Little things that make me happy
Flying above the clouds and getting to see their bright happy side.
It's always sunny and bright above the clouds.
Just look at these delicious puffy clouds...
Makes you want to pick at them like cotton candy and eat them all up!

Art and Animation in Wisconsin
I'm back from my trip out to Wisconsin. Besides seeing my birthfamily again, I would have to say the highlight of this trip was my visit to Door County. It is an artists' paradise. Beautiful scenery to draw, paint, photograph. Art Galleries, schools. Fishing towns with quaint little shops. There is a school in Fish Creek called Penninsula School of Art. Their current temporary exhibition was The Art of Animation. (How did they know? I always wanted to be a cartoonist/animator when I grew up) I was so happy that this happened to be their current exhibit! It didn't disappoint, either. All of the artists were so talented, but I especially loved this story. "Flawed", by Andrea Dorfman. She is Canadian, as were all of the artists in this exhibit. I'll share it with you. I also have to say, on a side note, that this is a very busy few weeks for me. I will be writing more soon but I did just get back from my trip. And I've been non-stop since I've been home. And I'm taking my son to see the band Incubus tomorrow night. And we're bringing our daughter home from college on Friday, driving up to Boston and back in one day. I love keeping busy though, so no worries! It's alll good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDbFsLu_lRo

De-clutter
I am short on time to write this week. I'm getting ready to fly to Wisconsin to visit my birthfamily again!
This will be my second trip out there. I'm so excited! I thought I would show one of the very first pages I ever did in my art journal.  I did this two years ago, in June 2010, around the time I started my birthfamily search. Making that decision was one of the most difficult, scary, and rewarding I have ever made. But first I had to get rid of all of the bad thoughts, negative voices that kept creeping into my head. 
This page reflects that time period. I enjoy art journaling not only because it is an actual record of a certain time in your life, but also the release it gives. Ahh, clean swept, clutter free.
Just doing whatever you feel like doing on the page, whatever you feel like writing, just throwing it on there. No rules. No boundaries. It's your own.
You transfer the junk from your head onto the page and help to free your mind. 
That is what art and writing do for me. 

Monday
The day I do the laundry, vacuum, dust, wipe, scrub, scour, spray, put away, throw away, collect the dirty dishes that wandered up into a certain 16 year old boys room, clean out the fridge, go grocery shopping, put away the groceries. And just when I think I've had so much fun I can't frickin' stand it, I get to make dinner! Tonights dinner included mashed potatoes from scratch, thank you very much. Now I'm ready for my "weekend" of Tuesday and Wednesday. But, TGI...M? Not so sure.

HOPE
Can you imagine traveling by boat (in steerage, the inferior accommodations for passengers paying lowest fares) from your homeland in Poland, across the Atlantic ocean, to America, in 1865?
The desire to start a new life in America must have been so incredibly strong. Just think about what our ancestors had to endure in order to make a better life for themselves. And for their children. And their children...
I would like to take this moment right now to thank my Great Great Great Grandparents for their bravery.
I think of all of the steps of their journey they had to conquer in order to get to their final destination of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There, they would find opportunity. Religious freedom. Hope for the future.
I have visited Ellis Island, New York City, twice. The last time was in 2007. I remember my other two visits, walking around Ellis Island. I felt I could almost hear the faint whispers of those who went through it's doors.
Even though many spoke different languages and were from different countries, there was one thing they all understood. A smile. And Hope.

Family Resemblance
This is Carl Nelson, my Great Great Great Great Grandfather. He was born in New York in 1853. Would he believe that 100 years after his death (in 1900) we would be able to "post" his picture and send it "through the air" for everyone around the world to see? That his Great x5 Grandson Steven, 16 years old in the year 2012, could look at this picture and agree that we look alot like him?
Yesterday, I received a link to my birth familys' family tree/genealogy website. So much work was done with this research. I am telling you, two branches from my maternal Great Grandfather go back as far as 1743 and 1814! One branch goes back to Samuel Nelson (Carls' Father), my Great x5 Grandfather. He was born in Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland in 1814. The other branch goes back to Andrew Mrotek, also my Great x5 Grandfather. He was born in Gromadno, Wyrzyski, Pozan, Poland, in 1743.
Andrews' Grandson, Andrew Mrotek 2, was born in Poland on March 8, 1833. He was the one who immigrated to the USA in August 1865. Q: "Purpose for travel?" A:"Staying in the USA."
He was a newlywed to Madglen Zarnik. They arrived in the USA, settled in Manitowoc,Wisconsin (where I was born) and went on to have 16 children!
I must have spent a total of 10 hours yesterday clicking on names and links, finding out more about my ancestry than I could have ever imagined possible!
Two years ago, I knew nothing, not even my birth mothers real name. Now I even know who my Great Grandparents x5 were! I could be like the people on the TV show "Who Do You Think You Are?" - I could travel to Poland and  Ireland and walk on the same ground they walked on!
Funny how two days ago I posted about feeling complete now that I found my birth family. Yesterday I received this genealogy website link. Well.... is it possible to feel so complete that you feel like you're going to explode? I was just getting used to one feeling and didn't realize that feeling could intensify like it has.
And to think it all started because I wanted to know who I looked like. To find a family resemblance.

Feeling COMPLETE...
"Haven't felt the way I feel today in so long it's hard for me to specify...I'm beginning to notice how much this feels like a waking limb, pins and needles, nice to know you, goodbye..." (Nice to Know You, by Incubus)
The lyrics to this song pretty much sum up how I've been feeling about my life in the past month or so. After finding my birth family not too long ago (Sept. 2010), I can now join in with the other adoptees I've heard through the years telling of the reunion experience, saying it has made them feel COMPLETE. 
What does that really feel like, you might ask? Well, on a very basic level, I now have family that I look like. Sure, I have 2 children of my own, but it's not the same. Everyone wants to feel like they're a part of something. When I look at my real brother and my birthmom, and see my eyes in them, well it's a feeling of euphoria. A connection that goes beyond the surface. There are so many things I like and do and ways I feel that are so much like them. Knowing other people, family, that are alot like you can do wonders to validate who you are. It has boosted my confidence and self-esteem to levels I didn't know were possible. I don't know how far I'll go into this today, but I will say this: 
All these years, I've had an insecurity about being my real true self. When you grow up in a household where your own opinions and thoughts are so, so different from theirs, you develop a way of holding back. A fear that you can't completely be yourself, always second guessing who you are. The COMPLETE feeling is the confidence I now have because: 
I know where I came from. 
I know who I'm like.
I know who I am.
All of the questions I have had for 35 years have been answered. 
Goodbye to the old me,  nice to know you.
The new me plans on spending the rest of my life feeling freedom from the insecurities.
Feeling COMPLETE.  

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_7mEPMIAc&ob=av2n

GIANT PAPER MONKEYS!!!
The Paper Source is one of my all time favorite stores. I'm a paper junkie, so, um, yeah.
Paper, any paper, any size, shape, color, in books and magazines, single sheets, labels...
I could keep going on and on. So it makes sense that my palms would get sweaty just 
looking at the window display. This was their window display in June, 2011. We were 
attending Lindsays college orientation  up in Cambridge, MA. Walking down Mass. Ave...
and what to my wandering eyes should appear!? I felt like a kid that found a toy store.
And I never wanted to leave the giant paper monkey toy store. ever.

DALI
This work of art is on display at The Brandywine River Museum in Chaddsford, PA. 
Don't let it fool you! It is a perfect example of Trompe l'oeil. It is one flat piece of art,
not a picture of Dali taped to a matboard. The bugs are painted on.
Otto Duecker is a master of this trickery art.
Wouldn't you say so?

Does anyone remember this cereal? It was one of my favorites in the 70's! No wonder, look how colorful and happy it was! And Marshmallow Stars! A little sugar  never harmed anyone. Then again, maybe it did and that's why they pulled it off the shelf. Looks like the clown had his daily iron requirement...just look how he can balance that bowl with one foot.

Hey There!

LIFE. Happy to be here.
I love life and try my best to enjoy what it has to offer.
I have had a lot of changes in my life over the past few years.
I thought it would be fun to share some pieces of my life.
I'm also looking forward to meeting others who have the same
passion for life. Glad to see you here!
Don't forget to take time to smell the flowers... Cindy Ronell

My nutty, crazy dog, Marty. He knows what to do.