Info Burung Kicauan

Today I woke up with a wicked sore throat (the worst kind that burns when you swallow) and achy bones.  Attempts to get out of bed were short-lived.  I've been around long enough to know you have to sleep these bad boys off, so rather than spend the day working I laid in bed zooming in and out of sleep dreaming about modern duvet covers while Prince Caspian played softly in the background. Waking up is hard to do...


At the end of it all I've come to the delusion conclusion that I'd like to be Lucy Pevensie - escape through a wardrobe to a magical land where you roll in the grass, hug, ride on the back of, have the best talks with and get saved by the best Lion ever.  I love cats.

Thankfully the people at CSN live in the land of reality with the rest of us.  They have offered to brighten our January days with a RAD giveaway of an $85 Gift Certificate.  Girls CSN is the best - I got an amazing Bodum Teapot and Le Creuset Kettle (yes I'm a pre-term granny and proud of it) just before Christmas and they were delivered in record time.  And if you want that modern duvet cover they have those, too!  So here's the scoop and let's get this thing started:

THE DETAILS
*This giveaway is open to all U.S., Canadian readers (Overseas readers I'm sorry - they don't deliver to you, but I will have another giveaway to include you in soon).  The entry period will run through 11:59pm PST Tuesday, January 18, 2011 and the winner (selected via random drawing) will be announced on Wednesday, January 19, 2011.

HOW TO ENTER
*For one entry just make sure you're a follower of this free bird via Google Reader, and let me know in your comment on this post that you've done so.

*For an additional entry  you can blog or tweet about the giveaway and leave a separate comment.

Good luck everyone!! Any thoughts on what you might get if you win?

I think there's supposed to be some lesson for me in the construction of this post - some kismet, some timing thing, some something along those lines.  You see I've been trying just to type it for 3 hours to no avail  - thanks to Blogger the biznatch.  Thought I'd give it one more whirl before bed and of course it decides that now is the time to cooperate...by the light of the silvery moon. Of course.

The other day I mentioned my resolve to simplify life.  In the month or so leading up to Christmas I began to feel the weight of having very little time to myself - things piling up being a sign.  Back in the fall I realized one day that I don't get outside to walk much anymore - one of the fave things I had done religiously prior to this blog.  Same goes for working out and, sadly, seeing and talking to my friends on a regular basis instead of just sending random texts.  Something's gotta give.

One of the main reasons I felt compelled to start blogging was because of the people I met who encouraged me to do so for over two years (can you say late bloomer?).  Back to the point:  people would always ask me where I got a certain ring or shoe, hear a crazy story I had, or end up talking about a restaurant or special place we visited and inevitably say, "You really need to be writing this down."  Cut to scene and I start the blog.  More than anything it is supposed to be a reflection of me (and you of yours and so on, etc.), but I realized a couple months ago that if I'm not participating in my life beyond sitting behind the computer screen then what do I have to share?

So with that I say I hope you will stick with me if you don't see a post every single day.  Or maybe you will and then I'll skip a day.  And I may not post at midnight (or whenever) every single time.  I might ramble on about fashion endlessly (shocker).  Or maybe I'll actually read a book and tell you about it.  I may comment a ton on your blogs, or I may just read and enjoy and sit back to think about it.  Whatever the case may be, more than anything I want the content here to be a reflection of a person who is living and enjoying their life - ups (shoes and crazy encounters) and downs (wallet restriction. and, well, wallet restriction). If you have any secrets, tips or magic tricks to balancing your blog with your life then I would love to hear them.  And if you are feeling any pressure to keep up I wanna hear that, too. 

Just before Christmas I did a mini Wish List/Gift Guide - it was nothing fancy, just some of my faves to give and receive.  Thank goodness Santa (aka the Chef) was doing his blog reading due diligence.  It was great fun to open a pair of those crazy Gypsyz and get to test them out in the Canadian snow.  They are even better than I hoped for because they're cut to stay up rather than droop down in the leg.  I would not, however, fave them for indoor wear - mostly due to the harder plastic type foot bed.  Aside from that they're a total win and I plan to wear these babies into the spring with denim shorts and a t - sometimes scrunched down and sometimes over the knee.  Call the Fashion Police on me all you want, I'm a fast runner and they'll never take me down!!

For the record they hold their own on slightly icy surfaces, too.  I, on the other hand, not so much.  Think mad amounts of whining and nearly frozen fingers in -36.  Oh.hell.yes. I just said -36.  It lasted approximately 10 minutes before I ran screaming back to the house like a little girl.  Okay the Chef did, too.


Outfit details:  Free People:  Beanie and Scarf, James Perse - Tanks, T's and Thermal, Aritzia - Leggings, Gypsy 05 - Gypsyz, Tom Ford - Sunnies

Every year prior to Christmas I get the feeling of having too much.  I don't know if it's all the shopping, all the requests or what, but without fail I begin to feel full.  Full of all the things I already have that, truth be told, are too many for one person. And then I begin to feel guilty.  That people are going without while I'm sitting on a glut of stuff I don't need.

Just before I left for Canada I spent two days going through my closets, kitchen and garage gathering items to give to charity.  I'm embarrassed to say the first part of the first day did not go well because I was having some trouble releasing "the stuff".  It's pretty sad when you have a lot, don't even wear it all, and still can't let it go.  Ugh!  (hangs head)  At some point the dam broke and I ended up donating several bags of clothing and shoes, as well as boxes of kitchen items, linens and other household treasures (some of which had never been used.  ugh again!!).

Along the way I kept two items to the side to share on the blog.  The first is a 70's style, size small, light brown, leather jacket (lined) that I got about 9 years ago in some random leather store in Seattle.  It has always been too big for me (can you say impulse purchase?) and, even though I loved rocking it with a severe wide-leg and a wedge all 10x it was worn, it needs to be set free.  I'm a size zero and it's big on me, so if you're a size 2-4 it'll be great on you.  If you want it all you have to do is pay for shipping and it's yours.  First person who contacts me can have it - and you know we are on the verge of a massive 70's fashion revival.

Shoot me an email if you're interested in either item and I'll get back to you ASAP to make arrangements (I'm thinking PayPal).  I'll be back later this week to add a bit more on this subject, as well as some other realizations I made over the holidays.  Did you have any Holiday/New Year revelations that you're hoping to follow through on?

My last bird of 2010 was a whinnying eastern screech-owl, calling from the north border of our farm. I heard it at about 10:50 pm on New Year's Eve, while spending some time around a camp fire with my family and some dear friends. The owl was calling so softly that it was really hard to discern, even though the night was pleasingly still and quiet. It seemed a fittingly subtle and mysterious species to be the last bird of the year (or LBOTY).


My first bird of 2011 was a male northern cardinal in the same tree as this photo and in almost exactly the same pose, minus the snow.

I make a big deal out of the first bird of the year. Sometimes I even go to great lengths to make it a special species. However this year I was feeling rather Zen about it and decided to just let it happen.

And, as it did happen, my FBOTY was Mr. Reddy. He was waiting patiently for SOMEONE to fill the bird feeders, and he successfully guilted me into it.

Thanks for stopping by to read my posts here during the past five-plus years. And thanks even more for all of your comments and kind words.

Here's wishing you a wondrous, healthy, happy, and bird-filled 2011!

—Bill of the Birds