Guided Creativity: Fireside Chat

I haven’t been very creative in my guided creativity lately, but then again, this is only the second post in this series. For that reason, I chose to use a Daily Prompt from The Daily Post , like I did in December, but even I admit that I need to step up my game to keep things interesting.
Entitled Fireside Chat, today’s prompt asks:

What person whom you don’t know very well in real life — it could be a blogger whose writing you enjoy, a friend you just recently made, etc. — would you like to have over for a long chat in which they tell you their life story?

Almost always, I’m not much of a ‘long chatter’. I think small talk is uncomfortable, especially when you know it isn’t going anywhere, or if you’re just talking to break the silence. Personally, I don’t mind sitting in silence (well, sitting in quiet) with a bunch of strangers because it’s just easier and I don’t have to break out of my comfort zone. It is a rare occasion when I’ve met someone who I can chat with and it just flows and most of those people are still my friends today. During this past spring and summer, I got to know someone who I would be very interested to hear more about their life. Fast forward to now, I don’t talk to this person on a regular basis, but I think that if we did meet up for a fireside chat, we could talk and it would just flow. We met under unusual circumstances, and in a way helped each other through our own personal relationships. When we talked, I was the one who did most of the talking, which looking back, I feel a little bit selfish for, but if I had talked less, I wouldn’t have anything to respond to this prompt. Anyway, I do know bits and pieces about them, as they know pieces of me, but I think I’d really enjoy a long conversation because our conversations did flow so easily which really helped me to come out of my comfort zone a little and showed me it wasn’t that all that hard to or all that bad. Since then, I’ve gone exploring on my own, only returning to my comfort zone to recharge.
I do wish to meet more of these people in my life, but those people aren’t just going to come and find me. I took the first step to finding that person, and it goes to show that if I want to change to better myself, I need to be willing to risk leaving my comfort zone and use it as a rest stop instead of a hideout.

Whose life story would you like to hear?

Monthly Mail | December 2014

So I’ve been putting off this post for a long time, only because I kept telling myself that I wanted to write this post while I was sitting at my desk at home, where my box of letters are kept. And for some reason, I could never get myself to sit at my desk—something about doing homework there during the school year makes me not want to sit there during break.

Enough talking, let’s get down to the details! Well….just some background before I share what I received and sent. I love snail-mail. I have always liked it and ever since I was young, I wanted a pen pal, but didn’t have much success. I think because of that, I forgot about how much I wanted a pen pal and therefore gave up on it. Recently, because of technology, it’s much easier to find pen pals and meet people from all around the world. And since I started blogging in October 2014, I have sort of changed my blogging direction and I think it’s for the better! I have found so many blogs that have inspired me to change my focus and I really like where I’m going. That may change in the future, but for now, it just feels right. So embarking on this ‘newfound’ snail-mail journey, I signed up for several blogs/websites that allow help you find others who love exchanging snail-mail as well: Lovely Letters, Swat-Bot, Adopt A Platoon, Adopt a U.S. Soldier, The Postal Society, as well as searching the tags #penpals, #penpalwanted, #snailmail on Instagram. I have been connected with people from all over the world, and I enjoy it! So without further delay…
As part of a Swap-Bot Christmas Card exchange, I received a card from Dave in Minnesota. I especially liked the paper star he included in the card.

In another Swap-Bot exchange, I received a letter from Jamie in Oregon. This exchange focused on starting the new year with a penpal, and I enjoyed reading about his life. I wrote back a few weeks later, and I hope to be hearing from him! By the way, his handwriting was very unique!

Here are some of the envelopes that I decorated to send Christmas Cards to my friends, as well as new penpals Sophia in Indonesia and Rachel in the UK (connected through Instagram @pen.pals.wanted).

I also sent some New Year’s cards to a few ladies, and received three cards from three different people.
Also, I’m honored to be writing to a few soldiers. I love being able to support our troops for all that they do for our country.
I received a very nice and heartfelt letter from Lori in Canada. She is the first person to connect with me through Post Society. I loved her decorations and small little knick-knacks she sent, along with a postage stamp. I returned her letter (and forgot to take pictures of what I sent…bad habit!).

What are your thoughts on snail-mail? Or perhaps you’d like to be penpals? Submit your info on my contact page and I’ll be sure to send something your way! Tell me a little about you as well!

Noteworthy Destinations #2

My two favorite blogs this past month have been more centered around my ‘new’ interests: Tone It Up (TIU) and Snail Mail.

 

While Tone It Up has their own blog, I am enjoying Shelley’s Sea Shells & Sit Ups ‘unofficial guide’ (that’s what I’m calling it) to TIU. She started her blog as a way to document her TIU way of life. She blogs about different recipes, workout strategies, and even started selling fitness apparel. I follow her fitness Instagram (@tiu_shelley), and she always has inspiring photos, even if it’s just of her telling what she did for her workout that day. She has hosted a few challenges concurrently with the TIU ladies, and they have been a big hit. She is such an inspiration to the TIU community and I would encourage you to check out her blog, and if you’re ever in need of a quick workout, she has some Sweet + Sassy Workout ideas that make you break a sweat!

While I discovered that Instagram as a ton of pen pal ads and pictures of cool letters sent, I especially like the Instagram posts from Snail Mail Ideas (@snailmail_ideas). My favorite part about this is the pictures of the different letters that people are sending to one another. It’s something to aim for, in the creativeness of these people, and if you aren’t a snail mail believer now, looking at some ideas might convert you! Seriously…take a look at what people send/receive and tell me you’d rather receive a plain old email.

I’m always looking for new bloggers/websites to follow, or just interesting posts to read, so let me know below if you’d like to be featured on a “Noteworthy Destinations” post. I know my blog is still new, and I still don’t have a ton of readers, but I’m offering free ‘publicity’ but probably more importantly, hopefully creating a community.