A New Year~

Happiness depends on more than years.

All one's moments gather to a wave

Passing in a rolling swell of tears,

Passions too immense to name or save.

Yet New Year's is a crest on which to sing,

Now poised between the future and the past.

Each awaits what course the fates may bring,

Winds that never touch the things that last.

Years turn and turn with an hypnotic grace

Even as the depths of life lie still.

Although above one cannot silence face,

Remember that below the divers will.

Lithium Video - Evanescence lyrics

Evanescence Music Videos

Music Video Codes by VideoCure

Countdown~ meme

10 Things On My Desk:
1. Toshiba laptop
2. Beeswax lipbalm
3. Art from Sombra~
4. Art from Gillian (bohemiart)
5. Paperwhimsy art doll from JoAnnA
6. Date planner
7. Vintage cigar box full of pens & pencils
8. Books (bible, 1000 places to see before you die, others)
9. Vintage lamp
10. Candles

9 Favourite Songs:
1. Lithium~ by Evanescence
2. Your star~ by Evanscence
3. Over~ by Evans Blue
4. Cry to angels~ by Idiom of Sad
5. I want a faith like that~ by Jonah 33
6. Hate me ~by Blue October
7. Nice, Niave & Beautiful~ by Plumb
8. Flood~ by Jars of Clay
9. Something I can never have~ by Nine Inch Nails

8 Favourite Sweet Snacks:
1. Truffles
2. Dark chocolate
3. Vanilla bean ice cream
4. I don't eat that much sweets ;)
5. raspberries
6. strawberries
7. mangos
8. clementines

7 Favourite Recording Artists:
1. Amy Lee (Evanscence)
2. Devi Gottschlich (Idiom of Sad)
3. Crystal Lewis
4. Enya
5. Stevie Nicks
6. Julio Iglesias
7. Plácido Domingo

6 People I Talk to the Most:
1. my kids
2. mom
3. dad
4. sister
5. by email~ my art friends

5 Websites I Visit Daily:
1. Sombra http://sombraknight.blogspot.com/
2. Misty Mawn http://www.mistymawn.typepad.com/
3. Yahoo to check emails
4. My space
5. Indie 911

4 Goals for 2007
1. Spend more time on my art, than wanderlusting blogs & others' art ;)
2. Create a REAL art studio, not my dining room table
3. Donate more art for charities this year
4. Have fun!

3 Favourite Quotes:
1. "Happiness resides not in posessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the
soul." ~Democritus
2. "Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake." ~Henry David Thoreau
3. “You were once wild here. Don't let them tame you.” ~Isadora Duncan


2 Favourite Movies of all time:
1. Chronicles Of Narnia
2. Dr. Zhivago

Favorite Inspirational Person
1. God (not literally, person. Inspirational)

Supposed to tag 5 people, but I will just tag whomever would like to join in~

~Her innocence~

I grow so weary, someway, of all things
That love and loving have vouchsafed to me,
Since now all dreamed-of sweets of ecstasy
Am I possessed of: The caress that clings—
The lips that mix with mine with murmurings
No language may interpret, and the free,
Unfettered brood of kisses, hungrily
Feasting in swarms on honeyed blossomings
Of passion's fullest flower—For yet I miss
The essence that alone makes love divine—
The subtle flavoring no tang of this
Weak wine of melody may here define:—
A something found and lost in the first kiss
A lover ever poured through lips of mine.

James Whitcomb Riley
The Lost Thrill

What did Santa bring...

Question of the day......What did Santa bring you for Christmas!!??http://indigobluegreen.blogspot.com/

actually, this is what I was dreaming of.... for a Christmas present this year~

What did Santa bring you!!??

Merry Christmas~

trans siberian orchestra - christmas cannon
Merry Christmas my sweet friends~

I wish one day to be able to give each one of you, big velvet hugs & sparkly kisses~

Thank you so much for being there listening to my ramblings. I appreciate all your wonderful words of inspiration & encouragement throughout this last year, it has uplifted me, at times when I needed it the most, made me feel as if I could fly. It's beyond words how you can care for friends so much, not ever having the chance to meet face to face, it's definately a spiritual bond~

I pray for blessings to be poured upon you & your families this Christmas & the coming New Year~

Merry Christmas!! xo ~Bella

the dead of winter~

1000 places to see before you die~

what I am reading~ "1000 places to see before you die" a travelers life list~
at amazon http://tinyurl.com/yh62td

these are just a few of the places that I would like to visit someday~

travel to "Soul of the Garden" Tom Spencer
http://www.soulofthegarden.com/Mexico.html

black and blue~

my favorite blue jeans, black boots that I practically live in & my sweet lil' guy who doesn't like clothes~

flickr group ~"I love jeans "
http://www.flickr.com/groups/jeans/

flickr~Blue Portraits
http://www.flickr.com/groups/blueportraits/

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day ?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

~William Shakespeare

Merveilles en Papier~ de Laetitia Miéral

You must go see her!
Leatitia's website~http://www.laetitiamieral.fr/
Her blog~ http://merveillesenpapier.over-blog.com/archive-12-2006.html

Here I am procrastinating again...I should be doing bills, cleaning my house, wrapping Christmas presents, but here I am wanderlusting blogs~

Earlier, I was googling for a specific something & found a surprize....people talking about me on the internet! ...then I decided to google my name, my blog name, and some other sites that I have, so far nothing bad about me but...oh my ... what you can find on the internet!

I wanted to share...go google your name or your blog name & see who is talking about you, or who is linking you, it's rather kind of odd, like spying, but exhilirating at the same time~

Looky what I found...it was rather startling to read, especially since I never have received an email from them..............

"I love all kinds of blogs too, Ann. I love BlogExplosion, though I haven’t been out there for a while now. I love the stunning surprises — sites like Izabella’s Tattered Letters that give a window into the work of an unknown (so far) but nonetheless fascinating artist."by: Joe Snitty

"Every now and then... I come across something on the 'Net that I find inspirational. So Izabella's tattered letters showed up while I was playing on the BE Blog Rocket, and I immediately halted everything else.The artwork on this site is totally amazing. I was taken aback by both the beauty... and the haunting emotions it has given to me. So please check it out... I believe I found another daily read to peruse... so hopefully you'll agree." by pile of dog bones

Not that I agree with what they are saying...I feel like I am just a lil artist, hiding out in my house, but gosh they think I am good, that's inspiring....I don't even get encouraging notes like that from my family :)

so go check it out!! xo!

Today I am thankful for.... my babies~ I haven't been in the Christmas spirit & thought I better snap out of it for the kids sake...so away we went to Starbucks today for steamy hot chocolate with whip cream on top... no coffee for me today! I was up until 3;30 this morning because of the accidental caffeinated coffee conspiracy from yesterday~ that barista, I swear she secretly hates me ;)

Later today the kids & I finally created our gingerbread houses, 2 this year....one the kids donate & the other they devour! So today was a good day....I am thankful~

This is one of the art cards published in Bernie's book. A ltttle different than my usual art~
~pieces of rust
~nails
~dirt
~magazine photo

~What wicked dreams are made of~

Angel's amoung us~

It's 2 am...can't sleep...dang barista! this is the 3rd time she has done this........grande, DECAF, latte pleaz...that was 8 hours ago & I am wide awake.... last time this happened I was up till dawn~ so I'll make the best of it ;)

In the previous post, I wrote about almost getting wiped out by that semi..... since then I have been thinking alot about incidents in my past, of how protected I have been,......so I thought I would share this story, which I have never told a single soul, except for the 8 who experienced it also, I really don't enjoy talking about my childhood dayz..... but I am only sharing because I would love to hear about others' encounters with their guardian angel or knew that God protected them from danger~ so here's just one of my lil stories.

I was 13. Nine of us where packed in my friends 69 fastback mustang, we were heading for a party in Ravensdale, where hundred's of people would fill the woods with bonfires, kegs of beer, loud music, just pure sodom & gommorah atmosphere.

I was squished in the middle of the backseat, holding tightly to the half drank bottle of Jack Daniels, breathing in the smells of cloves & weed, the smoke so thick it burned my eyes. The music was so loud, no one could hear each other, so we all sat there drinking, smoking, being fooled this was a great time.

E started driving very fast, he turned up the music louder & lit up another clove cigarette. Thinking to myself, I can't wait until I can drive a car. E started passing cars, I glanced at the speedometer... 120... that was as high as the numbers went. We were in a hurry to get to the party, it was already midnight (a 13 year old girl out at midnight, smoking & drinking~ makes me sick to my stomach)

I wondered if we were going faster than 12o. Up ahead I saw headlights, I started thinking this was kind of scary going this fast & E was swerving all over the road. But I took another drink. The headlights got closer & E was in the oncoming lane, heading right for the other car. The music was blaring...can you believe it...ACDC "highway to hell." I yelled at E, but nobody could hear me, I was thinking, can't anyone else see what's going to happen!? The lights were so close....I closed my eyes & said "God, I don't want to die!" I opened my eyes, the headlights were right in front of us, E slammed on the brakes....I closed my eyes again waiting for the sounds of smashing glass & crushing metal. I looked up again, horrified, waiting to be blasted through the front windshield from the impact...but there was no crash... the headlights split in two & went on both sides of the car, I watched in confusion of what just happened, I turned around to look out the back window, I could see the red tail lights on either side of the road....it was two motorcyles~

I knew God heard me that night, I felt guilty....I told Him I would quit drinking some day~

I wrote a little about my last dayz of drinking, back in May, click this link, if you feel like reading
http://velvet-and-rust.blogspot.com/2006/05/dreamsgraphic.html

Do you have a story to share?

This could have been THE day~

I really must stop day dreaming while driving~ earlier today while I was in a dreamy state of euphoria, listening intensly to the music, deep in thought... have you ever wanted something so bad it hurt!? and you can't concentrate on anything! well, that's my story, can't concentrate lately~

anyways....I stopped for a red light, when the light turned green, I cruized on out into the intersection..... I always look both ways before going, but this time I didn't, too busy dreaming (if you ever drive in Vegas, you don't dare go without looking)

As I am in the middle of this busy intersection, I looked to my left and this semi truck is haulin ass right for me on my drivers side, oh my gosh it was so scary just like out of a movie, I hit the gas & went completely sideways...I handled it quite nicely I should add , that truck missed me by inches!!.... if I didn't have the power I have in that Harley truck to get me the heck out of the way, I would have been.... well... .it didn't happen so I am just thanking God I didn't die today~ I pulled over up the way, shaking, my heart in my throat, I thought I was going to pass out, then just cried for about half an hour.

What is even sadder is that I am writing this story on my blog~

~The Looks of a Lover Enamoured~

Thou, with thy looks, on whom I look full oft,
And find therein great cause of deep delight,
Thy face is fair, thy skin is smooth and soft,
Thy lips are sweet, thine eyes are clear and bright,
And every part seems pleasant in my sight;
Yet wote* thou well, those looks have wrought my woe, *[know]Because I love to look upon them so.

For first those looks allured mine eye to look,
And straight mine eye stirred up my heart to love;
And cruel love, with deep deceitful hook,
Choked up my mind, whom fancy cannot move,
Nor hope relieve, nor other help behoove
But still to look; and though I look too much,
Needs must I look because I see none such.

Thus in thy looks my love and life have hold;
And with such life my death draws on apace:
And for such death no med'cine can be told
But looking still upon thy lovely face,

Wherein are painted pity, peace, and grace.
Then though thy looks should cause me for to die,
Needs must I look, because I live thereby.

Since then thy looks my life have so in thrall
As I can like none other looks but thine,
Lo, here I yield my life, my love, and all
Into thy hands, and all things else resign
But liberty to gaze upon thine eyen*: *[eyes]
Which when I do, then think it were thy part
To look again, and link with me in heart.

~George Gagione

Izabella's "myspace"come visit me..... be my friend?! http://tinyurl.com/yxtq9n

Longing

Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again~
For so the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.

Come, as thou cam'st a thousand times,
A messenger from radiant climes,
And smile on thy new world, and be
As kind to others as to me~

Or, as thou never cam'st in sooth,
Come now, and let me dream it truth,
And part my hair, and kiss my brow,
And say, My love why sufferest thou?

Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again~
For so the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.

~Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)

Thou art to me a delicious torment~

Journal pages~

Have you ever?!

Tagged again!! and I am supposed to share an old photo~

HAVE YOU EVER:
taken a picture completely naked? yes
danced in front of a mirror naked? no
had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? yes
been arrested? yes
seen someone die? yes
kissed a picture? yes
slept in until 5pm? yes
had sex at work? hmmmm...that's a lil' too personal ;)
fallen asleep at work? yes
held a snake? yes, 7 foot boa
ran a red light? many times, daydreaming~
been suspended from school? yes, smoking in the bathroom
pole danced? no, but I have seen other girls do it
been fired from a job? no
sang karaoke? no
done something you told yourself you wouldn't? of course
laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? no, but my friend did :)
laughed until you peed? almost, but my friend did!
caught a snowflake on your tongue? yes
kissed in the rain? yes
had sex in the rain? hmmm...dreamt of it~
sang in the shower? of course, doesn't everyone~
gave your private parts a nickname? ewwww...no
ever gone to work without underwear? not!
sat on a rooftop? yes, in Seattle snuck up on a 20 story building
played chicken? yes, stupid thing...back in my wilder days
broken a bone? yes, my collar bone, motorcycle accident
flashed someone? yes, with my bra on ;)
mooned someone? no, but people have mooned me~
skinny dipped? yes!
ever been in a fist fight? yes
shaved your head? no
slept naked? yes
kissed a rockstar? yes
had a crush on a movie star? yes Johnny Depp
blacked out from drinking? yes
break someone's heart? yes
someone break your heart? yes
played a prank on someone? yes, gave a friend fake lottery ticket, afterwards wish I didn't
been in a mosh pit? yes
had a gym membership? no
felt like killing someone? yes
break something in anger? yes
truly hated someone? no
felt like smacking someone in the face? yes
cried over someone you were in love with? yes
had Mexican jumping beans as pets? yes
been in a band? does back up singing for a cd count?!
been in a movie? yes, Singles
shot a gun? yes, AK47
shot a bow and arrow? yes
played strip poker? no
donated blood? no
ever jump out of an airplane? no, but always have wanted to~
been to more than 10 countries? no

TAG YOUR IT.....
Sombra http://sombraknight.blogspot.com/
Rande http://r2artstudio.typepad.com/
Misty http://www.mistymawn.typepad.com/
JoAnnA http://www.mosshill.blogs.com/
Jewels http://tisjewel.blogspot.com/
And whoever else wants to join in!! ~Don't forget to post a photo of yourself, when you were young ;) xoxo!!

I want to live in a castle~

artist trading card workshop~

you can buy the book right here! My first published art!

His presence still lingers here~

I've been tagged..by Rande

I was starting to feel a little left out, not being tagged ;) Rande tagged me http://r2artstudio.typepad.com/ love her blog!

It's been fun reading everyone's 6 weird things, although I haven't read anything too weird! actually...I find I have alot in common with everyone! so maybe we are all weird & we don't even know how weird we are!? ;)

My 6 weird things about me~ I have to include this one, although, that makes it seven...I have always wanted to live in a gothic castle with red velvet curtains, filled with antique/gothic furnitures, huge chandeliers, huge candleobras everywhere with wax dripping all over the floors & tables, and hold masquarade & elegant dinner parties.

1~ I love Miss Me jeans, it's hard to find jeans for my size, so when I find a pair I love I buy an over abundance of them...like 5-10 pairs! cuz I know I won't find them next season.

2. At night when I am going to bed, I turn out the lights in my bedroom & I will jump in when I get close to the bed, because I think "something" is under there! how ridiculous is that! (I don't think I have ever told anyone that one)

3. I wear my hair up everyday.

4. I don't leave my house without makeup, because I think I may run into someone I know.

5. Before I cook, I close all the doors to the rooms & closets, and light up yummy smelling candles in each room, because I can't stand the smell of cooked food in my clothes, towels, comforters etc....although I won't shut the doors when I am cooking sweet smelly things, like cookies and cakes.

6. I don't feel like an adult.

whoever reads this....YOUR TAGGED , if you want to join in ;)