B.Y.O.B.

My Personal Eco-Challenge

April: Bring Your Own Bag

It is estimated that Americans use more than 100 billion plastic bags each year and 99 percent go straight to the landfills. Worldwide, people use about a million plastic bags every minute with devastating consequences to oil resources, landfills and wildlife.

-from Worldwatch Institute and Body + Soul magazine

My goal for the month of April, is to forego plastic bags in favor of reusable tote bags. Each month I will add another 'green idea' to my eco-challenge list.

Wish me luck! And feel free to begin your own eco-challenge.

fluff your pink feathers

I am hosting a Fabulous Flamingo Fun 'challenge' on SIStv.

Trying to encourage Pink Love around the world! ; )

This fabulous flamingo creation is from my dear friend Linda.

I LOVE this! And the green feathers add that special something!

My Life Force Letter ; )

Dear Readers,
I am feeling really exhausted. The type of exhausted that isn't necessarily fixed by more sleep. Probably my body's way of saying you need to slow down, but truly most days I feel like I am stuck in slow gear. So what gives? Is this just what 32 feels like? Likely, some of this extra tiredness is because my body is healing itself from my (minor) surgery last week. Takes a lot of energy to heal... can't take that for granted. When I feel this way, I often describe it as my life force has been drained. Gotta refuel I guess. Being creative usually perks me up. But when I get to the point where I am now, that doesn't even recharge me. Maybe my body is in conservation mode. And there isn't enough 'go-go juice' left for fueling my creative 'mojo'. Don't mean to sound like I am complaining, because life is good! Of course it doesn't hurt to wish for a super amazing(and energized)life... does it?

Signed: Dragging Ass ; )

(Sorry, I had a Dear Abby moment overtake me and wanted to have a witty sign-off name. I am crazy like that.)

Tetherball

Does anyone remember tetherball? I had completely forgotten about it until today. I took Evan to the elementary school that he will attend next year. We checked out all the kindergarten classrooms which of course Evan thought were cool. But the playground would prove to be the true testing ground for whether he wanted to attend this school. The playground had to pass muster. He quickly tested the equipment. All nice, but nothing new... nothing that was a challenge... until...
he set his eyes upon the tetherball. Now he had found something worth going to kindergarten for. I gave him the introductory basics of tetherball. I told him tetherball isn't meant to be mastered in a single day. It takes years of dedication and years of being popped in the face before one can tackle this challenge. As we were leaving, Evan leaned over and gave the tetherball a simple message...

"I will be back in August."

Forget learning to read and write... my child's motivation for furthering his education is to put the smackdown on that tetherball! LOL

1 horse. Lots of eggs.

Cousins Alon & Evan getting ready for the big egg hunt today.

Evan had his first horse ride today. He loved it! The horse's
name was BlueBoy. Didn't get a picture of Evan riding so
I 'borrowed' this picture (Man From Snowy River movie)
because it was the first thing that came to mind when I
thought of horse riding ; )

Price turns 1

Price with his sister Molly at two months. Molly lives two doors away from us.

Price now

Price turns one tomorrow!

Smile in your liver

Okay, this is going to be my new mantra. It comes from the book I just finished called eat pray love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert.
This memoir was full of spiritual insight and what Oprah refers to as lightbulb moments. The smiling liver insight is from a Bali medicine man. It is one of those things that you have to read in context to really appreciate. To me it is a real gem. The author also referred to 'diligent joy'. She said that people tend to think of happiness as a stroke of luck. But that's not how it works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, and insist upon it. The term 'monkey mind' stuck out to me as well. It is the problem of swinging through vines of thoughts and you are never where you are. You are always digging in the past or poking at the future, but rarely do you rest in the moment. "You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be" was another great gem offered by a Texas man the author befriends in India. This same man also had an interesting spin on what a soulmate is. He said, "They come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave." They are like "a mirror, the person shows you everything that's holding you back so you can change you life." Of course it often takes many soulmates to get the point across. This idea of soulmates (although I never have referred it as such) hits upon a belief I have come to have. I believe that every person that comes into your life brings with them a lesson for you to learn (if you look for it). Even (and often especially) people that you clash with are there to give you a chance to learn something or change something about yourself. And if that same type of person keeps showing up in your life, it is likely because you haven't completely learned the lesson or made the right change yet. I had a friend once that said she didn't like to 'invest' in people if there weren't going to be around for a long time because it was a 'waste' or 'hurtful'. To me that is an unfortunate approach to friendship. There is always something to be taken from even the shortest of friendships. Something to take with you on your next journey.
Anyway, lots of interesting ideas found in this book. The main theme of the book in my view was that it is okay to 'cherry pick' from different religions, belief systems and cultures to create a spirituality that works for you. And that spirituality develops over a life time. So labeling yourself early in life as belonging to one specific group without studying or exploring all that is out there is to say the least very limiting.
So now I am off to work on smiling in my liver! ; )

Pinch Proof

Evan wearing his Pinch Proof t-shirt and checking out his rock collection.

Evan identifying his rocks with his rock & mineral book. He really thought his lava rock rocked! ; )

My List (All About Me Stuff)

I am well known as a list maker. Not a big secret to any one who really knows me. But I have started keeping a list that doesn't have anything to do with vacuuming, paying bills, getting milk and bread at the store, remembering appointments. Nope this is a list of things I want to do for myself... for no other reason than I can and I want to. (I think I have mentioned my list before on my blog.)
Here is a progress report:
1. learn to sew - in progress (slowly but surely)
2. learn to take better photographs - in progress
3. read more including a few classics - well underway (109 books in past 4 years!)
4. learn a foreign language - still dreaming
5. travel/explore - still dreaming
6. become more computer savvy - in progress (this blog for example)
7. learn to dance (ballroom or salsa maybe?) - still dreaming
8. watch classic movies - in the works
9. be creative everyday - in progress (haven't reached the daily mark yet)
10. indulge my inner child - in progress (all I have to say is Barbies, tutus, playing in the rain, sock hops!) This one was surprisingly hard at first. But now that I got rolling... look out!

My type A side of my personality still struggles with letting go. Letting go of housework for example to find more time for 'my list'. I came across a quote the other day that stuck with me. 'How you spend your days is how you spend your life.' I would rather not spend my life doing housework and stressing out ; )

Sunday

It is a sicky Sunday around here. Evan has been sick since Friday, but is feeling much better today. However, his mommy is not. Isn't that how it works? He's getting over his yuckies (luckily) and I am just coming down with mine. But being under the weather did give me a chance to see a classic movie that I have wanted to see for some time.

Roman Holiday (1953)

with Audrey Hepburn & Gregory Peck

I enjoyed it.

Any other suggestions for classic movies?

the boys

MW & EJ

Afternoon at the Park

It was a perfect day for enjoying the park. And of

course taking pictures of my child.

more new pictures on my photography blog

"Snow Showers"

We didn't get as much snow as predicted.

(Insert snide weatherperson comment here)

Evan still had fun with the "snow showers" as the snow

melted in the morning sun.

one of the joys of childhood ; )

Evan pouring out the water in his hat.

collecting more water

air quotes!

"I took an outside shower!"

my snowprint

my poor daffodils...

almost 80 degrees and then pow!

freezing temperatures and snow.

Please...