I never enjoy what if questions, regarding the almighty dollar… in my current situation, dreaming of winning the lottery seems absurd, not to mention a waste of my mental time!
I believe that Solomon had it right, when he asked for Wisdom and Discernment over riches. God gave him the choice of anything, remember. I wonder how differently the kings life would have been, had he simply asked for gold.
Want a cookie?
I shall be devoting all of this week to learning my new AI program. From watching the myriad of tutorials offered, as well as practicing the different techniques learned; my study cup overfloweth, if you get my meaning. Basically, I’m going to be very busy, but it sounded so boring to say it that way, leaving me no alternative than to use a catch phrase. I swear, sometimes I feel like a coin phrase PEZ Dispenser…
Just flip my head back, and out pops a candy shaped phrase. See what I mean?
At least I’m not boring, right…
Right?! Well, at least that’s my story, so I’m sticking to it!
In regards to the recovery of this site’s beloved characters, it’s been mixed results, thus far. I’ve experienced some good wins and some sorrowful losses, as I wrote about during Friday’s post. I don’t want everyone to be too sad or disappointed, but as of right now, I’m learning to accept that there will be some of our babe’s that won’t be recoverable… and those that I do find, will simply have to be a bit changed. It is what it is, and we’ll have to just love them the way we find them, no matter how different! Even if they look a bit different on the outside, the spirit of their hearts will still remain within their new images… that part never changed!
I know things will work out in the end, mostly. In truth, it has more to do with my expectations of my own abilities than it does with what you end up seeing at the end of it all. I’m far harder on myself than anybody else ever has to be… it’s always been that way. Wouldn’t it be a hoot if all this was a big lesson of learning how to let go, let God, and stop being so overly self-critical and unrelenting… He often does that, you know!
As you go about your week, maybe you can think on this, in regards to how you see yourself! Do you show yourself kindness within your own thoughts? I pray that you walk each day this week, remembering your worth, rather than your work…
The work will always be there whenever you have to punch that clock, so to speak, but you still have to take yourself home with you afterwards, when the work day is done.
Be kind to yourself! Show tenderness and grace toward the beautiful, wonderful, unique, bright, capable, and desirable you that you are!
God Bless, and have an amazing Monday!
To name any one book would be an insult to another, depending on the person reading my response to the daily prompt, so I’ll forgo offering up any specifics. What came to mind was an old saying, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”… or in this case, the best books are in the eye of each reader!
Read on, my fellow literary explorers, read on!
Want a cookie?
They’re good for reading.
From the moment of our birth, the race to find and become who we believe the world sees suddenly starts with a bang! Groomed from birth on how to speak, what to wear, how to behave, how to please others, and on and on and on we go, sort of like a merry-go-round…
I’ve spent my entire life trying to appear as that which others expect and/or accept, as if I were on one of those merry-go-rounds. Spinning round and round over the years, gaining speed until I became frozen to the bars and unable to get off, followed by a great deal of motion sickness.
Well, finally the ride became so fast that it flung me off into the dirt, so to speak!
If you wondering what on earth an old merry-g0-round ride has to do with one’s image or self-perception (how you see yourself), it just seemed like a good analogy for how it feels to have a good self-image in a world that is so focused on visual bells and whistles… sorry, I often find myself coining phrases or adages to make a point.
What might that point be, you ask?
My point in all this merry-go-round stuff, is this… you’ll have a much more enjoyable ride in life if you learn how to straddle the bars and drag your feet, so you can control the speed of the merry-go-round, thereby strengthening your muscles and allowing you to get off the ride anytime you get dizzy. In reality, I’m saying that you shouldn’t let the world be in control of who you think you are supposed to be!
Me personally, I’ve opted for the carousel over a merry-go-round, in terms of how I see things in the world, and how I see myself…
Don’t let the age fool you,
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure!
Never see yourself as less than you want to be…
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 2 Timothy 6: 12
Now you know how I see myself whenever I write adventurous tales, passionate poetry, and deep soul searching thoughts for you, my readers and friends. I might seem rather plain on the outside, but that’s my cover story, just like the mild mannered Clark Kent, from Superman. Now, I don’t want to go as far as to call myself a superhero… but in the stories I can be, right?!
Please don’t panic, but when I got to the lobby yesterday there was no sign of either of the puppies! I spent hours wandering through the archive sections,
and also, both my office and the Father’s counseling chambers, but to no avail. The little fluff balls weren’t anywhere within the lobby, leaving me feeling rather disheartened.
However, in the midst of my disappointment came several unexpected things, one of which is somebody’s puppy that must have been left here from Christmas Morning. Poor darling!
She’s missing her collar so I’m not sure of her name, nor do I fully remember exactly who came that morning. Perhaps, someone wasn’t prepared for taking a puppy home with them, and were afraid I might be disappointed if they rejected my gift. I get it! No offense taken, my friends. Whoever left her behind, was good enough to leave her in the lobby, where she would be safe and can be re-homed. If anyone is looking for a new baby to add into their family, I think she’s a Corgi mix of some sort. She is very affectionate and sweet natured from what I can see. She hasn’t stopped giving me kisses since I found her, poor thing… she must have been so lonely, and probably a good bit frightened. Quite honestly, I’m shocked and rather embarrassed that I didn’t even know she’d been wandering around in the lobby all this time! Now that I think about it, the puppies did seem to be eating a great deal more puppy kibble than is normal for such little things.
Anyway, if you hadn’t noticed it yet, the other discovery I made while searching for the puppies was my purpose! Do you know why it’s felt so important that I locate each and every one of the creatures lost to me? Within each one of those that are not visible to me at the moment, there’s a bit of me… things that I see in each of them that help me make sense of myself.
Somewhere while I was searching through the lobby for the puppies, God showed me that even without physically seeing those that are missing, the real me was still there in the room with Him. The things I write, the creations I invent are merely that… things, as adorable as they are! I am definitely learning more and more each day about the depths of my own heart… and how far God is willing to go, on my behalf. Maybe taking you with me, as I go in search of recovering these parts of what was lost to me (metaphorically speaking), there will be lessons to learn about His nature, which flows through my veins…
I believe!
***Go back and look at the picture of the woman with the puppy, for a moment. Look closely at the woman’s facial features and you will see the real me, or the AI version Avatar creation. It looks as if it’s an actual picture of me laying on the floor of a library with a dog. I gave my AI several actual photographs of my mother, myself, and two of my three daughters. This is the first time that I truly realized how much I look like my mother, as well as my girls! While you might not notice them, I can see exactly where my features are blended with my mother’s, and it’s amazing! If I’m being fully honest with you, it made me a bit emotional when I first saw the image.***
How about them cookies? It’s Saturday and I consider this part of my leisure time, so I’m going to go and do what I love…
Trust me, you’ll be glad that I did! Let the fun begin…
I’ve been searching for the babes for days, it seems. While out searching in the woods last night, you’ll never guess who I found? The tiny mouse was cold, wet, and quite frightened when I got to her, poor darling. As there is no barn to take her back to, at least until it can be rebuilt, she’s sleeping soundly within one of my bags, here in my room.
I’ve been in a bit of panic over the last several days of searching for my lost ones, so finding our sweet Tilly fills me with hope for finding the others soon. While I realize that Brutus is a full grown dragon and can handle himself, Dinky will be terrified… and you know how Boomer get’s when his sister is scared, so he’ll probably be just as scared. I’ve plans to seek out Lilly’s family to see if she went back home, once she couldn’t find the barn. I haven’t heard anything from Pinion Valley, so I don’t even know if Squagon is still there or not!
Now you probably understand why I had to send my mini-me off in search of Eustace… I’m spread pretty thin, here!
I’m going to wrap this up, so I can head to the Lobby, in hopes of finding any clues about Bailey and Gabriel’s whereabouts… maybe we’ll get lucky and find them hiding in there somewhere. You know puppies like to hide in odd places, like behind furniture or underneath blankets, beds, or clothes left on the floor.
I won’t rest, you know… not until I have recovered those lost to me, down to the very last one, and not before!
Remember that old Johnnie Cash song, “I’ve Been Everywhere”? Well, that’s sort of me, in a nutshell. I was born a runner, turned into a wanderer, married a traveling man and live an incredibly nomadic life! With that all said… what I wouldn’t give, for a home with four walls, a physical address, and a grocery store that I might actually call “local”… just sayin!
Here, have a cookie for the road…
As I’ve already mentioned previously, I lost the use of my free AI generator unless I bought a subscription for the program.
Since that time I’ve been sort of floundering a bit, as far as, how I’m going to be able to retain the visual identities of my differing comrade’s-in-arms, not to mention the ones I use for myself, and my miniature me version. I know that it might sound silly, but I’ve come to love the look and style of all the characters created here in the lobby, out at the barnyard, as well as my mini-me’s kitchen, and both of the new puppies. Perhaps, I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill here, but to me, it’s the little touches that really count!
Anyways, I went back and forth and back and forth on it, prayed about it, argued with myself some more, and finally just asked my husband if he would decide for me.
Here’s the thing, I’m a writer not an artist, nor am I computer savvy AT ALL, without my husbands capable hands on my computer whenever there’s an issue. He knows all that stuff… that’s why I hired him, I mean married him. I tease, but he really does have a brilliant mind, and he is also really good with numbers and/or money, so success comes from deferring to the expert! (The bonus here is that my expert has a major crush on me, so all I really have to do is bat my eyes. You would be proud of me for not abusing this weakness of his, in regards to this important decision. I remained objective and sincere about my frustrations over the AI issue, and asked what he thought. God Bless my husband for his no fuss, no muss, non-overthinking, logical… and madly in love with me, can-do attitude!
In all of about fifteen minutes, my man was able to step in and save my bacon… well, my Brutus, Eustace, Tilly, Squagon, Dinky Do, Boomer, Lilly, Auzzie Clawzy, and all that are still yet to come!
So, I am now the proud new user of an AI Generator platform called OpenArt AI. It is a whole new program for me to learn, as I’ve always just used the easy peezy free programs without bells and whistles, so to speak. So, if you would bear with me for a bit, as you start seeing my beginner attempts.
It may take some trial and error, but in the end I think this was a positive move towards the future of Journey With Me, not to mention a new horizon for Barnyard Business (they help you create videos with your creations). If Tilly and all the rest of the babes are to have any chance at truly coming to life in the eyes of a child, this new platform might just be the answer!
Tell me what you think about today’s image of my persona, if you would. This new program is allowing me to really fine tune her features and expressions. I’ve never had the choice before, nor was the woman ever really the same one. I always struggled to find images that were similar enough to use, since reusing any image for other projects required subscriptions for those features.
Before you go, I’ve left you with two additional images to critique. Seriously, it really will help me in the fine tune department.
***Just in case you thought that this last photo was a duplicate of the one at the top of the article, look at her mouth. This image was actually the first picture of my Avatar that was generated. The first of these three pictures, happens to be my first attempt at changing her expression… and of course, I wanted to see her smile more!
Leave any thoughts, ideas, and/or suggestions in the comments, if you could. Hugs!
Journey With Me! 