Homegrown Hospitality

Truth.

Whirling Dervish.

That is the only way I can describe the past few days.

I did not know what to blog, did not post to FB, did not want to read, did not know what to create...still had to do laundry (so I knew I was okay!) decided I looked like Dorothy Hamill with my hair cut and kept thinking of the "Gee your hair smells terrific" commercial...

and then, it dawned on me, 

It is the last week before school starts and up until now, it has been smooth sailing...literally..and for the first time since my kids have been in school, I am not ready for them to go back and am not ready for summer to be over...

All summer long, I have been on task creatively, spiritually, physically, mentally..stayed semi-structured and going with the summer flow and now, with one week to go before it is back-to-school/work, I have become a whirling dervish full of unnecessary anxiety, not knowing what to do, when to do it, what to make, where to make it, etc...so much that in the past two days, I shut down and note to self, I do not work well being a whirling dervish and shut down.

What a selfish baby I am was.

Today, I woke up, prayed for direction, centered myself, kicked my own self in the butt and slapped myself across the face a few times (not really) but pretty much shook myself and yelled "get it together girl"

and now, I am better.

whew.

Here is my point...and although I am writing, well typing this from me, you might need this too....

PICK YOURSELF UP AND DO SOMETHING.

SHAKE IT OFF.

GET OVER IT AND GET TO WORK.

No matter what is going on, or off, how bad things seem, how confused you might feel, really....NO MATTER WHAT, as long as you stay spiritually centered, everything...and I really mean, everything..will be okay...just NEGU...

and just so ya know, at about 3pm yesterday, as the UPS delivered a box and drove away from our house, within 20 minutes, Stella (well, Stephanie) got her groove back and created this..

Tutorial next week....

Thank you Lord.

Do Something - July 2012

Dang July went fast....pretty sure that I was reminding you that once 4th of July passes..it is all down hill till Christmas...

see, I was not making that up.

It happens every year.

Anyways, if I were a scrap booker, maybe an active participant of Project-Life 2012 (I do have all of the stuff..) or had Insta-Gram (which Jack referred to last night as the "world's greatest invention") then this would you might have seen:

starting at the top and moving left to right:

• Working out at Athlete's Choice several days a week..more than I ever have in my life (both working out and sweating..thanks Maria!) http://www.athleteschoicersm.com/
• Still displaying the biggest American Flag (probably designed for a building) that you can on a little house
• Enjoying the renewed relationship with being creative everyday, thanks Tim! http://timholtz.com/
• Documenting big things in the smallest ways
• Children being water ambushed by big mean neighbors...(just kidding, they are small..and bald..the neighbors..not the kids. Was that nice of me to say?)
• Finding heart rocks
• Rollerblading (kids, NOT me!) running, walking and riding around the lake
• Baking for a cause http://www.cookiesforkidscancer.org/
• Chicken fights & bbqing chicken..alot
• Blazing trails with Regina & Amy...and Ben, too!http://www.ocparks.com/whitingranch/
• Sailing the Maui sea and tanning feet at the same time http://www.teralani.net/
• Spreading the word http://www.jessie.org/
• Joining forces with the wives http://www.racerxonline.com/2012/07/27/racer-x-films-surfercross-day-1
• Selling cookies for the cause....http://www.cookiesforkidscancer.org/
• Watching Plumerias bloom in the backyard, wishing we were back on vacation
• Watering and wondering if the pam tree is going to get attacked by the giant zucchini plant
• Loving him and wishing he would stop playing car salesman..no, I mean car buyer.
• Finding more heart rocks
• Trying to convince boys not to throw signs in EVERY picture
• Riding bikes
• Sailing the high seas of Lake Mission Viejo
• Reading & studying http://www.onlyyoucanbeyou.com/
• Buying socks for the cause http://www.jessie.org/joyjars/
• Becoming more civilized campers...bye bye tent
• Sticking to a schedule

Today...or maybe tomorrow, bake some and share some...Click HERE for the recipe.

here is the recipe for these.

Maui was PERFECT...

but Home is BEST.

We sailed...

and snorkled

absorbed all of the beautiful tropical colors..

soaked in the beauty around us..
and sat..and sat..and sat...

without a phone ringing, a dryer drying, a dishwasher washing, a drop off or a pick up.  Just sun, sand, surf, more sun, a few tropical drinks, some new friends, and more sun.

Okay, well one of us did not sit much...I mean, what else are you supposed to do while waiting for a table at the Hula Grill, duh!

So sad to leave but so happy to be home sweet home.

More to come...

Up to Something & On the Road....

I have NOT been a good blogger this summer and I apologize, but while I have been working, living and doing new things, our garden is going crazy...

I have been working like one of Santa's elf's getting boxes packed and off to Chicago for CHA with things like this:

and this

and this...

but I will not be in Chicago because in just a few hours, along with this stuff

we will officially be on vacation, so that means that the blog is going to be quiet for a week....

While I am gone, please consider checking this stuff out:

• Courtney's new book is coming out in just a few weeks...and if you have not read the first one, A Sweethaven's Summer, um, you should...and it is only $.99 to download...
• There are NEW Brave Girl Camp dates up for this year and I am almost brave enough to decide on a date...yikes! oh, and Soul Restoration registration is open and class starts in a few week...and it is oh so good....
• My new doodle class is open and ready for you to get your doodle on.  You can read more about the class here and you can go over here to sign up and doodle!
• Speaking of doodles, here is a doodle that I just posted on Facebook and want to share here, because I know you go to Target...and Michael's...and there are LOTS of little toes that need warmth...and for a $1.00...shoot....

• To learn more about Joy Jars, go here
• To Learn more about The Jessie Rees Foundation, go here
• Become a FB Fan of the Jessie Rees Foundation 

okay my friends...This is farewell for a week

Aloha.

Summer Weekly Recap No. 2

I guess I have dropped the weekly recap ball a bit but we are enjoying summer and trying our best to stay on some type of schedule while embracing the opportunities to try new things...like paddle boarding...and, duh..wouldn't you take a handheld little waterproof camera with you the first time you learned to paddle-board and try to film and paddle at the same time???

 

and here is a little glance at the other things we have been doing this past week or two...

1. cutting flowers from the yard  2. Finding NEGU blue 3. Going for bike rides 4. Making the most creative mess I have EVER created 5. Trying to stay on task and adding more to the list. 6. Loving all of the blankets around the lake like a huge quilt in anticipation of the 4th of July 7. Hanging out with my boys 8. Buying and displaying the HUGEST American flag ever 9. Bike rides & rollerblading to the donut store..they have AWESOME ice!

I hope that you are enjoying the little things that summer brings...

P.S..I DID NOT fall off of the paddleboard!

Ten Buck Salad Season

Blog reader Aubien asked about my salad from last weeks post so I thought it was time to post about it being "Ten Buck Salad Season." 

First, the name "Ten Buck Salad" comes from the fact that you can create a salad at home that you would most likely pay $10.00 for at a restaurant (which I realize could also be called "Trailer Park Martha Salad )

anyways....my friend Carly (who was my next door neighbor for a long time) and I even had a special bowl that we would eat our salads out of when our kids were young and we would spend many an hour curbside watching them play...(which could be a whole other post...) anyways, there are many versions to "Ten Buck Salad" which makes it like a whole new dish every time.  The ingredients I always try to have on hand for a TBS (Ten Buck Salad) are:

• Lettuce - usually 2-3 kinds
• Cucumber, little tomatoes, black olives, carrots & celery & Feta cheese (because everything is beta with feta) oh and avocado, because it is "earth's butter"

Then you can add in special ingredients like:

• Mango's
• Mushrooms
• Watermelon
• Strawberries
• BBQ Chicken
• Cilantro
  

and, if you have leftover spaghetti noodles from the night before (like we often do) you can add several of the same ingredients and a little balsamic vinegar (or italian dressing) and make a ten buck spaghetti salad:

to go with your ten buck salad with bbq chicken on top off it like I did last night....

A few weeks ago I made veggie shish-ka-bobs and bbq'd them

and topped my ten buck with a few of them.  This very well might have been a $12.50 salad...

and yep, I often take photos of preparing my food.  My family is totally used to me toting a camera around almost everywhere we go...I said...Almost.

yum.

Take a Happy Journey

Our summer day one consisted of renting a boat for an hour on our local lake

grabbing a few pizza's and crazy bread for the kids

making a quick salad and cutting up some fruit for the "older" kids

gathering some good friends and family

and spending some time together.  

We took a little boat ride, got some fresh air, ate, laughed and grandpa let Ben take the wheel (just for a minute) with Grandma standing by....and it felt really good to do something different, even if it was for just a few hours.

We finished our happy journey together with a little bit of basketball and a moment to just sit on the grass and relax...

I created a little tag to document our happy journey together

and look forward to creating more happy journeys..together.

Hello Summer 2012

It is here...Summer 2012 and I am going to create something everyday...some days big things, most days just little things...but something, everyday.

Today I have planned a fun little adventure for the boys and I.  It will only be an hour and you'd think I was asking the kids to read a book and then write a report on it, just to spend an hour with me...but we are going to have fun..DANG IT!

I want to encourage you to do something different....and create fun, take an adventure and do something creative.