What if...?

How do we end up in the lives we lead?

How was it that I ended up a stay-at-home mother of three?

Do you call it luck, fate, chance or a mix of all of the above? How different is the life you're leading from how you envisioned it as a youth? Are you achieving the goals or dreams you made as a teen or young adult?

My husband and I discussed this the other night. How we met, and why. We laugh at the college choices we made and how we would probably have gone elsewhere had we had a little something called the internet! There is a movie called Sliding Doors. Gweneth Paltrow is the main character. We get to see an alternate life to the life she leads, what could have been had she made other small choices. If I hadn't attended a house warming party one warm July night, I wouldn't have met my husband.

Who knows what choices we make today may change our tomorrows. It's certainly exciting to think about. In a perfect scenario we would live each day without regret, we can't predict the future anyway so we may as well accept it! But it's still fun to think about the "what ifs" sometimes!

Spring cleaning

I can already smell the lemony Pine Sol, the fresh air coming through the open windows. Clean, swept garage, bye bye sand, salt and dirt! Closets cleaned and unused clothes bagged and donated! It's a lot of work to get there, but such a great, freeing feeling after it's done!

But what about spring cleaning for ourselves? I've never given this much thought before, to me this term only evoked feelings of a clean house, a clean personal space. 

The other day, during a yoga class, our instructor discussed spring cleaning for ourselves. What has been weighing us down, what could we shed to clean ourselves up? How much baggage do we carry that isn't worth it? I could think of a few things that I could easily afford to let go. Maybe it's a gradual change, or maybe it will involve a bit more effort to feel the total cleanse. Either way, it's a great analogy for this time of year. I know when a closet is cleaned and organized or a garage cleaned and readied for summer I feel lighter, cleaner somehow. I know the feeling of turning this theory onto myself will feel even better. I decided that that it's never too late to start, so my personal, spring cleaning started already. I'm not expecting drastic changes overnight, but just by making this thought present, the actions will follow. There are several great articles that will help with this task on the Gundersen Lutheran Balance Your 7 website, like mindful meditation, and other ways to de-stress. Now after working on my internal cleaning, it's just about time to tackle the garage. If only sand and dirt were a valuable commodity!

www.balanceyour7.com

Tea time!

I know I have blogged about my love for coffee, and nothing is going to take that away. 

 However, we have just become a teapot family. 

 Silly, I know, but it's a purchase we have long been wanting to make. Yes, wow, we live on the edge! We were exploring a cute area in Madison the other weekend and found a wall of teapots. We grabbed a sassy red one and decided we needed one in our lives. So we got home, took it out of the box, and realized it wasn't sassy or red, it was blue! Blue is my favorite color, looks like we are going with blue! 

Lately we have found ourselves enjoying a nice cup of hot tea before bed, great way to relax and unwind at the end of the day. Sometimes I find myself chilled from being outside in the snow and need something warm but coffee won't do. Tea has so many varieties and flavors, there is always one that will satisfy my taste. Now that I have a fancy new teapot, it whistles to let me know my water is ready. It was very cute when we first tested out the kettle, the kids were so excited to hear it whistle! We realized that they had probably never seen or heard a tea kettle before! I've enjoyed some lemon chiffon tea, and a nice cup of chamomile so far. The blue is growing on me, because so far I find it's whistle very comforting and it's made some wonderful cups of tea! 

 Now coffee is still my go to, but sometimes one thing can't satisfy all my beverage needs. The other great upside are all the health benefits tea has to offer. Tea has cancer fighting agents, can help fight heart disease, and can stimulate mental alertness. Several of the websites I read said there is no downside to tea! So the next time I get chilled from the winter cold, I'm going to do a little whistling in my kitchen, makes me like my little blue kettle even more.

Reasons to love tea...

Tea types and their health benefits

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow....

There aren't many things I can say I am wonderful at.

I can cook a meal, usually it's edible but it's generally not wonderful. I can run a few miles at a steady clip, but I'm no speed demon.

The one trait that I seem to be particularly good at is procrastinating.

It isn't something one strives to excel at, in fact, you would probably prefer not to have this in your repertoire of excellent traits. From a young child on, I have always tended to procrastinate. I put off today, and sometimes tomorrow, what I can do later. For instance today I have the never ending mound of laundry to do, lunch to make, a dog to walk, myself to get dressed, and I have accomplished none of these!

I work best under pressure, at least that's what I've always told myself! One semester in college I was taking eighteen credits, working twenty hours a week, completing an internship, and received the best grades of my college career. I think putting things off forces me to work in a timetable until the job is done, leaving no room to stop.

So while my day looms largely before me, I see oodles of time to do the things on my ever-growing list. I will accomplish everything, but instead of it being done at a time when I actually have the time to do it, I'll probably cram it all in this afternoon. My stress levels would probably decrease if I worked more efficiently, something my husband loves to remind me of!

I know there are many fellow procrastinators out there, raise your hand if you are one of them! Maybe someday I'll outgrow this, or heaven forbid, it will get worse! No matter, it is the way I am, so I'll have to work with it, whether it's today or maybe just a bit later.

Wet! Wet! And more wet!

If I had to pick a theme for my life from the past week I think I'd keep it simple and call it "WET."

From my constantly wet, dirty floors, to the damp snow pants, hats, mittens, etc.

We get the swim stuff from swimming lessons and swim team, to the constant sneezing happening with all three kids. Then there is the giant dog who resembles a 100-pound woolly mammoth with snowballs instead of paws. He likes to come in from outside and rub all the snow off onto the furniture, so not only are the floors wet, so is the sofa and all of the chairs too!

Wet.

My vehicle is caked in yuck, both inside and out. I'm terrified to clean it, what's the point? I'd just have to wash and repeat again tomorrow! So to combat this, I've taken to looking the other way at my floors, until the end of the day when I can stand it no longer and Swiffer them until they gleam! The sneezing will eventually run its course, and except to totally shave my dog, he's going to continue to enjoy the snow and bring it in for all of us to enjoy too, in one form or another. And I say, "Van Schmann," it looks like everyone else's car right now anyway! That's why they call it spring cleaning right?

So I'll just turn on the fireplace and curl up with a hot cup of something, try to find a relatively dry spot on the couch, and roll with these wet winter punches.

Getting creative at Art 4U

A dear friend recently welcomed her 40th birthday with relatively open arms.

To celebrate she wanted to try something different with a group of friends. We discussed all of the usuals--dinner out, drinks, maybe a cooking class. But we ended up a a wonderful new venue in town called Art 4U. After speaking with Becky, one of the owners, a date and time were booked and we were off.

The seven of us, and our guest of honor arrived on a snowy evening and were ushered into a bright, warm cheerful studio space located in the Doerflinger building. We brought our own food, wine and hot cider to start our evening. After a bit of chatting and lots of laughter, we all sat to begin our lesson. We were told we would all be sketching/painting a still life of an apple.

Ha, clearly Becky had never seen my stick figure drawings before! She assured us that each of us was more than capable of such a feat, and yes, each of us would leave with a finished product that looked like an apple! Becky walked us through the process step by step. There was a lot of nervous laughter and dare I say, fierce concentration going on.

My friend who expressed her doubts the most, ended up with a beautiful finished product, very much to her own delight! Even my very untalented fingers managed to create an apple! Wow, we were all pleasantly pleased with ourselves! If you haven't tried it, I would highly recommend giving Art 4U a whirl. It's a wonderful, different way to spend an evening with friends or a significant other. And who knows, you might just discover you are a Michelangelo or Picasso in the making!

Winter quiet in the north woods

My family and I were fortunate enough to escape for a long weekend to a cabin up near Hayward. It's a beautiful area full of lakes and wilderness.

We try to make a point to go at least once during the summer and once during winter. My husband prefers to go in the dead of winter, and takes great comfort in the quiet and solitude that a cabin in the woods provides. The kids enjoyed exploring the frozen lake, looking down while standing on black ice is pretty intimidating!

My 5-year-old's wish for the weekend was to see the northern lights. So we bundled up late one night, and with only the moonlight to guide us we went out onto the lake and looked up. While we didn't see any sign of the aura borealis, we did get a front row seat to a beautiful sky full of stars. It's so nice to be able to check out from the rat race of everyday life and slow down together.

We even managed to put together a 1000 piece puzzle! I cannot tell you the last time I did a puzzle, and what great pleasure we took to work together to see it through.

It's not everyday that we get to have time to watch a movie in the middle of the day, or just play a board game. You don't need a cabin to do these activities. But there is something a bit magical about getting away, wearing comfy clothes all day, and just taking pleasure in being together doing little things.

Who knows, maybe next time my little girl's wish will come true and we will get to see those northern lights after all.

From a concerned mom and citizen of our planet...

Is anyone else amazed at the strange weather we have been experiencing?

We've had thunder, rain, now it's being followed up by huge amounts of snow and plummeting temperatures.
Parts of the country are experiencing record temperatures and tornadoes. I know it's February but I could have sworn it felt more like October earlier. It's true that global warming is upon us, now what do we do with that knowledge?

I saw in the news how horrible the pollution was in parts of China, sickening thousands and reducing visibility down to a few yards! I worry about what kind of a world we are creating for our children. Will there be more illness, more environmental damage and changes?

I think small changes at home are a great way to contribute, and try to limit more harm. I'm trying to eliminate use of plastic bags and reuse containers. I've tried to stop buying water in plastic bottles, even though they are so convenient! We recycle as best we can, although I know we have room for improvement. I'm not altogether sure what one family can do, but something has to be better than doing nothing.

In the meantime, I've shoveled the driveway twice and filled my car to brace ourselves for the weather ahead. Maybe it's just another normal February, but after living in the midwest my entire life, it sure doesn't feel like it. I know that as a concerned mom and a citizen of our planet, I'm going to make concentrated efforts to try to leave behind a better place for my kids to grow up.

Here's more on global warming...from National Geographic

Use your drishti, keep your focus

Drishti (yoga), a key part of yoga practice and a means for developing concentrated intention, and sense withdrawal.

Use your drishti, keep your focus. I heard this the other morning in my yoga class as I sweated my way through. Drishti is a key part of yoga and a means for developing concentrated intention, or focus. A great thing not only while practicing yoga, but in our everyday life too.

I realized my drishti has wandered these past few weeks. I've been focused on random things, kids, groceries, cleaning my house. But I've let things falter, like the upkeep of this blog. I feel like sometimes I have so much I'd like to say and share, and other times my idea well runs dry. I need to capitalize on my free time and write when inspiration hits. In other words, I need to use more of my drishti.

It is an amazing thing when holding a difficult pose while doing yoga. If you focus on a spot on the wall or floor, you are more apt to stay in the position you want for a longer stretch of time. I tried this over the weekend with surprising results. So, while sitting down to write, I too am using my focus, my drishti. Now I think I need to apply this to more everyday tasks and see that they are held and completed.