Ginger Ale, Dark Chocolate and a Little Reggae...

Dancing Girl--My Drawing

I am just a mellow girl tonight and I'm feeling fine, baby, just fine.

There are a lot of things that are great for a late night...Ginger Ale is one of them, so is some seriously dark chocolate with a nice bitter bite...top it off with some Reggae and some Blues...and you end up in a nice mellow happy place. Cheers to the evening.

Here are some things I'm working on that may or may not be of interest to anyone and no-one.

Reading:
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.
I'm loving it.
I'm writing Morning Pages, or Afternoon Pages, just depends on when I get to it. The point is that I'm getting some free write time and I'm decluttering my brain. Who knows what will come of it, but for now, I'm just enjoying the process.

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
I'm enjoying this. It's a good book for October, especially if you like a bit of the creepy and the spooky.
She babbles on a little here and there, but for the most part the story is dark and interesting.
What it comes down to is that it's different from the usual, so I'm enjoying the unfolding of the story.

Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson
Just finished this one up for book club for October.
I enjoyed it, but then I am always intrigued by books that take place in the South. It's a place full of tradition, folklore, myth and divisive history and politics.
I've found that most of the novels that I have read that take place in the South have been books that I have enjoyed. This was another one of these.

Listening To...
Nothing that's really new right now.
Just enjoying the replay on whatever comes up on the iPod.
Tonight though, I'm enjoying some Reggae, Blues and R&B. It's mellowness all the way. Earlier, while my Beloved was still awake and with me, we were listening to some George Winston, and that made for a very pleasant earlier evening.

Missing...
... the ocean.
... California weather.
... humidity.
... youth.

Additionally...
I've been using a pedometer for about a month now.
10,000 steps a day is my ultimate goal. I'm not meeting it yet. On weekend days I average anywhere between 6,000-9,000 steps. On a weekday I average 2,500-3,500. That's a big difference. You think you're walking a lot, but really...not so much. So I'm working on that. It's a great motivator and since I'm the most competitive with my own self, it's making me push myself and giving me an actual measurement to work with. I'm enjoying it and it has been fun.

I've been busy with work and am enjoying my foray into the non-profit world. It's a different place, that's for sure. Social workers walk to their own drummer and it's not always one that I understand, and it definitely isn't always rational, reasonable or logical, but that's o.k. I'm learning a lot and I really enjoy the people that I'm working with right now. I can see that in a different life I could have taken this path too.

Life is good and busy right now. I've got some good things on the horizon and I'm sorting it out. The beginning of this year was a bit on the rough side for me, and as I'm wrapping it up here in the next few months, I've found that I've had a lot of growth and some really stellar experiences. I thought I knew what I was all about, but I'm finding that I'm in a state of flux right now, and I'm changing again. Growth always hurts and stretches and taxes but it's a good thing to go through...once you're through it. ;)

Anyway, that's it for now.

Here's the parting shot...

"Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other?" George Eliot