7 Ways to Nourish Your Spirit

Many of us spend much of our time taking care of other people, or operating at others' direction. Whether it's taking care of our families or working for a boss (or both), the point is that we spend a lot of time and energy putting other people first. Now and then we need to put ourselves first for a little while. Here are some of the ways that I do that.

1) Meditate. Even just a few minutes of focusing on nothing more than breathing slowly and deeply can be quite refreshing.

2) Find a piece of quiet. There are many ways of doing this:
a. Take a long bath, with candles (lock the bathroom door)
b. Take a walk in the park.
c. Go to the library.

3) Take yourself out to dinner. Never understimate the therapeutic value of an hour spent interacting only with someone whose job it is to take care of you. Trust me, this is huge.

4) Do something creative. Whether it's writing or practicing an art or craft, creating is very good for the soul.

5) Get lost. Go for a long drive in an area that either:
a. is lovely, or
b. you haven't explored before, or
c. both

6) Explore your world. If you can't spare the gas for aimles driving (understandable these days), take transit or walk to explore where you live. Is there a museum (art or history)? Is there an old part of town with interesting architecture or funky shops? Take a camera or sketchbook to capture what you see, or take a break at a cafe to write down your impressions.

7) Run away from home. We always have reasons why we can't take a full vacation right now, but how about a weekend? You don't even have to leave town. Just take a weekend at a nice hotel, or a bed and breakfast, or even a funky little motel. The point is to be somewhere other than home for a little while. Sure, the messes at home will still be there when you get back, but give yourself a break. Let someone else pick up after you for a couple of days. Enjoy any (or all) of the other activities listed, without anyone around clamoring for your attention.

What's cool is that if you and your honey need some bonding time, you can do any of these activities together. The point is to give yourself a brak from the routine, so you can recharge your batteries.

45 Things About Me

My sister sent me this in an email. One is supposed to pass it on, but I decided to post it here instead.

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? No
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? NO
3. Do you own a gun? No, because I'm too likely to use it.
4. What's your favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty coffee. In the winter, Double Decaf Mocha; in the summer, Strawberries & Cream
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Sometimes
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Good in Mac & Cheese
7. Favorite Christmas song? "St. Stephen's Day Murders"
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Decaf Mocha
9. Can you do push ups? Um, that would be NO
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding band (my DP has its mate)
11. Favorite hobby? Knitting, Quilting, Crocheting, Cross-stitch, Beadwork, Embroidery. (do you sense a theme here?)
12. Do you have A.D.H.D? Quite possibly -- what was the question again?
13. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I'm too willing to please other people before myself, but I'm working on that.
14. Middle name? Suzanne
15. Name three things you're thinking right now? I want to resume my current stitching project, I'm probably going to post this to my blog instead of sending out email, why isn't my satellite working today?
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, Milk, Decaf coffee
17. The friend you had the longest? Julie, since 1998
18. Current hate right now? Hearing the English language mangled by people who should know better
19. Favorite place to be? In my sunny window, playing with fabric (or yarn, or beads, etc)
20. How did you bring in the New Year? Honey and I watched old movies until we fell asleep
21. Do you like to travel? Yes, but it's such a hassle these days.
22. Name three people who will complete this: It depends on who reads my blog post
23. Do you own slippers? Yes
24. What color shirt are you wearing? Purple
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I've never tried it.
26. Can you whistle? Not really, but that doesn't stop me
27. Favorite color? Rainbow
28. Would you be a pirate? That depends; can I be Will Turner?
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Random bits of stuff
30. Favorite girl's name? Ariana
31. Favorite boy's name? Geoffrey
32. What's in your pocket right now? A patch
33. What is the last thing that made you laugh? An e-mail about an elderly Wal-Mart applicant.
34. Best bed sheets as a child? Are you kidding? Do you have any idea how long ago that was?
35. Worst injury you've ever had? I broke my ankle skiing, at the beginning of the best snow season ever. I was in a cast until spring.
36. Do you love where you live? I like it better than the last place I lived; it's a walkable neighborhood, and I have no upstairs neighbors
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? Three
38. Who is your loudest friend? Julie
39. How many pets do you have? Four cats
41. What is your favorite book? "This Alien Shore", by C.S. Friedman
42. What is your favorite candy? 80% cacao dark chocolate
43. Favorite Sports Team? PITTSBURGH STEELERS!
44. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sleeping
45. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Mmmm, Saturday (roll back over)

Tell me 45 things about you.

Really Simple Goal Setting

Leo Baubuta of Zen Habits, has written another excellent post, this time on making goals more manageable.

Opening Your Creative Eye

Shameless cross-post here. I've started a series on nurturing your own creativity over on my other blog, Tactile Arts Play Group.

Check it out, and if you like it, please tag it on Stumble Upon or Del.icio.us.

The Computer Is A Great Time-Wasting Device

Seriously. I love my computer; it helps me do all kinds of things, but it also helps me waste huge amounts of time (as if I needed the help, right?). For example, yesterday, I spent several hours doing puzzles at JigZone. I've always loved puzzles, and they have a lot of good ones at this site. Choose your picture and choose how many and what kind of pieces you want, and have at it.

Myths About Creativity, from LifeDev

I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything here, but I saw this article and had to share it.

For everyone who is a mom or who has one

This is just too funny!

YouTube - William Tell Overture Mom

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