A Little Bit of Magic

Currently Reading

I always have a few books I'm in the process of reading at any one time.

Right now I have....

  

Crazy For You on my nightstand. I'll read a few pages before I go to bed. So far it hasn't grabbed me, hoping it gets better.

It Happened on Autumn. This is the second book in a four book series. I actually read the third book first so now I'm reading them in order. I'm enjoying it so far. I don't like historical romance all the time, but sometime it's nice to go back and see what girls had to put up with back then. The other books in the series are Secrets of a Summer Night, Devil in Winter, and Scandal in Spring.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I bought the first 2 books of this series on a whim. I had read a good review and thought, if I buy them, I'll read them. I'm glad I did. The three books (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire) aren't quick reads but they're interesting and keep your attention. What I like most about them is they're different. I would say it's a little bit like a female Jason Bourne, with less action.

Hello Washington

 

I'm off this week to one of my favorite places in the world.

Washington DC. 

This will be my 11th trip and I'm hoping to make the most of it.

I'm going to collect memories. 

In 11 trips I have a lot of memories all around the city.

Like the hotel I'm staying in. I think it is the same hotel where I attended my first SADD National Conference and snuck out one afternoon.

Or the memory of leaving something at the Vietnam Memorial and the next day seeing where they store all the things they receive and wondering if one day what we left will be there.

11 trips is a lot of memories to try to collect, but I'm going to try. DC is one of those places that inspires me by just being there.

When I Grow Up

 

Recently I've been thinking a lot about what I want to be when I grow up.

Sure I went to school for engineering, but I'm almost 100% sure this isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life, unless it's a job with Disney. I'm even really close to teaching but I'm not sure I want the structure of working in a school. (I enjoy being able to travel when I want to).

So where does that leave me?

I watched a couple videos on the internet this week that got me really fired up. One of them is a talk by Elizabeth Gilbert. Watch it, it's worth the time.

I'm in a weird place. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a creative person, I like to play with paper and other stuff but the engineer side of my brain is always fighting with the creative side so I come out somewhere in the middle.

I read a lot of creative blogs and find I'm not really inspired by the same thing those people are. So does that mean I'm not creative?

I get a TON of inspiration from anything Disney puts out. Be it going to the parks, watching a movie or reading a book about the company or the man. And what does it say that I'd rather curl up with a good book than create?

I think sometimes how nice it would be to rent a house on a lake for a week and do nothing, yet I also love the trips when it's go, go, go.

I guess what it all comes down to, is I need to figure out where I fit in. What can I do that will make a difference to myself and to others. What will I feel most fulfilled doing.

I Have no idea.

Authentic

You cannot fail at being yourself. A cat doesn't
try to be a tiger, and you shouldn't try to be
something you aren't. You are a process, not a
product. Your job is to discover what you are
and to create that creature. You still won't
be perfect, but success isn't about perfection--it
is about authenticity. You are a success if you
are being your real, authentic self.

Bernie Siegel