Unsurprisingly Delicious

Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs, has a neat little feature on the front page called "Surprise Me" which, naturally, directs you randomly to any one of the thousands of beautiful, delicious recipes found on SK. Living on the edge as I so often do (snort), I hit Surprise Me earlier this week and landed on Acorn Squash and Gorgonzola Pizza.

Photo via Smitten Kitchen, though ours came out looking just like it. Score.

Well! We made it last night, and it was so good. I loved the simplicity of it and the subtle flavors...not too many competing spices, but the tangy gorgonzola, sweet squash and earthy arugula were great complements of one another. It's the perfect seasonal cross-over food with winter squash and springtime greens. This one's a keeper. I recommend making one for yourself, or getting your own Surprise if you're feeling sassy.

Joy

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Elena Brower at Crazy Sexy Life writes eloquently about something I've been feeling accutely in recent months as I quest for balance, work through difficult emotional habits and attempt to stay present and patient in a state of slow (slooow, seemingly imperceptible at times) but steady progress. She writes:

As a collective, we long to find “home” within ourselves. In my search for home I’ve traversed ashrams, meditation, drugs, seva, chanting, yoga, childbirth, parenthood, teaching, social networking and back. What I’ve found is that our true home is a place of fearlessness in the heart—your heart, my heart, every heart. Furthermore, and much more importantly, home is not some fixed point toward which we aspire; it is a steadily expanding state...Now comes the practical question: How do we uphold this expansive awareness in our real-life interactions? How can this fact of eternal, ever-present expansion keep us from contracting within ourselves [and reacting] when we encounter challenging moments during a regular day?

I am blessed to know that feeling of home in myself, to have felt the fearlessness of my own ever-expanding heart, but still (and always) the day-to-day moments are challenging. So challenging, sometimes. But I am bolstered to read about others on this journey, as I think we all are, and I am grateful for the reminder, an opportunity to recognize the progress I have made as I continue on.

Birthday Braid

I just finished this blue hue braided scarf for my mother's birthday on February 7th. Ahem.

At least it's still the right month! Happy belated birthday, Mom.

I saw a scarf like this one in a store this winter and thought, "I could make that," and I was right. It was fun and easy.


I knitted/purled three long strands in three shades of blue. Knit, purl, knit, purl, knit, purl...


Then I braided them and tacked it all together with stitches at a few places along the length.

Voila!

Wisdom in the Blogosphere

I found this blog recently through a friend and, though I haven't read much yet, am inspired by what is there. The short passage below from her "About Me" section shines with wisdom.

via SouleMama:

Most importantly, please do remember that what you see on a blog is not 'all' of a person's life. For me, my blog is a place of daily peace, a reminder of family joys, and a celebration of creativity. Know that there are as many messes in my house as yours, 'raised voices' from time to time, and frustration and sadness and struggle, too. But for me - this blog space has always been about trying to find and focus on the joys - the everyday beauty and moments of bliss that we have together as a family. It's my hope that it can serve as a reminder and an encouragement to me - and perhaps to you, too - to savor the tiny moments.

This week I've been sorting through the internet-induced clutter in my brain and refining my approach to browsing the web. I'm replacing my old, dark haunts--Facebook, blogs of anxious women--that bring and breed negative energy with more joyful things. With beauty, creativity, peace.

I believe that the internet is both an incredibly powerful tool for building community and expanding the imagination and an emotionally dangerous place where one can easily lose her footing. It's happened to me. Things I've read on blogs about someone else's struggles and triumphs has eaten away at my soul in moments of my own insecurity. We are, I think, quick to assume that what others put on the web about their lives is the whole story and, no less significantly, the truth. I appreciate SouleMama's reminder that life is so much more complex than a pixelated view of it could ever hope to convey. I'm also inspired by her commitment to recognizing and honoring joy and beauty as it happens.

My list of links at right is ever evolving as I create the kind of web world where I want to be. Check out SouleMama, and stay tuned for more worthy web destinations as I find them out there.

New!

The grass is getting greener around here. Perhaps my very-much-alive new banner will bring a little spring to this wintery, gray, slushy day.

Joy

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Pretty Things

Photo via Crazy Sexy Life

I love this room...colorful, a little rustic, comfortable, bright. It makes me want to do some quilting, which I have never done, particularly in light of my recent battle between i want simplicity versus I WANT STUFF! More on that soon...

Joy

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Oh!...so this is what I want to do!

I'm always thinking and talking in passionate exclamations about how organizations and companies and individuals could do things better, smarter, more sustainably and efficiently!

I spent two years getting a Master's degree called Environmental Education but found the most interest in classes about group dynamics, program evaluation and assertive leadership.

I've raved on and on about Gibran Rivera and the Interaction Institute, but hadn't really stopped to consider whether what they do is part of a larger field with an actual name.

Until, well, until my roommate hit the nail on the head.

"You're going to end up working in organizational development, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, as everything clicked suddenly and definitively into place.

"I am."

Love

Joy

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Saturday

Making breakfast at the farm

Watching people fly...completely breathtaking

Taking a steamy afternoon soak

Watching kids I used to know perform for love at the circus


Feeling our worlds collide to foot-stomping "zoograss" at Flat Street

Joy

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"I am a complete slave to vocabulary. I ought to have named my cat Roget."

-Renee

I love words, how they fit together on paper and in my head. I love the way they bend and swoon around each other and rise and fall in tones. I love their rhythm and cadence. I love my love for words, and I loved this line in my most recent read. It's perfect and charming and true.

Joy

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Surprise Authentic Mexican and College Hockey


Mike took me on a surprise adventure last Friday. It began with dinner "South of the border" in Massachusetts at a Mexican place. They served mole. That's how you know it's good.


Then, we watched my BC Eagles wallop UMass at a real live game. It had been way too long since I'd seen hockey in real life. My Canadian heritage was weeping. It was a blowout game, but so, so fun.

Joy: About Time

I haven't been keeping up here with my joyful list, but I've still been logging it, still noticing, still jotting things down in my little black Moleskine. Yes, days pass and I fret that I haven't found something to be joyful about. Afternoons come and go and the color of the winter sky does little more than make me wish for summer. But, in other moments, I'm overflowing. It's not feast or famine. It's just practice...practice at slowing down enough to notice, practice at looking small, practicing joy. So far I like it.

Here are a few of the things I've been tucking away and wishing I was sharing with you:

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Gliding on cross-country skis



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"You're a happy girl."
"Yes."


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Mix CDs for friends

Girls Rock
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
You Can't Hurry Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes
I'm Not Crying For You - Save Ferris
I Feel It All - Feist
My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson
Black Magic - Eve
Freedom Time - Lauryn Hill
U + Ur Hand - P!nk
Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benetar
Volcano Girl - Veruca Salt
The Con - Tegan and Sara
Cue the Rain - Queen Latifah
A Different Kind of Love Song - Cher
Piece of My Heart - Janis Joplin
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross
Xs and Os - Trisha Yearwood
Thank You For Being a Friend - Golden Girls



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Playing ultimate frisbee on ice: