Oh geeze. Is it time for another post already?! Where do the days go? Especially, when nothing seems to pan out in a straight line. From a distance, things can look like a straight line. The closer one gets to something, it becomes apparent that everything is complicated, overlapping and wavy. In short, nothing is a straight line.

We, however, can draw a straight lines. The project today is to grab a sheet of paper, ruler and a pen. Every hour, for 12 hours, draw one straight line. What will 12 lines look like in 12 hours? Will they connect? Will they make a shape? A pattern? Create a story from your 12 lines.

Here is mine.

What did your lines become? Send me a photo. Well, I need to get back to working on my lines. See you tomorrow line by line!

Oh, hey sleepyhead. Morning. It's hard waking up isn't it? At least for me. Some nights, I have wild and crazy dreams. There was the dream I stared down a wolf, the time I was abducted by a witch and the classic dream of flying like a bird. Dreams are funny and powerful. They can be filled with emotions and filled with learnings. Check out this interesting article from the New York Times on dreams and how they are a replay of experiences from the day "Why We Need To Dream."

Now, for today's or tonights project. Place a notebook and pen by your bed. Write down a dream from a nap or tonight's slumber. Create a note to help you remember the dream. The note might just be the catalyst for your next amazing project. It might also provide insight of the world around you.

I'm off to get a nap and stare down an boogiemen. Send me a note and let me know how the Sandman has been treating you. See you tomorrow Dream Weavers!

Hello. It's Monday and I need some wise words to get through the day. It's one of those days where advice would come in handy. I read somewhere that advice is a biography of a person's life. It's a cautionary story people tell others. Today, I was thinking of advice I would share. What is something I have learned that would help someone reframe a problem? Hum, I think we have today's project. 

Create a line of advice that would help others. Now, share it today. Post it on social media, text a friend or call your mom. The key is making the advice based on something that has happened in your life and then pass it along.

I'm going to get back to contemplating other lines of advice and thinking up tomorrows next big project. See you tomorrow friends!

Morning. Sunday brunch sounds great doesn't it? Let's toast the weekend. Today is national tequila day too. What better way to marry brunch and national tequila day than to create a drink worthy of toasting the weekend, the Bloody Maria. 

A Bloody Maria has all the fixings of a Bloody Mary, but all the tomato madness is mixed with tequila and lots of spice. Although, I personally love the drink without the tequila. The sweet, smoky and tart tomatoes mixed with the spicy, tangy peppers puts a little extra zip into any late brunch! Remember the pickled vegetable spicy skewers post from a few days ago? Well, there was a method to my madness. I'm are going to use those skewers to dress up a little pre-made Bloody Mary Mix and celebrate Sunday,

Is today's project to make a batch of Morning Maria's? Nope. Today's project to create something special to toast the weekend. Maybe it's making a glass of Bloody Maria's? Or creating time to take a long hike around a lake? Sitting and enjoying the sunrise or sunset this morning or evening? Create time to celebrate life the morning.

Scrambled eggs and Bloody Maria's here I come! Looking forward to celebrating and creating time today to just take it all in. Until tomorrow! 

Hey everyone. I'm late posting today. It was a whirlwind day full of balloons, tarts, arts and cake! There was so much to plan and so much to do. It was great to create all day. There, however, were some lessons along the way, one of which was frosting the cake. Yes, cake is the darling at any birthday party, well, besides the birthday girl of course. Usually, I prep the cake ahead of time and bake it a day in advance. I, however, rolled the dice and learned this morning not to roll the dice when it comes to cake.

Baking cake is a science. Assembling and frosting a cake is an art form. Today, I was in a hurry and forgot all the tips and tricks that make a good cake a great cake. Here is a video where I point out all the failures or rather learnings on how to frost cake for the next cake project.

Today's project is to create a list of learnings within a project so next time the project can go quickly from good to great. I need to get back to party clean up and post party meltdowns. Let me know what you have been creating lately and your failures. See you tomorrow cupcake!

Hey Hot Stuff! Yep, we are talking spicy today. The kind of heat that sets biscuits on fire. The kind of heat that brings a side of sass to any dull end of week attitude. It's Friday. What is a better way to usher in the weekend and light up a Friday than to create a too hot to handle recipe? You know a little something to shake things up and start the weekend with a kaboom!

For today's project, I have created a marinated vegetable Spicy Skewer recipe that is going to bring a whole new meaning to flame war. Do you have to create this particular recipe for today's project? Nope. This recipe is to just serve as inspiration to create something hot in the kitchen. Maybe a little dash of red pepper in your pasta sauce? Or sriracha in your eggs? How about jalapeños in your gin and tonic? Notice how it kicks things up a notch. Notice if that spice creates a change in you. 

In the meantime, I am going to continue to create and tweak this marinated vegetable Spicy Skewer recipe. It is super hot, hot, hot so eater beware!

Spicy Skewers 

• 1 cup white distilled vinegar 
• 3 cups water
• 11/2 tablespoons red chili flakes
• 2 - 3 tablespoons sriracha
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup red onion sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 cups crunchy vegetables: cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers ect
• short skewers (optional)

Combine vinegar, water, chili flakes, sriracha, sugar, garlic, parsley, red onion and salt in a tall canning jar. Let the brine sit for 20 min. Clean, chop and slice all large veggies. Keep cherry tomatoes whole. Skewer the veggies together (optional). Add the veggie skewers or just veggies to the jar and close the top of the jar.  Place in the refrigerator for 2 days. Enjoy within a week.

See you tomorrow hot stuff! Hot cha cha! Wink Wink.

Oh hi. I have nothing special for you today. Today I just created by doodling in a notebook. I took some quite time, which is rare, sat down on the floor, thought about today and quietly doodled. I only allowed myself 10 minutes. The drawing turned meditative and thoughtful. I found such joy in just drawing away with no particular goal. The drawings were nothing special but having a few quiet moments to obtain perspective was priceless.

Today, do the same. Take 10 minutes at the end of the day, find a quiet room and draw. Draw nothing special but create a quite moment for reflection and peace.

Let me know how the 10 minutes makes you feel and maybe I'll see you tomorrow for some more quite time?

Good day folks. Vacation mode has finally come to an end and I am thrilled to get back into full on creating. Ever since my visit to Legoland, I have been looking at the world with a new pixel perspective. That is to say, Legos have giving me the gift of seeing old objects in a new way. Which brings me to today's project. 

We look at ourselves everyday. We might take a selfie or two. How many of us have really studied ourselves? How many of us have noticed the true colors in our own eyes? Or noticed the fact that our ears aren't quite the same height? How many of us have noted the ombre of colors on top of our widows peak? How about the way our lips turn up when we smile? Take a very close look today at you. Then create a portrait of yourself. Maybe draw yourself upside down? Make a collage from old magazines? Or breakdown a selfie into tiny colored squares to create a pixel portrait?

Whatever you select, study yourself and create a different kind of selfie. One that explores and tells a new story about you.

Well, I am going to get back to ogling Legos and studying up on the artist Chuck Close! See you tomorrow selfies.

Hi Ya! I woke up this morning on the wrong side of tomorrow. From all perspectives, life today seemed fine. Just fine. Not great. Not bad. Just fine. I brought my fine to the park, with my kids, where they were whiny and not fine. I brought my fine to the grocery store where my kids were asking for everything and acted not fine when I told them no. I brought my fine to the lunch table where my kids didn't think lunch was fine. I then had enough of fine. I had enough of my kids not acting fine and I almost lost it. My general loosing it usually entails, yelling and telling them to go to their rooms. Today, I tried something different.

Today, I made a grateful & thankful jar. I sat myself and the kids down with a pen and paper. We all then came up with 10 things that make us feel grateful & thankful. It took some coercing but each of my kids dug up 10 things and wrote the thanks on a slip of paper. We then dropped our thanks in the jar. Their thanks included being grateful for me (yes! they better), the park, their backyard and trucks. Mine included being able to spend the summer watching my kids grow, sitting down to work and having a friend that was willing to put up with my fine behavior. Funny enough after putting our grateful & thankful thoughts in writing, their behavior changed. So did mine. 

Creating a grateful & thankful jar changed the way we all interacted and felt about the day. Let's see if it changes you too. Today's project is to make your own grateful and thankful jar. All you need is a jar, strips of paper and pen. Write down 10 things you are grateful and thankful for and slip them in the jar. Now pass the jar around.

Let me know how it goes and what you are grateful & thankful for. See you tomorrow and thanks for reading today!

Morning! Yes, it's Monday. Am I feeling perky? Nope. In fact, I have been telling myself "nope" a lot lately. Today, I decided to tell myself "yep" and see if it changes the outlook of the day. It's so easy to get into a certain mindset isn't it?

In fact, today's project is about picking a word that energizes you in order to create a new mindset for today. What word makes your day seem more possible? Is it "Yes", "Do", "Go", "Be", "Fun", "Love", "Donuts" or one of the trillion other words out there in the universe that makes you keep going? Pick one word today. Write it down. Make a doodle drawing around it. Then post it prominently in a car, computer or anywhere you reside for most of the day.

As I mentioned earlier, in order to negate my "nope" of late, I picked "yep" for my word of the day. As you can see in these photos, I made a laborious "yep" banner to display in my office for today's post. After my five year old spied what I created, she wanted it for her room. How could I tell her "nope"? In the spirit of today, I said "yep" to her.

It felt good to say "yep" and it gave her an excellent message to wake up to everyday. Creating has a funny way of being contagious and so does a mindset. Will I see you tomorrow? Yep!

Hey All. As I sit down to write this, the post vacation blues are rolling in like a storm in the midwest. In short dark, fast and overwhelming. To be honest, the last thing I want to do today is sit down and create. In fact, I have resisted doing this work all day. This is the 200th day of creating. Today, I said to myself "Why am I doing this?" "Why am I spending 2-5 hours a day creating?" Why am I putting it out there everyday?  To be honest, I have never been one to give up. Sunk cost is clearly my achilles heel. 

Today, I am thinking about what life would be like if I had never started this blog 200 days ago. I'd like to think I am proving this Create & Change hypothesis as a hunk of junk. I'd like to say, nope, it's not working and tell you nothing about me has changed. I'd like to say nothing about me is more remarkable than 200 days ago. I would be flat out lying to you.

This week I sat on the 34 floor overlooking a fantastic cityscape with a brilliant friend and classmate I met in the altMBA. He asked me about Create & Change. He asked if I thought it was working. I paused. That's when I realized if it wasn't for Create & Change, I would never have had the opportunity to sit across from him. I would never have gotten into the altMBA. I would never have met any of my altMBA network. I wouldn't have knowledge about social media, photography, styling, illustration and design that I do today. I wouldn't have created hundreds of illustrations, thousands of photographs or hundreds of thousands of stories. Most importantly, I wouldn't be any closer to making a life full of meaning.  

And that is what Create & Change does. By creating everyday, it makes change less intimidating. Creating everyday is like fiddling with the dials on an old machine. Tinker with the dials and you are bound to find the life worth living.

Today's, project is to tinker with the dials. Go create one thing today that will get you one step closer to your meaningful tomorrow. Don't think too much about what you need to create. The first thing that pops in your head, go do that. Don't hold back. Is it a bike ride? Turn the dial! Is it calling an old friend?Turn the dial! Is it making a loaf of bread. Turn the dial! Is saying sorry? Turn the dial. In short, tinker away. 

See you tomorrow tinker thinkers!

Hey guys and gals. Everything is awesome because I'm just getting back from vacation. I have a dirty little secret to confess. I went to Legoland. I have another dirty little secret to confess. I don't like Legos! Well, rather, I didn't like Legos until today. Legos in my book were hard plastic blocks that didn't create much joy. One could say, I never saw the sculpture in the marble. Legos were always a bit of a mystery to me. They just didn't seem interesting.

Today, changed how I look at Legos and the awe that can be created from the simple, plastic blocks. Just look at these cityscapes and sculptures.

Amazing right? Today's project is to create something out of Legos. It doesn't need to be a city scape or take one thousand man hours. Just have fun and try to see the sculpture in the marble. What will you make?

I'm going to get back to looking at photos of these amazing creations and trying my hand at making something awesome out of Legos. Drop me a line and let me know what you create and remember everything is awesome, especially Legos!

Hi. It's that time of year. Vacation time! Who doesn't love to get away? There is something about going some place new to hit the reset button. To keep on creating even when on vacation, today I am trying mobile blogging. I have spent the day photographing the beautiful moments of the day. It's hard to capture all the emotions of the trip. Trying a photography style that is photo journalistic or story driven is a great way to keep creating even when occupied with life.

Today's project is to use photography today to tell a story. It could be about the vacation you are on, the dinner that you created or walk you took around the block. Look at your day from a different perspective and get away from the everyday. What angle, lighting and subject will help create your story?

That's all I have today. Until tomorrow folks! 

Salut! Has anyone noticed the last four posts have been dedicated to beverages? Let's continue the streak today and say cheers to a drink that is near and dear to my heart, champagne. As I sit here and dream of my favorite little bubbly drink, I realized today just happens to be Bastille Day. One second thought, let's talk about Bastille Day.

To be honest, why is Bastille Day important to France? I'm not sure. Yes, I know that the french stormed the Bastille prison and Bastille Day or La fête nationale is the french national holiday. At some point I stood at the square Place de la Bastille and remember learning about the french revolution. Like pieces of a quilt before they are sewn, my memory has bits of french history and cultured stored in the grey wrinkles. My brain, however, has never brought the bits together. Perhaps today I should honor a culture that is interesting and different from my own and patch the information together.

Today's project is to create a few minutes in your day to research, read and brush up on the history of another culture. Maybe Google the history of your favorite egg dish? Look into when and why the ascot was popular? Fill in missing information that you have about a world war? Create memory gain to better understand the world around you.

Well, I have some research to do and champagne to drink. Vive la France and salute to you!

Oh hi! Sweaty summer weather today or what? Whew. When I'm hot and sweaty, I usually grab a talk drink of water but today I'm really jonesing for an Arnold Palmer. Yes, it is a drink named after the super famous fantastic golfer. Do I like golf? No! I, however, do love the mix of slightly sweet ice tea and tart lemonade which is named after Mr. Palmer. 

I started thinking, wouldn't it be fun to create a new drink and name it? Today's project is to become bartender for the day and make up a signature party drink. Why not mix together Orange Fanta, coconut water with a splash of lime? Name it "Vacation Monday?" How about beer with sriracha and pepperoni slices? The name "College Nightmare" sounds right. How about earl grey tea, fresh mint and tequila. Maybe "Aunt Tilly" as a tribute to all those glorious thanksgiving memories of that special Aunt. In short, everyone should have a signature drink. In the meantime here is a video to show to how throw together a round of homemade Arnold Palmers.

I'm headed to make up a drink with Tootsie Pops and lemon lime soda. Wish me luck and drop me a line and fill me in on the latest bartenders!

Hey guys! After yesterdays FREE Slurpee post, let's keep the beverage train moving and create a sweet, summer smoothie that will satisfy any sweet tooth. Hey, this recipe might even be a little more healthy than the Slurpee! I love smoothies. How about you? They are sweet, cool and usually the healthy sister to any slushie type beverage. Nothing says summertime breakfast more than a smoothie. This one has been made especially for celebrating the melon of summer, honeydew. Enjoy it on a hot and humid day and feel the summertime heat melt away.

Summertime Smoothie

Makes approximately 2-8oz smoothies

• 2 cups cut fresh honeydew mellon
• 2 cups frozen pineapple
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• 5 fresh mint leaves

Step 1: Wash the outside of the honeydew mellon throughly with soap and water. Cut the flesh of the honeydew melon into 2 inch cubes. 

Step 2: Add 1 cup pineapple, the coconut milk and fresh mint leaves to the blender and blend till smooth. Pour the liquid into 2 glasses.

Step 3: Add the honeydew mellon and 1 cup pineapple to the blender and blend till smooth. Pour the liquid into the 2 glasses over the top to the coconut milk, pineapple and mint leaves mixture. Add a straw and enjoy!

There is nothing like a fresh melon smoothie to make summertime shine from the inside out. Bottoms up and see you tomorrow honey!

Hey Sugar! Today is 7-Eleven Day! That means you can scoot on over to 7-Eleven and pick yourself up a FREE small Slurpee drink from 11am-7pm. Here are the details: 7-Eleven Day. Now go create some fun today and enjoy that Slurpee all the way to the last big gulp. See you tomorrow sugar tooth!

Bonjour! My french ends there but I wish it didn't. I thought today we would escape from the heavy things going on in the world and talk something a little lighter. I thought it might be fun to talk style. When I think of style, I immediately remember the vacations where I wandered around Paris ogling pastry and fashion. In my book, the french have nailed two things: pastry and the word chic. 

What is it about the french? They can take something so simple, such empty store window and make it into a work of art. They can whisk together flour and butter and create a tart so beautiful no one dare eat the perfectly golden beauty. They can take a square scarf and style it into a runway worthy accessory.

Whatever je ne sais quoi magic they possess, they use it to make everything look perfect. Today, I thought we could try our hand at trying to create our own je ne sais quoi. You will need a square scarf. For all you men out, this post is for you too. When you are sweaty and need to tie a bandana around your neck, this is a great way to look stylish even when sweaty. Let's check out this video and see how create simple chic:

How did you do? Is it Oo La La worthy? Well, I have some wine to drink. See you tomorrow mon chéri!

Hello All. It's Saturday and looking back, yesterday was a great day here. I went to a lovely company picnic, full of great people and beautiful moments. With everything going on this week, this feels like a selfish statement. In short, I can get caught up in all things me. When I pick up my head, it saddens me to realize there is a world that is overwhelmed with anger, disrespect and rage. It can seem like a world full of people trying to hurt others. I tell myself this can't be the world I live in but it is.

In my head, all people are equal. In my head, no one hurts anyone to make a statement. In my head, people are good to each other in every space. In my head, people think more of others than themselves. Everyday the whole world works toward peace. 

But this isn't the case is it? What I have realized is I need to work toward peace everyday. I need to put out in the world what I want to see in the world. I need to create peace around me in hopes that peace will translate to something bigger than me.

Peace Medallion. 

Today, create peace. When you are driving, and someone cuts you off, let the anger go. When a person says something irritating, realize they are human. When you find yourself thinking of yourself, think of others. The only way we are going to get through all this mess is to practice empathy and create peace within every moment of our day. 

Thinking of you until tomorrow!

Hey you. Today's project is in the garbage and I'm feeling salty. Everything about today's post failed. It was a big hot mess, literally. After dreaming of old vacation trips to the ocean, I started to remember salt water taffy. The little chewy, colorful gems always brought such happiness to summer. Today, I decided to make vintage salt water taffy. I thought it might be a great way to create and celebrate summer. Yeah, I was totally wrong.

The recipe failed. No, wait, rather, I failed the recipe. Today's project started out innocent and hopeful as I carefully measured out the sugar. I dutifully watched the candy thermometer go up to 250 degrees. Like a pro, I whisked in drops of flavor. Pouring the liquid candy gently and mindfully into the buttered pan, I smiled at the dreamy blog post ahead. Gloating to my assistant, we were going to make the best salt water taffy ever. The 15 minute timer was set to let the candy cool. I was dreaming of the millions of followers that would subscribe to this blog due to this magnificent project. I might even be asked on a daytime talk show to demo this recipe. Then the timer went off.

At that point, the recipe called for "pulling" the taffy for 20 minutes. The directions said to first push the taffy into a ball. When I touched the warm taffy goop, it became apparent that it wasn't the consistency of salt water taffy. It was sticky slime. Did I give up hope and throw in the towel? No! I kept telling myself, "Maybe if I push it around more it will set up." Oh, no. At this point, I am desperately trying to salvage this project. I call over my assistant and she goes crazy trying to pull the goop together. The mess goes everywhere and I realize I have botched this project. The dreamy vintage salt water taffy is a goopy, fat fail.

After going back through the recipe, it became apparent that I made one stupid mistake. I read the thermometer wrong. More importantly, I learned that sometimes we are going to make stupid mistakes that will cost us time, money and chances. It's just how it is.

Maybe If We Push It Around More It Will Start To Look Like Taffy?

Today's project is to look back on past failures and jot down how you will do things differently in the future. How will you recognize when to say something is a sunk cost? How will you move forward when things fail? Create a strategy to make failures into opportunities. 

As for me, I am going to slow down a bit. More importantly, I am going to tell myself sometimes life is just a big pile of goop. What we create from the goop is key to making better goop in the future. See you tomorrow salty dogs!