Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Winter Contemplation

There are not enough hours in the day.
It's 11:11 right now, I should make a wish ;). But in all seriousness, it's this late, and there are still quite a few things I need to be doing. Staying out until seven or later most school nights to do the barn chores probably doesn't help, but still.. I feel as though we're forced to just rush through life, poked and prodded when all we want to do is stop to smell the roses. I actually don't care much for the smell, but you get the idea. Relaxation seems to be frowned upon these days.
I'm not talking about sitting around watching Date My Mom, or a reality tv show. I'm talking about having the time to sit down and read a book without having to keep track of the clock. I'm talking about painting and drawing, writing poems or stories; even just little tidbits of inspiration that come into your head. I'm talking about making yourself dinner without using the microwave. All of these things seem to take a backseat to our academic and mandatory obligations. Whenever I've tried to read before bed this week, it has been impossible. My head hits the pillow and I'm done.
Even though I already have a lot on my plate, I think I want to try skiing. I've never had a 'winter sport', and with a lot of people I know taking advantage of the local mountains, I feel like I might as well give it a try. I only plan to go once or twice a week at most, probably only once, when they have discounted nights. I don't own skis, so I might have to find someone to borrow from. I thought about snowboarding, but I hear it's pretty difficult and expensive, and atleast I'm more likely to do well at skiing, and I have the land to do it cross country on my property. I don't know, I just think it might be a fun way to break myself out of this rut of boringness and obligations. Who said being a senior was easy? I just don't know, I have so much on my plate that I feel like hardly any of it's allowed to be devoted to myself. It's all about responsibility and being prepared for college. I guess by taking the time to do things just for me, it's kind of paying myself back in a sense, and giving me some the opportunity to let go of the stress and just enjoy myself.
My friends and I did a little iceskating over the weekend at one of their houses, which kind of set the mood for me wanting to find a way to enjoy the winter outdoors. Amanda and myself above, not the most flattering picture of me, but hey, we had a good time.
Painting is starting to appeal to me lately.
Just as a hobby type of thing. I'm not some fabulous artist, I just do things for fun when I feel up for it(my last two studyhalls that I spend in the art room), which isn't as often I as I'd like. Below are a few pieces I've done during this year, they weren't very time consuming, but I figured I'd show them anyways. The second one is a Sharpie drawing. And yes, that's my lovely Ralph Lauren comforter they're resting on :).
Since I was without my laptop for awhile, and then without my camera, I never got around to posting any of these fall photos, so here you go; random outdoor cats and my crazy little Border Collie named Candy.



Have a great week everyone, I'll be catching up :).

6 comments:

Natalie said...

I love having free time to relax and just do with it what you will, with no obligations. That's why as soon as I get home I've taken to forcing myself to just sit down and do all of my homework, because then afterwards I'm free! At least until the next day :P

I think you should definitely try skiing - it's loads of fun! I bet you'll be good at it :D I've never tried snowboarding, but yeah, I've heard it's pretty hard. It looks cool though, haha.

Ice skating sounds like fun! I loee your friends hat, hehe. And I really like the art pieces that you've made, especially the third one! All of the animals look quite adorable as well :) Have a great rest of the week as well!

Helennn Louise said...

It's great when you get a time to just stop and have a time to yourself to see what's around. Fantastic time.

Oh I hate ice skating but yet this weather really makes me want to do it :/ Sounds like you had fun!!

I absolutely love your drawings! They're beautiful! And you said they weren't good o.O are you blind? Hahaa.

Cute photos of the cats. I love them!

Have a good week xx

Jocelyn said...

I love the idea of you learning to ski! It is so much fun, Olivia. I really think that you'd like it. It's tough at first, and it is a very expensive hobby. Come to Utah, the greatest snow on earth and I'll teach you how! ha ;)

I love your artwork, who knew you were such an artist. My older sister is going to graduate school to be an art therapist and some of the stuff she does reminds me of your art! Keep it up. I need to find a hobby to keep myself occupied!

I hope that you have a great new year! And find time to laugh, relax and have FUN!

-joce

Kaitlin said...

Skiing is a ton of fun! I've been doing it for about 6 years. The cost is the only thing keeping me from skiing all the time :P
I love your art! Especially the first piece.
Your pets are adorable. :)
Have a great weekend!

Nicole Linette said...

Haha, I agree. Not enough hours in the day. Love all your pictures! Definitely go for skiing, whether it be XC or downhill! Downhill is too expensive for me, but it is unfortunate that I never took advantage of the mountains all these years. Awww, I wish I had a pond and friends to ice skate with.

And you're right! Leisure does not seem as substantial anymore, with all this wiring and fast-paced living. Reading is sooo relaxing. And writing! I adore making collages to chill out. The making-dinner thing is a bit more difficult, because I have a hard time monitoring everything :P Your paintings are awesomeeee! It takes me ages to ever finish one.

Your second kitty picture looks like a PAINTING! The black and white is truly magnificent.

I hope your week went well :D

~ nicole.

Hannah said...

I've been having a problem with this whole not relaxing thing lately. Life is full of wonderful surprises if we're able to take a minute to find them, yet when we're told to rush through and complete mandatory tasks we forget about everything important. I miss being able to do things like cook dinner instead of eating a PB&J night after night, or read more than five pages at a time in a book. It seems like people believe such things hinder your education and other responsibilities. Hmph.
It's relatively flat where I live, so I've never quite had the chance to participate in any sort of winter sport. Skiing has always sounded interesting, but I don't think I could ever snowboard :P
You should do it!! :D
Olive, I am IMPRESSED. My drawings always just consist of stick figures and my paints are watery strokes that run together. You have talent :D Keep it up!

I hope you're doing well! Lately I've been getting caught up a bit too much in the obligations and haven't taken the time for Blogger! I'm trying to catch up :)

xo,
hk