Music Festivals and Sunshine..

Photo by Ian Rawn

To those who don’t know me personally.. music is the copper to my peace coin. With everyone’s Spring and Summer tour dates announced, I’m getting so pumped to see some GREAT live music this year. I have always been a part of street teams to help me with ticket prices and cool merch, but I will save money for a good show. Or hint for birthday presents 😉 (we’re going to see Donna the Buffalo next month)

So I just wanted to tell you guys that I’m pumped about attending some really good venues this year! And I feel you should enrich your lives, if you don’t already, and go see a show, dance, laugh. If ya want meet me at one and I’ll show you how!!

Check out some of my favorite homes away from home!

Spirit of Suwannee Music Park

Floyd Fest

The Orange Peel

The Variety Playhouse

Neighborhood Theatre

Girl Time..

Even though the holidays do bring about the opportunity to spend more money  than usual, you do get to go out. Things are usually decorated, you just can’t help it, the Christmas feeling. New to this area still! (We don’t get out much) We went to a new place for us and man o man, it was huge. Blakeney Shopping Center is the name, Holy cow. I saw their Facebook page and it had COUPONS on it, you know, the click for offer. I saw one for 20 % off Bath and Body Works, emailed that sucker to myself and Syd and I set off!

We got out. It just felt good to be with her. This is our first year without Santa and I’m glad. I get to talk to her about Christmas, others and her own. She knows we work and pay for her Christmas. She is learning so much. Way more in tune than I was. She is starting so understand value, something I didn’t get until a couple years ago. I’m so happy with the direction she is going. Don’t mind you, we have our occasional fits, buts for the most part she gets it. Sometimes more than me. We got to walk around and even eat out which is a very special occasion for us at a new place for us Brixx Pizza. It was an awesome time for us both!!

I let her know humility with me instead of hiding it like most American parents. And I would like to think, one day she will grow up to thank me for never having as deep of a footprint as the rest of us 🙂 I tell her up front and honest as much as I can. She knows about bills. We have been tossing around ideas for saving energy and/or money. Things we’ve read on the internet or things she’s heard in school. Yesterday she turns to me.. “You know something else we can do to save money?”, she says. We could be vegetarians because we grow our all food then. With an outlook like that, I can’t be negative. Man I wish I could be more like her.. Just go with the flow.

We got home and I pulled out the complete manicure set to end a perfect girls day. She had been wanting to go to the nail shop, but I have a feeling she will be getting a nail design kit for Christmas, so we practiced on all our fingers and toes!! We call it.. Snow drops on Santa’s sleigh 😀

Playful days, you know, I got a lot of memories…

We spent this weekend helping the kids build a fort out in the woods behind our neighborhood. My permaculture zones 4 and 5, mind you 🙂 It stated as a foraging trip for some fire wood to burn in the pit that night. We’ve been encouraging the children to play outside more and more, out there is fine. I grew up in the deep woods. They had pretty tight boundaries back there and were loving it.

Then the boys saw the perfect place for a clubhouse. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to see these XBOX addicted boys having so much fun designing the perfect spot. I mean it’s not unfathomable, we did stuff like this every day as kids. But, unfortunately, these aren’t those kids. Technology rules their domain. They are the ones I worry about off grid. Not just off grid, but life in general. How are they supposed to have an imagination if it is always given to them with superb graphics in the latest video game. It’s hard to complete with that sometimes. The oldest prefers the artificial world. He even talks about it like it’s real life.. “Well, in Minecraft I built this or found this.. That’s just like in Minecraft, where I found..” What the…

So it was a great feeling to see not just our kids, but our whole section of the neighborhood kids, back at the ‘clubhouse’. Everybody was pumped about who’s spot was who’s, dragging up different pieces of the clubhouse. It was imagination at it’s finest! So the next weekend you can, take your kids or just yourself and hit the woods if you have any. Let your imagination go wild and make you a sacred space, encourage your children to do the same. Take in the fresh air and the laughter you are bound to hear 😀

Girl day :)

Michael helped a friend of ours out on a side job, so Syd and I planned it where we could spend some time with Liz, his girlfriend/my confidante. I don’t get to see her much as it is and she loves to bake.. So perfect way to spend the afternoon 🙂 We decided to do jalapeno poppers (we are all still harvesting jalapenos every day!), a dip and a peach crisp for desert.

Goodness it was good to be just girls! Sydni played with the dogs, burying Coyote’s stick from him. It was so funny, he would sit beside her and act like he wasn’t looking when she buried it. Then they would ‘find’ it together. Liz and I sat on her back porch where you feel tucked away and safe. Her little treasures peeking from different corners all with a story to tell. We laughed the afternoon away in between preparing each dish. It was really needed..

She hollowed the peppers while I sliced up the peaches. I know they are not in season here right now, but I was craving the peach crisp. (She had already told me she had vanilla ice cream) Sydni helped me with the final touches on it. By then the boys had come back and we moved the dinner back to our friend. We ate black bean salsa and baked dinner. It was delicious!! Not only did I get some time with my girls, we made a kick ass meal with dessert. Day well spent..

http://thehemloft.com/story-carpentry/

http://thehemloft.com/story-carpentry/.

Joel’s Magic Egg!!

Early wakeups..

I know people who never seem to have enough time in their day. Oh, how they could get this project done or spend more time with kids instead of handling daily chores when you come home. What if you could wake up a little earlier. Start small and before you know it you have an hour to yourself in the silence of the early morning. I personally feel one needs to ground themselves first thing of the day, so no matter what comes along, they are able to find and hold their center because they were just there that morning. Practice clearing your mind, listen to the house noises, this is your stolen time.. Find a spot in your mind where you can just sit, no conversations to keep up..
After go through some events from yesterday. You can picture them clearer, think about them now. Think about yesterday’s events, embrace the proud moments.. what was about that moment that made your heart swell. Can we do it again today? Think, was there a point you got angry frustrated? What action do you think bothers you the most? Is there anything you can do better next time?
I’ve started a journal. It was for blogs while away from home, but has turned into a powerful tool. I go to those pages and spill my beans. The sometimes edited version hits here. But it helps so much. Even if I don’t have anything to say and draw peace signs in the roots of cypress trees. (My favorite picture in my mind)
So find that hour or even 30 minutes that’s just yours, listen to your breaths, really try to clear your mind even of the best intentions and find yourself.