Yesterday a friend of mine sent me this video. Watch it start to finish. It’ll blow your mind a little bit!
Lately, Husband and I have been having a lot of conversations about living in the moment–about monotasking and focus. We both have jobs where we spend the majority of our day in front of screens and often we find ourselves checking our twitter feeds regardless of our surroundings or company. There are so many devices trying to talk to us at any given point that it’s often hard to focus on the task at hand. So when I watched this performance, two things struck me. First of all, the intense concentration that Miyoko Shida has on what she is doing. How often do you perform one task, quietly (a state that is really hard for me in general) giving your complete attention to what you’re doing? Since Husband and I started talking about monotasking, I’ve found an everyday chore like washing the dishes can become something like a meditative exercise when done in silence–no dings coming from my phone and no Big Bang Theory blaring from the TV in the other room. It really clears my mind. The other thing I’ve found is that it is easier to be creative when my mind is free of distractions. We all go through times of creative block, regardless of whether you have a creative job like I do or not. But, I’ve found that when my mind is free of the noise from Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter, it’s easier to come up with brand new ideas and work through creative problems. This brings me to the second thing I found so fascinating about Miyoko Shida’s performance: her willingness to create something impermanent. Often times, I think we hang on to routines and processes regardless of whether or not they work. Getting out of the box and having a willingness to change or even destroy the tangible things or the ideas I’ve created in the past has given me a new sense of freedom in my work and in our home. Be quiet. Remove distractions. Focus on the task at hand.
If you’re a new reader, “Hello, Gorgeous!” posts are a round-up of beautiful, random links that are making me smile this week. Enjoy!
Happy Monday! Have you missed me? I’ve missed you! For today’s Hello, Gorgeous! post, how about we play a little catch-up?
After last week’s Alton Browncast, Husband has been experimenting with cucumbers, and they may be a new favorite thing about summer. Have you ever had cucumber water? It’s delightfully refreshing! It will make you feel like you’re at the spa without ever having to leave the couch.
In other news, I’m pretty sure this girl is my spirit animal.
I’ve been reading a lot of Roald Dahl lately–especially out in the sunshine.
Confession: After never watching an episode, we’ve become completely obsessed with Parks and Rec. Over the course of a week, we’ve already binge-watched our way to season 4. I’m not even a little ashamed.
My favorite character is Ron, and the fact that Nick Offerman is a woodworker in real life completely made my weekend. You should definitely check out the goods on OffermanWoodshop.com Also, I’m completely in love with the site design but that is neither here nor there.
Other than that, this summer has been a whirlwind of new friendships, impromptu gatherings, weddings, and babies. Since Hello, Gorgeous! posts are always the most random of collections, allow me to end with a more serious link. NPR’s Scott Simon is by his mother’s side in her dying moments and, ever the journalist, is documenting the experience via Twitter. His posts are precious, and also bring back some hard memories, but what a beautiful way to honor her life…
If you’re a new reader, “Hello, Gorgeous!” posts are a round-up of beautiful, random links that are making me smile this week. Enjoy!
I have tried very hard to reign in the fact that I am a Disney fanatic for the purposes of this blog. But this little short had me at hello, and I just couldn’t resist sharing. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the modern feminist movement and the tension that still seems to exist over ‘having it all,’ the definition of beauty, etc. etc. I’ll probably write about that at some point when my thoughts are a bit more organized.
In the meantime, I *love* the message of this video. I love how Disney is redefining & evolving a franchise so near and dear to my own heart, and helping little girls put value on things that really matter: bravery, loyalty, family, kindness… Enjoy!
illustration by Golden Cosmos for the NYTimes Book Review
Looking for some summer reading ideas? I really enjoyed reading “What I Read That Summer” in the New York Times Book Review last Sunday. It’s a collection of short essays by famous authors about literary memories, and it is really beautiful.
Finally, were you sucked into Arrested Development’s Season 4 on Netflix for the past couple of weeks? Check out these 2 clips…
My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.
And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.
They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.
For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas -- whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them--help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.
And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.
And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Thy will be done, Almighty God.
Amen.
I remember the first time I heard this prayer, delivered to America nearly seventy years ago by radio address the night after American and Allied forces landed in Normandy. It brought several things to mind, that I’d like to consider today:
First, Husband and I were talking recently about how little we have to invest in our own freedom. Neither of us serve in the military and while we do have friends and family that do, it’s interesting that we, as individuals don’t have to give anything up to pay for the freedoms that we enjoy everyday. I nerd out over old radio shows, and a common theme among each of them is reminding their audience of which food was being rationed or why they shouldn’t frequent black markets. Can you imagine how much Americans would revolt if this happened today? Why is that? What’s changed? And what could we do to support the military that we know?
Secondly, there’s this line:
“…because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”
I’m challenging myself to do that today. To keep prayer at the front of my mind. I understand that sometimes you really have nothing to say, but there’s always someone to pray for and something for which to give thanks. And, if nothing else, pray a blessing for our friends in uniform. That prayer is always timely.
I like to say that Secrets of a Belle is where I share about “the art of living a more beautiful life.” And while my voice here in Blogland has been a bit quieter for the last couple weeks, life is pretty beautiful at the moment. It’s that perfect time of year in East Tennessee when the weather is just right for bike rides, tennis in the park, and *lots* of picnics. We’ve been experimenting in the kitchen with what comes each Wednesday in our CSA basket, reading several new books, and doing lots around the house. I couldn’t help but think of this quote…
As I’ve said before, I really love mail. Sending mail. Getting mail. I love it all. So a few weeks ago, when I ran out of stationery, I decided to make something a little more personal than just buying it at a shop like I usually do. Here’s what I did.
First, I went to the craft store and bought 2 sets of blank stationery–one craft and one white. They come in large packs so there will be plenty to experiment with. Next, I took apart one of the envelopes, and used the inside to make a template from cardboard with my ruler and an X-acto. Use the one solid side (where the address goes) and cut just under the glue of the flap.
Next, I traced the template on the random scrap papers I’d collected and cut it out with scissors.
After placing the new liner inside the envelope and straightening it, I gently folded the flap down. Finally, I used a glue stick to attach the new liner to the inside of the top. You don’t have to worry about gluing the bottom half because it will stay in place by itself.
Finally, after lining all of the envelopes, I decorated the cards with stamps and scraps.
Home again. Home again. Jiggity jig. The trip to Maker Faire was wonderful, and I’ll be sharing a lot of it in the next week or two once we wrap our heads around the plethora of content we came home with.
In the meantime, I thought I’d share some cool resources that I’ve found online lately that have me pretty excited. Every once in a while, I feel like my brain gets a little stale. Does that ever happen to you? You finish a big project, you are running from appointment to appointment trying to check things off your ToDo list… oh, that ToDo list… So rather than complacently ignore the feeling, I thought, “I need a challenge!”
So I thought back to the times when I have felt most creative. One of those, not surprisingly, was during school. When you’re in school, there’s a goal. There’s a definite end to projects. Best of all, you are surrounded by people with a passion for the same sorts of things that interest you. As a result, there’s an excitement about learning something new, and excitement always makes it easier to get out of your box.
But when you get older, finding a learning community can be a little more difficult. Needless to say, I was super stoked to find several online resources where you can take classes that are free (or close to it) to challenge yourself and learn something new. Here are a few that have caught my eye that may interest you too…
STANFORD ONLINE
Online courses that free, taught by Stanford’s own faculty and taken by people all over the world.
CREATIVEBUG
I heard about this site on Jordan Ferney’s blog. These classes are more craft/skill-geared, and teach skills that can really help you create your own world.
So now I’m curious…
Have you ever taken an online course just for fun?
Exciting news: This week I am in California for the very first time visiting Maker Faire for DIY. Michele and I are having the best time exploring San Mateo and meeting thousands of other people that are just as passionate about the maker movement as we are. I’ve got some great content to post for you next week but, in the meantime, follow me on Twitter and Instagram for the latest!
Husband and I don’t go to restaurants too often. So at the beginning of the week, I sometimes make grilled chicken that we can use for fajitas, quesadillas, and salads. This paired with the fact that we eat a lot of salads, helps us eat healthy without a huge time investment on busy weeknights.
Last week, I got a bit hooked on a simple salad of spinach, green apple, & pecorino with a splash of sherry vinegar and olive oil. So, using that as a stepping stone, I decided to try a little twist on the Southern classic: chicken salad. Perfect for picnics, Sunday suppers, and busy week nights.
Ingredients:
2 cubed grilled chicken breasts
1/2 cup celery
1/2 roasted red pepper
1/2 green apple
Dressing:
1 heaping Tblsp minced green onion
1 Tblsp minced basil
3 Tblsp mayo
1 Tblsp sherry vinegar
Mix together all the ingredients and then serve on the bread of your choice. I think it’s best when dressed with spinach, a slice of tomato, and a little bit of pecorino romano cheese.
So when I watched this performance, two things struck me. First of all, the intense concentration that Miyoko Shida has on what she is doing. How often do you perform one task, quietly (a state that is really hard for me in general) giving your complete attention to what you’re doing? Since Husband and I started talking about monotasking, I’ve found an everyday chore like washing the dishes can become something like a meditative exercise when done in silence–no dings coming from my phone and no Big Bang Theory blaring from the TV in the other room. It really clears my mind. 
The other thing I’ve found is that it is easier to be creative when my mind is free of distractions. We all go through times of creative block, regardless of whether you have a creative job like I do or not. But, I’ve found that when my mind is free of the noise from Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter, it’s easier to come up with brand new ideas and work through creative problems. This brings me to the second thing I found so fascinating about Miyoko Shida’s performance: her willingness to create something impermanent. Often times, I think we hang on to routines and processes regardless of whether or not they work. Getting out of the box and having a willingness to change or even destroy the tangible things or the ideas I’ve created in the past has given me a new sense of freedom in my work and in our home. 
Be quiet. Remove distractions. Focus on the task at hand.
