a few of my favorite things right now...

1. breakfast in bed for no other reason than to let me know i am loved





2. friday off of work to get errands done...including a fresh new summer cut...snip snip here, snip snip there...



3. quiet time alone to look at new mags and books from the library

4. coldplay

5. laughing with my sister on the phone about periods, of all things...how some months they just sneak up on you and basically bitch slap you in the face without warning...and in the least desirable place. you know you've been there too....

6. running today in the sweet sunshine



7. printing more wedding pictures for my viewing pleasure



8. enjoying the last few free days of xm radio in the new car

9. old episodes of northern exposure...chris in the morning, i know i am married now...but man, did i have it bad for you back in the day. all that poetry reading and existentialism...

10. lounging on the patio this hot friday night, waiting for the rainstorm to roll in...

Gratitude Five

1. hot coffee ready when i rolled out of bed

2. npr

3. pb&j on homemade bread

4. talking to my dear friend kmrvse while we both drove home from work, states away from one another

5. a tired body, ready to hit the sheets early

Mornings at Blackwater

"For years, every morning, I drank
from Blackwater Pond.
It was flavored with oak leaves and also, no doubt,
the feet of ducks.

And always it assuaged me
from the dry bowl of the very far past.

What I want to say is
that the past is the past,
and the present is what your life is,
and you are capable of choosing what that will be,
darling citizen.

So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,

and put your lips to the world.
And live
your life."

From Red Bird, by my favorite, Mary Oliver

mondo beyondo...bucket list...wish list...

call it what you will. today @ work i started writing my mondo beyondo list...the list inspired by andrea over at superherodesigns.com. this is your wish list....wishes that stretch even beyond your wildest dreams. i have heard more and more lately, that if you can envision it, write it down, declare it, and watch how the universe opens itself up to those wishes. here are a few of my wildest dreams....





1) have children (Greenhouse Birthing Center to be exact)

2) visit alaska

3) publish a book

4) be a s.a.h.m. and teach my kids

5) raise majority of our organic food

6) build a straw bale home

7) take a family trip to london and stay at a decent hotel

8) own a kayak and use it

9) run a marathon

10) pay off credit debt in ten years

11) adopt

12) see muir woods in ca

13) own a summer home big enough to fit the family

14) help support momma

15) go to grand canyon

16) visit iceland

17) publish cookbook

18) retire from teaching early...aka, find a new source of income

19) meet mary oliver

20) visit africa

21) visit asia

22) knit a sweater that fits someone

23) make a quilt

24) learn how to use a sewing machine properly

25) have internet business in some capacity



26) visit vancouver

27) move out of lansing

28) join csa

29) take yoga class

30) own a bike with a basket for collecting

31) end d.r.a.t. summer 2008

32) help plan an annual or bi-annual lwc summer reunion event someplace wonderful

33) take a trip alone

34) buy superhero necklace

35) complete masters

36) learn to golf

37) play on adult soccer team for the hell of it

38) take s. to lwc

39) reestablish relationships with college friends

40) get a dog

41) create a piece of art

42) learn how to take and develop better pictures

43) meditate

44) find church

45) visit maine

46) go to stillmeadow, stand outside the house, and think about all the living and writing done inside

47) travel to italy

48) start womenade project

49) sleep in tent in backyard with family

50) plant a tree for every child when they are born

i love days like this

s. & i had the perfect sunday together. we got up and ran. it was such a gorgeous morning. then i ran to the grocery to get a few things for the week. i am trying a new recipe once a week, and today we get double duty....berry smoothies in our new blender for breakfast, and hot tamale burgers with sweet potato fries for dinner. yum and yum. because it was so gorgeous out, we decided to get outside before the rains came in, so we went to the garden to check on it and then over to the msu gardens to walk around.

then my sweet husband treated me to ice cream at the dairy store. so yummy. we got home just as the rains came in and passed over us. the rest of the day was saved for baking bread, making dinner, doing a couple loads of laundry, and now, picking a jane austen book to start reading. i do so much non-fiction reading, that i need to get into a good story.

soon, the laundry will be done and the kitchen cleaned up, i will take my nightly shower, put on clean pjs fresh out of the dryer, and cozy up on the porch with a good book. i love days like this.