{Dream Lab} getting what you want

In just a few weeks, the latest session of Dream Lab begins. It is a 10 day lab full of all the inspirations, tricks and camaraderie I have to help you move forward in the creation of the life you dream of.

The life you wake up to happily each morning.

My labs are a bit different from many other online labs out there. I create the space for you to discover the way back to yourself in a method that connects to your creative voice.  I  guide you in creating your own journalling practice (not downloading or copying mine) on your terms.

What I do give you is a piece of my heart. Essays from my life. And prompts that are fun but hopefully challenging too. I want to crack your world open just a bit in a few short weeks. The support of the group is tremendous and I am there the whole time. When I am leading a lab, I read every single comment and respond. I am with you. I have taken so many online classes where the content is great but the "leader" is not present at all. This is not that type of class.

I am truly there during the lab because I am dreaming along side of you. We are in a caravan together. And you know how when people travel together they end up becoming good friend fast? Well, that happens in the labs.  Many of the relationships in my labs carry on outside of the labs with women creating their own groups and meeting up in real life. There are similar interests, introductions and connections that are passed along;  real connections have been born through these online gatherings.

In pursuit of my own dreams, I take classes all the time (writing, art, skills). I am taking a pretty intense marketing and business class right now. My big dream is to make enough extra money to travel more with my family. I really want to spend 3-6  months on the road. But, I do not want to get creepy about making money online. I have to craft it all myself (for now, maybe I will change someday). I have yet to hire anyone to snazzy my stuff up. I refuse to automate the social media landscape. I can sense when bloggers are using tricks to get clicks and I am trying hard to do it differently.

I recently conducted a survey to learn about my strengths. Specifically, I wanted to see if my perceived strengths were what my readers and labbers felt too. Talk about feeling vulnerable. I hate asking anyone to take the time to help me, and to give me compliments no less! It was like I was fishing around. Blech! Hard, hard hard! But, I did it. I am all about getting out of my comfort zone, so this qualified big time.

Guess what? A ton of people helped me out! And there was a big concinsious . Most people found me to be creative and curious, honest and open, and a great connecter (of people and ideas to each other). AHHHH! These are the things that are most important to me. So, I got a little boost knowing that I am on the right track.

In Dream Lab we will do the work together, push ourselves, take big (and tiny) steps, get uncomfortable, comfort and support each other and have fun. The class is a powerful 10 days - but that is just the beginning. The value is unbeatable. And if you join us, you will be too!

You can get the magic here.

Wonderful lab for guiding your future path. Snap it up if you have the chance. -Sarah

{diary} death + orange blossoms

The orange tree is so full of blossoms. 

Creamy white, fragrant and promising. 

I sit sadly under it and breathe in its scent which I believe must trigger something deep and familiar in all Southerners. 

I instantly remember open windows in the evening, after the rain, when the scent would curl secretly into my bedroom. 

And later. 

Driving miles of back roads home from college, windows cranked down, speeding through groves. The warm humid nights seem to always release the odor - until it become thick and palpable - like you could scoop it right front the air with your hands. It gets caught in your hair, behind your ears and sometimes in your tears. 

This tree, I planted 10 years ago when my children were young, in my belly or not even dreamt of. She is blooming her last song. Both of our reproductive years have come to an end. Mine from choice, hers from disease. She has greening and will be cut down and burned after this last show, this last gift of hers.

The current devastation of greening on the Florida citrus industry can not be under estimated. It is the slow death of an industry some say. Already, many groves have been bulldozed, burned and replaced with blueberries fields, peach orchards or track housing. Those that remain are being soaked in chemicals once a week to slow down their inevitable death. 

The smell of orange blossoms, the taste of fresh organic juice may be a thing only remembered by people of a certain age.

The little death to our family is monumental too. It is under her leaves that my son, at 5, first found all the stages of the lady bug life cycles. We always check under the leaves now. 

Her roots hold the body of our beloved Boston Terrier who could jump as high as your shoulders and almost mastered a back flip. 

My youngest son staked claim to the tree a few years ago and has spent time watering and weeding around it. 

The death and euthanasia of this young tree marks the death of our family's first season together. One where we planted hoped and ideas - some of which are just bearing fruit now and some sadly that have been culled. 

I am broken hearted when I walk outside and smell the blossoms that will never become juice on our table. But, in an effort to preserve her memory just a bit longer, we have been harvested and drying the blossoms to be used in teas and bath tubs. Hopefully, drawing out the heady scent long into the summer. 

{book club} The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

This post is sponsored by Grammarly.

Use Grammarly for English proofreading because...
we can't all pull off the e.e.cummings thing.

"It seems to have been the beginning of everything. The treasures of a new, beautiful world were laid at my feet, and I took in pleasure and information at every turn. I lived myself into all things. I was never still a moment; my life was as full of motion as those little insects that crowd a whole existence into one brief day. I met many people who talked with me by spelling into my hand, and thought in joyous sympathy leaped up to meet thought; and behold, a miracles had been wrought! The barren places between my mind and the minds of others blossomed like the rose." - Helen Keller


My kid's book club recently read The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. This corresponded nicely with a local play of the The Miracle Worker, as well as our family's classic movie night, where we watched the 1962 Patty Duke movie, The Miracle Worker.

The kids were enthralled with the story of Keller's life in darkness and her eventual language acquisition. They could not believe the gulf between her early bad behavior (especially as acted out in the play and movie) and her later abilities. She learned to climb trees, row boats, bicycle, read in multiple languages, identify plants, write books, and even to speak! The kids found her flowery language hard to appreciate, but overall, I they would recommend it.


After we discussed the book, we talked a lot about our senses and how they inform each other. I blind folded the kids and then served them each a snack. They had to figure out how to neatly eat a cupcake and ice cream cup (that had a lid). Then they cleaned up their area and walked across the room to throw away their garbage based on what they remembered of the room we were meeting in. This part of the meeting was a hit!

Luckily, our library has a small braille book collection, so we explored those and talked about blind people we knew. In particular, I shared about my grandmother who became blind later in life. She had all sorts of helping devices and tricks in her apartment. We also talked about service dogs and what might have happened to Keller if she did not have a family who could afford to seek out help for her.


I personally was impressed with her story and resolve to both understand the world and communicate her ideas. Her life was full of hard work and amazing teachers and mentors. As a mother and homeschooler, her educational journey was inspirational and certainly motivated me.  She writes the following of her beloved Anne Sullivan,

"Thus I learned from life itself. At the beginning I was only a little mass of possibilities. It was my teacher who unfolded and developed them. When she came, everything about me breathed of love and joy and was full of meaning. She has never since let pass an opportunity to point out the beauty that is in everything, nor has she ceased trying in thought and action and example to make my life sweet and useful."

Yes. That is what a teacher should do.

Have you read The Story of My Life with your kids?

How did they respond?

{march wellness challenge} i am so lucky...

The March wellness challenge is UP! In honor of Saint Patrick's Day and 4 leaf clovers, the daily prompt is

I am so lucky.....

Each day, head to the FB group and declare what good in your life is just plain lucky!

This is similar to our gratitude challenge a few months ago, but I feel like by using the word "luck" there is a different vibe. We are not just being reverential and humble in our gratitude, but acknowledging the pure luck of the draw. Sometimes, things are really great because we work hard and manifest our dreams. But sometimes, we are just lucky. You might even scratch your head and wonder how you ended up in a sparkly rainbow. Luck my friend!

Luck is playful and silly. It is like God winking and throwing you a dandelion to blow and whispering,  "make a wish!"

You might even find yourself trying to pass on some good luck to others.... leaving the front row parking space open for someone else, putting a quarter in the gum machine slot, you get the idea...

The FB group is always free! You can join here.

the rink of my busy life {and i miss you little blog}

i feel like this space has been so neglected.

there are loads of drafts sitting in my queue ready to clean up and post : maybe some of those will eek themselves out to the world in the upcoming months.

where have I been?

Book About Me Lab - next one will probably be this fall
Mama Scout Wellness Challenge Group
The Mama Scout Book Club

^^^^ have all kept me busy with my limited computer time

in real life...

taxes and audits (bleh!)
surgeries and deaths
birthdays and skate park dates
social outings and classes galore
swim team, gymnastics, books clubs and as much hiking as I can try to get in

i have read about the "cult of busy" and how easy it is to fall prey. but i am not sure if i can get off this rink...3 kids and 2 parents with lots of interests and energy just make for a busy life.

but busy in the best way(s) possible.

in a few days i will announce the next wellness challenge and should have some fun lab announcements soon.

feel free to drop a line or comment on what you are up to. and meet up with me on FB

Amy

February Wellness Challenge :: Show the Love

Last month we shared our dreams. Big and mundane, I think most of us got as much from stating our  dreams as we did from hearing others',  offering support and giving hearty pats on the back.

But, it is a new month and time for a new challenge.

This month in honor of an upcoming holiday, let's share and spread love, charity and joy.

Each day, post your acts of love to our growing Facebook group.

Make them huge, tiny, anonymous, ridiculous and true. 

The Mama Scout Wellness Challenge group is an indescribable Facebook experience. You will get daily postings from women from around the world. Connecting, challenging and sharing in the beauty of life.


You can join here. 

{how to} dip net

What you need :

~ nets (we have a selection that we have picked up at garage sales, pet stores and chain stores).
~ tubs (maybe some dishpans from the dollar store or other wide tubs)
~ camera
~ field guide (search online for printouts of the invertebrates in your area)
~ journal

Dip netting is such a great way to see what is living in the bodies of water around you. I am always surprised at what shows up in the net. From leaches to huge blue crabs there is so much more to the world that what we easily see. It is a little like magic, if you ask me.

We have dip netted in retention ponds, lakes, swamps and the ocean. It is one of our favorite things to do and something I hope to do much more of this year.

Here are some tips and guidelines, but I think you will see it is easy and intriguing once you get started. 

(Obviously, be safe - whatever that means to the particular body of water you are exploring). 

Start by fill in a tub or two with the water from the source you will be dip netting from.

Use your nets to gently scoop from the bottom of the water.

Take your net to one of the tubs and empty your scoop. Look around, be careful and see what it in there. We have separated out the animals into a separate tub to observe them while dip netting.

The best place to find creatures is at the edges, near vegetation and grasses and I would assume near rocks although we have very few of those in Florida.

Always treat the creature with gentle hands and return them to their home shortly after logging and observing them. It is essential that kids are taught to treat these specimens with respect. Do not remove them from their natural habitat.

A list or chart of the diversity you find turns this into a handy little science project, but really the exposure to these underground worlds is illuminating and inspiring to the dip netter.

Have you dip netted?

What is the most interesting thing you have brought up?