Exactly

Somehow I had never heard this before, but it was a good thing for me to hear right now:

I am exactly where I need to be
I need to be exactly where I am
I am a blessing manifest
and I can undress the moment
Naked time unwinds beneath my mind
and from within I find the kind of beauty
only I can find

I am exactly where I need to be
I need to be exactly where I am
I am surrendering so willingly
To be the perfect me inside this now
and truly how else could it be
Destiny she blesses me
Destiny she blesses me [and you, and you]

When I try to fight or run
I only end up back at square one
When I think I know what's best for me
Jesus takes me back
to exactly where I need to be

I am exactly where I need to be
I need to be exactly where I am
I am divinely timed and shining brightly
Yes I believe that there’s a purpose just for me
Yes I believe that we are light
and we shine infinitely

I am exactly where I need to be
I need to be exactly where I am
I am not aimlessly existing see
I am in perfect harmony with universal energy
and I am truly free when I accept my own divinity
...
and when I am alone and full of fear
I just remember the rising sun always appears
Everyday miracles, miracles that I see
Well they take me back
They take me back
They take me back
To exactly where I need to be



you can also see it in a live concert version here

10 10s in 2010...update #2

July 5 update
(since a number of items appear more than once, I am putting notations by the first occurrence, then making the font on subsequent ones smaller)

1--Keeping My Home

1. Create (and then stick to) a housekeeping system I have pretty much created one...now working on the sticking to it part...I'm still pretty haphazard here. :(
   
2. Try out at least one new recipe each month Jan-Troy's Chicken and Speedy Burritos Feb--Spider Spaghetti, Mar--Lebanese spinach puffs and cheeseburger buns, April--black bean/rice veggie burgers and pound cake and trifle, May--spinach stuffed pork loin, June--tarragon cream halibut and gluten-free experimenting...
   
3. Serve balanced meals (with a protein, a vegetable, and a starch/carb) at least most nights usually so far so good
4. Grind my own wheat flour going great...until I got diagnosed with gluten intolerance...still deciding how to work out all this part of our lives.
   
5. Make bread all year 9 months down and going strong
   
6. Build up my food storage--at least 3m worth of all non-perishable items
7. Learn about gardening in Alaska--what foods grow well, when/how to plant and harvest, etc so far so good
8. Have a garden we opted against doing an in-ground garden since we may be moving...so we have a bunch of stuff in containers in the kitchen.
9. Can/freeze produce in season I helped clean/fillet/freeze a bunch of salmon last week...more to come I'm sure, and then on to fruits and veggies. We just got a new freezer though (very crowded kitchen between the garden and the freezer now!) so we have room for the fish, moose, and whatever else I get put together.
   
10. Participate in the butchering and/or preservation of a moose that Hubby shoots (that's one of his goals for the year!

2--Read Books (ideally including the following specific titles)(* means I've started it, date indicates when finished)

1. 4/10 To Kill A Mockingbird--dang, how had I never read this before? It was excellent! So much better than most other 'coming of age' stories I've read.
   
2. A Christmas Carol
3. something by a local author
4. a biography or memoir
5. *Going Rogue by Sarah Palin (mostly for cultural literacy)
6. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Time top 10)
7. Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis et al (about Bertrand Russell) (Time top 10)
8. Beauty by Robin McKinley Couldn't find it at the library here, so may need something else
   
9. Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith (Time top 10)
10. 1/10 Icy Sparks--story of a young girl in Appalacia and her life with undiagnosed Tourette's. Unfortunately the way it was written was just really depressing, so even though the idea of the story appealed, I don't recommend the book.
11. (alternate) Fablehaven
12. 6/10 The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama (alternate) This book was so sooo good. Regardless of our agreement/disagreement on any given political platform, this book demonstrates that our president is intelligent, thoughtful, logical, and ethical--he tries really hard to be true to what he perceives and believes, and I have to respect that.
    

3--Improve Financial Stability

1. Pay off (at least) one account DONE!! Feb 12--tax return + online payment = bye-bye visa!!
2. Keep current with tithing (unfortunately some months this has been hard for us, and then catching up on our tight budget is even harder) just have to keep it up...
3. Live within our means, always considering wants vs needs, and making the modest choice even with the latter. so far so good on the being modest part, although it's hard to "live within our means" when our means have turned into nothing...still not sure what will happen for us employment-wise this fall. Still praying.
4. Use coupons and shop sales at the grocery store I've been good about sales, not so much with coupons
   
5. Use our tax returns and PFD's wisely (for food storage/debt, not playing!) so far so good
6. Build up our food storage slowly but surely
   
7. Build up my year's supply (the non food stuff, like toilet paper and toothpaste and laundry soap) to 3-6 months worth
8. Do not buy any new diaper/etc fabric so far so good
9. Sew items to sell using the fabric I have so far so good
10. Actively market my etsy shops It has slowed down a lot the last two months with our traveling, but I'm getting it up and going again.
    

4--Be More Present with my Family

1. Read more books to my kids
   
2. Acquire a couple of new children's books in order to do #1 without losing my mind ☺ Two at Bear's birthday
3. Cuddle my kids every day
4. Include the kids in the housekeeping schedule (give them assignments)
5. Stay OFF the internet one day a week (generally Tuesdays) so far so good, mostly...
   
6. Be a good example for the kids by limiting my screen time on other days
   
7. Say "just a minute" less often workin on it...doing ok...
   
8. Play with my kids, not just work near them so far so good
9. Have a monthly 'date' with each family member totally epically failing on doing formal stuff at this point...focusing on spending one-on-one time at home though...
   
10. Go to bed at the same time as my Hubby (so we can have pillow talk and cuddle time) so far so good

5--Create

1. Create (sew or knit) at least 6 things per month, for my family or my shop so far so good... I really like doing the "finished objects" post each month to help me see what I've done. Jan FOs, Feb FOs, Mar FOs, Apr FOs, May FOs, Jun FOs,
   
2. Introduce a new product (or two or three) in my shop(s) this year. Four so far.
3. Allow myself the thought-outlet of blogging frequently ☺
4. Finish Wolf's sweater I'm on the second sleeve...still...
5. Knit something for myself (I have no idea what yet)
6. Use up existing stash rather than buying new materials
7. Try out at least one new recipe each month
8. Learn how to make shampoo/conditioner I just found a recipe that I'm anxious to try out
9. Make handmade gifts for my family/friends (not necessarily to the exclusion of purchased items) Hubby and I are contemplating making a wholly handmade Christmas (within our family) this year. I would love to do that!
10. Help my children make things

6--Focus Inward

1. Be more active (I'd like to go walking, though in winter in Alaska with two little ones and no where to walk indoors this is a challenge...) I'm a bit hit and miss, but I am getting out often even if not always walking per se...
   
2. Work on my poor ignored abdominals...crunches or pilates or something I've been totally slacking off on this ☺
   
3. Get outside more often so far so good
4. Read more fiction (see list above!)
5. Read my scriptures We're doing better with the family reading, but this probably has to count as a strike cuz I'm not doing well on my own
   
6. Pray more (an ongoing challenge for me unfortunately) so far so good
7. Get the local breastfeeding support group on it's feet. It's been very hit-and-miss...three of our six meetings have been just me, and the others have been just me and a friend or two (all of us established breastfeeders)...all efforts at bringing in other people have fallen flat. So I decided that six months was a fair try and I have let it go. I'm not sure whether I'm sad or relieved.
   
8. Sing more so far so good ☺
9. Take time to be still and quiet I'm doing much better with this
10. Check in on these goals at least quarterly to monitor my progress I'm batting 1000 on this one ☺

7--Focus Outward

1. Do my visiting teaching every month so far [mostly] so good (we've always tried, but a couple of sisters have been very hard to connect with)
   
2. Become a Big Sister with Big Brothers/Big Sisters...it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. or not
   
3. Build up the local breastfeeding support group.
4. Fulfill my church calling (I am the coordinator over the Relief Society meetings formerly referred to as "Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment meetings") so far so good
   
5. "Pay It Forward" whenever I can (in whatever ways I can) I gave away one of my slings to someone who needed one. I helped a new mom with breastfeeding. I loaned a wrap to another new mom and taught her how to use it.
   
6. Look specifically for opportunities to PIF/send out good karma yes
   
7. Shop locally or handmade whenever possible.
8. Feed the local missionaries each month We did at the beginning of the year, then missed a couple of months for assorted reasons, but plan to start up again.
   
9. Teach a friend how to do something new Not sure what this will be...I guess I've taught some people about henna...and another person has asked about cloth diapers...
   
10. Teach my kids how to do new things some days better than others...

8--Learn

1. Read a parenting book Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn (review coming sometime...)
   
2. Read a marriage/relationship book
3. Read a political book The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama
   
4. Read a nutrition or health book
5. Read a biography or teachings of a latter day prophet or apostle
6. Read my scriptures
7. Learn new knitting techniques Jan--increases, Feb--seaming (shoulders, sides, and setting in sleeves), Jun--picking up stitches
   
8. Learn how to make shampoo and/or conditioner
9. Try out at least one new recipe each month
10. Seek to find/recognize the sacred in all aspects of life, and the connections between truths ("spiritual" and otherwise) this has been just awesome

9--Blog

1. Write a series of posts about The Family proclamation
2. Finish the final post in my "motherhood" series done ☺
3. Finish the birth-related posts that are sitting in my drafts folder done ☺
4. Research and write more posts on specific vaccinations
5. Write reviews of the books I have read but haven't written about yet: Hold On To Your Kids, The Omnivore's Dilemma, Raising Your Spirited Child
6. Write reviews of books I read this year slow but steady, right?
7. Post more regularly on my cooking blog so far so good...and yummy...
   
8. Post more regularly on my family scrapbook blog (it's private, for keeping extended family updated mostly) so far so good
9. Fill in gaps by posting older stuff on the family scrapbook blog too so far so good
10. Leave comments on my friends' blogs ☺
11. BONUS write a series on the Relief Society proclamation
    

10--Celebrate

1. Celebrate the earth cycle holidays (equinoxes, solstices). so far so good
2. Finally start our long-planned family tradition of having an authentic medieval meal (ie, big meat, candlelight, no utensils) once a year. It was pretty cool
3. Establish a new family tradition for Jesus' Birthday This was also pretty cool
4. Have a family pizza night at least twice a month frequently, and invite someone to join us. We are going at monthly-ish, which is fine. It's fun, but it is a lot of work.
   
5. Have a family or couples game night at least once a month strike--STILL haven't been doing this at all.
   
6. Go to playgroup and mom's support (breastfeeding) group and RS meetings and thus rejuvenate myself often mom's nights are good too
   
7. Visit some major sites of my own state this was quite an adventure, to say the least...
   
8. Play music in the home/car, and sing more so far so good
9. Get outside often and breathe deeply this has been good
10. Do my best to live deeply and suck the marrow out of life this has been very good
11. BONUS start a new family tradition of celebrating the countries of our ancestors by having a meal of authentic foods on that country's national holiday (some I've hit and some I've missed...and I'm just being ok with that at this point)
12. I know I posted somewhere my plan to make cakes for each family member's birthday, but can't find it on this list... I have done it for Hubby & Bear, now Wolf...hmm, am I supposed to make one for me or not?
    

June's FOs

For Self/Family
1 vacation shirt for Hubby
1 fitted diaper
2 pocket diapers
1 crib caddy

(side note, should I market and sell these? What would you pay for one? It's been nice as the kiddo gets bigger to have a place for a binkie, burp rag, etc right there where I can always find them...)

For Others/Sale
2 diapers (trade)
1 diaper cover (trade)
and because small, simple knitting projects are good for road trips, 1 ruffly-bum wool soaker for a friend (after 3 boys, she just had her first girl!)(and I love this pattern, I mean really ♥ it, I'm definitely making it again)

Why I'm NOT a "Big Sister"

I am a big sister of course, given that I have 8 younger siblings...
I am a "big sister" in that I have a personality that leads me to reach out to friends and neighbors and women/girls around me and talk with them and teach them things...
But when I finally began to follow through on my desire to be a Big Sister with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, I concluded that this is not the time of my life to do that.
The BBBS coordinator was really excited about me when I applied and even more when she interviewed me. However one of the rules of the program is that the Big spends time alone with the Little--no other kiddos, and that they need to meet in a neutral place (not in either home) for the first six months. I get why they have those rules, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my mothering of my children in order to help another child. I WANT to help other children, but not at the expense of my own. There will always be other children who need Big Sisters (sad though that is), and so for now I am focusing on my kids--only my kids--and someday when my kids are grown up and secure and solid on their own, I will have the time and focus to divert to other kids. But now is not that time.

Food Hypocrisy

[warning, this post is mostly a rant...]

I know a lot of people who follow a particular diet, whether it's eating vegetarian, vegan, raw, organic, local, or dairy/nut/gluten/wheat-free.
I will state off the top that I do see allergies as somewhat of an exception--nobody asks to have a food allergy, and as I'm muddling into the middle of it myself I certainly feel the pain of thinking "but if I can't have ___, then what CAN I have?!" and it is overwhelming. However, this post is more about people who are choosing a particular dietary style based on morals or ideals, not on allergies.

My husband (before he was my husband obviously) took a girl out to dinner once. She told him that she was vegetarian, and he said ok, well, where would you like to go? He proposed an Indian restaurant, or a Thai restaurant, knowing that both of those places would have some great vegetarian dishes. She declined. He thought perhaps that was a little to exotic for her so asked about Chinese, but she said no. Where did she want to go? A soup and salad place...and once there, her dinner consisted of iceburg lettuce with a couple of carrots and tomatoes. She said that's what she usually ate.
I will bet you anything that her vegetarianism was short-lived, because you cannot survive on iceburg lettuce, and this girl wasn't willing to branch out and explore what vegetarianism had to offer.
In the grocery stores in November I always see something frightening: tofurky. Really? Turkey flavored tofu? Does anyone else think that sounds just gross? If you want to eat turkey, then do so. If you want to be vegetarian, then make a Thanksgiving meal centered on baked potatoes, or an amazing 'stuffing' casserole, or something like that.
If you like hamburgers, then eat them. If you are concerned about the treatment of the animals, then try eating local, grass-fed beef, or humanely-shot wild moose or elk burger. If you are morally opposed to meat, then feel free to grill up a portabella mushroom cap, or make rice & bean patties (which are good, but nothing like meat). But the 'veggie burgers' that are supposed to taste and feel like meat? Oh give me a break! They are full of fillers for one thing--they may be vegetarian, but I don't for a second believe that they are healthy...and if you're just eating substitute meats, then how committed are you to a meatless life? In my humble opinion, eating meat substitutes is still supporting a culture of meat-eating, even if you're not consuming it yourself, and if you don't believe in that...

The second part of my rant is this: if you DO eat meat, then you should be willing to participate in the whole process. I remember a college roommate who wouldn't touch raw chicken--it was too slimy and gross she said. But she liked to eat chicken. After the second time that she refused to help with that part of the meal preparation I told her that she had better give up chicken or else come help, because she was being a hypocrite and I wasn't going to enable her. (Yeah, I'm blunt like that ☺) From then on she helped...squeamishly, sure, but she helped.
Last weekend my husband went fishing and brought home a bunch of wild silver salmon. Salmon isn't my favorite fish, but they are plentiful here and very healthy, and you can't beat the price (or the feeling of fulfillment of literally providing food for your family with your bare hands). So he brought home fish...which then needed to be gutted and filleted. Do I enjoy gutting fish? Oh my no. But if I am going to eat the fish then I'd better be willing to start with an actual flopping fish, bash it's head myself, and so on. Yes, I have to touch it. Yes, I am taking a life. But I eat meat--that inherently means something died for me. So I participate in the whole process, doing my best to waste nothing (the heads and bones and other parts we don't eat get tossed back into the sea, where they will be put to good use).

The honest truth is that I don't really care what diet you have concluded is best for you and your family--be it vegetarian, vegan, raw, traditional foodism, or whatever else. I think that different families in different places have different needs. BUT, whatever it is that you decide you believe in, do it all the way, ok? Don't cheat on yourself. You're better than that. ☺

~~~~~~~

One of my food idols blogs here, and she not only has lots of appetizing photos and amazing recipes (mostly vegetarian + lots of gluten-free), she also blogs about her reasons for her dietary choices, her perception of 'real food,' and her active participation in the process. Go on over to her sites, be inspired. ☺

Birthday Parties WithOUT Presents

A few months ago my son got an invitation to go to a birthday party for a boy in his school class. I didn't have a lot of notice, so we weren't able to make a gift or go shopping anywhere special, let alone find something on sale. Neither of us knew the boy well enough to know what his favorite things were, so we could not choose something very personalized. I also didn't have a lot of cash on hand at the time. We ended up going down to a local store and picking out an inexpensive, generic toy.
Over the years, I have observed that that is common for birthday parties--the gifts may be numerous, but they are often cheap , impersonal, or even things that our family doesn't want (for example toys or games that we consider too violent, things the child isn't really interested in, or even exact duplicates of things we already have). In short, it can be hard to give a good birthday party gift, but it's also frustrating (and wasteful) to receive those gifts that aren't so good.

So a simple solution? Skip the presents, just have a party!

This is not to say that our kids don't get birthday presents--they get presents from both sets of grandparents and from us parents too (we who have their wish list!). Occasionally someone else gives a gift too, but for the most part the party is about playing with friends, not about getting stuff. We still have cake and those other traditional birthday things, just no presents (we open the family gifts at a separate time).

I had suggested this idea to Wolf a couple of years ago, but gave him the choice. I thought it was a great idea, but didn't want to force him into it. He liked the idea though, and two of the last three years he has done variations on it, and has enjoyed the parties very much. One year we gathered at the park and had cupcakes and enjoyed the playground. This year we had a movie party. Last year we didn't go giftless, but we went to a skating rink and asked people to please keep gifts small (since we were staying with family for the summer and had limited space).

In a culture where most people are used to giving SOMEthing at a birthday party, you might find that guests will insist on bringing gifts anyway. One thing that helps avoid this is if you invite them to bring something else. Here are a few ideas we've heard (have you seen/done any others?)

• Have a movie party, and invite each guest to bring a snack to share (that's what we did this year)
• For a slumber party, invite each person to bring a snack or a game
  
• Have an animal-themed party--invite each guest to bring a package of dog or cat food, then donate the packages to a local shelter
• Have a book exchange--invite each guest to bring a favorite book, then everyone trades books at the party and each person goes home with a new book
• Choose a cause and invite people to make donations to it rather than bringing material gifts (for example, one mother I know invited $1 donations to the save the tigers fund because her toddler loved tigers).
  
• Have a water party outdoors, and invite each guest to bring water balloons, water bombs, water guns, etc
• Invite each person to bring some art supplies, and make a big collaborative piece of art
• Invite each guest to bring food or clothing items that can be donated to a food bank, women's shelter, homeless shelter, or secondhand store.
  

Baby Eating part 2: what to feed the kiddo

If you missed part 1, when to start solids, go check it out.

Eagle enjoying a peach in his baby-safe feeder

The advice is varied on what (and how) babies should eat for their first solid foods.

Some people insist that sweet things (like fruits) should not be first, otherwise the baby will develop a sweet tooth and refuse non-sweet foods. This is silliness. Have you ever tasted breastmilk? It's a lot sweeter than cow's milk. It's a lot sweeter than applesauce. Trust me, it doesn't matter what food you give your baby first, anything shy of actual candy is probably going to be less sweet than the breastmilk. And fruits are soft and juicy and make excellent early foods.

Another common idea is that babies need to begin their exploration with bland foods because they cannot tolerate intense flavors or spices. Um, maybe somebody should tell the Thai mommies? Or the Cuban mommies? Because last I heard they are feeding their babies the same foods that they eat, and I'm pretty sure it's not bland. I'm also pretty sure that none of the little Thai or Cuban babies have suffered from simply eating the foods that their family normally eats. After all, they're going to eat it later, why wouldn't they just eat it now?

The third myth is that babies need to start out with pureed foods. Many people buy these foods, many more make their own... Personally, I don't bother with the expense and trouble. I currently get some free baby food via WIC, so I am using it a bit this time because it is easy, but it is not at all necessary, (I didn't get it with Bear) and I don't bother hauling it with me when I'm away from home.

Finally, they say to only introduce one food at a time. In my understanding this mostly has to do with allergies--if you just introduce one thing at a time then it's easier to identify an allergic reaction. I think this definitely applies to potential allergens, but otherwise I don't stress over this too much.

Some foods, such as common allergens, should definitely be avoided in the early months. Advise varies on how long to avoid these foods--usually they say wait until the baby is a year old. It is my understanding though that the earlier a child is exposed to an allergen, the more likely he is to develop a severe reaction to it. Just as many people outgrow allergies, many allergic reactions are milder in older children than they are in infants. Therefore, particularly if anyone else in the family has food allergies, it is advisable to avoid these things for longer. The foods to avoid are honey (because of botulism) and the top 8 allergens of peanuts, tree nuts, soy, eggs, wheat, shellfish, fish, and cow's milk in all forms. You should also avoid any specific foods that family members are allergic to.

So what DO I feed my babies? Well, after waiting for their readiness signs (rather than for a calendar date), I just feed them off my plate--occasionally with a baby spoon, but usually just with my finger or my spoon/fork. Some foods are very easy to feed--applesauce, grains of rice, mashed up banana or avocado. Some babies dislike the texture of potato but mine seem to like it fine.
When feeding "big people food" rather than pureed baby foods, it is important to be aware of choking hazards of course, and for that I often utilize a baby safe feeder (as in the photo above). For non-mooshy non-juicy foods, I break them into tiny pieces--I figure my food is not pureed when I swallow it, it is just chewed into very small pieces...so I give my baby "post-chewing" sized pieces of beans, breads, and meats.
And yes, I feed my babies things like meat, and I often don't feed them things like carrots or corn... I make these decisions based on two things: 1--how long does it take before baby seems hungry again? If he's starving within an hour, then I think he needs some 'heavier' foods to keep him filled for a little longer (by 6 months old a child should be good for several hours before needing another meal). 2--look in the diapers and notice which things are going through undigested. If the chunks of carrot or bean look the same coming out as they did when they went in, then obviously he's not getting any benefit from ingesting them. For the record, the meat has never come through that way.

Baby-Led Eating part 1: when to start solids

The standard advice I've heard is that babies can start eating solid foods (or, anything aside from breastmilk) at around 4-6 months.
In my experience, babies all learn to crawl on their own schedule. They all get teeth on their own schedule. They all start talking on their own schedule. Therefore, I think it's more than a little silly to presume that they are all ready to start eating solid foods at the same time.
So I throw any and all age recommendations out the window, and watch for readiness signs instead. What do I watch for?

• Grabbing at other people's food--seriously, why would you force a baby to eat food if he wasn't interested in it yet? (Watching other people eat--as in watching the fork go back and forth from plate to mouth and back--is a prequel to grabbing, and certainly shows interest, but I wait for the actual grabbing)
• Eruption of teeth (or obvious signs that teeth are very close to coming in)
• Sitting up independently (or fairly independently--the ability to support his own weight and balance himself is the point, so that he doesn't collapse on himself and choke)
• Picking things up and putting them in his own mouth (it doesn't have to be the "pincer grasp" per se, just the eye-hand-coordination of picking something up and getting it where he wants it)
  

If a baby is doing these things, then he's physically ready to eat solid foods. Bear first grabbed something from my hand at 5 1/2 months, but then after a couple of (summertime) months of nibbling on fruits, he went back to almost exclusively breastfeeding until he was 8 or 9 months. Even then, he typically consumed just a few bites a day of solids until after his first birthday. He loved nursing, and wasn't fond of solids. I frequently finger-fed him, but almost never spoon-fed him because by the time he was interested in foods he was old enough that he fed himself quite efficiently. Eagle, on the other hand, was showing all the signs (even the eye-hand coordination) before 5 months, so I started giving him little nibbles, and by the time he reached the 6 month mark he was eating lots of food. By 7 months he is snarfing down several ounces of baby food at a sitting. He only has two teeth and so I am relying on a lot of the mashed foods--meaning that I'm spoon-feeding as well as finger-feeding him. I'm just following his lead (if I stop spooning the food in--to get a bite of my own for example--he will grab the bowl if he can reach it and pull it to his face and start gnawing on it!) he really loves his solids.

Eagle, with remnants of dinner on his face...mmmmm

I stand by my feeling that "food is for fun until they are one," meaning that they can eat as little (or as much) solid food as they want, but this is an age for exploration of solids, rather than seeking full nourishment from them. I will continue to breastfeed on demand and rely on that as the primary source of nutrition.


Stay tuned for part 2, what to feed the kiddo!

Things My Father Taught Me

After devoting Mother's Day to things my mother taught me, I wanted to devote Father's Day to my daddy.

(playing the piano with Wolf, 2004)

It's ok to be "weird." Conformity is for those who don't have enough imagination or self-esteem to be themselves.

Hair is overrated.

Take the long way home--don't go the same route twice if you go on a different route and see something new.

Stop to smell the flowers and look at the waterfalls.

If you can't find any flowers, then plant some.

Wear whatever makes you comfortable.

Do what makes you happy. Work can be enjoyable and fulfilling if you do the job right and choose a field you love.

Learn language. Use the words that express exactly what you mean. Learn to put them together well. Nobody will take you seriously if you can't write decently.

If there is not an English word that means what you want, try another language. Who says you can only use one language in the house? (Because there is no simple translation for failluto, and it is such a useful word.)

Read.

Make music.

Notice what needs to be done, then do it. Don't wait to be asked.

Work before play. Work hard.

If you say you'll do it, you'd better follow through.

Help other people, even when you feel like you don't really have the time. If you can make time for yourself, you can make time for others.

It's ok to like things that are different from anybody else.

It's ok to live far away from your parents or other family, but you have to call or visit. (It's great if you live somewhere interesting and worth visiting.)

Never pass up an opportunity to learn something new.

Never pass up an opportunity to travel someplace you've never been.

Experience is the ultimate teacher.

Travel is the ultimate experience.

Wolf's Cake

Happy 10th kiddo


(I painted out his name for the blog here of course...but it was written in grey 'barbed wire' as you can see from the W)

We had an "army guy" party--we watched "The Pacifier" and ate a camo cake...oh yeah.