“Ever catch a glimpse in the mirror and not recognize yourself? That totally just happened to me.”

My hair is in the process of growing, and I think it’s hit its teenage years, because it is completely doing its own thing. Luckily I liked what it was doing yesterday, it just caught me by surprise.

But this is incidental to my point. My uncle, in response, wrote:

‘Wait until your sister, mother, aunt, or grandmother looks back at you. I’ll post a picture of your great grandmother  — perhaps she is looking back.”

I hear people worry that they’re starting to look like their mothers;  I’ve always looked like my mom, and I love it.  I love the parts of me that remind me of her when I look in the mirror.  When I was little I looked exactly the same as one of my cousins, and in turn one of my girls looks just like her cousin did at her age.  Farther than that, I don’t know where my face comes from. I haven’t looked into older family pictures enough to know who resembles whom among my assorted grandmothers, great aunts and 2nd cousins.

But I love that image of women from my family’s past looking back at me, as the one who currently carries the trace of their eyes, or smile, or nose; keeping an eye on what I’m doing.

Or maybe it’s not a physical trait that we share, but a talent or skill. I think of the Mary Ann  for whom I’m named, who snuck a cutting of her beloved yellow roses in her purse back in the 1800s, and kept it alive all the way across the Altlantic  and through a treacherous trek over the US to finally plant them in her new home in Hyde Park, UT.  I like to think she smiles as she sees our balcony garden, (or me doing something sneaky).

So, on this President’s Day, as we celebrate important people from our country’s history, let’s celebrate those from our own individual histories as well. Who do you look like? Who do you act like? Who’s looking back at you? And how do you preserve the memories of them, to share with those in your family who are younger?

Homemade pot pie (thanks Brookey!)

Shepherd’s pie (thanks Chef Ramsey!)

Plates were licked, so Success!

What yummy meals have you made lately?

Add chocolate chips to the pancakes.

What’s your recipe for instant spice?

Steady Days

The Art of Simple Food

Simplicity Parenting

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?

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?

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…

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!

“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?

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?