Transgressions

I have forsaken my journal this holiday season. First it was a super intense semester that required the majority of my intentions, now it is... Inspiration!

I suppose that it is purely in relaxing that one is able to grab hold of one's inspiration. Almost immediately, after finishing my courses, I was struck by ideas that found their way to delicious and fabulous. Since then I have been doing a great deal of writing. I have been writing a great deal since then. Currently, I am working on a couple of short films. One of these I might like to turn into a graphic novel. It would be amusing in that form....

The very fancy list of books that I laid out to read during the break has barely been touched. However, I have been doing a great deal of reading. So far I have read Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo, and am working on The View From the Bridge by Nicholas Meyer, along with a few others. I like laying out the plans, that gives me sense of purpose, but I am also comfortable with deviation.

Free Time?

Each semester break I become excited by the prospect of 'me' time. As much as I love school, I truly enjoy the opportunity to 'do' and read according to my whims. As such, I have compiled an impossibly long list of books I hope to read during the holidays:

1) Rome Wasn't Burnt In a Day by Joe Scarborough

2) Reason, Faith, and Revolution by Terry Eagleton

3) Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

4) Souls On Ice by Eldridge Cleaver

5) Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters

6) Harry Potter (book 1) -in Arabic....

7) Kierkegaard, Language, and the Reality of God by Steven Shakespeare

Also, during this break, I would like to do a good bit of baking and crafting...Oh Yeah! And journaling, of course....

I awaken this day, counting one year passed in this life, and another just beginning. This is my New Year! I do not make my resolutions on January 1st when the rest of the world's good intentions are pooled. I make my resolutions on my birthday, November 21st. Not far removed, if at all, from the usual and classic resolutions, these are the ways I desire to affect positive change in my life. I hope that these changes will not only endure this year, but be patterns that I instate and cultivate to endure all of my "ages." I feel a need/desire to declare them "out loud," so that I may not be permitted to ignore them....

* This year, I promise to take better care of my Mind, Body, and Spirit.
- Often I neglect the balance of the three as I engage in my academic pursuits.

This year I shall make time to work out: run, ride my bike, lift weights, and practice yoga (more than just a physical pursuit, to be sure).

To care for my Spirit, I shall continue (with greater diligence) in my endeavor to become one with G-d.

My Mind is fractured with the weight of my many responsibilities. To repair this, I must de-clutter. I shall not take on more than I KNOW I can handle. To do so is self-sabotage.

By balancing and caring for my 'trinity,' I believe I shall become a better mother, wife, friend, student, and artist. In sha' Allah.

Nocturnal Nikhedonia

As you may recall from an earlier post, a dear friend and I put on a Craft Exhibition and Fashion Soiree. Our mission was to provide a venue for local artists/designers/crafters whose work was of a unique, and perhaps, darker nature. We succeeded! :

Since the night was well received, we were asked to come back and give it another go. We invited another couple of ladies to assist, and decided to throw a Holiday soiree, all your gift giving needs....

This event, along with school and babies, has kept me utterly engrossed. Having learned much from the last one, this event promises to be exponentially larger. We are having two bands and a fashion show this time as well, but we will also have two fabulous performance artists. I am ever so excited.

Rather than tooting my own horn further, with shameless self promotion, I will leave you with this amazing flyer that Asil Bee produced for us..... And direct you to the event's facebook page, at which you may RSVP, if so inclined..... http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=171550754724&ref=ts

* Interlude *

Today is a rainy and cool Saturday. Not the sort of weather that one wants to be out in. On days such as these, I long for a library with a window seat. In that window seat, I would read for hours and the drizzly rain softly pitter-pattered against the glass of the window.

After reading time spent reading a beloved masterpiece, I would gaze out the window, past the tree that stands in the yard, and imagine or contemplate ideas that had been carefully placed in my mind by a gifted author. Perhaps I would be reading a classic, such as Beverly Cleary, or Lemony Snicket.... Then again, maybe I would have grabbed a novel by Gaiman in which I could fully sink....

After my book, I would remain in the library, but move next to the fire. Here I would take my tea, and relax as a cat, next to the emanating warmth. The soundtrack would be Beethoven, Sarah Brightman, or the like.

How I long for a window seat....

The Fae Come Out to Play....

Oh, how I love it when the rains come. We have had such a drought in Texas this year, that even though it is almost Autumn, the rains have caused the world to look like Spring. So many flowers are blooming, and the grasses are re-greening. It is a little magickal faery land outside my door. It is amazing to see how quickly the plants will 'spring' back to life with just a wee bit of nourishment.

Wildflowers have always been my favorite. What many look upon as weeds (i.e. dandelions), I look upon as wonderful little miracles of nature. Those blooms in my yard, which did not come from seeds I had sewn, are special gifts to me.

Of these little gifts, perhaps my favorite are these. I have no idea what they are, I call them wild irises, but I do know that they are the work of fairies. Just looking at them one can tell. ......

In my neighborhood, each morning I am greeted by their beauty. I find it amusing how they will take over an entire yard in one spot, and leave the yard next to it completely alone. The fairies are obviously picking and choosing their playgrounds... but of course. Here is an especially lovely playground I watch often...

Philosophical Geology

Today was Grand. It is nice to be immersing myself, once again, in the world knowledge pursuit. I made many new discoveries, and dusted off a few old ones......

Have you ever heard of the banyan tree, or its marvelous fruit? Well, it is quite an amazing creature. It grows aerial roots that connect to the ground in whatever spot they happen to touch. This makes it look as though it has numerous trunks....

In India there have been banyan trees that have grown canvases that span acres, literally. Oh how I wish that I had a space on which to plant the seeds of this wild plant and let it take root where it pleases... but, alas, I have no such land. Not yet at least, though I do have the seeds.....

I have some other seeds that I have been waiting to plant.... *story time* ...... One of my first memories is from when I was about 4. I have other, earlier memories, but those are more sketches, without a sound stage and lighting..... Anyway, in this memory I had a preschool teacher that I loved. Upon graduating from her class she gave each of her students a most magnificent gift.....

a mimosa pudica plant. What makes this plant so spectacular was the fact that it is a sensitive to touch. The leaves will curl when touched. To be so young and have such a fascinating plant, it awakened in me a love for plants which I have to this day!
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After reliving this memory time and again, I found an online dealer in mimosa pudica seeds, .... and I am patiently awaiting the arrival of my very own! I shall have to get just the right pot.