Music this week: aka music this Decemeber

Here are some tunes that have been helping me get through this month . . .

(1)  Froot - Marina and the Diamonds
Marina has a new album coming out soon!  The more I listen to this track the more fun I think it is and the more clever I find this lyrics.  She also has the haunting Happy on this album.

Progress Report: Week 14

I fear I didn't do much better this week.  I need to refocus.  Christmas shopping and netflix and self-pity have gotten in my way too much lately.

1.  Get a new job and move.  No progress.

Poem: the 20 best dressed women

Inspired by The 20 Best Dressed Women of 2014.

The Rules:  Each line is composed of words from one paragraph.  The words must stay in the order they appear.  I can use whatever punctuation I want.  (I changed one proper noun to a pronoun.)

Come On Get Crafty: Christmas Card?

I needed to mail a friend something in a larger envelope.  But I was worried that it would get bent in the mail, so I wanted to include a card.  But one can't include a card without decorating it!  So I did a simple design, inspired by this idea. 

I chose a yellow card so that my writing on the back would show up easily.  I chose red as my primary scrap color because it is almost Christmas!

Merry Christmas friend!

In the Papier: Correspondence from Time

During the summer I picked up a box of random postcards at a flea market.  There were all sorts of blank postcards and an assortment of cards that had apparently been sent to (and saved by) a particular family.  It is sort of fascinating to see all the places these people's friends and family traveled to over the years and read their accounts.  Some of them are simple greetings with reflections on the weather and lists of all the attractions the travelers had taken in.  Others are more personable and mysterious.

Luzern.  Hofkirche mit Pitlatus.

July 11, ???? (Year indistinguishable)
Dear F + R,

It seems funny to be communicating with you from over 3,000 miles away, when I always forget to call you at home, but you now know that I'm thinking of you.

I just adore Switzerland.  We climbed part of a mountain (the one on this card) today, and took a cog railway down, surrounded by ten singing Swiss boys, one more adorable than the next!

Staying at a charming hotel, and in a day we'll be heading for Italy.

Love to J.

L 

Progress Report: Week 13

Meant to get this out on Sunday.  But after Thursday I got extremely lazy.  We had a big work event on Thursday and much of the week was spent stressing about that and then wanting (and actually) completely vegging for the several days following the event.  I'm afraid I didn't make much progress on most of my goals this week.  BUT I did get a lot of laundry done and many Christmas presents sorted out.

Let's see how I did . . .

1.  Get a new job and move.  No progress.

Do Something That Scares You: Voice Memos

Photo from here.

There are so many things I never did or have not yet done because I'm afraid.  By afraid, I don't mean seriously in fear of death/harm/destruction (i.e. I have never swam in a shark cage and don't intend to) . . . I mean fearful of what other people might thing, of not doing something perfectly, of being ridiculed, or feeling self-conscious or unsure if I would succeed.  That sort of fear.

Often, later, I realize how silly those fears that stopped me were or realized that any negative experiences would probably have outweighed the enjoyment I might of gotten out of doing something I was interested in.  Other times, I've realized I don't care about the negative consequences or no longer value the opinion of those people I thought would judge me.  Many times, I've realized that a lot of the things I feared happening were extremely unlikely and how foolish it was for me to let those imaginings get in my way.

I like to remind myself of things I now do comfortably that at some point in my life I thought I would never be able to do.  It helps me remember that I am a capable person, that it's ok not to do something perfectly on the first try, and that I have proved many times that I can overcome fears--- especially all

Progress Report: Week 12

I got thrown off by ennui, preparing for the holidays, the holidays, and Christmas shopping over the past few week.  Some weeks I really didn't do much but this past week I tried to step it up again.

1.  Get a new job and move.  No progress.

STEP 1 more job searching
STEP 2 is to crank out those applications
STEP 3 develop some more skills

2.  Make my own postcards. No progress.

STEP 1: do some MORE research on the cost of ordering some cards.
STEP 2: identify 5 photos I would like to use on the cards
STEP 3: look into how to design my card (using Photoshop, using a online template from a print service etc.)

Poem: robed

robed

with softness
and dewy eyes
let's lay down upon
that leafy cloak

the sky above
with its infinite sighs
I'll watch
taking solace from the clouds

my ear pressed
to the cool landscape beneath
hearing and kissing
all sounds of life flowing

There in the nooks
of the mountains
I can only sleep

and sleep a sleep
that ends with violence
canopies torn above me
and skin ripped by jaws

dipped in blood
from creatures charred who
crawl from fissures in the earth
and still walk among us

Hypnotized by . . . She & Him videos

She & Him just launched a new album of covers.  With the launch, they also have some great new video!  I love them! I can't stop watching!

The color!  The style!  The choreography!  The sound!  The ambiance!

Stay Awhile

Guide to Standards

I want to Learn . . .

Image Credit Link

There is so much I want to learn.  How is it I so rarely make time for things I am deeply interested in? Sometimes I forget what those things are and just end up doing something boring that other people do.  Sometimes it is helpful to write things down so you don't forget them

Some Things I Want to Learn/Learn About:

1. how to play drums
2. painting watercolors
3. to speak French (again)
4. sewing
5. car maintenance
6. how to dance
7. web design
8. photography
9. how to write a song
10. history of fashion photography/fashion
11. history of Russia
12. poetry
13. study art history/art
14. basic computer science (?)
15. Photoshop & InDesign
16. sketching/drawing
17. all about fabrics
18. weaving
19. Tarot reading
20. study Native American religion
21. PR/Marketing lingo
22. Basics of entrepreneurship
23. how to press flower so they don't look ugly

 I'm sure there are more.