Cleaning the Clutter

Since we have moved up north I have been going over to my grandmother's house almost everyday, which has led to me helping her de-clutter her house. I have found some wonderfully nostalgic curiosities from my family's past generations.  I absolutely love it! We have a great history, my grandmother was a Chicago city-girl and my grandpa was a farm-boy who served with her brother during WWII  and that's how they met. They raised eleven kids on a ranch in California, my mom was the youngest. Can you imagine the kind of transition that must have been? The first time Grandma ever made bread was the first week she was married, and she did it in a wood burning stove. In Washington, in the winter. It came out so good, my Grandpa loved it and eventually bought a grain grinder so they could go even further in making it from scratch. I love it. And her bread really is amazing. This is just one of many stories I get to hear and see remnants of in boxes and closets as we go through them (the grinder is in the Shop).  

Barbie and her hand-made clothes

The typewriter Grandma used to write monthly update letters

My Grandpa in Pismo before he joined, I have an engagement photo on that pier!

Isn't she fabulous?!

Now she's 89, she doesn't exactly get around like she used to and she shouldn't be considering she is on blood thinners. So, I decided to help her with a very big project, The Shop. This is what it looked like:

My grandmother is on a fixed income, and we don't have much money to spare either, so getting crazy, elaborate storage make-over items was not an option. I was going to have to work with what I had. Fortunately, there were plenty of shelves already in there, they just weren't being utilized. So I went to the grocery store and asked if they had any extra boxes. I bought some packing tape, used some blank mailing labels my grandma had in bulk, and a permanent marker and worked my magic. It took a little while, what with it being 30 degrees and all, but I think in total over the span of a couple of weeks I put in about 15 hours? Maybe a little less. And now it looks like this:

The boxes on that table in front are empty! Yay consolidation!

I used the dresser drawers as extra storage too.

Frickin' Fabulous Friday Soup

I decided that's what I am calling it, since it was Friday and I was in a good mood and the soup was fabulous. What can I say, I am not that good with names (Lord, help my children). Things have been pretty stressful, personal family stuff with my brother is happening and its heartbreaking, but Friday was a day of accomplishment and I felt a little lighter inside. So...I was all for celebrating with some tasty goodness. I miss my mom's 15 bean soup, however, being in a winging it mode I didn't HAVE the 15 bean soup, so I did what I could to simulate. Mom also always put sausage in hers but I only had ground beef....I know this is sounding less and less like her recipe right? But it was the inspiration. And it is a nummy soup! So, here you go, Ma, I think you'll like this one too! (BTW I used a crockpot)

Frickin' Fabulous Friday Soup
Dump the following into a crockpot:

• 1/3 Bottle of Red Wine
• 1 can Beef Broth
• 1 can Kidney Beans
• 1 can Black Beans
• 1 can White Northern Beans
• 1 can Stewed Tomatoes
• 3 Celery sticks, chopped
• 2 cups baby Carrots
• 1 chopped Ortega Chili
• 1/4 c. chopped, fresh Cilantro
• 3 shakes of Fennel Seed
• 3 shakes of Cumin Seed
• 2 shakes of Chopped Bay Leaf
• 1 shake Coriander
• 3 shakes of Sea Salt

Take 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef and brown in a pan with dried garlic and dried onion, drain the fat, and add to the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on High for 4-6 hours or Low for 8-10.  

*I added some Franks Red Hot to my bowl, to taste, and that made it just perfect rounding out the flavors of the broth very nicely.

(This has enough protein in it with all the beans you could probably have it stand alone in a vegetarian version too, just change the broth, nix the beef, and maybe add some garbonzos or something....I dunno, my sister-in-law is better at that sort of thing, you can ask her over at So Many Veggies So Little Time. I'm just a noob.)

New Year's Resolutions (Pt. 2)

I have been challanged! The gauntlet has been thrown!....ect. Ok, no violent actions actually occured, I was just taking part in the good 'ol friday Archive Dive on imadeitso.com and went to thriftcore.com to see her contribution and...well it's only honorable to take part.

1) List three goals, smaller numbers are easier to achieve.

2) With each goal, write what you will do to achieve it.

I know I already made one goal (see New Year's Resolutions) but i came up with three more just for this. alright here we go:

1. To start a crafting group at my grandma's house, really it will just be a nice way for her to socialize.
2. To start a writing wall. There will be a wall space completely dedicated to sticky notes. It will be a dream come true.
3. To eat more responsibly. Its going to take research, being in a new area and all, but I'd really like to know more about where my food is coming from.   

P.S. Last year, I resolved to only get clothing from a thrift store. My husband thought it was great :) and so far neither of us have regretted it. He is pretty hooked now. Don't tell him I told you ;) So if you're thinking about what to resolve to do, try that! Thrift Core had some cute buttons to show off your dedication, like this:



Yeah, getcha some!

Reverb #'s 8

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)

is it funny that i have rewritten this five times? I keep going into a self exploratory tangent. eventually i will be able to say what i mean in ten words or less. *ahem* so. recently, i have struggled with being different but it doesn't seem to be in a way that lights people up....well, not on a large scale. But on the small scale, being me works pretty good :) i am fine with that. i will clarify. There have been a series of events in my life that would change anyone's character. But I survived and that was for two reasons: because I am strong and fight and because I have a source of strength that doesn't run out, even when I do. These experiences and my response to them are what has made me different. Some people appreciate it, others don't. And such is life :) It used to bother me, being a recovering people please-ing addict, I wanted everyone to like me. Eventually I saw that some people aren't worth pleasing. It is worth it to not waste time being what will make others happy and be, instead, who you are. This may not work so well at first, it may feel like a lot of rejection, but in the end you'll have real relationships for real and good reasons. Isn't it funny how one person's opinion can help you stand against all the rest, if it's the right relationship? So I guess to answer the question, here is what I think makes me beautifully different (sorry if it seems a little....i dunno...darker or serious or melodramatic....but i am honest and that includes both sides): 

1. I like doing things for people, like cook something really tasty. People light up when they get pampered and I like to see that. 
2. My husband has called me a veteran of (life's) war (i don't mean to offend any real veterans by saying that) and I think that fits really well. I have survived some stuff, and while that's made me a little hard on the outside, people also know who to go to when the battle is that bad.
3. I encourage. 
4. I laugh at a lot of things. Some people think I'm a nerd for it, but my friends appreciate it. A close friend who is now on the other side of the country often tells me she can hear my laugh in a text or in a picture when she knows I would be laughing and so laughs too.
5. I am creative and it is in being creative that I am most happy. 
6. I have a different perspective on things because I have, at one point, lost everything. When you start to regain what you lost, you see it very differently. 
7. I have had a Pulitzer prize winner tell me, after asking me if i thought the college i went to had given me the tools to accomplish the project I had done as well as I had, that HE thought what I did was something great because of who I am not because of where I was. That this was something so ingrained in me, I couldn't help it.  
8. I also have a different perspective because at, one point, I didn't want to be here anymore. No one likes to hear this one, its awkward but whatever. It came down to this: I ultimately realized that I had to make a choice and stop agonizing over my self-worth. Live or die. I chose to live. Why? Because I am here so I might as well be ALL here, 100% present. I know, you were expecting something like "Because life is amazing and beautiful, who wouldn't want to live?!" Well, yeah, sure, it is amazing; but it's also sick and twisted and horrible and you're going to see some things you never wish you had or experience things that are going to knock you to the ground! However, I can guarantee that when you have CHOSEN to be here and you have full knowledge on levels you didn't know existed that you could have chosen to just die, your priorities change. You choose to be something more and life opens up. You see the real beauty in learning from life, not just the waterfalls and butterflies. You have hope and faith and believe because you endured and it was worth it. Its so empowering that you don't let anyone take what you have chosen with their judgmental pride. You begin to see truth, the source of being free.      

New Year's Resolutions

"Last year I made a New Year's Resolution not to eat so much ice cream in bed. I think I did a pretty good job of that." -My husband 01/01/11 morning (it should be noted he never ate ice cream in bed, let alone made it a habit)

I don't think this is what people are generally going for when making resolutions :) but this is how they usually turnout right? i dunno, i make resolutions all year long, especially when I make a mistake multiple times and don't want to make it again, so i don't generally make the first of the year a ritualized endeavor at major life change. Why do tomorrow what you can do today, right? However, I thought I'd offer some peachy keen sources for others to go about making a change in their lives, should they desire to! 

1) Try subscribing to Scoutie Girl's free program. Not only is the website nifty and a great resource, the program is well done.

2) Stuck on what to resolve to do? Check out the The Happiness Project blog for some good ideas. Or heck, sign up for their 2011 Happiness Challenge. I'm thinking about it right now.... oh look at me, i did it!

3) And last but not least (because this list is immense and it would just be pointless repetition on my part to go through it all and say it again here) scan this list on Reverb10's site and see if anything inspires you. I have been enjoying their 2010 reflection prompts quite a bit!

hehehe! i love that crazy kid. OoOo! Resolution number one: Be more like Hobbes when encountering a Calvin. I think I shall have to study up on just how to do that by examining the original texts, what about you? Have a great year!

Reverb #'s 6 & 7

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)

Let me put it this way: every scrap of randomness we find at my grandma's house makes me want to make something. It's not that I don't have the time, it's that I don't have the space! But that's changing soon, so stay tuned for good things to come in 2011 LOL

December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)

I think I started the "community makeover" here in the last few months. I realized that a vast majority of the community I had was not at all the community I wanted. I couldn't relate to it and the values were different. There was a core group that I loved and connected with but... anyway. That's when I started to look into blogging, podcasts, etc. To find people with common interests. I am still stumbling through that though, learning how to do it. Now that we have moved too, the community is pretty different and I find myself surrounded by people who have me feeling a lot less alone and much more at home :) We are already brainstorming new ideas for 2011, like having craft nights and classes and get togethers for events... its all one piece at time with this chess game right now, but I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!

Reverb #'s 4 & 5

I am sure I am not supposed to be doing like....three at a time, but I have this sense of urgency to catch up since it just turned into the new year! How can i make a new year's resolution if i haven't reflected on the last one? how over-achievingly perfectionist am i? next up....

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

Hmm well ok so this is going to sound a little goofy, i think, but it's true. When I was younger, I was good with kids. Like...kids LOVED me and everyone said I should be a teacher and then I did a teaching thing and found out really fast that I was NOT a good teacher. At least not a natural. Fast forward, i dunno, ten years and I have gone through all this personal life stuff, including turmoil over not having kids and my brothers having kids but I'm not and so then i kind of avoid kids and then i get over the whole thing and I have this thought of, "I am not good with kids anymore, I'm going to do stuff with kids."

I guess I wanted to reconnect with something good about my old self. So...

I signed up to do kid's church once a month at my church :) It was good times and I enjoyed it immensely. I dunno that I was the best teacher ever, but i know i changed from the beginning to the end. I improved, felt more comfortable, and took some pride in being able to entertain 10-14 pre-k kiddos for an hour and half. 

So to answer the question, HOW I did that was to approach it from a sense of enjoying seeing things through they're eyes and allowing myself to learn from them. Not seeing myself so much as the adult, although that is needed to help them...but if you want to know how to have patience with kids, try just not thinking so high and mighty of yourself and empathize with them a little. Its more fun, at least with sunday school.

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)

Wow, well, i think i let go of more this year than I ever have in any other year that i can think of. Especially people though. I thought there was this group I wanted to be a part of. And I was wrong, so I let that go. More so, my husband and I let go of the place we grew up and had roots. We moved to a whole new state, let go of conventional wisdom to do what we felt led to do, and it has worked out for the better so far. Things are still changing, but I don't regret the move. And I don't regret the letting go.