quick lit – next page, please {november 2018}

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My reading life has taken a back seat to the excitement and thrill of the holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas and the associated activities have a way of taking priority. And if I’m being honest, I have taken some time to do other fun things. Don’t get me wrong, I have been reading, I just didn’t complete any books.

Currently Reading

  • Becoming Michelle by Michelle Obama. I have been looking forward to this book since Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. I was so interested in hearing about her time in the White House, I started reading at Becoming More on page 281. It’s very interesting.
  • This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide by Geneen Roth. The astute readers will note that I read this one last month. Yes, I’m reading it again.  It’s just that good.

Read

This is just sad.

Abandoned Reading

  • Transformational Speaking by Gail Larsen. I’ll be picking this up next year.
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Let’s be honest, I am probably not going to finish this before the year is out. And so, I am not going to be able to finish the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s (MMD) reading challenge. Oh well. HOWEVER, the MMD’s 2019 Reading Challenge is up and ready. I will be checking it out soon.

So, how about you? Have you been as bad as me? Head over to Modern Mrs. Darcy’s for this month’s round-up.  I know the community over there has been reading.

enjoy life…

enjoy life guest post: emily anderson’s “the table”

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I love hosting other creators on my blog and today, I am pleased to have my little sister, Emily, visiting with a guest post today.  My sister was there when no one else was, literally.  She is my biggest supporter and cheerleader and believes in me when I don’t believe in myself.  I introduced her to Emily P Freeman’s podcast: The Next Right Thing. You should check it out if you are not familiar with it.  Emily (my sister) is a Masters prepared social worker at heart and is fascinated with the power of narrative in our human experience.  She values simple, peaceful but eclectic living. She is an excellent jigsaw puzzle worker; she’s kick my rear since she was two. She lives in Washington state with my brother-in-law, my 11-year-old nephew, and their two terriers. Her post today is a timely thought (which she is also known for) during this holiday season. Take a look!

black kettle beside condiment shakers and green fruits and plants on tray on brown wooden tableFor the past several years I have obsessed about buying a dining room table.  My husband cannot quite understand it and I often wonder what my deal is.  My sister is the “foodie” of the family and although I enjoy cooking for appreciative eaters, I am fully aware that they are just as comfortable eating at my current four-chair table or pulling up a tray to the couch.

Why does buying this dining room table – the long farmhouse-style table made of solid wood that will endure the test of time – seem as Emily P. Freeman would say, like “the next right thing”?

Then it hit me after listening to one of Emily’s podcast.  That long farmhouse table symbolizes more than just eating.  Growing up, my family would often spend hours at the table.  Long after we had consumed our meal, we would sit and talk.  Whether analyzing the movie we watched the night before or getting to know someone new my father invited home for dinner after church.  Whether it was uncontrollable laughter that took you from your chair to the floor, or deep conversations that made you see the world from a different perspective, it was the conversation that took place at “the table” that meant so much to me.

So “the table” that I am obsessed with symbolizes connection.  The uninterrupted connection, before cellphones were small enough to bring to the table, that nourished my soul.  So, although still a symbolic heirloom I hope to purchase soon, it is connecting with people as I did at the dining table of my childhood that is my next right step.  Not in a fragmented way but in a way where everyone has a “seat”.  Connecting, sharing stories, learning, laughing, listening, and then leaving feeling restored.  At this proverbial table, we’ll find clarity and restoration.  At this table, we will find direction and inspiration.

Care to join me?  Let’s start truly connecting with people.  Let’s share, learn, laugh, and listen to one another.  Not with emojis and Facebook feeds, but with uninterrupted intention, just like I use to do, at the dining room table of my youth.

enjoy life…

Photo by Mark McCammon on Pexels.com

what i’m into – keeping me sane {november 2018}

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The first time I linked up with Leigh Kramer’s What I’m Into posts was October 29, 2015. And I was sadden when she decided to no longer host the link-up.  She encouraged us to continue writing the What I’m Into posts, however.  

I had the pleasure of meeting Leigh during Anne Bogel’s author event at Parnassus last month.  I told her that I missed the link-up and asked if I could be responsible for continuing the practice.  She encouraged me to continue my version of it so now I invite everyone to share your link to your What I’m Into blog posts in the comments.  We’ll do this every month and we’ll share our next list on Tuesday, January 2. And please spread the word to others. I would love for the community to live on in this space.    

I have been pondering rhythms recently.  Ebb and flow.  In and out. Especially as it pertains to the seasons of the year. the fall, the earth slowly sheds its weight – trees shed their leaves, crops are harvested, the earth becomes fallow.  The earth rests.

I have seasonal affective disorder.  During the fall and winter, I am easily moody and depressed and generally unenthusiastic.  Gray cloudy days are the expressway to gray and cloudy thoughts. Until I started thinking about the seasons of the year, I thought I SUFFERED from SAD. I am beginning to think that isn’t the case.  Perhaps, it’s my body signaling the time for rest.  I have a friend who goes into “hibernation” this time of year. That may not be such a bad idea.

So what’s keeping me sane right now? The fact that I am not into anything really.

I completed the wedding; it went well. And after that, it was a trip to my parent’s condo in Florida where there was absolutely no agenda besides watching my Daddy’s alma mater, Bethune Cookman University, play their final home game of the season.  That was really cool because I got to see the band. They call them “the Pride” of BCU because the 300+ member band is one of the best bands in the country.  They have been in commercials and in movies.

I had heard this band practice every time my family visited my grandparents, who lived across the street from the University.  It was such a pleasure and so fulfilling to see them performing live. And the Florida sun does wonders for SAD.

We came home to temps in the low 40s, high 30s. Cloudy and rainy.  Just the thing to set SAD off.  But I have turned on my solar lamp, streamlined my agenda by making a list of what absolutely has to happen and ways I can enjoy this season this year, and I am focusing on that. I can become alive again in the spring: new life, new energy, producing new things, accomplishing stuff.

What are you into?

enjoy life…