Paris

I've been doing some spring cleaning and sorting and compiled a few photos from my trip to Paris last month.  Please enjoy a few shots of the Lourve, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Notre Dame and Arc de Triomphe. It was a lovely trip. 

Mapping It Out

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!

United Shirt of America on Threadless

River Thames Brass Cuff Bracelet from Jezebel Charms on Etsy

Colorful US Map Print by Lazy Daisy on Etsy

Map of Canada Pillow Cover by Nicole Tarasick on Etsy

1901 Antique City Map of Stockholm by bananastrudel on Etsy

Vintage California Tablecloth from VINTAGE DYETOPIA on Etsy

Perhaps someday I'll have a crazy map themed room!

All images in this post belong to their owners.

Music

I used to post about new music on this blog, but being in Romania means that I am hopelessly out-of-date when it comes to music.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.

Tilting

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.

Mosque in Istanbul

Boats on the Bosporus

Athens

Germany

Romania

Intuition

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.