Treating Myself

So, in Artist's Way, my first assignment in this week's chapter was to create a sign which stated, "Treating myself like a precious object with make me stronger." I think this is an interesting statement because I think many people are eager to treat others nicely and often neglect to nurture themselves. Another assignment was to buy something nice for yourself. I believe the theory behind treating yourself nicely is that it will create an attractive force for others to treat you nice as well.

What are the things that you do to treat yourself well?

1. After making our 10 run goal at BON, I purchased a new sports bra and a pair of Lululemon shorts. The purchase didn't come cheap, but it was nice to delay my gratification and work towards a personal goal.

2. My $2 bottle of Mr. Bubble is a luxury. It is so nice to sit in a warm bath, and it doesn't even take much to be content in this activity. Play your iPhone, burn a candle, and bring in a nice cold beverage. Ahhh!

3. Go for a walk. Sometimes we get worked up about sitting at a desk all day. It's just nice to meander around campus and people watch for a bit.

4. Bookstore browsing - Lately, I've been reading magazines at the bookstore. I love flipping through artsy projects and reading up on fitness ideas. So fun!

5. Get a massage! Especially if you've been running and spinning or you've been stressed out on the job, this is a great luxury to have. Having a professional work out the kinks in your body is a great way to relax.

6. Buy some fresh flowers. I just love the way a vase of flowers can make a room fun, colorful, and bright.

7. Get dressed up and see a show. Invite some friends and buy some tickets to the symphony. It is so nice to get in a cocktail dress, have some wine, and then watch a show.

8. Find something nice to relax in. Sometimes just a pair of comfy pajama pants or a new pair of bed sheets is all you really need. With stores like Ross and TJ Maxx, it's not even that expensive to indulge in this luxury.

9. Cute boots and tights! With the fall weather here, it is nice to dress up in new things and try out cute winter clothes.

10. Read a book! It is nice to curl up in bed and just stay in and read. This is a great way to treat yourself- just stay in bed, have some tea nearby, and read in bed for a couple of hours!

Pleasure in Planning

There is something special about opening up a blank page in my planner pad. After browsing through a craft magazine, I was inspired to follow suit and recycle some old paper and cardstock. For the month of October, I had cut out some fun paper: some from an upcoming wedding invitation, old stationary, and fancy paper that my friend Esther Seo gave me from her old graphic design job. Instead of looking at your life as a bunch of to-dos, I was able to lay out some colored paper on days that I was looking forward to. It's an inspirational way to take into account your plans for the upcoming month.

October Highlights

So, I never did pen down my october goals until a few days ago. heheheh

My monthly goals with comments as follows:

1. More art studio time- As you may have read in a previous post, I made a couple of pieces of art for two friends. One watercolor painting went towards Rica's fundraising for Team in Training and another mixed media painting for my roommate and good friend Jennifer. What was remarkable about it was I had a pretty work schedule, but I found the value in taking time for my art and knowing how much it re-energizes me.

2. Read Seed/ Sacred Commerce/ Crucial Conversations- I've done a couple of sessions of Crucial Conversations training through work. Unfortunately, I have read just a few pages of Sacred Commerce and no pages on Seed.

3. Run Monster Mash, go to Total Athletic Conditioning Classes and Brian O'Neills Running Club- I have been doing well on the fitness side of things this month. Thus far, I have tried out Lululemon's boot camp, have achieved 8 runs towards my goal of 10 runs at the BON running club, and I have made some positive improvements at the Athletic Conditioning Class at the Rice Rec Center. I plan on running the Halloween running hosted by Lululemon on Wednesday. I plan on dressing up as Minnie Mouse if I can find my tail and ears. ;)

4. Plan and go on some Artist Dates- Now that I have some epsom salts and a cassia candle, I plan on getting in more hot baths. Most of my artist dates have been bookstore browsing and taking some time to create in the studio. Since it's a Monday and I'm off, I think a $4 matinee is in my very near future. There is something luxurious about going to movie by yourself.

5. More blogging and reflecting- I've done four blog entries on this blog and my other blog at http://tastelivecreate.blogspot.com/. I want to say I've done a few morning pages, but this could definitely be an area for more growth.

6. Spiritual/ Alone Time- Being cranky and anxious are definite indicators that I need some alone time just to clear my head and rediscover what I want out of life. Thus the much needed four day weekend that I am enjoying right now.

7. Plan and do some meaningful and fun events at my job- Success! I had a great homecoming weekend of events. We did a great beer tasting with the founder of St. Arnold's Brewery. I launched a frequent flyer card program for attendees which earned them a Young Alumni Beer Mug if they attended three events. I also had a great caterer who did a couple of my events. Thanks Frankie Mandola! I heard a lot of positive feedback from the crazy six events in three days. I am so proud of my volunteers and colleagues for pitching in and making it a great success.

8. Work on skill development and my career- I am working on Crucial Conversations training and I have signed up for a Student/Young Alumni Programs training in Austin for December. I really want to make more headway in yoga training, SEED, and Sacred Commerce. I have also made a commitment to continue looking towards my next step in my career.

How do you continue to manage your time? Are you familiar with Laura Vanderkam's 168 Hours concept? For a couple of weeks, I tracked my time. It will be interesting to take into account how I spent my time. The key things that inspired me were that we all have the same amount of time, what do we find as our priorities, and does our time reflect on those values. I will create a future blog posting on this in the coming weeks.

Weekend in the Country

Jacob and I joined our friends for a much needed long weekend. Both of us have been pretty busy with work, and we were able to get some rest from the craziness of the city. After packing up our bags and snacks (banh mi sandwiches and coconut water), we headed out for Flatonia, Shiner and Moulton. We were in town for Flatonia's annual Czhilispiel Festival which is when the town gets together for live music, carnival rides, games, fried foods, and a chili and bbq cook-off.

Our first stop on our adventure was Shiner, Texas. We stopped at the Spoetzel Brewery where they make Shiner Bock. I likened the experience to the time I was riding on a tour bus in the Tuscan countryside where we found the quaint little city that made Monelpuciano d'Abruzzo. We unfortunately missed the tour of the facilities, but we were given four tokens so we could sample various brews: Black, 101, Bock, Cheer, and Blonde. Mmmm! It was a nice reward for our 2 hour drive to the country. It was nice catching up with our friends under a large oak tree while we felt the nice breeze and sipped on our brews. Ahhh!

Afterwards, we explored downtown Shiner. We checked out Antiques, Art, and Beer which had an interesting melange of "country" items like koozies in sequins or camo, wind chimes, and jewelry made out of bottle caps. We all imbibed in another drink at their bar which had a very extensive collection of beer. I decided to try out the Shiner Oktoberfest.

Since our bellies were full of beer, we decided to get an early dinner at the Shiner Restaurant and Bar. Jacob filled the jukebox up with some good tunes ranging from Willy Nelson, ZZ Top, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, and Journey. We tasted some refreshingly sweet sangria, and enjoyed our gastropub fare. We really enjoyed trying Alex's sandwich which is titled The Best Sandwich in the World on the menu. It is a blt with a chicken fried steak place in between three pieces of bread with white gravy. Jacob and I shared the bacon and cheese stuffed avocados and had the shrimp penno with pecan pesto. We were impressed by the adventurous menu.

Afterwards, we drove into Moulton to check into our accomodations at The Rehmet Bed and Breakfast owned by Cindy McIntosh, the Mayor of Moulton! We stayed in the Century Oaks Suite, and the best thing about this room was the bathtub. The bathroom was bigger than my kitchen back home. As you may already know, I am a big fan of baths. So, Jacob and I came prepared. We brought a cassia candle, epsom salts, bath fizzy, mint mask, and exfoliating cream. I think I ended up taking FOUR baths this past weekend. It was so refreshing and relaxing.

The next morning we decided to do a little workout to help balance out our countryside drinking/eating fest from the day before. We decided to go for a run and explore the neighborhood- we ran up a very long gravel driveway taking in some beautiful wildflowers, cactus, cows and a rising sun. Then we ran up and down some various streets. The houses reminded me of the old cottage homes that still exist in the Old Sixth Ward of Houston. We ended our workout with sit-ups, push-ups and planks. Yeah, we're hard core.

Cindy and Mac served us breakfast in their dining room. It was probably one of the nicest breakfasts I've had in a long time. Time for breakfast is such a luxury, and Cindy does a great job. And, I loved all the details she put into our meal: beautiful place settings with gold-colored chargers, dainty clear and green napkin rings, green glasses with coordinating glass coasters, and classical music playing in the background. We ate fruit, egg and sausage casserole, apple dessert, and toast. It was a good start to our day.

While Jacob did some work (the work of a teacher is endless) on the porch, I played some chess, read, and enjoyed a bath. I sat on the porch working on a drawing of the Pearl Beer sign. The warehouse across the street from the B&B used to serve as a storage unit for the Pearl Brewery. We spend a little bit of time catching the end of the UT/Iowa State game. (boo!) Then headed to the festival in Flatonia.

We took a walk around to check things out, and traded in our currency for beer and food tokens. We were fascinated by the egg toss. Just a contest where two people toss a raw egg between each other as they further their distance after each try. Yeah, this is the country. I loved it. We caught up with our friend Yushan who was sampling one of the fair's shrimp poboys. We decided to take some silly pictures on top of a giant chili pepper and watched Jacob win a stuffed monkey at the balloon pop booth. We enjoyed live polk music and some cheap beers with funnel cake under the beer tent.

I volunteered to be a chili judge which was an interesting experience. They take judging very seriously! No making faces, no commenting about the chilis, and no sunglasses are allowed. We were asked to judge from a scale of 1-10 on five criteria: red color, aroma, taste, after taste and consistency. Unfortunately, I didn't give any of the 11 samples a 10, but I did get pretty full on some free chili. They even had beer, crackers and cheese, and encouraged us to clear our palettes with the brew. LOL.

After chili judging, Jacob and I nerded out and played chess then went for a walk. Alas, we were full of beer and food again. We took some more silly pictures with our friends. Afterwards, we decided to hang out at the Hackeberry House for a while. We watched the ending of the OU/Mizzou game. Hooray for the Mizzou wine! While the rest of the crew went back to Flatonia, we turned in early. If you had an awesome bathtub in your room, you wouldn't want to stay out late either. heheheh

The next morning, we had breakfast again with Cindy and Mac and we checked out. We caught up with our friends for a bit, and headed back on the I-10. It was a super weekend! And, it was nice to slow down the pace a bit and just enjoy some time with friends. If you have the chance, you should plan a road trip some time and get in some much needed downtime, too.

Celebrate::Love

Above is my latest creation from the art studio. Today is my roommate Jennifer's birthday. And, I wanted to make her a piece of art for her birthday which was inspiring, beautiful, and fun. Hopefully, the artwork will add a little happiness to her day. Even though I had a really busy week (I had two meetings and managed 6 special events), I managed to squeeze out a few creative sessions in my art studio and do a bit of creative browsing at the bookstore. I don't consider time in the studio as hard work. I look at it as "me time." Time where I look for creative ideas from other artists, revisit old pieces of art work or images I have collected, and pull together something new and beautiful. It is also a time for me to feel re-energized, rested, and renewed. I get to put aside my work grind and just be present in something fun.

I found the above picture during my bookstore browsing last week! The magazine Somerset Workshop Magazine has some really great ideas, and they even have step-by-step explanations for how to do their projects. The magazine issue focused on creative lettering, fabric art, old paper and brushes. The above photo used old sheet music as the background for the artwork and used antique paper for the dress. It got my mind jogging, and it reminded me of a project I did last fall for my 2D class at the Glassell.

I had an old class assignment where my teacher told us to take some rubbings of various textures and layer them to recreate a photo from a magazine. I decided to use my textured rubbings to create a woman's dress. My classmate and instructor liked the idea I used. I decided to combine the ideas from the magazine and my class to create Jennifer's artwork.

Lately, I love using words in my artwork and the words "celebrate" and "love" came to mind. In Ecclesia, we have been going through James in the Bible. James is a very humbling chapter because it talks about how we are to live in relationship and community. And so even though being in the studio is my "me time," I was inspired to use my artwork as a way to connect and share with others. I think ultimately that's why God creates in us gifts. Yeah, it's great to see what you are able to do with God's help, but ultimately, how will you share and seek others out?

I think it gives more intention to my artwork when I think about giving it to others. Perhaps I wouldn't be inspired to do a good job or have the motivation to create if it was all about myself. Are there talents and gifts that you are hiding? Do you ever think how your gifts could really affect others? It's an interesting thing to think about and I hope this post helps you celebrate love and seek out others more bringing the gifts that are already present in your life.

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/

"Sacred Commerce": Business as a Path of Awakening

I have started reading a book called "Sacred Commerce" after hearing the authors Matthew and Terces Englehart in an interview. I was really captured by their positive and compassionate perspectives especially when it came down to their work. They are very motivated by love and have written a book which challenges our thoughts on business.

They base their business on four standards, PASS.

P= profit=love of enterprise

A= awakening=love of transformation

S= sustainable=love of Earth or the whole

S= service=love of community

I was also captured by their clearing process. Clearing in the text is defined as "a basic technique for distinguishing how the past is impacting the present and then presenting an opportunity to create something new and shift one's attention to something more empowering." Clearing is used in their business Cafe Gratitude, and it works on investing in the employees. They spend time communicating with each other in order to have workers who can be more present, feel part of a community which listens, and ultimately feel empowered.

The keys to clearing are to be present, listen, and create something new. You begin by asking the person, "What are you present to?" Then, you listen! Don't fix. Just listen. You may want to reassure them by that you are listening by re-telling back to them what the person said. Don't come up with solutions. Just sit there and listen. Finally, shift the experience by asking them something new. For example, "What are you grateful for?"You end the clearing session by acknowledging the person for being honest.

Most recently, I have read another chapter on "The Art of Sacred Service." The author recounts a time he had a dream that he was asked by Jesus to serve at The Last Supper. Coincidentally, this was at a time when he was stuck in a rut and tired of of serving people day after day. He wondered when people were going to serve him.

But, when presented with the opportunity to serve, the author realized that "the highest calling and the mark of a true leader [is] to be the servant of all." So when employees are cleared from their personal crisis and emotions, they are able to serve in their jobs better. They can pay attention to their clients and be present. The present is the only place people can take action, and service is an expression of love.

Wow! It's hard to think about work in that way sometimes, especially when people feel bogged down with drama, dysfunction, and stress. Can you imagine what it would be like if you and your colleagues that of themselves as servants who were extensions of love? How do you convert your negative feelings (overwhelming obligations, being stuck, or feeling unappreciated) into feelings of love? How can we start to think about our workplace as opportunities to present love to others?

Fall Fitness Goals

Last week, my colleague took me to her lunch time athletic conditioning class. It is really fun to have a mid-day break and be physically challenged. Our trainer asked us to create a list of goals for ourselves. Something we can focus on as to why we are going to her class, and hopefully what we want to get out of coming. So, I gave it a little bit of thought and decided to have some creative fun with it. So, I decided to make a tiny accordian book on my goals and went a little crazy gluing fun paper on some leftover cards.

I decided on five fitness goals:

1. Be challenged: I often fall into doing the same old thing, and my body gets bored. With all the burpees, push-ups, intervals, and sprints, I know that my body is having to move in new ways. Sore muscles the next morning also show that my body is being challenged in a variety of exercises.

2. Have a positive way to manage stress: I think this is very key. Sometimes we harbor a lot of resentment, frustration, and worry. I think working out on a regular basis puts our minds at ease and takes the edge off of our concerns. It definitely puts me in a better mood to face life's challenges.

3. Have a stronger core: I know that I have made improvements in this area in the past, but I'd like to get stronger abdomimal muscles. Anything that will challenge this part of my body is definitely a good thing. Plus, it makes swimsuit season more enjoyable.

4. Have a stronger upper body: We have been doing so many different kinds of push-ups. And, since I am in my thrities, I know it is important to start strength training and building muscle because women begin to lose muscle mass at my age. I also think it will be nice to have toned arms when I wear sleevless tops.

5. Have fun! It is so much fun discovering how much stronger and energetic I can be. Working out with a group of good-natured women all striving to stay fit and have little fun is very motivating. If your workouts aren't fun, there is no way you can sustain the discipline to do them. So, I hope these workouts help me feel good.