Teeny pleasures

Talking with M, she said, "I am someone who takes pleasure in small things. But my mom: she is happy with really small things. Things like sharp new scissors, or fresh milk."

And I thought: what a blessing. Being blissed out with the nuances of life that usually fly under most people's radar. I know people who'd need a private jet to make them happy. And people who get happy with an extra 10 minutes of sleep, or a light bulb, or a juicy peach.

I'm aligning myself with the sharp new scissors people. Because then everything is joyous and magical, not just the expensive, the extravagant, the large.

Thank you for some teeny pleasures in my life...

• Blueberry honey
• A lime
• Soft blue bath mat
• How good my pillow felt last night
  

Everything will now come your way

That post title was in a fortuitous fortune cookie, by the way.

Today I moved out of my friends' home and into a room above a Mexican restaurant. Talk about material! My new home is twice the width of a twin mattress. I have a dorm-sized fridge, an ancient microwave, and my own bathroom.

And I got a job today as well, working at a lovely little B & B. As a housekeeper. To summarize, I used to have a flashy international-traveling, suit-wearing job. Now I'm a part-time housekeeper living in a rooming house, waiting to hear from my editor.

Oh. You thought I wasn't serious about pursuing my dream and publishing my book? That something like this would derail or defuse me?

No chance.

(I think I am going insane.)

Writer

To be a writer is to be hungry for words, like some people yearn for a steak or sex or a hot bath or a hot girl or a long vacation. I want to bathe in words. Words have always been my solace, my cross, my love, my talent.

I was invited to go dance at a gay bar tonight but instead I find myself here, writing.

Surrender, believe

Seen in a library parking lot!

For those of you wondering hey, what's Kelly doing now? I have the very same question! I am surrendering, going with the flow, following the prevailing energy. A year-long writing journey, complete with all the nebulousness and travel, has left me rootless and spaced-out. I just want rest.

So that's what I'm doing (or, not doing). Enjoying the soil-scented breezes. Drinking tea and doing yoga. Seeing family. Taking walks.

It's blissful and I am grateful.

Time out for thanks

Returning to Maine, I stayed in a hotel before moving to a little studio someone helped me find. Alas, it had a raging mold problem. I couldn't stay even one night. I landed back at the hotel again, car full of dirty clothes and the flotsam and jetsam of my life, numb with my situation. No home no job nowhere girl.

Never take for granted a roof over your head or a place to wash your underwear!

Then my friend K sent a note, saying I could stay at his place for a few weeks. In honor of this kindness, I wanted to take time to say Thank You! to all who have helped me so far on my journey:

• N, for smiling at me
  
• R & M, for being my family
• TRB, for making me the brave bad-ass I am today
• M & C, for the lake and the house in town
  
• M, for a bed in your fairy garden home
• D & B, for the place over the Thai restaurant
• C, for being my winter anchor and "Connection"
  
• My yoga teachers J, J, and MB
• My massage gurus E, A, and T
• K, mi amiga, for your infinite heart
• F, for absolute loyalty and unconditional love
• K and J, for room and board in Maine
  
• K, for keeping me in smiles and roses

And the beauty is: my journey continues still!

A return

I'm back in Maine, which is now blooming and alive.

But my very first morning back in the US looked like this:

I believe the hotel room above - result of a delayed flight on the way home - was the polar opposite of Mexico. Just look at it! Ascetic, corporate, muted inoffensive colors.

SIGH and SIGH again.

My heart is alternating between the emotion of the two photos: happy blossom and gray fog. I miss Mexico ferociously, with every fiber. Yet, I need to be home right now. The book demands it. So for the moment, I content myself with a gentle transition sweetened with lobster rolls and blueberry sodas...

Any words of wisdom from my posse out there?

Ultimo dia en Mexico

Last day in Mexico. Everything took on a new sheen, down to the 3am techno music wake up call and dusty streets.

My mind said how can you leave Mexico? My heart answered you don't leave Mexico. It stays in you forever, no matter where you go.

My Mexican friends only said cuando regresas? When are you coming back? For them it was a given that I was only leaving for a little while.

I started this blog to chronicle the journey from Maine to Mexico. Today I realized that somewhere along the way, I'd already placed a period after Maine. Winter in Maine. Period.

And yet, God had placed a comma. Maine, the place where I'll go through the editing process.

I feel quite comfortable with the continuation of From Icy to Spicy because while I will be departing Vallarta, I've become one spicy woman.

So stay tuned.