Feeling At Home

My 'regular' at the coffee shop: cinnamon-orange decaf teaI've spent part of every weekend since early November in the neighborhood I'm considering moving to. I've been feeling my way around, driving up and down streets, looking at houses, checking out the locals, walking through the parks. You might say I've been trying out the town to see if it fits and how comfortable it is. The place is winning me over in a big way. 

The owners and managers of the shops I've been in have introduced themselves to me and been so friendly, every time I go to the coffee shop someone engages me in conversation and I even went so far as to join a writers' group that meets at the local independent bookstore.  

I'm sort of moving in without the hassle of cardboard boxes and packing tape. 

Last weekend, I spent the entire afternoon there, enjoying the Christmas Walk in the downtown area. Most of the shops were open, which was a treat because they aren't normally open on Sundays. Everyone was offering specials and sales and free hot drinks and there were singers serenading everyone with Christmas carols on the sidewalk. A horse-drawn trolley took children to see Santa and Mrs. Claus and then everyone gathered at the park to hear Christmas carols by the church choir and watch Santa light the 30' pine in the center of the plaza. And even though it was an all-day event sponsored and primarily attended by the residents of the community, I was welcomed and taken in as though I belonged. It is so unlike the town I live in now, it's hard to describe. I've never felt quite so at home in a place so unfamiliar. It's amazing.

BeforeAfter

In Flux

I've heard the phrase, "so-and-so is in a state of flux," all my life. Given the context it was always uttered in, I assumed that it meant the person was facing tremendous change or indecision. It rarely seemed like a positive experience but it also always had a temporary feel to it, as if even in the midst of it, the person knew it would end.

When I was trying to think of how to describe what I've been going through lately, that phrase leapt to mind. And being the lover of words and phrases and their meanings, as I am, I decided to look up what its common definition is. 

However, I typed in the search term incorrectly. I typed in "in flux" instead of "in a state of flux." When the meaning wasn't really close to what I had always assumed it was, I looked again at what I had entered and saw the mistake and corrected it.

According to the freedictionary.com, "in a state of flux" means: "a state of uncertainty about what should be done." So, I was right. But it didn't really ring true once I read it. I don't feel uncertain about what to do. And I hope this isn't temporary. So I went back to the meaning for "in flux."

According to dictionary.com, "in flux" means: "the act of flowing in; the place at which one stream flows into another or into the sea."  Yes, that's more like it. I am doing more, experimenting more, and going more than I have in years. I am trying on activities like I try on shoes... randomly and with abandon. I'm keeping those I like, that feel good and discarding the others. I'm not analyzing any of it. If it feels like something I can walk in, I keep it. I'm keeping the things that fit.

I am experiencing in flux. 

Finally.

A Summer, Focused

In September I begin a course on courageous living with a life coach. Included in the welcome pack I received when I registered was an exercise that will be the first assignment of the session. She included it as something we students could think about and work on in the months leading up to class. I, being the type who always does her homework the minute it's assigned, have already taken it out and started mulling it over.

The assignment itself is simplistic in direction but overwhelming in nature. The goal is to decide three to five things I want to see shift as a result of the time the coach and other students will be working with me. The items can be tangible (save X dollars, write a poem, etc.) or intangible (feel more energetic, improve communication with a friend, etc.) 

At least a dozen things spring to mind immediately when I read the assignment so it isn't that I can't think of anything to fill the page, it is that I want to make sure I choose the right ones. Since there can only be three to five items on the list, they should be ones that require help from a supportive community to attain, will lay the foundation for future changes and will have significant impact on my life. It is going to take some time to evaluate everything and determine the best choices.

 * * * 

mollykath's article on her life list inspired me. On my previous blog I had started a list of 100 Things that were goals I wanted to achieve before the end of my life. After reading mollykath's post I read back over mine. It was satisfying to see that I had crossed off an impressive number of them but some of the remaining items already seemed dated and foolish, even in this short amount of time. 

I would like to begin another list, a Life List, on this site and try to find things that will help others, improve the world and bring me joy. There won't be a predetermined number of items but whatever is on the list will have been thoughtfully and carefully considered before adding. I'm excited about setting new goals.

 * * * 

I read this blog post from my BlackBerry while standing in line at the store and before even reaching the mid-point, I was standing in line at the store, with tears rolling down my cheeks. Jenny is someone who is not often serious in her posts but when she is, she is one of the most poignant, straight to the heart writers out there. I thanked her for writing this post and I intend to keep the spirit of the red dress with me. And I am determined to find my own red dress, figuratively or literally. And wear the hell out of it, as Jenny said.

 * * * 

In random conversations with various people about topics not even remotely related, it dawned on me that I need to write my future. I'm the storyteller, right? Maybe I can't picture it perfectly yet and maybe I don't have every facet understood but I know how I want my future to feel. I am not able to close my eyes and see me in it, but I can feel it in my heart. I am going to try to put those emotions on paper and hopefully the words will begin to form shapes and those shapes will begin to form pictures and soon, I will see my future again.

 * * *

These are the things I will be digging into this summer. You may read some of my thoughts here, some you may not. How much I share will depend on what my soul-searching uncovers. I'm excited to get started, a bit nervous about what I may learn and willing to face it bravely, regardless. 

Bang For Your Buck

It is common knowledge around Twitter that I am addicted to the HGTV network. I watch many of the shows religiously and have seven of them set as series recordings on my DVR. Yes, seven, and you can close your mouths now. 

One of the shows I have recently started enjoying is Bang For Your Buck. The premise of the show is to find three different homeowners in a single town who have recently made renovations to the same area of their homes for around the same cost. Then a designer and a local realtor visit each home and evaluate the choices the homeowners made and decide, based on the estimated return on investment, who got the biggest Bang For Your Buck.

What amazes me more than anything is often just how much people spend on renovations. I think one episode I watched last week highlighted three homeowners who had renovated their backyard spaces for $95,000. Now, I know that these days $95,000 is not a huge sum of money, but when I was a kid you could have bought two nice houses and three Buicks for that. And the people on the show only got a Jacuzzi and a barbecue so you can see what I mean.

Anyway, I was watching the show the other night and realized that I have a couple of things that I do that get me a pretty good Bang For Your Buck too. Everyone likes getting more for their money so I thought I would share them here and in doing so, hope that you will share some of yours with me.

First, I have a Bang For Your (Nutritional) Buck. We all want to find ways in which we can live a healthier lifestyle and one way is to pack more nutrition into the calories we consume. I used to eat a lot of leaf lettuce, which is not bad for you but isn't especially great for you either. I have switched to using organic baby spinach leaves wherever and whenever I would normally use lettuce. Spinach has about 50% more potassium and twice as much calcium as romaine lettuce and it contains iron, which the lettuce does not. I use spinach as the base for salads, on sandwiches (my favorite is veggie bacon, spinach and tomato, my own twist on the traditional BLT), in tacos and as a bed for cottage cheese. It costs a little more than some lettuces but nutritionally you get more Bang For Your Buck.

The other Bang For Your Buck is strictly for women and is something I learned on someone's blog last summer and I cannot remember which one. So if it is yours, comment and take the credit, please. Many of us who like to wear makeup are familiar with the product known as the foundation primer. This little product smoothes out your skin so that your makeup goes on more evenly, giving you a more flawless look. What we also know is how much these products can cost. I went to Sephora.com to do a quick browse through their products and while you can get some of the more basic primers for around $15, the one I would probably choose is this one by Smashbox, selling for $36/1oz or $38/1oz for color balancing. Not exactly inexpensive.  But, ladies, do you want to know the product that you can substitute for those high priced designer brands and still get the exact same results? This one.  Don't freak out. Yes, it can go on your face (given that you aren't allergic to it) even though it isn't marketed to do that. It is not sticky, greasy or smelly. It gives you a perfectly smooth and powdery soft face that your foundation will glide over like satin. The only difference between this product and the ones you can buy at Sephora is the price. This one is just $7.20/1.5oz. (Plus, if you have a FSA, it is an eligible purchase, so you can buy it with tax-free dollars.) And that? Is one HUGE Bang For Your Buck.

You are welcome.

So spill. Do you have recipe tricks or products that you use on yourself or around the house that maybe were not intended for that purpose but do the job and give you a bigger Bang For Your Buck? We all want to know.