Dual Citizenship - How to Make Yourself at Home in Both Places

We have to find a way to live in both places. One place is called the here and now. This is where the bills are always due, the oil has to be changed regularly, you gotta brush & floss every day, get your teeth cleaned every six months or else get cavities, and the Internet sometimes goes out while the router resets itself. 

In the here and now, dust bunnies collect on every surface and under every piece of furniture, even when you feel like you just dusted the day before. Taxes are due. People are not always happy with you. You say the wrong thing and more people are not happy with you. 

You have to choose the right foods to eat. The right ways to move your body, the right ways to cover your body, the right things to do with your body and the way in which you present your body to the world (including the words you say with your mouth). 

You have to think about all these things in the here and now plus a million more. 

But there is another land. One that we often straddle the fence in (if we're lucky). It is called the world of possibilities. 

In the world of possibilities anything is possible. Everything is there because anything is possible in this world. It's like if the here and now were able to be contained in a shoe box, the world of possibilities would be the ocean. 

We're so stuck in our own little shoe boxes with our own little trinkets and things that we've collected, including our perspectives and the baggage that we carry that we really do forget that there is a whole big ocean of possibility out there. 

And it's all ours for the taking. Of course every possibility is not meant for us. But that's okay because there are plenty of wonderful things that were meant just for each of us. All of these wonderful things are just bobbing along out there in the ocean in the world of possibility and we get to jump in and collect them. 

But while we're stuck in our little shoe boxes, it can be hard to remember that world is still out there. 

There are some people who live just in the shoe box, always focused on the here and now, always striving for their five year plan or their 10 year plan, or just making it through that one day, til 5 o'clock quitting time. Surviving.  

But so much of what we could experience would be different if we were willing to embrace the idea of possibility. 

In the world of possibility, we can be our true selves. 

Do we have to straddle the fence? I feel like in order to have dual citizenship, we must really exist some in both worlds. Because if we just stay in one world all the time then we miss out on what the other world can offer us. 

Completely neglecting the here and now doesn't seem like the best option, because that might mean the bills don't get paid or there are no clean clothes to wear, or plaque builds up because we haven't been to the dentist in ten years. 

But I like to think that completely neglecting the world of possibilities can be even more detrimental to us. If you're just stuck inside the shoe box rolling a little marble around in your hand because it feels comfortable and you recognize it and it feels safe and secure, then you're probably going to miss out on all the things that were meant for you. 

Not things that you have to go out and take from someone else but things that are out there just floating along with your name on them. Because there's enough for all of us.

Last Minute Valentine's Day Crafts

Valentine's Day is on a Sunday this year and for some reason, that has made me feel like I have plenty of time to prep for it. Of course, now it's just a few days away and I haven't done much of anything.

But when procrastination meets simple projects, sometimes magic results! Here are a few of my simple ideas for making the most of a last minute Valentine's Day celebration. From decorations to crafts and a few treats, there's something for everyone!

1) Heart Doily Garland 

The first doilies were created from wool by the Doily family in England, but paper doilies as we know them today weren't produced until the mid-19th century. Martha Stewart has an entire video on doily history if you have an extra four and a half minutes and care to watch! ;) 

I whipped up a simple garland using pink and white paper doilies from the Dollar General store. Some gold-threaded twine made it even more festive. The trick to using doilies for things like this is don't separate them individually. They are so fragile and thin, a stack of 5-7 made for a sturdier garland (in my opinion). 

2) Valentine Craft Jar 

Sometimes it's fun to get crafty just for the sake of it. Without any sort of end result in mind. Do you ever do this? It's kind of like doodling or sitting down to write without a story in your head. Just doing it to see where it takes you. 

That's why I've created a Valentine Craft Jar. This could really work for anytime of year, but I thought it would be fun for Valentine's Day. I gathered a bunch of different craft materials and supplies and packed them into a cute jar (including pom poms, stickers, glue, pipe cleaners, etc.) 

Then, whenever the urge for creativity strikes, I'll have everything I need in one spot. And none of it was fancy or expensive so if I don't actually make anything worth keeping, it won't feel like a waste. 

Actually, getting your creative juices flowing is never a waste, because you never know where it will lead. 

3) Fun with Puns & Jelly Beans

I'm not usually a fan of misspelled words to be cute or catchy. But if there's ever a time that cheesy puns and cute sayings are appropriate, it's Valentine's Day. The more sugary sweetness, the better (in my humble opinion).

Winter is hard. The holidays are long gone and the days are dreary and cold. If pink hearts and red cupid arrows help cheer these dark days before spring, I'm all for it. 

My local grocery store recently added a huge section of Jelly Belly jelly beans in its candy aisle. I'm totally digging the retro vibe and the new flavors so I decided to use a few of these to create fun Valentine's Day treats. 

You can probably think of others, but here's what I came up with. 

A bag of Tabasco flavored beans with a note that says "Things are heating up!" For the camo beans, "I Can't Hide My Love." And finally, "Valentine, we make quite a pear." Get it, juicy pear? 

I know it's silly, but sometimes the silly little things are really fun too. 

Another pun-inspired treat I whipped up were these fun Valentine's Day pencils with a note that says "Valentine, you're just write." I was inspired by a great blog and you can download the free printable here.

I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day! Love is in the air!