1000 Journals Project by Someguy

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Empire by Orson Scott Card

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars


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Beaches!

I'm convinced that beaches should be a medical prescription for relaxation. Whether you're driving through dunes, walking through the edge of the water, or reading on the sand, you can literally feel the whole body slump into this super relaxed mode. Emergencies simply do not exist, or if they do, the biggest emergency would be that the local microbrewery is closed on Tuesday. This crops to mind mostly because today is Tuesday, but panic is averted because I have a growler to pull me through. Still, no risotto and mozzarella balls is going to be pretty traumatic today.

Duck (yes, that's a town) is riddled with small boutiques though, so that's always a hotspot for me. I'm loving my new dress (picture) from one of the shoppes, but Elle mostly cleaned house with the purchases of her new hat, shirt, puzzle, and three books. Four days left here seems to not be nearly long enough. Other interesting locale along the Outer Banks includes my favourite island partly because of it's name and partly because it's simply a long expanse of untouched sand dunes. Pea Island connects the Kitty Hawk area and Hatteras Bay with extremely nervewracking bridges, but it's worth it to feel utterly alone in beauty. The Alligator River Preserve is also pretty amazing, but I doubt that we make it down there this time.

If you can at all work remotely whether it's a quick getaway or an extended holiday, I highly recommend this method! I think that I've accomplished more in less time simply because of a change of pace/venue.

First Retreat on the River

I call this my first retreat because, well, it is my first retreat out of the three in a row. I consider myself really lucky and wonder why I didn't do this before. Even better, I think that they are in the order of most interesting too, so there are no obvious letdowns to anticipate. This first week is on the Neuse River in North Carolina between the Outer Banks and Myrtle Beach. It dumps into the ocean, but we're a good 40 miles from the ocean right now. I don't know what to call the thing that our condo is on since it's bigger than a creek and smaller than a river, but suffice to say that we're sitting next to some water that dumps into the river about 1/4 mile away.


The resort focuses on golf and boating it seems, neither of which I've tried yet, but I plan to participate in both over the weekend. They have a nice marina and some sailing opportunities for residents. Right now the extent of my 'activity' is balancing a hectic schedule of jacuzzi time, painting, reading, and sadly, some work on my computer - but then I knew this would be a working holiday. This being the fourth day, I'm starting to feel more relaxed. I'm pretty happy with the progress of my watercolour, which is my one of my very few goals for this whole trip.

A huge bonus for Elle is that the screened-in deck and the open deck are both connected and railed off so Elle can be outside all she wants without supervision. That alone has put her in seventh heaven since she loves being out of doors at will. That's the biggest drawback to our own condo in Indianapolis in my opinion. Meanwhile, I use the open deck for Tai Chi and sleeping on my bamboo beach mats a whole hell of a lot :)

Via Revolucionaria/ Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars

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Beaches...Glorious Beaches

It is confirmed...three whole weeks of wonderful sand, salt water, and best of all, breathable air! Oddly, each week is at a different resort, but that adds to the attraction for me. The first one is a golf resort where I'm going to try my hand at a new sport. It's on a river near the North/South Carolina border about 40 miles from the chain of islands that you can ferry past up to the Outer Banks, where the second week will be spent smelling the salt air. Since the Outer Banks is a regular spring holiday, it's nice to already know where the essential shoppes are (wine, micro brew, art store, fish store). Rushing back after the second week, Eric and I will be flying down to Miami to support his conference, but taking time for some leisure too.

I'll be working the entire time, but I don't consider that a negative...yet. In fact, I'm considering it a bonus that my job allows me to change scenery on a whim. Besides a scenery change, this is also a really awesome opportunity to have quality time with Elle. Working from home has the advantage of being with her, but it's shockingly easy to get distracted with the most mundane stuff at home...and is never quite as adventurous as doing it in a new environment.

Friday can't come quickly enough...

Nine books? Are you nuts?

The answer is yes, I'm nuts. For those who follow my Goodreads, you'd know that I'm currently reading nine books all at the same time, which is about five too many for me. There's a method behind the madness though...I'm going on a two, possibly three week holiday next Friday, and I need plenty of reading material to assist my brain disconnection from the real world on the beach. Three of those books are more 'intense' in the sense that you don't simply whip through St. Augustine or the two extremely thorough history books covering a very short period of time. I'm seeing Color: A Natural History of the Palette possibly taking awhile, but the rest are potential breezes ranging from valuable information to pure entertainment. We'll see!

(Thank you Ellen for loaning me three of them!)

The Lighthouse by P.D. James

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars


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Combating Bitterness

Sometimes it's very hard to combat bitterness when you are given reasonable commitments, and then are given unreasonable delays to fulfill them. January was supposed to be the month of our new life, but as delays crop up with an overly bureaucratic company, disbelief and bitterness develops. It's an amazing opportunity with so much potential for our family, but somehow those awesome chances often take a lot of patience and work. It wouldn't be so bad if we were jumping the gun constantly, but the date is constantly moved on us, making it impossible for us to commit to anything on a long term level.

In a grandiose effort to check out the bright side, we are already in a good position, even if it's not the favoured position. I mean, we are sheltered in a nice condo, we have an excellent income, and enjoy travelling and life in general. It gives me pause to bitch too much, even though I'm anxious to make a lifestyle change.

Also, another interesting point is that since we can't commit to anything long term and we're done with our house upgrades, we have more time to enjoy our style of living on our own schedule. It's so easy to become trapped into a 'rut' and lose sight of the enjoyment of what is done in the 'rut', and that is becoming more obvious to me as our lives are becoming more free.

While this doesn't remove the frustration of stupid delays and the irritation of not knowing the magical date, it is a time of positive reflection of how fortunate we really are.

Entering Elle's Third Year...

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that we are just now closing out Elle's second year. So MUCH has happened between birth and now, yet it feels like so little time has passed. I find myself missing the infant time, but I'm glad to follow the advice of 'enjoy each stage' because it's insanely fun!

Elle's Second Year

The next miracle is that I actually have highlights of her entire second year already updated in the web album! Don't faint anybody. My life is finally getting under control and I can do these things now :)

So...flip through the photos and enjoy! This album spotlights facets of her whole year, so there is only a small representation of each holiday. The more major trips and events each have their own album.

A New Balance

Contact martial arts have been a strong component in my life, but a renewed interest of Yoga and Tai Chi has me expanding my scope. I have to say that the balance between the three have been especially helpful to me. Basic stretching and Tai Chi on a daily basis has been a consistently calming yet energising effect for me, while a bit of Yoga gives me a sense of better well being. I'll never abandon my favourite contact martial art, Tae Kwon Do; in contrast, I think that Tai Chi and Yoga help me improve my abilities in Tae Kwon Do. Tai Chi practices slow, consistent flow and movement that focuses on the breathing, resulting in astoundingly positive effects on my mood and energy for the entire day.

The bottom line to these arts is that they compliment each other so well for the practitioner. The qi or chi energy (prana in yoga) is greatly improved with practicing all three arts that I mention. I'm certainly not an expert of internal energy, but I am quickly seeing the benefits of my new balance of arts.