busy day: short post.

i'm cutting sweet corn off the cob and freezing it in gallon bags for when we want a taste of summer when it's cold out.
making corn chowder for dinner.
i'm feeling jittery from the coffee i've had today. i went to bed before one, but read this great post: the torn fabric of being, for quite a while:)
later: going to dinner and swing dancing with martha, anna, and my sister anna :)

also, a killer whale is being bathed in our backyard right now. ^^sammi-bear and my not-so-littlest-sister, lyddie.
crazy fascinating, huh? :)
now i'm reading this: i will love you, possibility.

and another couple posts i plan to read:
he's a tear catcher and i'm a fist fighter but all he asks of me is love.
plank-pullin': the uninspired one.
be different, act normal: apple pie caramel apples. go ahead. click and drool. ;)

search words, and my blog found on the net.

once i saw someone had googled "miraclesdontbreakthelawsofnature", i had to do so myself.
this is what i found.

brand new espresso colors tv/plasma stands.
under "blogs new espresso" you'll find a link to one of my posts mentioning espresso. heh.

scoop.it. creative photography.
links to one of my art posts.

123.people.de.
someone searched for anna rach? well. i've got that covered easy-peasy. older sister: anna. one of my younger sisters: rach. it linked to one of my life rambles.

now . . . the top search keywords:)
hillsong   
carnival photo shoot   
dear god make me a bird tattoo   
aura joon   
me on the swing   
photoshoot at the carnival   
tempurpedic people in ads   
underoath tattoos   
blueprints on how to build a branch bookshelf   
chicken curry rice naan
black yoga pants
freckles [see below picture. heh.]
hillsong united tattoos
books coffee laptop bible

i don't tan...
i do freckles.freckles.freckles!
and a birthmark.

and . . .
i'm off to brew a pot of coffee. anodyne coffee sounds pretty awesome. it's dark enough a roast that it doesn't have me jittery, freaking, and bouncing off the walls inside that caribou's morning blend had me a few months ago; and this coffee is smooth. there are some coffees that practically punch you in the mouth, and that's not a nice way to wake up if you have the luxury of drinking coffee every morning. 8 o'clock have a relationship like that, so i cut it off. it wasn't charming enough for me, even though it was a few dollars easier on the wallet. :P
it's a warm, muggy day. hopefully the last of the season, as it's almost september. one can hope, right? i fall in love with autumn weather every year. the metaphors that spring up in my head from seeing nature transform again in front of my eyes. the golden turning of the leaves. the breeze and the rainy days. the . . . everything.

mom met a lady up north, an owner of a shop that loves art and all that, and the lady actually lives down here, not far from our area. weird, huh? well, last night a few of us stayed up pretty darn late [me? 3am] finishing a couple paintings, typing up a list and details of the art, etcetera. this morning, at around 5:30am, the lady came and picked up 7 of my canvases, some of rach's flower hair accessories, ben's pens, and mom's knitted things... to take up to her shop and hopefully sell. :)
so! that's something new and interesting. 

monday, anna and i met heath and steph at a coffee shop for a few hours. [and derek --heather's boyfriend-- stopped by for a while, too.]

i was starving from having one of those random days of only drinking coffee. . . .
wait. i may have had fettucine with fresh garden tomatoes and basil. yeah. true.
but a bit of pasta and fresh veggies? er...not exactly a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal.
so there i went to the counter, to purchase a plain bagel with garden cream cheese and a stick with grapes on it . . . and, after that, with my last dollar or so, a medium alterra coffee. as i always say, if you're near to being broke, spend it on the things you love the most. ;)

that says it all.

and for history's sake, a picture of steph and heath. :) listed by the visual, not chronologically. if you cared.
:)

i took these on the way home, monday.
hmmm.

Patience is the companion of wisdom.
[Saint Augustine]

today, advice, and links.

i've been painting today.

now, we're going to see The Help. [i'm still only halfway through the book, but i shall finish it soon.]
i woke up to thunder, and the sound of rain on the windows.
the sun is coming out.
and now, for all you lovelies, i have found a new site!
at the moment, i'm reading
your guidance counselor was wrong: why you don't really have to figure it all out now.
and trying to figure out [in the back of my mind] how and where and the details of the object i'm going to paint on this blue-black background. night sky, but way different than the ones i've done in the past.
i plan to read her top posts.

    don’t take life too seriously… you’ll never get out alive.
-Van Wilder (actually, the original quote is from Elbert Hubbard, but who the heck is Elbert Hubbard? Righttt.)

so . . . i'm going to just link them here to browse.

why it's okay to be lost and confused.

shockingly stupid advice: how cosmopolitan magazine is misleading a generation of young women.

why your college degree doesn't mean sh**.

when it comes to love, could you have it all wrong?

the suckiness diaries: how to survive when life gets shitty.

and . . . i love this: 

Get the ball rolling by asking yourself what makes you feel centered and excited. Sign yourself up for a cooking class or a writing class or start working on those paintings you’ve been wanting to do. It might seem awkward at first, but notice how alive it makes you feel. Just saying.

redo: the best coffee cake ever.

for this recipe and all those egg whites, i pulled out the old kitchen-aid that dad and mom got who-knows-how-long-ago.
it worked good. ;)

strange fact, though? this is probably my 3rd time ever using the thing.
i prefer lovely stainless steel whisks and wooden spoons and spatulas in my hands.
i'm just weirdly old-fashioned like that.

watching egg whites do their thing in the kitchen-aid.

getting there . . . not quite.

ah! see there?
not bad, not bad at all. :)
next, you get to fold that into the main batter.

the best coffee cake ever: by the pioneer woman.
For the cake:  
    * 1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened
    * 2 cups Scant Sugar
    * 3 cups Flour, Sifted
    * 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
    * 1 teaspoon Salt
    * 1-1/4 cup Whole Milk
    * 3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff
    
For the topping:
    * 1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened
    * 3/4 cups Flour
    * 1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar
    * 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
    * 1-1/2 cup Pecans, Chopped

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined. Don't overbeat. Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula. Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 (or larger!) baking pan. A cake pan with higher sides would be best.
In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle all over the top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Serve warm---delicious.

sigh. it didn't turn out half as beautiful-looking as the pioneer woman's . . . 

but it tasted good.
perfect with coffee.
the end.

artistic endeavors: days of miracle and wonder.

it's about time to post another canvas. i need to catch up, because i'm painting again today.

this was a commissioned piece.

for dear erika and sky.

over the course of july 5, 6 and 7.

 ~~~

this post: when i grow up
makes me think.
some people make life into steps, into sections and important things needed for living, for a life.
then, some people just talk about the top 5 or choose a number.
the things we do for love, for fascination, for caring, for being us, for making a difference, for hope, for others.
which way are we living?
which way are we making this life molded around?
just some of my thoughts lately, while reading stuff on
unschooling: unschooling beyond highschool. learning what they want, when they want.
birth: elliotte's vbac birth story, three birds.
the kingdom and Christ's followers: in which i know your calling and mine.
love this post. so much. ^^


yesterday was full.
farmer's market with sarah, eliyah, zechariah; anna nannying sam and reese; rach, mum and me.
lunch at a seasonal, fresh, good quality place with bright, creative interiors.
a nap.
making cinnamon chip scones.
swing dance lesson from 8-9pm. learning moves and the names and just practicing with rotating partners helps a lot, i must say.
open floor swing dancing from 9-11pm. i love the music. love. love. love. and conversations with random people [like an architect who used to sail in chicago on the lake] while dancing. while on the sidelines. dancing again. and scones with anna, our friend anna, and martha, on the way home. [we won't get to go for the next 2 weeks. busy, busy.]
home by 12:30am.
talking till 2 with anna.
waking at 7:30am, showering, dressing, and crashing on the couch until 1pm.
i never do that, by the way.
this is one of the oddest days of my life, sleep-wise.
painting a quote i have yet to decide on.
watercolor?
acrylic?
she & him and imogen heap music.
the thing is . . . everyone wants a life of meaning.
we want our life to mean something.
but life --a meaningful one-- looks a little bit different for every single person.
that's how it is, or should be.

The litmus test of our love for God is our love of neighbor.

[Brennan Manning] 

another word: fulfilling.
we all love the feeling of being fulfilled . . . there are small circumstance, large ones, and then there are the ones that we stumble upon, or discover through someone else. we didn't even know that was there. and suddenly we're delving into it.

sammi girl and me, at the farmer's market yesterday.

we are all learning, through different seasons either here or, unbeknownst to us, in our future; to diligently seek to live more than breathing; to live deeper than materialistic or hierarchy-driven goals; to step into the places that seem too simple but are thick with what we need.

lovely, yummy, cozy memories.

take that for example. june 2. yummy.

quiet. cozy. i never got around to blogging those days of nannying sam and reese next door while anna [their regular nanny, lol] was away at . . . sarah and justin and eliyah's? getting ready for little zechariah's arrival.

bristly. contemplative.

sigh. textures. june 7.

cool. rainy. curling hair. sweets and folger's coffee. strangers. laughs. sister. no, i'm not posting the picture of me kissing the dr. pepper can with thor's picture on it. uh, no. hahahaha.

ladies of the family date. tiny town up north. one more coffee shop i'm in love with.

what they said.

three days old. warm. tiny. cozy. july 8.

july 12 sunset through a van window.

standing on the highway.

love this music.

the darlingest photo album EVER on flickr.

love the simpleness. the love. the....yeah. from this blog: jen hammer.
i'm grateful for all of the above.
and, even though brothers and everything else were not mentioned in this post, i'm quite thankful for them too.
that's the end for tonight.
♥

pasta bake by pwc.

it's easier than lasagna.
ya know, instead of handling big long lasagna noodles, it's just normal pasta you have to worry about.
and....it's amazing. 

butter + mushrooms = love.

pasta water. isn't that obvious? ;) 

pasta sauce from a glass jar, added to that is cooked ground beef, etcetera...

seriously so good. and, did i mention, easier than lasagna. no fussing with those special noodles.

happy sigh.

and here's the link for it:
sour cream noodles bake.