Keepin' It Real...Or Trying To...

A while back, Ted mentioned that I should blog about something to motivate me to take action about that said something. I've been mulling it over because I don't really know how to blog about it, so I'm just gonna do it. My thoughts haven't crystallized, so if I sound like I'm rambling, that's because I am...

Anyhoo, one of Ted's passions in life is Voluntary Simplicity. Yes, I know you all thought all he was interested in is beer and homebrewing, but he's actually more complex and contemplative than I usually let on. I'm all for Voluntary Simplicity in theory. But when it comes to day-to-day living, man, do I totally suck at it.

For the past 3.5+ years we've been living together, Ted has been trying to get our family to minimize our possessions and to declutter our living spaces. Poor thing. You see, he married a packrat. Needless to say, it has not been a painless process for us. But I think I'm beginning to see the light. I recently had a daydream/visualization of the world just filling up with stuff and stuff and more stuff at an astronomical rate, and it really freaked me out. I can see that happening in our home, and it's really got to stop.

I like to think of myself as someone who is bucking the system, rejecting material consumption, and who cares about the environment. Truth be told, however, I'm sooooooo lazy at it, which makes me question my motives. Do I really care, or do I just want to keep up appearances because Green is the New Black [could someone explain this phraseology to me?]?

Anyhoo, I'm not being hard on myself or anything here. I'm just trying to sort out what's real, and if I've been faking it all this time, well, I gotta come clean one way or another...To Be Continued...Indefinitely...

It's 4 Days After Thanksgiving...And I'm Still Full

That's probably because I just ate me a big old turkey sandwich with--what else?--leftover turkey. I normally post my Best Shots Monday on Mondays, but I'm not in any mental condition to pick out what I consider my best shots. In other words, I'm feeling mighty lazy. Besides, "best" is such a heavy word. Nevertheless, I don't want to neglect posting SOMETHING today, so how about a smattering of various photos from last week? That way, no pressure on me to post anything earth-shattering.

Rock 'n' Roll. 'nuff said.

And more Rock 'n' Roll paraphernalia. If you want to see what Cadence looked like in this shirt 3 years ago, click here.

And here's something a little more classical. Although she looks like she's playing some boogie-woogie.

And what would Thanksgiving be without hugs from Uncle Jay?

Or Uncle Dave?

Or Grandpa? Of course, we were missing Auntie Lauren and Uncle Doug in Sweden and Uncle Charles and Auntie Ali in Seattle and Auntie Becki in Bali (kinda jealous about that last one).

This would be the most crowded photo of the week.

This would be my sweetest photo of the week. Cadence totally looks up to her 6-year-old cousin Mackenzie. Hmm...maybe she can talk to her about the potty. You know, all casual-like...

And this would be my saddest photo of the week. Sad because it's THAT cold, not so much because the poor cig got stuck.

Now if someone can point me to an organic nursery that sells potted christmas trees, I'll be all set.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already here. I for one am grateful for a bit of a break from work. It's been rather busy, and I think the stress is what was causing all my migraines this past month. I haven't had once since last Monday morning, though, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Ted was sick in bed all day today with what seemed to be flu-like symptoms. I'm really hoping the chicken soup and lemon/ginger/honey concoctions will nip this illness in the bud. We can't to go his family's for Thanksgiving dinner if he's sick, as his two grandmas will be there. He's much better tonight, so I'm thankful for that! :)

I know that Thanksgiving is a time for family and all that good stuff, and I couldn't help thinking how difficult the whole holiday season must be for those who have no family, or for those who have recently lost loved ones. I haven't gotten too emotional about my dad in a really long time, but I did yesterday at work, just totally out the blue, with tears and everything. I think it was because the night before, I had gone to a gathering, and someone had brought their father who was visiting from England. There was something about the gentleman that reminded me of my dad, and I really missed him then.

Memories are funny that way. Just the tiniest thing can set 'em off. The twinkle in someone's eyes, the clarity and passion in someone's voice, the pattern of wrinkles on someone's face...Any one of these things can bring on the Flood.

I sometimes forget that the ache is still there. After all, one of my blog posts IS the #2 search result on google for "I miss my dad", second only to imissmydad.com. How that happened, I don't know. Every time one of them comments on that post, I think about all the people out there missing someone they love...

Anyhoo, I wish all of you fine folks a happy thanksgiving, and if you find yourself alone or lonely on this day and maybe on other days, know that if I were with you, I'd give you big hug...

Best Shot(s) Monday--Muted Autumn Colors

You know what I love about autumn? I really, really adore all the leaves floating down one, two, three at a time, creating piles and piles on the sidewalks and next to the parked cars in the streets. I know that's like a duh given, but I just don't ever get over the leaves. I love how they crunch under my feet as I walk to catch my morning train. I love how they mute all the colors around them to browns and golds and oranges with the occasional blazing crimson.

I love autumn because it is the season that gave me my Cadence, and I love that SHE loves watching the leaves fall from the sky, kicking them up into the air with her feet, pointing out that once all the leaves have fallen from the branches (she actually likes using the word 'branches' these days), that it will finally snow. Only a kid, or a kid at heart, or someone from a tropical climate, could get excited at the prospect of snow.

And while autumn means that death and hibernation are just around the corner, and that I will soon need to wear longjohns on my walks to the train--every now and then, you encounter a vestige of life from the summer past, and it is even more strikingly beautiful because it has now become so scarce. I've always enjoyed a little splash of pink next to the browns in my life, because there probably is no better color combination than pink and brown.

Go visit other folks' Best Shots for the week at Tracey's Picture This.

Still Thinking About Anonymity

So I've started the process of moving my blog over to an anonymous site. Some of you may have noticed I can't make up my mind how to sign my comments on your blogs. I don't want to put my full name any more (stupid of me to do that in the first place). Sarah is just too common a name. So I've come up with something else. It's actually Ted's nickname for me. I'm not going to put it here in this blog post because I'm paranoid like that, but when y'all see it in your comments section, you'll know it's me.

Now I have to figure out how the hell to move all my posts over to the new site...