We pick a word each week and both base a post off that word.  Check out the whole series here.  This week’s word is Refresh.

There is an unspeakable freedom about being on a trip like this.  Any moment when you want a change, you can just refresh.  It feels like those old view master cameras where you change the image by pulling the lever.   If you don’t like where you are, change it.  It is a lesson that I hope stays with me forever.

(The View. Unfamiliar Objects Print Series by Kevin Tong)

(Mint infused ice cubes for inside out mojitos found here)

Yesterday I read somewhere that if you use boiling water to make ice cubes they will turn out clear, absent of the cloudiness that most ice has. While I can’t say I’ve ever been particularly aware of, or have ever even cared about the cloudiness of ice cubes, I found this to be an interesting tit bit nonetheless. All this thinking about ice got me to thinking about how refreshing infused ice cubes could make an otherwise pedestrian beverage. Luckily for all of us, Pinterest is unsurprisingly full of beautiful images for inspiration. I think I’m going to give it a try.

(Image found here)

(Mint infused ice cubes for inside out mojitos found here)

(Five more mouthwatering recipes via Brit + Co)

Every week we choose a word and each do a post based on that word.  This week’s word is New.

(image of Thai motor-tricycle driver found here)

I got to choose this week’s word and the word I wanted to choose was New. Mostly because of all the new things that I have been doing. Everything is fun when it is new. A pair of new shoes, a new love, a new perspective, a new interest. The list goes on and on. This week I have realized that sometimes when things are new they can also be scary, intimidating and confusing.  I’m finding the combination of all these things is what makes the natural balance and rhythm of life.

Check out these collages of old and new Hollywood icons merged together by George Chamoun. They almost come off like an optical illusion. Who do you see first, the old or the new?

You know how it goes…

When we were in Bali, Albert asked a taxi driver if he had ever been to Lombok.  Lombok is an island to the right of Bali, and is rather close and straight forward to get to.

The taxi driver laughed and said, “No, no.  We Balinese have trouble holding on to money and saving since we make so many offerings and there are so many ceremonies.”

(photo via here)

It is true. In Bali, some people make 35 offerings a day to the gods.  I never really thought about how much money they spend on their offerings before.  To sacrifice so much for something you believe in is not something I am accustomed to in my daily life.  I wasn’t sure if it was a beautiful thing or if it made me sad.

This song, which a dear friend gave to me on a mix several years ago, randomly came up on my iTunes today.  It has been a rough week to say the least for her, and for many of my friends actually.  So I’m offering it back to her, and to each of you.  xo

Every week we select a word and each base a post off that word.  This week: Repeat.

I am not sure when or where I picked this song up, but for a couple weeks now, it’s been running through my head. It’s a ridiculous song (like most that get stuck in your head) and I can’t shake it. So I figured I would share it with you and maybe it will make my brain stop playing it over and over.

“Why do songs get inextricably stuck in our heads? Experts say the culprits are earworms (or ‘ohrwurms,’ as they’re called in Germany).  No, they’re not parasites that crawl into your ear and lay musical eggs in your brain, but they are parasitic in the sense that they get lodged in your head and cause a sort of ‘cognitive itch’ or ‘brain itch’ — a need for the brain to fill in the gaps in a song’s rhythm.

When we listen to a song, it triggers a part of the brain called the auditory cortex. Researchers at Dartmouth University found that when they played part of a familiar song to research subjects, the participants’ auditory cortex automatically filled in the rest — in other words, their brains kept ‘singing’ long after the song had ended…The only way to “scratch” brain itch is to repeat the song over and over in your mind. Unfortunately, like with mosquito bites, the more you scratch the more you itch, and so on until you’re stuck in an unending song cycle.”

(More of this article at How Stuff Works)

REPEAT

Wash rinse repeat

Come on in and take your seat

Rinse ring spin

Do it all again

Soap stain, reframe

Pour the whole sink down the drain

Wake up

Make up

Pour more coffee in your cup

Rinse ring spin

Do it all again

Bath salt revolt

Anything for a jolt

Rinse ring spin

Do it all again

*

*Image found here

Each week we pick a word and both base a post off that word. This week’s word is Fruit.

I have been seeing this beautiful fruit called salak fruit all around the markets here in Ubud.  The way they look is so inticing to me, I knew I wanted to try some.  But it wasn’t until yesterday when a friend offered me one that I actually got a chance.  I fell in love with the first bite!  It is like a combination of lychee, potato and coconut pulp all in one.  When you peel the salak, it looks like snake skin. They are amazing.

Salak (Salacca zalacca) is a species of palm tree (family Arecaceae) native to Indonesia. It is a very short-stemmed palm, with leaves up to 6 metres (20 ft) long; each leaf has a 2-metre long petiole with spines up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, and numerous leaflets.

The fruit grow in clusters at the base of the palm, and are also known as snake fruit due to the reddish-brown scaly skin. They are about the size and shape of a ripe fig, with a distinct tip. The pulp is edible. The fruit can be peeled by pinching the tip, which should cause the skin to slough off so it can be pulled away. The fruit inside consists of three lobes, each containing a large inedible seed. The lobes resemble, and have the consistency of, large peeled garlic cloves. The taste is usually sweet and acidic, but its apple-like texture can vary from very dry and crumbly (salak pondoh from Yogyakarta) to moist and crunchy (salak Bali).

(Via Wikipedia)

Every week we pick a word and each base a post off that word. Check out the whole series here. This week, the word is: Moment.

defining moment: a point at which the essential nature or character of a person, group, etc., is revealed or identified.

(Image found here)

I think this might be my favorite song of all time.

Do you know how hard it is to actually live in the moment? This is something people spend a lifetime trying to achieve.

No matter where I am, I tend to get caught up in the same distractions. I have found that whether I am in Cleveland or New Zealand, I have the same insecurities, fears and distorted beliefs.

This picture is of a billboard in Wellington, New Zealand. I could not have seen it at a more perfect time. I think the key to this traveling experience for me will be to live in the moment as much as I can.

Two tips that have helped me:

1. Pay attention to your senses. When things become only sensory, you really feel the moment.

2. Focus on your breathing.

Try it out, whatdya got to loose?

Every week we pick a word to each use as the basis of a post. This week the word is: Together

Ever since I was in New Zealand (look back on the trip here and here), I cannot stop thinking about a Maori jade twist necklace I saw. They have a dozen or so designs, but the twist really stuck out to me.

“The twist with its crisscross form represents the many paths of life and love and as such is regarded as the original eternity symbol. The single twist in particular shows the joining together of two people for eternity. Even though they sometimes move away from each other on their own journeys, they will always come together again sharing their lives and blending to become one. It tells how the strength of bond of friendship, loyalty and love will last forever.”  –Via here

I think I like it so much because it kind of says, even though we aren’t always together, we will never be apart.

(Image via here)

Despite the fact that I’m borderline addicted to word games (Scrabble, Words With Friends, Lexulous – hit me up!), I’m a terrible speller. The weekly first grade spelling test was the bane of my 7-year old existence. However, around that time I did pick up a few tricks of the trade that I still employ to this day. Together is at the top of the list.

(Scrabble keyboard found here)

I think it’s true to say that I never write out the word together without saying, “To Get Her” in my head. I do the same thing with tomorrow (“Tom Or Row”) and Wednesday “(Wed Nes Day”); dessert is always cross checked against desert because you always want more dessert, hence the double s.

Do you have any other helpful spelling tricks?

*Words misspelled while writing this post:
Borderline (Boarderline. No? How about Boarder-line? No? Google search. Ah, borderline)
Bane (Bain. See process above)
Existence (Existance)
Emply (Employ)

Every week we pick a word and each do a post based on that word. This week: Play.

Playing in my ears all week has been MTMTMK, the newest album by The Very Best (a Swedish-Malawian duo).  The album is upbeat and danceable.  I hope it sets the tone for an amazing weekend!  Enjoy.

NPR’s First Listen: MTMTMK in its entirety

(photo via Movement News)

On our trip,  we have had some downtime and have started playing cards.  At first, the only game for two people Albert and I could remember is the game War.  Since then, we have been playing a bit of other random games we remember from being kids.


If anyone knows some good card games for 2, 3 or 4 players, send me a link. We are always eager for more games!

*Click through images for source info

Cat on the loose.

King of the road.

Eye of the tiger.

However you want to say it, this video projection of a tiger running in tandem with the speed of a moving car is the coolest.  See for yourself.

(found at even cleveland)

“The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls is by far one of my favorite books that I have ever read. When I saw her second book, “Half Broke Horses”, for sale at the bookstore, I knew I would love it. I was right. There is something about the way the author tells a story that sucks you into her world. This book was written from the point of view of Jeannette’s grandmother. Her life story as a wild woman in the Wild West is, at times, unbelievable. I loved this book and everything that it represents. What can I say, I like the point of view of a wild woman.

“She could really use some red in her life right now,” my Mom said to me while we were shopping for gifts in Peru. This comment has got me thinking about colors and what they represent to us. When I was looking for some information on color symbolism, I came upon a group of images that I really liked for each color.