Photos of the Day - Buzz and Spidey

I love that my little girlie girl likes to be a princess but also likes to dress up like Buzz Lightyear and hang out with Spider Man.

Quotes Wednesday

Faith and Fate

There are times in my life when I've had to submit my usual controlling mind to the order of the universe. I've had to have faith that there's a plan, and it will unfold as its supposed to. This is one of those times. There are things happening that I can't at all control, that are testing my faith that things will work out as planned. That our fate has already been determined, and we'll know it when we get there. I try to always have faith, but then there are those times when I'm on the brink of major things, and I can almost literally feel the world turning in it's pre-defined ways. As if someone above is watching, saying "let's test this one for a bit here, and then we'll give her what she needs when it's time." I don't know if that's really happening, it's probably a little egotistical of me to think that someone's watching me specifically from above. But it just feels that way sometimes, at the edge of major changes. So bring it on. Test me. I won't break. I submit. I have faith, my fate will show itself when it's supposed to.

I Dig This - Polaroid Z340 Instand Camera

I totally dig this new Polaroid Instant Camera, found at here at Photojojo. The Z340 takes 14 megapixel pictures that can be printed out either in high resolution or old fashioned polaroid style. The memory card can also be taken out to print pictures outside of the camera. Awesome. Something else I need!!!

New Idea Tuesday - Subway Sign Dresser

I found this great DIY idea over at Brooklyn Limestone, via Lindauer Designs. I'm keeping my eye out for a dresser like this at flea markets this summer and I'm going to try it for sure. Love it!!

Signs of Spring

 Signs of Spring are all around. It was a light winter, nothing like last year's craziness. But it was still a winter, and I'm happy that the signs of Spring are really here now. It's all uphill from here, the days will get longer and the air will get warmer. What signs of Spring are you seeing around? Here's a few we've seen over the last few days.

Baby lambs at the farm.

Buds on the trees all around, causing allergies!

 Easter projects strewn around the house.

 Easter decals on the windows, and the green grass outside those windows.

 Daffodils picked from the garden in vases around the house.

 

Late afternoon sun still high in the sky.

 Shrubs poking up through the grey forest landscape.

 Swinging.

 Tricycling.

 Sidewalk chalking.

Happy, Happy Spring

Happy Last Weekend in March!

Etsy Favorites Friday - Danny Phillips Art

I like these funky mixed media collage prints from Danny Phillips Art on Etsy.

Have you seen the Lost and Found Project?

Wow. That's all I can say about this amazing project, called The Lost and Found Project. The people searching for survivors in the aftermath of the March 11th tsunami in Japan found thousands of photographs in the rubble. They brought them all to a local elementary school gymnasium, to be cleaned and restored as best as possible and hopefully returned to their rightful owners. It's an inspiring and powerful story. Be sure to check out the website for details and to read the story.

I Dig This

Entryway

via Inspiration for Decoration

Quotes Wednesday

I just saw the new Dr. Seuss movie The Lorax this weekend in the theater, so I figured that a Seuss quote was appropriate for today. Here's one of my favorites, from i can read.

The Story Teller

Bean has become a story teller lately. It's one of my favorite things about this stage with her. She loves to tell stories, and loves to draw them out. We just get out a pad of paper and a pen. She tells a story and draws it as best as a 3 year old can, and I'll write it out for her. They're simple stories that usually make very little sense. They wouldn't sell in any major bookstores. But they're the beginnings of an imaginative mind. And I can tell she knows how stories are supposed to go, with a beginning, a middle and an end. And she knows that she is the author. This early story telling makes me so happy. Here's her latest story which she titled "The Bumblebee and Monster Eat Pizza." In this story a bumblebee lives in a far far land. She's very clear about who the monster is. He smiles alot. The bumblebee and the monster eat pizza. And then the bumblebee and a princess make a necklace, and the monster took it from them. The End. Brilliant. 

The New Plan

I don't know about you, but I've always been a life planner. At 8 years old I knew, just knew, that I'd be a teacher after college. As I was graduating college I knew, just knew, that I'd have two kids and a house with my then boyfriend by age 25. When none of that happened by age 25 I knew, just knew, that I'd work for a while in finance and then I'd quit and have kids and become a teacher. When that didn't happen by age 35 I knew, just knew that I'd adopt both my kids before age 40 and we'd be fully past the toddler years as we were heading over the hill. And when they were in kindergarten I could quit my finance job and get into teaching, finally. And my kids would be close in age just like me and my sister. That was the plan, revised about a thousand times. I don't know why it's taken me 37 years to realize that I don't know anything about how my life is supposed to turn out, even in the next couple of years. Life is constantly changing and evolving, mostly into something better than I had planned even with the hiccups and catastrophes along the way. Most of the travels, the things I've done, the people I've met wouldn't have happened if my original plan had worked out. I think about this every day as I watch my daughter grow up and bring us so much joy. And as we get together with the families we've met through our adoption community. My original plan didn't work out. What happened is way better.

So I am done planning. The new "plan" is no plan. It's to roll with it. What life brings me and what feels right at the time is what is meant to happen, even if it's not in the plan. 

That's why our decision to back off the adoption list for a couple of years to get on more solid financial ground feels right. This wasn't in the original or revised plan at all. It sets me way back on that plan actually. I'll be 40+ with a newborn, not a teacher for at least another 7 to 8 years or maybe never because I may just want to stay in finance forever, and my kids will be at least 5 to 6 years apart. Um, ok. So what is so darn wrong with that? NOTHING!!

I had a recent epiphany - all those things I had "planned" for so long were just pre-conceived ideas that I've had stuck in my head that have probably been limiting me from really living my life and rolling with the punches. 

I've often admired resilient people. Those people who don't seemed phased when stuff happens that sets them back a little. And I've never thought of myself as an overly resilient person. Probably because I've planned too much, and stuff happens that always pushes me off my plan. But now I think I will be more resilient. Life changes in too many unexpected ways to try to stick to a plan. In the little things day to day, and the bigger life changing things. Resilient people know that life will go on and will probably be better for the change of plans.

I'm not saying I'm abandoning my life dreams. Daydreaming about the future is one thing. But planning so much that your life revolves around future plans that you can't control and you're disappointed when it doesn't go according to the plan is another.

We made the decision to back off the adoption list for financial reasons. But once we made that decision it became crystal clear that it needed to happen that way for many more reasons. I don't know exactly what they all are yet. But somehow I just know, just know, that it's meant to happen this way. And our lives will evolve around it, in unexpected, unplanned ways.

Are You A Fast Chick?

Calling all active Boston area women - join us for the Fast Chicks 5k Run/Walk on Saturday, May 5th 2012. Check the website for details and registration.

Upcycled Garden Faucet Coat Racks

Loving these upcycled coat racks using old garden faucets and reclaimed boards. Cool idea for a DIY, or buy them at The Door Stop Etsy shop.