"Whoa! That's so cool," my kids gasped, breathless in their excitement as they saw the colors stream through my camera lens. What looked to be a faint line of pink quickly burst into a blend of dark pink, purple, blue, and green. Photography is magic.The human eye is fairly weak, really. We're just not equipped to see the variations and brilliance in night light with our own eyes (one of the reasons I thank my camera after every shoot). Magical, ethereal, something other worldly -- ways I could ... VIEW POST
Photography is magic
Your soul deserves to be on fire
Recently, I scrolled upon a GIF that said, "Forget about being cool. I want to be so kind that it freaks people out."I thought, "SAME." Then, I thought about all the time I spent trying to be cool, imagining myself as the cool kid, pretending that I was someone else that was cool, practicing being cool in the mirror (damn, it was cringe), and in doing so, *not* being kind OR cool... It was a lot of time, to be honest, and I regret it. I massively regret it. All of that time led to years of ... VIEW POST
A day in the life: homeschool edition
How did we get here?Let's say ten-ish years ago, you told me I would be homeschooling five human children. Well, I would have spit my Mike's Hard Lemonade straight in your face (it's summertime and we're eating tacos on the porch, by the way. I politely hand you a towel to wipe your face because I'm nice like that.). Rewind to ten-ish (okay maybe 12)...(TWELVE?!?) years ago. I had one human child, was working as an elementary school counselor, and was, quite frankly, miserable. Do you ever feel ... VIEW POST
A dumb gardener’s guide to patio gardening
Okay, when I say "dumb" I don't mean dim-witted or stupid. I'm simply saying that, as far as gardening goes (or keeping anything green, well, green), I have no idea what I'm doing. The dumb gardener's guide to patio gardening is my way of simplifying gardening to a small, manageable space that's easy for anyone to keep. Probably. Growing up in the high, arid country of Colorado, it was nearly impossible to grow anything beyond sagebrush. During the summer, we would road trip to my parents' home ... VIEW POST
A Focus on Sustainability With Spending
Ugh. That's how I feel when it comes to looking at my spending habits. I am notoriously impulsive and live-in-the-moment which does not equate to sustainability in the least. It's something I can honestly say I "suck" at, friends. That's why I wanted to start my focus on sustainability with spending. To me, an attitude of sustainability means that you're both living in the moment and looking towards the future -- always considering how the choices you make will impact you, those around you, and ... VIEW POST
A Year of Sustainable Living
After the topsy-turvy year we had in (a-hem) 2020, I really wanted to give myself a clear focus for 2021. I've tossed around the idea of trying to make big, extreme changes. Think a year of no-spending -- or going Vegan -- or no take-out -- etc. The problem with any of those is that when change is so extreme, it just isn't likely to stick. Or, it's easier to fail. So, I've decided to give our family the goal of moving towards better choices, in general, by focusing on a year of sustainable ... VIEW POST
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