July 4, 2008
…read a book about chickens:
…watch turtle races:
…hold a red-headed, pig-tailed baby:
…see your uncle hold a giant snapping turtle in his bare hands:
…end your evening with your very own fireworks show:
July 3, 2008
Amazing honey latte & baci gelato (yes, I said Kansas, not Italy):
The world’s largest teddy bear:
A snake in love with its own reflection:
A troll who is angry:
Because he’s chained under a bridge:
The Keeper of the Plains:
p.s. unlike yesterday’s post, all of the above photos were taken by me!
July 2, 2008
Kansas’ largest barn:
Bison jerky:
Fireflies:
Red-headed woodpecker:
Fireworks:
July 1, 2008
Be with those who help your being
Posted by yogamum under Inspiration, Poetry, Spirituality, Writing[7] Comments
No time for a “real” post, but I wanted to share this poem I came across today:
Be with those who help your being
Be with those who help your being.
Don’t sit with indifferent people, whose breath
comes cold out of their mouths.
Not these visible forms, your work is deeper.
A chunk of dirt thrown in the air breaks to pieces.
If you don’t try to fly,
and so break yourself apart,
you will be broken open by death,
when it’s too late for all you could become.
Leaves get yellow. The tree puts out fresh roots
and makes them green.
Why are you so content with a love that turns you yellow?
~ Rumi, Ode 2865, Trans. Coleman Barks
June 30, 2008
My mom, the kids and I are leaving town tomorrow for a road trip to my favorite vacation destination. Yes, once again, we’re off to Kansas! Among my many chores and preparations today was using as much produce as I could so I wouldn’t have to throw it out. Tonight’s dinner featured a salad of roasted beets, goat cheese, and walnut; oven-roasted potatoes, zucchini, and pattypan squash with bread crumbs and herbs; and sliced watermelon. Tomorrow’s breakfast will have to be banana mango smoothies, followed by sliced plums and kiwis. I have a big bag of sliced cucumbers to put in the cooler for an on-the-road snack. Rest assured, if I didn’t get an organic produce box every week, there is NO way we would eat so many fruits and veggies. Receiving that box, although it can sometimes be a challenge to figure out how to use it all, is a great way to force myself and my family to eat fresh produce.
Speaking of veggies, here are some photos of the ratatouille I made with the veggies from last week’s box:
After simmering:
The recipe was my first attempt at something from Peter Berley’s The Flexitarian Table, and it turned out really well. I served it with the recommended menu of Grilled Portobello Mushrooms/Steak with Bread Crumb Salsa, and an arugula salad. (You can find an article about the book and links to those recipes here.) I can’t wait to try some more menus in the book. His instructions on how to put the entire meal together are very clear and helpful.
Well, since we’re off to the Land of Oz in the morning, you might not hear from me for a few days. Don’t forget WoYoPracMo starts again tomorrow — I’ll be practicing in various fleabag motels in Kansas!
June 30, 2008
On Saturday YogaSpell and I went to a wonderful workshop on “Comfortable Backbending” at Richard Freeman’s studio. We met up with our friends Sparky and Bendy there. At first we feared an intense workshop featuring all sorts of difficult poses (Kapotasana, etc.) but we needn’t have worried. De (the instructor) focused on relaxed, more passive backbends with props. It was fun to get out the bolsters and blankets and straps for a change. YS didn’t want to go, initially, but afterwards he said, “I didn’t like it. I LOVED it!” So woo hoo!
Afterwards, YS and I headed to downtown Denver to spend the night and celebrate our 13th anniversary. (My mom stayed with the kids, yay for Grandmas!!) We stayed at the Hotel Teatro, which was a very nice splurge, and had dinner at Oceanaire, which was excellent — and the fish was amazing, especially considering that Denver is about a thousand miles from the nearest ocean. The waiter brought us a complimentary baked Alaska for dessert.
I’d never had baked Alaska before. It was good, but the main appeal is the flames. Otherwise it’s basically just ice cream with a meriguey/marshmallowey coating.
Sunday’s main event was watching Spain beat Germany in the European Championship. YS was thrilled to see his favorite team win the championship for the first time in his life!
June 28, 2008
FrogGirl’s hamster Prince died tonight (cause of death unknown). We are all very sad.
June 27, 2008
That means it’s time for another writing confessional, brought to you by the Literate Kitten. My main accomplishment for the week was writing my dad’s eulogy, which I finished in the wee hours of the morning today. I found that writing at night was better, since everyone was asleep and I could write a couple sentences, cry, write some more, cry and not worry about anyone coming in and asking me why on earth I was crying at my computer. I’m happy with the result — although there are some tweaks left to do — and I think it manages to capture many of the things we loved about him and pay him tribute while still being amusing (appropriately so, of course).
And now I hope I don’t have to do anything like that again for a long, long time. Luckily I don’t have to deliver the eulogy — my aunt is going to do that — because there is no way I would get through it without turning into a big blubbering mess.
In other writing news, I continued to do novel research, which has had my mind churning with ideas. I am simultaneously really excited about everything I’ve discovered, and also sort of in despair because I haven’t been able to actually WRITE much on my novel. But this is my life. This is how it is right now.
Reading slowed down a lot this week. I finished Getting Things Done. There are a lot of helpful ideas but the big takeaway is: Write down EVERYTHING you need to do, because keeping things in your head creates “unfinished loops” that cause stress. I still need to sit down and do a huge brain dump of projects, chores, tasks, etc. but in the meantime I have been keeping things straight with my little Moleskine notebook, Evernote, Jott, and Remember the Milk. That might sound like a lot of systems to keep straight, but really it isn’t. Each one has its function.
I didn’t read ANY fiction this week which is rare for me! Must do better next week.
We are having some folks over for a business dinner tonight so I think I need to go take a quick nap before I start cooking. I can hardly keep my eyes open!
June 26, 2008
I’m writing my dad’s eulogy for the family service in Kansas next week, which is probably the hardest writing project I’ve ever had to do! I can write for about two minutes before I get teary and the screen goes blurry.
How to sum up a whole life, a whole person in just a few paragraphs?
Impossible.
June 25, 2008
As I lamented the other day, creative time has been in short supply for me the past week or so. As I mentioned the other day, I have been feeling vaguely out of sorts and a little bit guilty for feeling like I need to take some time to write or just think! So I was thrilled to come across this article by one of my favorite bloggers, Andrea at Superhero Designs, whose writing never fails to inspire me.
How do we live a creative life and pursue our passions and dreams while still raising our kids, having full time jobs, caring for elderly parents, etc.? We speculate on how those people out there do it, those folks in the magazines who seem to be so shiny and happy. We assume that everyone else has somehow figured this one out and we are the only ones who are exhausted, depleted and undernourished by creative juice at the end of each day.
You are SO not alone people.
Here are some tips for creating more balance and creative nourishment for YOU:
#1. Permission
Give yourself permission to do your creative work. Yes, your work is important (even if you are not making money from it) No, it is not self-indulgent. No, it does not mean you are selfish or that you don’t love your family.For creative people, (that means you) part of nourishing ourselves is making time for our creative lives. It is our life blood. It is part of what makes us feel alive. We feed ourselves with our creative work and just like food, sleep and love, we need to feed our creative spirits to stay vibrant and alive.
Fact.
Click over to read the rest of her advice. I feel like printing her post up and putting it on the wall, or tattooing it on my forearm (well, I guess I’d need much longer arms).
