Tag Archives: joy

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

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.

  

  

One Light

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Tonight Charlie was at a friend’s house as they were preparing for the first night of Hanukkah. He had been with this family for almost 24 hours, as he had a birthday party and sleepover there the night before and never left.  I love how kids can just play all day. He wanted to be sure he didn’t leave until they had passed the 24 hour mark of togetherness and until the jelly donuts were ready.

You see, my friend began making homemade sufganiyot, the deep-fried Israeli delicacies, first thing in the morning and they were just going into the fryer late in the afternoon, and she had promised Charlie one before he left. I watched the perfectly plump rounds of dough turn golden brown and then cooled, while she piped strawberry jelly into their middles and then sprinkled them with powdered sugar. They were little delicious miracles.

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She called for the kids to come into the kitchen and Charlie came out to enjoy this Jewish tradition with his Santa hat on top of his head. I wished I would have taken a picture to capture the sweet innocence and yin and yang of this moment. Her and I both laughed, as we saw the same thing and appreciated the sharing of our traditions, together.

Happy Hanukah. Wishing you love and light.

nAMaste

My Happy Place

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After spending several days with family, eating and drinking and just being together, we are spending our last day of vacation recharging at my other happiest place on earth, the beach. 

We got here in time to see the sun setting behind the clouds. Isn’t it just so peaceful to see?

After an early dinner and watching the first half of the Stanford / Notre Dame game, I took the kids swimming and sat by the fire for hours while Jeff and Christian enjoyed watching Stanford win in the final five seconds of the game. Our friends are also staying at the same hotel, which made our shared experience even better.   

They even had s’mores and hot chocolate for the kids and big kids alike. We are so lucky! 

 
This is what happiness feels like and looks like to me.
What does happiness feel like and look like to you?
I wish you well.

nAMaste

Giving Thanks

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Happy Thanksgiving Day! 

I am thankful for the hike my family went on together this morning with family and friends.

I am thankful for my parents being such gracious and giving hosts and opening up their home to loved ones, bringing us all together for a shared meal.

I am thankful for the gathering and the solitude now at the end of the day. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. May you be blessed with love, food and friendship.

nAMaste

Changing Seasons

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This is looking up into the sky from the underside of the big tree in my front yard.  I’ve been waiting for her magic show to open and today was the big day for me to show up and see her in her colorful glory.

I love watching her change every day and seeing her sisters all lined up and down the street, welcoming us home every day in an array of beautifully mixed colors. They are gorgeous and represent that the holidays are coming and that it’s cold outside. 

I will enjoy these moments before the leaves begin to fall. And then I’ll enjoy those moments too of purity and nakedness and clean, visual structures. 

As the world rushes by, remember to slow down and enjoy the magic that swirls around you and live in your moment, right now and share your story of being with those you love.

nAMaste

My Favorite Gifts – Giving, Receiving and Connecting

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I like this cycle.

One gives.

One receives.

One thanks.

One smiles.

Repeat. Remember.

I love the feel good moments. Can you tell?

My mom and I love to go to garage sales for several reasons. One week she was visiting and we stopped by a friendly sale and I recognized a friend I had met years ago, briefly, and we reconnected. I love meeting people out and about our community. She used to be a kindergarten teacher and she was clearing out some of her book collection.

It was serendipity as my sister just began her teaching career and is a kindergarten teacher and could use nearly new supplies for her classroom. Mom and I looked through all the covers and my friend helped us pick out some of her favorites and we filled a crate to give to my sister, all for $10.  One new book would cost $10 and I was so happy to have a nice collection to share with her students. My friend was happy to nearly give away her books to a good cause and to support a teacher sister. And my sister was so excited to receive these gifts.

Today I received a thank you poster in the mail signed and decorated by her kindergarten class and it touched my heart. 

  
Saying thank you is powerful and brings us full circle to the giving and receiving and thanking cycle that creates joy and happiness for all involved.

We can make a positive change in this world by participating – by giving, by receiving, by thanking and enjoying one another and our gifts and our time.

ONE LOVE.

Thank you my friend for giving us your books.

Thank you my mama for buying and bringing the books home with you and delivering them to my sister.

Thank you, my sister, for being a good role model and teaching your students the powerful process of giving and sharing thanks.

Life is good!!

xo

 

Teetering

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I tend to share the ups on the teeter-totter of life. 

I thought I’d share a teetering moment as I try to find my balance again. 

I am transitioning from a stay at home mom to a part time working mom and I don’t have it quite figured out yet. 

I am trying to let go of some of the expectations from my previous path  as I journey on down this new road and it’s a bit bumpy, as I want to do it all. 

I think there is always chaos in the transition and once I master the steps, it’ll seem easy again. But right now I feel the stress and it’s ok, it just is and I have two pimples on my face as proof. 

I’ve decided my priorities are:

1. My family. I want to cook and to pick kids up from school and drive them where they need to go. I want to be present when they are home and be able to listen and share stories together while we can.

  
2. Exercise. I have to exercise for my sanity. It’s a requirement that’s not negotiable and I keep forgetting this. Today I remembered and it felt so good, especially on a Monday.

  
3. My work. I’m excited about my new job and creating something new and being part of a great team. I like using my brain and like that I’m actually making money again, after 15 years of volunteering.

4. My clean house. I need order and chaos under control in my outer environment to maintain my inner sanity. This is teetering today but I’ll get it back in order before I go to bed. 

5. My girlfriends. I need them. They are my emotional support and I love sharing our stories together. 

6. My volunteer commitments. I still love giving back to my community and this one is a little bit harder now. Today I let go of one of my commitments and it did not feel good. I can’t continue in the role I had and work too, at least not right now. I’m ok with the decision now, but in the moment I struggled.

7. My writing. I’m still enjoying this outlet and love that so many of you find a connection with me and share your ideas and comments. I may try writing at different times of the day and maybe skipping a day or two, to let go of the pressure and expectation to produce new content daily. We’ll see. I’m not ready to change this process just yet, but I don’t want to teeter too long. 

I like balance, amidst the yin and the yang.

How about you? Are you feeling centered or are you teetering too?  Are there things you need to change and burdens you need to let go to find your core again?  Change is good. Embrace it and enjoy the ride.

  
xoxo thanks for reading xoxo

Nesting

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Something is seriously wrong with me.

I went back to work and I’m now trying to merge my stay at home mom lifestyle and expectations with my new part-time, working mom time commitments. Wednesdays are my “day off” and feel like my Sunday, like my day to catch up and to exercise and see friends and make appointments and to run errands and to supposedly cook like a wild woman!

Yesterday, I had to leave the house early and was gone and in and out all day and night. I had no time to cook and this bothered me. I like to have food readily available for my family when they come home. They’re all busy too, and providing food feels like I’m providing comfort and energy so that everyone survives. So dramatic, I know. But seriously. They can cook on their own and make their own food, but I still want to do it and feel like I’m doing my job. I want to take care of them this way and show them my love this way. I love that they enjoy my cooking and I feel connected to them through food. So when I literally couldn’t fit in the cooking time any time during the day yesterday, I felt like a failure. Not really, but really I’m feeling dramatic today, so let’s just go with an F- in the food department.

So today I made up for it because I had time.  I also had pounds of chicken and beef and veggies that I had planned to use yesterday, so I got busy. I had leftovers to repurpose and new recipes to try and a dish that Juliana asked me to make, plus 2 dishes I wanted to recreate from the Indonesian restaurant we visited this past weekend. I had big dreams to fill today and I made 6 different things, plus washed all the dishes and put them away. All in a day and now I feel happy with my full fridge.

In case you’re curious about what I made, I made a spicy Indonesian beef rendang, Indonesian sayur lodeh, gluten free/light/baked coconut chicken, some sort of mediterranean chicken and cauliflower in a tomato and onion sauce, chicken marsala, and Julie’s spaghetti pizza bake recipe. Oh, and Thai jasmine rice to soak up all the sauces.

So no one should go hungry for the rest of the week. Phew. I feel so much better now with food in the nest, ready to feed my flock.

How do you nest?

nAMaste BeLoveRs