Just for Today...

--treat every person you meet with respect and kindness.  Even if they don't deserve it.  Especially if they don't deserve it.

--tell the voice in your head, the one that criticizes everything and reminds you of your shortcomings, to shut the hell up.  Do this over and over, until the voice shuts the hell up. 

--take a deep breath.  Then another.  Then another.  Repeat every time you think of it.

--kiss your kids.  Hug your friend.  Smile at a stranger.  Look the store clerk in the eyes. Open the door for someone.  Reach out.  Connect.

--log off Facebook and open a real book.  Sink into the story.  Savor the words.

--name what you are grateful for.  Out loud.  Right now. 

--listen to your body and give it what it really wants.  No matter if that's an hour of yoga,  a long nap, or a chocolate milkshake. Give it what it really wants.

--state your opinion. Stand your ground.  Make no apologies for either.

Little things like this add up, and they make a difference.  To you and to those around you.

Pick one of these, or make up your own.

Just one.

Try it out.  Just for today.

Let me know how it goes.

Sunday evening randomness

*My camera cord is broken.  I think.  Just yesterday I made the comment that I had never had any problems with any of my camera equipment.  Never say never, huh?
*I spent my Riley-free weekend catching up on errands and house stuff and getting some much neeeded rest.  It was low-key and lovely.
*My workout mojo has been a little bit off lately.  I need to train for an event-that kind of deadline always keeps me on my toes. I'll have to see what's out there- it's not really a great time of year for that. 
*I'm not sure I love the new blogger format.  It's a not as intuitive as it could be.
*I walked by the Apple store yesterday and people had left flowers outside in memory of Steve Jobs.  It made me a little bit teary.  If you haven't seen his 2005 Stanford Commencement address, I suggest you take a few minutes and do so.  You won't regret it.  You can link to it here.
*Riley and I leave for our Southern California trip this week.  I'm really looking forward to having some downtime with her, watching her discover Disneyland and seeing my sister, my brother in law, the twinners and the baby bump. :)

*If you like to exercise with music, check out www.rockmyrun.com. for great workout playlists.  and the best part - free! I downloaded a couple and they are fun and different from what I usually listen to!
*I've been sewing a lot lately.  I'm working on some christmas gifts right now, so I can't really share what I've been up to here, but it's been a lot of fun and a lot of work.  I really dig that combination.
*I wore my hair up today and now I have a hair headache.  I hate those.
*I've never read any of Anne Lamott's work (I know, right?) but I picked up some of her books at the library over the weekend.  Wow.  Just...wow.
*Riley is now sleeping so much better and I swear, she's a different kid.  It's amazing how important sleep is - to her sanity and to mine.
*I am going to bed early so I can get an early start on tomorrow.  I love Mondays.  New beginnings make me happy.



 

Today

Today was a silent alarm 
and a late start that resulted
from the betrayal of technology
and the absence of morning sun. 

Today was her backseat cries.
She wanted something different
for breakfast - a meal that was
eaten almost an hour before.

Today was a mile long list
and a deadline that changed
once.  Then twice. And then
ended up where it began.

Today was a change of dinner
plans.  The pasta ignored, and
soup made from autumn's bounty,
honored with salad and bread.

Today was a bath and story
and the pleadings for another drink.
She stalls by asking for the irrelevant
"So...what did you eat for lunch?"

Today was the dinner dishes, packing
lunches and bags for tomorrow's rush.
A few minutes to restore order and then
a few minutes to restore peace.


Today was a mimic of hundreds before
and a preview of thousands to come.  And
yet in it's ordinary everydayness, I find a
sense of myself, a sense of home.

Grateful

-autumn sunshine
-head clearing walks
-new beginnings
-coconut lotion 
-starting from where I am
-hope
-wise counsel
-new water glasses
-cool evenings
-loving my job
-preschool teachers
-saying no
-early bedtimes
-homemade pizza
-answered prayers
-library books
-raspberries and peaches
-jeans and flip-flops
-anticipation
-long distance phone calls
-getting enough rest
-cheerful mornings

An unlikely dream

I have had the same recurring dream for the past few years.  In this dream, I am walking through these huge, weedy fields.  Usually I'm alone, sometimes I'm with people I love, but I'm always wandering through these vast expanses of land.  It sounds like it could be the setting of a very lonely place, but whenever I have this dream, whenever I see myself in these fields, I'm not at all lonely.  Rather I'm filled with a comfort that, for me, only comes with being outside in nature, and a calm that comes only from solitude.  I wake up yearning to find this type of life for myself.

 

I love these types of places, the open air and the open land.  There is something very soothing about the idea that I could walk for hours and not see another person.  Lately, I have been so drawn to the idea of rural living, of the hard work and the satisfaction that would come from this type of lifestyle. I want to greet the day by baking bread and hang my laundry out to dry. When I say this out loud, even to myself, I recognize that I'm probably only so enamored by this lifestyle because it's so different from how I live now, but still...the desire is very real and very deep.  Perhaps this type of yearning is from my Idaho roots, or perhaps it's just my mind's pushback to a busy, sometimes hectic, always people-filled lifestyle.  I know that the dream is one way my subconscious shows me that I need to find more time for me and more s-p-a-c-e.  Whatever it is about, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

 

Maybe it's time to explore this type of life a little bit more, to try to understand what it is that is pulling me towards it.  Maybe I need more air and more space and more wandering.  Maybe I need to be surrounded by those things that comfort me: nature, land, water, and my family.  Maybe it's time to go home for the weekend and sink into it, to get my fill of the county, see if that will last me for a while while I figure it out.  Who knows what the future holds. Unlikely dreams come true, too.

 

Lunch Wars - - Book Review

I hadn't really given a lot of thought to school lunches in many years, probably since I last ate one (so...17 ish years ago), but with a preschooler who will be embarking on her own school career next year, it's a topic of interest for me.  Additionally, I'm really working on improving our diets, and have been spending a lot of time and energy searching out healthy options that Riley will actually put in her mouth and swallow.  I truly believe that living a healthy lifestyle is a continual process of improvement and I have to consider that Riley will be eating her lunch at school 5 days a week, 35 weeks a year.  It will soon become a big deal around here.

Reading "Lunch Wars" by Amy Kafka made me realize that there is a lot more out there about school lunches that I need to learn.  It's an environment that I am not savvy about at all, but one that is important to both our kids physical health and academic success.  In her book, Kafka speaks to the role that politics plays in the school lunch system, the use of food rewards in the classroom, and the difficulties that the schools have in providing any lunches, much less lunches with high nutritional value.  She provides accessible advice on how to evaluate the school lunch program, and what to do with the information you find. I appreciate how she provides examples, case studies and an honest approach to this difficult to change, but really important issue.

As I look towards entering Riley into the school system in a year, I will definitely be factoring in the school lunch variable in the choices i make for her education.  I highly recommend this book for an easy to understand primer on this unique culture.


Although these opinions are my own, this a paid book review for BlogHer book club. 

Picture this

Picture five glorious days surrounded by beautiful scenery and creative energy.

Picture nights by the fire, letting laughter and friendship chase away the cold.

Picture learning a new skill and making new friends in the process.

Picture creeping vines giving way to riotous blooms of color.

Picture sunrise on the dock, the water calm and soothing after a night of storms.

Picture tiny gifts found at your feet.

Picture being with those that understand the whole of you, who know you in a way most can't.

Picture feeling the sun on your face, it's rays warming your body and healing your heart.

Picture watching the tiny movements of nature, and knowing there is something bigger than yourself at work. 

Picture a solitary afternoon on the dock, sorting through thoughts and emotions and finally finding the peace that comes when you know what steps to take next.

Picture a walk through the trees, letting yourself get lost and reminding yourself that you found yourself here before.  And that when you are at home in your soul, you are never really lost, anyway.