Birthday Top Ten

You all will be happy to know that many great things happened this weekend that fulfilled my birthday wishes!  I am going to narrow down some of my favorite things but I would honestly list 100 instead of just 10; it was that kind of pleasing weekend.

1. Eating vegan pizza with some of my dearest friends was incredible.  I was so thankful for each moment of conversation and caring.  Two different times with two different friends, eye contact was all it took to understand each other.  That was so cool to experience!  Once was concerning a wine glass that i needed and the other was locating my oldest child who was sitting on the floor playing games in a group of kids.  I am so thankful for incredible loves in my life.  Having time with friends who I miss was really special.  I got to sneak over to my neighbor's house and have awesome conversations with them. 

2.  My friend came home from the hospital earlier than expected and walked down his street, even!  Suck it, cancer.  You will be defeated.

3. We had a super yummy breakfast with Uncle Anthony at a place we hadn't been to in years; we ran into two friends there!  Then, we took a long walk on the trail near my house.  It was a great walk.  I ran with Wexlar while my family took their time.  He is so fun to run with but I sure did miss that Sherp.

4.  Hubby's mom came to watch the girls for us; they were okay with us leaving.  Dinner at a vegetarian restaurant was incredible!  We stopped off into a restaurant and had a glass of wine at the bar b/c we never just do that with our kids in tow these days.  We went to the healthy grocery store b/c it was in the same town and we needed stuff for canning.  We ran into awesome friends from church and enjoyed chatting and laughing with them!  We texted with hubby's mom the whole night and she wrote things like, "GREAT!!!" in response to how things were going.  We were so stoked that we decided to check out a place near our house that lots of friend like to go for dancing and drinks.  We called our dear friend to meet us there and had fun.  It was really crowded but so enjoyable to be out with a friend and have full conversations.  We called it a night and came home to...guess what?  Two sleeping children!!!  They had fallen asleep at their normal time after a full dinner and toothbrushing.  What was once so hard for them to do with hubby's mom worked.  That was the best gift of the night, by far.

5.  We stayed up late watching, "The Drifter" and dreaming of our Bali.  Oh, how we miss you, dear island.  How we long to feel your warm sun on our skin, eat your coconuts and catch the next generation of humans born there.  One day.  One day soon.

6. I woke up to coffee brought to me in bed and then an incredible hubby made brunch!  He is incredible and made the whole weekend so special.  He insisted I open my gifts before eating and I was so blessed by the beautiful art prints he found for me.  Exactly what I wanted.  Last week, he gave me a huge pot with a canning rack inside and today he gifted me with canning jars and sealing lids.  Woo hoo!!  He cleaned everything up all weekend and did piles of laundry.

7. That dear neighbor and our Waldorf teacher friend canned tomato sauce!!!  My very first canning experience turned out fabulous.  We have about 5 or 6 large jars of spaghetti sauce now.  I am so stoked to can this summer as my tomatoes grow.  What a gift to learn with friends.  So thankful.

8. Then, we got to walk on a different part of the trail with Wexlar and his papa, my girls and their papa.  Wex let me run with him, again.

9. We came home to hubby's homemade brownies, which tasted INCREDIBLE and coconut milk ice cream.  too yummy and thoughtful for words.

10. It's with a full heart that I say goodnight to this wonderful weekend.  I feel the love.  I do.  I will hold it near me all year long as I have already planned in this being a really. fabulous. year.

Birthday Weekend

Sunday is my 33rd birthday. 

beautiful

Last year, we celebrated at this really neat Eco-Lodge that runs on solar power and uses a rainwater catchment. 

the diners were so yummy.

Some professors from one of the universities in Indonesia created it as a nature preserve for birds and butterflies.  The pool was great, the four course vegetarian meals were delicious, the outdoor solar showers were fabulous and we really got to know the location of every toilet in the place.

swanky place playground

We walked on the beach at Jimbaran for hours and walked into this fancy, private resort that has a playground.  It's the only playground the kids ever played on in Bali. 

thankfully, cherry popsicle could come with us

We ate at Zula's Vegetarian Paradise, which is one of my very favorite places on earth to eat. 

walking on the beach

 I was sooooooooo sick with Bali belly that I could barely make it in any taxi ride over 12 minutes long without needing to stop somewhere.  Since we were a couple of hours away from the clinic and my Chinese herbs weren't working, i actually stopped in a random doctor's office to get meds!  It was the first time in years I had taken mainstream pharmaceuticals but I was so glad to begin to feel better the next week. 

that amazing beach

The real highlight was that I also caught two babies on my birthday last year.  I don't have any pictures of this, of course.  I try to be really respectful of the clients by not taking pictures, not to mention it's kinda hard to catch and photograph at the same time.  Hee hee.

beachy

This year, I am going out for vegan pizza with dear families that cherish me almost as much as I cherish them.  On Sunday, I am going to can tomato sauce for the first time.  In between, I hope to go on a dinner date with my hubby (one of three? that we've been on without kids in tow) and I am going to hope my friend comes home from the hospital after his surgery.  I love my birthday usually but this year I am just not feeling much up for the celebrations or the crowds of people.  I just want to go on a long walk and then a long sleep.  And, eat brownies.

Happy early birthday to me.

The Green School

my friend, the boy

When I was in 6th grade, I became friends with this other 6th grade kid that was kinda short and stocky.  I think he had a too big black leather jacket, even.  He was funny and charming.  A lot happened over the next 7 years until we lost touch.  He grew up strong and successful.  He was the all american boy.  Wow, did he help me through some rough times.  And, I was told more than once that I was killing his buzz trying to help him through is own rough times when they finally hit.  Man, our senior year was a rough one missing out on his presence.  He'd gotten into trouble with some dangerous stuff and I wasn't the only one super worried about him.  But, goodness was I ever grateful for the stubborn determined friend I had found.  And, years later, when we reconnected, again it was to my great joy.  What a relief to sit in his living room with his family and see him happy, hilarious and cocky as ever. 

at our 10 yr high school reunion

Yesterday afternoon we were talking on the phone about how his oldest son is 15 years old, about the same age we were when my friend got his white Mustang with blue seats that he dubbed, "Bessie".  He cherished that car.  He'd drive me home or out to meet friends from our first job at the mall sophomore year.  I always felt bad for the time we were driving out to a wrestling meet in another county and I handed him his juice.  Well, he shook it up, not realizing that I had already done that and taken the lid off.  We stopped on some country road and he popped the trunk for a roll of paper towels.  What 16 year old boy keeps paper towels in his trunk to clean the car?  He totally took care of that dear car.

Before Bessie, there was a time that I remember his own dad struggling through a cancer diagnosis.  I remember standing on the sidewalk in middle school trying to hand him a book I had just read about a boy whose dad had cancer.  My friend acted tough and said he's already read it.  Then, we walked to the cafeteria in silence. 

He warned me about certain guys when he had little respect for their locker room talk.  He let me borrow a comfy sweatshirt and watch lame comedies at his house when I didn't listen and ended up brokenhearted.  He found love in an older girl for a good chunk of our high school years and she was kind to me all the while probably wondering why he and I were friends.  Being opposite sex friends for so many of our vulnerable growing up years could have been really confusing but I think we navigated it well.  What sticks out to me more is how ultimately I felt supported and encouraged from a friend through the years even as we took time to pursue our own friendships or dating.  For about 6 years, I always knew he'd call to chat or listen as I blabbered on about my latest crush, how much my mom sucked and we'd catch up. 

he is so blessed to have an amazing wife!

This dear one is having surgery today after being diagnosed with colon cancer.  Having celebrated our birthdays less than 2 weeks apart for so long, it's crazy to think we are this young and he's in the hospital this week!  It's a rare issue for someone our age to have.  But, that is not helping the flood of memories and emotions that are coming with this.  Emailing with his amazing wife, texting, and talking to him on the the phone today has really been encouraging.  He's so optimistic and positive.  So strong and hopeful.  He's also realistic and ready to face whatever is coming from this.  I see that same determination and respect from high school wrestling days all over, again.  He's got his game face on.  It's incredible and heartbreaking and gut wrenching. 

the day our girls met each other

Aren't we 12...walking the middle school halls and getting dropped off at movies by our parents with groups of other awkward 7th graders?  Aren't we 14, starting high school with him wrestling Varsity already and me feeling left behind already...until he encourages me to be their manager and score keeper?  Or, 16 and getting our first jobs at the place his big brother works then helping our friends get jobs with us, partying and then heading down separate paths to date people?  Wasn't it yesterday that we were 18, a worried me and a lost him?  I know it's been a long time since he came to SURPRISE visit me in college and I was out on a date b/c I am now married to that man I was on the date with.  Last night, I cried in that man's arms as I told him silly stories of growing up and he understood.  He has cared for my friend as our families have spent time together.  We are parents to little girls born within the same year.  Yesterday, we asked each other over and over, how did that happen so quickly? 

When did we grow up and have to face cancer?

January 2010

A year ago this week, I would walk by this flower every day on my way to the outdoor kitchen.  I miss that.

Blog of the Month

Our Ash Grove is probably my very favorite blog right now.  The family is made up of four children, a mama and a papa who are Waldorf-inspired homeschoolers with a big garden and lots of handmade clothes.  I am a huge fan of each of these things.  

Games She Plays

the airplane

Well, some kids play house or fairies.  My youngest plays "airplane", almost every other day.  She lines up all the animals from every hidden space in our house, takes their tickets, buckles their seatbelts and then gets on the plane with them.  She tells them the destination and when to change planes, etc.  Sometimes food is served.  She faces forward and sits patiently as the planes flies.  It's a very calm game.  Sometimes, I have to show my ticket if I was already on board when she arrives.  Sometimes, I bring reading material (like one of the cookbooks my dad gave me years ago) and translate it from meaty to vegan.

P.S. In case it's not glaringly obvious from this picture, we don't need or want any more stuffed animals at our house.  We're full.  Just wanted to say it in case it anyone was uncertain and was considering gifting us with more of the same.

Angels Among Us

from candle dipping table at the waldorf winter fair

mancala

e took this picture

looking forward to playing this game for years and years

House Barn Space

found this on craigslist months before her birthday for about $35

My big bro cleaned it up for us as he is quite the handyman.  It really came out beautiful.  The roof lid flips up; the stairs are actually from a castle we got on craigslist earlier in the year.  

the metal crease is where the roof lifts

Because it's so open, the girls have used it as a house for small people, a house for the larger dolls and a big barn for the bigger animals to have their own stalls.  It's also been a barn for the smaller animals to share.

view from the front...or the back, i guess.

 These creative ways make me want to wait on introducing furniture.  We've got a box of it in the shed from when i was a kid; some is very fragile Victorian style furniture but other pieces may work at some point over the next year.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Anthony!

He is a huge Curious George fan and has drawn the Bear into the fan club!

We love this guy like no other.  Many years ago, he adopted me as his lil' sis and totally kept me safe through some scary times in life.  Recently, he bought a house around the corner so we all could take long walks together on the trail.  Even more recently, he adopted a puppy dog, who he named Wexlar.  Just this weekend, E took the leash and walked Wex for over a mile!  He and hubby have dudes and dad's night out pretty much weekly.  We have grand dreams of installing solar panels, continuing to garden together and visiting Bali sometime in the next year or two. 

Happy Birthday, Big Bro!  I am so glad you were born and so glad you came to us.  Each of us loves you very much.

Wax Window Crayons

Walk the Trail

a whole gaggle of friends

bikers and walkers

A Special Seat

This time last year in Ubud, Bali

raw tiramisu cake

this is an amazingly yummy cake.  and it's totally raw.  amazing. 

Birthday Gifts

Back in November, a little girl turned 5 years old.  For her party, she wanted friends to walk on teh trail with her.  Awesome.  For gifts, she wanted two things: an oak tree and a wolf.  A real oak tree and a real wolf.  Instead, she got a bike and a wooden house.

yummiest