Sunday, December 12, 2010

Creative Kicks

"According to University of Texas professor Elizabeth Vandewater, for every hour a kid regularly watches television, his overall time in creative activities—from fantasy play to arts projects—drops as much as 11 percent."

I came across this article after a weekend of plenty of holiday parties (too much wine) and lots of television (too much television). Between the two activities, I had little energy left to get exciting about a freelance project, to write for me, to call my family, or to pick up a new book.

I did, however, have enough energy to browse the internets in search of something fun, engaging, inspiring. It started with potential travel destinations, then potential apartments, then potential ways to kick today's feeling. This quote make me want to kick my TV out, too.

Read the rest of the article here.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Life can happen really quickly if you're not careful. But if you're TOO careful, it seems to drag, drag, drag along. You'll end up second-guessing all of the choices you've made. But what's the point in that? I think one thing I'm proud of (there are MANY, FYI) is that I've been good at just living with what I've got. Being happy with my life. Finding good things all over the place. Hoping a few other things fall into place, too, but that will all happen in good time. And if it doesn't all fall into place so neat and perfectly, that's OK, too.

xo,

lori

Thursday, October 14, 2010

the cure for the common blog


Peggy Olson is so awesome. : )

Sunday, September 26, 2010

that guilty feeling


(Almost) everyone knows what's it's like to feel hungover.

Most people know what it feels like to eat too much, too. The food is just so good (or maybe you just have a need to clean your plate) and you don't stop when your stomach starts to say, "hey! what are you doing? i'm over it." It seemed like a good idea at the time...

So we can have too much alcohol, and too much food. How about too much TV? Or too much "contemplating your past/present/future." I had one of those weekends. I ran into someone from my past, and it put me in this funk for the rest of the weekend. Not that they (arguably) have the same impact on me, but it just brought up these questions of who I was then and how I respond to things now. I've been so busy and feeling so good lately, and this weekend just did a number on me. Hopefully I can shake it off.

I don't think I have a very strong point to raise, but I do like to stumble back over to this blog whenever I feel the need to purge.

Sorry for the mess.

xo,

lori

p.s. Funny enough, this was the bottle in my bag when I ran into said person. Chosen by a coworker & I based on the clever title and good design.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

up, up & away

It's been three months since my last post! I wish I could tell you I spent it in Argentina or Bali, or Nepal or Italy. Maybe I was taking language classes, or building a house for a family in need or teaching kids how to write (or type) or just stretching out in the warm golden sun.

Maybe I was labouring away, day after day, on a collection of short stories about life in my hometown. Or maybe I started with the story of a tangled friendship, teetering between love and being alone. I could have been writing in my diary every night before bed, or updating another blog in a browser far, far away.

Imagine I cooked elaborate feasts for friends and family, or grew a small collection of produce on my sunlit patio. I could have put on party dresses and a smile, and worked a crowded room effortlessly and naturally, all on my own.

Maybe I wasn't afraid of failure or risks -- or anything, anything at all.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Remember that scene...

When Amelie is making dinner all by herself? And she imagines that Nino is coming home to dine with her, and she hears a sound and smiles... but it's just the cat that's making noise?

I kind of feel like Amelie in that moment. Well, just for the last couple of weeks (but no, I don't have a cat). I've been relatively withdrawn and not particularly engaged with any people, places or things. Probably a little bit lonely. Perhaps it's just the month going out like a lamb, or maybe it's a reminder to search for things that pique my interest a little bit more.

I think I'm nostalgic for European getaways and random strolls through Paris, meeting strangers and not quite knowing what's around the corner. See, I always know what's around the corner from my apartment. Well, except I did find out an interesting fella lives just down the street, but but but...who knows.

Well, gotta go. Tonight is all about wine and New York, I Love You. (Sorry, Paris).

xo,

lori

Sunday, March 7, 2010

It only takes five minutes


to clean your house.

Well, sort of.

I went to "The Art of Marketing" conference in Toronto last week, and heard from one of the Heath brothers. (They have a column in Fast Company magazine, and have written two books. Yay, brothers!)

Anyways, at one point in their book Switch, they talk about why it's so difficult to clean your house. The task always seems daunting when you put it off too long, but they offered a different way of looking at it. Putting away a dish is not terribly dreadful, but putting away 27 dishes just might be. So the idea is to create small challenges. Set a timer for just five minutes, and start cleaning up. After five minutes, you can stop -- although it's more likely that you'll continue on, and rest easier/happier because you've taken care of your place.

I have guests coming over for the Oscars tonight, but somehow I've lost touch with my ability to properly host a party. My place is still a mess and I haven't picked up alcohol or food. Oops.
Well, I'm going to go set that timer now.
But I better have more than five minutes in me. ; )

xo,

lori
UPDATE: I set it for 10 minute (so ambitious!) and it worked. But then I got bored and took a break. But then set it (again!) for 20 minutes. And then I got bored and came to update my blog. OK, now it's time to set it for 30, and see if I can finish it off. xo.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Apathy or Boredom?


I've been neither apathetic nor bored this month, but that was a major theme in The Trotsky, a spectacular film by Jacob Tierney. You must see it when it comes out in May. I went as part of TIFF's Top 10 Canadian Films of 2009, and since I've been away from the blog for a bit, I'll document the Top 10 things of 2010 (so far).

In no particular order...

1. The above film. Yay! Also, love listening to director q&a's after a film. It reminds me of how much work & heart went into a project, and it makes me so proud of and happy for complete strangers. Is that weird?

2. The musical The Sound of Music. I still haven't watched the movie (one day, maybe), but I wanted to see it on stage before it said so long to Toronto. It was so very cute.

3. The 3-day green smoothie cleanse. The first major personal challenge of the year. I am proud of and happy for myself. Little steps like these remind me that I am capable of so much more than I sometimes think.

4. My work. The first week back I was rather bored (not apathetic). The second week my boss was back and I was inspired. I was also pulled aside and given a special gift for my work as of late, which was completely unexpected yet entirely appreciated.

5. My friends. I've been able to spend some quality one-on-one time with many of my favourite people, some of whom I was less connected to in 2009. It's funny how friendships have their own ebb and flow and peaks and valleys.

6. My alone time. I really enjoy nights when it's just me, a warm bath and a great book.

7. The 1st annual Golden Balls. I think I blushed just typing that, but it's taking place on Sunday and it's a theme party for the Golden Globes (all food must be in a spherical shape). What's more fun than a theme party?

8. My time in the kitchen. When asked what my NY resolution was, the first thing that came to mind was "I want to be like a '50s housewife, but for me. I want to be better at cooking and cleaning and maybe even sewing (though that's a stretch)." I've spent lots of time in the kitchen developing my culinary skills.

9. Yoga. I think that it kind of changed my perspective on life. Since I started regular classes in the spring of 2009, I've changed a lot of other things about myself. I think that I've grown a lot, but also somehow returned to being that bright-eyed girl before all the bad stuff went down.

10. This post. I miss taking time to just write about the things I'm thinking about, whether or not they change the world. Maybe they'll change the way you think about some things, and that can't be bad, right?

xo
lori