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.

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

the cure for the common blog

Peggy Olson is so awesome. : )

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.

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.