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inspiration, gratitude & surprises

29 Mar

dance

This weekend is packed but it should be a fun one! Tonight my girlfriend, Taline is coming over for a night of food, wine, wedding talk (she’s also my maid of honor), tv and hanging. We are both in need of some quality time together. Tomorrow I finally start ballet classes. I’m reaaaaaally excited and slightly nervous I’ll make a fool of myself. It’s been twelve years since I’ve danced. Like riding a bike, right? That reminds me I have to buy ballet shoes this afternoon! After class I’m stopping over at my gorgeous cousins house for an afternoon glass of wine to celebrate her birthday. Then Brian and I are meeting our dinner club crew, Rachel & PJ and Loni & Mike for a night out on the town. For those of you who don’t know, once a month we pick a new restaurant to all go to. This month we picked Mercado, a mexican style restaurant in Santa Monica. Having dinner with this crew is something I look forward to every month! Then Sunday we are off to an easter brunch with Brian’s family and in the evening we are hosting a birthday party for my step-father, Irv.

What are you guys doing this weekend??

What inspired me this week?

What To Learn From A 6 Year Old Who Has Autism

You Don’t Have To Be Anything But Real 

our bright new garden plants. Lavender in lime green planters is quite a brilliant combo.

What am I grateful for this week?

I had my first essay published on MindBodyGreen! I can officially say I am “published” now.

a date night with two lovely ladies Katie & Erin. A dinner filled with inspiring talks about writing, being authentic, love and traveling.

hanging with my girlfriend Melissa. To say that I adore her would be an understatement.

the wedding is coming together!

What surprised me this week?

being referred to as a Glodney

How many people continue to respond to my piece about anxiety. It’s incredible how many people suffer with it on different levels.

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“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic- the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.”  – Charles De Lint

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check-in

7 Mar

When I originally started this blog a year and a half ago, it was ALL about accomplishing my goals. My obsession with it was actually verging on insane! I was NOT going to turn 30 without accomplishing all of them.

While it is still is a blog about setting goals and making them happen, it has also become a blog about everything that happens in between! All the lovely moments that make up my life.

The other day it dawned on me though…holy shit I am more than half-way through my 30th year?!!?!? WHAT!? Seriously? WHAT?! I’m going to be 31 in four months?!?! With this daunting realization I thought it would be a good time to check-in with myself on my progress with the goals for the year….

– Overseas trip (CHECK!)

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When I put overseas trip on my list I had no idea where we would end up traveling. I just knew I needed to get out of the states and go on an adventure with Brian. We settled on Hong Kong and Nepal and I am so grateful that we did because what an adventure we had!! If you haven’t read about our trip you can below!

Big news / the travel doctor / the toe  / Hong Kong 1 / Hong Kong 2 / Arriving in Nepal / Kathmandu / Patan / the monkey temple / Bhaktapur / trekking: the group / trekking: the water buffalo / trekking: the starry night.

more posts still to come…

– Volunteer as a big sister

I made a bit of progress with this right out of the gate, settling on the organization I wanted to work with and filling out the paperwork. Then the strangest thing happened…I did nothing after that. Life got in the way and I’ve had my application folded up in my date book ever since. But, the good news is I plan on sending it in this weekend once we finally set up our printer and fax! Fingers crossed that they think I am a suitable candidate to be a big sister.

– Artist dates (CHECK!) 

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I haven’t done as many of these as I would like but I have started them! You can read about them here, here and here

– New living space (CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!)

home

As much as I loved our little bungalow by the beach I wanted to move on because I couldn’t stand sharing a miniature closet with Brian anymore. That and the kitchen drove me nuts- the oven didn’t work for most of the time I lived there.  Let’s just say it was the perfect bachelor pad!

I was ready for us to have a space we could grow in. So I put this one the list thinking we would just rent another slightly bigger apartment by the beach. But sometimes the universe has bigger plans for you! Because we ending up finding a loft that we loved, made an offer, beat out seven other offers and now have a new home to build a life in. High five, Universe!

– Get a French Bulldog

Frank : inspiration photo

Frank : inspiration photo

We couldn’t get Franck until we moved but now that we have  it’s time to find our little boy and bring him home! I’m thinking we still need to settle in our new home a little bit more before we add a puppy to the mix. Soooo, maybe July? Maybe as a 31st birthday gift to myself!

– Publish my writing 

I work towards this goal everyday with my book agent. But alas I have not snagged the right book deal yet. Maybe in the meantime I should focus on publishing my writing other places. Do any of you have any fabulous leads?!

– Ballet classes 

I start a 6-week course at Align Ballet March 30th!! So very excited to get back to the barre. Posts about the experience coming soon!

– Yoga retreat (CHECK!!)

yoga

Awwwww what a magical weekend that was. In three short days I had some major breakthroughs, adopted the motto “Be Fucking Amazing!“, laughed more than I thought possible and met two lovely ladies whom I now call dear friends. Oh, and came home to a surprise engagement!!!

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Speaking of engagements, let’s be honest, I wanted to put “get engaged” on my list of goals for the year but didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment! I also thought it would be slightly awkward to put such a thing on a public goal list. But it was on my secret list! So check that one off too!

What an interesting, life changing and fun eight months it’s been!

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
C. S. Lewis

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Inspiration photos: ballet classes

4 Sep

INSPIRATION PHOTOS: BALLET CLASSES

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A post about nothing and everything

24 Aug

My sweet Aunt Paule offered Brian and I her beach cottage in Santa Barbara this weekend while she and her partner David are on a retreat. Considering we aren’t ones to shy away from mini vacay’s (especially when they are free) we are off to Santa Barbara for a few days!

I happen to love their little cottage by the sea. It’s the perfect place to cozy up, write (I really need to rethink my book proposal), read (my new book “Wild” for inspiration), sleep (I’m a fan of sleeping sans alarm clock), watch movies (or maybe continue watching episodes of Breaking Bad) and cuddle (I’m a fan of cuddling too). I also want to take long walks on the beach and drinking margarita’s at the local Mexican joint.

On another note- I made some progress with my goals this week!

 I made a list of a few new “artist dates” to take myself on…i’m scheduling these once a week.

– rent 5 Best Picture films that I have never seen and spend the day watching them

– create a new vision board (these visions of mine need a new board!)

– Downtown LA museum day

– head to the library to check out books on a subject I know very little about

– take myself on a picnic

Second I played a truly fun game of phone tag with a woman named Noelle at the Big Brother Big Sister organization about volunteering as a Big Sister. We still have not actually spoken but I have high hopes we will next week. High hopes.

I “thought” about what changes I want to make to my book proposal. That counts for something, right?

I chased down a man and his adorable French Bulldog on the street to ask which breeder he went to.

I spent hours looking at beautiful photos of ballerina’s for inspiration for my upcoming “back to the barre” series ( I plan on posting them tomorrow)

OH AND I BOOKED A TRIP TO NEPAL! That still happens to be the most exciting update of the week.

What happened with you guys this week? Any fun things to share????

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back to the barre

7 Aug

I stumbled upon the gorgeous video below and was mesmerized by it. The music. The movement. The graphics. The emotion. Perfection. It immediately inspired me to sign up for ballet classes that start next month- I’m so excited (and a tad nervous) to get back to the barre after 12 years.

{video via}

“If a dancer dances- which is not the same as having theories about dancing or wishing to dance or trying to dance or remembering in his body someone else’s dance- but if the dancer dances, everything is there…our ecstasy in dance comes from the possible gift of freedom, the exhilarating moment that this exposing of the bare energy can give us. What is meant is not license, but freedom…”

– Merce Cunningham (1952)

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zeeee list is done!

25 Jul

I’ve certainly taken my sweet ass time deciding on what my new goals for the year will be, haven’t I? In my defense, I found it extremely hard to choose them this time around, maybe because I now know how much effort it takes to make them a reality and I want to choose them carefully. I also really want to be thoughtful about what I want to accomplish this year- my first year as a thirty year old. I want to pick goals that feel like the organic next step for me in my career, relationships and life.

My long time readers may notice that a few of my goals have been carried over from last year. Why? Well, because I haven’t accomplished them yet and I still want to!

Let the fun begin! Here goes…

 Volunteer as a big sister

I decided that when I volunteer this year I want to work with children. I also now know, after last years volunteer work at PATH (People Assisting The Homeless) that I prefer working on a one on one basis. Armed with those two pieces of information, I settled on volunteering as a big sister. I am realllllly looking forward to this experience.

Overseas trip with Brian

Brian and I both LOVE to travel (Thank God because I honestly don’t know if I could be with somebody who didn’t love to travel too) The last big trip we took together was to Nicaragua in 2011 and it was amazing experience. Well, other than the stomach bug we both got, but hey, it only brought us closer. We have both been visualizing another trip somewhere foreign and are on a mission to accomplish it this year. Our top choice would be a trip to Thailand and Cambodia but we would pretty much go anywhere for the right deal as long is it was out of the country and neither of us had been before.

Nicaragua April 2011

Art

I have always been a fan of the book “The Artists Way” (side note- you must read it if you haven’t. Even if you don’t consider yourself an artist it’s still inspiring) One of the tenets that I love most in the book is the idea of taking yourself on artists dates once a week. What’s an artist date? Anything that brings you inspiration and makes you feel alive- a trip to the museum by yourself, a walk in a new neighborhood, painting classes, pottery classes, photo projects, spend the day watching a bunch of old films, go somewhere you haven’t been since you were a child, take yourself on a picnic in the park, finger paint, garden….you see where I am going with this right? I got to thinking about how long it’s been since I have made time for such things in my life on a regular basis…too long. So this year I want to get back into carving out the time to take myself on a date once a week.

New living space

We really need to move from our sweet 1 bedroom home into something different. It makes us both sad because we LOVE our little place by the beach (morning walks on the sand are hard to beat!) but we really want a bigger space, a yard, an updated kitchen and I personally want a bigger closet- my shoes are cramped!

French Bulldog

Frank! I’m coming for you!

Ballet classes

When I was a little girl, I danced ballet for 10 years and I found such joy in it. The other day I got to thinking..why can’t I take ballet again at 30? Clearly, I’m not trying to become a professional dancer or anything but there must be classes for a girl to have a little fun in, right? So what it’s been twelve years (oy) since I put my point shoes on! Like riding a bike, right?!

Publish my writing

This is a carry over from last year. I. Still. Want. To. Accomplish. This. Goal…very badly. Onward!

Yoga retreat

Considering I am a yoga nut, I can’t believe that I have never been on a retreat. This year that is going to change! I signed up for Jennifer Pastiloff’s Manifestation Yoga Retreat in Ojai, CA in October. If you have read my blog before than you know that Jennifer is not only one of my favorite yoga teachers, she’s also a dear friend. Her retreats are known to be beyond amazing and I am so excited! I also get to sleep in a yurt with a bunch of other people….so there’s that to be excited about too.

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