random thoughts

Thinking of trying out Field Notes for when I need a little notebook, but it feels like I would be betraying my Moleskines.

I held out as long as I could before ordering this film from The Impossible Project, but the time has come. Can't. Wait.

I also want to try Lomography's Diana F+ adapter for my Canon.

Wishing I had gotten that orange chenille bedspread at the Paris Street Market last weekend. Even if it did have gum on it. It went perfectly with my vintage pink and orange flowered pillowcases. Maybe it will still be there next time.

the list

Tripped across this in my email today. A list of goals/dreams I had put together a little over a year ago at the urging of a friend. Not really any closer to any of them than I was then, which makes me feel kinda lame, but I think they are all still on 'the list'.

- have a gallery show my photography

- leave the insurance world behind because my photography and writing have become so lucrative

- find Mr. Right

- have a family of my own (this one is starting to smolder a bit - not sure I want to be raising kids into my 60s)

- write a book of essays and have them published

- lose 40 pounds

- f*ck fear

- paint the bathroom

- work less

- write more

- waste less time

- road trip around the country

- dream bigger

- live more authentically

Snippets from today:

Loved: HFASS's Nosh, sleeping late, fresh tulips

Hated: Cutting an unnecessary notch in the palm of my hand. Oh, bloody hell.

Drinking: decaf Americano from a tiny cup

Eating: Hershey's 100 calorie Pretzel Bar

Reading: I Thought It was Just Me (But It Isn't), Brene` Brown

Listening: Paste Magazine New Music Sampler, Issue 50

Dreading: Monday meetings

Anticipating: A long, hot bath

25 Random Things About Amy

1-my favorite color is orange.
2-i once hitched a ride from Atlanta to Birmingham with a trucker when my car broke down.
3-i love funky eyeglasses and silver jewelry.
4-i have lived in 3 states - TN, AL, CO.
5-i am a die-hard Tennessee Vols fan.
6-my all-time favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird.
7-i have a personal goal of reading 50 books this year.
8-i peed on stage during practice for the 1st Grade Christmas Play because I was scared to ask if I could go to the bathroom. I was terrified of the noise public toilets make upon flushing.
9- my Myers-Briggs type is INFJ.
10-faith as i know it is evolving from something legalistic and formulaic to something filled less with certainty and more with mystery.
11-i have an aversion to retractable blades, like box cutters. and an aversion to snow.
12-i love Scrabble and Scattegories. i even took Scrabble with me to Costa Rica last year and my brother and i played it outside in the gardens before bed at night.
13-i have completed a half marathon.
14-i never leave home without my iPod, cell phone, journal, a book, and usually a camera.
15-i love Moleskine journals.
16-i have no parents.
17-i am madly in love with my niece and nephew because they think i am so fun.
18-i miss living close enough to the beach to escape there for a quick weekend.
19-my iPod, my camera, and an oil painting of my dad when he was a kid are among my favorite possessions.
20-i dream of having a job i truly love.
21-i am addicted to caffeine.
22-sleeping in is one my favorite things.
23-sanitary, nodule, legalistic, pus, irregardless, copasetic, chunky, nougat, thong, i-beam, terminal, capable, and doctrine are among my least favorite words.
24-i like to make stuff.
25-i hope this is the year i get my passion back.

picking up the pieces

Vacation Bible School Grape Kool-Aid Poser

I can't explain it, but this stuff tastes just like it was poured from a pitcher into a Dixie cup at Vacation Bible School. FOR REAL.

Christi Pugh found the old Clifford Atari

What a small world we live in. I received this email today from a friend from childhood/college. The auction company she references is the company we used to dissolve my dad's estate back in March.

"I buy stuff from _________ Auctions & they do consignment sales every month, so in May I was bidding on a few things & saw this huge Atari lot. I had been thinking of getting one just for fun anyway, so I bid on it & won. Got it home & going through the box were the games & instructions, etc. At the bottom I found a piece of paper that had scores & names for William, Brian, & on the back your scores in your handwriting with your name, which I cannot mistake because we wrote so many letters. It was eerie...I sat on my couch for 30 minutes at first amazed saying to my dogs, "I have Amy's Atari," over & over again. I called Dena. I said, "This is the weirdest thing that ever happened to me." What are the odds that I would get your Atari? We used to play it in your bedroom. Yes, it does work. I cleaned it. A couple of the games need cleaning & don't work, but Donkey Kong works great. It is a funny stress reliever."

book meme

I received this meme from my friend Jenny as the result of loaning her the book she quoted from on her blog. So, here goes.

Step One – pull out a book on the book shelf.
Step Two – go to page 123.
Step Three – read and write out the 5th sentence.
Step Four – tag 5 more people.

From one of my current reads, David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames: "Or maybe they'll run into something comparatively small yet no less astonishing."

I think sentence 5 on page 124 would be more intriguing: "A goblet will keep you going for years, while a man in his underpants is good for maybe two days, a week at the most."

If you haven't played yet, consider yourself tagged.

personal DNA

health warning

Do not spray item 1 into your mouth, mistaking it for item 2. Trust me on this one.

emerson on success

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

snippet of conversation with one of my brothers

Me: Is Mrs. X (childhood teacher) dead? I can't remember.

Brian: Yes. Car wreck, I think.

Me: That's right. Now I remember. So shoplifting earrings at Wal-Mart isn't what did her in after all?

Brian: Nope. She didn't get the chair.

Me: Ok. Thanks.

random tidbits

- My regular computer - the one that I just put a new hard drive and extra memory in, the one that is not far out of warranty - is being operated on by the Geek Squad as I write. Is this a sign that I'm supposed to switch to a MacBook Pro? I'll let you know.

- Points to Ponder (found these written inside the front cover of my Moleskine)
What really gives me joy?
Where is my bliss?
Where is the flow?
Doesn't Points to Ponder sound like the name of a church bulletin article of long ago?! Please leave a comment if you have the answers.

- I don't want to celebrate prematurely, but I think I am living in a mouse-free house.

- Here's another Point to Ponder. This one from my spiritual director, wise sage that she is. We do best what we do joyfully. So what does that say about me going back to my regular office tomorrow after being off-site for two weeks? Hmmm?

- Counting down the days until I head south. Six. Six days. Seven until I have sand between my toes.

- Personal goal of the week: Finish the thank-you notes.

- I am completely nauseated by Contemporary Christian music at a whole new level. This poses a slight problem on the corporate worship front for me.

the score

Amy - 1
Mouse - 0

And that makes it OK that he woke me up at 5am on a weekend.

happy new year to me

Fun surprise for the New Year: I won Presbyterian Gal's contest by being the first person to guess what a certain photo on her website was.
The prize? A poem in my honor as her first post of 2008. Check it out.

which holiday character are you?

good mornin', captain

Did you ever wonder if Dancing Bear was really Mr. Green Jeans on Captain Kangaroo?

potpourri

- Saw Into the Wild yesterday. Really enjoyed the book when I read it several years ago. But the movie was a bit disappointing. It does have some soul to it, and the music - which is by Eddie Vedder - was spot-on. Haunting, but it was a long 2:20.
- Still mired down in somewhat of a spiritual funk. Not sure what happened to get me here, or how to get out. I'm still "in", but things are awry. The words that jumped out at me in my lectio divina group this week say it best. Parched ground. Suck. What to do when you seem to have lost your passion and joy?
- Helped a friend facilitate a collage workshop today. Actually made a piece of my own, which I plan to finish this week.
- Looking forward to a bit of family time later this week, and a few days away from work. Not necessarily a restful time; but a nice change of pace.
- Hopefully I will get a chance to work on one of my favorite hobbies: sleep.
- Pulled out the Votivo Christmas Sage candle today. Because it makes me happy.
- Off to finish up a business review for work now.

technology

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

what color orange are you?

You Are Pumpkin

Realistic and practical, you see the world for how it is. You know what it takes to succeed in life... And you're happy to help others reach their goals.

What Color Orange Are You?