Spring Tea Party

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Today was a beautiful day.

Jeff helped me get the kids ready and out the door so I could finish preparing the house for guests. He helped me move the table and chairs and then I was ready for the finishing touches. I love when the house is decluttered and organized and beautiful.

I love for the house to feel warm and cozy. I lit candles and baked everyone’s favorite cinnamon coffee cake so the whole house would smell inviting.

If you want the recipe, here it is:

I know, so fancy and formal, right? I like to keep things simple and delicious!

Marcia brought over beautiful, bright yellow tulips and I got to bring out my new Delft blue vase that Jeff bought me before we moved. I absolutely adore this.

Thank you Marcia for the gorgeous flowers and for thinking of me!! I love tulips.

Everyone brought something to share and Elizabeth brought her little ones who made everyone smile. I love babies! We all had a great morning chatting and just being together.

Can’t wait to do this again next year!

Dutch themed party today made me feel connected to my warm and loving Dutch friends. Miss you still girls!! Life is good!

10Mar2014

40 Bags in 40 Days

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Lent began this month, which is the 40 day countdown until Easter arrives. Typically Christians will give up something, practice kindnesses or practice mindfulness in different ways. It’s a time to slow down and reflect on our lives and to be aware of the sacrifices that Jesus made. When we act in this way, it helps us to connect to our Christian faith and to live out our values. I am sure this is typical to other religions that encourages followers to spend time being mindful or fasting and being present to honor their faith.

I’ve chosen to follow along the 40 bags in 40 days idea that someone shared, which so nicely coincided with Lent. Basically I am trying to fill a bag everyday of stuff and clutter that we don’t need and to create space. Typically I don’t want to take the time to declutter because it takes time and can be overwhelming. However, while I’m being mindful and looking for a way to organize my house and to create decluttered space, this challenge is just right for me and is something I am enjoying doing everyday.

Today I worked in the kids’ bathroom and emptied out all the empty or nearly empty bottles and cleaned up their space. It looks so much nicer now and actually makes me happy when I walk into their space. Clutter makes me crazy, but I’m also lazy so sometimes I just look over and around it, when in reality, I think it took me 10 minutes to finish this little project.

Last week I emptied out our silverware drawer that collects everything imaginable from straws to plastic spoons and knives and disposable chopsticks to a gazillion serving spoons and forks that I don’t need. I spent 15 minutes emptying it out and repurposing it and now every day when I open the organized drawer and can find what I need without the chaos of moving 25 other pieces, I smile. I’ve created space and I love the new look and will not be embarassed when a friend opens the drawer.

I’m liking this project and am thankful that I’m taking the time each day to declutter. There are lists you can create to help manage this project, but for me, I’m just flowing through the house and working through where the need arises each day. I have a couple ideas for tomorrow and the next day.

Want to join along? Here is a link to the challenge:

http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-2014/

9Mar2014

Happiest Losers

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I love team sports and being on a team.

Today my tennis team played in the sectional championships in Fresno and we lost.

We had a great season, laughed a lot, played lots of tennis and enjoyed learning and playing together.

We are the happiest losers you’ve ever met!

At least we got a receipt in the form of another tee shirt!

The three hour ride home went quickly as we carpooled and chatted all the way.

Life is good and I am happy to be home with my family again after a great weekend away with girlfriends, even if we lost! xo

8Mar2014

California Sunshine

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Today Cami and Corby posted that the sun was shining in Amsterdam and everyone was out enjoying the nice weather in March. Because the sun doesn’t shine as often as most would like, when it does shine, it’s a big deal and people don’t want to miss it. They want to be outside and enjoy the gift while it lasts. There is a scarcity to the sunshine and thus the value seems much higher or maybe more appreciated to those in Amsterdam than to those in California where the sun shines almost daily.

Having lived in Holland, I now really appreciate the sunshine we receive and I’m grateful. For example, this morning I went outside at 7am to get the newspaper and the sun was rising. I took a moment to feel it’s warmth on my face and stretched before heading back inside.

Jeff and I went for a walk around the block, with our 2nd cup of coffee after Charlie’s basketball game, and enjoyed the sunshine again before heading back indoors. I noticed the tulips blooming in the neighbors yard and smelled the blossoms on the trees.

Spring is in the air.

In fact, tonight is daylight savings and we spring the clocks forward to gain an extra hour of sunlight. I am ecstatic! I love the long days of spring and summer and feel so much happier in the light. I don’t mind losing an hour of sleep and look forward to the longer, warmer days.

Life is good!

California girl in her flip flops on her Dutch bike after riding home from Starbucks.

7Mar2014

California Education

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I like to celebrate what’s good and there’s a lot of good in this world.

Check out this 9 year old and 7 year old collaborating and working together on Charlie’s science fair project.

He’s conducting an experiment and collecting his data both on a paper chart and on a google document that he can easily print and share with his teacher.

Were you working like this in 4th grade?? I don’t think I was and I find this pretty amazing!

Thank you to all the teachers and volunteers who are teaching and leading our kids. You are appreciated!

6Mar2014

JoySpace

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Everyone is so busy. We don’t have time because we are busy. Really?

I don’t buy that. We create our own busyness and put up our own boundaries and definitions. Pa-lease! We are not really THAT busy. Yes, we are busy. But… there is always a but.

We create our own frameworks and our own ways of thinking. No one is really that busy that we don’t have time for joy. Think about it. Maybe the President is busy, but he still finds time to get to Hawaii, or to play with his dogs and kids. We’re not that busy. We’re just pretending to be and feeling really important.

What if we change our minds?

I was thinking about this today. I was thinking about how we think and what we tell ourselves when we are alone.

What does your self talk sound like? Are you positively talking to yourself? Are you happy when you’re thinking? Are you thinking about finding and discovering joy in the little moments and minutes in between your busyness? Do you give yourself permission?

I do. I believe in the pursuit of happiness and being happy just because we can. Every day, even when we’re busy or sick or tired. I think like that. Yes, I’m weird, but I’m pretty happy too because I choose to and want to be happy despite the chaos and craziness and imperfections of life. I want to fill in the cracks with joyspace. Yep, that’s what I’m calling it. I don’t know if it’s a word, but now it is. It’s mine and yours and we need to fill our joyspace in between our busy moments. It’s easy. You just have to be aware and to think about wanting to create and find joy when you have a little minute and then you surprisingly will. Trust me. It works. And it’s contagious. 🙂

I’ll share a few of my little moments of joyspace today while I was “so” busy.

I was shopping at Ranch 99 for stuff to make an Indonesian dinner tonight and this store is so fascinating. Look at the strange crackers I found…

These crab crackers were in the snack aisle…eeewe! But they made me ponder and think how different we all are – from foods, to the way we spend our time, to the way we think and worship and play and all that good stuff. I couldn’t believe this was considered something yummy, but we all have different tastes and I found joy in appreciating this crab concept.

I also noticed the music that was playing while I was shopping. It wasn’t what you would typically hear in MUSAK – it was Chinese music and it was fitting and noticeably different and made me smile while I was shopping and weaving in and out of traffic… it’s very crowded in there!

When I came home with my groceries, I noticed all the different flowers blooming in my yard and felt the presence of spring!

It’s quickly approaching and made me smile.

Don’t forget to spring your clocks forward on Sunday!

First rose bud has bloomed.

I can’t wait for longer hours of sunshine to fill more joyspace. I loved noticing the changes in the garden.

I chose today to cook a fun and messy dinner and to not worry or rush into doing the dishes.

Indonesian/ Chinese dinner just because…

The dishes are still sitting on the table, but I’ll get to them before I go to bed. Instead I filled the time helping Charlie with his math homework and laughing with Jeff at the dinner table with the kids. We made time for each other, even though we’re “so” busy. Everyone has time for 15 minutes together, even if we don’t think so.

So those are just some of the ways I found and created joys in between the busyness and chaos of life. It’s all how we look at it and choose to make time for joy.

How did you make time for joy today? What did your joyspace look like? I’m curious.

Wishing you peace and joy amidst your busyness! Namaste.

5Mar2014

Work Gives You Purpose

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Everyone wants to be industrious. It creates happiness, and gives our life purpose at every age.

The 5th graders are at science camp this week, which leaves their school jobs vacant. Some of the fourth graders decided to ask the principal how they could help. She is so brilliant and I just love her. She found something for those who asked. Who knew she could create such excitement? You would have thought she told the kids they could go to Disneyland.

Charlie came home yesterday and had something very important to ask me. He couldn’t wait for me to get off the phone with my sister, and kept interrupting me. Of course, I’m still trying to teach him patience and respect, and I (meanly) asked him to wait until I was done with my conversation. He obliged and as soon as I hung up he told me his plan.

He had to be at school today by 8:05 am at the latest because he had an important job to do and he had to be on time for his training. He was going to be the school crossing guard and he took his job very seriously. He was so excited and the energy that was coming out of his body was bouncing off the walls, “entertaining” us all. He insisted that we wake him up early and he was the one asking me if I was ready to go way before it was time this morning. I LOVED his enthusiasm.

We were the first of the four students to arrive. He picked out his vest and sign and was ready to report for duty. This is a very serious job and there is a bit of a danger component that made it even more important. I was very proud of his work effort and how he focused on learning the new procedures and executed his role with confidence. I loved watching the kids work with the principal, and I loved being in the group of moms standing on the sidewalk observing and being proud.

All the kids really were truly happy serving and being helpful. This made me realize how important it is for all of us to feel needed and purposeful. He can’t wait to go back to school early again tomorrow and serve again.

Be purposeful.

Be of service.

And you will find happiness. Just like Charlie.

4Mar2014

Santana Row

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I love this place because it’s beautiful, well maintained and aesthetically pleasing. It’s fun just to walk down the street and to admire the plants, displays, fancy cars and fancy people. I love looking in the windows of the shops and to admire all the creativity and beauty.

Here are a few things that caught my eye today and made me smile.

This reminded me of our trip to Turkey. I love the detail and light reflecting on the wall. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Pretty pink potted flowers.

This whimsical elephant in Anthropologie made me smile and stare for awhile.

I am in love with succulents right now, especially wall art succulents like Wendy made for her backyard. These are hanging inside the Splendid store.

3Mar2014

Rain Moments

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Writing every day helps me to live in the moment and to be truly present. I am conscious of the fact that I wish to have something to share by the end of the day, which will hopefully be meaningful and perhaps might inspire others. That is my daily goal. And so I pay attention to the moments that come and go and think about what might be interesting to share.

I still believe in living it up and enjoying the days despite the chaos and craziness that life delivers now that we are back to a more normal routine and I actively seek the pursuit of happiness. Daily. We all can do this and it feels so good!

One of our family mottos is to work first, and then play. Sometimes we work and play, but we work hard as a team, and we work together so that we all can experience joy and do what we want to do. It works for us and there is a lot of gratitude between us.

Today we worked together after school, getting snacks, cleaning up, and taking care of appointments. On the way home, we stopped to play, spontaneously before the rain started to fall.

There are tennis courts near our house and Juliana wanted to work on her serve and Charlie wanted to practice hitting. Luckily all our tennis gear was in the car and UGG boots aren’t too bad for a coach! :-). I fed her balls and gave her little tips and watched and enjoyed seeing her listen and apply the little tweaks to improve her serve and get it in the court successfully.

Charlie was digging the balls and returning them back over the net too.

The rain started to fall shortly after we started, but we didn’t let it stop us. We played on as we learned in Holland that a little rain doesn’t make you melt!! My straightened hair got a little frizzy, but it was worth it for the spontenaity and fun!

We got home in time for dinner and a little more homework before the next events of the evening.

Charlie and I were playing in the car, watching and listening to the rain, while we had ten minutes to wait before his basketball practice. I love his little profile and got to enjoy him, even though I’m so tired from him waking me up at 2:30 am this morning wanting to sleep in my bed!! Can’t wait for bed time tonight. I’m exhausted.

So my take away to share today is even if you’re wearing your grouchy pants like me, there are still ways to squeeze in little unexpected moments of joy and happiness if you choose to change your mind and allow yourself to feel joy in between the cracks of exhaustion and frustration.

Namaste.

How did you create happiness today?

2Mar2014

The Little Princess

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Juliana and I had a double date to the theater with ML and J to see The Little Princess at the community theater. I loved this for several reasons.

First, it brought back memories of when Juliana performed in Annie with her friend Rain. Rain was a mentor to Juliana and inspired her to perform. I loved that Juliana loved performing and practicing night after night and loved seeing her on stage. I also loved that she admired and loved Rain so much. I think it’s important for girls and women to admire and look up to other women.

Rain’s grandmother was the producer of the show and was the producer of the performance today as well. It was great to see her again too. She has a beautiful, sweet soul that shines and she was so happy to see Juliana. She told Juliana of an upcoming performance and I’m hoping that she’ll choose to tryout again. I love the theater and seeing the kids perform, sharing their talents.

I love sharing the arts with my kids too. Juliana and I got dressed up and brought flowers to give to our friends who were performing. We got to sit up close to center stage with our friends and enjoyed the show. I was in awe by the lead cast member who was only in 4th grade. She was so talented and poised and confident, with great timing!

The last thing I loved about the show was the story line. Kindness and grace and imagination helped the Little Princess deal with adversity and anger. It’s the little things in life…

Loved the day with my little princess… how was your day?