Daily Duck

Downward Duck

Posted on January 6, 2016 by lifeisjustduckie

In the last few days of December I stumbled upon a yoga youtube video that I really liked. I found out that there was going to be a Yoga Camp, 30 new videos that you can follow everyday in January, from Yoga With Adriene. I figured why not try yoga. I went out, bought a mat, and waited for the New Year.

I’ve been needing something to do that is a positive physical habit because I hate going to the gym. I remember trying to go to the gym in college, looking at equipment that I had no idea how to use as people watched me struggle. Our gym was open to the outside and always full of guys lifting weights…not exactly my scene.

I’ve been keeping up with the daily videos by e-mail subscription which is awesome because she includes positive daily mantras, quotes, and random bits to keep you thinking and sticking with it. Today there was a beautiful poem that I want to share…until everyone has read it.

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

~Mary Oliver

Categories: Daily Duck | Tags: #yogacamp, fun times, healthy, Mary Oliver, New Year, poetry, yoga | 1 Comment

New Year, New Goal

Posted on January 3, 2016 by lifeisjustduckie

After years of being lazy with crafting and selling my crafts I made some decent strides in December. I went to my first craft show and started an Esty shop. I’ve even made a banner for it!

EtsyBanner1

It’s the little things like these that make me feel accomplished.

I’m going to join the new resolution bandwagon and instead of making a list for 2016 choose a word to focus on for the year.

My word is productive.

One of my biggest struggles is having too many ideas and not producing any of them, so this year I hope to be productive and make things happen.

I hope to stick with this the whole year, but I won’t beat myself up if other words/goals become more important. As my favourite playwright says:

OscarWilde1

Categories: Crafty Duck, Daily Duck | Tags: daily duck, Etsy, fun times, goals, me-made, New Year, quotes, theatre | Leave a comment

Getting Back in the Saddle

Posted on December 8, 2015 by lifeisjustduckie

Whew! I’ve been gone quite some time…I felt like I had nothing to post for the longest time, and then I just got out of the habit

BUT!

I’m ready to get back in the saddle, metaphorically speaking of course.

Anywho, I’ve decided to mainly focus this blog on my crafting endeavors, with the occasional book review, cooking tidbit, or Goodwill discovery making its way on here.

Now on to exciting news! On the 6th I participated in my first craft show!!!

It was very cold in the building hence me being all bundled up. As you can see, I have some lovely wares for sale including knitted wrist warmers, jewelry, and adorable holiday aprons.

Sadly I sold nothing.

I do have a few bright sides.

People said they liked my work.
People weren’t in a buying mood. No vendors really sold much.
I DID IT!

I think the last one is most important. I am really good at a few things, but I feel I truly excel at procrastinating. Why do today what I can put off til tomorrow?

And yes, I did sign up for this show two weeks before it happened so I have a ton of material leftover to make even more holiday aprons, but I now have actual stock to put in an Etsy shop. So be on the lookout for lifeisjustduckie on Etsy to fill all your holiday apron needs.

Categories: Crafty Duck, Daily Duck | Tags: daily duck, fun times, goals, knitting, me-made, WV | Leave a comment

Seeing ’71

Posted on April 2, 2015 by lifeisjustduckie

Monday was my day off so I spent it very responsibly…binge-watching the first season of Garfunkel and Oates and going to the movies. I loved Garfunkel and Oates, more about it later though.

I was excited to see ’71. It documents a British soldier’s experiences over a night in Belfast during The Troubles. In 2012 I went to Belfast for two weeks with my school. We learned about The Troubles and heard from active participants on either side.

I loved the movie. I thought the story, the actors, the visual elements, and the production values were wonderful. It feels like a documentary, which helped get you immediately invested.

I really enjoyed the costume design as well. The soldier takes a sweater from a clothesline and I spent a few seconds debating if I could make it. Being set in the 70s there were wonderful suits and fun short dresses. The colour palette was very muted; a lot of neutrals with the men’s clothing and uniforms with brighter additions on the women and children.

The movie was fast-paced, packing a lot of story into a short amount of time. At times I was a little skeptical about the events as they were unfolding, but it definitely helped to keep me interested in the story. I was a little confused about who was on which side until almost the end of the movie; I’m not sure if that was intentional or if I didn’t pay enough attention, but the confusion lent itself very well to the “I don’t know who to trust” theme.

While ’71 might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I definitely recommend it.

Categories: Daily Duck | Tags: '71, Belfast, daily duck, fun times, Ireland, movies, Northern Ireland | Leave a comment

Let me order last, please.

Posted on March 6, 2015 by lifeisjustduckie

When I was a little girl I was far from the most well-behaved child. I would throw temper tantrums…just terrible screaming and crying fits, and my parents wouldn’t know what to do with me. I think their general reactions were to try waiting it out or threatening me: with a spanking, time-out, having a toy taken away or otherwise.

These tantrums could happen at any moment, but were most guaranteed when we went out to eat at a restaurant. My most famous childhood story starts “Hey Kelly remember that time we were in Waffle House and you wanted pancakes…” I actually don’t remember that story.

The point is that eventually my mom wised up. She noticed that I took forever staring at the menu, going through every dish before I could choose one. Soon she started giving me a smaller selection to make a choice from, and I got better at restaurants.

To this day I am one of the last people to order at a restaurant because I have to read the whole menu.

This inability to make a choice without knowing all my other choices affects more than the time I spend at a restaurant. I put off starting on projects because I get pulled to other projects. I have more blog post drafts than I should. I have a to-read pile that’s about 20 books long at any given point in time. The amount of clothes I want to make would triple the size of my already packed closet.

Sometimes I get a little disoriented and panicked when I’m over-stimulated. I dislike the mall and big stores for this reason. I am a slow walker because I like to notice things.

I want to say that this behaviour will stop now…but I don’t want to lie. I will challenge myself to finish more projects than I start this year and I think that’s a start.