Day 53: Summer

Posted in cats, family, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, simple living, work life balance, working mom by adrianahartley

Jeff took Juliana out to practice her driving tonight, which made me happy. I love that she had time alone with her daddy and I know she appreciates his attention. I love when my family is content and together.

I sat down for a few minutes this evening, as I’m super tired today. As soon as I sat down to relax, my little partner came up and forced his way between my hands and my eyes, as I was looking at my phone, of course, catching up on social media. He wanted my attention.

Do you see his paw? That’s where it usually is. And if I stop petting him, he nuzzles a little closer. He makes me smile and helps me to relax.

But I can never sit for very long. I soon got up to tidy up, as having a clean kitchen always makes me happy. As I loaded the dishwasher and swiped down the counters, I looked up to find my buddies watching me again.

Maybe they were telling me something, like they wanted some food? Or maybe they wanted me to go relax again. I chose both options.

I’m thankful for my furry friends today. But Juliana is now asking for a dog…uh oh.

How was your summer day? What made you smile?

xo stay loved

2Dec2015

nAMaste at the End of the Day

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

It’s been killing me to not write tonight. I gave myself permission not to, which is all I needed. I felt free!! And my spark came back.

I was feeling sad today about giving up my creative outlet. I made a really nice dinner and thought my cooking was my creative outlet and I enjoyed being in the moment chopping green beans and slicing flank steak across the grain for the stir fry I was preparing. I felt joy in taking the time to cook for my family and hoped they would appreciate my gift, which they all did.

But the real gift came when sitting with Juliana, eating dinner just the two of us before our evening events.

I told her about my blog post last night and she was shocked and told me that she thought I was making a bad choice. She reminded me about how much I love writing and how it’s been the consistent thing I do every day and how it’s been the common thread since before we moved to Amsterdam. She reminded me that it’s my “nAMaste at the end of the day” and it’s my mindfulness practice and time to reflect. That girl makes me think and my mind is open to her opinion, even when hers is different than mine. Although, she just brought out the truth I was hiding. She was right.

As we sat and chatted together, Zuma came and parked herself on my lap. This is the cat that doesn’t want to be held and does her own thing and doesn’t want to be bothered. Yet last night and today, she came and sat on me and made me sit still. I wanted to move and do work, yet I stayed and listened to her too. When I tried to take her picture, she hid in my lap and made me smile.

Sometimes you need to slow down and just be. So I did.

And tonight when I thought I wasn’t going to write, I saw Cassie’s story circles post on Facebook. She does the same thing that I do every night, except she reflects on her day through art and she does it every night after the house quiets down. It’s her ritual, just like mine. She shows up and takes time for herself, being creative and doing what she loves, even when she’s tired.

So Juliana and Cassie, thank you for inspiring me to keep writing. I’m not ready to stop tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not. Just knowing that I have the freedom to not write on any given night is a gift. Isn’t it weird how we make up our own rules and change them? I’ll leave you with that thought…

nAMaste at the end of the day.

25Dec2014

Merry Christmas!

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Our tradition is to not celebrate traditionally. This frees us from many of the expectations that usually are associated with a major holiday.

Some things we carry from year to year but we are not expecting things to be done the same way and at the same time and with the same people.

This morning Santa did arrive and the littlest one was filled with excitement and was the first one up before 7 am! The older two acted like teenagers and were quiet and still sleepy.

My sister and I snuck away together to see a movie. This felt like such a great gift to share some quiet time, a coke and popcorn. We were truly happy to sit side by side and to share an experience together, all by ourselves.

I felt badly for the kids that were working though.

We came home to hang with the rest of the family and everyone had different ideas about how to spend the day. I am very idealistic and the thought of everyone sitting and looking at screens, even though enjoyable, rattled my idealism. I wanted us to be together, doing something but it was hard to sway everyone in the same direction at the same time.

Luckily the sun setting was a forcing function and we decided to make the trek over the hill to Malibu, all together to watch the magnificent sun set again yet another day. The beach is my happy place. Once I get out of the car and step in the sand and hear the ocean, I am like a child on Christmas morning. Hmm…or Christmas Eve.

We saw the sun set and played on the beach before heading back home for dinner. Jeff grilled out the food my mom prepared for us and my extended family joined us for another spontaneous, fun great evening together.

Life is good.

I hope your day was merry and bright.

Merry Christmas!!