January 2013: New Year and New Chances

Enjoying morning contemplation with a cup of Earl Gray and snazzy socks

Celebrating 40 years of love, struggles, and joy. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

Stepped out of my comfort zone and watched a play with a good friend

Adventures in the park

Taking advantage of the mild weather and sunny skies.

My 2013 vision board

Full of ideas. Full of activity. And full of contemplation. It's been a pretty fast paced month - especially when it's a new year and you want to try new things.

-- The biggest challenge for me has been contemplation and shifting my thoughts. If contemplation and mindfulness is more valued than actions, why does the world pressure us to think differently. Each day, I wish to meditate, go to yoga, and pray. But, each day is also challenged to think quickly, speak faster and do more in shorter amounts of time. It can be overwhelming. But honestly, that is where I am. I am choosing to think more and to approach activities with more intention. I choose space over the crazy mindlessness....

-- Diving into taking care of my physical body. I am now tracking and working towards health. When you train for races and choose to practice yoga 6 times a week, your body shifts and your mind follows happily. I now wonder and think about the things I am eating, I can sleep better, And, I feel more energetic and happy.

-- Delving into relationships. I've been learning about relating to others, the different love languages, and the responsibility of taking care of myself in order to have enough courage and strength to love others in a courageous way. I have a feeling love and connectedness will be a constant theme in the coming months. There is so much to learn and I am allowing my foolishness and ignorance to humble me.

-- I honor my need for adventures, play, and creativity. I have enjoyed the Prado and War photography exhibits. I had the opportunity to see The Mountaintop. And, I am continuing to delve into reading more and journaling more. The morning pages have been very powerful lately.

-- I'm letting my need for spiritual connectedness lead me to view my life -- all the stressful, ugly, and beautiful parts -- as just one big lovely and courageous life.

-- I will continue to search for ways to serve. Where does my joy need to be? Where can I share and be generous and kind? What situations can I choose to let go of control and just exist in very plain and natural ways?

Cheers to an ambitious and dreamy start to 2013....

What does Gratitude look like?

Jones-ing for some music...

Sangria + Handsome Mathematician = Date Night

I dream of travel.

Afternoon in Lome.

 

Sun setting in Vieux Montreal

Road trip to Shiner, TX

An artist date to Path of Tea

A friendly reminder for myself

Mon petit copain

Je t'aime mon Dior scarf.

Carving out some time for creativity and Mod Podge (best invention ever!)

Being a planner of events

Stations

Reflection

I don't have a lot of female mentors. It's tough sometimes finding women I can look up to... I often just have to remember what my mother taught me or just simply be inspired by cool women like Oprah and Gala Darling. Winfrey and Darling both advocate the use of a gratitude journal. I used to think they were cheesy and lame. I envisioned desperate women in chenille bathrobes sipping chamomile tea with flowery journals.... Yeah.... I had no idea.


I thought wrong.  A while back, I got really sick. I got so sick it affected many aspects of my life.  I just couldn't understand why I was so unhappy and miserable when I thought I was making the right choices. I didn't know how to face the anxious and often traumatizing and depressing thoughts I faced. I had to face many truths and re-learn what happiness, joy, and hope were....

I advocate gratitude now. Taking the time to think about the blessings and the beauty in your life is a nice thing - at least for myself. It's the reason why this blog is here. It's about God's limitless grace in my life and in this world. The other reason why this blog is here is because I also know there are people out there who need to be inspired. Perhaps... there is at least one person out there who will actually read this and I hope this blog resonates with that person.

I live in a world that is always on the go, oftentimes very messy and pretty stressful. If I don't even see the good in my life and I am always distracted by other people and other things and another to-do list, how can I truly be happy? If I continued to pursue another goal, another raise, another accolade... what is the point - if I don't reflect on the joy and beauty happening around me?

So... what am I grateful for this year?

The 12 for 2012 

1) being in a place where I can be creative and work for a place that provides art and culture to our community

 2) travel:  in Dec '11, I had the opportunity to visit Lome, Togo. It's a place that is rich in warmth and hospitality. I also enjoyed a couple of trips out to the Bay Area and to Chi Town along with a handful of weekend getaways to the Hill Country.

3) practicing my French - I've returned to classes and I will have the chance to practice my language skills in Canada and France this year.

4) physical pursuits - I love running and I love yoga. It's as simple as that. I completed my 5th half marathon and my 5th triathlon this year.

5) self care and artist's dates: hot baths, painting my nails, time for vacations, roaming and thinking at the Menil Collection and the DeYoung, going to Mass, time for gelato and afternoons at Kuhl Linscomb and Path of Tea

6) creativity:  I continue to work on my writing and my love for decoupage and mixed media. My art is important and I will continue to find ways to work on it.

7) good people: I had to walk away from people who no longer supported me and my dreams in order for me to pursue authentic relationships that were good, supportive and nourishing.

8) Letting go: One of the hardest lessons that I am grateful for is letting go and leaving space. Taking a break and providing myself some slack in order to be rested, restored and renewed.

9) Volunteer work: I love serving others and I am so happy I'm supporting the Houston Area Women's Center.

10) good books: 168 Hours, Water for Elephants, The Artist's Way, The Bible, The Help, Tranquilista

11) having a sense of humor while I'm facing life's challenges

12) reconnecting with my faith

November Lovelies/ December Delights

Learning to go with the flow... and dance in the rain more often.

Experimenting with mixed media with a warm cafe au lait.

Celebrating the last bits of fig season by
throwing them in a bed of arugula, basalmic, and goat chevre.

Savoring a Sunday morning at the Menil and pondering
about Madame de Menil and her fantastic vision for her community

Savoring my recent travels to California
and planning my 2013 travel schedule

Realizing how precious your free time is
when work projects start piling up

St. Arnold's + Sean of the Dead + avec Ai Wei Wei et mon petit copain

Rockets 5K Run + Meeting Clyde Drexler and Robert Horry
+ Getting a complimentary upgrade to the lower bowl =
Pretty much all signs I need to watch the Rockets more closely this season

Sprint training = Apparently the easiest way to run faster
is actually going out and running faster (Go figure! ha!)

Going to the Houston Dairymaids as part of mon petit copain's
birthday week (Happy Birthday, JT)

Fall boots and art deco details at the esperson

Re-learning how to square dance and handing out drinks
Casa de Esperanza's Birthday Bash

For this month's entry, I really tried to whittle this down to ten images, but I just could not. My heart is full and my life is overflowing with so many snapshots of beauty lately. I suppose, it's just a testament to the meaning of "limitless grace."

Slowing down long enough to realize that life is full of things to be grateful for (especially in November with Thanksgiving). What does slowing down mean to you?

For me, it's reading a book with a nice scone and a cup of tea in a cafe, putting my phone down and actually eating my lunch away from my desk, going for a walk (even if it's just for 15 minutes while I listen to my Pandora stations), scheduling time to do volunteer work for a couple of hours, or just taking the time to patiently listen to someone you care about. In order to fully be present in life, we need to slow down.

And sometimes, life doesn't ask us to slow down. So, you may have to carefully research, plan, and curate the projects, opportunities, and adventures you have in your life at the moment. In the end, we can only control our personal choices - all the other things that happen are beyond our control. It's been a pretty humbling lesson for me lately, and I'm sure this lesson is still unfolding.

November Lovelies
1. French: super awkward lately due to lack of time (vacation, holiday and work schedule); listened to French music and Coffee Break French; attended French mass and practiced my conversation skills with church goers. Ugh... if you want to learn a new language, you can not be shy or embarrassed about your skill level. Would like to work on my French poems more.

2. Art: been going well - 42 pages of sketches and mixed media in my journal; Artist date at the Menil; Carved out time to do my art journal exercises; I was very motivated by the trip to SFO and Gala Darling. I will try to incorporate my French into my art. Also hosted a craft party at 13 Celsius.


3. Training: pretty good - PR'd on the Rockets 5K with bonus of meeting members of the Dream Team and going to a game; 4-6 sprint sessions; 2-4 swimming and weight training sessions; more doses of yoga; and a sprinkling of zumba and walks; Ran a very slow and sweaty Turkey Trot 10K- but nevertheless, I showed up. :)


4. Travel: Booked the Shiner, Texas trip for December.


5. Work projects: BKO + MMM - done and done

6. Books: Halfway done with Tony Hseih's book and just started Anna K


7. Spiritual: examining what gratitude really means, thanksgiving with my family; mass at St. Basil's and artist dates (menil, kuhl-linscomb, path of tea, black hole)

8. Volunteer work/ Community: Casa de Esperanza Birthday party and holiday HAWC event raising money for the client store

9. Slowing Down: Indulging in self-care; Napping; Hot baths and even more napping

December Delightful Dreams
1. French: Complete fall classes. Start researching Paris & invest in my 2013 travel savings account.

2.  Art: Continue with the musings of Gala Darling and online art class. Carve in more time for art journal sessions and begin to ponder about 2013 intentions.

3. Training: Half Marathon

4. Travel: Exploring Shiner and the environs. Looking forward to a long weekend.

5. Work projects: Close out 2012 (hooray!)

6. Books: Finish Tony's book and continue Anna K

7. Spiritual: Advent; Christmas; more time with family and loved ones; More artist's dates the menil and perhaps the sculture garden.

8. Volunteer work/ Community: Open to any new opportunities

9. Slowing Down: I am looking forward to some days off; Hanging out with Remy and Nelie and my siblings

Oh... how wonderFALL...

If you are gonna run a 10K race, may as well wear some sassy argyle socks.

Indulging in tweed, leopard print, and nails by Miss Sally Hansen

Trying to find a cool and hip travel book is challenging

Inspired by bright colors and whimsical shapes and lines

Collecting sand dollars on the beach after a sunrise run through Golden Gate Park

Falling in love with the French language

Sampling treats at a caterer's tasting - one of the most interesting aspects of event planning

Sipping sangria on date nights with mon petit ami Jacob

Packing up my favorite things and going on vacation

Working in my art journal, traveling, and dreaming

How is your fall so far?
This time between Labor Day and the holidays has been really good for me. It's almost hard to believe that Halloween is almost here. So, I've decided to do a mini check-in to see where I am on my fall dreams and reflect on some highlights thus far:

Fall 2012 Dreams - Progress Report

1) Twelve weeks of French class - Completed 4 weeks thus far
and started listening to French pop rock/ Wrote my first French story which was
edited by the Prince of Togo

2) Art journal sessions - Finished one notebook, currently taking an online class

3) Two 10K races and a half marathon - Completed one 10K, will be doing a 15K this weekend

4) Fall season of events at work - Completed Christofle event, Planning MMM @ ROCC

5) Yoga classes - 13 classes in September/October thus far

6) Fall travel: Austin and San Francisco - Completed/ both trips provided some much needed relaxing, restoring, and renewing of my spirit

7) More reading - Completed 168 Hours/ Just started Tony Hseih's book and discovered the creative and thought provoking musings of the Oprah Magazine and the Bible

8) More spirituality in my daily life: church, meditation, and prayer - Started doing more morning sessions/ Beautiful mass at the Chapel of St. Basil/ Wonderful visit to Mission Delores

May all your fall dreams unfold and flourish.

What do you dream about this fall?

I'd love to hear from other people about their fall projects and dreams. I'm always inspired by positive and adventurous people who make beautiful and amazing things happen for themselves and others.

I Dream of Travel

San Francisco (photo courtesy of pixelmama - flickr.com)

I keep a "bucket list" of sorts. And one item I have on there is travel internationally (or at the very least just go out of town SOMEWHERE) once a year. The international requirement didn't come until I was assigned to go on a trip to Europe for work. And while I was busy traveling throughout the US for my job, I didn't even have a current passport at the time because I never left the country. At the time, I was a little concerned about not being at my job for a week. But, once you have enough vacation days and are finally out of town, you can get over that pretty quickly especially when you are being bussed around to various wineries, cooking classes, and museums throughout Italy. And having a daily dose of gelato can do wonders for your soul.

In the middle of this trip, I met so many Americans who were retired and not physically able to walk up the many steps it takes to get around some of the busy streets in Florence and Siena. These were hard working people who saved up, spent a lot of time on their careers, and were finally taking a break at the age of 65. It made me a little sad. And I recall one older woman warning me, "Don't wait until your old like me to go on vacations."

I got bitten by the travel bug after that. After that one work trip, the thought of leaving town brought joy to my soul. I visited a tiny beach town where my parents grew up in the Philippines, and zip-lined through a rainforest in Costa Rica. I drew sketches inside Casa Battlo in Barcelona, and I forced myself to learn Spanish on CD so I would at least know how to ask for directions. I walked along the River Thames and  spent hours at the Tate. I pretty much lost my damn mind and for the first time racked up airline miles that were not related to work travel. It was pretty amazing.

And, I think the best way to cure post-travel blues, is just to plan another trip somewhere. anywhere... I just love the thought of carrying my favorite belongings in one suitcase - my art supplies, a good book, and my iPhone. I love researching various places to visit especially anything related to cooking, drawing, and running. And solo trips are surprisingly fun too - you get to set your own itinerary, speak a foreign language without any of your friends making fun of you, and go back to the hotel and take a nap whenever you like. It can be a pretty indulgent experience. 

So if you are thinking about vacationing or it's something that you really love doing... save up your cash. Seriously examine how much money you spend on booze and food and Starbucks... It's usually where you can find enough cash towards investing on a ticket somewhere...anywhere....

Goodbye Summer and Hello Fall

Quiet times reading

Sips of sangria

Making delicious salads

Running on the trails. Going to spin class. And swimming in the pool.

Picking blueberries and enjoying many delicious smoothies.

Summer showers paired with evenings
of Netflix and take-out Chinese

Sharpening my sushi making skills.

Hot and sweaty yoga sessions

Planning with my journal

It's a bit hard for me to believe that the summer months are over! (Where the heck did all the time go?) The summer for me was filled with periods of rest and relaxation and periods of busy days plugging away at the office. One moment, I was enjoying half day Fridays, floating down a river and eating BBQ with friends. And the next moment, I was running around town diligently trying to plan a fundraising gala. It was definitely enough to make my head spin from the highs and the lows.

While the event I worked on was a success, I certainly do appreciate the time I had over the past few days to get rested, renewed and restored. Twelve hour days, working late nights, and waking up at 5am to do my workouts... I was burning a candle at both ends.

I'm thankful for the time to indulge in new fall projects.
1) Twelve weeks of French class
2) Art journal sessions
3) Two 10K races and a half marathon
4) Fall season of events at work
5) Yoga classes
6) Fall travel: Austin & San Francisco
7) More reading
8) More spirituality in my daily life: church, meditation, and prayer