Blue Yonder

A Lunch Worth Driving For

Yesterday we drove through parched brown fields, the scraggly remains of a corn harvest, and miles of cotton. We passed countless truckloads of hay bales piled dangerously high and busy grain silos with their lines of 18 wheelers. We had lunch at a little cafe... just us and the cheery waitress, the oil rig hands and the farmers. 

And why? Why would we drive two hours for lunch? 

Well because that cafe makes a truly fine chicken fried steak, of course.

That, and the fact that my aunt drove 2 hours from the other direction to meet us there, and brought with her some very precious cargo... my granny. 

We had a very sweet lunch - great gobs of southern cooking and swapping tales over the table. We got the low down on all our country relations and we brought along a few city stories to trade. The corn dog and ice cream eating antics of my boys illicited more than a few smiles from the work-weary faces that surrounded us. 

When we had talked and eaten all we could, we piled Granny's things in our car and brought her home with us. We get to keep her for a whole week!

There has been much fussing over making Ryder's room into Granny's room (we had to girl it up with some quilts and flowers and a little tea station - the boys thought we should hang new curtains and paint the walls pink, but settled for floral pillow cases and a milk glass lamp :-). And poor Granny has listened so patiently to an endless stream of "Granny come see this... look at my room... this is my reader... here's how I do my karate forms... look at my drawing... want to see my toys?... "

My guys are reveling in sharing their world with a woman that they adore... and really, isn't that the dream of every young man? 

I hope you get to share your world with someone special today too. 

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p.s. Several of you have asked, so I'm working on a homeschooling post (which may bleed into two). Stay tuned! 

Wrapped

Hello all, and thank you so much for your words of encouragement over the last few days. It feels awfully good to know that we're all in this crazy boat together. 

Speaking of boats, two things: 

1) This is my last minute entry to Illustration Friday. The theme is "wrapped". Just a quick, loose little sketch. 

This week I've been wrapped up in schooling my fellas with our brand new (brace yourselves) curriculum. It's our first ever real live, honest to goodness, all plotted and planned out curriculum and its been very interesting thus far. It's good, really good, but it's also taking quite a bit of getting used to. I'll probably ramble more about that next week. 

The good news is, it's literature based so it fits our loll about and read style very well. We've been both rapt, and wrapped up in, delicious new tales. 

2) I also wanted to leave you this week with one more inspiring story. I've been reading up on some of the adventures of Zac Sunderland. At seventeen, he has become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe. 

My first thought, like any worrisome mama, was "Dear God! Alone? On a sail boat? In the great big ocean!??!" My second thought was "Wow, if only I'd that sort of gumption at seventeen! Cripes... if only I had it NOW!"

 Imagine. Imagine the places this boy will go... imagine the places he has already been!

Just hearing his story has really made me ask myself lately "What are the things that I'd still like to do and be? What are the passions, dreams and crazy ambitions that I've been sitting on, thinking that I couldn't.... shouldn't? And what if I did them anyway?"

Maybe I just will.  

Happy weekend to you all!

You Are Beautiful

Body Image. 

Bluh.

Suffice it to say that these days I'm feeling a lot less like illustrator George Petty's Marilyn-esque curves and a whole lot MORE like the loose sketchy irregularities of Quentin Blake. 

I'm not feeling comfortable in my own skin anymore. I don't need to be young. I appreciate the love and memories that have gone into the making of this body. I don't need to be super model thin. I love pie altogether too much for such nonsense. 

But I DO need to feel comfortable, like the me that I know and love, and I don't. 

I avoid meeting people in real life because of it. There I said it. 

I've been asked to speak to a room full of women in November and it terrifies me. Can't I just write them all a nice letter? 

But this weekend I saw something that has me rethinking my position on this silly old wonderful skin of mine. 

Do you know Stephanie Nielson? She's a sweet, caring mom with an eye for life's simple beauty. She's funny and smart and endearing. In the last year she has proven that a hundred times over. 

A year ago this past weekend she was in a terrible plane crash. She suffered very serious burns and has spent the last 12 months inching her way, climbing her way, back into herself. 

I can't begin to imagine. 

This weekend she finally posted a photo of herself. I know that it must have taken so much courage to do it, but I'm so glad that she did. She is the living image of beauty and triumph and inspiration. 

As are you. 

As am I. 

It sounds so silly. So terribly cliche, but I believe it to be true. In our own ways, within the pages of our own stories, we are really all so beautiful, aren't we. 

War Child

It's been a long hot summer. 

And it goes on. 

And on. 

My Momo always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say...." you know the rest right? And that about sums up why I've been such a slacker of a blogger these past couple of months. I don't really want to bore you, let alone myself, with the long litany of self-absorbed whining that has threatened to over take me. 

The thing is, I know better. I know how inordinately blessed a life I lead. I know that I have more than any one woman could ever ask or imagine. I have a roof over my head. I have the "problem" of too MUCH food. Enough that I have to clean things out of the refrigerator. Enough that I sigh over the state of my midsection. 

I have air conditioning, running water, health, children, love. I have choices, freedoms, knowledge. I have work that I love, passions and time to pursue them. So really, I have no business complaining about the heat, the drought, the financial questions that plague me... how will we... what if... how long can we go one this way... what happens when... 

But even as I know all these things, I've had a hard time coming up with much to say here. I don't mean to say that I've been depressed or in a constant state of worry. I have laughed this summer. I have snuggled. I have created. I have. But there has been this underlying thread of listlessness, of worry, of doubt. I have been treading water, and so long as I don't look up and see the ocean around me, I do okay.  I go about each day, doing my best, trying to count my blessings, trying to have faith, trying to rise to the occasion of this time and this place in the history of us. 

But I don't want to just do okay. What I want is to be aware, always, of how truly, remarkably, wonderful it is, THIS time and THIS place. I don't want to smile in spite of my troubles. I want to rejoice because of my blessings. 

So this week I'm going to try to bring to you some of the things that have really moved me lately. Things that have really spoken to the beauty of right now. Things that are helping me to gain and keep the sort of perspective on life that I want to demonstrate for the young men that I love. 

Today, I give you, Emmanuel Jal. 

He is a former child soldier from the Sudan. In the video below he tells a little bit about his life, how he was rescued and his hopes for his homeland. For me, the most powerful part of this short video is the last 4 minutes or so, when he sings a song that he wrote for a woman, British aid worker Emma McCune. It was because of her love and courage that he is able to dance and to sing today. The result is a full-body, unabashed display of passionate gratitude. 

His simple statement, "I stand here because somebody cared," applies to all of us though, doesn't it? 

And you know what? I find it just about impossible to at once feel sorry for myself and also deeply grateful for the people who have cared for me. It can't be done.  

Today I will be grateful. Passionately grateful. 

A Shopping Spree for YOU!

Hi y'all! I hope the week has been treating you well. 

I have a really fun giveaway to share with you today!

CSN Stores is offering one lucky Blue Yonder reader the chance to choose any item (or items) in any of their stores for FREE. CSN is basically like the most ginormous online mall imaginable. They've got a store for just about every little thing you could need or want. 

There's only ONE rule in this contest. You have to stay under $100. 

Did anybody else have a grandma that loved the Price Is Right? When I heard this offer I immediately thought of that game with the mountain climber, "Cliff Hangers?" Do you know the one? You had to guess the price of the items, but not go over or the little mountaineer would fall off the mountain? I LOVED that game. Next to Plinko, it was my favorite.

Anyhow, this giveaway is a little bit like that. The winner can pick whatever items she'd like, from any of CSN's many MANY stores, so long as she (or he!) doesn't go over $100. 

And you don't even have to  yodel!

Fun, right? 

It's especially fun when you begin to understand the enormous variety of items that you could choose from. 

Let's see, if, like me, you're dreaming of cooler weather, you could choose a heated bed for your favorite puppy pal and an electric lap blanket for your car. 

Or not. Maybe you don't live in Texas and you're soaking up every outdoor minute that you can. How about this cute picnic basket? 

Or maybe you're a homeschooler outfitting your school room. You might pick this adorable map rug  and a new white board?

Maybe your family is growing and you'd like to add a few place-settings to your table. You could get this cute service for four set and have a nickel to spare!

Or hey, maybe you're looking for stuff for your baby, or your sister's baby, or your coworker's brother's baby. Whatever cutie pie you're shopping for, CSN's got the goods!

ORRRRRR... you could get a jump on your Christmas shopping! Hello fun little play house!

Or OH OH OH! What if your little girl is growing into a big girl and you're working on sprucing up her room a bit? Enter cool mushroom wall stickers and funky retro wall clock!

Now, if you're really paying attention and you've been back to this post a few times, you've realized that I just keep adding pictures of great stuff that I like. It's addictive I tell you. Carousing around CSN is totally addictive! Don't say that you weren't warned!

So, wanna play the Price Is Right? You know you do!  

Here's how to enter: 

 Leave a comment on this post. That's it! 

AND if you're super excited about this giveaway and REALLY want your shopping spree, you can earn extra entries by doing any or all of the following and then leaving a comment to tell me that you did. Just be sure to leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry. Otherwise, they won't count. 

1. Visit CSN stores. Poke around a bit and come back to tell me what item(s) you'd choose if you win. Don't worry, if you DO win, we'll let you change your mind. 

2. Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to include a link to your tweet. 

3. Follow this blog on your favorite reader. (If you already do, just leave a comment saying so.)

4. Blog about (and link to) this contest on your own blog using this text: 

“Looking for gifts, baby items, housewares, bedding, or mattresses? Blue Yonder is hosting a great giveaway on her site! Check it out.”

This contest will run through 11:59 PM on Sunday August 16th. I will choose the winner by Random Number Generator and announce the name on this post Monday morning. 

The CSN Shopping Spree Contest is closed! 

Our lucky winner is.... Amy of Daily Pleasures, 

who said, "Blogged about you here: "http://dailypleasures.blogspot.com/2009/08/kitty-love.html" Amy has a very sweet blog about her life as mama to eleven blessings. I hope you'll stop by and stay a while to get to know her and congratulate her on her shopping spree!

Good luck!