Ever since moving to Dubai, and becoming a work-a-holic, I have really let my creativity and sustainability slip (trust me, this place is allll about "Out with the Old and In with the New". I am about 2 weeks away from professional freedom and I came across this amazing blogpost:
http://aimee-weaver.blogspot.com/2010/05/nursery-reveal.html
Check it out and see how amazing this woman used her resources... her stuff looks like pottery barn, except she thrifted/made most of it. Incredible! I am inspired! I shall document my life in the world of creativity as soon as I outta of workplace hell!!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
New Stylez
Every now and then, a girl's gotta reinvent herself! So I made a newer layout with the help of my friends at shabby blogs... it's weird because I think shabby-chic is normally so ugly as interior design but I love the way they pull it off for blogs!
So, on the topic of re-inventing one's self... I feel like I am doing just that. If you've ever seen the movie "Waking Life", you'll be familiar with what I"m talking about... If you've never seen it... well then you're clearly not a nerd/stoner HA HA, I kid, I kid. Anyway, I am reminded of two of my favourite lines. They both take place in the same scene, two women talking (in a coffee shop, I believe?) and they're having this existential discussion (well, technically, the whole movie is one big existential discussion but anyway) One of the women says:
"And the funny thing is, our cells are completely regenerating every seven years. We've already become completely different people several times over, and yet we always remain quintessentially ourselves."
I've thought about this line a million times since I first heard it because I truly believe that we do change and can change who were are and this was the first time I ever heard someone validate that with genetics. The funny part is, she says "we always remain quintessentially ourselves." It's this kind of paradox that really rings true for me - that we can do better, and be better (or likewise, do worse and be worse) but we still hold our unique characteristics and mannerisms at our very core.
The second quote is:
First Girl: Either I'm moving fast or time is. Never both simultaneously.
It's such a strange paradox. I mean, while, technically,
I 'm closer to the end of my life than I've ever been,
I actually feel more than ever that I have all the time in the world.
When I was younger, there was a desperation, a desire for certainty,
Like there was an end to the path, and I had to get there.
Second Girl: I know what you mean because I can remember thinking,
"Oh, someday, like in my mid-thirties maybe,
everything's going to just somehow gel and settle, just end."
It was like there was this plateau, and it was waiting for me,
and I was climbing up it, and when I got to the top,
all growth and change would stop.
Even exhilaration. But that hasn't happened like that, thank goodness.
I think that what we don't take into account when we’re young is our endless curiosity. That's what's so great about being human.
This is sooo ME. My early twenties were all about that "plateau"... that impending deadline, the big THREE ZERO... I felt that somehow I needed to have it all figured out and all settled before my life "gelled"and my bed was made and ready for me to lie in it. I also compared my friend's lives with my own and how my path was so completely unorthodox in comparison to theirs. Now, at 27, closer to 30 than 20, I have changed my mind about what turning 30 means to me. Instead of being a gloomy death sentence, it has now become an incentive, something to look forward to and to work towards, something to accomplish and be proud of. It has also allowed me to not compare myself to others and look down on myself with doubt because I chose differently. In fact, I am now so at peace with my choices and see that those are the only ones I could ever make.
Siiiighhhh... This is what 1.5 years of therapy does to a person. It solidifies the good and washes out the bad. I highly recommend it for everyone.
So, on the topic of re-inventing one's self... I feel like I am doing just that. If you've ever seen the movie "Waking Life", you'll be familiar with what I"m talking about... If you've never seen it... well then you're clearly not a nerd/stoner HA HA, I kid, I kid. Anyway, I am reminded of two of my favourite lines. They both take place in the same scene, two women talking (in a coffee shop, I believe?) and they're having this existential discussion (well, technically, the whole movie is one big existential discussion but anyway) One of the women says:
"And the funny thing is, our cells are completely regenerating every seven years. We've already become completely different people several times over, and yet we always remain quintessentially ourselves."
I've thought about this line a million times since I first heard it because I truly believe that we do change and can change who were are and this was the first time I ever heard someone validate that with genetics. The funny part is, she says "we always remain quintessentially ourselves." It's this kind of paradox that really rings true for me - that we can do better, and be better (or likewise, do worse and be worse) but we still hold our unique characteristics and mannerisms at our very core.
The second quote is:
First Girl: Either I'm moving fast or time is. Never both simultaneously.
It's such a strange paradox. I mean, while, technically,
I 'm closer to the end of my life than I've ever been,
I actually feel more than ever that I have all the time in the world.
When I was younger, there was a desperation, a desire for certainty,
Like there was an end to the path, and I had to get there.
Second Girl: I know what you mean because I can remember thinking,
"Oh, someday, like in my mid-thirties maybe,
everything's going to just somehow gel and settle, just end."
It was like there was this plateau, and it was waiting for me,
and I was climbing up it, and when I got to the top,
all growth and change would stop.
Even exhilaration. But that hasn't happened like that, thank goodness.
I think that what we don't take into account when we’re young is our endless curiosity. That's what's so great about being human.
This is sooo ME. My early twenties were all about that "plateau"... that impending deadline, the big THREE ZERO... I felt that somehow I needed to have it all figured out and all settled before my life "gelled"and my bed was made and ready for me to lie in it. I also compared my friend's lives with my own and how my path was so completely unorthodox in comparison to theirs. Now, at 27, closer to 30 than 20, I have changed my mind about what turning 30 means to me. Instead of being a gloomy death sentence, it has now become an incentive, something to look forward to and to work towards, something to accomplish and be proud of. It has also allowed me to not compare myself to others and look down on myself with doubt because I chose differently. In fact, I am now so at peace with my choices and see that those are the only ones I could ever make.
Siiiighhhh... This is what 1.5 years of therapy does to a person. It solidifies the good and washes out the bad. I highly recommend it for everyone.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
God is great but sometimes life aint good and when I pray, it doesn't always turn out like I think it should... but I do it anyway.
FOR JANET... and for myself when I feel the same way.
"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered; forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives: Be kind anyway. What you spend years creating others could destroy overnight: Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it may never be enough: Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God: it was never between you and them anyway."
- Mother Teresa
"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered; forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives: Be kind anyway. What you spend years creating others could destroy overnight: Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it may never be enough: Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God: it was never between you and them anyway."
- Mother Teresa
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
I need...
... to break out of my shell of only taking pictures of dogs and babies. The only problem is, my life revolves around dogs and babies! I am only 6 weeks away from freedom tho... which is exciting and terrifying.... Anyway, here are some pics that I've taken lately that do not involve dogs, OR babies!
Here is a picture that was taken in my neighbourhood... just weird to see portraits of arab men and women just sitting outside of a building! I wonder if they are leaders of a certain country or just family members... anyway, just one of the many strange things Dubai has to offer!
Here is a pic taken from our balcony of the Burj Dubai at sunset... the Sun is seriously HUGE in the middle east.. like 3 times the size it is in Canada or the US... the burj Dubai... oops, my bad, the Burj Khalifa as they've renamed it, is about 20 km from our house... YA, it's that tall.
I went to Jordan for a friend's wedding and it was gorgeous... the weather was like heaven and the scenery was definitely something to see! All the men were perverts tho... anyway, here is the dead sea, which you really do float in... ps - if you ever go, don't drink the water or get it in your eyes... i did and almost went blind.
My life the past eight years... "anywhere but here"...
sigh... I am grateful to be where I am, to do the things I've done and to see the extraordinary things I've seen. but to be honest... at times, it gets a little old and every now and then I feel a twinge of the need for a "home". Siiiiggghhh... I am way emotional tonight, so let's end it there!
Here is a picture that was taken in my neighbourhood... just weird to see portraits of arab men and women just sitting outside of a building! I wonder if they are leaders of a certain country or just family members... anyway, just one of the many strange things Dubai has to offer!
Here is a pic taken from our balcony of the Burj Dubai at sunset... the Sun is seriously HUGE in the middle east.. like 3 times the size it is in Canada or the US... the burj Dubai... oops, my bad, the Burj Khalifa as they've renamed it, is about 20 km from our house... YA, it's that tall.
I went to Jordan for a friend's wedding and it was gorgeous... the weather was like heaven and the scenery was definitely something to see! All the men were perverts tho... anyway, here is the dead sea, which you really do float in... ps - if you ever go, don't drink the water or get it in your eyes... i did and almost went blind.
My life the past eight years... "anywhere but here"...
sigh... I am grateful to be where I am, to do the things I've done and to see the extraordinary things I've seen. but to be honest... at times, it gets a little old and every now and then I feel a twinge of the need for a "home". Siiiiggghhh... I am way emotional tonight, so let's end it there!
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