A warm November day

The last 2 weeks have been brutal with the kids being sick and lovingly passing it on to me (lol) so when we had this warm November day - I thought - perfect time to go out and blow the stink off of us! My friend Betsy told me about this amazing place - Spring Hills Farm - 6 miles from our house (I KNOW!) and I packed the kids in the car and off we went.

Hannah, Harrison & I went to the Spring Hills Farm to pick up a wreath, maple syrup and pick out our Christmas Tree (waiting until Wednesday so Daddy can come too! :) ) and while we were there they let us roam the property, look at the sheep, chickens & roosters and very cool old cemetery across the street (the resting place of the 2 original owning families dating back as far as the revolutionary war! We had a blast and can't wait til Wednesday to go back!

 

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inspired by: being outdoors

cheers, meg

A trip to Princeton

This weekend Rob and I went to Princeton, NJ for a weekend getaway without the weeones. We missed them terribly but had a wonderful time. Everything about it was amazing. The peace, the walks, the restaurants, the time with Rob & the sleep. Oh the glorious sleep! I have beautiful pictures to show our time below........

I look at these pictures and I love every moment of them. But I look at the pictures of my in my newly successful yoga poses and I am disgusted by what I see. My body, which was beautiful at one point, is fat and out of shape. I see a woman who has seen every doctor known to man and not one can figure out - or care to figure out - why I have put on 27 lbs in 10 months with NO change of lifestyle or nutrition. Tomorrow I will change my nutrition, vitamin & exercise routine AGAIN to see if improvements are possible. I just want to be comfortable with myself in appearance again.


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inspired by: health, yoga, comfort, love
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

When life hands you lemons.....

Today was the AWE Awards ceremony. Last year I was a nominee and was blessed to receive the Woman of Merit Award. This year I set up a table for Keen Bean Design and met some amazing women (and potential contacts - score!) Anyway, we sat down afterwards for the lunch and heard an amazing lecture from a sef declared "mom-preneur" Cena Block. Her business is Sane Spaces and she gave the most amazing, inspiring speech on how women do it all and get through it shining bright. Talk about inspiring! Did I mention, shes a yogi? AHHHH yes! Anyway, I asked for some excerpts b/c they were insanely informative and I want to share them with you.

• Clarifying Your Perspective and determine whether it serves you
• Understanding Your Self and What’s Important
• Finding your sense of Personal Motivation repeatedly
• Minimizing your own Limitations and barriers
• Aligning Actions with Greater Cause – Making a Personal Contribution

And the four "sanity" dimensions to assess and address are your:

• Spaces
• Systems
• Self 
• Support 

To end her amazing speech I "borrowed" her inspiring yoga image, See! a well balanced business woman!

Ok, onto personal things.... Im learning so much about people and how to feel and to react. I have always worked in fields where acceptance is required. Your clients need to accept your work or you wont be paid, essentially. I carried that feeling into my personal life and really just realized (and found out through the small town grapevine), some do not support me and although it hurts..... its ok. I have an amazing support group of friends and have a more than amazing team to support me & KBD through business. Not to mention the people who do support me outweigh the ones who don't. Recently my feelings have been hurt and I had my emotional moment and then stopped. Its good to feel, but better to get over it. The results of today were not the one negative piece of feedback, but the dozen pieces of positive and amazing feedback! Not to mention, I felt great i my red patent heels!

One thing Cena mentioned, that I have always believed, you need to find time for you. To balance your life. My kids, my husband, my friends and my work are my life. But my hobbies and interests are my glue. Lately as motherhood and age have crept in, I noticed I am taking a new viewpoint. “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” - Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy 

Im confident in my love, my success, my feelings, my responsibilities and finally my choices. It took 36 years to acknowledge that but I am most grateful. For that I will end my post with some candids of my heart: 

EDITED TO ADD: It is OK to feel "not so great" about parenting, work, life in general. And it is OK to talk about it. I share my feelings to let others know - your not alone. <3 Namaste!


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inspired by: new beginnings and love
cheers, meg

Birthday Smiles, Tree Pose & a Good Read

There is something so amazing about our wee ones - their smiles, their cuddles & the way they mimic our actions. My daughter has been following in my footsteps by practicing yoga with me. Her latest accomplishment is Tree Pose. Now, I am 5'11 and STILL can't seem to master it and my little besu has knocked me clean out of the water. She is guided by the light!

My little man turned one on the 15th. My heart breaks at how he has changed. His smile is adorable and his kisses are hysterical! He is definitely a lover. Plus, he has super cute toes.

We got to enjoy the outdoors at last! The spring is creeping and pushing its way into April like a line for toys before Christmas. Pushy pushy pushy! We LOVE being outdoors so we told that weather to come on in - you are so welcome!

So things have been busy. Between birthdays, KBD, KMS and life, things have gotten a bit nutty. Oh, did I mention WE BOUGHT A NEW HOME? - that will be in a later post. (Promise)
But lately I have been so tired and "lazy" that my practice has been greatly neglected. It started when my upper back pain returned and I had to miss my favorite Vinyasa class and it escalated from there. My evening SS, is down to a weekly SS. My drive and desire is shaded but daily dramas. SOme of my wonderful yoginis from Twitter assured me it is normal and not to fret. When its ready to return, it will and open arms will hold it tight. To help with the process, I picked up a few books.

Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses - found here
EnLIGHTened - found here
Yoga as Medicine - found here

Partial Reviews:

Poser:
I have only read 2 chapters. Although its interesting and a bit funny, Im not hooked. I need to read more to give a thorough thought.

EnLIGHTened:
I am 1/2 way through and have a hard time putting it down. The humor, the truth, the frankfulness and the yummy recipes come together in a great - easy-to-read book on being a mama, yogi and a woman just trying to keep it all together & smile while doing it. Loving it!

Yoga as Medicine:
I am reading it slowly - like a text book. Written by an MD it has a great perspective on yoga for the physical & mental. I really like his clear writing style and look forward to each section as I go.

Im slowly coming back to life - between the joy of a new home, a new season full of gorgeous smells and sights and my babies who give me new breathe every morning. My practice will return. Maybe tonight. Maybe next week. But it will return. Because it loves my body like I love it. My husband used to do it with me every night. Maybe its time for us to start our couples practice again. As Martha says: "It's a Good Thing".
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inspired by: yoga, good reads, family, life & spring
cheers, meg

Isn't it funny....things you realize?

Isnt it funny:

1. some of your greatest friends are those you never met in person?
2. how hearing birds chirp for the first time since winter, first thing in the morning is a beautiful sound?
3. how you realize how much you truly love someone when out of the blue you look at them and think - I have never loved anyone like I love you.
   
4. how you love your second child as much as your first, in different ways but in a loving, squishing way?
5. how a movie is so similar to your life that you cry because it beings back all the pain you had?
6. how much you miss a loved one that passed away even 17 years after they have died?
7. how yoga in the morning makes an achy back fade away?
8. how a clean house makes a clean mind?
9. how a shower removes all the dirt of the day but also all the sludge from any negativity?
10. how a walk outside can give you a little nudge into happiness?
11. how the taste of a really good meal lingers in your mind?
12. how when you realize you have a few friends you realize how blessed you are that you even have one you can count on?
13. how hobbies & interests make you smile inside?
14. when you finally pick up a book after not having any time to read? even just one chapter a day....?
15. how you need people in your life even though you think you dont?

and isnt it amazing how truly gorgeous the human body is - inside and out? the intricacies of the organs, the pangs of the heart, the skipped beats over love, the tears that form from nowhere? Isnt it amazing that all of us are different yet we have the same "Isn't it funnies?"

Molly Elizabeth
Sept 21, 1982 - Jan 24, 1994

If you have some - post them! id love to see! :) share share share!

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inspired by: life, love & friends...... and Molly who for some reason, I miss terribly today.
cheers, meg

Our last weeks in photos

Hello all! Things have been insanely busy. We are trying to fit a lot of fun in a short amount of time before winter coats & slick roads stop the good time! Here is our last 2 weeks in photos... needless to say... it's been A LOT of fun!

First we hit up the pumpkin patches a few times. Hannah has never ridden a horse I was hoping she would give it a shot. So we loaded up the kiddos, the bags of necessities (diapers, change of clothes for the kids, bottle, sippy cup, toys, snacks, band aids ++) hopped in the family truckster and went to Roba's Farm.

She had such a good time, the next week we went back with KidDilly!

Then there was our trip to Knoebels. It was a blast. Hannah had a great time on all the rides and had her first big girl successful potty day. No diaper, no pull up, no accidents. YAY!

Then we had some relaxing time.......

And a little bit of love time.....

I was a lucky gal this month and got an invite to the Martha Stewart show to sit in her FIRST EVER Twitter section! Martha is my crafting mentor & I loved being included in such a cool experience. Rob was a Super Trooper and accompanied me & even walked 30+ blocks with me to PurlSoho to get my yarn on. I love him.

I had to whip up something Martha fabulous so a knitting I began......



The supportive and darling husband........

My sister in law took a picture of us on the TV.....



And our money shot!!.......



My goods from Purlsoho.....



And some work in progress (WIP)........

So home we went & came home to our darlings who love to take baths & be silly. We love them...... xoxo

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inspired by: family, fall, crafting, idols, love

cheers, meg