Where did that 6 weeks go?

Holy moly! I just finished up with 6 straight weekends of work and it by like nobody's business. I kept intending to update the blog because I had a heck of a lot to blog about, but most of the week was spent in recovery mode. I've also been on a giant book binge this past month, which has been wonderful!

So, what to share about? Avari has been signed up for her first dance class and I'm pretty excited. Being an alumni of 10 years of ballet, it's fun to imagine her following along. I'd much prefer her to be in a more lyrical emotional kind of dance, but that can be hard to find in a small town. So we have her teeny little ballet shoes, and leotard and they are hanging rather impatiently in the closet while we wait for September 8th to come around.

If you're interested to see what I have been up to this past couple of months visit http://mckinnonphoto.squarespace.com - chances are I've been present for the majority of those wedding photos!

I'm going to be talking a lot about preschool education in the next few weeks with the fall season upon us, as well as Nature Deficit Disorder, Waldorf education, getting ready for Christmas and a whole list more- I hope that you're ready!

So sorry

I know it's been over a week - but what a week it has been! I worked the 26th in Courtenay, went to vancouver the 28th/29th, and then worked August 1,2,3rd (Mt. Washington, Campbell River and Savary Island).

Needless to say, I'm exhausted and have to recover quickly before we start painting the house. Tomorrow morning.

Healthy Eating

That's me! I've been on a slide the last 6 weeks and my body has been paying for it. I've had a really hard time getting out of bed, feeling sluggish, and yucky. So, Karen and I made a pact for Health Week.

It started Tuesday, and so I'm on day 3. For some reason, today I feel pretty yucky, but I know it's my body getting rid of all of the built up toxins. I need to look up a good detox tea to make to help it all along.

So I'm doing no wheat, no dairy, no sugar (except for martini night in Vancouver next Monday...)

I'm excited because I've been wanting to get back on the health train and I really want to make it stick this time. I'm even trying to get away from eating as much meat as we do. It's not really necessary to eat it every night!

Poor Avari has had a few rough weeks, and I'm not entirely sure it's not because of my bad eating habits this past month - It's silly because I don't let her eat unhealthy food, and she gets almost no wheat except for playgroup crackers, so why do I think it's OK to pass all of the crud to her?

Healthy Week is upon us!!!

Here's a recipe to try.

1/2 cup of millet
1/4 cup buckwheat groats
1/4 cup quinoa
some fresh grated ginger
squeeze of lemon

Put all of the grain in 3 cups of water. Let it boil until the water has been absorbed and the grains are soft. Add the ginger and lemon (and some honey if you'd like) and enjoy! It's a great breakfast starter with piece of fruit, chock full of natural complete amino acids

Yum! So much better then old porriage

Outdoors-ly Challenged

That is I. I even had to create my own word in order to describe just how challenged I really am!

I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Hiking, biking, canoing, kayaking, mountains,trails... you name it, you can do it here! Yet my repertoire right now consists of going to the main beach and most of the time we get stuck at the playground. Of course, I want Avari to have fun, but I want her to be able to know how to explore where we live and truly enjoy.

I'd like to set a good example! Right now, every evening I have the best of intentions about getting outdoors "tomorrow". Then I get intimidated, and lost and I have no idea what to do.

As I was reading the Saturday Globe and Mail this week there was an article about how to "Primp My Ride".
All of a sudden, I want to ride a bike. A cute pink cruiser with a bag, in my flats and a skirt and flowers in the basket. Never mind the fact that I hate my current bike (it is old and rusty and I think that it takes much to much effort to get up a hill). I think that I'd be more in to riding a bike if I looked like that. I even found toddler seats that can be mounted up front. Avari and I cruising downtown and back. Can I make up uphill on the way home? Is there anyway to test drive a bike to see if I could even make it without passing out?

I'm not sure, but I really want to!

Having Trouble Letting Go....

Now, I know that I tend to pack rat most of my things. I'm good about clearing the clutter a couple of times a year, but there's one thing that I just have too much trouble parting with.

My photos.

I've put over 6000 raw image files on my computer in the past year and this week I got the dreaded message "There is not enough memory on the computer to complete this task"

Yikes! So, my goal today is to go through and delete all of the unusable images - so that I have more room to add photos taken with my new lens! It arrived in the mail, and I'm really enjoying it so far and I can't wait to really give it a go!

I'll be back with some photos after clearing some clutter...

What to blog about

This week I've been amazed at just how much Avari has grown up in the three days i was away from her this weekend. She has started singing to herself, and she even can finish the sentences in her favourite book by memory (that floored me before our nap today). I know that very soon she's going to be a real little girl instead of a toddler and I haven't decided how that makes me feel yet. I've decided to start living life at her pace - I tend to be a really hustle bustle person by nature, and I like to run from one thing to another, and I think that was frustrating her. I wasn't letting her stop to smell the roses (literally) and let her enjoy and explore her environment.

As many of you know, I have decided that I would like to homeschool Avari, and I think that the teaching can start now. Not teaching in the school sense, but teaching in the sense of letting her learn to take in the environment around her. Teaching her good life habits in her food, in nature. I want her to know that as important as academics are, there is a whole world of knowledge that may be even a little bit more important that is forgotten in school. I want her to grow up grounded and connected to nature and I want her to know how to have fun! Of course, any help in doing this is greatly appreciated, because everything that I think is important for her to learn, are things that I need to learn myself (any good book recommendations anyone?). I think that by watching my little girl live her life, she's going to teach me the best way to live mine.

Karen posted some beautiful pictures of Avari on her blog that she took for Avari's birthday - it's a few posts back. http://mckinnonphoto.squarespace.com

Reading...

The library bug has officially bit me. I was very skeptical last week, and I'll admit that I tend to stop and pick from the new books bin (there are some really fabulous new books out there), but I am officially enveloped my life in books! I used to be a book a day super reader, but since having Avari, they just fell by the wayside. I would try and read, but I would forget what I read the day before, and couldn't keep the stories straight. Now that we're finally getting 5+ hours of consecutive sleep, my brain is starting to heal and I'm getting full enjoyment again.

On my hairdressing chair at home I now have a pile of 12 books, plus the 4 or 5 that I'm concurrently reading for my La Leche League training. So now I have to admit that I've become an iRead facebook stalker, so now I have a very hefty list built up of books I HAVE to read. Books about herbs, and farming, and making money so that you can farm... I'm very excited to be out of the "fluff book" phase!

I just worked my way through the Automatic Millionaire and although we have started using those principles on our own last month, there's a few more that we can adopt, and now I'm feeling a little guilty about my ever growing yarn stash, so I either need to start making use of that ASAP for our winter gear/Christmas gifts, or start parting with it skein by skein. I'm also reading I Love Dirt in the hopes of helping me learn to love the outdoors. (Not that I don't love outdoor activities, I've just never done them as a family event). Next up is The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears, since Avari is now 2, and although I'm pretty confident that we are deciding against vaccinating, I want to make sure that there aren't a couple that we're just going to delay. I also have The Happy Hooker (crocheting) to help get me in to some easy projects for Christmas.

I know it's still 5.5 months away, but when you're a 12 project girl like myself, you have to get started early in order to get finished!

So, check out my facebook iRead, stalk it and find some great summer reads for yourself!