Weekending

This weekend was full...full of soccer games, full of meetings (for me), full of training (for Running Man) and - thankfully - full of time with friends.  On Saturday evening we joined some dear friends at their home for an impromptu birthday celebration along with four other families.  In addition to all of the adults present, there were about a dozen kids running about.  We had a wonderful time full of delicious food and great conversation.  One of my favorite moments of the night was when the children decided to perform on a variety of instruments for the adults...we heard pieces played on the violin, the cello, and the piano.  Enthusiastic Explorer Boy (E2B) and Princess Wonder both take piano lessons, but they were enthralled by the violin and I have a sneaking suspicion that they'll be lobbying for learning a stringed instrument sometime in the future.

Earlier this afternoon, while Running Man was on a long bike ride followed by a run, the kids and I went to a lunch gathering with some folks from church. The weather today was beautiful and it was the perfect time to spend in fellowship with people that I don't usually get the chance to talk with in depth.  Often my conversations with folks at church take place while I am simultaneously trying to round up my kids after the service and make sure that they don't overrun the food table.  It was a real treat for me to enjoy adult conversation in a laid back environment while the kids played happily nearby (and wore out the hosts' dogs in the process).

And, of course, with the beautiful weather our neighbors were out in force and there were plenty of kids - and adults! - to hang out and play with until it was time to call it a night and come in for dinner.  But one of my favorite moments of the weekend was much quieter than the others.  During our afternoon "quiet time" (something that is as much for my benefit as the children's), E2B and I decided to read our separate books together outside on the front porch. Once out there, my sweet boy asked me to sit on the wicker couch with him so that we could cuddle while we read.  Why yes, I'd love to!

See those grass and dirt stains on his jeans?  That's the sign of a day well spent in my book!

All of our time spent as a family and with friends this weekend reminded me why it is that I'm on this path towards living with greater intention.  These are the sorts of experiences that I want to cultivate and how I want to be spending my time.  I hope that you, too, enjoyed a weekend full of fellowship and good friends!


"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine."  ~Thomas Jefferson

Project Simplify - Week 5 Results

This week marks the end of Simple Mom's Project Simplify, though not the end of clearing clutter out of my life...both literally and figuratively.  In the coming weeks - and likely months - I will be featuring my own personal hot spots around my home as I tackle them.  But of course, being on a mission to live my life intentionally goes much deeper than having an organized and clean home.  It is a logical place to start, though, so without further ado here is this week's hot spot...my linen and master bath closets.

Before pictures:

Wow...this is actually my hallway linen closet.  As you might be able to guess, this was so full that I would literally shove things wherever I saw a space and hope that the door would shut.  Admittedly not the best organizational plan.

The closet in our master bathroom - it could also be known as the place that towels go to die, apparently.

During pictures:

I don't know what Miss Intrepid enjoyed most about this clean up - playing with the games that we took down from the closet or helping with the label maker.

I thrifted this vintage Memory game from the late 1960s in an op shop while living for a short time in Wales.    The pictures on the cards are just beautiful!

After pictures:

This is what is heading out of my house...woo hoo!  Those are a lot of games.  And a lot of sheets.  And towels.  I realize that most of the towels have been cut out of this photo, but take my word on this one.

I now know that games fall under the category of aspirational clutter for me.  I enjoy playing games as a family and - as is clear from this pile (which doesn't even include what we've kept) - I have good intentions for us to play them often.  I don't know that we've held a family game night more than once or twice since 2011 dawned.  We had more games lurking in our closet than we will ever play and, truthfully, many of these games we've never played.  Some we received as gifts, some belonged to Running Man or I when we were children, and many were thrifted.  For example, I bought the Chinese game of Go at a yard sale nearly a decade ago thinking that Running Man and I could learn to play it together.  True, we've been known to play cards when we're out to dinner (yeah, we're cool like that), but the two of us don't otherwise spend quality time playing board games.  In fact, this is one of those games that we've never played.  So why do we still have it?  Reminiscent of my guitar, I have been holding onto this idea of me/us that doesn't actually match reality...a reality that I'm happy with.

This is the hallway linen closet now.  I got rid of things that I didn't know I had and things I certainly didn't need.  Now I not only have much less stuff to contend with, but I can see it all and it is easily accessible.  Check out all of that empty shelf space!

And speaking of empty shelf space, I now have an abundance of it in the bathroom closet as well.

Another good, satisfying step in decluttering.  There is still a long road ahead and I look forward to sharing the journey.  I'm linking up to Simple Mom's results post and am heading over there now to check out the hot spots that others chose and the progress that they've made for inspiration.  Happy Friday, friends!


"I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home...I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby."  ~Nancie J. Carmody

I Got Dunked in the River by a 5th Grader...or Why Today Was AWESOME

Really...it's true.  I did get dunked in the river by a fifth grader (well, the lower part of me did anyway) and today was awesome!

I've written about my goals for 2011 several times and I've even provided an update on goal #4 - "Complete my Virginia Master Naturalist certification."  What I haven't yet shared is what led me to pursue this certification.  There are actually many reasons why I want to become better educated about the natural areas and resources right in my backyard, but the one that resulted in me being dunked in the river today is that I want to be an environmental educator for children.  After a lifetime of soul searching to uncover my passion in life - which goes to the classic what-do-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up question - I've come to the unshakeable conclusion that teaching kids about the magic and wonder of the natural world around them is what sets my soul afire when I think about a career.  To me, this quote from Senegalese conservationist Baba Dioum captures what it is about environmental education for children that stirs my soul. - "In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, we will understand only what we are taught."


And that brings me to goal #14 - "Partner with the local elementary school to share environmental education opportunities with the students."  This morning I joined the teachers of five fifth grade classes to test water quality in a nearby river.  And yes, when one student started to fall backwards in the water I grabbed him in a bid to keep him vertical and ended up with water down my waders.  It was fantastic - the whole morning was just fantastic!  The kids had a great time, I had a great time, and the teachers seemed to have a great time.  I am really looking forward to going out in the river again next month to see what changes the kids see in their data.

This little guy (who was about to be released into the river when this picture was taken) was - hands down - the kids' favorite critter.  Despite having reached the age of being too-cool-for-school, when the turtle came out of the river there was a virtual stampede of 10 and 11 year olds anxious to get a closer look.

The infrared cameras set up overnight by the testing site caught a glimpse of the beaver whose hard work can be seen here.

Deer tracks

After my morning of fun on the river, I had just enough time to pick Miss Intrepid up from preschool and meet up with a girlfriend for lunch.  Of course, this meant arriving slightly damp.  I shucked my socks, rolled up my pants, and went anyway (I know that my very fastidious brother is cringing somewhere right now - Running Man just shook his head and looked unsurprised when I relayed this story to him).  Luckily for me, my friend Ryan from The Woven Moments is one of those special friends who not only didn't mind my wet clothing, but accepted it as completely normal (or nothing to look askance at, anyway).

Making a soggy fashion statement

Do you have any friends who you just connected with on level after level the very first time that you met?  Someone that makes you laugh, supports you, and someone with whom you can really talk about your deepest hopes and dreams when you sit down for a mid-day meal?  Luckily for me, Ryan is one of those special friends.  You know...the sort of person who rolls with my less-than-ideal state of dress like it is no big deal, who can relate to my life in so many ways, and who looks upon the dining out antics of my youngest child with honest affection.  In fact, she is the type of friend who would happily take my three year old to the bathroom - at the request of said three year old - so that I could have a few minutes of quiet and solitude in the midst of my day.

After the excitement of wading in the river and the fun of lunch with a wonderful friend, my day was filled with sunshine and hours of outside time with Enthusiastic Explorer Boy, Princess Wonder, and Miss Intrepid.  Oh yes, it was an awesome day indeed!

"If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life."  ~Rachel Carson

Rockin' My To Do List (sort of)

As I've mentioned before, I'm a list maker.  Between my tendency to take on more than I can comfortably fit into my days - I often seem to underestimate how long it will take to do just about anything (especially if it involves my children) or to overestimate how much time I have to get it done - and my tendency to procrastinate when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I end up with items perpetually residing on my to do list that never seem to get accomplished.  There they sit weighing heavily upon my mind and drawing me further into a bog of inactivity.  Ironically, many of these niggling to do items wouldn't take much time to just do and cross of my list.  So earlier this week, I finally tackled a grouping of tasks that had been staring at me from my list for longer than I had intended.

What were these niggling tasks?  They were items that I needed to pack up and mail.  This is the fourth week that I've linked up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday - where I've hosted a giveaway for a previously thrifted item instead of sharing newly thrifted items - and until this week I hadn't mailed any of the giveaway items that have been awarded to their respective winners.  A big part of it has been that mailing vintage Pyrex is tougher than I had planned for - these pieces require careful packing and don't fit into standard sized USPS Priority Mail boxes (my preferred mailing method).  But certainly there has been an element of simply not getting it done right away, so these particular "to dos" started to loom larger and larger on my list, and rather than just take care of them I adopted the if-I-don't-acknowledge-them-then-they-don't-exist approach.  This is a perfect case of good intentions, but not enough deliberate intention + a dash of procrastination + too much "clutter" on my to do list = creating unnecessary stress for myself.  Nonetheless, they are on their way.

But my Thrift Share giveaways aren't the only thing that went out in the mail this week.  Don't get me wrong, I was excited to cross the giveaway mailings off of my to do list and to know that the recipients were excited about what they will be receiving in the next day or so, but I was even more excited about mailing these!

Eleven inches of what used to be my hair on its way to be combined with hair from other donors to make a wig for a woman facing hair loss on top of battling cancer.  I had my hair cut back in February.  My intentions were good, but this hair wasn't actually going to make it into a wig sitting in my closet.

There are several great organizations out there that accept hair donations and I've chosen to support the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program.  Pantene pays for wigs to be produced using hair donations and they are then distributed, at no cost to the recipient, through the American Cancer Society to women who are facing hair loss due to cancer treatment.  This was my second donation (the last time was when I was pregnant with Miss Intrepid and I was so relieved once it was long enough to cut - throwing up 10 times a day is miserable anyway, throwing up 10 times a day into your own hair is beyond disgusting), though I'm not sure how many more donations I'll be able to manage because hair becomes unusable one it is more than 5% gray.  As someone who has been graying since my late teens, I feel safe in hazarding a guess that I'll be at 5% soon.

Between now and reaching that 5%, though, I'd love to know what you do to stay on top of your to do list.  I can use all the help I can get here!


"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."  ~Kahlil Gibran

Thrift Share Giveaway and Project Simplify Hot Spot #5

I had intended to share this post yesterday to match up the timing with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday and the announcement of hot spot #5 over at Simple Mom for Project Simplify, but under the auspices of better late than never, here it is today.

For this week's thrift share giveaway I'm going to offer up something a little bit different than the vintage goodies that I have posted for the past several weeks.  Looking for a new home this week are seasons one and two of Lost on DVD.  I was absolutely mad about this show when it first came out and I watched each episode of the first two seasons without fail.  I started out strong watching the third season as well, but then I was so very ill during my pregnancy with Miss Intrepid that I didn't keep up with the rest.  I decided that I would just rent the DVDs and watch them after the third season wrapped up to get ready for seasons four, five, and six.  And then real life happened.  I had a baby that needed much more of everything from me than my first two.  I was adjusting to having three young children under the age of five at home with me.  We moved to Wales temporarily.  Needless to say, keeping up with just about anything - let alone a television show - fell to the wayside.

About a year ago I was very excited to find these DVD sets at my local Goodwill.  I bought them with the thought that I could get Running Man to watch them with me (I think he saw an episode here and there, but for the most part it would have been new to him) and then we could rent the subsequent seasons.  That was a year ago.  We have watched none of them.  I am not going to make the time for them anytime soon.  At this point I'm ready to let these DVDs go to someone who might actually watch them because it is falling into the category of aspirational clutter at my house.  So - if you are interested in winning these DVDs, simply leave a comment on this post between now and midnight EST on Saturday (since I'm a day late it only seems fair to give folks some extra time to comment).

Warning: seriously addictive viewing enclosed

Congratulations to Kylie over at Lucy Violent Vintage for winning last week's giveaway - the vintage mushroom and ladybug latch hook pillow kit will be on its way to her soon!

On the Project Simplify front, Tsh announced the final hot spot yesterday.  Drum roll please...the final hot spot is whatever we want.  I have so many areas of my home that I'd like to tackle (and Tsh offered some great suggestions), so I had to think a bit about what I most wanted to take on this week.  After some consideration I have settled on my linen closets.  I have one in the hallway that is overflowing with linens and board games and my master bathroom closet also seems to be bursting at the seams.  I feel confident that I can completely get through these closets in a week (unlike some of the other hot spots like kid toys and clothes) and I look forward to sharing my results here on Friday.

In the meantime, I'm linking up to Thrift Share Monday.  Here's to wishing you all a wonderful day!


"Dear Diary, still on this bloody island.  Today I swallowed a bug.  Love, Claire"  ~Charlie upon seeing Claire writing in her diary (season one of Lost)

Weekending

This weekend Running Man, Enthusiastic Explorer Boy (E2B), Princess Wonder, and I participated in a 1 mile kid run and 10K (6.2 miles) race.  This was E2B's third year running in this particular miler and Princess Wonder's first (though she did run in a 1 mile trail run for elementary school children this past fall).  Running Man blew me away by finishing the 10K less than a minute off of his personal record set in high school!  I didn't meet my goal of running in under an hour, but the fact that I didn't work out at all for most of the month of March had everything to do with that.  My reasons for not keeping up my regular gym regimen ran from entirely legitimate (traveling out of state at the end of February to be with my grandmother during her last days of this life, sick children who needed me at home, etc.) to completely lame excuses with only a hint of legitimacy (a lot to do at home, feeling tired and wanting extra sleep, etc.).  As my work out partner - who also missed several weeks of working out during this timeframe - lamented, it takes weeks to build your fitness level up and only days to start losing it.  Nevertheless, I ran the entire race and felt great while doing so.  I finished just a few minutes over my goal time and I am confident that I'll get that down to under an hour before the end of this year.

E2B and Running Man snuggling for warmth before the race

And they're off!  This was the last I saw of them until the finish line. 

Run, Princess Wonder, Run!

About to cross the finish line

While running with Princess Wonder I actually got choked up watching a young boy - he was running in the 5-7 year old wave, I pegged him at 6 - run with two young men who I believe were in their late teens.  I was reading the back of the child's t-shirt - sponsored by a bereavement group whose name I can't remember - that said he was running in memory of (and this was written in his sweet little boy handwriting) "My Daddy" along with his father's name.  The only thing that kept me from actually crying was the fact that it would have been upsetting for Princess Wonder and I didn't want to diminish her excitement.  I was so incredibly sad to think about this young boy's loss and grateful for the two young men who woke up early on a Saturday morning to run with a grieving child.

This particular 10K race is one of my favorites to run and continues to grow every year - this year 41,000 people registered!  The course is flat and takes runners largely through a beautiful historic neighborhood.  Bands are set up every half mile or so and thousands of spectators show up to cheer on the runners.  There is a definite party atmosphere and I've not seen so many red plastic cups since my days as a undergraduate in college.  Even amongst the runners there is a great sense of fun, camaraderie, and support.  You just never know what you're going to encounter along the way.  One of my favorite surprises was seeing the elaborate proposal that had been set up for one of the runners.  At about mile 5 1/2 there was a large sign (think 20' X 10') hanging on the second story of one of the row houses asking someone by the name - or perhaps a nickname - of Hollywood "Will You Marry Me?"  The person proposing had a beautifully appointed table set up with champagne and flowers along the road.  I hope she said yes!

The local paper sponsors a costume contest for runners with both individual and group winners.  The kids had their favorite (who actually took first place for the individual contest).

"Look!"

Angry Birds
This contestant is apparently a second year med student who had to ride with his costume in pieces on the bus to the race where he reassembled it.

The kids said that they liked my group favorite, but it didn't hold quite the same "that rocks!" feeling for them as it did for me.  Someday - when they're old enough to understand and appreciate it -  I'll be sure to introduce them to the comic genius that is Monty Python and the Holy Grail (I took a class about the legend of King Arthur in college that makes me love this movie all the more).

The Three Headed Knight

The Black Knight - "It's just a flesh wound!"

That funny bloke with the coconuts

We had the most bizarre weather on Saturday afternoon that included sunny skies punctuated by brisk winds, thunder storms, and hail.  Nonetheless, Miss Intrepid got to play in her first official soccer game before the rest of the day's games were called off.

Miss Intrepid frequently stopped while she was on the field to flash us a big smile or to run over and give her sister a hug.  Really, how adorable can you get?

Although it was entirely too cold for short sleeves, E2B couldn't wait to take his sweatshirt off (I think he was just excited about the new-to-him shirt I had thrifted last year for him).  He has his hands over his head because we were in the midst of a small hail storm.

Princess Wonder looking for special rocks in the grass while singing to herself.  Her game was cancelled just after we arrived on the field - it was raining and the wind was blowing so hard that the goals wouldn't stay up.  She and her teammates seemed completely flabbergasted as to why they wouldn't be playing.

I hope that you enjoyed your weekend, as well, and that you'll join me tomorrow for Simple Mom's reveal of the final hot spot for Project Simplify and Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.


"Running has given me the courage to start, the determination to keep trying, and the childlike spirit to have fun along the way.  Run often and run long, but never outrun your joy of running."  ~Julie Isphording, Marathon winner

Project Simplify - Week 4 Results

I'm checking in for a quick post tonight to share partial results of my Project Simplify hot spot #4 clean up.  As I said on Monday, I've done a fair amount of decluttering and reorganizing in my kitchen over the past couple of months, but there have been a few lingering areas that I either haven't dealt with or that get used often enough that regular attention is needed.  One of the biggest if-I-don't-look-at-it-I-can-pretend-its-not-there spots was this cabinet that I originally designated for cleaning supplies.  After having children I moved all of my cleaners - whether all natural or the equivalent of toxic waste - up high so that little hands could not get into them.  As you can see from my before photo, a whole lot of stuff got jammed in there around those cleaning supplies.

Junk drawers are bad enough, but a junk cabinet is just over the top!

Here is what my formerly overflowing cabinet shelves look like now.

It might be hard to see from this photo, but I got to indulge in my love of label making by whipping up some labels for certain shelves/sections.  How did I end up with so many bottles of bug spray and sunblock (bottom right hand corner)?  Oh yes...I just need to refer to my before photo for an explanation.

To get my cabinet to this point I got rid of some things, but mostly I moved things to areas that were more sensible.  We somehow ended up with a LOT of water balloons.  I limited the number of balloons that we kept to what would fit into a clear plastic storage container (recently purged from the kitchen) and then moved them out to the garage for easy access once the summer heat is upon us.  I moved the pet care products that I don't need on a regular basis to my laundry room where I keep the rest of their "stuff".  And so on and so on.  I can now actually get to everything in this cabinet and I'm not worried about causing an avalanche whenever I open the door.

I still have more work to do in my pantry and refrigerator.  Mostly I just need to clean shelves, etc. because Running Man cleared out any science experiments from the fridge last week and - honestly - I really need to go the grocery store so there's not that much in there.  Just for fun, here's a little look at some of what came out of my kitchen during a recent purge.

Yes - that's all vintage Pyrex.  Not to worry, I still have plenty lurking around my kitchen!

I'm linking up to Tsh's results post over at Simple Mom...stop on by to be inspired by everyone's hard work!

"Even though you can't have your home exactly the way you'd like, just doing something is important.  Imagine if you never cleaned or organized anything at all - your home would implode from the disaster. Your work has meaning.  Your family needs you."  ~Tsh Oxenreider