Big Sky Days

Do good anyway

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered: Forgive them anyway.If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives: Be kind anyway. If you are successful you will win some false friends and true enemies: Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank people will try to cheat you: Be honest anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight: Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous of you: Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten by tomorrow: Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough: Give your best anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

-Mother Teresa

In the wake of this most horrific massacre of school children, I remind myself of the goodness there is in this world.  And that it is possible to know of terrible things and still act with goodness.

it makes me happy

There has been a lot of stress and adjustment for me the last few weeks in nearly evey dimension of my life.  I have been so very worried about working more, my broken arm, my daughter, my husband and it keeps rolling into a bigger and bigger ball that I am then worried it may just knock me over.  

I worry.

I know this about myself and I know I need to work hard to let things go, to let things pass over me.  I know I need to start the day afresh and put my mistakes in a spot where I can learn from them but not beat myself up from them.  I know I am imperfect but sometimes I still think I should be perfect.  It can be so easy to know these things but so hard to act on them, at least for me. 

From alanon, I have learned to repeat the serenity prayer in times of stress.  If there is just one wish I have for me, for my family, and for everyone it is to feel serene.  Serenity comes with patience and practice and letting go.  It is a most blessed feeling.  It is not easy for me - but I know I feel so much better when I accept the prayer and invite its wisdom into my life.  I feel so much better when I am open.

It makes me happy.

And as a fresh blanket of snow covers the ground outside, I am reminded of all the recent things that make me happy: 

It makes me happy to see snow on the tree branches and in the mountains.

It makes me happy to start to let go.

It makes me happy to see friends and meet new friends at holiday parties.

It makes me happy that our holiday party, last Sunday, was such a success!

It makes me happy to think about skiing with my family so very soon.

It makes me happy to have some time today to exercise and go to the bookstore in search of a gift.

It makes me happy to plan for another summer at camp.

It makes me happy to have friends and a husband who will listen to my worries and kindly reassure me.

It makes me happy to have spent a sweet day with my daughter yesterday: at the library, at lunch, and at home.

It makes me happy to exercise (even a little) and  shower in the beginning of my day.

It makes me happy to have a plan to make peppermint bark with a friend and pass it out as a holiday gift.

It makes me happy to know Christmas is coming.

 

beginnings and a grand finale

The beginning of school for both my children has arrived.  This week everyone is back at it and transitioning really pretty well.  It is an adjustment for everyone - waking early, long days, packing lunches, drop-offs, pick-ups, after school activities, and earlier bed times.  I realize this is the same for many this time of year but it still feels challenging, it still feels new.  

I don't feel like it is all perfectly situated yet.  The whole school routine.  My mind has not quite wrapped itself around it all yet.  When the craze overwhelms I remember to pause, breath deeply, and be here now.  

I do have some other things rattling along in my brain, in particular, an event at our local library that I have been planning since last February and finally will come to life this September 9th.  It has been an exciting and creative force in my life for many months.  But the beginning of school and the grand finale of this event does add to the hectic feeling of September.

I know it is pulling me away.  And when I forget to pay my daughter's Montessori school bill, I quietly remind myself that it will pass and it is all worth it.

grateful

I am grateful that a much anticipated meeting has been planned and scheduled.

I am grateful for the daffodils and crocuses that are brightening things up around here.

I am grateful I was able to do pretty much everything on my to do list today and was still able to watch at little Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe with the kids.

I am grateful for a delicious meal and gathering yesterday with friends and family.

I am grateful for some new goods books downloaded on my kindle.  I think I am grateful for my kindle - first time using it!

I am grateful for the lone pheasant who has been around our property lately, showing up in nearly every corner.  

I am grateful to my parents who are about to embark on an 8-day 24, hour grandkid's week.

I am grateful for my trip tomorrow to Kauai - with a little business but mostly just my sweet husband.

I am grateful for taco del mar tonight, a dinner that is quick, yummy, and kinda healthy.

I am grateful for today. 

lost cord

Yes, I lost my camera cord.  Yes, this means I am unable to download any of the lovely photos I have taken in the past several days.  Yes, this explains the silence here on the blog.   

But, things are moving along here.  We had half of our wood floors refinished (because of a water leak) and we are having the other half done in a few weeks.  The floors now look amazing!!  

Thanksgiving is coming up and I am anxious to get cooking!  So much planning and preparation and now I am just ready to make it happen.  I am excited about the amazing recipes I have gathered together for this feast.  I have a few more days to go...

The holiday season is now on my mind and all that goes with that.  

And clearly, Winter has arrived and is here to stay.  

bucket list

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details. 

Our Grand Prize Getaways include:

A family vacation to Universal Orlando^® Resort! (+ prize rules)

 

A Las Olas Surf Safari! 

Family Winter Vacation Getaway at Park City Mountain Resort

Now.  Here is my list of 15 things I want to do, see, or enjoy in my lifetime.  My bucket list. 

Me:

1.  Ride in a 100-mile bike race.

2.  Write a book.

3.  Go back to Africa for a safari with my husband and, hopefully, my kids.

4.  Figure out how to work with and support cancer patients for the rest of my life.  They inspire me to look at the world in a new and grateful way every day.   

5.  Spend a month just with my family in a mountain cabin or a little shack on the beach.  Or in Tuscany.  Somewhere, anywhere, quiet and lovely -  and long enough to feel rested and united as a family. 

6.  Grow a plentiful, fruitful vegetable garden.

7.  Re-learn to knit or weave.  Be able to make something warm and useful.

8.  Explore the Galapagos Islands.

9.  Be able to cook five delicious dishes really well and without fail.

10.  See both my kids graduate from college, fall in love, be happy grown-ups.

11.  Own 2 dogs at one time. 

12.  Ski in the Alps.

13.  See hot lava flow out of a volcano.  Not too close, probably from a helicopter in case an early evacuation is necessary!

14.  Learn how to make really good pie crust.

15.  Do a multi-day (multi-state?) tandem bike tour with my husband (and kiddos??) 

 

There it is!  It is so hard to stop and easy to think of more and more to add to the list.  There is so much to do and it does make you excited about life.  I guess that was the goal of Just Ask...love it!

 

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 thingsthat I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

 

 

the Skinny on Disney

Here it is.  

We just got back from an excellent week in Disney World - and - I never thought I would utter those words.  The words:  We just got back from an excellent week in Disney World.  Yes, those words.  

Not that I ever had anything against Disney, I just couldn't imagine being swept away in it all.  We really had quite a good time.  And although, all of my fears and concerns about Disney were there...the consumerism, the expensive and terrible food, the blatant consumerism - it really didn't overshadow the wonderful smiles on my kid's faces.  It didn't overshadow the magic of Disney. There is a lot of good that is Disney and although this seems obvious to some, I was definitely not in that camp a few weeks ago.

Now that I am in Camp Disney, what can I say? Let me just show the pictures.   In this case, I think pictures tell the story well.

Okay, now some real Skinny logistics.  So, we went to all 4 Disney Parks in 4 days.  We did pick up Park Hopper passes for everyone, this allows you to go to mulitple parks in a day.  Which we did for 2 of the days.  I think it just allowed for more flexibility and I liked that.  We stayed in a Disney Hotel - the Swan.  And this was great, not super fancy but the proximity to the parks and the pool was amazing.  We didn't need the balcony.  We were walkable to Epcot and Hollywood Studios and the Boardwalk.  The off-season is also great and weekdays.  We really had very little lines and little crowds.   The weather is warm but not too hot.   I don't think I would go during the peak season time.  The food in the parks was yuck and unhealthy.   Not exactly sure how to get around that since we didn't have access to a market while at the hotel (no car.)  But it was for only a few days and, therefore, survivable.  I know there are restaurants but a reserved meal time was hard to coordinate with our group.  Hmm...any more skinny?  Ah yes, for our age kids the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom were the best.  We loved all the live shows we saw.  I would have loved to have spent more time in Epcot but it just wasn't as much fun for the kids.  Although, the day we went to Epcot was our last day and everyone was exhausted.   Oh yes, one last thing.  I couldn't do more than 4 days and 3 maybe would have been better.  It is a lot of stimulation for all of us!  

Although I didn't come home with my own Disney t-shirt, we do have plenty of roller coaster action photos.  Once I figure out how to get on their Photopass site, I will post one of those.  There are some real dousies.  Dousies.  That's a word, right?  Anyway, knowing Disney the site will be easy and fun...

Wow, Camp Disney.

a list of (recent) loves

We have had a slew of recent visitors and I had a trip out of town.  This recent flurry of activity leads me to write of list of recent loves for today:

:: our apple tree

:: birthday cake and some special birthday kids

:: fancy shoes

:: balloons and fall warmth

:: family coming to the rescue

:: lego love

:: chicken soup

:: and loving cousins

As always, the list is ever changing but also feels sort of the same.   I think it is always the simplest things that are loved and cherished the most.

all about the dress

After spending way too much time this morning looking online for a dress to wear to my 15th year college reunion next month (next month!?!)  I finally peeled myself off the screen and looked up to read this little beauty:

we raise our 

girls to 

reach 

for the sky...

but sometimes

it's still just

all about the dress.

This quote sits on the windowsill above my desk on a magnet that my girlfriend gave me awhile back but all the sudden it's truth was ringing in my ears!  More proof:

Yes, we can no longer wonder where they get it.

 

P.S.  Indeed she has worn this yellow dress nearly every day for the past week .  That is why it is appearing so frequently in the recent posts.  I finally told her this dress must be washed - so some new dresses may show up soon. 

 

 

 

 

balance

It is about balance.  

This time of year.  This is when the scales tip from one extreme to another and I find myself hoping things will even out and working, working, working so they do.  The summertime relaxed spirit suddenly picks up speed and changes to daily school, homework, after-school activities, strict bedtime, early wake-ups, packed lunchs, and school notes going back and forth to teachers.  

It is a time for remembering.  I find myself constantly looking at my list hoping to not forget a thing. I guess it is a time for "trying to remember."  And feeling like I have forgotten.  That is more like it.   

I get a little overwhelmed.  I worry that we are doing too much or not enough and everything in between.  I feel manic.  I start to panic.

Ah.  There they are.   

Now I slow down.  I realize that this spin of activity doesn't help anyone but especially not these kids. I realize that we need to focus on just a few things and do them well and fully.  This is a much better example to set.  

So the panic settles.  And we begin to feel the rhythm of the day once again.  We remember why we are doing all these things and I let the list go uncrossed and I feel some balance.