Category Archives: Random Thoughts

November 30, 2011 · 9:09 am

Your Smarts Can Make You Weak

This touches an arena that I feel rather passionately about. The attitude of expertise that says “I’m the head authority on this and do not need to learn anything else.” “No one like you could possibly teach me something about the world I’m already an expert in.” This attitude in life does not operate from a place of strength. It makes you weak.

This is especially dumb in leadership roles. And it pretty much rejects assistance altogether. If you’re an expert in parenting, why read books on the subject? If you’re an expert in marriage, why ever consider counseling or a “marriage building” event? If you’re an expert in education, why explore new ways to reach a struggling student or improve the educational experience for everyone? If you’re an expert in business, why consult a coach? Why do anything to push your current boundaries? Yada. Feel like you never get any help? Umm, maybe check yourself here.

I’ve seen it in religious as well as philosophical circles. It’s present in the educational system. Even witnessed it to my surprise in the field of mathematics. And it’s so prevalent in politics (what I call the new religion) today. The idea in general that my way is the right way. Or my way is the only way. There is nothing else outside of that. It’s like being in a cage and it can become a difficult barrier to break through.

This doesn’t just plague leadership roles. Ever know someone who is an expert in everything, even in fields they’ve never touched? I’m reminded of a conversation with someone once about selling the home they’d lived in for 25+ years. The owner voiced many concerns over the idea and work she wasn’t sure might need to be done or even the paperwork involved. “Have you talked to a real estate agent? They could really help you know what you need to do and talk to you about the market right now,” I said. “No,” she said, “I already know everything I need to know about my house and this neighborhood. There’s nothing worthwhile an agent could ever tell me.” Seriously?

In my mind, this type of mentality is the very source of division and stagnation. There is wisdom and growth at the center of many approaches and views. Thank goodness for the experts in my life who can give me other viewpoints and ways of seeing things. I am not eternal enough to contain all the truth and insight of the universe.

I have expertise, experience and a perspective that is very useful in many ways. But it ain’t everything. No one’s is.

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Filed under Editorial, NaBloPoMo, Random Thoughts

Tagged as attitude, expertise, leadership

November 29, 2011 · 8:45 am

Sometimes Even Nellie Oleson Is Right

I’m known to coin phrases. One of my favorites? “There’s always a Nellie Oleson.” Anyone who grew up reading or watching Little House on the Prairie barks a knowing laugh. And anyone else just stares blankly at me! Both reactions are fun. 😀 And the statement rings so true.

Fact is, there is always that person somewhere in your life. That one person who gets under your skin, who acts as a challenge to you. Whether as a minor yet annoying inconvenience, or as someone whose very existence seems to defy yours. Perhaps that one person you can’t help but think privately about, “Everything would be a lot nicer if they just would just go away.”

Nellie Oleson exists for you, in some form, in your life somewhere. And every time you think she’s gone, resolved and moved on, another one pops up in her place. Her character is able to be so easily understood because there is always someone who plays this part in each of our lives. After all, Life is always about the overcoming. Of some thing… even some one.

It’s easy to habitually ignore whatever she has to say. That nasty ‘ol Nellie Oleson! She’s always such a pain! But the fact is, sometimes, as conniving as she can be, as cruel and awful as she can sound – sometimes your Nellie is right.

Nellie has no vested interest in you. Hurt as it may, and as frustrating as it can be to think she’s won and maybe gotten to you, Nellie has a way of pointing out the truth of the matter, in all it’s rawness. It doesn’t matter that she’s your wrongful tormentor, nor for how many times. When she’s right, she’s right. Telling you what your friends didn’t want to say. Sporting her evil little smirk. Pointing out what you didn’t want to see. That this time, and boy do you know it, you’re the one who is wrong. Pointing out that flaw you want to forget, making known your weaknesses, revealing who you really are.

You don’t just hate her. You hate how she makes you feel. Because deep down it sucks to see yourself without the ignorant bliss or the rose-colored glasses your friends and loved ones are all too happy to loan you.

You’re not always rosy. You’re not always nice. You’re not always right. You don’t always make great decisions. Sometimes, those pants do make you look fat and sometimes you’re dead wrong. Sometimes even an emperor needs a loud mouth kid to tell him he’s a fool without any clothes on. Someone’s gotta do the job. If your friends won’t, the Nellie in your life will. The fact is, Nellie has an unabashed way of testing you and holding up the mirror so you can really see yourself. Think you’re a good person? Think you’re really something? Think you’re better than Nellie? Are ya really? Even now? Even under pressure?

Alison Arngrim

Maybe there’s a lesson in all that, a role she needs to play, a purpose to fulfill. After all, how can we change and overcome what we cannot see? She may not be soft and cuddly, but Nelly won’t try to protect us from ourselves.

Perhaps even you’ve been a Nellie yourself. And maybe she’s not as bad as you think. 😉

Fun fact: Alison Arngrim, the actress behind the TV personality of Nellie Oleson released a 5 star book last year called: “Confessions Of A Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson And Learned To Love To Be Hated.” Check it out!

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Filed under Editorial, NaBloPoMo, Random Thoughts

November 28, 2011 · 5:42 pm

Mommy Can’t Right Now, She’s Texting

I was struck by a scene in my neighborhood earlier today. There was a toddler sitting in a wagon by the side of the road, wiggling his butt, obviously wanting the wagon to go. And his mom (or babysitter?) was leaning on a telephone pole nearby, with her phone in her hand. Texting, surfing, I don’t know, but she was not talking. And she had completely checked out.

It’s always seemed odd to me when parents disconnect from their children for long hours talking on the phone. We do all need breaks. And that’s not what I’m talking about. Before texting became a reality, there were plenty of people who could not disconnect from their cell phones. And before cell phones, they could not disconnect from their home phones. And there was a time before that when it might have been the back yard fence I guess. Now they can do it more openly and quietly by text.

I don’t know for sure what I think of it. On the one hand, I value good tools. And my phone, along with its texting capabilities, is a good tool. That said, I know when I had computer work to do at home when the kids were little, it was hard for them to understand why I couldn’t play sometimes. After all, to their little eyes, I was just sitting there staring at a brightly lit box. Sure, I showed them things and introduced them to a computer at an early age to help both of them with development, learn how to edit school projects, etc.. And later school came to require it. But still, until they understood and valued the use of a computer at all, they did not get it. At least a TV made noise and pictures. They could understand someone staring at it. They stared at TV too. But often a computer is a bunch of words, while mommy seemed to stare off into space. I had to work from home to make it work out to be at home with my kids. I would set them next to me with things to do while I worked, and I planned lots of activities together, but I couldn’t always just stop when they wanted.

There’s a Zen belief about being fully present in whatever you set your hand to do. I can’t help but ponder these things when I see people staring at their phones while a child goes unnoticed nearby. I’m not sure what I expect, especially as someone who values her tools, and as someone who probably doesn’t really know what was going on. But certainly I expected something different.

It’s a different kind of world our kids are growing up in. I know my grandparents saw that when I was a kid. I see it for my own kids. There’s always a trickle-down. Generations of latch-key kids led to generations of fairly self-sufficient adults. I wonder what the trickle down is here?

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November 24, 2011 · 11:05 pm

Apparently It Is Easy To Make Butter When A Ninja Is Involved – A Thanksgiving Mishap

Lightly sweetened butter, that was supposed to be whipped cream. I poured off the liquid already.

Everyone knows that whipped cream is a requirement for pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

It’s pumpkin pie season! My favorite. I didn’t have ready made whipped cream, so I whipped out the carton of heavy whipping cream I keep on reserve for chocolate ganache and whipped up a batch. LOL. See how punny I am?

I love this time of year. Pulling out old family recipes, taking time not to be stressed about the world and just be thankful in this sacred space. It’s a special day of magic really. The kind that only love and gratitude can create. I like this day.

ANYway… When the need arises, I usually whip up little batches of whipped cream with one of my small food processors. (Only the real stuff for me.) It’s a great way to cheat at all sorts of things, like whipped cream and cream gravy. I have cooked from scratch all my life, but I have never really been able to master a rue. How do I get around that? Blend some flour, spices and milk in a blender and you’ve got instant cream gravy or stew thickener. Corn starch too. I love me my food processors!

Truth be told, I’ve been through a lot of them. I love frozen fruit smoothies too. Been making them since I got out of college and could buy my first machine. However, I like the all fruit kind and I don’t water them down with ice. Which is actually harder on the machines. Ice shatters easily. Frozen fruit does not. Those drink wands? I burnt out three of them. Along with several small food choppers and blenders. Then there was the small Cuisinart I brutalized until it finally had plastic bits cracking off it from the sheer vibrational impact of frozen fruit blending in a machine that was never designed for what I was putting it through. But my frozen goodie product was yum!

Later I finally got a Magic Bullet. OMG! I loved it! Still have it too. (If you don’t want yours, I’ll take it!) However, you can only make a small bit at a time. And my kids love smoothies too.

So then came the opportunity to own a Ninja. Sam’s Club had one left on clearance for half price. It’s one of the smaller models, but I took one look and grabbed it. Hell yeah. Strawberry/Spinach smoothie tonight!

It’s a little finicky, but my Ninja works well. The larger model might be less finicky. Mine’s really designed to make the smoothies that you water down with ice. And if you do, you will have no trouble with it. However, as you already know, I don’t like adding ice. Probably doesn’t help that I don’t have an ice maker. But I did figure out that if I toss in the strawberries and other frozen fruit in alone, before adding spinach or anything else, it will powder them nicely and then I can easily add my yogurt and greens. But not until then. (It helps to use sliced frozen strawberries too, btw.) Once you have that figured out, it works like a dream blending up a whole pitcher of smoothie at a time. 😀

So back to whipped cream. A small food processor will help you whip up the good stuff in no time without pulling out your blender and all the clean up. (I’m all for practical and the least amount of work.) Add your cream, a tad bit of honey for sweetener and blend until it looks right. Voila. Whipped cream.

Along come Ninja. This is the first time I’ve used it for whipped cream. In about 20-30 seconds I had whipped cream. Upon tasting, though, hubby didn’t feel it was sweet enough. So I added more honey and blended away. About another thirty seconds later, I had chunks in my cream and by another 30, it was butter. It wasn’t until I opened it up that I realized what was going on.

Stupid Ninja, I wanted whipped cream for my pie and now I don’t have any at all. So now I have instead a delicate sweetened cream butter I’ll have to decide how I want to use. Grandma Leona would have been jealous.

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Filed under 'Tis the Season, NaBloPoMo, Random Thoughts

November 22, 2011 · 4:20 pm

Look What I Found! Vintage Finds!

I lucked into some vintage finds at a thrift store today. I’m pretty pleased with them! How much did I pay? Now that’s my little secret!

Vintage finds from today!

I love the bee earrings! They will definitely become hat pins. The fake pearls are hand-knotted and over all look great, though two of the beads are flaking. Also found a sweet little silver chain.

A cute little locket in the shape of an envelope.

Came with a stamp inside!

Recognition of this guy can definitely date you! It's Ronald McDonald's friend Hamburglar! Playing hockey! This mug is from the McDonald's Sports Series from 1977. This is going to be my new coffee mug!

This pretty dish needs washing, but will look beautiful full of peppermints and ribbon candy! My Grandma Dot used to keep a dish of ribbon candy every year during the holidays. I haven't had ribbon candy in years!

This awesome Steven Harris tie totally got my funny bone! I love the outdated computer equipment pictured all over it! I'm not sure what I want to do with this just yet, but I definitely wanted to give it a home! There were some beautiful silk Hawaiian ties there as well, but I decided not to get them too.

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Filed under NaBloPoMo, Random Thoughts, Vintage

Tagged as jewelry, thrift, vintage

November 18, 2011 · 6:31 pm

Life Has Taught Me That All Too Often You’re Better Off On Your Own

People let you down. Teams, bosses and employees let you down. Friends make promises they don’t keep. Family members have insane expectations. Colleagues take advantage of you and your work. Leaders pretend to be people they aren’t. Managers abuse their power. Religious people prove to be hypocrites. Atheists and politicians too. Armchair warriors who can’t help but to give out a cyber punch/ jab/ pinch. Like an abuser, justify it with “They deserved it.” The people with those handicapped tags that aren’t really disabled and who cut you off in a parking lot so they can swoop quickly into that front row parking space before you pass it. I’ve been cut off in parking lots by more people with temporary handicap tags lately than ever. Wtf?

People who pretend to be experts at something they are not. Receivers with no sense of gratitude or conscience. And the guilty who take their guilt out on others when they fail.

And it generally boils down to a selfishness at heart. A general disregard for a fellow human being. The one right next to you, not the stranger from another culture you’re trying to impress.

It’s kind of like how family all too often treat each other worse than they would a stranger. Biting the hands that feed and nurture them. Devolving into a vicious cycle of dysfunctional relationship and communication to rule the rest. And now days, a couple of conversations online makes you familiar enough to take a punch, familiar enough to receive judgement and be devoid of rights to safety. Familiar enough to be disliked or hated, never having met face to face. And based solely on a paragraph or two. I feel like a bit of my soul bruises every time I hear someone talk about how they hate someone else.

Have people disappointed me lately? You bet. People with enough life and professional experience to know better. People who’ve received enough kindness too. People who should know the value of a team, of a cause, of a single person or an act of selflessness. How a betrayal of trust ruins it for all. And how gratitude always wins.

Has it been everyone? No. Not by a long shot. But enough repeats to get to me. I know better than most how tough life can be, so as patient and laid back as I can be, it takes a while to build up. I wrote the emotionally charged title on purpose. Because I know it speaks to the feelings of a lot of people lately.

This Thanksgiving, of all times, let’s think about this. And not just football. Take accounting, of ourselves, of the relationships we allow in our lives, of the examples we allow our children to see. Recognize reality for what it is. Take responsibility for ourselves, because others are not as invested. Demonstrate patience and tenderness with others, because we know what pain is. And savor the gems in our lives, rarer today than ever.

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Filed under Artist Information & Notes, NaBloPoMo, Random Thoughts

Tagged as gratitude, nablopomo, thanksgiving

November 17, 2011 · 10:10 pm

Letter To A Homeless Guy: I Hate Liars

You sir make me angry. Because you are not really “homeless.” Nor do I think you’re a veteran. For nearly a year now I have passed by you every day on my way to and from my kids’ school at the noon hour and watched you with your signs asking for beer or food. And I’ve noticed how you hang out during lunch rush at the corner just long enough and then disappear into a parking lot for the rest of the day.

Your neatly trimmed beard has always been exactly the same. It’s like your hair doesn’t grow. And your fingernails never get dirty. Your jeans always look cleaner and newer than even my own. Those ball caps and shoes you change out as well. I seriously doubt you’ve ever served a day in the military. Nor have those BDUs you were sporting today. Or that booney hat you’ve pinned up on the side. Doubt those clothes have even seen a hunt. You missed the creases on the back side of your pants. Which tells me you mail ordered them to boot.

Ah, but today! Today was the kicker. I passed you wearing those silly BDUs, on my way to the school. And on the way back, as I passed your corner, I spied you walking back from that parking lot you so often disappear into – with a whole different change of clothes on.

There are people in this world who really are veterans and really are homeless. If you were one, you wouldn’t need to change clothes and looks to keep up your con.

I hate liars. You piss me off.

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Filed under NaBloPoMo, Random Thoughts

November 14, 2011 · 3:17 pm

Every Day Can Be Friday…

“Every day can be Friday, if you just don’t think about it like it’s Monday.”

These were the words my 12 year old son spoke to me this afternoon in the car on the way home. Wisdom in that, young one. Perhaps there’s more to the fact that his name looks like a mirror image of (a recent discovery from making my punny pumpkin shirt).

And this on the tail end of hearing from an enlightened stranger today, “They? Who are “they” who say that you can’t? Forget what “they” say can and can’t be done. I want to know who “they” are and where are “they” anyhow? You want to do something, just do it. Forget what others say.” I had been staring at Christmas trees at a local home improvement store, lamenting the “fact” that I would not be able to sell my house before the end of the year, because it’s not the right time of year to do it. And I’ve been feeling discouraged. And tired. Shows are important this year to break even. I haven’t been able to focus on the house while getting ready for shows. I find that I work best when I focus solely on one thing at a time. The house is pretty much fixed; it’s just time and logistics now. And we need to sit down, forecast and put together a plan that takes into account everyone’s needs and obligations.

These were messages I needed today. I’ve been thinking like Monday lately and I know better. And I’ve been discouraged about keeping up with some things. I guess I just need to own that I can’t do it all. And as simple as that sounds. As much as I already know this. It’s like another layer of understanding of what that actually means is revealing itself to me. Even if it means I must own letting someone down.

Something to meditate upon.

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November 9, 2011 · 11:33 pm

The Birds Are Coming

Tonight, after an evening run to Kinkos for printing hell… I mean help, I had to run by Sam’s Club to pickup sandwich fixin’s and essentials. As I drove through the parking lot, this scene met me. A sea of black Starling birds covering the parking lots of stores that were already closed. This colony of birds has grown substantially over the near 17 years I’ve lived here. And they have become a nuisance to every business near I35 as they show up in droves and take over the parking lots of local businesses. Of course, this gets worse in the fall.

Driving into this section of the parking lot and getting out to take photos drove some of the birds to flight. This photo was taken after sunset, when the sky is just a little dusky still.

The Birds: Can you see how full of birds that tree is, and the crowd of them in the next parking lot over?

Almost as impressive as the sight is the deafening sound. I took a quick video just so you could hear. But alas, for some reason WordPress does not seem to support both a photo and a video in the same post. You can view the 30 second video here: http://youtu.be/nQjfyT5Dq0A

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Tagged as starlings

November 2, 2011 · 2:25 pm

Don’t Put That Spoon In The Microwave

“Don’t put that spoon in the microwave,” I tell my 12 year old son.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “Unfortunately I’m not a moron in that way.”

“Ummm…” I say. “You mean to say ‘fortunately’ son.”

“No, I don’t,” he tells me.

“I mean unfortunately. Because I really would like to see what would happen.”

Go ahead and click a link below to “share this.” You know you want to! : )

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Filed under Conversations From the Passenger Seat, Friends and Family, Humor, It's An Aberrant Life, kids, Random Thoughts

Tagged as Monday Mirth

October 29, 2011 · 8:08 am

After Crochet Cama – Birthday Retreat!

So as most everyone at the Crochet @ CAMA 2011 Retreat learned, I stayed at Cama a couple extra days after the retreat to celebrate my 40th birthday this year. As clichéd as it may sound, turning 40 has bugged me a bit, which tends to gripe me more. I guess somehow I thought I would have figured out more of life by now. Perhaps conquered some of it. And aside from needing a break from motherhood and work and rush-rush demands, I knew I needed some time to settle, sit with the water and pull my thoughts together, mourn Grandma Dot. I wanted to take accounting of my life. I did not want to make this transition thoughtlessly or without meaning and somehow I found Grandma’s recent transition to the after-life to be assisting my own transition into something as well. Some new thing whose outlines I can’t even quite perceive.

A little wistful perhaps, but I believe in embracing life and celebrating every moment we can. After all, what is it that we have that we can take with us to the here-after? No matter what we believe? I know there are many things I won’t be focused on upon my death-bed. And I know there are many memories I have not lived yet that I want to. Deployments, lay-offs, near-death experiences – all lend to my views today. Forty is a nice round number, somewhere around the average American mid-life, to take accounting of oneself.

I didn’t take photos as religiously as I did for the crochet retreat itself, but I did take some. I was also given permission to copy some photos others took of me at the retreat. So I finally have proof that I was there! 😀 Here they are for you now.

Finally have some photos of me to post! This is what crocheters do when they eat, drink and are merry together. We dress up crochet hooks and contribute to their general delinquency. LOL!

Photo of Laurie and I together, taken by Jimbo I think. Yay! Good pic!

My friend Dippy.

This is Panda. Apparently she doesn’t just let people touch her. I petted her for 15-20, minutes non-stop.

Dennis and I working on that Scrabble puzzle, started by Jeff about Cama.

Jimbo took this photo of me with the hooks of various shapes that he, I, Dennis and Don all worked on for our crochet hook demonstration. Thanks to everyone for helping to make our idea work!

Foggy morning view.

Friends load up and say good bye to each other.

As I dump out our trash, I find a leopard snail.

Moving my stuff over to my new cabin for my extended stay. The second row cabins have two sets of bunk beds and a full size bed.

Similar kitchen to the other cabin.

It’s not a front row view, but in cabin 19, it’s close.

Beautiful view of the beach.

Cama Beach is not a sandy beach, but one of rocks and shells.

Driftwood trees line parts of the beach.

Over 10,000 rivers and streams flow down from the Olympic and Cascade Mountains eventually into the salt water Puget Sound. Along with all that comes an amazing variety of rocks and their colors that finally wash up on the beach.

Beached jelly fish. As my daughter says, “It look soooo squissshhhhhy!” Yeah, but don’t touch it. I didn’t see any star fish this year.

Beached kelp.

Seeking sanctuary for awhile, I pass this makeshift structure on my hike along the shore.. This wasn’t on the beach last year, so I’m guessing it was created during the Native American Canoe Journey that landed at Cama earlier this year for it’s annual canoe journey.

There are little over-hung hollows like this all along the beach, which can be seen in the afternoon/evening after the tide goes out.

Here’s another little “cave” where the water comes all the way up under the trees when the tide is in.

Next to that light green rock, which is about 3 feet wide, is a little stream running down the the beach. As I stand there a bit, I can hear splashing sounds back behind the trees up the hill from whatever larger stream this little streamlet is coming from.

The little stream runs out all the way to the rocky beach where it disappears into the rocks.

Wild blackberries grow along parts of the beach.

Grandmother Spider is guarding. I accept two blackberries and thank her.

Piles of driftwood line parts of the beach. I have walked way around the side of the beach. The cabins are off the to right.

Part of the clay like hillside, full of a variety of rocks left by the glacier that formed this area.

An interesting textured log.

An interesting piece of driftwood revealing an unusual black/grey staining of the wood after stripping the bark off.

This peaceful haven is where I finally take my rest, almost to the end of Cama Beach, to sit, reflect and do a little carving the afternoon before my birthday. The entire hike along the beach has been interesting, but this spot feels safe and protected, like Grandma’s Kitchen. I imagine Grandma Dot nearby, telling me about fossils, rocks and shells like she did when I was little and Grandma Leona’s soft chuckle. A yellow jacket has followed me along the beach. I pour out some of my mango juice on a rock for him and he becomes my buddy instead of my antagonizer. Together we enjoy the beautiful afternoon. It was wholesome time my soul needed.

It’s my birthday morning! I sit on the bench outside my cabin, drinking coffee, enjoying the drizzle and working on a different kind of hook shape. Not sure where this will go.

It’s a foggy morning and so very pretty.

Foggy morning on the beach.

Later the clouds and fog diminish and visiting families are quietly enjoying time together.

Little pockets of fog cling to trees across the water like tufts of fleece.

Laurie takes me to see Snoqualmie Falls on Saturday after my birthday. Great present!

A fine mist hangs in the air over the Snoqualmie River below the falls.

Beautiful!

At the top of the falls is a lodge you can stay at.

It shows how much of a geek I am when “Oh look, that’s actually a decent photo of me” was my second thought and “Oh look, my hat looks great in that photo” was my first! LOL!

The Snoqualmie Falls Park is really pretty. Tall, tall trees.

More mist.

Leaving the Falls area, I’m struck by the colorful trees. We don’t have color like this in Austin, except in the spring when the wildflowers bloom.

And it’s time to go back to Cama, clean up the cabin, pack and get ready for the long trip home to Texas. Thanks Laurie for making the crochet retreat a reality. Thanks for the soulful giving you do for the crochet community every day. And thanks for your friendship. I had a great time!

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Filed under Artist Information & Notes, Inspiration, Random Thoughts

August 22, 2011 · 10:09 am

Back To School – Easy Homemade Cereal Bars

Here’s a recipe we love that uses up the last dregs of peanut butter in the jar and of cereal in the box.

You know… how everyone eats up most of the container and then leaves that little bit that no one ever seems to finally finish off? I feel you sisters.

I prefer not to throw out good food. So when the peanut butter is nearly gone, I scrape down the jar with a rubber spatula. And when open cereal gets a little stale, I toast it (remove any raisins or other fruit, etc. during the toasting).

And I make these cereal bars with the last bits of unwanted scraps (with a little supplementing). Actually you can toast the cereal and eat it as cereal if you want, but then I wouldn’t have the excuse to make these.

The family LOVES this recipe. (Just made a batch this morning in fact.) You can mix nuts and other things in too, so this is a basic, bare-bones recipe that is customizable too. And of course you don’t have to use stale cereal.

You don’t have to toast the cereal either, but we do think it tastes better since it soaks up the gooey liquid. The crisper to start the better.

Homemade Cereal Bars

Quick and Easy No-Bake Recipe!

7 cups toasted cereal (oatmeal, corn/bran flakes, granola, crispy rice, oat rings, nearly anything will work)
1 cup dark corn syrup
(for a maple flavor, use pancake syrup or real maple syrup)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate

To toast cereal, spread 2-3 cups in single layer on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes (watch it closely) under broiler. Don’t toast raisins or fruit. (The second batch of cereal toasts much faster than the first, and ovens vary, so watching is key.)

Grease bottom and edges of a 13×18 pan with spray or a finger dipped in grapeseed oil. Combine sugar and corn syrup in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Fold in toasted cereal mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour mix into the greased pan. Use WET hands to press the mix into the pan evenly. Cool at room temperature or stick in the fridge. Cut into bars or tear into bites if you can’t wait. (Pizza cutter works great!) Store in an airtight container.

🙂 You may share my recipe as long as you include my name (Julia M. Chambers) and a link to my blog and/or this post. 🙂

Happy back to school y’all!

Go ahead and click a link below to “share this.” You know you want to! : )

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Filed under Friends and Family, Random Thoughts, Recipes

Tagged as back to school, cereal bars, recipe, snacks

August 4, 2011 · 12:28 am

I’m Not Just Crafty – I’m Handy!

I dropped off the Earth for a bit there. Sorry. There’s only been a little crochet in my life of late, as most of my every day reality has been about working with the home remodeling.

Want to see what I’ve been up to though? I’m really excited – things are coming together for the house!

Oh, and there is a new crochet pattern in the works too. Take a look below! 😀

The New Bath!

Since the last time I posted, we have redone most of the front bath. So new floor, new sink and of course the new toilet I did a couple of months ago. Yes ma’am, I installed the toilet.

Here’s the old front bath. This room used to be the front porch area until it was built in sometime in the late 50’s, early 60’s. Here we have already pulled up most of the old tile. Notice the position of the toilet, which practically sits on the (left) wall you don’t see. No one with long legs could really sit on it. We changed that.

And this is the old antique cast iron sink from the 20’s. It found a new home.

Old Elgin tub faucets. These have to go. Still working on this one.

Phone photos can be quite handy when you’re measuring and asking for help at Home Depot. Let me tell you!

There was some old water damage around the toilet, which we rebuilt and completely fixed.

We decided to keep the quaint old light and mirror. Kind of reminds me of my grandfather. There was a light something like this in his old house when I was little.

Here’s the new floor and we’re getting ready to turn the toilet so it’s not awkward like it was.

Voila! We haven’t finished painting the trim, but here’s the new look!

New Energy Efficient Windows!

We had those old wood double hung windows in here and even with an extra layer of (old) storm windows over those, it really just wasn’t very energy-efficient. Not to mention we needed to change some of the framing so we can finish painting the trim outside.

Our new windows are so pretty, and we definitely notice a positive difference in the room temperature, in spite of the 107 degree weather outside! Also, the new screens really don’t hinder the view at all. Can you tell there are screens on these windows? Oh yes, and there’s my baby grand.

The New Carpet!

We started ripping up the old carpet. It was state of the art once upon a time with its textured look, but not today. We started with replacing the kids room and the hallway carpet, as it was in the greatest need of replacement. The living and bedroom will get done later since I received quotes for $300-$1000+ just to move my antique baby grand piano to another room temporarily and back for the carpeting project. It’s cheaper to move it across town! $:\$ The carpet company says the type we chose will be available at least through the end of the year, so we’ll plan on replacing the rest when we close and the piano actually moves out for good.

That’s the old original wood plank floor underneath.

The kids room – only the pad is in here and it already looks so much better!

When the guys put the furniture back, I asked them to turn the kids’ bed for me. It looks so much better. Our son asked to just have his mattress on the floor so he wouldn’t have to keep cleaning under his bed while we get the house ready to show. LOL. 🙂 The room has so much more space now. Amazing.

We have new cushy carpet! I never understood why people liked vacuuming until I realized it’s because my old textured carpet didn’t really let me see for sure what I have vacuumed. I can’t believe how quick this was to vacuum. I think I must have vacuumed the same spots over and over with the old carpet. Who knew that new carpet might save you time?

Some Scratched Floor Patching!

I’m amazed at the amount of people who have recently come into my house and told me how much they like the distressed floors. 😕 The white washing has worn down. I’ve even been told not to do anything to it. However, I decided to see if I could touch it up a bit. Here are photos of my test patch on one of the most distressed spots, next to the front door.

This is the after patching photo of the same spot as the other photo, turned the right way. I just touched up the white washing some since everyone keeps telling me not to do much to the floor. This was my test spot to see how it would look.

Somehow my photo was turned during the upload, but these are the hard wood floors in half the house. Lots of distressing in them.

**OK – There’s Some New Crochet!**

My hands only cooperate some of the time right now. But I did manage to work on a new pattern, spurred by a request on Ravelry. She’s testing it for me now. It was more writing than anything, but I think this will be a good project to use in the future to teach a more advanced technique.

Unfortunately, though, my hands are too swollen to crochet right now. 😦

Last Minute Boot Toppers Pattern, designed for a fellow crocheter’s need request. What do you think?

The New Laundry/Pantry Room!

It still needs curtains and a new lighting solution, but my goodness this is a brand new room, looking better than it did when we moved in! Andrea gave me good ideas to continue with too. More photos later as I complete the steps.

My oldest friend Andrea drove down to help me with my laundry/pantry room. We’ve known each other about 33 years. I should have taken a before photo of the room, but didn’t think to. We were so busy and Andrea is really good at keeping us on track. Teaching middle school probably helps!

I also didn’t think to get a photo of us together. 😦 Which is sad, because we haven’t been able to spend time together in a while. And I like memories of things I actively do with others in life. Those kind of photos show the stories better than a posed one at a restaurant or something.

It’s easy to be so overwhelmed in your own home and her help was one of the best gifts anyone ever has given me. She helped me paint, organize and think about things in new ways.

I plan to write more about the organizing experience in detail. I learned a lot from Andrea. Thanks so much girl!

My hair is so full of paint spatters though. My kids say I look really old now. I always talk about earning my grey hairs and I certainly earned these! LOL

So all in all, it’s been a very busy and intense couple of weeks, but very satisfying! It’s like eye candy – so much accomplishment that I can finally really see the difference.

There are always those things in life that you work your butt off doing, but don’t always get to enjoy the evidence of. Like laundry and dishes which are never, ever completely finished. They are always there to be done. Which sometimes lends to the dissatisfying feeling that they are somehow thankless jobs with little proof of value.

Well until no one does them, that is.

But there’s nothing like the tangible ability to sit back, admire something, show it off and be able to say “Hey – I DID THAT!” 😉

Hope your last couple of weeks has been great too!
Check ya later and stay cool my friends!

Go ahead and click a link below to “share this.” You know you want to! : )

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Filed under Artist Information & Notes, Crochet Patterns, Friends and Family, Random Thoughts

Tagged as bathroom, boot toppers, carpet, crochet, organizing, remodeling

July 10, 2011 · 11:25 pm

Thirsty In Texas: Finally Rain!

We finally got a real rain yesterday. Not just a sprinkle or a drizzle, but actual rain. It only lasted about for 5 minutes, but it was real and a delight!
(For those who don’t know, we’ve been in a terrible drought for months.)

YAY! RAIN!

This umbrella hasn't been washed in forever!

Wonder how much rain this could collect?

She loves going out in the rain. She also loves her fedora. Hence, a hoodie over the fedora with an umbrella makes sense.

A blue image creeps down the sidewalk as its sister looks on in amusement.

With a snicker, our son dons a beach towel and grabs his Nerf cannon.

I just thought this was a cool unusual shot. The color contrast is fun!

Cannon fired! Wait, the rain's stopping?

Wait! Where'd the rain go? "That's not fair!"

Where is the rain?

Rain is gone, but she's pointing out that there are some beautiful clouds to look at.

See the contrast between the grass and the trees? The trees are green on our street because we live between two creeks with deep underground feeds. Some of the trees in this area are up to 900 years old, so I’m sure they will survive. But it has been a long drought and wild fires are eating Texas and New Mexico alive. A disaster few are talking about.

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July 10, 2011 · 10:27 am

Dear Diary: It’s An Aberrant Life – July 10, 2011

I wish I had something really interesting and well researched ready to go for a post this weekend. But I don’t. I do have some posts in the works, but they are not ready yet. It’s been a long week, that was at the same time too short. I’m tired AND I didn’t get enough done, dagnabit. (How do you spell that anyway?)

SO how did this week go? Well, though I got a lot done, less was physically about getting closer to moving and more was about catch up on regular chores and paperwork and such. Which always leaves me dis-satisfied. Chores never stay done. Neither does paperwork it seems.

Dear daughter had her 14th birthday on July 4th. We got together with family and friends to celebrate our nation’s and our daughter’s births, as always. Sunday before I met with my fellow crocheter from NY, Maven who happened to be in Austin visiting family. We’ve chatted with each other for a couple years now online and we finally met in person over coffee. That was very enjoyable. Saturday before that we spent time with extended family for a baby’s 1st birthday. So the weekend was lots of family and friends with packing and demolition interspersed.

For those new here, we’ve been in the process of getting the house on the market this summer. I update about our process occasionally and will be writing about our experiences. We want to sell our two-bedroom home of 15 years even though we’re supposedly in a real estate slump. They say it will be very difficult, we’ll see if we can beat the pattern anyway.

Tuesday I was a domestic goddess of power, accomplishing a weeks worth of catch up in mere hours. Wednesday I was a handicapped dial-up modem as punishment, complete with blue screen moments. There’s always a sacrifice, isn’t there? What happened to my super-woman youth? Oh yeah. Lost her in college. Why on earth didn’t someone tell me that it was not physically possible to hold down four jobs and 18 credits without breaking. Until the day I woke up and couldn’t get up. Not sure I would have listened back then. At that time, it seemed the only way to make it. Now I know better to appreciate my limitations and work with them, not against. And to sleep. That is a story for another time though.

The kids were incredibly helpful too, especially dear daughter. I wrote out a huge list of items that needed attention, cut them out and created a job jar with some old party favor balls we bought one year. We each drew two at a time and tackled them until dinner. Family teamwork is awesome when there’s no homework. I love summer.

During the kids’ piano lessons, I worked on another crochet shape for this square vintage pin I have. I think I like this shape better for it.

Thursday I had to tackle repairing the upright piano again. The kids can’t practice if the keys don’t work. 😦 The action had come apart on another key and while I was in there I found I needed to re-repair one I did a few months ago. I guess Liquid Nails is not that great on an old piano, because it did not stay glued. So I went with classic wood glue this time. Back together again. Back to working. I tried to see if there was any way I could fix the baby grand too, but it appears a hammer broke off and fell deep into its bowels. After taking everything apart that I could right here in my living room, it became obvious to me that the only way to fix the permanent sustain (a broken hammer piece is keeping the sustain engaged full-time) is to pull the harp, or pick up the piano and shake it and see if it will fall out, whatever is more likely possible. 😉 So back together it went and will have to wait until after we move, hopefully soon. Oh and if you didn’t catch on, I’m talking about two different pianos. Yes, I have an upright and a baby grand in my two-bedroom house. I did have a drum set too, but it’s packed now. The guitars aren’t though.

Friday was put the house back together and have family for dinner day. Hubby fixed his most excellent smoked salmon served with brie and yummy rye. So very yummy!

Saturday hubby worked on his closets while I worked in the garage. We need to replace carpet in at least two rooms. Whether we replace with more carpet, or go with the old original wood floor, we need to move furniture out of the rooms to do it.

After working out in the garage for the afternoon yesterday, I had a touch of heat exhaustion to deal with in spite of drinking a lot of water and wrapping my head in a Chilly Pad. Wondrous things those, btw. There is nothing like Central Texas heat to make mush of your body and brain. Having the experience has made me think on writing an article about dehydration and heat exhaustion. I wasn’t exactly very educated on these things as a kid and thank god to know better now.

Today, I’m trying to piggy-back off yesterday. Trying to complete the tasks we began yesterday and get ready for our daughter’s week of National Ocean Science Bowl meetings. And new contractors with new quotes. Hopefully more timely than the last.

My week in review. Ending the day with Tai Wraps and about 5 minutes of rain (finally). It was a celebration. I’ll have to post some photos tomorrow.

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July 1, 2011 · 8:42 am

Cro-pocalypse: The Rise of Crochet

When the subject of crochet comes up, and I begin to talk, it’s like a door opening to sunshine and happiness. Or sometimes, a door to a fascinating volcanic firestorm. (Gee, what does that look like anyway?) And people always comment, “Wow, I never realized ____, and you’re so passionate about crochet!” Usually there’s a new spark in their eyes, a little like the one in mine.

And I know I have accomplished my goal: Infection.

That’s what I call it. It’s a term I coined in speech class and later applied to marketing on a shoe-string for charities. It’s always been my secret weapon, something I’m really good at. But all contagions have to start somewhere.

Before I can do my thing… I have to care.

How did two people start with $0, no budget and create a charity event that drew thousands of children from 10 cities, live news coverage, local celebrity appearances, and get a community together for the cause? Even surprised the crud out of me?

Infection.

You take your vision, your passion and believe in it so much, know how to communicate effectively and show everyone, from the inside out, their own reason to be excited too.

Infection can be evil, or it can be good. I propose we have a lot to learn from viruses. I propose that Joy is just as easy to spread as Hate, but your heart has to be in it if you are to become a Source.

Me? So far my talent for infection has largely been used to help charities. And I’m excited if after our conversation someone is more likely to pick up a hook or consider crochet in a new light or be even able to tell the difference between crochet and knit or even weaving. I’m especially excited when I have demystified something. It’s been a little while since I’ve actively infected someone.

Not to sound too much like Dr. Evil or anything….

I think it’s time to set my sights on new goals and higher aspirations in crochet as an art form. It is time to infect the internet and the world with global domination of the versatility, practicality and coolness of crochet. I seek a cro-pocalypse. A veritable domain of the hook, with zombie-like contagion and cult indoctrination – only without the blood, flesh craving and Kool-aid.

But let’s leave the Borg mentality out of it. Crochet thrives best on flavors of individuality. It is after all derived from a single, lone hook. (Though I’m not against experimenting with two!)

It’s time fellow crocheters. Whatever it is in crochet that you love to do. Whatever part of the large crochet umbrella you specialize in… fill your soul and infect your world! 😉

Go ahead and click a link below to “share this.” You know you want to! : )

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:

12 Brilliant Ways To Create More Time To Crochet!

Help Me Travel The World To Study Hands And Crochet Hooks!

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Filed under Artist Information & Notes, crochet, Crochet Community, Inspiration, Random Thoughts

Tagged as craft, Cro-pocalypse, crochet, Cropocalypse, global domination, hook, infection

June 7, 2011 · 12:34 pm

Maybe I Will Change The Blog SetUp…

I have a dilemma. I like to write. I like to crochet. I like to write about crochet too. But I don’t just want to write about crochet. I have created several blogs in trying to allow for all my outlets/subjects. It’s not working. It’s a pain. Not to mention less effective for SEO. What I want is a single blog with two columns. One running the latest blog entries from my crochet world. One for the latest entries from anything else I feel like writing about, whether family or volunteering or just whatever. And I don’t want to use tabs to do it. In my experience, if it’s not an article plainly displayed on the front page, people don’t generally click around to look at it. Only about 1 in 150 visitors ever click on one of my other tabbed pages on this site. My post about spider webs gets better results than the tabs do! So the way I see it, the best optimization is to keep a running commentary on the front page where the majority of the hits will land. Two live columns running different subjects at the same time. (sigh) I’ve been reading everything I can find this morning, until my eyes feel crossed now. Ugh. Time to stop.

So how to do this? I’m still trying to figure that out. I know how to program it into FrontPage for a regular website. (Yes, I know FrontPage is old, but it’s what I have.) I don’t know if it’s possible in WordPress and I’m not in an educated space to re-write CSS, yet. I’m playing around with ideas, thinking maybe using an RSS feed in the side bar widget is the way to go. But not sure if I like the results yet. So the site will be evolving a bit as I have time. Having some thumbnail photos is important. Having a variety of content is important too. For now, you’ll notice an RSS feed for one of my other blogs in the side bar. I’m not sure if I’ll keep it or not, but will let it be for now. Maybe see if it results in anything quantifiable.

Mind you, I’m supposed to be packing for the move today. Right now. My world should be packing boxville. But I need a break. I need an outlet besides hands and knees sorting. Good Knight! I had no idea I had that many books! Or that much yarn! I thought the 180+ skeins I’m going to sell off cheap was about 1/3 of my yarn stash. It is not. Try more like 1/5. And I’m not even counting what I donated. Me and my short-term memory forgot I stored some things already. But in spite of all this craziness with moving and repairing and painting and real estate research… I need to know that my website and writing are going to be OK. I need to keep my toes cool in the pool of handmade reality. I can’t afford to forget and lose momentum in a field I’ve worked hard in, just because I need to move to a new home and it won’t be as easy as I hoped. I need to keep at least one toe in each reality operating in my life. Deadlines for the winter show season are already being laid and even though the holidays are far away to everyone else, for those of us in the handmade world, it’s time to make final decisions and solidify plans and commit $$ to table fees banking on shows months away from now. I’ve put in application to both Heartsy and Quite Unique, hoping to help thin my inventory down so it does not have to be packed up in a hot warehouse for the summer, potentially ruining my product. But they are both currently behind on applications. And I’ve already donated more than I should for business. Which means I can’t pack or sell the majority of my product right now and I still have to be concerned with the appearance of my websites and yada, yada. Bah! Too much! I need to use my outlets to stay sane. That is after all how I got started in them. I am a much nicer person when I get to write, or crochet, or play my piano, or beat on my drums. Much nicer. More patient. I smile more. Or frown less as the case may be. My son keeps saying I need to hug my Ugly Dog more. Perhaps I need to listen.

Crochet is necessarily mostly packed up, so that isn’t really a satisfying outlet right now. And I need writing to be easy. I need to write about more than just my crochet news or research. I am bored with the same things all the time – I want something different.

So we’ll see. As it is, I know just enough about how to do some coding, but not enough to keep from being dangerous and screwing it all up. Sometimes I just want to take a hands-on class, but without all the homework, ulcers over grades and late night studying. Understanding better what I’m doing would save me time in life. But keeping up with technology can be a full time job in and of itself.

Then I have to evaluate whether it’s all worth it or not. Part of me says I need to be careful about investing time too heavily into the virtual world. Virtual time spent is not time spent with my kids, my friends, I’m not even sure arguably that much time spent with my customers. The energy invested into it cannot really be inherited by my kids when I die. If the virtual world disappeared tomorrow, what would there be to show or prove for all the work? After all, the only reason why it exists is because we say it does. We give it permission to. We give it importance, value and existence it would not otherwise have and honestly doesn’t have to a majority of folks who don’t know it or aren’t interested.

Well, there I go getting philosophical again. But after all, life is shifting. It’s time to think on evolution and the merits of what we’ve gained so far. Is it really all that?

Well, OK. Time to get back to laundry and boxville and a nice dose of paperwork after that.

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November 9, 2010 · 8:33 am

How Big Is Your Heart?

I wonder? How generous are people – really?

Thanksgiving is coming up. A national time of gratitude and appreciation. And football and celebration I guess. But the foundational part of what Thanksgiving is supposedly about, is gratitude for generosity. It’s always odd to me that most seem to give to charities at Christmas but not so much at Thanksgiving.

Just how generous are people anymore?

I remember being struck once on a discussion board about the death of a father to six children a couple years ago. Upon hearing the news, many of us came together to see what we could do for his widow and children. Someone volunteered to set up an account for them at a bank, someone volunteered to coordinate meals, someone volunteered to see if they could fix her car. I knew this family had already been struggling financially before the accident as the father had lost his job. I remembered how hard it was for me alone with two children while my husband was deployed and due to a paperwork mix-up, he wasn’t paid for 3 months. I could not imagine having no promise of income, 6 children to care for, grieving, having to get through the legalities and discovering the youngest had a brain tumor.

All of the legal processes that suddenly engage upon a death were not only overwhelming to the family, but taking so long. The widow needed money now. Her children needed food now. None of us were without financial worry of our own. We all saw our worst nightmare in her circumstances.

Then, in the flurry of the majority of us organizing ideas we could help with, someone objected.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “We all care for her, but isn’t this gaming the system? There are programs for this. And if she doesn’t qualify, there’s a good reason for it. I’m barely making it myself. I’m sorry her husband died and all, but why should she get this treatment?”

Yes, I suppose there are programs and case workers. I don’t know what all happened as far as these processes are concerned. But I do know that this mother had to wait months for “official” help. I know that what we were doing was all she had to rely on for awhile. I couldn’t have considered otherwise when it came to pouring from my heart, but especially since having a glimpse of her reality myself.

When I went through those 3 months without pay while my husband was deployed, there was no help for me and my children. The law protected our credit, but it did not feed us or keep us watered and warm. There were no programs in place to help when a reservist doesn’t get paid due to a computer/paperwork glitch that only high ranking personnel can fix and the chain of command isn’t even in your state. The many calls I made to people who just said, I don’t know what it’d be for the guard. No business could ever get away with that. And you learn real quick who your friends really are.

I only have two children and had a promise of someday the problem being fixed and the pay coming through. That was an awful experience. I could not imagine being in her shoes. So of course I could never consider not sharing.

Are we generous? Do we hold back in fear because we see that we’re struggling too? Do we wait for someone else to do it? Someone “rich?” Someone “official?” So we don’t have to embrace it, see the struggles of others on a personal level ourselves?

Do we only give for the tax write off? Do we only give because someone will know if we don’t? Do we give to see someone’s smile? Or can we give graciously and anonymously?

When we give, do we hedge and hesitate? Do we do so with conditions?

Do we give our old clothes and expect that that’s enough for our good deeds of the year? Do we only give what we don’t want?

Do we give time and never our money? Or do we give money and never our time?

Are we generous with supplying pleasant memories? Are we generous with our compliments and praises? Or is that saved only for our criticisms and judgments?

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June 4, 2010 · 11:03 pm

Historical Perspective on Crochet….?

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately via pre-1950′s books on philosophy. Anyway, I came across a book from one the WWI periods that had a statement explaining that to comply with limitations on materials because of the war, they had changed certain things about the paper and materials they used to make the book, etc.. Essentially they were apologizing for cutting back and then trying to show how it was better because it’d be more efficient and save materials. I had heard of food and metal cutbacks and even something about hosiery. But materials used in book making? That was something I hadn’t heard about. It gave me a new perspective on how we see books published today and hit upon something I remember Grandma saying about fabrics too.

When it comes to crochet and lack of good patterns at times over the last 100 years, perhaps the world wars affected patterns and materials in ways we aren’t really aware of today? I know that old examples of fabric my grandma had were exquisite. Then came fabrics later that were not as good of quality. It’s not an exclusive reality necessarily, but elements are there. Perhaps business decisions made decades ago continue to lay a framework for our experiences today. There’s also the consideration that women began working in the industrial age more as their men went off to war. That surely affected the patterns that were published and the materials that were available to work with or even the materials people could afford.

I don’t know. I by far do not have enough information to really have a full theory on this, but these elements have given me another possible point of view I hadn’t thought of previously.

The Great Depression also had an impact of course. My hubby reminded me that there were caps placed on how much something new was allowed to cost etc., but no caps for how much something used could cost. So it caused a change in how much was able to be produced too. Also, as women poured into the work force with WWII, they stayed there. Even after the war was over, many weren’t about to give up the new independence they felt. And then others felt it was the only way to make ends meet and give their kids a better life. Gen-Xers are well known to be the latch-key generation, with moms at work. Women have traditionally been the home experts on all the “crafts,” but while moms went to work, they purchased clothing more than they made it.

I don’t know. I think there’s an interesting story of evolution here.

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March 8, 2010 · 11:12 pm

Maintaining the Spiritual Status Quo…

Everything about this physical life is connected to the spiritual. That’s what being Here is all about. That’s why we incarnate Here. To be blessed by what we learn and overcome on this very dense plane of existence – to benefit our Souls. There is not, as some would prefer to believe, a separation between the two facets. It is yin/yang in teamwork and action.

Life is about the overcoming. This does not mean that Life is not about Joy too. But we came here to to this greatest school of all to get something out of this existence. Easy wasn’t part of the picture. Like all things physical, it takes testing and trial to bring growth and expansion. Smooth sailing is not necessarily desirable to grow.

If anything, I hope for others to see that it’s not that different from working out at the gym. Most people today can begin to see that in spite of how physically uncomfortable it might be in the moment, stressing our bodies in a proper workout can be very beneficial. As we push our body limits so they grow, our bodies become healthier and stronger. Our mental and emotional attitudes also improve as a result. Our abilities to multi-task expand. And as we commit ourselves to the ritual of challenge and overcoming, we find that we really do often enjoy it. And yet if we neglect this need, we miss it. And yet, at the other extreme, life is not supposed to be the gym either.

Life, and the Spiritual aspects of our Soul, in and of themselves are not much different. We basically take adversity and turn it into joy and triumph. We take a lower vibration and learn to transmute it into something higher. We take a negative experience and learn to create something positive from it. It is our purpose. To create. And to learn from, and improve upon, that act. The entire process of the world around us reflects this truth. And Nature wholeheartedly embraces it.

Healthy living involves challenge on all levels. And then celebration of that triumph.

No where in Nature or Spirit is atrophy desirable.