Monday, September 5, 2011

cool at last

i know six months from now i'll be writing about how much i hate cold weather and how i hate the snow.

but for now, i'm so ready for crisp autumn air. today is very grey and drizzly, to be sure. our cookout plans turned into cook-in plans. we even busted out the indoor s'mores maker. but sitting here, feeling the cool air coming in the window, listening to the sounds of the town at night.... love it.

i'm excited to experience this house in the fall. it's the last "new" season in our still-new home. i was very pleased to find Sweet Autumn clematis growing wildly behind the garage. this flower seems to thrive all over morgantown. such a beautiful and abundant flower.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

around the house

random day in august...

IMG_8202

IMG_8204

it really does remind me of a hollywood bungalow.

frontier festival

in our quest to park on grass as many weekends as we can this year, we attended the frontier festival at mason dixon park in mt. morris pa last weekend. ADVENTURE.

a very, very odd assortment of folks and wares. not at all what i expected. not sure what i expected, but it definitely wasn't this:

IMG_8253

i did thoroughly enjoy this piece of beefcake, though:

IMG_8233

yes, ladies, that's bare arse under that loincloth.

ben got into it and really loved sporting his new hat:

IMG_8255

he also loved feeding the alpacas.

IMG_8219

i loved this old chevy. cause, you know, cars were really important to the frontiersmen.


IMG_8224

what an incredible color, right? the seats were cream vinyl. loved it.

lake adventure

we were lucky enough to have access to some wonderful activities on the lake for my work summer picnic. check out my daredevil conquering the water trampoline and the diving board!


IMG_8054

IMG_8055

IMG_8057

IMG_8058

IMG_8059

IMG_8168

Monday, August 22, 2011

samskaras

i've felt the strongest desire in the past few months to really focus on yoga. something has opened up inside of me. something is craving a path. a strong, well-trodden path to simplicity, happiness, right living. and while i am certainly a christian, something about this particular path helps me to see it and feel in a way that nothing else can. if that is wrong, so be it.

but i don't believe it's wrong. i believe it's very, very right.

i have tried, in my own feeble way, to dedicate myself to practicing yoga every day. i fail, of course. kids, sickness, work, fatigue, sheer laziness. on the days i don't practice it's evident- my body aches, i'm anxious, my mind gets stuck.

read this article at yoga journal and wow. that's me, my thought processes up and down. (i suppose it's all of us). the self doubt. the bad habits. the snowball of anxiety that happens when i let my mind loose.

so that leads me back to yoga- a new samskara. a new method. a new path. a new routine. a new groove in my brain to give me access to calm, reason, sensitivity.

i have practiced yoga on and off for years. but it's never resonated like this. never been such a key to controlling my worry, antsiness and general CRAZY. i'm just glad i have it now and have a family that supports me with it.

it really is all the same. breathe. reflect. pray. reflect. a big open heart of love and caring.

sweet harmony.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

how to make a mud pie

IMG_8174

ingredients:

IMG_8175

mud (dirt + water)
cake pan
1 crazy kid
1 equally crazy mother

squish mud into pan. voila!

please note: crazy mother will most likely need to hose off crazy child after completing the mud pie.


IMG_8176

Saturday, August 20, 2011

this house

this house spoke to me the first time we saw it. it was just beautiful, big and warm. i fell in love. and i think it fell in love with us.

IMG_5636

not to say the house hasn't been a challenge- ancient furnace, faulty wiring, leaking roof. the list goes on. it has definitely taught us patience. and reinforced to me that you have to take the good with the bad and sometimes the "bad" isn't really all that bad.

this house makes me want to create. it's a peaceful space with great light. we have a lovely lawn with mature trees and plants. something is always going on- inside and out.

sitting on our patio, curling up by the fire, lounging in bed with the windows open on a sunny saturday morning- i love this house almost as much as the family it holds.