… despite our best intentions, the to-do list we set ourselves remains undone. Instead we laze in bed with loved ones, enjoy brunches made by others, watch mindless TV, rent movies and cook up comfort food for dinner. Add to that grey and overcast weather and you have yourself an extra layer of contentment.
Sometimes that’s all that weekends should be. How was yours?
P.S. If you have one, sometimes you hit the hot-tub too.
Feeling sad, dreamy, lost in thought or perhaps in need of a good cry? Maybe you’re cuddling with your love, chilling out or spring cleaning. Well channel your emotions and tune into Stereo Mood – an emotional internet radio. They have put together collections of songs that speak to your mood or activity.
As someone that has become pretty blah about her iTunes collection I’m looking forward to discovering some new music. What a neat idea. I’m currently listing to the calm play-list (love the version of Time After Time by Eva Cassidy) while I enjoy my last cup of morning coffee.
Enjoy. Oh and do you find that coffee somehow tastes better on the weekend?
Photo Credit: Red Beetle
Found via: Sarah Wilson
I’m curious, do you have a bucket list? I can’t say I do per se though I’m sure I have one in my head somewhere. It’s probably full of all the typical things many of us hope to do before we err… kick the bucket.
While I currently don’t have any intentions of writing one, I do like the idea behind it. I’m no stranger to wanting something but holding back because of fear or shall we say… lack of balls. So, I thought I’d share one random thing I would like to do.
As some of you may have read, my boyfriend has brain damage. I won’t get into anymore than I already have, but having seen the devastation F.A.S.D. (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) causes to individuals and their families, I have this need to raise more awareness about it. In fact, a year or so ago I almost packed up modernemotive to go back to school to specialize in it. Somewhere along the way I realized that while F.A.S.D. will always be in my life, I can’t live and breathe it. But, there’s lots of stuff I can do from the outside to help raise awareness.
Funnily enough, one of the reasons I left the corporate world was because I felt like I was doing absolutely nothing to better society. Sure, the money was fabulous, the pats on the back for great work were nice, blah, blah, blah… but at the end of the day, I was just putting money into the pockets of the big corporations. I stopped giving a shit if a campaign, website or competition we designed went above and beyond the expectations. I stopped giving a shit when we got awards for great design that served no purpose other than to look cool and drive sales. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the above. I still do freelance design work here and there and enjoy it. It’s just not the only driving force for me anymore.
Anyways, what do I intend to do to raise awareness? I want to take my creative skills and design these highly emotive awareness campaigns. One idea is to put together a stop-motion video. A PSA I guess you could say. I have this dream it will become one of those crazy successes both online and offline. Yes I know my expectations are set high but in reality, even if it just gives all the F.A.S.D organizations out there another tool to share their message, I’ll be happy.
What’s stopping me? Right now… lack of knowledge. A storyboard. A vision. It’ll come though… when the time is right and I can do it justice. The cogs are already turning.
So friends, tell me one thing you want to do. Perhaps it’s something no one would ever assume about you. Perhaps like me it’s something close to your heart you just need to do. Or perhaps it’s just something as simple as a wanting to visit a certain country or learn a new skill. And while you’re thinking of your answer, perhaps the more important question is… what’s holding you back?
I’m sure you’ve all heard of the ShakeIt Photo app for the iPhone. Well, I finally downloaded it and it’s addictive. It can transform the most dull photograph into something completely freakin’ cool. It’s the closest I’m probably ever going to get to a Polaroid camera so I’ll take it. Plus, for .99c how can you say no? I’m all about cheap entertainment over here.
A note about the photo above. J wrote it and sent it to me from his phone when I was having a bad day. He has a habit of doing small things like that. He’s pretty sweet huh?
P.S. Forgive me for the lame title but I couldn’t resist.
I have a really bad habit of not drinking water throughout the day. Often I’ll pour a glass and it will remain untouched with perhaps only a sip or two here and there. Usually this means I’m chugging glass after glass of water at night. Why on earth I can’t do this throughout the day is beyond me.
Hopefully the lemon slices will help.
I’m slowly but surely trying to sort through the 100s of photos I have on my laptop. I can be pretty ruthless when it comes to trashing them but sometimes I’m glad I wasn’t so trigger happy with the delete button.
Post like these make me want to restart my 365 project. I kinda miss that moment in my day when I’d just put everything down and have a date with my camera. I’m also slightly obsessed with the idea of creating a stop-motion video. Something tells me my camera is going to be released from it’s neglected spot on the shelf any day now.
A couple of weekends ago, J and I went on what was supposed to be an hour long dog walk. We decided to try out one of the Toronto Discovery Walks. We took the Don Valley Hills & Dales route. Before we knew it 1 hour had turned into 8 hours. It was such a beautiful and sunny day. One that ended with sore feet, sun burn and exhaustion but one that was worth every minute.
Every so often we’d jump down to the creek to dip our feet in the water. While Riley refused to swim (he’d only go in so far), Bosco and Kayden took full advantage of the chance to cool down.
There were many breaks under the cool shelter of the trees.
When this particular trail ended, we just wanted to keep going and so we took the Eastern Ravine & Beaches trail and ended the day down at the lake.
A perfect ending to a perfect day.
Photo’s taken with my iPhone
I thought I’d be still be married.
I’m not. We got married young and essentially grew up together in our 20s. We just grew in different directions. I’m okay with that. I’m thankful we can still be friends and like I have, I hope he finds the one he can’t imagine being without.
I thought I’d have kids. Probably 3.
I don’t but I have 3 beautiful huskies. That probably 3 has now gone down to probably 2. I’m hoping for number 1 within the next 2 years.
I thought I’d have the “big house”.
I’ve had two with the second being the 2000+ square footer. It was the dream house you could say. I was sad to leave it but a big house doesn’t buy you happiness, fix relationship issues nor always feel “like home”. It’s just bricks and mortar and simply gives you shelter. The same shelter any sized home can give you. I’m starting to love my condo. It’s the only place I want to call home right now.
I thought I’d be a Creative Director in an agency.
I’m not and nor do I want to be. I realized that about 3 years ago. The corporate world isn’t for me. Some might say I’m the Creative Director of my own company. But the reality is, titles mean nothing, it’s what you do to contribute that matters. I’m just another person trying to run their own business. It’s tough, humbling and never easy, but I’m trying and I know somewhere along the way I’ll land my feet.
I thought I’d having plenty of savings for whatever my heart desires.
I did until I quit my job. Watching the number drop each month was scary. It still is. I wasn’t the smartest when it came to budgeting and continued to live my life as though I was pulling in $$$ a month. I’ve made some stupid mistakes when it comes to money management. Opting for nights out (lots of them) versus using the money to finally make my condo a home or take care of myself. I know my priorities have been wrong and I’m working on changing that.
I used to wonder if quitting my job was a mistake. I dabbled with the idea of entering the agency world again. Like clockwork, around the same time full-time agency opportunities were landing in my inbox (and still do) and I couldn’t even bring myself to respond. I knew then I’d made the right decision.
I thought I’d be finally comfortable in my own skin.
Some days I am, some days I’m not. Like everyone, I have days where my self-confidence is low. I used to place so much importance on my external self – the clothes, the weight etc. Having battled both anorexia and bulimia, even when I had the perfect body… the clothes… I still wasn’t always comfortable. I’m now working on my internal self which I realize will always be a lifelong to-do item. Trying to constantly achieve perfection within yourself is like shooting at a moving target.
… while I’m not where I thought I would be, I wouldn’t change a single thing.
Would you?
Photo Credit: youfuji
A couple of years ago I attended a conference here in Toronto and Hillman Curtis was one of the speakers. Strangely enough I don’t recall the conference (an RDG one I believe) nor the topic of his lecture but I do remember this short film.
It moved me immediately and it still does today. If I try to sum up why words often escape me. My interpretation of it shifts. Today, this is my interpretation:
What does it mean to you?
Right now, I have about new 10 ideas scrambling around in my head for attention that span the gamut. If you got a sneak peek into my thinking, you’d leave feeling confused and dizzy. Not that my ideas are ambiguous but when I get a surge of creativity/ideas, I tend to get mental/verbal diarrhea which of course to me reads as completely understandable but to others perhaps not always so.
We all I know I’ve got a shit load to do but on Friday I was completely taken over by a refreshing wave of creativity and determination. Naturally, I want to roll with it and I did at the cost of that shit load I need to do. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t abandoned it completely and I’m working through it but perhaps not as fast as I could if I could just mute my creativity. That’s where my problem lies.
Last week, Michelle of Holley & Gill shared a post about how her creativity seeps into her everyday life called Design is Everywhere. Here’s a portion of my reply. While it’s not all necessarily related to this post, I do think there are points in there that describe how being ambushed with creativity affects me.
“Being creative can be overwhelming. At times it’s hard to navigate through your thoughts when you’re being pulled visually in all directions. My mind goes a mile a minute sometimes and it can be exhausting. But, eventually I think this is where your gut/instincts kick in. Often all the different paths we see lead to the same destination creatively… one where our true self emerges. We just stopped and had a few “conversations” along the way.”
Like most people, I tend to get these ideas logged in some format whether it be in writing or simply firing up Illustrator to do a quick mock-up. Sometime I keep it all in my head but that’s a whole other form of mental jello. Anyways, somewhere along the way the idea(s) begin to consume me and before I know it I can’t think straight. Sometimes, I’ll look up and the day is drawing to a close, I’ve often forgotten to eat and the items I’ve struck off my need to do now list is shall we say… dismal.
I consider myself a pretty self-aware person. So, when I become a creative pig, I try to take away what I’ll call my creative carbs so I’m not so fueled. Some days, okay most days, I fail miserably, but here’s what I found can work:
Yep, that’s all I’ve got folks. Clearly I need more tactics. Like I said though, this doesn’t always produce the golden ticket to getting ‘er done. While it’s great to be hit by a wave of creativity sometimes it’s so big my focus sails away. And even though I love need to feed my creative side sometimes I just want to hit the mute button.
I put a question out there in Twitter land and here are the responses I got:
How do you tame your creativity when you’ve got other less creative stuff to do? @modernemotive
No taming. Just don’t sleep to get the max out of 24 hours! :D @nottypooch
The muse is fleeting so if I find myself very inspired to create I try not to stifle it, the business side might have to wait @madeinlowell
Listen to music – usually classical or jazz. Seems 2 stimulate the creative side of my mind so I can get the mundane tasks done @amypotch
Make a list of the creative stuff so you dont forget, then put it in your sight the whole time your working, speeds it up @ashenhurstphoto
Use noncreative work as break from creative work @copybabe
What about you? Do you find yourself being consumed by your creativity? When you are… how do you mute it when it’s the better thing to do? Do you even bother?
Photo Credit: Katie Tegtmeyer
As I gear up to start my condo makeover, while I intend on buying some accessories, when I saw this D.I.Y. Fabric Flower Garland on Once Wed by Dolci Odille I found myself getting bit by the D.I.Y. bug. Don’t you just love it? I’m not sure where or how I’d hang it, but I want one. Like now.
If you’ve got any favorite D.I.Y. home accent tutorials you love, please share. Muchas gracias
Images Copyright: Dolci Odille
Found Via: Fee-Amore
This video has already made it’s blogging rounds, but it’s new to me and quite mesmerizing. It’s shot by Jon Rawlinson at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. It’s so serene to watch. The shadows of people looking into such a wonderful, almost secretive world combined with the music make it just perfect.
One can’t help but think of the BP disaster. :(
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