Changing Form

So this month I am taking on Gala Darlings Icing Transformation Challenge in an attempt to focus my energy in a more fruitful direction. I was kinda already doing this, (since January 1st actually) but this way I have less wiggle room for copping out. My goal for this challenge is to work on my photography and dance in some form, every day. Without even remembering the challenge I got a good head start on Sunday by tagging and posting a temporary portfolio to Flickr. Then last night got away from me as I reconnected with a few family members on Facebook, and The Man was sick. I had to take care of him, his throat hurt! :-(

I am really excited to see how much progress I make, I didn't set an end goal because I thought it might be too much pressure. I respond to pressure pretty well actually, but I put a lot of it on myself already. If it gets out of hand I run and hide, then the project is abandoned. Add to this I am working on a couple other things right now too, and the whole thing could go caput! I really don't like that Idea, getting further with my art is really important to me.

So the bonus for you guys is I now have a large selection of photos on Flickr, and a large pool of other peoples pictures to link to! So the blog can only get prettier! YAY! And y'all are thinking, "where have you been? Flickr has been around since, like, forever!" I know, I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do with mine yet. But now it there, YAY AGAIN!

I would definitely recommend you think of taking on the challenge yourself, you might find you like the results. It doesn't have to be a big change, (it could be as small as drinking more water) but it is always good to mix up life and try to improve oneself.

If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.
-Thomas Edison

Lame

Hello,
So sorry for the lack of updates; I have been rather sick. It's so lame, I hate being sick. This one sucks more because it's the longest I have been sick in like, forever. I pride myself on my immune system, I'm normally only ill for 3 days tops. This has been 6 days so far, and I'm not sure it's done.
(Image: Elizabeth Huston)

I feel a little better today, but my body is so tired. I haven't gotten as much sleep as I need to get rid of this I know, but I have 3 projects I am trying to finish and I still have to go to my day job. I only get about 4 hours of sleep right now and my body is begging for a break, the thing is I don't see one on the horizon. I will let you know all the details on those exciting projects that keep me up all night soon. Till then, enjoy the links that have made me happy this week. And take your vitamins, this cold is going around!

♥
Elizabeth Huston
This Los Angeles based photographer blows my mind. Everything she photographs looks so amazing. Her self portraits were shot using expired film, and make it look like she is standing in some kind of otherworldly atmosphere! Beauty! To boot she is an awesome chick, with a fierce tattoo collection! :)

♦
Erowid
This place is beautiful, and tell you all you ever wanted to know about the mind altering effects of psychoactive plants, and man made drugs! This place is wonderful, in a non-biased way they present the facts on drugs themselves. You click on a drug, it brings up a beautifully photographed example, and then underneath are links to more photos, the basic information, the law concerning it, the effects it has on your mind, the chemistry involved; and lots more. I am not advocating drug use here, and I don't believe you should go use any substance just because this site provides pretty pictures. I do believe this site is informative, and presents the information in the most interesting way possible. As with all things in life, education is power.

♦
ClassifiedSent
This is an awesome little place like craiglist, but with more focus on community. It is all about people coming together to buy and sell stuff in their own neighborhoods. Always use your best judgement when meeting people off the internet, meet in public places or have a friend with you.

♦
Free Rice
Great game!
You guess at the meaning of the word provided and for each one you get right, the UN World Food Program donates 10 grains of rice to people in improvised countries. I play till I have 4 or 5 bowls of rice donated, how can you not feel good about that?!

♦
Audrey Kawasaki
In a word, breathtaking. Oh wait, is that actually two words? It doesn't matter, this girl rocks my socks off! She creates the most beautiful shiny, creamy, vacant-eyed love children you have ever seen. Many are painted onto beautifully stained wood, the effect making the ethereal creatures transparent. What bliss for the eyes!


Well, I am going to get back to the insane pace my life has taken on this week and continue to drink copious amounts of green tea. I will be back soon with updates, what has you in love with life this week my darlings?

~Sydney

Forget your troubles

Sorry for the lack of content, new things coming soon. Till then...
GET HAPPY!

this makes me happy

more animals

Beat the slump

"Appreciate what you have now and you'll probably discover that the grass isn't always greener." -From the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff box calender

I am in a funk today, a real slump. Some of it is because I'm tired, some because I am the PMS monster, some because I am a little overwhelmed by all of life. I wouldn't usually write on these type of days, (I don't want the pity that is inevitable in complaining, and I don't like the sound of me complaining) but I had to to tell you what happened. I haven't posted in a week and was googling tips on how to feel happy, and just in reading them and deciding that I wanted to feel better...it worked! Now I am not like, jumping up and down singing on the mountain top happy; but my mood has shifted. I feel like it is not so unmanageable now, where 10 minutes ago I just wanted to go crawl back into bed and wait for tomorrow.

The quote from my new calender at the top of the page helped a lot, I googled "how to feel happy" and read a few of the things I found (links at the bottom) and went for a walk to the building next door (same company) for a coffee drink. I am only gonna drink part of it probably, because I had a fruit and yogurt parfait from McDonald's for breakfast. I am trying to avoid as much sugar as possible right now in the attempt to eat healthier. But that little jolt of caffeine helps, the walk help elevate my blood pressure a little, and the quote and links help me realize (once again...because it always takes longer than you think it will to change your frame of mind) that my life ain't so freaking bad!

Be-Confident -This is a Wiki-how, and I know some people have a problem with Wikipedia because it is written by regular people and not professionals. But I like it, so there.

Cultivating a positive attitude - I just found this blog while searching for this post, and I love it! I love his example about the fighting monkeys, it makes so much sense!

~Sydney

Get a hobby!

Do you ever feel like doing nothing?

Getting off of work, out of school, or away from the corner you beg for change at, and want to just curl up in a ball in front of the T.V.?

Do you have a hobby?

Something you enjoy doing at your leisure, like dance, cooking, or reading?

If you only said yes to the first question, I would highly recommend doing something about the second.

My hobbies are what I am thankful for today, because they get me outside of my head. The thoughts in our heads are not always rational, or are sometimes caused by emotions. This is where they can snowball into depression, panic attacks, and all kinds of other icky-ness. We use our rational thinking to decide whether these thoughts are valid, then act accordingly. But there are times when the rational thinking doesn't work right, or there is no time for it, or you are overwhelmed with the situation at hand. Things you have to do are accomplished on complete auto-pilot while our brains work away at what's really bothering us. Many people then wildly exaggerate how bad or imposable a situation is when they try to get a hold of it by preparing for the worst.

"I'll just tell the boss that I missed Fed-Ex cut off time, and uber-huge, mega-important

client's tapes are still sitting on the counter. He'll get mad and yell, I'll get written up

and it'll be fine. Worst case scenario. I can totally handle this, what's a little yelling?"

Gets added onto and added onto until you're thinking:

"But then what if uber-huge, mega-important client convinces the boss to fire me? What if I go home and tell the domestic partner and he-she leaves me? What if I don't get another job and can't pay the rent? Then I become all homeless and smelly and I never have sex again!"

EEEEKKK!

Before you know it you have a head ache, your all grumpy, and you've spent up all your concentration on things that are unlikely to occur.

Don't panic! This is where your hobby comes in!

Pick up your guitar, open that book, or bust out that dance move and watch as the frustration melts. Because now you have something else to be frustrated about!

Seriously, that is why it works; you re-direct your thinking. You direct it to something you enjoy, even if you don't enjoy it right then. And the first problem goes away. Get lost in it and really try to concentrate on what you are doing now. Focus. Give your self about a half hour if you're crunched for time, if you have an hour though-all the better!

Then, go back to that crisis. Keep your head in the hobby place for a moment and get a grip. What you really don't want to do right now is recall that anxious feeling that went with the problem you were trying to work out. Keep calm, breath, work it out. It will be much easier now I bet to find an answer that really works.

~Sydney

Change your mind, change your life

Happy New Year!
Welcome 2009, you couldn't have gotten here sooner!

I don't have a lot of time right now, it's my first day back at work and I need to file...(oh for joy! blah) but in an effort to surround myself with good advice and sound ways of thinking for the new year, I bought Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Box Calendar. Based off the book by the same name that has become so popular. Today I am gonna give you a little peak, the first 5 pages have a theme, and it so totally clicks with the way I am re-working my thinking!

Jan. 1
"Just like a garden that flourishes best under certain conditions, your home operates more smoothly when the emotional climate is well thought out"

Jan. 2
"The creation of an emotional climate has more to do with your inner preferences than your external environment. Try to keep unnecessary rushing around to a minimum."

Jan. 3
"Give yourself an extra ten minutes to get yourself and your family to your appointments"

Jan. 4
"When your done with one activity, leave a little earlier for the next one. Try to schedule your activities, work, play, and everything else a little further apart"

Jan. 5
"You may indeed be a very busy person, but remember that filling your head with thoughts of how overwhelmed you are only exacerbates the problem by making you feel even more stressed than you already do."

Some of it is just common sense, and it all seems so simple. But how many of us overlook the simplest things because we are living in our own head?

~Sydney