Music Obsession of the Week: 1

Yes it might be strange to add a little music to a page that has pretty much zero to do with music. But I felt a random pull so here we go and yes I know it's been like a year since I did anything with this page. My apologies, my liege.

This week was a slow one for me. Because of the summer we had very few people at the coffee shop I volunteer at. When this happens that means there is a whole lot of time to do- well nothing.

But as slow as the job felt, my musical obsession wasn't slow, not at all. I have been going back to my southern classic rock roots lately. It all started with an accidental listening to "Hold on" by Alabama Shakes. Oddly enough I am from Alabama, but the 18 years I lived there I never enjoyed Alabama as much a I did when I heard this song. But today I am not talking about the greatness of Brittany Howard. I am speaking of the song that has been at the top of my shower playlist every single day this week.



Them. Not they and definitely not those. But Them, a band from the 60's which has more soul then I have seen in a suit in a really long time. I was told of this lovely soulful classic from my roommate who mentioned to me at the beginning of this week "that she had a song that was so Emily". Not exactly sure what thing fit in the "So Emily" category, but this in her mind did. But oddly enough in my mind it did as well. Because hello, it is crazy awesome.

Well enjoy, Them and have a lovely day!

Revitalize

re·vi·tal·ize

 [ree-vahyt-l-ahyz] 

verb (used with object), -ized, -iz·ing.

1) to give new life to.

2) to give new vitality or vigor to.

So about once a year I find myself in a slum....

Ok- not very poor living conditions. But I find myself just kind of deflated. Like for some reason suddenly what I once enjoyed is no longer fun. Well recently I have been in that kind of funk. Maybe it has been because I have been gone now for almost 9 months or that I have been living alone for the last couple of weeks. Whatever it has been, I am not a fan. I am ready to restart, and live life fully. Like I should be. So I recently got back on track with devotions, sadly those had become every once in a while instead of every night. I am also really trying to get out and do some kind of movement eachday. I am not going to say full out exercise, because honestly I do not have the time or the want right now, maybe someday but I am not there yet. The last thing I have finally decided to start doing is eating better. I am just going to be honest with you- I LOVE FOOD! and oddly enough I am always hungry, so I am always eating. But most of the time I only end up eating really horrible stuff for you. Because well hello it taste good & because it's usually super fast & super cheap. My favorite. But I know on the physical side of things, I need to change what I eat. Not only because I have gained way to many pounds recently but also because it might be my last resort on my always present acne. 

So I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how to eat healthy, cook healthy, or anything in the healthy region.   if any of you have any suggestions, ideas, or maybe some tips I will welcome them with open arms. Oh and especially at first when I am still getting use to this new world, simple & easy is really good for me. Because I know if all I can find is complicated recipes, I will most likely go back to my lovely unhealthy life very quickly :) 

Ha, well hope you guys are having a great september!!!!!! 

Silence is Golden

It's been nice calm relaxing days of summer this past week with the temperatures in the high 70's! Yeah summer here in Krakow is feeling a lot more like fall. It has rained everyday for the past two weeks, and has not gotten above 80 since the middle of june. Usually tons of grey, rainy weather would really saddened me, but lately it's been nice. It helps me not feel so bad about laying on the couch and watching movies all evening after work :)

All the other volunteers have disappeared this week and left me alone here in Krakow. I have kind of enjoyed the time of being by myself. I have come to realize that ever since I lived in Albania and had SO much alone time, I now crave it more then ever before. Funny how you get use to certain ways of living even if it is not the way you want it at that time. Ever since I moved here I have not gotten a lot of alone time, so I am soaking up this time as much as I can. Next week, I am not only going to have one roommate but two! It will only be for a month, but I am going to guess finding a spare moment alone in the apartment might be kind of sparse.

Well I hope you guys are having a grand summer so far. Let me know what's happening in your neck of the woods!

Love ya friends :)

So not sure if I have ever told any of you about this before...

So I like to write. I guess that is pretty obvious now since I have two blogs :)

But ever since I was little I have been coming up with these stories in my head, and about 5 years ago I started to write them down. Ever since then I have been fiddling with them. Some have become kind of interesting, some have gotten deleted and started over again, and some were just plain stupid.

I have been working on 3 stories a lot since I have been here. For the most part I think they are ok, but unlike other creative outlets I am interested in, I have a HUGE fear of showing anybody my writing. Only one person has ever read one of my stories and that was my mom. She really liked it, but she's my mom - I have a feeling she will like anything I do.

So obviously if I ever do finish these books, I am going to have to get past this fear, especially if I want to get them published one day.

Do any of you have suggestions on how I can get past this hurdle?

I am just so scarred that everyone will think they are horrible. They will never look at me the same, because I made them read something incredibly stupid.

I know I am worrying too much about it, but to me it is so different then my paintings or photographs being critiqued. My writing is just so personal to me, because it is like I have lived these stories for years as I have thought through each part.

Being published is definitely a goal I want to achieve one day.

So I am going to go out on a limb here, if any of you are interested in reading a rough draft of one of my stories I think I am ready to hear what you think.

But please o please be honest with me.

I dont want to be like one of those horrid singers that try out for American Idol, and fully believe they are THE BEST singer ever.

I guess the only thing I would ask is if you would tell me the truth but nicely. Ha, if that's even possible.

Oh and if you know more about writing, like how things flow, where the story should go. I would also love to know those kind of things. Oh and me & Grammar never got along very well, so you will probably see a lot of those kinds of mistakes :)

Ok before I start spilling out all the things I know I did wrong, just let me know if you would like a copy by leaving me a comment or e-mailing me at emilinered@gmail.com

Love you all so much, and me even telling you this proves that big time :)

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Take a look it's in a book....

I am not usually a picky person. At least I don't think so... maybe you all would say differently.

But one thing I am very specific about is what kind of books I will actually read.

I love action movies, documentaries, personal heart breaking stories about real life people
- but once again in movie form.

But when I pick up a book, the only way I will actually read through the whole thing is if it's: Light, easy, kind of cheesy, fiction, has spiritual overtones, and it has to be seriously funny.

Oh and I am not usually into time period books, unless they follow the above requirements. Which most of the time does not go hand in hand, except for Lori Wick. I can't help myself I love her writing.

Yeah, I know way to particular.

So do you have any Authors or Books you could suggest? I know I am being picky, but feel free to suggest anything. I wont put it down :)

For the past couple of years now I have been addicted to Erynn Mangum books. She has two series out, and is working on a third. I can read her first series The Lauren Holbrook series over and over again. They never get old, and amazingly seem even funnier then the last time I read them. If you too are interested in Light, contemporary, christian, fiction, and books that make your guts hurt you laugh so hard. This is the author for you!

Ok I just felt like one of the kids from reading rainbow that talk about there favorite books. Yeah I always wanted to be one of those kids.

Of course you don't have to take my word for it :)

 

And Finally the Sun Shined.......

So you wanna know something funny?

I keep writing posts in this blog, but then I realize everybody should hear it so then I transfer it to my other blog.

Ha... So why was the reason of having this 2nd blog again?

Oh yeah, so I can feel free to write mean-less, topic-less post just like this.

Yep.... feels nice.

So it has been a interesting road this past two weeks for me. Lots of confusion, frustration, and a surprise ending of perfect harmony. But today I find myself back in normal routine. Making Cappuccinos, warming up tart pastries in the toaster oven, and doing the dishes. It is nice to be in a routine again. It has been a while for me, and for a girl who likes to have freedom to do what I want - I have missed my routine greatly. We have not had too many customers so far, so I have a lot of time during the day to read and update my blog (Exhibit A). It has been nice, taking time to get to know the two girls I work with better. They both are so sweet, but completely different. Hmm.... how would I describe them? One always has the perfect outfit on, everything goes together. She just exudes grace. The other is more Indie-rock. If that makes since. Like she still wears all the arm bands from past concerts, very relaxed, and knows pretty much any Indie band out there. They both are such hard workers, and can't wait to see the shop really up and running.

I love waking up knowing I am doing what I always wanted to do. It's a pretty grand feeling that I hope everyone feels sometime in there life.

So I know this might be kind of random or weird but did you ever have a thought of what you would be doing when you were older? Is it completely different, kind of the same or exactly what you thought? Let me know! I wanna hear your thoughts on this one....

If I was a talented song writer, I would write a really cool song about the 3 month Blues...

This is the first place I have lived in a long time that I immediately felt connected to. I just knew with every ounce in my body, that this is where I was suppose to be. Let me tell you, that does not happen very often with me. Usually as soon as I move some where new, I start thinking of where I will move next. I always knew there was something bigger & better just waiting for me out there. So when I moved here, I was amazed and very thankful when that feeling never came. Everything was just so perfect, and exactly what I had always hoped for, why would I want anything else?

That's when I hit the 3 month blues (cue really cool blues song)....

It all started when I was skyping with my 17 month old nephew, Elijah. I spent the WHOLE 1st year of his life a backyard away from him. I was there when he first rolled over, when he first chased me around in his walker- gut laughing the whole time, and I was there when he came up with his unique style of "Scooting" around (his version of crawling, but on his butt...) So needless to say, I miss him- greatly. But as I watched him move around, talk, and laugh on my computer screen I felt as if a part of me had died, something I will never see again. It's hard to explain why, but I guess it is just like any mother or father would feel. The feeling that there little baby is no longer a baby. The next time I see Elijah he will never be the same toddler I knew in January.

That really started my thoughts that I am no longer here just visiting. That two years is a long time. And that I really love & miss my family.

So to get myself out of this funk & back on track to why I am here, I have come up with a list of things that I have just realized I LOVE:

~ That Polish shoe stores totally get my style & are very affordable- ok, this might be a bad thing.

~ Making and drinking cappuccino's

~ That it only takes me 10 minutes by tram to be in the most beautiful city in Europe (my opinion)

~ That art here is more then just what you do, it's a way of life (Even if that sounds like a bumper sticker)

Ok that's all I got for now, soon & very soon I will be back into my usual love of this place.

Hope you all are well, 

and if you have sunshine your way could you please send some here.  

That would be awfully kind of you :)