Winter Weather Blahs

So the weather has been less than delightful the last month or so. The storms and cold air have taken a toll on my family. First we were in an accident that caused our SUV to be in repair for 5 weeks leaving us slightly off-kilter to say the least. Secondly we are Irish & Welsh which means the cold air is abusive to our skin. My kiddos are chapped from head to toe with mom in dad in a close second place. We have been cooped up inside for these reasons and its caused a lovely panic in our house of whining, crying and my back being oh so sore.... So what does a gal in distress do? She knits!! She cooks!! She does yoga!!

Below is the result...

The Superbowl was this past weekend and we went to a friends house for a party. A good guest always brings something yummy so we brought beef with Gorgonzola sauce for dipping - Yum! The recipe is from Ina Garten and it was beyond delish!

 

 The flu/bug that has been floating around has been brutal this year and I was lucky enough to pick it up. After 3 days of nausea I made this yummy Gluten Free minestrone soup. I added a 1/2 slice of Neapolitan pizza but was only able to eat 1/2 of what you see. I was a little sick. But the food was uber yummy.

Another fun thing to do in the freezing is knit! And knit this gal did. A hat for muah and 2 sweaters for my darling daughter. She is such a fun model but next up needs to be wee-boy because hes just as sweet.

 
After knitting and cooking my back was particularly ornery so yoga was a requirement (plus, I love it and dont do it enough to serve my addiction)

 So thats all. If you are in the region of NEMO, please keep warm and safe!


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inspired by: knitting, winter, and kids
cheers, meg

A year in the life...

I cant believe its almost been a year. So much has happened!  Well, to begin, here are my "babies" now, all beautiful and a year older. Im so lucky to have them as my kids. They bring my life and light every day.(Thank you to my amazing friend Paula and her photo skills for capturing their smiles for me).

I suppose updates are in store:

We are in our home 1 1/2 years and love it. The kids are so happy and comfortable here its been a huge blessing to us.

My business, Keen Bean Design is going great! We have grown to 7 strong and I have been blessed to have met some amazing people through the growing process. We have big plans and have a great team so expect big things! :)

Im still Gluten Free (well mostly) NO real pastas and limited breads. Everything else, GF and happy. Even the kiddos like it (they still have me pick up cheese crackers and pop-tarts on occasion) When I stick to it 100% digestion is amazing. So it really shows how your body is in tune with your surrounds and consumption. Luckily Rob and the wee-ones are great with the choices and love my homemade breads :)! Today NEPAmom featured 2 of my recipes - HERE

Our garden last year was great, but the deer and squirrels were a huge problem. This year we are re-designing for a new layout to prevent the critters from getting in and eating all of our goodies!

My back is still bad. Im at the University of Penn now and they are really trying. I beg them not to give up on me. That I will fullfill my promises to be active like I was if they can help. Dr. A Popescu is great and he sees the importance of being active and painfree!

Im back to knitting and loving it. Some FO's: More to come :)

Im still practicing Yoga, although my back has been so bad its been tough. Im starting from scratch which is really frustrating but there is not other choice. I love doing it and it helps so fighting through the pain is the only plan. I go to a great PT Clinic: Body Dynamic - they are working with me through deep tissue, pilates, yoga and soon pilates equipment! Im very excited. Sounds silly but only a few years ago I could like 100lbs and could climb a tree TO save my life! I was strong and active. Through the last 5 years physically its hard but it has affected me mentally. I have battled bouts of "depression" for lack of a better word b/c my life is so different. Trying to remain positive and fill my life with the tools needed to get back up that tree!

So I suppose thats all. If any of my followers are still out there - please let me know how you are doing! I have missed you!! xoxo
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inspired by: 2012

cheers, meg

We are blessed

It's easy to be sad - to be happy takes work. 

 

Today a blizzard is coming and right now we have rain and flurries. Not fun. Not fun b/c it is 30 degrees out + the above noted weather. But today I feel really blessed. Really blessed. Blessed because I love our home, our family, our life. Do we have all that we "want"? no, but we have all that we need. 

Hannah and I baked a cake together, I set up my knitting and books in my favorite nook of the house & we have yummy pierogies cooking. The clothes are done, the house is straightened. The upstairs smells like yummy incense that I was burning for a friends loved one "Health" and later hot tea and some scary movies are in my future. Harrison & I played cars and Hannah told me "I just love you mom, because"......

Today is a good day and we are blessed for what we have. Thank you to Molly & Aunt Nancy and all that are looking out for us and blessing us like you have. We are very grateful and I am very thankful to your love. 

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inspired by: blessings, family, home, love

cheers, meg

Fall, Family & Fiber

My family is my heart - my kids are my breathe - my home is our sanctuary. Every day I spend with them I realize how blessed we are to have eachother. Lately we have been playing around a lot, the kids are in love with ice pops and I am back to knitting for love. Here is our mini tale.

 

That is all for tonight - love and light......

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inspired by: Fall, Family & Fiber
cheers, meg

Holy Moly - it's been 3 months!

I can't believe its been 3 months! That seems crazy, but alas, its true.

First, We moved into our new home and are finally settled (for the most part).

My wee ones have grown:

And finally I am catching up on my reading and yoga practice. I couldnt be more thrilled. My mat is my savior, my incense my inspiration, my practice my salvation. I couldnt be happier. My friend Jen at www.IndieYoga.com sent me a few tanks to "test & review" and (Im SO sorry Jen!) it has taken me 2 months to get things together and actually do a review. Sometimes life just interrupts play!

Here are the tops:

The pictures were taken from her website, I am not the gorgeous model. hehe. Anyway.....
I LOVE them. I only have one issue and thats sizing. If you pick one up for yourself, please choose a size up. I am a Medium and had to exchange for a Large. Im tall (5'11) and the Large fits but isnt very long. I like long in the hips & arms. Some don't but I like to feel comfy, not like I have to pull it down. My friend has 2 and she is about 5'6 so the fit is much better on her - in terms of length. The Good news is - I adore the style, the cut, the image & wording. It added like to my plain yoga tanks and made me feel like springtime. it was very nice. Would I buy them? Yes, but I may even go up to an XL if it provided more length. The fabric is very fine and provides a textured look that appears to be see-thru in spots but isnt. Its a very fun and fabulous tee! Check out Jen's store for even more amazing yoga pieces - www.IndieYoga.com

Finally Ill end with the blessing that I am knitting for Kiss My Style Fall and Cowls are the rage. My son modeled one for me -

Have a glorious day of love and light! Ill be back soon - I promise!
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inspired by: Catching my breathe, enjoying life and love
cheers, meg

A place for guidance

At 35 I think I have done a lot, at least for my bucket list.

• worked in some amazing fields in amazing places
  
• found a great husband
• had 2 beautiful wee ones
• built 2 businesses from scratch
• gotten some great acknowledgments for them
• found my crafty side and love it!

But now time is a rarity and my mind is a flutter. I recently started a new business - Keen Bean Design - and it has boomed! No complaints at all... except..... between KBD, the kids, their schedules, house hunting, maintaining our house, running countless errands, running Kiss My Style and breathing ... I have no time. I want to do so much more - Yoga for one. I never have time for it daily. My nerves are shot after my 4 year old questions me all day "why, what, when, where? did i mention why?"

So I call to all of my crafty moms - yoga divas - multitasking ADHD ninja women.... Please help me organize better so I can fit in sewing and yoga and cooking and playing and walking and breathing and enjoying life!!!!!

On that plea I will end with 2 pictures that make me smile....

Guidance please! :) xoxoxo

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inspired by: making everyone happy - even me :)

cheers, meg

Sunday Smiles

Since I havent been around heres the last few months in pictures....

The kiddos got bigger.......



I did some knitting......

Harrison was Christened.......

I found a cool app for pictures on my Iphone.....

Started a rad new business.......

KEEN BEAN DESIGN

Got a beautiful Yoga bracelet........

Learn to make a yummy salad like at a local Italian Shop......



And did some sewing.........

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inspired by: a new year!
cheers, meg

Some finished objects (FO's) & holiday fun - Picture heavy

Happy 4th of July! Independence!

My sister in law had a birthday and I wanted to come up with something fun & unique for her. She loves to cook & has a dream of opening her own catering business someday. I thought a personalized recipe book would be a great way to help get her started! Here are the picks from the parts & pieces to full assembly......

I was thinking of listing it on KissMyStyle.com - what do you think?

Next I had a great custom order for a bridal shower - so much fun! The request was for bright, fun lavender dryer/drawer pillows. Here's the final result:

Do you remember the baby blanket I was working on for my friends Danielle & Bill? Well.... it's finished! And their lil man has also arrived and snuggled in for a few photos:

Ok, that's it for now...
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inspired by: holidays & fun projects

cheers, meg

89 hours in.....

Knitting is one of my biggest loves.The yummy yarns, the soft fabric you create, it's all so gratifying. I have been working on a friends baby blanket with beautiful yarn - fine alpaca - yum! The blanket needed to be tightly knit so that means small needles - my nemesis. See, I am a true crafter with reasonably large hands so small needles don't like me. 89 hours into the blanket, here are some of the latest pictures of the WIP... we are at about 3 1/2' long.......

Hannah has taken up a new hobby - photography. Well, she likes to take mommy's camera and snap pictures, some are pretty darn good! here are her first round from the future Annie Leibovitz.....

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inspired by: baby blankets, toddlers and their imaginations....

cheers,
meg