the inspired family

i’m staying this wind-y course… posting this morning as last night was a festive evening of holiday cheer and networking with our little, local business community.  can you spell, f-r-e-e-m-u-n-c-h-i-e-s?!

anywho… a little overwhelmed as i weigh the opportunities crossing my path.

in this strange recessionary world, it seems that exposure has become the new currency.  i’m all about link-y love.  i’m all about increasing traffic.  i get the importance of ‘branding’.  i am all about eyeballs… maybe not here, but certainly elsewhere.  oh, and elsewhere… and to a lesser degree, elsewhere.

it’s a brave, new world… but so very retro, when you consider this devolution, ‘back to the future’… to this, a virtual, barter system.

so, continue to weigh i shall… considering seriously how much work i’m prepared to do for mere eyeballs to support and grow my virtual presence while trying to cover my flesh-and-bones ass and my brick-and mortar mortgage and bills!

so on this morning… following a nice evening out… this (ahem… yesterday):

gerry’s mocha, no question.  thick and frothy with the necessary kick.  oh, and… thick. whipped. cream. ’nuff said!

opportunities, in all their varied shapes, sizes and expectations.  they keep coming, locally and from afar.

baby girl’s look of pure joy, in her tutu and tights- and perfect little shoes- as she flits, leaps and runs in anticipation of ballet class…

that my body speaks.  tells me i need yoga.  i had been listening… just not this week.

brisk walks with me ‘oney!  solid kicks of a tennis ball. ipod… cold play, shakira, talking heads.

a techie hubby that can pull a quick, reliable fix when i crash.

a relaxed school day.

clear sky after days of low cloud. sharp, snowy peaks.

deposits!  internet banking.  the sypathetic gal at the hardware store counter.

boys. chats with boys.  hugs from boys.

health.

equity.

slippers.

my beanie toque.

hot bath. bubbles.

tomato soup. premium plus in whole wheat.

a full tank of gas.

a crazy, supportive husband who believes in me.

a child old enough to babysit.

time to sit alone with gerry’s mocha.  the $4.50 to buy said mocha.

until tomorrow… i mean, tonight.

power is in organization… and while i may not be a creature of much structure, when it comes to being organized, i’m pretty durned good.  i love an organized, tidy space.  i’m a big believer in one’s surroundings offering many an insight into the depths of one’s mental, emotional and spiritual health.

that isn’t to say that i’m always organized. heavens no.  in fact, it was only last month that i dug out this little hovel of an office… to everyone’s benefit… as this is now a space that nourishes me.  when i emerge i am- usually!?- at peace.

that is, until i take a quick gander at how the rest of the place has gone to the shitter.

but as of today, and for the forseeable next few days, this house is one of tidy organization… a place for everything and everything in its place.  a process, i must add that i hate more than cleaning itself.  unless i’m willing to shed the stuff… purge… it’s a downright demoralizing endeavor trying to find places for the heaps and piles that grow from every possible surface.  cranky, cranky, cranky.  oh yes.

but that’s done… and as of tomorrow, each of our little rooms in this tiny, cottage house will not only be tidy and for the most part organized, but also lemon scented, shiny and clean.

this day… despite my intermittent tantrums, lectures and, ummmm… threats… is a wonderful one as i move about this space and there are no piles threatening to topple over and smother me.

here’s to a house on the way to being tidy and clean.  a new floor moppy thing-a-ma-jig to entice me in the morning, courtesy of my ever helpful mother, perhaps sensing i was in need of some inspiration in this particular arena….

homemade alfredo sauce… butter, parmesan cheese… it’s what i’m sure must run from the faucets in heaven.

cheques in the mail… receiving, not sending.

fairly consistent summer bookings… deposits are a beautiful thing.

a thickly lip-glossed pucker.  bum warmer in the form of a ball of kittens in my office chair.

ideas.  skills.  partnership.

pressure.  increasing discomfort.  fear.  concepts i’ve historically avoided… now finding them an interesting, exciting component to this game called extending one’s boundaries… encouraging change… and moving toward achievement.

oh, and given the progress made on our tiny little homefront, i can’t close without giving thanks to thanksgiving itself.  without it, i wouldn’t be anticipating company the day after tomorrow… my house would be nowhere near clean and i would be near taking up permanent residence, along with my dog and kittens, in the 8X10 space that is the tidy, tranquil room i call my office.

tidy, clean and organized just feel more like home….

or so it seems some days…

like dear honey pictured here, somedays i find it’s as though i’m actually waiting for something to happen.  not exactly proactive particularly on the heels of a night disturbed by dreams of blatant fiscal irresponsibility… and monkeys.  not exactly a good omen.

but the sense of restless waiting continues and I, like my dear dog, find myself in that waiting place… waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a yes or no or waiting for their hair to grow or… how ’bout just waiting for the ol’ lady to take me for a friggin’ walk!  or in the case of the ol’  lady, waiting for that nice nigerian prince to come through with 3.5 million pounds he promised her in that  email last week!  please, if there’s one thing that drives me crazy is a nigerian prince promising to deposit close to 10 million canadian dollars in my account and then jamming on me.  it’s a matter of integrity after all….

anywhooo… i digress.  dear honey’s waiting did actually pay off today…in a walk in spitting snow with mother nature working her darndest to make us a blizzard.

dogs do joy better than just about anyone.  it’s as though the beast levitates as i take those first promising steps down the stairs off the deck.  for a very sturdy lab-rottie cross, she’s remarkably nimble, the way she writhes with sheer glee in mid-air.  dogs do joy… enviably. i wish to leap while writhing when i’m joyful.  perhaps i might.

today, the simply note- rather than writhe- worthy…

fresh oatmeal cookie(s!) with my kick in the ass this morning.  dozy company at 5:15… the sounds of babar from the darkness beyond my office walls.

conversation with representatives of local developers… and the chance to not only hold my own, but call them out.

my joyful dog… and a neighbour home ’sick’ to share a walk in mother nature’s windy tantrum.

ham sandwich.  warm car and magazines for all, waiting for kids at piano lessons.  old mcdonald had a farm and jolly old saint nick.  a whiff of a first recital!

salt & vinegar chips.  coca-cola.  images ready for clients… ahead of schedule.

inquiries.  usually mean work.

pizza night: fresh chopped garlic, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, mushrooms, goat cheese and a touch of grated parmesan and extra-old cheddar… i laugh in the face of h1n1- heh heh.

the office.  30 rock.  the unofficial beginning of our weekend.  bed, beckoning… and a new book… of negroes.  everyone who’s read it has raved.  sometimes i just love a sure thing.

waiting… while doing.

dr. seuss.

it’s a summer, and soon to be autumn, that has passed for this 2009 and with all of the photos i’ve shot of the kids, not a one that could be considered a contender for this year’s all-important christmas card… until today.  under the promise of  warming up with hot chocolate and treats at our local coffee shop, i was able to drag the brood off to a favourite portrait location in hopes of a suitable kid portrait for the .

one would think that as a professional i’d have a glut of possibilities. not so.  if anything, this gang can be less amenable out of sheer boredom with having a lens in their faces!  in fact, i have more food chewing, nose-picking, just plain bad attitude shots than any parent- even photographer parent- deserves!

but, despite having to be bribed, everybody totally got into it and mission was accomplished, adding to a pretty durned great day…

energetic practice- hot, sweaty, long… head to knees- yeah, ba-byyy!!

vanilla soy latte, hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and checkers.

less breeze, more sun.

fun with ol’ bessy and my minions- doesn’t get much better for a mid-november afternoon.

a happy client from the weekend… and a subsequent happy referral from happy client booked for next weekend- whooot!

time alone with baby girl… tutus… little girl’s size 11 dance slippers.

the big head of a honey beast resting in my lap asking for loves.

a pinch of time to sneak off for parent/teacher interview… with hubby. ahem.

two boys old enough to be trusted to clean the kitchen alone… and slightly fewer bowls used than yesterday- progress?

up until yesterday, this is where i’d spent two and a half days.  alone.  soaking up sun… warmth… and a little much needed perspective.  in amongst the yoga and meditation, that is.  just a whole lotta goodness all ’round.

the weather, couldn’t have been better.

the company- 12 other women- wonderful… when i chose to find my way into it.

the yoga, just what i needed.

the meditation… something i intend to resume yet again… finding valuable space.

coming home… into the arms of my waiting five year old chickadee, who fell apart against my shoulder before i’d even made it up the stairs to the house.  the boys… happy to see me too, but couldn’t quite be bothered to tear themselves away from the computer to say, ‘hello’.  i found ‘em and squeezed ‘em anyhow.

husband… dutifully cleaning the kitchen.  now, there’s a homecoming!

on this sunny wednesday… an early morning after many ummmm, not so much.  good coffee… and oatmeal cookie. work.  a generous and gracious rcmp officer.  an afternoon snooze. the sun. warm, fresh air. meeting up with a friend.  girlfriends.

time alone.

a new, invigorated practice… and an enthusiastic five-year-old girl to share it with.  a reliable, mature ten-year-old.  a seven-year-old reader. cuddly kittens.  anger.  release.  rest.  renewal.