The times they are a-changin'
Friday, May 7, 2010 by Lindsey
I'm not even sure where to start, I've been meaning to write a post for a few weeks now but just haven't had a chance. My life has been a swirling vortex of chaotic creative change (alliteration ftw) and I am in the process of some relatively in-depth lifestyle changes. So, with that said...I'm just going to dive in randomly and update on some interesting things I've been doing.
• Focusing on focus, and giving up coffee. (!!)
Not forever. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love coffee. I'm just trying to decrease my caffeine intake because I realized that while I'd thought I was lacking in energy, what I was really lacking was focus. Caffeine had really been taking a negative effect on me, and I was so jittery that it was making me tired all the time. (Well, that in conjunction with other things.) Probably once I get it out of my system, I'll drink decaf, or half-caf.
I've really benefitted lately from reading Dr. Daniel Amen's book, "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body" which has helped me in learning about some of the ways I can help myself to be healthier and less emotionally volatile by boosting serotonin levels, getting more vitamin D, etc., it's all stuff that makes sense. Surprisingly, that book has worked hand-in-hand with another awesome book I've been reading "The Creative Habit" by Twyla Tharp, which is a handbook for creative professionals with some specific guidelines in helping to optimize a creative lifestyle. By adding just a small amount of structure to my life, it has actually freed me to begin to explore my own faith, and deepen in my artistic strengths.
A few of the things I've done inspired by "The Creative Habit" is to create a morning routine, and cover all of my mirrors with sheets. The morning routine has been so helpful to me, and again...makes sense. Before my feet even hit the floor in the morning...I put on my shoes. That one simple act has become a defining moment for my day. Once my shoes are on I have no excuse to get back into bed. Then I make my bed...just in case I was thinking "eh...I don't really care if I have my shoes on in bed." and go workout. By the time I'm awake enough to consider that I'm hungry, or want a cup of coffee, or my clothes don't match...I'm already half a mile down the sidewalk. No turning back. My goal is to keep this up for 30 days, and then hopefully by that point, it won't be such work, and wouldn't totally throw me off to day one day off a week.
As far as the mirror thing goes: it was supposed to be an artistic experiment, a way to ignore my appearance and focus on expressing myself in different ways, stretching my creative voice. Surprisingly, it's actually been really helpful in getting me back on track with my healthy lifestyle changes. I've noticed that I feel more accomplished, and healthier, and don't get discouraged because I'm not seeing an immediate change in my appearance. I feel better. Honestly, I don't care how I look for the moment, it's less stress for me, and I had been so stressed about so many things, I'm trying to refocus and not allow myself to get so stressed.
• Organizing and Hosting a Stylized Photo Shootout for local Photographers
So, yeah...this has consumed my life. Inspired by a similar shoot hosted by the lovely and talented Andi Grant, I decided to take on the challenge of hosting one myself. Oy! I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 20 tickets, 10 models, 6 volunteer stylists, 5 necklaces, 4 wedding dresses, 3 pairs of shoes, 2 vintage suitcases, and 1 picnic basket later...and I'm still not done planning it all! Don't get me wrong, it's definitely going well...but there are so many things I hadn't even considered. Even so, I think (after I've had a few months to recover) this could definitely be something I see myself hosting on a regular basis, with different sets and models each time. My ultimate goal is to have a grand piano in the middle of a field, with a fantasy-themed shoot.
• Concentrating on now, and leaving later for later.
So, I know I haven't written a wedding/marriage planning post in a while. I want to note that Nathan and I are fine. Great, even...and I am sooo anxious to see him back out here for the summer in a few weeks! :-) But in my zeal to make sure that our entire married life would be scheduled, planned, and to ultimately try to make it easier for us in running our household and to be the Godly wife I aspire to be...I realized I had lost sight of our relationship right now. We both had. After a lot of prayer and discussion, we decided to postpone the wedding-planning, in favor of just enjoying each other right now. I honestly can't say when the wedding will be, at the moment, but I definitely feel like when the time comes, we'll know it...and it's not far off, just a slight delay. The only thing we know concretely is that we won't make any decisions until after he's graduated this December, then he'll move here and we'll evaluate the logistics. Honestly? It's a relief. Just because we don't have a year's worth of grocery lists and menus...doesn't mean we won't eat after we get married. And not having a date doesn't mean that there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
For me, the light is just, him being here. I can't wait to be his wife...but ultimately, I just miss him (and his hugs, he seriously has the best hugs ever) and we are looking forward to being able to spend some time together, doing "normal" couple-stuff before our wedding, without the pressures and trials of marriage. Going on dates, spending friday nights watching movies, being able to see each other a few times a week, without feeling like we have to cram a bunch of activities or relationship-defining moments in.
Whether it ends up being 2 months or 2 years (For the record, I don't think it will be either of those...) the time between his moving here, and our wedding will be a relaxing and necessary rest period for us to cultivate our relationship without pressures of school or long-distance. He'll be able to settle into a job, without having to immediately worry about providing, and we'll be able to just enjoy time together.
• 365 day photo challenge
I have finally taken on the 365 day photo challenge...and it's pretty much as simple as it sounds, a photo a day for 365 days. It seems like it would be pretty easy but has been amazing so far how difficult it can be to think of something new, interesting, and representative of my day to take a photo of. I'm doing okay so far, if you'd like to track my progress follow my business profile "Elusive PhotoDesign" on facebook. (I'll have a flickr album soon, but have been too busy to create it.)
So, I think that's most of the main things...but before I wrap up for now, here's some interesting things I've discovered, lately:
• Being thankful makes you happy, not just for the obvious reasons...but also because focusing on the positive things in your life boosts serotonin levels. Because of this, I've started off each day by simply writing out 5 things that make me smile, that I'm grateful for. It may be more of a placebo than anything, but it works.
• A tall, light, mocha frappuchino with no whip is only 130 calories.
• China-made wedding dress knockoffs can be legitimate. (I did a test-run for the style shoot.)
• Etsy necklaces are awesome.
• Jessica Drossin Textures
• If you concentrate on pushing off of your toes, you can run longer.
• It is very cold at 6:00 AM
I believe that's all for now.
-Lindsey
• Focusing on focus, and giving up coffee. (!!)
Not forever. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love coffee. I'm just trying to decrease my caffeine intake because I realized that while I'd thought I was lacking in energy, what I was really lacking was focus. Caffeine had really been taking a negative effect on me, and I was so jittery that it was making me tired all the time. (Well, that in conjunction with other things.) Probably once I get it out of my system, I'll drink decaf, or half-caf.
I've really benefitted lately from reading Dr. Daniel Amen's book, "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body" which has helped me in learning about some of the ways I can help myself to be healthier and less emotionally volatile by boosting serotonin levels, getting more vitamin D, etc., it's all stuff that makes sense. Surprisingly, that book has worked hand-in-hand with another awesome book I've been reading "The Creative Habit" by Twyla Tharp, which is a handbook for creative professionals with some specific guidelines in helping to optimize a creative lifestyle. By adding just a small amount of structure to my life, it has actually freed me to begin to explore my own faith, and deepen in my artistic strengths.
A few of the things I've done inspired by "The Creative Habit" is to create a morning routine, and cover all of my mirrors with sheets. The morning routine has been so helpful to me, and again...makes sense. Before my feet even hit the floor in the morning...I put on my shoes. That one simple act has become a defining moment for my day. Once my shoes are on I have no excuse to get back into bed. Then I make my bed...just in case I was thinking "eh...I don't really care if I have my shoes on in bed." and go workout. By the time I'm awake enough to consider that I'm hungry, or want a cup of coffee, or my clothes don't match...I'm already half a mile down the sidewalk. No turning back. My goal is to keep this up for 30 days, and then hopefully by that point, it won't be such work, and wouldn't totally throw me off to day one day off a week.
As far as the mirror thing goes: it was supposed to be an artistic experiment, a way to ignore my appearance and focus on expressing myself in different ways, stretching my creative voice. Surprisingly, it's actually been really helpful in getting me back on track with my healthy lifestyle changes. I've noticed that I feel more accomplished, and healthier, and don't get discouraged because I'm not seeing an immediate change in my appearance. I feel better. Honestly, I don't care how I look for the moment, it's less stress for me, and I had been so stressed about so many things, I'm trying to refocus and not allow myself to get so stressed.
• Organizing and Hosting a Stylized Photo Shootout for local Photographers
So, yeah...this has consumed my life. Inspired by a similar shoot hosted by the lovely and talented Andi Grant, I decided to take on the challenge of hosting one myself. Oy! I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 20 tickets, 10 models, 6 volunteer stylists, 5 necklaces, 4 wedding dresses, 3 pairs of shoes, 2 vintage suitcases, and 1 picnic basket later...and I'm still not done planning it all! Don't get me wrong, it's definitely going well...but there are so many things I hadn't even considered. Even so, I think (after I've had a few months to recover) this could definitely be something I see myself hosting on a regular basis, with different sets and models each time. My ultimate goal is to have a grand piano in the middle of a field, with a fantasy-themed shoot.
• Concentrating on now, and leaving later for later.
So, I know I haven't written a wedding/marriage planning post in a while. I want to note that Nathan and I are fine. Great, even...and I am sooo anxious to see him back out here for the summer in a few weeks! :-) But in my zeal to make sure that our entire married life would be scheduled, planned, and to ultimately try to make it easier for us in running our household and to be the Godly wife I aspire to be...I realized I had lost sight of our relationship right now. We both had. After a lot of prayer and discussion, we decided to postpone the wedding-planning, in favor of just enjoying each other right now. I honestly can't say when the wedding will be, at the moment, but I definitely feel like when the time comes, we'll know it...and it's not far off, just a slight delay. The only thing we know concretely is that we won't make any decisions until after he's graduated this December, then he'll move here and we'll evaluate the logistics. Honestly? It's a relief. Just because we don't have a year's worth of grocery lists and menus...doesn't mean we won't eat after we get married. And not having a date doesn't mean that there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
For me, the light is just, him being here. I can't wait to be his wife...but ultimately, I just miss him (and his hugs, he seriously has the best hugs ever) and we are looking forward to being able to spend some time together, doing "normal" couple-stuff before our wedding, without the pressures and trials of marriage. Going on dates, spending friday nights watching movies, being able to see each other a few times a week, without feeling like we have to cram a bunch of activities or relationship-defining moments in.
Whether it ends up being 2 months or 2 years (For the record, I don't think it will be either of those...) the time between his moving here, and our wedding will be a relaxing and necessary rest period for us to cultivate our relationship without pressures of school or long-distance. He'll be able to settle into a job, without having to immediately worry about providing, and we'll be able to just enjoy time together.
• 365 day photo challenge
I have finally taken on the 365 day photo challenge...and it's pretty much as simple as it sounds, a photo a day for 365 days. It seems like it would be pretty easy but has been amazing so far how difficult it can be to think of something new, interesting, and representative of my day to take a photo of. I'm doing okay so far, if you'd like to track my progress follow my business profile "Elusive PhotoDesign" on facebook. (I'll have a flickr album soon, but have been too busy to create it.)
So, I think that's most of the main things...but before I wrap up for now, here's some interesting things I've discovered, lately:
• A tall, light, mocha frappuchino with no whip is only 130 calories.
• China-made wedding dress knockoffs can be legitimate. (I did a test-run for the style shoot.)
• Etsy necklaces are awesome.
• Jessica Drossin Textures
• If you concentrate on pushing off of your toes, you can run longer.
• It is very cold at 6:00 AM
I believe that's all for now.
-Lindsey
=D
I'm happy you posted! ^_^ And I'm glad to hear that everything's been going well for you. Will we be able to see pictures from the photoshoot you've been planning for *months*? =)
Also good to hear about you and Nathan - Justin and I recently realized that we don't have very many fun dating memories. Well, we don't have many dating memories at all, which is one down side to long distance relationships! I gotta say, though, for us, being married is totally easier and unstressful. Way, way, way less stressful than dating or being engaged. I know that's backwards, but that's just what we've discovered! How weird is that? =)
<3
We love you & are proud of you & Nathan!
Lizzie, there will DEFINITELY be pictures from the style shoot. I have a feeling it will take me about as long to sort and edit them as it has to plan it, but they will start filtering through the day after. (So, May 25th.)