midlife tuneup?

i read this long piece on doing a midlife tuneup in the nytimes today. some of it seemed a bit meh and perhaps even patronizing- exercise, eat right, get enough sleep (blah, blah, blah). although i'm skeptical of the mindfulness/life coach madness that's about in the world today, the section on mindfulness and what it does for the ageing brain seemed a bit intriguing, so i kept reading. the following section on a midlife mission statement also spoke to me (being inclined to the odd personal manifesto (hmm, that one still rings pretty true...)). i've already been actively trying to have better bedtime habits (no phone nearby being the main one, tho' i fell off that wagon after a late coffee one day last week and did NOT sleep well for a couple of nights). also, i appreciate the irony of the fact that it's currently 12:44 a.m. 1:13 a.m. and i'm still at the computer. but the last section - about building up your resilience really spoke to me. all year, i've been writing intentions in a journal and they have been optimistic and positive. it hasn't always worked and there have been some dark times of late with reorg turmoil at work and the departure of my wonderful boss, but i faithfully continue, confident it will eventually seep in. i like the advice in that section - there are several things i feel i can actually use - rewriting the story i tell myself in my head, helping others and i've already taken a stress break when i could see that a situation was going to be more negative and unproductive than i needed it to be. the stress break really helped, even if the effects don't last long enough. i also like the idea of finding my discomfort zone - as long as it doesn't involve heights, that sounds rather intriguing. and i would do well to remember the times when i came back from adversity. perhaps the best start to it all would be that good night's sleep they talked about...

do you look like who you are?

you would think that the older you get, the more familiar to yourself you become. but these days, when i look in the mirror, i'm not sure who it is looking back at me. i see more and more of my father in those jowls and that crooked grin. but whether it's me, is another question. i've never thought i looked particularly like him. i even had a cousin once removed who once told me "my mom says you don't look like anybody." and i think that somehow stuck. i can see my mom in my hands, which is quite reassuring somehow, as i always thought of her hands as especially capable. but my face? i used to think i knew it, but that's changing and looking in the mirror is like looking at a stranger. perhaps this is just a natural consequence of growing older, but i don't even think it's the lines and the wrinkles, it's something else, something alien and unfamiliar. and i can't put my finger on it. 

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super interesting interview with li edelkoort.

she says fashion is dead.

and her reasons are very interesting.

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99% invisible (it's a podcast, of course) recommended this blog.

humans in design.

i think my father-in-law would have loved it.

they're at the intersection of humans and technology.

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it seems that some of the right questions are beginning to be asked about the germanwings crash.
tho' focus is still on training practices, i think it should be on crewing practices.

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i recently saw marco pierre white on master chef australia and want to read this.

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is the past holding you back? and by you, i mean me.

updating "about me"

with new people joining this year's flickr group - postcards to blog camp, i found myself typing an introduction of myself over there. since the group isn't a 365, but more of a community founded on last year's 365 and others who love their cameras and/or blog camp, it's not too late to join us (so get on over to flickr and request an invite)!! but anyway, what came out when i introduced myself there seemed like a good update of my bloggy "about me" page, so i thought i'd share it with you here, since there are also lots of new faces around here. you can also find it on the "about me" tab above.

i'm american, but have lived in denmark for a dozen years (and counting) after following a very cute danish boy home from the balkans in the late 90s. i still have my US passport (unless sarah palin becomes president - then i'll be giving it up and applying not only for a danish one but asylum on the grounds of cruel jokes played by the universe (but i digress)).  in the past year, we (my danish husband, who is actually called husband, and our daughter, sabin) moved to a falling-down farm property in the uncool part of denmark (jutland), which i promptly tried to convince everyone was "the new black," (no one believed it). the property itself isn't falling down, just the house, which was built in 1895. but we have a lake and room for a pony and the land itself is beautiful, so we're happy to have to spend the next ten years tearing it down and rebuilding it getting it the way we want it.

i struggle all the time with trying to live a simpler, less consumer-oriented life, but then apple comes out with some fabulous new product and i fall once again..sigh. but our move to the farm is part of that seeking simplicity...we'll soon have a big garden and intend to get a few pigs and chickens so we know where our eggs and bacon are coming from. hoping to live a bit of that old BBC series - the good life - but with ultra-modern, attractive and well-designed electronics.

i recently left a job that was crushing my spirit and am excited about a new venture i'm starting with a friend i met first here in the blogosphere and then in real life. so you never know where your bloggy friendships might take you.

i love nikons, iPhones, horses, cats, bunnies, my macbook air, the iPad (you're getting the picture on the appleism, right?), sewing, quilting, stitching, pretty paper, cooking, antiques and traveling. i'm not very religious (unless you count the appleism) and i don't much like capital letters.