Three Hundred Posts!

Wow! Three hundred posts since January. That's amazing to me. The fact that I have shared so much of myself and my life with so many virtually unknown people. But the fact is, I have enjoyed every minute and it has been freeing in a way. To be able to share the ups and downs, the fun times and the sad. To know that there are people all around the world who read my words and sometimes laugh, sometimes cry, sometimes nod their head in recognition. There is always an 'ear' so to speak, when I need to vent or rant, or both. Or when i just want to gush on and on about my latest interest or family sagas. Thank you to all those readers who have been with me from early on, and you know who you are. ;} I love you all, and I wish we all lived in a nice neighborhood within walking distance of each other, but I guess, in a way, we do. I look forward to sharing more and to learning more about each of you, and to meeting new people every day, via blogging. Love, light and blessings to you all.

Yarrow

Red Tent Temple

I want to invite you all to check out my new blog Red Tent Temple of TN. Where we hope to bring together the maidens, mothers and crones to share with each other, our stories and lives. if you have not heard of the Red Tent Temple, you will. This is a much needed sacred space for women to gather in community. Lots of information on the website. Blessings.

Random Facts

A couple of months ago, my friend, Mari, over at The Gateway, challenged me to blog about some random facts about who and what I really am. I have put it off, and put it off, but now I feel that I owe it to her to put it out there, so here goes.

1. I am an earth worshipping, dirt loving, tree hugging, hippie at heart.

2. I want to save the planet for future generations more than anything.

3. I love being outside, living as close to nature as I can, hopefully getting closer every day.

4. I used to work as a Veterinary Assistant until I had Sophie, I don't know if I'll go back to it after she goes to school or not.

5. I have six tattoos ) an ankh on my left shoulder blade, Kanji lettering for "pleasure" between my shoulders, an "om" symbol on my lower back, "sweet thing" with a cherry on my hip, a Celtic triquetra on my right ankle, and the Goddess Isis on my right thigh) and I have several more planned. I love tats!!!

6. I was certified as an herbalist through Rosemary Gladstar's course in 1999. I adore herbs!

7. I have five children, from 3 years to 19 years old.

OK, that's it for me. I'd like to tag; Alya, Bex, the good witch, and Chloe, only if ya want to. (Thanks also to Mari, for telling me how to get my links right. Love ya.)

Favorite Corners of My Home

I am still struggling with balance and organization. It just seems overwhelming at times, to try to take care of my home and a preschooler and try to make time for all the other things that I am involved in and want to do-or need to do. I know that I have been mismanaging my time lately. Damn these blogs! LOL Anyway, I am hoping to inspire myself to spend more time creating the kind of warm and welcoming, comfortable and clean home that I dream of. I was inspired by Amanda over at http://soulemama.typepad.com/to photograph favorite corners of my home. And I am hoping to share some of them here. You might be surprised by what some of them are. The first one is the vintage glass door knobs. There are five doors that have them in the house. They just make me happy to look at. This one is on the upstairs bathroom, notice the vintage green paint.

Well I made a good start on the family room decluttering. I have one huge trash bag full of things to get rid of. I am planning to purge Sophie's toys down to the ones that she actually plays with on a regular basis, and to those that are more open ended, rather than "entertain me" models. I also got a great idea from a photo post on flickr, a television cozy. http://www.flickr.com/photos/27615684@N00/100574890/in/pool-86662290@N00/ A nice fabric cover from the television, to get it out of sight, out of mind, and encourage less watching, more learning and growing. Here is the photo that inspired me to redo my family room, isn't this the most welcoming, warm and cozy space? I love the lack of ugly clutter and plastic everywhere. Soulemama's whole house is just as beautiful, filled with vintage fabric and furniture. I visit her blog everyday. The pictures are so inspiring.

Yoga this morning, I felt a little stiff, but loosened up in just a few poses. I believe it was due to the fact that Sophie woke at 12:30am, just as I was falling asleep and decided that she was not sleepy anymore. So I was up for two hours getting her settled back to sleep. However, I usually get pretty frustrated and that does not help her relax, but this time I used some yogic breathing and stayed relaxed myself, it made a big difference in her attitude when she could not go downstairs to play, and in my own attitude about being up with her. I was able to savour the moment as one of a fleeting few left before we leave the preschool years behind.

I have been looking around the house today and realizing that I have let alot of things get piled up and cluttered. Looking around the web at some of these other blogs that are so inspiring to me, http://soulemama.typepad.com/soulemama/ ,http://twofroghome.com/ ,http://nurturedbylove.blogspot.com/ http://www.simplybreakfast.blogspot.com/, I feel like I need to get busy getting a handle on the place I consider my sanctuary. So, with that in mind, tomorrow I begin the decluttering of my home. Beginning in the family room, which is used only by the kids, except for when I am here in the computer corner, because it is so cluttered and messy that I can't stand to be in it. I am planning to change that tomorrow.

I have also realized that , much to my dismay, my baby girl, Sophie, has become something of a techno kid. Despite my, maybe not-so-best efforts to supply her with natural, open-ended playthings, she delves into her dad's electronics, loves to watch TV, and expects most toys to "work" ie; use batteries to entertain her. Don't get me wrong, she does have some things that she adores and plays with alot that are not electronic. Like her blocks and dolls, art supplies, play kitchen and nature outside. But I really feel that she needs to be even less into the techno age. I guess some would say that she is pretty balanced between the two worlds, and maybe that is the case, but for me to feel that I am giving her the best beginning I can, we need to shave some of the technology off. Therefore, I have just added one more big thing to my very long list of things to work on. But this one is getting my top priority.

Yoga this morning was awesome. I got a practically uninterrupted routine down. The ability of my mind to focus on the yoga, and shut out the other noises in the house is improving daily.

In other news, we have water in our downstairs bathroom sink!!!! Woo Hoo!!! It has been a year in the making, but now we can actually wash our hands, brush our teeth and any number of other things without going to the kitchen or upstairs bath. Now we only need a couple of pieces more of sheet rock to get the walls and ceiling done. I am stoked.

Day 18 of my yoga practice. I admit that I wasn't as eager to get started this morning. I am a little sore from the Moon Salutation pose I started the other day. But once I did get going with it I felt great. Not to mention it loosened up my muscles and tendons and helped me not feel so stiff and sore. I still love yoga! The Moon Salutation pose is still difficult, especially the half back bend. I still shake quite a bit and it is actually hard not to hold my breath while I am in that one pose. But it is getting better and I am encouraged by the progress I am making in calmness and centeredness, and in flexibility and strength. Not to mention that my entire body is firming up beautifully!!! Much to my husband's delight. ;)

I have been inspired by the book "The Friday Night Knitting Club" to start a knitting project. Nothing too big or ambitious maybe a scarf or bag. I have not knitted anything in a while and reading this book about a group of women getting together to knit and share their lives has made me want to knit again. Another source of inspiration has been a couple of blogs that I frequent, one is http://soulemama.typepad.com/, another is http://knittingiris.typepad.com/, and yet another, http://nurturedbylove.blogspot.com/. These are all wonderful in every way, plus they are about families, knitting, and crafting and loving it all. Check them out if you have a chance. I will try to list a few of my other favorite blogs in a list soon.