read: Bootstrapper

Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm by Mardi Jo Link. Oh my, did I ever enjoy this book. In fact I don't think I put it down for a whole day unless I had to tend to the offspring. This is a memoir written by an absolutely stalwart and hysterically funny woman. Mardi Jo Link is not just funny and tough, though. Her writing is lyrical and I felt like I was along for the ride through much of the retelling of her experiences. Throughout the book she is searching for her spiritual self while she digs out of financial trouble and heroically holds her family together. At the end of the book I was so disappointed it was over, I wanted to spend more time in the trenches with Mardi Jo.

read: Masterminds and Wingmen

Masterminds and Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World by Rosalind Wiseman has been an interesting read. There is a companion book for boys called: The Guide: Managing Douchebags, Recruiting Wingmen and Attracting Who You Want. Coleman spent a few hours with The Guide. He just began middle school and I feel like now is a great time for me to read Masterminds and Wingmen. Coleman hasn't experienced much of what Rosalind and her recruits (all boys between 11 and 20 years old) describe about growing up in Boy World. I confess, I found their description of Boy World confounding. In particular how internal a boy's world is. It's information that will certainly help me better understand my two offspring. And The Guide can be useful for their future selves. How to communicate without going into a full blown conversation for instance. Fascinating.

{this moment}

 

an occasional friday post by me, inspired by a friday ritual at soulemama.

But Wait, There's More!

Coleman started playing football August 1st this year and his season has yet to end! They have made it to the championship - which it appears they have won, but that's not all! They will go on to play for our regional championship and then if they win again (not sure how many teams will be at the next level) they may in fact go further. And by further, I think I mean we may have to drive to San Diego or LA or Nevada...How great is that?

read: Boys Adrift

Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax is surely one of my current favorite reads. It's thoughtful, well researched and hard to put down. This is a good book for anyone concerned with current social trends or anyone concerned with our future as a society and indeed our children's future realities. This book raises many concerns for the well-being of our children and future society, but also offers solutions.

The book is broken down into the author's five current concerns for boys: 1. Changes at School 2.Video Games 3. Medications for ADHD 4. Endocrine Disruptors (the result is between concern #4 and #5) 5. Revenge of the Forsaken Gods (or lack of positive male role models in popular culture and our society in general). I think this book deconstructs our current social anemia and articulates causes for our boys (and boys beyond US borders) lack of motivation from a medical, environmental and societal view point. Sax is a physician and psychologist he practiced family medicine for 19 years and has written other books: Girls on the Edge and Why Gender Matters. I hope you will have an opportunity to read this book. It's worth every minute you invest in it. Promise.

{this moment}

an occasional friday post by me...inspired by a soulemama friday ritual.

::grateful::

I am grateful for:

the ocean: a peaceful and awe inspiring place
puppies: do i need a reason?
football: for so many reasons
the forest: our playground
wilshire: a place in the forest we like to go.

Learning About Lyme

I was imagining how I might have lived my life had I known about tick born diseases and how difficult they are to diagnose. Would I not have gone outdoors as a child? What would I be like if I had not explored the big hay field and creek behind my childhood home? The woods at the end of the street - what if I hadn't played in those? And, as I got older, would I not have taken my dog hiking in the mountains, woods and fields? Could I have escaped the disease if I had played life differently? Clearly I can't go back and do it all over, so this was a futile mental exercise. Recently I have been imagining my life after this body recovers from these little critters and the havoc they have wrought on it and my mind. It's got me a little giddy.

My history with Lyme Disease goes something like this: I got sick at some point, not sure exactly when. I can trace a rash and illness back to when I was pregnant with my oldest child, Coleman. But I can also say there were changes in my health a few years before that. Once Coleman was born my illness became dramatically worse. Symptoms were all over the place. A friend suggested I get tested for Lyme Disease. When I asked my doctor she said: "You don't have Lyme Disease. You're supposed to feel this awful, you just had a baby." My baby was about to turn one. I insisted. The test came back positive. I was treated. I got a little better but not entirely. And then I lived with it. For 12 years.

Two months ago I watched this movie: Under Our Skin, which you can watch streaming on HULU or Amazon. Hope for being myself again was renewed. But not before a tiny bit of despair set in. I spent a lot of time researching Lyme Disease and its co infections right after watching the movie. I became overwhelmed. Then I made an appointment. I found a doctor through searching "Lyme literate doctors" in my area. Lots of blood tests happened. Results for my blood tests came back positive for Lyme and Bartonella.

This is still a highly controversial disease. It's under reported. Misdiagnosed. Misunderstood. So often we need to learn to listen to ourselves and trust ourselves in the face of experts telling us it just can't be true. It must be in your head. If you're interested in reading more about diagnosing and healing Lyme and Coinfections here are books and a website for you:

Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections: Complementary and Holistic Treatments for Bartonella and Mycoplasma  by Stephen Harrod Buhner

Healing Lyme: Natural Healing and Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis and Its Coinfections Paperback by Stephen Harrod Buhner

 

 Why Can't I Get Better?: Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease by Richard Horowitz

http://www.ilads.org/

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

grateful: day on the bay

We went whale watching in a little skiff today. Some days stepping out of the usual routine is just what we need. Today was one of those days. The sun was out, the ocean was calm, the sardines were running. The boys and I rented a skiff on Capitola Wharf so we could explore the bay. There are many humpback whales out there right now, and dolphins and birds and sea lions and seals! We were all a little nervous. (I didn't tell the boys I was nervous, that would not have been a good idea.) One of Coleman's classmates told him they almost got rammed by a whale while they were in a skiff. Naturally Coleman imagined that might also happen to us. In all honesty there was one point in the day that it seemed like it might happen. We lived to tell the tale, though!

We were out there only an hour because we had a lot to do to get ready for Halloween. What an action packed hour it was! I am so looking forward to doing this again, hopefully soon. If you get a chance to go out on the bay don't pass it up! It was only $30/hr to rent the skiff - we were out for an hour. Next time I hope we have a chance to stay longer and go further.

look to the left of Max, there's a dolphin.

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

2014 Auction Project Ideas

Yes, it's that time of year again. Time to start the auction project plan. The kids are studying Native Americans again this year. I'm thinking Dream Catcher. Big, bold, beautiful and collaborative. I think we can get a lot of good karma into this one. The dream catchers above I found on Pintrest, the two colorful ones are from etsy and the center piece is from Torchlight Jewelry. Our chickens are moulting, so we've got plenty of feathers!

And, let's just say the auction wouldn't be complete without a clay piece. Precious hands coming together to make a difference in the world. Be the change. You can find out more info about this bowl at Studio Art Dallas. I plan on making a similar one with Max's class using their qualities and colors. I'm hoping to get a little poetry into this one.

Water Polo!

Max would just kill me if he knew I am posting this. But, my friends, I can't help it. He's a looker even in that funny cap! Max started water polo tonight. An hour plus of pretty physical activity, a lot of treading water, push ups, laps. He's going back for more!

read: together

The summer is waning and we've run out of places to go, people to see and motivation to do much more than laze about the house. We spent a few hours yesterday and today reading this book, Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson. We like his stuff. This was a quick read-aloud (relatively speaking) and we easily connected with the main characters.

The story is an adventure-action combo. Young Tom lives with his mother in a house built atop a giant rock, it's also chained to this rock. The pair are both still mourning to death of Tom's father Ted. One morning Tom, after arguing with his mother floats down the river by their house and gets violently sucked under the the rocks by the rapid river. The story of his father's death is slowly revealed through his adventures beneath the earth in secret chambers built by pre-Colombian settlers. He finds a body, a live man, a dog and eventually his way back home. Lots of twists and strong characters. I recommend this book to 8 years and up. I know I really enjoyed it!

my magic plate

I have a magic plate. It's hand made and I bought it at a thrift store for a mere $2.25. You may be asking what makes this plate so magic? The magic part? The boys and their friends eat whatever I put on it, with very few exceptions. I fill it with fruits and vegetables. Then I put it out while I'm cooking dinner or just after school when everyone is hungry but they may not realize it yet. I sometimes have to fill it twice.

I bet you already have a plate in your cabinet that has the potential for magic. The most important thing is to fill it with good stuff and present it to your kids/friends/guests without fuss. Tell me how you get your little people to eat good stuff!

Hello Again & Fairwell Summer

Well, here we are at the end of our summer break – already. How did that happen? The last time I wrote here summer was in full swing. It's been a wonderful summer, one lazy, enjoyable, lovely summer. We celebrated two family birthdays, swam, dove, hiked, climbed, played/watched football, did horseback riding, biked, entertained family, had a few bonfires, and generally had a mellow summer. School starts Wednesday, August 28th...Getting ready.

Forest of Nisene Marks in Aptos

Max, Aaron and Coleman

Rope swing in The Forest of Nisene Marks - some very productive teenagers built a cool village there.

Oh so pretty Kitty.

Coleman, Sean, Aaron, Max and Nana heading up the hill to set up for Max's 9th birthday party.

Chris and Max swimming.

Max found a good size garter snake in the yard.

Max and Kitty cuddled up on the sofa.

First practice of the season, Nana looks on.

First scrimmages of the season.

Nana, Kitty and I went for a walk. Up hill.

Then we came down hill.

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

 

 

grateful: mum's in town!