Raising Inspiration

30 before 30: Refurbished Refined Retooled

May 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

About a year ago I created The Original 30 before 30 list. Through the year I second guessed some of the items that I had on my list for one reason or another. I had put several items on about going green and I really wanted to focus less on the things that interested me at the time and more on goals, plans and things for the future. I also mentioned having two more kids. With my Lupus there is just no telling. God might give us two more children or He might decide that we are meant to only have the beautiful baby we already have. I am not putting a magic number on our family anymore, we will be given the family that we were meant to have!

I know some of you might be saying that once I finalized my list there is no changing it. That was how I felt at first. Then I decided that it’s my list, filled with things that I want to do… so I can make whatever changes to it that I want because it’s for me in the first place. I hope you enjoy my newly refurbished 30 before 30 list!

1. Grow my hair out to my waist
2. Get my family tattoo
3. Finish my novel
4. Participate every year in the “Walk to end Lupus Now” event
5. Get Lasik eye surgery
6. Take a baking/cake class
7. ~~Start/get involved with a ministry to teach people to transition to a green life~~
8. Paint our kitchen cabinets
9. Be debt FREE!
10. Plant a vegetable garden
11. Finally go skiing
12. Create my own pie recipe
13. Hang pictures from Chase’s documentary
14. Go on a family vacation to California
15. Read 30 books
17. Go parasailing
18. Pay for a strangers meal at a restaurant
19. Go on a train ride as a family
20. See a movie at the drive-in (I seriously have never done this)
21. ~~Find my favorite brand of all natural make up~~
22. Try a really fancy bottle of wine
23. Go on a trip out of the country
24. Go to a dinner show
25. Take a spontaneous family day trip to new places in our home state
26. Finally decorate our bedroom
27. Finish scrapbook (you seriously have no idea how long this has taken me!)
28. ~~Actually start and complete a knitting project~~
29. Watch and stay awake for the entire movie, Stand by me (I have attempted and failed twice)
30. Play Christmas carols for a family sing along on the piano

Mother’s Day 2013

May 12, 2013 — Leave a comment

To all the Moms, Happy Mother’s Day!

I No Like It!

April 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

Isn’t it amazing the silly things you do once you are a parent?

Let me take you into my world during last night’s dinner. I promise this is 100% a true story!

As I am cooking dinner Chase and Eli were in the living room playing. I was pretty sure that it was not going to be an easy dinner as the two vegetables on our plates were Brussels sprouts and butternut squash. We have been trying to incorporate new vegetables into our diets. Usually I am very intentional about cooking only one “odd” veggie and throwing in the comfort of green beans, mashed potatoes or corn as the complementary side in hopes to make it a little less scary to a toddler. Speaking of that.. why is trying new foods such a big deal anyway?

Well this time I knew that with family coming in town this weekend there was a good chance we would not cook either veggies before they went bad. And I was NOT going to waste our money by letting that happen!

Needless to say we had two new veggies on our plates last night.

Eli was less than impressed!

I remember when he was a baby he LOVED butternut squash! It was on his top list of favorites, right next to avocado! Well I don’t know if his taste buds have changed or just the stubborn two-year old thing has kicked in, but he does not care for it now!

We decided to make a house rule: You don’t have to like the food, but you do have to try it first before you decide.

My hope is that if he tries it enough maybe one day he will like it. I mean it worked with Chase, now he enjoys a lot of veggies he hated growing up. I just want to make sure that my children try new things and appreciate what is given to them. You simply can’t say that you don’t like food until you have tasted it. You might be missing out on something awesome! Yes, I am well aware that my child is only a toddler, but we are setting the tone for the years to come!

So we sat down to dinner. Chase and I were enjoying our dinner, Eli wouldn’t touch his food. And then it happened…

“I know it’s new, and you’ve never tasted it.
You’ll just have to trust in me.
Just give it a try.

Try it. You’ll like it.
Try it. You’ll like it.
Try it. You’ll like it.
Try it. You’re gonna like it.”

That’s right people, Chase and I started singing Yo Gabba Gabba in hopes that Eli would try his new veggies. Oh, that was probably a sight to see! The toddler refusing to eat his veggies and two adults singing at the table. Yes, this did happen! Unfortunately it didn’t really work, he still decided after licking each one that “I no like it“ But you know what, that’s okay. It’s one meal, one new veggie at a time!

Patience Makes Parsley

March 29, 2013 — Leave a comment

I stood with a glazed look over my face as I saw multiple rows with packages of seeds that all promise to one day be an actual vegetable if I simply planted them. In theory this should be a “no-brainer.” Pick the vegetables I want, get the dirt, a pot to plant them in and wallah! Except it’s not that easy. I’ve never had a plant, I don’t even know how often to water them let alone which type of tomato seed would grow best. Oh by the way, did I mention that I don’t know if this is even the right season for the seeds I’m planting?

During the month of March I wanted to focus on gardening for “green month” of my Searching for Simplicity fast inspired by Jen Hatmaker‘s book 7. I’ve made many changes towards a greener lifestyle but gardening had never been something I had ever attempted. That made deciding what to do for the “green month” pretty easy, gardening it would be! With that I picked seven things to plant:

Tomatoes
Green onions
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Cilantro
Sweet peppers

The first sprouts of my garden

I will be honest, when I started I couldn’t tell you how often to water my garden and I still don’t! I pretty much just gave it a good look and if it seemed like the soil was damp I figured no need to water. Couldn’t even begin to tell you if this is accurate!

Patience. Oh how gardening requires this attribute! I had a little hunch that God’s message during this fast was going to be related to patience. I mean gardens don’t bloom over night! I even found myself asking “how long does it even take for seeds to start sprouting?” Day after day I would go outside, water my dirt and come back in. Nothing was happening and I kept telling myself that I was sure this would be a lesson in patience. And guess what… it was a lesson in what patience will bring! The other day I went outside to yet again water my dirt but instead I found sprouts! That’s right people, seeds actually grow! I got super excited, ran inside to tell Chase and to grab my phone to start taking pictures. I mean seriously, my vegetables had started to sprout, Facebook needed to know about this! It was my first attempt at gardening and I actually succeeded!

Confession: I can’t tell you what it is that sprouted because I can’t remember the order of where I planted everything. Whoops! I’m pretty sure it’s one of the herbs but I guess I will just have to wait and find out.

I have always been aware of the importance of patience. And in most situations I was always aware of the joy you felt after the wait was over. But it’s easy to forget and to find yourself back in that state of impatience when you are waiting.

How easy it was to plant these seeds and in a matter of a few short weeks I was reminded of what comes as a result of patience!

The Artist Within

March 21, 2013 — Leave a comment

An artist in all of us

I am not an artist.

I hate when people say this!

Yes, I have said this statement many times.

Why do we feel like art is strictly sketching, painting and sculpting? If that is the case then yes, I am not an artist. My abilities are limited to bubble letters, flowers and hearts. In this scenario I have not one artistic bone in my body.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

Pablo Picasso

Think about it. Every child gives the world’s largest grin as they proudly show off their scribbles. Isn’t this a masterpiece? Yes! I firmly believe that it is. I don’t believe that it’s the actual drawing that makes it “art” but simply the imagination that it took to create it. That my friends is what I believe is the root behind being an artist. You don’t have to draw amazing portraits or paint like a pro to have the imagination to create something spectacular! It merely needs to be thought up and put into being.

Think outside the box. Making a garden, baking, making up bedtime stories, picking out your clothes for the day, creating music, poetry, scrapbooks, decorating cakes, cutting hair and even blogging is coming from someone’s imagination. So is it art? Yes! It most definitely is! I am tired of using the phrase I am not an artist! I am going to raise my children to never believe in that statement. Children probably do not remain artist merely because of believing this terrible phrase so many of us have uttered, Building a castle from legos- art. Creating an intricate train track- art. Building a fort- art. Whatever you can think, you can create and that makes an artist! Let’s stop believing in the lie and start creating! I did, just now with this post!

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.”

Albert Einstein

Mother’s Day 2013

I No Like It!

Patience Makes Parsley

The Artist Within

I am not an artist.

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