Marie King

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

30 Days

A Picture-A-Day

As I mentioned earlier, my friend and I are doing a picture-a-day challenge this October. We were inspired by an older TED talk by Matt Cutts titled appropriately, "Try Something New For 30 Days." You do something, or take something away, for 30 days- like write a novel, stop eatting sugar, etc. If you've always wanted to learn to sew, well choose to sew every day for the next 30 days.

http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html?source=google_plusone

Along the same vein, I recently read an article on Life Hacker titled, "How Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret Fixed My Procrastination Problem." it suggests you spend some amount of time doing a desired activity every day. Instead of putting off cleaning your house, decide to spend 15 minutes each day cleaning something and before you know it, you're house will be clean and more importantly- it will stay that way.

http://lifehacker.com/5886128/how-seinfelds-productivity-secret-fixed-my-procrastination-problem

What both the video and the article have in common is that you're taking a big problem/desire/goal and breaking it down into a bunch of little problems/tasks. Micromanagement.

You've always wanted to learn French. Well if you're like me, you'll buy a big textbook on Amazon and be really excited for a week, spending an hour or two each day studying it. And then, never pick it up again. I've taken on too much and I burn out. But how about learning a word a day instead?

As I mentioned before, I've been hoping to create more content instead of consume it. Well doing a big art project every day is hardly sustainable. But a photo-a-day? Whether I take the time to go to a forrest preserve with my handy-dandy DSLR like I did today or I stay at home and take an iPhone pic with my dog- well that sounds reasonable. I can do it and I will do it and when it's all over, I'm going to be a bit closer to my goal of creating more content.

Furthermore, as Matt Cutts mentions in his mini-lecture, instead of time passing by in a blur, these little projects give you an anchor, a goal that keeps you grounded. I will know exactly where I was and how I felt when I look at the picture above. Perhaps that is the greatest reward of all.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Truly Wild

This was the second to last weekend at our cottage before we must close her for the winter. This morning, while her fuses (no, she has not yet heard of circuit breakers) went a little haywire, I took the opportunity to wander around the forest nearby while the men folk did their magic.

And what I found was a magic of my own.

There is nothing quite so peaceful as waking amongst the trees. Our cottage is built on stilts into the sand dune and my little nook sticks right out into the tree heads. I wake to the birds singing and the fluffy black squirrels playing around in a way only the truly wild of their species know how to. I always try to burn the sight into my mind so that I can pretend I am always there but there's no replacement for the quiet joy that spreads through my body as my eyes behold the new day.

When I wake each day, it's with a sense of relief.

When I wake in the forest, it's with a sense of being.

Perhaps, someday, when my wings have been tired from all their adventures,

I will build my home somewhere tucked deep away in the forest,

and I too will play, as only the truly wild of my species know how.

Michigan 2012

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Artsy, Fartsy Fall!

October is a 'Picture-a-Day' month!

(well me and my darling friend decided it was at least)

I'm excited for it. I feel I consume too much, curating small galleries of other people's art on Pinterest (speaking of which, you should follow me @ http://pinterest.com/marieeeka/ :) ) and not making something of my own for others to gather into their own collections. I need to get the creative juices flowing, they've been stymied by work and routine and directionless action.

Plus!! NaNoWriMo is almost upon us! I can't tell you how excited I am. My last few days have been spent perusing Amazon for the best books on writing and character development. I apologize in advance to my mailman for the next week's hustle.

I hate the heat and tend to be a bit of hermit in the summer months but Fall and Winter...they make me feel alive, like everything I want is possible.

Cheers to a lovely, artsy, creative October and November!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Well lived.

1931

This summer has been a trip down memory lane. I've spent hours scanning in old photos my grandfather has kept safe all these years. The couple above are my great-grandparents on a road trip to the West in 1931.

Looking at all these people I've never met, yet whose blood runs in me is truly a remarkable experience and has inspired an ancestry project of sorts I hope to share with you all soon.

Until then...

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Ain't She Pretty!

She's my favorite model and such a lovely source of inspiration. Celia is as unique as her name and I love her fiercely- all the way to my toes and split ends. We're completely different and yet she always knows what to say to make me feel better, to laugh and to smile when I'm at my worst. She tells me what TV shows I should spend all night watching next, all sorts of weird health tips she's learning at school, and most importantly- all the great specials at Walgreens (hallelujah!)

Best of all she mooches off me (though she be 5 miles or 500 miles away). My premium Spotify account, my Netflix, my Kindle purchases- it's like I'm giving to charity every day.

But hey- ain't she pretty!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Where I learned to breathe...

Lately, I've seen a lot of these beautiful water pictures and decided to try. So I went out for my last swim in Lake Michigan this summer and brought my trusty camera.

Sunset is my favorite time to swim. In September, the water tends to be clear and as the sun sets, little dots of gold sparkle down the backs of the waves that you can see when you're just below the surface. I often wish I never had to resurface. Most people dislike the cold September water- I'm often the only one in the water for miles but I love it. It's a small reprieve from the heat that eats at my mind. The coldest water pools down at the bottom, near the sands on calm days and I like to sink and lay below and slowly float my way up, watching the blurry, fluffy clouds come gradually into focus until I finally surface.

The water is the one place I can really clear my mind and just be
and thus the words above on the photo.

I took about a million photos on this very last day of my summer. I held the camera just above the waves and we moved together up and down capturing all the different colors of the sleeping sky and the textures of the water. It was one of the perfect moments that will forever be etched on my heart.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Come check out our new blog...

http://poofcakes-and-smooshcheese.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Book Blogs and Recommendations

As a result of all the publicity research I do for my publishing company, I have gotten into book blogs lately. One that I've recently stumbled onto is LC's Adventures in Libraryland. She's doing an ARC and swag giveaway that I encourage you to enter if you're interested in YA fiction.

In the spirit of book recommendations, I've been reading Thomas Pynchon's "Against the Day." For those interested in turn of the century tales, the Industrial Revolution and a touch of fantasy, I highly recommend it. I've been laughing since the first page. Beautifully written with a compelling story and a wonderful mixture of reality and imagination.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Along the Green Wood Path

If I could live in a small cottage in the English countryside with the sea on one side and a lush forest on the other, a stack of books to keep me company in the winter and a wood burning fireplace to curl around in the evening, I daresay I would be the happiest of souls.