These are a few of my favourite things...

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens; Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens; Brown paper packages tied up with strings; These are a few of my favorite things." ~ Rodgers and Hammerstein

I've come to realise that it's hard figuring out what to blog about each day - one would think there's a lot of material but sometimes you just don't want to write about what's going on in everyday life... sometimes one needs a break from thinking about that. In light of this, I've turned to prompts... writing prompts are interesting. I was once a part of a writing group that met weekly to write for ten minutes on a prompt and we'd then share (if we felt like it) - it was very freeing. Prompt for today was obtained from the site Daydreaming on Paper - simply because I liked the name of the site and the button that one clicks to generate a prompt is labelled 'Inspire Me'... that's exactly what I'm looking for.

The prompt: List ten of your favourite things .. It occurs to me that I should search the blog in case I've written on this before.. but.. I'm going with the moment. In no particular order, ten of my favourite things are:

1. Books - this should come as no surprise to anyone that knows me... and to you now as well. I love books - getting lost in the words is a delight.
2. Ribbons - ribbons are pretty... whether they be hair ribbons or ribbon sashes or ribbons that can be used to tie up presents or to improvise as jewellery of some sort.. ribbons are pretty.
3. Gift paper - I sometimes think that I'd like to own a gift wrapping operation - this would allow me to have different types of gift paper and also to wrap gifts (which is something that I find strangely calming).
4. Floaty bits of fabric - whether it be in the form of a scarf or a dress or a skirt.
5. The smell of cats - I'm a cat person. I've recently come to realise that I love their scent - my kitten (who is almost a cat) loves cuddles a lot more than our previous cat - he has helped me come to this realisation.
6. Taking photos of the sky - I have so many of them... have you noticed that the patterns in the sky are always changing? I've never understood why people seem confused by me taking photos of the sky.
7. The moon and by extension moon gazing - I like the nighttime more than the daytime and one of the major features of the night sky is the moon... I think we are all connected to its movements through the sky... perhaps as a female I feel them more strongly.
8. Music and song - cuz there is always something that can fit any mood...
9. Family - I'd like to point out to my mom that this was in no particular order. I'm not sure how I'd manage without them... I'm quite sure I'd be a much different person without their influence.
10. Girlfriends - I've got a bunch of them... I've got girlfriends with varying degrees of closeness... they are all precious and help me work my way through whatever is going on with my life. (girlfriends to gab with and cry with and shop with...) lol...

What are a few of your favourite things?

peace,

Ren

Contemplations and list-making.

"Goals help focus you on areas in both your personal and professional life that are important and meaningful, rather than being guided by what other people want you to be, do, or accomplish." ~Catherine Pulsifer

I freely admit to watching Friends reruns often. That is/was a fabulous show and is, I believe, the basis for a lot of other shows, which have  their own storylines and quirks but are essentially about friends coming together, such as my other faves: The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother... Yesterday's rerun was the episode 'The One Where They All Turn Thirty' in which Rachel celebrates her 30th birthday and there are flashbacks to the other Friends' birthdays... both Phoebe and Rachel have lists/plans to which they refer in this episode.. of things they'd like to achieve by a certain birthday. It reminded me that I'm supposed to be list-making - I have been - just in my head... thought I'd write it out here so you all could support me, in some way or the other, in getting through it.

In no particular order (though at some point I'd like to have an order).. things I'd like to do in my life:

• Get certified... I've got the MBA - I confess that I still don't quite know what to do with it and that the only reason I did it was because of parental pressure (in fact my dad is now claiming it as his MBA because of all the "WHY am I doing this?! I don't need this stress! I'm only doing it cuz YOU wanted me to do it" drama)... the certifications I really want?
• YTT  - yes, I'd like to do Yoga Teacher Training.. and I know where I want to do it... I'd like to do this 200-hour YTT and follow it with training on teaching yoga to children and seniors... then I'd like to come back home and teach.
• Certified Integral Qigong and Tai Chi™ Teacher - Way back when I was 16/17 I started doing Tai Chi and Qigong... it's amazing. I'm out of practice now but .. in 2009 I had a weekend workshop with Dr. Roger Jahnke and was re-inspired... I've wanted to do this training since then... then I'd like to come back home and teach the elderly.   
• Become a spy - not a killing-people-spy.. but a sexy-badass-spy - through the Stiletto Spy School - one of my best girl people had her birthday yesterday - we were trying to find something fun/exciting/daring to do as a girl group (epic fail that was..) ... If we were all in either NYC or Las Vegas... I'd have suggested that we become spies... because it is something that I want to do and it looks like so much fun! .. In fact maybe that should be the 30th b'day event. I've already got a spy-name and everything - courtesy of a fellow Kripalu volunteer... though I'm not about to divulge it yet :)
• Visit Findhorn... and maybe England and Ireland while I'm in that area... yes, there will be photo-taking. Actually... I'd like to travel here, there and everywhere.
• Learn to properly/fluently speak a foreign language. I've done Spanish at CXC... I've done Spanish for business courses... I can't remember much of it. Immersion may be necessary... so... live in a place where a foreign language is spoken (it doesn't have to be Spanish).
• Learn to sew... I can do embroidery... I can do chain-stitch and cross-stitch and various other pretty stitches... I have a fond memory of my (maternal)  grandma and I sewing together. I'd like to actually be able to make a garment though.. am somewhat inspired by our own Anya Ayoung-Chee and the fact that my (paternal) grandma was a bit of a seamstress... I should be able to sew.
• Clean my room... aka de-clutter... I'm sure my family would be happy to read this... and happier when it actually happens.. this should probably be at the top of my list.. meh.   
• Go on a cruise. I don't care where... wait - I do care. Go on a cruise somewhere warm. Alaska you are out.
• Change the world.. for the better.. I'm not sure how yet though I'm sure whatever I'm doing now is also helping.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Gonna work my way through this and think of other things along the way...  

peace,

Ren