Creative Cooking

Finding inspiration in the kitchen usually starts with the ingredients I have on hand.  I keep staples, such as cereal and oatmeal, peanut butter, and salad or smoothie goodies, at all times, but I'd like to switch up my routine and get creative with cooking.  The first step is to find recipes that excite my taste buds so that I can be sure to buy everything I need for when the time comes that I'm craving a certain something.  Before going to the store, I will simply go through my collection of fantasy meals and get what I think I need to recreate them in ways that best suit my preferences.  Cooking takes creativity, patience, and attention to taste, but it is all worth it when I end up with amazing recipes that I can continue to make and adjust forever.

Serendipity

The sailboat I spent hours maneuvering,

Always trying to beat the best.

A day with best friends and ice cream

Is a sweet memory of the city.

A girl slams her door and opens it

To find that her new world is even better.

Ending up in a new place with people

And love you never thought existed.

The feeling of home

In a song on the radio.

It makes me want to dance spontaneously

Forever—fate cannot be designed.

Something on the side of the road

That gives me a chance to smile.

A person whose love has been brought

Into my awareness like none other before it.

It comes and goes as often as I choose

To accept its gifts and thank it’s rewards.

Gratitude

There are so many things to be thankful for each and every day...but sometimes I am most thankful when I simply remember to feel gratitude.  It seems like time goes by and I forget to recognize all of the amazing things I have brought into my life and, instead, find myself focusing on things I don't have.  Rather than missing my friends, I am grateful that I have the ability to talk to them and see their faces or even just their words.  Some things these days feel like such staples in my life and I start to expect them.  The more I am grateful for them, however, the less "stapled" my life will feel and the more exciting it will be.  If I bring something or someone into my life, it's because I think they will increase my happiness.  When this happens, I want to enjoy the happiness I feel from the existence of this new thing in my life. 

I would love to be able to still be happy about everything I have, for at one time this thing became important and has remained important.  Maybe it's time to reevaluate the things that are most important to me and get rid of things that are unimportant, for they are just clutter in my life.  Ultimately, if I can look around and be happy with where I am in my life, both physically and abstractly in my relationships and career, I can rest easy and wake up feeling ready to take the next step along my path.

I am grateful to say goodnight to this day.

Let downs

At times, there come moments when your reality does not meet your expectations.  I am my reality, and therefore, I become disappointed in myself when I have let somebody down.  Being let down by somebody is a feeling of loss, frustration, and annoyance that affects your future with that person.  I would never intend to let somebody down by agreeing to do something, however, committing to things that are less important to me but very important to someone I care about can seem like no big deal to me but seem like a very big deal to them. 

In these times, the best thing to do is communicate my fear that they are upset so that I have the opportunity to apologize for hurting their feelings and they have the opportunity to forgive me and move on.  Taking ownership for letting someone down is an important part of life and essential for any relationship to last.

I try to be thankful in these moments of shame when I experience what it feels like to be truly sorry for something so that I learn to be more careful in what I commit to and what I cancel in the future.  Guilt is a terrible feeling because the longer I stay guilty, the longer someone else stays hurt.  I want to ask for forgiveness from everyone I care about so that we can all be happier.

Peace&love

Saturday Mornings Are the Best

Can you think of a more pleasant thing to do than read a Vogue with a cup of coffee?  I couldn't.  So I did.  I thought about the amazing glamour that I was witnessing and actually experiencing through my participation in its purpose.  However, I want to actually be able to wear pieces I see, not just look at others wearing them.  I envision myself in the things I love.  My vision of myself is of being that girl who is happy, beautiful, seductive, and has love in her eyes.  She wears beautiful clothing that is expensive and which can only be bought by those with the finest taste. She is inspired by the influence of advertisements, which are also rather artistic.  The book becomes my bible.

We must see and feel how we want to be before we can become it.

New Routine, New Priorities

Lately, the craziness of my life has been turning my days into long periods of production, just to wake up the next day and find that I have just as much, if not more, to do than the last.  This business is turning into a routine...making me feel as alive, but also as exhausted as ever.  There are some things that may seem unnecessary considering the list I am trying to complete each day, but they are necessary for me in order to produce good work and be satisfied with my life.  Staying clean and healthy are the most important things to me.  I always make time to bathe, eat, and I try to do yoga, cardio, or weight training 4-5 times per week.  I also love to keep up with my favorite shows, and I usually manage at least five hours of rest each night.

I start each day by getting my life on its track—this means checking emails and text messages to make sure I am up to date on everything people have sent and want me to see, going over my calendar and day planner to set up a mental plan for the day, and getting my morning cup of coffee and some sort of nutritious breakfast.  Then, once I am comfortable with the course I'm on, I allow myself to incorporate more things of interest to fill the time.  I am constantly adding priorities, acquiring hobbies, and stretching my capability while praying that everything will get done in the time I have each day.  When time is of utmost demand, however, I must be extra careful to not lose sight of my priorities.  Sometimes, I feel like I have to sprint through things that I should be walking through in order to enjoy the experience and take it all in.  [I want to read the book, but I need about 5 hours to read it the way I want to and I just don't know where to find 5 hours right now.]  I have learned to multitask and combine the things I want to do, such as spending my time on the elliptical reading books for pleasure on my Nook and jamming out to my recent music downloads.

I look forward to a day when I can focus my attention on one thing fully, commit myself to it, and make something amazing.  For now, I will continue to accomplish as much as I can, knowing that I did the best I could.

Just got to get over the hump of each day...Friday is always the prize!

A Little Romance for the Ears

I love listening to jazz in the evenings.  I believe this habit started during a semester in college when I attended a jazz class every Tuesday and Thursday at 5 o'clock.  The tunes easily flow through the back of my head and instantly relax my thoughts.  I also get in the romantic mood when I hear the free moving fingers of the musicians on their instruments. From the the horn of the sax to pounds on the piano, something about jazz is so magical!

Getting Outdoors

Oftentimes, the best way to get my mind out of a box and my routine out of a rut includes getting my body outside into the freshness of nature. Whether it's changing into a white ensemble and jumping into a cool sweat with my tennis racket and the easy conversation between old friends or throwing on a tshirt and headphones to go walk around in nature, exercise soothes my mind. Plus, an added perk is extra energy and a slim body!

Glamour

A perfect world is one in which glamour consistently plays a part, so keeping life's everlasting beauty is an ambition of mine. Accordingly, I approach the subject of style with the same definitive view. In principal, I retain a classic style as the canvas to my wardrobe. This allows me to add chic and trendy pieces that give each look a flavor of my style and transform my wardrobe throughout the seasons. By keeping an underlying elegance, however, I remain confident in the quality of every outfit, for I know that the basic staples in which I have invested will withstand any criticism. The fun comes when I allow my creativity to go to the edge and try something out of the ordinary. I never force myself to stay on trend in my purchases or in my styling, though. Rather, I trust my taste to find pieces that will give me greater poise. Continually editing my accessories so that specific highlights really stand out helps me to focus each look. Every single item adds detail and pizazz to my wardrobe and boosts the edginess of my character in the eyes of the world. However, I never leave the house if I feel like I have hidden the beauty of simple glamour, for it is best to tell the world too little than too much.