My list of things to do in life.

I'm always enthralled by other people's goals and lists of things they're going to do.

Maybe you are not enthralled by that.  But if you are, here is my list...

Of course it's not inclusive of everything. But some things that I want to do in the near-ish future that come to mind are:

*Keep at least two hives of bees in our yard (oh, and have a yard...someday)

*Journal more. (nobody now even knows who I am, or whatnot... let alone posterity...)

*Pick wild asparagus and harvest acorns. among other wild foods. because that is awesome. We used to always go get elderberries when we were kids...

*again...have a yard and also a big garden-grow all the good stuff...

*so.. when we have that yard.... I'd like to also own chickens. I'd really just like to have a little farm, I guess...

*Travel a bit. It wouldn't hurt to go to Europe.

*Have the rest of our children a birthing center (or maybe home?..we'll see) instead of a hospital. In fact, I'd prefer to avoid hospitals in general. (why go there, when there are places like this? I plan to walk there when I go into labor this January because it's only a couple of blocks away. Seriously. People think I'm nuts, or that I'm kidding when I say that, but when you're in labor, walking is good.  At least for me.  Anyway.  I think it's pretty awesome that we happen to live around the corner.) 

*Never  own a boat, but own a canoe perhaps, if we live near a body of water. (does it count as a goal if it's to Not do something? For some reason, I'm just anti-boat-owning...random I know...no offense to people that own boats... I just would never want one. Unless I decided to be a professional sailor or fisherman. Then of course I would) 

*Climb mountains, go hiking and camping with my boys. (and girls of course, if we ever have one)

*Go to the theatre often with my boys.  (we just saw Peter Pan last week! yay!)

*Play with an orchestra or jazz band again. 

*Be an influential person in my community (all moms are in some way of course. but I'd also like to get more involved in community events and organizations at some point)

*Make my sister Marianne's wedding dress-- perhaps from recycled wedding dresses/fabric...(because she's up for it--and it's awesome.)

*Say what I mean, and mean what I say. Exactly.  All the time. (this is just such a talent. Is there anyone who can do it 100% of the time?    Just to pick Exactly the right words to convey exactly the right meaning... I don't know if I'm even doing it now, but someday I want to have this talent...)

*Give away awesome stuff on the free section of Craigslist.  Or just however, really- When we have awesome stuff to give away...(we've found some awesome things on Craigslist though... just want to pass on the favor...)

*go to a place where Spanish is the main language and brush up my skills.... at least, I'd really like to be fluent in some other language besides English.

*Play the accordion on the street with my boys. (I'm picturing Elijah and Henry with cute outfits and armed with their harmonicas.... Really. I want to do it sometime...)

*still shop at thrift stores even if we're ever well off with money...  because I'd rather spend money at an organization that helps others and doesn't fuel more demand for more and more new things to be produced, when we don't really need it..Plus then we could take the extra $ of what we would have had to pay to get whatever clothes, furniture, whatnot-- and donate it to a good cause...

 * keep in touch with people better.. and just be a better friend. To understand and be understood.. that's what the world needs, isn't it?

*Re-start up my Etsy shop.. which has been stagnant for so long, sadly. I just haven't had the time...

*Go on a vacation/road trip or something with Just Gabe for at least a week each year.  We went to New York in April, and I have decided that getting away for a while is a good thing... I'm not sure when or how we'll always work this one out, since it will depend on other people too... but somehow... 

*make a pair of shoes. (I've actually been in the works on this one.. just one of a billion crazy projects. I'll finish them sometime.)

*buy a home that needs a bit of work, and fix it up to be awesome.... (Not TOO much work--it has to stand up on it's own and not be completely awful....Because I'll have to learn a lot to do this one.. I don't really know how to go about it. But it's always been something I think would be cool.)

*Buy said house with cash, or pay off our mortgage within 10 years?? I have no idea if we will be able to do either of those. Something miraculous would have to happen first... But I can still have a goal, even if it's unattainable, right??)

There you have it.  My list for now. 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
~Mark Twain

Also, here is our new painting as of the other day.  Not drastically different this time.  The boys were feeling like some yellow though I guess.

One Canvas

          So- just for your information, the picture I decided to use for the header of this blog is the latest version of our continually changing painting.  It's this canvas I've been carrying around with me all through college, waiting for some awesome idea of something to paint....
          We decided to paint on it with Elijah and Henry every so often. 
          Because my boys love painting and could fill up a billion canvases, papers, walls, clothes... or anything you let them paint on...
          And because I want to have a place to display their fun times and experiments with art besides on our fridge... it gets a little crowded and messy after so long. Papers full of crayon or paint rain down all over when all you wanted was to get the orange juice out of the freezer...
          Therefore, this painting has been living on our wall in its various forms, ever changing.  I thought I would start taking pictures so I can remember the changes it's gone through.
          These are just the past few-- there were many incarnations before I started taking pictures.  By the time my boys are old, the paint on this canvas will be quite thick I guess.

 

          So, our method is basically two boys without shirts, paint and paintbrushes all over the place (good thing we're just using a classy old card table here.) and I just have them go at it, while I throw on random whatever I feel like throwing on there too. It's a group effort. 

          Very fun and spontaneous. 

          And if you have trouble with change, this is good therapy to get used to it... There are a few versions of our little painting that I've gotten attached to before, and it's always a little hard to get it down when the boys want to paint again...

          But that's life I guess.  Any time you get used to the way things are, something happens and you're not always sure you're ready for the change.  Sometimes you just want to pack away the paints and brushes and keep things the way they are... Because things might not look as good if you change them.  It's risky. 

         But who knows what wonderful thing could be next? 

         I think we're painting again today. I'll let you know what it ends up looking like.