Living, Loving, Learning

Imagine a Woman by Patricia Lynn Reilly, M. Div. The poem that inspired the book Imagine a Woman in Love with Herself. Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is woman. A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories. Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life. Imagine a woman who believes she is good. A woman who trusts and respects herself. Who listens to her needs and desires and meets them with tenderness and grace. Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past's influence on the present. A woman who has walked through her past. Who has healed into the present. Imagine a woman who authors her own life. A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf. Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and to her wisest voice. Imagine a woman who names her own gods. A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness. Who designs her own spirituality and allows it to inform her daily life. Imagine a woman in love with h...

Well, I didn't see the bloggity blog break coming, but here it is. Feeling really full, really busy, really focused on each moment right now. And I just don't have any inspiration for blogs right now. I am going to respect my needs and go with it for the moment. So, until I am back here again next week, I hope you have a really wonderful Thanksgiving. I give thanks for my amazing family, overflowing with love and unconditional acceptance of them. I give thanks for my friends, so thankful that they are REAL and OPEN and PRESENT with me. I give thanks for all we have, our beautiful ease of living each day. I give thanks for my journey, for my peace. Shanti

Hey Friends!! Seems like it's been a bit since I've logged into the ol' blog here. We've had a bit of a tough week around here. Griffin's been sick, Lucy is not sleeping well and getting me up 4 or 5 times a night, having some car issues that are going to be EXPENSIVE to fix (terrible timing with the holiday's hot on our heels!), I have over-committed myself and have so many things to do/make that I am struggling to not feel constantly overwhelmed and Bruce has had to go into the hospital 3 nights this week which makes me miss my partner a ton. Top that all off with my step father being extremely scary ill and spending the week in the ICU, and it has been kind of a crap week. But you know, BLESSED is this LIFE! That is the mindset that I want and need to stay centered in - CELEBRATION of life. I have so much to be thankful for not least of all, it looks like my step-dad is turning the corner and going to make a recovery. Griffin will get better, all this...

My Mom just sent me a link to this video and it had me sobbing into my coffee this morning. I LOVE videos that show communities coming together, especially through the arts. There are 650 singers that posed as shoppers until the music began. I Love the shots of the people singing who DON"T have the choral buttons on...that would have been me. I love this song and it brings back all kinds of cozy holiday memories for me. I also miss living in a place where things like this actually happen. Although, I got to tell you, it would have been more impressive if they did this in a Walmart! ;)

We have had an awesome weekend. The Moms came in on Friday night for a quick weekend visit and we sure kept them busy. On Saturday morning Griffin had TWO soccer games and I had a quilting club meeting. We came home and packed a quick lunch and jumped in the car to drive 1.5 hrs to Bowling Green, KY. We met up with the Lowbridge/Solise family at an awesome place, Chaney's Dairy Barn . It was a crisp beautiful fall day and we all had an excellent time. Griffin had an absolute blast playing with his friend, also 6, Madeline. Talk about birds of a feather, those 2 were inseperable the whole day! We had enough in our group to warrant a private tour so we were able to jump right on the hayride and head over to the cow barns. They had a brand new calf there that we all fell in love with. She was really really sweet. It was especially exciting for Lucy and 1 yr. old Lily to be able to pet her! The farmer then gave us an awesome talk about farming in todays culture and econo...

***This video is for adults only, it contains MANY curse words!!! Fair Warning.*** Bruce and I are about to start the fifth and final season of this phenomenal TV show. No longer on the air, we have been getting the DVDs from Netflix. I have to tell you guys, I think this maybe the best TV series I have ever seen. Yes, it's dark, not typically my thing. Yes, it's violent, also definitely NOT my thing. But man, it is so insightful. It is a cop drama, the first and only cop drama I have ever watched, but it is about SO MUCH more than that. It's about our common humanity. It's about working within your community, social and professional constraints. It's about the system. It is filmed beautifully making the slums of Baltimore come alive. The acting is superb with startling character depth and development. There has not been one episode yet that I would call a bummer (unlike my favorite Lost, which always seemed to have one or two bummer episodes a season!) ...