I woke up at 4am the other night with that line in my head for some reason. Very bizarre. But it was important enough to me that I wrote it down. A couple of hours later when I got out of bed to start the day I had this crazy urge to create.. so I plugged in my Wacom tablet and picked up the pen and started some digital art. That was so weird. That practically never happens.

That is a big problem for me, or, a big obstacle at least. I am struggling so much with my creativity lately.. finding it very hard to write anything besides my daily gripes/cheers into my journal. I am continuing to do that however, and read a little bit daily. I’m trying not to pressure myself, but I really wish I could write like I used to. Oddly enough, I think I can only write when I’m sad or angry about something and I haven’t been lately. I should be thankful for that I suppose, but I definitely need to find a way to disconnect those two things. My writing should not be connected to only bad feelings, but also good ones.

I’ve started writing lists. I picked up this book called 52 Lists for Happiness by Moorea Seal and I’m about to write in my third list. I don’t know how I’ll feel about this at the end of the year, but I am definitely going to make a point to do this once a week. I’m willing to bet I’ll be happy that I did this project when I’m ringing in 2019.

Happiness is a concept I’ve been reading a lot about lately, having just finished the Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking. I’m about to start Lagom by Niki Brantmark. To me, Scandinavia is so fascinating. The culture, the design, the landscapes… everything. I’ve started following different tourism and local blogger accounts out of Norway as a kind of digital dream board for my future travel goals. I know I’m a long way from visiting Oslo or Bergen, but I figure if I always have these beautiful images in my daily view that it’ll keep me dreaming enough that it might happen.

I’ll leave you with some images from this month, a mixed bag of moments.

Don’t be shaky, be sure.

Love,
M.

New winter Tsumoru boots from The North Face. So warm and comfy.

Transmitter road, mexican hat, and now I affectionately call this the merry go round.

The quilt that covers my bed back home in St. Lewis. My room has a beach theme and it’s very comforting.

This is the first time I’ve owned a skidoo in 14 years and it is…. just like riding a bike. You never forget.

Took this the night that I turned 32 (it was January 12).. this was just before going out for nachos with my best friend.