i'm getting to a point in my life where i'm questioning what really matters to me. what the important things are, things and people i should be concentrating on. friendships, family, goals. less on the little things and more on the big picture. it's making me more centered and easy going, i think. the big picture is good.

a few recent events have changed my big picture thinking, and i've noticed a difference in the way i am dealing with them. it's a good thing, it just makes me reflect in a way i haven't before.

so. in other news, we're redecorating the house a bit, to help keep it fresh and exciting and more spacious so we can stay there until the market begins to crawl back up. which is tearing me apart because i want to buy a bigger home while the market is down. it's a conundrum, that's for sure. but we have a halfway finished office/craft space that i actually want to spend time in, and i have a few plans for our great room and master bath. little things that will change the big picture of our living spaces.

i've also quickly learned that i need to pare down. get rid of some things i've been hanging on to "just in case", but "just in case" is never going to happen. so. purge. there is no reason to hold onto 10 pairs of dress pants that are 3 sizes too small. really.

i've been taking a yoga class and i'm finding it invigorating and calming in ways i've never found exercise to be. not that it's overly aerobic, but i'm feeling stronger and more balanced, and that can only be a good thing for my body. although i totally threw my hip into a tizzy with a triangle pose last week, it still felt good to feel things i don't often feel.

the big picture still felt great.

wow, so a month, huh? so long, so busy. what's been happening......raw = amazing, hard to go back to once it's broken. i'm trying again real soon. i need to stop being so social and peer pressured into eating grilled meats and drinking so much. i need to stop drinking so much. but that's what summer's for, right? being social and eating grilled meats and drinking cold beverages. but also for feeling healthy and energized and learning how to eat things that aren't cooked and still be excited by them. which i continue to be, i just have reverted back to my omelet for breakfast and pasta for lunch "old" me because it's easy. it's hard to eat when you have to think about every thing all of the time.

so, foods are abundant and recipes are flowing (mint chocolate muffins, chicken with wine and grapes, mint-lemonade-vodka, raw marinara, pickled cauliflower, etc.) i plan on writing about the raw experience and jotting a few raw and un-raw recipes soon.

plus, i broke my technology retardation and bought an iphone. on release day. after standing in line for 3 hours. if you know me, you know that's so not my thing, but it's really really amazing. i don't know how i properly existed before having the internet in the palm of my hand. incredible.

also, i finished a few commissions and am taking a break from painting for the next few months to concentrate on fabrics and patterns and stuffing. stuffed horseys and teddy bears are due to some babies that are quickly growing out of baby stages. i need to get working.