Images

I have spent the better half of this first day of 2016 cleaning up and out my photos and albums (both physical and digital).  It feels really good however as per my usual, I don’t have a stop button.  In some ways this is how my perfectionism serves me well because as I persevere through the cleaning process, the end result is done, with nothing else to do.  I like that about myself.

The issue is that I have hyper focus, I ignore people and my own self-care needs (like food and water).  This is a short lived phase so I am happy to keep-on-keepin’-on.

My photos and albums are nearly organized and plans for catching up on my albums are in the works.  The best part of this ritual is that I get to walk down memory lane.  I know I am the only one who knows my photos so intimately and I think I am the only one who cares to this degree and that is OK.

My next task is to see if my other family members will download their stash so we can have a representative sample from this year.  As the kids age our number of photos dwindles and it makes the photo albums seem a little lacking so I need all the images I can get.  I also love to see what is important to the kids both about themselves and their friends.  Of course I am only seeing the pictures they want me to see.  In the social media world of Snapchat, I know I am not seeing all the photos taken and that is probably a good thing.

Given the fact that I spent most of the day on photos and a lot of the content on this blog features my photos, one could surmise that I value this part of my life.  I do.  My time is less focused on photography these days but today I had the joy of photographing my daughter and her friends during a downtown adventure.  It feels good to start out the new year in this way.  Perhaps this is a sign of things to come.

Lucky Day

I love when my sister-in-law cleans out her closet.  My closet benefits. This weekend I got some great items.  I grabbed a pair of cool/funky pants that I was hopeful would fit.  They did not.  I brought the trousers to work and shopped them around the office.  They were TOO cool/funky for my office mates.  I put them in my purse to take back home.

On my walk home, I racked my brain to think of someone who would want the pants. No one came to mind.  I had the thought that I wanted to be able to personally hand the trousers to the next owners instead of putting them in a donation bin.

Fast forward a few hours and I went to the mall to do some final Christmas shopping.  I was in a ‘younger/hip’ store buying my purchase.  As I went to pay, the pants fell into my hands.  I looked at the young lady behind the counter and I asked “are you a 27”? “Yes I am”, she replied.  “Do you want a pair of pants”, “Sure!”.  As I handed them over, I realized that the pants were from a store in the mall and the tag was still attached.  I had a split-second thought that I could be seen as a shoplifter offloading my haul.  Alas, my new ‘friend’ said she trusted me.

How about that?  Within hours of having the desire to personally hand the pants to someone; I did!  I like to think that I might have made her feel as if it was her ‘lucky day’.

On a similar note…

On the same walk home, I was carrying a big bag of leftovers from an office luncheon.  I had the thought that I would hand the bag to the first homeless person I saw.  Wouldn’t you know, today there were none in my path.  The food became my kids’ after school snack.  It was THEIR lucky day!

Treasure

I appreciate all that I have in my life; however, I am not one to value ‘things’.  I make a few exceptions like my wedding band, engagement ring, photo books etc.  The one thing that I have recently created that I adore is a photo ornament tree.  I have every Christmas card photo since the beginning of our small family. 

Last year I obsessed over getting every missing photo made into an ornament to complete the tree.  The amount of pleasure I have toward this treasure feels almost a little skewed….I like that about myself! 

Manual Mode

Today I was messaging my mentor and I had mentioned that I want to pick up my camera again (it is getting dusty) and I want to shoot using the manual setting (which has always been a bit of a clumsy activity in the past). Then for some reason I decided to explore what using the manual mode means to me ‘metaphorically’.  This is what I said:

slowing down, being more deliberate, willing to suck at it, expecting things to be more detailed and interesting, and in general, seeing things with a new perspective

How about that for a new mantra for the coming months!

What person/place/thing/concept is playing out in your life lately?  Give some thought the qualities and characteristics of that metaphor and see how it can relate to your current situation or to answer a question you have.

I think this ‘right brain’ tool helps to bring a little more peace and expansive thinking to a situation.

Rare moment

It is rare to have quality connection with my teenagers.  I believe it is in their job description.  I would give both my kids high marks for doing their job well.  But today was different; today my daughter spent 2 hours singing songs from her playlist.  The jam session was probably one hour too long for me, but I was NOT going to be the one to end it.  This type of interaction is a valued commodity to the adults in this house. 

I am reminded of her younger days when she would give us a personally choreographed dance recital on an almost nightly basis.  I would sit as her “audience” until she ran out of steam.  I feel confident that those evenings of support and non-judgment influenced her confidence to perform in musicals and plays and sing solos on stages.  I am in awe of her gumption.

Oh and the “thank you Momma” as she went off to bed tonight was like a sweet sweet chocolate morsel that I will savor.   I am practicing consuming treats in moderation…so I guess this once-in-a-blue-moon connection is my no calorie sweet treat for the day. 

Great Start

A family friend told me it is good luck to say “rabbit rabbit rabbit” before saying anything else on the first day of a month.  I learned this in 1985.  I have rarely, if ever, been able to remember to do this.  Today I did it! 

I love that I started this month with a smile, and a memory of my childhood. 

I love it when…

I love it when I think of something and then I see it in real life in some form.  

Today is one of those days that thoughts became things spontaneously.  Just today I thought that we need more umbrellas in our house, and UMBRELLAS were the parting gift at a networking event.  While riding the Metro, I saw that Gallup has job opportunities:  as I ascended the stairs of the Metro stop, the GALLUP OFFICE was the first building I saw.  At work, I updated my Linkedin profile linking to my high school in Iceland (A.T. Mahan) and just now I found that an old HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND from Iceland commented on my Facebook page.

What I attribute this to is alignment, flow, and a hint to where my ‘sweet spot’ is for attracting what I want in my life.  It also shows me that I am paying attention and it amps my desire to create more of the same.  Good things are coming my way…and I am ready for them.

Haiku time

I love when things flow

With ease and grace to show me

I am supported

Riding Write

I have taken to writing while I journey to my fun job in DC.  I have had this lovely teal journal for about 3 years now and each year I have believed I would finish it.  This IS my year and in fact it will be complete by my birthday in the coming month.  I have periodically adopted the ritual of writing three pages a day based on Julia Cameron’s “morning pages”.  I am “on again” with the ritual and I’ve added an additional writing task.  I also write in a very small ‘pocket’ journal one tiny page about my abundance and specifically my positive relationship with money.  This is a simple easy way to get my abundance-vibe juiced up for the day. 

So…I write in my tiny money journal and then I write three pages in my bigger ‘morning pages’ journal…all on the train…all in full view of my fellow riders.  I have decided that I really don’t care if someone reads my inner thoughts AND I also kind of like to think that someone is possibly left ‘curious’ about what “that lady is doing”.  I love my morning ride on the metro (especially if I am seated) and now I love it more because I write as I ride.

Haiku:

On the ride to work

I explore my inner thoughts

While others look on 

Sans Souci

Record low temperatures require the right outerwear.  I’ve acquired an ever-so-stylish green coat from a re-sale shop. It is essentially a walking sleeping bag.  The investment was $35 but the warmth is priceless.  What I’ve gained in reasonably priced parka, I’ve lost in style.  But here is the thing, I don’t give one care. 

I had been told that with age, what others think doesn’t matter.  This coat represents my evolution into that frame of mind.  When thinking about this concept, the fun French term Sans Souci (carefree) comes to mind. 

So now I ‘haiku’

Green coat is ugly

Sans souci is my new style

Warm is the new black

A man and his dog

We are coming in on 2 solid years of owning our puppy Casey.  I would love to say that there was not a day that I regretted getting him.  That first year was a doozy sprinkled with extreme cuteness.  We have definitely hit our stride despite his wake time of 5:30-6am.  The dog is independent and doles out his love and affection on his own terms and his own time – much like the human teenagers in the house.  My love has grown with time and I am happy to have him as our puppy/dog. 

But…what I truly deeply love about having Casey is that my husband adores him more than he ever knew was possible.  The fact that my husband gets to experience that level of affection and love is what makes owning Casey worth every single minute of it.  

My heart swells every time I see Casey and his main human express their love and affection.

Haiku – time

The man loves the dog

Both are mutually blessed

Warms my tender heart