Friday, November 16, 2012

{this moment}
. . . . . . . . . . 
{this moment} - Hopefully to become a Friday ritual. " A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments.

inspired by SouleMama 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Ten on Tuesday - Favorite games from childhood

This ten on Tuesday's topic is "Favorite Games from Childhood." I hope I can think of ten!! It's certainly been a while since I've thought of my childhood games. I remember absolutely loving everything make-believe. Play acting was my favorite. Jungle-gym spaceships, house, doctor, school, farmer, circus ... Perhaps these individually are my ten? My sisters and I had wonderful times putting on shows, sometimes getting so elaborate as to "sell" tickets and corral a (captive) audience. Another favorite was playing restaurant. We would "serve" my parents dinner, complete with candles for ambience. 
I also loved to read - would read anything I could get my hands on, books, maps, cereal boxes, you name it.
I wish I could say that I loved to draw, loved creating. But now that I am thinking about it, I don't really have any memories of that .... hmmmmm. I remember bringing home art projects with the teacher's writing on it but not feeling very attached to it or connected to it.
I used to love exploring outside, collecting bugs (much to my mother's dismay) and plants and flowers and berries. I got a microscope when I was seven I think and loved that!
Swinging. swing not necessariy required.
Climbing and sitting in trees.
Animals and petting zoos were a huge favorite. We frequented the Catskill Game Farm.
Bike riding, ahhh, freedom and speed!
Collecting things: pinecones, erasers, paperclips, stickers, bottles.
Hiding, pretending I was very small (pretending not really required for that), like elf-size, and building little forts.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Ten on Tuesday: Ten Ways to be More Organized

I'm definitely going to have to check out everyone else's list on this one!

1. Declutter. Less stuff=less stuff to organize!
2. Do a little now so you don't have to do a lot later. In other words, pick up as you go along.
3. Related to the last one, I try to do a little bit of laundry at a time instead of waiting for it all to pile up on the weekend.
4. Sort mail into three bins (like inboxes, I got mine at Staples) as soon as it comes in. The way you sort should make sense to your own system. Mine is: needs attention; to be filed; and when I get to it (magazines and coupons and stuff)
5. Bins, bins, bins for toys and art supplies!
6. Meal planning - I'm trying hard with this one - have NOT mastered it yet. The days I work out of the house are double-the-recipe slow cooker days. Tuesdays I bake bread. Oatmeal (made in the rice cooker) every morning except on weekends. It's a start!
7. Project 333 is really helping me organize my clothes.
8. A good, flexible budget helps me feel financially organized. I've experimented with mint.com and pear budget and am thinking about trying YNAB.
9. A great big calendar. Historically, this has been placed in our bathroom (I figure I have a captive audience at least once or twice a day, ahem.)
10. Lists ~ this one is tricky for me. Too much stuff on the list and I feel disheartened. No list and I feel rudderless and end up staring off into space once my little is napping!

Friday, January 7, 2011

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ~ from soulemama



Thursday, January 6, 2011

Why "a gentle moment"

I don't think I'm very good at naming things (or people for that matter, but that's another story!) Naming my blog was/is difficult. While a name IS just a name and not the thing itself, it does feel like the name should be reflective in some way of the mission of the blog. And so then, what IS the mission of this blog? I have a few blogs that I really enjoy very much. They matter to me, inspire me, give me good ideas, and help keep me grounded. I want to contribute more actively in that "world" - this world of blogging and commenting, offering as well as receiving. So perhaps that is the inspiration... Now what to actually blog about??? How to blog??? It's been a while since I've written on any regular basis so I am finding myself a bit rusty. The mechanics of blogging I am finding to be very humbling. The blank post-page staring back at me ... where, oh where is my voice? Ironically as I write this my little one recovers from croup and me, from grown up croup, otherwise known as laryngitis. As I dig in a bit, I remember how to craft a writing. So, I hope to discover, and rediscover, my voice.
So why "a gentle moment?" I meditate, and what meditation has taught me is gentleness. After many, many years of being my own most harsh critic, gentleness is my strongly preferred way of treating myself, my loved ones, my world. And my blog. Whatever I choose to write about in this space: mommyhood, knitting, cooking, sustainability, poetry, philosophy, ups, downs, my intention is to infuse it with gentleness. I hope that it illuminates for me the places and moments in which I am not gentle so that I may continue to become gentle and compassionate.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Ten on Tuesday: Ten things you wouldn't want to live without

1. My manual lemon juicer (handiest thing in the kitchen)
2. Some kind of lip balm
3. My MacBook
4. Coffee in the morning (not proud of this one) with half and half
5. My Crockpot (second handiest thing in the kitchen)
6. Having several beautiful parks nearby for walking in
7. Knitting needles and yarn
8. Mindfulness meditation
9. Honey (works as a great cough syrup, much needed today)
10. Freedom of expression

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Home sick

I seem to have caught the croup from my little one. In bed all day. I haven't gotten this much sleep since before he was born.