Day Three: Favorite Things-Running

Sun climbing through the trees on an early morning run

First let me say I am new at running.  I began walking at a beautiful heavily wooded park two years ago when I quit smoking.  The walking, stretching my legs and lungs, and connecting with the outside world helped me make it through this change.

Six months later I began going to a local greenway with my husbands sister.  She was recovering from a speed skating accident and began walking with me and encouraging me to run between certain marked positions and to walk through others ultimately helping me to build my endurance and confidence. 

After we moved to Charlotte, I began running in the cemetery near our condo.  The cemetery met my needs for tranquility and for nature as it is a large green space.  I was also still shy about running in front of others and was not confident to run on the streets and sidewalks around town. On average I ran 1-2 miles 3-4 times a week.

In March of this year I started running everyday with my brother who decided to take up the sport again.  Then my sister let me know that she and my other siblings had signed up for a 5k and so we signed up too.  After several 5K's and one 8K my brother challenged me to a 1/2 marathon. 

I am now just 4 weeks away from my first 1/2 marathon, the Savannah GA Rock and Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon and am now running 25-30 miles per week, 5 days a week.

Why do I love running?  Well for one thing it quiets my avid monkey mind.  Don't get me wrong it is still at work but on new subject matter such as bargaining how to cut out a few miles or at what landmark would make a good breaking point.  I also love how it has made my city and other cities I have ran in seem so much smaller.    If you really want to get to know your community, go run (or walk) it.  You will see all the beauty and nuances that are missed by driving.  Hidden alleyways and gardens are stumbled upon, architectural details are seen up close, and I get to see the people that make up my city and neighborhood as well.  One of the greatest parts of running is being out doors; seeing, feeling and smelling the seasons change, hearing and watching the birds (city hawks and the tam-like finches), looking for feathers and little snail shells and four leaf clovers....being in touch with my environment. 

On my thirtieth birthday by best friend Vila said something to me that I took as a challenge.  She didn't mean it that way but it startled me and make me think of the brevity of this life and the choices I made.  She said that whatever choices and behaviors you had developed by 30 you would likely have for the rest of your life.  On the eve of my fortieth birthday I truly feel stronger in body and in spirit than I did 10 years ago and I thank Vila for being a catalyst for that...and for her love and friendship and support no matter what habits or behaviors I have had over the years.

"There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be." - George Sheehan

Day Two: Favorite Things-Meditation



My Sister's Buddha

 "Tranquility hides in small places ,and when found must  be treasured, because you know it's a phantom that will slip away again." Diane Ackerman

 

I practice meditation.  Not often enough to receive the full benefit I believe is possible but often enough to know it can have a profound and instant effect on my mood and overall physical well being.  I don't subscribe to a lot of rules about it either, believing that there are different ways to do it and right ways and wrong ways for the individual but no one set universal way.  But that is just my take on it.  I meditate to relax, to release, to reconnect, and to calm.  Meditation raises my energy level which may seem to contradict calmness, but it is more a release of energetic endorphins I suppose, a feeling of glowing. 

 

My first experience with meditation of any form came in college in a Human Behaviors course.  Our instructor talked about time management and about carving time out for ourselves.  In retrospect I see that I had a ton to learn here had I just paid more attention to the lesson instead of the grade.  Being hard headed means that I have come to some of life's gifts much later than others. He was trying to teach us to seek out quiet moments for ourselves, so we could reconnect with the core essence of who we are, so we could recalibrate and restore.  I remember laying on the carpeted floor in his class room, lights out & limbs sprawling, as he talked us through relaxing starting at our toes and wiggling up to our eye balls as we relaxed every fiber of our being. I fell asleep at some point, just briefly, and jarringly woke up from that falling feeling where you "catch yourself" that feels like jumping out of your skin. It was amazing!

 

When I first began taking yoga I lived for the very end of class when we would gather in a circle, each of us sitting cross legged on the edge of our cushions.  Slowly we would breath in and as we released the breath we would release the tension with it gentling rolling our neck from side to side and releasing our shoulders.  And then came the OM.  In unison we would begin to OM, our teachers voice deep and powerful, vibrating outward to our own little OM's rattling in our chests until eventually it was one golden OM, no one's voice recognizable from another.

 

Sometimes I use meditation like a prayer to send out positive energy to those on my mind, visualizing healing and lightness of being for them.  Sometimes I look up You-Tube meditations that are guided and follow along. 

 

Right now I am really enjoying Toning. Toning is the creation of extended vocal sounds on a single vowel in order to experience the sound and its effects in other parts of the body.  I consider it meditation because it creates for me a profound amount of peace and energy, and I do it intentionally as a recalibration and cleansing...it feels like the vibrations from the sounds create space within me and release negative energy and feelings.  

The first time I heard of toning was in Diane Ackerman's One Hundred Names for Love:  A Stroke, A Marriage, and the Language of Healing.  She described how she made these noises upon rising in the morning.  I was reading the book on a semi-deserted beach and decided to give it a try.  I immediately began smiling.  In part because I felt so silly, and also because I felt like a whale or dolphin calling out to her sisters in the sea.  It was the setting most likely.  I did some research on what I was doing after we returned from our trip and learned those sounds are called Toning.

 

Below are some tips on Specific Toning Exercises.  I typically just go through the vowels A-E-I-O-U as this is easy for me to remember without referring to any materials, but the intent behind the vowels is energy specific  and can help with specific needs. 

 

Vowels and Energy

There are many vowel sounds in the human language.

For toning we begin by focusing on several principal sounds. Remember, this is not a list of universal truths, just some traditional suggestions for you to begin with.

Vowel	Possible Attributes or Related Perceptions
UU ("who")	grounding, calming, relaxing, awareness of physicality, gives sensation of depth, base of spine
OH ("go")	conscious self-image, identity issues, solar plexus self-confidence, individuality
AH ("car")	centering, expanding, pleasant heartfelt emotions, gives sensation of breadth, heart area
EY ("pray")	self-expression, communication, listening throat and neck
EE ("knee")	energizing, awakening, mental and physical stamina, gives sensation of length, head
MM (humming, lips closed)	balancing, harmonizing and integrating, the subtlest and most powerful sound
Examples of vowel combinations for balancing and centering (to be vocalized as one continuous full-breath tone exhalation): "UU-AH-EE-MM" Balance and energize. Morning wakeup. "MM-EE-AH-UU" Balance and relax. Before bedtime.

Note: this is a list of just a few traditional suggestions to begin with. Your own awareness may be quite different; that's fine! These are just starting points. There is no "normal" toning experience, only "your" experience! With practice, your inner wisdom will guide you and tell you what vowels you need.

 

Do you practice any form of meditation? 

 

 

 

Day One: Favorite Things-Bath Fizzies

Half-Round Bath Fizzy

One of my favorite go-to's for relaxation is taking a long hot bath.  It is symbolic for me of literally letting the worries wash away.  There is something so soothing and timeless about being enveloped in warm water with scented steam rising all around.  I have long loved using Epsom salts and sea salts mixed with essential oils in the bath but my sister-in-law Ronda was the first person to introduce me to the pleasure of the Bath Fizzy also known as a Bath Bomb.  She is a fan of the store Lush and gifted me a huge swirly pink bath fizzy from their store during one of her visits to our home.  This gave me the idea of trying to make my own.  You may have better luck in your area but after looking unsuccessfully in every local store here I finally purchased my citric acid on line. My only experience ordering Citric Acid is with My Spice Sage and I found their costs reasonable and their product (including some spices I additionally purchased) of high quality.  

If you would like a few bath bombs mailed to you please leave a note in the comments about why you like baths.  I will pick one person at random on Day 14 and mail the winner two bath bombs.

 Reasons to make your own Bath Fizzies:

• You know the exact ingredients in them. You can choose organic, natural, synthetic, etc.
• You can create your own signature scents by combining essential oils.
• You can create it with a specific need in mind (relaxation, to treat a cold, dry skin, etc).
• They are fun to make and relatively inexpensive.
• They make great gifts to give any time of the year.
• So you can take more baths!

Why I use the ingredients listed and what they do:

• Citric Acid creates the fizziness of the bath bomb when it comes into contact with water.
• Baking Soda is a gentle skin softener and exfoliant.
• Epsom Salts  contain a significant amount of magnesium which helps elevate moods and relax sore and achy muscles.
• Sea Salts are purifying and add a natural element that makes me think of the ocean.
• Essential Oils serve not only for aromatic purposes but depending on the type of oil used can also heal in different ways.
• Shea Butter (unrefined) is a wonderful moisturizer.

Bath Fizzy Recipe

Yields approximately 10-14 Medium Bath Fizzies

3 Cups Baking Soda (About 32 Ounces)

1 ½ Cups Citric Acid

1 ½ Epsom Salt

¾ Cup Sea Salt

2 Teaspoons Melted Shea Butter (Optional)

Essential Oil(s) of your choice (100 drops +/-)

Spray Bottle of Filtered Water (note-add LAST)

Other

Glass Bowl

Another small bowl with lid

Wooden or Plastic Spoon

Mold for Bath Fizzy

Wax Paper

*Note:  I use glass and wooden bowls and spoons as the salts can rust metal (it is not pretty)

 Reserve Mixture

1 Cup Baking Soda

½ Cup Citric Acid

 ·         First mix your reserve mixture in a small bowl ensuring it is thoroughly mixed and all lumps are gone.  I stir well with a wooden spoon and then use my hands to get out any remaining lumps.  You can use a sifter if you prefer.  Set aside.

·    Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large glass bowl and ensure they are all thoroughly integrated and all lumps are gone. 

·       Add the melted Shea Butter to the dry mixture.  You can use any other type of carrier oil you like or even omit the oil all together.  I think a little extra moisturizer is nice so I add this.  The Shea Butter will clump into little balls in the dry mixture.  Continue stirring the mixture and pressing the little balls into the dry mixture until there are no lumps.  Again you can use your hands for this as well.

·      Begin adding the essential oil or oils of your choice.  I typically begin adding 15-20 drops at a time per scent and mix.  The Essential Oils will also form small lumps/balls and in the dry mixture and requires repeated stirring and using the spoon to press the balls into the dry mixture.  You can continue adding Essential oil or oils until you find just the right level of scent for your preference.

·         The last step is to carefully begin adding water one spray at a time.  I spray with one hand and mix with the other until I can tell the mixture is beginning to stick and clump together.  You can also hear the mixture hiss from the chemical reaction between the citric acid and water.  If you use too much water, add in the reserve mixture of baking soda and citric acid you created.  One way you can tell you have added too much water is when you place the mixture into the mold(s) and it grows/swells out of the mold.  If this happens add a few tablespoons of the reserve dry mix to the remainder of your scented mix until it still holds a form but is not swelling.  And if it does swell, there are no real worries, it just may not fizz as much and it will not be as dense as it could be.

·         Press the completed mixture into molds of your choice pressing the mixture firmly into the mold and adding mix until the mold is packed and full.

• Note I use two different types of molds as shown shown below.

 

Star Silicone Mold

 

Half Round Plastic Mold

 

• I have a plastic half round mold I use to make individual bath fizzies that I pack and set on wax paper.  These take about 1-2 days to dry.
• I also use a silicone baking mold and actually bake the bath fizzies in the oven on 170 (my lowest heat setting) for approximately 1 hour.  Then I cool and turn these out onto wax paper.
• You can also leave the fizzies in the silicone tray and let them air dry for 2-3 days.. 
• Any item that is small and easily held in your hand and gently squeezed so it will release the bath fizzy could serve as your mold.  Again I would advise against using metal.  Plastic, glass and silicone are the best material types for your mold.

·       You may want to label the fizzy with the date as they lose their effectiveness and scent as time passes.  I would say they are good for 6 months to a year after their made date.
 

I store my bath fizzies in wax paper or plastic bags but they would store beautifully in a glass container.

 

 

Fourteen Going on Forty

My younger self that I have been thinking of as of late

It is October 1st and exactly 14 days until my fortieth birthday.  I want to celebrate these last 14 days of my thirties.  It feels like a big deal to me.  Not the kind where I want a surprise party or a trip around the world (but hey the trip would be cool), but the kind where I think it is important to stop and take note and stock of where I have been and where I am. 

I thought of creating a life-list of 40 things to do before I turned 40 but I thought of it shy of 40 days.  I mean I knew this was the year it would happen but my-oh-my how time has a way of creeping up on you.  So then I thought, ok , I can do 22 things (because that was about how many days ago it really hit me) before I turn 40 but that felt daunting and more of a challenge rather than a celebration.  So I think I will just share parts of myself, some of my favorite things so to speak, for the next 14 days.  And this sharing will help with something else I want to let go of or rather make peace with and that is fear. 

Yes I have a blog which feels big and wide-open in some ways.  In truth it is just a glimpse of who I am based on my the parts of me that I choose to reveal.  And I have not told many people about said blog. When I explore the why behind that (not sharing it with many people) the answer is fear.  Fear of rejection, judgement, ridicule, frivolity, etc.

Fear can be healthy and keep us safe.  Fear can propel us forward with much needed adrenalin.  Or fear can allow us (me) to be mediocre.  Not risking too much because it might hurt and therefore remaining stagnant because it feels better.  Only stagnation doesn't feel better.  Fear can also tell tall-tales and create mountains out of mole hills and let us worry and over think things so much we forget what we were even fearing to begin with.  Whew. 

So with that in mind, I will begin sharing 14 things, something new each day, until I turn 40. I am not sure what each day will bring, but we will see.  This will be a gift to me, chronicling my life and favorite things while leaning into my new year, and hopefully if you decide to join along, a gift to you as I share a few things you might like to explore for yourself.

Today maybe you can think of something that you fear and explore where it comes from. Is it an old story about yourself that may no longer be true but that you are clinging to because it is familiar?  Some of my fears are old stories that I am slowly re-writing. There is this story about a nerdy girl who never did quite fit in.  She didn't have the right accent, or the right clothes, or the right friends.  She was too tall and her eyes were too big and people laughed at her and called her names. She decided it was easier to be quiet and observe and try to go as unnoticed as possible until the most precious parts of her almost dissapeared.  That is part of one of my old stories. There is also beauty in that story.  Part of re-writing my stories is also looking for the shiney in the dullness.  My quietness has lead me to be an observer and to relish the connectivity with the natural world as it embraced me when I felt alone in so many other areas of my life.

Maybe you have a story you would like to re-write as well. 

This Month Around The Yard

This month I have had more time to spend in and around our yard at our old house and have noticed little creatures teeming with activity all about.  I wonder if it is just me, being a more active participant, or if they are all busier in preparation for the shift in seasons and a possibly cooler fall and winter.

The past two years I have been able to mark the subtle changes in seasons by being aware of the insects that seem to suddenly appear.  Crane flies are the first to appear and announce that Spring has arrived.  I know the hummingbirds will be in soon when I spot the first of the crane flies.  The indigo-blue mud dauber is next on the list as temperatures begin to rise.  Dragon flies are just around the corner at the peak of the summer season and the majestic butterfly glides in just as the shadows begin to grow longer.  Spiders then begin to hang their webs in curious places as if they are vying for the greatest attention; high in the trees, in between the bushes, dangling from a power line, and framing doorways and windows with their glistening traps.  This week it is the afternoon chirp of the crickets and watching them in abundance as they leap through the grass just ahead of my step that reminds me cooler temperatures are soon to come.

Activity around the yard this month

I still sometimes have trouble with directions and if I am facing N-S-E-W, but it is nice to be in touch with these clues again and to tell time from a deeper reservoir. 

I would love it if you would share what you are noticing while you are out and about these days?

Map Table

Map Table~Barcelona

I have long loved maps, a love likely developed while living with my grandparents where National Geographic magazines, The World Atlas, and travel maps were always readily available as reading material.  They loved to travel and visited almost every state within the US in addition to visits to Canada. 

On all of our trips we not only use maps to get to know and to get around the city, but I hoard them almost as much as stones and sea shells.  Each map has something different; some are hand drawn, some include famous sites, some are enlargements of particular parts of a city, some are colorful like a metro map, and some are black and white, but each are unique and have their own story to impart.  The idea to create a collage of our maps, ticket stubs and other paper ephemera has been ruminating since our honeymoon.  I often take these saved items out of the boxes I keep them in and arrange them in different fashions looking for something to speak to me on how to display and arrange these treasures.  There are also coins mixed in amongst the papers and each of these shiny jewels get added to the lot or sometimes lined up in an orderly fashion with the idea to mat and frame just the coins.

Well an opportunity arrived and while it was not the collage I imagined or even the map I originally intended to use, I was pleased with the outcome and the new display for this map.  We rented our condo out for the Democratic National Convention and I needed a bedside table for our guest bedroom.  I had several inexpensive round plywood tables that are intended to be covered in a tablecloth and then topped with glass and decided to try using one of these for my project.

The steps for creating the table are below.

• Using the glass table top as my template with the map placed underneath the glass I used a sharp razor knife and cut around the glass.
• Since the table was unfinished I sprayed it and the legs with one coat of primer and sanded the rough edges after it dried.
• After removing the sanded dust I coated the wooden table top and bottom (covering the metal areas where the legs are inserted with painters tape) and legs with white oil paint.
• After the paint dried I applied Liquitex varnish to the table top and the round cut out map and carefully placed the map on the table top smoothing out air bubbles as I went.  I did have a hard time with some of the air bubbles and had to gently pierce the paper where they appeared with the razor knife and then push the paper down.  I would recommend a brayer or other type of roller to ensure all air bubbles are removed.
• After the map was attached to the table, I covered the map and wooden edges around it with the same Liquitex varnish, sealing it and giving it a shine.
• I purchased small silicone disks from our local home improvement store and attached 4 of these to the glass to separate the glass from the table, protecting the map and providing a sturdy base for the glass.

I didn't take many "in process" shots but did take this one when I first cut the map and prior to painting the table.

Relief Painting

I found an idea while browsing on Pinterest and recreated it in my own style and thought I would share the results here.  With the exception of a few errors on my part, I was pleased with the end result. 

Here is the inspiration:  Canvas covered in one solid color and then hand painted with 3D paint in white and that same canvas color applied again to give it a rustic appearance.  I truly love this artists flowers and greenery and the rusty color too. 

SOURCE:  http://ilovetocreateblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/rusty-relief-painting.html

 

Here is my version:  A swirly vine using different colors, design, and a slightly different technique to create a coppery-like patina appearance.

Completed relief paintings

I started with four canvases and painted them a sea-green color and then used bubble wrap for slight distressing.

Beginning layer of paint

While the canvases were drying I drew my swirly vine on tracing paper so I could copy the exact design onto all four canvases.

Swirly Vine design

After the canvases were dry I penciled in the swirly design directly onto each canvas.

When I went to the craft store I did not pay close attention to the color of the 3D paint and accidentally purchased 3 clear glitter paints and one white paint.  I did not notice my error until after I traced my pencil drawing with the clear glittery paint that went on white and all but disappeared when it dried. Scraping it all of was not a pleasant process at all but I did and thankfully the one small bottle of white paint covered all four canvases.

After the 3D paint dried I lightly sponged on a purplish-brown color over the sea-green and then wiped away excess from the raised swirly design using a paper towel.

After the brown paint was dry I covered all four canvases with varnish for preservation and shine.




Close-up showing raised lines and color variation
 

I would love it if you would like to share any projects you have worked on recently or are hoping to pursue in the future.