tuesday truths...

October 1, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I have been trying meditation off and on for a couple of years now.
Sometimes, I stick with it for a week or two,
then I slack off and come back to it again later.

I’ve tried Calm and Headspace and
really liked both of them but,
not enough to pay for them…
(the only app I pay for monthly without question
is Google Play because I need my music…)

And then I found Insight Timer
and I am SERIOUSLY loving it.
I haven’t been using it long but
I love that there are so many options
available to you…
no jumping through hoops,
no limited time offers…
just readily available to you.

This morning I did a 10 minute guided practice
by Jonathan Lehmann
that had music (which I love) and affirmations
(which I don’t normally love…)
but I really, really liked this one.

And I especially liked how he talked about the
quote above from Albert Einstein…
that literally set my mood and intention for the day.

whatcha readin'? 2019 {book 15::goal 25}

September 30, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I wanted to love this book.
I really, really did.

I love Amy Tan’s writing
and there were parts in this that made me
stop and take notice,
made me stop
so I could say the words out loud…
like this:

“Through writing, I dive into wonderment and come up
with corpses, whale sharks, pirates, and the head of a rose.”

Sigh.

And I love memoirs.
Especially writer’s memoirs.
I want to see how their brain works,
take out the pieces, bit by bit
and examine them under a microscope…
to study the synapses, the fires and misfires,
wondering how did you get here from
there.

But this one, well, maybe I was too hopeful.

There is no easy, nice way to say it…
I struggled off and on with the book
but the letters to her editor
just completely lost me…
I finished it only so that I could say that I finished it
and that’s not how you want to finish a book.

2.5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥♥’s
NEXT UP:: ASK AGAIN, YES - MARY BETH KEANE

sunday adventures...& a little bit of unexpected truth...

September 29, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I generally don’t have a car on fridays anymore
so I have to take my adventure days
when I can get them…
this week, it happened to be on sunday.

I took a drive to Bonshaw
and did a little part of the trail there.
Fun fact…when I am on the trail with my camera,
I may be in there for an hour or more
but have only walked for 15 minutes.
Every detail catches me…
I stop for moss and mushrooms,
rotting tree trunks, bright colored leaves
and mud puddles.

Today was no exception.

The truth is I have been struggling a little bit lately
in an up and down kind of way.
Some days, I am perfectly happy being by myself
(not that I am ever really “by myself”,
I have my amazing kids and family and friends)
but other days, I struggle a teeny tiny bit.

Which is what I love about getting out with my camera.
I can lose myself for hours
looking for angles and light and color and bokeh
and when it all comes together
it just makes me so happy….
like this photo below…I smiled the rest of way down the trail
because I knew I was going to love this one,
I knew I got my “one good shot”.

and sometimes,
i think….
you have to lose yourself
a little bit in something
in order to find yourself.

When I think back to
where I was a year ago…
well….I don’t even like to think
about this time last year…
things were pretty dark and dreary and sad and scary
but that kind of helps put
my little “down days” into perspective.

It makes me realize how far I have come.

Honestly…
this is not what I came here to write today
but it’s what came out…
so I am going to go with it
and this time next year,
I can come back again
& see how much farther I have gone.

Forward is forward…even the baby steps…
and if you are struggling with something right now,
go easy on yourself…and know you are not alone either…
:)

wordless wednesday...a dirt road edition...

September 25, 2019 Arlene Giddings

whatcha readin'? 2019 {book 14::goal 25}

September 23, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I wanted to love this book.

I really did.

If you have been reading this blog for any amount of time,
you probably know that I like books like this…
I like how to’s and suggestions and lists and motivation.

What I did like:
♥ her no-nonsense suck it up deal with it this-is-up-to-you-to-change attitude.
I like people who are little bit tough love.
somedays. somedays…I want to throat punch them.
It’s a fine line.

♥ Her references to the wizard of oz and Dorothy

♥ That she talked about the struggle of quitting diet coke…
Uh….yeah…I get that (as I pop a can in the freezer just now so I can have it before bed).

♥ Her red converse sneakers

♥ She’s kinda adorable.

What I didn’t like:

It was a little too religion based for me.
This was not her fault…it was an oversight of mine.
I didn’t realize when I got it that this was a large part of where
she was coming from. And I am not against religion…it’s just…
not my thing…
That was pretty much it….I mean…some of it is a little cliched..
but no more than any other book in this type of genre that I have read.
I went into it expecting that to some degree.

All in all…I enjoyed the book. I felt like I got something out of it.
If I feel I have to take notes while reading something, then…that
feels like a worthwhile read to me and I definitely did take notes while
reading this. I do recommend it. Just go into it with an open mind.

3.5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥♥’s
NEXT UP:: WHERE THE PAST BEGINS - AMY TAN