a dapple of my weekend

Beers and potato skins Friday night, walks in the woods (trudging and sinking through melting snow) and rejuvenating by the pond, painting! for the first time in far too long and placing my canvas in a spot so as to remind, lounging with kitties in the morning, meandering through bookstores with Mary and Mom, wedding planning with Lauren, baking raspberry almond bars, and justbarelymakingit through more falling snow.

The only upside? It was the perfect snowlady-making snow :)

Have a happy Monday!

weekend.

A weekend of creating, long walks in the woods, journaling, and dreaming just a tad bit bigger is calling to me.

Hope yours is exactly what you need, as well.

the weather.

I am not the weather.

I am my Self, standing on the Earth.

The weather is up there, but I am down here. I am merely existing amidst the weather.

The weather is story after story I tell myself, physical stories and energetic stories, stories that I become part of and believe, however false they may be. It can be difficult to get separate from these stories, and stand apart and bear witness to them.

The weather can seem so real.


But I am not the weather.

I am my Self, standing on the Earth.

breathing.

More things I've been doing. . . . .


Breathing in . . . . . courage, determination, practice.

Breathing out . . . . . fear, expectations, hesitance.

Breathing in . . . . . devotion, acceptance, awareness.

Breathing out . . . . . discomfort, pain, tension.

Breathing in . . . . . stability, peace, reflection.

Breathing out . . . . . judgment, reluctance, hatred.


Breathing in,
breathing out.

felicitous findings: part 30

1. Finding new blogs. I spent the majority of Sunday morning in bed perusing new sites. And falling in love.

2. Mumford and Sons. The Cave. Awake My Soul. Little Lion Man. Roll Away Your Stone. All of them. I can't stop.

3. Twitter. I can't believe no one told me how fun this was before now.

4. Goddess Leonie's Goddess Guidebook. She's indescribably wonderful. Everything she writes is pure magic. I'm inspired beyond belief. I want to be her.

5. Brand new notebooks, with pretty feathered covers, blank and white to fill with words.

happy birthday, lauren.

Friday night was spent out with good friends celebrating Lauren's 24th birthday. We waiting over an hour and a half for a table, and it was totally worth it. We had philosophical discussions about Twitter (I'm converting everyone I know, almost), laughed until our eyes teared, and ate way too much.

I realize these photos look impossibly silly. I think that's a good indicator.

a silly kitty photo to brighten your monday.

She played, she jumped, I captured. Wildly entertaining.

a dapple of my weekend

This weekend was one of the most satisfying weekends that I can remember. And it was a very personally challenging weekend, at that. I spent the majority of it alone, on my own, in solitude. I'm grateful that I was able to savor the sweet moments and get through it, alive and well. (I tried my hardest to muster the courage to face the weekend, and I'm shocked and proud that I got through it as well as I did.)

Photos from my weekend:
1. My pale pink Valentine's tulips, now fully open.
2. Celebrating Lauren's birthday with a special dinner out (after an hour and a half wait, no less).
3. Carrot cake cookies, baked on a Saturday afternoon.
4. Thrifting for goodies, a bit unsuccessfully (next time we'll be more prepared).
5. One of two walks in the woods this weekend, now that the almost-three feet of snow is frozen and hard enough to walk on top of.
6. Homemade granola with blueberries, for breakfast.
7. An impromptu stop on the side of the road, to see the mountains.
8. The gorgeous sunny woods by the pond, visited for the first time in months (finally).
9. A little self-portrait, in the window.
10. Freshly-made beds always look so much more inviting, don't they?
11. A sewing project mid-way done (I'll share more soon!)
12. A canopy of twinkling lights and felt hearts, above my bed.


Hoping your weekends were lovely as well, happy week :)

coming seasons.

This week, I've driven with a window down for the first time in months.

I've slept at night with my curtains open, for soaking in the earlier and earlier morning sunlight.

I've even left the house with only a sweater on.

Spring, and a warmer brighter season, is on its way. I can feel it. (Although I'm not sure the worst of this dark season is over just yet.)

twittering.

I always said I'd never Tweet.

I guess that's over, then.

Oops.


(I'm secretly addicted. Do you Tweet?)

love.

Once upon a time, I was looking towards Valentine's Day 2011 with the hopefulness of having someone to share it with.

Ha.

I can appreciate my months-younger self's desire for partnership, for someone to celebrate with, a yearning to be with someone else. And yet I rejoice at the growth that has occurred since then.

Today I bought myself flowers. And I wouldn't want them from anyone else.



(These two posts have also inspired me tremendously today.)

a dapple of my weekend

Don't get me wrong--staying in and refusing plans and drinking wine and watching movies makes for a pretty good weekend.

Only, I forgot about how too much free time can cause me to get lost in my own thoughts, to seemingly shrink away and hole up and not see past the next hour.

I practiced shifting things just the tiniest bit, to feel just an ounce more goodness in those moments. I went out for a photographing jaunt around town, I perused Valentines goodies at the store with Lauren, I baked cupcakes.

Anything, anything, to just not get stuck. It's growth, I keep telling myself, however slow it comes.

hunkering down

This weekend, I plan on hunkering down.

I'm gathering necessities. I'm creating a nest. I'm refusing plans.

I've armed myself with a bottle of cheap wine, extra pillows, another Margaret Atwood book (I haven't gotten through one yet), a turned-off alarm clock, instant Netflix episodes of The Office, lots of tissues, my new "Things That Make Me Feel Good" journal, library books about famous photographers, and 500 Days of Summer (again).

I'm going to let go, and listen.

these things i've been learning

Taking a deep breath feels good.
Holding my breath and clenching my jaw does not feel good.

Declining invitations that I don't want to accept feels good.
Doing something just for the sake of doing something does not feel good.

Getting up and leaving the room when I don't want to be there feels good.
Sitting and allowing anger and frustration to swell deep in my belly does not feel good.

Speaking honestly, right away, feels good.
Beating around the bush and waiting to break the news later does not feel good. 

Being careful not to compare my life to others' feels good.
Comparing and copying and pretending does not feel good.

Giving myself the entire weekend to do nothing and make no plans feels good.
Making endless lists of tasks that I will inevitably feel bad about not completing does not feel good.


What feels good to you?

Have a happy, feeling-good weekend.

i've finally done it

After much deliberation, and even more preparation, I've finally done it:

I've launched my Etsy shop!

It's a collection of photographic prints in a shop I'm calling "A Comfort Given Photography." When I heard Mary Oliver speak in October, she referred to poetry as a "comfort given." That phrase has stuck with me, and I've come to realize that that's exactly what my photography is for me: a comfort.

And now I'm ready to share it.

Take a look if you'd like, and enjoy! Thank you guys so much for your support :)

more snow days

Around here, where there's been a snowstorm about every four days, you're bound to hear the complaining. The people who hate snow and bemoan the storms. Don't get me wrong, we have about four feet of snow accumulated and I'm getting tired of having nowhere left to shovel the snow to, but I really love the snow. I don't think I could live here if I didn't (and I don't know how some people do).

Today was my third (or was it fourth?) snow day off from work. I'm not complaining. Coworkers gripe about being stuck in the house and running out of things to do and missing the hours from their paychecks, but I'll take a snow day anyway. Heck, give me the rest of the week off.  (Okay, I might just miss the larger paychecks too...)

Today I woke up way late, ate waffles in my pajamas, did some computer work, drank tea and listened to She&Him (they always sound good to me on snow days), ran some errands, and made some Valentine's decor. How can people get sick of these days?



Please share--what's the weather like in your part of the world? As much as I love the snow, lately I've been dreaming about spring jackets and pretty flats....