I have always loved maps, both old and new. Today I found myself marveling at all the creative things that people do with maps, both traditional and modern. From t-shirt designs to jewelry, from art to tablecloths, I love them all!
I used to post about new music on this blog, but being in Romania means
that I am hopelessly out-of-date when it comes to music. Thus, rather
than try to showcase new music, I thought I would post a few songs that I
am currently addicted to.
I think Somebody That I Used Know by Gotye resonates with me so much these days because of the undertones of frustration that echo through both vocal parts. I love singing along to this song at the top of my voice after frustrating days in the classroom teaching.
I am sucker for pretty vocals and Flaws by Bastille fills that void for me. The live performance is also especially impressive when you see the group playing their knees as drums. Love it!
I recently watched the documentary Still Bill about Bill Withers, which is an amazing portrait of a beautifully complex and thoughtful musician. I have always Bill Withers, but after watching this film I love his music even more and Lean on Me is one of my favorites.
I have recently become addicted to TiltShift Maker,
a free online tool which lets you edit photos so that they look like
miniatures. Below are a couple photos from travels last year edited
with this fabulous and free tool! I am still very much a beginner at
it, but it's very fun to play with and see how to tweak the focus on the
images.
Today I was doing one of my favorite Baron Baptiste yoga videos when I was struck by one of the things he said. Normally, I tune out most of what is said and just focus on my breathing and movement. I have done this DVD at least a hundred times and probably could do the routine without it, but I like the background music and the pace of the routine. Anyway, today I was struck by one of the queues; "to move intuitively" until you find enough stretch and challenge without doing damage. This is one of the things I love about yoga; that if you pay attention to your body you can make micro-adjustments to intuitively find muscles that need stretching and work others that need strengthening.
I began to think about how I wish life worked like that. That I could intuitively know which direction to move in my life for my own benefit. I am sure that there are hundred, if not thousands, of self-help books and workshops that claim to teach people how to do this, but what if you could physically feel when you are making the right decision? Perhaps, some people can, but alas, I am not one of them.
In six months, I will finish my Peace Corps service and I wish I knew how to move intuitively forward in the right direction.
In some respects I have old fashioned taste. While I embrace the ways in which technology lets us communicate quickly and efficiently, I still love the old fashioned art of letter writing. I love the feel of good paper and seeing ink on the page. When I open a letter, I imagine the writer sitting down and thinking of me as they wrote. This fills me with joy.
When I have time, I love to make cards for friends and family by hand. However, I admit that I don't do this as often as I would like, but I am usually glad when I take the time to do this. Usually I opt for a collage technique. Recently, I've enjoyed using scraps from an old wallpaper sample book my mom gave me.
When I don't have time to make a card I love using cards from small letterpresses. As we enter the new year, I've been thinking about stocking up for the upcoming birthdays and weddings in 2012. Esty offers some lovely options. Here are some of my favorites.
