Without realizing it was happening, I let the parts of my life that bring me joy (like this blog) slip away.  I have been so focused on cramming everything into a day that when I get time to relax I end up passing out until it is time to get back to work.

As of today that stops.

I am calling a moratorium on new classes, new hobbies, new obligations until I can reclaim my down time.

I have missed this place of peace.

Talk to you soon!

It has been an unusually calm and warm week, but the next two days promise rain.  It looks like the wind is the introduction to the weekend deluge.

Wind is not a force I spend much time thinking about.  I am a fire sign, and I am invariably drawn to water, so those two forces really dominate my unbalanced understanding of the Earth, Air, Fire, Water elements.

Right now I feel like all this wind is trying to send me a message.  That I need to pay more attention (and perhaps give more love) to the elements of air in my life.

According to my favorite resource on elements: Star Chalice Sisters,

Wind is the element of air and the mind.  Wind represents thoughts, visions and the conscious link between human beings.  Wind is changeable and fluctuant.Wind as the element of air is a powerful, active, creative force that brings ideas and inspiration that generate form.  Thoughtforms are air, which are the energetic gridlines that create the manifested structure.  Our thoughts affect our choices and bring us their accurate reflection, which are revealed all around us. All of human creation exists first as a thought or idea.  By mentally being open and flexible, we can allow our concepts to shift with the winds of change as well, revealing the freshly swept and supercharged power of this airy, creative force.

Wow.  This all sounds pretty great.  I could certainly need fresh inspiration, and maybe, just maybe, I could stand to let my mind be a little more open and flexible. ;)

The rain will start sometime tomorrow, but right now I am more than happy to feel the wind.

We started off with the usual check-up questions and then I got right into whining about how I think I “have arrived” and yet I don’t feel like I “have arrived”.

What I mean is that all my early thirties milestones have been reached (good job, nice car, living in foreign country, travel extensively, etc) but I still feel like I am schlepping through life.  I don’t feel like I have arrived at my happy ending and I have yet to burst out in song in a field of flowers.

So my question today was “how long am I going to have to keep at it before I arrive“?  Haven’t I done enough work?  Where the eff is my happy ending???

The answer was wise and blunt.  You don’t ever really arrive, eventually you will just die.

Life is a struggle.  It has some amazingly beautiful aspects, but overall it is a battle that you win by continuing to put one foot in front of the other.  Every day.  Even the boring ones.

If you have reached a point where you feel like you can stop, take a breath and give thanks for your blessings, then you have arrived.

* Hurray!!! *

But you need to say those blessings fast because the next train is coming down the track and this one could be carrying heart disease or ovarian cancer, and the long slow march of survival must continue.

As depressing as this pep-talk sounds, it actually gave me a great deal of heart.  Things will change.  You will never get stuck in one place too long, even if that place is the most comfortable place you could ever imagine.  There are better places for you.  They may not have room service and cute towel boys, but they will have life lessons that you REALLY need to learn.

We are all on this long schlep and we are all hoping that the happy ending is just over this next hill.  Maybe the happy ending was that breath you just took, or that wink you just exchanged with a stranger.  Maybe if I start treating every mundane day like it is my happy ending, like there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be, I might even squeeze one or two unauthorized happy endings from this bitchy old universe after all.

I do not adore the quadrillion things that are releasing pollen and giving me the most insane hives I have ever seen.

The other day I got a giant shot of corticosteroids in my arm to wipe out the hives.  I thought it was working for a while, but no dice.

What does work (at least for a few hours) is a nice long soak in an aloe and rosemary bath!

The home made spa recipe is a little more complicated than the Rosemary and Epsom Salt Bath, but it is totally worth it.  I promise.

First you gather your aloe and rosemary leaves.  Both of these plants are insanely easy to grow, indoors or out.  I highly recommend giving them both a chance in your home.

And don’t forget a sharp knife!

I like to get the rosemary leaves boiling on the stove while I run the hot bath water and cut up the aloe.

To cut the aloe first you cut off the sharp sides.  You can just drop those straight into the bath water.

Then you have two sides of your aloe leaf with the gell just waiting to be scraped out and enjoyed.

Use your sharp knife to scrap out all the gel (it looks like mucas)  You can drop that straight into the bath.  Or you can eat it.  Seriously, it is very good for you.

Once you have all of your aloe pieces scraped off and soaking in the bath, you pour your rosemary juice (with or without leaves, your choice) straight into the bath.  At this point you can leave the aloe leaves in the tub and hop in, or you can take them out, but keep them close, you will need them in a minute.

Soak in the delightful and healing bath for a good long time.  While you are soaking grab some of those used aloe leaves and rub them (cut-side down) on your skin.  The hot water and scraping will have released more of their juices.

Even if you don’t have hives, this bath will be a god-send for anyone with sun irritation, insect bites, or skin that is still suffering from the post-winter blues.

Happy Healing!

By Sunday evening every square inch of my body had at least one itchy red splotch for decoration. I even had hives on my eyelids.

If you don’t have access to a rosemary bush, please plant one, mine has become my best friend.

A couple sprigs of rosemary and a generous scoop of epsom salt made my skin very happy.

It was great, especially since I would meet one of my favorite girl friends for drinks before class.  Talk about getting the creative juices flowing!

On the first night we talked about color theory and I realized I was WAY behind the power curve.  I have no idea what I was doing when all the other kids were learning about the color wheel, but I was clearly not paying attention.

I get that yellow and blue make green, etc, but the whole complementary color thing was blowing my mind!  Since that eye-opening experience I have been trying to incorporate the color theory into my daily wardrobe.  I even bought a large color wheel for my study and a smaller one for my closet!

Here is my go at a red/green combo:

Mint Green, Pink, and Gold

And my attempt at a blue/orange combo.  I actually loved this combo even though I didn’t get any pictures of it.  My blazer is bright orange and I am wearing a sparkly blue scarf as a headband.  Totally brightened up my cubicle that day.

Blue scarf as headband with orange blazer