Alicia Dowell

Author name: aliciadowellAdmin

Adventure, Focus through the lens, Stories

Half way through the year of BIG

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Once again it is over half way through the year. This year my word has been BIG. And I mean I have been swinging for the fences on some things and others still not there. So I would like to get you caught up on what is going on around here. First, I played BIG and shot my first paid wedding. Could things gone better? Of course they could have. Could I do a better job? Yes. And it has meant more practicing. I am currently working with a couple of seniors who just graduated to improve. There is not a chance to get better unless you put in the work. Something else I am working on is saving for a new lens. I want to start shooing better with the sports at school so I am currently saving up for this lens. https://a.co/d/bPv96iD Yes it is a little pricey but I can use it for sports and nature shots. I am currently working towards being more familiar with my Canon R8. The mirror-less camera is taking some time to get use to using. It is light weight and easy to carry. I still love my Canon 70D because it is the workhorse of my cameras right now. Secondly, I have been working revamping my teaching stuff. I want to be better prepared this year and really work hard to make my classes something the students look forward too. In the same vein, I have been working on updating my classroom decor. We are going to cottage core theme this year. Just somewhere the space feels inviting and calm to learn in. If there is a chance you might want to help a teacher out with her list, I have it posted here. There isn’t much on there but anything helps! Thirdly, I have been spending a lot of time to myself working on myself this Summer. I have sitting with the hard stuff and really looking into what I want to keep carrying with me. I am also sifting through the house to see what we want to keep carrying or get rid of. Honestly, there have been so much gone that it feels like a new house. Is there still a lot to do? Yes and I am going to keep tackling it a little at a time. Also with spending time with myself, I have tried to soak up as much time with Glitter since she will be going to college in the Fall. Finally, I am working my way back to writing. I have been working on some poems and stories which may never go anywhere but it makes my soul happy to be creating things. Because deep down, creating things is one of my favorite things to do. I may not be good at it all but I am having a blast learning what makes me happy. I hope you have been doing well and can’t wait to hear about what you have been up to in the comments.

Adventure

End of first quarter of 2025

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Can you believe the first quarter of 2025 is over? The first three months have flown by. This time of the year will be busy for us having a Senior graduating, gearing up for the hot season and end of the school year events. With everything about to go into over drive, I thought it might be a good time to give an update to this year of BIG magic. First, I finally got my own building to use for homework (second master’s degree full in the trenches), craft area and there may be a new hat which will be added to this little space. Everything for this is still in the works and I am not ready to share it. I think it could help fill a gap I see for others. But this maybe a little way off because there is still a lot of things to get through. Just keep in mind, this season of my life is BIG. Secondly, I have been really working on my college work so become a better teacher and the possibility of teaching Comp 1 and Comp 2 on the college level. I know my life is about to change up due to Glitter leaving us for college herself. I can’t wait wait to see where she goes and what she does. However, that is not my story to share. She is her own person and forging her own path. The only thing I can do is try to help guide her and be there for her. Thirdly, I have been reading a lot of books lately. Most of the have been for college but I have been reading some for fun. Totally out of my normal genre, I have read the first two books in the Dream Harbor series: Pumpkin Spice Cafe and The Cinnamon Bun Book store. I have the third and fourth but haven’t made the time to read them. I have been crafting as well. Diamond painting has been very relaxing to me. Well as long as I don’t try to take on too much at one time. I have been working on these Hydrangeas for a couple of months. When I finish this one, I plan on starting on a pumpkin one. I hope to have it finished before fall. I have also added some more body art. Glitter and I have matching ones and I added the phrase: Let them. This was before I found out at Mel Robbins and her Let them theory. At first it was started as a way from me to remind myself there are some things out of my control. I can not control how others feel about me, what they say about me, how they treat me or so much more. However there is another way for me to look at this. Let them love me, let them help, let them be there for me. Friendship as an adult is hard enough without all of the other drama. Finally, I have been working on my writing. I have sort of fallen out of love with photography at the moment but have no fear, it will come back. I just need some time to fill a different part of my cup. In my classes, have helped me find the bug of writing again. I have noticed through the years, I will be completely engrossed in one thing and then have a falling out with that one thing. I haven’t figured out the pattern to it even after all of these years but please hang out with me as we go through this current wave of creative activity. While it seems like I haven’t been on here much I have been playing big in college and soaking up the lasts of everything with Glitter. Grades are rising or staying in the A range which makes me very happy but not a lot of time to do much of anything else. I have also started a Tiktok series called Vintage Cookbooks. You can find the link to my account on the contact us page. There will also be something coming up later this year which involves vintage cookbooks. I am currently working on many things and just know that I can’t wait to share with you!! Okay before I try to commit to something else what have you been up to since we last

splash of water with the word BIG
Adventure, Stories

2025 Word of the Year

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Every year for the past few years, I have chosen a word to help me grow, thrive, and make things happen. For the last two years, I have chosen the word: Magic. 2023 and 2024 taught me lot about the magic of healing, figuring out who my people are, the magic of slowing down, the magic of everyday life and finally the magic of showing up. I understand I haven’t shown up much in the last two years and if you are here, welcome back!! I will have to rebuild this blog from the ground up and I can’t wait to see where this leads me. Now for my word for 2025. With the healing I have done in therapy I have learned there has been a role I have been stuck in and played for many years. I was taught to play small and that others have it worse than me. Which is not a bad thing fully but rather I let it take over me and how I showed up for myself and others. So this year I plan on playing BIG. Big ideas, big plans, finding my voice and using it in a big way. I want to step into my own and see how big I can play. With that in mind, I finally shared some of my writing online and it has been very quiet on that front however, I am also going to be sharing it here. I have always loved the written word. Reading is one of my favorite things to do. If you go through my desk drawers, Google docs and hard drives, you will find so many stories I have written, planned or came up with ideas but never shared. Prepare yourselves because you will be the first ones to get to see most of my writing now. There may be times I have to play small here to play BIG in my graduate courses. Not only is it Glitter’s senior year, I am in the middle of my second masters degree. This is something I have thought about and at first said no to. The more it weighed on my mind, I knew I had to go back and get it. Jeremy has been such a trooper through this all to help me fulfill my goals. So welcome back and I am excited to see where the year of BIG goes!

Word: Magic glowing and glitter in background
Stories

The magic of words and new Word for 2024

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2023 was the year of magic for myself. I spent the year soaking up, finding and exploring magic in everyday life. I didn’t share much of my year of magic on here but there was a lot of events which allowed me to see the magic. One of the big things of everyday magic for me was finishing my first Master’s degree. For a year and half, I spent toiling through graduate school, starting a new career of teaching, and learning how to be myself! It was for sure a magical year for me as a person. As the year closed, I got my degree, ended my first semester of second year of teaching and listen to what myself wants to do and who I am. 2024 is currently almost two months old and it is starting to feel like it is time to crawl out of my hibernation hole and start my year. Taking the first two months of the year as a quite time to myself and getting everything ready for the new year works for me. I understand this is doesn’t work for most people however, as I have gotten older, things have shifted and still learning what works for myself. We have talked about 2023 and why I waited until now to share my 2024 word of the year. So are you wondering what my word for this year is? This year is a little different for me. I am going to reuse my 2023 word: Magic. This word I feel like there is some much more I can experience with this word. I am excited to see what what magic 2024 brings and I get to enjoy!

Adventure, Stories

2023 Word of the Year

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I know it seems slightly odd sharing word of the year here at the end of March; however, I have been leaning hard into the slow life. Slow as in less social media viewing and spending more time figuring out what I want to do. So my word of the year has been slow in the making. This year, I have been mulling what I want to focus on this year. So let’s sit and talk about this new word. Even though this season of my life is incredibly busy, I have been thinking, doing some journal work, and creating more. All the while, rolling a few words which felt right. As I continued to sit with the words, one kept coming back time and time again. This word just feels right. My word for 2023 is: Magic. The magic of everyday life, the magic of creating, the magic of friendship, the magic of finding joy, the magic reading, the magic wonder, the magic of learning, and the magic of whatever else might be out there. When I was younger, the magic of what is out there kept me wondering. When the weather started warming up in the Spring until late into the Fall, the window which faced the East side of the house was opened as much as my sister approved. Honestly I think she secretly didn’t mind especially during the long hot Summer months because we didn’t have a/c. Just about every night, I posted beside the window looking out towards the airport light. Dreaming of where I could go if I went to the airport. To me, the rotating light of the airport held so much magic as a gateway to anywhere I would like to go. As I dreamed of all the magic, my soundtrack was big band music from our local public radio station. The sounds were so different from what was on the radio when my sisters had the radio. The way the people who made this music combined so many different voices to connect with people. So magic takes me back to when I allowed myself to dream of everything and anything. This year is going to be year of magic, dreaming and believing in myself.

Create
Adventure, Stories

Ten month update on 2022’s word: Create

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I have a three month update here on my word for 2022 but I wanted to give y’all an update on the year so far. To be honest these past seven months have been a blur. This blur has been good and bad but well worth it. First, I have been creating lots of stress for myself. I have decided to go back to school and try for my Master’s degree. So far, I am rocking the whole going back to school as an older adult. I have taken two classes (currently graduate gpa is 3.5!!). I am in the middle of two more classes but am holding steady at A’s in both. Going back to school goes hand in hand with me becoming a teacher! I am currently teaching High school ELA elective classes and I have to say my soul is filled with joy even in the rough spots. Journalism, Creative Writing and Speech classes are what I am teaching. Nervous is an understatement when I let my current job know I wanted to move into a teaching position, but honestly I shouldn’t have been. I had been in the job for almost 5 years (it didn’t seem that long). I had been encouraged to move into a classroom by my boss and fellow teachers. It took me that long to get into the season of my life where I knew this is I belong. I don’t know how long this season will be but I am soaking it all in and letting it fill my soul. Finally, I am facing my 40s head on. My birthday is coming up and I am excited to see what these years bring. I am starting to feel like a grown up as these years are coming. So things which I will be working on during these next few years: getting our forever home, graduating with my Master’s degree, working on a book ( which I have changed so much). This is just to name a few things. So I have been creating so much these last seven months of 2022 and I am looking forward to see what else I am going to create in the last three months of 2022. I want to hear all about what you have been doing this year! Leave me a comment, drop me an email. Let’s connect again!

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Adventure, Stories

Three Months into 2022: Word update

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If you don’t remember the word I chose for the year, you can click this link to read. I wanted to share how I have been working with this word since I have been quiet on this front. So grab a drink and get comfy while I share my word for 2022 update. I have been working on finding out what the word: Create means to me. Does it mean, create to find a way out of my job? Do I create just to bring myself joy? Do I create to bring joy to others? What is my relationship to this word? Well I have decided to create for the joy of it. I miss creating just to create and see what comes. Just because something is done doesn’t mean it must bring income. I have lost sight of this on my part and would like to create again. Here are a few ways I have being creating for the joy of creating. Junk Journaling Taking pictures Making a weekly spread for journal Reading more If you are not familiar with junk journaling, think of it as scrapbooking with no purpose. Or this is how I think of it. I have been seeing some TikToks of this and loved the idea. A little secret of mine is, I am a semi hoarder of craft supplies with the dream of becoming a full time creator of things. Which means I have the supplies on hand for junk journaling. Here are a couple of examples of what I have done. Second thing is taking pictures. I know this seems odd because I share pictures with y’all all the time, however, by this I mean taking pictures just to take picture of what catches my eye. Here is a great example. I was walking up to a friend’s house and the street light gave a great shadow of myself. This made me pause and snag a picture just because I thought it was neat. The weekly spread is similar to the junk journaling but it helps me keep things on a weekly basis. Which in turns also helps me stick to a meal plan to keep us on track. As for reading more, I had gotten stuck in a rut wanting to read but coming up with reasons why I shouldn’t be reading and instead doing all the things. This was only helping me stay in a creative rut. I also started reading anything including a light read or two. As I read, I start to have ideas pop into my head and I grab my little book to pop them in. The poor thing now has book binding tape on the corners and the spine since it is always with me. So now you know how I am figure out my word of the year: create. I hope to bring you more ways I am learning to use this word. I can’t wait to go on this journey together. Which way do you feel drawn to? Or would like to know more about? Tell me in the comments!

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Adventure

Arkansas Adventure: Jonquils in Bloom

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The Jonquil season is just about over because with the temperatures rising, these flowers are fading fast. Last weekend was the Jonquil Festival at Historic Washington State Park, but you can still find some of the flowers blooming. Before the festival we made a few trips up to Washington to see the flowers and try to catch some amazing blooms. This is my favorite part of Spring. So let’s go on an Arkansas Adventure to see what we can find and I hope you make your own trip here to see what is still blooming!  These are just a couple of the pictures I took this Jonquil season. I am hoping to grab some pictures of the vintage roses at the 1914 school house when they bloom. Along with the roses behind the Purdom Medical home this Spring. What is your favorite flower to see a picture of? Or a place here in Arkansas? I can’t wait for you to share in the comments!!

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Adventure

Beating the Winter Blahs: Cossatot Reefs Area

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A couple of weeks ago, we packed up to head out on an adventure. None of us really had a place in mind so we got in the car and started to drive. This is our way of beating blahs and seeing more of what Arkansas has to offer. Hubby picked Mena since it has been almost a year since our last visit. Plus there is an independent used bookstore there. However not long after lunch our trip took a detour and we headed towards Cossatot Reefs Park.  This was not a planned detour but rather one of those random ones. Here in Arkansas we have brown signs on the side of the road which tell you about campgrounds/local things to see. We have been known to follow them just to see what was at the end and we have found some amazing places. This time was no different.  At first he was going to continue onto Mena but about 5 minutes down the road, he changed his mind and turned around. He said that he kept thinking about the Cossatot Reefs area. Since we didn’t really have a destination, he didn’t think I would mind.  Sometimes the best adventures are the ones which are off the beaten path. I can’t wait for a little bit warmer weather and bring you more adventures!

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Adventure, Focus through the lens, Stories

Beating the Winter Blahs

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Beating the Winter Blahs is something we do every year. If you know me, Fall into deep Winter is my favorite time of the year. There is something about slowing down and going into rest mode which speaks to my soul. It does not speak to the other two in my family which means, we get out to do stuff and that also feeds my soul.  I hope you will come on this journey with us as we explore more of the Natural state. You will see more shops, places to eat, some of our favorite places to visit. There will of course still be lots of photography because that is my passion and I know you enjoy what comes out of my lens. If you are missing some photography, you can always check out my Instagram page.  Our first trip out we went chasing snow, which is not something we see much down here in Southwest Arkansas. I am hoping to get to chase snow again this year so I can get more practice taking snow pictures.  A couple of years ago we went to The Little Grand Canyon here in Arkansas.  As for our next trip, I am not sure where it will be or when we will be able to get away. We are planning on visiting waterfalls, do some digging for crystals again, go digging at the diamond mine at the Crater of Diamonds, Paris Arkansas, lots of local bookstores, and so much more.  I would love to hear about your favorite places here in Arkansas. Favorite shop? Bookstore? Place to grab lunch? Coffee (for hubby. Bonus if it has tea and snacks for Glitter and I) shop? An unusual place to stay?  A must see place? A can’t miss event happening? Let me hear all about them! 

Alicia Dowell

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