Wednesday Walk

Wednesday Walk: Help

May 25, 2011 by Michelle Leave a Comment

I’ve been meaning to do a post all week, but it just hasn’t happened yet. This whole “learning Lightroom” thing isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. So, I’ve got kind of a backlog of photos to post and stuff to talk about (of course I can’t post without photos!!!). Hopefully this weekend being longer will give me a chance to get caught up.

Meanwhile, I’ve been completely immersed in reading The Help. I’ve been hearing such good things about this book, and I’m finally getting around to reading it.

So today instead of my normal Wednesday Walk, I hung out at my desk while I ate my snack and read a chapter. P.S. Thanks for the grapes, honey!!

So, hopefully after the long weekend I’ll be back with more photos and posts. Plus maybe I’ll have that book read. Then what should I read? Memoirs of a Geisha? The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Game of Thrones?

Wednesday Walk: A Voyage to Self

May 18, 2011 by Michelle 3 Comments

It’s so pretty out today that I was sorely tempted to take my Wednesday Walk outside. Instead I contented myself with one of the hallways lined with windows. I like that hallway, it’s got a good feel to it.

Things have been interesting lately. I got a phonecall over the weekend from my sister who I haven’t talked to in a long while. It was good to chat with her, reconnect. And it later gave me the opportunity to reflect on a few things. I probably needed that. But it made me feel like a part if my life that’s been missing for a while was found for a little bit.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about the recent posts over at Can You Stay for Dinner (one if the downfalls of blogging from my phone is that I can’t figure out how to do links). Anyway, she recently did a series of posts on her weightloss, which really struck me. One of the things that I have been thinking about is what I will miss when I’ve lost weight and what I won’t. This morning in the shower I started making a mental list. I could only think of a couple of things I would miss about being at this weight I’m at now. The things I would not miss were far greater in number. But yet, I find myself still stuck in this cycle.

I read further in her archives and she talks about Peace with Food. She talks about “the inclination to bolt” and how the writer Geneen Roth uses this term to refer to “the intense desire to leave yourself, to flee, when life becomes difficult. To escape boredom, anxiety, sadness, fear, and loneliness.” And I thought “this is me, this is why I do this”. But strangely food has not always been the thing I escape to. It’s been a number of things, including smoking, shopping, and now food.

So I’ve been trying to pay attention to when I eat and why. The worst time of day for me is between lunch and 5pm. Of course “stress” brings it on too. And stress can be anxiety, fear, sadness, etc. I seem to react to it all the same. So I’ve been trying to be present. And pay attention. And see what happens if I sit with it. I’m trying to journal more and attempt to suffocate my feelings less. But oh it’s hard.

So I’m engaged in this new adventure. A voyage to find myself and learning to truly live in the now. Wonder what I’ll find there?

Wednesday Walk: Derby Days

May 11, 2011 by Michelle 2 Comments

I love watching the races. And this weekend’s Kentucky Derby was no exception. Animal Kingdom ran an amazing race!

Usually in July, Eric and I go to Lonestar Park for a day at the races. It’s so much fun, but OMG it’s so hot to stand outside and watch. We usually watch from the air conditioned box for most of the races. I just wish I had a hat to wear!

My mom and I share a love of the races. She’s usually the one to remind me when one is coming up. And since I was talking about books and book club yesterday, one of the books we read for book club was A Day at the Races. We tied that book into a George Stubbs exhibit that included the famous Whistlejacket painting.

And when I finish reading a book, I always take it to my mom for her to read (this is the only flaw I see in my big Kindle plans). She loved A Year at the Races. I’ve since bought her Seabiscuit and a book on Secretariat.

One day I’d love to have a Derby party. To entertain with friends in a grand Southern tradition. What fun would that be? I guess it’s on my list with an Oscar watching party or when there’s another royal wedding, having a wedding watching party. I do love to entertain. I wish I did it more often!!

It was a good Wednesday walk. I was glad to find something racing related today!

Wednesday Walk: New Dress

May 4, 2011 by Michelle 2 Comments

Long day today. Today was the first of three days worth of all day meetings. I decided to wear my new dress. Eric bought it for me while fending off the advances of the salesgirl. The things he does for me! But, anyway, love my new dress. It’s a little out of my comfort zone, but I did feel good in it and got some compliments.

So, no walk today since I was holed up in a conference room all day (taking photos of my lap on the sly). And I’m just finally getting around to writing this post at 11pm so my brain is tired.

Random thoughts…
– I’ve never had fried green tomatoes
– people who haven’t tried Pinterest yet are missing out
– no Pinterest for me today
– I still want a Kindle
– Cougar Town is the weirdest show but it makes me laugh
– Eric just told me they had a bin of sock monkeys at the grocery store today
– B&N can’t manage to get a book to me in time but Amazon can (see also: I need a Kindle)
– tomorrow night we’re having a team building outing that involves baseball and sitting outside. We are not amused.
– love my new dress!

Wednesday Walk: A Gift

April 27, 2011 by Michelle 1 Comment

Middle of the week and here I am with my trusty phone blogging. This afternoon, instead of taking a walk around the building I had some errands to run. Since I always work through lunch, it’s nice to get a change of scenery in the afternoon if I can. Today I headed off to James Avery to pick up a gift for my Goddaughter’s birthday. I popped in last week and it was ready to pick up today.

On her first birthday I started a charm bracelet for her. Each year I give her a charm engraved with a trait or a lesson I’ve been learning over the past year. I include a letter to her with whatever wisdom I want to impart to her about what I’ve learned.

So over the years, I’ve given her Intuition, Love, Grace, among others. I’ll have to keep this year’s a secret for now. But I was pleased it was ready to pick up today. Now I can get it in the mail with her other gifts.

And since we’re talking about gifts and lessons learned, I realized a couple of things. I spent some time looking back over my posts on this blog and it made me realize how much I enjoy blogging here. It’s been a place to journal about stuff I’m going through, talk about books and movies, decor and fashion. It’s also been a great way for me to explore my photography. I do love when you all comment here and I do dearly appreciate you reading. So, I’ve decided that this blog makes me happy and my wonderful readers make me happy too, so I’d best continue on with posting here!

I’ve met and corresponded with so many amazing people through blogging and I can’t imagine where I would be without all the inspiration I get from other blogs. So, I’m here for the ride, wherever it may take me.

Thanks so much for stopping by, it’s truly a gift.

Wednesday Walk: Dreams of Travel

April 20, 2011 by Michelle Leave a Comment

Wednesday! I’ve been training my replacement at work this week (I’ve been doing two jobs for awhile now), and you wouldn’t believe the amount of walking I’ve been doing. We’ve walked all over this place repeatedly in the past three days. This morning when I passed by this world map I had to snap a photo for my post today.

For the past several months I’ve been jonesing to go someplace. And that got even worse when I read Elefantitas Alegres’ posts on her recent trip to Italy. Oh I miss Italy! And with our recent anniversary, it only makes me want to travel more.

I’ve even been thinking a lot about being a travel photographer. How cool would that be?! To experience new places and see new things (and take photos of everything!).

And since this year is a milestone birthday (it was a milestone anniversary too!) I’m dying to actually go somewhere to celebrate. I was hoping for someplace like Paris or Spain, but those may just be dreams. Plus, there was that whole drama with my family last year around my birthday, and you may recall that birthdays are rough for me anyway, so the allure of getting out of Dodge is strong!!

But it sure is fun to dream. And one day travel will be something we get to incorporate back into our lives. I can’t wait to take some more photos for our gallery wall!!