Think Kit Day 27: What place (event, celebration, etc.) stood out
for you this year? Where was it? Who was there? What did it look like?
How did it inspire you?
I went on a week long vacation with my friend Photographer this summer, to Florida, to spend a week in her parents condo. I blogged about it several times this year so here are the links. It was relaxing and peaceful and so much fun! And I know I wrote about here before but it was such a great and much needed trip, once in a lifetime to spend a week with my best friend on a beach... well, it's worth repeating!
Vacay
Vacay
Vacay!
Sunset
Moon on the ocean
Condo
roadtrip
Enjoy!
Maggie
Friday, December 27, 2013
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Think Kit Day 26: I used a life line: food
Today's Think Kit topic is: Draw a self portrait. Get as abstract or as real as you like!
Uhhh, no. I have NO art ability at all so I went to the lifelines and the topic is: Did you eat an amazing meal this year? What did you eat? Who was with you?
Well, this year I did have a few amazing meals! I was able to go to Florida so I was in seafood heaven and I also had an amazing meal at a Brazilian Steak House in Indianapolis, downtown. It was so yummy!
Brazilian Steak House: There's a large salad bar with more than just salad: all sorts of seafood and veggies. All so yummy. I loved the variety of cheese and breads/ crackers. Everything was also presented beautifully.
I'd never been to one before so I was tickled at the fact it was all the meat I wanted to have. Delicious. While I think I could go through life as a vegetarian this place is what makes me still be a carnivore. Lamb, all sorts of steaks, chops.... oh so yummy! The side dishes weren't the best but between the all I could eat meat options and the stunning salad bar, I was so food happy. It was so nice to have my boyfriends take me here!
My BFF Photographer and I spent a week in Florida and all food was amazing. Fresh seafood every day. Need I say more?!? I could eat my weight in shrimp and crab and I really tried! There isn't one place we went that stands out as the best but it was all good!
Yay FOOD!
Maggie
Uhhh, no. I have NO art ability at all so I went to the lifelines and the topic is: Did you eat an amazing meal this year? What did you eat? Who was with you?
Well, this year I did have a few amazing meals! I was able to go to Florida so I was in seafood heaven and I also had an amazing meal at a Brazilian Steak House in Indianapolis, downtown. It was so yummy!
Brazilian Steak House: There's a large salad bar with more than just salad: all sorts of seafood and veggies. All so yummy. I loved the variety of cheese and breads/ crackers. Everything was also presented beautifully.
I'd never been to one before so I was tickled at the fact it was all the meat I wanted to have. Delicious. While I think I could go through life as a vegetarian this place is what makes me still be a carnivore. Lamb, all sorts of steaks, chops.... oh so yummy! The side dishes weren't the best but between the all I could eat meat options and the stunning salad bar, I was so food happy. It was so nice to have my boyfriends take me here!
My BFF Photographer and I spent a week in Florida and all food was amazing. Fresh seafood every day. Need I say more?!? I could eat my weight in shrimp and crab and I really tried! There isn't one place we went that stands out as the best but it was all good!
Yay FOOD!
Maggie
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Think Kit Day 25: Merry Christmas
Think Kit: Share a photo from your year that highlights giving, thankfulness, traditions, or finding peace.
*I didn't actually write this post today but have been back logging post to catch up on the topics. I'm going to finish this project no matter what!
My son, my niece, and my 2 nephews at our traditional family Christmas gathering. I'm thankful for them, and the hope I have for the future lies with them which gives me peace. They're my family and I give thanks for them.
*I didn't actually write this post today but have been back logging post to catch up on the topics. I'm going to finish this project no matter what!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Think Kit Day 24: Grateful
Think Kit Topic: What are you grateful for this year?
Family. Friends. Good health. Safety. Security. Creativity.
That was an easy one...
Maggie
Family. Friends. Good health. Safety. Security. Creativity.
That was an easy one...
Maggie
Monday, December 23, 2013
Think Kit Day 23: Around my 'hood
Today's Think Kit topic: Look at your surroundings as if you're seeing
them for the first time – take a walk in your 'hood, explore your house,
or visit a favorite spot. What do you notice?
Winter is a time when we often don't think of things in the Midwest as very pretty. The grass, if not snow covered, is brown and dead. Trees are sans leaves. Houses' landscapes are barren. Mud.
I walked around and noticed that our neighborhood is a mix. People are lower-middle class. They take care of their homes, remodeling and doing "upkeep". People keep their lawns mowed. There's junk sitting on lawns or porches.
All the houses are 2 story homes, mostly older, some even historic. We all have sidewalks in our neighborhood. The sidewalk is bumpy and cracked. We have huge trees on the treelawns and the root systems are buckling the sidewalks. I know how "bad" this is but I like the texture this adds to the neighborhood. It's part of the quirks.
I worry about the huge branch that hangs over our front porch. The tree is the neighbor's... I don't want the tree cut down, but if the neighbor could take care of the scary branch that would be great.
Our street is narrow and only one car can drive down in either direction if cars are parked along both sides, which they can do. We're right off a very main highway and sometimes people cut through using our road. Locals know to pull over but those not from the 'hood just drive like idiots.
That's the 'hood...
Maggie
*I didn't actually write this post today but have been back logging post to catch up on the topics. I'm going to finish this project no matter what!
Winter is a time when we often don't think of things in the Midwest as very pretty. The grass, if not snow covered, is brown and dead. Trees are sans leaves. Houses' landscapes are barren. Mud.
I walked around and noticed that our neighborhood is a mix. People are lower-middle class. They take care of their homes, remodeling and doing "upkeep". People keep their lawns mowed. There's junk sitting on lawns or porches.
All the houses are 2 story homes, mostly older, some even historic. We all have sidewalks in our neighborhood. The sidewalk is bumpy and cracked. We have huge trees on the treelawns and the root systems are buckling the sidewalks. I know how "bad" this is but I like the texture this adds to the neighborhood. It's part of the quirks.
I worry about the huge branch that hangs over our front porch. The tree is the neighbor's... I don't want the tree cut down, but if the neighbor could take care of the scary branch that would be great.
Our street is narrow and only one car can drive down in either direction if cars are parked along both sides, which they can do. We're right off a very main highway and sometimes people cut through using our road. Locals know to pull over but those not from the 'hood just drive like idiots.
That's the 'hood...
Maggie
*I didn't actually write this post today but have been back logging post to catch up on the topics. I'm going to finish this project no matter what!
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Think Kit Day 22: Art
Think Kit topic day 22: Plan, outline, or mind-map a project you want to tackle in 2014.
I tried to use an online mindmapping tool to do this Think Kit topic, got really ticked off and said "screw it! I'm using a life line." And I am soooooo glad I did!
Smallbox LIFELINE: Was there an art experience that stood out this year? What did it look/feel/sound like? What other reactions did you notice?
For this to make sense, I need to give some background. I have no artistic ability whatsoever. I can't draw or paint or anything that most people consider "art"- no throwing pottery or sketching.
I love art, though. I think the thing I remember most of about junior high was the entire 9 weeks we spend on art history in our art class. I got an A; it was the only A I earned in art on my own or that wasn't given in pity 9or because of cheating- but that's a whole other blog post!) The rest of the class was bored out of their collective minds and I think my teacher was too because I distinctly remember his monotone. Every day we would come to class and he would dim the lights and show a slide after another after another. We had to write down the artist's name, time period he was alive, type of art style and medium used, influences, country of origin and the name of a famous piece of art she created. We also had to draw or in some way describe the art. I was mesmerized. I copied every bit of information eagerly and I could describe each painting in WORDS. I still remember tons of that information today.
My teen girl bedroom walls were dotted with several Degas ballerina posters after that.
Fast forward to the year I was able to work in my Master's degree (that I still do not have). It was taking liberal arts courses and one class was about folk art, which I had no idea was an art form. And part of that was the class, too- is folk art actually 'art'? I became completely enamored in the idea of folk art, which is often considered women's art so it's not really art, especially that of quilting. I wrote an entire thesis on this topic, complete with a 30 minute presentation of my paper.
When I moved into my first post-divorce/ post CanadaSam house, I hung Impressionist prints on my walls and a huge Georgia O'Keeffe because I liked the colors. I had Impressionist after Impressionist calendars on office walls, or printed Monet on a mousepad or van Gogh post-it notes or Renoir note cards.
If I had just had scads of loose money laying about, I'd go back to college to get a BA in art history because I love the knowledge of art.
Obviously, I have a thing about art. And I swear if you keep meandering along with me here, I'll get to how this relates to 2013... but hey, this whole think kit thing is about introspection and self -reflection so... *ahem* but I digress.
In 2006 I went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. It was the first time I've gone to an art museum as an adult. (the summer I spend in NYC after high school graduation didn't count at me going as an 'adult' even though I was 18. I didn't appreciate the experience at the time; I was just having a great time In the Big Apple- what did I know?) It was in February but unseasonably warm that time of year. I went alone. Long story as to why I was even in the city but I was. I had a day to myself and thought I's visit some museums- gee, such a novel approach when visiting the capital of our country, right?
I wandered around. I was awestruck the moment I walked in the door. I just sort of roamed room to room, my mouth agape. I would see a painting and think, "Is that real?" or "That's FAMOUS!" which seems really silly. Then I came to the Impressionist wing.
I was breathless. I was speechless. I was numb and practically immobile. Because there, just mere inches from my fingertips were famous paintings I'd been fascinated with my whole life.RIGHT THERE! Actually PAINTED and TOUCHED and CREATED by van Gogh and Rembrandt and Degas and Renoir and Monet and all the rest. IN THE SAME ROOM. WITH ME! I couldn't help it. I cried. And not touching little, quaint tears, but sobbed and snotted. I had 2 guards ask me if I was okay and I'm trying to explain the overwhelming beauty to them, right there, in front of me. Me, just a small town girl from the Midwest in the same room with famous paintings that has survived wars and centuries and... well, at least they didn't kick me out of the museum but I think they were more worried about me than your average tourist. I was shaking and crying in awe over the beauty of it all, right there, for anyone to look at. I didn't have to be rich or famous or special. All I had to have was the curiosity to look. That was all. I was as equal as the millionaire or the homeless man and we could all look at the exact same painting of Monet's The Japanese Footbridge no matter who we were. I just can't seem to describe it to this day. It seems silly, I'm sure, but I was so overcome with the beauty of what I was seeing and all the reality and realness and who I was, the place and time... not many years after our nation mourned, and I was there. I still don't have words.
Now go to this year, to 2013. I discovered the IMA, or the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It's free to visit (except for the traveling special exhibits) and I'm broke so it started as a once rainy afternoon activity. Then it became a habit and a favorite haunt in the city.
First time I went, I roamed around, much like I did when I was at the NGA in DC. Then I came to the impressionist room and again, I was overcome with emotion. Again, Renior and Degas and van Gogh. This time in Indianapolis. In the Midwest. Again these artists who shaped my love of art, of the classics. I walked quietly through the gallery, tears rolling (this time no snot or scared guards) as I was overcome again with such beauty offered to one and all, equality for the curious, for the seeker.
IMA because my haunt this year since I spent a great deal of time in Indy. I found I would go several times a month, walk around and then save the Impressionists and European artists for last. I'd walk through, practically holding my breath, find a bench in front of of my favorite painting, Monet's Charring Cross Bridge, right beside a Degas sculpture. I'd sit there and stare at the works in front of me and daydream or think. Sometimes I'd write letters to friends. Once in awhile I'd read. I just wanted to "be" with the art. Make sure it was still there. Let it know I cared.
Maggie
(and I did have my own encounter with canvas and wine in 2013... but that's a post for later, too!)
I tried to use an online mindmapping tool to do this Think Kit topic, got really ticked off and said "screw it! I'm using a life line." And I am soooooo glad I did!
Smallbox LIFELINE: Was there an art experience that stood out this year? What did it look/feel/sound like? What other reactions did you notice?
For this to make sense, I need to give some background. I have no artistic ability whatsoever. I can't draw or paint or anything that most people consider "art"- no throwing pottery or sketching.
I love art, though. I think the thing I remember most of about junior high was the entire 9 weeks we spend on art history in our art class. I got an A; it was the only A I earned in art on my own or that wasn't given in pity 9or because of cheating- but that's a whole other blog post!) The rest of the class was bored out of their collective minds and I think my teacher was too because I distinctly remember his monotone. Every day we would come to class and he would dim the lights and show a slide after another after another. We had to write down the artist's name, time period he was alive, type of art style and medium used, influences, country of origin and the name of a famous piece of art she created. We also had to draw or in some way describe the art. I was mesmerized. I copied every bit of information eagerly and I could describe each painting in WORDS. I still remember tons of that information today.
My teen girl bedroom walls were dotted with several Degas ballerina posters after that.
Fast forward to the year I was able to work in my Master's degree (that I still do not have). It was taking liberal arts courses and one class was about folk art, which I had no idea was an art form. And part of that was the class, too- is folk art actually 'art'? I became completely enamored in the idea of folk art, which is often considered women's art so it's not really art, especially that of quilting. I wrote an entire thesis on this topic, complete with a 30 minute presentation of my paper.
When I moved into my first post-divorce/ post CanadaSam house, I hung Impressionist prints on my walls and a huge Georgia O'Keeffe because I liked the colors. I had Impressionist after Impressionist calendars on office walls, or printed Monet on a mousepad or van Gogh post-it notes or Renoir note cards.
If I had just had scads of loose money laying about, I'd go back to college to get a BA in art history because I love the knowledge of art.
Obviously, I have a thing about art. And I swear if you keep meandering along with me here, I'll get to how this relates to 2013... but hey, this whole think kit thing is about introspection and self -reflection so... *ahem* but I digress.
In 2006 I went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. It was the first time I've gone to an art museum as an adult. (the summer I spend in NYC after high school graduation didn't count at me going as an 'adult' even though I was 18. I didn't appreciate the experience at the time; I was just having a great time In the Big Apple- what did I know?) It was in February but unseasonably warm that time of year. I went alone. Long story as to why I was even in the city but I was. I had a day to myself and thought I's visit some museums- gee, such a novel approach when visiting the capital of our country, right?
I wandered around. I was awestruck the moment I walked in the door. I just sort of roamed room to room, my mouth agape. I would see a painting and think, "Is that real?" or "That's FAMOUS!" which seems really silly. Then I came to the Impressionist wing.
I was breathless. I was speechless. I was numb and practically immobile. Because there, just mere inches from my fingertips were famous paintings I'd been fascinated with my whole life.RIGHT THERE! Actually PAINTED and TOUCHED and CREATED by van Gogh and Rembrandt and Degas and Renoir and Monet and all the rest. IN THE SAME ROOM. WITH ME! I couldn't help it. I cried. And not touching little, quaint tears, but sobbed and snotted. I had 2 guards ask me if I was okay and I'm trying to explain the overwhelming beauty to them, right there, in front of me. Me, just a small town girl from the Midwest in the same room with famous paintings that has survived wars and centuries and... well, at least they didn't kick me out of the museum but I think they were more worried about me than your average tourist. I was shaking and crying in awe over the beauty of it all, right there, for anyone to look at. I didn't have to be rich or famous or special. All I had to have was the curiosity to look. That was all. I was as equal as the millionaire or the homeless man and we could all look at the exact same painting of Monet's The Japanese Footbridge no matter who we were. I just can't seem to describe it to this day. It seems silly, I'm sure, but I was so overcome with the beauty of what I was seeing and all the reality and realness and who I was, the place and time... not many years after our nation mourned, and I was there. I still don't have words.
Now go to this year, to 2013. I discovered the IMA, or the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It's free to visit (except for the traveling special exhibits) and I'm broke so it started as a once rainy afternoon activity. Then it became a habit and a favorite haunt in the city.
First time I went, I roamed around, much like I did when I was at the NGA in DC. Then I came to the impressionist room and again, I was overcome with emotion. Again, Renior and Degas and van Gogh. This time in Indianapolis. In the Midwest. Again these artists who shaped my love of art, of the classics. I walked quietly through the gallery, tears rolling (this time no snot or scared guards) as I was overcome again with such beauty offered to one and all, equality for the curious, for the seeker.
IMA because my haunt this year since I spent a great deal of time in Indy. I found I would go several times a month, walk around and then save the Impressionists and European artists for last. I'd walk through, practically holding my breath, find a bench in front of of my favorite painting, Monet's Charring Cross Bridge, right beside a Degas sculpture. I'd sit there and stare at the works in front of me and daydream or think. Sometimes I'd write letters to friends. Once in awhile I'd read. I just wanted to "be" with the art. Make sure it was still there. Let it know I cared.
Maggie
(and I did have my own encounter with canvas and wine in 2013... but that's a post for later, too!)
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Think Kit Day 21: Repeat after me...
Think Kit Day 21: Write a mantra for the year ahead – how you'll approach it, what you wish it to be.
When I first read this prompt I had several thoughts at once, my ADD brain taking over and all my little voices in my head screaming something different at one time: "get a job" and "be better" and "don't sweat the small stuff." Just bam- bam- bam all these thoughts came to me at once.
Then I started typing and this post was going in a different direction and I started having "wait a minute" type of thoughts.
First, I have a job. I work part-time in a public school library. I'm in charge of the art club. I'm the prom sponsor. I run the Literary Club. I also work part-time every third weekend as a second shift receptionist. None of these things adds up to full time, and none of them offer health insurance. BUT I have a job. I should clarify: I want to find my career niche with a professional position that I would enjoy and could work at until I retire. I'd like for it to be full-time and offer health insurance and other benefits (401K, PTO time, dental/vision insurance among others). I need to stay positive and do a career search. I need someone who knows something about resume writing to help me (for free or at a very low cost) re-do or make it stronger. I need to broaden my search locations but narrow the field. I apply for anything and everything that may sound remotely interesting but not something that might become a career or have longevity. I need to have some focus and make better choices when it comes to applying for positions. (And I'd appreciate help if anyone wants to re-work my resume or would like to comb CareerBuilders and go ahead and apply for jobs for me, I'd be happy for the help!!!)
Second, "be better." This popped in my head and when I think about it... I don't even know what I meant. Be better at what? A better friend? Daughter? Mom? Employee? Girlfriend? Person? Listener? Empathizer? Whine less? Complain less? Be more positive? Less negative? Be more active? Hopeful? Observant? Full of grace? Be better at what I keep thinking to myself. I guess I just want to be a better person. It's something I think I'll know when I feel it or see it. My friend Kyle at work said to me today one thing he wants to do is role model for his employees what he wants from his supervisors. He tries to listen more, talk less, put his phone away, and give positive feedback and not just negative. It struck a chord with me-- maybe I'll see and hear things in other people that I want to mirror back, to the "world" around me...
Third, I have so many big things happening in my life all the time that feel very weighty to me, I have a tendency to sweat the small stuff. The book entitled Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and it's All Small Stuff is so wrong. It is all NOT small. But I need to realize that my life does have small stuff that I need to relax about. I don't have to repeat it to someone else, double check everything, let my OCD organizational skills run rampant. I need to do a better job at picking what is a 'small stuff' and just letting it do, saying no, not worrying and walk away.
So after all that... maybe my mantra, to sum it all up in 2014... should be "Make Better Choices."
Maggie
When I first read this prompt I had several thoughts at once, my ADD brain taking over and all my little voices in my head screaming something different at one time: "get a job" and "be better" and "don't sweat the small stuff." Just bam- bam- bam all these thoughts came to me at once.
Then I started typing and this post was going in a different direction and I started having "wait a minute" type of thoughts.
First, I have a job. I work part-time in a public school library. I'm in charge of the art club. I'm the prom sponsor. I run the Literary Club. I also work part-time every third weekend as a second shift receptionist. None of these things adds up to full time, and none of them offer health insurance. BUT I have a job. I should clarify: I want to find my career niche with a professional position that I would enjoy and could work at until I retire. I'd like for it to be full-time and offer health insurance and other benefits (401K, PTO time, dental/vision insurance among others). I need to stay positive and do a career search. I need someone who knows something about resume writing to help me (for free or at a very low cost) re-do or make it stronger. I need to broaden my search locations but narrow the field. I apply for anything and everything that may sound remotely interesting but not something that might become a career or have longevity. I need to have some focus and make better choices when it comes to applying for positions. (And I'd appreciate help if anyone wants to re-work my resume or would like to comb CareerBuilders and go ahead and apply for jobs for me, I'd be happy for the help!!!)
Second, "be better." This popped in my head and when I think about it... I don't even know what I meant. Be better at what? A better friend? Daughter? Mom? Employee? Girlfriend? Person? Listener? Empathizer? Whine less? Complain less? Be more positive? Less negative? Be more active? Hopeful? Observant? Full of grace? Be better at what I keep thinking to myself. I guess I just want to be a better person. It's something I think I'll know when I feel it or see it. My friend Kyle at work said to me today one thing he wants to do is role model for his employees what he wants from his supervisors. He tries to listen more, talk less, put his phone away, and give positive feedback and not just negative. It struck a chord with me-- maybe I'll see and hear things in other people that I want to mirror back, to the "world" around me...
Third, I have so many big things happening in my life all the time that feel very weighty to me, I have a tendency to sweat the small stuff. The book entitled Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and it's All Small Stuff is so wrong. It is all NOT small. But I need to realize that my life does have small stuff that I need to relax about. I don't have to repeat it to someone else, double check everything, let my OCD organizational skills run rampant. I need to do a better job at picking what is a 'small stuff' and just letting it do, saying no, not worrying and walk away.
So after all that... maybe my mantra, to sum it all up in 2014... should be "Make Better Choices."
Maggie
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