Friday, June 29, 2012

summer girl



june 2012, georgia

it's hot.  it's like 108 degree weather hot...but "feels like" 120.  all i think about these days is laying in a cold river...or maybe a bucket of ice.  i say all this but i secretly (or not so secretly) love it.  i love it because i know winter will come again and all i will think about is craving those summer days.  i love it because flowers bloom in the summer...a popsicle tastes that much better....cold water is that much more refreshing....there are more bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, insects buzzing about.....
i love it because everything is SO green here.....i love it because of heat lightning.  i  love it because of juicy delicious peaches and ripe watermelons.  i love it because i can eat garden tomato sandwiches every day if i want to.  i love it because the frogs and crickets sing me to sleep.  i love it because my heart loves what it loves and i am officially a summer girl....blistering early august Georgia heat welcomed me into this world and i fully embraced it then (probably but how should i remember?) as i do now.  who am i to question what my heart loves?...my job is to enrich my soul with as much as it wants and craves....and i fully intend on doing so this summer!

keep cool everyone and don't forget to hydrate!






Monday, June 18, 2012

enriching life...

making stuffed peppers..mmm, june 2012

i miss traveling.  i miss connecting with my creative peeps.  i even miss connecting with strangers.
i feel a longing today.  it's not a sadness really....just a longing...an ache for more of life....and enrichment of it i suppose.

on another note...but i guess not really, because this is about enriching my life as well, is that i have only had meat (fish is included in this) 4 times in several weeks...maybe (at least) 1 1/2 months....two of those times was no hormone/fresh from the farm so to speak deer and bacon.....once was wild alaskan salmon, and the other day i had a craving for spaghetti so i had ground turkey in it...BIG mistake....i was sick all night long.   needless to say i don't want meat any time soon.   the fact that i haven't been talking about it makes me feel like this time it might stick.....as i have tried many times before to quit eating meat.....this time i have eliminated a lot of dairy too.  i gotta say, my skin has never looked healthier (my face have never been the most clear)...maybe it's not eating meat...or maybe it's just eating more veggies (although i was already doing that)......either way i love it.

at first i was losing weight....but now that i have learned some new recipes, added in a lot more beans and grains to my diet, i am back to normal....but i feel lighter, more energized, in a much better mood most days.  i feel closer to who i really am.  i've never been real comfortable consuming animals.  it actually makes me cringe now to think of it...i have zero cravings for it anymore.  two of the times i caved was while i was visiting friends and smelled the meat cooking.....so i can't say a slip or two won't happen, but since i cook at home most of the time this is preventable.

my ultimate goal is going vegan, but i'm giving myself and my body time to adjust;  plus i have a ton of learning to do when it comes to cooking in a new way....aka not revolving a meal around a slab of meat...yuck.  i know, i know...i'm already turning into one of "those" people....whatever that means.  (that is what was said to me earlier this week)


Sunday, June 17, 2012

the kitchen is meant for dancing too

i like asparagus, june 2012

i like kitchen dance parties.  i like thinking about food.  i, for the most part, like cooking food...the longer it takes to cook/prepare the better, because i like being in the kitchen.  i feel content in the kitchen...like all is right in the world.  every time i get done eating a meal it's like the day after christmas.....depressing in a way.  i usually am immediately, if not already, thinking about what i will make for the next meal.   i like to have a variety of plates to choose from...glasses too.  do i want to serve these peaches in a blue bowl or a yellow one?.......also, don't get in my way...it's not that i don't want you to talk to me, but i like the flow of space...i like to be able to move to the fridge, to the counter, to the stove, to the cabinets and then circle back with ease......and DON'T ask me if i am doing something right or wrong, don't rush me or keep asking if it's ready.....let me enjoy cooking...don't criticize or even seem like maybe that is what you are doing....i will quickly go from being in a good-relaxed-enjoying myself mood to a bitter-irritated-resentful witch in an instant. just being honest here......and a BIG one is DO NOT even think about changing the music i am listening to....if i'm in control of cooking, i'm in control of the music selection.....music is the muse...always.  would you mess up picasso's paint?..or brushes? or god forbid his canvas?......so there you have it..a little sunday truth preaching sermon.  :)  

(i should say i am not ALWAYS prone to turning witchy if one tries to dictate me in the kitchen, but i wouldn't test it)

Saturday, June 16, 2012

soak it all in...


i'm looking for an excuse, any excuse, to take road trips...oh, you are having a hard day?..let me come and console you......you just broke up with someone?....why let me sit on your couch with you and be a listening ear.............what!?, you can't open that can of spaghetti sauce?!....oh my god, i'll come right over and see if i can!!.....

yep, my stuff stays packed.  i find any reason to get rid of something or give it away.  i want less things, but i want more out of life.  i do. i do.  i do.   i feel like i am taking a vow, i do, yes i do life....i do take you as my wild, flowing, who knows what you will do next companion until my last breath.  i want to run through wildflower fields with you, singing at the top of my lungs that i choose you....

i want to drink in joy and spit out fire.....i want to know what that even means.

summer sends me into a restless, i want to do everything kind of mood; not much satisfies but leaps into cold water over and over....dancing to live music on a hot hot summer night......really amazing company with new people or old friends, stirring up even more of that restless spirit.  my soul gets stirred in the summer....it boils....it runs over....it keeps me panting for another drink.  i'm here, i'm ready, and i've got a big glass to fill up. 


Thursday, June 14, 2012

sharing our truth...

i buy tomatoes twice a week, yes i do, june 2012, georgia

so, i've been thinking a bit this week about Andrea's post over at Superhero Designs ....because sharing our truth is scary, liberating, eye opening, brave, emotional, fierce, all of so many emotions tangled up together.....

so anyway, it has me thinking about my truth...some of the truths that are out in the open...some that i push away, not wanting to think about them or face them right now....some i push away knowing they might make my life a bit more complicated for awhile.....one of which is that i am tired of making jewelry...i'm tired of SELLING all the time.....i'm tired of "pushing" material goods when i myself am simplifying my possessions....it isn't in alignment with my 'truth' these days.  i want less but i am producing more more more....every day.  now i don't mind jewelry...in fact i love accessories....i love creating....i love experimenting with making new stuff, BUT i suppose i don't like all the supplies that clutter my space....i want to create something and have it out the door the next day.....i don't like the waiting game of seeing if something sells....waiting for more money to come in.....yes, the creating is in my "control" but the selling is not...not *really*.

the truth is, is that i want my 'supply' list to be simple....a camera...or a pen and paper...or a bit more advanced technology like a laptop that i can take wherever.  i want my supply list to be easy to dash off with in a moment of spontaneity.  i NEED it to be simple.  i want to take photos of farmers' markets, farms, produce, food that makes you salivate and feel alive....a ripe watermelon freshly cut open that makes you want to reach into the photo and claim your mouth's desire......i want to capture simplicity.  i want to take us back to the basics.  a wood table with a lone peach on it......an oak tree standing tall in a pasture....a long winding dirt road leading to nowhere and everywhere.....i want to take us back to the days where life was simple...and our longings were too.......where lying in the grass and looking at the clouds float by was enough.

this is my truth these days.  i don't know where it will take me, but if sharing it will help pave the way, i'm all for it.


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Langhorne Slim ...music...dancing

June 11, The Earl, Atlanta, Langhorne Slim

June 11, The Earl, Atlanta, Langhorne Slim
I'm gonna gush for a second about how much I love dancing.....then I will gush for a minute about how much I love music....so so much....then let's talk about how much I am over the moon when it comes to live music that makes you dance.....THEN we'll get to the good stuff of Langhorne Slim and how fortunate I am to always get to see them in a small venue with a decent amount of dancing room....seriously folks...I'm in my bliss seeing these guys play.....perform really.....they exude energy....plus so much more that sends me deep into blissful contentment.......no, more than that.....pure joy....the I'm so glad I'm alive and can be a part of this kind of joy.  If you get a chance, go see them.....I would tell you make sure to dance, but it just happens naturally. 

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

dreams...i have dreams...

earrings on display

last night i dreamed of wild dogs.....they were nipping and pinching at me as i made my way into the night through pastures and woods in search for a lost friend.  these dogs were wild, ferocious, and ragged looking...yet strong and scrappy.  i could see a fire burning in the distance, in the woods, but these dogs wouldn't let me through to go investigate.  another girl came up from where i was heading, and she said "be careful out there...i went looking for answers but it's dangerous"...i got the impression she was a journalist of some sort.  she said she was seeking the truth of the situation, the truth that everyone was hiding.    i never got to that fire in the woods, but i did manage to make friends with one of the dogs.  that has to account for something eh?


Monday, June 4, 2012

small changes...

my painted scrap wood signs from 6/3/2012

yesterday i set out to do something a bit out of the ordinary....nothing major, just a small step outside of what i normally do.   so i woke up, got my coffee, and began setting up some tables outside.  i brought all my paint brushes, paints, stencils to a table.  i went and gathered up some scrap wood lying around.   i had no preconceived ideas about what to paint; i just wanted to let myself go with the flow...be in the moment...be inspired by whatever struck me at the time.

i am color obsessed....when i make jewelry it's usually by what color i want to work with.....same goes for paint....or clothes shopping....or food buying.....truly, i love color.   so i picked out what piece of wood i wanted......i picked out the base color, with added streaks of secondary colors, then i went to painting.

to make a long story short, i ended up spending the whole day outside, with time flying by.  music was playing, an abundance of lemon water was consumed, slight breeze with warm weather, and plenty of scrap wood to keep me company.  bliss folks, bliss.  it's all about the small things...the small changes...the small steps outside of what we normally do.

never underestimate small changes in your life....or even the small out of the ordinary moments you decide to experience...those are the things that change your life....don't ignore them.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

chopping broccoli.....

farmer's market, sebastapol, california, february 2012
it's 1:15 PM and i have a towel on my head, coconut lotion lathered on, blasting brandi carlile's Dying Day on my phone, a belly full on fried eggs, toast with pineapple jam, cheese grits, and mango juice. it's a sunny day but the blustering wind makes it impossible to take photos of earrings outside. the other night i watched a passenger-less pontoon boat breeze by, pushed by the wind, having a little night time float on the water....wonder what happened to it.

today i will make my way into the kitchen...i will wash veggies and fruit, cut up celery into the perfect size to dip into peanut butter (or in this case Sunbutter), make MORE kale chips, boil water to make hard-boiled eggs (eggs are beginning to gross me out though), i will cut up broccoli heads into little bit size pieces....oh, speaking of things like broccoli, i made roasted parmesan cauliflower last night...yum yum, and the night before i made zucchini cakes (more like burgers), but in my opinion the recipe calls for too much old bay seasoning...lesson learned.

anyway, the point being is that i am relaxed knowing i will have a day in the kitchen just chopping veggies, prepping food for later use. satisfaction arises from these seemingly trivial tasks. i swear i could chop veggies for a living and be quite happy. bliss.

so, what are you doing on this fine day?

Friday, June 1, 2012

plain and simple...


so, here's the deal......how many things do we say we want to do....*eventually*...*someday*......*when timing is right* ............etc etc etc.??

...and how many things do we *actually* do?...eventually....someday....when the timing is right??

let's talk about time first....in just the short amount of time i have eliminated just *one* thing (facebook) that didn't seemingly take up a lot of time, but obviously did because i have accomplished a ridiculous amount in two short days.....and get this,  even though i am busier, i go to bed feeling more relaxed, at ease, feeling more productive about my hours in the day........i'm using that extra time to do things i've been meaning to do:  my paint and brushes are out,  books that have been waiting are actually getting opened, things are getting organized, goodwill is getting packed up,  new jewelry creations have been made, errands have been run, lots more dancing has occurred, more time spent outside...drinking coffee in the morning by the lake instead of checking internet.  it's amazing.

yes, there is an aspect of "busying myself in order not to feel the urge to be online".....but it's not too hard to immediately feel the benefits of less screen time.  i'm happier. plain and simple.  happier. 

now, take the time to play the above video and dance it out.