A little insomnia...

Ah, the joys of Christmas break and the sleep thief known as insomnia. I always seem to mess up my sleeping schedule during break. So tonight I thought I might share a few random things. Or rather plug a few random items of current into your thoughts...

Top Played Album:

Gasoline Rainbows 

This charitable indie album has been a nice change in my car stereo. Created by Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols to raise money after the horrid oil spills this past summer, it is well worth the money. I've loved every moment of it.

Current Read:

I'm not quite sure what I expected to find with this novel but I'm loving it. You come to respect people more when you learn the things they over come. I must say it has been mind-opening.

In my DVD player:

Well, it will be after this post at least. To say I love this movie would be an understatement. I could probably quote most of it to you. Reese Witherspoon does an amazing job capturing your heart in the southern romantic-comedy. It's light-hearted enough that you don't feel like you've just tried to solve the world's problems after watching it. However, it isn't so shallow you feel as though you've lost IQ points in the time it took you to watch it. If you haven't seen this movie it is my recommendation that you get some popcorn, curl up in a chair and lose yourself in another world. Where else have you got to be? This snow has everyone in PANIC. =)

That Moment

One of my favorite scenes in One Tree Hill comes early in the shows history. It's a rather scandalous scene featuring Lucas, Brooke and an obvious lack of clothing but the conversation surprising stands out strongly. Brooke wants to know if Lucas is aware this is the moment he can look back at and know that was when it all changed. He will be able to pinpoint that moment. 

Being able to find that one moment, that choice or thought that changed it all, is great. But what happens when we stop trying to find the reason to learn from it and become obsessed with it. The new year tends to bring about a time of reflection. We want to know what we liked about it all and what we should have done different. Both tactics are great for learning. But dwelling on them doesn't make it better either.

We have this thirst for knowledge as humans. I will most certainly attest to it. I'm reading the biography of two princes out of my own curiosity. But sometimes I think we get so caught up in the mess of it all that we miss out on the life part. We want to analyze or learn so much that we forget to live.

You can spend the rest of your life trying to figure out "that moment" for yourself but is it worth it if you miss out of the rest of your life. Some times the best thing to do with that moment is be glad it's gone. Life has many more accidental discoveries ahead.

Current Listen:

A little rearranging

For the past six years my room has look exactly the same. Every piece of furniture has held it's same position. In my boredom and desire for change I decided to rearrange the entire thing last night. It turned out to be a hilarious family affair but it provoked some thinking. What do things look like when you take a moment to view a different perspective?

I've been sifting through ideas for graduate school and it has got my mind stirring. I think so often we limited ourselves and our minds only to what we think is achievable. We won't risk anything so that we don't have to worry about losing anything. But how can we ever gain anything if we don't risk something. We spend so long looking at the world in our narrow mindedness that we miss out on what could be incredible.  

So what happens when we rearrange things? There is a potential far beyond our ability to comprehend for our lives. But you have to be willing to have faith in what God can do and not what you can do. I don't want to be someone who has a list longer of what could have been verses what did happen. If that means taking some risks, well I guess it's time to rearrange.

Sweet Beginnings

 Here we are again. It's the start of a new year. Resolutions have been made, and hopefully kept. We've evaluated and are ready to reevaluate things. It's what my calendar calls "sweet beginnings".

Mine this year, well they start with this blog. I spent the day, on and off, revamping my thought bank with a friend trying to create a space that felt more like home. We went through more colors, backgrounds and titles than I think we did when I originally created this. Eventually, we came to what you see before you: Miss Serendipity.

I can tell you I spent a good deal of time today using the thesaurus website trying to find that word that sums it all up for me. In the end, serendipity seemed to be it. I never knew the definition until today: accidental discovery. It only seemed appropriate to me that this be my title. I've learned a small bit in my short time here on this earth but I can admit most of it was the hard way and accidentally.

So, tonight we start new. We go from this place. All my old posts will be here but I have a new focus now. I'm expanding as a person, it only seems right that the place in which I publicly display my thoughts do the same. Life right now is all about the serendipitous moments and sweet beginnings.

Current Listen:

The Art of Life

Oh, the holiday season... It's the time of year when we eat too much, spend too much and laugh a lot. We come out of it swearing to never do it again but the next year we land ourselves right back where we started. But thus is the art of life.

At some point in the next 15 hours you'll be ringing in the new year. 2010 will be a calendar awaiting it's turn in the dumpster and 2011 will be roaring ahead whether we like it or not. The question tonight: what will 2011 look like for you?

On the rare occasion I have time to post I talk about some quote, recipe or album I've found. But as incredible as the art that surrounds us there is a work far more intriguing in our lives on a daily basis: ourselves. 

You are art. Your life is a painting with texture and colors you could never imagine. It screams a beauty only designed by the creator. It's an art that we can never master but is an incredible thing to experience.

You can make all kinds of resolutions this year: to climb this mountain, run this race, lose that weight. But whatever you do, don't get so caught up in creating the art that you forget to enjoy the painting. You are the art of your life, enjoy your beauty. =)

What's in your holiday cup?

It is officially my favorite time of year. I love the cold weather, that is when Florida decides it should be cold. I love bundling up in clothes, curling up with a good cup of whatever drink is desired and digging into a good book or movie (or at current: Smallville). 

I drink enormous amounts of coffee this time a year, which isn't any different than normal I guess, but I do love hot chocolate, apple cider and tea. My preferences for how each is made varies accordingly. Tonight I wanted to share one of my favorites with you: Hot Chocolate.

I found this recipe a few years back and love it. I like to add nutmeg to mine but it's up to you. This holiday season when you need something new and with a twist try it. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

You Are Art.

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." -Ralph Emerson