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| prayer flags |
Having a set of six bunting triangles left, I just wasn't sure what to do with them. I strung them up on a chain I had knitted months ago for the kids, but I wasn't satisfied with it sort of just hanging on the wall in the dinning room. After some thought, I decided I would add some Japanese symbol/words to them and string them up on our tree as some "Prayer Flags". They look so nice fluttering in the breeze out in the back yard.
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| weekly menu |
I have been a bit lost as to what to do to help this household run a bit smoother. I try really hard to be all carefree and unschoolly, but I don't know. I just don't like it so much. I feel like what we do is a whole lot of nothing day after day and honestly it is driving us all a bit batty. The other day while surfing the web I ran across
this old blog post. The guest author use to have this blog I loved so much, but sadly she is no longer blogging and
this is all that is left of her awesomeness. I really loved her simple, open daily plan. Just sort of adds a wee bit of structure to the day, and I love that. I love having a bit of a plan. I adapted it to our life and it is sort of a summer trial plan. We will put this bad boy into action at the end of this month when our homeschool group schedule changes. I added a little quiet time, which was not only inspired by the blog post, but also by a
dear friend who tries to do it every day. I like the idea of a time where we can all sort of come in and settle for a bit each day. No TV, no computer, just us. And since wee little Fiona Rose is actually napping everyday, I thought that would be a perfect time to do it.
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| daily plan |
I ran across another
blog with an equally grand idea of a weekly meal plan, with lunches, and snacks planned out as well as dinners (which are loosely named things like "pasta" or "Crockpot") . Again, I really like this idea, I like having a plan on what is happening each day. I have gotten in this nasty habit of sending Mike out to pick up pizzas or something fast that I don't have to cook because I am at a loss as to what to do with the stuff we have. Now, I have a plan.
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| family prayer flags |
After making prayer flags of my own today, I was thinking I would love to have some made by the whole family. I was looking around for an idea, and saw this
website and just really like the idea. So taking the scraps from the bunting and an old pillow case we started our set of flags. I think they look great. I am not sure exactly how I am going to attach the pillow case pieces to the triangles, maybe I will use the trusty glue gun, or i might take a few evenings and hand stitch them on. That might be a better more mindful way to do it. We are thinking of hanging them from the big tree in the backyard as well.
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| i don't remember where i got this, but it is true |
I haven't been taking care of myself. I eat poorly, sleep poorly and spend an embarrassing amount of time sitting on my butt in front of the computer. Recently my very
dear friend started a 30 day raw fruit fast to help her refocus. I love the idea, I love it a lot. "They" say that it takes 28 days to break a bad habit, and goodness knows I have a few I need to turn around. What is my plan? I have been thinking about maybe doing a raw food cleanse myself, nothing super hard core but eating only raw whole foods for 30 days. And at the same time shutting off the laptop and putting it away. I know my most loving husband meant well when he got this for me, but I swear it was like giving crack to an addict and saying "Now just look at it, but don't use it." I can honestly be on this blasted thing for HOURS every day. It is embarrassing, and truly just plain sad. People will say, take it slow don't overwhelm yourself... but the thing is if I don't charge at this thing full on, full force I will peter out and just be back to the same old patterns in a week. I tend to be a woman of extremes, maybe I can make it work for me, instead of against me. Maybe I will even take up "
Dance walking" as well, maybe just dancing in the living room with the kids.
Here is to renewing the spirit, taking on challenges and just kicking booty in your own life!
4 comments:
When B was born, friends created tibetan prayer flags for me, and we hung it outside the window. They used just plain old squares of fabric. I loved reading what everyone wrote or drew. You could even staple them. I love having a rhythm to our days, but I also need opportunities for spontaneity. I have a meal plan, but it is only for dinner. Eamon just brought up the return to quiet time. I think we benefit from time apart for quiet play every day. We stopped it for a bit after moving and having less space. B would tear apart my room when he was there. The other two would argue. I think it all is a great plan and I am excited to hear how it goes. I also agree that peace begins within. When I am grooving, we all are.
The good thing about those "something isn't quite right" thoughts is that it's a great time to look around and figure out what it is!
I fine when we're stagnant - ie there is a little too much "living by default" going on, it's a great time for us to start our morning "What shall we do today?" lists. Then we're motivated and animated, not drifting to the 'same old, same old'.
Certainly there is a need for that for a while, sometimes, but when it becomes boring, it's time to Engage! :)
Not having any kind of schedule makes me a bit crazy. We just go mindlessly through the day, sometimes being really productive and doing fun things, but more often than not, just wasting our precious time. I think a schedule helps puts some mindfulness into the day.
This reminds me of the whole concept of "flow." Flow is the state you are in when you're doing something really challenging and engaging. You love it so much that you lose track of time (in a good way) and lose yourself in what you're doing. I think my days are more likely to have "flow" when I've got some kind of plan in place. I'm happier when I know what is going on and when we're going to do it.
I'm like you, I try to be "unschooly" but it often just doesn't work for me.
The weekly menu has been my savior for years! It keeps me sane knowing in the morning what I'll be making for dinner that night.
wow, heather i am very inspired from your post and the comments :) heather's words - when I'm grooving, we all are are so, so true.
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