Archive for September, 2011

September 7th, 2011

Analyzing a Dream

From pinterest via @Edna Gooden. Originally from ppepper.tumblr.com.

 

Instead of a relaxing three day weekend, I settled for a 2 day sort-of relaxing one. One strenuous hike and a bike ride later, I was wishing I had a full-time job again. Oh for those paid holidays!

But it must have been a lack of sleep. A severe lack of it. Because by Tuesday afternoon I was in dreamland.

Literally.

I was so exhausted that I took a nap during mid-day and woke up with the weirdest dream.

 

Weird Dream Alert!

I dreamed that I decided to go back to work as a therapist, taking 1-2 clients a day a week at $60 a session. The weirdest part was that the thought actually made me excited. It seemed to be the greatest idea I ever had yet. {Even better than the idea I had last night to eat an apple covered with peanut butter.}

 

Ever wake up feeling the remaining emotions of your last dream upon waking?

That’s how I felt. A lingering sense of excitement with a side of “what the heck was I dreaming” when I was fully awake.

I did the counseling thing. I did it and it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. I cared deeply about my clients, but the anxiety and worry over if I was doing the right thing was too much for me. I am a weakling at heart. A sappy sap of a person. And so while I am passionate about helping others, I could never go back to that life.

 

Why am I telling you this?

My dream reminded me of where I was a few years ago. I was in in-between land, not quite where I wanted to be in life, but a little further out than I was before.

I was at a job I hated, but hated a little less than the last job.

The lure to keep on that path, taking higher paying jobs that left a bad taste in my mouth, was strong. Loved ones made the temptations even greater. At the time, I felt like the only one who didn’t where I was going. I had been on the path for a decade while I still was twiddling my thumbs waiting for the sky to fall on my life.

It was not a pretty picture.

But surprisingly, once I was courageous enough to take a different path in my life, make decisions that were scary, but felt closer to my true self, things started happening. When I was ready, my world began to change.

 

  • I started hearing about writing jobs from acquaintances and started seeing more jobs online.
  • I got offered positions that fit what I was looking for.
  • I met people who were on the same journey as me.

 

And I’m not just talking about my career.

Every time I decide to do something different-change my attitude when I’m disappointed, decide to have a good day regardless of how bad it’s supposed to be-I am rewarded in miraculous ways.

If you’re ready for something new in your life. Decide to take control of your life by changing yourself. Eventually like ripples in the ocean, that positive change will come back to you. It may come to you in dreams come true, in an insight you hadn’t realized before, in the new people you are about to meet.

You don’t need a new program or a book to change your life, you just need to be open to the gifts already in store for you.

I’m pretty sure that my dream was reminding me how far I’ve come and not to look back. Onward my dear friends!

September 2nd, 2011

Creative Friday

I’m deeming Friday’s as a day devoted to fun and creativity {you can click on over here to see more of my crafty posts}. Although it’s not associated with Creative Thursday, one of my favorite blogs, it’s definitely dedicated to it in true wannabe mode.

Wanna join in?*

Just post a link to your favorite creative craft or comment on what you’re creating right now.

Why add creativity on an inspiration blog?

The two go hand in hand. Without one or the other, I feel like a Mad Hatter. Feel free to read it, skip it, or join in.

Now for the first one.

This pencil made frame actually was a bit time-consuming. Just like any project or endeavor to pursue one’s deepest dreams, it was a lot more difficult than it appeared.

The idea came while shopping around at Paper-Source. My light bulb moment came when I saw this:

Then, I grabbed these to get started.

What You’ll Need

  1. Box of pencils (Grab the color you want your frame to be.)
  2. Unfinished wooden frame (A 3.5 x 3.5 works best, but any frame will work. Keep in mind though that the bigger the frame, the longer it will take you to finish.)
  3. Spray paint
  4. Scissors to cut the pencil length.
  5. Glue gun

 

The Steps

  1. Spray the frame first. It’s much easier to do so at the beginning (before all the pencils are stuck on) and will leave a finished seamless look once it’s done.

2. After the paint dries, individually glue the wooden pencils to the frame. I had no order on what pencil went first. The key is to get as much pencils on there until you need to start cutting them to fit into the square.

Be very careful when using the glue gun. That glue burns worst than melted wax so make sure to place the pencil on a surface instead of holding it with your hands (something I learned in the process!).

3. Cut your pencils to fit snugly against your frame. After you’ve gotten as much of your whole pencils (minus the erasers, which is surprisingly easy to pull off) glued onto the frame, you still need to fill up those empty spaces. You can cut the pencils with scissors. If you’re a perfectionist (that’s not me for sure), you can measure the empty spaces with a ruler first and mark the pencil with a pen before you cut it. In the end, my DIY frame had a woodsy, cottage-y (a.k.a. imperfect look), which perfectly matched what I wanted.

4. If you want your frame a different color than your pencils, get ready to paint again. After all of your pencils are glued on and dried, take it outside, place newspaper/old magazines on the ground or a table and spray paint away.

The frame freshly painted white.

And here it is after it's been sprayed with 2 coats and dried.

I experimented with a few options for what to put in the frame. I was contemplating adding a photo from my photo site. But since I’m into instant gratification, I started digging around my house for something I could use.

Like this Ikea print, for example. It was an option, but I just didn’t think the modern print matched the cottage-y look I was going for. That’s when I found this…

As a reminder of a relaxing trip to Point Reyes, I printed out a photo I took there.

Voila! Instant back to vacation mode.

I have to say, I can’t be any happier with the results!

*If you want to read about how one full-time editor took a leap and pursued her full-time freelance dreams, click here.