september wellness challenge :: learn something new everyday

I am a little late coming off the mindful media challenge from this summer. How was that for you? While I still scanned social media, I found that I was on my phone and computer much less. I loved it and I am finding it hard to get back into the swing of things. 

But, it is time for another challenge. This is a rerun of a popular challenge from last fall.  

Here is the deal. Meet up on the FB group page and post daily (or whenever the fancy strikes you) about what you have learned that day. It might be an emotional truth, an odd fact or a relationship epiphany. Whatever it is - go for it. These are great fun to think up, share, and read. 

We might spill into October a bit to make up for lost time, but October will have its own challenge and it is a good one. 

This is a free project and filled with some super cool people. Fell free to invite your people too! 

last call for Journal Jam Fall edition ----> get on it!

Journal Jam Fall edition is ready to roll. If you want in, this is it. The welcome letter goes out Saturday and we are in full gear Monday morning. This lab is 10 weeks of awesome prompts, poetry, film, journaling and art prompts and cool mama camaraderie. If you want to create with your kids and be engaged yourself - this lab is for you. If you like kid based art programs that are prescriptive and "too cute" this is not for you. (Sorry if that sounds harsh - I am sitting here drinking my 3rd cup of tea, writing all afternoon, watching cows from my window and feel like I just need to say it truthfully.) I would rather spend time with my kids listening to Phillip Glass, reading weird poetry, looking for treasures in alleys and painting pictures of my ancestors than work from a printable or strict theme. This class is kid appropriate but cool enough for a parent to do on their own. You can sign up here. Oh, and I love you. And you are doing a terrific job. I can not wait to hang out with you.

the biggest move of all

The last several months have been so full, so far flung and so full of impossibly optimistic dreams. After a summer of new summer camps (sailing/fishing/apple), a quick band rehearsal jaunt to Atlanta, and an epically soul stirring trip to Alaska, we entered a sort of self defined hell. 

We are in the midst of moving from a huge house to a much smaller one. We are swimming in crap as we figure out how to fit a family of 5 (all with a wide variety of interests) into a typical suburban house. A family where we are all together most of the time!

We have added a wall, ripped out some cabinets and ceiling and gotten rid of truck loads of stuff. Towards the end I was using a wet vac to vacuum up a sea of plastic detritus from the old play space. I vacuumed up and threw away pencils, lego pieces, marbles, polly pocket clothes, and even change. I could not pick up and sort one more freaking thing. 

And now we are settled, sort of, and trying to find places for our pickled shark, and thousands of books, and galleries full of artwork, and vintage linens, and, and, and.... you get the idea. 

More and more is going out. Thrown away or given away. There is no attempt to sell anything or pack it away until later. It is out. 

And it is liberating and energizing. 

What I have realized is:

Acceptance of the discomfort and mess is key. It really does little good to complain or even constantly mention the state of chaos we are in. We know. It works better to accept and put your nose back to grindstone. Every once in a while we look up and realize, "Hey! progress is being made." This is temporary and is nothing compared to what many in the world deal with. We are struggling because of our abundance and affluence. You can not really complain about that with out sounding like a complete shit. 

We do not have to do everything ourselves. We do not like to ask for too much help, but sometimes it not only helps with the task at hand, but also give a big energy boost. For example, hiring out some painting at our old house was hard. We never hire out what we can do ourselves. But it was so worth it! It took a professional a few days what would have taken us a week. 

It is good to question and redefine everything. I have been met with questions and concerns (Why would you move to that side of town? Will you be able to live in a smaller space? How can you leave your cool old house?) I often wonder about the assumptions and questions that we have each internalized. The type of voices that do not allow us to take risks or strive to live a life closer to our true selves. 

We are doing this so my husband can stay home. So we can hang out with our kids and friends. So we can spend our time creating and traveling. The pay off is huge and the work is worth it. There is a risk for sure - if we can not sell our house, for instance. But if we keep flexing our adventurous muscles and trying new things, I think we will be able to fall on our feet no matter what happens. 

And no matter how some things get turned upside down, there are many constants that keep us grounded. Movie nights and family dinners, caring for our pets, hanging twinkle lights inside, making art, reading good books aloud, spending time with our friends, being outside and just keeping the conversation flowing all make us know that we are always home, no matter where we are. 

(a big reason this house works - a huge acre back yard!)

(and cows to watch through the kitchen window)

Journal Jam starts in a few days!

I hope you will join us! You can read more about it and sign up here. 

{travel} Amicalola Falls, GA

We headed back up north for a hike through the Amicalola Falls State Park. We decided on a 2-3 mile loop hike that would take us to the top of the falls and thought it would be a breeze. We normally hike our local 3 mile nature preserve loop in about 45 minutes. 

Apparently, walking up and down a mountain is not really the same. In fact, when we returned to the gift shop we saw that you could buy shirts heralding the fact that you made the trek. That should have been a sign. Our legs were independently shaking on the way down. Is that a thing? Does that have a name? Jiggly mountain leg? Lame-o Floridian limbs? Whatever our weakness, it was worth it!

Seriously, the hike was beautiful and challenging but comfortable too. At the top, near the falls, hikers can visit the lodge which is a hotel but also has a row of comfortable chairs overlooking the valley. There is a sandwich buffet, a gift shop with snacks, bathrooms and water fountains. We lucked out and arrived in time to take in a presentation on owls and birds of prey. We were up close with a barred owl, great horned owl, screech owl, red tailed hawk and black vulture. All of the birds were rescued for various reasons and their stories were fascinating. I especially liked the story of the red tailed hawk who was raised with a flock of ducks and still made duck noises. 

This hike was well worth the morning spent. Afterwards, I wished that we lived closer, as the workout was so great, I could imagine scheduling it into my weekly hiking routine. 

Next time we are going to give the Hike Inn a try. 

There are many waterfall hikes in North Georgia. Do you have a favorite?

{travel} a morning in Dahlonega, Georgia

Today we headed to one of my favorite small, southern, historic towns. Dahlonega , Ga is about an hour north of Atlanta. It was the site of a big gold rush that preceded the more famous ones in California and Alaska. There was even a mint here for a short time. It is also near Amicalola Falls and the head of the Appalachian Trail. The drive in was beautiful with windy roads, lush forests, rolling hills and distant mountains. 

We stopped in town to see a rare river diving bell that was used in gold mining. It was fascinating and made us think about diving bells we have read about when studying Da Vinci and the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. 

We then continued on to a surprisingly good tour at Consolidated Mines. For $16 for adults and $11 for kids, we were able to pan for gold and go 200 feet into the biggest mine east of the Mississippi. Our tour was so interesting. We learned about the short history of this particular mine and the usually high purity and beauty of Georgia gold. But the most compelling information was about the constant danger that miners faced for wages of about $1 a day. The uninsulated electricity, deafening noise of round the clock drilling and explosives, and toxic exposure to chemicals and dust made me wonder how anyone could do this job. If you did not die from an accident, your health would certainly suffer tremendously. I already had a sense of this with coal miners and had never really thought about gold mining. 

We also learned about the devastating effect that mining has on the earth. Early on, gold nuggets were found laying in the river beds and in the forest. As the mountain eroded over millions of years, the heavy gold worked its way down the mountain. Eventually, the all obvious gold was found and the mining companies decided they could just erode the mountain themselves! They would mimic a process that nature took eons to complete and with a huge hydraulic hose wore down mountains on their own. It was ruinous (and is heavily regulated or banned now).

Later in the day we stopped in the center of town at the Dahlonega Gold Museum which is housed in the oldest courthouse in Georgia. The museum had a few rooms of artifacts related to the gold mining history of the town. To be honest it was a little under impressive until we watched  the 17 minute documentary included the admission. It was well done and included oral histories from old miners who remembered when the mines were a central part of the town's economy.

The downtown of Dahlonega is filled with gift shops, antique stores, outfitters, and cafes. We had a nice lunch at the Crimson Moon Cafe. I ordered an angus burger with a fried green tomato on top and it filled me up for the rest of the day. If I was in town longer I would definitely check out some of the live performances at the Crimson Moon as their programing schedule is impressive. 

If you are in Atlanta or just looking for a southern getaway, I highly recommend Dahlonega. It is quaint, historic, arty and walkable.

Have you spent time in Dahlonega? What was your favorite aspect?

limited visibility

We are headed to Atlanta for a week so my husband can play music with some old and new friends with which he has been collaborating online for the past few months. 

When he retired a few months ago, our goal was to pursue our art. To make family, learning and creative expression the driving forces in our lives. 

This trip is part of that. He will practice and prepare to record some tracks this fall. The kids and I will visit a gold mine and hike near the Appalachian Trail. And then we will swim and play Mexican dominoes and do some school work in the hotel. This is the life we were envisioning. And it is happening. 

I recently completely my manuscript proposal and am currently looking for representation.  I have worked hard articulating my message and writing (and writing) and accepting critical feedback. I am extending my circle of connections and feel like I am in an incubator of creative generation. This is the life I was envisioning. And it is happening. 

Driving north we hit continuous storm cells. Rainstorms in Florida are intense and exhausting. For the better part of 2 hours we had severely limited visibility. We could not see where we were going, but every once in a while there was a brief respite and we could see that we were indeed covering ground and moving forward. We had to rely on the road lines, the flashing emergency lights of those around us and the sun making the thick grey clouds glow. 

Our drive this morning was a good metaphor for the bigger journey we are on. In reality, we have no idea what we are doing. We can not clearly see the big picture and there is no known outcome. But what began as a bold leap of faith has already provided a huge payoff and as we recalibrate our inner compass we know that wherever we end up, we will be in friendly territory.

The truth is, we are all on a road headed somewhere. The key is to make sure we are headed in a direction we choose. And then we can keep waiting for those blissful clear skies. 

What about you? What are you driving towards right now in your life? Where are you headed?

{make} diy cardboard games

We recently watched Caine's Arcade as part of Journal Jam (Jennifer Fischer of Think Ten Media Group wrote an amazing prompt build around it). 

I was unprepared for the response! My kids tinker and build a lot but something about Caine's story touched and inspired them to start building immediately and with a focus I have not seen for a while. 

Thankfully we are in the middle of a move, so had plenty or cardboard around. 

They built a skee ball game with elaborate rules and elements of chance. a pom pom shooting game and  a giant, two person ball maze. 

They are all 

iends to make their own games so that a bigger arcade party can be held this fall. 

One kid ended up having to get stitches midway through the day-long building session. But that did not stop him! We had dinner, took some Advil and he was back at work (minus the use of one thumb). 

This is the perfect activity if you have a long day stretched out in front of you. Especially, if it is too hot to play outside. We score extra cardboard at a Sam's and found a variety of balls and other accouterments at the Dollar Store. 

There is no tutorial for this because your kids already know how to do it all! Just give them the space and materials. But don't skip out on the fun! Parents need to build and create along side their kids. They were so happy that we were cutting and gluing and dreaming up new games next to them. A great, great family activity, full of art, science, imagination, laughter, and connection. 

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Intrigued by homeschooling and the lifestyle it can offer your family? I am offering a power lab (fast and full) in a few weeks! You can read more about The Radical Art of Homeschooling here.