Mondo Beyondo for 2010 and BEYOND-o

Have you heard about Mondo Beyondo? It’s all about dreaming big, really big, letting yourself say the big, wild, crazy dreams that are in your soul, the ones the gremlins shout the loudest at, the ones that scare the beejesus out of you because they are what you really want to pursue.

I  made a mondo beyondo list a while ago (pictured above), but I didn’t do anything with it. Because, well, it’s scary to announce your biggest, wildest dreams. But it’s not very Mondo or Beyondo if you don’t share them. If you don’t really release them out into the world. So, I finally feel ready to shout to the world, Hey world, these are my dreams. This is what I want in my life. I am going to make it happen, I’m ready! It seems like the right time to release these out into the universe. Especially since I have chosen Joy as my word of the year, and told the Universe in no uncertain terms on Dec. 31 that I intended to focus on creativity, fun and photography this year.

Here is my Mondo Beyondo list.

It reads:

I, Kelly Ann Shaw, do solemnly vow to make this come true.

Dear Universe,

I welcome your assistance and signs.

A photo show of my work in a gallery.

A successful photography business, both my portraits and my art photos

Time to really travel in Italy, Greece, Ireland, Spain

Publish a photo book of people I meet with their stories(this one surprised me a bit)

Have an awesome, life long love adventure with Brian

Publish several of my book stories

Not needing to work an office desk job because my photography and writing pays the bills

Support Brian emotionally as he grows his dreams

Run and finish a marathon

Get and stay in awesome shape

Spend time living on an island with B

Have a story published in a magazine with photos that I took

Pay off all our debt

Make enough to help my parents financially

The little details around the collage include:

Dream, hope, believe, Dream Big, reach for the stars, bloom, way to go, There are many wonderful things that will never be done if you do not do them.

Come on Universe, let’s get busy!

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Return of the Flying Mermaid

Hellooooo out there!

‘Tis I, Flying Mermaid, finally returned from her great, mighty Mermaid adventure off on the other side of the ocean and eager to return to her bloggy home.

Ok, really, I’m not returning from anywhere, other than a very long blog hiatus, but I am very happy to be returning to blog land!

I last posted in July (hangs head with a bit of shame) but life has been a whirlwind since then!

There was work-land, which has been occupying my thoughts in a way that I didn’t want to share here (this is a public blog after all). But suffice it to say, my head has been bogged down by that a lot, and since I didn’t want to share my thoughts on it, I just didn’t share at all!

Then there was Sadie. We adopted a coon hound puppy in August…and our lives turned upside down and inside out. Suddenly we had no time to relax, to sit and do nothing, to read in peace, and anything that we normally did (including blogging) was out the window.

Sadie was not a good fit for us. We did everything possible for her, taking her for lots of walks, giving her play time and teaching her commands, and having less and less time to do anything for us, not associated with Sadie. Hounds require a lot of time, a lot of exercise, way more than we could provide.  And then there was Myra WonderPup. Myra, my sweet, happy, loves other dogs and people, that Myra — she disappeared entirely. She HATED Sadie. She was depressed. She was growling at Sadie all the time, and showing her teeth. We tried to make sure we were balancing play time and affection, and Myra got the short end of that stick. Every time we would try to cuddle with Myra, Sadie would jump in and Myra would get up and walk away. When we played with Myra, Sadie would jump in and take her toys and Myra would growl and walk away and not play anymore. Plus B works from home and Sadie made that very, very challenging for him.

We found a new home for Sadie, a wonderful, perfect for her in every way home, where she would have lots and lots of outside time, and kids to play with and a high-energy Jack Russell to play with, and an owner who would take her on truck rides and hunting trips. Perfect Sadie land!

I am not looking for “shame on you” or “you should have known what you were getting into” or “how could you do that?” This was a decision we felt was truly best for everyone involved, me, B, Myra, and Sadie.

And then I’ve also been growing Flying Mermaid Photography!

I’ve had my first professional shoots:

I entered the NC state fair photo exhibit with the picture below (my first ever photo contest/juried art show!)

I have a photo on display/for sale at a new yoga studio in Raleigh.

I am gearing up for my first wedding on Saturday, and for the bride, I’ve also done her bridal shower pictures

And her bachelorette party

I attended the wedding of another friend

B is starting up a videography business, partnered with Flying Mermaid Photography for some projects. We had our first joint project, a high school recruitment video for a high school football player.

And then there has been just regular life stuff, but Flying Mermaid Photography has definitely been taking up a chunk of time – time I am more than happy to be spending! Dream growing, doing what I love, what brings me passion, is so rewarding (even if it has made me busy!)

I will be back to regular blogging now, I look forward to connecting again!

love and mermaid splashes!

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Dream growing, new site, portfolio pics

Photography has become such a strong passion of mine. I love it. I love sharing how I view the world. And I want to start making photography more than just a passion. I want to grow a business. Put myself out there. Take the risk because to pursue something I love so much means pursuing joy as work, and I love that.

Before the wedding, I created a craigslist ad, looking for wedding dress models and kids for portraits. In exchange for them helping me to build my portfolio, I would give them a few free prints and a few photos for free.

I had my first portfolio session yesterday with a girl who is getting married in November and wanted pictures in her wedding dress. She brought her maid of honor, and they were great to work with. Fun. Open to being silly. Not self-conscious around the camera.

I am very very happy with the photos I got, these will be great to add to my portfolio. I spent today creating a new professional photography site, and I would like to introduce you to Flying Mermaid Photography I am very, very excited about it!!

And I wanted to share some of my favorite photos from my first ever bridal session. I had so much fun on this photo shoot.

She was very sassy in a great way

I asked them if they would mind getting silly. “It’s what we do!”

I bought a parasol from this great vintage store, and she was great with playing with it.

Love the sass.

My FAVORITE from the session

Love the boots with the dress

How fun is this??

Ahh, girlfriends

Nice detail

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“Yours, Truly”

Truly was born at 11:11 on November 11. She was born Truly Amber Devine, but she didn’t tell many people that. She figured Truly Devine was bad enough. The Devine came from her father, not The Father. She didn’t have much to say about that, as she had never met him. Or them, as she hadn’t met The Father either.

Her mother thought that Truly was a beautiful name, she loved sounds with -ly in them, and she told Truly once that names infuse people with power, so she wanted someone who would always be true. But then again, her mother also believed in television psychics, so Truly didn’t put much stock in that. The Amber part, well, her mom loved crystals and rocks and colors. Truly figured Amber must have been her mother’s favorite when she was born, but she never asked. And she knew that her mother had never once uttered her full name outloud before she was born and realized that she was naming her only daughter Truly Devine.

But Truly figured the name you were born is the name you kept,  so she tried to make the best of it.

This is mostly from a dream and from the early morning kind of awake kind of asleep state I was in this morning.

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dreaming of tropical breezes

The winds outside are cold, certainly for down here, with temps in the 30s and 40s right now. I’m itching to play in the sunshine, feel the tension of winter melt away in warmer weather, wander around with my camera, sit outside and sip coffee, feeling the unhurried sense that seems to come with warmer temperatures.

But even more than spring temperatures, I am dreaming of tropical breezes, turquoise blue oceans, wandering around barefoot in the sand, and playing in the water. Oh, how this mermaid misses the ocean and playing in the water. And this mermaid used to be a proper mermaid, one who spent much of her youth diving off the coast of Massachusetts, scuba diving, snorkeling, playing with fish and lobster in their native homes. Sadly, it has been a long time since I spent any length of time underwater.

And like most mermaids, I was born with a strong desire for travel and exploration. Mermaids are naturally curious creatures. And it has been far, far too long since I have done any proper travel. My travel of late has been home to New England, either from North Carolina, or before that, Oregon. Nothing exotic really.

But not for much longer, dear reader! I just booked a very special trip for B and I to go to Belize….a honeymoon, you might even say 🙂 Is it May 24 yet? I can’t wait! And we have three days of scuba diving booked. B is going to get certified before we leave, and your Mermaid Truly is going to take a refresher course, just to be safe and comfortable. I am a mermaid who is all about safety, especially when playing underwater. I haven’t been diving in years, I can’t wait to do it again, and to get to share it with B, who has dreamed of diving his whole life.

This is where we will be staying

This is one of the renowned snorkeling/dive spots,where you can swim with nurse sharks and rays!

This is one of the most famous Belize dive sites but it is a full day boat ride, so I don’t know if we will make it out there. But it is lovely to look at.

This is the island we will be staying on – Ambergris Caye

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A house offer and really flat pancakes

B and I went looking at more houses today, and the first one we looked at, we really loved. It’s in a nice, safe, quiet neighborhood that is six miles from my work and close to a big lake. The house backs up to a golf course (so no one could build behind the house! And B loves golf). It is really bright and open, and has rooms for a library, B’s office, my art space, a guest room, and a master bedroom of course (with a HUGE garden tub. I could happily live in that tub). (our grand total of furniture at the moment is a couch, two desks, a bed and a bureau, so we will need to buy some furniture). The kitchen is updated, with lots of cabinets and good counter space, with an island built in, and a huge pantry. All of the appliances come with the house — dishwasher, side-by-side fridge with ice dispenser, washer/dryer. The house was built in 2004 and is in immaculate shape.

It was pretty much everything we were looking for (although it will require paint, everything is beige, and we want COLOR!). So, we grabbed each other’s hands, and jumped excitedly off the ledge and sent in our offer to our realtor. We are dropping off the good faith check tomorrow morning, and then negotiations (hopefully) begin.

I wanted chocolate chip pancakes for dinner to celebrate. I thought I had some gluten-free pancake mix at home, but I just some GF all purpose flour, and various other GF flours. I tried to make my own pancake batter, and it wasn’t so much batter as pancake soup. No matter how much flour I added, it continued to defy cooking logic and it remained soup-like. And no matter how many chocolate chips I added, they wouldn’t scoop out with the batter. We cooked them anyways, and they ended up cooking like kind of thick, chewy, kind of flour-y crepes (much thinner than normal pancakes but not thin enough to be crepes). Some with three chocolate chips, some with more chocolate chips than pancake batter. They were certainly not the best pancakes I have made, but they were very entertaining. And covered with strawberries and syrup, they were at least mostly edible.

A good day by all counts 🙂

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I caught a falling star

I’ve been having lots of nightmares lately, a good sign that I have been ignoring my creativity for too long.

But amidst the nightmares, I’ve had some cool, lovely dreams as well, including one where I caught a falling star. As it has already burned through the atmosphere, I only caught a handful of star dust, that sparkled in the palm of my hand, and was star shaped.

I think the scene is actually part of Staphira’s story — The StarMaker’s Daughter

She keeps coming to me in my dreams. I think she really wants her story told. I will have to help her with that.

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Why I can’t look up my dreams in a dream dictionary

I’ve posted about my dreams before.

Sometimes, I get entire scenes from stories to write. Sometimes I get a really cool line or title for a story.

Sometimes, I have horrible, awful, violent nightmares.

And sometimes, my dreams are just so bizarre, that I have to think that the little creative people who live in my head have seriously warped senses of humor.

Allow me to introduce you to a dream from the latter category, one that involves the Fitness Shark.

What, pray tell, is a Fitness Shark, you ask?

A Fitness Shark is apparently an inflatable shark — wearing sunglasses, naturally — and once you inflate him, the fun begins. Once inflated, he will begin doing all of these weird, crazy moves (you might want to inflate him in an exercise room, or someplace that is pretty open with lots of space). Your challenge, should you choose to accept, and I hope you do (I wouldn’t want to mess with the Fitness Shark, personally), is to try and copy the Fitness Shark’s moves. Some of the moves involve something that looks like breakdancing, where you start in a one-armed push-up position and have to flip around and land on your other arm. (Note: The Fitness Shark is not for beginners). Other moves involve running around all crazy, as the Fitness Shark deflates and flies around the room, letting out air.

A workout with the Fitness Shark — guaranteed to get your heart rate moving and provide laughter at the same time. Well, possibly slightly terrified laughter, because he is a Shark after all, and you really can’t trust them.

I am pretty sure there would be nothing about an inflatable shark teaching exercise in any dream dictionary that exists. Although, if there is something about this topic, I would be delighted to know what it means.

And remember…always have fun, and watch out for sharks. Water sharks, inflatable sharks, or the “big white teeth of the Sharks that can swim on the land.”

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Come, sit in our cafe

Come in, come in, don’t be shy. Come, sit in my cafe. Rest. Relax. Enjoy good food.

Here you will find gluten-free, dairy-free food that is yummy and will make you happy. Have other allergies? Let me know, we can work out something. No one should feel like they can’t enjoy good food in a cafe. Don’t have food allergies? Don’t worry, this is all stuff that has been tested on people who don’t have to eat this way but still really enjoy these recipes.

Here you will find comfy chairs, bean bags, pillows, blankets. Stay a while.

You will find an eclectic mix of music. Some independent stuff. Some off-the-mainstream stuff. And some Van Morrison, of course. And when my love and I start dancing around the cafe, feel free to join in with  us.

On the walls, you will see some of our photos, photos from travels, photos from daily adventures, and photos of some of our customers. We want to know your stories. You will find snippets of life stories from our customers scattered around. After all, I am a reporter at heart, and I want to get to know you.

You will find cool quotes in unusual places — walls, maybe on chairs, tables, who knows! Add your own!

Come join us, won’t you?

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when you hold a wish in your heart

There is an ancient Chinese curse, May all your wishes come true, meaning that often people wish for things they don’t want, don’t need and would probably be better off without, and if all your wishes came true, it might not be what you expected at all. 

But wishes are things of powerful magic, especially when they are wishes that live in your heart and stay with you. When they are true wishes, the universe listens and begins opening doors and unfolding paths to bring the wish to life. But the universe operates with a different sense of time than you or me. Sometimes, it might not seem like the universe is listening, but she is, and she is working at her own pace. And she is all about timing — her timing, when she knows things are right, not when you want them to happen. I subscribe to the Notes from the Universe, and one of the most common messages, is to not concern yourself with the “how” things will work out, and just hold on to what is in your heart and let the Universe begin opening the doors to get you there. 

When you hold a wish in your heart, the universe listens. And one day, what seems like out of the blue, what you wished for will appear in your life, and then the Universe steps aside and lets you decide whether to accept the wish that manifested. The wish will not usually come for free, because there is always a choice. And it can appear to be a scary choice. But almost always the greatest journeys begin with a leap of faith. And taking that leap — it’s what it is all about, really. And often, those leaps are the ones you need to get on the path you need to be on. 

The universe does listen. 

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