Mental Health Day

Stayed home today, need a day's worth of time out from work and everything else.

Put The Blue Planet - Seas of Life dvd on for a relaxing background, irish meadows scented candle flickering with its earthy scent, promoting constructive leisure..

I had great success making delicious sweet potatoes yesterday and I think I'm going to make some more today. Vegetables as a main course generally don't satisfy me much, I am usually left wanting something of more substance. Yet the sweet potato recipe I picked up really turned this vegetable into meat-like satisfaction for me! Golly Gee! I am completely shocked that

                                          1) I find sweet potatoes delicious

                                          2) I was able to make them delicious

If one wasn't aware, the operative word here is d e l i c i o u s

nom nom nom

Another recipe I wanna try is the roasted cauliflower with garlic and onions

Both can be eaten cold, they're equally tasty that way. Also to make in the near future - oven roasted asparagus. all 3 are D E L I C I O U S. And this is a meat-lover talking. Bon appétit!

~wedding stuff~

Pig in full wedding preparation mode…it's pretty surreal to think I'm going to be a married woman, but amazing..and I can't wait to take on Bear's last name!

Before I set on looking for anything for the wedding, I spent hours researching styles and comparing it to what I'm comfortable wearing and paying. I think that putting some information up might be useful for someone looking for an elegant, yet low-key, classic look. Below is my board of inspiration:

Finding the wedding dress wasn't hard at all, thanks to my maid of honor, we made it happen baby! I wasn't keen on a traditional white wedding gown, and we found an amazing Tadashi Shoji off-the-shoulder lace gown in antique beige. It has a beautiful neckline with scalloped trim, the color is so beautiful and I really like lace...

So this past week I found the shoes I wanted - Tahari Colette nude pumps. Beautiful. I've been secretly wanting nude pumps, and I know I'll be wearing those shoes a lot, not just for the wedding. DSW is the place. 

I got some ivory satin ribbon at the fabric store, $8, it'll serve me as a sash, with a bow right above my tush, because I find it so darn cute.

I work at a fine jewelry company and I chose a 3 strand pearl bracelet as well as pearl-and-diamond cluster earrings that I'm going to borrow for the occasion..score!

Last thing is hair and makeup - looking for a 60's inspired makeup, cat eye, big lashes, subtle lips. Hair - teased and tousled updo, not a stiff bridal look. I want to feel sexy and alluring, not virginal. To each their own ;-P

1st world problems

Having a little dinner with another couple for New Year's Eve... I'm not so keen on going out, let alone collecting evening clothes. Tomorrow I'm going with my maid of honor to shop for wedding dress accessories so I hope I'll be able to snatch a nice evening number as well..and check out a thrift store or two.

This is a perfect outfit for a nye dinner..very up my alley

teal-ted

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Regular Christmas colors have been accompanied by teal and purple in some instances, which, to me, is pretty convenient as teal is on my mind a lot recently. I've been getting more exposure to the range of teal (it is wide!). Im telling my bridesmaids to wear a teal-and-peach combo for the reception. I'm also trying to introduce more teal shades in our living room. So it's nice to get more familiar with the color.

orange, teal and grey with brown accents should work in the living room then

lavatory makeover?

I'm dreaming of charcoal walls in our bathroom

Like so:

Today I went to my first acupuncture appointment ever

in order to try an alternative treatment for my knee issue

(long story, I must've pulled my tendon).

In any case, it was a very pleasant experience. 

Reminded me that liver is one of the most important organs

and needs to have periods of rest every now and then.

By feeding my body nutrient rich food

I can feel more energized because my liver

isn't all worn out from working overtime

processing junk.

A pretty simple idea, no?

COMPARISON IS AN ACT OF VIOLENCE 

AGAINST THE SELF

christmas candle and lights

make for comfortable nights

for snuggling under a quilt

is a relationship built

found on a sober blog, found it very helpful

I still pray, though. I have a clear sense that there is more to us human beings than our physical bodies. I believe that, if God/Spirit is “out there,” it is also “in here.” Prayer and meditation, as regular practices, align my will and my consciousness with the great flows of life—time, gravity, healing, love, and others that I don’t even know about yet. And Spirit.

When the prayer says, “Let not my will but thy will be done,” I don’t imagine a person. I imagine time’s will, or love’s natural orientation, or the healing body’s natural courses. Usually I perceive Spirit’s will. (Or even gravity’s will: I have more and more wrinkles and sags today than I had last year, talk about humility.)

There are some simple prayers I’ve been encouraged to say in recovery:

• Let me be relieved of the bondage of self, so I can better serve Spirit’s will
• Let me be relieved of fear and my attention be directed toward what Spirit would allow me to be
• Let me give my strengths and weaknesses in the service of Spirit, and may those weaknesses be removed which no longer serve others
• Let Spirit (not money, not social insecurity, not fear, in other words not self-will) direct my thinking, separating my thinking from self-pity and deceit.
• My favorite: I ask for an “intuitive thought” when I’m confused. I love this. Because this is another of my higher powers—the Intuitive Thought. It’s beyond me, bigger than me, and very powerful.

Higher power for me is not about belief. It’s about exercise. It’s about waking up. The 12 steps keep me sober, and they also wake me up.

NOT a masquerade ball

a new persona or a pomegranate?

Lately been pondering the ways people present themselves to the world. Specifically, myself. Today marks my 7th month of physical and mental sobriety and I think about all the ridiculous social situations I've found myself in the last 6 years. Fleeting friendships or acquaintanceships, who knows at this point which one was which?
This whole new business of being sober - monitoring myself and my behaviors especially with other people around, in social situations, can hinder my carefree self…I guess I have yet to draw the delicate line between the wonderfully adventurous carefree and the self destructive "Let's break some shit" me. As of right now, I find myself feeling a little disconnected, or distanced in most of my friendships. Not seriously detached, just cautious and awkward at times. And don't want to repeat mistakes of the past. Therefore I stop myself before I say too much or appear "too much". Always ending up being called the "crazy" one, the "weird and silly" one, I just want to be who I really am and not feel like I have to apologize for it. No point here in this post, other than I hope that this overly cautious stage of my life is temporary. Otherwise, whats the point of sobriety?

~Pig home alone

Bear's away since this Wednesday.

Wednesday - Halloween. The air smells different. Delivery pizza for dinner.

Thursday - Pig feast. Tomato and roasted red pepper soup (creamy) accompanied by delicious pastry bites with feta cheese and caramelized onions. Yum

Friday - 6:30 AA Music meeting (my home group; each week the chairperson picks a song that relates to recovery or addiction, we listen to it and then we comment).
Dinner: Wild mushroom & black truffle flatbread pizza. Yum

Saturday - Running errands all day. A handful of shelled edamame for lunch (lack of appetite due to self inflicted anxiety) finally leading up to a nice, comforting dinner: breaded chicken tenders, garlic butter mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus drizzled with lemon butter {wasn't patient enough to take pictures of my plate}. Yum.

Trader Joe's haven't failed me yet.

I really enjoy eating.

I really like beauty products

Its scent reminds me of European lotions, clean and subtle. Clean skin scent.

Dee Dee was nice. Her conversation was decisive and entertaining. She was able to make me laugh, which I needed. My laughter was all there inside of me waiting to roar out: HAHAHAHAHA, o my god o my HAHAHAHAHA. It felt so good when it happened. Dee Dee knew something about life. She knew that what happened to one happened to most of us. Our lives were not so different - even though we liked to think so.
Pain is strange. A cat killing a bird, a car accident, a fire…
Pain arrives, BANG, and there it is, it sits on you. It's real. And to anybody watching, you look foolish. Like you've suddenly become an idiot. There's no cure for it unless you know somebody who understands how you feel, and knows how to help.

Reading Post Office. Absolutely refreshing. Harsh. Concrete.

little soapy treasures

I don't grow attached to certain personal hygiene products, I like to change things up, so many choices out there! Bar soap especially I love to experiment with. Harmless.
I recently treated myself to a Belgian eggwhite soap.

Here are the beauty bar's claims:
Eiwit Zeep Eggwhite Facial Soaps are produced with pure egg whites, chamomile and lecithin. Eiwit Zeep Eggwhite Facial Soap oil's soothing and hydrating properties combined with the protein-rich power of fresh eggwhites helps you maintain a clear, glowing complexion with daily use. 

Now, I don't know about you, but I look up to Scandinavians, in many ways.

But more on that later, Pig needs her beauty sleep.

adorable packaging, enticing fragrance

Battambang boat trip

I noticed that our boat  had slowed almost to a standstill and that our new additions were arguing with the skipper, pointing in a direction decidedly opposite from where the river was taking us. I looked to Kry to translate, but he wouldn't meet my gaze. Not a peep. He stared off at some fixed point in space, apparently oblivious. When, at our uninvited guest's instruction, the boat changed course, coughing and clanking up a narrow no-name creek perpendicular to the river, I barked to Kry, 'What's happening? What's going on?'

'We take shortcut,' said Kry, quickly slipping back into what seemed to be a coma.

'Shortcut'. The word filled me with dread. When has a shortcut ever worked out as planned? The word - in a horror film at least - usually precedes disembowelment and death. A 'shortcut' almost never leads to good times. And in Cambodia, with our skipper suddenly piloting the boat up a shallow, twisting, foliage- choked, water- filled ditch, deep into who the fuck knows where, with two who the fuck knows who giving the orders, I was not feeling too secure. I consulted my Lonely Planet guide and was dismayed to find this particular body of water did not appear on the map.

City at night

Jim Morrison touched on it in L.A. Woman, the subtleties in his voice letting me know exactly what city at night should feel like.

Even as a young girl I would love driving through our city at night with my mom, hearing music in the distance and good times happening after dark. I couldn't wait till I was old enough to experience all that smoky forbidden fun.

And then I got my first real taste of nightlife, and all that comes with it. The time in my life where I'd go to sleep around 5 or 6 am. For 3 years straight. My lifestyle has drastically changed since then. It might've only been 3 years since I left the bar scene, but I am in such a different place in my life right now. 

And I find dusk the most exciting part of the day. 

BODY--> pliable

Monday~

My 11 year anniversary in this country.
Was running errands after work, went to the far west side, then a long commute on the damen bus home. It was dusk at that point, and I enjoyed looking in other people's apartments, knowing it's dinner time. I'm surprised how many peeps keep their windows completely bare, for all to see. I could not possibly do it, I'm a very private pig. Anyway, Bear was waiting for me, made delicious bbq pork sandwiches, then a chocolate croissant for my dessert…This is love. I found it. My love. Home. Comfort. I'm a very lucky girl. Lucky pig.

A ryokan bath appreciation

A deep oblong cedar tub sat against one wall, next to an open window, from which one could gaze out at the mountaintops without being seen, along with an adjacent area in which to wash oneself prior to soaking in the tub. There were a small wooden stool, a scrub brush, a wooden bucket, and a high-powered-spray shower attachment. The idea was to squat on the wooden stool, soap up, brush oneself down with the hard bristle brush, pausing to rinse now and again with buckets of hot or cold water, as one liked, then shower. The whole floor, tiled in black granite, tilted conveniently into recessed troughs and drains. After one's outer layers of skin have been scrubbed off, one slid gracefully into the waiting tub, soaking for a long, long time, the window open up just enough for a cooling breeze, a view of ripe oranges dropping from the trees in the outer garden.