Doodles Announces the Winner of the Creative Peeps Calendar

Congratulations, Tina Fariss Barbour! You are the winner of a 2014 Creative Peeps Inspirational Desk Calendar!

WINNA, WINNA, WINNA, I say! Woof!

Doodles 2014 Creative Peeps Desk Calendar Winner Tina Fariss Barbour

Send me an email to improbablelife (at) gmail with your mailing address and your calendar will be on its merry way.

Thanks for taking part in the fun and helping me get out of the doghouse. You’ll be happy to know my mom isn’t mad at me anymore for sneaking on to her computer. In fact, she said she has a whole new appreciation for me after reading all your comments. She’s even forgiven me for making her spill an entire glass of red wine all over her keyboard when I bumped her elbow a while back (even though it still glows purple).

I’m not super big on having my picture taken, but as you can see above, I tried to be a good sport. I’m smiling on the inside. Really, I am.

Hugs and kisses,
Doodles

Dancing with Gratitude for Nelson Mandela

Thank you Nelson Mandela for making such a profound difference in our world. Our hearts are heavy because you’re gone, but we’re also dancing weightlessly, filled with gratitude because you were born.

Photo of Nelson MandelaWatching the news last night, tears streaming down my face – a wine glass in one hand, a tissue in the other – I marveled at the dizzying affect Nelson Mandela had on my life, simply because Continue reading

Doodles Dispatch: Secret Guest Post and Giveaway

Labradoodle Blog Post Portrait

Hi there. Doodles, here.

My mom is super busy right now shipping out all the inspirational calendars she created, so while she’s wrapped up in that project, I thought I’d log on to her computer and share my Doodlicious two cents with you. Sneaky, huh?

Before I give you the dish though, I gotta tell you this great joke.

Ready? Okay, here it goes:

Q. What do you get when you cross a Beatle and an Australian dog?
A. Dingo Starr!

Baa haa haa. I crack myself up! Oh man…“This Dog is on Firrre!”

Oh-oh, I better pipe down before it get caught. I just heard my mom—the one they call Becky—walk down the hall. If she finds out I’m on her computer, she’s going to kill me—especially since I plan to share a few family secrets. Shhhhhhh.

First of all, you probably already sense this, but Continue reading

Something Special for My Creative and Inspired Peeps

2014 Creative Peeps Inspirational Calendar

I’m excited to share a new project with you, which combines many of my favorite things–designing, writing, and motivating others. It also celebrates the many inspiring people I surround myself with on a daily basis–artists and athletes. I’m especially happy because this project also lets me use my talents to help stand up to cancer. Here’s what I’ve been up to… Continue reading

Helping Veterans and Their Families One Book at a Time

It’s rare I post twice on my blog in one day, but on this Veteran’s Day I feel compelled to pause for a moment and say thanks to our service men and women for their hard work and dedication to our country. I’d also like to share a book with you, which might help someone dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Diary of a Vet’s Wife by Nancy MacMillan.

Cover Photo of Diary of a Vet's Wife by Nancy MacMillanNancy took sixteen years to write her book, Diary of a Vet’s Wife: Loving and Living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – A Memoir. It’s the story of her life with a Vietnam Veteran, and the journey they take through PTSD. She shares her story with courage and honesty in hopes of helping others who are dealing with the same issues. Nancy wants others to know they are not alone, and even offers a list of resources available to find help.

Diary of a Vet’s Wife has received numerous 5-star reviews, and is even at the White House in Michelle Obama’s hands.

If that’s not enough to inspire you to pick up this book, this might: Nancy has teamed up with Pets for Vets by donating a portion of the proceeds from her book to help this organization pair shelter dogs with veterans returning from war. Their mission is to help in the healing process and to add another source of comfort and support for those dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Diary of a Vet’s Wife is available on Amazon in paperback and for the Kindle. Spouses and family members of those afflicted with PTSD will find this especially helpful because it’s written from the perspective of somebody who has lived in their shoes. You can also find Nancy online at Blog of a Vet’s Wife.

Here is a hearty thank you to Nancy for sharing her journey to help others, and here’s to our military veterans who have not only battled in war, but who have faced numerous challenges while integrating back into their “old lives,” which of course, will never be the same after what they’ve experienced.

 

In the News…

Hats off to Dave Mason at Santa Barbara News-Press for his fine review of Steve & i in yesterday’s Sunday Books. It’s fun to share Jeffrey’s story with the Santa Barbara community and hear how others have connected with the book.

Photo of Steve & i review in the Santa Barbara News-Press

And yes, that’s a young Jeffrey Aaronson in the bottom right-hand corner–a photo taken by Steve Jobs at Apple Headquarters when they were both 29-years old. ❤

Why a Happiness Jar Works Tirelessly (and Effortlessly) to Remind Us to Be Grateful

Last January I placed an empty square glass vase on a side table in our living room. Next to it I stacked a small pile of colorful note cards and a pen. Then, after taking a deep breath and hoping not to sound too corny, I announced to my husband and daughter, “This is our happiness jar.”

Photo of our Happiness Jar, Containing our Gratitude

“Our what?” my daughter asked, head cocked.

“Our happiness jar,” I repeated as if everybody had one.

My husband and daughter looked at each other with raised eyebrows and said, “OoooKaaay,” as if trying to appease a mentally unstable person.

I laughed at their response, but continued with resolve, Continue reading

The Answer to Name That Photographer is…

ERNST HAAS
(1921-1986)

Ernst Haas was an Austrian-American photojournalist who was a pioneer in color photography. During his forty-year career he not only used the camera to tell a story, but to visually express his creativity through bold, abstract and impressionistic images.

Portrait of Ernst Haas

Haas was raised in the grand culture of Vienna before World War II. His parents placed a high value on education and the arts, and encouraged his creative pursuits from an early age.

His father, an avid amateur photographer, tried to inspire his son to pursue photography, but Haas had no interest in cameras until he was nearly twenty, when he started going through old family negatives after his father died. Haas was taken more by painting and drawing and studying things like poetry, philosophy, music, literature and science, which later informed his beliefs about the creative potential for photography.

Haas once said:

“I never really wanted to be a photographer. It slowly grew out of the compromise of a boy who desired to combine two goals—explorer or painter. I wanted to travel, see and experience. What better profession could there be than the one of a photographer, almost a painter in a hurry, overwhelmed by too many constantly changing impressions? But all my inspirational influences came much more from all the arts than from photo magazines.”

World War II complicated Haas’ education. He tried to go to medical school, but was only able to complete one year before laws changed and he was forced out due to his Jewish ancestry.

In 1946, at age 25, he obtained his first camera by trading a 20-pound block of margarine for a Rolleiflex on the Vienna black market. With that, he documented the war’s effects in Vienna, approaching the city as a reporter with a sharp, but empathetic eye. His photographs show the enduring human spirit in the face of a devastated urban environment.

Haas Prisoners Vienna

Haas hunchback Vienna

When Haas was thirty, he moved to the United States, which is where he started experimenting with color film. In 1953 Life published a groundbreaking 24-page color photo essay of his work on New York City, which was the first time such a large color photo feature was ever published in the magazine. Nine years later Haas became the first person to ever have a single-artist exhibition of color photography at the Museum of Modern Art.

Ernst Haas photo Traffic, New York 1963
Ernst Haas Photo New York City