Annndddd then there’s this Aussie’s voice. I’m a fan.

Have you found any good music that you’re loving?

So, it was a surprise event. She had all of the guests send a word ahead of time that best described the guest of honour. Then she made a beautiful piece of art that incorporated everyone’s word.

She decordated her house with all of the Guest of Honour’s favourite things. She asked a talented friend to design some beautiful flower arrangements and had little bowls of the Guest of Honour’s favourite things (mike and ikes, cupcakes, mini eggs, tea, etc).

It was really fun surprising the Guest of Honour. It felt really special (and almost Holy) to get to be a part of celebrating someone on a day that wasn’t their wedding or funeral. And our friend was absolutely blown away. She was shocked and grateful and it was so beautiful.

Then, we each got to take some time to explain why we’d chosen our word to bless the Guest of Honour. My word for her was  “bloom” (which is totally cheesy, I know). I chose the word because she has this amazing ability to bring out the very best in other people. People come alive in her presence. She builds confidence, reflects beauty and just pours into those around her. She not only makes the world a better place, but she makes everyone she comes in contact with want to make the world a better place too. That’s a whole lot of goodness going on there. I loved hearing each story shared by each woman. There were a lot of happy tears.

The best part (or one of the best parts) was that there were three women then that either were our mom’s or are our mom’s age. I felt really lucky to be able to be a part of this inter-generational moment and to get to learn from these incredible women.

I left the party feeling so built up, feeling so encouraged. There is something to be said about celebrating someone just because. For encouraging her because she spends her days encouraging others. Putting her in the spotlight she so deserves to be in.

The evening reminded me of the privileged life I lead…the beautiful, strong and inspiring women that I get to “do life” with. This community that I’ve stumbled into is wonderfully and fearfully made.

If you take anything from this post, let this be it: encourage someone today. Tell them that you love them and tell them all of the reasons that they make your life better. Life is short and we are weary souls and we need to be reminded of how loved we are.

We’re tossing ideas around what out summer might look like and I already want an adventure

~ a road trip out east

~ yosemite?

~anywhere…

So, live vicariously with me through these gorgeous photos from around the interweb

Alesund, Norway (source)

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy (source)

Iceland (source)

Dingle Peninsula, Ireland (source)

Yosemite (source)

Where do you most want to go? Any trips planned? My friend Kim is going to visit the lovely Trudy in Germany in March…and I most certainly will be living vicariously through her!

Small little people, inward focused, hunched over computer screens. We run around all day (figuratively, not literally…we sit literally. We’d be a lot better off if we ran more) worrying and stressing and trying to control every.little.thing. that can’t be controlled. We do it all in vain.

Instead.

Take a deep breathe. Relax your shoulders. Breathe again.

Now watch this beautiful video. The whole thing. Without doing anything else. Do it.

Isn’t the earth amazing? And beautiful?

Sometimes I think remembering our seeming insignificance sets us free a little bit.

I hope you’re well on this dreary day! Matt and I both came home from work absolutely exhausted today. We had a 1.5  hour task come up for a friend so we ruined our dinner with Tim Tam cookies and Bits and Bites (healthy, I know). So here’s what I made for dinner instead. YUM. Trust me, looks gross- tastes awesome.

I also made this for breakfast tomorrow.

We’re also going to eat these recipes:

Spinach and feta clafoutis

Chickpea curry (check out the fun recipes on this blog)

And and made this already and it was delicious. Oh and we made this last week and it was quick, summer-y tasting and yummy.

Have you made any great recipes lately? I have lots of my favourite recipes on pinterest if you’re interested in seeing more.

When Cait asked me to write a guest post for her Simplifying Series, I was super pumped and excited to be asked!  I think Cait (or Pips, as she is known to me) is an excellent writer and thinker and I love to read HER blog (and she better keep this part in!)  So, I’ve thought of how I try to apply the concept of simplifying to my life, and I’ve had a harder time with it than I thought I would, because it applies to many different areas of my life, and some areas I do better than others.  Let’s see

School/work: I’m a teacher, and I definitely love my job.  I’m happy to go to work and I enjoy what I do all day.  Its not perfect (administration politics drive me crazy, piles of marking make me feel blobby and weary, and filling out forms and reading up on policies isn’t all that exciting), but getting to make music with teenagers all day and teaching them about events in history is pretty wonderful.  One thing we learn in teacher’s college is that we have to set boundaries with teaching; essentially, our job could never be done.  We could always be perfecting a lesson, trying to come up with new ways to teach something, changing things, adding things, etc.  I’m now in my sixth year of teaching, and I’m slowly starting to figure out what this means – this boundary setting is actually a simplifying strategy for me.  I try and go strong during the week, and leave the weekends for me.  During the week, I try and set goals for marking and planning, and have church activities in there as well, play rehearsals and other things, and its very busy, so I think a way I can simplify the busy-ness is to try, as much as possible not to bring work home on the weekends (exceptions apply when exams/report cards are due!)  I’m trying to devote weekends to friends, family, God, and downtime!

Home: Since I’m trying to make my weekends freer, I’ve been trying to get errands, cleaning and other “must do” tasks done by Saturday at noon.  I really want Sundays to be a Sabbath – I’ve been learning lots this year about what that means, and I’m by no means there (especially not this past Sunday).  I want to be more intentional about taking a real rest on Sundays, and spending more time with God (outside of church) on Sundays.  I always feel better when I do and I’m able to entrust my busy life to God more when I do.  I’ve been trying to plan meals better and use ingredients I already have – again, definitely still a work in progress!  And, because there is just one of me, I get sick of leftovers!  Pinterest and Kraft: What’s Cooking? have come in handy in helping me with this!  Why stress to think of creative meals on my own when they have already done it?

Family: I love my friends and family, and love spending time with them all.  My entire family lives about two hours away from me, so when I go “home” for the weekend, I try and make it worthwhile.  I used to drive back and forth a lot more; however, that was exhausting both mentally and financially.  My folks have come up to see me more, which they’ve enjoyed, and I try and make the most of a weekend down there when I do go.  While sometimes it ends up being a busy weekend, it’s always great because I can see so many people and do lots of things and it ends up being less hectic in the long run.  Does that make sense?

There are lots of ways I want to be better at simplifying!  I always feel much calmer when I take time with God and just have some quiet time.  In the midst of chaos, I honestly think this can be the most productive thing.  For me, that sometimes looks like just spending time at the piano, just me and God and the 88 ivories.  I want to be better at de-cluttering; my Mom came up right after New Year’s this year and we purged a ton of stuff from my tiny apartment – did that ever feel good!  I need to do that much more often – think about what I need, and what I want to keep with me long term.  I love Cait’s philosophy that when something new comes in, something old has to go.  I also want to be better at prioritizing – what needs to get done and what can be put off to another day (without it being a procrastination technique, of course).  I want to spend less time worrying and more time trusting God with my problems (man, does that EVER simplify things!), and spend more time focusing on what is truly important to me, and who is important to me, over wasting time with senseless things and people who make me feel bad.

Thanks Kim for sharing. I am so grateful that you’re my people. xo

Simplify: 1 Work-Life Balance

Simplify 2: Incorporate

Simplify 3: Have Less, Live More

Simplify 4: Eat Well

 Simplify 5: Keep Lists

Simplify 6: Practice Minimalism

My heart is so full.

Here’s a few things I’ve found (often through others) this week

How hugs and cuddles for babies can help eradicate poverty

You can do good things in the world no matter where you work

How other cultures prevent postpartum depression

One of my favourite blogs- this makes me want to visit Winnipeg even more.

I’m a fast reader, but I only have this beast for 3 weeks from the library. Eeeks!

A video from the Ontario Midwives about Birth Centres. I’d to have the option to catch babies there one day

Cheese love

Nursing covers- and interesting article

A poem and a sleeve.

Have a great day!

And a song that I love written in honour of MLK.