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January 29

Life is good and things are busy here as usual. I am happy to say I don't spend nearly as much time on the computer as I used to, but it does leave me feeling somewhat out of touch. I sat down to clean the photos and movies off my cellphone this morning and thought I'd share a few cute highlights with you.

Caleb got a Slither for Christmas after seeing action shots on tv like this, but he ended up using it more like this. We take Sophie for a walk with it every day. Or rather, Sophie takes US for a walk ;-)

 

The last few days up here on the north coast have been gorgeous. So we went out to the beach on Thursday afternoon. 

Sophie was a yapping fool but I think she was just nervous being the ONLY dog out there (and there were many) who was on a leash. 

 
I enjoyed just sitting and BEing for an hour or so,

while the boy and the dog did what they had to do.

When I saw Caleb walking along the water's edge and the reflection of his feet on the sand I was struck with a deja vu moment. 

Almost 8 years ago, walking in very nearly the same spot.

Trippy! Sure doesn't seem like that much time has passed.

And then there's his wild and wooly sis; Madison. We spend Friday afternoons with the blue-eyed bombshell and here she is seen *reading* her very favorite Eric Carle book last week.

 

Today we are helping at the Little League Spaghetti Feed fundraiser. Yes, it's almost baseball time again! I don't have much to share in the line of creativity (quilting or making stuff) but I'm confident it will start coming back into my life soon enough. :-)

Take good care. jen

January 16

Hi all. I'll be sitting here most of this afternoon working on somewhat of a Valentine's Day themed Etsy update. I just came across a link to this news story and felt compelled to share it with anyone who has seven minutes to spend watching it. A fascinating little story of how a nation can just up and become FAT. And sick. And in pain. Just by changing what they eat. Sound familiar? It's never too late to change my friends! Why not let's change what we eat to become slimmer and healthy and strong? I've recently come upon a concept that really rings true for me personally and I'll share it here in case you haven't heard of it yet. It's what is being called the 'Paleo' lifestyle. Google it and you'll see a multitude of lengths people are taking it to. I'm really getting a lot out of Mark's Daily Apple and Elana's Pantry. I baked completely gluten free during Christmas and I think my guests would agree; the orange cupcakes and banana bread were SOO much tastier than the usual stuff we've always churned out with white sugar and white flour. I feel very balanced because my blood sugar remains on an even keel and my body isn't having to process a bunch of sugar and flour and other overly processed crap. I'll probably go on about it more later but for now I'm hoping you'll give it some thought and see if maybe you would like to make a do-able change for the better, too.  Here's something I came across (probably on Mark's site) that breaks it down so simply that no one can argue against it. I've got it posted on my fridge. 

Ten Basic laws that will enable us to live a long and healthy life 

1. Eat lots of plants and animals 
2. Avoid poisonous things. 
3. Move frequently at a slow pace 
4. Lift heavy things 
5. Sprint once in a while 
6. Get adequate sleep 
7. Play 
8. Get adequate sunlight 
9. Avoid stupid mistakes 
10. Use you brain 

with love, jen

 

 

January 11

 

 

Hello friends. I've been doing a good job of staying off the news channels the past few days. After almost 10 years of 24/7 sensationalism I've finally figured out there are a lot of people making a lot of money by whipping us all in to one frenzy or another, so I just wasn't interested in hearing all the gory details of the Arizona shooting tragedy. I'm glad I did sit down over coffee this morning tho to watch what Jon Stewart had to say about it last night on The Daily Show. Aside from the silly bit early on with John Oliver in his pajamas, Mr Stewart speaks everything I wish I had the words to say. No blame, no make-wrong, no finger pointing. Just a plea for us all to get more real and less divisive. 

 

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I was glad to watch that. So I put on a positive mindset, went to the gym for a little workout and pilates class, stopped by Starbucks for a coffee on my way to get my hair done, and was faced with this on the front page of the NY Times.

I can't prove it but I feel quite sure they wouldn't have printed the gunman's mug shot if he looked...more normal? Less crazy? It feels like it's meant to scare the hell out of us...kinda like being on SECURITY CODE ORANGE!! pretty much the whole time George W. was president. Anyway, I'm offended by their choice of front page photo today. More stories about the good people lost would be preferable. To me anyway. Now I'm on record :-) 

Having gotten that off my chest, I will now resume my normal activities.  Hope you're enjoying whatever it is you are doing, too.

January 6, 2011

Happy new year friends and family! This is already shaping up to be a SO MUCH BETTER year than 2011. yay! I almost feel I should apologize for seeming 'checked out' here on the blog for the past few months. I had a lot going on...some of which I didn't want to talk about or explain here on the public blog. This morning I had a lightbulb moment which prompted me to share one thing I was up to. (I'll try and keep it short, since there are no pretty pictures to look at).

Within a week after John having a heart attack back in August I was at the local Junior College for an orientation session. Realistically speaking, the thought of losing John early scared the heck out of me, as I'd gotten somewhat complacent about living the good ol' life of a housewife. What to do, what to do? Ah--become a nurse! In many ways I think I'd be good at that, AND it's one of the few careers where they'll still hire you at 75 if you do a good job. Plus it might be nice for ME to go earn the money and let John stay home for a while!  So there I was with a bunch of people that literally weren't even born yet when I graduated from Fresno State University 20 years ago. I signed up for one Sociology class (which was about all that was left open) and started the semester. I hated it. I liked going to class and having provocative discussions, I hated deadlines and have-to's. I have never been a good student by the way. Not even in first grade. It was always something the adults made me do or I had to do in order to earn a living. I knew in November we should be gearing up to register for Spring classes. I'd check online every day or so, make a mental note to call someone and find out exactly what day I could register, but one day when I wasn't looking registration came. And went. Like in five minutes. Most people in the system are 'in the know' but I was clueless and missed the entire thing. I only needed Bio 101 and all classes AND waitlists were full. Long story short, this and that also added to my plate and then I realized, "Maybe this really ISN'T what I need to be doing? After all, if John GodForbid does die early; we own a mobile home park. I'd have income and I think I'd be okay!" I can't even tell you the relief I felt once I came to terms with the decision to stop going. For literally the first time since August 30 I went out into my studio and started making it mine again. I was able to pick up a book and read just for pleasure. Ahhh. 

I think the reason I didn't want to mention it here was because I didn't want to risk 'failing publicly', which is how some people may view my choice of not continuing. Last night I sat at the dining table and started leafing through this extended education course bulletin from the local University that had come in the mail. I went straight to the computer and excitedly registered for Wired for Joy, which teaches EBT (Emotional Brain Training) "A simple system to pop your brain from stress to joy." Introduction to Holistic Medicine--  In this introductory course you will become familiar with the four major blockages to healing (emotional; biochemical; toxins; structural/energetic flow), learn self care for health, and become familiar with different systems of holistic medicine so you can make an informed decision when seeking help from others. And Beginning Tai Chi. I can't even tell you how much I am looking forward to taking these three classes! And what I realized this morning was that I never would have even considered taking them IF I had gotten into Bio 101. There just wouldn't have been the time. More importantly, I realized that surely the people I meet and the things I learn in these classes and my path toward health WILL lead me to wherever it is I need to be. That, doing what makes you happy and makes you feel purposeful, must be bliss, right? Sure I could have forced the issue and unhappily trudged along til maybe I could become a nurse at the age of 60, but in all honesty I'm really quite intolerant and if I had to put up with cranky ol' patients like John shared a room with last Summer...well; I'd probably be pinching their airtubes or something! :-) Joking aside, I hope my story helps someone reading this come to a decision or make a change that has been tugging at their own heart. We only have one shot at this life, and it is really so very brief.