Things I’d Really Like…

So now we’re coming to the part of the year where I reassess who I am, where I am, where I’m going, how I’m going to get there and who I’m willing to run around with on my way. I just started doing “morning pages” again and I’m reading Finding Water, the third book that I’ve read of Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” series.  I get introspective and extroverted all at once, every December.  It’s a tradition - an odd tradition, but a tradition none the less.  And honestly, it works for me. I’ve never laid this all out so publicly before, but if I’m going to blog my whole life, I might as well blog my whole life.

So, let’s take it from the top.

About 150 years ago, I spent money I didn’t have on a Franklin Covey planner and it changed my life.  I learned about prioritizing in a way that I had never thought of.  I learned how to flesh out the ideas winking at me from the far reaches of my mind and bring them up front and center.  2009 will probably be the last year that I keep a paper calendar, but it has been invaluable to me to learn the Franklin Covey process and as digitally inclined as I am, I enjoy the literal practice of putting pen to paper.  (Iphone is rapidly changing the way I do all that, though and I think that by next year I should have all the tools available to me that I need to continue these processes digitally.)

Maybe I’ll share the whole process as I go through it this year, or maybe I’ll just share the basics on how to - we’ll see how embarrassing my actual work is this year.

There are a few things I really would like to work into 2009 - but I’m not sure that I can do all of them.  There’s a certain get together in Nashville the first weekend in February - there’s the Bead Expo in Santa Fe happening March 12-15, which just so happens to be right near my Aunt Teresa’s house and I’ve never been there, and I’ve only seens her once in the last decade, then there’s the BlogHer Conference in Chicago in July. Add to that, the noises that a couple of friends are making about coming to Florida for a visit next year.  Mix that all up with some property management, jewelry design, webhosting and this writing thing that I’m trying to do, fold gently with some homeschooling and field trips and playdates and guitar lessons and horseback riding and… Really?  Could someone please add about a hundred thousand dollars to my budget as well as about 14 more hours to each day?  I’m getting tired just thinking about it, but I want to do all these things.  I’m not willing to let any of them go.  And that’s just if we keep things status quo - which I don’t want to do - I’m on a mission next year - I want to be far more physically active and I want to make changes to our family meals, cutting out even more of the processed food we consume and going a lot more organic.  I want to cut down on animal protein and replace it with more healthful choices.

Ack!  This is rambling all over the place and that was really not my intention.  Heh, surprised?  Like anyone ever says, “Hey look, I totally meant to ramble all over the place”.  So with that, I think I’ll end it here.  If you’d like to play along, I’ll add all of these posts to the “Self Care” category as I plan 2009 to be the best year yet.

All Around the Internet

Free open source software for Mac more for my benefit, but I thought I’d share here for my fellow Mac geeks.

Thai cooking!  I love Pad Thai and will be looking through here.

As the holiday season begins, who doesn’t need a creative presentation for Jello shots?!

It’s all in the timing - as evidenced by these pictures.

Amazing places to live

And for those of you who simply must shop today, here’s a the forum for the black Friday specials.

Awesome!  You too can anonymously kvetch!

Thankful

In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d post the things that come to mind when I’m giving thanks.

• My children, who bring me joy every day even when they’re being difficult.
• My husband, who makes me crazy but who is the only person I could have possibly spent the last 15 years with; even though I frequently want to seriously injure him. (hi Jim)
• Technology, which keeps me on my toes, gives me a reason to keep learning and provides an avenue to reconnect with friends from long ago and family from far away.
• Making new friends at this late stage.
• The freedom to pursue the lifestyle we choose, doing the things we choose, expressing ourselves in whatever manner we choose

I can’t believe it’s Thanksgiving already.  Where did the year go?

Stamping

I’ve had a lot of people ask me lately how I got started with stamping and where I get my supplies. I understand their interest because I do seem to have become obsessed as of late and I remember when I first saw people doing it - I was completely enthralled. After about a year of obsessing and poring over ever corner of a certain website, and I’m sure driving the proprietress crazy with my inquiries, I finally took a deep breath and jumped in! I ordered a kit to learn to make stamped, sterling, cuff bracelets. I practiced a little on the copper sheet that was included in the kit and then just started hammering away. My first bracelet left quite a bit to be desired, but I still love to wear it. It’s far from perfect, I’ve got a letter that sort of runs off the end of the wire and the spacing is a bit wonky. Looking at it reminds me of how far I’ve come and honestly, I still get a ton of compliments on it. I guess I’m the only one who can see all the mistakes.

I went back to Beaducation and bought more design stamps and more wire and some sterling blanks and really started to just go crazy. I started drilling and stamping and soldering and now I see stamping ideas everywhere I look. It’s not exactly a cheap hobby to get involved in, but it sure is fun and I can whole-heartedly recommend Beaducation as a great place to start. Lisa has been kind and patient and really helpful.

Basic Not Boring

I’m always on the lookout for new curriculum. This year I decided to give my children a little more freedom with their schoolwork. Not exactly unschooling, I wanted them to be able to work a bit more on their own. We still have very structured math and I’ve actually added a structured writing curriculum to our week, but I decided to give the Basic Not Boring series a try.

I picked out a few that sounded interesting in Science and Social Studies and brought them home. I let the children choose which two we’d start with and they chose; “Government, Economics and Citizenship” and “The Human Body and Health”. Now, if you’re looking for a lesson and a review followed by a test, you’ve come to the wrong place. Each lesson is only a page or two and it basically consists of questions, a matching game, a cross word, a word find, or something to that effect. The pages, in conjunction with the internet, make for a rousing lesson. My children are now proficient in Google and Yahoo Kids as well as the Bill of Rights and the workings of the Inner Ear. The lessons have sparked some really interesting conversations in our house and really, isn’t that the Holy Grail of Homschooling?

They’re published by Incentive Publications and are available at Barnes and Noble and many other online retailers.

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