Melonius Thunk

(Happy) Thursday Thoughts

 

  
 
   
 
 A few things that make me happy today: 

1. Blue skies

2. Riley & Dusty

3. Pre-Derby buzz

4. Lunch with friends

5. Bricks-and-mortar bookstores

6. Creative thoughts

7. Fresh air

8. Planning vacation

9. Porch swings

Happy Thursday to you, too!

Designing My Life

Today I ran across this guest post on Makeunder My Life: Designing A Life with Intention.  The post is from Ann of Glamourshoes and talks about how she designed her life through various stages of her life.

As I was reading, it struck me how relevant Ann's process is to where I am in my journey.  I'm stuck in that "What do I want to do when I grow up?" question.  And what to do about it -- the "Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?" conundrum.  One of the basic building blocks boils down to the choice between letting life happen and intending your way through what presents itself and intentionally designing the life you want and intending your way toward it.

I've had this debate before and wrote about it back in October (here and here).  I'm trying to listen more to my heart this time around.  To not over think things.  To be open to what the world has to offer...

Yet, it makes perfect sense that knowing myself and what energizes me will be essential to hearing my intuition and recognizing the universe's offerings.

Which brings me back to Ann.  As I was reading her list of what her new dream looks like, I found my self saying "Yes!  Me too!"  So I think I'll use Ann's list as a jumping off point for my own dream:

What does my dream career look like?

• It will engage my creativity
• It will allow me to make my own hours -- flexible
• It will make me smile
• It will be positive and uplifting
• It will feed my spirit -- personally fulfilling
• It will include meaningful interaction with others
• It will be financially profitable, but work that I would do even if I didn't get paid

What an awesome list if I do say so myself!  Reading this list makes my heart happy.  I'm setting my intentions not on a particular "job" or "career" but rather on these elements.  I cannot wait to see what the universe may present!

What does your dream life look like? 

Rx Laughter

I awoke at 7:30 this morning feeling better than I've felt in ages.  No alarm - in fact, I did not have a clock in the room - just the sun streaming through the windows.  And even though I'd only had maybe 6 hours of sleep at the most, I felt completely rested.

Those of you who know me know that waking refreshed is, unfortunately, a very rare occurrence.  For years I've suffered from periodic bouts of severe insomnia - difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, fractured sleep . . . .  Add to that a severe case of sleep apnea* and you've got a very tired Melony.  In fact, waking up more tired than when I went to bed the night before is an experience with which I am all too familiar.

So when I awoke feeling like a hundred bucks this morning, I was pretty much beside myself.

Perhaps laughter really is the best medicine!

Yesterday I met up with my college friends Sarah and Greta in Cincinnati.  We had a nice dinner at Teller's in Hyde Park and then went to the Amos Lee concert at 20th Century Theater.  Sarah and I saw Amos Lee at 20th Century a couple of years ago and that concert still ranks as one of the best I've ever seen.  Last night's concert was another great one.  We had great seats in the balcony and by-passed the standing-room-only lower level.  (Thanks to the theater seating in the balcony I will refrain from bemoaning the perils of being over 40 at a standing-only venue.  Lucky me, lucky you!)

We had a great time at the concert.  Even had a few good laughs courtesy of Lynette and John, the 50+ recently married couple sitting to Greta's left.  It took Lynette a good 30 minutes to figure out which of the 3 guys on the stage was Amos.  And another 10 minutes to realize she was wrong. 

But the real laughs were had back at Sarah's house when we commenced with good old fashioned girl talk.  We laughed until we had tears running down our faces and trouble catching our breath.  The belly-aching type of laughs that hurt in a good way.

I am convinced that the good clean fun and genuine laughter are what allowed me to awake well-rested and in high spirits.  Which leads me to believe that having fun isn't a treat to dangle like a carrot at the end of a hard week a la "You can have dessert if you eat your cooked spinach and brussel sprouts."  I'm adding "have fun" to my list of daily requirements for good health.

At long last, healthy lifestyle changes I can get genuinely excited about!

P.S. - If you're asking "Who the heck is Amos Lee?", you can sample his music here.  He is awe-some!

* Sleep apnea is a very common chronic sleep disorder in which breathing stops during sleep.  It is a serious disorder that, if left untreated, can result in dangerous health problems such as hypertension, heart disease, and obesity.  Sleep apnea can usually be treated effectively and easily.  Although snoring is perhaps the most commonly recognized symptom of sleep apnea, not all sleep apnea sufferers snore.  More information on sleep apnea is available here.

Oops, I Did It Again!

Have you caught onto my routine yet?  Blog a while.  Stop.  Blog a while.  Stop.  Repeat.

Why do I do it?  Why do I inevitably drop off the blogosphere from time to time?  It's certainly not for lack of something to say.  Actually, the opposite is much more likely -- I have so much to say that I just can't spit it out.  So I just stop.  For a while.

But I eventually return.  As I am doing today.

So, what's been going on these last few weeks?  Well, lots!

 I cleaned out my closets . . . 
 

 . . . and attended my 20th college reunion.
(That's me, second from the left, acting silly!)

This week I've had a case of the stomach flu.  Lucky for you there are no pictures of that to share!

I've also been doing a lot of volunteer work for the Crescent Hill Art & Music Festival that will take place in my neighborhood over the July 4 holiday weekend.
 
I guess I have been pretty busy.  But as I'm writing this post, it occurs to me that I haven't created anything or really engaged in active creativity lately.  Not good!  But a good reminder to make time for the juicy stuff.

Hmm.  What sorts of creativity will I get into next?  I'm not sure, but seeing Ashley's quilts over at Film in the Fridge makes me want to learn to quilt!

Patchwork Squares:

 Boots for Elephants:

 
Front

  
Back

Animal Sherbert:
 
Front

 
Back

I absolutely love that she puts thoughtful detail into the backs as well as the fronts.  Bravo!

I may have to fire up my new sewing machine . . . .