
As a freelancer I may take on the same tasks as those working within a company. 
I have to  be self-motivated, and wear many hats (promoter, accountant, agent, art director, and more) in order to keep my business moving in the right direction.
I love contracts, working at coffee shops, and wearing funky clothes.
But as a mom, I can work around my family life most times.

Freelance? 
You betcha!
Here's to seeing and finding the beauty, the hope and joy in the right now of our work lives.
And for goodness sake, let's have some fun while we’re at it! 

Spring is my absolute favorite time of the year.

Fall is a close second! 

The trees, flowers, grass, shrubs, birds, bees, and life is just in full bloom and it all smells so gorgeous.  I mean you walk down the streets and so many lovely scents hit you in the nose! There are so many ah-ha moments and I just can't stop smiling.

It's also a tough time to be inside working some days, right?! 
And what the heck do I wear? Rifling through the closet trying to find stuff is a challenge.  Where did I put that powder blue shirt? I thought I had more leggings? Where's my ankle bracelet? Sigh....but we all get through and re-stock for the summer weather. I still have to do that. Would probably make my days easier.

I've fallen behind in my social media endeavours. I'm revamping how I work with my Jibe Designs brand, and work for others has come first. It's slowing down which allows me space to step back and observe. I'm finding it all good.



When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen….There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly.”
. ~ Patrick Overton 


Namaste.

What's in that food?

I spent a day at the CHFA trade show in Vancouver on Sunday and WOW! I love this health food show.  It's not open to the public, just retailers and it's bursting with everything Vegan, Gluten Free non GMO, Fermented, sprouted etc etc etc......
I'm on a "no-sugar" kick which I probably will stay on for the rest of my life.  Sugar is the enemy.  So is corn. I know it's crazy but what we eat is so very important and I'm all in to doing everything I can to eat a healthy balanced diet.  I say balanced because CHOCOLATE is still a part of it!! (Trying to find a low sugar chocolate that tastes good is a challenge but they're out there.)
I've learned so much by talking with so many of the committed people who care about good food.  And there are so many of them!  Everyone's got a story! I'm so excited that the organic, health food industry has so much to offer and tastes so very yummy! Seriously I find there is absolutely no need to kill an animal or even eat an egg. 
I've enjoyed a vegetable and fruit diet for the last month and I can't believe the energy I have. I'm blessed to have a sister who's a nutritionist and a huge door opener to an industry that's absolutely bang-on to TRUTH. Well, our truth anyway.
Be well my friends. Life is beautiful.
Namaste

Google and Me

It's been a whole lotta years since I started Jibe Designs and today, I finally received approval for  Google's business page search and I'm pretty excited!
Crazy that I do this for other business's but yet I keep saying I'll get around to mine......but it's finally done.

Let's see if it makes a difference.
Have a great day!
Namaste!

What? January already?

Hey 2018. 

I see you. 

You're here and, ready or not, we are making the choice to embrace you for the time and opportunities you hold; knowing that every day, every moment is new and full of possibility, resolutions or not.

Funny how truly the beginning of every year is an opportunity to start anew.  Make changes.  Reflect.  That's all lovely but does it really work?  I have the best intentions to change it up a bit but truly it's really difficult to do that.  Does anybody else feel this way?

Of course you do.  
But onward we go.  Time ticks away.  Days turn into years and there you are. Still pretty much the same!

So what's new in my design world? Last year was truly a little challenging for me with jibe designs as my sister had died of Cancer and I found it a struggle to be creative.  I fell into a muck and only regularly came out to dance.  But having mucked about long enough I'm now ready to keep doing design work!  It's what I truly love and can get into.  The design concepts this year are more about togetherness, openess, stories and putting it all out there! Honesty as Oprah says is totally the bomb.  Let's be truthful.  The energy that goes with that is real, it's dramatic and people-drawing.

I'm looking forward to February actually! The Vancouver rains will be less, we're out of the January pressures and it's the month of LOVE! I'm preparing my website, petsitting my lovely friend's dogs and cats and uplifting my spirits with dreams of the sky being the limit to my wants!

Let's see how it all goes down.
Be kind to each other.

Namaste
Petra

Love Yourself

An exerpt:

We live in a global economy of insecurity. Not because of vacillating markets, but unstable self worth. Our lack of self esteem feeds the globalization machine. If you/we loved ourselves more deeply, a lot of industries would go bankrupt. But...bankrupting the human spirit turns out to be great for the gross national product.

Here’s a money-saving tip that also happens to be a radical counter-cultural act of defiance:

Before you buy the promising under eye concealer, or the jeans (that are just

like three other pairs of jeans you got, because they were going to change your life by attracting the perfect life partner), or before you sign the car lease because you’ve been picturing that moment you drive up to your family reunion, and as the glint of the chrome catches your cousins eye, they’ll finally know that you’ve been way smarter than all of them all along), before you pull out the credit card, take a full breath in and out and say to yourself, to YOU:

I love you.

And then see if you still have to have it.

True words by the ever-popular Danielle Laporte 

Sayonara August

Today we say sayonara to August

It's been a warm and sunny summer. I learned a lot about myself during these months. We're always growing and changing in ways that get lost if we don't sit back consistantly and notice.  I noticed that I love to serve.  I love to serve.

How you listen is how you live.

Can you hear the women crying?  
Can you hear the soil gasping for clean air?
And did you hear that? 
That’s the sound of a good man asking, How can I serve?

Only with all of you. Mostly by being informed. Entirely with your longing.

Root your life so deeply into your Soul that comparisons, and materialism, and status quo idealism, and the lie called media realism cannot possibly sway your Truth.

You won’t be a sucker for motivation. You will be a devotee of inspiration.

You want to serve? (Please say yes.) Then do what ambition tells you not to do. Forget your goals and your regimens. Be very still and lean in to listen to the pain of the world. And then it will be very clear what to do when you know the Truth. You will let your heart blaze. And your solutions will be fierce with Love, fast with delivery, and sustaining.

You will walk into any room and you will bring joy to bear on the situation.
And it will sound like this:

I am listening. I know who I am. And I am here to serve.

(an exerpt from Danielle Laporte)

Today we say sayonara to August.  I will look back and say I have served.  And it was up-lifting. 

Namaste 

Be a hero with your words

Probably more than any time in my lifetime, we are in need of super heroes. Not the kind that fly in with a cape and save the day. Not the kind that use their big muscles and their strength to win. But rather the kind of heroes and sheroes who have big hearts, deep wisdom and a connection to the infinite.

We need our super heroes to raise their voices when they see others in pain. We need our super heroes to bridge the divides of class, race and parties and work together for the good of us all. We need our super heroes to shine their lights bright.

I know the power of our words can change the world. And I know that the world needs your words.

I've been smitten

Yup.
Yesterday I was plodding along, working in my office, same old same old.

Checking my instagram I was hit!
BOOM! Aside the face and I went "Say What?"

I'm now on a mission.
I'm going to join the "tinyvan" club and travel (when I retire)....while working (of course)

I haven't felt this inspired in a long time. Yesterday I said to myself "sleep on it. let's see how I feel in the morning"

BOOM! I'm more excited then ever and can't wait to tell my family........just have to find the right words.....


Namaste

It's in my heart

Not my words.. but it's what's in my heart!  So true!!️
Every year my daughter asks me the same question. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give her my real answer:
What do I want for Mother's Day? 
I want you. 
I want you to keep coming around, I want you to bring your kids around, I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. 
I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries, your friends, your fur babies.
I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don't care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.
I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work.
Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't want it any other way.
I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family, I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Mother's Day, I say "nothing" because you've already been giving me my gift all year. 
I want you.

I've been away

Wish I could say it was the south of France on a warm beach.

For the past few months my sister's "living" with Cancer was coming to an end.  "There's nothing more we can do for you" they said.

Heartbreaking words.

We'd been "living her struggle" for the past 2.5 years when she moved in with us because she needed some help, but going to the hospital that snowy Feb evening and getting the prognosis that her Cancer was taking over was it.  It was now all about how we make life comfortable for her last days.

We pulled her out of the hospital.  February 14. Called the family and had a week long party.  Well not a "party" like we hoped but pretty close. It's different saying goodbye everyday for a month and a half.  Cancer is not a quick ascension into the stars.  It's a slow moving painful bitch and it sucks the life out of everyone.  Enough said.  But Diane, you were fearless.

Diane knew her last day. We all did actually. It came with restlessness and major distress with her breathing.  But it also came with her face lighting up and her almost non existent vocal chords whispering "hello" "hello" "hello" "hello". We knew she was seeing the other side and greeting the beings who were there to help her transition on.  It's the only memory I cherish right now. 

There is truth in her guided spiritual ascension. 

Diane. See you again on our next adventure. I LOVE you.

Namaste

Ode to Oreo

Our dear cat passed out of this world today.
Oreo will forever live in our hearts.

We laughed all the time with him.
If he wasn't at the fridge door (which he was.) A lot.

He was watching tv

Or drinking water from anywhere there was water...

He was always hangin out with friends

or sleeping

and sleeping

He will always be remembered by all that cherished him.

We loved having you in our lives Oreo. May your spirit live on.

Till we meet again.

Namaste

What’s with the saggy-ass granny panties?

Ok this is great...(an exerpt from  luckybitch.com).  I believe.

Level with me for a minute - what kind of underwear are you wearing?

No, I’m not trying to be a perv! I know it's a personal question (I'm sans bra right this second if you must know!)

I’m asking because you can tell a LOT about someone’s money mindset from the type of underwear they’ve got on.

Yep, you read that right: your panties are intrinsically linked to your money mindset.

Really, how?

Well, there are so many ways that we women fake our level of self-worth – we’re excellent at putting on a smiley face and some lip-stick, and pretending to the world that we’ve got it together.

But our underwear? Well, unless you’ve got a hot date planned, most of us don’t give it a second thought – no one’s going to see it, so it doesn’t matter, right?

So we bum around in our daggiest, saggiest ‘granny panties’ because if no one else is gonna see it, then we think it doesn’t matter.

But what kind of message is that sending to our subconscious?

That our nice clothes are just a façade.

That underneath it all, we’re not really worthy of nice things.

That we don’t care enough about ourselves to wear well-fitting, comfortable and sexy undergarments.

That we’re not worth the money it costs to buy new undies (or whatever)

That we only value things that impact others.

That we don’t really value ourselves.

All of which undermine our ability to attract money and abundance.

In case you think I’m judging your washed out briefs here, please know that I wore nothing but nanna panties and bras for years. Sometimes even second hand bras.

In fact, I had one particularly old bra where the underwire had come loose and would always dig into my side-boob. Yet I continued to wear it for months, jabbing the wire back into it’s tubey-thing, all because I didn’t want to spring for a new one! Crazy. (Ummm, and painful!)

But when I upgraded my money mindset, my dodgy granny knickers were one of the first things to go. I knew it was a really important way of showing that I valued myself and deserved nice things. Even if I was the only person in the world who knew about it!

So these days, I’m conscious about my underwear. I’m no longer prepared to skimp on supporting myself (both metaphorically and literally!). Which isn’t to say I wear flashy lingerie every day – um no. But I always wear nice, cute, properly fitted bras that feel good to wear. And the second they pass their use by date, they’re gone.

So if you want an instant window into the state of your money mindset, just get honest about the state of your underwear. Does it make you feel good? Or is it a faded, daggy old thing that you’d be mortified for anyone to actually see?

If it’s the latter, it’s time to do some work, lady!

Namaste

I have a dream

In his iconic speech at the Lincoln Memorial for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King urged America to "make real the promises of democracy." King synthesized portions of his earlier speeches to capture both the necessity for change and the potential for hope in society.

We all have dreams.
It's a change in consciousness.

And King said "But there is something that I must say to my people, in the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrong.   We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights (Yes) of meeting physical force with soul force.

A brave and true soul of the times.

Live your dreams.  Be in the now.

Happy New Year!

This life is full of calculated risks. And you're never sure which ones will work in your favour or not.  

But if you wait to feel okay before taking a risk, you'll never jump.

It's supposed to feel uncomfortable.

As you get ready to ring in 2017, think about the risks you're ready to take, and the ones you didn't take in 2016 that you wish you did.

If you go ahead and take the risk (whatever it may be)....and it fails....You won't really be behind at all, because failure is not really failure. It's learning and growing from an outcome we didn't plan.

But now, if you go ahead and take the risk...and it succeeds....How thankful will you be that you JUMPED and can see the progress when you're looking back New Years 2017!

I promise you I'm taking some uncomfortable jumps this year. Let the adventures begin! It's the way I'm going to ROLL.

Happy New Year everyone. I'm cheering to your success (and mine) tonight!

Is it New Years Yet?

Last year I sat in front of our fireplace while life pushed me to do a rapid-fire reflection on the closing year. 

What didn’t work?   What did work?   What were the highlights?

And then: What does the new year look like if it’s full of what works?

Holy instant pattern recognition. If you stay out of your head and ask from the heart, CLARITY can happen like THAT. Snap.

Here’s how it rolled out for me:

What didn’t work…  Situations where I Ignored that weighed down feeling, giving way more than my fair share for the sake of so called harmony…  Eventually you realize that being “spiritual” or running a “conscious” business doesn’t mean that you have to put up with people’s “unconscious” behaviour.

What did work…It really paid for me to take on pro bono work because my new design challenges have been richer. I got softer in the right parts and fiercer on the right subjects, and I’m bringing it.

And then… what does the new year look like, full of more of what works…very, very generally…

: Excessive tolerance is OUT. Equal collaborations always and forever.        : Uninterrupted creative time blocks—this is going to require some significant re-structuring. I’m up for it.
: Relationships are everything.      : More clean, more deep, more Light. All for Love. Devoted.

Namaste

Revamping the ol' site

So every year I revamp my website.  I've been pretty busy with work and hadn't had a chance to keep updating my own site and social media.  So I've taken it down to add all my new work and change the look.  So I'm going to use this forum for my old site sans the links in case it's needed.  Best I can do for now :O)
Namaste

The thing about websites...

I'm currently working on a few projects and the thing is - waiting for content always holds up the design!
Note to self:  Be sure to get the content from the client honed down before ya start.....seriously good advise for both my client and I!

Namaste!