I made two new recipes this week, both “borrowed” from others.
Homemade pot pie (thanks Brookey!)
Shepherd’s pie (thanks Chef Ramsey!)
Plates were licked, so Success!
What yummy meals have you made lately?
I know I just posted, but I had to share my morning’s inspiration to add instant spice to our day:
What’s your recipe for instant spice?
I feel like I’ve been in a season of gathering lately. Ideas and inspiration are being found and stored away, to be put to use after pondering and thought. These are some “nuts” I’ve picked up recently:
I haven’t really put any of these ideas to use yet; I’m kind of letting them simmer for a while to see what ends up bubbling up to the surface as important.
What’s inspiring you these days?
Valentine’s Day is coming.
I got to thinking about love today. The love I have for my Mama, my Joey, my Hilary, and my (as yet unconceived) children is all so different. I’m looking for creative ideas to express those different loves to my loves this Valentine’s Day. Any thoughts?
I’m reading this book. Don’t get judgy on me. It’s awesome. An example of awesome is this quote:
You bear God within you, poor wretch, and know it not
I’ve been sitting with that idea for several days, and it really resonates with me.
Would you like to do an experiment? It’s probably raining where you are, so an experiment where you don’t have to go outside might be nice…
Will you sit with the idea that God is inside you for a few days, and let us know how it goes? I hope you do…
Catching the vision, Inspiration, Magic moments, Refilling the Well- You time
Is it raining where you are? We’re in the midst of a torrential downpour here. It was seriously scary to drive today, which meant we were inside for most of the day. Luckily we have wonderful friends who braved the crazy roads and came to relieve us of the ensuing boredom of being stuck inside all day. After they left and the girls were down for a nap, I got thinking about rainy days when I was a child.
I’ve always loved the rain. I love the different sounds it makes, love watching it from the warm side of a window. I remember recesses full of “Heads Up 7-up” and board games in the cafeteria at lunch time. I remember grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for dinner while the raindrops pinged off of the tin roof of the deck. I love being outside in the rain, feeling it on my face, seeing it bead up on my raincoat. I love the splash of a good puddle. I remember going out hiking almost every rainy Saturday of my childhood (I’m sure it wasn’t EVERY one, but I remember it that way), spying animals running free under the assumption that all the humans were far away. I remember the invigorating weight of being soaked to the skin, and the joy of changing into warm clothes. Those are some of my very favorite memories.
So I got to thinking- what traditions will I set up around rainy days for my girls? It’s supposed to rain all week, so I’m planning a flexible schedule of making cupcakes, painting, eating grilled cheese sandwiches, maybe watching a special movie, and, of course, getting out in the middle of the downpour. Those puddles won’t splash themselves, you know.
Do you have traditions around rainy days? Any wonderful memories? Do share!
I read this today and wanted to share. This is Vera Farmiga, talking about the book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek 
“In one sublime passage, she [Dillard, the author of the book] talks about how in order to see things in all their dazzle and beauty you’ve got to be still. I’ve always found that paragraph very poignant, because in the age of high-speed Internet, fast food, and express checkouts, we attack everything at breakneck speed- so many people cannot, will not, and do not know how to be still.”
Do you take moments to be still? Can you make one today? Will you?
And will you share with us the dazzle and beauty you see?
I write poetry.
There. I admitted it.
I usually don’t think of myself as creative. Creative is my aunt, who is an author. Creative is my friend, who takes such beautiful photographs. Creative is Martha, not our Martha, but the other one 
You know what? I’m done downplaying it. I’m creative too.
I bought myself a notebook at Target on New Years, and I’ve been consciously making time to write.
How do you nurse your inner creative sparks? And how do you keep yourself and the others you share your life with from downplaying your own and their own creativity?
My sister and I have been talking about working together on a bunch of projects this year. We are both very excited to make both things for our homes and for ourselves and our children. Today we spoke for a little while and solidified our intent to get our craft on.
She started making a tangible list of projects and that has inspired me to make a list of projects too. With the thought of creative list making in mind, I was wondering what blogs inspire you. We have discussed it here on MDM in the past, but I was wondering if anyone had any new inspiration blogs to offer.
A few that I have been enjoying and gleaning inspiration from are:
Burdastyle – a site dedicated to sewing and altering patterns to express your own individuality. There are a whole bunch of free patterns that you can download and and print out, and some that are offered at very low prices. Their blog is very active and frequently makes say out loud, “I want to make that!”
The Purl Bee – While I would classify myself as NOT being a knitter, I do enjoy fiber arts and one day will put myself in that category. Until that time, I find a lot of inspiration for projects from the Purl Bee. They have many knitting projects but they also have a lot of other types of projects too.
Nap Time Crafts – I love this site because it constantly reminds me that even with small children I can still make time to work on projects. She has really colorful and cute projects for herself and her home and often puts together tutorials for the things she makes. She’s very big on sharing knowledge and telling her readers how she made things and I LOVE that attitude.
The Little Green Notebook - This site is run by a woman who is a great home decorator. She is getting back into the game and opening her business after having children. She posts projects she has worked on for both herself and her clients, things that inspire her and how she did the occasional project too. I find a lot of inspiration from both her designs and in where to buy certain items.
Steep Street - As a photographer, I have been finding great inspiration from this blog. She always inspires me with her creative use of PhotoShop and her ability to capture the light and see things in angles that I might not think of. She has really inspired me to learn my software better and be able to use my tools to create more creative art pieces.
What has been inspiring you lately? Are there any projects that have been bouncing around in your brain lately? Are there specific colors or themes that have really been catching your eye lately? Where are you finding your creative inspiration?
Do you remember that the word I chose for this year was “connect”?
Perhaps I should say that it chose me, because my goodness, it has been an inspired and inspiring week.
I’m going to do a series of posts on the way I’ve been incorporating this word into my life and routines, and I thought I’d start with the way I begin my mornings- connecting with my body.
I realized that toward the end of the year I was getting really short tempered and not so pleasant to be around. And I realized that I wasn’t getting enough sleep. So I started getting to bed earlier (by 10), and as a result, found myself waking up, completely on my own (instead of by the regular alarm of “mama, mama”) at around 6. I decided to get up and actually do something with that time before the girls woke up, so I got a Kundalini yoga DVD to do in the mornings.
Kundalini yoga is different from other practices of yoga – it’s not the style you think of with poses and long deep stretches – it has quicker movements and different breathing. It’s a perfect practice for me for the morning – it incorporates movement that wakes up my body, and meditation that wakes up my mind. (I’m using this DVD
I’ve also been paying more attention to the food I put in my body; I’ve cut out all gratuitous sugar (the obvious forms of it – I’m still eating bread with sugar in it) and I’m trying to not snack unless I’m actually hungry.
In the evenings I’m doing a Jillian Michaels workout
Through this process I’ve been trying to focus on working with my body, rather than my natural inclination which is to declare war on it. The concept of connecting has been key in this, and while my body hurts (oh it hurts), my attitude and approach to it are far more enthusiastic and positive than they have been in the past.
How do you connect with your body? Are you friendly or do you find yourself feeling adversarial?
And do you have any workout DVDs that you love? (I’m always looking for more!)
