Brad Warner in Europe

Happy Sunday everyone out there in I-hope-people-are-reading-my-ramblings-land! I'm having a fantastic day thus far and I hope you all are as well. I have two, personally, exciting things to talk about that are totally unrelated. So, here I go. 

♥ ♥ ♥

 First, I weighed myself this morning and I weighed in at 110.8 lbs. This is a big deal for me because while I was working at a tattoo shop at the beginning of this year I slipped into a pretty rough slump of depression and a very sedentary lifestyle, which helped the pounds to creep on slowly and being in that state really only perpetuated itself. I had a freak out moment after I started running again, but I wasn't losing any weight and found myself tipping the scale at 120 lbs. Which doesn't sound so bad to the majority of people, but consider that fact that I'm only five foot tall with a smaller frame and wide hips. (My point is perspective, for someone taller it isn't a big deal, but when you're a little thing. It makes a big difference.) Running with different friends helped a lot, mostly to pull my glum ass out of my pit and make me feel more optimistic. I also had to break some bad habits that my insomnia had started, namely mindless late night snacking. I don't want to get too heavy here, no pun intended, because I like my blog to be light hearted, but I just feel better when I weigh 110 lbs and lower. I feel physically more fit and capable, my energy is better and my self-esteem is better as well, so there is more to it than just vanity. I know where I feel best and I hold myself to my own standard, rather than what mainstream culture tells me I should be and so should you. I promise if you work at it you'll be kinder to yourself than a magazine is and you'll learn to listen to your body and do what you know if right for it. It just takes patience and clarity.

Brad Warner

Second, I have become a big fan of podcasts here recently and I was trying to see if Brad Warner, one of my favorite Zen authors, had any podcasts. He doesn't have his own series, but there are plenty of his lectures, Q&A sessions and interviews available, very cool. The exciting part is that he is going to be touring Europe, while I am in London! Wow, I'm am freaking stoked! His tour schedule can be seen, just click the hyperlink. He has dates in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and one day in the UK. Needless to say I will be finding a date that I can make and hopefully I can share it with you, my dear hypothetical readers. Also, I have a friend that is currently living in the Netherlands, so hopefully I can make it to one of those dates, see her and maybe even have a place to stay at the same time. Fingers crossed! [Correction: He does have his own podcasts. I just had a hard time finding them.]
I guess that's it for today. I'm a beautifully humid day here in Georgia, with high of only 91 today, (That's not sarcasm! It's awesome when it stays below 100 in July.) so I'm going to get off my bum and do something. Take it easy and be kind to yourselves. -monica

New Camera and Band Photos

I'm beyond excited to tell everyone that I am now the proud owner of a Canon Digital Rebel XT with a 35-80mm lens. I love how terrible the "Rebel XT" sounds in the name, but it's a wonderful camera that I bartered for with a massive supply of oil paints. I'm proud to be the next person to shoot with it. My dear friend, Josh, learned to shoot on it and so the torch has been passed to me; I just hope that I can get as good as he is. He will tell you that he hopes to be as good as Jamie Harmon, his photography mentor. I received a crash course in photography last night and hopefully I absorbed some! I went on today to shoot pictures of my friend's band, Pigtoad. They're really goofy guys and after shooting with them, I have spent most of my afternoon listening to the storm outside and editing the pictures of them.  Have an incredible weekend and be kind to yourself and one another. -monica

Not too shabby (first time photographing a band)

(late) Weekend Photo Drop

I hope everyone out there in hypothetical reader land had a marvelous 4th of July weekend. I headed to Mexico Beach with my girlfriend Blair and we crashed at her dad's new condo, relaxed on the  beach and cruised around Port St Joe. I wish I had better photos to share of everything, but I wasn't able to take too many that where worth sharing. I'm still working on being a better photographer and my camera is the best I've had, but still not ideal. (so, I do my best! What else is there really to life?)  

The best part of the trip was, without a doubt, walking the beach at night (jack and coke in hand) with our flashlights and finding little crabs and watching them scurry sideways into the water or pull their legs in to make themselves taller, kinda like how people puff out their chests and bow up for fights. On our walk back to the condo we all shut off our flashlights and let our eyes adjust and we were able to see the stars fairly well, fortunately the new moon was less than a week prior so the only light pollution was from the town lights. I bet it would be incredible to be on a boat in the middle of the ocean and get to stare up at all the stars! 

This sign made me really happy for some reason. It was on the way, off of some back road in Florida.

I scored the brown owl glass for free at a junk shop and it goes great with the rest of my owl stuff.  

Veggie Dog...forever alone. 

 I spent the fourth with my family. They weren't going to do anything special, but I convinced them to cook out since I won't get to do this next year with them. My mum made this delicious watermelon, lime and club soda drink to have with supper. That and hot dogs was a perfect southern summer dinner!

Steve-o (Broken End Stereo's tour manager, I believe) playing with DJ equipment.

That night I went to a party at a friend's house and this really great band from Tucson, AZ was crashing there for the night. The guys from Broken End Stereo, their tour manager and the merch girl where all there and they were all SO much fun. There are touring for 12 months on The Gila Monstour, which is a hella DIY tour. I wish I had thought about it in advanced, but I would have made them all something for dinner, but they are slated to make there way back through Valdosta in 6 weeks or so, so I will hopefully get to carouse with them one more time before I hop the Atlantic.  

Best part about vegan baking? Licking the beaters and say 'gtfo' to salmonella!

That brings us back to today, what a great long weekend! I slept until noon today and made some fabulous Vegan Snickerdoodles. They're a bit crunchy, but that makes them perfect for dunking into coffee or tea, which is how I plan on having them this evening. I hope you all an amazing weekend and have an even better week. Keep the peace and love yourself. 

-monica