creating solutions... (8)

I had a bit of a problem with this lately...
I spend a lot of my time on the weekends away from the computer because I'd rather be outside, and at night I try to avoid it because I've been on it at work all day and I need to reconnect to other things in life. This has led to me coming in on Mondays trying to write back posts to make up for the missed days, and then I never catch up and get to today, and then weeks pass, which is silly because it takes me out of the present and puts me into the past. So rather than create a big mental mess, I'm just going to skip those days from here on in, unless something extraordinary happens, in which case I'll just include that item with the current. I know I give thanks for more than 21 things on those days because I am out living, and I think that is what really matters, whether I post about it or not. And the days I miss at work, it's just too busy, so I'll give my thanks after 5:30. So without further delay....

1. Common Ground for teaching me tons of new things every month. They really keep on top of things, and keep me aware.

2. Huge Bags of Mixed Greens for $2 Oh, how I love the farmers' market.

3. Sweet Yellow Cherry Tomatoes Yum.

4. Paying for part I of my raw nutrition certification program I'm so excited about this new aspect of my life unfolding. It's completely logical, and makes sense in so many ways, but if someone would have told me 10 years ago I'd be doing this, I'm not entirely sure I would have believed it 100%. I think I needed to get whole and healed first. So paying this deposit was an investment in my future, and my ability to help others heal, and I can't even begin to explain how amazing that feels.

5. Love Humiliation & Karaoke I went to see my friend Enzo's show a few days ago, and as I watched it, I was thinking about how I need to put it as one of my blessings. It was a funny one man show - a series of wonderful vignettes of his real life, told with such raw, honest emotion, and self-deprecating humour, accompanied by Filipino transvestite versions of Air Supply songs. It's basically a true story about his crazy, messed up life, how twisted his family is, how rough situations in life just screw with us sometimes, and how he created love in his life anyway by choosing to grow and change and make room for it. What a beautiful human being! Never will you laugh so much at misfortune, I promise. If you're in SF, go see it. It's great. It's funny. It's beautiful.

6. Cheap Pete's They make framing affordable, and when you're an artist, that can be quite costly.

7. Plane tickets I just love the freedom that comes from just purchasing them, before you've even left for a trip. It keeps you buzzing until you go.

8. Larkspur Free, locally grown, pretty flowers on my desk that just keep blooming and blooming.

9. Not stressing over the financial downturn I am extremely thankful that it really doesn't affect me and my mindset. I am sorry for those it is hard on, but I do believe this is a great opportunity for things in America to really change, and if people embrace that, they will be fine. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it. There is a sustainable future in sight.

10. Lassen Volcanic Park This is way past due, but I went a few weeks ago and it was absolutely amazing. Bubbling mud pots, steaming fumaroles, tons of other hydro-thermal goodies, the fantastic lava beds (yes, that's really what they were called), a cinder cone with conifers triumphing against unlikely conditions, painted dunes, and so many other beautiful things.

11. The Island at Levi's Plaza Sometimes I eat lunch out in the roof garden, but most of the time I prefer sitting on my own private island with the hummingbirds and butterflies. It's exactly the re-charge I need midday to get through the rest of work.

12. Reconnecting with old friends Evelyn came to SF for a few days and we got to have lunch and reconnect. The last time I saw her was in NYC when I was frantically rushing to finish packing to move our west, and I was stressed, so it was what it was. It was great to reconnect at a much nicer place in life and just relax.

13. Parea one of my favorite wine bars in the city. I had some awesome Turkish and Slovenian tastes.

14. Easy dates and feeling level headed I went on a date with a guy who was smart, funny, cute, interesting, had good taste in music and literature, and it was nice to go out with someone and talk, but know that it wasn't going to lead anywhere. He's a good guy, just not the one for me. I prefer guys who like to talk about the infinite possibilities in the universe, not the infinite limits and frustration. This is not a good or a bad thing, it's just the kinds of guys I like meeting and being around. There will always be limits and frustrations, so why not focus on the positive instead? I want to be inspired by whomever I end up with, constantly grow in my relationship. But it was nice to feel so sure and confident about what I want out of a relationship, instead of the normal head-spinning insanity that I'm used to. Does this mean I'm growing up? I hope not. Does it mean I'm getting closer to manifesting what I really want and deserve? Definitely!

15. Dulse one of my favorite seaweeds. I love sprinkling the flakes in salads.

16. Orchids We have so many of them in the office and there are so many varieties. I love being surrounded by beautiful things.

17. The Dreambook App on facebook. It could use a few tweaks, but its existence alone is pretty neat. I went through and reinterpreted a dream from 2006 because it was easy to cut and paste, and its interpretation was even more relevant to me now.

18. Launches the Schmap with my photo of Chicago is finally out.

19. Trazzler also found another image published here and they were really nice about rectifying the issue of not having gotten my permission in the first place, and updated the info immediately. I was impressed. Their site looks pretty neat.

20. Google without which, I might not have found out someone was using my image without permission.

21. 5:30pm because I get to go back outside where I belong.