5/26/11

Life Irony + Cool Bing Art

 It's funny when life plays tricks on you.  You know; when things happen (or don't happen!!) that are just plain wrong and you can't help yourself but literally laugh at life?  Sometimes it is not that big of a deal, sometimes it is.  I, personally, think that laughing at the worst times in life just helps me stay sane.  But, like recently, I have forgot to laugh and just let life get the best of me; stress, sleeplessness, lots of thinking....



Today, a pretty funny thing almost happened to me.  One of those things that it was like "well, that's what I get for having this really great situation happen..."  Almost a "rain on my parade" kind of thing.   But, luckily I just literally sat in my car and laughed at the irony.  It seems a lot of times in my life when things get really good, something messes it up.  What I realized, however, was what can you really do?  You can't change certain things, certain people, certain energies, but instead you can give that energy a 180 and just take a different outlook. 


What I have learned in yoga, reading spiritually based books, and just doing a lot of self-study is that I can literally make or break a situation with what I make out of it.  The more I associate with a problem, the more negativity I feed into it, making it worse than it is.  But, today I saw it change before my eyes.  Something that, when it came about, really freaked me out and sort of pissed me off, I brushed off and thought about the good side.  And, what happened?  It all worked out... That's right.  There really was no problem.  Ah... and the sound of relief.


With so much going on, sometimes we forget to just separate ourselves from a situation and look at the big picture.  We focus on the small little bits and pieces that just make up a small portion of what it all is about.  I mean really about.  It's not about a light getting broken on a car, breaking up with your boyfriend, having skin problems, losing something in the mail; none of that is truly important.  It's about who you are, what you are doing, and, ultimately, where you are heading.  Those minor details are just a part of the ride; details that entertain us along the way, kind of like those license plate games you played as a kid:  sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't.


Today I decided, that I am going to appreciate those minor bumps and bruises sprinkled in with the deliciousness of life.  It seems right that I start writing in my journal again five things I appreciate everyday.  You can never be too busy to appreciate and see things, especially those that are so often taken advantage of or over looked.


I am *sooooooooo* stoked about tomorrow night.  I have my outfit finished and practiced in it some today with my LED.  I refashioned a skirt and long sleeve t-shirt and I took a before picture so that I could post it with the after picture.  I am pretty happy with it.  Good especially considering I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to turn out, going into with out really any idea of what I wanted.  I just kept thinking "tribal rave faerie" and it seems to have come out like that.  My friend also put some awesome feather extensions in my hair on Tuesday.  She gave me one with UV pink feathers, black iridescent feathers, and blacklight white sparkly strands and another with just the black feathers.  It's pretty awesome.


 I also got off work early today (yeah!!) and so I came home, sat on my back porch, and painted a painting I have been contemplating on doing for a while.  At one point, I was watching the videos on Laura Hollick's site Soul Art Studio, and stopped at video 3 until I did my project.  So, finally, I took the time and messed around with it.  It came out great considering it had been a while since I have painted.  It is not quite done yet, but when it is, I will post it and give a little background information.  I recommend if you haven't been to Laura's site, that you do!!  She is an amazing, inspirational lady. 


On another note of art, the amazing pictures on this post are paintings from Franz Ackerman, an extremely talented German artist.  His fabulous trippy subway was featured on the homepage of Bing today.  I love Bing.  The fact that everyday they show you something super awesome, is just freaking cool.  Check out more of his stuff here.

5/19/11

Happiness, Mystical Creatures, and Cake

So, the next time I am depressed, I am going to make this Unicorn Cake!!  I mean, really?  What could be better than a freaking unicorn cake?  A *VEGAN* Unicorn Cake!!  Yep, that's right; this cake is vegan friendly.

The only problem I have with this recipe is you don't use a portion of the called for square cake.  Somewhere I would need to find a use for some random pieces of cake.  Or, maybe, I could just eat them.  **Looks around**  What leftover cake pieces?  -smile-

Find the recipe here.

Tonight, I am practicing with my LED hoop for my performance.  I actually have part of the day off tomorrow (yay!!), so I plan on dedicating a large part of my afternoon to trying to complete my costume for the performance.  It will officially be the first ever complete outfit I designed.  **Stoked**  Pics to come soon!!

Hopefully I can record some of my practice tonight so I can post a new hoop video.  I have been so damn busy lately, I haven't posted a vid in months.  I suspect, however, that I will have a little bit more time after next week because I am training someone to do my job most days of the week at one job, and at the other, we have hired a few new people so I can only dream that I end up getting a few days off on the regular.  Really need some time to dedicate to developing my hoop class curriculum and also just spending some time doing some internalized investigation.  Hey, atleast I get to go to my yoga class tomorrow!!

5/12/11

EDM. Hooping. Yoga. Art.

Any questions?  These four things, with the exception of hooping, have been an extremely important and influencial part of my being for a large amount of the recent years.  When I started listening to dance music, it was purely for partying.  But, then, it was as if a veil was lifted and I began to see the coincidences in my life, corresponding with the rhythm of the music.  Techno, as many refer it, became a part of my everyday living; the soundtrack to my life.  All of my favorite memories stem from listening to or attending an EDM (electronic dance music, for those who may not know) event.

Luke Brown
 Even the early stages of my yoga practice were scored by various dj setlists.  It seemed automatic, authentic and natural that my life should be accompanied by dance music.  I was drawn to multitudes of EDM related limbs, eventually leading to visionary artistry, astral body, chakras, and the astounding impact that music can have on the spiritual body.  This, ultimately led to my favorite genre, psytrance.  It is funny how one interest can lead to others, then, in an almost impossible way, make it self back around.  You see, it all really is connected.

Luke Brown
 Hooping accented this journey through expansion by EDM, by giving me a creative outlet to explore my soul with movement to music that has opened my mind since the first day it pounded through my ears.  I didn't even realize that a majority of the hooping community were ravers or were drawn to hooping at raves.  It seeme like a funny coincidence, for sure.  The hoop was literally making circles in my tree, leading back to the roots of my spiritual existance; EDM. 

Willow Arlenea
 Ah, if only I could get the high that going to a rave, dancing with a room full of strangers, feeling the bass thump through my core, and creating that almost inner connection I get with the dj when they drop the track that takes my breath away, in every day situations.  Yes, I can have spiritual experiences not at raves, but most seem to correspond with listening to music.  Yesterday, while hooping to some Crystal Method, I found myself frozen to the ground, watching the newly sprouted grass blades dancing along, carried by the wind to the beat of my music.  It was a purely nonchalant situation that gave me an intense feeling of interconnectiveness.  Spurred, in my belief, from the musical influence the rhythms and energies of the music created.
Michael Pukac
  Within all this babbling, there is a motive.  I have the complete pleasure of informing you, my dear readers, that I have been given an opportunity of a life time; I will be performing on stage with one of the biggest musical influences in my life: The Crystal Method.  The guys will be spinning at Chilkoot Charlies on May 27th.  It truly will be a soul-lifting experience that I will for ever be grateful for.


From LA Weekly
 I pour out the gratitude that I have inside to all of you hoopers, performers, fans, whoever, that *anything* is possible.  If you believe and you give yourself permission to explore, amazing things will come to you.  I also have the sacred circle to thank.  If it wasn't for hooping, I may have not gotten this chance.  Beautiful and inspiring things come when you allow yourself to be open to receiving.  Even through all the muck, nastiness, unfairness, and dissapointment that life can throw at you, believe that there will always be that gorgeous, hopeful lotus growing magnificantly in the mud.  You just have to get through the ugliness to experience the inner light.

Willow Arlenea
 TCM has been there through many hardships and good times in the last 10+ years of my life.  I have seen them many times when I lived on the east coast.  They put on a damn good show if I may say so myself.  Now, in this moment of what I believed was a sort of low point, I get the chance to combine all my past times together to complete that circle of my passions.  Hooping, art, yoga, and EDM, now uniform.  It should be a life changing situation to be able to express myself within the hoop to the beats of my favorite djs.

Here I leave you with some videos footage of the shows that I attended that TCM played at.


First time I saw TCM at one of the hottest clubs in DC- Nation Nightclub (RIP)



Saw this show with my boyfriend and our friends Mike and Heather.



I had to include this video from Virgin Music Festival in Bmore because, well, can you blame me?



This was an amazing day let me tell you.  Here is another amazing video from this day not related to TCM



Another favorite, Infected Mushroom with Matisyahu!!  Amazing!!  Ok back to TCM

Well, I have to say I was going to end this with a video from their show in Norfolk (my hometown) that I missed after I moved up to AK, but there is no video posted!!  I mean, really?  No one there even did one video?  Aaaahhhh!!  If I was there, I would have taken a video for sure!!

Oh well.  Anyways, more updates on hooping and this performance coming soon!!  Peace, love, light, and of course, hoops.

5/2/11

The Crystal Method in Anchorage!!



And I will be there for sure.  Bought my tickets tonight.  Can. Not. Wait.  First real DJs I have seen since I have been in Alaska.  I have been on a serious life high all day today over this.  Bubbly, giggly, and just plain ecstatic.  Ah...  I LOVE YOU SCOTT AND KEN <3 <3 <3.

4/28/11

Tides of Emotion

**Warning:  Personal, emotional, deep, somewhat whiny, pictureless and possibly TMI post coming your way.**

There has been a lot going on in my life lately.  A LOT.  Maybe even too much.  I have been doing some internal investigation and digging in my emotional life.  For a majority of my childhood, I had emotional problems.  I am not sure why; I had a loving family, great opportunities, friends, and everything a little girl could want (and more).  To start, insomnia ran in the family and I had a lot of sleepless nights as an elementary and middle schooler.  It is hard and draining for a young child to lay in bed all night for hours, thinking about things little children shouldn't (like death, family, love).  It took a toll somewhat, but I got past it. 

Then came the time when boy drama started to enter my life.  Being the stick figure, undeveloped girl I was in my early teens, lets just say I didn't get much attention from the boys, if any at all.  And if I did, it was definitely short lived.  My heart was broken several times by misguidance, unloving treatment, and down right meanness.  I became picky in who I even became interested in, avoiding most in fear of becoming hurt and broken again. 

In high school, I pretty much just had girl friends and the guys that I had grew up with as friends, trying to just maintain a circle of friendships.  Many times, both sexes of friends hurt me in countless ways.  Maybe I was being a wimp.  Or maybe I was just investing too much time, energy, and love into relationships I wasn't receiving anything from.  Either way, I eventually shied away from a lot of people and became somewhat of a loner. 

I got into a relationship with someone who I was emotionally and mentally involved with before we even became a couple.  That was my first mistake.  Take my advice:  NEVER allow yourself to fall in love from a distance.  You will literally be blinded by love, your own ego, and a made-up world of what-ifs.  I took a lot of emotional beating in that relationship.  Not to say that the whole relationship was negative; we had our good times and fun.  I also learned a lot about myself, what I could/would tolerate, the things that I was looking for from a mate, and actually how low my self-esteem and confidence was really.

Never had I ever thought I wasn't a good person.  I was an amazing student (graduated with honors and received the Dean's List in college), a hard worker (I had a job and have maintained one since I was 15), a great daughter (only getting in minor-teenage like trouble), a loving family member (spent a lot of my time with family even though friends were doing more fun things), a loyal friend (sticking by my word, doing anything and everything for my friends), and a deep, compassionate lover (giving my all and more to a relationship).  But, those are just who I am. 

Now, in this very moment, looking at the above descriptions, I realize I have left out possibly the most important aspect of myself:  a self-caregiver.  One personality that I have left neglected, pushed aside, and held down deep.  I care about myself.  If I didn't, I wouldn't pursue dreams, exercise, eat right, and look more things that make me happy.  It just seems it is harder for my mothering-self to be expressive and to sometimes (at least) take the wheel. 

It is funny that sometimes you find friends and guidence in places that you never thought you would; in an extracurricular class in college, inside a club bathroom, walking down a big city street after a rave, a random-come across link, a last minute state fair performance.  Life and opportunities are everywhere.  You just have to be present to find them.

In the past few years I have gone through a lot; debt, family crisis, truth findings, let downs, self-realizations, and created some emotional blockages.  I had my great times too, though, creating an amazing group of friends from a not-so-coincidental meet-up in front of a closing down club in DC.  That time period of my life is possibly one of the most spectacular.  Some of the best and closest relationships were cultivated during that phase.  As of recently, I have gone through huge changes.  I have helped grow a long lasting relationship with someone I love deeply; moved 4,000 miles away from all the family and friends I had; changed careers/jobs; found new, influential hobbies; and ultimately have somewhat discovered the key and guidance to where I want to take my life and where, and especially who, I want to be.  The most difficult part of all of this is finding the confidence and self-love to actually pursue and not let fear deter me from creating a life that I love and that I would be proud of; an adventure, crazy, fabulous-fueled life.

Too often we allow self-pity, depression, expectation, jealousy, and bitterness keep us from realizing our true self and inner purpose.  Lately, I have been pretty depressed.  Probably from numerous things; hormones, cabin fever, loneliness, and maybe even emotions/karma/the universe mentally preparing me and cleansing me in preparation for a life change.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been reading a lot and taking resources from numerous life coaches online.  The one that resonates with me the most is Tara of The Organic Sister.  Her posts sometimes resonates so deeply in me, that I literally get chills.  I have been led to her site and her guidance for a reason; I just know it.  In a lot of the posts on her site, it talks about changes.  She discusses how life can throw all kinds of nonsense, darkness, ugliness, and otherwise unwelcomed situations and energies your way in preparation of something spectacularly life changing.

It is just hard to undergo extreme changes when you don't have a circle of friends to back you up.  I love my boyfriend with all of my heart and I know he cares and loves me, too.  But every woman needs a group of girl friends she can depend upon and connect with for support.  I think that has been the hardest part of moving here and going through this wave of emotion.  I love Alaska.  I love every part of it; the beauty, the scenery, the outside opportunities.  Just living in a place where it is difficult to make friends and where there is not much opportunity to get together with people, is just hard for me.  I have always been somewhat of a social butterfly, wanting to meet and talk to people everywhere I go, inspired and interested in their uniqueness and their life.  I think it is enlightening and detrimental in our development to have different social views and wisdom to help nurture our own beliefs.  Sort of like receiving a well-round point of view of life.

There have been plenty of times I have been extremely happy lately, though.  Like when I got Vera, I was ecstatic.  She is an amazing little soul and has taught me so many life lessons in the short time we have spent together.  Or when I started to do hoop jams and people actually came.  It gave me such a high on life that I hadn't felt in quite some time.  It gave me that feeling that I was filled with whenever I was on the way to a rave, after dancing all night, and being "hung-over" with my boyfriend.  That hunger of life and being full of happiness that I get from things like hooping, yoga, dancing, listening to soul-lifting music, art, and feeling connected with my partner.  I realize that I have been very distant, depressed, and possibly even a little bitchy lately, and it hurts me.  I want to love life.  I want to love myself.  I want to know that I am being the best lover that I can be.  The need and want is there, just the steps to regain those positions is dwindling.  The fire of life needs to be rekindled.

And with that, here I am.  Feeling raw, lost, unsure, and anxious.  There are so many goals and opportunities that I want to act upon, I just don't know where to start.  Or even if I can.  I know deep in my heart that my true purpose, my soul purpose in life is in conjunction with art/self-expression and it's connection to deepening spirituality and aiding in the search for our true selves.  These "ideas" are so close to me that I can literally sometimes taste them; I see them in dreams, feel connections or "coincidences," have "ah-ha" moments, and even finding relativity in things that I otherwise wouldn't have associations to.  So, I guess I just have to have faith that something is coming.  Hopefully something seriously uplifting, spectacular, and life-changing.  And if it isn't, oh well.  I guess it just wasn't the time.

I know the opportunity for me to share what I have, find those who will assist and join me in life, and to ultimately create what I want so dearly will come.  There is just the fact that you have to wait.  Life will give you what you need in order to be happy; you just have to be willing and present to accept it all to unfold.

Thank you all who read this blog, who connect with my from distances that are unbelievable, and those who I have yet to connect with.  The Universe weaves this crazy web of ups and downs called life.  We just sometimes have to sit back and view the beautiful tapestry with out trying to attach to who is creating it.

4/21/11

THE Coolest Stuffed Animals

OK, so I LOVE stuffed animals.  I used to collect them when I was a kid- I always chose the screwed up ones, thinking no one else would buy them and they would never have a home.  For some reason, these furry little fluff-filled animals continue to pull on my heart strings.  Maybe it is the associations I have with them and my childhood, or maybe I am just weak for cute furry things.  I don't know.  But, I still keep three stuffed animals on my bed to this day (would be more, but boyfriend draws the line currently at three).  There had been no time for me to go through my suggested stores on Etsy lately, and as I was doing so yesterday, I found the coolest shop EVER.

Welcome to Tangle Wood Thicket:


Dragon Pups

Baby Goblin

Creature


Dragon


Dragon- My Favorite!!  <3 Him


Goblin

Goblin- This one reminds me of My Little Ponies for some reason.


Winged Lion

I posted all of the pictures larger so that you can see the exquisite detail that these creations entail.  Under her descriptions, she says that all of her wool is dyed with koolaid or acid dyes.  She needle felts these outrageous little creatures at her home in Canada.  Check out her store.  It is amazing.  I would love to have one of these guys to royally take up my bed.  How awesome would it be to wake up with a little dragon pup peering out at you from behind your pillow.  Also note, that these are beautiful pieces of art and are intended for adults or mature children.  That means no giving them to your slobbery toddler or stuffing them as the last-thing-on- top into your carry-on for a snuggly companion (as my poor rabbit has been so many times).  **cheese**

Doesn't this post just make you all smiley and giggly?  How could you not have a fabulous day after eyeing one of these ridiculously rad creatures?

(All photos and postings were taken with acknowledgement and permission from the artist- Thank you, Kasey.)

4/19/11

Three Signs Spring is Here to Alaska

1.  More planes are flying around.  A lot of people own small planes here.  Mostly because some places you can only get to by boat or plane, and also because it is easy to travel when you have a plane!!  I guess there is a lot more land here, too and people have places to build hangars and such. 


2.  Hearing your first goose.  Seagulls have been out over top of the house, squawking like seagulls do.  There are some birds that stick around during the winter, but not many.  We set out a bird feeder and some chickadees decided to show up.


3.  You swat your first mosquito.  And these suckers are huge.  Amen for homemade repellent and candles!!


<3