Mister and I have been doing this thing where we have a list of actions that create well-being but so as to not overwhelm ourselves with yet another long list of tasks to add to our already long set, we keep each timed task item at about 15 minutes.  My list has 10 things on it like meditation, creative writing, drinking 10 cups of water a day, taking vitamins and sleeping at least 8 hours a night.  And then there are some things we do together like finances and sometimes working out.  I don’t always complete all 10 every day but at least I am a bit further along than I usually am and this way, I at least have a goal to work to creating balance and overall well-being in my life- little by little, everyday.  It’s like planting little magic well-being beans

"Well-being is attained little by little, and is no little thing itself." ~Zeno

What would our world look like if we thought about our inner and outer resources as our riches?

Here’s a wonderful excerpt from a book by an amazing woman, The Soul of Money by Lynn Twist.

"Deep in the sea there are riches beyond your imagination. But if you seek safety, that is at the shore." ~Saadi

One life changing thing I’ve learned – the outside mirrors the inside.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
~Carl Gustav Jung

“I am Me. In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it -- I own everything about me: my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself. I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears. I own my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes. Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me. By so doing, I can love me and be friendly with all my parts. I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know -- but as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and ways to find out more about me. However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I discarded. I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me. I own me, and therefore, I can engineer me. I am me, and I am Okay.” ~Virginia Satir

Sometimes, you just have to stop, be grateful for what you have (surely, there’s ALWAYS something to be thankful for) and with a smile of content, say to the world, “It’s all good.”  And then sometimes, you just have to get on a swing and with your feet in the air, thank your lucky blue skies and stars above !

"Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth." ~Martin H. Fischer

P.S. The artwork on the lower left corner is by an unknown artist that was painting today at Urban Scrawl, a new festival in Columbus Ohio.

Friends laugh when I order a hot chocolate after a long night of partying but soon as that steaming cup of choco-goodness comes with a foot of whipped cream on top, they all go, “OOOOOOOH! I want one too.” It is by far my favourite drink – even before champagne and a really good mojito. When I was a little girl, I practically lived off of hot chocolate and buttered, toasted pan de sal (Pilipino sweet rolls) because I was once a really finicky eater (this must come as a huge surprise to those that actually know me!).

I <3 you, chocolate- in all your luscious forms

“Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first, but keeps you warm for a long time.” ~Unknown

I found this little guy and it didn’t make me sad.  I know it’s a bit morbid but I felt happy to be able to capture him/her at point in one’s life.  To be forgotten in a parking lot of a supermarket would make for a sad ending but I’ve turned death into something – although I’m not sure what.

From one of my favourite poems of all time: "may my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living whatever they sing is better than to know " ~ e.e. cummings

P.S. The bird drawing was inspired by the birdy I found here.

The last two days have been blurring into each other due to sickness.  I’ve spent the last few days just like this…

I reckon, I’m an outlier when it comes to sleeping and reading.  To date, I’m the only person I know who can sleep at the drop of a hat – anywhere and anytime and I’m the only one I know who has read as many and as many varied types of books as I have.