The simplest of things in life can be defined as the art of living well. I used to not believe that when I was younger, assuming the art of living well required owning the best of material things and traveling expensive. Not so much anymore. I suppose I’ve grown up, understanding that living well is an art – canvassed entirely by your own brush strokes (R). See for yourself:
It’s funny this morning, as I sat on a commuter train into work, I said to myself, its time to up the ante for my blog. I need new material, something inspiring, more informative, an opinion perhaps, thoughts on world news and more to capture a new level of followers. I mean don’t get me wrong, my blog was originally intended to practice writing, develop the creative aspect of my inner being, since I’ve always been in the corporate world – career wise – I had lost my ability to write creatively. The funny thing is, my English teachers throughout my schooling, have always suggested I pursue writing, always giving me high marks on all my written material, encouraging me. I shrugged it off at the time, as a young student who had no idea what she wanted to do in life – actually that’s a lie – I knew what I really wanted to do, but never pursued it for one reason and another and another. Fast forward to the early 21st century and blogging was introduced and I …
I’m an easy going person in general, although some may think not. It’s taken a long time for me to realize where I am in life right now, makes me happy and content. What I’ve realized in the process is that, part of the unhappiness we all experience is surrounding ourselves with too many negative or unproductive beings who’d rather complain about anything than make a change or strive for a better life, bringing down everyone else around them. To those I have to say, sometimes you have to just let them go – painful or not.
I think we all spend a good amount of time in our lives second-guessing a decision or two about most anything and everything we do. I’ve done it many times over the years, but never so much on this particular trip to Europe. Maybe it’s just I’m experiencing a bit of soul-searching lately, but whatever the reason, I find myself privately thinking about things, feeling very sad inside. Slowly, a few chapters in my life are coming to a close and although I feel I have a bright future ahead of myself as a novelist, I do think the dreams of living abroad are coming to an end. Maybe it’s best, maybe not, but this trip has helped me realize, I am in life where I want to be, and moving across the globe or the pond is probably not the best idea, especially when there is so much to consider. I can spend a few more days writing about this trip and sharing photos of what I’ve seen here and there, but I think …
The past six months I’ve published, marketed, advertised, revised, played agent, negotiator and more to get my first novel Piazza Navona off the ground. E-book first of course, released November 2013 and in exactly one week, I will have the books available in print. Very exciting of course. The best part of this process, with lots of downfalls and obstacles, I managed to get the book reviewed by a professional review company and received five out of five stars. I figured I’d share the reviews with you all, since I cannot contain my excitement: Anne-Marie Reynolds for Reader’s Favorite – 5 star rating Piazza Navona had me laughing, crying, and cringing – not at the book itself but at some of the things that happened. Knowing how hard it is to get a first novel off the ground, I applaud M.L. Kilian for succeeding with this one. The characters fit the story line a treat and everything blends together in a mix of romance, sadness, and laughter, a real uplifting voyage of discovery. I can’t wait for …
The older I get, I know the wiser I become, but on occasion I stumble upon a quote and realize, how true it is. Especially when I’ve fought tooth and nail, making others see things my way. Does this happen to you?
The month of February is in full swing, almost or maybe, the weather is horrible in some places, and weird in others, bad news is all around us and the bus is always late. Traffic is awful for those who drive and there is a list a mile long of things to do, dancing around not so gracefully in your head. Breathe, remember to breathe. You expiring doesn’t help, especially if you are scheduled to pick up the children from after school. 🙂 You get the point. In light of the busy, the hurried, the crazy and the distressed, I wish you to at pause and nod, promising to find humor any way you can, if only for a few seconds out of your day. It really works: {photo source: click here}
I told myself I’d recap each month to see how much progress I’ve made with my goals and to strive for more in the upcoming month. This may sound a bit too-driven for some, but it’s the only way, the older I get, the more I get the things I want done. So for January: Adopted healthy eating and a weekly exercise routine. I’ve focused more on healthy thinking and a positive outlook. I’ve allowed myself to be photographed eight times in January, I’ll pop my photos on my blog, here and there. I’ve signed up with a marketing plan, online promoting, book signing and committed to paperback printing for my first novel- all in the Month of January. I’ve signed on to http://www.Lumosity.com and have picked up watching The Carrie Diaries just to stay in touch with my youth. Have you achieved your goals so far? Do share.
I swear the weather controls my mood and for weeks since it’s been sunny and warm here in San Francisco, I’ve been upbeat and very positive. But as of Monday, the weather changed, although warm, it’s now cloudy or foggy or muggy. Can’t figure out what the heck it is, so I’ve slumped, feeling not so motivated. My apologies, but it happens to the best of us. So here’s to wishing for a perfect summer days, where I could just sit in a garden and write. Until then this just has to do:
I vowed I would allow myself to be photographed more, so here’s the first of hopefully many and yes, it is at the beach in San Francisco on a very unusually warm Thursday evening, last week. Walks on the beach is how I draw inspiration in most anything I need to do or work through, including brainstorming my novels, strategizing my blog topics, or simply planning a weekly dinner menu. This is probably the best photograph of me, unaware and in the most natural state.
rawsilkandsaffron.com 