8Things To Fill Me Up

 8Things, and I am on time today too!  Things that Fill Me Up...

Here I am, in the middle of combining my household w my boyfriend’s household as we move in permanently together…while homeschooling my 9yo who really does not want to be schooled in any manner…while having my over-active over-stressed son (who has Sensory Processing Disorder) here for the whole week (this is more about sibling issues than his over-active little butt)…while babysitting a moose, Whiskey.  He’s a 17 mo lab/golden retriever mix.  Think Marmaduke.  He’s absolutely huge.  I have an over-jealous dog, Kendall, already, and Whiskey and his big goofy play w me, play w me puppy stuff is driving her nutty.  We just sent out other babysitting job, Bear, a small older dog we’ve watched before, home on Tuesday evening.  Her we hardly even noticed this time around.  Right now, not only am I fighting sinus issues that are moving into my throat, so is R…and so are the kids…so we are a house full of sicky poo yuckies.  Today I found out my precious purebred Satin Angora rabbits…are not…they are lionhead, jersey wooly and satin angora mixes.  I don’t care about that part.  I love the little snots anyway.  Plus, I love lionheaded  buns anyway…and if I hadn’t been determined to get angoras, I’d have gotten lionheads.  They are currently sitting at the vets, their testes nicely removed, and hopefully w Simon especially their moods improving exponentially.  I am a bit freaky about the care of my bunnies.  I drove 30+ minutes, out to Fenton, to the best rabbit vet in the area, for $220 each rabbit, to have them fixed—and it is worth every single penny and drop of gas to know my boys are so well cared for and so well taken care of…and safe.  Not every vet that says, oh sure, we do rabbits, has any clue about rabbits.  I am just wanting them to be safe and healthy. 

      So, refilling my cup…oh, what a blessing.

1.       Strangely enough, one thing that is really starting to do me a world of good are the podcasts I listen to…I have knitting ones and art ones and writing ones and since I can’t remember what day the Waldorf lectures have been, I’ve been listening to the recordings of the teleconferences…

2.      Being able to walk downstairs first thing in the morning and let one bun out into the play yard for a few hours.  Then switching that bun out for the other one.  Without having to wait for E to get up and get around to things.  Without having to wait for me to finish off whatever it is that I am up to.  Without having to drive to my house, where I haven’t really wanted to be the last couple weeks due to storms.  When there are storms (so go back to the top and add shepherd mix terrified of storms who clings to my backside whenever the weather shifts—til it gets bad enough for her to hide in the bathtub or under the bed), I have the urge to stay home, home at R’s…so the buns haven’t been getting much time out of their tiny cages.  Pray the surgeries this afternoon have made it possible for us to put them together again…so they can have their larger cage and their always open play yard again.

3.      Curling up on the couch, next to R, listening to the tv while I read…I’ve had decent books to read lately.  Like ‘Angel Time’ by Anne Rice…as annoying a read as it is, it is a very inspirational book.

4.      Fans.  Fans blowing, sitting in windows and sitting on the floor.  Air conditioning is ok, but there is something about the curtains blowing and the breeze hitting the backs of my knees at random that makes me smile.

5.      I bought new soap the other day.  We didn’t need new soap.  The smell stopped me.  Mango something or another.  Me and my showering OCD that worsens when I get overheated regularly…two very short showers a day, one in the morning, one at night, w this blissful soap…and then layers of perfume and lotions and powders and clothes that are me, just me, with no other attachments to it.  It’s beautiful.  Weird as I am.

6.      Sleep.  Lots of sleep.  R will tell me I need to go to bed and will handle things when he sees I am pushing too much too hard.  Of course, w N here, wake-up calls are usually way too early…but the snuggling between him and R is fun.

7.      Playing w the crazy dogs is great.  Whiskey does not take no for an answer.  It is actually too fun to watch Whiskey do to Kendall what Ken has long done to Princess and everyone else for so long…and Kendall hates it.  Whiskey chases things, brings them back, plays tug of war, eats bubbles out of bubble baths, chasing the water coming out of the shower head.  Think Marmaduke sized beastie who will jump into the shower w you…and he does, frequently.  If he can’t get into the shower, he’ll wait to try and lick you dry when you come out.  Then he’ll lick the tub dry once he’s sure you’re dry enough.

8.      Flowers.  Our flowers are now starting to bloom.  It’s a little sad to think they are blooming now while we are moving out…but at least we get to see them.  And we are not done planting flowers at R’s house either….

Correction June 4, 2010:
The lady at the vet waited for us to pick the buns...she admitted that she had made a mistake and the vet concurred.  My rabbits are 100% purebred Satin angoras.

8 things, On Friday--Of Course

Improved Eating

Improved Eating?  Uhm…how about improved lifestyle instead? 

I have to be very careful about diet and eating to begin with—I was anorexic and bulimic as a teen-ager.  No one ever tells you being anorexic and/or bulimic is like being a drug addict.  You can kick the habit—but it is always w you, sitting on your shoulder, waiting to jump back in and get you back on that train.

I also have low blood sugar issues and have to be sure I eat every so often…which I do not like to do at all. 

Technically, I am supposed to eat several small meals and several light snacks all day long.  I can’t do that.  Physically, I would probably be fine w it—but mentally—I just can’t do it.

I’m a grazer.  I pick and snack here and there.  I love food.  I do not like to eat.  Weird combo, huh?

If I get hungry, the first thing I do—after ignoring the sensation for about an hour or so—is drink a full glass of water.  Why?  Why do I ignore the sensation?  Because I prefer to be busy.  Why do I drink the water?  Statistics (somewhere out there) say that 9 times out of 10 when you think your body is hungry, it is actually thirsty.  I also know that supposedly (darn the scientists for figuring these things out) that hunger pains go away in about 20 minutes.  So you drink the water, you body thinks your belly is full…voila.

Having said all that…my ‘normal’ idea of a diet is milk for breakfast (ovaltine), milk for lunch (ovaltine again), and a big meal when R comes home.  I drink hot tea (w no sugar or lemon or milk or anything) and cold tea (not super sweet, a scant cup of sugar to one gallon of tea) all day.  I will drink fruit juices when I start to crave them, which is rare.  I will drink water.

My dad recently sent me an email about the best times to drink water.  You drink water first thing in the morning to get your system ready for the day.  You drink water before bed to …well…I don’t drink water right before bed…I want to sleep the whole night through and I don’t want to wet the bed (I have small children…first place my brain goes…)  There were other times when drinking a glass of water is supposedly more beneficial to your body…but the water first thing in the morning is the one I stick to and the only one I remember.  It makes me feel better anyway.   

I recently tried my only one meal a day diet plan recently.  If I could get up and do an hour’s worth of yoga first thing in the morning…I would not require as much food.  Strange, but true.  Problem:  I won’t do yoga at my boyfriend’s house.  Maybe I will once we have all the carpets removed and the floors redone…but right now…I am not sticking my face in a floor that smells of …dog…incontinent dog at that.  It totally breaks my concentration.

So, I am lucky to go to my own house in the afternoon and do yoga then.  Although it’s been the Bollywood dance of late.  But still—at least I am doing something…my boyfriend gets very upset w me if I don’t eat—I tend to get dizzy and woozy and off-balance, well, more so than usual anyway.  And even though I know the scientific facts behind it, my body gets upset when I don’t eat.  Note to others:  according to science, if you don’t eat, your body goes into starvation mode—it retains fat and liquid and whatever else it can hold on to…if you eat more, your body lets go of more.  How weird is that?

Enough babble yet?

What am I planning to do?

This is not really a diet.  This is more of a lifestyle plan.

1.       Increase grainage.  Brown, red, black rices…not all together…but the stranger the color and texture, for some reason the more the 9yo girl wants to eat it.  Actually, all this is for me is whole grain/multi-grain toast, 2 slices, for breakfast.  With rose hip jam on them—not butter and jam.  Just the jam.  I do as much whole grain as I can, or at least grain stuff as I can.  I always throw a handful of barley or something into soups and stews.

2.      Increase fresh fruit and veg intake.  Yee haw farmer’s markets and the patio gardens we have.  I tend to eat lighter during the hotter weather—mostly because the last thing I want is a heavy stomach—even if all I am eating is toast.  I tend to crave salads anyway.  I prefer spinach to lettuce…which is good from a nutrient level…

3.      I still do not eat 3 meals a day.  I eat breakfast—that’s my new rule—must eat breakfast.  I eat dinner; I love having dinner w my family.  I do not over-eat.  My mother trained me to clean my plate.  Some days it is harder than others to make myself leave something on the plate, but I do try.  I have also tried making sure I put less on the plate, so if I do finish it, I don’t feel as bad.

4.      R and I normally cook together.  He does one part and I do the other.  Cooking together makes us more involved in the food we’re having.  We plan our meals better.  It’s not nearly so haphazard.  The food actually has more value…not just nutritionally…but emotionally.  I am an emotional eater.  Appetite suppressants have no affect on me whatsoever.  My 9yo daughter shows the same aptitude.  If she gets upset at all, her stomach hurts and she can’t eat.  Cooking as a family brings us closer together.  We are also not allowed to discuss things that will cause upset—so no talk of E’s schoolwork, or anything stressful for any of us.

5.      Growing our own veg and herbs.  Not just buying local produce in season, but growing our own.  Ok, so we have a potted garden on our back patio…and we fertilize daily w whatever we sweep out of the rabbit cages (we have to keep them separated until after we get them fixed—they are still healing from their fight—I wanted them totally healed before I drive them the 30+ minutes to the vet for surgery…).  This year we have 5 times more tomatoes than we had last year.  Of course, this year I chose to grow Romano tomatoes…but, boy, are they growing well.  The turnip greens are a hit w the rabbits.  I can’t drench my spinach w soap much more to save it from the bugs…if I do, I fear we will hiccup soap bubbles whenever we eat the spinach.

6.      I do take supplements to increase the rate of my metabolism.  Hey, I am close to 40 yo and I am under no illusions about how the body changes.  I can drink a tablespoon of vinegar a day…or I can take apple cider vinegar tablets…at which point I am ingesting 4 or more equivalent tablespoons of vinegar—without the vile taste and the gulping of raw honey (which is INSANELY difficult to find…I must have raw, unprocessed, unpasteurized honey…local if possible—but I haven’t found any local) followed by whatever I have on hand to drink that isn’t water or milk.  Water doesn’t do much to kill the vinegar taste—and for some reason the milk seems to make it worse, and causes upset tummy…).  Cayenne mint combined is one supplement.  The mint counteracts the upset tummy over that big hit of cayenne.  Ginger supplement.  I rotate others, like garlic (odorless and tasteless), lavender, alfalfa…I have also started to drink a capful (maybe 3-4 tablespoons?) of aloe vera juice in the morning.  Be careful and do the research on aloe vera juice.  It can be quite the purgative if you take more than a little bit of it at a time.

7.      I am increasing yogurts, kefirs, and anything semi-probiotic-like.  I need the calcium…that’s where it started.  There is research out there that says calcium helps you lose weight.  I don’t like to take the vitamins anymore…the supplements I take are herbal in nature…so not manufactured vitamins or minerals.  I keep everything skim, no fat, low fat, as much as possible.  We only drink skim milk here.

8.      Believe it or not, talking w R about what I am eating and how I am eating has done wonders for me.  He keeps me on an even keel, helps me out, and is working w me on the types of food I want to eat more of and so on.

Now, I do have an extra one…we don’t eat out as much.  We normally eat out a couple times a week.  We always eat out on the week-end when we have both kids…we normally take E and N to lunch, and sometimes supper, before we take N back to his dad’s house.  That usually means McDonald’s playground…neither kid cares where they eat, so long as there is a playground.  So, we are cutting back on our eating out –and we are going to better places, or rather healthier places, when we do go out. 

My other caveat is I try to do something, anything, dance, yoga, basic stretching, ride my stationary bike, something for at least 15 minutes a day.  It doesn’t sound like much, but it does a great deal towards making me feel better, which actually makes me feel thinner…and my scale may not be in total agreement, but my skinny girl jeans are fitting better…so that says something.

Two 8Things In One

People To Appreciate 

(this is the one from this week)

1.      R—even before we became lovers, he was always (and still is) my very best friend, my support, my cheerleader, my sounding board…and so much more…

2.      E—she makes me love and appreciate the day…and through her I realize how much I put my parents through—and pray her kids do the same to her some day.

3.      N—he’s my little ray of sunshine…seeing things through his perspective gives me a whole new dimensional view on the world.

4.      Tracy—some friends really are forever.

5.      Kerry—for all the inspiration, support and giggles…not to mention, pretty pretty things that she makes…

6.      Sean—he does my heart good, makes me smile, makes me laugh…makes me remember I am alive some days.

7.      Sarah—for all her inspiration, coaching, cajoling and firm belief in my own creativity—Gods bless you, woman.  Honestly.

8.      Alice—a slight curve ball here…my dear Alice, much like my beloved Belle, reminds me every day that perspective is in the eye of the beholder, and strange things are not always unwelcome…believe w your heart and all your dreams can come true…looking past what is visible on the surface yields most amazing results…

Small Gratitudes

(this is from last week--I looked on Thursday and had it all ready to type up--and got side-tracked and I thought of it Friday morning...and as you see...didn't get there til now!)

1.      standing in the doorway holding one bunny or the other—while they sniff and stare away, I get to pet and stroke them…

2.      waking up entangled in R’s body every morning—which is also the way we fall asleep every night as well—you cannot beat that …

3.      Hemalayaa Behl’s dvds…not only do I appreciate the way she teaches Yoga, I am in love w her dance workouts…I love her style.

4.      The first cuddle and hug w E every morning the moment she wakes up and comes to find me…

5.      After R leaves for work, if I am still in bed, being scrunched between two dogs while still lying in bed, one dog on each side…

6.      Bird song, at any time in the day, even at 4 in the morning…

7.      Watching the wild rabbits scamper all over the place…

8.      The smell of flowers, any flowers, any time we are out…lovely…and at times so unexpected…

More Gratitudes Not Included With The Above, But Heartfelt Anyway

1.      Magpie Girl

2.      Jamie Ridler

3.      Cindy Rushton

So many more, I cannot even begin to thank everyone:  Suzie the Foodie, Hybrid J, Alexa Ispas…so many numerous others…

All rights reserved on the photos.  They do belong to me.  Thanks!

Back To Our Regular Schedule

Oh my goodness!

I take a small sabbatical from things to get my head together on my own stuff, and then look what I come back to at 8Things today…all I can think of is…great minds so think alike some days…here I am, in the middle of trying to redistribute my life in one way or another…and then this pops up…

1.        My favorite is: you’re doing it the wrong way…or that’s not how it’s done…especially since I never do things the ‘right’ way or the way anyone else would do things…I am usually happier for it…and I am teaching that we do not live inside the box theory to my children…because for them to be “normal” and to be “just like everyone else” is actually a nightmare of mine…

2.      Wait…I do sound like my mother…and I am starting to look like her too.  So, I am a decent 5’11” and she’s a chubby 5’2”….It’s the arms.  I have never thought I looked like anyone in my family—when I was younger I thought I looked like my Aunt Josie…when E was younger, I saw a picture of my sister J and—that’s when I realized how much she and I look like Ma…it’s in the details, the planes of the face—the structure.  Well, not only do my mother’s words fly from my mouth, the intonation is there as well…which is scary at times, but as I get older and I look at my kids, I realize my mother was not crazy—we were and we were hell-bent on taking her w us—just as my kids are crazy now and they are taking me with them!  What a ride!

3.      I cannot say I never heard you need good grades, since I always got them anyway—I always did hear you can do better—but I never really wanted to…what I hear now is…you have to go to college, you have to go to college.  Hello—I have an 8 year old who  is saying right now she will not be going to college—and I am more than fine w that—because if I do things right she will be far better educated on her own than any college education would be able to give her.  I hear…you need to be certified…you need a degree.  Guess what…all the technical schools I’ve attended since nearly quitting high school when I agreed to take my jr and sr years together rather than get my GED did nothing but affirm what I had learned in school—not just high school, but before that too—I can get more and better information outside a classroom than I can inside the classroom…and when I learn it myself—it sticks.  Period.  You should read all those books by people w Asperger’s or Autism, like John Elder Robison and Temple Grandin—they do things their way because it is the only way they can.  Mr Robison declined the college route—but boy, is the man intelligent and educated.  Ms Grandin did go to college, as that was the only way to do the things she wanted to do, but what she has done she has done on her own terms and in her own way.  I don’t care if my kids go to college or join a circus or grow cacti their whole lives on a reservation…I will love them and I will be happy for them, so long as they are doing what they want to do, so long as they are happy.  Although after watching the movie ‘Avatar’ w my 8yo, I do hope my kids don’t go to jail because of my political views…

4.      You can’t do that—you can’t wear that—you can’t say that—you can’t think that…more of the same…those colors do not go together…you can’t wear a black bra under a white shirt…that skirt is too short….your hair is too puffy….fit in, damn you, fit in….not in my lifetime.

5.      Lately, I’ve been swimming through the quandary of … do I need to do this in order to be a ‘real writer’?  Do I need classes?  Do I need to join these groups, those associations?  Should I have a local clique or group or something, to get feedback on my writing?  Should I subscribe to this magazine or that online what have you?  Do I need all this?  I know I know I know…most of my 8 things here are all the same thing…this is how you do it because this is how it needs to be done.  You’re not a real writer til you’re published…then hello, I was published at 16…I am a real writer and a real poet…so bite my butt…now what?

6.      Of course, considering my latest bent…the food is good for you…the water is good for you…the vaccine is good for you…these rules are good for you…believe it all.  Doesn’t matter that you can prove otherwise.  Doesn’t matter other countries are proving otherwise every single day (like Brazil and their ethanol production…who else has heard of this in mainstream USA?)  Big Brother does know best, right?  Snarf!

7.      You have to be financially secure is a good one there too.  You have to have money to do this.  You have to be rich to go there.  Although I do worry somewhat, because I am a mother and I do have people who depend upon me, I do not spend much time worrying and I try not to focus on money money money…as I teach my children, being happy is far more important.  You can have all the money in the world –then the economy can crash and you find out you have nothing at all—except the people who love you.  If a nuclear war breaks out—or if aliens attack and take over the world—or if the machines really do strive to eliminate humanity—is your money going to save you then?  Nope.  The people you love will…but money won’t mean too much then.  Yes, I teach my children this stuff.  Happiness over financial gain—you bet I do.

8.      You are too old to do that, to dress that way, to think that way.  You need to be doing x,y,z at your age, not that.  It’s time for you to set your silly dreams aside and take a look at your life.  Be realistic.  Dude.  I am realistic.  Very much so.  Trust me.  If I wanted to live your life your way—I would.  If I wanted to fall back into the ‘Barbie cycle’, I would.  (Barbie, you know, the bitch has everything…especially the house, the car, the man, the kids, the white picket fence, the dog, and cat, and any job she wants…while maintaining the perfect home, yada yada yada…why do ya’ll think I got married to such an idiot that last time anyway?  Because I fell for the Barbie dream…and w all things like that, dare I say as w all things Barbie?  It was all just a lie and not worth my time or effort…but, as they say, hindsight is 20/20—and I actually AM in such a much better place right now….thanks!)

If I listen to people, to the way things ‘are supposed to be’…I would have killed myself YEARS ago…I am not saying this to be superfluous or catty—I am serious.  I would have been so miserable before I even finished high school that I would never have made it out alive…much less into the college chosen for me…I would not have survived…literally.

            So here’s to being more than glad…I do things MY way….

Oh--wait--I have a bonus one:

               You must believe in my god the way I tell you to believe in him...come on...ask me about what the Church did to my mother?  Let me tell you about some of the Cults I have known and loved, under the 'Guidance' of many 'gods'...oh please, oh please, let me give you my own personal first hand testimony about the evil things done in the name of 'God' and of 'Love' and of 'Goodness'....yeah--right....

                 One example, just one, which proves why so many people run from Christianity and their view of 'things'... a married couple attends this one BIG HUGE church, we are talking thousands of congregants every sermon, thousands, m'kay...they are extremely active in said church, on so many levels....they are there for years, m'kay.  Then comes the divorce.  The church asks the husband to leave the church so that there won't be any ill will within the congregation towards one party or the other, despite all the singles and divorced groups the church ran at the time--and still do, despite the other divorced couples still attending within the church, some w their new partners.  It was made perfectly clear that under no circumstance should the husband come back to that church again.  There is the perfect example of Christian goodness and Christian love, right there.  Ain't it beautiful?   Despite all the church itself preached--and continues to preach to this day--this is how they treat people, in the name of their God...yeah, baby...

Is religion--or politics for that matter--really a topic to get me started on?  Especially so early in the morning, when my do I really care how other people take this o-meter is not on yet?

8Things: Mantras For Writers

Yes, Magpie Girl has done it again.  Seems the  seasons are affecting far more than just me.  Here's this week's 8Things:

Oh my.  Oh my.  Isn’t this a sore subject in this house?  Here I am, trying to tell myself that making sure I write down my idea on my little index card is a good thing and that, at some point, I will be getting back to my card to write out that idea in full is a good thing, a very good thing.  It’s more procrastination and I know it.  Usually by the time I get back to my index cards, the time has passed for relevance and I no longer wish to play w said idea.

1.       Write anything.  Write badly.  Write horribly.  This is all the same mantra.  It’s a basic twist of sit here and write, darn it, sit here and write.

2.      Stream of consciousness stuff works.

3.      Who needs punctuation?

4.      Use the pen.  The computer can’t keep up.  This is a sad fact, but true.  My fingers move too fast, but not as fast as my brain.  Writing by hand makes me slow down.  I write more cohesively, more clearly.

5.      Emails, especially long emails, do count as writing.  Especially if you are explaining something to someone, or helping someone figure out something.  It counts towards the daily word count goal, if you have one. 

6.      Just do it.  Write it.  Get it out.  So what if it’s been done a million times?  You haven’t done it yet.

7.      Breathe.  Breathe.  Breathe through it.  This is just my normal usually daily every kind of use mantra.

8.      Journaling counts as writing.  Any day.

And, one extra one, just for a little more punch:

Everything can be fixed in rewrite and edit phase.

      Now, to stop procrastinating and get the writing I’ve been putting off all week done!

What's Cooking For Me Today?

            Magpie Girl may have taken a page from Jamie Ridler this week.  She completely hit the nail on the head w this week’s 8Things.

            8Things I’ve Got Cooking

            Lol…did you read my last post? 

1.       Baby bunnies held in reserve until they are old enough o come live w us…so I can have an ever available source of fiber for #2…

2.      My spinning wheel will be here Monday…and should I ever not want to spin, my boyfriend has promised to kick my butt after I spent so much time and money buying the thing…and fiber to spin w it…

3.      Learning to use my digital scribe so I can do more hand-written work without being such a wuss about having to type everything up afterwards.

4.      Planning gardens at both my house and R’s house…landscaping, vegetable gardens, flowers, herbs…the works…

5.      Shawl knitting…which includes writing the pattern (all done), test knitting the pattern (working on it), writing up the pattern (sheesh) and putting the patterns up for sale.  For my own personal use, currently, that means only four shawls…I have 30+ shawl patterns that I designed in 07?  In need of test knitting…

6.      Writing writing writing…not just blogging…I have til July to edit and rework my Nano novel….I have a volume of poetry that WILL be set for sale at lulu …at some point…

7.      Reducing all the duplicates between R’s house and my own in order to make that final move (into the house we are not even looking for at this moment) even easier.

8.      Changing my diet to something more…unprocessed and healthy…while getting my daughter to eat more, eat more often, and eat more ‘good’ stuff…

Ta-Da!

And now…back to work!

Having Fun With 8Things

For some reason, last week was so busy I totally forgot the days of the week—in fact, when T showed up Friday w N, I was a bit flummoxed…I thought it was Wednesday…so since I missed last week’s 8Things then, I am going to do them not. 

            I am not attempting to catch up w myself…I am simply giving myself permission to play.

            People I Want to Play With

Well, first, does it count if it’s people I already play with?

1.       R.  First of all, he is so much fun to mess w—and I love to wrestle w him.  He always manages to get hurt, somehow, but he is always careful not to hurt me—or any of the small people who attack him in my defense.  The dogs, however, are useless.  They don’t protect anymore, now that they are fairly sure we’re always just playing.  They come to protect the kids…I started screaming and no one cares.  **Snort**

2.      My kids—should this count as #2 or #s 2 and 3?  E loves to play board games and card games.  N loves to play chase me and tickle me games.  Except for the head butts to the face w N, I love playing w both of these snot heads.

3.      Which brings us to Ken and Princess.  Shadow is just too gimpy—but we do try to include the old man.  (These are all dogs, in case you’re wondering.)   Ken you throw things at—like balls, like paper cups, like whatever…she also wrestles—but she is as good w her feet as N is w his head butts.  Princess you can chase—and that means chasing Ken as well.  Then the best game is petting anyone but Ken, because El Needy Dog there goes bonkers—even if I am petting a stuffed animal!

4.      Now, outside my immediate realm of influence…I want to play w Nancy #2 from the Weaving Dept’s clearance barn (see my last post for a better explanation)—there is wool, spinning wheels, spindles, yarn and more yarn, needles, hooks and so much good conversation just waiting to be touched….

5.      Cirque Du Soleil—I always wanted to be an acrobat…and I love the unexpected…so much to learn, so much to explore…never a dull moment…

6.      Bellydancers—another thing I want to learn and something I love to watch.

7.      Gordon Ramsay—oh, come on—I love his style…I love his attitude…I love his approach to food.  He may come across gruff, to put it nicely, but the man CARES…and that is an amazing thing… 

8.      Cliché me, but sheep and flax farmers in Ireland, Scotland, that area…simply to be there in that environment and to live that life, to learn it and to be a part of it.  It is magical to me…

8Things, Late, But Still...Timely...

All right. I admit it. I completely forgot yesterday was Thursday. Even though I received a call from R saying it was his last day of skiing and today would be about packing and driving. In fact, as sad as it seems, my last thought before crashing into bed (at 3a in the morning—darn history channel and its fascinating fare…) was oh no—I missed 8Things today…I have to remember to check out the Magpie first thing in the morning. Which, actually, is exactly what I did—and then…I became distracted by other things…yes…I’m having a week here…spike tv plays CSI – darn near all day…how can I, who have missed too many seasons, resist the lure…Ok, fine. So I also managed to finish up some transcription—which the writing of my sources today is the real reason I sat up last night for so long after the bit about the escape and suicide of John Wilkes Booth (yes, the dude who shot President Lincoln…) At least I am not completely ashamed on my self-induced paralysis today.

I read Rachelle’s list today and ….pieces of it made me cringe, recoil. Sell my books? My books? We have fourteen 72 inch tall bookcases, three smaller bookcases of various sizes, and piles of books in darn near every room…especially every bedroom. Not to mention, the books I have at R’s house as well…It’s February…did I not say something earlier this year about not ordering books for the rest of this year, unless absolutely necessary? Always have to have that caveat in there. Well, yeah…like that lasted. Heck, in the last two days alone I have ordered no less than ten books…mostly on autistic subjects…but not all of them. What is worse is – I’ve gone through my books…gone through the kids books…I have probably gotten rid of more books in the past two years than I had in the decade before that. I have even just…gasp…given books away to friends…without the small niggle of hope that if push comes to shove I could possibly borrow said book….

But this list isn’t supposed to be about the things I am afraid to let go of…even as I am more than willing to say that I HAVE downsized our libraries…even as I continue to build them…hey….garden ridge had a 50 cent book sale—and I forced myself to walk away before I really loaded up on the biographies and everything else I saw there…I only spent $10 on books for the kids and me…where do you think I found ‘Fierce Food’? That for me is really good.

“…a list of stuff of which we could have less.”

Funny, this I have had in my head for a couple weeks now. I have merely refused to go home and do it—I’ve had too many things to put together and arrange.

1. First on the list: clothing. Four years ago, I swear to you, my wardrobe was twice as large as it is now. I know why I hoard clothes. I understand that part. And ‘I’m a girl’ isn’t going to cover it. This is one of the things that truly struck me while I was reading ‘Entre Nous’ is the desire for quality over quantity. You have one dish that you can cook really well. You have one little black dress in which you can go through a variety of engagements. Closet space is a premium. Now, I have gotten rid of so much…so many things…but I have plenty of room to get rid of more. And I plan on it as well.

2. Uhm…uhm…uhm…struggling already…not because I don’t have a list…but more because I have been in the process of implementing my list...I have cut down on emails, newsletters, advertisements…during the move, I cut my online interactions down to nil so I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed. I am still working to get back to visiting only the blogs/sites I truly enjoy on a regular basis…I am not missing any of the things I have done away w yet…

3. I am planning to cut back on freaking facebook time though. It’s getting morbid. I hadn’t realized I missed so many people. I read through the list of people that I went to high school with, just the people in the class I should have graduated w, and read who died…and one name in particular, a guy I never really liked, never really disliked, his name, his face, keeps coming back to me. It makes no sense to me. I love being able to find people. I love being able to connect to people. But, jesum crow, man, I hate wading through so many things in order to find what I am looking for…and if I start looking at one thing, it’s sort of spirals as I read this, or go there and check out that photo, or take this quiz…or try to figure out why I care so darned much whether my crops have grown or not…

4. Facebook is not my only time suck. Look at the beginning of this email. Right now, I am sitting in front of the tv as I type this, because I am listening to the darned history channel and their tale of Lincoln’s body. I have an addiction to biography and auto-biography…I love history…I love learning…but…at least I am able to work while the tv is running…because I can listen to the tale while I am working…this is how I study…something in the background that I can tune in and out of…while applying myself to other ends…but the tv on as soon as I wake up and then staying on til bedtime (there’s lots of time in between when it is not on…but more or less, if I am not moving, the tv is one…because there is no stereo here…at my house, the tv is off and the radio is on most of the time…but at least w the history channel, we do get to learn things as we go along…). The tv has to stay off more often…not that I have a real problem w that myself…and I know when R returns the need for that noise in the background will fall farther away from me as well…
I had no clue that February is Lincoln month on history channel. It’s almost better than shark week on discovery channel. I love this stuff.

5. Ok, so this is getting harder. When I moved, I went through dvds, dishes, kids’ toys, paperwork, the random piles of my life…every little thing was gone through, sorted, persecuted, eliminated, discarded, and set free. I cannot claim that there isn’t still plenty to go through. I still have junk boxes sitting there. The boxes of miscellaneous things that …well…don’t really fit in anywhere else.

6. Does it count if I say I want to minimize the dog fur everywhere? Oh, when I stop laughing at that, I might just cry. A chow mix, the old man gimp along. The German shepherd, who simply sheds all year long. And…the frakkin’ border collie mix. I did recently, ahem, trim her rump fur—and remove 85% of the fringe that she calls a tail. I will spare you the reason behind it and whatever she had rolled in or sat in that was embedded in her fur…border collies and their two billion layers of fur. I gave the butthead a bath, to remove whatever it was in her fur—and still ended up having to cut it out of her fur—and found the fur underneath—that I had had a jet of warm water hitting and saturating for more than 15 minutes and that I had been rubbing dish soap into for five minutes—the fur underneath where I trimmed was bone frakkin’ dry—and that fur is a good 2-3 inches from her actual skin. I did not want a fur ball dog. I had a German shepherd before this—I had cats before this—long haired cats. I want something like…a boxer, a Doberman, a greyhound. It can shed as much as it wants…but it’s short and fine and when I wash the dog I can actually get the water down to the skin without fighting….sigh.

7. I’ve minimized my work hours, tightened up my schedule to include more family time…and writing time and art time and whatever time I want…minimized my commitments and obligations…I’ve long ago brought my running around errands down to a more manageable banter and centralized my shopping down to certain areas. Which, in an effort to stop spending so much on art supplies, ordering my hobby lobby stuff online—and believe me, that is way cheaper for me.

8. Oh, I nearly forgot. There is no way I am giving up yarn—although, yes, I do tend to donate and give yarn away whenever asked—it’s not as if I don’t have enough….but I have randomly collected knitting needles every since I started knitting…from bamboo to metal to plastic to whatever I can find…I have to sort through all these needles—and find out who needs some. I always manage to hold some back for the kids…and now for R as well…the only ones I don’t use that I won’t let go of are the antelope horn circulars. I love the needles, but the cable is a string of leather—and it sucks.

My ‘big plan’, if I have one, is simply to keep paring down and keep paring down and to start making use of what I have…since I know I have more than enough.

Wait…I do have my one extra. Do you have any clue how many canvas bags I have, not just cloth grocery bags, not just the knitted or crocheted ones, not just the ones I have collected over the years, not just the backpacks….but all these other things I have…currently on the floor of the hallway in the basement as I have yet to find another place to stick them yet…not much of a thing…but I swear I have over a hundred bags—and they are not all grocery bags or knitting project bags or school bags…and in fact, when we moved, there were all too many of them that I kept in case we might need them. Dude, we didn’t use them when we moved—they were in the attic the whole time we lived there—we weren’t going to use them then—we aren’t going to use them now.

And, yes, maybe I should put minimizing my verbiage on my list as well, huh?

8Things: Things I've Learned In The Past Little Bit

8Things for today...
What 8 Lessons has life been dealing you these past few months?

Things I Have Learned In The Past Little Bit

Hmmm....

1.  R and I have a rock solid foundation that nothing is going to shake...learning just how solid and how deep our bond and our comittment to one another is has alleviated so many fears and issues for the two of us it's stunning...this knowledge has give us both a new-found strength and sense of calm...for me myself, it's helped me not just reach up for a whole new level in my life...it's made me look even farther afield than I normally would otherwise...I am doing more than jsut looking outside the box...I am building an entirely different box...

2.  No matter what I cook, someone is going to be too finicky to eat it...but cereal will soothe every hungry tummy well enough...and I should not feel guilty about that ...even when all I want to do is cook a nice meal to have a family sit down and some little snot finds everything...icky...even when it's things she swears on other nights she loves....and she has to eat...no missing meals just because she's too stubborn to eat--blood sugar issues...

3.Where I am, in all my abilities and spaces, is more than good enough.  I really do not have to fight so hard to accomplish anything...all things in their own time.  The less I fight, the better things are.

4.  The things I say and do are actually getting through--the kids repeat things I've told them...and do things unasked that I have asked them to do in the past--the dogs rely on me as their door opener--and when I holler they clear away from everyone who is eating, even though they know better...this irks R to no end--he yells at them to get out and they all look at me first before leaving...just in case...my dd makes her bed and empties not only the dishwasher, but the recycling bin as well, without being asked...and my ds has told his sister things, repeating things I have said all along, verbatim...mwhahaha...light at the end of the tunnel...what I do and say matters....

5.  People from your past can be such incredible blessings in the now...when you think you've lost contact forever...facebook pops up and brings people together all over again...it's a beautiful thing...

6.  There really is no use crying over spilt milk...it's done...it's over...you can't change anything...let go of the ire...start from where you are and you'll be fine...

7.  Kisses really do make everything better...well...unless the kisses are from the dog....and maybe it's just my dog...since I know where her mouth has been...but still...

8.  Quality beats quantity hands down every time--slimming down (not weight-wise here) in all areas of life is an incredible thing...on many levels....

ok...and I have an extra one...
No matter what changes I make to my schedule, my clients will follow me until they can have their time w me...some have moved from in-person to telephone only while others have reversed that to moving from telephone to in-person...I am loving this...
all this really means is more time for my writing and my artwork...and the bills are all still paid...

Truly, I am blessed...and ever so grateful for everything....

8Things On Your Bedside Table

Hmmm...at the moment...I don't really have an actual bedside table...I haven't made it that far yet...I have sort of a dresser top that sits not too far from the bed where I toss stuff and a box sitting upside down on the floor, pretending to be a bedside table...until I decide what I am putting there.

I can tell you what's on that bix though...

Wait--the stuff on the bedside table at my own house, where I rarely sleep--or the stuff on the bedside table at R's house...where I nearly always sleep??? Guess I can --and should--do both...

At my house...

A coffee cup full of paint brushes--it also has hair sticks in it...
A coffee cup full of crochet hooks...
A notebook and several pens--this has to count as one, as I cannot have one without the other.
A small stack of books, knitting books and writers books at the moment.
Leaning against the box is a bag w one of my knitting projects in it--the essence shawl, which more often than not is draped over the top of the box...
An incense burner...I have to keep the matches hidden...the incense is also elsewhere...
A container of body butter, lavender scented this one.
A tube of chapstick...I don't recall what flavor...

At R's house...

Wow--does that include his stuff? We don't have all that much there really...

Books--he's reading Jim Butcher...I have a writers book and a women's Yoga book...
A glass of water...
A pothos R brought from his office cubicle at AT&T/IBM...
A box of tissues...
Again, a container of body butter, also lavender...I tend to buy things in pairs...
His old watch that needs a battery...
The alarm clock radio/CD player...and there are a couple cds there too...'romantic guitar' is the only one that comes to mind at the moment...
condoms...sorry to seem rude...but it's true...and that really is about all we have up there...

8Things: Highly Handy Websites

Highly Handy Websites

Websites... Not blogs... Wow. That one may be tough for me....

First on my list is sort of silly, but very apropros for me:

dictionary.com

A thesaurus for me is mandatory....


2.
Ravelry....well...because I love it and there is so much to see and so much to do...so much to covet...so many things over which to drool...


3.
SoulFoodCafe

The name says it all...daily food for the soul, no matter what sort of artist you may be...

4.
sounds dumb, but amazon.com, simply because I can look up so many different media and find out many things all at once ....

5.
Facebook...not that I am on it all that often myself, but it's good to be able to find friends and find like-minded people, and just to see what is going on w others so quickly...

6.
yahoo Canada news
The articles are better and more informative than the garbage I see on the US site...even the articles about the US.

7.
BBC News --for the same reason I read the yahoo Canada news....

8.
Honestly, I didn't think I'd be able to come up with eight actual websites ...blogs, sure...but websites?
Here's the last one:
craftster
because there is more to life than knitting...but crafting never dies....

Re-Joining 8 Things, Already In Progress

I am absolutely awed by the artists that Magpie Girl presents on her blog. I looked around myself, but found I did not have to go very far at all to be able to see and to touch my own inspiring artists.


1.
First and foremost is my lovely 8yo daughter, crazy little thing that she is. She has the strangest ways of looking at things some days. It is always an eye-opener. I would never have considered a few chains of crochet looped together or a couple weirdly smooshed pipe cleaners as “dolls”—but she showed me otherwise with her own creations.
As a writer? Same thing – who knew a penguin and a bear could be such good friends? (book forthcoming—whenever she gets around to finishing the pictures—and after we are finally able to get across to her the purpose of editing and what that means.


2.
My own mother. Her sense of color—or depending to whom you speak—her lack thereof—have always allowed me to envision colors together that, uhm, you know, normal human beings would cringe at most horrified to see them together.
Plus, she knits-she crochets-she sews-Dad says she used to make candles and God’s eyes and all manner of things when I was a kid—she sold dream catchers and jewelery for years and years to support the family. She is a magician, until the pain in her hands becomes too intense.


3.
My friend, Kerry the Glass Fairy.
Her work truly speaks for itself:
http://kerryellen.wordpress.com/
Not to mention, her writing:
http://kvwordsmith.wordpress.com/


4.
My friend, Sarah, who not only drew out my Muse for me, but who has constantly and tirelessly encouraged me and urged me on.
http://rowenleaf.blogspot.com/


5.
Sarah’s friend, Ces, to whom I have never spoken, but I often peruse her blog and just stare, and drool, and dream, and whimper in awe—
http://cesandherdishes.blogspot.com/


6.
My friend, Hybrid J, who has inspired and nurtured my addiction to Eric Maisel’s books ….and zentangles as well…among other things...
http://hybridj.blogspot.com/


7.
Leah of Creative Every Day
http://creativeeveryday.com/
and not just for her creative every day ideas, but for her gorgeous artwork, for her brilliant mind, her inspiring writing…


8.
Jamie Ridler
http://jamieridlerstudios.ca/
She, the most incredible Wish Master and Dream Tender….