A Particularly Beautiful Floating Prisim

I've been tinkering with the idea of opening an Etsy shop for awhile now to raise money for Loving One by One.

But the main issue is none of my paintings are good enough to sell, I'm not a very good seamstress, and artistic ability in general is not my strongest suite

But I once made this cute little book for my mom, not really thinking much of it.

 

And slowly people started reading it and getting inspired themselves and asking me for one.

What do you think? Would you pay for a completely personalized book of inspiration made with love, care, and a huge dose of inspiration? Especially if the money was going to the country that makes my heart beat faster, Uganda?

Dancing Coffee Mugs and Floating Prisms

weheartit

There is something I like about being unknown. 

I went to work to study today. And I realized I hated knowing practically everyone that was there. While sometimes, this can be comforting, there is something about going to a coffeehouse where nobody knows you and cozying up in a big arm chair, disappearing to the world outside the front door. 

Where I can pretend to have a "specialized pallet" for coffee tasting and that I really do know all about vintage fashion trends.

And where I can become invisible, in a good way, knowing that I share a space with people who have no business with me nor I with them, completely lost in my own little world of dancing coffee mugs and floating prisms. 

Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes

Week 19

1) The Hunger Games

(and reading it with my roommate)

2) blogs that make me cry (in the good way)

3) Jenny&Tyler 

(who have officially confirmed their tour in Springfield)

4) hanging up new prints

5) Next to Normal

Memory 15

When I was little, my Aunt Mary used to let me play dress up with her jewelry. My favorite were her necklaces. True to the 90s she had lots of long necklaces that came down to almost my knees (granted they only came to her stomach) when I put them on. 

I've noticed these have come back in style lately. So happy! 

When I went to Africa, many of the paper beads I bought were long and beautiful and oh so nostalgic. I remembered wrapping my aunt's necklaces around my neck almost five times to get them to a manageable length and pretending they were fine jewels or pearls. 

What did you like to use when you played dress up?

Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg

Boring Pills

I usually have a morning a few days after school starts that I have a mini freak out. 

I feel old. I feel grown up. I feel boring and uninteresting.

I asked Isaac to promise me if we ever get married that we won't turn old and boring. 

His response? "What do you think we'll get married and take boring pills? [robot voice] Married units 2257 reporting for duty. We have no personalities"

But there is something about constantly thinking about the future and the bills and getting to work on time that tends to kill a soul slowly. I find I started thinking about grocery money instead of the wonderful family dinner I could make with the groceries, I think of coffee as a device to keep me awake instead of a device to keep me connected with friends and help me relax, I think of writing as my job rather than my passion. 

Scary. 

But then I remember that nobody has to make me boring. Nobody said I had to focus on money and status instead of the things that matter most. 

And so I dig my Disney Princess coffee mug out of the back of the cabinet, pour in some hot coffee, and relax, and breathe, and remember that growing up doesn't mean growing boring. 

Ferris Wheel - Offset Sunset

Week 18

1) C.J. Johnson...fantastic hypnotist...so strange to watch!

2) Books

3) Painting and being inspired

4) This 8track artist

5) Isaac Matthew Cole

 (cause I miss him a lot today)

Put on a Happy Face - Tony Bennett with James Taylor

You Know Me

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." 

- A. A. Milne

And I take a deep breath that goes down to my stomach, to my toes, and I put one foot in front of the other and keep moving towards the time I get to see them again. 

3 Rounds and a Sound - Blind Pilot

Memory 14

Today is a special day. My mommy is turning 60! And if you know me then you know about my mom. She pretty much comes up in most conversations I have with people that last more than 10 minutes. 

She's my rock. 

I remember watching her put lipstick on when I was little and hoping I could be as beautiful as her one day. 

Or reading books together in her bed, snuggled under the blankets. 

When I was scared she would lay down with me in my tiny twin bed until I could fall back asleep, and rub my back and sing to me. 

But my favorite memory with my mom is the long talks we would have when I was in high school in the morning. We would sit with our coffee and sometimes talk for 2 hours in the morning, being lazy and enjoying each other. 

When I think of her, I think of the two chairs, the footstool and big steaming mugs of coffee.

Week 17

1) Seeing friends that I like to pretend I've known my whole life

2) Eric Hutchinson 

(and finding a free concert on campus)

3) Boca Mocha

4) Made by Girl and the amazing print I won from Sea of Blooming Dreams giveaway. How fun will this look in Fort Lollypop!

5) Cunningham the Fish and Simon the Snail...terrible picture...but I really love them this week

More than Mush

here

There are times when I become hesitant about my ability to judge good writing...because I have fallen into traps before that authors, who have no real knowledge of the written word, have spun. A tale of romance and pain and loneliness that sucks me into thinking the author has a talent other than manipulation. 

Not that I can do much better, but then again I'm not published.

So I was hesitant with The Hunger Games. 

But instead of being manipulated into falling in love with one character or another, I found myself completely focused, as Katniss was, on the object of staying alive and the injustice of the whole world Suzanne Collins has created. I think about the pain of death and what that means for children, forced to kill one another (sound familiar?).

Collins captured me with more than just the romance. She captured me with real emotions of loss and danger and pain and hope. She captured a person that I truly care about and gave her emotions so much more powerful than love. She gave her anger and passion and a desire to see change. The potential to not love just one person but an entire suffering country.

So much more than mush.

Memory 13

I have to admit...I have no idea why we haven't talked about this before dear bloggers.

As a college student, I had found little else that delights me like the waxy smell of crayons and a fresh coloring book. Or better yet, writing music and coloring can help me get inspiration before I write or provide a good break from studying.

I remember envying the kids at school that got the 64 packs because they came with a sharpener (which really didn't work so they always ended up pealing the paper back like the rest of us).

Try coloring this week...I promise you'll have fun. 

And if you need some writing music:

Yellow - Vitamin String Quartet cover of Coldplay 

Resume

2 years at Westlake Hardware: learned how mean customers can be and what sizes of crescent wrenches exist

4 months at Walnut Street Inn: learned how to pour juice like a pro and pull sheets so tight a quarter can bounce off them

2 years at Missouri State University: learned how to hold a crying girl and how to tell if someone has alcohol poising

1 year at Amore Bridal: learned how to make girls feel pretty no matter what they are wearing and what a corset back can do for a figure

3 months at Integrity Home Care: learned that the smile of an autistic boy can brighten my day

6 months at A Touch of Nature Childcare: learned the value of puppets, counting, ants made out of egg cartons and rediscovered the value of bubbles

1 day at Boca Mocha Coffeehouse: learned that you should never lose hope that you'll get your dream job someday 

Photo by the amazing hippie

Week 16

I've missed this...

1) Matching mini mugs for shot glasses! Yay thrifting!

2) Adorable letters written by my Ugandan nieces and nephews

3)  Movies that make me feel nostalgic, romantic, poetic, and utterly in love

(being with the boy snail helps too)

4) A roommate that brings me flowers

5) Swoon worthy Etsy finds

here




Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) - Cole Porter (Sung by Ella Fizgerald)