Week 29

      I call it Sun Therapy. I've never understood that when you're sick and feeling crappy, you're supposed to lock yourself in your room or plant yourself on the couch in front of the TV. Reruns of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or House Hunters are blasting your brain cells and a mound of snotty Kleenex start to accumulate around your make-shift sick fort. The longer you lie on the couch, the more you feel yourself morph into that piece of furniture and the more difficult it becomes to un-glue yourself from that very spot. Then the TV sucks you into the vortex of drama, and you can't seem to turn it off. Suddenly you want to watch the next episode, then the next, and you have to see if they pick the house with the big backyard that's a fixer-upper or the overpriced bungalow that's move-in-ready. The crumpled up Kleenex mound quickly grows into a mountain, a mountain that barricades you into this tiny and rather depressing world you've created. 

    

      I found myself in this very unpleasant transfixed state this week, but luckily I remembered the best remedy I know: sunshine. Forget Dayquil or orange juice. Don't shut the blinds and bury yourself under the covers. Grab that box of Kleenex (and a small trash bin so you don't get engulfed under them), a big jug of coconut water, perhaps a book, and all the covers and pillows off your bed...then go outside.  You may need a mattress or a lounge chair, I personally go with my Metolious crash pad. Throw all that shit in a big pile where there is a large patch of sun shinning down through the trees and just hurl yourself into that heap of bedding. Yep, that's Sun Thearpy, and it's a hell of a lot better then the first option I described. I close my eyes and listen. The birds are doing that chirp thing they do. Out of one of my semi-un-stuffed nostrils I can kind of smell a mild scent of some jasmine flowers. I can feel a soft breeze blowing through my unwashed and tangled hair. After five hours of that, I suddenly don't feel so sick anymore. Well, maybe I still feel a little sick, but I just don't mind as much. 

  Oh yes, on a side note, I think it's important that I warn you that not everybody may understand this type of therapy. Just be prepared that if you called out sick from work, you may be given grief from your coworkers.

    "Oh you were sick, were ya?! That's a nice tan you got going there for being so sick..", they may say, teasing you with a skeptical eye. Don't fret, just tell them to read this blog. And go bask in the sun.

I figured that since I was joined by a few birds, some rather annoying ants, and even a few squirrels in my backyard, I would justify this as a social excursion, so I mustered the energy to put on my most comfortable white flowing dress for this session of Sun Therapy. 

Here I am selling my art a few days prior and looking a little less sick, but still in the sun and wearing a dress.Why did I EVER debate between moving to Hawaii or Oregon? DUH. 

Week 28

   This last week I started reading a book called The Happiness Project. Ever heard of it? I saw it sitting on a shelf at the Book Passage and it appealed to me immediately. Now, I consider myself a pretty darn happy person and those who know me well would most definitely agree. So why on Earth would I pick up a book in the self help aisle (especially when I can order it on Amazon without any public embarrassment)? Yes, I am happy, but I strongly believe there is always room for improvement. I'm happy, but I could be happier. Even the author, Gretchen Rubin admits that she was already content with her life but wanted more. In her book, she lays out a set of goals to make herself find more happiness each month over the course of a year.  As I started reading the book I continued to feel a connection to the author and to her own happiness project.
 
   For instance, in the 3rd chapter, Rubin encourages the audience to start a blog. She describes the joy and positive feedback she received after starting her own blog and suggests readers to do the same. Ha! I'm already on it girlfriend! Even her initial fears reflect my own. She explained how she was worried it may sound egocentric to write a blog about her own pursuit of happiness. I mean, come on, I'm in the same boat! Here I am, writing a blog about myself as I document pictures of myself in a dress. That does seem vainglorious. Why would anybody want to read all about me and my frivolous dresses? Well... I just aim provide a bit of humor because I'm a super silly person, and hopefully, I can even provide some tidbits of inspiration? But ultimately, I reckon it just makes me happy, so I'm all about it. I keep buying books on the matter anyway.  And making myself happy may also sound self-serving but as I just read, it's not at all. According to Rubin, it's not the case whatsoever. Rubin describes her epiphany, she calls it her 'Second Splendid Truth:

   "One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself."

   Yay! I'm on the right path! So that means when I go on shopping sprees (which make me extremely joyous) I'm just helping everybody feel euphoria. When I indulge in a 90 minute massage I'm just acting as a conduit for bliss to span across the globe.  And when I eat two gelatos in a row it will spread cheer because I'm in a state of chocolate bliss. Ok, ok, I know. I don't think that's what Rubin exactly meant, but I'm going to keep on writing and hopefully a reader will crack a smile. And the thought of that makes me smile too. Share the love! Yep, yep, I'm sounding a bit like a hippie again.

I got all dressed up this last Saturday for perhaps one of the best excuses ever:

A Bachelorette party! Oh what fun we had! Talk about happiness! Happiness was dancing and drinking itself all over the place! Congrats Vanessa! 

And earlier in the week, I was enjoying being joyous with great friends over Mexican food. I was just doing my part to radiate happiness to all as I ate my yummy carnitas...

Week 27

   This is another late blog entry, but at least this time I have a very valid excuse: I was soaking up the magic of Yosemite! I basked in sunshine on the shore of Tenaya Lake. I smell like campfires. I felt my fingertips shed a few layers of skin from pulling on granite. I slack lined between Lodge Pole Pines. I hiked to the top of granite domes and viewed breathtaking panoramas. I saw all sorts of wild critters like marmots, birds, and coyotes. I stargazed while sipping fine whiskey and nibbled on cookie butter (cookie butter will change your world- it's from Trader Joe's and tastes exactly like it sounds). 

   However, on this trip, I came back a bit different. I think I may have morphed into a full-fledged hippie. Well, probably not 'full-fledged' because I still shave my legs, crave shopping sprees, and can easily devour a big juicy burger, but I think I've become pretty darn close to becoming a true hippie. I've always been a bit bohemian and a free spirit, but not to this extent. I returned from Yosemite with my pockets full of crystals and I learned how to hula hoop. I think that pretty much defines a hippie, right? But I say it proudly and with gusto, I'm a hippie! 

  

   But for real, man, for real, I'm such a flower child. I was surrounded by wildflowers up there. Tuolumne was in full bloom. Flowers exploding with colors sprinkled the meadows and adorned the forest floor. Brilliant red and orange Applegate's Paintbrush were everywhere. There were violet lupines that felt like velvet and pink Pussy's Paws (that's what they're called I swear, I didn't make that shit up) nestled among the roots of the trees. Bright purple Shooting Stars grew in clustered bunches and Mule's Ears bordered babbling brooks. I was immersed in such a smorgasbord of flora and fauna that I was blown away and overcome with appreciation. I felt completely connected to it all, I felt one with nature. It was so hard to come back to a busy life and re-immerse myself in society. But I'm back, I have returned to our 'proclaimed' reality. Yet to me, it feels like I left reality back there in the alpine trees. See? Listen to me! I told you I was a hippie..and I mean every word. And make love not war. I mean that too. 

I did it! I bouldered in a dress! Yet, to be honest, it was a bit awkward.. especially with any high foot moves. I think there's a reason you don't see any chicks in dresses scaling cliffs. 

But now I can say, " Bouldering in a dress? Check."

Week 26

  I'm going to keep this week's already delayed blog post super-duper short and sweet. I wore a dress this weekend. It was cool. 

Yup.. that's me in a dress. I spent the weekend selling my art on Treasure Island

I'm leaving at 5:30 am tomorrow for a climbing trip, so that's why I'm not writing very much at all! Yikes, these last two weeks have been crazy! Time ran away from me and so I decided to run away myself for a few days. I'm craving mountain air and granite, I need my Yosemite fix! I still have to get all my newly reorganized gear together and pack up my truck, like right now...so I should get back at it!

 Happy Fourth of July!