everyday life

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

simple.

it doesn’t have to be complicated.

i choose to share my everyday life to share a story of one person practicing living in the moment, perfectly imperfectly, and doing my best.

i don’t always get it right, but the beauty is… there is always just another moment beginning to start and try again. there is hope. for us all. always. and if we don’t like what we’ve done or what we’re doing, we can change. for real.

i laugh at myself. i tell my kids when i mess up. i thank them for teaching me every day, because i still don’t have this life thing and parenting tweens thing all figured out. don’t you wish life came with a manual?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s joy was delivered in several ways.

I exercised and felt alive and felt muscles that are building, thanks to Lysia and her TRX training. Thank you.

I sat quietly and had my nails done, because I’m practicing discipline this week. I am a nail biter, and have been since I was 5 years old. I am practicing discipline this one way, and enjoying the sweet rewards of being pampered and practicing sitting still, which is hard for me.

I am also practicing discipline by doing Weight Watchers. I love to eat and drink and be merry. A little too much. So last week I decided to practice discipline this way too. I have to say, I am enjoying living a less gluttonous life style.

The real joy came from being with my kids today and not being too busy.

Charlie had friends over to do homework and they were pretending to be Santa Claus and the North Pole.

Charlie was Santa and the girls were tracking his arrival on their computers, before falling asleep right before Santa arrived at their house with toys. I wish you could have heard the dialogue, as it was too cute!

I made a kid friendly meal for dinner – baked teriyaki chicken with rice, broccoli and grilled pineapple brushed with butter and brown sugar. I sat with them and shared stories and enjoyed them climbing all over my lap, making fun of my stupid, big cheeks that make my eyes shrink when I smile. I love that they want to play and tease me.

When I went to drop off Juliana at her event, I took Charlie with me to see the Christmas lights.

I love that he loves Christmas, and I know I’ve already said this before, but seeing him enjoy it makes me enjoy it even more. Loving this moment.

These were a few of my favorite things… what were your favorite moments from today? What made you smile?

3Dec2013

Giving Tuesday

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

I’m not sure exactly what this is, but I liked the idea of it just from the name and that it’s been circulating around the internet this week.

I just decided to look it up and here is what it is about from their website: http://community.givingtuesday.org/Page/About

What is #GivingTuesday?

“We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. This year help us create #GivingTuesday. A new day for giving back. On Tuesday December 3, 2013, global charities, families, businesses, community centers, students and more will come together to create #GivingTuesday.

It’s a simple idea. Just find a way for your family, your community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Then tell everyone you can about how you are giving. Be a part of a national celebration of our great tradition of generosity.”

That is simple enough and I love the idea of giving. Absolutely love it. Which brings me to the story I wanted to share today without even really knowing it was a new labeled day that beats Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday sounds so much better doesn’t it? But it makes me want to label the other days of the week… like Hump Day Wednesday and Thankful Thursday and Super Saturday and Sabbath Sunday. I feel a theme coming on.

But back to my story. My youngest is so excited about Christmas. Yesterday after school, he invited his friends to come in to see his Christmas tree after their Homework Club at another friend’s house. He couldn’t wait and was so proud and they just had to see it and all the ornaments and snow globes and stockings hung with care.

He loves the spirit of Christmas just as much as I do. And I love that he wants to share it. Somehow we got onto the topic of giving after he shared again with me everything that was on his wishlist. I felt like I should share the other side of the joy of receiving and teach him about the joy of giving. I explained that it would be a good idea if he planned to pick out some gifts for his family and that we receive joy by giving and seeing that other people are happy too. He thought this was a great idea until I mentioned that he would have to bring his own wallet and use his own money. He asked me why he would want to spend his own money on other people. And there he opened the door even further to learn more about the art of giving and how when we give we also receive.

And so today I told him that I would take him to the Dollar Tree store with his wallet and $5 to thoughtfully pick out a gift for each of us. He was so excited and ready to go right away after school. He brought his reusable bag and he strolled the aisles, shopping away, hiding from me what he had picked especially for me. I wish you could have seen the look on his face and how proud he was when he gave the cashier his items and his own money and his bag. He was adorable and so cute. He picked out one item for each of us, and one Christmas item for himself since I said I would pay the tax.

My happy little Santa!

When he got home, he wanted to give hints and tell us all why we were going to love what he picked and how we could use it and when and where, without giving us the secret. The anticipation he is feeling is so cool to witness and the joy he is experiencing from this giving process is so RAD!!

He quickly wanted to do his homework so that he would have time to wrap up each gift and be the first to have his gifts under the tree.

My heart is full.

My other two children also want to be part of this giving process. Christian and I snuck out alone after dinner and Juliana and I are going alone tomorrow.

This simple gift of giving and teaching my children this art was actually a gift to me. Gee, it really works.

Happy Giving Tuesday! I want to do it again!!

I AM so content.

Enjoy the spirit of giving, especially of your time, your love and yourself which are the best gifts of all! xo

29Nov2013

GGG – Day 29 – Joy

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Now that Thanksgiving is over we can move on to the next season and celebrate joy!!

I think joy comes in many forms and that you can celebrate joy even when you’re sad or mad, if you open up your heart to receive it.

Mary and Steve stopped by today and brought pecan pie to share for breakfast. Gotta love the day after Thanksgiving and a loving neighborhood!! This is the first year without Irma and there was a lot of sadness to be felt, while at the same time we laughed and shared stories and pictures and felt joy. Mary Lee stopped
In too and we all sat around the table for a little longer. Joy.

Opa brought joy to the kids by bringing them to the donut shop this morning to pick out their favorites. This is a tradition we’ve shared since I was a kid. Seeing my kids enjoy my dad and chocolate chip donuts and maple bars and cinnamon rolls made me happy.

Shellee came to visit today with her girls and new friend. Hugging her again after 3 years filled my heart, even if it was just for a short visit. We grew up together and are only 3 weeks apart. She was one of my first best friends and I’ve missed her!!

I find joy everywhere…I seek it out, do you? I find joy in little things and big things but mostly through relationships and connections and babies and nature. What fills your heart?

I found joy in leaving Thousand Oaks and admiring the rolling hills and beautiful sunset as we began our journey home.

And I’ll share one more joy before closing out Black Friday. Charlie wanted to stop in San Luis Obispo to go to Powell’s Sweet Shop and Jeff said yes! We decided to spend a couple hours in SLO town and not rush back too quickly. What a fun way to almost end the day.

Kids in a candy store!

Life is sweet and filled will joy.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, found all the sale items you were seeking if you braved the crazy Black Friday shopping hours, and are seeking out joy as we carry on into Christmas and through Hanukkah and into the New Year!

“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.” Anne Frank

17Nov2013

GGG – Day 17 – Hope

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

It’s Gratitude Gift Giving, day 17 and I wanted to share a story of hope and joy.

Photo credit: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

“It’s wonderful, wonderful. It’s great for the youngster and it’s great for the city of San Francisco and the whole region. Saving lives for the day, I love it. It’s so good. A good deed in a weary world.” — San Francisco 49ers’ Head Coach Jim Harbaugh

The world sucked a little less this week.

A 5-year-old little boy who has been battling leukemia was granted his wish by the Make-a-Wish Foundation with the help of over 13,000 volunteers and the goodwill of San Francisco. He wanted to become Batman and save Gotham City. And so San Francisco was transformed into Gotham and little Miles had his wish come true as a fantasy world was brought to life, just for the day.

Batkid started in California, but with social media, his legacy made over 442 million potential impressions around the world. There were over 13,000 volunteers and over 339,000 tweets related to his story.

Why is his story so significant and why did it touch so many?

I think it’s pretty simple. I think Miles overcoming leukemia represents hope when things are bad. I think people wanted to help make his dream come true, because everyone loves a super hero and the fantasy world where good always overcomes evil. It’s what we long for in everyday life. We want to be part of something good. We want to help others. We want to celebrate life with each other, and Miles allowed us all to show up to his party.

We have such a strong desire for community and connection and being a part of Miles’ dream allowed thousands of people to do something, even if that was just to share his story, or to be a bystander, or to be part of the story set.

Miles’ story represents our need for goodness and to give and to help others and to focus on a happy ending.

Humanity doesn’t suck. We are good. And we have good things to share, despite the bad that also exists. There will always be other causes and different ways to make a difference and we should not judge how we choose to contribute to the greater good of society.

I am hopeful.

Photo credit: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

References:

Photos from: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Batkid-Thousands-cheer-on-pint-size-superhero-4985651.php

Stats from: http://topsy.com/analytics?q1=%23SFbatkid&via=Topsy

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-francisco-batkid-miles-wish-20131115,0,3735507.story#axzz2kyIxrpBr

http://yubanet.com/california/SFBatKid.php#.UomlJmTwJq4

13Jul2013

Being Loved

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Being loved is the best feeling. Period. There is nothing better. Nothing.

This post is a bit personal, but aren’t most? We’re still resettling and it’s the honeymoon stage, and I’m loving all the attention being showered on my family. Thank you for all your shared calls, emails, texts and love and visits.

My parents drove up to my house to prepare for our arrival this week, as I’ve already mentioned. Seeing my kids love on them and tell them how much they’ve missed them and love them, is so nice to see and hear. The love dance is swirling through my house in little moments and details and it fills my soul. For example, I loved just watching Charlie work with my dad on fix-it projects around the house.

My friend Julie had coffee and snacks waiting for us this morning at her house. The kids played while the women chatted and sat and enjoyed her beautifully remodeled house and sunshine out on her patio. I’ve missed days like today and am so happy to be back and in her kitchen again…the best part of the home!

Tracy came by with her kids on bikes and asked if Charlie wanted to go to her house and play. Of course, he gladly went off and had a great time with his friends, riding his bike with them. Thank you, Tracy!

Julie and her kids stopped by with my favorite artichoke dip and stayed to chat for awhile before we headed to the pool.

Our swim club has a Friday night potluck BBQ that we all enjoyed with April and her family. I learned to play Bocce ball with the little ones and made some new friends while playing. Mom and dad joined us too, and it was great to sit outside and NOT have to cook or clean!!

Marilynne stopped by and dropped off a dinner for us. She’s been making a new Japanese curry and told me about it and I had mentioned I wanted to try it sometime. There she was with a delivery on my porch! Thank you ML! You spoiled us and it was quite delicious!

And the best part of my day was when my sisters and nieces arrived from Thousand Oaks. They drove 6 hours to come and see us and met us at the swim club. We went out to the parking lot to greet them and couldn’t stop hugging! It’s been almost a year, you know! Way too long for me! I’m thankful they drove the distance to be with us.

Reunited and it feels so good!

I am loved and I am thankful! Love y’all!

2Jun2013

Day 311: Goodbye Party

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

It’s official… we are moving and tonight it felt real. Patty and Bob planned a goodbye party for us and several of our friends were there. We went on a canal boat cruise through Amsterdam and then to a restaurant for tapas and drinks and dancing. I had so much fun celebrating with everyone and was thankful that everyone came out and enjoyed being together. The hardest part of moving is having to say goodbye to our friends, the best part of Holland. I love you all and am so thankful you are part of my life, forever.

“(We) are now part of an international community of soul mates, who share the common, universal experiences of surviving – and thriving – in an overseas home.” – Robin Pascoe

I will miss you all so much and hope you all come to California to see me again. You’ll always have a place to stay. And I hope to see you again wherever you may go. Thank you for sharing this magical journey with me.
You are loved.

Namaste.

14May2013

Day 293: What Makes You Happy?

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

How much of your day do you get to spend doing things you love? What makes you happy and are you making time for those things?

This was painted on a store window in Fussen this week and I loved the saying. It gave me inspiration for tonight’s blog…

I think it’s kinda crazy that I’ve been blogging for over a year, every day. I obviously must like it as its become something I look forward to everyday, even though some days I don’t know what to write. As I sit down to just do it, inspiration always seems to magically appear. Writing and sharing and connecting and focusing on what’s good in my little world makes me happy. Reading your comments and hearing you tell me that you read my blog and make connections with my story makes me happy. I like taking the time to reflect on the days of my life as they swirl by, and I plan to turn my blog into a book when I’m done…so that I can taste life twice!

What do you love to do? What makes you happy every day? What would you do if you could do anything you wanted? I think we have to dream like that to make our dreams become reality. And I think it works!! If we are realistic with our expectations, we can find peace and joy every day. Some things that make us most happy are very simple, and some things take more time or money, but I bet most things that make us happy are attainable daily.

Today I didn’t feel good again (headaches and GERD) so I enjoyed staying home and resting all day, until it was time to see Charlie’s open class music show. Even though I didn’t feel good, I enjoyed seeing his passionate teacher and his class and his little body playing and smiling and laughing with his friends. I loved sitting next to my friends and watching hem enjoy their kids as well. And Jen’s baby made my day when she reached up and wanted to come sit on my lap and be with me. These things make me happy!

Kids make me happy.

Passionate and loving teachers make me happy.

Loving babies makes me happy.

Being part of a village filled with friends makes me happy.

Cooking delicious and healthy dinners make me happy.

Seeing this family made me happy.

Playing with my kids makes me happy.

All is good, even when I’m not well.

What made you happy today?

26Nov2012

Day 123: 4 Months

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

We left our Sunnyvale house 4 months ago today! We’ve been gone for a third of a year and have seen and done so much already. It’s strange to me to think that we packed up and resettled and adapted and redefined our life in just 4 months. When I was looking for something new to do with Jeff earlier this year, I had never envisioned this! I was hoping we could cook together or do a puzzle, you know, something interactive and a shared experience!! Well look what happens when you dream (big) a little!

We are so lucky to have made the transition and we still like each other, and our kids don’t hate us (yet.). We’ve had many shared adventures already and so many more are still to come. We’ve made some wonderful new friends and have enjoyed getting to know our Dutch family a little better. This is what I was hoping for back in January – I just didn’t know we’d have to move overseas to experience family togetherness like this.

Tonight we hosted a family celebration with 21 of us for dinner.

I still can’t believe that many people can fit in our house. It’s the second large dinner party we’ve hosted here and it was quite gezellig, meaning tight and cozy.

My mom and I planned a menu and shopped and cleaned and cooked together – actually she did the cooking and I was the prep cook and cleanup helper! It’s so nice to have a wife again!! We make a good team. Franca so graciously brought the desserts that she made with her daughter. I love that this was a shared experience too.

I love that we have family here in Holland and that everyone took the time to come together for a nice, Sunday family meal. A few families were missing due to other commitments, which is totally understandable. But it was nice to be together and to laugh and share stories and to just BE.

Hope you had a great weekend and have a wonderful week.

Adriana

16Nov2012

Day 114: My Mama and the Marketplace

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Watching my mom at the marketplace today made me happy. She was in her glory.

She was like a kid at Disneyland, going from ride to ride, excited by what she might see next, and oblivious to the cold weather. She walked ahead and smiled and waited for us to come join her. She shared what she fancied and spoke in Dutch to the sellers. She tasted the cheese samples and was excited to buy some warm frites! I think she gasped and giggled when she saw the dead fish on display, sharing how her mom used to love mackerel like the fishmonger was selling.

She stopped at the candy stand and picked treats to bring back home with her. Bread and fruit was purchased, as well as roasted chickens for dinner tomorrow night so we don’t have to cook. I like the way she thinks!

When the organ cart music player started to play, my mom started to dance. Her eyes were smiling and she was visibly happy.

My dad and I just admired her joy and passion. We were happy just seeing her BEING happy.

She was happy just being there, at home, with her people, with us, her culture, her language, her food, and entertained by the movement of the marketplace. So simple. She was happy just being. And afterwards, she was filled with gratitude – for her life and her blessings and being together.