Resolutions, She-Ra, Solar Euphoria & Valentine’s Day Tree Monkeys

This pig might make sense later, or it might not.

Usually by this point in the New Year I am busily tracking my progress on any number of resolutions which I have typed up and posted in a prominent place in my daily line of vision. One year I decided to quit consuming mass quantities of caffeine. Another year I decided to make a point to smile more.

Quit job, start college.

Exercise at least twice a week.

Travel to another country.

These are the sort of “big picture” directives that have guided my weekly schedules and daily “to-do” lists. At the end of each year, progress on the resolutions would be thoroughly reviewed and summarized in my journal. Through this process of recapitulation I would decide what I wanted to resolve for the coming year. The current year’s resolutions would then be added to the collection from previous years in a file folder, the new resolutions typed up and posted. Last year I even had a theme song: Katy Perry’s Roar. Obnoxious, but true.

This whole recap-resolution ritual has been a staple practice in my life for more years than I can recall and so it is with a sense of disquiet that I have come this far into the new year without having made a single resolution. As of right now there are no grand plans to guide me through this year. When I typed that last sentence all the little people that populate the village of my pscyhe went screaming and running through my head as meteors of the apocalypse rained down on them; that’s how much it pains me.  My poor little village people think anarchy will reign surpreme without a theme song and chieftain telling them what to do.

Speaking of anarchy’s reign, I may be perimenopausal according to today’s consensus.  That’s probably an overshare, but now that I’ve turned forty and I don’t have resolutions I might as well put it all out there, eh? Oh! Maybe my resolution is: I’m giving up resolutions? No, that’s just way too crazy to even consider.

So, yeah, perimenopause….I’ve been having these episodes of near spontaneous combustion day and night.  It’s as if I have held aloft my sword and said,

“By the power of Greyskull!”

  ~  ~ ~~> >>} >>> BAM <<< {< << ~~ ~  ~  

“I have the power!”

I am She-Ra and I am on fire. My body radiates heat and energy. I am solar euphoria flaring – the moon girl becoming the sun. That the body is capable of doing this sort of thing is amazing.   And then it all goes away and I’m back to being a cold little moon again.

Hm…what else can I tell you?

El-D went as a “leather-clad vegetarian” on one of our recent outtings.  Tonight he went out as a Grizzley’s fan, which is possibly  one of his strangest transmutations yet. Who is this man? I have no idea.

I took the Christmas decorations off the tree and made it a Valentine’s Day tree. There are pink monkey’s in repose all over it, courtesy of Nanook the Barbarian. I would show you a picture, but getting up to take one would require more effort than I’m presently willing to expend, so just use your imagination. Maybe when I’m feeling ambitious again I’ll make some resolutions and post a picture. A picture of the tree, I mean. Or maybe pictures of the tree, and resolutions, and hell, why not – maybe a to do list while I’m at it.

While we’re on the topic of to do lists, I went to Crystal Bridges Museum last weekend and there was this artwork that I really need to show you because it totally resonanted with me and because it’s relevant to this post, which means I am gonna have to get up and get a cord to download the picture I took of it, so I might as well take a picture of the tree while I’m at it. Aw, there’s a puppy!  …on my phone…I’m scrolling through pictures… and here’s a picture of a pig mask, which is going at the top of this post, just because.

Ok! Without further ado, here’s the picture I took of the artwork that has inspired me to get up:

Ta Da! That was hanging in a museum.  It was like someone had drilled a hole in my head and shone a flashlight inside and tried to capture it all.

Here’s my Valentine’s Day tree:

And here’s a puppy:

 That’s all for now!