Monthly Archives: December 2015

Christmas Cards

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I still love the Christmas and Holiday card sharing tradition, even though we have social media and instant updates.  Do you?

Do you send cards? Do you enjoy receiving cards? I do. I do.

I absolutely love this tradition and love it even more now that Juliana has been helping me. We have a Google Doc that we update every year keeping our addresses current and I love how organized the process has become. She likes to hand write the addresses and stuffs the cards inside the envelopes for me. She keeps them in alphabetical order and has them ready for me to see and touch, stamp and seal.

As I touch each card, I spend a moment thinking of the person or family that the card is going to and reflect on our relationship and connection and say a prayer for them. It’s a little sacred moment that I truly enjoy.

Thank you for your cards, thoughts and well wishes – whether digitally or physically. I love the anticipation of waiting for the cards to arrive each day and seeing and opening your cards. The kids know how much I love this and even though they want to open them, they wait for me to do it and watch. We hang them up on our kitchen wall so that we can all enjoy the lovely faces and friendships and recall stories of how we know one another.  I love seeing how families grow up and change so magically from year to year.

Wishing you love and light and a Merry Christmas in only 5 more days.

nAMaste

 

Celebrating Winter Break

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Today I enjoyed family time at the ice skating rink, celebrating the holidays with friends and family. Thanks to K&B for hosting all of us.

Today was good.

I was also thankful that my family helped me wrap all the presents today and we were done within 2 hours. This was a huge change from years gone by and they took the stress away. This made me very happy!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

nAMaste

Surprise Visit

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My friends from Holland happened to be in the Bay Area this week. I knew they were in town through our kids, as they were sending each other snap chat stories, Instagram updates and iMessage texts. I love social media and how it makes our world a little more connected and smaller after all. 

I was busy working when I received a Facebook Messenger notification from their mama, telling me she was at the Winchester  Mysyery House, 15 minutes away. I knew I had to see her somehow.

They decided to pop in to our house for a quick hug and cup of coffee before continuing on with their vacation. 

I was so happy to see them here in my space and to hear what they liked about an American house, just like the movies! They liked the squirrel running across the backyard fence and noticed the basketball hoop in the driveway. They liked seeing the garbage truck drive by and our little row houses in the neighborhood.

I just loved having them sit on my couch, near the Christmas tree and sharing stories and laughter once again. It felt just like it did back in Holland and was a gezellig little visit, just much too short.

I hope we get to see them again before they head back home. The kids were so sad to not be home for their quick visit.

Thank you Jessurun’s for taking the time to stop by! We miss your family and you made my day. Hope you enjoy the rest of your journey around the West Coast.

nAMaste 

Three Wise Friends

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I had three friends come to my door unexpectedly yesterday and today and I was so happy to see them. 

They didn’t stay for long, but just popped in to say hello, as they were passing by.

Their presence was such a BIG gift to me and I was pleasantly surprised and thankful to see their faces.

My life has been in transition as I am working more and socializing and volunteering less. I miss the simple joys of friendship and conversation, even as I’m thankful for the path I’m currently on.  Seeing them at my door was so nice.

Pat brought me a Christmas gift, which was an artistic, sunshine happiness journal and a beautiful ornament, just because she said it had my name all over it.  Thank you for my thoughtful gift and for thinking of me, Miss Pat, and thank you for your friendship. 

   
 
I will enjoy making my book of 101 rays of sunshine.  

What made you happy today? 

nAMaste

What Happens When You Stop?

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  Maybe if you stop moving and doing what you’re doing, you’ll feel deflated like this sad looking Santa Clause.
I didn’t like seeing Santa face down on the grass, defeated and unplugged and I don’t want to feel like him either, during this busy finals and holiday season.

So I’m going to keep breathing and exercising and cooking and moving forward and doing what I’m doing, without complaining. Full speed, ahead! 

When the season is done, then I’ll stop and deflate, but not now.

And you? Are you keeping your spirits up?  Breathe in, breathe out. We’ve got this. 

nAMaste

Imperfectly Imperfect

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Yep. They were imperfect from the very beginning and I didn’t really even want to make them anyway. Can you tell?  They were miscolored, slightly browned, kinda dry and not too sweet. Want one? 

Charlie wanted to make cookies this weekend. We found a recipe and refrigerated the dough for 4++hours, but we didn’t add the peppermint extract, thinking they would be better as sugar cookies.

The first thing that went wrong was that we didn’t have red dye. Neon pinkish purple is a good, secondary option, right?

Next, Charlie didn’t want to follow instructions for rolling them out and used his own methods, that frustrated me as we had thin ones and thick ones on the same tray.

Eventually we got tired with the baking process and started making flat, circle shapes with the left over dough, that were easier and quicker to make.

Charlie eventually walked away and I was left to finish the task and to wash the dishes.  I got the short end of the stick, I think.

He kept coming back to taste samples again and again and seemed to enjoy the final product, claiming he had homework to do. Maybe they’re perfectly imperfect after all. Jeff enjoyed them when he came home from work, but maybe he was just being nice.

Thank you to all who bake during the holiday season and share your treats. I have such respect for you!

nAMaste

New Driver

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This was weird. Today my son and my husband happened to be driving next to Juliana and I, as Christian wanted more driving practice (Juliana snapped this picture.) Having him right next to me, yet in another car was strange.

I’m excited for him to be practicing and knowing that he’ll soon be able to drive on his own and can get himself where he needs to be and maybe even help drive his siblings and run errands for me. I’m also a bit melancholy, thinking that he’s growing up and taking flight and once he can drive early next year, he’ll be on his own much more and will need me even less. I’m letting go, letting out the heart strings a little more, like we all do and feeling the growing pains.  Yin and yang, and today I caught another glimpse in the rain, of joy and fear.

I wish you well Christian and know you will be your best and am excited for you and your growing independence. Keep up the good work.

nAMaste

Love and Light – A Hostess Gift

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Love and light are two of my favorite things and I found a way to share them with friends. 
This year I’ve been making these beautiful jars filled with light, and giving them as thank you gifts to the friends who invite us to celebrate the holidays together. 

I love turning on the light and bringing the lit jar into their homes as we greet each other, sharing love and light.

If you’re interested in making them too, I purchased 8oz mason jars, short strands of firefly LED lights on Amazon, ribbon, tags and bows and tape. I taped the battery pack to the inside part of the lid and just twisted the light strand to fit inside the jar, and turned on the switch before closing the lid, tying on a tag and sticking on a bow. So simple, right?

Wishing you love and light.

nAMaste

Observing

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Today is my husband’s birthday and I loved celebrating him all day and night.

I decorated the kitchen the night before and had his cards and presents ready for him when he woke up.

I made our traditional cinnamon coffee cake and while we were waiting for it to come out of the oven, I made a bacon and egg scramble with sour dough toast, sausage and fruit.  The kids came to the table and we sang, “happy birthday” all before school and work.

We met for lunch in downtown Palo Alto and went to experience Sushirito for the first time together and it was really delicious! It was so nice to have time together in the middle of the day, just the two of us.

Finally, we went to play bocce ball with his friends from work as they were having their company holiday party tonight. I loved watching him really enjoy himself, playing a fierce game of bocce ball and enjoying his wonderful life. One of his coworkers made him cheesecake and they all sang happy birthday. This was such a thoughtful gift.

My favorite part of observing his birthday tonight was watching him get out on the dance floor, dancing with his friends to live music. He never dances and seeing him free and in the moment and living it up was just awesome to watch. His beautiful soul was shining and I loved being a part of his special day.

Happy birthday, Jeff!! I adore you.