cookies cookies cookies

Tina: makin' some cookies from my favorite blog website :) 

hopefully nyla won't eat them all like last time...

here's the link for the epic chocolate chip cookies! thanks sally!!

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/13/chewy-chocolate-chunk-cookies/

On Manifesting and Prayer

CJ:
That's right folks- WE'RE MOVING TO BALTIMORE!

As we prepare for a new journey in a new place we have been practicing manifesting. Manifesting is when you state out loud what your dreams are, when you actively envision what you would like to see happen. And not in a shallow way like, "I want money and success" but to really think about the scenario. We have been saying things like "We want a very affordable small apartment with a kitchen that allows dogs in an active neighborhood." We've been saying things like, "We want interesting work schedules that change from week to week and multiple part time jobs."

Manifesting is a lot like prayer. When I pray to get I sometimes simply state what I want to happen (when I'm not confessing or giving thanks.) These requests are meaningful, even though we don't barter with God or see God as somehow serving us upon request. Instead, we leave it in God's hands- but not without actively searching our souls and deciding what we want. This can be seen as part of the calling for a created being, to actively desire and create the world that ought to be.

Sometimes we can make our manifestations happen ourselves, sometimes they our paths seem guided. Sometimes our prayers and manifestations are answered in ways we didn't expect, and in the process see our request in a new way. Sometimes we expressly don't get what we wanted, and learn something from this as well. No matter what happens, it is always productive to actively make a choice about what you want.

Friends!!

Notice A Difference

Tina: Found some photos on my computer and thought I would share.

Pre-Detroit:

Post-Detroit:

Notice a difference? 

On Clarity

CJ:
Achieving clarity, a feeling of clearness- that's what we want. We want to be released from internal conflict that creates psychic tension in us. We want to feel good, healthy. We want to feel optimistic and open to possibility.

Windham has provided a context that is conducive to clarity. Here we have the freedom to go towards clarity, which is our natural inclination.

We can make choices about what we put into our body, and about exercising our bodies. We are able to have long conversations about what we are going through. We are able to rest. These are all things that can help us find clarity.

We are excited to rejoin society, but the hubbub of everyday life poses a problem for our clarity. We will be influenced by other people, by sights and sounds, and by financial pressures. The goal is to learn strategies from this time in Windham, commitments that we can put in place- such as diet, or exercise- that will help us maintain a sense of clarity while we are in Baltimore.

Papa Cody's Top 5 Tips for Car Trouble

Me and CJ are on a serious budget which makes it difficult to handle a crazy car expense. My adorable yellow beetle has a laundry list of things that need fixing (like the sound when you hit the blinker? yea well it clicks randomly whenever she feels like it). Stressing out today about mechanics and headlights and windshield wipers and money, I asked my dad for help. Here's what he came up with: 

1. Get to know your mechanic. As my dad says "pretend he's your high school science teacher that you're trying to suck up to because you're actually not the best at science" ... meaning form a relationship with the guy so they give you an honest deal. This has been hard for me and CJ moving around so much, but its super important.

2. Just do it. Get it fixed. My dad says, "No one wants to go to the dentist. Everyone dreads the dentist, but its one of those things that you just have to accept and just get it done." If something is broken in your car, unfortunately it isn't going to magically go away. In fact, it will probably get worse. Which really sucks because who wants to sit at the mechanic?

3. Make a list of all the things that need to get fixed BEFORE you go to the mechanic. You will forget something if you don't and then put it off for another couple of months before you suck it up and take in the car again.

4. Don't be afraid to ASK the mechanic for the price before he magically does very expensive things to your car. My dad says its ok to shop around. Especially at those drive by oil change places or tire places.

5. Try to use your mechanic for ALL fixes if possible. The dealer is CRAZY expensive and try to only use them if you need something very specific for your car... example: the plastic underbelly of my beetle is totally destroyed from the ice, snow, and potholes of Detroit. It is currently hanging on with a zip-tie. I know, classy. That specific plastic piece is most likely going to have to come from the dealer :( whereas the new tires my car desperately needs can come from one of those tire joints...

Leave a comment if you have any tips to add!!

Learning from Dogs

CJ:

I have learned so much from dogs!

• Living in the moment: Dogs live only in the moment. They do not think about the stressful day they just had or how much they have to do later on. They are with you in this moment, embrace it!
• Patience: Dog training constantly rewards patience on the part of the human. Every time I take the time out of my day to focus on a lesson or habit with Nyla, she rewards me by showing progress. Sometimes these times come when I least expect them, but I have learned that, most of the time, whatever I was doing can wait.
• Consistency: Dogs need routine. They need to have consistent eating and bathroom times throughout the day. The great surprise is that humans benefit from routine just as much as dogs do! As an artist I find that I can be most creative in my artistic life if the other parts of my life have consistency that can be depended on.
• Exercise: All dogs need exercise- and so do humans!
• Responsibility: I am responsible for this beings life, without me and Tina she would fall victim the the world around her. She creates everyday reasons to be a responsible person, and for that I am very grateful :D

Ben missing his partner in crime...Jerry!

Pic Updates!

Here are some pictures from Windham! Woohoo!!

Strange-ity

Tina: I FEEL WEIRD. SLEPT ON AND OFF ALL DAY. ONE OF THOSE SUN IS OUT AND ITS ALSO RAINING KIND OF DAYS. \\ not sure if we mentioned it yet but WE ARE MOVING TO BALTIMORE. \\ getting our lives back to a place where we can make decisions. \\ starting the process of moving again. \\ its all exciting things.





TOMORROW we will have internet that likes actually our photos. whoo hooo. i know you guys have been missing our faces :)

An Untitled Poem

CJ:

When peering into the looking glass, the water
shimmers with a translucent reflection such that
one can see through it, to what lies beyond- below.

Counting backwards, asking questions I know the answers to,
I find myself closely with you.

In your darkest quarters I find measures of our spaces;
tied together by doorways and corridors, staircases and window frames.

The whole thing trembles, unsure of which part was build first,
not knowing which foundation is responsible for which spaces,
and above all- always dilating.

And so we are,
armed by what little we carry with us.

Striking

Tina: Most of you know that I create online collages. I love images. I love the way certain images speak to certain people. My boss from Detroit and I were discussing this via email thread and she said she would love to incorporate images if she ever went back to Life Coaching - basically she means she would use images to engage her clients by what they are attracted to and decipher why.

I'm constantly gathering images that strike me and since we are unable to upload any of our own photos, here are a few that have caught my eye this week. Notice any themes?

      Please excuse
    the awkward gap
   below! If anyone
    has any tips on
how to handle this    
 please let me know!!!
                                            


 

On Writing

Tina: I've been reading a lot this year and a lot here at Windham. My goal is to get to 50 books in 2014. This all started because I adore getting swept up in a book and opening my reality to the reality of characters. It is also because I am fascinated with writing and crafting stories.

I have journaled daily since I was 13 and it has taken me a long time to admit to myself that I am a writer. Just typing it feels strange, but it's true, I am a writer. 

The first week here at Windham (and many weeks, months, and years before) I ignored this quiet voice screaming: "write a book, write a book."  Simply put, I'm sick of avoiding this thing. For the past week I've been writing for an hour straight every day, in addition to my daily hour journal writing sessions. My hand is soar, but my spirit is full. I'm working on conquering one fear at a time, but as of now I'm writing. It doesn't matter if it will turn into a book that changes the world or it stays as a bunch of looseleaf sheets in a folder. I'm writing and it feels good to indulge that little screaming voice into song.

On Fiction

CJ:

There are, in the folds of pages and painted onto canvas, fictions made reality. Brought to life.

They are there, waiting for us- breathless, on edge.

They sleep with one eye open, and whisper to each other from across the room.


Fictions made real-fictions.

Fictions that outgrow their confines on the page- outgrow their creators.

Fictions that bulge and pronounce themselves alive.


Alive in such a way that we cannot be- timeless.

Alive and tremulous, beating, wavering in the heat as they approach.

Alive before us. Alive with us, in us and around us.


In this way, we become their caretakers-

And they, our guardians.

Thoughts on Love

Tina: How 'bout CJ's post yesterday? Ha. Confused me too. Haha.

This is about to get a little personal here so allow me some non-judgemental space :)
CJ and I have been working a lot on ourselves as individuals and as a couple here. We had a cool epiphany yesterday that I'm going to attempt to explain:

There's a "letting go" and a "going towards" kind of love. Both need to be in balance.

Letting go loving is the kind of love that is quiet. Creates space. Doesn't ask where are you going and why. Trusting and loving thru small gestures like doing the dishes or holding the other person. The kind where your sitting in bed reading and don't have to look up from your book to feel loved.

Going towards love is fiery. Action based. Surprising the other person. Passionate, endless, over the moon kind of gestures. Active communication and expression of looove.

By nature, I'm more inclined to go towards where CJ naturally lets go. These are both great and valid forms of love! We've been trying to practice the kind that doesn't come as easy (CJ: in hopes of creating a positive feedback loop of love) This is a recent view of loving, not the end-all-be-all. Some thoughts that we are carrying lately.

Join In

CJ:

Are you tired of looking at a screen?
Have you been staring at one all day?

Do you get sick and tired of winter weather?
Or the rising gas prices?

Well, we've got the blog for you!
Its ThisWaterHouse :D

Join us daily and find:

• Market Analysis and Insider Trading Advice From Wallstreet Experts
• The Secret to Instant Weight Loss (Lose 50 Pounds in just 5 days eating whatever you want!)
• All the Latest on Tracking and Hunting Endangered Wildlife
• The Cheapest Prices on 5 Star Rooms at Sandals Resorts!
• Meet Hot Singles Looking To Mingle
• Cutting Edge Industry Standard!
• And of Course: MILEY

Sandals Resort Co. And Affiliates IS part of the WaterHouse Conglomerate- For Real.

Bountiful Days

Tina: 

Tonight the moon was HUGE 

and the frogs were LOUD 

and the air was COOL 

and the wind was SOFT.

Two- weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeks.

CJ:
Consider playing this link while you read this post:
Miles Davis - The Man I Love (take 2)

It's amazing how long two weeks can be! We've only just now passed the halfway point of having been in Wyndham for two weeks. (We decided when we came here that we would allow for two weeks before we officially decided on a plan for whatever's next.)

The days seem to stretch out in both directions while we read books, make music and write. We play bananagrams regularly and have been watching Freaks and Geeks (a television show from the late nineties that I HIGHLY recommend).

Now, I sit listening to a Miles Davis themed pandora station... ahhhh how two weeks can be so lovely long. I finished reading through Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Psychology - A Fragment today, which made me very proud. I finished the fourth part of Nietsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra yesterday. That book has taken me almost a year to read, but I did it :D

Thanks to everyone who has been so understanding during this time of transition for us! Enjoy the song (if you clicked the link above wink wink nudge nudge).

To Be And Be Well (A Poem)

CJ:

In this place, I am freed to create as my creations would have me create them: with ease

Allowing them to be and be well

With a level of comfort- a calm confidence.

Here I can look across the table at my love with level eyes, clear,

And I can trust my inclinations, because I know them to be mine.

In this place, I can rest whilst waking, bleed whilst healing, dress whilst naked and alive.

Picture This...

Tina: So frustrating! Our internet seems to only give us problems when we're trying to put up pictures!

Today it felt like spring finally uncurled herself from her sleep. The trees burst forward their leaves before our very souls! I have a gorgeous picture of a fern so green that it literally pierces the eyes, with ends beginning to extend to the sky like the fingertips of a newborn reaching for her mothers arms. A plants quiet growth beneath the warmth of the sun and above the dampness of the earth. Can you tell I've been reading a lot of books? I love the way the voices of authors and characters fill my own voice, allowing my spirit to try them on for size. A new way of experiencing my own reality - such is the point of art after all?

Looking Up

Tina: I am afraid of many things, but one thing that has surprised me about myself (that has changed upon graduating college) is my tendency to be negative. Although I was very sad in Detroit, I didn't attribute my negativity to myself, instead I thought it was because of xyz external blah blah blah. BUT now that I'm in a different environment where many of my Detroit worries and concerns have disappeared, other things come to the center ring.  I feel like I've swung into general doubt about the world, art, and myself. I miss having faith in the beauty and impact of things. I miss having faith in myself.

In high school we used to do this thing called "shitting rainbows" where we would pretend we were over-the-top happy even if we weren't. At first it was definitely acting, but as the day went on we forgot about it. I believe the phrase, "fake it till you make it" is a similar idea, but I think there's something charming about "shitting rainbows" if I do say so myself. I'm tempted to find a picture that illustrates this concept (there are plenty out there haha) BUT I thought I would show a picture that my friend found today that I thought was just as fitting :)

On Growth

CJ:
Tranquility? Not necessarily...
What we've found here is clarity, for certain. No more distractions! But in our case clarity has brought relaxation as well as the opportunity to face inner demons. Nietsche says that in solitude our inner beasts grow larger, which is why he doesn't think solitude is for everybody.

Today I am grateful for the chance to live and grow our inner beasts here. Nietsche is right, I think, and these hours of solitude yield great peace as well as great turmoil, depending on when your asking.

True growth is not always peaceful and forgiving, sometimes growth is a bitch- for real. But growth is growth and growth is good :D

Pensive State

A lot of thinking, processing, dreaming, and praying is happening for me. One step at a time. One hour at a time. The stars are beautiful tonight. A shooting star, a miracle indeed.

The promised pictures from yesterday.

Inside: 

Outside:

Technical Difficulties Happen!

Pics aren't uploading tonight. Perhaps it is because we lack real internet (thank you neighbors!) 

Or perhaps it is because blogger wants us to shut down from computer-life. 

Either way, expect some cool pics of "Tranquility Base" (as my dad calls this place) tomorrow!

On Lil B

CJ:

CLICK HERE FOR: Lil B- Flowers Rise Music Video

I don't often listen to rap music, but when I do, I listen to it for a long time. Usually, on nights like tonight, I listen to song after song, searching for something, and I end up listening to Lil B.

Lil B represents the end of rap music to me. There can be no rap after Lil B.

He has made too much music to keep up with. Much like God, Lil B can only be found by those who are truly searching. Lil B has created moments of immense beauty, immense joy. But he has also created things so vile that I can't justify them in my mind. This too, is much like God.

I don't personally know anyone who feels the way I do about Lil B, and I don't fully understand why I keep coming back to his music. But, I know that tomorrow, when I start again to work on music again, I will approach it differently now that I have been reminded once again of Lil B.

I will not be rapping- I will be trying to create something genuine. 

Peace Be With You.

Mountain Air

We made it to Windham! 

We're snagging a few days of peace and relaxation.

Currently sipping warm tea by the fire. 

Ahhhhh.

Exhale.

Beauty in Spring

Tina: My beautiful sister and my beautiful dog! Feeling blessed today. 

*Follow my awesome sis on instagram @morgancodyy and on twitter @morgancody_

PeaceBeWithUs

A lone remnant of an Easter Sunday.

Tina: I've been thinking about relaxation.
Pure, simple relaxation.
I've been thinking about the looming decisions and how I am possibly going to make them.

I'm so sleepy. I feel over-stimulated, over-sugared, over-caffinated.

My Auntie Arlene believes that during a move or vacation it takes the soul time to meet up with the physical body. She likes to imagine her soul flying just a bit behind the car or the airplane. I have no clue where my soul has gone! Still in Detroit? On route 80 somewhere? I hope it catches up soon.

We'll Find It!

CJ: Did you know that the young teen generation does not use facebook? So I hear from Tina's younger sister Morgan Cody (14 years old).

One goal with the WaterHouse blog is to take part in a social media generation. When nothing else is certain, there is the hope that maybe we can at least find meaning on the internet. Maybe my music can be viewed on YouTube, maybe our story can be told on Facebook and Blogger.

The truth is: I cannot keep up. I am 23 and feeling older every day. (Mean Girls just had its TEN YEAR anniversary!) Morgan and her friends use Vine and Instagram, which I know nothing about.

As the landscape changes, we must stay tuned into that which has intrinsic value for us. We gotta stay true to ourselves! If I stay true to myself I may fail, I may experience disappointment, but I will not live with regret. With or without "likes" or "followers", I find intrinsic value in creating the way I do.

I may never be like lil b, who seems to dance through social media like a true G. I may not know what's cutting edge in NYC (my journey finds me 5 years away from the last time I lived in the big city). But I know a lot about me, and I know I am tuned into my relationship with Tina. Somewhere in there is a contribution to be made, a body of work in the making. (And we'll find it)

Our final picture in the original WaterHouse!

Nyla posing with all of our earthly possessions

Me getting schooled by Morgan Cody