Posted on by Debra

A Peek Into Our 100 Day Projects

I believe that in order to live the kind of life we desire, we must choose to create it. It’s a concept that sounds good on paper, yet making it happen can be harder. It can be especially challenging for creatives. So many choices…so little time. At least, that’s what we tell ourselves.

Sometimes, we need a project that is larger than us to encourage us to carve out the time to tend to creating. So, when the 100 Day Project rolled around, many of the staff here at Modern Creative Live committed to just that: making. For 100 Days.

Melissa introduced you to the 100 Day Project back in April…and we wanted to give you a peek into our projects of some of our staff as we venture into a (US) Holiday weekend…

If you want to follow along, be sure and click on each person’s Instagram Profile.

Kolleen Harrison – 100 Days of Watercolors

 

This is kind of delicious. #100dayproject #watercolor #wordporn

A photo posted by Kolleen Harrison (@kolleenharrison_) on

 

Melissa A. Bartell – 100 Days from Scratch

#the100dayproject #100daysfromscratch #kitchenimprov Sautéed green beans w/ sea salt & fresh ground pepper. #day1

A photo posted by Melissa A. Bartell (@melysse) on

 

 

#the100dayproject #100daysfromscratch #kitchenimprov #day16 Strawberry-rhubarb pie. (Fuzzy’s favorite.)

A photo posted by Melissa A. Bartell (@melysse) on

Becca Rowan – 100 Days of Grace
Read about Becca’s Project in this blog post.

 

 

Debra Smouse – 100 Days of Creative Living
Read more about Debra’s 100 Days Project in this Blog Post.

I confess, I’ve become one of those ladies who… no, not ladies who lunch, ladies who golf. Today was the first day of the Ladies League at my neighborhood course and despite my doubts around the solidity of my game, I signed up for the Tuesday Morning 9-Hole Ladies League. Yes, this takes time away from my availability for clients. Yes, it takes my precious morning writing time. Yes, it will force me out of my comfort zone, because I’ve never really played golf with other women, my usual golf partners are men, like John, my friend Robert and clients. And yes, it forces me out of my comfort zone of my quiet little life here in my quiet little office. It forces me to be social. I am aware that as an extrovert, I need interaction with others, but it’s scary to try and make new friends in your 40’s. Especially when the context is in doing something athletic, something I’ve never excelled in. But the truth is, I love to play golf and today was a good experience. The reminder that yes, in order to create a life I love, I need to sometimes do something a little out of routine and get out of my comfort zone. This is the art of making a life – to do something you love, even if you aren’t great at it because the experience will enhance the quality of your life and spark your creativity. #100daysofcreativeliving Day 14 of #100dayproject #love #soultending

A photo posted by Debra Smouse (@debrasmouse) on

Sometimes life isn’t “Instagram Perfect”. We scorch dinner, have a pile of papers that lives on our desk for days, and the piles of laundry are mountainous. Life is messy. Yet, on this ordinary Monday, this pile of freshly laundered handkerchiefs is a reminder of the sacred in the daily tasks and chores that are scattered throughout our lives. I could choose to see the task: the drudgery of folding clean laundry. Or. I can choose to see the sign that I am living the kind of life I dreamed of… When I imagined a perfect partner, I wanted the kind of man who carried a handkerchief because that simple trait spoke of chivalrous characteristics of the type of man who could win my heart and cherish my soul. This is the art of creating a life and the simple sign that we can find what we seek. Day 19 of my #100dayproject – #100daysofcreativeliving #love #soultending

A photo posted by Debra Smouse (@debrasmouse) on

One thing I know for sure is that sleep is crucial to the quality of my daily life…yet on rare occasions I rise long before dawn. The waking isn’t by conscious choice, but rather than curse the dark, I am choosing to seize the opportunity to tend my creative life in some way. Upon finding JB’s pillow vacant around 1:30 AM, I slipped into a robe and found him wide awake…his mind too distracted by work matters to sleep. I went back to bed, but my own worries over his inability to sleep continued to roll around in my own brain. He showered. I made coffee and his lunch. He went into work. At 4 AM, I came downstairs to my own office…lit my candles and said a little prayer. It would be so easy to click around the internet and fritter away my time. Instead, I grab a 2nd cup of #coffee and sit down to #write. This is the art of creating a life: to choose myself and my creative life when it could be so easy to just choose ways to numb. This is day 26 of #100daysofcreativeliving for the #100dayproject #love #soultending #amwriting

A photo posted by Debra Smouse (@debrasmouse) on

What would you do with 100 days of making?