Mondo Beyondo = Dreaming BIG and Living those Dreams

I am thrilled to announce that I get to participate in Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen's 5-week online Mondo Beyondo course!!!

Now that our kids are both past the diaper stage and I'm about to turn 35 on August 30th, I've been feeling more acutely the desire to make my dream to be a children's book author and illustrator a reality. I'm not as sleep deprived (varies, of course :) ) as in the early days, I am managing life better in terms of physical health, and I feel ready to devote some time to this dream and trying to balance that with being a wife, mom, and friend.

From what I understand, and you can read more here (http://www.mondobeyondo.org/index.html), the Mondo Beyondo idea is that you verbalize your biggest dream - like something so fantastic or wonderful that you really doubt it could ever happen - and then this course helps you take steps towards living that dream. There are several things that excite me about getting to partake:

1. I've been following Andrea Scher's blog for about four years now (it's one of about five that I check daily), admire her a ton, and have always wanted to be in her sphere somehow. I am somewhat unfamiliar with Jen Lemen and her work, but have a lot of respect for her based on what I know of her passion for people of the world, for justice, and for hope. They are also both moms, which is SO helpful as I am really wanting to prioritize my family and also wanting to live out my creative dreams; I'm looking forward to their input on the artist-mom experience.

2. I love being in on the grass-roots beginning of something creative and being part of this inaugural Mondo Beyondo group is particularly exciting. Andrea and Jen seem to be such natural gatherers of creative and inspiring people, and now I get to jump in the pool with them instead of watching from the bleachers, so to speak!

3. Having the money to pay for this course is a story in itself. We absolutely did not have it. Suddenly I was contacted by someone here at the university where I work regarding using our car for emissions testing (something I had volunteered our car for back in the Fall last year, but hadn't heard back about), and we will be given a stipend of $300/per week for two weeks (& prorated if it goes into three weeks)! Not only does this help make up for not having a paying housemate for a couple of months, it makes it possible for me to participate in Mondo Beyondo!!! They want the car starting this Monday, the exact date that MB starts!

I'm sure I will have lots to do, so we'll see how often I post here, but I'll keep track of my progress and accomplishments and post when possible.

Off I go into the Beyondo!!!