To my amazing niece

I haven't written on this blog for a very long time.  But I definitely need to say some things...

Dear Chelsea,     I was going to buy you an amazing looking card and write everything I wanted to say in it... that way you could keep it wherever you go.  But we all know I can't even send out christmas cards... I've at least printed them in the past, but physically SENDING THEM OUT is another story.  This I can do...
     You are about to set out on the first really great adventure in your life.  I'm so proud of you.  I love to see someone follow their bliss.  It's taken you a while, but I feel like that is what you are finally doing.  You have grown up to be such a responsible, lovely, amazingly cool person.  Your caring heart and your intelligent mind draw people to you from everywhere.  You are such a talented artist, and your friendship to others (friend, family member and stranger, alike!) is an incredibly strong commitment that comes from the bottom of your soul.   I am so proud to be able to say that you are my niece.  Not that I had much to do with the way you turned out.  That pat on the back goes to your parents, for sure.

Tomorrow you set out on your own.  I can hear the Dixie Chicks song, "Wide Open Spaces" playing int he background.  You've been patient with your life, especially when it mixes with those of others around you.  You have sometimes bowed out to allow other to do what they want, not out of fear or because you feel less-than-worthy, but because you are a kind, loving person who wants other to be happy.  But it is now YOUR turn.  I love that you are standing strong on your own two feet and you are pointing yourself in a direction to explore!  And, as the song goes...  you'll "find a dream and a life of your own.  A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone."  It'll get scary some, and you might doubt your decision from time to time... but, Man!  Isn't that much better than regretting that you never even tried to follow where your spirit wanted to take you?

No matter how far you go, I'm always ALWAYS here for you.  Just pick up the phone and I'm here.  You will always have a home... in Monteagle, Sylva, here in Charlotte... if you ever need it.  So many people love you and want you to be happy!  Just promise not to be too stubborn and know you can always come back if you need to. 

Above all, enjoy yourself.  After all, it's not about the destination.  It's about the journey.  I can't wait to hear the stories you have yet to tell.  

Much love , from your Aunt Sandy. 

Allowing Some Leeway....

No, my posts are not regular.  No, they never will be.  I've decided that's okay.  It's like the journals that I've started for Lilly and Jasmine.  I thought it would be cool to talk to them throughout their lives, and then when they're older, give it to them.  Yeah...  that's not happened very well.  Heck I don't even get Christmas cards out most years.  But, when I remember (and when I can find them) I still write in the journals.  And one year I'm going to surprise the HECK out of most of you with christmas cards that are even on time!  I figure something is better than nothing.

The Phoenix

*Before reading this, please read my previous post, as it directly pertains to this one...*  Okay, now that you've done that...  (you have done that, haven't you?)

It's always a lot to pack up the kids, the dogs, all the stuff that belongs to all of us, and to go to the mountains. But it's always worth it. And this weekend was certainly no exception. We went for a specific purpose this weekend... to celebrate our holiday, Samhain.

A Disclaimer for Posts to Come

I have thought long and hard about what it is that I want to write about in regards to my past weekend.  It was very special to me, and because of that I want to share it with the few people who actually read this.  Mainly I know that what I have to say will be welcomed...  but there is always the possibility someone out there will react the way people always do at some point.  I want to say a bit about my spiritual place in the world because it's, obviously, important to me.  It has great value to me.  In order for people to know me in my entirety, they have to know my core being, my central beliefs.

"Whatever activity you do, do it slowly. Do not rush to end it. Be relaxed in everything and bring your full attention to it." I don't know who wrote this, but I think about this a LOT while I'm rushing around.  To experience life, you need to really EXPERIENCE it, not rush through it.

Starting Over Again....

Well, it seems that I fell apart there for a while... and I know EXACTLY when it happened.  It all happened when I found out that Clayton College screwed me out of money and an education.  Everything all of a sudden felt kindof pointless.  And even though I really did try (and thought I was succeeding) to look at it as a new beginning, it really just felt like an ending on something that I didn't want to close. 

Proud

I'm so proud of myself.  I had everything packed for our trip last night. Everything except for the stuff that we need  for today or tomorrow morning. That means that today, instead of running around like a chicken with my head cut off,  I've been focusing on deep cleaning the house.  I've decluttered a LOT of jasmine's room, I've thoroughly cleaned my master bathroom and lilly's bathroom sink areas.  I've put away two loads of laundry, and I'm working on a third.  My master bedroom will be done today, and the entire upstairs area will be vacuumed and the spots on it will be shampooed out.  That should all be done within the next hour.  Then I will watch a show or something to rest for a bit.  Then I'll straighten the downstairs (not too much needs to be done downstairs) and vacuum/shampoo spots down there.  I'm not afraid of overdoing it, because I'll have a mandatory vacation from cleaning my house for the next week!  I'm totally excited about how it will feel to come home to a spotless house.  It would never be able to happen if I hadn't started packing for this trip 2 weeks ago.  I really am proud of myself.  I just had to share that thought.

Socks and Spaghetti Squash

Today is the day I go through the sock drawers in the kids' rooms.  I hate socks.  I do, really.  I hate having to sort through and match socks.  It's just a pain.  It is for that specific reason that I buy the same socks every time I go shopping for myself.  I don't have to worry about a lost one here or a lost one there.  And socks for little kids?  ugggh.  I have yet to be able to keep a pair of socks on Jasmine for more than 10 minutes.  So I stopped trying a long time ago.   Plus, I have to figure out which ones are too small for Jasmine, and I'll have to throw them out.  But to do that, I'll have to put them on her feet to know.  Unfortunately, for the most part, socks are not printed with a size on them.  :(

The other thing of note that I'm doing today (besides getting the massage at 7:00, yay!) is fixing a totally new vegetable for dinner.  I'm going to be cooking a Spaghetti Squash.  I'm totally excited to do this, as well as somewhat terrified it'll turn out badly.  Has anyone ever cooked a spaghetti squash before?  I'm using this recipe tonight.  We'll see how it goes.  I'm not even going to tell Mikey what it is or he won't eat it.  I'll let him know AFTER the meal.  In any case, I'm making it a goal of mine to try one new vegetable a week.  This is it for this week.  Oh, and for my brother-in-law (who may or may not be reading this), this recipe is 100% vegan.

Today's outlook.

This post really is being written because I know that one of my friends is trying to get her house in shape as well, and it helps her to read my blog.  This week, as said earlier, is all about the kids' rooms and bathroom.  Today is really simple.  Pick up all obvious trash in the rooms, and clean the kid's toilet...  the inside of the toilet is already clean, because I've gone through the process of thoroughly cleaning it (I found this pumice stone, on a stick, specifically for toilet bowls and porcelain safe that is AWESOME!).  So today what I had to do was just spray down the outside, especially around the back, and wipe it all down.   So, that's the bathroom.  Should take no more than 15 minutes to do.  I did it already when we were in there to brush lilly's teeth.  Next I have to pick up the obvious trash in the girls' rooms.  Easy enough.  I'm also going to take 15 minutes in Jasmine's room to hang up clothes and take out the ones that don't fit her.  That's it, 15 minutes and I'm done, no matter how far I have or haven't gotten. 

So far today, this is what I've done:  made bed, showered, got dressed, brushed teeth, swished toilet and wiped down sinks, emptied trash in bathroom.  Did the same for Lilly and her room/bathroom when she got up.  When Jasmine got up, I started the laundry and then brought the kids downstairs.  Once downstairs, I emptied the trash in the main bathroom.  I'm starting to make my way around to all the hotspots in my DECLUTTERED rooms.  The other rooms will have to wait until they're decluttered as well.  It sounds like a lot to do in a morning, but it's not.  And it's not something that I started doing all it once.  I've slowly added one more thing to my routine so that it's becoming an automatic thing.  I just do a little as I enter a room and it really only has taken me an hour TOPS when combined all together.  The key is to just do what you know you can do in a day, and get used to doing that...  then add new things.  Always get used to doing one or two things before you start trying to add more. 

That's it.  I just wanted to get that said while there's still a lot of daytime left today.  I'll write more later.

Maintaining....

Lately...  I've been maintaining.   I've had a lot going on this week.  Our pool team made it to the city championships.  So, this past Tuesday we had our regular pool night.  Then Wednesday, around 4, I went to Charlotte for the tournament and didn't get home until 2 am.  Of course I had to get up at 6 am with Jasmine.  We lost... which meant Thursday we stayed home.  I have to admit I'm kind of glad we lost Wednesday because if we had come back Thursday I would have lost my mind.  Thursday evening I slept.  Friday I was back up in Charlotte by 5:00 and got home around 1:00am.  Then I had to be back in Charlotte by 8:00 am, and we finally lost around 5:00 that night.  Needless to say I've not paid much attention to my house.  But like I said.... I've been maintaining.