good afternoon, good evening, and good night

Hi friends :) Yep, it's really me!

I know it's been a very long time since I've written a post. So many of you have been so lovely to get in touch with me to say hello remind me I had a blog, and I appreciate every one of you :) I actually wrote 2 recent posts that I'm very sorry to say, only a few people saw. The first one had to do with how we shouldn't have to feel guilty or wait for legitimate excuses to enjoy doing the things that matter to us, including making time for ourselves. My thoughts on the matter came to me as I sat here with my painful, elevated, newly-broken ankle. In essence, ironically, my life just came to a crashing halt and I've found myself with quite a bit of free time. The one I wrote last night took me a long time, and every word came straight from my heart. It was about finding the silver lining in everything we're thrown in life. Including broken ankles, which, for a variety of reasons, has been the most harsh and humiliating trial I've encountered yet. My post was truly brilliant, if I do say so myself. Then I clicked "publish" and the entire post disappeared - photos and all :( I was so distraught, I deleted my previous post out of some self-destructive/denial combination I can't explain, and closed my laptop. In 4 years on Blogger I've never lost a post! Wouldn't you know, it happened on my very last post.

You did read that correctly, my friends. It was a hard decision to make but one that probably should have been made a year ago. Every new project I completed, everything I created, refinished, or built, I even made tutorials so I could share them with you here. Personal stories or thoughts were written over and over in my mind for when I posted them. Photos, information, and just fun things I wanted to share, kept piling up on my shoulders until I finally decided it was best to let that burden go. "To everything there is a season", and it's time for me to move on - I'm not even sure of all the details myself. My photograph portfolio is probably my biggest project right now. I've been trying to put it together for years, and I'm actually making a dent in it. In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram if you'd like - and pretty much everywhere, if you search for Megan or Megi Walker.  

Those are just the logistics though. Most importantly I'd like to say THANK YOU WITH ALL MY HEART to all of you who stuck with me for years, or even for a little while. Who not only showed up but READ everything, who took the time to make comments, who appreciated my tutorials, who contacted me for all kinds of reasons, and extended their hand in friendship...... many of whom I am to this day life-long friends with. Particularly in the first 3 years of my blog, it truly had a wonderful, friendly, creative, fun vibe! We were a great little community, and all of you made that possible! I can't even tell you how much that meant to me. I love you, I appreciate you, I will always be grateful for you, and I wish the best for you. It was a great ride :) And that's the last thought I'd like to leave you with: though the destination may be important......... ALWAYS ENJOY THE RIDE!!!

With Love,

Megan xoxo

11/11/11 for the Veteran

COURAGE

HONOR

SACRIFICE

THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY -

ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE PAST... 

AND ALL THOSE WHO ARE SERVING AT THIS TIME.

pink Valentiny things

Yup. I've been playing with light and shadows and pink Valentiny things. Pretty fun. Hard to believe Valentine's Day is only 3 days away! I hope all of you are planning to do at least one or two sweeeeet things.

The candy above are actually Dots, made pink and red for Valentine's Day. The pink ones taste good (strawberry). The red ones don't (cherry?). I was hoping they'd be a little more "glowy" but I still like how some of the photos turned out. Especially how a blob of them like up above can turn into something cool like the fun words below.

How Valentiny is that! 

But before we go on, I want to take a minute to say a very heartfelt *thank you* to everyone for their sweet words of kindness regarding my last blog post. So many of you here, on Facebook, and through e-mail, have expressed the most touching sentiments. Thank you for your love and prayers going out to these families that surely need it. 

Now... just look how something like a mountain of beautiful pink Himalayan *salt* crystals in the photo above can turn into something simple and fun and Valentiny like in the heart photo below! How cute is that! Hey, I don't get paid the big bucks for nothing. Someone's got to play with candy and salt around here - sheesh. 

More fun coming - stay tuned :)

many thanks to ?

So as this week of gratitude begins, I will start off with many thanks to whoever sent me a mystery gift of some lovely stationary! It came from Segullah Press in Provo, Utah, and it looks as though they used vistaprint.com to have the stationary printed(?). But they did list the artist who painted the actual paintings - her copyright is on the back: Leslie M. W. Graff, and I found her website HERE! Her artwork is simply wonderful! 

Whoever sent this stationary with Leslie's artwork must have known it would really resonate with me... it's colorful and vibrant, it uses nature as a base, it includes geometric shapes, it's stationary of course... and did I mention it's full of gorgeous, saturated color!?! :) I do really love it - I just wish I could thank whoever sent it in person. So whoever you are, thank you! And let's all start this week out being grateful for something every single day. 

*Epilogue: my dear friend Joan 'fessed up :) Thank you my friend! I LOVE YOU ❤JOAN❤  

Happy 1 Year Blog Birthday!

HAPPY FIRST BLOG BIRTHDAY

TO ALL OF US!!!

Ruffles and diet Coke for everyone!!! LOL! It's true... can you see what I've been up to as I've been oh so very busy today? Oh make no mistake - I started celebrating early :) But hey, I've been working nonstop! Nonstop!

Oh my gosh...... SOOO much to tell! Yes, yes, I know I am SOOO late with my post today! YIKES! And I'm gonna save all the mushy stuff for tomorrow when I announce the winner of my GIVEAWAY! Because remember: you still have all day today to make a comment and enter! It's not too late! I'll be picking all the winners tonight at midnight! Yippeeeee! And for those of you who have already commented, thank you so very, very much. You're just the best readers and friends ever :)

So to say my Wild Child Arts store on Etsy has been slightly transformed would be an understatement. I used to have 4 sets of my notecards in it, so sad and lonely. Well take a peek in my right hand side bar to give yourself a little preview, and then go visit Wild Child Arts yourself! I've got something like 42 items in there now!!! And more are on the way!!! I've finally put together a LOT of AWESOME new notecard sets - all original photography by moi, moi, and only moi. And for the first time, I'm selling original photographs as well. And don't think for one second that I've forgotten about my 2010 calendars - no, no, nooooo!!! They are in the finishing stages! I'm really happy about everything. Actually, I'm ecstatic :) And...... my devious mind is already concocting more items to add, including my original artwork. As in paintings. Like on canvas and everything.

Okay, breathe Megan, BREATHE!!!

So for some birthday fun today, here are just a few examples of what just went into Wild Child Arts. Start perusing, because my winners will want to be choosing which set they want :)

Love and Friendship Notecard Set

Flower Power 3 Notecard Set

Crusty Notecard Set

Hydrangea Love Notecard Set

Quirky Notecard Set

But today wouldn't be today without remembering my humble beginnings here on Blogger one year ago today, and without telling all of you THANK YOU with all my ❤heart❤ for being so WONDERFUL!!! More than you know. Much, much, more. More mush tomorrow, without a doubt xoxoxo