Friday, August 29, 2014

Just a Quote for Friday

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier." 

~ Mother Teresa

Thursday, August 28, 2014

A Quilt Square for Jo C.

It's time for another installment of Fiona's Friendship Quilt Square Exchange.
This month, we all made squares to send to Jo C.
I wanted to make Jo's quilt square with a traditional pieced design and I have always wanted to try my hand at stitching hexagons. These hexagons were the perfect stitching project for a road trip we took back in July.


I'm making two of every square so I can have one to keep for myself, and the photo of the square in progress is the one I actually kept for myself. I made that one first so I could practice, and by the time I got to stitching Jo's (on the road trip back home) I forgot to take photos.


A while back my friend, Becky, shared this scrapbook page she'd made with hexagons and I was instantly inspired when she mentioned that she had cut the shapes with her Cricut. I emailed her right away to ask what cartridge she'd used and kept my fingers crossed that it was one I already owned. I knew that stitching hexagons required precision, so having the shapes all cut from the same source would be to my benefit.

Becky's reply made me happy, as the cartridge she'd used was one I had in my collection (Accent Essentials) and she also told me about this this website she uses for searching for shapes. It's cool - you type in the shape/item in the search field and it brings up a list of cartridges that contain that shape. Very handy!


I cut 2" hexagons from some scrap cardstock I had and they worked perfectly for my templates, and I used this tutorial for stitching my pieces. I have to say that I really loved sewing these hexagon squares. A bit time consuming, it gave me a real appreciation for quilters who have the dedication to stitch enough hexagons together to make a full quilt top!

I loved stitching this hexagon quilt square for Jo. :o)
You can see the other squares I've created for this project by clicking here.
 

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Change your posture, change your world.

There are so many lessons to absorb in yoga teacher school! So many of the things I thought I already knew are being revisited and presented to me in new ways. I love learning the intricacies of yoga, and already – after only two weeks of classes – I’ve had some ah-ha! moments.

I learned something in yoga teacher school on Thursday night that sunk in and made perfect sense to me, and it has to do with posture and how we carry our bodies throughout our days.


Did you know that our posture can not only affect our mood, but it can literally affect our hormone levels? It seemed logical to believe the concept of shifting our mood by sitting up straight – shaking off those woe-is-me slumped shoulders and holding our head high, but actually changing our hormone levels?
Get this – our brain instinctively knows when our shoulders are slumped and our head is hanging low that there’s something going on. Just as our body language would appear to others looking on, our brain knows that the body's posture is a sign of unhappiness – maybe even fear or angst. And because our brain is so smart and great at delivering everything we need to get through our current situation, it goes ahead and makes some extra hormones to maintain us through that danger zone – whether we really need it or not.
But what if we hold ourselves in a poor posture and there's really nothing wrong? What if it’s just another regular ol’ day on planet earth and that’s how we sit or stand comfortably out of habit? Well, our brain doesn’t know that, so it just keeps producing the junk it needs to help maintain us, all slouched over like we have the weight of the world on our shoulders. I can see how this would be a vicious cycle without the knowledge of how to change it.
Change your posture, change your world.
The good news is that we can change that – all by ourselves and it won’t cost us a dime. The simple act of standing tall, head held up with shoulders back and down can be transformational. Our brain will get the message and be like, “Hey! This is a happy day and together we’ve got this!” and then it will magically produce all the right hormones to make that shift.
This could explain how yoga transformed me without me even knowing what was happening. This could explain how yoga helped me to overcome personal obstacles, and how it continues to feed my spirit. Thanks to my yoga practice, I stand tall with my shoulders back and down, facing the world head on and ready for whatever comes my way.
I am my posture, and my posture is me.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Around here this weekend

Hello, Monday.
Hello, blog friends.
Hello, autumn?
Doug will scoff, but I say there's a hint of fall in the air. There's something different about the warm breeze blowing, the way the light falls, and how morning time feels in our backyard. I can feel it, I know I can. Oh sure, August is like this - starts to cool down just a little and then the heat will be back - BAM! - for another hot spell. But I didn't think about that this weekend. I enjoyed some time outside - early on Saturday morning, and then again yesterday morning. Loved. It.

Doug was off hunting this weekend, so I busied myself around here. The few potted plants we've had in our backyard space had all pretty much withered away, so I spent some time repotting some fresh flowering plants that will last into fall and possibly winter.

It's kind of hard to deny you've been digging when there's dirt on your nose...

Saturday night I spent some time at my sewing machine working on the herringbone quilt I'm making. I'm excited about this quilt, but I'll admit that working on it is a bit monotonous. It's gray and white triangles, over and over and over... Anyway, I reached the point of sewing rows together last night and it's fun to see it starting to take shape.

It was so nice to spend a bunch of time in my craft room this weekend. I'm so grateful to have this space, and sometimes when I walk into this room I just stop and admire all my stuff. This time I took a photo...

And about my yoga teacher training: Part of my yoga teacher training includes school on Thursday and Friday evenings from 6:30 - 9:30. After three hours of taking in all kinds of interesting information on philosophy, yoga history, and then technique, my mind is swimming when I get home. I love it all, but it's definitely a new routine for my mind and body. As part of my training, I'm also required to have several hours of practicum, including a certain number of yoga classes outside of my Thursday and Friday night classroom time. I managed to get myself to a yoga class Saturday morning, and after that I kind of took a break from yoga for the rest of the weekend.

It was also a little difficult to read my yoga manual with this boy between my workbook and me...






This is how I finished off the weekend ~ sitting outside and enjoying our backyard space. Gosh I thought about my mom so much this weekend. She LOVED coming to Arizona and sitting out on the patio, drinking iced tea and chatting...



And now I'm off to begin the week - a short one for me because I have Friday off! :o) Carrie and I are headed to California this weekend to visit family and we couldn't be more excited! Time to kick into Monday mode and hit the yoga mat and stretch my aching muscles.

May we find joy in unexpected ways this week.
Watch for it!

Friday, August 22, 2014

Just a Video for Friday ~ Hello Love

Heidi Robbins shared this video in her recent e-newsletter and I just loved it! The message is worthy of sharing, and the animation is just so cute. It's only 49 seconds long, and if you watch to the end and you'll see why it appeals to me. I hope you like it too.




Thursday, August 21, 2014

A craft from the past ~ Carrie's Quiet Book

A few weeks ago I was digging through our cedar chest looking for my angel baby quilt, and I came across this fabric activity book I made for little Carrie, fondly known as "The Quiet Book." Oh, flipping through the soft pages really took me back in time - back to a time when Carrie was just a toddler. Things were simpler in some ways back then, and more complicated in others!

I made this when Carrie was not even two years old - gosh, over 24 years ago now! Looking through the book, I was reminded of how much love went into every detail. I loved making this book for Carrie, and I remember feeling so excited to finish it so she could play with it.


All of the little pieces are attached to the book so they wouldn't get lost. The little doll is about 3" tall and can be used throughout the book in one way or another. I remember that Carrie played with this book for hours, and it was great to have for road trips or airplane trips to Grandma Marti's house.

Those sweet little paw prints were traced from Carrie's hands...makes me all kinds of sentimental just looking at them!

There's a car for Little Miss Dolly to ride in...

And a house to come home to...

The door has a snap to hold it closed, and for Carrie to practice her snapping skills.

There's also a pocket holding colored shapes to match up. Little Miss Dolly used to spend time in this pocket too.

There's a bathtub, complete with a towel and rubber ducky...

And a pocket to practice buttoning and zipping. Dolly spent time in this pocket too... You could say she really got around!

There's a wagon she can ride in the park, and the little blue bird pulls out of her nest but can't fly far because she's anchored as well.

And when the day is done, there's a cozy little bed for Miss Dolly to rest in.

And at the very end is my handprint. I am SO glad that I took the time to stitch the date in this book. I have several other projects that aren't dated and I do regret not taking the time to do that. Note to selves: date our stuff!

I wouldn't even be able to tell you how I assembled this book. I know that I made it up as I went along, and I remember feeling just a little sad when the book was complete. It was such a fun project!








And that, my friends, is The Quiet Book. A labor of love for my sweet little Carrie.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Currently, in Turtle Land

We've had a fair amount of rain here over the past couple of weeks, and our turtles love it! Our atrium (their habitat) is thriving - like its own little ecosystem out there. Having the turtles out and about has afforded me with some photo ops, so that's what I'm sharing today.

Here's little Casper, coming out to greet me:





I've been coming home during my lunch hours to let Lucky inside for the afternoon and out of the Arizona heat {but that is coming to an end soon because fall is right around the corner!!!}. During the 30 minutes that I'm home, I've been tending to the atrium - watering the plants and entertaining our baby box turtle, Casper.

She totally digs the water hose! Check out this video I shot of her, running to play in the water - and eating a bug on the way:



So cool, right?

A couple of weeks ago we noticed a teeny-tiny lizard sunning himself on a rock in the atrium. He must have come through an opening at the top and either decided to stay or couldn't figure out an escape route. He has more than doubled in size since he came to stay! Anyway, he usually dashes into hiding when we enter the atrium, but the other day he sat still and allowed me to photograph him.



Doug has named him Leroy which adds a little more personality to him, causing me to worry. I have learned that box turtles eat lizards. Hide, Leroy! Hide!!!

And then, there's Rexy boy...

Rex is a bit more elusive than Casper and not nearly as curious. He did sit still for me last night, and I was happy to grab a photo of him to include in this post. Let's see, he's about 5 years old and Cas is about 2 now. We're hoping they'll mate one day, but according to the Internet it will be a few years before Cas starts producing eggs. So we patiently wait...
 
And here's one more video, of Cas just being cute:



Kind of makes you want a pet turtle, doesn't it?

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Yoga and the Turtle

Good day, blog friends.
Thanks so much for your sweet and supportive comments last week when I announced that I'm taking classes to become a yoga teacher. I felt so happy knowing that you were happy for me. :o) The good news is that I made it through the first week of classes and I absolutely LOVE it! I am definitely right where I belong.

{photo bomb with a cat paw...}


I am now up to my elbows in yoga books and terminology, and doing my best not to feel overwhelmed by the list of assignments due between now and December 21st. Hey, it's just yoga after all. No need to get worked up about it. Besides, I technically have two full years to complete the course work if I choose, and while I'd love to proclaim that it will all be done before the last class in December, I'm going to remain optimistic and realistic. I'm soaking it all in and trusting the natural progression of things.

One of the assignments I'll be presenting at the end of my training is an example of how I practice yoga off the mat in my day-to-day life. It's an open assignment, meaning we can do whatever we want with it, so I've decided to document my yoga journey with a blog feature called "Yoga and the Turtle." I'll save those posts and photos into an online source and have them printed in a book at the end of my training.

That should cover two bases: 1) making time to blog, and 2) satisfying my desire to share yoga on this blog space. I do hope you'll enjoy learning a little bit about yoga as I work my way through my teacher training. It's a pleasure to have you along for the journey.

Peace out, my friends.

Monday, August 18, 2014

This weekend in my garden

Hello, blog friends!
Happy dang Monday to ya'! It was a wonderful weekend around here and felt much too short for my liking. I took a lot of photos, but most of them are for future blog posts, so today I give you garden photos.


August is probably my least favorite month in Arizona. We are tired of the heat, and my garden is over it too. You can tell by these sunflower photos that the heat is taking its toll.

And it's apparent when looking at my garden that I have been a busy girl with little time to tend to things outside. Busy schedule plus avoiding being out in the heat...it happens every August.
 
My first couple of classes for yoga teacher training were awesome! I'll attend classes every Thursday and Friday evenings through the end of the year, and I know I'll get in sync with my new schedule as the weeks progress, but this week I was off. It's a challenge to get home at 10:00 p.m. and then try to go right to sleep - my head was still spinning, absorbing all the great information and words of wisdom from my teachers.





It's typical for me to want to be organized during times of transition, so I spent Saturday in my craft room cleaning and purging some things. I needed to make room for the new stack of yoga books, and just feel like things were in order.
 
Saturday afternoon I looked outside and noticed sunlight on this year's blood orange crop, so I grabbed my camera and braved the heat. The results are photos in this blog post.
 

Let's see...what else...

I was busy in the kitchen this weekend. I've been seeing roasted garbanzo beans on Pinterest and finally tried them this weekend. They are just ok - a weird little snack that I would eat if I was starving, but not something I'd go for if there were other options! Kind of disappointing like roasted cauliflower was. Lesson: don't believe everything you see on Pinterest.

I made a batch of homemade granola that turned out fairly well - it will be good on yogurt this week. And! I made a batch of crazy delicious brownies yesterday afternoon. {Thanks for the recipe, Sue!}

Oh - and there was a scorpion in our silverware drawer. EEK! {Doug saved me.}


Carrie and I went to a yin/restorative yoga class yesterday afternoon that was really nice. As part of my teacher training I must attend a certain number of yoga classes and journal about them afterwards. I was much more mindful about postures that were practiced and thinking about remembering them for journaling later. It feels like every little part of my personal yoga practice has shifted. I'm glad about it, but my head doesn't seem fully wrapped around the whole thing yet. I'll get there!

Lucky, the dog.



And before you know it, Monday morning rolls around and it's time to work our way toward a new weekend. This is one of those Monday mornings that I wish with all my might was actually a Sunday morning, but what are you gonna' do? Time stands still for no one, my friends.
 
Shifting gears into corporate mode and wishing you all a happy week ahead!

Friday, August 15, 2014

Just a Quote for Friday


"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
 
~ Robin Williams

Thursday, August 14, 2014

My first day of school.

In January 2001, I was a single mom living in a cute little condo with my girl. Oh, I wish I'd been blogging back then - you guys would have loved our little home! Anyway, I was 39 at the time, and Carrie was 12.

I had made the decision to take online classes to get a college degree, and I clearly remember the day my first class began. Carrie and I were getting ready for school and work, and before we left the house that morning Carrie insisted on taking a picture of me, on my first day of school. I remember how I felt that morning - so proud and scared all rolled into one. And I remember that in the back of my mind I was thinking, "WHY am I doing this?!?!"

But I knew why I was doing it - I was doing it for "the man." I was doing it for the assumption that if I had a four-year degree to note on my resume I would be more marketable in the corporate world. I was doing it because I hadn't gone to college after high school and I felt like I needed to catch up. I was doing it for the status quo. At any rate, that day in January was a really important day for me.


If you've read my blog for a while you know that I totally dig yoga. But did you know that in the almost 20 years that I've been practicing I have wanted to be a yoga teacher? I have always thought it would be so cool to help people feel the way that I feel after a good yoga class. I want other people to know the personal rewards that come with a regular yoga practice. I want to help others heal the way that yoga has healed me.

And now it’s happening.

Tonight I will attend the first of many classes as I begin my studies to become a certified yoga teacher. There will be many hours spent working toward this certification between now and the end of this year, but I am so ready for this journey to begin. And this time, I know why I'm doing it.
Now, that doesn’t mean that I’m giving up my corporate job anytime soon, but it does mean that I’m one step closer to following a longtime dream of mine. I’ve wondered how my yoga studies will affect my blogging but I guess we’ll just take this one week at a time and see how things work out.
I hope you'll lift me up in celebratory thoughts over this new beginning in my life. If you are so inclined, maybe you'll say a little prayer for me or send me some happy thoughts as I point myself in this new direction - a direction that has been calling to me for a very long time.
And you can bet that Doug will take a picture of me tonight, as I leave for my first day of school.
:o)

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

In search of Marlene's brownies.



My sister's friend, Marlene, makes THE BEST brownies on the planet - hands down! For the past 10 years or so, we have enjoyed her brownies on occasion when we visit my sister in California. Marlene knows how much we love them and regularly surprises us with a batch when we visit. We have asked for her recipe, but it's a secret.

Carrie had a good point though. She mentioned that perhaps it's best for us to NOT have the recipe, otherwise we'd make them all the time. Totally true.

I recently searched the internet for a recipe that looked similar to what I thought Marlene's brownies would be. I made the batter and used a smaller pan than was called for, hoping that the thickness of the brownies would match Marlene's in structure.



They were thick like Marlene's brownies, but nowhere nearly as yummy, so it's back to the drawing board!
 
Anyone have a thick, cake-like brownie recipe you'd like to share?
And I'm curious, does your family have a recipe that is held as a close secret?

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Photo hunt finds from Cali

Today I have some more photos from our trip to California last week, but these are some that I found that are items on Rinda's Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. Check 'em out...

#2 - a garden gnome









I loved this little gnome, tucked in among the plants where we stayed during our visit.

3 - birds on a wire


Not the most beautiful photo ever, but three little birds on a wire, nonetheless.

4 - a group of tourists



I was hoping for something a little different on this one - like a group of tourists gathered around a historical monument with cameras in hand. But I suppose that means I would have to go to a historical monument of some sort myself, and I don't see that happening any time soon.

11 - a horn

I actually found six different horns during our vacation week in Cali, but this one was my favorite so I'm going with this one today.

13 - a {tequila} sunrise

Ah...the elusive sunrise. For the record, Doug and I are up before the sun every day during the week so capturing a real sunrise should be simple, but I haven't noticed any that were really colorful yet. Doug had this brilliant idea to photograph a tequila sunrise, so there you have it. Thought of by Douglas, and drank by him too.

17 - a lamp post

I loved these lamp posts at Hotel Del Coronado.
 
19 - a public garden

When we arrived at our destination last week I actually let out a squeal of delight as we entered the garage under the building and saw this garden at eye level. (It's where I found the gnome too.) And since this garden is shared by the other residents of the building, I'm calling it a public garden. {Thanks so much, Sue! I really loved this feature and took a ton of photos!}

21 - a photograph of me with something representing the season

I originally thought I'd try to get a photo of myself with something that represented hell since that's how hot it is in Arizona during the summer, but this one seemed a little less edgy. Doug and I make a trip to California every summer to be near the ocean and have a little break from the heat, so I'm going with me and an ocean view to represent our summer.

Of the 21 items on Rinda's list, I have found all but one. I'm not sure I'll be seeing a parade by the end of the photo hunt, but you just never know. I'm not giving up yet, no siree!

Are you playing along with Rinda's scavenger hunt?
You can read more about it by clicking here.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Longest Weekend Recap Ever

Hello, my friends!
~sigh~ This past weekend lasted nine whole days for me and I loved every minute of it! Doug and I headed to California where we spent the first five days on Coronado Island soaking up sun, eating yummy food, drinking fun drinks, and...well...having lots of fun. Of course, I have photos to share.

Strands Beach, Dana Point, California

 
The road trip to the coast is a six-hour drive, so I kept myself busy by doodling a starburst {inspiration here}.
 

The first part of our California stay was a working gig for Doug, so while he worked on his job, I got to know the area. First stop: Seaside Papery as recommended by one of my local paper-loving-friends. {Hi Vee!}
 
And I found the restaurant Vee recommended. We ended up having a few meals {and margaritas} at Miguel's. Yum!


We were within walking distance of the famous Hotel Del Coronado and we frequented its beach a few times during our stay on the island.


I had an opportunity to do a lot of sketching during the course of the week and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I used watercolors and color pencils, and played with a  few techniques that I've been learning from Sketchbook Skool. Love!

San Diego's skyline from Coronado Island:

We had an amazing latte and chocolate crepe at Bonjour Café in Dana Point. Holy smokes it was good!

Crossing over the bridge from San Diego to Coronado. Kinda' scary but cool...

 More food at Miguel's - a tostada grande that I barely made a dent in...

Doug and me in the sun...waiting for sunset. ♥ ♥

I found a yoga studio really close to where we were staying so I did manage to have one hour of healthy living while on the island. This photo was taken on my walk to yoga one morning:

We spent some time on Coronado's Central Beach the last afternoon of our stay. This young couple struggled with assembling their shade for well over a half an hour. Poor things - the wind was really whipping around and it was difficult to watch without laughing out loud. We hid behind our umbrella as best we could, shielded from the flying sand they were stirring up and hiding our poor attempts to curb our laughter.

 And...last but not least...the final margaritas...




We returned home late in the day on Thursday, and I have spent the past few days unpacking and taking care of stuff around here. The last thing I really want to do today is go back to work, but Monday mornings can be that way most of the time.

So, here goes nothin'...I'm off and running...
 
There's change brewing around these parts, and it's going to be an awesome week!
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