9 things i forget to remember

I have been acting like a hermit lately...for no good reason; but this morning I woke up to some inspiration. I felt a small voiceless something-or-other fluttering around inside. So I turned up Cat Stevens and cooked myself breakfast and felt like it was time to put down some ideas.

In my self absorption, I have forgotten to remember that....

• I love Cat Stevens and I need to "listen to the wind" too.

• Enjoying being alone does not always have to include netflix, pinterest, a book and facebook...and then some more facebook.

http://hollow-moon.tumblr.com/post/3481404951

• The feeling of being fit gives me more back than the feeling of laying on the couch. (but I can't ever seem to remember this)

• Eating healthy is a moment to moment choice and if the moments after i eat keep feeling yukky, then it is time to pay attention again to what I am eating.

• It may take me years longer than it takes another person, but i am taking steps towards following my bliss. Sometimes the steps are hiding or I forget the desire is there, but it always finds me again and tugs on my heart and mind.

http://scribbles-on-pictures.tumblr.com/post/18656588325

• Small manageable steps serve me better than being able to say "Hey guys, I just leapt off a cliff and it went pretty darn well." 

• My friends and loved ones are always silently and loudly supporting me. I just need to tune into that feeling more often.

• Real conversations vs. funky misspelled texts go the distance in helping me connect and feel loved. When I don't answer the phone, you don't feel loved either.

• I already have what it takes to be a vital, alive, strong, connective, free, blissful person. It fills me with a quiet sadness when I forget this.

...but now I remember again. xoxo

ps. hat made by my lovely sister-in-law, Hilarie Dahlhauser
pss. some of these images are from my pinterest boards. I hope the links will tell you who took the photos. I am still learning about tech stuff.

these things i love...

these things i love.

SAM is getting old and gets sick off and on, but his eyes still say the same intense gentle message. persistently he says, i love you; i see you...i know you love me.

ASHEVILLE does not get old. i walk to the bus in the morning and still see the leaves on the ground or a bird hidden in the brush. i witness and soak up the unbelievable amount of green that lives and breathes here. there are still sirens, stressful days, and long sighs; but far less than when i lived in big cities. here there is still a feeling of stumbling upon a secret garden. a place to call home.

BANJO is the dog i never knew existed, ready to be adored every single moment you are in his presence. he is a most amazing housemate. a steady, soulful fox-like sweet heart.

HART is my heart. it is as simple and as beautiful as that. he shines. he listens. he embodies a partner. he inspires me to take care of myself and acknowledge how easy it can be to let go of the small stuff that weighs you down.

my FRIENDS and FAMILY. they love me no matter how long it has been since we have visited. when i go into my turtle shell because the world is too loud, they are still there when i come out. and when we dance in the streets, or make a scene because we are busy celebrating the vibrancy of living, i love these times.

life is so large in some moments that i have to touch the ground with my naked feet to know that it is real. to know that it is ok for love to feel so huge. for people to be so immensely kind and authentic. 

 i finally get the message that no matter how you look at things or where you came from, you BELONG.

Life...recently

Recently...Life has moved fast. I married the partner I have always wanted to have. I decorated several weddings back to back with loads of paper flowers, lanterns and more paper flowers...and I expanded my  'HillyTree' booth to a 10ft. x 10ft. size.

...easier said than done. I am learning that slow and steady along with inspired, wins the race...and yet some nights I just come home and want to stare at the walls to decompress from my day job.

I am just starting to learn to weed through my limitations and then respond; like when I really will paint vs. when I just keep putting it on my to do list out in the ether somewhere. Or...how will I save money to start slowly buying some supplies for my future Shop. I am also currently struggling with how to fill the booth with enough merchandise and stand out in a town of incredible artists...how to stay true to the free spirit inside.

The blessing is that I have begun to start clearly hearing my deeper down voice in all of these years of building small stepping stones. I still see the me who used to walk down the streets of Hoboken, NJ with the wind blowing in her hair; She would stop at a coffee shop and take out her pens and sketch images filled with joy and whimsical life force. She is still here. Heart beating in my ear... telling me " you have begun, the dream is forming, you can have your bliss ".

*first picture was taken in Johnson City, TN (not sure of who artist is)
*last picture is piece I found at yard sale (not sure who artist is)