Simple Meaning

700 Hats to Wear

2012-01-31T13:07:00.000-08:00

I am a self-described multi-passionate person...to me this just means that I have about a thousand different ideas that call to me. So many options for work, life and fulfillment, you know?

So this leads to today's post. Today I was feeling rushed and ragged by 9am. I was late getting out of bed (but loved the extra sleep. Ahhhh!), both kids were late to school, and I was running late for a 9:30 appointment for one of my work projects.

After dropping off Kaiya at school and realizing that there was no way I was going to be on time, I sighed. Heavily. Out loud. And then I realized something....it was going to be whatever it was at that point. I could choose to mentally rush the traffic around me, look at the dashboard clock every thirty seconds and work myself into a self-loathing tizzy for being late or I could slow down (mentally), take a deep breath and call the person I was meeting with to let them know I would be late.

I chose the latter of these. Turns out I could relax on the rest of my drive as the person I was meeting with wasn't in yet...running late herself.

Teaching, consulting, coaching, being a doula and being present and open for my family are all things I hold dear; all things that I want to do and be. I'm learning that balance, self-care and concious choice are really important. Whether I am setting out to wear 7 hats or 700, I need to take time to breathe and savor what is good in each moment, even (or especially) when the moments present obstacles or other imperfections.

Sharing

2012-01-18T23:53:00.000-08:00

We're finally getting some much-awaited snow around here and I've been cooking, cleaning up from cooking and knitting away as the snow falls!

I was also looking back at some family pics we had taken back in October and wanted to share my favorites.

Okay, seriously? I love her faces, gah!

We had such a good time with Linenko Photography. Memories made and captured!

Slowing Down

2012-01-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

After all the hustle and bustle of the holidays January sure feels s-l-o-w...and I think I like it. This is the first year that I've really noticed the slow, cozy, unhurried feeling of this season and I am deciding to embrace it, welcome it and enrich it.

Menu plans are all about soups, stews and casseroles. Roasted veggies over fresh salads. Morning soaked oatmeal and tea. Lovely.

The Christmas knitting that didn't get done is actually quite needed right now. Instead of starting something new, it feels like welcoming an old friend; the familiar pattern.

The kids feel it too, I can tell. Jake is devouring the Harry Potter series (watching each movie as he finishes the books - of course)...a nice, long read.
Kaiya is enjoying arranging scenes in her new dollhouse and helping in the kitchen.

Life is just a bit slower paced right now. I'll just go with it because - really- spring is just around the corner and we can speed up then!

Welcome {Winter}

2011-12-30T14:23:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving, Christmas and Solstice are well put to bed and we're gearing up for a cozy family New Year's Eve.

~Not all of the Christmastime knitting got done, of course (it never does!)

~The kids had the best Christmas, complete with trying to stay up All. Night. Long.

~I started a new, very part time, job that is turning out to be just what we needed

~Business taxes, website redesign and new opportunities loom for this mama

~Feeling up to all the challenges and blessings being found this season!

What's new with you?

Unrelated pic of some knitting (unChristmas type) that did get finished. This is the test knit for the new Green Apple dress. I'm in love!

Hello, November!

2011-11-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think I'm in love with November...and I don't care who knows it!

We are experiencing a truly crisp, bright start to the holiday season and it's wonderful. I've been neglecting my knitting but my kitchen has seen more action than usual.

We're enjoying a sausage, potato and kale soup that I heavily modified from one I found on All Recipes. I'll have to write down what I did before I forget! That's how my chili turns out different everytime.

I tried out Butter Belle's Soaked Pumpkin Muffins and all I can say is - yum! They are light and moist and perfect with a generous pat of pastured butter. I've had 3 today....just don't tell anyone. And this recipe reminds me why I keep the Kitchen Aid out on the counter. When I'm not doing a lot of baking I sometimes wonder why I have it!

I just started a new sourdough starter after killing one over the summer. I used to think getting a starter going was so hard but now that I've done it a few times I think that starters are super hardy and probably not easy to screw up. I feel so rewarded when the starter begins rising each time I feed it! It's the little things, folks.

The knitting will have to be unneglected very soon to churn out all the gifting ideas I have in my head. I'm in a definite knitting slump - one where I have lots of ideas but no motivation to get things together and get started. Also, I've decided I need a swift and a ball winder. A lot of my yarn is in skeins and that doesn't help my motivation at all. I was going to ask for one for Christmas but then it would be too late for gift knitting. I might just buckle down and buy a set myself.

What are you working on for this holiday season?

Weekending

2011-10-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Oh my, it's been a busy week and an even busier weekend! One of those weekends where there just isn't enough time for everything - laundry, friends, Halloween preparations, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping - the list goes on!

Enjoying the pumpkin patch and all it's fun activities - like an apple sling shot and the photo ops!

Or maybe the puddles are more your speed - they have plenty of those too; it's Washington after all.

The makings for an impromptu apple pie on Sunday afternoon - well deserved after a weekend of hard work and hard play!

I hope your weekend was fabulous and family-filled!

Weekending

2011-10-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

Our weekend was full!
full of trips to the farm for milk
full of good friends and little boys growing up (sniff)
full of catching up with old friends
full of SUNSHINE!
full of cleaning up and cleaning out

Trips out for coffee (much needed for the cleaning part!)
Dusting off the sewing machine (literally, whoops)
Maybe a row or two knit
Planning many, many other knitting projects
Trying to maintain the self-discipline to shop only from my own yarn stash and not that of the (lovely!) local yarn shops (failing only a little)

How was your weekend?

Even If The Sun Doesn't Shine

2011-10-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

I am in love with the deep curiousity and action of my young children. They can seemingly take any activity and find the best parts, you know?

Right now:

:: paper boats and mud puddles

:: relearning to knit garter stitch

:: acting out Calvin and Hobbes (hehe!)

:: wanting to cook and cook and cook

Sometimes I have to step in and curb a little of what they want to do for what needs to get done - but for the most part I let them at it. You only get one childhood!

There's still plenty of riding bikes too because - really - the best part of riding a bike is done with boots on and through huge puddles! A quick shoutout for Kaiya's Skuut manufacturers - last week her back tire popped and they just sent us a new one in the mail, free of charge. I love great customer service like that!

What are your kids doing know that the weather has turned? (or will turn soon, or doesn't turn as the case may be)

Autumn Cooking

2011-10-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

I love seasonality (pretty sure I'm making that word up). The cycle of our lives - indoors/outdoors, sun/rain, holidays - there's just a natural time for everything, if we're only willing to listen.

Right now I'm filling our kitchen with fall favorites and enjoying the smell of simmering and baking.

Our roasted chicken from dinner

This chicken will make many meals just from one roasting. The bones are simmering away to make stock and the remaining meat can be used for another dinner.

My hope is to feed my family whole, nourishing meals without breaking the bank. I want our meals to bring us warmth and good health in every season but especially in these cooler, darker days of fall.

I use this simple recipe for roasted chicken from Nourished Kitchen. Do you have a favorite recipe that makes you feel warmed and satisfied?

To GAPS or Not to GAPS

2011-10-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

Oh, that is the question that is heavy on my mind right now.

The GAPS diet is a gut healing and sealing diet with far reaching benefits for many chronic disorders. Designed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) diet promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract while ridding the body of the unwanted yeast and bacterias that make so many of us ill.

Sounds great, right? The thing is this diet looks tough. I've been following a few online journeys through the GAPS Intro and the Full GAPS diet (less restrictive than Intro) and I'm starting -just starting- to think that maybe we could do this.

Our son (9) has a host of chronic conditions that the GAPS diet could really help. Asthma, autism, allergies and ezcema. He has had these ailments since infancy. Each day that I wait and ponder whether or not we should do this I think to myself that it is another day that he could be feeling some relief, you know?

So hard for a mama.

My first step will be to get the book from the library and arm myself with some more knowledge. I'm also seeing more and more resources out there for doing the GAPS diet successfully; especially with kids. This makes it seem much less scary!

Do you have any experience with GAPS?

Right Now

2011-10-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Things that I am loving right now:

Knitting :: a special Christmas gift

Listening :: to Michael Franti and Feist on my Pandora

Simplifying :: our home and getting down to brass tacks for winter

Working :: on new passion projects taking me in all sorts of wonderful directions!

Watching :: the drizzly, Northwest weather outside my door...so very Fall

Hearing :: a 4 year old begin the long, wonderful journey toward reading

Spending :: some one-on-one time with the big brother

Making :: new friends over chicken soup and conversation

What are you enjoying right now?

Celebrating Michaelmas

2011-10-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, the beginning of Autumn is truly here in the Northwest! Crisp mornings, drizzly days and dark evenings.

Last week we celebrated Michaelmas. This festival is all about courage, bravery and heroic deeds and is a perfect analogy for the soul strength we need to get through the long, dark, cold winter.

I didn't get too many pics (having too much fun actually DOING!) but here are the few I did capture.

We picked the last of the blackberries in the sunshine and Kaiya found this woolly friend

We read Saint George and the Dragon and made Dragon Bread. Almonds for the spikes and teeth!

Dinner was cozy chili and bread with blackberry jam

We also dyed silk capes with yellow dye to make "capes of light." The kids had fun reinacting the scenes from the book (especially the part where the dragon falls into the blackberry bushes) with their capes and (invisible) swords.

How was your Michaelmas?

Farm Friday

2011-08-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

I so enjoy our trips to the local farm on Fridays to gather milk and any other goodies that the season brings! This is also the kids' favorite part of the week and it is so very hard to get them to leave. I guess I could have worse problems.

Today we visited the growing chicks and milk cows in the pasture. We've watched the chicks grow from tiny fluff balls to awkward chicken teenagers. It is quite a way to mark the passage of time.

I love the feeling of being so close to our food source and this is reflected in my children's knowledge. My four year old believes that milk only comes from farms (not the grocery store) and my nine year old says he would like to study to be a farmer someday. They understand that the beef cattle in the field will one day nourish a family and that the farm's precious baby cow, Della, drinks the same milk that we do.

Seeing the white prefold diapers blowing in the breeze as we left was the perfect way to end today's farm trip. I love knowing my farmers, their family and the animals that benefit from love, sunshine and bountiful pasture!

Have you met your local farm community yet?

Dwindling Light

2010-11-09T22:24:00.000-08:00

Oh heavens! I just scouted the forescast for the next ten days (ahem, snow showers? For real?) and happened to glance at the hours of sunrise and sunset; 7:20am and 4:31pm, respectively. As our dark nights get longer (and longer and longer) and daylight is at a premium, we're turning inward here to help each other find the light inside each of us.

On Thursday, we'll be celebrating Martinmas. Making lanterns, cooking warm, nourishing food and talking about giving of ourselves to help others. I'm excited to be passing along this tradition to the kids and, most of all, I'm excited for our lantern walk and soup and bread afterwards!

I found some great resources for telling Martinmas stories here, and many tutorials for creating lanterns. My favorite lantern story is here.

Here's to the fading sunlight and inner spirit!

Knitting {This Week}

2010-10-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Here's what I've been busily working on this week! This is Churchmouse Yarns and Teas, Stay-On Baby Booties...a pattern I'm loving.

This is the start of a pair for a sweet cousin due with a baby girl soon. This is in Malabrigo Sock and I'm finding that I like working with the fingering weight yarn and tiny needles.

I finished another pair earlier this week in Malabrigo Worsted's Autumn Forest colorway. The little guy they're going to was born the same day that I bound off!

I enjoy knitting as part of that daily rhythm we were talking about previously. I days that I don't knit or do something creative with my hands I find that I feel more rundown, run around and just basically unbalanced and unconnected. Knitting gives me something (someone) to focus on as I create for specific reasons and specific people. Love really goes into each stitch and, like a meditation, I am able to breathe deeply and live so centered in that moment.
That is, until I start dropping stitches or tangling my yarn, then I know it's time to put it aside! ;)

What do you find centers and nourishes you?

Jessica

On Rhythm

2010-10-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

Just a little post on how rhythm so really and truly affects everything we do (by 'we' I mean my little family group here and myself). With this poor, neglected blog as a testament to how busy, busy, busy can get in the way of true understanding and needs!

A shortlist of my own needs and new understandings:
I need a routine, a rhythm. If I fail to provide myself with this, then I am lost and things are left undone and moments are left unsavored (the worst part!).

We have been reconnecting as a family and our unique rhythm has been emerging and unfolding. So here I am! We have found this nice, steady rhymth to our days (something along the lines of up, work, home, dinner, baths, goodnight...but it works for us) and it is allowing me more clarity to see the things that I need and those that I really don't.

One thing I need is some balance! I know you can relate. As a parent, a work-away-from-home person and as an individual, I need time to reflect on what works. I also need time to nourish those parts of me that aren't sustained by my day-to-day work (reading, knitting, creating, writing and so on) I've been trying on different systems for managing everything and keeping what has been working and leaving the rest. I'll post some more on that later. These "fitting sessions" have been most of what my head has been wrapped around lately so I know you'll get an earful (eyeful?) of that topic very soon!

Please share what works for your family when it comes to rhythm and routine. Are you still trying things on or have you found what works (for now)?

Is That SPRING I See?

2010-03-13T00:21:00.000-08:00

Um, nope, not quite yet. We've had some amazing weather over the last month or so (on and off). Beautiful sunny skies with not a cloud in sight. Our garden was turned and readied (and, ahem, maybe some things were planted that could have waited just a few more weeks...maybe) and trips to the beach were made.

But now the weather looks so much more like the Pacific Northwest late winters that we are all accustomed to around here. Which, really, is just fine. No, really...I mean that. Sincerely.

While we try not to blow away with our umbrellas I'll be sharing snippets of the things missed in the last few months of blog absence. Lots of projects (big and small), outings (near and far) and memories made.

Now to go off and stare at the neighbor's spring flowers...what? No one told the flowers it's still winter? Oh, well, all the better for getting us through these last dreary days of winter. My very favorite flower growing next door are the crocuses...so delicate and nearly unexpected as they push up and bloom first thing. What's your favorite spring bulb?

Here's to dreaming of Spring!

St. Nicholas Day 2009

2009-12-07T22:38:00.000-08:00

We've had such a lovely weekend!

On Saturday evening we joined many friends in clebrating the first snow of the year. Well, we didn't know it would snow, but it was absolutely wonderful to be outdoors, around a crackling fire, feeling the frosty, fat flakes on our faces. I love this time of year.

On sunday, St. Nicholas visited our house, spreading his generous spirit to the smallest members of our family.

In the morning these slippers were full of clementine, chocolate coins and a golden walnut for each child. The kids were happy to dive into a breakfast of chocolate and oranges...that sounds good to me too!

Anyone else celebrate this year?

Generousity and Kindness: St. Nicholas Day

2009-12-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

Although we are not a very religious family we've decided to have a low-key celebration of St. Nicholas Day this year. Jacob has been very interested in Santa and all the myths, tales and different perspectives about who this man is/was.

In preparation for St. Nicholas Day, we are reading one story per night here. This has sparked some great conversations while reading! Jacob, sitting back finger-knitting, asks questions and makes connections between today's "Santa" and this saint. He seems really at peace while I'm reading and the stories make perfect sense to him. There's a lot of discussions about angels, heaven, and God going on around here..and I'm a bit out of my element!

On Saturday night the children will leave a shoe out full of hay or carrots for St. Nicholas' donkey and in the morning they will awake to find treats and goodies. I'm still working on what exactly they will find, though. So far, clementines, chocolate coins and a "golden" walnut with a tiny gift inside. I haven't been terribly organized about this...but it's our first year so we're learning.

Since it IS Wednesday, I'll add a little bit about my WIP (work-in-progress). I'm working on a baby blanket for a dear friend who is expecting a sweet baby girl any day now and knitting a sweater for Kaiya's naked-but-loved doll I made her. We are also thinking about adding long hair to the doll...and somehow covering her rear as well as her top!

Coming Up for Air

2009-11-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

Whew! We've had a lovely and beautiful summer, though it wasn't at all how I imagined it would be (of course).

I've been on hiatus as our lives have been a bit too full to post about but I have derived such inspiration and pleasure from the blogs of other mamas. I almost feel as if I could spend all day catching up with these wonderful corners of the internet...but there is so much more to do.

I'm not aplogizing for the long vacation from blogging. My strengths and talents have been sorely needed elsewhere and that's okay. I do find such comfort in writing here that I feel like it's time to come back and make this my own little corner. So here I am.

To me, a post is never quite complete without a picture but today this little message will suffice. Photos used to be a lot harder for me as I was working with an old digital camera whose screen had gone out. There was a bit of suspense, though, when uploading photos. You just never knew what you were going to get. A little like life. There is nothing predictable here! Now I've been graciously blessed with a brand new camera for my birthday and I'm so excited to capture our moments and share them (or not... :)) with you here.

Shhhh...It's a Secret (for 2 more days)

2009-05-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

My baby is turning two in two days and I've just finished her first doll. This just happens to be my first doll too...well, the first I've created anyway.

I'm way too taken with myself and I just had to share the finished piece. I know K is going to love her and I love that she was made by me for my daughter. So special.

I wonder what her name will be?

Happy Birthday!

2009-05-12T23:06:00.001-07:00

Our Papa is turning a year older. Happy Birthday, Josh. May your day be exactly how you wish it and may your year be full!

Learning and Growing

2009-05-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

Even though I've had a child in toddlerhood before, it always amazes me how quickly they learn and grow up.

The other day I was washing dishes and the kids were playing on the living room floor. Kaiya was especially quiet and so I turned to see what she was up to and this is what I saw.

She laid this all out by herself (brother was outside) and I have to admit I was impressed by her instinctual knack for symmetry. So, naturally, I took more pictures!

She eventually moved the top block there to the right side of the structure. They say that babies love symmetrical faces so maybe this is something that comes naturally to kids. I think it's neat the way she laid it out, as if there was no thought involved at all. Later, she lined up our wooden window dowels largest to smallest.

Maybe she's more Montessori than Waldorf?

If I Had All the Money in the World

2009-04-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

This is where my kids would go to school. Part farm/part Waldorf school in Port Hadlock, Washington.

I'm becoming increasingly interested in Waldorf methods for our family. At first, I just loved the natural elements of the lifestyle. I liked that children's toys looked more like pieces of art. We've been loving playsilks since before I knew they were 'Waldorfy'.

More than the objects though I like how connected every living thing is. Right now, I'm struggling with all of the 'screen time' in our life. I feel like the people I love most are too often unavailable. Not unavailable physically because they are sitting right there, but rather unavailable emotionally and socially. I am looking forward to the summer months home with Jake and Kaiya as much for the vacation from work as for the reconnection with each other and the earth.

I think that the Waldorf schooling method would fit Jake very well. He's such a free spirit. He is becoming more and more rational which also fits with Waldorf. After all, he did just get four new adult teeth!
If it were up to me and I had the money to do it, Jake would be making himself a home in the community of that school on the farm. For now though, we make our home in the public school he attends and I have to say that they are amazingly good with him and there is a very positive vibe throughout the building. I just wish for him to be in the optimal place for him...not second best.

Found It!!

2009-04-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

I have been on a quest to find Living Crafts magazine for weeks now. I have asked the kind folks at Border's, Barnes and Noble, and two (count them 2!) Jo-Ann Fabrics....

What does a girl have to do to get a little handmade love around here?

Well, apparently she has to visit Michael's, which she didn't even know existed over here anymore.

Thank you to the kind lady who hadn't the faintest idea what I was talking about and somehow pointed me in the right direction anyway. I was so excited when I glimpsed that shiny cover beckoning me from the front of the store. It was right there all along. I was truly like a kid in a candy store.

Know I just need to actually get some crafting done instead of surfing around their website checking out Rosie Hippo and The Wooden Wagon...and A Child's Dream.....

Hey, it's okay because I know some kids with birthdays coming up!

Now THIS is More Like It!

2009-04-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

Finally! A real 'Spring' day!

The sun was out today and it found us working in the yard, consuming popsicles, and wearing shorter pants.

Putting a yard together from scratch is both very satisfying and extremely hard work. Our yard is all clay and in order to get things to grow in it we are going to have to do some heavy-duty overhauling. We're working on putting in raised beds and filling the lake that appears during a hard rain. The lake is really more of a moat that our builders so kindly left us to deal with.

Working side by side in our little patch of earth feels incredible. We talk and laugh. The kids come and go, digging and pretending to plant things. The property is about the size of a postage stamp, but it belongs to us. It is our postage stamp.

Kaiya and Jake had a great time searching for Easter eggs with Nana.

Kaiya's understanding of the premise of egg hunting has some room for fine-tuning. After obtaining one, shiny, glorious egg...she was done. She posed for pictures with her egg and saw no need to further her search for more. This concept was enforced by the other toddlers who readily shared their bounty with her. No need to hunt when the prizes fall right into your basket.

Spring Is Here!

2009-04-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

You know, I'm really glad I didn't post this on the first day of Spring as I had intended. Because, as neighbors and friends know...it snowed here on April 1st! We woke up to a light dusting of the white stuff and it continued to snow through the morning and into the afternoon.

It was just Mother Nature's little April Fool's joke with some help from King Winter as Jake pointed out. Perfect timing, Nature. It has snowed more this year than any year I can remember in the past. Although, I did find a photograph from March 28th of last year showing my car covered in white as I stepped out of a nearby school after it had let out. So, there's that.

We are filling our days with projects and trying not to let the rain ruin outdoor plans (can anyone say the best mudpies EVER?). We felted some Easter eggs the other day, but they did not turn out nearly as nicely as WaldorfMama's...wow! She does such beautiful work. We are taking the kids to a fun Easter hunt tomorrow. I'll post pics as sson as we get home!

Love to all!

Slowing Down...

2009-03-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

It's Spring Break for the kids and for myself so we are slowing our pace a little, sleeping in later, and enjoying a lot more time in togetherness.

Yesterday was the first day around here that really felt like Spring. We visited a local park and soaked in the sun and the cool, instead of cold, air. K enjoyed splashing in a mud puddle under the swings and was quite wet before we left. This is her first long trip to a park since at this time last year she was still crawling. She loved it, as I knew she would.

I'm working on a little spring cleaning to help our declutter project. As we get closer to what we want this house to feel like I realize that we have that much more work ahead of us! There will be lots of painting to be done and work both inside and outside the house as we plant our gardens and build the remaining side to our fence. If there are any takers on a labor exchange, just let me know!

Happy Spring to all!

Full Moon

2009-03-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! I wish I had a chance to take a photo of the moon in the morning on my way to work; it is big and gorgeous. And right now it is hanging out with the Olympics just looking yellow and beautiful against the contrast of the snowy mountains.

This moon has shocked me two mornings in a row now. I drive around a corner and there it is. I think life is like that too. Lots of everyday things that make you go 'wow' when you least expect them.

Jacob is becoming a fantastic reader. And, although I know this on a day-to-day basis, sometimes it still manages to catch me off guard. Today we were visiting my chiropractor and Jake brought along his paperback edition of Junie B. Jones. He proceeded to keep his sister entertained with a good story while I had my adjustment. Little things like this just blow me away. The chiro thought it was remarkable too!

Out of the Fog

2009-03-05T21:33:00.001-08:00

I've been absent for too long in Blogland! I'd love to say that there is some kind of excellent reason for this departure -- but there isn't. I've just been busy with children, family, friends, and work.

Yea, work! I did get hired on at the agency I love so much. It is a position that is very new to me. Usually, I'm the teacher-type (that's what my degree says, anyway) but this time I decided to take a path into family health and nutrition and I'm purely excited about it. I think it also fits into my plans and goals for the next several years such as gaining my CBE/doula certifications and beginning the work of assisting women and families as the bring little ones into the world. Maybe someday I'll go a bit further and become a Licensed Midwife. Only time will tell.

Oh! Right now the dreaded flu lives at our house. So far, Jake has been in bed for four days eating little and drinking water only because his mother asks so nicely. I think he's made a turn for the better tonight, though. He began eating of his own free will. He requested sausage piadinis (from Starb*cks, eh) so I made my own poor-mama's version with crescent rolls and turkey sausage, egg, and cheese. They really are delicious and very unhealthy....but this is his first meal in days so junk is allowed. It sounds like Papa Bear may be next with this bug...cross your fingers that he is not! I am drinking tea with echinacea and astragalus like it's going out of style.

I guess we have not escaped this winter without a round or two with the virus that shall not be named!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

Well, the new year is upon us along with its resolutions and sparkling new-ness. I, for one, am excited to be at a crossroads. Technically, I'm currently unemployed and, due to a minor fender-bender, I may be unemployable. Totally scary. The job I had (a great, perfect-fit-for-me job that I'm sorely missing right now) was reduced (to, um, nothing) by the state. The Department of Early Learning gave back all the money for this new program with no idea of when it may be reinstated. Sigh.

So, I applied for another (much lower paying) position within the same organization (because I love it there) and fully expect that this will work out. But for now? Yeah, I'm unemployed. And with my back and neck all kinked up I may end up with light duty which my potential (and former) employer may not be comfortable with.

In spite of this situation, I am finding some things that are making me very happy. One, I may be able to finish my birth doula and child birth educator certifications this year! With our ample tax returns I plan to invest in this line of work that will make me oh-so-happy. I see it as a great opportunity to diversify and do something that I already enjoy, helping mamas and papas on their journey.
Two, my dearest friend, C, has moved backed to the Northwest, surprising and delighting me very much! Let's just say, that girl can keep a secret like no other. I'm so excited to have her back...I'm planning all the very usual and mundane things we can do together that will feel new simply because she's there.

I'm also looking forward to a few resolutions. I actaully dislike resolution-making. I think that's it's often to rigid and then it isn't followed out and then you feel like you failed. Blech. So I took the few days before the new year and assessed what I wanted, not to accomplish but to gain, in this year. My plan is to declutter our house and make it feel more like a home. My friend, E, has a great home that always feels inviting no matter if she was expecting company or not. It isn't a page out of a magazine it is just friendly and warm. That's a great goal...and I get something that I want from meeting it. Another goal is to spend little and save a lot. I want to start using coupons (gasp!) and making every cent work for us. I'm participating in the monthly No-Spend Challenges here.

I have great hopes for this little year. With a new national leader, a few new certifications, and looking forward to a new job, this year will be awesome. I can't wait to share it with good friends and cherished family.

Have a Happy New Year!

Snowed In

2008-12-21T18:10:00.001-08:00

I have never in my completely Washingtonian life seen so much snow here.

It has been snowing for 4 days now and we have over a foot of snow outside our door. I know there are a lot of places that see this much snow and more every year but this is very unusual for our area.

I, for one, am enjoying the cozy feeling of snow falling combined with a warm house, needlework, and tree decorating. We did get into town for a few hours yesterday. We picked up a tree, stocked up on food and other supplies, and made a trip out to my mom's house to collect mail. We've spent most of today decorating the tree and reading books while in between these activities doing laundry and cleaning and organizing other parts of our home. Jake spent lots of time out in the snow. We are enoying it while it lasts.

Our first tree in our new house is being adorned with cranberries and popcorn.

Though I'm not sure how things are going to come together for Christmas now (I still have little things to get for finishing touches on gifts) but somehow it all will. It is supposed to snow for the next 3-4 days before (can I say, finally) turning to rain before a little bit more snow around Christmas Day. We may never see a snowfall like this again so, I say, enjoy it!

Christmas is Coming!

2008-12-19T09:50:00.000-08:00

Snow has come to the Pacific Northwest! Just in time for school's Winter Break, it has snowed for the past two days so now Jake will get an extra two days of vacation. He's very excited about the 5 inches we got and has been out tromping around in it even though it is only 26 degrees out there and the poor kid has no snow boots or waterproof gloves. I placed an order with Sierra Trading Post for gloves, Smartwool socks, a hat, and some socks for me. We will be more prepared next time!

Our plan to get a tree has been delayed once and, depending on the possible arrival of more snow, could be delayed again.

It is absolutely beautiful, this snowfall.

Christmas gifts are being made and hopefully will be ready before Wednesday although I see a late night spent embroidering a doll face in my near future.

That's our update here! I'll be back to fill in with pictures later.

Fresh Start

2008-10-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

Now that I have a few blogs out there that are definitely considered my professional blogs I really am feeling the need to create something that is mine. A creative space with no goal in mind other than to record and capture this amazing yet simple gift of life.

I'll start with the realization (this is not news, by the way) that I am an incredibly lucky person. I would nearly use the word spoiled but that conjures up some very negative thoughts for me. But truly, I am blessed beyond belief in ways that I never imagined. My family is a constant joy to me and I hope that I reflect that back to them and build them up as they build me up.

I thrive in change and growth. Now that Fall is here I should probably be turning inward like hibernation but instead I cannot still my mind and my actions. There are many things out there for me right now that I am excited to seize and revel in.