Mountain Mama

Home again

We're home. Finally. We lost our Internet connection Thursday and did not get it back at the beach house before we left Saturday. No matter. We all left early Saturday on our separate journeys--Dad and Stephen back home, Mom and David sticking around for David's flight back to Oregon Sunday, and Paul, the girls, and I on to my mother-in-law's house for the night. Today we woke at my MIL's, went to church there, then on to my brother-in-law's for a party for several graduating family members. We didn't get home until 3ish this afternoon.

I was ready to be home, happy that there had been rain during the week and my plants didn't die. In fact, the garden looks great! Tomorrow (Monday), we'll check on it more closely.

Summer school starts tomorrow (Monday) for me, but other than the one class it is now officially Summer Break for us. Owen will not go to school. Paul will not go to work. My mom will not be coming to take care of Barrett. We have exactly three months until Fall semester begins. I find the prospect both thrilling and a tiny bit frightening.

Given our new schedule of ongoing family togetherness punctuated by my class, I will not be as frequently in front of the computer. I will likely only have the evenings, after the girls go to bed, for blogging and reading blogs. So for my blog friends, let me apologize in advance if I do not comment as often on your posts. It doesn't mean I'm not reading them, just not as frequently and as much as before. I do hope to keep up posting regularly and that you will keep reading.

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Our vacation was wonderful and I won't bore you with it for too much longer. Just some highlights ans last photos.

1. I have to say the best part of the whole trip was watching my girls charm my brothers. My oldest brother David lives in the Western part of the country and we only see him once a year, if we're lucky. He had not even met Barrett until this trip. My brother Stephen lives in Charlotte, so we see him more frequently, but still not too often and certainly not for long when we do. They were both able to spend time with the girls and I loved watching them.

David and Boo Bear

Stephen and Owen Jane

2. I also loved watching my girls enjoy the beach so much. And, of course, I enjoyed taking pictures of them. Here are a few of my favorites:

3. To view most of the entire set of photos from our trip, go to my Topsail Beach Flickr set here.

For now, it is late and I am very very tired, so I will go to bed.

Tuesday Random Thoughts

Some things:

1. Thank you to everyone who sent Owen birthday wishes. She had a great birthday. I mean, she really had a great birthday. First, we celebrated with her friends at preschool for lunch Friday. I think she enjoyed that. Then we had a family dinner with my mom and dad Friday night. There she received a whole bunch of presents: a fishing pole and tackle box from my dad; roller skates and a stick horse and a fairy wand from my mom; art supplies and the easel from us, plus a stuffed elephant. [As you can see I resolved my dilemma by getting her a small thing she wanted plus the thing I wanted her to have. She loved them both.] Then we went to Asheville and spent the weekend with my in-laws. Saturday (her actual birthday) my MIL made her pancakes (her favorite breakfast) and we played some, then went out and about. At Dick's Sporting Goods, where Paul wanted to look for sandals, she got a mini Coleman battery-operated lantern. Then we went to Babies R Us. She wanted to! Really!I think she heard me mention going there and figured there'd be something there for her. Alas, after the lantern she didn't score at Babies R Us. Grandma Margaret and Grandpa Al did give her two nice summery outfits and some books and a United States magnetic puzzle and a beautiful porcelain doll (which she won't really play with--she doesn't care for dolls). Then Sunday all her aunts and uncles and some of her cousins came over and we sang and had some cake to celebrate her again. Her Godmother, Alison, gave her another cute summer outfit (she needed summer clothes). Oh yes, and I didn't even mention the great gifts she received in the mail from our friends Jeannette and Laura and their families--a stamp and sticker kit, a Diego Field Journal, and a beautiful blue playsilk. I dare say that girl was feted quite enough.

2. My camera came yesterday. I did get the Nikon. I think it'll be enough for my level of skill. I do love it. Love it. Already I see an improvement in the sharpness of my photos (of course I have already taken 50 or so pictures with it and I just got it yesterday afternoon). I have a lot to learn, however. I need major ramping up on information about shutter speed and aperture and white balance and all that, so you may actually see some not-so-good shots from me for a while before I discover the tricks.

3. There are only 8 more school days to the end of the semester. That's keeping me busy trying to cram everything in. For some reason this semester got away from me and I'm ending it far behind. However, one good thing about academics is that once the semester is over it's really truly over. Is it bad that I'm showing my students in Life Span Development class the movie Parenthood and asking them to write a paper about it?

4. There are also 18 more days until we go to the beach--hooray! I'm really looking forward to it and am starting to get into the planning more.

5. IF the preschool will let me pro-rate the month's fee, Owen will go to school for only 13 more days, then she will be home for the summer and perhaps for the next year and a half. If they won't let me pro-rate and if they make me pay for the whole of May, she'll only have 6 more days.

6. I am teaching summer school which will begin as soon as we get back from the beach and run until the end of June. Every day, Monday-Thursday, for two hours. However, it is only one class, bound to be a small group, is in the late afternoon, and only five weeks. Plus I have Fridays off. And of course I'll get paid for it. So, although it interferes a bit with our summer, it's not so bad, really.

7. I haven't been planning meals for the last two weeks and it's been a bit of a scramble in the evenings to come up with things. I think I need to go back to planning.

8. There was something else, but someone just came into my office to talk to me and it went right out of my head...Dang it. I hate that. I'll get back to you.

Monday after Spring Break vacation blahs

I think it should be a diagnosable psychological disorder, don't you? The treatment would be: more vacation.

As it is, I do have the blahs. I want to write about something. I have several ideas, but can't muster up the energy to devote to it. Instead I'll give you a list of topics I want to blog about, if I ever get around to it:

1. Meal planning and how I haven't done it yet for the week. As a result, my cupboard is near to bare and I have no idea what we're going to eat tonight.

2. Diet progress: I have lost 10 pounds (hooray) and many of my clothes fit better already. I also didn't gain any back over the weekend (say, at Easter dinner with my Polish in-laws who are great cooks or in the face of my greatest weakness--chocolate Easter candy) or on our camping trip (when staying on a diet is virtually impossible despite one's best intentions). Even with minor lapses, then, I am still down 10 pounds, so I consider that a success.

3. Our camping trip. The details, the photos, the kids (who were so well-behaved I wondered if they were the same kids I gave birth to).

4. Preparing for and recovering from our camping trip--how anxious and stressed that made me. My inability to relax completely despite being on a deserted island at the coast in a place I love.

5. Planning for our beach vacation after the semester is over (yes, like Alissa, I am already making lists).

6. Planning summer projects. Yes, I have a list.

7. More child care issues, questions, dilemmas, conversation. Paul and I have had a long, on-going discussion about what to do next Fall.

8. TV revisited. We've been without more than a DVD player and VCR for a year and a half now--how that's working for us.

9. More additions to my summer reading list.

10. Should I participate in next month's NaBloPoMo? The theme is "Letters" and I have some ideas for that theme, but I will also be finishing the semester and trying to cram a lot of material in for my students, so will be quite busy. Not to mention I am working on a book project with my Dad and need to get serious about doing the research. Can I sustain posting everyday? Or should I try to do it for my other blog, concentrating on photos for the theme? I have been neglecting that blog lately--maybe I could revive my own interest in it by posting a daily photo.

11. How my hopes soared and plummeted for my camera dreams just before our trip. I received a surprise check for some work I did on my extra job and it just so happened to put me right in the budget for my camera. Since it was a surprise check, we considered it found money and decided we could spend it on something more frivolous than Paul's tuition or retirement savings or the children's college funds (all of which we will need to spend tax money to pay). Then, as I was preparing to leave town, Paul's 8-year-old truck, which has never had anything but basic maintenance done to it, wouldn't start. AAA (Bless them) towed it to the mechanic before we left and we received the call and verdict by cell phone just as we were preparing to board the boat to take us to the island. You have probably guessed already: the cost of repairs was just shy of the full amount of my check, and my camera money. Bye-bye camera. Savings to begin all over again.

12. My three girlfriends and I have our 30th year of friendship and our 40th a significant year of being alive in 2008-2009 (Jeannette, the baby among us, doesn't actually turn 40 the significant age until May '09). So we want to do something to mark this momentous year. We're hatching a plan.

There you go. There is my list of things I want to talk about. Let me know if there are any topics you'd really like to read about.

Must Share

We're back, but before I post on our trip, I must share this video from a recent TED talk. Aren't these talks simply amazing? Insights from the greatest minds of our time.

This talk is by Harvard Neuroanatomist, Jill Bolte Taylor, about the insights gained from experiencing her own stroke at the height of her career. You may know about me already that I am fascinated with the human brain and how it enables the mind and how both connect to, educate, and learn from the body. If I were able to have seven lives and do anything, be anything, study anything I wanted, I would choose for at least one life to be a neuroscientist and to study the brain. In another life I would study the brain and language and the healing qualities of expression--the how and why. I love talking and hearing about the brain, especially when the talk turns to the mysterious nature of the brain and consciousness, that spark that makes us wholly human, sacred, and holy.

I think this talk is especially appropriate this weekend, as it relates to death and resurrection, in a sense.

Thanks to Lynn Jericho for helping me to discover it.

Inspiration: Link love

I want to share a couple of links where I've found inspiration lately:

1. http://alittlehut.com  This is the website of artist Patricia Zapata. Patricia creates beautiful hand cut paper and Balsa wood wall art pieces with natural themes and has recently updated her shop with new designs, including the beginnings of an alphabet series that is simply wonderful. I love her trees, such as Harvest, At Home, and Living in the Trees, as well as a hand pulled linoleum block print called Thinking of You. Lovely.

2. Gretchen Mathison. Gretchen and I (and her hubby) worked together long long ago at Barnes & Noble in Durham, NC. Recently Gretchen found me through a Google search and got back in touch with me. She's been very busy since I knew her: she has three handsome boys and has built a successful portrait photography business. I love her photography, her philosophy, her spirit. She truly has a gift. If you live in the Triangle area of NC, please, do yourself a favor and check out her work: then book her for some unique and timeless photos of your children!

3. www.debbielittledeer.com This artist, a Western North Carolina native, has been among my favorites for a long time. I love Debbie's designs--a little bit whimsical, a little bit simple, very colorful and evocative of all of the things I appreciate about the Blue Ridge. Her portfolio on her website offers but a glimpse of her work, which is available through the galleries of the Southern Highlands Handcraft Guild and many others throughout WNC.

4. While we're at it, check out the Southern Highland Handcraft Guild, "one of the strongest craft organizations in the country...[with] over 900 craftspeople in 293 counties of 9 southeastern states." (from their website). It's a big deal.

5. The Craft Revival Project at Western Carolina University. From the website:

This website tells the story of the historic Craft Revival and its impact on western North Carolina. During the revival, North Carolina makers shaped clay, in turn, shaping the attitudes and values that contribute to today’s appreciation of the handmade object. Makers wove cotton, linen, and wool, weaving a sense of community that contributes to a strong sense of place. Craftsmen hammered metal, forging partnerships to effect change. Artisans worked with wood, building a regional economy based on individual talent and entrepreneurship. These activities placed value on quality, individuality, and workmanship. They remain evident in the 21st century in a region that is both dynamic and progressive. The Craft Revival project, funded by the North Carolina State Library and led by Western Carolina University, is documenting these and other aspects of the historic Craft Revival. This database and website are being constructed from selected photographs, letters, pamphlets, records, and objects to create a cohesive story.

6. Speaking of craft revivals and artisan entreprenuers, check out Esty. Of course everyone is abuzz about Etsy and so I'm more of a trend-follower than trend-setter in mentioning it. Nonetheless I love the idea behind the site--that people can find an online market for their handicrafts. I also love what I see on Etsy and I'm thinking of making sure that most--if not all--of the gifts I buy next Christmas are handmade. By someone. (Not by me because I have no craft skills nor art talent whatsoever. I can sure appreciate it when I see it, however.)

So, on this Friday afternoon, spend some time surfing for inspiration.

For me, this is the Friday before Spring Break. I am done with classes for the day (at 11:00am) and do not have any classes until a week from Monday. I do have plenty to do to prepare for our camping trip next week, but for now, I'm going to relax and enjoy an afternoon of relative freedom.

Ultimate Blog Party

Welcome! I decided to participate in the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom because, well, new friends can't hurt, right? And at one time in my life, I could really work a party.

When I was a kid, our neighborhood had block parties several times, usually hosted by one family or another in their backyard in the summertime. I loved those parties because it really gave us a sense of place, a sense of home, of being a part of a community. The Ultimate Blog Party sort of reminds me of that, only in more of a progressive dinner party sense (where you go from house to house for different courses). So, anyway, welcome to my mountain log cabin in my little corner of the blogosphere. Please, make yourself at home. Let me ladle up a bowl of soup, pour a nice cup of coffee for you. Linger a bit and look around before you move along to the next house.

  My name is Wesley. I'm known in some Internet circles (small ones) as wesleyjeanne, largely because I was tired of people thinking I'm male. I will be 40 years old this year (gulp); have been married to the love of my life, Paul, for nearly ten years; and have two children: going-on-four-year-old Owen Jane and just-turned one-year-old Barrett Catherine. (Yes, we have a thing for boy's names for girls in my family, you can read about the origins of my name and my children's names in this post).

  Paul and I met in high school long long ago but didn't date until nine years after he graduated (two years ahead of me). In December we will have been together fifteen years and in May we celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. I can honestly say that being married to Paul is the easiest thing I do in life. You can read our story in this post.

Paul and I both grew up in the beautiful mountain town of Asheville, NC. We each made our way to Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of NC in 1993 for advanced educations and jobs, met up, and spent the rest of our time together wishing we could return to the mountains we love. In 2005, we made the plunge, picked up our lives, and returned to our heart's home. Since then, we've both begun new careers in education, Paul has started a doctoral program, we've had a second child, and we've embarked on the task of trying to simplify our lives--to live more authentically. You can read about our journey through my About page, which includes some links to posts that tell much more about us, about me.

On this blog I write about motherhood (with all its challenges and joys), about finding meaning, about paying attention to life, about our journey. I write about books, share recipes and menu plans, and share photos. My most popular posts are usually my Wordless Wednesdays.

I enjoy reading (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, any genre except mysteries and most sci fi); writing; photography; blogging; cooking; canning; gardening; hiking; camping; dogs; exploring this beautiful state; learning about the world around me; teaching psychology; learning about the brain, mind, and body (learning anything really); and hanging out with my beautiful girls on my porch. I would love to get into more creative pursuits and I wish I could sew or paint or do some sort of art. As it is, I will simply have to endeavor to make my life my art. I guess that's not such a bad goal is it?

Ah, but here I've dominated your time with my intimate talk here in the corner of the room. There is much more of the party to see, more people to meet, and so I'll let you move along. Thanks for stopping by and for listening. I hope to see you again soon.

Movie Quote Trivia

I didn't participate in this month's NaBloPoMo because I thought I might be too busy to post every day (and I was right). However, I sort of regret it because the theme for the month is "lists" and I can certainly get into making list after list after list. I love do lists. So maybe over the next few days I'll indulge in a little list making for you. Stay tuned...

Today, though, I've been thinking about movies. Debra at Reflecting (who is participating in the March NaBloPoMo) posted a list last week of movie quotes, inviting us to identify them in the comments. It was really fun. I wasn't quick enough to get credit for all the ones I knew, but I was able to finish up the list for her.

So, today I'll add my movie quote. See if you can identify the movie source. This is a not-widely-known movie, I think, that Paul and I for some odd reason just love and will watch over and over. I can't offer any sort of prize, but you can get satisfaction in knowing you are the movie quote queen (or king) if you are the first to get this. Here goes:

"Before you go, let me ask you one question: When is the last time you were decently kissed? I mean truly, truly, good and kissed?"

"Dave Gamelgard. New Year's Eve. '61."

"Okay."

What movie is this line from?

Not quite right

You may have noticed my new banner design. I did it myself with help from Alissa who added the text, which is, of course, the best part (Thank you Alissa!). I'm not thrilled with the banner I made, though, because I couldn't get rid of the border on the top and left and the photo got cut off on the right. It was the best I could do with my limited skills and no software (no Photoshop, that is). I have ordered a sample copy of PS Elements, though, and may go ahead and buy it if I like it. Maybe I can do a better job once that comes in.

In the mean time...bear with me as I'm learning the ropes.

By the way...Owen is still sick, Paul got it over the weekend and is still sick and last night, well, the baby had a rough night with fever and coughing. I'm taking 2000mg of Vitamin C every day, washing my hands like I have OCD, and trying my best to resist the full-face baby kisses Barrett likes to give these days. Of course, as I was chopping vegetables for dinner, Owen kept coughing into them--no matter how many times I said "Cover your mouth, please." I think I'm doomed.I feel a little tickle in my throat even now...

Suggestions?

I need want a new blog header design. Something more hip, more sophisticated, more....now. The person who designed this one has temporarily stopped taking orders, and I don't have Photoshop to play around with to design my own.

So I will put the question to you who are more skilled in these areas than I: any ideas how I can either commission an inexpensive design or, better yet, design my own blog header without Photoshop?

(PS I still like the other one, so I'll keep it for now.)

Anniversary

One year ago today, I started this blog as an offshoot from my other blog. Very quickly it surpassed the other blog in terms of hits and comments. I actually have sort of a small following now. So...thanks for "listening." I appreciate your support, your interest, and in many cases, your friendship.