The Golden Boot

Have you got rhythm?

(gonzalezgui)

 

DO YOU HAVE A RHYTHM YOU LIVE BY?

 

 

I try to - cause without some kind of rhythm, without some kind of organisation, without some kind of thought process, we can sometimes lose our way (example #1 - me and my blog here, I am trying to find my blog rhythm again, but maybe my blog rhythm will be better this time).

 

I find when I am without a life rhythm I don't tend to get done what I have to get done! Life gets a little more chaotic, and things get left by the wayside. However, when I speak of rhythm I don't speak of strict, rigid rules that I must abide by everyday! NO - I speak of that fun kind of rhythm, you know, the type where you get to play drums all the time and have so much fun!! Where you can move to the beat of your own drum, and create the life you want with the motivation that is unique to you! 

 

I have tried to follow this idea of rhythm in all aspects of my life - my swimming would have been horrific with no rhythm, my art practice would have been non-existent without opening myself to creative rhythm, my academic career would have floundered without a study rhythm. 

 

So, do you have a rhythm of life that you try to follow? Got any ideas on how to sustain rhythm - or change the rhythm for the better?

 

(Crafty good times is coming, but seeing as this is a blog about my art, my craft AND my life, I am also going to start including aspects of my whole life, so enjoy!)

 

xo

I like to drink tea.

I used to hate tea. Tea and coffee was stinky and tasted bitter and yuck. Then my sister introduced me to (and pretty much dared me to try) green tea. I was in my early twenties - and with regards to tea I have never looked back. (Don't ask about coffee though, I still can't stand the stuff and the smell of it makes me gag, but I know people out there love it and I respect that, I really do).

 

So now I love my black tea (straight, no milk, no sugar), I love my green and white teas, my herbal teas, my green/white/herbal teas (you know, the mixed together ones). What is my favourite tea at the moment?

 

why it's Clipper's Organic White Tea with Natural Raspberry Flavour. All I can say is "yummo", this is a tea that reminds me of white chocolate and berry cheesecake . . . 

no really!!

 

 

So anyone have any tea recommendations? 

 

xo

A rumbling of thought . . .

In my usual stumbling around blogland I came across this rather intriguing blog - The Happiness Project. The blog is an extension of the book by the same name by author Gretchen Rubin. Now, I have never read the book (though I may have to check it out), and I have only just started exploring the blog, but I am already impressed by Gretchen's ideas and thought process on progressing towards a sense of true happiness (I guess the meaning of true happiness would vary from person to person, but for me in means simple things, like love, family, friendship, alone-time, contemplation, tidiness, and self accomplishment).

 

What struck me first on the blog was a blog post on Tidy Habit as a boost to happiness. I do find that the state of my surroundings can have a huge impact on the state of my mood. When my surroundings are tidy and organised I feel tidy and organised, I feel as though I could take on the world - because I have the physical and mental space to think clearly and act promptly. (When the kitchen is a mess, or the bathroom desperately needs a clean I just feel so tired and put out; that doesn't account though for the sense of accomplishment I feel when I do actually tidy up and clean and walk away from a room that is ready to be occupied and used). For me tidiness equates with creativeness, when there is endless space to experiment and play, as opposed to a fighting for table space to draw or sew. After reading about similar feelings on the The Happiness Project I feel validation in my approach to living.

 

(The Happiness Project)

 

 

Anyone else have any happiness tips? is there a simple ritual that you apply to your everyday living that settles your mind and opens you up to creativity and joy?

 

xo

Fascinating earth.

Something perhaps a little more life and a little more learning. Last night my flatmate and I watched a very interesting doco about the way that the earth works. The doco is called Journey to the Centre of the earth and the first episode last night was amazing. What I loved the most was the part about the sea turtles - did you know that they have magnetic workings like a compass in their head and this is how they navigate the world!! (I am no scientist, so consider this a laymans interpretation of the information, lol). 

 

I would recommend watching it (even if your not a fan of Richard Hammond, lol); I can't wait until the next ep! Really, the earth is a fascinating place!

 

 

(Jessica Illustration)

 

xo

Enter the TARDIS and let us go back in time . . .

 . . . well, we are not entering the TARDIS (Geekazoid alert!!!!), but I am taking you back to what I was doing two weeks ago. You see, I am the Paralympic Sports Ambassador for CBM - The Overseas Disability Charity, and as part of this role I attend sports events and pimp the Charity as well as enjoy myself immensely watching some amazing sport.

 

How did I get this role you may ask? Well, I (in another life, or so it seems) used to be a swimmer, and as a swimmer I managed to train hard enough and long enough to make it to TWO Paralympic Games (Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000) AND I actually did quite well in both, coming away with a bronze medal in Atlanta and a bronze and silver in Sydney. Now, as an old person (well, not very old, lol - I am in my early thirties), I go and talk to people about my experiences, as a Paralympian and as a person with a physical disability. One of the places I went and spoke at was CBM in Cambridge, UK, and that is how I got my role as their sports ambassador. Pretty cool, huh?

 

Well, in my role as sports ambassador I got to attend the BT Paralympic World Cup that was held in Manchester, UK, two weeks ago. I got to enjoy the wheelchair basketball, athletics, and swimming. It was a lot of fun (and intriguing to see what times the swimmers were doing - not to compare my old times to them or anything . . . :).

 

So here are some photo's of the action -

 

(haha, me illustrating my new found enthusiasm for wheelchair basketball!!)

 

(ahhhh how I missed the smell of chlorine and the humidity and heat of the pool, lol)

 

It was a great week and I highly encourage any readers to apply for tickets for the Paralympics, cause trust me it is as exciting and fun as the Olympics (I do know from experience!!).

 

xo

Busy Busy Busy, Yay Yay Yay

(image courtesy of Jessica - aka friend/flatmate)

 

Hi everyone (see, that's me above, waving to you). Hope your all well.

It's been a busy start to the week, and will end busily with a few of us going to London to partake in the festive atmosphere of the Royal Wedding. I am looking forward to it and slightly dreading it as well (lots of standing and waiting, ick), but I am sure it will be worth it.

 

Friday Favourite will be a day late, it will be Saturday Favourite this week, so stay tuned . . . 

 

See you saturday :)

 

(By the way, the photo above was taken at Harewood House, fun!!)

The scourge of the sore throat . . .

I have had another sore throat (my second one so far this year) and all the crappy things that come along with it, i.e., fever, mild headache, listlessness. SO the past few days I have been lazing around watching telly, "surfing the net," and getting riled up by inappropriate images of skinny models modeling underwear for Urban Outfitters (now this is not a bashing post for Urban Outfitters, I have bought stuff from them and I like their style, I was just shocked by the image below).

 

Is she a bit too skinny? Perhaps I am being a little prejudice (I have a friend who is rather thin, but that is her natural shape and I think she's great no matter what size she is . . . but thats the point, size should never matter, and a lot of online shops seem to forget this, and use models of one size and this size is normally the size in the picture above - where's the diversity people? I want to know what these undies would look like on me!!!! A person with more well rounded thighs and shapely butt). What do you think? To skinny? To monotonous? To unrealistic for a large portion of the community?

 

xo

It's Snowing again . . .

Perhaps not quite as thick as the picture above, but its very pretty!

Its a good day to finish some art, bake some scones and cookies, and watch some god-awful daytime soaps. :)

Melancholy is a beast!!

I admit it, I am feeling a rather strong feeling of homesickness today . . . What has bought it on, you might ask, well my flatmate has flown back to Australia for a few weeks and left me behind. I don't mind staying here, I have a lot of work to get through for my PhD, but to know that J gets to see her family soon has made my heart ache to see mine. Since J has left there have been tears and heartache and stomping of feet in frustration - I'll be okay, just wishing I could give my mummy a hug and a kiss (and all in my family actually). 

I feel a little batter purging these thoughts and feeling like I can connect to people through my blog, I promise in the next day or two I will blog about some of my art, but in the meantime, here is a little picture of a cute Victorian?? family -

Credit

xo