Monkey Mind

I have been reading a book that a friend recommended on her blog called Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I am only about halfway through the book at this point and I love it. I pretty much only have time to read on the subway and at lunch and I find that these moments fly by too quickly leaving me impatiently waiting for the next time I can sneak in a chapter or two. One of the concepts mentioned in this book is to have a mind like a monkey swinging from branch to branch. My mind is a lot like that. I feel so full of ideas and thoughts and worry and concern and what if this and how about that and… well you get the picture. I, much like the Liz in the book, need to quiet my mind but have a ridiculously hard time doing so. I will have to keep reading to find out if she ever has a better time meditating. I am going to try to practice my quiet mind tonight at yoga and see where that gets me.

Shuffling Along

While running (well mostly walking with some running) on Saturday my iPod worked its way out of my pocket and skittered across the ground, face down. 😦 It still works but for the rest of my run/walk I had to carry it. The way my arms would flail about caused me to rip my headphones from my ears repeatedly. At that moment I decided I needed a smaller music player. Last night I went to the Apple store, decided that the shuffle should be small enough and set about deciding whether I wanted the green or orange shuffle. Orange won. I also got myself a pair of Nike headphones that seem to lend themselves to staying in my ear a bit better and are sweat proof. My checkout was an interesting experience on its own. I didn’t have to go to a register, someone came to me with a little hand held device, swiped my card and asked if I wanted my receipt emailed or printed. I was amazed. I spent the rest of the evening deciding which songs would motivate me while exercising.

All By Myself

M is away this weekend. I miss him and I wish he was here to enjoy this WONDERFUL weather we are having, but I have to say that I am pretty happy with my weekend so far. I got up not too early and instead of bumming around all day in pajamas I ran some errands. I came back home and started knitting a toy… it took three tries but it is going along nicely now. I took a break from the toy and walk ran around the loop in the park. That was good. And this evening I am going to go ice skating with M&M. And I still have tomorrow.

Non-Stellar

Boy am I glad it is Friday. I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. I am waiting for some news about a job and I am getting all worked up and weighed down about it. This morning it was raining like crazy. Getting to work wet doesn’t make for a great start to the day. Luckily here we are at lunch time and the sky is blue as can be and the sun is shining and it is warming up. Phew! I am meeting my step dad for dinner tonight. We are going to an uber-trendy place and I am excited. This weekend M is away and I am looking forward to puttering around the house and catching up on doing a whole lotta nothing.

Broken Plate Angels

Just this morning I was thinking about the upstate property and all the broken plates and glasses there are hanging around. Why you ask are there lots of broken plates and glasses just hanging around. It is a long story. The short version is that we believe the previous owner was at one point making a living at flea markets and had gathered many things with the intention of selling them. A lot didn’t get sold and is still hanging around. I came up with the idea of using these pieces in mosaics and then realized that these pieces are mostly white and that doesn’t make for interesting mosaic… or does it? Today I saw a piece by Brit Hammer which is composed of white mosaic pieces and is beautiful. I even love the name “Angels Over My Shoulder.”

One of a Kind

I have a little felt handbag that I love. It is gray with red interior. Although it is small, it somehow fits everything I need it to fit without looking overstuffed. I have had it so long and used it so much that the gray on the handles has started away and the red is showing through. I loved this little handbag from the moment I laid eyes on it in the window of a store that no longer exists. It was a bit of a splurge, but all the same I bought it. I used to hang it on my wall on its own little hook when I wasn’t using it. I can see now that it is nearing the end of its little handbag life. I want to make another handbag just like it, maybe in a few different colors but I can’t bring myself to rip it apart to make a pattern.

Lawn Furniture

I saw this really neat grass couch online at readymade. M & I have talked about sculptural objects we would like to have on the property and I think this would fit in nicely.

Oh Give Me a Home!

M & I are one step closer to having a weekend home. Those of you that live in NYC probably understand that a weekend home can make all the difference in how long you can stay in NY. So lately I have been poking around online to see what types of shelters we can afford in the short term but can be expanded in the future. I love the idea of these architect designed modular homes. But because they are designed by architects they are a lot more expensive for the same amount of room than a boring old cape cod modular. Now it just so happens that I went to school for architecture and although I don’t really do all that much architecture now I know a little and I know a few architects. So what I am thinking is if this modular company that does the boring cape cods would be willing to work with us (and I get the impression that they will) we could probably have the best of both worlds. It is an exciting path to be starting down albeit a scary one.

Family Weekend

My dad and my sister have the same birthday and this weekend there was a party to celebrate. I don’t get to see my family enough. Life gets so hectic and free time is precious. Often when that free time presents itself I feel like I need to rest and recharge my battery. It is these parties that remind me that I can recharge and see my family.

I Feel Like a Star!

I have noticed lately that while I am out and about, usually on the walk to or from the subway or lunch I have been thinking about my blog. I write and rewrite what I want to say, I think about what is going, what I have been doing. This tends to feel a lot like an internal monologue and I can’t help but feeling like I am in a movie. A movie of my life… what would that be like?