The end of my favorite things....

My two most favorite things in the world are vastly different from each other.

One grabs you by the seat of your pants when you aren't looking and takes you on an exciting ride. This one learns the hard way, the most intense way, is very perfectionist, and particular about every detail. This one is inquisitive, thrilling, explosive, sensitive, demanding, always seeking the most out of life. This one is one who everyone watches, everyone wants to be around, one who everyone wants to emulate (for good or bad.) This one is DYNAMIC. Lives life to the extreme. One whose life would make a great novel.

The other one is charming, gentle and patient. This other one is sweet, easy going and forgiving. This one says sorry, often. Anytime anyone could possibly need to say sorry, this one says it for them. This one cries for an hour if you yell. This one is sensitive, empathetic. This one could care less about most details. This one loves to have fun, but usually thinks first. This one is a constant, loyal type. This one is the perfect balance I needed in my life.

These two have taught me the law of opposites. These two have taught me my limits. These two have taught me about me. These two have taught me about love, patience, survival. These two have made me laugh. These two have made me dance like a fool. These two have made me scream. These two have made me cry. These two have made me proud. These two have made me a mother.

Another favorite thing....

...is steep fresh powder runs through the trees, especially with best friends....one I haven't seen in many many years. It is a disgustingly fun thing to find little hidden spots and pick lines through trees and have it all be steep enough that the only way you get stuck is if you hit a bush and crash (which i did) and then your best friend laughs at you, and crashes herself. (Which she did.) It was an awesomely cold and fun day....so cold that there were actually frostbite warnings, and my nose turned white, but is back to normal now. My fingertips are still sore from getting so cold...but how often to I get to go home from work 6 hours early, on a powder day? Not often enough that is for sure!

So far on the list: satsuma tangerines, peonies, wonderful people, petroglyphs, blue sky, and snowboarding. Only one more to make a complete 7 days....gosh....I have too many.....but I think I know what will top the list! Maybe tomorrow I will decide on a photo.

Update on favorite thing number 4....

Thanks Ginger, this is MUCH closer to the color. Especially toward the upper right hand corner of the picture.

Another thing....

One of my least favorite thing is having a stomach ache. Which brings me to another of my favorite things, a day late. Petroglyphs. I can't really explain or articulate it, but seeing them and hunting for them makes me giddy. I get so excited. It is awesome and wonderous to me to think of someone being in that same place, so long ago, and leaving a mark for us to know they were there and to try to interpret. I can't wait to go to see some more petroglyphs this year. Definitely one of my favorite things....

Another favorite thing...

In keeping this week long tradition alive, day 4. My favorite color is the blue in the sky on a powder day. I really don't think it is the circumstance that makes this my favorite color in the world, although possibly it is. It is just the deepest blue in the perfect shade. A blue I have only seen in the winter, the day after a storm. This picture is the closest representation I can get of the actual color, although it doesn't do it justice.

Inspirational People...

Okay I have thought too much today about what my favorite thing should be of today....untracked snow in the backyard, snow on bare trees Ansel Adams style, cinnamon rolls, chubby babies, certain smells...there are of course plenty of those things, and maybe I will return to them another day, and probably I will. But I keep coming back to this:



It was emailed to me by my sister, who found it on a friend of hers' blog. I totally could have written this quote, in my mind a thousand times, but never quite as eloquently. The best writing, art, photography, acting, music, all inspires me to create. To fulfill the measure of being human and do something to make the world more beautiful. To attempt to capture inspiration in a unique creation of my own, that in turn will hopefully inspire others...or maybe be left in a drawer or email box for only me to see. But just the act of creating something does wonders for the human spirit. Or at least for my human spirit. To use my talents, or lack thereof, or to try to develop a talent I wish I had (music)...makes me a happier person, whether or not I am successful at it. Whether or not I actually inspire anyone but myself, or fall short of that and only make myself laugh at myself.

But on a different side of the coin, I keep thinking of those friends and family members in my life that inspire me to be better. To be more myself, to keep in touch with what is really important. To remember what I love. To remember to follow my own path. To think, way too much, and then think some more. The ones who inspire me to be myself, complete with all my faults and strengths, and keep going on. The ones who listen, truly listen to me, and don't judge, just understand, or listen even if they don't understand. The ones who inspire me to create things...even if I fail miserably. The ones who inspire me to live in this moment, even if it is a moment of agony, but to experience it, not run away from it, learn from it and go forward. The friends who teach me. I couldn't live without you.

You are a few of my favorite things...and there are only a few of you....I hope you know who you are. Some of you are old friends, some are newer, but all have clicked, instantly and I have felt as if I have always known you. And then there's my family, I know that I have always known you. Love to you all. You are my heroes.

Crazy Cat...

Okay, funny story, the other night I was in the shower and kept hearing crazy noises that scared me enough that I got out. It sounded like there was someone in my house, and my kids were asleep...and it was late at night. I walked out into the hallway and the outlet plugs for childproofing were on the floor.

I thought my house was haunted, which isn't too big of a deal because I always thought this house was haunted, and loved it anyway. So...a few days later and I have solved my problem....detective work pays off.



After noticing that the video is sideways again, I have been stalking the cat to catch him again. He will only do such crazy things when he isn't being watched. Otherwise he poses for the camera. Seriously, maybe cats are smarter than we think.

These are a few of my favorite things....

After yesterday....and the satsuma post, I thought I would continue the tradition for a week. So, my favorite thing today is the vase on my kitchen table and the peonies that are filling it up. How do I get peonies in December you ask? Well, I have a florist job and get an email that says for a limited time we can get peonies from Chile. I of course jumped on it, since peonies are one of my top 5 flowers....and everyone else (customers) didn't get the memo (blog)....So, they have to be thrown out....today is the second day I have brought home peonies for free! Oooh la la.

Loving the peony for me is trusting in the disorderly order of nature. They are beautifully messy and at the same time perfectly put together. It's a calm crazy.

Just in case you were curious...I think the others in the top 5 are: philaenopsis orchids, indian paintbrush, columbines, and lupines. Or maybe wisteria, but that would be 6. Hmmmm.....maybe I am in the right line of work. And this is the actual photo of my peonies on my kitchen table at this very minute.

Ode to the Satsuma

Now if this were the only reason to live through the winter (which of course it isn't) I would do it....all year long. If you don't know the goodness I am talking about...you are TOTALLY missing out (and more for me!) Go to Whole Foods (not a shameless plug by the way, if I knew anywhere else to get them, I would tell you) and buy a stem and leaf tangerine....They are SO SUPER easy to peel, juicy and tangy and fabulously wonderful. They are even cute with the stems and leaves still attached. No seeds. You can impress your friends by peeling the whole thing in one piece, it's really easy. Seriously. Wonderful enough I am making a blog post about a fruit. It must be THAT good right? Santa will probably have to throw these in the toes of the stockings instead of old boring navel oranges.

disco elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

It's official!

I have the cutest kids ever! And for the record, these pictures were taken December 7th with NO SNOW.

For Tina T.

From the mouth of Will....

Today driving in the car in the early morning,

Will: "Mom, the sun is hiding behind the mountains!"
Me: "You are right, how'd you get so smart?"
Will: "I am smart about suns mom."
Me: "Yes you are."
Will: "Because I ate my carrots once."

The other day, I was talking on the phone and said how Will was so cute, then I asked him if I should keep him forever, he said, "Yeah mom, don't ever sell me."

Another driving moment, I asked Will what he wanted to be...(he references the fact that I want to be a midwife, or a "doctor" that helps babies come out.)

Will: "I want to be a doctor first, like you mom."
Me: "Like me? Oh, what else?"
Will: "Then a race car driver, then a volcano scientist, then spiderman, then batman."

I am learning...

How to post videos!!!

Just when you thought life was uninteresting....

The economy and some lovely unethical employers decided to half lay off a single mom right before Christmas. So....to keep things interesting we are moving...AGAIN!!! We love moving and we can't get enough. We love boxes and U-hauls and packaging tape. We love vacuuming under couches and cushions and lifting and unpacking and repacking. Reallyi t's the only way I will actually get rid of crap and take loads to D.I., so I thought I had to do it again so soon. Okay the only truth in any of that is that we are moving and someone is a bit sarcastic, oh and the employer is a bit unethical, but not at all lovely.