Peek

I'm the kind of person who is enamored by churches, regardless of what religion they're tied to, but I don't think you have to be in a building to seek or find God. 

During one of our walks along the Sound, in Duck, OBX, I stopped with my girls to peek in a special place just to the side of the boardwalk.  It's a small, round, gazebo style building with a beautiful view of the water.

The door is usually open for passers by, and it might be the smallest, but most quaint 'church' you could visit.  It sort of says, 'hey, here's a place where you can stop and say a prayer if you want....no pressure'.  Fitting for the relaxed atmosphere of OBX.

The single stained glass window inside has a beautiful message. 
It's a nice one to remember.  I thought I'd share.

 

I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing, therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

Have a great day!

{Jenn}

Canine Spirit

Weather can play a part in having a succesful vacation, but I can honestly say, as long as we can get to OBX, I can deal with whatever Mother Nature has in store for us.  Just get me there.

After a few days of hot sun on the beach, the clouds rolled in and the rain came, but that didn't stop us from walking the boardwalk at the waterfront shops, which expands down the shoreline of the Sound, all the way down to our must-go-to-sweet-spot, Duck Donuts.  We stumbled upon the owners getting interviewed and photographed for Distinction Magazine, and the girls had their photos taken too, as they dug in to a dozen of the hottest, melt in your mouth, donuts we could order...  As their Daddy would say, it figures we go out for donuts, and the kids end up in a magazine....  It was an extra treat, for sure, and we will have to keep an eye out for the article, and see if the girls make the cut.



Augen



The boardwalk connects you to a quaint shopping area, and across the street are beautiful little boutiques called Scarborough Lane.  My husband took the girls and I peeked into a jewelry shop, by myself.  I quickly realized it may take awhile to find everyone again, as the shops wrap around two seperate areas, kind of rectangular shaped.  My oldest peeked her head out and waved to me from the one store I was worried about taking them in...Outer Barks.  Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful shop, with all kinds of special gifts for your dog, but I worried that the girls would get sad, missing Augen, who we lost in February.  I think now it was Augen who drew the girls into that store, becuase it was the most special stop of the day.



The kids had already made fast friends with Robin, the store owner, and told her all about Augen.  Turns out maybe Robin needed the visit from little girls who lost their big brother dog, because Robin lost one of her dogs earlier in the week.  Her other dog, Bogie, was lying in his dog bed in the shop.  Our youngest daughter was petting him so gently and said, "Mom, he is so sad, I can feel it in my body how sad he is.  He misses his brother.  But the other doggies spirit is still here mom.  Just like Augie's spirit came with us to Duck!".  By now, I was tearing up, Robin was tearing up, Peyton was on the verge of tears......until she spotted a greeting card they had on a turn-style rack with a weimaraner on the front in a birthday hat.  "Look, Mom!  It's Augen!".  

Robin packaged the card up, and gave it to her to take home to keep so she could remember her Augen.  It was really sweet.

Our oldest ended up finding a weimaraner ornament with angel wings, so you know we picked that right up as a keepsake.

I make sure I talk to our girls in spiritual ways, and how we are all connected.  How spirit never dies.  Never goes away.  Guides us.  

Peyton's first comment when we arrived in Duck was, "Hey mom, Augen's spirit came with us, I think he is already down at the beach!". 

Seeing how she was able to openly talk about spirit and feel the loss of the dog is confirmation to me that even when I wonder if my kids are listenening.....they are.  And because of that, they were able to share in the grief while comforting Robin and her dog Bogie at the same time.  That's pretty big for little kids, especially when coming from a six year old. 

It was even more beautiful to witness.

Turns out I was pretty grateful for the rain, which took us to the shops, which led us to The Outer Barks for a little shopping. 

It was the best stop of the day.


Have a great day!

{Jenn}

Clarity by the sea



OBX, North Carolina

 After a few solid days of sitting on the beach with my family in Duck, OBX, and enjoying watching the dolphin play and ride the waves just like our daughters have been, I'm reminded of my intense love for the coastline, no matter where it is, on earth.  The air, the greenery amidst the sandy coastline, and the feeling of clarity that comes by being so close to the ocean, is something I think I honestly need. 

It always brings me back to an amazing experience I had ....

Years ago, during the summer between high school ending and college life beginning, I was lucky enough  to travel to Australia through the Experiment in International Living as a student ambassador.  It was an experience that shaped my life, and view of the world.   I met up with a group of same aged teens from all across the country in the Los Angeles airport, and together, as strangers, we travelled to (quite honestly) the most beautiful place on earth.

There was an experience where we each got to live with a host family in Melbourne (my family was the Cronins, a wonderful family), we lived in the Outback in tents with a wagon train for our meals, lived in Sydney in a youth hostle where I got the opportunity to see Madame Butterfly at the Sydney Opera House (after a quick call home to mom and dad, asking for Western Union replenishment for the ticket money), lived on a million acre cattle ranch where we were taught to "cut cattle" on horseback, and my favorite stop of all~living on Heron Island.  The entire purpose of the trip was to get to Heron Island for the marine science experience through the Heron Island Research Station operated by the University of Queensland.  I was in heaven.

We tagged coral reef areas to record marine life feeding patterns, we went seining for creatures to add to the wet lab, went diving over the Great Barrier Reef....all on this tiny island, perpendicular from the coast of Gladstone, straight out in the sea.  It's barely on the map.  The asterisk you see is way bigger than the actual pinpoint the island is....

Not only was it beautiful by day, and totally secluded...but by night?  The sky was so pitch black you could not see your hand in front of your face.  We were in ultimate darkness, no ambient light at all.  The stars looked three-dimensional and appeared to be reachable, all around you, as if you were standing in the middle of a laser show.  Not far off, or "way up there"....you felt that you were a part of the stars.  It was a connection to the earth I had only experienced when diving deep down in the ocean, sitting on the bottom of the sea. 


I was part of the earth, not just as an observer. 

All of us need to try to find a place that will offer us that experience, there's magic in it, and it is something that has stayed with me almost 20 years later (wow, I really had to think about that...it's been 20 years?). 

I would love to find my way back with my husband and children one day (there is a tiny resort on the island), but until then (when I win the lottery) I will soak up the sun and dig my feet into the sand where I'm sitting in Duck, OBX...because isn't that always the most beautiful place on earth? 

The place where you are, right now.

Have an amazing day!

{Jenn}

p.s~if the Cronin Family, of Camberwell/Melbourne, ever see this post, I'd love to reconnect with all of you~especially since my stay with you was "pre-internet".... {Host mom: Maureen Cronin, host sister: Jennifer, host brother: Andrew, can't remember host dads name, sorry!!  You were all wonderful to me}

Maya

I have been wanting to write lately, but my computer has been painfully slow...the kind of slow where you want to lose your mind a little bit.  But I was willing to sit through the slow to post a quick one this morning.  The kids will be getting up any minute for school.

I get up at least an hour before the kids everyday~it's the only time where the silence is only pierced with the sounds of the birds from out in the backyard, or the perk of the coffee pot.  It is a little piece of heaven before the machine of the day starts cranking.

You can bet if I put on the TV, it's not to watch the news....who wants to start their day with the stabbings from overnight?  I don't.  So I dvr Oprah's Super Soul Sunday, where she talks with spiritual teachers from various backgrounds, and start my day with something positive.
I haven't gotten through the entire episode with Dr. Maya Angelou yet, but just the mention of her name lets you know it was amazing.  What an incredible woman.  It's worth watching~and if you're like me, you'll have a notebook in hand.  She gives the best tidbits of advice, especially to moms. I will take all that I can get.

When you get, give.

When you learn, teach.

Have a great morning!

{Jenn}

Breakfast "Cereal"

Good Morning!

Ok, you have heard me talk about the Thrive books ~ here is the first recipe I tried as I began to include those new pantry ingredients in my everyday life. 

At first you might feel like you are swimming in muddy waters, because you will have to pick up some new ingredients that you may not have in your pantry yet~but that is okay.  Change is good.  This is not painful...just go to the store with a list, and you will be fine.  There are people working in the store who are nice...they will help you find your stuff.  Promise.  Once you start eating more in the "new way", it will become old hat, and you won't feel weird buying hemp anymore...you know, the legal stuff......

Every morning, during the week, my husband and I eat the same thing {sometimes on the weekends we have eggs or something...}.  There can be slight variations, of course, but sticking to a "no-brainer" kind of meal for breakfast is key for me.  I don't want to think about much in the morning~I'm trying to deal with 3 kids, and that's enough.  If I don't plan in advance, I will make a crummy choice or not eat at all.  Both options are just not good, and will leave me hunting for chocolate...

Routine = no thinking {good}

Making choices with my eyes closed while trying to think in the morning = {bad}



Routine is good.  Do yourself a favor, and plan.  Below is our breakfast cereal, adapted from Brendan Brazier's book, THRIVE The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life.  We don't always have every ingredient on hand, but we do have definite staples in our pantry now, so I will give you what we have created from the original recipe in the book.  This is what we have come up with from the book recipe,  "Ginger Pear Cereal". 

Once you understand the general components of putting this together, you can add/delete ingredients easily, as we have, and enjoy the benefits of a supercharged breakfast.  The protein, fiber and energy will keep you going, and you won't feel hungry in an hour. 

Another thing...you are not going to want to chop up this stuff every morning...don't add something else to your morning list.  My husband and I make a 5 pound container of this, and keep it all chopped up and ready to go in the fridge.  It keeps beautifully~all you have to do is scoop it out into your bowl, and pour a little almond milk on it, and eat it. 

See?  No thinking for like 2 weeks.  Then you will need to make it again....

Morning Apple Cereal

• 1~5pound bag of gala apples {or pears} chopped

• 1c Organic ground flax seed
• 1c Hemp protein powder
• 1/2c Carob powder {or cocoa powder} *carob is optional, give a nice taste, though
• 22 {approximately} Medjool dates, chopped
• 1c sliced almonds {or whatever kind of nut you like}

Step 1: Chop everything up...apples, dates..

Step 2: Mix everything else into bowl with the chopped apples and dates.

Step 3: Stick it in the fridge and stop thinking about breakfast for about two weeks.  Yes, it's a big container, but if you don't want to make as much as we do, just chop a few apples, a few dates, and sprinkle on a few Tbs of each of the dry ingredients to get the same result.  Add milk, and enjoy!

Give it a try...you will love it!

Have a great day!

{Jenn}