Leading the way to a new day...

Almost...that is the completion level of my last task.  However, I did not stop moving forward.  Television, fast food, coffee and novel writing ended just after Thanksgiving...Holiday specials, active scheduling, and the need for a comfort zone won out.  The novel writing project continued...without complete success, but alas I have accumulated about 8500 words of thought and experimentation.  Not a complete A+ but more or less a valuable lesson in extending myself deep into the limits of what seems to be the end of the first wind and the generation of a second wind.  I am learning I need more perseverance, gusto and fortitude...which would be my big finish flag for 2011.  Perseverance, Gusto, Fortitude...the road to balancing rest with accomplishment.

Every year I write out a wish list of things to accomplish for the new year...merely a list of places, books, writing topics, adventures...This years list includes a slim down.  I am putting less on the list while placing a greater emphasis on  challenges, places and topics.  I have given myself a list of 12 must reads...Classic Literature the theme.  You may see me bustle about with Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, Alan Paton or Harper Lee nestled deep in my stack or peeking joyfully from my purse.  I have chosen hiking as a lofty goal...10,16 or 27 mile trails and loops.  Writing topics that engage my being as well as my mind...waiting rooms, city bus, a vase of flowers, or a storefront window.  Finally, let me not forget to tame my wanderlust...maybe a visit to Turkey Run, Blue Springs Cavern, or a jaunt to the good ol' University of Notre Dame.  I am very much excited to accomplish all of these things with excitement and wonder...all places that I have not visited, experienced or given much time.

Finally,  I am most excited about...the list.  I have a list of awesome historical locations, all within the St. Joseph County lines...those I will study and embrace and then travel to photograph; photograph and historical information to be stored for a future project.

This year should be fantastic, experimental, exciting and wondrous...full of stories, writings, photos and journals.  Some would say often eyes are bigger than the stomach...and I say..."I sure hope so!"

A New Month a New Challenge...

It is November...a month that usually brings a visible slow down to the pace of our household and heavy meals to our table--equaling disaster to our waistlines and wasteland to our evenings.  I say, "No MoRE!"  I couldn't really be honest and tell you that Jamie is on board with some of the changes I am proposing, but he is very supportive of my drive to succeed in creating a new environment for my creative mind.  He just looked at me with shock and wonder when I sat down one evening and proposed my new idea.  He just looked at me...and probably thought that I was not serious or that it would be one of the many hair-brained ideas that I usually come up with and then shortly forget.  He. Is. Wrong.

I am writing this new adventure down so that the people who love me most will keep me honest, keep me motivated, and keep me trekking along when it seems difficult to just make it one more day...I am proposing that I will:

1. Give up television for the entire month of November...no morning shows, no old Saturday fall ins, no (and I hate to say it...) holiday specials at the end of the month, which happen to be my favorite.

2.  NO fast food from any place that has a drive-thru, a sit down joint or a quickie fill in...to include but not limited to Martin's salad bar, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza, and (eeek...)Starbucks...I may learn to cook!

Jamie will give up the fast food joints, but because it is Football season...he will pass on the giving up of the television...making my commitment all that much harder.  I will succeed anyway...and in the process I hope keep you posted on my progress...So stay tuned!

Shall we go here?...

Urban Pantry is a practical guide for country and city folk who want to make better use of their kitchen, garden, and time. Amy Pennington offers great tips on shopping, food storage, canning, and gardening, along with creative recipes and lots of helpful explanations of ingredients and technique. This book is a must for young people who are just setting up house, or anybody who has vowed to start cooking. With a well-stocked pantry and a good recipe anyone can prepare a memorable meal. 

I really do not cook.  I don't invest in recipes and  every time I try to follow one, I end up making some dish that is mediocre at best.  However, I have been visiting the Farmer's market lately and have seen some delicious natural food that entices my adventurous spirit...we shall see....

I was looking through old photographs the other day...and noticed that we have taken pictures of Dash every month that we have had him.   I don't think we took as many pictures of Rockwell all the time he was with us...maybe we are just more careful about enjoying the time we have with Dashie, even if he is a whole lot of excitement and just a bit of naughty.

These are pictures take almost exactly one year apart...it is amazing to see that his big boy face is just as cute as his puppy face.

Zoom Zoom!

Finally...after debating, looking, test-driving, lots and lots of praying...a new car.  Not brand new, but new to us.  We have been filled with so many questions about whether or not we should keep the Bug or just let it go...so we decided after this last batch of problems, we would start to look.  I know I have had several people praying for wise decision making skills and that we would find something reliable...and with hope in our hearts...we set out.

On Friday night, we test drove a Mazda 3 off of a used lot in Mishawaka.  Jamie and I came home and did some internet research to find out a little about the reliability and drive-ability of the Mazda line.   I have to say that seeing all of the positive response on Edmund's car page gave me a little bit of a thrill.  I read over 80 different responses that chatted up the little car as being a great drive, fun, road tested, good gas mileage, etc...then as we were checking out the specs we noticed that Edmund's rates the Mazda 3 a 9.3 on a scale of 10...and also lists it in the "Best of the Best"--not surprisingly...the Volkswagen is not mentioned.  Anyway, we started to check the availability of the Mazda in the area, and Jamie found that Basney has a Mazda dealership in South Bend.  We visited first thing this morning.  We saw it...we drove it....We love it...and better yet...The car has a warranty for 5 years or 100,000 miles...

Thanks to all of our friends and family who have prayed we would find a great car that fit our budget, and an awesome ride that will hopefully be in our family a long time--because no one really likes to car shop...Do they?

Our New, Exciting, Busy Lives...

"Among those whom I like, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh."  W. H. Auden


The other day, I attended a new employee orientation.  I sat through three days of the most exciting lectures (seriously, not sarcastically), where I learned the value of setting time aside for the things we need to count important.  Jamie and I have always had a super busy life, so the free-time we do find is often spent with each other doing needful tasks, relaxing on the sofa, or taking odd trips to places we either need to visit or want to experience.  After hearing the breakdown of the 7 Highly Effective Habits, I realized that one of our "big rocks" had yet to be realized.  It is easy to say that we are busy or to say that we have no time...but what we are really saying is that we are choosing to spend our time emphasizing who we are without really investing in "that and "those" who help us to be who we are.  We do not find time to acknowledge the people we love in the fashion that they deserve.  So, as I begin a new job and Jamie continues to learn new things and expand in his capacity at his job,  we are challenged to find a new balance.  We are taking our first steps to clear out all of the "fish-rocks" to make new room for all of those people, hobbies, places, relationships...that we have for so long only talked about.  Welcome to our "Life IN the Hood".