Habit - November 4

It seems like I just can't keep up with it all today.



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However, I'm so thankful for all those little hands and feet making messes in the kitchen and on the floor, all the scattered, cluttered surfaces, all the love that is given and the life that is lived within these well-worn walls we call home.

Habit - November 3

Today was a quiet day:

     catching up on some school work
     watching the girls play with a friend
     long afternoon talks over coffee
     lots of laundry done
     good choices were made in regards to food
     Hallmark channel is showing Christmas movies this weekend and I intend on
          watching as many as I can.  Gosh, I love those movies this time of year.
     The dog has been super-sweet all day, following me from room to room and
          snuggling up to me every chance he gets.
     I didn't pick up my big camera today as I intended, but this one shot of my
          evening really sums things up.


Today, I'm thankful for all these little, overlooked things - these moments of downtime that are so needed.  Slow and easy....a perfect November Saturday.


***Grateful to be included on the Habit blog with this post.
 

Habit - November 2

They made our dinner as the sun was setting.  Needless to say, the evening was perfect.


Grateful to be featured on the Habit blog with this post.

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Once again, this year, I'm going to try to do a month of thankfulness related posts and incorporate them into the Habit pool at Flickr.  I really enjoyed participating last year and some of my favorite shots of 2011 were from the month of November.  I want to focus on the little things, the every day, the moments for which I'm most thankful.

School Days

Our school days have returned, and along with them the more normal and predictable routine that I love.

Late last spring I was having a hard time with this whole homeschooling choice.  I was plagued with doubts, I was irritated by the dailiness of it all, I was overwhelmed by the non-stop mental aspect and the equally incessant mom-on-duty 24/7 aspect.  I wasn't intending on taking a summer break, but somewhere around late June I decided that it was in our best interest, most especially my own, to take a break and relax.  I'm so glad I did.  I tried to just let it all go.  No thinking about it, no browsing homeschool websites or curriculum sites.  No planning or thinking of schedules.  No worrying about how far behind we may be or anything else.  I just released it all.

Then out of the blue, the desire returned with the changing seasons.  There's something about the shift of light in the fall and crisp mornings that make you crave oatmeal and school supplies you know.  :)

When that day of desire came I pulled the books back out, sent off this year's registration to the same cover school that I intended on changing but had lost all desire to even think it through, and we started.  Slowly but surely, finishing what we left dangling in my overwhelmed fog.  We're finally feeling the rhythm and sense of ease return to our days.  It feels good.  But most importantly, it feels right.  We are exactly where we belong and I am so happy for it.

For so many things...

...simple is best.

A New Twist on Blueberry Muffins

I made my last batch of blueberry muffins a little differently since, after I began putting together my muffin mix, I realized that I was out of my frozen berries.  I remembered, however, that I had a whole jar of Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves and decided to give them a whirl.  This particular brand of jam is so delicious.  It's really the best I've ever had.







My trusty homemade muffin recipe:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. sour cream or milk
• 1/4 c. oil or butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. or so of jam of choice
• 1 c. fruit (optional in this recipe since we're filling the muffins with jam)

Preheat to 350F.  Stir together eggs, sour cream or milk, and oil together well.  Add sugar and stir.  Add in flour, salt, and baking powder, combining gently until just combined.  Add fruit if you wish OR fill with jam.  

If you decide to fill with jam, fill muffin cups with half the normal amount of muffin mix, then add one teaspoon of the jam of your choice to the very center of the muffin mix.  Finish by topping with the other half of muffin mix and continue with each muffin cup.  

I made a quick crumble topping to top these with although it's completely not necessary since they're really good even without it.  The topping just gives them a little crunch and extra flavor.  I don't have a "recipe" for the topping but I can tell you that I used about 3/4 cup of oat bran mixed with about 1/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour (although any flour would do) and just a few tablespoons of sugar to sweeten it.  I brought it all together with just enough melted butter to make it crumbly, giving it a nice crumble sort of topping.

Bake for about 17-20 minutes.  This recipe will make 12 muffins.

Enjoy!

Inspired

I just spent some time browsing through the pages of this blog that I've had shut down for way too long now. {Yes, I did just re-open it and will work on some of my old posts and possibly add some new ones.}  Even though I have enjoyed blogging at my newer blog here, I admit, I miss what my old blog was.  I miss how so much was recorded and how I didn't feel so overly-guarded in regards to sharing myself, my family, my life.








I miss my love of photography, my love of experimenting with different editing techniques, my love of the art of it.

























 I miss my weekly self portrait challenges, recording the fact that the woman behind the lens was here, too.


 




I miss my kids being this age.  I miss them smiling freely for the camera and I miss snapping hundreds of pictures every week and I miss the early morning hours, cleverly carved out of my already busy days, for editing.

 




I even miss the crafty side of myself that hasn't been seen since the blog was shut down two years ago.  I miss the time spent stitching and knitting and sewing and creating with my hands.  I miss the inspiration and the drive.

 



These last couple of years have been full of changing.  Some changes for the better, some not.  Along with the changing has also come a great, long period of what I now know has been depression.  A period of time where inspiration is hard to find, even in the best circumstances.  A time when things feel hopeless for no reason.  A time of personal darkness, although the abundance of life's blessings should indicate a beautiful lightness.  A time of so much numbness on the inside, spent searching inside oneself for purpose, for reason, for light.

 I feel so ready to let go of this period of my life.  I want to release it, to learn from it, to take lessons learned and hold them close, to never return to this place again.  I want to move forward, sharing more, giving more, accepting more, doing more.  I want to take better care of myself, of the life God has given me.  I want to be more myself.  I want to accept the me I see and share her with everyone else.  I want to set a better example for my kids, as I have in the past.  I want to wake up from this long mental sleep, like Sleeping Beauty, and embrace life again.  Accepting the beauty of everyday life, the goodness and light that truly is everywhere.