Hot Date in the Living Room Tonight

Posted by Barbara Techel

IMG_1999 e Last night John and I talked about going to a movie tonight. We have a gift card burning a hole in our pocket, as well as spring fever as our patience is being tested waiting for this thing called spring. We decided we would also go out for pizza after the movie, as that is a fun date night. But when I looked at what is playing at our area theater it wasn’t anything too exciting.

I was bummed. I didn’t want to “waste” the gift card on a movie that I wasn’t too thrilled about seeing. Okay, I thought, where is my positive thinking here?

So instead, to shake things up a bit here on Kettleview Court, we have decided to have our own movie and pizza date night. So okay, we’ve done this before. But it’s been a really, really long time.

I’m actually kind of giddy with excitement about it!  Yesterday I rearranged our living room. I have what I call the fall/winter look and the spring/summer look. The spring/summer look I open up the room more with the placement of the furniture, while fall/winter it is more closed in and centered around enjoying the woodstove.

Whenever I do this, I just love hanging out in our living room and enjoying the new feel of the space. Okay, so perhaps I’m a bit strange – but small things make me happy – and John is happy about that for our budget.

So we agreed to meet in the living room for our “date” at 5:00pm. Right now, my hot date is raking right outside my writing cottage window. I love my date. He is so handsome.

Soooo…. 12 Good Things About Movie/Pizza Date Night at Home

  • No annoying ads to watch before the film
  • The dogs can snuggle with us
  • We can light candles
  • Save money making our own popcorn (and calories!)
  • We can enjoy an adult beverage (or two!)
  • We can enjoy the ambiance of the woodstove
  • We save on gas
  • No crowds at the pizza place
  • We can laugh as loud as we want
  • We can make out during the movie (oh wait, you can do that in the theater too, right?) Okay, so we are a bit old for that!
  • We can wear our sweatpants
  • We save money

And the movie we are watching?  Identity Theft with Melissa McCarthy. Can’t wait!

Could I Have Been A Spiritual Seeker Already at Such a Young Age?

Posted by Barbara Techel

I got an octopus for ChristmasToday I opened my email to read one of my favorite newsletters which I subscribe to and shows up twice-monthly called, Animal Voices.

In each issue Dawn shares one of her animal wisdom tarot cards,  sharing the beautiful illustration and the message of which animal presented itself. Today was the octopus. Immediately my mind flashed back to when I was a little girl.

I’ve not thought about this in a long time. But I remember wanting this bright pink stuffed octopus with its lime green underside. This promoted me to open up a disk I have that my mom gave me a few years ago— photos of me from my earlier years. I recalled the photo above being on the disk.

I’m not recalling exactly why I wanted this octopus, but perhaps my mom can shed some light on this.

Reading the tarot card for octopus had me wondering if perhaps I was a soul here once before and now reside in this body that I am today. Was I in some ways a spiritual seeker at this young age already?

OCTOPUS
Eight of Shells

This card suggests the start of a soul-searching journey. You may not know what you are looking for — expanded awareness? spiritual fulfillment? — and your travels may not be easy, but you have the fortitude to find what you need.Octopus328791An ancient creature, intelligent, creative and complex, Octopus is an excellent guide to exploring the dark unknown of Self.

Unpredictable with an uncanny ability to strategize, Octopus can help us to get what we want in efficient, though often unusual, ways.

Message: When looking for answers, deepen and observe.

Dawn went on to share this from her Animal Teachings book, which really resonated with me: Their spiral imagery suggests the universe expanding, creation unfolding, consciousness opening wide. Octopus encourages us to be curious, to see more and feel more, and to expand ourselves through knowledge, experience and creative expression.

I really feel like this is exactly where I am right now in my life. This yearning to deepen more and wanting to understand more about the teachings of animals. I don’t know where this is leading me, but I just have this fascination with wanting to know more.

When moments like this happen and reading the octopus tarot card and the image of when I was a little girl coming immediately to mind holding my stuffed pink octopus, I don’t dismiss it so easily as I would have in the past. Just like other animal messages I’ve been getting in unusual ways lately. Or perhaps it is not so unusual, but just that I am opening more to what is all around me.

Just acknowledging this and writing about it makes me feel so alive and wanting to be even more curious. Will see what comes next!

Love, Ducks, and Making a Difference

Posted by Barbara Techel

2014-03-20 13.21.16 eI was feeling kind of down today. Nothing in particular, but rather a few little things that have been bothering me. Plus the sun has not been out for about 6-7 days. I was feeling rather melancholy.

The thought popped into my head, Take a walk along Lake Michigan. I pushed it away. It popped up again. I pushed it away. Well, this went on and on all morning. Okay, Okay, I thought!  Stop pestering me. I decided to finish my work and then head out.

Then the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams popped into my mind. So I downloaded it to my ipod.

I honestly don’t remember if I ever walked along the lake front. If I did, it was a long time ago. But the impulse was strong and I figured I best follow it. And quite honestly, I was getting tired of feeling sad and like I wanted to jump out of my skin.

Thirty minutes later I arrived and parked. The sun was trying to peek out, but was still cloudy. I bundled up and started to walk north.

I hit play on my ipod for Pharrell’s song to begin playing. If you’ve not heard the song before, I include the video below. Just try and not “be happy and clap along.”

The seagulls flying above, a soft wind, and Happy song in my ears, before I knew it, my spirit began to lift.

As I walked further, I came across a dear little grandma and grandpa feeding the ducks. The back of the trunk of their car was open and I could see a big bucket where they kept the food for the ducks.

They looked so sweet and happy throwing seed to the ducks who were quacking and chasing after it.  Watching them with Happy blaring away in my ears (I played it over and over), I felt my spirit soar even higher. Here these two people were in their own way, making a difference on this cloudy, cool day—the first day of spring, in the life of these ducks.

Now really happy, I felt like dancing down the rest of the path and back again. I picked up my pace, enjoyed the wind blowing through my hair, inhaled the fresh air, smiled, and felt grateful for a simple pleasure that just changed my whole attitude. And then the sun came out.

Who’d of thunk, after how I felt this morning that I’d be just about me dancing in my chair as I write this post, listening to Happy again.

Sometimes all it takes, is taking that first step, and listening to that impulse when you you feel down and out…. to feel “happy and clap along!”