We should get chickens

April 23, 2014

The full title of this post is actually “We should get chickens!” and Other Things That Do Not Make Sense Right Now. Things like:

Climb Aconcogua
Go dog-sledding in Norway
Live on a sail ship for a year
Start a family band
Become a fiber artist
Road trip around New Zealand
Remodel our bathroom
Become a competitive bodybuilder
Go back to school for creative writing
Or naturopathy
Or sports science
Hike the Appalachian Mountain range
Overhaul my wardrobe to be completely post-apocalypse appropriate
Or…

Buy a new (to us) home. (And then get chickens!)

I have big dreams. All the time. And they don’t always make sense for our circumstances or for our pocketbooks but they make perfect sense to my gut and appeal to my heart. It takes just seconds, literally, for my body to make decisions that my intellectual brain would take some time to think through — at the very least a day or two — weighing pros and cons. So when I heard the whisper of a really rad midcentury home in a sweet neighborhood – and across the street from my sister – going on the market my heart immediately said yes. I could immediately see a vision of our family growing new traditions and forging deep roots together in this home. But now my brain is spinning to figure out “how are we going to make this work?”

It might not make sense. It might not work out. But my heart can dream, right?

P.S. Because I know I’ll get asked – yes, if we do move we will either be selling or renting our current house. You can email me at Kathleen@braidcreative.com if you’re interested.

On Moderation

April 18, 2014

Last Friday afternoon I made these no-bake peppermint patties by Frankenstein-ing a few recipes from This Rawsome Vegan Life together and making a few moderations of my own. And they were awesome. I made about 12 cookies and managed to eat 10 (saving one for Jeremy and one for my sister) of them within the span of 12 hours.

I’m pretty good with being disciplined when I have firm boundaries. For example, if I’m doing a Whole30 and know that dark chocolate is off the table (and out of my mouth) for a full 30 days it’s not much of a problem. I know I’ll have cravings but I also know that I can’t give in to them. But after my month of clean eating is up, it becomes a daily battle to keep myself from eating an entire bar of the stuff – every. single. night. The question of “Do I have one more piece or no?” and the restraint (or indulgence) that follows almost becomes more struggle than the joy of eating some awesome chocolate is worth.

And on that note … since having Fox I only enjoy a glass of wine (or two max) once a week. But I’ve found that it’s not quite as enjoyable, tasty, or comforting as my daily “wind down” glass was pre-pregnancy. I suppose the daily ritual of getting cozy with a bottle of Malbec may have been what took the edge off even more so than the actual wine itself. Plus now when I imbibe, even just a little bit, I feel wrecked just hours later. Again, it just hardly seems worth it.

I’m beginning to think I suck at moderation. For as much as I’d like to think of myself an anything-goes free-spirit, I actually do much better within boundaries – even if they’re self-imposed. What about you? Are you good with moderation? Or do you prefer to have a clear line in the sand?

New Yorkisms

April 17, 2014

Our Braid designer Kristin Tate recently moved from our home base in Oklahoma City to Brooklyn, New York. She’s still working for us full time but is pushing and experimenting with her design (and eavesdropping) skills on the side with the passion project of hers: New Yorkisms. Get the full story behind these posts over at Kristin’s blog here.

P.S. and off topic: Today is your last day to register for our Braid ECourse Shape Up Your Content: Tame Your Ideas and Tell People How to Buy You before it starts on Friday. This ECourse is awesome for creative entrepreneurs, writers, photographers, bloggers, coaches, and consultants who are trying to get more concise about what they do and for who. As an And Kathleen reader you can take this course for $50 when you use the discount code ANDKATHLEEN50 when you register. Learn more and see if it’s a fit here.

Enjoy Every Moment

April 16, 2014

My phone alerted me the other day that I’ve almost used up all 16GB. Aside from the time I accidentally synced Beyonce’s new album (in which each song comes with a video) to my phone that has never happened before.

What changed? I had a baby and couldn’t stop taking photos of him. This is no surprise to you if you follow my Instagram account. But for every photo posted there there are hundreds more that are never shared. Taking photos of my baby has become almost a compulsion. And at times I annoy myself with the need to document rather than just living in the moment. But I realized, it’s not the photos themselves but the act of taking them that is proof to me that I am not taking this time for granted. The action of snapping a picture takes me out of the moment to recognize that I am in fact enjoying it. A catch-22 at it’s finest.

I may be late to the game but I only recently discovered PostalPix – an app that lets you order prints direct from your phone. Every time I go to clear images off my phone I simply upload a few to PostalPix for printing and a few days later have quality prints delivered to my door. As much as I love capturing and sharing online I like the sentiment that real prints offer – physical proof that we were here and that we loved big time.

P.S. This is not a sponsored post – if there is a phone-to-print service you like even better let me know! I’m really wanting a service that offers magnets made out of my Instagram snaps to cover my fridge with.

Coaching for Creatives | Show Up With Intention

April 14, 2014

How are you showing up for your clients?
If you’re racing from deadline to deadline you might be showing up frazzled, resentful, and spread thin. And it will show in your work and client relationships.

How are you showing up for your partner, your family, and your friends?
If you’re itching to check your email under the dinner table you might be showing up with scattered attention and only a part of your whole heart.

Try this – the next time you go into a client meeting take a minute beforehand to consider how you want to show up. Take some deep cleansing breaths and visualize how you can best help your client and what you want to accomplish. The next time you sit down to work on a project clear off your desk, close all your browser windows (and perhaps open a real window). Soak up the potential of a blank page and set an intention for how you want to feel while you do the work.

The next time you have dinner with a friend or a date out with your main squeeze try leaving your phone at home. Instead of falling back on conversations about what sucks, instead speak from the place that holds your dreams and desires.

This week try to consistently show up as your best self and share the gift of attention and intention – in work and life. I’ll join you.

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If you like this post you might like my DIY Coaching for Creatives Email Sessions. It’s 4 emails x 4 weeks (16 emails total) for just $40. Complete with worksheets, exercises, mantras, meditations, and to-dos for time management, decision-making, and strategies for living more of what you love – in work and life. You can learn more about what you’ll get and purchase anytime here.