Ballerina's of the Sea

I could sit and watch jellyfish for hours, I know they are deadly but they are also beautiful and graceful. Court and I visited the Aquarium while in Cincinnati, watching these guys float and glide through the water was my favorite part. On top of their mad skillz, their heads remind me of pink tu-tu's. Haha

Sweet Cannoli Goodness

When I was younger I was a master food inventor, I dreamed up different worlds and acted them out with my brother and friends, I found joy in creating things for my family. Whether it was writing up a play, painting up pictures, or cooking up an array of food...I was always booming with a desire to explore new outlets of creativity. As the years have passed, I've come to realize that that booming curiosity for all things creative has become more of a simmer. I've obviously still pursued it in some areas like photography but there are others i've let fall to the wayside. I'm not saying that I am meant to be a master of all things creative but I use to find joy exploring new ways to be creative and I want to get back to that place.
So, I still have a week left to decide for sure but I think next year that is what I am going to set out to do. I am going to set out to explore and develop some of my other creative interests. For years I've talked about taking a figure drawing class, drawing the human form has always been so intriguing to me and also so intimidating that I think I've purposefully avoided it out of sheer fear of failure. But I'm not going to let that stop me. One class can't hurt me right...if I hate it I never have to do it again but if I love it, it can be a new way for me to grow and learn.
I've also had a passion for painting and writing poetry, two things I did on a daily basis when I was in college and since I've been back I don't know, I guess I just let life become things I had to do rather than things I enjoyed doing. I think it could be fun to get into a writing workshop and definitely take some painting classes. I've taken a few in the past and I really enjoyed them. On top of all that this week I believe I re-ignited an interest in cooking. We hosted Christmas at our house this week and I found myself in the mix of making desserts and dinner and it was quite enjoyable. When I was younger I was obsessed with the food network. I would watch cooking shows and then decide I wanted to create a feast for my family. I would come up with the craziest concoctions and have so much fun seeing how one thing added to another could create something so tasty. I had fun doing just that this week, mixing things, chopping things, mashing things and baking things. I know that cooking is part of life and it is something I need to learn, so why not start now.
All that to say, this next week I will be looking into classes at the Flint Institute of Art and other places to see what this new year has in store. I'm getting excited. In the meantime here are some pics of the Cannoli's we made, out of this world goodness.

Glory to God in the Highest

May I take this day to share with you the Christmas Story, the one that has withstood the test of time for us all. Emmanuel, which translates from the Aramaic to mean, Christ with us. Luke 2:1-20 (NAS)
1 Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 8 And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this
thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

May the birth of Jesus find a place in your hearts, as it has in mine. Merry Christmas!

The Haists: More Belly Love

Story Time

"And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you, about learning to love, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God. We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?

It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out.

I want to repeat one word for you: Leave.

Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word isn't it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted it to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed."

- Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

India Thirteen: More of the Girlies

Happy friday friends, never lose sight of how blessed you are.

India Twelve: The Girlies

I fell in love with each of these faces. This was the first day I met the girlies and my heart grew the instant I met them. I was a stranger to them in more ways than one, but as weird as I must have looked to them they were also curious, so it didn't take long for them to reach out to me or to smile when I pointed my camera in their direction. Each one of them has has their own story of why they are at Chinmaya Vijaya but inspite of being separated from their families they have the sweetest dispositions and are such beautiful examples of making the best of your circumstances. I fell in love with each of their faces and miss them dearly.












More to come.

The new year is coming upon us quickly and I've decided that I want this next year to be better than the last. I want to explore something that I am passionate about and really invest time in it, grow in it, and fall in love with it.

So often I find that it is easy to get lost in the mundane schedule of my every day that I allow weeks to pass before I realize that life is meant to be lived not endured. I realize that part of being a grown up, which I am now, quite scary to think. Part of being a grown up, is recognizing your responsibilities and taking ownership of them. But I don't think that means our lives are meant to be filled with check lists of things we must get done, I think that is the smallest part of what is important. Our lives should be about relationships, faith, music, art, love, nature, adventure, passion.

So my goal in the next month is to figure out which interest I want to dive into this next year, what passion I want to allow to actually bloom in my daily journeys. I realize that bringing one more thing into my schedule could be going a little over board but whatever it is that I choose will be something that enriches me, that challenges me, that brings me joy and when those overwhelming days hit....I will be ready for them. Ready to remind myself that life isn't meant to be easy, it's meant to be lived.

I read a book awhile back by Don Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, he shared about how it's so easy to be satisfied with your story (life) when it is just ok and things aren't falling apart. But when you experience a better story, life at its best, you can't help but chase after it. Once you chase after life your story gets better, it gets deeper, fuller, your story is one that others want to read and you are excited to be a part of. I want to chase after life, I want to write a better story. I'm in no way saying that my story has been boring or horrible so far, I've definitely been blessed with so many wonderful chapters, but I desire to make the next chapters even better.

This is not a new years resolution by any means, this is not something I intend to do, this is something I am committing to do. It is so easy for me to say I want to do something and not follow through (practically all of my new years resolutions in the past,) so once I do discover which of my passions I want to explore deeper I am going to give myself a goal. Something that I am shooting for, and when I accomplish it at the end of the year I will reward myself with who knows what....maybe a trip. Definitely a trip...traveling is my most favorite passion but since that can't be in my every day, at least not at the moment, it can be part of my reward.

I am not sure if any of you out there have the desire to start a similar journey, take a leap and dive into a passion you rarely get to spend time on, to write a better story, but if you do please feel free to share what it is you are passionate about and want to explore this upcoming year. I'd love for this to be something we can all share with one another.

I am now off to make my list....