*at least in america* i'd get rid of that whole mandatory naps stop in kindergarten rule. every adult always told me to enjoy it when i was young, but i never wanted to sleep. boy were they right!!! i would love to still get a nap every day!

waking up. redefining what compassion and love means to me. learning how to live consciously. changing my perspective--trying to recognize life's challenges as opportunities and lessons when i can. giving my intuition more credit. trusting that i'm always ok. doing my best at all of this...it feels pretty big sometimes!

dance and chinese medicine. strangely enough, the thought just popped into my head the other day that...how awesome would it be to be the acupuncturist for the dancers at juilliard or the joffrey ballet or alvin ailey or paul taylor dance companies??!  to be on tour with them, helping them perform at their best...that would be prettydarncool. :)

journaling with my right hand. i had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago, so i can't journal right now. it's kind of bizarre, but it's becoming very clear how integral it is to my connection and sense of myself. and typing/writing with my left hand doesn't cut it! there's something about the physical act of pen-to-paper with my right hand that helps my jumbled mind process and sort things out. it is my main tool for checking in, calming down, and listening for inner guidance. i have no access at a time when i could realllly use it! i have to admit, it's frustrating.

pure opportunity and potential! that's one of the first things that comes to mind.  we look at babies and they (hopefully) have long healthy lives ahead of them full of god-knows-what, and they naturally view the world the way so many of us wish we could without having to 're-learn' it. and the elderly can look back on their lives lived and (hopefully) find a sense of value and accomplishment that was achieved by channeling that potential. life is full of so much to learn and experience... the potential is truly incredible.

strangely enough, it's more of an energetic quality that i've been reminded of, rather than any actual person. lauren and jenn-- 2 college friends--came visit me a few weeks ago. i haven't seen them in about 6 years! they live in nyc, and while it was great to see them and catch up, i noticed that hanging out with them was SOO REFRESHING!! i kept trying to figue out why i felt that way, and last night it hit me: they practically reeked of "east coast." i can't quite explain it, it's just an energy that they carried with them--a certain buzz, mannerisms...i'm not sure what it was, but it was something so different than what i experience in my daily life here in az that it was almost a bit like being high to be around it again! it wasn't until after they left that i realized just how much i do miss it over there sometimes. it  made me just a little more excited about my potential move to boston this summer. it's not that i don't cherish my az experiences, but for my east coast heart, it will be good to be home:)

i had a click just yesterday, actually! i'm having shoulder surgery tomorrow, and during my pre-op interview the nurse told me it would be best if i had a recliner to sleep in early on in recovery. well...i don't own a recliner. in my typical fashion, i panic, because where am i going to find a recliner in 24 hours?! i get home, and tell my roommate, to which she camly replies, "oh don't worry about that. there's one in my grandma's apartment that we have to get rid of anyway, so you can use that. i'll get my boyfriend to bring it over tomorrow."  wow!  life is good. :)

strawberries. hugs. my cats purring and curling up with me at bedtime. falling asleep to rain. caramel apple cider from starbucks. smiles from strangers. a glass of wine with good conversation. crossing something off my to-do list. learning something new. stand-up comedy. hearing avalon's laughter over the phone. the torturously wonderful smell of turkey all day before you eat on thanksgiving. pictures of autumn on the east coast --although to be honest, this makes me a little sad too!  and of course, QT with anyone who shares my sense of humor:)

i think my dreams help me process my life. sometimes they're very literal, and i know exactly what the elements of my dream are from. (like a dream about test anxiety around finals time, or the night after i watched charlie and the chocolate factory--that was a weird one!) but other times, things come up in my dreams that i've either been ignoring or didn't even know were things that wanted my attention! sometimes if i ask an important question before i go to sleep, an answer will come in my dreams.. or at least a nudge in a certain direction.  if i remember them, my dreams can be pretty helpful!

life gets hectic sometimes and i'm a extrovert by nature, so i don't always spend a lot of time alone.  up until a few years ago, i really didn't put a lot of stock into alone time. but then went through some life changes and started having a lot more time to myself.. and grew to appreciate it. now, even though i 'm still a social butterfly and life still gets crazy, i CHERISH alone time. it's catch up time. a chance to switch into lower gear, relax, get my bearings and recharge. check in about how it feels to life in my skin. let my heart and mind have the chance to talk and make sure they're on the same page. journaling is my favorite way to let this happen. but curling up with the cats and a good book works too!