dishing

Picture Inspiration prompt this week: "from the kitchen"

Honestly, I wasn't thrilled about this prompt.

One, I do not have a creative, fun kitchen. It's nice and all, super functional, it just lacks any creativity or good light and so I am always jealous of people who takes these beautifully, softly lit photos of their breakfast table, or breakfast bowls of oatmeal. Also, taking pictures of kitchen stuff is not usually my go-to for inspiration.

Two, I did not have much margin for time and creativity this week so these photos took me all of ten seconds to shoot while I was making dinner and my kids were watching iCarly on insta-Netflix. I just aimed up into my kitchen cabinets and caught what I saw. (Soooooo creative.) I wish I had been more mindful, or at least had picked a quiet, iCarly-free time to take my pictures.

However, after uploading them and looking at them, posting them here, I have to say that there a few things I do like about these photos.

One, they capture the dishes that have been with me since I first registered for them over fifteen years ago. These are standard Crate and Barrel Cafeware dishes and I still like them. I love that there is a small chip in the bottom plate (in the first pic) on the right. When I look at the photo I want to reach in and twist the plates around to hide it. It creates a little photo tension and I like it. Imperfection is sometimes good.

Two, that red bowl is one of four Fiesta ware bowls my mom gave to me a couple of summers ago after her trip to Homer Laughlin. She is a collector of Fiesta ware and I have taken a liking to it too. I love the vintage, yet modern lines and I love the colors (the pale aqua's are my favorite). As you can tell, when I was first married I thought that I wanted everything white white white. As I have grown older I have begun to favor color, especially when it is a simple addition to the neutral back drop. Get my drift?

Okay, so thus ends my PI rambling for the week.

On another note...
Friday is coming, and if you have been here before on the last few Fridays you know that I have been posting some umbrella pictures that have been hiding in my photo files for the last few months. I have jokingly titled my Fridays the "Random Umbrella Friday Posts" because it seems that everyone in the photo/blogging/flickr world has a special photo day of the week, and I have felt left out. (Totally kidding! Just poking a little fun at it all.)

So if you would like to join me THIS Friday in posting your own Random Umbrella Friday picture (with ramblings included), then please, by all means, join me! If you do, and you want to let me know, then come back here on Friday and leave a comment and I will post edit a link to your blog in my post so that others can see them over the weekend. If no one joins me that's okay. I won't cry. I just wanted to open it up to others who have mentioned that they feel left out too.

Let us all umbrella away!

It's all natural

Over the course of blogging for two and a half years I have found myself pleasantly surprised at the amount of friends I have made via the blogging world. I had no idea that this would happen when I first started, and yet some of these friends have become quite dear to me even though we have never met. I know it seems kind of weird if you have never experienced this, to make friends over the internet without ever having met them, but it all happened so naturally and has been a sweet gift for me during this past year. They are always encouraging, always humoring me, and often offering prayers of support.

It feels nice to not be alone on this journey.  

Two of those friends, Michelle and Stacey, have joined me today in a fun little blogging experience that many bloggers find themselves doing when they have made blogging friends. We have teamed up for a little photo assignment in which we post our chosen photos for the theme and then link to each other's blogs.

We chatted via email and threw out various ideas and then we made Stacey be the decision maker. (She thanked us for this role.)

Today's theme was: "natural"
As in, we had to take a picture of something that was not man-made. Super simple, the ideas were limitless.
So when we were at the beach over the weekend Bean and I came upon these little tracks leading into the tide. They made us smile, naturally. :)

Ok, so here is where I am encouraging you to head on over to Michelle's blog and take a look at her interpretation of "natural" on her May 3rd post.
Then head over to Stacey's blog and see her "natural" take on the same day.
I know that both of them will offer up a unique take on our theme.
When you do visit, share some comment love with them and let them know that you came from my blog.

I am super excited that you get to "meet" them. They are fabulous photogs and I am honored to call them friends. (Oh, and when you visit Michelle's blog, I want it to be known that I love her dog Lanie. She is one of the reasons I now find myself wanting a dog.)

And lastly...
I caught Bean making her own steps along side the lonely trail of bird tracks. A visual reminder to me that friends who just "happen to find you" in your journey and travel along side you are friendships that are made of nothing artificial. They are natural, God inspired, God-made, organic...and highly cherished.

You do what it takes

If you do not have an eleven-year-old son who does not like to have his picture taken, then just try and imagine with me what steps you might need to take to get your eleven-year-old son to stop what he is doing and smile for the camera.

Like, asking him to think about his favorite "funny" potty humor that he brings to our family dinner table time. The kind of humor that has his sister rolling her eyes, his mother slapping him on the arm, and his dad covering his face trying not to show his approval. Because this is what I had to do to get him to show off his genuine smile...tell him to think about his dinner-table potty humor.

You do what it takes.

(Hey Bud, try not to look too enthusiastic about getting your picture taken.)

Now there's my Mister.
Love this kid.

Happy Monday.
t

his birthday umbrella post

Forget the royal wedding hoopla stuff. Let's talk about my totally funny mental moment I had this week...

(Prepare for a run-on sentence) I was thinking back to the half serious joke (is that an oxymoron?) I made in last Friday's post about starting my own "Umbrella Friday" when I had this realization that this Friday was my hubby's birthday and usually I do a post to honor him, soooooo I would not be able to really make good on my half serious joke about "Umbrella Friday" because I would post a nonumbrella picture of him instead. But theeeeeeennnnn, I was going through some pictures of him to post and I came upon these...

Friends? Is this awesome or what?! This could not be any more perfect. You should have seen my face when I discovered these pictures.

These were taken in China Town on our fifteenth wedding anniversary. The hotel had lent us this tent of an umbrella and we walked the several blocks from our hotel arm in arm, tucked under its shelter.

This guy is the best. He has been through some crazy tough times these past couple of years and has come out of it stronger, wiser, and deeper. This weekend we are going away to a beach condo with friends to celebrate him because this guy, this year, needs to be celebrated.

We will celebrate his friendship.
We will celebrate his humor.
We will celebrate his humility.
We will celebrate his heart.

There have been times over the years that I have been awed at his willingness to face the toughest parts of himself, his willingness to admit wrong, his willingness to dig deep into knowing himself better. This is just one of the threads of consistency about him that has caused me to love him more and more. I know that I am extremely blessed to have a man such as him.

I know that the whole world will remember this day because some royal couple got married with 2 billion people watching (my wedding attendance was .01% of that--I think--my calculator wouldn't compute that many zeroes), but in our household, this day is always the event of our year because we love him so much.

Pal...there are so many people who love you, including a very great and good God who out-loves us all.
But today, on your birthday, know that I love you with a full heart. I am so very proud of you are as a man, hubby, and father.
Happy Birthday!
T

let us observe

Yesterday was a beautiful California spring day. T-shirt and shorts kind of weather. The "lets get out and go to the park" kind of weather.

After a picnic lunch, these two were sprawled on the grass deep in inspection/discussion mode. It's what boys do: inspect, discuss, do more inspecting, do more discussing. (Ever been to an antique car show with males?)

Not privy to the casual observer was what, exactly, these two boys were inspecting/discussing.

Like me. The camera lady, attempting to complete her mindful Picture Inspiration assignment. Which was to "observe"...as in, "capture a sliver of a moment, without the photo subjects knowing that you are capturing them." You know, be a fly on the wall. 

So like, how easy was this assignment for me? I totally rock at being a fly on the wall. I pulled out my camera, set it on the grass, and hit the shutter button a million times. Observe, capture...it's what I'm made for people.

After a million clicks my son finally looks up.

Kid: So mom, what do you think? Do you think this bee might be hurt?

Me: (crawling over to now join the inspection/discussion) Uh, you mean the one that you are poking with that blade of grass over and over again?

Kid: Yeah. He just keeps rolling over and can't get out of this little hole and fly away so I keep shoving the blade of grass in his face.

Me: (silent pause of disbelief) If I were desperately trying to get out of a grassy hole and someone kept shoving a blade of grass in my face I'd have a hard time too. (infer the "duh" tone of voice)

(more silence, more poking)

Me: Let me rephrase that. So what I'm saying is that maybe you should just get out of her* bleepin' way, stop poking her, and let her get out of there on her own.

So. Picture Assignment complete. Lesson's learned:

1. I am pretty good at observing, and capturing. I have always loved being a fly on the wall.

2. No matter how smart our boys can be, it's moments like these that confirm that there is a short circuit in their ability to fully master the power of observation. (And thus, the ability to draw sound conclusions.) I am not stereotyping here, I am just observing what I see folks. I'm married to a boy and I have a son. I'm a female. Please refer back to number one. 

Girls, you know what I'm talkin' about right?

*99.9% of bees you see out and about are girls working hard to gather pollen. They are also the ones that make the honey, clean the hive, tend to the queen. The boys are at the hives attempting to mate with the queen, until they get kicked out or killed. They also do not have stingers. I'm not sure I believe in karma, but if I did this would probably be the tid bit that sealed the deal for me. How do I know this stuff?  Three years of preschool teaching experience, and a trip to the UC Davis Bee Biology Lab with twenty little three and four year olds. They all got to wear little bee-keeper outfits and helmets and let the boy bees crawl over their hands without the fear of being stung. Was all absolutely adorable. 

freckles and eyelashes

Photos I took a long time ago and never shared, but recently found while cleaning out photo files...

Every time I look at this photo I pause to wonder (and envy) over those freckles and eye lashes. To me, the uniqueness of how we are made, the attention to detail, the one-of-a-kindness we all possess is a testimony to the creative genius of God.

I just want to put my arms on her shoulders (like her mother does), look her in the eyes, and plant these words upon her heart:

You are so beautifully unique! 
There is no one like you. 
You are crazy cool, here for a reason, endowed with purposeful gifts.
And do not let anybody ever disrespect that truth about you. 
You hear me?!
You are worthy of love.


Makes me wonder what would happen if we spoke those words more often to the children around us? What kind of generation would we raise up to take our place?

A crazy cool, gifted, purposeful generation of adults who believe in their unique place in this world--who would not have to waste their adult life compensating for what we did not give to them. 

That's what kind of generation we would raise up.

Amen.

(Ok, getting off my soap box. Off to clean out more photo files.) 

patience, taking turns, and the whole love thing

While she was on the hammock, he was waiting patiently for his turn. (He is such a gentleman.) They even made a little game of it to make the time pass more swiftly. Life is so much more enjoyable when we take turns, share, and wait patiently, right? I mean this is what we teach our children, though it is much harder to practice in real life.

Because as adults we think it is easier to insist on sharing a stupid toy or hammock because we think those things are so small and inconsequential. Yet as adults we forget to enter their childlike brains, the brains that place a high value on toys, ownership, and going first. Instead, we insist on them behaving with the emotional maturity of an adult. But when they do we are pleasantly surprised and humbled by their example.

Our words come floating back to us when we find ourselves having to share our freeway lane, our front row parking spot, our place in line, our dessert. Or when we are struggling to wait for our turn to speak, make our point, defend our rights, exist in the same space with someone who believes differently than we do.

I know not every situation is as easy as taking turns on a hammock. But maybe we would experience living a with a bit more joy if we could practice like it was?

Hmmmm...I shoulda mentioned this to the guy who drove by our car real slow on Easter morning and flipped us off when we accidentally got in his way. Actually, he flipped off my kids in the back seat, looked my son in the eyes and uttered some curse words all while giving him the bird. I was a little glad he was not going into the church parking lot because that would have been slightly awkward. Happy Easter!

Anyways, it was a good talking point with our kids. How some people are so consumed with selfishness that it breeds anger and hate, which breeds more selfishness. I think that guy needed a hammock moment, or some love, or maybe some grace.

See how rewarding it is when you practice leaning into the practice of patience? When you let go of needing to be first? When sharing is love? When extending grace is more of a sweet drink for your own soul than it is for the receiver...

I know I am going to be eating these words this week while my kids are home on spring break. I will let ya'll know how it went come Sunday. :)

umbrella friday (or random friday)

Last night we were eating dinner at a shopping mall food court (good times) and Bean turns to me and says...

Mom, you know how I've always wanted to be a teacher when I grow up? Well I'm thinking that I might want to try and be the President.


Imagine her saying this while eating a Cold Stone cup of chocolate ice cream, with gummy bear mix-ins, while holding her new lady bug Pillow Pet that her grandma just bought her. (The matching lady bug slippers were in the bag next to her.)

This girl's got big dreams people.

So since last Friday I mentioned that I've got a collection of umbrella photos that haven't been shared and I thought I would make these next couple of Fridays "umbrella Friday". I'm doing this because I often feel left out of the photo blog/flickr theme cliques that do "Thursday, Bench Day" or "Bokeh Tuesdays" or "Fix-it Fridays". I'm starting my own friends. You can join me. Or not. Whatever.

On another completely random note. I was on my mom's and dad's computer last night and I went to go fix something on the blog and when it came up I was horrified by the quality of my pictures on their computer monitor. Mom, Dad, if you are reading this...

You need a new computer monitor. 

Which then makes me a little concerned about what other people see when they come here to this blog? I just assumed that everyone has a fantastic Mac monitor like me and that every photo (whether mine or someone else's) looks fabulous.

Have I been living in La La Land?

Please don't comment if this is true. I'd rather live in my own little world.

Anyway, happy Umbrella Friday....or Random Friday. It's all good.

San Francisco

A little view from our hotel room on the 17th floor.

It was a dreary day this day, but nevertheless, the view of the city below us was worthy of a photo.

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with San Francisco. It is historically beautiful, yet wears its cracks well. It is a city of a hundred dialects, nationalities, social and economical extremes, all existing in a small footprint. Case in point: on our walk down to the heart of the city from our nice quiet Nob Hill hotel, I witnessed a man urinating in an open doorway, another sleeping on the sidewalk, and a host of women wearing Prada heading off to bar. We witnessed some drunk guys attempting street dancing for money, a disheveled woman wanted to sell us an old newspaper so she could pay her rent, and a pirate-clad mime completely covered in gold spray paint watching it all from atop his wooden crate. Hundreds of others buzzed around, in and out of stores, stood with mouths open, watched the drunk guys, and waited in line for the trolley cars. In the span of twenty feet I heard a handful of languages and yet ironically I was the one that felt like the foreigner. I always do in this city.

At one point I felt like I was an extra in a movie scene while I crossed the street and watched a man and woman carried on a petty argument...

He, hanging out of his 3rd floor apartment window:
"HEY! Where you goin'?! Bring me back a pack!"

She, standing in the middle of the intersection, in her bathrobe and slippers, waving a finger at him: "WHAT?! Don't you yell at me! You get your own pack you lazy SOB!"

No kidding...San Francisco is not lacking in character.

Yet this is the way this city is every time I visit. I now know why I enjoy the outer edges, the ocean side, the Presidio, the Marina...because the noise dissipates and I can smell the ocean, not feel overwhelmed or anxious with the disparity of the extremes. It breaks my heart to see broken people sleeping on the sidewalk, women trying to sell dirty newspapers (or their bodies) to pay for a meal. And yet this city is raw with the presence of them, and the Suits and Pradas that walk by them. I often wonder if I lived here if I would get used to it and settle into the chaotic collision of extremities. But then I conclude that I am perfectly content to visit and enjoy it in small bites, taking my lifetime to discover its historical beauty, cracks and all.

the plunge

(This is our favorite lake, filled with snow melt off. It freezes parts off, if you know what I mean.)

I was going to narrate this entire scene but thought it would be best left without words. I think you know what it might be like to work up the courage to take the plunge while others are watching. While they are waiting (and heckling) for you to toughen up and get your bravery on you finally show up and show off.

Besides, the plunge is not for them anyway. It's for you. You want to prove to yourself that you have got what it takes to do it.

And you want to feel the joy of the accomplishment.

(Even though it leaves you with a massive brain freeze and a mouth full of cuss words.)

In case you need to see it in real time...

I remind myself of this every day:

Pay no attention to the hecklers that live inside of your head. You possess what it takes to show up to your own life and take a plunge or two. It's time to get your bravery on!