By SheelaR

Soooooo, I’m trying to break into the T-shirt business, and I’ve even got myself a willing business partner…two if I’m lucky 🙂 Being sick for so long has robbed me of some valuable time to get things rolling.  My partner is equally busy with work and school. I’ve sort of set up a Twitter account, but I’ve no time to nurture it.  I should probably be asking myself if this is something that I can truly commit to. It’s a simple business venture, yet it’s become difficult to get started. I’m having time and commitment issues, story of my life.

My current partner is someone that I met in the strangest of places and my potential second partner, I also met him in a strange place.  I should probably stay out of strange places in dark alleys. Ha ha! Joking of course.  I secretly call us the nerd brigade. In any case, they’re great guys and I’m excited to work with like-minded folk.

I’m super excited about starting another new business. It will be my 3rd, my 2nd joint venture. I can’t tell you details about the shirt design aspect.  It’s a super awesome concept and I don’t want anyone to steal it before we’ve had a chance to register the business name and go into production. I just know it’s going to be awesome.  If we can launch in the early spring or summer I’ll be pleased. *crossing my fingers*

Ooh! On another note, I’ve been experimenting with cooking and it’s going nicely. People don’t generally associate me with cooking, but I’m about to change that.  I’ve got tons of recipes I’d like to try. I might post a few here from time-to-time, with the finished dish.  I found an awesome mini quiche w/crusted potato crust recipe.  Can’t wait to try that. It’s very simple, but I bet that it be will really tasty. Anyhoo…

I’ve got a busy evening ahead of me. I shall catch you later,

By SheelaR

It’s been an interesting 8 days into the new year. Like much of the country, we’re experiencing extremely cold weather; severed some old friendships and replaced them with new ones; and I’m feeling healthy for the first time in months. I would say that I’m off to a pretty good start.

By SheelaR

Here are the things that I am thankful for:

1. My life. It is a beautiful one.

2. My parents for giving me life.

3. My family. I’m nothing without them. They are the closest things to God.

4. My friends. They are mirrors to my soul.

5. My sense of smell. What a blessing it is to be able to smell the roses.

6. My sense of sight. It is always a joy to see others smile.

7. My sense of hearing. I love the sound of rain and children’s laughter.

8. My sense of touch, because I enjoy the feel of a gentle breeze on my face.

9. My sense of taste. I’m excited by everything that touches my palate, sweet and the sour.

10. Pain. It is a reminder that I am alive.

11. My mind. It allows me to create, think and store my wonderful memories.

12. Tears. I can express my deepest feelings, happy and sad.

13. Love. This one needs no explanation.

By SheelaR

I’m deeply saddened by the attacks on the Heidelberg Project in Detroit. Someone has been deliberately setting fires in an attempt to destroy the massive project. The Heidelberg Project on Detroit’s east side has been around for nearly as long as I’ve been alive. The project is 27 years old and enjoys worldwide recognition. If you’ve never seen it in real time or pictures, it is a site for the eyes. You can’t see it once and take in all that is amazing about it. Every time a fire is set, it’s another devastating hit to one Detroit’s most well known artistic landmarks. It is a project and a neighborhood in peril.

Tyree Guyton is the founder and primary artist for the project. Mr. Guyton’s vision was to transform blight into art. Some would argue that he’s turned blight into an eyesore, but not for those of us who have a profound appreciation for all things artistic. He is an inspirational visionary. The Heidelberg Project was born out of profound love for his city. The Heidelberg Project welcomes over around 300,000 visitors a year. Its economic impact is real and palpable.

It makes no sense as to why someone would seek to destroy one of the few things in Detroit that enjoys positive attention on an international level. Beauty is subjective, and it is understandable if someone finds it offensive. However, it is not understandable as to why someone’s personal feelings about the project would trump its positive impact on the community. I hope through due diligence, the Detroit Police Department will apprehend this arsonist quickly. Your selfish motives for this attack on Mr. Guyton’s dream, is an attack on the spirit of a community that is struggling to rise from the ashes, literally and figuratively.

For those of us who appreciate the beauty of the Heidelberg Project, we want to see Mr. Guyton press on and rebuild. After 27 years, I think it is safe to say, your community supports you.

http://www.heidelberg.org/

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131121/METRO01/311210068/1409/METRO/Blaze-burns-down-Heidelberg-Project-s-Penny-House-

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20111023/FREE/310239974/art-by-numbers

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

By SheelaR

My friend has a moral dilemma.  She’s been talking and exchanging text with an ex, almost everyday, multiple times a day. Now, she knows that she should not be entertaining his attention, but has been.  They’ve both been under a lot of stress from their failing marriages.  It seems like a natural thing for them to do. They need the type of support that only a person in their situation can understand.  She said that she doesn’t want anything else from phone calls and text, but I’m sensing that she may be looking for more.

Her husband is one of my closest male friends.  I’m stuck in the middle. I don’t wan’t to be stuck in the middle.  It’s a cluster fuck. There are days when I’m certain that my friend knows what’s going on and maybe even suspects that I do too.  I often feel unnerved by his subtle probing questions.  They reveal a lot about where his head is, and clearly his mind is on his wife’s activities.  In his mind, I’m guilty by association.

We’re all approaching our thirties, a transition of sorts. Marriage is a delicate institution for the twenty-somethings.  Maybe even a place where most of us don’t belong.  Especially men. Neither one of them seemed particularity excited to get married, but the pressure of a lengthy relationship added to the expectation that they should.

I feel conflicted.  I adore my friends and I don’t want to see either one of them hurting. As much as I’d like to insert myself into the situation, I cannot.  It is not my relationship and I must let my friends navigate these rocky waters without the benefit of my interference.  This is one of those times where you help by offering your love and support only.  That’s all I’m giving.  No advice or information, just a willing and always available ear.

By SheelaR

I’ve always set the bar too high in my expectations of others. I’m easily disappointed. My ex ‘C’ agrees. I need to work on that and I’m not sure where to start. Do I lower my standards or my expectations? I don’t know. There are something’s that should be smooth in our exchanges with others and when they are not, I’m easily frustrated.

I find myself  having to take long deep breaths.  My ability to tolerate simple  transgressions isn’t what it should be.  ‘C’ says that “just because a certain kind of thinking comes natural for me, doesn’t mean that it is that way for everyone.” My brain knows that right before that feeling of irritation, but I find it difficult to stymie the reaction.

Ironically, I hate it when I feel as though others place unreasonable expectations on me. What an oxymoronic way of thinking and behaving. I guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite. I really don’t like the thought of that.  I guess I’ll add it to my list of things to work on.

On a lighter note. I really enjoyed hearing from ‘C’ today. I needed to hear a calming voice. It didn’t have to be him, but it is what I needed at that moment and it didn’t really matter who it came from.  I just needed a voice of reason.  I dislike venting to everyone and sometimes the proverbial strong shoulders that I need isn’t available. I like where we are in our friendship. It has come a long way. Funny how we ended up in this awkward place we find ourselves in. I once placed unreasonable expectations on him, and look at how that turned out…

By SheelaR

This country is in the mist of a class warfare.  The GOP’s attack on the president and the Affordable Health Care Act isn’t about righting any wrongs or about a government to big for its own good. It is about increasing the big divide between the have and have not’s.  It is about new money versus no money.  It is about the top 1% controlling the bottom 90%.

There is something inherently wrong with a country that mandates its’ citizens have ownership of auto insurance but bristles at the thought of  it as it relates to health insurance. Is this their way of skirting natural selection?  It this yet another attempt by the GOP and it wealthy supports and disillusioned constituency trying to hurt the president by any means necessary? If it is, it is at the expense of those who can afford it the least.

This is by far the most dangerous kind of political game playing.  We’re all losing and our great country is in shambles.  I’m embarrassed to be an American.  We look like class-obsessed morons who don’t care our country or each other.  We are lucky to be Americans, but not so much right now.  I pray that this government shut-down comes to an end more sooner than later.  This is no way for a country as great as America to behave towards it own president and citizens.