Amanda Vander Kelen

 Tell me a story  Tell me a story of a time long ago.  Tell me a story about where flies the crow. Tell me a tale of days since past Tell me a tale of a life in fast lanes and lines of order and grace to hide the chaos that comes from running with fate A history unwritten, a life never ends as the patterns produce  a means to an end. ___________________________________ Amanda Vander Kelen, MA is a geographer/GIS Specialist and now blogger. She creates a work/life balance by using her creativity in both making maps and writing blogs. Taking a mindful approach to life, she hopes you can utilize her writing to help create a peaceful space of your own. To show support for this blog, would you consider donating?  Donate here.

 The year is coming to a close, and I have so many things to gush about. I have been running around a lot lately, and noticed I was starting to stray from retaining my mindful strategy. I had a wonderful and gentle reminder of this from a good friend of mine (thank you, Nancy) and it was just enough to bring me back to center and continue to do things from a place of being mindful. For instance, I have been crafting my own stretch routine to get my body back in dance mode. I have not danced consistently for about ten years now, so this is a big deal for my now 36 year old body. I used to take and teach dance class 5/6 days a week at the height of my dancing. It is such a special piece of who I am and how I walk through this world, I never thought I would have stopped for so long. But, other career things were happening and there just finally came a pointe where I had to give it up in my schedule for a while. But now, my career is progressing, graduate school is over, and I can star...

 If you have been following along my blog updates, I have recently started a brand new schedule filled with so many good-for-my-soul things. All of these things are really fulfilling, so I can honestly say I enjoy that a lot of my time is otherwise occupied. I posted a new YouTube short of some snippets of my friend Julie and I getting together over the weekend. So normal - just my friend and I hanging out and catching up. It was one of those gal-pal afternoons. I hennaed my hair again this weekend as well, and this batch turned out especially well. I added a key ingredient I didn't have the last time - essential oil. It literally is essential to this process. Managed to get a fair stain on my hands, which you can see if you go on over to my Instagram where I am proudly showing off my mehndi hands and hair. So no, I did not go to a Middle Eastern wedding - that's all from my hair process. I think giving it the title Mandie's Mehndi is catchy. I dig it.  I was able to film ...

For the past year or so, my life has been anything but ordinary. I have had so many new experiences that I would never have asked to have! I wish I could say I learned some wonderous life lesson from the past year, but in all honesty, I feel like I am pretty much the same person I have always been. I don't think I have been changed by the curveballs life threw in my path. I have had to consciously incorporate mindful routines to mitigate the anxiety that everything caused, which lead me to starting this blog and starting to become a budding social media micro influencer. That part, however, is very exciting. So, I suppose there are positive take-aways from everything, even the things that break your heart and try to break your spirit. And so, my life is again on a forward-moving trajectory after a year of being stagnant. I used to have a very busy schedule. I have worked multiple jobs, dedicated hours to dance classes, and been in school since I was 16 - that is 20 years of mostly ...

Thankful for the day to begin anew.  Thankful for the year to follow through.  Thankful for the night that joins the noon.  Thankful for the moments that don't end too soon (& even those that do).  Thankful for the people who make up my life.  Thankful for the hard work and even the strife.  Thankful to breathe in a breath of fresh air.  Thankful to the Earth and Her limitless care.  Wrapped in a blanked in Mother Nature's Alost, She is the home to return to when lost. Take time and take care of those you hold dear.  Cherish the moments, for that's all we can bear.  I am grateful for so many wonderful things that are happening in my career right now. First, the career, then, hopefully there will be someone special again to share this abundance with. I do want it all - I want a life and love that will sustain me in heart and soul. I think, though, as long as I keep staying true to myself, I could perhaps have the life I yearn for. I s...

 She held onto a time when she felt whole. She didn't understand it, she didn't know how.  There were no words adequate enough. Feelings are pure, streaming from heart. A smirk, a glance, nothing more. Could souls really connect on such distant shores? Rattled by an image of what a perfect life, never could she achieve no matter she tried.  Struck by a chord of a life of a dream, why is she here if she can never quite fit? Muddled by society, the subtext of life. Will she be awakened, or charade for eternity? The beast, the enchantress, the crone, and the maid. Will it work out, as she said? Blessed be. ___________________________________ Amanda Vander Kelen, MA is a geographer/GIS Specialist and now blogger. She creates a work/life balance by using her creativity in both making maps and writing blogs. Taking a mindful approach to life, she hopes you can utilize her writing to help create a peaceful space of your own. To show support for this blog, would yo...