The Sweetest Things

My friend Ingrid gave me a valuable tip once. She told me to make the bed before I leave my room every morning and that my day would go better. Since then I have tried to follow that advice because its true.  Not today. Today my day got a boost because someone else did it for me.

The sweetest little gift I received today was from Sis.  While I cleaned the kitchen this morning, she was secreted away in my bedroom. Later I discovered she had made my bed and left me a sweet note on the pillow. It doesn't get any better than that. Well, maybe if there had been a chocolate with the note...

Favorite Friday... Superfood and Clothespins

I can never make up my mind on Favorite Friday, so you get two again.

#1... Odwalla Superfood looks like pond scum. Check out the next picture if you haven't tried it before or if you don't believe me. It is pretty nasty looking stuff. If it wasn't so good for me and didn't taste so yummy, I might be scared off.  

When I get out of bed every morning, eating healthy isn't always the first thing I think about. Okay, its never the first thing I think about. My solution - smoothies! By the time I get my day going I need something that is easy, good for me, gives me tons of vitamins+energy and let's be honest here - tastes delish. Sounds like an commercial, I know I know! Here's the thing... I love the Superfood.  (Odwalla makes the nasty looking and yet ever so tasty green stuff. Naked has a couple different ones too. Blue Machine is my fav.) Add a little ice, banana, blueberries, spinach, yogurt, protein sup. and whatever else you have in the fridge and you're soon-to-be the luckiest person in the house. It's especially good after a hard workout. 

Seriously looks like sludge on the bottom of a pond or a set a clogged pipes. Give it a shot though before you decide. Its so yummy even if it doesn't look it!
#2... Clothespins. Yep, clothespins. These babies get used everywhere at my house. The pics are not great - phone shots, but you get the gist. I keep them in the kitchen as a closer for everything. I slapped some magnets on the back and they hold masterpieces on the fridge.

The possibilities are endless. I love this idea for them. Today as I repotted my gardenias I used them to hold the plastic bags to the side of the pots as I filled them with dirt. They are in my fabulous hallway closet and are used for a plethora of different things there.  (Sidenote: The one thing I could use them on and don't have is a clothesline. Someday I'll have one in my garden where my laundry can hang as it mingles with the lavender and wisteria. Not today.)

Oh and as if they're not fabulous enough already, you can pick up a big ol' bag of them for a couple of dollars at Kmart.

A Perfect Upside-Down World

Can any of you still do headstands? Handstands? When was the last time you tried?

We are big fans of them here. Just something about being wrong-side up that makes you feel like a kid again. So get out a pillow, change out of your skirt :), and give it a try today. Take a look at the world upside-down. You might find everything to be a little clearer - even with all the blood flowing to your brain. :)

Sis is a quickly becoming proficient in the art of headstands. I remember at her age I spent more time upside-down than I did right-side up. It must be genetic.
Sis' journal page for the day. Doesn't that say it all? Headstands are fun and fun and fun and....

Happiness, Gratitude and Choices

I have been thinking about happiness, gratitude and choices a lot lately and how they are connected. I came across this video on a friends' FB page and wanted to share. I am sure that most of you have already seen it, but I wanted to post it anyway. It's pretty funny and made me smile.

This same friend contributes to a blog I like called Segullah and she wrote an article called How to be Happy that I thought was interesting. Included in hers was a link to a separate article by Wendy Ulrich PhD entitled Harvesting Happiness. In her article, she lists things we can do to find greater happiness and one that I wanted to point out was gratitude. I recognize in my own life the effect showing gratitude has on me and my family. I have had countless experiences where recognizing blessings has brought me peace, joy and a feeling of contentment with everything around me. Truly. 

(On a side note, she talks about a new area of psychology that studies the positive and not the negative. She says, "positive psychology has developed on the premise that the pursuit of happiness deserves at least as much scientific attention as learning how not to be miserable." Isn't that fabulous?!)

So my mind has been occupied with the idea of choices. I believe so much of what makes us happy or miserable, content or disappointed, calm or upset is determined by choice. I am not saying that our choices or the choices of others and their consequences are the sole determinate, but rather how we respond. Try and follow my train of thought on this. During the course of your day, if something occurs that is bothersome, how do you handle it? It could be something small like misplacing your keys or a phone number. On the other hand, it could be much bigger like you or your spouse losing their job. Obviously either of these situations aren't going to make you feel happier, but do they really have the power to effect us like they do? Or do we choose to let them effect us? You see what I am getting at? We have a choice.

A dear friends' husband lost his job recently. I was amazed (as I always am) at her perspective and ability to stay positive and hopeful through everything. She is the kind of person I want to be more like. She has helped me to see things clearly when my own vision is clouded by sadness, frustration or disappointment or even pride. (Thanks Fifi!) 

So I am determined to try harder, no... I am going to do better at choosing happiness in my own life. After all, I have a choice.

A Little Something to Help Someone Else

The Love Swap of 2009

I got this link from a friends' blog and I thought you might be interested. I know if I lived in UT I would definitely be there. My mom has friends who are part of motherswithoutborders and I know this is a fabulous organization worth getting involved with. So check it out and get involved by buying yourself a sassy new piece of clothing.

Garden Blog

Before leaving Utah, I had a pretty lovely little garden I was blessed to call my own.  I would spend many hours in it whenever the weather permitted and sometimes when it didn't. It was my haven, my Eden, mine. 

Here in Baltimore I don't have that. There is a "green" space next to our rowhouse where grass and groundcovers grow, sort of. The landlord has given me permission to do what I want with it, but with only one sure summer here I don't want to invest any money in it, only to leave it next year.

Here's the thing... Leaving Utah meant leaving my garden and I had decided the easiest thing to do was pack away that part of me until I had a home+garden again. Turns out it doesn't work that way. Being in the dirt, planting, pruning, digging and working is part of who I am. It's in my soul. It feeds my soul. I can't be without it. Now with springtime fast approaching I am itching to talk plants and designs and everything else to do with gardening. So I had the thought: I should start a garden blog! I would post links to resources I use and like. I could post pics (yours and mine) of plants and gardens with details/information. There is so much potential for sharing. What do ya think? It would be a place where we could talk about our ideas, problems and thoughts on gardening or anything else we can tie back to life and growing things. :)

This is my plan for now... I will give it a few days to marinate and come up with a name, meanwhile you guys need to give me something to write about. If you have questions, now's the time to ask them. If you want ideas for designing beds, pots or baskets or if you just want to talk about something else, let me know. I am not an expert but I am passionate about gardening/plants/life and I hope that makes up for anything I may not know.  Talk to me!

Claudio vs. (as Dwight would say) my fitness orb

I love my exercise ball. I love it. It might be my favorite piece of exercise equipment, second only to my running shoes. Well sadly today it bit the dust. Claudio, our crazy cat, put a claw through it. I am heartbroken. I know it looks okay, but it is not. The tear is small enough not to let all the air out, but when any pressure is applied, it deflates rapidly. There is another smaller puncture that is likely to grow with pressure too. So birthday $ from my Grammy, that was going to something else, is now going to replace my ball. (I am going to try to patch it up, but the likelihood of it working is not great, so I must face the truth.) Anybody else ever resurrect a ball in this condition? How'd you do it? What did you use? Help!

Birthday cakes and birthday wishes

Yesterday was the big 33. Happy Birthday to me! I realized this week, I don't mind getting older, not one little bit. Yesterday was great. An easy, relaxing day and friends over for cake and ice cream at night. Can't get much better than that. This year I got a great gift from Jon. In addition to a set of gorgeous C&B dishes and a painting, he made my cakes! Not just one, but two cakes. And I have to say... He did a FABULOUS job!! Seriously he did a better job than I could have done.

First the painting (no title yet)... Jon says this pic stinks, but it was taken with my phone so deal with it. The piece is approx. 28x36. It's fabulous! I reminds me of Claudio Bravo's pieces we saw in Italy and I love it!

This is called "Sting of the Bee". A very tasty German cake with buttercream frosting and raspberry jam in the middle. I think there is like 2 lbs. of butter in this cake, but its worth every calorie.

This is a traditional 3-layer "German's Sweet Chocolate Cake"  with coconut pecan frosting. If you're a chocolate and coconut lover - which I am - this is the cake for you, just make sure you have milk.

Seriously amazing from an amazing guy! Love you babe!

PS... Thanks to everyone who wished me a "Happy Birthday". It really made my day! True story.

The hallway closet.... bellissimo!!

These are the "befores". I know... It's terrible. Well it was anyway.

One of the biggest problems I had was using it for too many things. I was trying to fit laundry, sewing, memory book stuff, home office supplies, mags and more in this one space. It is just not big enough to do all of that, so I decided to do some sorting first. 
I had to remove all unnecessary or unused items first and either relegate them to storage or the trash. Next I cleaned and painted. And finally, the reload. 
I cannot believe I am finished! In only three days, including rounding up supplies, I have put order where there was once chaos! I love it, love it, love it!! The color is just what I wanted. I feel like I could tackle any project now. Just not today. :) Take a look.

This is in active mode. I  can pull out the file cabinet when I am at the desk. The chair folds up and stores off to the side when not in use.
To close the doors, the cabinet rolls right under the desk. 

I bought lighting from IKEA and did the simple install myself as well as the shelving.

With everything in the roll-out, the desktop is clear for sewing and anything else I might want to do. Plus the drawers are pretty deep, so extra supplies can be stored close at hand.

So if you've ever organized with me, you know I can be pretty ruthless. However, I didn't throw everything out.  :) I kept things that mean a lot to me and/or help to define me and displayed them in one area.

Funny thing about organizing projects... it never ends up being just the one space you intended. During this project I organized two other spaces in my house to make this one come together. The domino or ripple effect, take your pick, is one of the reasons I like organizing so much. Even though it sometimes gets bigger and sometimes more overwhelming than you anticipate, it nearly always produces a greater finished product than you planned. 

No sense of direction and missing my mountains

I have so sense of direction. Without the GPS on my phone, I would be lost - quite literally! That is one aspect of my marriage that is in perfect balance and always has been. Jon has a compass in his nose. No matter where we are, it takes Jon about 10 minutes to figure out the city we are in and how to get from point A to point anywhere.  Eterick has inherited that trait. Already, he is better at navigation than I am. Not sure why I am posting this except that I drove all over Baltimore today and only knew for certainty where I was maybe 50% of the time. In fact, without the GPS, I might still be driving around the 'burbs trying to find my way home.

For those of you living in Utah, count your lucky stars for those beautiful mountains. There is nothing here from which to get your bearings except the sun and when there are clouds, well... Just be glad you have them. I miss them everyday. 

Anyway, we made it home and I am so grateful for the GPS capabilities on my cell. Couldn't manage without it.

The hallway closet.... AAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

As I prepare to attack the hallway closet, I have the sound from JAWS in the back of my mind... Da-dat...  da-dat..   da-dat, da-dat, da-dat. My heart starts to race a little. I get goosebumps. The adrenaline pumps through my body. I throw open the doors.  AAAGGGHHHHHH!!

The hallway closet is mine. It is pretty large, maybe 6'+ wide and 2 1/2 deep. My original plan was to use it for a sewing area, but once there was  a flat surface set up(in the form of a desk) it became a catch-all. There is no electricity in the closet, so sewing never really materialized. No power source also meant no lights, so instead of using the space as an actual workstation it was relegated to storage. 

Let me say - this ends now. I am filled with the sewing bug, not to mention the fact that I shudder everytime I open the doors. As a woman who prides herself on her organizing prowess, I have to admit I am ashamed. :(

Earlier this week I made a trip to IKEA and HDepot for supplies and now I feel armed and ready to take it on. By Fridays' post, I hope to be able to show you before and afters. And if everything comes together like I imagine it, you will be dazzled. Okay, so dazzled is way too exciting a word, but you might at least be inspired to tackle your own "hallway" closet (whatever thing you have been putting off) with gusto.

Better get to painting. Wish me luck!

Music to My Ears

Today I have been considering the sounds around me.  

Everyday here the church bells down the street ring out with the most beautiful music. At noon, it can last for fifteen minutes or more. Even as I write this at 3:30, they are ringing. 

We hear a lot of sirens living downtown. I noticed it a lot more when we first moved here, but not so much anymore. The bus goes by at certain times each day, but I have never taken the time to note when exactly. The furnace, still kicking on(much to my chagrin) and the dryer with its rhythmic turns are merely background instruments in the symphony of my life. Awhile ago, I don't even remember when, I started carrying my cell in my back pocket with music playing aloud. What it plays is mainly determined by my mood, or maybe I should say my mood is determined by it and for sometime I have thought of that as my own personal soundtrack.

However, the thing that turned my mind to this topic is the voice of my sweet Esther. She wanders around the apartment everyday singing to herself. With the addition of Claudio the cat, I find her searching the apartment multiple times each day to chat with him. Her little sing-song voice is music to my ears. The duet played by my children's voices is a perfect harmony when they are playing together or reading together instead of fighting together. 

Pause for a moment today to recognize the melody around you. Think of what instruments make up your orchestra/band in life and revel in the knowledge that you are the conductor of that blessed group... or at least you are fortunate enough to be a guest conductor sitting in for the maestro.

Panini Heaven

Basically I just have to say that I may have found the best panini idea ever! So easy! 5 minutes start to finish. Here's what you need:

4 slices white bread

2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

Do I have to tell you what to do from here? 

I don't even know what to categorize this under. I am tempted to call it dinner.

Seinfeld

So tonight we watched disc 2 from Seinfeld Season 5, the one with the masseuse, the cigar-store Indian, where Jerry gets a haircut...  Jon and I were LOL when you see Jerry's hair and again when he takes his hat off to show Elaine. I love belly-laughing like that. So many great one-liners on that disc! Kramer: "I'm as loose as cream corn" (after the massage); In the barber shop when Enzo says to Jerry, "You tella the joke, I cutta the hair"; Or where Jerry is talking to Wynnona (native American) and he has to stop himself from saying 'reservation', 'scalper' and 'Indian-giver'; Or when George's dad grounds him for breaking the rules while they were away on vacation. Too good.