I hope all of my USA readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday.  I know we did!  We got together at my sister’s house with all of my entire family.  everyone was there…  parents, siblings, nephews, and nieces.   (no, we did not eat that grand fellow pictured above… he’s my sister’s pet)

I took the sweet potato casserole, the yummiest I’ve ever had..  it’s BETTER than the kind with marshmallows!  try it and you will see!  as far as leftovers… I doubled the recipe and there was only one helping  left!  you can find the recipe HERE.

Today the kids are setting up the tree while I get some Christmas sewing done.  We never go shopping on Black Friday (except for groceries) what are all of you doing today????

 Two of my sisters live in other states and my youngest brother is leaving to go to Johannesburg, Africa (on a mission for two years) before Christmas. Tonight we are celebrating Christmas at my parent’s house since the entire family is together. 

Besides all of the family celebrating, I’ve been getting some swaps done.  here’s your SSCS sneak peek   

and here’s a sneak peek for the Enchanted ornament swap

AND I have been helping santa make some cute things for the Christmas stockings too.  I’ll show those pictures later.

It is a chilly 44°F here this morning and my feet are cold. But that’s not really what I’m writing about today. Let me start over. I’ve got cold feet… about having a web presence again. About ten years ago, I was up and coming into the design world and had really done okay with it. I managed to make a profit off of some of my “doodles” and do some freelance web design work too. And, get this…I was even a web site evaluator for an awards site, if you can believe that.

After working from home for awhile and just being a mom, I began to miss not having any adults to play with.  So I went out and got a desk job.  A desk job that had nothing to do with the internet or web design or graphics.  Instead, I was with working with people with disabilities (“handicapped”, by the way, is not politically correct) and then I was promoted to work specifically with those that were in ESRD (end-stage renal disease).  Both of those jobs were rewarding too and I thought I would stick with it.  But things change.  My husband was offered a transfer (not military) and we decided to move.  Now we live in a very small town, with very little job opportunities available.  I decided to take a break from working for a little bit and do some soul searching.  It’s about that time, I guess.  I am reaching forty after all, and isn’t that about the time women are supposed to go through some kind of mid-life crisis anyway?

Now, I find myself really interested in blogging and maybe going back into design again.  Getting back into the world of web and graphic design, while it is a little intimidating, doesn’t bother me so much.  It’s the thought of blogging and keeping up with a blog that scares me half to death.  I’m no writer.  I’d like to become a decent writer.  Of course, in order to become a decent writer, I have to actually start writing about something, don’t I?  What’s funny is that I’ve read more about how to come up with blog content and how to blog better, than I’ve found myself actually blogging.  And every time I read one of these articles or posts, I feel almost like I’m in the gym with Jillian Michaels yelling at me “Unless you puke, faint or die, keep going!”.  And then, I came across this video this morning, asking “What’s Your Blogging VICE?”

Yikes!  Now I feel like someone has invaded my brain or has installed some sort of hidden camera behind me.  So here I am, cold feet and all, and I’m blogging about blogging, or blogging about not blogging, I’m not sure which.  Maybe my next post will be entitled “Writing About Things I Know Nothing About When I Should Probably Write About What I Know“.  So yeah… maybe now I can get back to Twitter?  I don’t think I like Darren Rowse (@problogger) anymore.  Eh, I’ll still follow him but only if he stays out of my head.

Last year my husband and I visited some friends in their new custom built home. They were excited to show us the great room, living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom suite with two walk in closets, five bedrooms, three baths, enclosed porch, deck and last but not least, the colossal garage. This is all for two people!  Later, my husband and I agreed that when we move again, we’d never buy such a huge house. We’d downsize into something smaller with loads of character and history…something like this.

(Photos by Sandra Lane for The World Of Interiors)

Related Nibs post-

Great Little Houses

A Little House In Holland

Dream Real Estate

]]> http://nibsblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/where-i-blog/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:47:21 +0000 Martha B. http://nibsblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/where-i-blog/

Curious to see where I blog?

You can see and read my post for Jane’s fun series on bloggers and their work spaces here.

I realized that you guys ( hello?) know nothing about me, so to break the ice– I’ll start:

I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt– stayed there until I met my soul-mate and beloved husband, and moved to the opposite end of the globe (which translates in my Egyptian brain to ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ or something like that). We naturally multiplied as most couples do– encouraged by a house we rented that had the reputation of ‘childless’ couples moving in, morphing into ‘with-child’ couples moving out.

Exactly a year and ten months after our first born, we welcomed our calmest member of the family. Now all four of us reside in a town just north of the windy city. And we live happily, stressfuly, loudly, and add to this as many adjectives as your heart desires. Life in our quarters happens oh-as-often-as we breathe.

Today– I wasn’t a very grateful person, even though I am truly blessed.

Tomorrow– I’ll try a little bit harder. Don’t we all?

Peace.

Last week I flew to North Carolina to see my parents and sister. The weather cooperated with cool, crisp fall days.  My dad and I drove out into some rural areas to take pictures.  We stopped at a friend of a neighbor who invited us to walk and photograph their farm property. I enjoyed looking at the old barns and outbuildings- evidence of the generations who have lived and worked the land there. Places like this always tug at my heart- bringing back memories of my own great-grandparent’s farm in the mid-west.

Grapevine covers a fence leading the way to the metal clad barn.

Typically farmers never throw anything away!

Gardens that flourish during the summer are plowed under and put to rest for the winter.

(Photos- Martha B.)

Ummm…  I guess the beginning is as good a place to start as any.

My mom is filipina.  My dad is caucasian.  They met while my dad was in the Navy.  He got out of the Navy and joined the Air Force.  I’m told I was born during an earthquake in the Philippines.  Moved in and out of the states a couple of times after I was born and became the oldest of four girls.  We came to the states permanently in 1976 to live in Oregon.  We moved to Colorado and lived on Peterson AFB.  After that, here’s a timeline of the highlights.  Oh..and I am not making this shit up, just so ya know. =)

1978

• Parents divorce after dad found out mom is cheating and mom chased after dad with a butcher knife, managed to stab the master bedroom door a few times while dad called the police, and she is hauled off to jail.
• Dad gets custody of four girls.
• Dad also started touching me inappropriately.

1980

• 1st attempt to “hide” from mom, dad moves me and my sisters to Tennessee and live with my grandmother for a little bit, then moves again to the projects in Johnson City, TN.
• My first crush – Vaughn H. and Scott Baio.  I thought for sure Scott and I would eventually get married.
• First boyfriend – Barry H.

1983 – 1985

• 2nd attempt to get away from mom, dad moves us all to Virginia
• Play volleyball, also long distance runner (go figure), and cheerleader for about 30sec.
• Fall “in love” for the first time and experience my first real kiss under the boardwalk at Virginia Beach, during Octoberfest – awesome memory.  I was 14.
• Get drunk and lose my virginity to some guy in Delaware over a weekend road trip with best friend at age 15.
• First job – hired through some state youth job program as a custodian (janitor).
• Meet another guy and start going out with him.
• Sister starts complaining about inappropriate touching from dad.  Dad and I get into big fight.  I run away.
• Break up with first love because of all the stuff that’s going on and start dating other guy more.
• Picked up by cops and refused to go home.
• Placed into emergency shelter for two weeks while social services decide what to do with me.
• Social services contacts mom came to VA and saw her for the first time since I was 8.
• Boyfriend asks me to marry him two weeks after going out.  We are stupid.  He is 18 and I am 15.
• Sisters and I all go to live with mom.  Custody is taken away from dad.
• Dad moves to Utah.
• Get caught shoplifting at some shoe store in CO.
• Mom accuses me of prostitution (not even close to being true) and puts me on a bus back to VA with $60 with nowhere specific to go.

1986 – 1990

• Live/hide in boyfriend’s closet and house-hopped around until I was caught shoplifting again at K-mart.
• Get put into group home for troubled girls and boys.
• Moves into foster home.
• Tries to commit suicide at age a couple of days before 17th birthday.
• Spend 17th birthday in a shrinks office.
• Foster father tries to make some moves on me.  I think I can handle him (I could’ve), but dying to tell someone so I tell the shrink about this thinking it was confidential.  Find out that not everything is confidential.  Feel horrible for accidentally turning him in.
• I’m taken out of foster home and moved into another foster home.
• Senior year – eloped with boyfriend.  Drop out of school two months later and 6mos. left of school. *smacks forehead*
• Hubby gets into trouble with the law for stupid shit.  He ends up with suspended sentence, probation and community service.
• Hubby doesn’t fulfill community service obligations and decides to run.  I go with him.  We end up in CA
• Live in dad’s yard for about a month because he won’t allow us to go inside the house.
• San Francisco earthquake
• Hubby gets into trouble for domestic violence (battery – me) and decides to come back to VA and turn himself in.  I go with him.
• Hubby gets lucky and serves no jail time.  We move into his parents house.
• Hubby and I get a place of our own.
• I’m hired by Sears Outlet, in the mall.
• I get pregnant.

1991 – 1997

• Give birth to beautiful baby girl in January of 1991.
• Move back in with hubby’s parents.
• Find out I’m pregnant again, at 6wk. check-up
• I’m at the K-mart I got caught shoplifting at, as cashier *shrugs shoulders*
• I give birth to handsome baby boy December of 1991.
• Somehow gain guardianship over youngest sister.
• Worst day of my life – lose kids, hubby, and sister in an attempt to make a run for it with the kids to get away from hubby.  May 19, 1993
• I’m homeless for a month, living out of my car.
• Move in with a church friend of my dads
• Primary custody of kids granted to me through court-ordered mediation
• Take and pass the GED exam – yayeeee!
• Dad’s “christian” friend kicks me and the kids out because social services isn’t working fast enough to get me on welfare and thereby delaying any money she’s going to get out of me. – another horrific day.
• Live in roach-infested temporary shelter with the kids.  They are still both under 2yrs. old.
• Move into battered women’s shelter.
• Start attending business school and save every penny I get.
• Move out of shelter into my very own home (rented).
• Hired for my fist office job to be an attorney’s right-hand and made crap for money.
• Is offered a better job in DC with law firm.
• Graduate early from business school.
• Pregnant sister comes to live with me, but she ends up leaving me and making me poor again.
• Move back into homeless shelter with the kids.
• Move out of shelter and manage to get into a beautiful rental home.
• Meet someone on the other extreme and “safe”, fall in love and marry him.

1998 – Present

• The ex threatens me and refuses to let kids go out of state.
• I leave state thinking I can fight him later.  Leave kids with him and his family and move to Hawaii with new hubby.  HUGE mistake!
• Lose battle over kids have to resort to only seeing them during holidays.
• I’m hired on as HR person for computer training school and am able to take classes for free.
• I give birth to another handsome boy in January 2000
• Quit job to be a stay-at-home-mom, while still being able to more classes for free at the computer training school.
• Start my own website from scratch, learning HTML and some CSS coding, full of little digital doodles drawn with PaintShop Pro, GIMP, Photoshop and any other imaging software I can get my hands on – I even make some money off of this stuff!
• 911 – another horrible day, most of it spent wondering how long it would be before I see hubby again.
• Move to Pennsylvania in December of 2001 and only get to see older kids every summer and holidays
• Daughter moves in and out again within a two week period.  Son won’t leave his dad.  HUGE mistake!
• Hubby decides not to re-enlist and we move to Arkansas.
• Applied for and was hired by the state – very rewarding job, crappy pay
• Daughter moves in and out twice before finally settling in permanently, but son still won’t budge.
• Company hubby works for offers him an opportunity to transfer.  He takes it.  We move to Mississippi.

And there ya have it.  All the ugly and a few really spectacular moments thrown in there too.  After writing all that, I’m wondering how on earth I got to be so damn perky.   I really am though.  I’ve been through some shit, but I guess I’m a better person for it.  Like I said, those were just the highlights.  There’s a lot more to the story.

since I had my knee surgery.

since I really started looking closer at myself.

since I started to work on dealing with my problems.

since I knew I was ready to be me.

since I started seeing Betty.

since I started this blog.

My bed is covered in plates with broccoli, Chinese food, cookies and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and I’m stuffing my face in a race against time, as I’m having a minor surgery tomorrow and it’s annoying to me, how difficult, inflexible, and last-minute things are. Not only that, but I’m used to being in control of things because other people are so disorganized and crazy.

“You have to fast, starting at midnight before the operation date,” the doctor said.

“Midnight!? What if my operation is late in the afternoon? I’m going to go crazy? I can’t go without eating for like, 3 hours!”

“Well, a lot of religious people fast for 24 hours.”

“Why did you have to use the “R” word? There are a lot of crazy things that religious people do that I wouldn’t.”

“You can have water!”

“Well, that’s a step up from what my dad gets to have on Ramadan.”

It rather annoyed me that she brought that up. Do doctors pray on the job? They should just DO. If she had instead said “Shut up and do it or else we’ll have to pump you full of a lot more anaesthetic!” I would have piped down.

I’m so grateful for friends and family who are going to take me home and treat me like a frail little princess!

Kari

I was so excited to see that a bunch of my friends are still around!  I know that probably makes me some kind of nerd of the most embarrassing nerdy kind, but I really did miss all of my bloggin’ buddies.  My computer had an “accident” at the same time that I began my blogging hiatus and all of my RSS feeds went who-knows-where.  So I was only able to check in sporadically on the people whose site I had memorized.  Anyway, I missed all y’all.

Speaking of y’alls and all y’alls.  I’m moving to Texas.

When I tell people that I’m moving to Texas I get varied responses, but mostly it’s, “Why TEXAS?”  For some reason people seem to think of Texas as a scary wasteland full of big hair and matchy-matchy shoe/purse/belt combos.  I’ve been seeing a lot of raised eyebrows and flared nostrils lately.  Apparently Texas is an aberration to my fellow moldy-toed Seattleites. 

So I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just Seattleites that have such a bad impression of Texas, or is it that northerners in general dislike the south?  The first thing I’ve heard most people say is that it’s so humid in Texas.  Hmm.  Well, I went to Austin, which is where we’ll be relocating to, and the humidity didn’t seem much different to me there.  The sunshine was different though.  And yes, it was hot.  But it’s like, 75 degrees during the day there right now!  And sunny!  Swimming pools!  Air conditioning!  Sun! 

Let’s see, what else is new?  Oh yeah, I got an iPhone!!  Where the heck has the iPhone been all of my life?  How have I lived?  How have I functioned?  How have I not watched YouTube while I grocery shop?  I don’t even know.  And if you’re wondering: No, I do not feel the slightest bit peevish that my husband works for Microsoft and I have an iPhone.  It’s that cool.  Plus he bought one too.

There’s so much that’s happened in the last few months and I don’t have time to catch up on everything right now.  Upcoming installments will include things like:

• more on my new iPhone
• my lazy, lazy summer
• my new photography business!
• holy cow I’m going to Europe!!
• big Texas hair tutorials
• why I love that Hannah Montana climb song

Well, you know.  That’s just an outline.

“I have no respect for what you’re doing. None at all. I made the same mistake before,” someone said to me once.

“Well then,” I replied. “It’s a good thing I’m not you.”

Almost everything is ready for me to begin school in January, and I’m working full-time at the store until then. I’m like a little racehorse, waiting at the gate and ready to gallop my heart out, but the race isn’t ready for me. The store really busy, rather insane, actually, and for a long time, things have been becoming too much for me to handle as the only manager, with all of these new part-time staff, a heavy clothing season, the other manager gone, and with the owner away all the time, running the store from behind the scenes.  Managing a business is like building an immaculate and organized palace out of Lego and then watching people clumsily knock over towers or kick the whole thing down. Most days I feel like that hot water tank on Mythbusters that was blown up by removing the safety valve.

The last serious relationship that I was in, was one that I should have departed from a lot earlier but couldn’t, for the life of me, until separation was imminent. I had to be sure and ready, even if it was to my own detriment, and even though there is no way to truly prepare for a goodbye. And this here is the same scenario. My employer, my friend, my confidante, has been through the wringer this year even worse than I have, and I’m not ready to desert her when she clearly needs my support, after everything she has done, taught, and given to me. I will continue to help out at the store a little during school, but the next two months are going to be grueling and I hope the team literally is ready to pony up. I’ve been leading them to water forever and they need to drink, or else.

Life transitions are hard because sometimes you’re wanting to move on to the next level before it’s time to be there. When I’m sick of going through the daily motions and am wondering what going through all of this crap is for, I crank on a tune like Devotchka’s How It Ends and daydream about things that might happen in my future, whether it’s bright, shining moments of happiness or crushing desperation and sadness. I look forward to baking cookies with little kids on a weekend, whether they’re mine or someone else’s. I dread answering a phone one day to hear that a family member of mine has died or has been killed in an accident. I can’t wait to have my own place where I can plant a whole garden and paint the walls bright, fun colours to wake up to excitement every day. I really don’t want to find out that someone has cheated on me. It would be nice to design, write and style for a food photo book one day. I’m also looking forward to hearing “I love you” again one day. And I hope that my funeral is cute and everyone gets really good cupcakes with sparklers in them so they can play my favorite “think happy thoughts until the flickers go out” game.

It’s all a matter of time, I suppose, but the time we do have, is ours to play with.

Kari

Alyssa_Milano Your turn to answer my question~In this lifetime, what do you hope to be remembered for? #QandA

My first instinct was to reply with:

@Alyssa_Milano My ability to look at life with sarcasm and optimism at the same time…and being a good mother, daughter, sister, wife, etc… all the normal stuff.

But I didn’t.  It was too long, for one thing.  And secondly, it wasn’t nearly as “touching” (her word to describe the responses) as the other responses.  So I just didn’t reply at all.

This is not my first blog, but this is the first blog gone public.  Most people would describe me as personable, out-going, fun, happy.  Close family and friends will tell you that I am a bit of a nag, have no empathy, fun, funny, disgruntled, and a loner.  All of it is true!

I want to say more than what I’m allowed to say.  So, here I am, for probably the first time in my entire life, ready to say all that I want to say, how I want to say it, and when I want to say it.

The only one I’m set on making happy with any of this is…me.  Not everything I say will be agreed with and that’s okay.  I don’t mind a bit.  I hope and encourage you to share with me, your thoughts, comments, and suggestions along the way. =)

Yes, I joined the 4000 who have signed up to experiment with the Huffington Post to imitate Collin Beavan’s year of living a life on the planet with zero impact. No, not a gimmick, and yes, harder than it sounds.

I’ll be adding blog posts and comments on the Massachusetts group site. Already, this experiment has compelled me to buy produce with no packaging from a nearby farm and start a tiny pile of compost.  I’ll blog & take photos as I try to adjust–even small changes require an adjustment in expectations and planning.

Why did I join? A lot of what Collin attempted to do for one year is the same in philosophy as what I enjoy about the Mennonites’ beliefs and practices, and it reminds me of the life I didn’t even realize I had forgotten about, growing up each summer on my grandparents’ farm. I know these old ways that are better for the planet, better for my health and better for my family. I feel like I’m going home.

There is another reason for me to join: this is the kind of journalism I most want to be part of and it is instructive for me to be on the citizen end for a time. Already I understand a lot more about the level of commitment and the effort it requires for each participant to make a meaningful contribution. I also see how important it is for each of us to have a forum for connecting to each other and sharing ideas/photos/comments spontaneously.

A typical Saturday morning with my two boys.  And can you guess whose sock that is?!

(Photo- Martha B.)

Related Nibs posts-

Family Album #5: Weekend Sailing

Family Album #4: Grandma’s Wedding Picture

]]> http://alisonwonderland.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/today-alison-wonderland-is/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:20:21 +0000 Alison Wonderland http://alisonwonderland.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/today-alison-wonderland-is/ http://revealingthoughts.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/dig/ Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:51:41 +0000 kchellouf http://revealingthoughts.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/dig/

“To find all of the really good stuff you have to go through everything. Go on, dig!” my coworker said to a perplexed client.

Life is a continuous sorting act, deciding which parts of you to keep/toss, finding traits you had forgotten about, or kept hidden away. Then there’s my favorite, which is growing new ideas. Well, unless you’re in a rut, in which case you’re probably doing a lot of forgetting, hiding away, and repeating.

In weight training, when you strengthen a muscle by lifting a certain amount for a number of sets, over time your body adapts, the motion then becomes easy. You can either add on more weight or switch to a different type of resistance exercise. Lately I’ve been going through a very switchy phase, because doing the latter for all my previous years had gradually built up strength, but it didn’t come without a price, so I’ve been looking for flexibility. Ironically, the only way you can become flexible is by learning to step outside of your comfort zone and start thinking of the things that you are willing to compromise, change, or give up (whether temporarily or permanently) because continuing along the way you were has not been working.

And so you must dig.

Sometimes you don’t like what you find, or rediscover little treasures that have been buried away. It’s almost like panning for gold.

People ask me for tips about how to become more assertive. Being assertive and honest with your past self, though, I gotta say, is a pain in the ass, especially when that person is a real departure from who you are now. Looking back can be embarrassing, hideous, or even painful.

The first time I hiked the Grouse Grind, it was the most hilarious nightmare of a situation. I was ready to give up at the drop of a hat after making it 1/4 of the way to the top, glaring angrily at the sign.

OH MY GOD! You have GOT to be kidding me! I thought, and every 1/4 of the way up further, I reevaluated my options: Continue going up, or take The Walk Of Shame down. A fellow hiker commented that going back was really hard on your knees, and mine aren’t so great to start with, so there wasn’t really a choice other than dragging myself to the top, or maybe sprouting wings. You know, whichever would happen first.

In the end, I made it to the top, near death, but going back would have been way worse. Well, almost. Christina Aguilera music was blaring from the lodge so after passing by a mound of fake snow/ice shaving I was pretty sure that hell had frozen over and I was in it. The lesson, I suppose, if there is one, is that forging ahead and focusing on your goal has benefits. Retreating, going back, looking back…not so much.

Sometimes doing things the hard way is rewarding. This mountain had a gondola to take back to the bottom!

Kari

As part of my training for a degree in Interior Design, I had to fulfill four internships. An internship meant that I worked for either an individual designer or a design related business. One of my favorite internships was working for the design service offered at Bloomingdale’s in New Jersey.

They had on staff several well respected designers who took on clients usually through the purchase of furniture and/or accessories. The store also had created four large model rooms where every few months the designers would work their magic using Bloomingdale’s collection of furniture and accessories.

No detail was overlooked. Trades people were called in to do the carpentry, painting, wallpapering, and sewing. Many times there were special orders for custom pieces and antiques- solely to suit the room’s decor. While the rooms were under construction, curtains hid everything from view. Then like theater, when everything was in place, they were pulled back to reveal some pretty amazing spaces.

And like a dope, I never bothered to photograph any of them. So…when I came across this book ‘Bloomingdale’s Book of Home Decorating‘ I was elated. No, there aren’t any pictures of the rooms I had been a part of- it predates that. But it does have plenty of inspiring ones done by the author/designer Barbara D’arcy for the NYC store.

]]> http://bodyevolution.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/more-past-history-days-209-211/ Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:06:39 +0000 Dakota River http://bodyevolution.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/more-past-history-days-209-211/

Evolution Three – Week Five

Monday, September 28, 2009

Hello Folks,

209 - 211: Because I don't change that much in three days

I wanted to give you a little more of my back story…

•  I was the daughter of two hippie parents who encouraged me to be whatever I wanted to be
• I was a tomboy at heart. I loved to climb trees and play with boys
• I was pretty athletic. I could run around for hours playing soccer or basketball. You name it, I tried it
• I played sports from the age of ten until college
• I pulled my ACL in my knee when I was 16
• I grew up on granola, but secretly loved to go to the little store when I was in junior high and get candy….I love hot tamales
• I exercised so much I was skinny until I was 16, after hurt my knee
• I developed an obsession with exercise in 12th grade and my freshman year of college ( I call it exercise bulimia)
• I gave up and gained weight after exhausting myself from overexercising
• I developed a true interest in nutrition, but still struggled with weight
• I gained weight when I was having a rough time with life
• I secretly wanted to be a coach
• I have exercised off and on all my life and experimented with food
• I have lived in many states and travelled all over the world
• Gandhi was my first big influence
• Paramhansa Yogananda was my second big influence
• I believe that the mind, body and spirit are all connected and need to be nurtured simultaneously

Until next time…

 Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up

 Dakota

Today’s Mantra: It is important to realize that you are learning how to die, not how to live.

I haven’t gone for a run in months, and spontaneously decided to get moving today. Running and other workout activity makes me so happy, because for that time alone, I don’t have 100 things to juggle. My brain is constantly miltitasking and doing things, as if it were rotating Tetris pieces all day while I was busy puttering away at something else. Tomorrow I’m hitting the gym. I miss it.

I received an e-mail this morning that congratulated me on starting a new life. I read over the sentence a few times to let it sink in. There is a lot of change coming up, but I never really thought to put it into those words.

Every year I reflect upon where I was at the same time last year, and ask myself some pretty tough questions. At this time last year I was working full time, dating someone wonderful, and trying to figure out what to do next. Right now I’m working full time, learning to better enjoy being by myself (as I’m single now), and am preparing for school and a move. Next September I will have graduated and found work in another part of the country. New life indeed.

Running today, I pushed myself for another 10 meters, 20 meters, a block. Personal growth is a constant goal of mine and the same must be done in life.

Kari

…brogues, lots of  tweed, models with no make-up,  the book ‘Ruin‘, antique mourning photo pins , classic mens wrist watch and the retro styling of the Olympus Pen.

What are some of your inspirations?

(Photo- Martha B.)