Monthly Musings & Hooray for Fall!

Goodness! The weather is getting cooler and crisper like a delicious salad. (heheheh) Have you been able to enjoy the temperatures and take a look outside? Above are my photos from the decadent and peaceful women's retreat I went to a couple of weekends ago. Cat Spring is always so beautiful. The downtime was much, much needed and refreshing. A few of my workouts have been outside too. Thanks to Lululemon, Jacob and I were able to do a bootcamp in this lovely weather.

So, I am here to check in with my monthly musings and reflections. Hmmm... let's see. In my next post, I will place my October Dreams. Oooh la la!

September Dreams Reflection

* Continue working in the art studio creating, scheming, planning potential small business ideas and research: Sad to say, but I have not really fulfilled this goal this past month. I checked into my art studio ONCE this past month. And, I have not really done much planning and scheming. BUT... two good things have come out of this. I am working with my friend Kathy to do an Artist's Way book club with craft AND I led a couple of yoga sessions. I did get some very positive feedback on these two projects. Must create manageable goals for this month. sigh.... Be patient and continue moving.

* Lots of reading, reading, and reading: all about connecting to compassion, love and spirit. Crucial Conversations, Sacred Commerce and Artist's Way I am about four chapters into "Crucial Conversations". And, Lauren and I will be taking the Crucial Conversations training (for FREE!) at our work starting this month. I am a little nervous about it, but I do recognize that communicating when the stakes are high is a crucial skill any professional must hone. "Sacred Commerce" is a very inspiring read. I am about halfway done with the book, and it speaks about enlightenment in the work place. I would like to delve into more reviews this month. "Artist's Way" is moving along. It is always an inspiring read. And, coincidentally, I found an article by the author Julia Cameron in this month's SELF magazine. Plus, I will be doing a book club soon! So excited!

* Women's Community - exercising, yoga, sharing, connecting with other women (book club, retreat) I really got to indulge in this. Super kudos. I have been doing the Athletic Conditioning classes, checking out free classes at Lululemon, and running with Brian O'Neills. I am trying to earn my 10 runs to get my free shirt from BON. I have five more to go. I have two lady workout partners, my co-worker Lauren and my friend Melissa. Yoga at the retreat was awesome. I am inspired to continue looking into yoga training because it has been quite enjoyable. Meeting with women at the retreat was energizing, and I look forward to the Artist's Way.

* Artist Dates - ideas and schedule in the time (Art! Foodie Trips! Movies! Museums!) One evening in the studio, watched the delightful chick flick "Eat, Pray, Love" (such a cute movie), took a walk to see the D-17 installation art at the Rice Art Gallery, spent a couple of sessions flipping through magazines in the book store (I can spend hours doing that!), did a little bit of doodling from walking through the Menil, and went to the Texas Art Supply and bought a new journal. It's bright canary yellow.

* Continue blogging and reflecting (4 articles : food, spirit, and art) WOW! I really did well for this goal! I made 11 blog posts. Four on my food blog at http://tastelivecreate.blogspot.com/ and seven on this blog. Writing and sharing is such a fun way for me to share my stories and experiences.

* Meaningful events and programs planned and created inspired with doses of community and energy I am continuing to grow in this way. We SOLD OUT of our block of tickets twice at the Rice/ UT game. I think we also had fun at the fabulous and swanky lounge, Lucky Strike, for our young alumni and athletics event. It was a little challenging to get people to come, but in the end, I thought it was a nice event. We are rolling out a series of events for homecoming. We'll be trying out this frequent flyer card which will be really cute. If you attend three parties, you get a beer glass. I will have to eat my Wheaties that week!

* Financial Goals - fall planning and decluttering Now that I have paid off my car, I would like to focus on continuing to save. Two goals are to follow a budget and get $1000 in my emergency savings.

* Further development - cooking, french, art, and gmat Cooking has been good. I have been working through a couple of Jamie Oliver recipes on our date nights. But, as far as French, art, and gmat, I would say I lacked in growth in these areas. Should be more specific and manageable on my goals in this development bit.

* Get spiritual - Continue morning pages (2x a week) and 5 artist date trips I feel like my morning pages are one of the most consistent things about me. I do start to feel like I am missing something if I DON'T write them. I feel like it is synchronous with the "clearing" concept in Sacred Commerce. We can't be present and compassionate in our experiences if we are holding onto deep pain and distractions. From my mention about, I did do 7 artist date trips. Plus, I have been reconnecting with church this past month: 3 visits on Sundays, the retreat, meeting up with a couple of people from church, and volunteering a little bit.

* Career - find good ideas, trends, and keep things fresh Again, I must have more specific goals in this area. I was really inspired by Stephanie Bradshaw in August. She had some great tips for keeping things fresh and innovative. I feel like my work needs to continue to be creative and new. I like her work- http://www.fashionforthehome.com/