Inspiration Saturday

Inspiration Saturday

Inspiration Saturday

Miley. A Defense? or a Gut Check? Maybe the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

Did you watch the VMA's Sunday night?? Some crazy ish went down. People have been UP IN ARMS about it for the past 48 hours.

I know I'm a loud person. I've made it so that I have an online presence...I've been putting my crazy out there for almost 8 years...with the blog and Facebook and Instagram and Tumblr and Twitter. There isn't much about me that is quiet.

So it's no secret I love Miley Cyrus. I call her Baby Girl. BG for short. If she's performed live anywhere within a 100 mile radius of me in the last 5 years...I've been there. And I've loved every minute of it. I own all of her CD's and movies. I could (proudly) "name that tune" to any number of her songs within 4 notes. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. It shouldn't surprise me then, that after Sunday night...I got a good 90+ texts/emails from friends and family wanting my opinion on her antics.

Can I really put it into words? The way I love this kid, I'm not sure. It's like trying to explain why your daughter is Queen Princess Fairy Mermaid Snowflake Rainbow Cupcake Ballerina at her dance performance. Because she just is. And she is amazing at it. Of course she is.

But...OK. I'm gonna try...

But first, I must know: Did Sunday night's broadcast really SHOCK you? If yes...I have to ask, where have you been? Have you forgotten being touched for the very first time at an awards show? (psssst...that was THIRTY YEARS AGO.) Do you not remember feeling like Pedro was your brother, your best friend, your next door neighbor? (psssst...that was TWENTY YEARS AGO.) Have you never cringed, and covered your eyes, and placed your hands over your heart, all the while hoping against hope that what Nev was unearthing couldn't be true?! (psssst...that was YESTERDAY.) Do you even know what a Catfish is?! (psssst....it's okay. I didn't either. But thanks to MTV, I know now.)

The VMAs are meant to shock. Meant to rub you a little the wrong way. IT'S MTV FOR GOSH SAKES. When did the nation forget this? MTV is not in the business of making you feel good. Of respecting your traditional values. They have made millions off of marketing the ugly, the weird, the shocking, the awkward, the uncomfortable, the in your face, the UN-politically correct. Why now, do you expect them to stop? To reign it in? The show aired at 9PM. This wasn't Saturday morning, local channel cartoons. All those impressionable babes should have been tucked in. 

Yes, I still love her. (In fact, I think I love her even a little more.) No, I don't think she's spiraling out of control. If that were Megan or Molly up on that stage, what would I do? Okay, Le sigh...let's do this: 

I will admit, Miss Cyrus was over the top. Even for me, a die hard LOVER of my BG...she was in my face. But about two seconds into her performance I was laughing. And shaking my head. And saying out loud, "Oh heck...here we go." Because, while I watched her performance with wide eyes and didn't 100% agree with the route she was taking...I understood what she was doing. This wasn't a poor rich kid, ruined by the spot light, falling off the deep end. This was planned. This was calculated. This was on purpose.

Miley's performance Sunday night resulted in more than 306,000 tweets per minute. That is more than during the Superbowl or when Obama won his second term or when we killed Bin Laden. 

LET THAT SINK IN. 

(it's sad and disgusting and I drives me insane that it's true, because I beg of you...there are SO MANY OTHER THINGS I wish we would champion in this manner...but it is what it is. WE make it so.)

And what has happened? Many talented people performed Sunday night: Katy. Gaga. Bruno. Justin. NSYNC. Macklemore. (Hello? Did you listen to what Macklemore was trying to say?!) Miley didn't even win an award!! But WHO and WHAT are people talking about? How many tweets and Facebook and blog and buzzfeed and whatchamacallit posts have you seen in the past 48 hours that were about Miley? People who have no clue what the VMAs even are...still know that Miley did SOMETHING Sunday night. Her performance has been streamed over 10.3 MILLION times on MTV.com in 48 hours. Nothing else even comes within 10% of that. 

A quote from Rolling Stone:

"Miley was the one star in the room who truly understood what the MTV Video Music Awards are all about. She stole the night, which is why the nation is still in recovery. Thanks, Miley." 

In all reality...that's exactly what she did. She stole the show. Hands down. No debate. 

Bankrupted it, is more like it. 

Do I think she could learn a thing or two from Gaga and Katy? Their performances Sunday night were arguably "flawless." They embodied power, edge, sex and strength. And everyone is still taking them seriously Monday morning. (Even tho Gaga danced around in seashells and a G-string, ahem!)

Yes. As a Miley lover, there is a part of me that screams, "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE SAFE AND SMART AND MARKETABLE??!!! Why do you have to rock the boat SO HARD?! Why do you have to come in like a wrecking ball?"

But then again...who is talking about Gaga or Katy's performances 48 hours later? No one. No virtual gossip columns. Not Perez. Not Buzzfeed. Not E! News. Not every other mom blogger on the planet. Even sugar sweet, tried and true, Taylor Swift (I say that tongue in cheek) dropped the F-Bomb on national television but it failed to produce a single blip on the virtual radar. 

Who and What is everyone STILL talking about? I'd venture to say, Miley's camp couldn't have wished for things to go more perfectly. Her fans bought it, those who hated it are talking about it, and EVERYONE is paying attention to it. 

And I am reminded WHY I love her. 
She's bold. She's brave. She's so young and yet so self assured.
She's marketable because she refuses to be marketable.
Her crazy, in your face, open chaos - that's her vulnerability.
Does she hide it? No.
Do you hate it? Love it?
She doesn't care.
She's using it to her advantage.

And she is a success.

She dropped the second single from her yet to be released EP Saturday night.

24 hours before the VMAs.

WITH NO PROMOTION WHATSOEVER. 

None. 

All she did was send out a singular tweet. 

In less than 24 hours, Wrecking Ball was #1 on iTunes in the USA, Britain and Brazil.

While the nation was watching her thinking, "OMG and WTF?!"...her single was going #1. 

She's not dumb. 

And she's not lacking fans.

This crazy, twerking, short hair, tongue lashing girl you see...

It's a brand she's selling. 

And it's working. 

To the tune of MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
And, if the last 48 hours are anything to show, apparently eons worth of free publicity.
(pssst...twerk was just added to the Oxford dictionary. No joke.)

Who wants to place bets on there being a run on foam fingers this Halloween?

Miley made her first million as an actress. 

Are you really so shocked that this is where she is now? 

This reinventing, self movement...it's very Madonna. 

(WAIT. WHAT?...that's so MTV. That's so 30 years ago!)

It's a performance.

She is a performer.

And the entire nation is walking right into her gyrating lap. 

In the grand scheme of things, I get why she did what she did Sunday night. It's marketably, bankably, absurdly GENIUS. But there is part of me that wishes she performed WB and brought the house down in tears instead. This is real. This isn't her playing games. The girl has a ridiculous voice...so much so, that I feel she takes it for granted. She doesn't even care to show it off. Cause she knows she owns it, and so do her fans. When Christina Perri tweets that your song is "massive," you know that it's angsty angst to the angst. (Notice she has it on continuous loop...Me too, CP. Me too.)

Miles, my BG...where was THIS VOICE Sunday night? Why do you fight it? I feel like there is a part of you that says "Eff it...people are gonna talk and hate anyhow. Might as well give them something to talk about." And I get it. I do. Cause there is a part of me that would do the exact same thing. 

But I digress. Back to the whole "What if that was Megan or Molly on the stage?" question...

Here's the hard thing for me to explain.

A Mother's Love.

If that were my kid,
Living big and loud. Happy and having fun. Alive in her dream.

Being herself. Being fierce, being brave. 

Earning a living...

I would give her a Standing O.

Just like Tish gave Miley Sunday night.

Of course I would.

She's mine and she's living.
We would have traveled this course together.
Our choices bringing us to this point.
So yes.

Of course. 

I'd be proud of my daughter. 

Would I be scared for her? Worried for her?
Would I wonder if, somewhere along the line, different decisions could have been made?
Would I wish she wasn't under the world's microscope?
Would I want to champion her dreams?
Would I kiss her goodnight?
Would I tell her the planet is better because she's on it?
Yes...I would.
Of course.

But here's the REALLY HARD THING for me to explain...
The VMA's are a point of national concern.

WHAAAAT?!
No, actually, I can't explain that one. 

Syria is using chemical weapons on it's own people.

A trans gender woman was beaten to death just for being.
1 in every 6 Americans are without dinner tonight. 

30,000 people DIE EVERY WEEK due to the lack of clean water.  

There is a homeless man that has sat on the corner of 17th and Orange for the last 12 months and I've never stopped.

But the nation is up in arms over Miley Cyrus and a foam finger.
And I'm spending time and energy writing a blog post about it...

Today, I will admit, Baby Girl is not my favorite.

I love her. So much.

But I hate that she can so easily bamboozle a nation.

Get us caught up in the superficial.
(If I stop to think about it...
It's really US that's not my favorite)

There is so much to be up in arms about OTHER THAN MILEY CYRUS. 

She has legs longer than the Mississippi.
She has a voice that will slay you.
She's brave and she loves her Momma.

Love her for these things. Or don't. 

But don't give her power she doesn't deserve. 

Fight and make a scene and get all UP IN ARMS for things that matter.

For love.

For clean water. 

For education. 

For good. 

For equality.

For fun.

For human rights.

For warm beds
For full bellies.

Do it. Please. 

BE APPALLED.

BE MORTIFIED.

Write about it on your Facebook page.
Blog and tweet and call your best friend!

Come in like a Wrecking Ball. 

WE CAN'T STOP promoting good. 

WE CAN'T STOP doing the right thing. 

WE CAN'T STOP finding joy. 

I hope we can't. 

If we do...

It will wreck ek ek me. 

Wordless Wednesday - sunbeams

I want to see you

"The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows BRAVE by reflection.  -Thomas Paine

Remember this post?

Music is as much a part of me as

Air

and Mateo

and Salt & Vinegar potato chips

and Jesus

and Diet Coke

and the beach

and Svish

and jean cutoffs

and digging in the dirt

and my Munchies
and fangirling

and biting off more than I can chew.

I'm not ME if these things are not in my life. 

Beats, lyrics, melodies, stanzas, bridges, harmonies, hooks....

give me POWER. 

There is rarely a morning that this house wakes without my iTunes playlist blaring in the kitchen. And me dancing. While scrambling eggs or flipping pancakes.

When I find a song that says what's in my heart better than I can....

AHHHHHHH.

It's so fun. And satisfying. And empowering. And sweet. And cathartic. 

Remember how Ally McBeal had a theme song? 

(which was accompanied by a transparent dancing baby, but I try to forget about that freak show)

For the last how ever many years since Ally McBeal first introduced the idea of a theme song to me....

(and please don't tell me how long ago that was. Cause it will only make me sad. And dream about Botox. And realize that when I watched the show I thought Ally was so old. But now I'm waaaay older than Ally. So just don't.)

But anyhow, since then...
My theme song has been THIS.

(and please don't tell me how long ago this song was popular. Cause it will only make me sad. And dream about Kelly & Brandon and The Macarena. And realize that now I am more familiar with Free Radicals than New Radicals. So just don't.)

But anyhow, theme songs are good.
And if I could hand pick a theme song for my kids.
It would be Sara Bareilles' new single BRAVE.
(this ish is like, RIDICULOUSLY good. You need to go buy.)

Are you allowed to pick other people's theme songs?
Probably not.
But if it's your kids, and you obviously know way more and way better than they do...
Then of course.
You totally are.
Allowed to pick.
FOR THEM.

And I pick Brave.
If for nothing else than the VERY FIRST LINE.

You can be amazing 

Yep.
You totally can.
We all can...but especially our kids.
I want them to always know...

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug 

Words can tear down and build up.
Words can hurt or heal.
Words are powerful.

This is something we are taught early on...
"Choose your words wisely."
"Bite your tongue."
"Think before you speak."
"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

You can be the outcast 

Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love

We all have a past.
We all have reasons to break down.

Be silent.
Be still.

Give up or in or bow out.

Or you can start speaking up 

But I want my kids to know

Their voice is valued.

Strong.

Vibrant.

It might be different than mine. 

Or yours.

But it matters.

And I want to hear it.

Nothing is gonna hurt you the way that words do

And they settle 'neath your skin

It is going to happen. 

Someone is going to say something that bites them.

And those words will sting.

Kept on the inside and no sunlight 

Sometimes a shadow wins 

And there will be times that Mom can't make it all better.

Times when it seems like the world is against them...

But I wonder what would happen if you 

Times when they will need to discover their own...
Strength
Faith
Heart
FIRE
insane courage
embarrassing bravery
And be able to...

Say what you wanna say 

And let the words fall out 

Honestly

Cause really all I ever want, is for them to live THEIR lives.
Grow. BE. Love.
Continually walk in (and look for) Beauty and Grace.
Value humility.
Win their fears.
Help others do the same.

I just wanna see you be brave

Is that too much to ask as a Mom? 

Maybe...
Probably.

But I also want my kids to know

Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down
By the enemy

No one said this life was going to be easy.

And as much as I want to preserve their innocence and protect their spirits

I also want to empower them. And teach them. And show them....

That even the best of us have

Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing 

Bow down to the mighty 

That the hard days are just as much a part of life as the easy ones.

The pain of our mistakes teaches us just as much as

The joy of our triumphs.

Don’t run, stop holding your tongue 

But NEVER.

EVER.

Even in the darkest of days, does NOT BEING TRUE TO YOU

make anything easier.
or make anything better.

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live 

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in 

If there is only one line in this song that I could repeat over and over and over...
It's this:

Show me how big your brave is 

Be you.

Love you.

All of you.

Your crazy. Your smart.

Your loud. Your quiet.

Your silly. Your weird.

Your too big. Your too small.

All of YOU. 

Show me. Make your Momma proud!!
Show me how big your brave is.

Innocence, your history of silence 

Won’t do you any good 

Did you think it would? 

I think at some point
We all think silence will do us good.
Right?

It's not a lesson that can be taught.
It is one that has to be lived.

Let your words be anything but empty 

Why don’t you tell them the truth? 

Silence may pacify.
May put off the awkward.
But it doesn't feel good.
Silence eats at your insides.
It weakens your Brave.
Your words...when they eventually come out...
will be empty, if you've been silent too long.
No one will listen.
Maybe not even yourself.

Say what you wanna say 

And let the words fall out 

Honestly I wanna see you be brave 

That's what I want.
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave.

And because I'll always be an English major at heart and I'd like to pretend that I write with more authority and conviction than just a bottle of wine, my head in the curtains, and a heart like the Fourth of July...I have to wrap up this post by circling back to Ally McBeal.

“The real truth is, I probably don’t want to be too happy or content. Because, then what? I actually like the quest, the search. That’s the fun. The more lost you are, the more you have to look forward to. What do you know, I’m having a great time and I don’t even know it!” - Ally McBeal

The more lost you are...

the more you have to look for the happy and content...

the more you have to be BRAVE. 

That is what makes you proud and strong and beautiful
and okay with being okay
with being stupidly perfect in your own skin.

That's what makes life worth living. 

THAT is what I want for my kids. 

That is my (our, your, I hope, the World's)...THEME SONG.

Megan recently had to pick someone to write a biography about. I REALLLLLLLLY tried to let her pick her own person. But I have to admit...I mighta pushed her in the direction of some of my favorite women. Every time I suggested someone, she would ask me:

"But Mom, did she do something AMAZING? Like...did she change her life? Or someone else's life? Cause that is what I want to report about. Girls who change lives."

Oh! My sweet Babydoll.
YES.
These girls were amazing.
Just like you.

Here's the three BRAVE WOMEN she submitted. Her teacher gets the final say on who her report will be about. We'll keep you posted!

Amelia Earhart

Men thought she couldn't do it.
(When asked WHY????? she was attempting to do what she was doing, she's known to have said: "Well, someone has to be first, why should it be a man?" TESSA!!! ASdflkajsdklfhalkjsdhfklasjdhfklajshdklfjhaskjldfhalskjdfhlaksjdfhkljds Gimme. That.)

Really everyone, everywhere, thought she was silly to try and do it. And maybe she was. But she was BRAVE beyond belief and way before her time. Lost herself at sea following her dreams and leaving her last words being anything but empty. Look at the JOY and energy in her eyes and her smile. That's her heart...on the outside. I can only hope. I want to wake up every morning and put that on as my skin.

Rosa Parks

A spunky but weary woman, who in 1955, refused to continue the History of Silence. A woman whose simple, perfectly rightful act, left a legacy of BRAVENESS.  Do you see the honesty in her face? Do you see her worth? Do you see her self love? Ahhh!! It's radiating out of her. Gives me chills. That's her heart...on the outside. I can only hope. I want to wake up every morning and put that on as my skin.

Pochahontas

Born a Native American Indian. Died a converted Christian. One half of the first documented North American inter-racial marriage...saving her husband's life by laying her head upon his chest when he was to be executed by her father. That's her heart...on the outside. Is it bad I'm biased to the one woman who didn't have the ability to be captured by a photograph? There is so much more to US than what a picture can show...right?  I can only hope. I want to wake up every morning and put that on as my skin.

"I don't like standard beauty, there is no beauty without strangeness."
- Karl Lagerfeld

OK. Now for serious.
Go watch this video.
But first turn your volume WAAAAAAAY Up.
And then try NOT to be moved.
Try NOT to grab every kid you see and hug them so tight they feel like a Super Hero.
Just try.
And go out today and Show Me.
Cause I want to see you.
Be Brave!

Chalkboard Inspiration

Not as succinct as usual...but I am in word love with it!

Truth.

Chalkboard Inspiration

I saw this on Pinterest and immediately fell in love.

If I answer this question at the beginning of each day...

and proceed to act and decide with these answers in mind....

then at the end of my day, I have lived the life I aim to.

{FOR TODAY}

Here's today's answers

Mind = read my book

Body = run and tan, jillian, lots of water

Spirit = begin the day in prayer and journal

Relationships = one on one convos with the kids & Mateo. Call my sister.

Creativity = clean sewing corner so i CAN create!

Passion = garden

(sunflowers, morning glories, nastursiums, cucumbers and tomatoes going in the ground today!)

What are your answers??

What My Nose Is In

I process life thru reading and writing...

{as if that wasn't already superlatively obvious by this here little blog!}

So, books are like crack to me.

As equally possessive and addictive as they are entertaining and tantalizing.

Books are also a great, FUN escape.
And I especially love it when those books also make me think!
I love it when sentences leap off the page and into my heart or mind.
Several excerpts from a recent Book Club book did just that.
I give you snippets of, Hot House Flower by Margot Berwin.
(all the pics are of flowers in my yard!)

When asked, by her mentor, what the heroine wants to do with her life:
"I guess I'd like to do what everyone wants to do. Have great adventures, fall in love, get rich. The usual."
He replies, "So why don't you go do those things?"

At a confusing crossroads in the heroine's life, her mentor says:
"If you can hear the quiet while being woken up by the garbage truck, you have power. If you can feel the stars when all you can see are the lights of the skyscrapers, that's power. If you can smell the forest in front of the dumpster, then you have power. Never let the events in front of you, or the people around you, tell you what to see, feel, taste, smell or hear."

What the heroine thinks when she finally leaves her safe circle:
"The moment I was spellbound by the color of the water was the moment I knew I had been in New York for too long and my decision to leave was a good one."






What the heroine is told when she starts to fall for the good looking guy, the obvious, EASY choice:
"Don't be superficial. Don't fall in love with ideas of magic and special powers and shamans' sons. Develop power for yourself, so that it's yours. Don't fall in love with what someone else has. Do the work."





And finally - being a mother of three littlies...and knowing the damage they do to their clothes on a daily basis...
What the heroine thinks after surmising the damage "really living" has had on her Ferragamo's and Gucci's:
"It was great to wear out clothes instead of throwing them away because they were no longer in fashion. It was like being a kid again - the time of life when your jeans ripped, or your body grew, and you blew through your clothes like they were made of paper."

-----------------------------------------------

Do you love books too?
Which one of these quotes struck you and why?
Make my day. Let's talk.
(And...please also share what you are reading. I am always looking for new books!

Want to know what I love even more than books?
Seeing these little ones love reading too!

This April 14th

We are in the midst of Spring Break.

Pool tricks and all!

We are in the midst of "slumber parties."

AKA - 3 sleeping bags on our blow up mattress at night.

I came across Megan reading Wyatt a bedtime story last night.

Be still my heart.

We are in the midst of celebrating.

Happy Birthday pretty girl! Today you'd be 36.

I love you.

Happy Birthday pretty girl! Today you are 1!

I love you.

It's often when I am in the middle,

that life tends to make the most sense out of the least.

It reminds me of my Grandpa Merrill.

When you'd ask him how he was feeling, he'd say:

"Never had less or felt better!" 

Joy in all situations.

What are you in the midst of?

Small

Sometimes I get bogged down in the mundane that is Motherhood.
The laundry.
The cooking
The cleaning.
The planning.




Sometimes, even, the joyful things can seem like chores.
The brushing of hair.
The reading of books.
The tucking in of sheets.
(especially when I am tired!)

Sometimes I wonder to myself,
"Is this what I went to school for?
Is this what I got a degree for?"
Surely I could be doing something greater with my time and talents than folding laundry and wiping bums!
Surely.




Sometimes I feel very small.
Sometimes.

But other times, it's this very smallness that brings me peace and purpose.
Because in my heart of hearts, I know, that nothing I am doing in my day to day is mundane.
It may be routine and it may be simple.
But it is great in the noblest of ways.
And surely, there is nothing greater I could be doing with my time and talents.

Surely.

Greatness

I am the happiest when I am doing for others. Busy and a bit crazy too. But definitely happy. There is an inner sense of calm that comes from knowing the chaos has a purpose. The crazy is for good. Serving helps me feel balanced. If only for a fleeting minute. I hope today you think of a way to do for others and set out to DO IT! Then stop to remember an inspiring man who in ways, even 53 years after his death, is a little ahead of the times. 

Two Cents

Our chalkboard in the dining room has sat empty since I erased the last Christmas sentiment before the New Year. This morning, I filled it with the following quote.

It speaks volumes to me right now. And reminds me of another one of my favorite quotes by Mother Teresa, "Be happy in the moment. That is enough."

That's my Two Cents for today.
The house is clean and boys are napping.
So I have a date with my treadmill and Y&theR.
Two things that make me happy at any moment. ;-)

Summer Lovin'

If you've read Bringing Up Burns for awhile, you know I write Birthday Letters to the important people in my life. Last year's letter to Megan is one I re-read often. She really is my gift. Her SPIRIT grounds me. Without it, I'd second...third...and fourth guess myself as a mother on a daily basis. It's no mistake she came first. It's no fluke she's often the one teaching me. Here is my most recent example...

I bought the girls wipe off white boards at Staples today. I've been practicing the Upper and Lower case alphabet with Molly, getting ready for Kindergarten. When Megan is reading books, she likes to write down words she doesn't know, and then brings it to me for deciphering. She is also BIG into learning to write in cursive. So far, I've shown her everyone's name in our family...and she's almost got it mastered!

 

Tonight as I was tucking the girls into bed, I found Megan's white board at the end of her bed. This is what it said...

 

*SIGH* 

 

Remember those days when I felt like THIS, and THIS, and THIS???

Well...it's little things like Megan's white board that help me realize that

1. LIFE IS GOOD
2. I AM BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE
3. I AM DOING SOMETHING RIGHT
4. NOT TO SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
5. GOD GAVE ME THIS CHILD FOR A REASON

I challenge you today to find bliss and happiness in the totally obvious and simple. The thing that is right in front of your face. The thing that, normally, you take for granted. The thing that, especially, you shouldn't. Experience the peace that comes from striking out and knowing that messing up is exactly what you were meant to do.

I Love You  MJ...more than you could ever know.

Mutiplication

"The heart has a miraculous ability to stretch to the infinity...It's not about sharing your heart with your children, because the love does not have to be rationed and spread out, but rather it just miraculously multiplies." -Tonya Joy

I snapped these pictures while the kids were going crazy in our front yard one afternoon last week. I love the simple, silly happiness they capture. Can you tell I'm obsessed with my new camera?

The Right Foot

"There is goodness in every single one of us.

If we dig deep its there.

It's called the Light of Christ.

It's in me, you and your worst enemy."

~Stephanie Nielson

WOW.

Go back and read that again.

It's my prayer you read these words today and live out the rest of your week with them on

your heart

your mind

the tip of your tongue.

'Cause if we all decide to find the GOODNESS,

Even when we have to dig deep...

So much wrong would just cease to be.

Think of the Potential!

Thanks Nie!

You never cease to inspire or amaze me.
I am blessed by your love, your perspective, your faith.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Good Words and Goals

I wrote these words on the chalkboard that is in our dining room/kitchen/family room area early morning January 1st. I think they are perfect for me to try and live by in 2010.

 I read some blogs where people chose just ONE WORD to represent their upcoming year. For  my supurlative self, that was a little harder to come by. But after a few days of consideration I have decided on:

BEAUTIFY

Twenty Ten is going to be about making everything I do, say, be, give, grow, read, make, sew, bake, love and live BEAUTIFUL. I figure I can't go wrong if when I am at a crossroad - I stop and ask myself "Does this make our lives/the world more beautiful?" If the answer if YES - then I'll do it wholeheartedly. If the answer is NO - then I can leave it in peace. Unfortunately - I realize the two aren't mutually exclusive. So I made this rule for myself: If something will make the world more beautiful - but consume my time and energy to the point that it makes my life less so, then my life and my family come first.

Other than that - the only other "goals" I have set for myself so far for 2010 concern running. Matt and I are racing to 60 miles in the month of January. My personal goal is to do 20 miles per week. I've already got 7+ under my belt in 2 days! Laura and I are racing to change our Nike+ color to BLUE! You may remember how excited I was to reach 155 miles and have my color turn to Green. Well, to get to Blue will take almost 500 more! It may take me most of the year, but I am committed to doing it and LOVE Laura for agreeing to be my motivation!

Since I am going to be doing all this running, I think it's time I look into some half marathons. I told myself all last year as I was losing weight, that I would run one someday. Well 70lbs have gone...and now I need something new that seems unsurmountable. When I began, my goal weight seemed unsurmountable and when I finally got there, if felt AWESOME. So I want that feeling again.

I'm thinking maybe the PCRF Half Marathon in May and the Chicago Half Marathon in October! I already do the PCRF run every year anyhow, so going the distance should be something I try for this year. And I never really need much of an excuse to get my butt to Chicago...so if my sister agrees to run it with me, I'll be there! Anyone want to join me in either race?

It's a good thing I'm back to my running self...

cause this is how we spent New Years Eve

(and pretty much every other day over Christmas Break!)

It was yummy and worth every bite!

Happy New Year!

Peanut Philosophy

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are not second-rate achievers however. They are the best in their fields. But applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are burried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one.

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier? The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care. The ones who take the time to let you know that you matter.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." -Charles Schultz

"Treasure the Doing"

Another "Mommy" friend recently sent me this article by Anna Quindlen in an email and I loved it so much I thought I would pass it along. It is hard for me to imagine the day all THREE of my children will be grown - able to eat, dress, pee, drive...all by themselves! Especially considering one isn't even born yet. But as this essay shows, it will happen. And I do try to take in the moments, stop and just watch them sometimes...but I could do it more. At least I am reassured that in trying to do my best as a mom...that is exactly what they are getting...the best. It may not be what I'd do again, or what I think is right tomorrow. But it is my best today, and that is great. Hope you enjoy:

"All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief.

I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like.Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely
discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, hey are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything.

One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout.

One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome.

To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did no t walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the, "Remember-When-Mom-Did Hall of Fame." The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?". (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and the n drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top.

And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were."