Hullooo!

Wow, time has really flown by. I kind of forgot about my blog and my sister was kind enough to remind me about it and ask if I thought about taking up the keystrokes again. I hadn’t been thinking about it at all, instead, I had been thinking about work, websites, a possible snow storm this evening and hoping for spring to come quickly this year. Projects abound at work and things keep me on my toes. I’ll keep this space in mind and maybe new inspiration will bring me back to the keys soon. Have a great night!

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Getting Cozy and Settling In

A lot has changed for me since I last posted to my blog and now I’m settled into my new home. I have more family near me and life has been pretty busy. It seems like I’ve been in a state of “transition” for so long, I just keep waiting to see what’s next.

Soon I’m planning to rearrange my space so I have more room to organize and work on making jewelry and hopefully I’ll get to add some nice soft carpet too. I feel like I need to spend some time making my room really cozy and inviting and I’d like to put more art on the walls. My walls are a honey colored wood panelling and although it’s not too bad, it’s not really my style.

I’ll try to update with more soon but for now, I’ll leave you with a picture of my most recent finished jewelry set.

Rainy Day Meanderings

The challenge of finding my calling or vocation rather than continuing to exist in the day to day reality of a J-O-B is a frustrating one. All too often I find myself jumping from one conclusion to another about what it is I might truly enjoy the most and be able to really pour myself into. The world sends us a plethora of conflicting messages about working, earning an income, work-life balance, vocation, career satisfaction and on and on. It’s dizzying to find a grounded path that meets the needs of the soul.

Randomly, I include this image I captured with my Blackberry at the park today. I ❤ lilacs and I loved the way the picture felt reminiscent of a favorite childhood campground.

What is one to do when so many things interest them? My room is crowded with books of numerous topics, my walls with images artistic, explorative and inspirational, and my mind with a list too long of the fascinating options I could pursue. Yet taken on the whole, many of these paths I’ve considered do contain elements of similarity which makes it hard to narrow down to one or few choices.

Raindrops and Sneezes

Aaaachooo! As the drip, drip, drop of April showers patter against my bedroom windowpane. My mind is hardly still as I try to settle for the evening and the sneezing animates things further lol. Of course the logical conclusion was to blog about this most fascinating information! Well, really the writing is relaxing in itself and something about the sound of rain makes me enjoy writing even more.

I haven’t been feeling the greatest today and felt sore and achy, a bit flu-like and drained. I ended up huddled under covers and asleep for most of the day and then curled on the couch under blankets really until I decided to climb back into bed. Not a very eventful day and I suppose sometimes our bodies just plain need a rest.

I did come across some interesting animations of speeches done by the RSA.I thought it was unique and entertaining to watch the speech unfold visually as a narrated storyboard on top of the interesting content. I had been researching the nature of employee engagement and motivation and looking for best practice articles. Interestingly enough, I found the RSA Animate on a speech given by Dan Pink  “Drive: The Surprising Truth of What Motivates Us”  (who wrote a book of the same name) through a link posted by a fellow ENFP on Linkedin rather than during my Google search.

There are so many facets of human nature/ behavior that are interesting, especially when you look at niche environments or with respect to achievement of specific goals whether individually or within an organization. I was doing research on SHRM‘s site as well but since I’m not currently a member I couldn’t access most of the really interesting sounding articles. Randomly, that reminds me of the SHRM 2007 conference in Vegas that I attended as a guest. I really enjoy conferences and this one left a big impression on me. I even won a big Trumpasaurus stuffed animal from the Monster Worldwide booth which I had autographed by the designer, Allan Downing (and a t-shirt with Trump on it)! It inhabits the top of my bookcase to this day lol.

 

 

 

 

 Well, I think that’s enough rambling for tonight…the sneezing has ceased and the rhythmic lull of the rain has begun to encourage yawning and drooping eyelids.

G’night y’all!

Just for Fun

This is a quick video I posted a long time ago on my YouTube and I was watching it again. It makes me laugh and remember some fun times with friends so I thought I’d link to it here so others can enjoy it. I enjoy playing around with accents and impressions so hope it gives you a laugh. In this one I was pretending to be the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin while killing a spider. 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFgN5za0DlE

It’s been a fun morning so far. My sister and I listened to some old songs that Leonard Nimoy sung that we found on YouTube. I prepped dinner and played around with a baked banana dessert idea. Mostly we’ve just been lounging around. The birds have been chirping beautifully so we’ve had the windows open to let in the fresh spring air. We’re still trying to decide if we want to go anywhere today or if we want to just hang around the apartment all day.

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I totally forgot about the Tires video lol. Love that one of me which totally makes me sound like a narcissist but there aren’t many pics/videos that I feel really capture me in all my goofy glory so this is a fun one to watch in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdBImGT9P-Q

Better than Bored

If you’re bored, try to learn something new! If you can learn something new while being entertained….that’s TED. Ok, well not only TED but it fits the bill for my post and you can watch the TED talk I watched today or visit their site and see any number of awesome talks that will inform and entertain you.

So it was a pretty hectic, enjoyable day today, I even borrowed a movie from a friend to watch when I got home. I haven’t actually watched it yet though so I might do that next. My sister had plans for the evening so I was trying to decide what I wanted to do and I wasn’t quite ready to watch the movie so I played around on the internet. I wasn’t in the mood to “hang out” on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter for very long so I decided to beat any possibility of boredom with a beloved Google search! What did I search for you might ask? Research! Marketing research to be specific and it’s amazing how quickly you can tangent into other subjects on the seemingly boundless internet.

Cookies, Cranes and Terrariums on the Brain

I love Sundays. It seems frequent that these are the days I have the tendency to feel creative and alive, desiring to share something fresh with others. I woke early today and although I was slightly saddened to find I didn’t quite have enough ground coffee, I made some instant and busied myself with baking some oatmeal raisin cookies. I had tidied up the kitchen beforehand and then settled onto the couch with my trusty laptop for some entertaining exploration as I sipped my steamy cuppa joe. The window was open just enough in the living room to allow a touch of the chill morning air to tickle my toes as they stuck out of my lap quilt. It’s an altogether cozy atmosphere for just relaxing and frittering the day away with pleasurably pointless pursuits lol. I really like my current apartment, even though I’d be ever so much happier if it had a balcony. It’s been a particularly great day for researching on the internet while my bread rises since I absolutely LOVE the sound of the drizzling rain against the apartment and the gray clouds hugging the horizon and filling the skies. Some might think it dreary weather but I love the kind of weather that puts you in the mood for thinking and tea/coffee.

I thought I’d invite you in for a peek at my cozy apartment. Here’s a pic I took with my BlackBerry Curve 8520 just a bit ago.

Glory in the Simplest Things

I can hear Your voice in the wind
the leaves in the trees rustle Your praise
Your smile in the stars that shine above
so deep and clear, the universe so completely
awash in the colors of Your love

I feel Your glory in the simplest things
like a warm embrace, my Father’s love
like a tickle when I’m barefoot on the grass
and the gift of a butterfly gracing my path

The birds that fly on faith above cry out
with all of nature’s song and Your love
shining brightly to lead the way

I know this crazy world is hurting
people scared and angry each day
I pray they wake the the Son and
reach out for His love

All around, every day the simplest things share His grace
a Father’s gifts to you and me reminding how it’s supposed to be
we need only listen and open our hearts
His words are there for all even when we fall
we can turn to Him, know the truth and be free

I feel Your glory in the simplest things
like a warm embrace, my Father’s love
like a tickle when I’m barefoot on the grass
and the gift of a butterfly gracing my path

The birds that fly on faith above, cry out
with all of nature’s song and Your love
shining brightly to lead the way

So listen to your Father calling in the wind
His Son with carry you through the days
as you slumber trust your cares to Him
and pray to know He’s guiding your way
feel His presence each step you take
and know He’s close to you in every way
even in the simplest things, His embrace.

ACGraves-2010

Wisdom & Knowledge

Found this old compare and contrast paper from school and I was reminiscing about the things I thought about in those days. Thought I’d share.
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Throughout the ages, man has relied on his hard-earned knowledge and the wisdom of his ancestors. In that, knowledge and wisdom are found to begin their processes on the same basis. Both are used by man in order to facilitate his chances of survival and ability to rise above his fellow mammals. This does not; however, mean their meanings are the same. On the contrary, a being’s knowledge is gained throughout his lifetime through experience or association, as well as his apprehension of truth or facts through reasoning.

If So, Then What?

If within the desolate darkness
the fleeting figures seen
should come and be beside me
could I really scream?

The folding encompassing ropes
handled aptly by those unseen
were to tighten ’round my throat
would I faint into a dream?