Meanwhile I’ve been trying to learn something new — got a “for dummies” book and everything. Yesterday I was super-frustrated trying to figure it out and just about blew my top. Why is it so hard to get my mind around? Why can’t i “get it” right away? I have to remember to be patient and give myself a chance. I’m not used to things being so hard to learn.

I am used to being frustrated about weight and weight loss. That is definitely something that has not been easy for me. I know all the rules and what/how to do it but for some reason it is very slow, painstaking and won’t seem to budge. I push harder, no go. Something seems to be in my way. Is it my impatience? Will it take me 2-3 years to get to my goal? I would rather it be 2 months. I have to step back and take a good look at the process. I have to focus on the little changes that are happening. How am I feeling? I feel great. Instead of thinking something negative about myself I have to get some positive affirmations going, and look for the little changes and appreciate them!

Driving my daughter to school today we both looked out the window at an open field and saw a bush growing there wildly. I don’t remember it being there the day before… it was a gorgeous wild bush with sunflowers growing on it, dozens of them. Beautiful. Just taking a moment between the two of us to laugh and say “hey that’s not a weed, it’s a beautiful sunflower!” made me so happy. Sometimes it is just the details, the little things, the little changes that we see that we need to appreciate.

I am trying to remind myself to be thankful for the little bit of progress each day. It’s like raindrops that will eventually add up…

You don’t have to be the best

When I was younger, I studied ballet. By the time high school rolled around, I was spending 16 hours a week at the ballet studio, and that number would easily double when we were getting ready for performances. I wanted to be a prima ballerina and I poured most of my free time into preparing for that goal.

Then one day, I looked in the studio mirror and realized I wasn’t the best dancer in my company. I was technically proficient and extremely graceful, but there were at least two other girls who made me look like I had never taken a dance class in my life. These girls were exquisite, and a part of me knew that I would never be the prima ballerina as long as they were dancing.

So, I quit.

After 13 years of eating, studying, training, and living the life of a ballerina, I walked away from all of it without any notice.

I rarely talk about my time studying ballet because I am embarrassed by how it all ended. I can’t believe that I was so arrogant as to believe that if I wasn’t the best, I wanted nothing to do with it.

What surprises me, though, is how often I turn to this flawed logic. Maybe you do the same thing? I didn’t take up running until my mid-30s because I knew I was a slow runner. It never crossed my mind that I might run for some reason other than winning a race. I never thought about the benefits of the exercise, how good I would feel while running, and that I might love running just for the sake of running. I missed out on decades of running because I wasn’t going to be the best runner. Ugh.

I run into this type of all-or-nothing absolutist thinking a great deal when talking to people about uncluttering. They see it as a dichotomy where a person will either be organized or disorganized. They don’t try to get even a little clutter out of their lives because they can’t get all clutter removed. They know that the prima Unclutterers will always be “better,” so they don’t try at all.

The humbling truth of the matter is that there will always be someone who is better at doing something than you are. Thankfully, uncluttering isn’t a competition and it doesn’t require you to be the best. It doesn’t matter if someone does it better than you do. You don’t get rid of clutter for someone else, you get rid of it for you. Comparing yourself to another person is unnecessary; you only need to look at your life and your needs to decide what is best for you.

Thanks Erin! Here’s a link to the original post.

I figured I could try to remember things by googling the facts I know about the timeframe — for example, I knew I went to camp and we did some dance performances to Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. I just couldn’t remember what year it was. Well that should be easy right? Google the music and piece together the year, what summer it was, at least… I thought, OK i can do that, but where to put this info? How to “jot it down?” fearing i’ll forget it again… I also felt compelled to write some notes about that summer at camp — I’d dislocated my knee, and we’d had a food fight in the cafeteria… hmmm what other memories might come up as I write? I am thinking this might be fun to do!

As i researched i came across a bunch of software packages that were detailed, and looked very comprehensive, but I have a problem with things not looking “clean” and if it is too cluttered it won’t make me feel like I’m getting organized. It’s all about user-interface. I don’t want to get stressed out as I clean up and organize my life memories…

I found a site that I am going to try out and see if it will work. I have probably 1000s of fragments of memories, and am not sure how the “timeline” they create out of these bits will work. But I’m going to try it and see if it will help me get it going. I think it is still in beta though, but it looks clean and simple and easy to use: xtimeline.com

Dash and Albert has always been famous for their huge variety of cotton rugs. I came across them a while back in an Apartment Therapy article. I would love to use their rugs in my home, maybe one of these days… Meanwhile I am in love with these totes. Colorful, sturdy, simple design.  30 different stripes/colors to choose from. Makes me want to stuff it with sunscreen, magazines and a blanket and head to the beach.

Just had to post this… had seen it in a photo shoot in Martha Stewart’s magazine as I waited for my daughter at the dentist. What a simple, classic bag — i love the straw/sisal/jute look with leather handles. Not sure if it is big enough though. I have a wonderful Kiondo bag I picked up from ebay years ago and it is my favorite. I wish I could find another like it!

I am really wanting to do some photography… Meanwhile here are some thumbnails — click on a thumbnail and browse the images on flickr! These artists are amazing. NOTE: these images are all random, can’t vouch for the content of any of them.

I love the bold shapes and colors of their timeless poppy design… it seems everything they do is well thought out. I am really thinking about getting one for my Mom for Christmas! But which bag? There are many to choose from… When googling Marimekko bags, one site had a column off to the side with “related items” and lo and behold they had the black and white “Sophia” bag from etsy shown (I’ve mentioned it below)..

]]> http://dailycoffeeandcream.com/2008/12/11/marimekko/%/feed http://dailycoffeeandcream.com/2008/12/09/new-york/% http://dailycoffeeandcream.com/2008/12/09/new-york/%#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:20:33 +0000 celine http://dailycoffeeandcream.com/?p=121 just thinking back on last year and all that we’ve gone through…  We had the opportunity to go to NYC and had the BEST time. Of course having many of the expenses paid by abcnews didn’t hurt. As a kid, I always wished I could go live in New York, as a dancer, or a designer, or artist, fashion designer, photographer, magazine editor… I knew it had to be something fabulous… but I always imagined myself in the “big city” somewhere.

I grew up across the bridge from San Francisco, I lived there in college, and now live about an hour away (sans traffic). San Francisco is beautiful, I love San Francisco, and hadn’t thought much about New York and my New York dreams in a long, long time. When the opportunity to visit NYC came up, I was nervous, thrilled, everything! I had no idea I’d love it so much. Whenever NYC is shown on TV, I ask my husband “Hey when are we going back to NY?” :)

Next time we go, I’m definitely going to Tiffany’s.

Here are a few snapshots from last year.