Hardboiled eggs with NO peeling????

HOW COOL IS THAT?!

my daily Om

September 20, 2008
Cautious with Commitments
Gemini Daily Horoscope

A sense of caution today may have you weighing many possible outcomes before making a commitment. This tentative feeling is a valuable guide in making the best possible decisions for you and everyone involved. When we remember to use mind, heart, and spirit in making decisions, our choices are infused with wisdom. The universe helps us to bring about what we create in our minds, but if we are vague, the universe cannot give us exactly what we want. If we evaluate each prospective offer in the light of our goals and weigh them with the wisdom of our hearts and our intuition, we become specific about the most beneficial choices we can make. Today we let caution be our guide in making our best decisions.

When we spend time tuning in to our inner guidance, we learn the difference between the sensible caution that we’'ve been taught and the intuitive cause for concern. Our intuition can guide us around those things that are not visible on the surface, such as the sincerity or ulterior motives of those with whom we are dealing, or even an unforeseeable outcome. We cannot know every detail that needs to be orchestrated in order for our ideas to become reality, but when we attune ourselves to the universe by connecting to our center, we have access to that knowledge. Today, we can let an air of caution guide us to make the best possible decisions using all the tools at our disposal.

Okay, well I've got a number of things I'm looking at juggling in the future and they all seem to fall on the same weekend! Then I have the pre-emptive mommy guilt about doing so many things without the boys. I need to get over that...because when I do things that make me happy, I'm a better mom :)

another good Om

September 17, 2008
Capture Your Passion
Gemini Daily Horoscope
The initial results of your projects could make you feel optimistic about their outcome today. Your upbeat mood might be the result of your excitement about all the possibilities that await you and the journey your projects may take you on. While this enthusiasm may be present now, you might notice that as you progress in a project your eagerness can wane. Writing a journal entry, a letter to yourself, or even drawing a picture detailing the jubilation you feel today can go a long way toward keeping you motivated for the long term. Not only can this make you even more earnest about diving into your project but it can also serve as a reminder of the passion that inspired you to begin it.

Sometimes we need to have tangible evidence of our passion, particularly when we are caught up in the excitement of the moment. The beauty of our passion is that it a driving force, motivating us to move forward in our lives, taking risks and seeking out new opportunities and potential outlets for our talents. As with everything, though, the zeal with which we start something will eventually change once it becomes routine. Capturing our feelings allows us to preserve the spirit of our passion so that we can revisit it whenever we need to and reignite the spark that set our hearts and minds on fire. Noting what delights you about your projects today will keep you interested and engaged for a long time to follow.

We're All Goofy Goobers, YEAH!!

Our Family Theme Song

My Daily Om

I get the Daily Om and have gotten so many good ideas/boosts from it and today's was especially good!


September 15, 2008

Focus On Your Talents
Gemini Daily Horoscope

You might be creating new opportunities for yourself, which may make you feel a greater sense of self-assurance, and the exciting energy that comes from starting something new that can fulfill you might inspire you to work harder toward realizing your dreams today. Allowing yourself to remain open to the different prospects that present themselves to you and having a “can do” attitude could go a long way toward piquing your curiosity and ultimately putting you on the road to success. For every negative thought you might have today, you might work on changing it to reflect a more positive, upbeat, and encouraging attitude. Altering the way you perceive yourself could transform the way you go about doing things in the world.

Focusing our attention on what we are able to accomplish makes it easier for us to realize our dreams. It can be easy for many of us to think about the obstacles that stand in our way or even hold ourselves back because we don’t think we can do what we truly want. Recognizing these thoughts and learning to reframe them, however, puts us into another state of mind, —one in which we are looking at our goals as something realistically attainable through our own talents and resources. Our challenges then become something that moves us further along our path and help us to grow rather than something that hinders us. By viewing your opportunities as something that will propel you forward today, your confidence and capabilities will continue to grow.

I loved reading this :) and it helps me to be even more motivated to work on the restaurant books...I only have 2 wks left before my self-imposed deadline. I'm going to focus on getting it done, knowing that then I'll be FREE to do what I really want to do. (Thanks to dear Shari, for helping me to see that the books were dragging me down to the point where it had become absolutely vital to set a date and let it go!!)

My gift to you....a smile :)

The Spore Academy

I was just talking to Declan about how learning looks different for different families...we have friends who just started going through a charter school and now DC's buddy has lots of worksheets he has to do, etc. The youngest sister is in pre-school, which is what prompted the conversation :) Declan wanted to know if that means the family wasn't unschooling any more. (SUPER funny because as much as the mom and I love and respect each other, they SO aren't open to unschooling!) I tried to convey that what works for one family may not work for ours, etc. and that we participate in music class and karate because those are things that we're interested in and that's how we learn more about them...He pointed out that it's not the same thing to take a class as to go to school...and I agreed :) I told him that the philosophy that works for us is trusting that his mind and body lead him to things that interest him. He said "that's what I love about unschooling, that it's so natural."

So, I segued into something that's been on my mind....our R-4, and our "school name". This whole thing irks me ;) but shouldn't! In California, we register a form with the state, stating our intent to privately educate our children. Kinda like saying your going to function as a private school. On that form, it asks for a school name...and 3 years ago (the first time I filled one out) we decided to be the St. Nicholas Academy. St. Nick is the patron saint of children, of giving, and other good stuff...and I thought it sounded cool, lol. We have honestly never needed to use it anywhere else, but it bugs me nonetheless...this name that no longer fits our family. So I asked Declan what he thought...and he came up with Spore Academy :) Brilliant, I think...the game Spore is all about evolution of your entity (from cell to creature to tribe to civilization...) and the choices you make along the way are yours alone. They also affect how you evolve in the future (of the game)... whether you're seen as a hostile race (if you've killed every other race you came along in one level, [even if you tried making friends first and they wouldn't!] sometimes there's no redeeming yourself in later levels...you're considered hostile!) or other important things...

So anyway...This year I'll be using Spore Academy on our R-4 :)

Blessings...

This YouTube video, and a beautiful article appropriately titled "Blessings Come in Many Sizes", tells the story of my dear friend, Andrea's, youngest child and only son, AJ.

Andrea has always been an inspiration to me...when we first met, her fourth child was just two weeks old. Andie is so much fun- she's a great mom and a joy to be around...she's just one of those people who shines their Light everywhere they go :) and to this day, despite a crazily hectic schedule with all her kids' classes and activities, she's still the same. She brings joy to her own life and anyone she comes in contact with!! She always makes time for her friends...driving the 5 hours with her 5 kids (AJ was about 6mo old at the time) to visit us in Clovis. And she's human :) and sweet enough to share stories that show her in that light (I'm thinking of the time an ENTIRE jug of Kool-Aid got spilled in the fridge and onto the floor. And she yelled!) Like I said, she's an inspiration. Oh, and her lucky hubby Phil is a great guy, too ;)

Pismo!

We had a fun couple of weekends in August :) and so I thought I'd share some pics and stories!! First, our trip to PISMO!





August 21st we headed to Pismo for a long weekend of sun and fun!! Dirk spent much sweat and many hours to get the " 'Mater " ready for the dunes and we were ready to go!! Being the princess that I am, my boys were sweet enough to get a hotel room to stay in so I could come along...the last trip with sand (literally) everywhere was not so fun for me! So we stayed at a place just a block's walk from the beach and it was a great "home base" for our adventures (besides having a full kitchen which helped out with meals...)

Our first breakfast out was at the boys' favorite place...and Dad tried to steal a kiss. Torin wasn't going for it (but looks like he's hating it, huh?)



We were supposed to meet up with some really good friends of ours, but unfortunately they ended up having to back out last minute :( We got over our disappointment and had a fantastic trip...There were some Guard guys there, and Dirk's friend Gus showed up without a running dune buggy, so Dirk won their bet, which the boys were SO excited about! He called them his "secret weapons" because they helped him work on the Mater so much...






We had a great time at the pier and ended up with some fun trinkets...Dirk found a watch, I got a glass pendant and the boys both got beach clothes!! We stood for a long while and watched the surfers, young and old, catch some waves. I just had to take a pic of these two young boys- brothers- they were so much fun to watch and it was apparent that they'd grown up in the ocean ;)

I love this pic of the boys and the pelican. He just sat there so politely while the boys looked at him and I took pictures. He was just amazing!

Talked a nice guy into snapping a shot of the whole family....I'd taken a pic of his family on the pier, so really, he owed me! This wasn't the greatest of all the pictures, but I posted it because the other may end up being our Christmas card this year, lol.


We found shells and marveled at the Moon Jellyfish that washed up on the shore by the dozens on Saturday afternoon (I got to see them after a fabulous walk to the pier...about 4 miles total of beautiful beach strolling, and only one blister from my new flip flops). What a great place to go- we're so blessed it's only a few hours from us! I was teasing Dirk about saving up for a beach home there, lol.

These two pics were taken by Torin (along with like 50 others...he's quite the photographer!) when we were waiting for breakfast at Brad's on the pier. I love the one of the flower- he said it was for me (awwwwww!) The other is of a fun mural on the side of the Splash Cafe across the street from Brad's.




These are from my walk...on the way back I took a different way, trying to find this neat walking path we'd seen people on. Well, i found it! After walking along the main road for awhile (yuck!) through a campground and by the golf course!! It was worth the view. Breathtaking!




I've never been all that attracted to jellyfish- I mean they sting, right? But I just loved a glass pendant that I found with a jellyfish suspended in it (really just a design made of glass within the glass) and was surprised when I saw at least a dozen (maybe two) moon jellies that had washed up on the sand on my walk back to the hotel. I thought that most of them would make it back into the ocean when the tide came up, but we looked them up online and they are pretty simple organisms (not really even animals!) and were probably all dead once they were out of the water a few minutes. Sad...but they were still so beautiful! They had spots inside them that reminded me of the glass orbs I have in my plants...

my singing....things are going to HAPPEN!

I thought I'd post a question (and answer) from one of my favorite email lists...i'm so excited about what the future holds for me, my music and what it will contribute to the world!! "Music Therapy" sounds like a good working title for now (since that's what my major was going to be in college before I was told I'd "never make a living with that kind of degree" and let it go... ahhhh, it's so nice to grow up and mend some of those fences :)


Cid, you've probably shared this here before, but I am guessing you are a singer? Sarah


Funny question, actually ;) well, funny answer...I've always considered my singing to be my *one* God-given talent ;) but besides high school (all-state choir and performance groups) and a stint in a couple of bands in my early 20s, I've never had much "success" with it.

I started this response last week before we left for our trip, and didn't get to it before we left....but an awesome thing happened between then and now. I got this very intense vision of myself singing with a REAL purpose :) I've always pigeon-holed myself as a singer...couldn't seem to get my mind around songwriting (which is totally due to self-limiting...I love writing in general, and have always been very musical, but was more comfortable just singing something someone else made famous, kwim?) Well, I got this idea of writing songs that have to do with: unschooling, living free with children, feel-good move up the vibrational ladder songs, etc. I mean, there are times where sad, life-sucks songs are appropriate maybe...but I'd like to bring the good stuff to the world's table! (One of the reasons I love Amy Steinberg so much is she's got some songs that pick me up and just get me in a good place EVERY time I listen!)

Also a possibility of dabbling in "new" nursery rhymes...teaching kiddos that they create their own reality, other LofA, tapping, freedom songs :) Right now it's just a hodge-podge in my brain...and I don't know HOW it will happen (but that's not really my job, now, is it LOL) but when the initial thought struck me I felt chills travel from my head to my toes and back again and I just KNEW that this is going to start manifesting soon...I've never had anything like that happen before!

And the funniest thing is...the retreat I'm going to is called the Great Big Dreams Retreat. When I first signed up I thought to myself "wow, I guess I need to get myself some great big dreams, cause I can't think of any right now!"