Running

I ran to work this morning - from the train station to my office. Well, almost the whole way which is pretty impressive to me. I've finally ran in my new sneakers!

goal

I have two goals in mind.

One is artistic, the other is just to see if I can do it.

1. I will get an illustration published where a lot of people will see it (and get paid for it).

2. I will run a mile.

The first is a goal that I will have to work on by drawing quite a few fully realized illustrations, in my style. I'm thinking this will take at least 10 drawings of which maybe one will be something I consider good. If I do 10 drawings a month - that would be, what three a week? But I don't want to focus on finishing them quickly, I need to find my style and really work on the art. I seem to like to start a drawing or painting and finish it quickly. Ok so maybe I"ll have to do a bunch of small drawings weekly, and focus on the big one in pieces. I may need some guidance.

The second goal - well that one is the hardest in my mind, for a number of reasons. I'm not unhealthy (in my opinion). I can do lots of cardio. I walk for miles on end, you won't hear a peep from me. But I absolutely hate running. And I somehow lose track of breathing when I do run so I make it maybe 2 1/2 city blocks before my beet-red face has to stop to gasp for air.

So why do it? Because I think I can't. I have never managed to run a full mile - and that includes during basketball conditioning with an old drill Sargent drilling me the whole mile on the subject. I would always have to stop and catch my breath. We did a "fun" run in grade school that involved racing around the school and gym, every year, at the end of the year. I never made it. I did enjoy the orange slices they gave us and made frequent stops at the water stations. But I never ran the whole time. I was also a last-place finisher in the 100 meter dash in middle school. I'm a shorter than 100 meter dash burst of running kinda gal I guess. But I don't want to be limited by what I've been in the past. I want to be able to finally have run a mile. I'll have to start by seeing if I can run around my own block...

best of the 4th

tennis in the noon heat

cold black cherry soda

cool shower after

a WHOLE pint of chocolate ice cream

corn on the cob and grilled bratwurst

watching fireworks from the 11th floor

Saturday

PMS sure can make me cranky!

Things I'm not allowed to say

Sometimes I step away when someone's talking to me. I retreat somewhere inside. I'm not listening. Then hours later, as I'm walking around, staring at the bright city skyline, I think of the cruelty of life. That eventually, you're really not allowed to be yourself. You have to step into a role to do what needs to be done and hide yourself away inside that persona. Or you will perish. So to that my inner-self says Fuck You.

Even though it's not a word I'm allowed to say.

Day 181: Custom furniture coming to a tour stop near you!

Day 181: Custom furniture coming to a tour stop near you!
Originally uploaded by Threadless 365

Now why haven't I done this before???

Dinner

I made french onion soup from scratch today. And I thanked my parents for my food processor. BEST GIFT EVER. It's also the first time I've ever made french onion soup. I do it completely veggie - I'm not fond of beef broth. It's yummy. I also made a fab whole wheat and shrimp red curry and paired it with a glass of white wine. To make it more bohemian I'm eating in my bed using a cookie sheet as a serving tray.

I have two drawings to do that are stuck in my head. There's a story behind them, but the images need to be laid out first. I sketched one, but I'm thinking of working it out on my nice watercolor paper that is soo nice I'm afraid to use it. I just gotta bite the bullet!

mmm back to my soup.