Kaleidoscope

K is for Kaleidoscope

"Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility. Effective leaders are able to shake up their thinking as though their brains are kaleidoscopes, permitting an array of different patterns out of the same bits of reality." - Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Besides being a pretty gnarly word to spell, kaleidoscopes could keep me busy for hours. I love the different psychedelic patterns and movement. I've always felt that they've had a calming sense over me. It allows you to focus on one moving/changing item while the world around you fades into the background. Yeah, I'm a hippie. Sue me.

Need something on the internetz to entertain you for a few minutes? Check out: Kaleidoscope Painter.
or...
I could watch this forever! interactive psychedelic kaleidoscope

Don't blame me if time flies bye while you're painting beautiful patterns and you're late to pick up the kids from school.

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Sorry, I was going to finish this post and I was distracted by the site above. Enjoy some of these pictures instead!

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Jabberwocky

J is for Jabberwocky

My favorite nonsensical poem from one of my favorite all time tales. I love how it opens the door to the mind, creating a whole new world, that slowly comes alive the more you read the poem. How ingenious a writer was Carroll, to take words and split them up only to put them back together again in a new way.The more I read this poem the more I love it. Enjoy!

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll found in Through the Looking-Glass

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought--

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"

He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

 

Find out more interesting facts by another blogger, Tim Brannan, who also posted on the Jabberwock

Ink

I is for Ink!

Are you "inked"?

My love of tattoos started early in life around the time my mom's brothers were really into getting new tattoos and I was fascinated by the outcome. My uncle had once had a rose and wanted to cover it up with his seaplane and a sunset. I remember looking closely to see the hint of rose petals in the setting sun and then promising myself that I would someday get a tattoo.

My tattoos:

1. In HS my two best friends and I thought it would be a cool idea to give ourselves tattoos. So, sitting in my upstairs bathroom my BFF proceeded to "tattoo" us with a needle and art ink. Since then, we have all covered them up, but mine was a tiny Christian fish on my left ankle.

2. My first "real" ink was a very colorful butterfly on my lower right back. At that time everyone and their moms were getting butterflies so it may not seem that original. However, I had been "into" butterflies since junior high and for my first tattoo when I was 18 it symbolized me going starting my own life and spreading my wings.

3. My third tattoo was a cover up of the fish. I got a tiny pink butterfly flying sideways.The cover-up worked well, but I can't say I'm in love with the butterfly...another cover-up may be in the works someday...

4. Number four is a korean symbol on my left hip. It's supposed to mean extraordinary. My roommate and BFF at the time got the same symbol together. We got it off the internet so who knows what it really means, lol. I like it, but have recently been thinking of things that I could cover it up with.

5. I got my fifth tattoo on my wedding ring finger. It says my husbands name and he has the same on his with my name. We're rock stars. I know. :p (My hubby also has a footprint for each daughter and their name on each of the underside of his forearms, so he is always carrying them with him.)

6. The last tattoo I got is a big wicked old gnarly tree on my foot. I love twisted old oak trees and I wanted to convey the strength and perseverance they represent. I got it soon after we moved into our house and it also represents being rooted and growing in life.

Growing up I always had a difficult time with the idea that I would have to settle in one place for the rest of my life. I wanted to move where the wind carried me and never stay in one place too long. That all changed when I started "nesting" with my second child. We were living in a very dangerous area of the Twin Cities and I was getting a strong feeling to start growing roots in a smaller hometown area. When we finally accomplished this goal, getting the tree on my foot was one of the first things I did.

Not the best picture, but here she is! It is original artwork done by our family tattoo artist (yes, we have a family tattoo artist he has inked me, my husband, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law)

Future Ink Ideas:
1. I have a plan to get two birds (one for each girl) on the inside of my wrists. I want them to be tiny and flying. I've done a little research to see if there is a "birth month" bird for each them and have found just a few sources. Which makes me think I might just a pick a bird that represents each of them best and go with that.

2. I have three brothers and together we make the points of a cross. We were thinking of all getting the same tattoo of a cross, with each limb being a branch of our birth month tree. The branches would interlock in the center and form the letter "S" which stands for my maiden name.

See! Look how long I can talk about the topic of Ink! That is another reason why I love tattoos. Each of them has a story to tell and it is a way of people displaying their soul on the outside. I love talking to people and hearing their stories about why the got the tattoo. I find that a lot of them are very personal stories and a good way to get to know a person better. Share yours if you have any!!

My mom is not a fan of tattoos. At all. I told her this once, "You see naked beautiful skin and I see an empty canvas."

Hypatia

H is for Hypatia

I've always wondered how fascinating it would be to live in a time at the beginning of science and discovery. The time when we had our great thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates. To be immersed in their schools of thought. How cool it would be to study humans, society, the heavens, and form some of the very first opinions on their meanings. To always be on a quest for knowledge and understanding. We don't hear about many women being in these first great thinking roles. However, we do have Hypatia.

Hypatia, was a Greek woman living in Alexandria Egypt. Her dates of birth and death are a bit of an estimate, but they range from 350 AD and 415 AD. She taught in the Great Library of Alexandria (Can you imagine! A woman at this point in history!). She is known as one of the first females of Mathematics. She was an atheist or more an advocate of science, at the time when Christianity was gaining it's foothold in the Roman Empire. Some think this is what ultimately lead to her brutal slaying. Others say it was more of political turmoil. Either, way her contributions to science and mathematics live on in infamy.

While I don't agree with all of her personal beliefs, I think it is awesome that women can date their intelligence and contributions to a time when the world was still trying to figure out if it was flat. That she had such a strong voice and was so respected for her time. That she stood up for what she believe in and was ultimately martyred for it.

I'm always interested in finding out what other people find inspiring so: What women in history or currently inspire you?

Green Living

G is for Green Living

If there is one thing that I am really passionate for in life, aside from faith and family, it is Green Living. I'm constantly looking for new ways to improve our lives and the earth around us by living more sustainably. It's instinct really. We as humans didn't start out by driving our SUVs to the local super store and stock piling weeks worth of food. I still do this on a monthly basis, but I'm talking about learning how to slowly cut that process out by becoming more sustainable and green. If you're looking to start the path of green living here are some great starter steps: Five Easy Ways to Save Money While "Going Green"

Buying locally grown fruits and veggies or growing our own, has been my recent challenge. My city has a fantastic Farmer's Market and now that the weather is getting warming, I'm just itching for it to reopen. Last year, when we first moved into our home, the challenge was learning how to compost and following through with it. We've been able to reduce our waste by a bag or more of garbage each week! Then came learning how to clean more greenly and I'm not talking about those pricey "green" cleaners you can buy in stores. Here are some of my favorites: Natural Cleaning Agents I Can't Live Without. Soon after moving into our house we discovered that it was not energy efficient. At all. We had a weatherizing audit and were able to take several steps to make our home more efficient. I wrote about them here: Weatherize Your Home for Winter.

I'm continually trying to instill earth friendly habits in my children as well. Here are two articles I've written on how to get your children more involved in the recycling process: Educating Your Children About Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling and Five Earth Day Crafts for Children.

So, a lot of shameless promotion of my work today. I know. This is something I'm just so passionate about and since I already wrote on many of these topics it seems redundant to repeat it here. Hope you enjoy some or all of my articles and I hope it inspires you!

If you have any tips or similar articles please share below. I love the free flow of information that blogs can offer! Have a great day!

Fairy Houses

 F is for Fairy House

I remember when I was little and still very uninfluenced by the world. My surroundings were magical. Myths from movies and books intertwined with real life in a beautiful way. I could be walking down a path in the woods and hear a sound off in the distance...Was it a fairy? A handsome prince? Woodland creatures? I could sit and imagine for hours about amusing adventures we would have. 

This is the feeling that I love to foster in my girls. The belief that anything is possible. Building Your Own Fairy House is one of the most spectacular ways I've found to do this. Directions on how we have built ours are in the link, but you can follow whatever path your imagination takes you. It's an activity fun for all ages and changes as your child grows.

Here is ours when we first created it last year. It has changed with the seasons as you can find different nature items at different times of the year.

Eat!!!

WARNING!! This post will make you hungry...

E is for Eat

We as homeo sapians all need to eat at some point in time and in some way, shape or form. So, let's talk about food. What is your favorite thing to eat? What won't you touch with a 10ft pole?

I've realized as I grow older that I'm more curious to try new foods. When I was younger I was one of the pickiest eaters ever. There are still some things that I'm not crazy about, like broccoli, but I'm more open to trying new things. I'm also more of a snacker. Instead of eating three full meals a day, I'd rather snack on bits of food here and there. I used to have some very unhealthy eating habits in my past that I still struggle with them at times to get over.

After I had my daughters I became fully aware that I was in charge of nurturing these beautiful little beings. They looked to me to make good choices for them. Gone were the days of eating popcorn for dinner and Ramen noodles for breakfast. Almost two years ago we removed things like pop and sugary juices from our house. We also switched all our starches over to whole grains. I've added a lot more "greens" into our diet and while the tiny humans don't always eat them, they're offered nonetheless. I'm passionate about buying organic and locally grow food as well. It's a slow process, though. Once we accomplish one step towards eating healthier another area is brought to our attention.

I really enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes. Here's one of my favorites: Pesto French Bread Pizza

Mouth.Watering.Now....Off to eat!