A letter to my 70 yr old self:

Courtney,

Well hot damn, you look good!
I bet right about now you're glad that you wore all that sunscreen.  Although, with that pale alabaster skin of yours your veins might be the star of the show right about now.  Well I'm pretty sure we can all agree that veins are better that age spots and sun spots any day.  

By now you probably have about 28 grandchildren (good thing you had three girls huh? haha!).  Hopefully they all help out with chores around your place, since you worked so hard to teach their mama's the right way to make a bed.  Don't forget to tell the grandchildren all about the ridiculous things you did in your youth.  I'm sure you could write a book of all the pranks you've pulled by now.  Damn you're funny!  Make sure you embrace all your grandchildren and teach them the grace that your grandmother taught you.

You probably get some awesome comments on your tattoos.  Knowing myself, you probably have a handful of witty comebacks.  Those tattoos are just a reminder of how awesome you were in your youth, and still are at 70.  Thank God you didn't get a butterfly huh?!

I hope you took a shit ton of pictures on that trip to Puerto Rico when you were 35.  Because your girls and grandchildren will want to see your adventures and how you managed to keep your style all these years.  And that trip to Europe when you were 36, well..thank God the airports changed their law on how much wine you could bring back.  Am I right?

Thank God you've got Eric.  Let's face it, he appreciates all of you and makes you giddy inside..even after all these years.  I bet you two have been through more than I can imagine right now, but I know that you came out stronger than you were when you went into those storms.  Nice work you two!

I bet your love for all furry creatures has grown, if that's even possible.  How many cats do you have now?  Or should I say, how many does Eric think you have?  Nice job on talking Eric into letting you bring them all inside when it rains. 

I hope you still use your artistic side, and no.. making bird feeders out of old bleach bottles does not count.  Stay away from the recycling bin!  Just in case you're not as lucid as you'd like, this is just a friendly reminder that your grandchildren DO NOT WANT CLOTHES for their birthdays.  NO MATTER WHAT do not buy your grandchildren clothes!  Ever.

I know you're still pretty active, probably the instructor of your hip hop water aerobics class or something.  You better be rocking that two piece you hot mama you!  No one pieces with attached skirts!  That makes you look old.

Well lady, you did it.  You made it through a lot of shit storms (by the grace of God!) and I'm sure you have one hell of a story to tell.  Write it down.  Remember your grandmothers story?  No?  Oh well of course not, because it wasn't written down, so all you remember are the bits and pieces that were told in stories.

Write.it.down.  You're grandchildren and their children will want to read all about your silly antics and your big ol' heart.
Make sure you include it all..even the story of the first day of 7th grade when the 8th grade girl pooped on your trapper keeper..yeah, that one (could also be filed under shit storm).

xoxo

 

Cadence would like to call this post "The Guess" aka OUR FIRST VIDEO

Today I interviewed my daughter Cadence who is five and a HALF. 

(the half is VERY important)

I focused on her and all things that revolve around her.  This video will definitely be making an appearance at her graduation party when she's 18!

Enjoy :)

I'd just like to say how proud I am that Cadence is so thoughtful and kind.  She could have given me some snotty answers in attempt to be funnier, but she stayed true to her sweet self.  A kind heart always shines through.

Being environmentally conscious.. How I gave up on some things.

My confessions on going green.

I've been trying to be "green" for about 8 years now (I'm a late bloomer okay?) and it's been quite the ride.  Full of ups and downs, thrills, and spills (yes, I'm talking about YOU cloth diapers), and mistakes.

What works for me:

1. Recycling..it's easy.  If you can't recycle a can, you're an idiot.

2. Keeping a compost container in the kitchen, it's also easy.  It gets taken out every day to the compost container.

3. Using the compost container that the city requires us to pay for anyway.

4. Using mason jars for EVERYTHING..  drinking glasses, food storage, spices, tea making, soup..you name it.

5. I also have a thing for cute jars (jam jars, honey jars, peanut butter jars..) I keep some of them and reuse them around the house (q-tips, toothbrush cups, cotton balls, nails, screws, hair ties, homemade lotions, pens and pencils..).

6. I buy a lot of our food in bulk.  Dry beans, grains, rice, nuts, seeds, mixes, etc.  I store them in large jars.  It saves money and there's no wasted cardboard.

7.  Using cloth napkins.  We use them 75% of the time.  It's easy, and they last.

8. Hand-me-downs for our kids.  We've got 3 girls, so it's a no brainer to me that we'd keep the good stuff and pass it down to the next child.  It only works for me because I keep the things that I actually still like.  The other things get taken to the children's resale shop or donated.

9. I make a lot of my own moisturizers using coconut oil and other essential oils.  My main thing is that I don't want all those chemicals on our bodies.

10. I use organic shampoos and conditioners.  They're cheaper than the fancy shampoos and work better because they don't strip your hair.

11. We try to buy as much organic and natural products and groceries as we can.  Organic veggies are cheaper than that bag of chips you normally buy.

12. I grow a vegetable garden every year.  Along with many potted herbs and things like strawberries.

13. I buy most of my produce and all of our honey from the local produce market.

14. I use paper bags for our recycling and compost in the kitchen.  Also for arts and crafts, we always end up using them up.

15. Canning.  It's time consuming, so I only can things we use a LOT.  Like chicken stock, chili sauce, BBQ sauce, jam, and pickles.  I like that I can control how much sugar goes into my sauces and jam!

16. Natural cleaning products.  Mrs. Meyer's rocks my socks, so does Method hand soap, white vinegar (even though Eric hates when the house smells like vinegar ha ha!), and baking soda.

17. Natural "pesticides" for the garden, meaning it's all natural..you can eat it.  Also, natural fertilizer/plant food for the garden/plants.. compost, ground egg shells, coffee grounds, etc.

18. Reusable water bottles.  This is a no brainer and tap water tastes better anyway.

19. Use scrap paper for kids to draw on, to-do lists, and so on.

20. Line drying about 1/3 of our laundry.  I live in Portland where it rains 3/4 of the year, so I rely on my big accordion style drying rack in the laundry room.  It still holds an entire load!

21. We bought an HE washer and dryer, and let me tell you..those suckers save SO much water and electricity!  With 5 people in this house I do at least a load a day, so it was very noticeable when we switched.

22. Eric takes a big Stanley thermos of coffee to work.

23. Reusable containers, ice pack, and water bottle in Eric and Veda's lunches.

24. There's a lot of little things like energy efficient bulbs, turning off the water when we brush our teeth, etc..that we do because it's an easy habit that makes a difference.

25. Rags.  I cut up all the old towels, shirts, cloth diapers, and use them as rags.  Cheaper to wash some rags than it is to buy more paper towels, they work better anyway and it's better for the environment.

What does NOT work for me:

1. The bike riding.  Not.My.Thing.

2. Taking the bus/max for day to day things.  I've got 3 kids, I know some people can handle it, but I'm not one of them.

3. Having our own compost bin.  I don't want rats, I don't want another chore.

4. Reusable bags for grocery shopping..I have them, yet I forget them EVERY time.  I'm too busy remembering my grocery list, my coupons, and making sure I remembered all my kids ha ha!  I do however, use reusable bags all the time for our day to day outings.  And like I said before, I use those paper bags wisely!

5. Mushroom picking.  Nope nope nope.

6. Kombucha making, grain sprouting, or fermenting.  Ew.

7. Cloth diapers.  Been there, done that for about 6 months.  No thank you.

8. Don't even get me started on the reusable baby wipes or panty liners..you've gone TOO FAR people!

9. Not flushing when it's just pee.  I don't like cleaning the toilet every 3 days, and it makes the whole bathroom stink.  Not to mention, who wants to see your pee? Nope nope nope.

10. Chickens.  I know, I'm not very "Portland" if I don't have chickens ha ha.  I just don't need the extra chore.  But I do buy organic eggs.

I know I'm forgetting about a dozen things that we do or don't do, but you get the point.

Call me lazy, but I think you just have to do what works for YOU.

Hopefully I have inspired you or at least made you laugh ;)

The smells of childhood

Smells from my childhood.

We've all got the smells.

Those scents that bring back memories from our childhood and make us stop in our steps.

Maybe it's the warm summer air, the aroma of fresh cut grass wafting through your open windows, or the candy cane chapstick that your mom always put in your Christmas stocking.

I'd have to say my earliest childhood smells was the smell of the wood toy box I had in my room until I was about 7.  That toy box had a very distinct smell of plastic, crayons, old wood, and noodle necklaces.  I hadn't remembered this smell until last summer.  I had refinished an old hope chest I bought at a garage sale.  One day while helping the girls sort through old toys I was digging through the toy chest when it hit me.  

It hit me so hard I almost cried.  The smell of my earliest memories.  Immediately I started remembering the toys.. the old dolls, the stuffed animals that I'd loved so much they went flat, the barbie dolls with all their hair cut off, the my little pony's, the kid sister doll, the cabbage patch dolls, teddy ruxpin, and my toy record player.

All those memories wrapped up in that one weird smell.

Some of my other childhood smells are:

Iris - They grew in our yard when I was little

Trident - The smell of my grandmas purse

Juniper - I grew up in Bend Oregon, enough said

Potpourri - I grew up in the 80's/90's, enough said

Scented markers - especially the black one

Elmer's glue - Sunday school

Sunscreen with the fake coconut scent - I'm pale and my mom was thrifty

LA Looks hair gel - Hello 90's!

Aqua net hair spray - Again, the 90's

There's plenty more, but I just can't think of them all right now.  Some are so weird and random.  Thank God for the smells!

They say it's liquid sunshine. Liars.

Have you ever been submerged in something for so long that when you finally notice it you're like: what the hell am I doing here?  

It happened to me recently, regarding the effing RAIN.  I have lived in Portland for 22 years, and until recently I hadn't noticed or cared about the rain all that much.  But over the last year or so I have been paying close attention to how much it bothers me.  Maybe it's because we have three kids and two dogs, so we notice when we're all stuck INSIDE.  

I think Starbucks is starting to notice it too..

We daydream of moving to a drier climate like California or southern Oregon (okay, no one really day dreams about moving to southern Oregon..haha!) at least some where without all the drizzle and overcast.  Yet we know leaving the area is something that takes time and consideration (and $) to make happen, but we can dream!

Luckily we are on the cusp of summer, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel for now (2.5 months of light to be exact).  So I will soak up every second of that sun, and the beauty that comes along with it.  Portland is gorgeous in the summer..

Now it's time to plan out the garden and try not to over do it like I did last year.  This year I'm keeping my word of the year "simplify" at the front of my mind as much as possible.

Along with getting ready for the growing season, it's time (well it's always time) to focus on being healthier.  Gluten free is still something I am working on and most days I do well with it.  Other days I just don't give a damn haha!  I refuse to beat myself up over a sandwich.  This is my journey, I am not in competition with anyone but my past.

So, with all that being said, my goals this month are:

1. To plant the garden

2. To take some dance classes

3. To be kind to everyone, even people that can't park

4. To thank God for the small things too

5. To sew something new

6. To not cut my hair off even if tempted

7. To have more grace and mercy (to be more like Jesus)

These might seem small, but a goal is a goal and you gotta have at least a few tangible ones to make you feel like you're getting shit done.