Salon de Maria Blog

Two things that have spurred my creativity this year is chocolate and wine.  I've always been a lover of chocolate, but wine is something that has become an acquired taste for the past couple years.  Little did I know how the two combined could really put a smile on my face and get those creative juices flowing! 

You know when you're growing up and becoming more mature when reading wine blogs or chocolate blogs sounds more appealing than reading celebrity blogs.  But then again, maybe I've just become downright geeky. 

The curious cat and eternal philosopher in me wanted to know if there was a correlation between drinking wine and creativity, so I did a search...and discovered that it is a myth.  

One bead store here in San Diego offers chocolate chip cookies to its customers as they shop for beads and one of the ladies who works there told me that chocolate stimulates your creativity.  I did a search and couldn't find any information or study that would lead me to believe that this is true.  Me thinks that a person just becomes more creative because you become more relaxed and happy as you eat chocolate or wine, thus opening up the creative doors in the mind for the juices to just flow. 

Ok, so maybe wine and chocolate isn't your thing...Check out this post over at Here to Create that offers tips on how to be more creative.

Posted by Maria Palma at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

On this Thanksgiving Day I'd like to thank Troy Worman who nominated my blog, The Good Life, as an O!Blog.  Today I happened upon one of the other nominees' blog, Lisa Gates of Intrinsic Life Design.  Lisa is a writing coach and in one of her posts she says:

"Whether you're livelihood is focused on freelance writing, editing, or publishing fiction or non-fiction, or building model airplanes, the critical difference in whether you get in action and achieve your goals is not whether they're specific and measurable with "by-whens" attached, but whether they're resonant and thrilling, and connected to your whole life."

One of the reasons I haven't been writing much lately is that I didn't find it to be a thrilling activity anymore.  I was on this race to finish these projects, but what happened was that I ended up burnt out and overwhelmed.  I went into paralysis mode where I just didn't really do much of anything.  Well, I did blog a little but my heart wasn't in it and I found myself in these mind blocks. 

However, this week I have been coming back out of my shell and I'm finding that the words and creativity are flowing again.  Maria's got her groove back! I even have the creative energy to make new Christmas greeting cards...

Posted by Maria Palma at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Want less stress in your life? Go unplugged. What I mean by that is don't sit in front of the computer all day - like I tend to. Refrain from taking your laptop everywhere you go. Refrain from checking email or voicemail every hour of every day. That's what I've been doing the past couple weeks. I've been sitting in the library or bookstore with a notebook and pen (remember those things?) and browsing through books and magazines. I've gone out and smelled the roses, so to speak. I've walked slow from Point A to Point B. Funny the things you've never noticed before when you're in a rush. For instance, I walked by this water fountain dozens of times when I lived in downtown a few years ago, but interestingly enough I really just noticed it the other day. It's right in front of the Wells Fargo Building on the corner of 5th and A. You really can't miss it, but when you think too much like I tend to do, things like this go unnoticed. Last week I attended BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas (see my posts on it at Customers Are Always, The Runway Scoop, and Online Business Resources). I felt real naked there without a computer - especially since 80% of the people around me were either on their Blackberries, iPhones, or computers blogging away. At the same time I felt really focused - people focused, that is. Perhaps its because I sit in front of a computer all day with no human interaction for hours on end that made me really excited to just see people face to face and just talk. No distractions. Visit my Flickr for more BlogWorld photos...and visit the blogs I mentioned above! Now that I'm back and fully refreshed I can buckle down and make more jewelry for the holidays!

Posted by Maria Palma at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)