Health

From Aube Giroux's PBS article Homegrown Microgreens Salad

I am a very motivated and ambitious person. Going for it has never been a problem for me. But one very important part of being able to maintain what you grasp out for, once you have it, is taking care of yourself. And the thing that I tend to focus on more than anything is my mental well-being. From going out with my friends to blow off some steam, to starting a new creative project, I tend to do well on that front. 

So what could I improve? That's easy. Taking care of my physical self. 

Today marks the second time this month that I've been sick, and the third time this season. Now that the last of the cold weather has (hopefully) finally packed up and set off to ebb away over the northern climes, I've made a mid-year resolution to make the month of March the month of healthy habits. Instead of making one big overarching, overambitious plan though, I want to commit to one new healthy habit for each week of the month. 

See? I like to make games of things. It's more fun that way. 

So before I start, I'll indulge myself in idle dreams - such as the notion that I could possibly one day be that person that grows regular batches of microgreens in her windowsill in order to fix herself a tasty, healthy salad for lunch. Maybe a small part of me is even hoping that I will be that person once March is through. 

What kinds of things do you all do in order to get excited about your health? Share your motivation with me! 

xo

Fun Times (and fun with lists)

my latest obsession, trello

Two of my favorite things are happening right now. In a few hours I will go pick up a visitor from the airport, and shortly after that, we will begin making our way through my list of favorite things to do/try in Austin!

I love having friends visit me in Austin because it encourages me to check out all of the fantastic things to do in this town that I tend to take for granted and forget about. It also brings out the neurotic, quasi-organized side of me that loves making lists!

So far we're hoping to start things off right with happy hour at Uchiko, and then maybe spend a breezy day outdoors doing things like checking out Mount Bonnell and the 360 Bridge - who knows, maybe we'll go kayaking? Not to mention that we're checking out a show at Stubb's BBQ, then spending all day Saturday at an Austin Facial Hair Club sponsored facial hair competition. And guys, I haven't even started to mention the long list of brew pubs I'm dying to go to.

Enough about my ideas, though - let me pick your brain a little! What are some of your favorite things to do with visitors when they come to Austin?

xo!

Reasons for Doing

 learning to love you more

I have been writing ever since I was 8 years old. I tended to keep to myself when I was a child, and loved nothing more than singing out loud and making my way through stacks of books - so when I watched the 1994 film adaptation of Little Women for the first time, and breathlessly watched Jo fly in the face of expectation in order to pursue her imagination and her passion - I know I wanted to  be a writer when I grew up.

As an adult, I tend to entertain the myth that in order to create, you must be operating from a really legitimately profound place - so for the longest time, I absolutely hated that origin question: where did your interest in writing come from?

Seventeen years later, I am more interested in the reasons why I might feel ashamed about being inspired by a strong female - fictional or not - than I am interested in the origin of the creative impulse. It has, in fact, become a centrally organizing theme in my life. Why, for instance, did it never occur to me that I could be a doctor or a lawyer?

No matter who you are or aspire to be, accessing community is of critical importance - not only to enrich ourselves, but also so that we can unburden ourselves from unnecessary or arbitrary boundaries (read: shame). Now, as one 'writer' to another, I am on the fence about Miranda July - but one thing I am not on the fence about is the collaborative nature of her art projects, and the way that she manages to curate the private in a very public space. Ever hear of Learning to Love You More? For seven years, Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher operated this site that engages with the curious visitor, and asks them to contribute to their project. The site is chock full of 'assignments' - like perform the phone call someone else wished they could have, or make a paper replica of your bed. They then ask you to document the end result and submit it to them, so that they can share your lovely with the world. You can be as serious or as silly as you'd like here - it's all valid, and it's all worthwhile.

It's kind of incredible.

Pictured above is my contribution to the project, done one impulsive evening home alone at my apartment. It's been some years, but looking it over has gotten me to thinking about the ways in which we do these small yet momentous things that connect us to something bigger. What kinds of moments have you had, like that? What does this site inspire you to do? I want to hear all about it.

xo

Diary of a Week

learning a new craft

 with friends, wine and dum dums

home state love. . .

all around!

spending my day sick in bed trying to be a better dog owner

. . . while working together on a gift for a friend

spending a gorgeous Saturday at one of my favorite spots . . .

surrounded by some of my favorite faces!

sticking it out to the wee hours in order to dance then debrief at the food trailer park

Did you all have a good week? 

xo

Valentine to Myself

I'm exhausted. And this particular exhaustion seems to be rearing back with the force of, this-has-been-coming-for-years. 

January was rough - and February, while slightly kinder, has had its patches. While I'm hard pressed as to why, exactly (and believe me, I did my best to take inventory), I've accepted it. 

That, in large part - plus a bit of holiday-induced angst - has been what's kept me away from this space. For a few weeks, there were whole periods where the space inside my brain acted more as a panicked ping-pong match than a place where solutions happen, making the simplest of things - heck, formulating a real sentence - suddenly ridiculously difficult to do. 

SO, suddenly the small things - like cooking a peaceful meal to share with the boyfriend, or spending a late morning in bed reading while cuddled up with the pup - were all that mattered. 

Though it never feels that way when you're in it - sometimes laying low for a while is to a whole lot of benefit. A few positive things I've noticed about my down-time? 

For one, I've had the time and presence of mind to focus on some of the important things that I've let slide since graduating college and being a for-real, full-time adult again, such as my finances. It has also reinvigorated my love for reading, which, let's face it - had been sitting in full-on cold fish status ever since my commencement.  It has also renewed in me a desire to be committed to my health and well-being. I spend 40 - 50 hours a week between my two jobs helping people overcome obstacles that rise from various traumatic events, such as being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, or being manipulated or physically harmed by your intimate partner. Even though self-care is something that we all learn about, and is supposed to come with the territory, I am terrible at practicing what I preach. 

SO while I know this is an unconventional Valentine's post - and that my timing is entirely off, and that all of you will be doing your V-day thing - here's just a reminder to be kind to yourself. Remember it's okay to be where you are, and that you are a lovely person. Remember, and even in the worst times, things will open and brighten again. 

xo

Rules

So, I'm back. And in order to come back, I had to remember that there are no rules. 

I don't have to be the perfect blogger - in fact, I don't even have to fit the profile. I don't need to drum up a following, and I don't need to cater to a particular audience.

Somewhere along the way, the expectations I had of myself - and the expectations I imagined others had of me - stopped being an impetus, and turned into bricks that gradually stacked up into a wall, that I backed up to - and then I sat down. I went from inspired to concerned,  and determined that every single time I decided to occupy this space, it had to be better than the last. I would need photographs, and there would need to be one big, overarching point neatly illustrated with quirky anecdotes laced with wry humor - but before even getting to this point, I would need to in fact do something interesting enough to write about. 

If that's not evidence enough that I forgot what this was supposed to be all about, I don't know what is. This is about listening to my smallest voice - not the very largest one, that shrill, ugly, booming voice that vacillates from the pit of my stomach to being that booming, canon-fire voice that sounds over the tops of buildings and trees, reaching to where I sit small to remind me that what I'm doing will never be enough. 

There is a time for being humble, and there is a time for reassessing - and that, I think, is also a large part of why I departed for a time. Bringing up that reassessment to bear up under public scrutiny, I felt, might induce exactly the sort of navel-gazing I am determined to avoid. 

So even if I'm doing nothing more than cooking dinner, taking evening strolls with the dog, or fencing myself in for a while to crochet a blanket for a friend (while I shamelessly watch episode after episode of Dexter on Netflix), I'm going to try to find healthy, productive, and necessary ways of integrating this space back into my life. It means too much to me to just let it go. 

xo