Putting the social into social media

Its occurred to me that many of you may not actualy know anything about me. We may be Facebook/twitterverse friends, so you probably get daily (hourly) updates about bubby and things that amuse and annoy me. Swearing added to that if its twitter. And to be honest, if you're a regular reader of this blog (hi mom!) You get a little more insight.  But common, this is SOCIAL MEDIA people! So its time for a little sharing. 

So I'm going to share 25 things you probably didn't know about me.  Cause I'm being social.

1. I don't have the kind of luck that will allow me to find a five dollar bill in the street, but I still buy lottery tickets
2. I've moved my studio 4 times in the 4 years we've lived in our house, someone else always needed the room.
3. I hate wearing shoes and socks.  Winter is a cruel, cruel season.
4. I started turning grey when I was 11. The only reason I know my real hair color is because its the one that grows on the bottom.
5. I hate reality TV. There is nothing real about those people.
6. This is the first year in 10 years that I haven't wanted to cut off all my hair. I want to get it to mid back length.  I'd like dreads, but I'm not sure how that'd look on me.
7. My wedding ring is enscribed in Elvish.
8. Hubby and I recently decided to home school bubby. Not easy considering we both work full time.
9. I stopped a pick pocket when i was in New Orleans. While I was dressed like a pirate.
10. I don't like leaving the house. But I also get so bored at home I have to get out.  Worst. Agoraphobic. Ever.
11. I suffer from self-esteem issues. My ego is off the charts. (Though you probably did know that about me)
12. I'm more comfortable in costume than in my work uniform.
13. I carry my art supplies and crafting stuff with me to work. You never know when the urge to work on an ATC will strike.
14. To misquote Wash "not a lot of people get me and hubby at first glance".
15. He still hasn't forgiven me for telling him to 'hang on' while I was getting DD's and my picture taken with Seth Green. Apparently I was supposed to say 'get over here now'.
16. Tori Amos hugged me once. I didn't even have to ask.
17. I have 2 paintings in 2 different meduims I'm working on at the same time.  Cause you know, multi tasking doesn't drive you crazy at all.
18. I carry a Sketchbook with me at all times.
19. I could eat couscous and yogurt everyday and be happy. Or sushi. Maybe both, just not at the same time.
20. I put up a brave front, but bugs ook me out.
21. I would ROCK as a stay at home mom. Fact.
22. I can't eat bananas that are too hard or too soft. There's maybe a 2 day window that I can eat them in.
23. This list is surprisingly hard to make.
24. I clean my kitchen with water and vinegar. Sometimes baking soda.
25. I make my own Starbucks iced coffee.  It costs like nothing to make. 

OK, I shared.  I was social.  Your turn.

yoga in the moment

it's raining.  again.  so my usual (as of late) walk was a no go.  cause i'm just not committed to walk 2.8 miles in the rain with a toddler.  i'm a wuss like that.

i have to admit, i've let my yoga practice slide recently.  money has been tight, so there's no extra scratch for classes (my favorite is the bikram class at one tree yoga, it is DIVINE), and i know if i don't take a class, i do my "stand by" poses, and call it a day.  and that gets boring.  because boring equals no fun, equals 'oh i'll do it tomorrow', equals it never gets done at all.  so it's been a while since i've done a real practice.  so with no other prospects, yoga it is.

one of the yogic principals is to be in the moment.  if you're now here, or you're nowhere.  and nothing emphasizes that more than doing yoga with a toddler.  in four limbed staff mommy becomes a horse to ride.  downward dog is a bridge.  upward dog is where mommy gets kisses and loves (my new favorite pose).   it's being completely in the moment.  aware of not only what you are doing, but what is happening around you.

and it is really freeing.  with this practice i didn't just phone it in.  i was acutely aware of every stretch, every movement (you have to be when there is a 2 foot little man also using your mat, otherwise it could get messy). i was aware not only of what i was doing, but also of what bubby was doing.  he was doing yoga.

going from tadasana to urdhva hastasana bubby raised and lowered his arms right along with mommy.  triangle pose bubby twisted and bent just like me.  admittedly child pose was more of a 'lets jump on mommy' opportunity than i would have liked, but all in all, it was an awesome experience.  

one that i'm going to have to repeat more often.   

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

so i wanted to come up with something super easy, and super cheap for dinner tonight (mentioned lately that I'm flat ass busted???  no?  well, tis true).  so i came up with this little gem today after work:

you'll need:
8 corn tortillas (microwave them for about 30 seconds first, so they don't break apart when you fill them)
4 cooked chicken breasts
1 can re fried beans
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can rotells tomatoes w/ the chili's in them

pre-heat the oven for 350.  in a 9x13 glass dish spread the can of refried beans as a base.  cut the chicken into thin strips, or shred it, which ever works, and put a bit in each  tortilla, roll up said tortilla and place in the bed of beans.  pour the can of enchilada sauce over the whole row of tortilla/chicken combos.  drain the rotells, and pour them on top of everything.  bake for 20 minutes.  this makes 4 servings.  tastes great too!

backyard fun (not so wordless wednsday)

 yeah, this is my pool! 

come on in, the water's fine!

isn't he handsome?

chasing windmills.

gnomes on the altar

this is my lightsaber!!!

tastey cuke-tomato salad

its hot.  like hawt hot.  unbearably narsty hot.  so im not going to heat up the house cooking.  so i whipped this little bit of nums up for dinner tonight.

first peel and cut up about 5 cukes:

then eighth 6ish tomatoes to the bowl

 

half a purple onion

a cup of apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup of oil, then a good pinch of salt, and Italian seasonings.


stir it all up and chill it for at least a couple of hours.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Some of my best friends are Christian

OK, this is getting out of hand.  Now people are slinging around death threats.  For a blogging contest.

A.  Blogging.  Contest.

You read that right.  These good upstanding Christians have threatened to  KILL a pagan blogger.  Cause yeah, that's what Jesus would do.  "Hi, I don't agree with you so im going to have to kill you now." A-yep, that's Jesus for ya, the little scamp.  I'm not sure what went through your head when you read that statement, but I'll tell you what went through mine. 

THIS is why I'm no longer a Christian.

Now, thats a knee-jerk reaction.  And I have to follow it up by saying that the 'christians' that were talking about are a tiny sliver of a minority of the Christian population at large.  99.99% of the Christians I know and interact with are nothing but wonderful beautiful people.  They are my neighbors, my family, my friends, my 'crunchy mommas', and my co-workers.  My Christians are tollerant, and lovely, and I trust them with my life.  But its the 0.01% that's got me locking my doors and looking over my shoulder.

Because I'm not exactly in the broom closet. You know I'm a pagan, Facebook and twitter all know it. My blog is pretty much swimming in my faith. I'm not ashamed of who I am. I wear a pentigram. I have pithy Hipster pagan t-shirts. I'm not shy about discussing my faith with whoever asks. But death threats from Christian mommy bloggers seriously frightenes me.  Not so much for my own safety, because i can take care of myself (mentioned that i used to sword fight? And self defense? And still kick ass regularly?), but for my children. Are they going to grow up in a world where people think its OK to threaten to kill someone because they believe in something different?

Because these people, these godly women, are raising their children hate.  Its that simple.

And there is NOTHING Christian about that. 

What i am

Watch "Sesame Street: Will.i.am's Song "What I Am"" on YouTube

An artist
A mother
A wife
A best friend
Creative
Sweet
Big
Beautiful
Not-so-sweet
Caring
Awesome
Appathetic
Imaginative
Little-bit-ctazy
Obsessive
Bitchy
Meticulous
Proud
Spiritual
Kind

Modest.

Natural playtime

Have you ever watched a child play? I'm NOT talking about the kiddie corral-germ factory that you see at the mall.  I mean watch them PLAY. Leave them to their own divices and watch their imagination go nutso.  No? Not surprised. 

With the exception of my crunchy momma friends and a couple of blogs like I'm Not Hannah, pretty much all "play" that I see kids doing is the übber regulated 'play date' BS designed to keep kids safe and mommy's feel accomplished. Possibly with a láte. Or scones. Anywho.  That's not play. 

Do you remember real play? Stealing pillow cases and blankies from your moms linen closet to be morphed into super hero capes. Used paper towel tube were pirate spyglasses. Under every bed was a fort.  We were warriors. We were princesses. We were mad scientists.  We didnt have play dates, we PLAYED.

Where did that imagination go? Where is that sense of wonder? The exploration? Scheduling every activity and experience for a child isnlt preparing him for the future, its robbing him of his childhood. And I just can't do that to Bubby. I would rather him have an adventure in the world than a timetable.  Because for every adventure, there is a lesson to be learned. To be a pirate in the back yard is to find the rabbit dens and birds nests.  To be a growling lion teaches that the floor is hard and mommy kisses all boo boos.  And that's an important lesson.  Yes, my heart is in my throat all the damn time (especially now that were in the climbinb phase). But that's a good lesson for me, to let him explore, but always be there to kiss the boo boos.

But can you imagine what the world would be like if we raised an entire generation of adventurous thinkers? A world where imagunations were encouraged to run wild? A lot less regulation ans a lot more..... childishness?  Sounds like a pretty cool world to me.