Everyday life

being mindful....

So,  here we are ALREADY in November.  Leaves are changing colors, mornings are a lot cooler,  and my stomach is beginning to rumble at the thought of all the holiday food!!  mmmmmm.    Food is the only reason I can tolerate and accept winter time.  

Since I came back from the Outer Banks trip, I have been more mindful and conscious of how I spend my days.  Instead of stressing or working non stop, I have taken more walks, played backgammon, started reading more books, sat outside just for the pure pleasure of basking in the sun, talked on the phone to dear friends more,  took random trips to Athens for the pleasure of an old friend's company.   I tried to find that kind of balance before, but it seemed impossible to do before this trip.  Now I see how necessary it is.  Life is more than work and money and "getting everything done"........it's also dance parties, playing in the sand, gabbing with friends on a bed, taking leisurely walks because the day is nice, it's impromptu fire building on a cool, crisp night,  it's so so so much more.   I did these things before, but not without guilt...that nagging feeling of "i should be doing this or that instead"......booohisssss on that nagging A-hole feeling!

So, yet again, I am faced with the hard task of repricing my crafty work.......part of this balance also comes a knowing that I have to look hard at the facts.......I don't price or value my time or work enough to even find balance.  How can I have dance parties, play in the sand, hang out with friends, take trips to the Outer Banks when I have to work all the time because I am underselling myself? 
Since I can't seem to figure it out on my own, or stick to an idea that works, I have been reading articles online that make sense to me.....this stuck out in my head BIGTIME -


Making money should be beautiful. Making money should be liberating, fortifying, and joyous. Making money isn’t what defines you but it shouldn’t be bewildering either.

I recommend reading some of Tara Gentile's articles...or go buy her book (you can set your own price to buy it).  I have already learned a lot.....and I will continue reading until the daggum concept settles into my bones.....because I really really do love making things....I love creating.  All this time I thought I just wasn't doing or making the right things.....now I know I just didn't have the right relationship with Money and MAKING IT. 

(so, enough of the business/money talk.....I just had to get that out there, because it has been on my mind since I got home from my trips, plus I wanted to give a shout out to who I have been reading lately)

The day is starting and I need another cup of coffee..........hope everyone is enjoying this Fall weather!

moving mountains...

still processing this past week at Serendipity Retreat.   i am moved, shifted, lifted up, released, cracked open a bit, expanded, closer to my truth...............the words are endless.  

i jokingly said to a few of the women "who was i before this week?.....did i even exist?"............but there is a lot of truth to that.   how have i survived without that kind of connection....that energy.....that space to just be all that i am...and a space that sets you up to discover more.   those sorts of moments move mountains.   i am forever changed by these women.

5 things i can't resist...

Sunset through..., originally uploaded by Steffe.

there are some things that my body just can't seem to resist if you ask me if i want to partake in something.....

1. water - i can't get enough...i will always be happy to drink more

2. bbq chips - i mean seriously?...c'mon now.

3. tomatoes....or anything with tomato as the focal point....sandwich, bruschetta

4. BACON....who doesn't know that about me yet? i will snatch the last piece of bacon off of any plate.

5. if you have hidden valley ranch dressing and something to dip in it...i'm good. i will stay until it's gone.

so there is my info for the day. i've been busy working working working. how do i acquire SOOOOO many beads??? oh yeah, cause i can't seem to resist them either. obviously.

i'm headed to the dreaded post office, and to to the grocery store to get, yes you guessed it, bbq chips, bacon, tomatoes, and who cares about all the rest of the groceries. i even dreamed about buying bacon last night. what was i thinking not eating meat!?

Eating

Eating donut, originally uploaded by Vivian An.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

tomato sandwich

tomato sandwich, originally uploaded by inklore.

i mean seriously...does it get any better than a fresh tomato sandwich? i think not. add some bbq chips and sweet tea in a mason jar and you have my version of bliss.

listing listing listing....that is what i have been doing on etsy today. i have more long bohemian necklaces in the shop. i have had way more fun making these than the gazillion earrings i've made. i think if i do stay on the path of jewelry for a bit longer that i will focus more on these necklaces. i have had so much fun layering and picking and choosing which ones to wear on a daily basis....which colors, which length, which shape....plus, i'm the simple kind of girl that likes just throwing it over my head on the way out the door...or vice versa.......i hate messing with clasps and closures. ....and i REALLY hate when they fall to the front of your neck and is made visible. ugh. it's always been a big pet peeve of mine.

so, onto to other things. have you heard about Serendipity Retreat yet? if you haven't go check it out. if all goes as planned then i will be headed there in less than two weeks time.

as for other news, i don't recommend drinking the balsamic vinegar/tomato/etc juice leftover from making bruschetta. trust me on this, don't do it. it may seem like a good idea at the time, but it's not.

gratitude list....

Blackberries, originally uploaded by Marshed.

gratitude list today: hot coffee, sunshine, world's biggest summit, working from home, homemade blackberry jam

what is your gratitude list?