Today I am refreshing a commitment to the space I inhabit: the Zen Apartment.  When we originally moved in on a short-term lease, we crossed our fingers it would be extended & decided we would use those months to destash, unclutter, & refresh the ideals of our ‘stuff’.

& it worked.  For a while.  But life pops up & then all of a sudden you realize it will be two years in the fall & that you’re not quite content with the ‘stuff’ situation.  Nothing happens overnight (not for me, a semi-recovering pack rat), but I know I feel better when I let my organization skills flourish.  & for that to happen – well…there needs to be space!

I’m creating space for things that are more than just stuff.  Belongings.  Mementos.  Events.

A few of my favorite places on the web to assist me in this:

• Unclutterer – tips on everything from closet space to finances
• Bneato – blog of a professional organizer from LA
• Zen Habits – organize your thought processes!
• Lifehacker – if you want to streamline something, chances are they have a tutorial for it.

What are your favorite resources to help the organization & de-cluttering process?

This isn’t really what my cookies looked like.  This is my depiction of what they might have looked like had they not all been eaten before I thought to take a picture.  This is my basic chocolate chip cookie recipe which I then make chunkier depending on what other ingredients I have on hand.  I’ve also increased the chocolate chips because there’s nothing worse than having a mile in between each chocolate chip.  & the dried cherries?  YUM, totally worth it.

Chocolate Chip (Chunk) Cookies

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
3. In another bowl beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels and nuts.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes (it depends on the size you make them).

Enjoy!

Today is a day for persistence.

Today is for deep breaths & small smiles.  Sometimes you do make a big mess of things, but sometimes that big mess leads to a pretty awesome situation.  Today is a day to examine if the eggs I’m juggling are worth taking care of.  A few of them are nice & smooth, speckled & cold to the touch.  But there is one or two that have sneakily found their way in there – they have cracks & are lukewarm.  My energy wouldn’t be well spent caring for them.

How many eggs are you juggling?  Which ones would you like to ditch?

#63:  Make a funny face.

From a psychological viewpoint, burnout is defined as “a state of physical, emotional, & mental exhaustion created by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation”.  The term was introduced to describe a syndrome that was a reaction to stressful situations that are demanding but not at a traumatic level.

It’s not uncommon to come across hoopers who are experiencing burnout.  For some people it occurs after a period of intense focus or after a festival or hoop conference.

Everyone has experienced it at some point in regards to another activity (ie: school) or a work project.  Burnout tends to occur in those who are more idealistic – those people who are highly motivated & very committed to what they do.

Well, when people discover hooping – a lot of them jump into the deep end of the pool.  I discovered the hoop during the process of immigrating to Canada.  I wasn’t legally allowed to work & I had a lot of free time on my hands.  I threw myself into the hoop, bundled in layers during winter practices in the garage & later on (less bundled) in the school yard down the street.  I scoured online for all the hoop resources I could find, I buried myself.

& eventually…burnt out.

You find your way back eventually.  I did!

Recommendations for Getting Out of a Slump

• Waiting it Out.  Yes, that’s right.  Good ol’ patience.
• Let yourself focus on other things that catch your interest: maybe its another flow toy, maybe it is making a collage.
• Get yourself to the public library & check out some new music!  Experiment with some new tunes.
• Go dancing without a hoop.  Get your groove on.  Remember what it feels like to move in different ways without keeping a hoop up.
• Avoid comparison.  We all hoop for different reasons.  None are ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than other reasons.

I used to moonlight as the coordinator for a local puppet troupe & during my time there I met a lovely lady named Amanda.  People tend to get us mixed up, but I don’t mind because being mistaken for an awesome person is…pretty, well…awesome!  She is witty & very talented & has somewhat-recently launched a blog, “Living in a Green Room“.  Her illustrations & writing are both amusing & thoughtful – it’s the perfect combination.  I would definitely recommend adding it to your RSS reader.

Oh, & the above?  That’s me in a icky green stress bubble!  Office Robot is trying (in vain) to pop it with some scissors.  Never fear, dear readers – I’ll get out eventually!  It’s just a matter of how…

Sometimes there are days when I don’t hoop at all.

Everyone’s personal practice is different.  There are some of us who go on hooping binges (very common when you start) – After that, it can go in waves.  Life jumps up here & there.  I know I feel better when I hoop but sometimes other things take priority.  Giving a baby a high-five or watching an afternoon movie.  Lately it has been enough exercise for me to just bike around the city in this heat.  & it is a-okay.

The hoop will be waiting for me when I need it.

At the beginning of 2010, I made some hooping resolutions.  I wanted to take more photos & video.  But I overwhelmed myself a little with the thought of making videos.  Then inspiration struck!

Shorter videos with the focus not on perfection, but on the emotion brought from those experiences.

I’ve been calling it my ‘Seconds’ series.  & this is the first official one!

Just as spring had barely sprung, hoops were grabbed, the ferry was caught & we headed over to the island to frolic in the sun.  Okay…so maybe we jumped the gun just a little weather-wise…

A recent Slate article discusses why Americans have (gradually) fallen head over heels in love with yoga.

We take part in P.E. from a young age, being graded & critiqued on our ‘athletic skills’.  It is such a narrow category: dodgeball, capture the flag, team sports.  Dealing with the effect of being picked last was a blow from my classmates.  Adults struck by grading my body’s performance, teaching me that it was incapable.

It’s not necessarily a negative to strive to be the best, but fitness doesn’t always have to be linked with a competition. There is something to be said about movement for the sake of movement.  There is a revolution of people who are learning that exercise can be more than a gym or a grade.  It can be more than just another test.

Why do people do yoga?  For the same reason that some people pick up a hoop & never want to let go.

To get in touch with themselves one-on-one.

To do one thing at a time & feel GREAT doing it.

To discover that your body has amazing things to harness.

To stretch upwards, to wiggle, to cha-cha-cha…