Rose Street Current Reads
Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Ingrid Bauer: Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene
Jean Liedloff: The Continuum Concept: In Search Of Happiness Lost (Classics in Human Development)
Joan McGowan-Michael: Knitting Lingerie Style: More Than 30 Basic and Lingerie-Inspired Designs
Larissa Golden Brown: Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together
Stephanie Cooper: The Children's Year: Seasonal Crafts and Clothes (Festivals (Hawthorn Press))
August 24, 2009
August 17, 2009
Uncle George (yes, that is his real name)
and Aunt Ann came to visit us again over the 4th of July.
You are IN LOVE with them, Stella. We did so many fun things like going to restaurants, the beach, shopping, kayaking, and hanging out.
And guess what...we are going to be seeing them in a couple of weeks. We are going to Chicago, on the way to Michigan, for a few days to stay with them. Then, they are going to drive us up to Northern Michigan where Papaw George and Aunt Ashley will be waiting for us.
I am not too worried about the long car ride cause you are always so happy with them in the car. I am sure Uncle George will drive and Aunt Ann and I will sit in the back with you...and of course we will stop anytime you want.
Uncle George and Aunt Ann love your animal CD, so I am sure we will all be singing together for the trip up North.
You always have the best time when they come, Stella, and it is always sad when they leave because you wake up, in the morning, or from a nap, and you look all around for them cause they were there for the past days and you just keep looking around. And the house is always so quiet and still after all the F-U-N times have passed.
You were hanging out with Aunt Ann and I one night while we were getting ready for dinner and you raided my jewelry box to find the pearls you wanted to wear.
You ate so much rice at this dinner that I thought you were going to explode! And, thankfully, you just thought the bread basket was a toy of balls (we're trying to hold off on the wheat, specially the processed white kind) for as long as we can.
But, anyways, who needs bread when we can have fun!
...and get into all kinds of things we're not supposed to. (like Mommy's camera which is barely hanging on these days)
One things for sure, when your Aunt and Uncle are here you could survive just on the steady diet of kisses that they give you.
They love you so much, Stella.
We can't wait to see you guys! Two more weeks! Love ya.
July 12, 2009
To Stella
Here are the last of the photos of our magical vacation...your first vacation. Sometimes they say, "Less is More" and I do agree with that a lot of the time, but not in this case, apparently.
I have been such a dork about posting the pictures of our little family's trip for a few reasons: I know you probably won't remember much of this first one, but you had such a wonderful time!
Also, I know that your Daddy was so happy, and proud, that he could get a little time off work and take his girls out of town for some super special family time...just us three.
I know I tell you this all the time, but: Daddy works very hard. He waits on people, hand and foot, all day long, just to bring home a few bucks to his girls at the end of the day. Well, discounts on hotels is one perk of his job, so, even though Mommy grew up as a camping girl (and actually Daddy grew up the same way, as a camping boy) it was nice not to have to worry about anything...except showing up and having fun!
and being together...
and playing,
and taking pictures of Daddy's butt:
(you helped Daddy unpack the coolers...we brought a lot of our own food...camping style! I will teach you more about camping later this summer, in Michigan, where Mommy is from.)
And eating...
(yes, Daddy was kind of a glutton, but that's okay once in a while, as long as you know where your food is coming from...and it's a natural source...)
(it would be preferable if that sign said, "organic Key Lime Tree"...but that's another subject!)
We did spent a decent amount of time going up and down in elevators, which you learned very well how to operate, so our trip was a great learning experience, as well!
We were also able to spread a little bit of education to some others by showing that breastfeeding your baby is a perfectly natural, beautiful part of life...even in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton Hotel.
Daddy did do a lot of this:
And this:
...showing you the sites...
One of the highlights of the trip for Mommy was here:
where I found us some souvenirs in the form of Key West colored yarns that will become socks for the three of us to enjoy for a long time. (Photos of that stuff later!)
We really took in all the natural beauty of these magical tropic waters and the Southernmost beach in the USA.
(where Daddy apparently felt the need to puff out his manly chest...maybe to make up for carrying Mommy's purse.)
We tried to avoid the usual tourist traps, mostly because we didn't want to pay outrageous prices for things that weren't really that cool...like the Conch tour train that was $30 per person for a one hour ride. Mommy told that lady that she was crazy...Key West is a very small island and can be more fully appreciated on foot!
...which is how we got to see so many of these guys around the island. (You loved them, of course.)
We made sure to stop by all the historic landmarks of the island, but instead of going inside...we preferred to just take a free picture in front of the sign...we are very thrifty, your father and I.
It was a magical time. The most important part of the vacation is just being with your loved ones for a bit of refocusing. Refocusing onto what is truly important in life...which can be so hard in the world we live in.
I told Daddy that I felt a little weird going away from our house and life for so long without a cell phone for people to get ahold of us if they need to. Well, a kind of emergency did happen while we were gone...our house was halfway flooded, by a storm and a clogged pipe, but thankfully Uncle Daniel, whom was watching over our house, was unable to contact us about that, and he handled it beautifully for us.
See...you just need to get away every now and then. Totally away. To be Totally together.
July 04, 2009
July 02, 2009
Our Magical Vacation...cont., cont., cont.
I wish the actual vacation, itself, lasted as long as it is taking me to get all the pictures up...but I am enjoying reliving it for a few minutes while I look back and try to decide what stories I might want to tell from that great time.
But it's not stories I feel like sharing here today. It's just the feeling...the feeling that you get when you are on a really good, much needed, relaxing vacation with your two favorite people in the world!
...the feeling that time is standing still, that everything in the universe is completely supporting you and your happiness, that love really is the only thing that matters, that happiness is infinitely available to us all if we would only choose to grab it...
...and why don't we just grab it more often?
I think it's important to keep in mind, in our day-to-day lives that a "vacation" doesn't have to mean a hotel suite in some tropical locale with a Key West sunset glowing orange. You could make yourself a little vacation anytime, anyday...it's a state of mind.
June 30, 2009
Our Magical Vacation...Cont., Cont.
The drive to and from Key West, through all the other Keys, was actually one of our favorite parts of the trip. Stella slept most of the time and we got to talk, enjoy the sites, and just chill out. The particular stretch of beach was about half between Key West and the Mainland, on Islamorada...beautiful.
My sweet husand suprised me by upgrading our room at the Ritz, on Key Biscayne, to a SUITE! As the bellman opened the door for us and pushed our luggage in he said something like "...and here we are at your Resident's Suite...to the left here is the kitchen...here is the living room and balcony...". I looked at Dorin like "what is he talking about...does he have the wrong room for us?"...and Dorin just had this huge smile on his face. I got this excited feeling in my stomach as I walked in and saw how posh and comfy the suite was...truly luxurious!
Our biggest excitement came from the realization that we wouldn't have to sit in the dark and be quiet once Stella went to bed...
because our hotel room...
...was actually hotel rooms...and balconies. And my favorite part was the big fat jacuzzi bathtub shown in previous post! Ahhhhhhhhhhh...
June 24, 2009
Our Magical Vacation...cont.
I am trying to keep this feeling alive. Something has shifted in me since the trip...I don't know exactly what is was. Maybe a week of being with my husband non-stop, instead of missing him all day long and being lonely for him...especially in the evenings.
(Key West!...one of the few places in Florida, that I've seen, cool enough to serve their own MICRO BREWS!) We stopped for one while Stella slept on Daddy's back.
Being with my best friend and lover, with no stress, or any responsibilities to take care of, for one whole week was just what I needed. I feel so much more connected to him right now...even when we are apart now, and back in reality, I just feel the connection is so much stronger.
Of course, riding in a car with someone for any stretch of time will do that too. But riding through the Florida Keys made is extra magical. There was no traffic to be nervous about, no real chance for speeding either...it's pretty much one way in, and one way out, and pretty much just one lane to do it in...so sit back, relax, and have a nice day. That's kind of the feeling of the whole place...an especially dramatic change after having to drive through MIAMI (yuck!) to get there.
This is the most dramatically refreshed I have ever felt after a vacation! I really got to relax having Daddy around to help tend to the the little terrorist angel a bit, and share some of those duties.
A little bit of that weight being taken off went a LOOOOONG way for me! I feel so much better, younger, rested...like my old self again! And looking at these pictures now, I can see the difference too!
I want to keep this feeling going as long as possible! I felt it this morning in my yoga...just so present, so center, so clear...
...and mostly, so inspired!
Inspired to create, to be present, to love harder, to speak softer, to practice patience. And inspired to continue improving always...improve myself, which will in turn improve my whole life...which will in turn bring the most happiness to them...
...which will ultimately bring the most happiness to me!
The Butterfly House was one of our favorite things in Key West, mostly cause Stella absolutely loved it! It is the simplest thing which bring absolute joy to a child...isn't it? That is something that Stella reminds me everyday...it is really so inspiring.
Love to you! More later...
June 20, 2009
Our Magical Vacation...
This photo of the two most magical, amazing, wonderful people, in my world, here in front of the Key West sunset, pretty much captures the whole vacation experience in a very simple way. But since I am a photo junkie and I love writing about what moves me...of course I can't stop there!
It's a little overwhelming how many pictures I want to share, along with some of the memories that go with them, so I will have to break it up I guess. I know that Dorin's mom is waiting with baited breath for these photos and will enjoy them immensely when she arrives at work on Monday morning...so, I will try to get as many up here as possible before then!
And so, here is the story of how one guy and one girl drove all the way to the end of U.S.1, to Mile 0, together with their Baby Girl to see what happiness they could find!
It's also the story of our 3rd Wedding Anniversary and how our little family has evolved over the past few years.
I hope I can successfully capture, how, with words and pictures, some of the magic of the last week so that we can enjoy looking back on these days in the future, and, so that Stella can treasure a glimpse of the beauty she has brought to our lives.
A Key West sunset, June 15, 2009. The magic is still in me as I sit here missing my husband so bad because it is his first day back to work after a week of so much fun together!
But, for now, I have laundry and some new, luscious, Key West yarn calling my name. Back later to share more!
June 13, 2009
Happy Anniversary, My Love!
...well, one day early. On June 14, 2006, I married you and that was my dream come true.
Our first wedding anniversary, at the Ritz Carlton...
We were so young and funny...very carefree...
so cute, trying to be fancy...for one day, our special day.
But really we were so goofy...
...and crazy...
...and happy...
...romantic...
...and in love.
That Anniversary is one of my favorite memories of us...especially, late it the night, as we sat out on the balcony talking, and talking, and talking...about our past...and our future. Which leads me to the next anniversary...
Look at our angel! Our anniversary dinner complete with Stella, sling, and walking endlessly around Sangria restaurant. Slightly overwhelmed new parents, way overtired, and much more low key...
...but blessed as could be! That was my best Anniversary yet, number 2...even though it's easy to by our faces that we were just barely alive (Stella was 3 months old!), we had our healthy, perfect start to the family that we had dreamed of building.
I have to be honest I don't remember much of that day, due to the exhaustion of that time, but I know we are much stronger as a team, and I am so much more of a woman for having been through it...with you...the best daddy and husband I could ever dream of...
And tomorrow we leave for the Keys, to spend our 3rd Anniversary, again in a Ritz Carlton...and again with Stella, so we will have the best of both worlds this time! I am so excited, and so looking forward to seeing what this year will bring, on our special day. Thank you, my Angel Husband, for working so hard, being a wonderful man, and thank you for this vacation...I know we both need it...and it's going to be the BEST ANNIVERSARY, yet!
