.reflections and windows.

Our last week here in Nashville, before our Journey to the Sea adventure, has been bittersweet. As I reflect back on all that's taken place since our decision to move back to Nashville little over a year and a half ago, I see that it was definitely not in vain. Many of the relationships that I left behind nearly five years ago, during a very tumultuous time in my life, are healing, many of them mended. This move to yet another place we have never been is not the same as the one I made back then. This time, I am not running away. This time, I am moving forward, confident yet a little nervous, towards my dream, towards a better life for myself and my family. Yes, I realize that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. They get mowed the exact same way. The difference here is that I'll like the view a whole lot better.

I woke up this morning, took a shower, and as I was getting ready for the day, I happened to look up and caught the reflection of the bedroom window on the glass of the shadow box that showcases my earrings. The light was soft and peaceful shining through the blinds and curtain. I stood there taking in the steady breathing of my love and our beautiful child who were both still fast asleep. This is good. What we are doing, this move, these changes, they are all good. Windows of opportunity have presented themselves and as a family, we are jumping through them.

There were three pieces of scrap paper, with my handwriting on them, that I found at the bottom of a box I was sorting through. I don't remember when I copied these words down, but here is what they say. . .

Promise yourself to be strong, that nothing can disturb your
peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make
your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best,
and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press
on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to
the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you
are true to the best that is in you! ~ Christian D. Larson

Live with intention.

Walk to the edge.

Listen hard.

Practice wellness.

Play with abandon.

Laugh.

Choose with no regret.

Continue to learn.

Appreciate your friends.

Do what you love.

Live as if this is all there is.

~ Mary Anne Radmacher

Peace.

It does not mean to be in a place

where there is no noise, trouble

or hard work. It mean to be in the

midst of those things and still be

calm in your heart.

~ Anon.

.good. . . evening, sunday.

This weekend has been very rewarding and also extremely exhausting.  We had our moving sale Friday as well as Saturday and thankfully, we were able to get rid of most of our stuff.  I am currently sitting on the floor in the living room, typing away on my laptop that it sitting on my daughter's potty.  (Don't worry, it has a lid and she doesn't use it, but it sits at the perfect height.  Ha!)  I realized this weekend that there are many who think what we are doing is just. . . how do you say. . . crazy.  Honestly though, I learned so much about myself this weekend just by seeing how much we, I, have accumulated over the years.  I had enough scrapbooking and craft supplies to open up my own shop!  A friend of mine came over and he asked me, "Doesn't it make you sick knowing that you spent all this money buying all this stuff only to sell it for next to nothing at a yard sale?"  My response was "No.  What makes me sick is knowing that I spent all this money and did nothing with any of this and still continued to buy."  Seeing it all out, on the floor in boxes, many of which were still in their packaging, never opened was very sobering.  Selling everything we have has been very liberating.  No longer do we have to haul all this stuff, trying to find a place that has enough room for me to store it all.  I believe the word I chose to represent the changes I wanted to see in my life this year was this:  simplify. 

Your choices at the moment will be good ones.  Trust yourself.  Many of you already know that I collect fortune cookie fortunes.  I know it sounds silly and juvenile, but sometimes I get ones that reassure me with things I already know.  Like the one above.  As much as I love an adventure, there is always that tinge of doubt that likes to creep in and make you question your actions.  "Did we make the right decision?  Are we being stupid?"  There is peace.  Yes, there is stress because we are on a timeline, but beyond that, there is so much peace.  Already I feel better about what we are doing.  My husband and I are on the same page.  We are excited, yes anxious as well, but we know that everything will be okay.  

My friends, I will be staying in touch with you all as often as I can, putting up new pictures as we make our venture.  Here today, in an almost empty home, with no guarantees of what tomorrow brings, I am happy.  Sometimes it takes drastic changes to bring you closer to your dreams, to your loved ones, to yourself, and maybe even closer to God.  

Of all the people I have ever known, those who have pursued their dreams and failed have lived a much more fulfilling life than those who have put their dreams on a shelf for fear of failure.  ~Author Unknown

.good morning, sunday.

It's Sunday, April 18th, already.  I've decided to move over my "Good morning, Sunday" , a weekly recap and list of random stuff that I started on my Reveries and a Cup of Chai blog, here.  So here we go:

• Still, still, STILL trying to get through our stuff.  Packing, pitching, setting aside for our moving sale.  There's a faint light at the end of the tunnel.  
• Totally digging this musical duo, The Dø.  Thanks to Elisabelle.
• I am in love with the new Impossible Project PX 100 analog film for the SX-70.  But you already knew that.  
• The Atlantic Ocean.  I hope to see her in the next couple of weeks as we venture through North Carolina.  I've never met Atlantic.  I hear she's not as warm as her sister Pacific, but I'm sure she's still just as beautiful.  ;)
• I want to own a ukulele.  You would think being from Hawaii that I would have already owned one.  But I don't.  And just a tid bit of info for you.  The literal meaning of ukulele is "jumping lice."  Ha!  
• Over the next several weeks, perhaps months, I will be trying to spend less time on the computer and more time actually shooting.  The computer has been such a wonderful thing to have, but unfortunately, feeling like I've got some form of ADD, I have spent more time browsing through the Web than I have anything else and I think it's time to change that.  I've probably already said that I'd do that, but I don't think I'll have a choice in the next week or so.  
• This upcoming week will be filled with nothing but more preparations for our big moving sale on Friday and Saturday.  Wish us luck 'cause we need to get rid of everything.  Hopefully it'll mean a nice deposit into our bank account so we can travel with a little less stress. 
• This young lady's work amazes and inspires me.  See her first video below.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

.i've been tagged!.

I'm in dire need of a break! Who knew that sorting through clothes could wear a person out!?! Who knew a family could accumulate THAT MUCH clothes?! Geez. Anyhoo, hope everyone is having a great week so far. As you can see by the title to today's post, I've been tagged by my friend Esther of Inside My Shell. Here's the rule: Go to a photo file and pick the 10th photo. After that, blog about the story behind that image. Then tag 5 other bloggers to do the same. Sound like fun? Just like Esther, I decided to pick the 10th photo in my Flickr photostream.

A diptych showing two images I had taken at the Old Richard's Bookstore in Frankfort, Kentucky. No real big story to tell here. My hubby and I decided to take a trip from Lexington to Frankfort for the afternoon. We took a stroll along the railroad track that runs through the Historic Downtown and spotted the bookstore. There's always something pleasant about walking into a cozy old building that houses tons of old books. Especially one that also opens up to a coffee shop!

Alright lovelies, here are the five I've chosen to participate:

• Emma of The Orchard Studio
• Zee of Hey! Zee
• Char of Ramblins
• Rich of Darker Skies
• ELK of Red or Gray
  

Hope you guys get to play along because I'd LOVE to see what you have to share! Hey and anyone else who wants to join in, by all means!

.writing a new chapter.

Well, time is ticking away rather quickly in our neck of the woods. The home is in shambles at the moment as we divide want we feel we need to keep and what we want to sell. Our eyes are set on North Carolina at the moment. Where exactly? That has yet to be determined. I'm excited. Stress is creeping in a little, but I'm okay. What lies ahead of us is a new adventure, a new chapter to be written. I've been in dire need of an adventure and it looks like I'm about to embark on one. As my Uncle mentioned this evening, it's in my blood.

We are planning on having our 'moving sale' at the end of the week next week. As we prepare for it, I realize that I seriously SERIOUSLY have been needing to purge for quite sometime. I have enough craft supplies to start my own store! Most of what I have has been rarely used, some even unopened. That's what happens when you work in a craft supply store for nearly 9 years and then realize you have no time to craft. But hopefully, this will mean I will get some of my money back during the sale. Being realistic during a move can be hard sometimes. When I say that I mean it's like the same conversation I have when I'm actually in a store. Do I seriously see myself using this in the next. . . say month? I know it's cool to have, but seriously, when was the last time I used this? Most of what we have is, in essence, mine which makes it hard for the hubby to help because he's afraid he'll put something in the wrong box. There are clothes, tons of clothes that I had hoped I would have been able to fit again. Home decor. Art and craft supplies. We seriously need to make a killing on this sale. I guess, really, we are writing that new chapter now. The title: On the Path to a Simplified Life. We hope.

**Apologies to anyone reading this who may've gotten totally confused! Ha! My mind is so full right now that things just come out in chunks, so bare with me! :D

.PX I love you.

So it's here. . . the highly anticipated film created by the geniuses at the Impossible Project. The delivery of two packets came in the mail little over a week ago. Like a child who received the one toy they requested for Christmas, to have it in my hands was, in its own way, magical. At first, I hesitated to open it, scared that I would somehow screw it up, especially since there's been so much talk about the fact this film is extremely sensitive to both light and temperature. There's a very painful, and expensive learning process that takes place with this film. But I have to admit, I'm in love.

The soft, dreamy quality that is typical of Polaroid film is still there. The warm tones in the images are delightful, especially for me, considering I'm a huge fan of brown tones. If you couldn't already tell.

I'm still crossing my fingers that the price of the film (currently $21) will either stay the same, or decrease as time goes on. Each packet consists of 8 (as opposed to the Polaroid 600's 10) shots. So a lot more thought should probably go into each composition before pressing that little red button.

So yes, I am quite happy with this new film. Adore it really. I'm hoping for this Christmas, Santa will be sweet and fill my stockings with PX 100 film!

To see more of my shots, visit Flickr.
For more info on this new film, visit the Impossible Project.

.the road is calling.

For a long time, I've been known as the "gypsy" in the family. Growing up, we moved around a lot. I attended 5 different elementary schools by the time I was in the 5th grade. Although some would say that perhaps that was unhealthy, I enjoyed it. I loved being able to see new things and to meet new kids, experience new adventures. I guess you can say, nothing's changed.

This week, my husband's job officially closed its doors and what plans we thought we had were shut down. Potential jobs fell through. We are faced with having to move out of this house by the end of the month, and the question of Where are we going to go? Timing is lousy. But maybe, just maybe there is a bigger, better plan that we just can't see yet. After being given very disappointing news, the only thoughts that came to my mind were to sell just about everything we have, save sentimental things, our cameras and laptops, and begin traveling again. The idea never would have even phased me had it not been for the simple fact that we are now parents to a little soon-to-be-three year old. Back in the day, it was nothing for me to pick up and go to wherever, whenever. Not anymore. Before I start to sound like I am lamenting my role as mother, I am not. In a way, I also want my child to see and experience different places. I don't know. My Mom has decided to move back to North Carolina at the end of the month and I can't help but think that maybe NC wouldn't be a bad place to go. As a matter of fact, I LOVED North Carolina. I loved the fact that it only took me 45 minutes to get to the mountains, whether towards Boone or Asheville. It is such a beautiful state.

The open road is calling me again. And I think this time, I'm going to answer. . . with my family of course! ;)

.happy easter.

Happy Easter everyone.