Easter Sunday

It's here.

Summer is at my heels practically giving me a flat tire.
The weather is flawless

I can't stop buying fruit or drinking porch-sippers

Gardening is becoming number one on my list of to do's

And so is going to the beach

I’m eating copious amounts of honey to prevent pollen from getting the best of me

I'm finding ways to stay cool in the sticky heat to come

Like painting my toenails in the fridge

Did I mention it's the time of the season

For termites

Sunday Funday

Today I went to a fun record sale with my lady friends. There were endless bins of vinyl ranging from $1 to $30. I was on a budget and the $5 bin was plentiful enough to satisfy me. I didn't do too much digging... it was a Sunday after all and I was feeling extremely lazy with one hand occupied by a beer. I only just skimmed the surface. I spent half the time looking and half the time socializing.
Friends, beer and records! These were my finds of the day.

The first album I bought was the 007 Goldfinger. Yes... I'll be listening to this while I cook breakfast to get my day started off right.

The next album I bought solely on the booklet built into the front. It didn't let me down. The vinyl was just as good as the artwork.

Then I started drinking a huge beer and the one hand digging commenced.

I finished my extra large beer on an empty stomach. My buzz was fresh and I started to get a bit nostalgic...
I bought some Judy Collins, which reminded me of my Grandmother and my Mom. When my Grandmother died, my Mom inherited The Judy Collins album, Colors of The Day. I remember her opening the record sleeve and smelling my Grandmother's scent.

I also shamelessly bought some Kate Bush.

A fun Sunday off with great friends and good music. That's a wrap y'all.

Book Fiend

Word of the Day: Navel

The Flywheels In the Body Machinery

A brief of the main 7 Chakras of the body

The Chakras regulate the body mechanisms, and although not physical, they correspond with parts of the physical body. The Chakras help to circulate the solar and lunar energy that flows through the nadis. Bandhas are also an important part to controlling those energies.

But since we are focusing on the Chakras, here is a little illustration for quick and easy reference!

7 Chakras by Eli Rae is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Pineapple

Why should you eat pineapple?
Because it’s yummy and makes you feel like you’re on vacation in a tropical place... Even in winter. It’s the Corona of fruit. Plus it helps cravings for candy (chocolate excluded).

So cut in and eat it by itself, in chicken salad, in tofu salad, in a tropical salad, dipped in chocolate, roasted on skewers, with a corona, or just make a cocktail with it… like I did. Don’t waste the top of your pineapple either: Just plant it.

Try this springy pineapple gin cocktail:

What you will need:
4 ounces gin
Club soda
Half a lime
¼ cup pineapple
2 teaspoons agave
10 mint leaves

Muddle gin, pineapple, mint and squeezed lime together. Split between two glasses on ice. Top with club soda. Take it outside and soak up the sun.

Also:
Caring for your pineapple:
After picked, pineapples do not ripen. But it will become softer and juicier if you let it sit out a day or two in room temperature before cutting it. Technically it’s rotting… The best kind of rotting!
Picking your pineapple:
Pineapples from Hawaii or Central America are your best bet. They tend to be fresher.
Why are they good for you?
Pineapples contain vitamin C and the enzyme bromelain.

Tinted albumen photograph of Hawaiian pineapple field in the 1880s by Danish-born amateur photographer Christian Hedemann found on Wikipedia

Inner Dialogue

Recently I have been feeling unsatisfied. It’s like when you breathe and don’t reach that final hump that relieves your inhale and leads to your exhale. The most annoying part was that I couldn’t pinpoint the source of that dissatisfaction. I just kept thinking of Mick Jagger breaking dance moves on that missing hump of my breath singing “I can’t get no…”

So like the list maker I am, I decided to make some lists. I wrote a list of things that make me happy, things I dread, and things I would like to see happen in the next couple months. As silly as it sounds, it helped me establish where this feeling was coming from and how to address it.

I asked myself if the things I dread are necessary for my happiness later or if it was sacrificing my present moment. I asked myself if I have been properly managing my time to fit those happy things into my life. And then I made a commitment to myself to make those happy things happen.

Sometimes, we get to a point when we need to make a change... But instead, we give up. Making a change may seem harder than giving up, but really it’s not. It’s actually satisfying. So take that Mick Jagger.

Old Moldy Shoes?

I have a favorite pair of shoes that I just can't seem to get rid of. They carry so many memories and have walked so many places. However, they are old, moldy, smelly and shot out. So I decided to turn them into a planter!
Here is an easy tutorial to follow. You can use anything you want! Like your favorite purse that is falling apart...

What you will need:

Small succulents (they maintain the best)
Shovel & gloves...or just your hands
Old shoes or purses that you are attached to
Succulent planting soil
A drill

The first thing you should do is drill or cut a couple holes in the bottom of the shoe, box, purse, etc. that you plan to use as your potter. It is best to have drainage in your "planter". For shoes, I recommend ripping the material sole out first.

Next, pack a layer of dirt in your selected planter.

Carefully put your succulent in your created nook. Pack dirt around the plant. You can finish it with rocks if you like.

And voila!