july gratitude

I feel inclined to write a gratitude list, since my last post was sad and stuff.

besides, it's been a while since i've done one of these.

-fresh water

-great books

-ginger peach tea

-wifi

-bookstores

-thunderstorms (we got one today, lightning included :] )

-this adorable kitten i've had the absolute pleasure of playing with lately

-my newfound appreciation for my little pony, thanks to my niece (no shame here- that show is cute!)

-the greenbelt

-personal progress

-my absolutely loving and devoted boyfriend

-sunshine, the sky, and white fluffy clouds

-the internet and the ease of accessibility of innumerable, valuable resources

-my parents

-music

-time with friends

-yummy fruits

-the yard game known as cornhole (it's not perverted, i promise)

-pillows and blankets

-the library

-helping people out where and when i can

-candles that smell nice

-knowing i have people i can count on when i need help

-the ruffling of skirts in the breeze

-life

little sprouts

My blog has over 2,000 page views! I'm not quite sure how that happened, but hey, it's still cool! (To me, at least.) It makes me a little more motivated to post regularly.

Here's a basic update on me, what I've been doing, and what is on the horizon:

*I have been reading A TON! Which makes me really happy, because I always seem to drift away from books and reading, for whatever reason. Lately I've been reading books back to back. I've read a couple of Kingsolver books, and I just picked up my second Gaiman novel, among other things. I usually take a few days (or weeks sometimes) to digest and ponder whatever I finished, but lately I just feel a pull to move on to the next story. I've been taking full advantage of my library card and Goodreads.com. It's been so much fun!

*Packing is once again in the works for me. It seems like I'm always packing. It's not daunting or overwhelming anymore; it's exciting. It's a part of my life that I know will keep popping up, so why let it stress me out and bother me? Besides, it's a good excuse to go through my things and decide what stays and what goes on a regular basis.

*Preparing for school in the Fall. You read it right- I'm going back to college! It's been a struggle, between establishing residency in Idaho and financial issues, but now everything is resolved and I'm registered as a full-time student at a community college. I'm beside myself with excitement! Also a little nervous, but deep down I'm confident I won't have too much trouble adjusting to my new schedule and workload.

*Carson and I have a few day trips planned, since he starts working more days soon and will have 2 days off a week again! We want to go visit some local waterfalls and go swimming. We're lucky we have Lava Hot Springs, Heise Hot Springs, and Green Canyon close to us. Oh, and the museum has a Guitars exhibit that he's really interested in. I just plain love the museum so we're going to go there, too.

*4th of July. It's right around the corner, three of my loved ones' birthdays are right around there, it's big in Carson's family. It's going to be a big, busy deal this year! But I'm excited, nonetheless. Maybe I'll make some treats for the occasion and make a post about it ;)

*My little garden is doing pretty well. Some plants are happier than others. I should re-pot a few into larger containers soon... but for the most part they're pretty and green and make me happy. I'm growing a majority of herbs this year. The plan is to dry out the leaves to use in my own loose-leaf tea. I'm growing peppermint, lavender, sage, and holy basil. Oh, and I'm happy and proud to say that it's all organic. I also found out that there is a gardening club/community in my city which I plan to join next summer. I get 30 square feet to plant what I want and engage with other gardeners!

That's probably enough for today. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Review: THE DEFINING DECADE

I've recently come to accept the realization that I love self-help books. So when my friend of 14 years recommended The Defining Decade to me, I picked it up immediately.

Source

The book focuses on the fact that now, more than ever, twentysomething year olds are confused about how to tackle this delicate decade. Dr. Jay writes that the media delivers false information that decisions can be postponed during the twentysomething years, and that they should be "lived up". Jay argues that this is utterly detrimental to the future; the decisions made (or not made) during the twenties affect individuals for decades to come. The book was full of valuable information and facts. She writes with compassion, knowledge, and experience.

The book is targeted to twentysomethings who have graduated college and don't know what to do or where to go afterwards. In that sense, I couldn't really relate, since I haven't received a degree yet. But the advice backed by the examples she offers are invaluable. Plus, it gave me a great feeling of "there's still time for me to get, and stay, on track!" She talks a lot about work, love, and the changes the brain undergoes during the twenties.

I really enjoyed this book. It was straightforward and written very clearly, making it an easy and enjoyable read. I'd like to own this book to have as a reference, and to  also pass on some information to my teenaged nephew as he approaches this busy decade. I would recommend this book to all twentysomething year olds and their parents.

wisdom from a father is invaluable

I found a box of books a few weeks ago with many books I haven't read, and many that I love but haven't read for a long time. Since I don't have much shelf space in my room I decided to swap out the books I've read recently for new ones and old favorites.

While I was rummaging I came across a message my father wrote in a book he gave me for my 17th birthday. My dad always writes a little in books that he gives me and it's one of the most treasured aspects of my life. This particular book is a collection of poems and tales by Edgar Allan Poe. I always admired that big volume on his shelf but never opened it because I knew how much he loved it and how protective he is with books. What he wrote was this:

"Dear Clari,

Happy 17th birthday!

I hope you enjoy this book. It was my personal copy. I hope that you find it as enjoyable as I do.

Remember that a good book can be a good friend and an escape from the world when things get rough.

Also, Poe rocks!!

I love you.

Love, Dad."

I've been repeating the italicized sentence to myself over and over since I found it. Because my dad is right. He knew that I use books as an escape when things get rough; that's something I've always done, and he knows it's something I'll always do. Not to mention, my life was turmoil when I was 17 and I think this was his way of encouraging me to deal with life in a productive way. Reading is never detrimental.

Now, years later, it's incredibly relevant to my life. That book holds such wisdom. It could very well be my favorite because my father's advice is timeless. I feel so grateful to have such an understanding and wise father. And Poe does rock!

"Someday my ship will come in..."

Exactly one week ago, at the impressive age of 91, Ray Bradbury left us for another dimension.

His was a name I grew up with. My father always listed him as one of his favorite authors. When I was a bored teenager my dad would tell me to go to the library and read Bradbury's short stories. "They're the best" he'd tell me. And he was right. I remember being put off, at first, when my dad told me he wrote science fiction. That didn't appeal to me. Luckily, my dad knew me, and recognized Bradbury's excellence, and he persisted, so I listened to him.

Reading Bradbury is a decision I've never regretted. I Sing the Body Electric! helped me cope with a difficult time in my life, and it's one of my heart's most treasured books. I don't remember where my copy came from. It's old, probably considered vintage; the pages are yellowing, slightly stained, and coming up from the binding in some parts. I'll never get rid of it. I'll read it to my children.

Something tugged at my heartstrings when I heard Mr. Bradbury had died. His thoughts and ideas about the present and future always lined up so well with mine. A sort of melancholy excitement; a desire for the best, but an awareness that things could end up terribly crooked. I always admired him, especially for never going to college and still achieving an eminence in his career field. What a cool, passionate man!

He's one of the few, true authors that has touched my deepest thoughts. I'm grateful to have so many of his words at my fingertips to enjoy throughout the rest of my life.

"Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. 

See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made

or paid for in factories."

May Commitments

I'm seriously considering making this a monthly thing.

April is over and I have to admit that I fell a bit short on my commitments for the month. I managed to clear out and organize some things, and that was nice. I also kept my stress in check! Which is my biggest challenge in life, so I can't beat myself up if I fell a little short in other areas. And I think I only had one cup of coffee the whole month (that must be some sort of personal record). Easter screwed up the sugar cutback, but thankfully all of the candy is gone now!

Blossoms on a tree in my boyfriend's backyard

In May I will:
Exercise more: For real this time. I'm considering buying a bike so I have something fun to do in the afternoons (or even the mornings, if I'm feeling ambitious!) I think I'll shoot for 2-3 days a week at the local fitness club.

Be more food conscious: This can tie back into cutting back on sugar, but I want to implement overall consciousness in all of my food choices. I want to buy more local produce because the farmers markets are going to start up again soon. I'm also going to cut WAY back on my soy intake. I found this article the other day and it blew me away. I'm all about sustainability and soy is definitely NOT sustainable. I do have my own organic seeds, and I'm okay with planting and eating those, but for the most part I'm going to read labels like crazy. And use skim milk from the local dairy in my protein shakes instead of soy milk. (Speaking of protein shakes, this stuff is awesome!!)

Read more books: Self-explanitory. I had two books that I had been leisurely reading for almost a year and I finally worked through them. I didn't want to start anything new knowing I had books that needed to be finished. But now they're read and I can move on to new treasures.

Blooming bluebells

I think I'll leave it at that for now. I find that if I give myself too long of a list I won't get any of it done. I need to work on sprouting new habits instead of tackling issues all at once. And I think these things go well together. The first two do anyway. Reading just makes me insanely happy. If I think of anything else that might fit, I'll add it later on in the month!

I hope your May starts out fantastic!

Review: THE SOULMATE EXPERIENCE

Source

The Soulmate Experience

by Mali Apple & Joe Dunn

I broke a promise to myself in order to read this book as quickly as possible and for free. It was worth it. I first heard of The Soulmate Experience about 6 months ago, and it peaked my interest because it focuses on how to keep the love alive in a relationship. Sounded interesting. So when I saw that they were giving the Kindle edition away for free in honor of their one year book anniversary, I caved and downloaded the Kindle software onto my Mac. Then I read the book. In 2 days.

It was a fun, easy read. The authors provided A TON of anecdotes, which at first I thought was annoying but they really helped to illustrate the points they were trying to make. Honestly, I didn't enjoy the beginning of the book because it was very similar to another I have read and I thought "no duh" a lot. However, as I progressed through the pages I realized that these two beings have some very helpful advice and insight!

For instance, there is an entire chapter on how to deal with jealousy, and it's not in the conventional way that you'd think! (i.e. nagging, guilt-trips, restrictions) Actually, nothing about this book follows the "conventional relationship model." As such, it was a very refreshing read. Some of the topics even sound a little scary [however, if you're in a relationship where two people are willing to work, nothing should be scary or off limits]. They gave tons of examples of fun dates, communication techniques, and easy ways to adopt new habits into your life.

Positivity was the sonorous bell throughout this book. It starts out by asking you to apply positive changes to yourself, thus making it easy to handle your relationship in a positive manner. I'm glad I have this book, because I'm sure I will reference it when my date ideas run dry! [And especially when my monkey brain gets the better of me!]

reading to recover

I've been in bed all day long because I caught a cold, or something. It's terrible. I don't remember the last time I was sick. Really, it's been years. I had forgotten that my body aches when I'm sick, I get a nasty taste in my mouth, I can't hardly do anything because my balloonish head starts to swim, I get cold then hot, and I suffer bouts of "mindlessness" where my thoughts just sort of drift away to somewhere, thinking about something, and have nothing to do with what's happening that moment. It's sort of annoying.
This is bad timing for me to get sick. I'm on the final leg of my summer semester, 3 weeks to go. Needless to say I have a mountain on homework. I'm glad I worked hard yesterday because I won't be able to accomplish what I had planned for today. Oh well, I'll survive. I'd rather take a day to get better instead of pushing myself and prolonging my recovery. I did manage to do some homework this morning, so that feels good on my conscious. What doesn't feel good on my conscious are the 7 daunting tests I need to take in the next 2 weeks. What the hell, right? BUT! I can see the finish line. That also feels good on my conscious.
I think for the rest of the day I'll indulge in some leisurely reading. The really cool thing about that is I have a huge selection to pick from right now! So I can switch genres if my sickly mind wanders too much. I'm usually always reading more than one book at a time-- currently I'm reading 5. Half of them are graphic novels/manga I've been following. Then I have some poetry, fiction, and books on meditation and yoga. In fact, I really need to get reading because I'm borrowing a ton of books from my friend. She feeds my addiction to written works, haha. I love having a former Lit major as a best friend; conversations never run dry with her!

what i'm working with

It's times like this I'm very, very grateful for the friends in my life. Although I can't physically be with them while I'm sick I know they're with me in spirit. Her loving willingness to let me borrow however many books whenever I please eases the loneliness I feel from living across town from her and our intimate circle of friends. The love of books we share creates a support system that flourishes even when we don't talk for a few days (like right now for example; my dear friend is occupying herself in the Appalachians. Lucky girl!). Sharing and discussing books provide little windows to our souls and helps us stay connected. I'm so thankful I have someone in my life to share this bond with. It's something that has been inside of me since I was a small child and my book-wormish father taught me the wonder of words.
So on this day of utter solitude and ill-health I'll extend my gratitude of magnificent friendships and the bonds in life that are unbreakable. It's a wonderful thing to focus our daily thoughts and actions on a central idea, such as gratitude. Even if you can't express it directly to the person in your heart, the thoughts you release into the universe find their intended target. And for me, that's comforting.