Holiday Insanity, 2011!

The 3rd Annual Lady Land Holiday Insanity illustration is here!

The holidays can be an enormously stressful
time of year.

There’s pressure to spend money you may not have,
pressure to shop for gifts out of obligation rather than need,
and the added pressure to bake, decorate and entertain around your already busy life.

And

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Perfect Beach Bodies and Seashells

mother and baby on the beach

Two things I love about going to the beach are
finding seashells and watching people.

A perfectly flawless shell is a rare discovery,
but the shells that are tossed and worn by the tides
are far more interesting in their unique individuality,
because of the imperfections.

The variety of people

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Daydreams and Down Time

Do these two conflicting “to do” lists
sound familiar?

1. Things I MUST do:
the house, the kids, the job, the shopping, the errands, the bills, the yard, the cooking, the cleaning
(and on and on and on!)
2. Things I WANT to do:
hang out with my friends, read a novel, take a class,

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Lesson from the Garden: Beauty Grows in Endless Forms

Take a walk through a garden nursery,
or flip through a seed catalog,
and you might become overwhelmed
with the variety of sizes, shapes, colors and forms.
Huge, thick-stalked sunflowers,
tiny clusters of delicate forget-me-nots,
the adorable faces of pansies,
lilies in every color of the rainbow.
Flowers that love cool, damp shady locations,
and flowers that thrive in

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Serenity: I am at Peace with Myself

Serenity: I am at peace with myself.

“I am at peace with myself”
is a very gentle, yet powerful affirmation, for creating positive body image and self-esteem.
It allows for change, but it doesn’t require reaching personal goals right this very minute.

It doesn’t focus on what should be, could be, ought to

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Graduation: Letting Go and Moving On!

Graduation Day: Letting Go and Moving On!

I am a high school teacher,
so I have been to dozens of graduations.
It’s always pomp & circumstance,
caps & gowns, friends and family,
flowers and balloons, tears and cheers.
And for a few brief hours,
all those kids who had separated themselves
into rival cliques,
the trouble-makers and

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The 4 Ingredients of a Stress-Free Diet

Life is no picnic if you never enjoy a real one!

The 4 Steps are really just 4 words:
1. Choices.
2. Forgiveness.
3. Moderation.
4. Love.

1. I make healthy choices whenever I can,
but forgive myself when I don’t.

Everyone
occasionally indulges when it comes to food!
It could be snacks at a backyard get-together
or

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Too Fat for Summer?

Summer Pleasures

Swimming…

Riding a bike…

Picnics and hikes…

The backyard and the beach…

Swinging in a hammock full of daydreams…

No bikini required!

© Elizabeth Patch, all rights reserved, from “More to Love”

Finally, it’s summertime!
Picnics, parks, gardens, pools, lakes, the ocean,
bike rides, hiking, hammocks, flip-flops,
BBQs and cook outs, farmer’s markets,
long days, warm nights, fireflies, butterflies…
so

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Small Bites of Pleasure

It’s easy to think of occasional big pleasures:
a long romantic weekend with an amazing lover,
a gourmet meal at a top restaurant,
a care-free day at the beach,
a head-to-toe luxury spa treatment.

But how often can you really find the time or money
for indulging in those big treats?
Between the job and the housework,
the

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Creativity, Self-Esteem and Body Image

Margarita Tartakovsky, MS at  Weightless invited me to contribute some thoughts on creativity and body image.

© elizabeth patch, all rights reserved

I have been an art teacher for over 20 years.

My illustrations/writings have evolved out of experiences with the chronic low self-esteem that
my female students, friends, family members
(and yes, even

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