thrifting{rocks, minerals & fossils}

the brownsugars & i just wrapped up our rock & mineral unit.

seems like we were on it FOREVER!

we are rock hounds & out of natural curiosity we tend to study rocks alot. But this was our second (& probably last)time doing a formal rock unit.

some of the stones & fossils in our collection are from when i was a curious young rock collector.

the others we're mostly gathered or found super cheap at estate sales, thrift stores & yard sales of teachers that were purging their materials or retiring.

we took the entire collection out 

& identified, classified (igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary), observed (physical & other properties) etc...

we updated & revised our old lap books, did a few projects & dug deeper into some of our other resource books.

this year also i ordered new fossils & break your own geode kits that were both fun.

we were actually kind of surprised by the amount of stones we have accumulated & decided to clean it up a bit.

some we donated, some we used in crafting & some we used in the garden.

now feeling confident that we have thoroughly exhausted studying rocks, minerals & fossils (formally)...we are onto our weather unit.

*post edit-somehow my computer flipped out overnight (somehow went Google+ & Babylon search???) & now it is automatically taking words in my posts like "study & estate sales & linking them to advertisements...need to figure out what's going on...sorry bear with me :( *FIXED*

weekending. saturday & {unplugged sunday}

saturday

[beginning]

[middle]

[end]

{unplugged sunday}

saturday

[beginning]

we were instructed to lounge around in bed & not to come into the kitchen.

my smallest brownsugar A & i caught up on some reading while

my middle brownsugar M pulled off a fantastic fam breakfast surprise she planned with her Daddy only there to follow her instructions.

to my surprise she made 2 loaves of the most moist & delish gluten free chocolate chip pumpkin bread i've ever had.

i cannot bake to save my life

so for her to get the correct texture & moisture content in her loaves is quite an accomplishment

(not to mention a hands on life lesson such as measuring, fractions, following directions, meal planning, etc...)

 on  

along with turkey bacon & fresh slices of watermelon it was a fantastic meal.

[middle] 

while i got caught up on paperwork (BOO!!!),

my biggest brownsugar K practiced her guitar.

she is such a quick study

& is making such beautiful progress.

 it is so lovely listen to.

[end]

since He was home all day Saturday we decided to hit the 

Oceanside Harbor & grab some ice cream on the beach after dinner.

so glad we did, it was a nice (chilly!) way to end our Saturday. 

{unplugged sunday}

[beginning]

ok it wasn't a completely unplugged because i'm in the middle of wrapping up work samples & the end of this school year check out with our charters (YAAAY) so i had to go online for a bit to check some dates & messages etc... 

we also sampled an audio sparkle stories story 

(love!subscribing!)

but after that, being online was over...

[middle]

our congregation meeting,

which of course, was all about none other than freely forgiving one another, since that is the exact place i'm in.

James 3:2 is a great humbling reminder that "we ALL stumble many times..." & our imperfect human being selves need to be forgiven constantly & consistently.

 *super guilty*

Ephesians 4:32 is a another great reminder (command even) to

"...become kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving one another just as God by Christ freely forgave you." 

(& keeping on forgiving & keeping on forgiving...etc...).

this talk was obviously *lovingly* specifically designed just for moi...good thing i did not miss it :)

[end]

afterwards i came home had lunch & put up on my snuggly pjs & Ugg boots,

 i poured a cup of hot tea & snuggled up with my new snuggle buddy, the stuffed kitty my little A gave me to use when she is too busy to snuggle & my newly washed no longer stinky brown dog & caught up on some reading.

a pen pal letter from a friend in England, some new mag issues & 7th grade chemistry to round it all out.

farm notes{cute & thrifty repurposed teachers appreciation gifts}

(pix taken before i added rocks from my yard on top of the soil. accidentally deleted the after pic)

this year for our charter school teachers thank you gifts

we made cute low maintenance repurposed mini succulent garden mugs.

this is one of our new fave gifts to give!

the succulents are from our gardens propagated succulents (instructions here) 

that we have gathered either from

succulent plants growing in our community

or cuttings shared by friends (it's a hobby).

the brownsugars & i went to our fave local thrift store

(it is run by mentally challenged members of our community.

cannot say enough about how fab this store & this program is!)

the girls picked the mugs they liked for each teacher.

we brought them home & potted & tagged them.

THE TEACHERS LOVED THEM!

the entire project took about 10 minutes total to assemble. 

easy peasy.

local, personal, natural & repurposed materials

& costs less than $5 (including a 4th mug not shown!).

*happy girl*

a few other teachers gifts we have given here here here

freeing negativity. grudges. a mama bear work in progress.

photo credit



so in the determined spirit of my newly inspired
personal growth & everything,
i decided to get right to the business of getting rid of negativity in my life & move right along.
i was ready & excited even
to just sit down with my lovely little cup of tea
& send prayers, love, happy thoughts & freely forgiving the
people & stuff in life that i'm saying goodbye to.
acknowledge & release toxic feelings.
heck, even clean up my Facebook account (again) & take another Twitter break. 
easy peasy & just like that...i'm free!
leaving room for nothing but positivy, love & growth.
& it felt so good!
well until something happened that i was not ready for.
somehow i got around to my own grudges.
especially the ones that have been around for years [decades even].
these are our old friends
& we get so used to having them around.
there is a certain comfort to holding on to them & keeping them in our lives. they give a false sense of validation & justification to the ways we interact, feel, etc...with the people we are holding these negative feelings against
(after all THEY are the meanies & THEY deserve it right?!?!).
we hide behind them as permission to keep finding fault in others instead of ourselves. 
reasons to never change & move on (& sometimes don't want to).  
the ones i'm finding especially hard to let go of are the ones that involve my kids/family being unkindly or unfairly treated by others.
those mama bear grudges i hold proud & strong under the guise of protecting my little fam.
those are the ones i have grown to love &
depend on the most even.
so as always, just when i think it's always others with the faults or that have wronged me
(i mean really can't it ever just be that way? just once even please!!!),
the finger of truth & grace points right back in my own deserving face & rightfully so.
 more than anything providing testimony to my own continuing need for prayer, my own continuing need of free forgiveness,
my own need for continuing change & my own need to continuing to allow more room for my own love to grow.

restored{center.balance.soul}

my Monday was super fantastic!

the brownsugars went fishing with their Dad

& i spent a much needed day with myself!

i took myself to lunch at my fave Chipotle

& had a fab non-fat vanilla chai latte.

i layered up my new wrap bracelet i mentioned here

& bought from my lovely friend & her sisters shop  

& wore it for the 1st time.

beachy & earthy happy little bursts of color

I LOVE IT & plan wear it all summer in different ways!

i also treated myself to a few new art supplies

& a Jack Johnson Kokua Festival CD

{perfect beachy music choice...LOVE}.

next i navigated thru Carlsbad (on Memorial Day mind you!)

to a beautiful new-to-me beach hidden behind cliffs. 

(not sure of the actual name but

someone called it the Carlsbad Cliffs).

i didn't hike all the way down to the water, 

 i decided to sit on top of the cliffs instead

& observe from a new perspective. 

i spent hours.

a few people & their dogs walked thru the trails.

peopled climbed the rocks.

surfers surfed in the water below.

i sat in the sun quietly watching.

i wrote & drew a little.

i read a bit more of The Hunger Games,

but then dolphins started swimming & playing in the water.

i have watched them play in the water from the shore before,

but never high on a cliff...in the glistening sun.

but the dolphins did it...my eyes would not go back to the book.

it has been way too long

& i've been desperately missing the beach.

this one visit was all it took to find my center,

restore my balance & soothe my soul.

i have always dearly & deeply loved the beach

...thank God somethings never change. 

this morning i wrote like mad {new inspiration & decisions for my soul }

*WARNING THIS POST IS ENTIRELY TOO PERSONAL,

COMPLETELY SELF REFLECTIVE & INDULGENT...BUT TOTALLY CATHARTIC! 

IF WOMEN HAVE MID LIFE CRISES...THIS MAY VERY WELL BE MINE*

i know it's supposed to be {unplugged sunday}

but this morning my mind, heart & soul have been stirring & i could not hold it all in anymore.

i have been writing it all down like mad.

i miss writing...i used to write alot of things

like poems, stories, daily journaling,

but this morning

i wrote thoughts.

i wrote feelings.

i wrote dreams.

i wrote plans.

& i FINALLY for the first time in a long time

i wrote my own decisions.

recently some things have greatly inspired & impacted me,

these are some of the ones i wrote down:

1. maybe i need to lower or let go of my expectations of others [that are never going to happen] & raise & change my expectations of myself.

2. never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be an option. someone who has always had time for everyone & everything else BUT you [me], always will (1) & never will (2).[this one i need to listen to the most]

3. you [i] need to find support where you [i] always have & with whom you [i've] have always found it. those are the ones who truly love you [me] & that you [i]can truly depend on.

4. make changes & sacrifices to achieve your [my] own goals & dreams, instead of changes, sacrifices & EXCUSES to only help everyone else [but me] achieve theirs.

5. give yourself [myself] permission to be self loving, self serving & self motivated also instead of always self sacrificing for others. pulling back & not giving so much away is sometimes necessary to protect ourselves from hurt. these are all different than being selfish.

6. my kids are old enough. it's my turn. & it's ok...i asked them ;).

7.the sun rises & sets for me too. i deserve it!

8. it's time to let go of alot things [old

dreams,plans,obstacles,etc...] & make a new reality [my own].

it's crazy. it's scary. it's new. and it's ok.

along with writing this morning,

i looked thru my old "self image" journal

& idea boards from 10 & 20 years ago.

*mirrors into my own soul*

& to my great surprise i still LOVE all the same things!

 life has changed, but i am still the same old soul.

the difference is that now i am lacking these things that brought me & my soul joy & made me ME, as part of my current life. 

it is time to bring those things that brought my soul joy 

back into my life

& in a big way.

among the fun things that have gotten lost along my way

are my life goals & dreams.

i desperately need to bring that ME back (I LOVE that girl)!

i'm overdue, ready & i'm the only one who can do it.

so as my list of inspirations says, i need to make changes, effort & sacrifices to make my own dreams & goals come true (instead of excuses).

& i also need to surround myself with people that really do support me.

and i have already started.

thrifting{write your own story}

before we left on our trip

i mentioned that i found some fun thrited finds.

i was super excited to find this "write your own story" mug!

i love the inspiration in this saying, the vintage typewriter, the whole thing!

i saw one i wanted exactly like it on Pinterest for @$15. 

 i found this one in great condition

at my fave thrift store for 50 cents!!!

*HAPPY GIRL*

ironically, below it is my tweet from last Thursday.

today makes 2 weeks coffee free.

it really hasn't been that bad.

 i do miss the taste,

but i'm not constantly day dreaming about it anymore.

i'm more focused & i'm no longer constantly fatigued & jittery.

i usually only drink one small cup of coffee a day in the cooler months & stop drinking it in the warmer weather 

so the timing is perfect actually.

a while ago i started having super sharp chest pains around my heart when i drank coffee & no clue why.

 i thought it went away, but the Thursday before this tweet i had an episode that was so painful it lasted 3 days with me in agony couch.

so no coffee in my new perfectly perfect thrifted mug

but tea is still my friend so im good & i love it.

especially the perfect vanilla chai latte