Time for a Change

As we approach the time to change our clocks, it is also time to update your feed readers. I have moved my blogging to amandajolley.com. So come on over and make your self at home.

Adventure lies ahead

Or rather, the adventure is laying out now. As I prepare for the Amsterdam Discovery trip, I am already amazed at the growth and stretching that is taking place in my own life.
In celebration, Wendy’s trip costs have been covered by donations, plus she will have just enough extra money to cover the meals [...]

Amsterdam bound

Amsterdam bound. Yes, I am, thanks to a dear friend who asked if I would join her on the Missions Focused trip with our church. With this trip, we will learn from our pastor, Jeff Adams, who will teach us about the missionary view and cultural sensitivity. I have heard of so many life-changing experiences [...]

Final cut

From our trip in June, enjoy the video my husband produced for Won By One To Jamaica:

I must agree with Tayler’s ending statement. My experience with Won By One To Jamaica, my time with my Jamaican family in Harmons, has totally changed the direction of my life.
amanda ∞

Senses

This afternoon as I tore the lettuce leaves from the bunch and rinsed them in a colander, I was reminded of my grandmother. Was it the sound of the running water, the smell of the fresh lettuce and dirt, or the touch of water and leaf tossed in my hands? So many times I watched [...]

Even, my homeless friend

Our friend, Even, stopped by tonight to show us his new bike. He bought it with lottery winnings. My husband wasn’t home, so I sat on the porch this evening and visited with him. He used to live in a group home down the street, and could always be found riding up and down the [...]

Summer Self Portrait = Meanderings While Sweating

I sit in the heat of summer with my familiar perspiration making my face glow. (If only the models would realize that sexy shine comes from SWEAT.) The windows are open this evening, fans pushing air through the house. I have come to love the heat of summer permeating the air of my home. I [...]

Floating

Self portrait from a joyous family reunion.

The effects of the Kansas wind also reflect the the cogs in my brain. I need a time of rest, a time for my windblown mind to settle.
I’ve finally made it to this place. I have nowhere to go and nothing to do. I’ve been looking at this space [...]

I Have 2 Homes

Our recent trip to Jamaica was one of renewing dear friendships. I consider so many of my friends from Harmons, Jamaica as my 2nd family.  When we arrived, it was as if we had never left. That feeling of comfort, of arriving back home, came instantly. I was saddened though as one of my dear [...]

Jamaica bound

Today is one of lists and packing. We are going to Jamaica. My husband has been asked to make a new video for Won By One. You can view his last one here which was done about 5 years ago.
My children from the last trip:

I am fond of this place. There was a time in [...]

Symbols Shaping Space done!

Artfest was over 2 months ago. I am still finishing up details and adding thoughts to my Artfest journal. Yesterday I was thrilled to have completed the mobile from Katie Kendrick’s class: Symbols Shaping Space

This was my absolute favorite class. Katie is an intuitive artist, so as she taught, she drew out creativity in each [...]

Myopic View

I’ve decided that myopic persons named the constellations. Last night as I lay under a blanket of stars, I viewed the vast night sky through my severely nearsighted eyes. The bright stars were round gold buttons, the dim stars swallowed by the black. The patterns of the constellations distinctly appeared, danced, and told me their [...]

Clean = Inviting

Inviting and refreshing, that is how the art studio feels when it is clean. As we wrap up the school year, I have had very little free time to express myself creatively. To hinder me further, piles were accumulating and swallowing up my work spaces. Today I tackled the studio and won the match. Creativity [...]

Scrabble face

If you can’t laugh at yourself…

amanda ∞

Taxes await

I arrived home from Artfest Sunday evening full of inspiration and blissful exhaustion. Since then I have tried to get unpacked, but haven’t quite succeeded. There is something larger looming over my head…our tax return. I am the house accountant and we are a self-employed household, so naturally the task of preparing and filing goes [...]