Mind Space

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

I’m so thankful that school is back in session. I finally can think again without constant interruptions.

I am thankful for open mind space that is mine to fill. Now if I could only prioritize how to fill the gaps.

When you have more free time, what do you choose to do?

I always choose to exercise. I spend way too much time on Facebook. I tend to clean and organize my house when I have extra time, and I plan and cook dinners. I always think I’ll sit and read or work on my photo projects, but I typically never do that. Hmmm. I wonder why. Usually I’ll pick up my phone and check email, texts, Instagram, etc.

Today I was thankful for the 11,000 plus steps shared hiking with ML and chatting the entire way. It felt good to get out in the sunshine and exercise and be with my BFF!!

Did you get some free time to think for yourself today? I hope so!

9Aug2014

Home Improvement Committee

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I am the Home Improvement Committee.

I can’t sit still for long.

Now that we’re home again from all our vacations, I’m busy reorganizing, redecorating, decluttering and dreaming of open, redesigned spaces.

Today we bought new bedding for Juliana’s room. I didn’t take any pictures, but after driving all over town, we found our favorite set at Kohl’s. She chose a dusty teal color with grey accent sheets and pillows. Now we just have to pick out paint and a yellow pillow to balance out the details.

I also bought a new quilt for our bedroom. It’s been at least 15 years since I bought some new linens. We are loving it so far. We also need to get some accent pillows too to freshen things up.

After shopping for the new, I spent several hours clearing out the old! I tend to collect stuff just in case I might need it again!! Our garage is clear of all the camping gear and suitcases from travel that has been accumulating. Thank God!

How was your day! Did you learn something new? Did you improve anything? I’m sure you did. Have a good night!!

Adriana

14Jul2014

Camping

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Staycation!

Christian and I decided to set up the tent tonight to see if we remembered how and to be sure we had all the parts. Luckily we did, because one bag of parts was still up in the attic and that would have been a bummer if we left those behind. That would have made for a very flat tent.

It didn’t take very long to put up, and provided hours of fun this afternoon especially when Charlie came home from camp. It’s kinda cool to watch what kids do when they find new space and make it their own.

The kids filled it with sleeping bags and chairs and toys and decorations. They were scouting for flash lights and thinking of what kind of snacks they should bring in it. I love the creativity and the sense of play that a new space creates.

They wanted to sleep in it tonight but Charlie needed to get a good night’s rest after being up late every night for the past several nights. Gotta love late summer nights.

We are planning a camping trip very soon and seeing the tent up is getting us very excited to be up in the mountains, near the lakes and waterfalls, with family and friends.

Do you like to camp? What are some of your favorite camping meals?

Hope you had a good Monday!!

7Jul2014

Driving and Waiting

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

I spend a lot of time driving and waiting and driving and waiting. Some times this frustrates me. It’s not what I want to do.

This is my view right now as I wait. Car is parked. I am sitting and waiting. I don’t want to rush back and forth so tonight I chose to sit and wait. That’s weird for me and out of my comfort zone.

There are so many things I can do yet I choose to do nothing. I didn’t want to rush back and forth and try to squeeze in one more task before getting in the car again. So I chose to park and do nothing.

Well not really nothing, but something different. I am sitting still. I am enjoying the space of quiet and solitude and can feel the cool breeze blowing through my open window. I am liking the sound of the wind through the trees and watching people walk by with their dogs and basketballs and holding hands and running.

I checked Facebook and email and played a game. I looked at my book that sits next to me and then decided to write early tonight. I am content just sitting here. Who knew?

Yesterday I was frustrated with this process of driving around every few hours and having my day interrupted again and again. But at the end of the day, I changed my attitude and was thankful that I had time alone in the car with my oldest. I realized that probably within the next year, he won’t need me to drive him. And in that moment, I wasn’t frustrated anymore. In that moment I was happy that I was still needed, even though it came in a different form than I typically see myself as being needed. He was thankful for the rides and I was thankful to share time with him.

Tonight I’m thankful for this gift of a free hour, waiting to pick up my daughter with no rush and no expectations and am glad I chose to enjoy the quiet vs being frustrated by the drive and wait and drive and wait game.

Sometimes we just have to sit still and wait and be patient and good things can fill the space. Hmmm.

Namaste.

12Mar2014

Space and Surprise

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Sweet Jasmine is blooming in my yard.

I’m trying to not be busy.

I’m trying to not fill my schedule.

I’m trying to keep my house decluttered by picking up every little thing and washing every little dish and keeping up with every little piece of paper.

And I LOVE the simplicity of it all. Even though this still means work. Do it now or do it later, eventually it has to get done and I’m liking the results.

I love how things are flowing and I feel the stress melting. I want to keep creating space because it feels good and I’m doing the things I love and want to do.

For example, I played tennis this morning with friends and then stopped by Trader Joe’s to pick up stuff to make a simple dinner. As I was loading up my trunk, I heard someone calling my name and there was Jeni, with a big cheerful smile. We haven’t seen each other in months. She asked me to come join her for a quick lunch and I said YES!!

It was liberating to not feel tied to a schedule and it felt great to be able to say a spontaneous YES because I’m not (too) busy. Luckily I hadn’t bought ice cream, but the other frozen things could wait in the car and not defrost as we caught up again.

We sat and chatted and ate a quick, healthy, early lunch and then we were both on our way again. That was really cool and made my day.

By creating space and not feeling rushed, the joy is coming in. I had time to put the groceries away, take a shower, pick up, check email and ride my Bakfiets in the sunshine to pick up Charlie from school on his early out day and even to watch him play soccer for awhile while I chatted with friends.

We rode home and had a snack, did some homework and cooked dinner together and I even cleaned all the pots and pans and put them away right away before the next events. My mom was and is always very efficient and has this great capacity to get things done. I think her secret is more doing and less thinking and procrastinating, like I typically do. She doesn’t get distracted and she doesn’t make excuses in her mind, like I do. I like her and was channeling her energy today. I even chose to fold laundry and put it away when I had an extra 15 minutes, surprising myself. I typically prefer to wait and let my piles grow, while I check Facebook or email. But now my space is clean and organized and I’m surprised how easy it was, at least for today. Space and surprises. Hmmm… hope you had a good day and created some space too. What would you do if you had more free time? Just curious…

6Mar2014

JoySpace

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Everyone is so busy. We don’t have time because we are busy. Really?

I don’t buy that. We create our own busyness and put up our own boundaries and definitions. Pa-lease! We are not really THAT busy. Yes, we are busy. But… there is always a but.

We create our own frameworks and our own ways of thinking. No one is really that busy that we don’t have time for joy. Think about it. Maybe the President is busy, but he still finds time to get to Hawaii, or to play with his dogs and kids. We’re not that busy. We’re just pretending to be and feeling really important.

What if we change our minds?

I was thinking about this today. I was thinking about how we think and what we tell ourselves when we are alone.

What does your self talk sound like? Are you positively talking to yourself? Are you happy when you’re thinking? Are you thinking about finding and discovering joy in the little moments and minutes in between your busyness? Do you give yourself permission?

I do. I believe in the pursuit of happiness and being happy just because we can. Every day, even when we’re busy or sick or tired. I think like that. Yes, I’m weird, but I’m pretty happy too because I choose to and want to be happy despite the chaos and craziness and imperfections of life. I want to fill in the cracks with joyspace. Yep, that’s what I’m calling it. I don’t know if it’s a word, but now it is. It’s mine and yours and we need to fill our joyspace in between our busy moments. It’s easy. You just have to be aware and to think about wanting to create and find joy when you have a little minute and then you surprisingly will. Trust me. It works. And it’s contagious. 🙂

I’ll share a few of my little moments of joyspace today while I was “so” busy.

I was shopping at Ranch 99 for stuff to make an Indonesian dinner tonight and this store is so fascinating. Look at the strange crackers I found…

These crab crackers were in the snack aisle…eeewe! But they made me ponder and think how different we all are – from foods, to the way we spend our time, to the way we think and worship and play and all that good stuff. I couldn’t believe this was considered something yummy, but we all have different tastes and I found joy in appreciating this crab concept.

I also noticed the music that was playing while I was shopping. It wasn’t what you would typically hear in MUSAK – it was Chinese music and it was fitting and noticeably different and made me smile while I was shopping and weaving in and out of traffic… it’s very crowded in there!

When I came home with my groceries, I noticed all the different flowers blooming in my yard and felt the presence of spring!

It’s quickly approaching and made me smile.

Don’t forget to spring your clocks forward on Sunday!

First rose bud has bloomed.

I can’t wait for longer hours of sunshine to fill more joyspace. I loved noticing the changes in the garden.

I chose today to cook a fun and messy dinner and to not worry or rush into doing the dishes.

Indonesian/ Chinese dinner just because…

The dishes are still sitting on the table, but I’ll get to them before I go to bed. Instead I filled the time helping Charlie with his math homework and laughing with Jeff at the dinner table with the kids. We made time for each other, even though we’re “so” busy. Everyone has time for 15 minutes together, even if we don’t think so.

So those are just some of the ways I found and created joys in between the busyness and chaos of life. It’s all how we look at it and choose to make time for joy.

How did you make time for joy today? What did your joyspace look like? I’m curious.

Wishing you peace and joy amidst your busyness! Namaste.