with love, to and from the universe.

I went on a real live "artist's date" today and it was fabulous. Seriously fabulous. I returned to writing morning pages about a week ago and I guess one thing just lead to another. Morning pages and artist's dates go together nicely, kind of like wine and chocolate...but, more specifically, I've come to the necessary conclusion that I needed to take some time to switch gears or I was going to burn out completely. Through journaling, I realize that I have been spinning my wheels in the exact same spot over the exact same issues for so long now that I've spun my way down into some awfully deep ruts. I realized that I needed a break from my habitual self because I have worn myself so thin that there is just about nothing left of me.

Today I should have been working on my thesis. I should have been working on a website. I should have done laundry. I should have done lots of things. But instead... I thoroughly enjoyed the day and It. Was. Lovely!

In no specific order I...

• Visited one of my favorite galleries and bought a very cool ceramic cup just the right size for a double espresso. I've dubbed it my art inspiration cup.
• Ran into my dear friend, Ellen (who I worked with at the bookstore and have been missing incredibly!)...purely by accident.
• Lingered over beautiful clothes, luxurious tea cups, and sweet smelling candles at Anthropologie.
• Sat in the back yard and wrote while my wolfie and pup played hard, especially loving it when they took turns to come and rest up against my legs.
• Went out to lunch at an Indian restaurant all by my peacefully quiet lonesome and, after the meal, enjoyed a very delicious cup of chai. For one hour I was in India, if only in my imagination.
• Went paper and card shopping, taking the time to drink in plenty of color, texture, and inspiration.
• Thought about my friends all day.
• Watched Oprah for the first time in, oh, about 15 years. I respect her much more now than I did then.
• Worked on a series of three paintings while drinking a perfect cup of coffee from my new inspiration cup (see first item on list). I'm sure the cup will turn into a painting of its own one of these days soon.
  
• Got lots of new ideas for more paintings.
• Saw butterflies everywhere (seriously, everywhere!) and smiled a big smile each time because it made me think of a very beautiful friend. It was uncanny, actually. I guess I was meant to think of her often today. ;)
• Decided to go camping with my dogs one of these days very soon.
• Worked on a website with V. and edited some content.
• Kept my eyes and heart open for something new...and was surprised several times by what I found.
• Drove all over this lil' metropolis and back again without getting lost--something that I wasn't able to do when I moved here a year ago.
• Had a wonderful, but short, telephone conversation with M.
• Took the dogs for a walk in Sherwood Forest.
  
• Enjoyed a thunderstorm.
• Cooked a very big, very delicious Greek meal.
• Experienced large amounts of love.
  
• Snuggled my beautiful black cat (presently).

Did I miss anything? Really, when it comes down to it, my entire day has been one big artist's date. I feel extremely rejuvenated. I breathed deep and took time to touch, taste, see, smell, and just generally enjoy things. I live in the city, but rarely take the time to take advantage of everything it has to offer. Yesterday I wrote in my morning pages that I needed a change of perspective. Today, me thinks, was exactly the sort of perspective shift I was looking for.