Crock Pot Colds

I love my crock pot. It’s a small one. And it’s cooking soup right now-- and I have no idea what it’ll taste like. I just put a bunch of things in But I know it’s super healthy. Fresh kale. Fresh red cabbage. Organic carrots (surely the organic must add something extra) I can’t even begin to tell you how healthy it is. No really. I can’t. I have no idea about all those antioxidants (a word I can’t spell correctly without auto-correct) vitamins, minerals, metals like iron. I mean this soup will be epic!

Unfortunately, I have a cold. Not a bad one. Just a stuffy nose-headache-use ½ the kleenex box kind of cold. Not the achy- I-Am-Dying kind. Thank goodness. But I can’t smell the soup to taste it properly. I just threw things in the pot and poured in some appropriate spices, and I am hoping it all works out.

Sometimes life is like the soup and cold. We throw things together in the pot hoping- with an educated guess- that things will all work out with amazing outcomes. Yet things come up that we feel hinder our progress in life- like colds. Maybe we feel just a tad under the weather- or under pressure to do certain things or not do certain things- and we hope the situation will all work itself out on its own.

For example, One day I stood in my apartment in Duluth, GA not sure what my next step in life should be. I knew nursing would no longer be my occupation, so now I had to decide what I wanted to become. What did I want to transform myself into? I knew I wanted to be an artist. I also knew I wanted to work with flowers. I knew I must create an immediate, a 2 year, 3 year, and 5 year plans.

I already had a makeshift studio set up in my apartment and was working on a commissioned painting at that time. So I focused on the floral industry. I wanted to apprentice with a floral designer. Not just work in a floral shop and stop right there. So I literally drove down Buford Hwy in Duluth and stopped at every floral shop, bringing my adapted resume, and asked if I could apprentice. They all looked at me like I was CRAZY! But I refused to give in to disappointment and rejection. I KNEW there was a shop for me. Finally one woman told me of a more “progressive” shop that I might want to check with. Floristique. Just a couple miles away. The name enchanted me and I went directly there.

Daniel Tindol, the owner, met with me that day and asked if I could come back for a more formal interview. He asked me to create a design for him on the spot. I had never done that before. However, I wasn’t about to give up. That night I came up with a design in which I drew it, added color to it, wrote an explanation for my design-- shape, color, meaning etc, then emailed it off to him. After that, I began working at Floristique.

So taking a moment to step back here, I threw in my pot the proaction to go door-to-door to floral shops on Buford Hwy-- not knowing if anyone would respond-- and then after meeting with Daniel and not being able to design on the spot, I leapt a bit and sent him a design later which secured the job. These actions would lead me to working with a wonderful floral designer Dina Tacu with Flowers by Impressions and becoming involved with the Georgia State Florist Association and Metro Atlanta Florist Association.

And what of my Artist occupation? What of my plans? I’ve had a couple colds. I’ve had to shift my focus a bit. I do not work with a floral designer at this time. I devote my time to my Art, including my personal creations as well as teaching. My “colds” have shifted my plans for the better, more focused, more achievable, and more enjoyable plans.

I love the floral industry and when the right opportunity presents itself, I will eagerly grab hold. I love my artistry and watching it evolve. There are colds that take my taste -or eye for art- away for a bit. But it always comes back. I always get better. And tonight I get to eat a really healthy soup. Hopefully it’s delicious too. Inspite of this cold.

'Til next time,

Arla