Living the Creative Life

I just took the Blog Love e-course from Red Velvet this week. It's very insightful! I highly recommend it. (I promise they aren't paying me to say that.) I learned a lot, namely that I need to have more of a focus to my blog. In the past I've tried to write blogs that were hyper-focused, but I don't that's what they meant. It's more like, you have to understand what you want to get out of writing your blog. You have to have a clear vision. Figure out what you want your blog to be and focus on that. Write on the topics that support that. Don't get distracted by drama and negativity. (I'm totally over-paraphrasing here. You may get something different from the course, but that's what stood out to me). What I want is a positive, creative place that inspires me (and hopefully others!), a place to express my creativity, explore colors and art and beauty, and reminisce on the journey that my life is taking me on! What do you want out of your blog? It'...

I've been told to spill the details about going back to school !! I feel like I've been thinking this out for ages, but I guess it has been a rather recent decision and I haven't really made it super public yet on here. You should know that I usually make my decisions more public when I'm not sure about them... maybe I'm hoping someone will talk me into it? So rest assured... you haven't heard much about this decision because I am sure about it and didn't want to jinx it. Sometimes talking about something too much psychs me out. Anyway... so enough with the prologue. I'm starting the first year of a graphic design program this fall! As much I would love to move back to Portland tomorrow and live in the city that stole my heart, I decided it would be a smarter move to stay here for a few more years in my cheaper apartment with my decently-paying, boring job, and just take the course here at the local community college. I'm super excited about ...

Transitions. I feel like my life is full of them right now. I'm brimming with nervous energy, anticipating the changes that await me: Starting school in 4 months.  Cutting back the hours at my job when I start school. Actually I guess that's all... It just feels like a lot. Don't get me wrong, it'll be good. Just... different from how my life is now. So that makes it exciting... and scary... and nerve-wracking... and fun. If possible, I'm simultaneously looking forward to and completely nervous about my upcoming status as a student. Overall I think it will be good. It's just the change that's difficult... and the anticipation of said change. What is it about change that's so nerve-wracking anyway?

I've spent the last couple days reading a fascinating e-book called Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui. I don't know how much I buy into all that energy talk, but the clutter part I can totally identify with. I opened my desk at work today and realized I had about 30 pens in there. Also multiple notepads, staple removers, and massive quantities of paperclips. Why was I hanging on to all this stuff? The supply cupboard is only steps from my office. Clutter clutters our mind. It slows us down. It depresses us. Have you ever noticed how much better you feel after scooping up all the dirty clothes from the bedroom floor and taking them to the laundry room? I've still got about 300 (i-phone-sized) pages left to read. I'm not sure what that translates into book-sized pages, but I don't think it's very many. I'm sure I'll finish it tomorrow. I definitely recommend this book. It's helped me see how much keeping things that I didn't love was weigh...

So as I was catching up on my blog reading this weekend (I love it when I have time to do that!) , I ran across this amazing post on Moorea Seal 's blog about her comfort things. Not necessarily her favorite things, but the things that give her comfort. I loved the idea, so thought I'd write out a comfort list of my own. Here goes... These are the things that bring comfort to me. Activities: Soaking in a hot bath. Cuddling in bed with my cat. Rearranging my bedroom. Jumping in the surf of the ocean. Watching a Survivor season premiere. Reading a good book. Sitting in a movie theatre by myself. Photographing flowers in a park. Rain, foggy, spooky days. Being awake in the middle of the night when no one else is. Watching a baseball game in the stadium. Food: Krispy Kreme donuts. BBQ'd hot-dogs, with potato salad and watermelon... eaten outside in a park with family and friends. Rice w/ brown sugar and raisins. Cheetos. Golden Grahams. Red and orange bell pepp...

Love this... Left brain : I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am. Right brain: I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feet. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.

So I applied to community college this week. My first term will start at the end of September. That's just four months away!! I'm totally excited about the classes, but I'm also starting to wig out a bit about going back to school in my 30's. Is that a totally weird thing to do? Have any of you gone back to school when you were older? I'm excited though, to start learning more about art, graphic design, and computer graphics programs (like Photoshop, InDesign, etc.). The more I read about the program and the classes, the more "me" this career path feels. I guess that's a good sign, right?

I just realized I haven't done a "best of" post looking back at the most popular posts of April yet, and here May is half-over already! Lol. Where does the time go? So... without further ado... here were the most popular posts from April. Have you read them all? 1. Hour Two 2. 15 Recently Discovered New Bloggers 3. The Crimson Wave 4. Dreaming of How I Want My Life to Be 5. The Lynchpin 6. Heal and Lift Us Up 7. The Greatest Accomplishment 8. If You Want to Understand Me... 9. I Only Wish

Check out this interesting mashup of Stayin' Alive and The Wall. I never would've pictured those two songs working together but they totally do! Thanks to Debi, at Random Citymouse , for this great find!

Michelle, over at Oh Mishka, put up an awesome smoothie recipe the other day that I just had to try!! You can make it any way you like, but here's what I do: Banana-Spinach Smoothie 3/4 cup orange juice 3/4 cup soy milk 2 handfuls of baby spinach 1 banana 1 handful of frozen blueberries ----- Start with a clean blender (this should go without saying) . Add orange juice and soy milk (I don't measure it - just pour in a bit of each) . Add 2 handfuls of baby spinach (or whatever deep green leaves you have on hand) . Blend this up until the leaves are unrecognizable. Add fruit: banana, blueberries, whatever else you want. Blend again. Pour into a glass and enjoy! (I promise you can't taste the spinach.)

Thank you to Sarah Eliza, over at Curiouser and Curiouser , for this lovely blog award! Be sure and check out her cute site! In order to accept this award, these are rules I must follow: 1) Thank the person who gave you this award by linking back to them in your post 2) Tell us 7 things about yourself Alright!! Sounds like a plan. Here goes... 7 Things About Myself I'm hoping to go back to school this fall to start an Associates in Graphic Design I'm an INFP, which means I'm thoroughly introverted, a day-dreamer, and love to keep my options open. My idea of a perfect day is waking up without an alarm, snuggling up with my cat, sipping a little coffee, and reading for hours on the couch. The best place I've ever lived is Portland, Oregon. Someday I hope to move back. I would love to travel... everywhere. I'm a t.v. junkie. My guilty pleasures are Survivor, Gilmore Girls, & X-Files. So far my 30's have been better than my 20's, if...

I finally watched Hour Three of the Royal Wedding coverage this afternoon. This hour, as you probably already know, was the actual ceremony. It was so beautiful! I especially loved the choir; it makes me miss my years in choir back in college. This ceremony was just perfect, really... respectful, holy, intimate. I couldn't get over how beautiful the church was, how beautiful her gown was, how beautiful the singing was! It was such a perfect day and a perfect wedding. As hour three begins, Kate Middleton and her father begin down the aisle, followed by Kate's sister, Pippa. Kate was such a beautiful bride! She was very relaxed and calm, even though literally billions of people were watching her at that moment. The procession took four minutes once they entered the church. The priests led, followed by Kate and her father, and then by Pippa, the bridesmaids, and the page boys. Prince William was very happy to finally see his bride! There were several hymns sung during ...

I discovered a really cool new web magazine today called The Violet . This is how they describe themselves: I just finished reading the first issue, and highly recommend it. The Violet is just sort of a fun, creative magazine with tips and ideas on living healthy, DIY ideas, recipes, fashion tips, etc. Fun, fun! Here is one graphic that I just loved from this month's issue:

I seem to keep reading articles on introversion lately, or running across people talking about it or mentioning it. I know I've been extra introverted lately. Maybe that's just my mind's way of dealing with it, like, "See, it's not so strange, after all. There are other introverts out there." As an INFP , I am definitely extremely introverted, and for some reason it goes in waves. Like, some days I'll feel like being around people and getting out there and discovering life. Then other days I'll just want to hibernate and not speak to anyone. Generally when I've gotten my energies back up, I'm perfectly fine to go out and be around people again, but it tends to take me a long time to get to that point. I get tired of constantly being misunderstood, though. The main thing I think people don't get about introverts is that most of us aren't shy or socially-awkward. It's not like we don't know how to talk to people. We just... ge...