5/31/2014 0 Comments EnjoyPhoto courtesy of quotesvalley.com
This post is about making the most of your situation. In my case, I had to make the most of being home all day since my car has been at the body shop for a little while. As someone whose Saturdays are usually spent with friends and/or exploring new parts of the city, it was challenging at first to face the fact that I couldn't drive anywhere. Especially given that the weather has pretty much been perfect for outdoors-y-ness (70 degrees, clear, sunny and warm), it was extra challenging. But, the following quote by Theodore Roosevelt entered my mind: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." This motivated me to come up with ways to make my day a good one despite that I couldn't drive to Golden Gardens Park (where in my opinion the best beach in Seattle exists) or grab iced lattes with my best friend. I knew that if I spent the entire time in front of the TV feeling as if there were nothing else to do in the house, I would feel crummy at the end of the day. So, I started out my morning by going for a jog at the nearby park (for reasons mentioned in a previous Life au Cochon post, titled "Sanity"). I had gotten used to being at the park in the evening, so it was refreshing to get a taste of the morning spring air and see the dew on the leaves. Following the jog were activities I had either wanted to do for awhile, or had taken for granted and hadn't done for awhile. These things included writing, reading out on the balcony in my backyard, and spending quality time with my little brother. It was especially exciting to read on the balcony, because it took me back to the summers during high school where I'd spend every day reading or tanning under the Sun. It was especially fun to joke and laugh with my brother, because it reminded me how I don't need to spend every single Saturday outside the house. I guess this goes to show that sometimes you may not know how your day will end; but, that just means there's a higher chance of you discovering or rediscovering things about yourself and the world around you. ~~MC
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12/4/2013 0 Comments Buried TreasureAbove photo: Courtesy of Deborah May's Blog.
Have you ever sat down and jotted a list of ideas--Ideas about literally everything and anything? Have you jotted down, say, a list of 20 ideas every day? This is a new habit I picked up recently. I was inspired to do it after reading an article on BuzzFeed that had a list of habits to help you drastically change your life in 5 years (so many lists...). The main purpose of the 20-Ideas-A-Day thing is for you to clear your mind and to perhaps discover something about yourself you were not aware of before...and perhaps to uncover buried treasure. And, by "buried treasure," I mean mental treasure. Basically, revolutionary, creative, unprecedented ideas of how you feel you can change the world. The imaginary light bulb may go off and you'll suddenly realize how you will want to leave your print on the world after your precious time on Earth is over. The ideas you write down can lead you to find out what certain career you want to make for yourself. They can set you on a path to complete self-knowledge (which will probably be a very long path, but definitely one worth traveling on). They can even launch you on a series of adventures where you sample on new experiences that challenge the way you think and feel about the world around you. Or, maybe not. You will never know until you try. So, sit down when you have some free time, when you are dressed in your boyfriend's pajama pants or after you have put the kids to bed. Take out a pen and paper/journal, and jot down 20 ideas about anything. Literally anything. This is probably one of the few chances you have in your daily life to really let your intuition be the dominant voice, so really take advantage of it! Do this every day, or at least as often as you can (for example, I do it when I'm on the bus or at home at the end of the day). Maybe you have buried treasure you have yet to dig out from the sand (or mud, however you want to imagine the metaphor)... :) ~~MC 8/12/2013 0 Comments Negative Energy, Not WastedWhat do you do when you go through a time of frustration, sadness and/or anger? How do your reactions go when you find yourself struggling to free yourself from an internal knot, digging into the pit of your being as the turmoil caused by some event that left you feeling much less than you would ideally want to?
You can always scream into a pillow, hold the feelings in until a minor event makes you snap, or you could go down the road of seeing life in a more negative light. Or, you can take the anger or sadness and use that energy for good! I recently was feeling an internal knot of my own. And although it was hard in the beginning, I had decided to make something out of those feelings so that I would not find myself empty-handed after they go away. So after crying in the bathroom for a few minutes (since it is required that I fulfill the tear quota for every time I find myself in utter turmoil), I grabbed my poetry journal and pen, poured myself a cup of jasmine green tea from my bright yellow teapot, and sat myself down in the part of my living room that was most lit--namely, the part of the living room that was exposed to direct sunlight...I figured, why not put myself in the brightest position possible? *Cue rimshot: Bada pshh!* Afterwards, I came to this website to write a blog post since I have always known that writing something potentially helpful to other people lifts my spirits. Then, I logged onto my Facebook account to reading whatever inspirational and uplifting posts my friends have shared. When tough times roll in, it's always nice to expose yourself to all things positive--so that you're constantly reminded that things will always get better. Here is a short list of productive ways to deal with the internal knot: 1. Write a poem 2. Read inspirational quotes, books, blogs, etc. 3. Clean your room (since you have more adrenaline when you're feeling mad/sad/frustrated) 4. Answer the long list of e-mails you had been ignoring for awhile (" ") 5. Watch an episode of a sitcom/your favorite show 6. Watch a movie that you know always makes you feel good (in my case, it's Pride & Prejudice starring Keira Knightley) 7. Walk outside (especially if you're in Seattle in the summer--you will regret it later on if you don't take advantage of the 2 months of glorious warm sunny weather! :) ) 8. Talk to someone whose opinion you trust; ask them how they would deal with whatever turmoil you're in 9. Listen to relaxing music 10. Do something new and fresh--trying a new recipe, randomly pick a TV show on Hulu and try watching an episode or two (yes, I made a rhyme there just now on purpose), research for new ways to go by your daily routines, etc. I hope this post has helped you as much as it helped me while writing it. Have a stress-free Monday! ~~MC 6/6/2013 0 Comments Time to ReleaseWhat do you do when you have thoughts tumbling and twisting in your mind, thoughts that won't let go of you until you find some way to release them and put them out of their misery?
There are probably many solutions, but one I personally have become familiar with is writing a poem. Or, perhaps I should say "re-familiar," because I used to write poetry when I was in middle school. For each piece, I would start by doing a bit of research about a chosen subject, usually a subject that was suggested in my poetry journal (which I still have)...followed by taking my pen and jotting down ideas that came to mind; followed by typing the revised, polished version on Word; followed by choosing the right font that matched the mood; followed by printing it, cutting it out of the solid white printer paper, and pasting it into the journal; and finally followed by adding a colored pencil illustration to connect myself more to the poem. And now, we have the final product. This was my artistic process as a 14-year-old. At the time, I perceived poetry as something methodical, with a goal assigned to you from the outside, and where you must follow a specific list of steps in order to write a successful string of verses. It is almost like I understood poetry as more of a science than an art. These were things I believed until recently. To put it briefly, I came across events during the past several months that had pushed me to a state of near-constant worry, stress and fear. These emotions reached a point where thoughts tumbled and twisted in my mind. It was as if my eyes could not see in front of me, but rather they were consumed by the invisible and intangible, the fluid statements and questions and anxieties in my head that never stopped rising and falling like uncontrollable waves. And so, my instinct was to release these thoughts, to free them and thus to free myself. In other words, I start writing poetry. And I soon realized that this was real poetry. I understood that, like all other forms of art, writing a poem is something that comes out of you and that is not given by another person. The words seem to jump onto the paper, and there is something miraculous about that. When you feel as consumed with magnified feelings and thoughts as I did in my case, it is a good idea to make use of them instead of letting them render you lost and helpless. You don't even have to be faced with feelings/thoughts that are negative--Finding yourself in times of inexplicable joy, or perhaps times where you learn new things about yourself that you want to carry with you like you would an injured bird you found in the road, are also lovely opportunities for you to jot words down. It is always nice to remember the good and bad of your experiences, and to allow yourself to create such an art as poetry in order to make sense of this big world you live in. :) So grab a pen and paper--or if you like to be organized like myself and keep a journal solely dedicated to poems, which you can keep close in order to release those overwhelming thoughts any time--and start writing, because by doing so you are enlivening not just a poem, but one of many footprints you will leave in the universe. ~~MC 3/21/2013 0 Comments Forgetting MichelangeloSometimes when you find yourself in such a state of worry that you pray for your inner sanity to escape from it unscathed, it helps to turn your face to the window and watch the rain fall outside.
Whether you see a drizzle as light as the weight of the foam that sits quietly on your mug of morning cappuccino, or a hailstorm as tormenting as the itching anticipation of Monday sneaking from around the corner (not today, obviously, because it's only Thursday), it is always comforting to witness an act as natural as Mother Nature quenching her thirst through one of the most refreshing things a human being can ever encounter. Will watching the tumbling drops allow you to calm your worried mind? Undoubtedly. Will it lead you to be so inspired that you end up writing one of the best masterpieces of poetry anyone has ever read, or sculpting a piece so endlessly captivating that one can easily forget that Michelangelo's David statue existed? Maybe, maybe not. You can never dream too big though, and it never hurts to see where a calm mind can lead you to. :) ~~MC Have you gone and visited Free People's blog website? Well if you haven't, the picture down below is one of many reason for you to take a look! :)
With its warm and welcoming style of writing, photos that capture and expand your imagination, and the bloggers' simple yet comforting attempt to make each of your days more unique and memorable, The website is a great way to spend whatever spare time you have when you need to relax and recharge. Enjoy! ~~MC http://blog.freepeople.com/ 3/8/2012 0 Comments A Place to Travel Nonstop...(NOTE: This post is probably also suitable to the "Foods for Fantasizing" section of MC, since it at one point dives into the amazingly delectable place called Chocolati...See, even reading the name of the place just makes you salivate, doesn't it?)
Why is it nice to study in a cafe? Because that's where juices get flowing, ideas start popping, and conversations get traveling nonstop. Plus, cafes are great places to get a decent amount of studying done; one great example is that yesterday, I spent literally six hours working on a proposal for my sales presentation which I survived today (wahoo to that!). Six hours were definitely what I needed, and one other thing I especially needed to get all that work out of the way, was the tall hot chocolate with whipped cream that I ordered with both a sense of desperation and excitement...It gave me plenty of energy from that yummingly sugary taste. :) Anyway, I am sitting inside a cafe right now studying with a good friend of mine...Well, not studying obviously, since I'm writing here, but I will study as soon as this post is finished. Chocolati is a cafe in Wallingford, just a 10-minute bus ride from campus, and it's pretty much one of the most adorable places you could venture out to study in! Its dim lighting that reflects off of the dark hues of red painted lovingly on the walls, paired with the soft music playfully ringing in your ears as you crack open your textbook (...or laptop) and the undeniably delicious selection of flavors of hot chocolate that decorate the atmosphere with even more color and excitement, make this place a good choice for where to get those juices flowing, ideas popping, and conversation traveling ...Traveling as many miles as you can imagine. :) Oh yeah, and also a good choice to study for that final exam. Enjoy the rest of your day, and I hope you have found that certain special place that takes you to the best version of your study-mode self! "Hooooooot." ~~MC P.S. I recently started doing this thing where I make owl noises when I'm in a really good mood...So I'm just throwing that out there as a subtle warning for future posts, where you may end up reading a bunch of "Hooooot"s. ;) 8/12/2011 0 Comments Your New Flare!Do you find yourself almost dying of boredom or at least wondering what things are still getting you excited about your daily life? An easy solution is this: Begin the adventure of a new hobby. :)
When I started this blog a little more than six months ago, I was looking for a bit of new excitement in my life. I had no problem with my daily routine of going to school, hanging out with friends and watching my favorite shows late at night, but sometimes I felt like I needed an outlet for the little sparks of passion for food and art that were bouncing around crazily in my brain. Plus, a little change or something new is always good. It brings a new flare to your life that motivates you and gets you up and running about making a fresh commitment. Anything like making jewelry, gardening, or starting a new blog (like I have...and I must say I recommend it because it's definitely made my daily routine a little brighter and more fulfilling) would be just another reason for you to enjoy every day that comes to you! Enjoy your new flare! ~~MC Hello!
I hope you are enjoying this lovely sunny afternoon wherever you are...and even if it's not sunny. :) I have found the Free People Boutique's blog (called Building 25) to be so inspiring, I decided to share a few pieces of their recent blog post for you to draw as much motivation and comfort from it as I have! This specific post had a list titled "33 Ways to Stay Creative," and I thought of posting a few of my personal favorites...
And here's the link to the entire box of chocolates in case you're interested: http://blog.freepeople.com/2011/07/some-much-needed-inspiratoin/ Enjoy! ~~MC 7/14/2011 0 Comments Spilled MilkWhat's a good way to take a break from listening to music, if you find yourself in the midst of a desperate crave for something refreshing?
Weeelll, I advise you to feast your ears on a podcast I recently came across, called Spilled Milk. It would have made sense for me to write this post on my Foods for Fantasizing page, but since this podcast has personally made my lazy mornings just a bit more vibrant and exciting, I felt that it therefore would fit more nicely within the terms of Life au Cochon (i.e. ways to make your life just a bit better). :) This entertaining and thoughtful dish of conversation is served once every week or so by Molly Wizenberg, author of one of my all-time favorite books titled A Homemade Life (which I briefly touched on in a previous Life au Cochon post), and Matthew Amster-Burton, author of the acclaimed Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater, who accompanies Molly on the air as an amusing complement to her intellectually stimulating reflections on certain foods... These two cuisine devotees will leave you in a mindset of fireworks about food that people would usually ignore and leave unappreciated. They will allow you to unearth the things you may have forgotten to admire at every encounter, or within every memory you may have visited. With their lovable sense of humor that wakes you up like a steaming cup of coffee served in the warm atmosphere of a Seattle coffee shop, perfectly blended with the syrups and spices of an utterly contagious passion for cooking, trying new and familiar foods and everything else under the Sun, you cannot help but feel your inner chef coming alive, energized and readier than ever to tackle all cuisine-related obstacles that might come your way...and of course, readier than ever to devour every opportunity of a delicious chocolate cake or piece of fudge that arrives along the way. :) So pour yourself a cup of green tea (or coffee, if you wish to become highly stimulated even before listening to the podcast!), sit down in your comfiest chair, and take a listen to Spilled Milk, where two voices will simply urge you to dive into the pleasure and experience food the way a skydiver leaps into their daring yet exhilarating journey! http://www.spilledmilkpodcast.com/2011/07/ (Here's the link) ~~MC |
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