Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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what I learned in november

Hi friends! Welcome to Tuesday. For the first time ever I am linking up with Emily over at Chatting With the Sky. She is the sweet, smart author of A Million Little Ways which I devoured recently and have been pushing on my friends the same way I push food onto my daughter when she visits the farm. (Translation: So much and with gobs of effusiveness!)

Once a month Emily hosts a cool link up for people to share what they’ve been learning. Anything at all. Fun, right?  I know! So here’s my contribution for November:

 

what i learned in november

 

Baby llamas can flat-foot jump four-foot high fences. And it’s awesome. Meh, about five months old now, recently displayed a new talent. In order to reach Handsome on the other side of a four-foot predator fence, with no running start whatsoever, he just sprang vertically into the air and landed with aplomb on the earth not two feet away. Probably for a cookie. We were duly impressed. And now we have to keep the front gate shut at all times.

"Meh." xoxoxo
“Meh.” xoxoxo

Crocheting scarves is a great way to pass some time while watching Dexter with Handsome. I’m getting pretty good less terrible at a single-double chain stitch. Very relaxing and somewhat productive.

Hens are vain creatures. We accidentally left the front door open a few days ago and turned around to see Red Nekkid Neck hen and this gorgeous black hen exploring the living room. Just, you know, pooping on the wood floors. No biggie. The nameless black hen was perched on my favorite green chair, staring with deep and fascinated longing at herself. Do you have name suggestions for such a vain creature?

aww you sexy thang!
Aww, you sexy thang!

Mixing both sides of our family at a tenuous, change-filled season for everyone was at once genius and insane. We hosted our two nuclear groups at the farm for Thanksgiving this year, and we made a thousand memories and had a great time, truly. But I learned that spreading myself too thinly among people who have to make a great effort to blend with each other, well, it kind of leaves everyone feeling awkward. It is wonderful too, don’t get me wrong! But it was a learning experience. If someone ever asks my advice on this issue, I would say that overextending yourself in grief-stricken times, with limited hours available to spend with your loved ones, can leave everyone feeling a bit shortchanged. Sometimes it’s better to really water your families’ roots deeply. One at a time.

Listening trumps talking. And believing the best in people and in uncertain situations makes a difference. You know, faith is a force to be reckoned with. This past month I have literally fallen asleep giving thanks so many times. And my waking hours have been blissfully free of worry. It’s the most amazing transformation ever. I am learning the fruition part of the power of imagination, the potential of faithful prayers. How are you doing with this?

Adult footie pajamas are the bomb-dot-com. Have you seen them in retail land yet? Super cute. And even moreso soft and comfy. I can’t even tell you how fast you should go out and buy some for immediate cuddling, pretend flying through the air, and extended air-ninja-battles with errant poultry. We recently rearranged the living room, allowing for a long, wide path in the wood floor. Wearing my cool footie pj’s I can slide right down that slick alleyway like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Not much less awesome that a jumping llama.

supergirl footie onesie pajamas

And it’s December! I am two days deep in decorating, organizing, fitness, reading great books, and generally loving life. Now I’m off to see what the other guests at Emily’s link up have learned. Thanks so much for stopping by! What are you learning?

“I am learning all the time.
The tombstone will be my diploma.”
~Eartha Kitt
XOXOXO

 

post-feast fitness reset

Okay. It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, the dawn on a new day after nearly a week of relaxed standards. The first full day after several days and nights of eating pretty much anything I wanted, napping a lot, and not running or doing strength exercises at all.

This is not the way my fitness role models suggested we do it exactly, but it happened. And the thing is, I loved every minute. Sometime during the really fun process of planning our big family feast, I made the conscious decision to not only allow myself some indulgences; I would deeply and thoroughly enjoy it. I affirmed in my own heart the intrinsic value of traditional foods, soul-nurturing traditions, and shared meals. Extended cuddling sessions. Empty agendas. What good is “cheating” on yourself? You’re much better off accepting that you’re trading one pleasure (fitness) for another (conviviality*). We can take either pursuit to dangerous extremes, after all.

(*These are just my opinions. My emotional philosophies.)

So I’m not writing this today with any apologies for falling off my miles plan or my calorie restriction ideal. Not at all. Until late Saturday afternoon I had been feeling pretty amazing physically, and that brief sluggishness was easily corrected with a gallon of water, a couple of plain salads with a little meat on them, and some grateful, sweaty time on the elliptical.

Nope, no regrets. I loved feeling free to stay up late with my daughter talking about life and eating an un-rationed amount of Pink Stuff. I loved sitting and relaxing and crocheting hats with my sister- in-law while eating pecan pie with a cloud of whipped cream and perfect coffee. I ate turkey and homemade stuffing until I gobbled instead of giggled. The food was a big, wonderful part of the week for me, and so was the time with my people instead away from them. Handsome was off work for four days in a row, and choosing to not lace up and disappear for an hour or two was smart. It was good for both of us this year.

Buuuuuuuut………….

There’s always a big but, right? Especially after several days like this?

Sorry. Let’s try that again:

All that said, as emotionally refreshing as this break truly has been, I am just as ready for a thorough reset. My body craves activity, raw vegetables, and waaaaaay less sugar (all kinds of sugar). My mind craves the satisfaction of having treated myself well. And whether he will admit this or not, my husband is ready for my to siphon off some nervous energy and show up for our time together exhilarated, rested, slender feeling, and energized. All of that together. That’s what running, mild weights, and healthy eating does for me, so it also does that for us.

kale salad with pomegranate
Torn up raw kale with lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, and a whole bunch of pomegranate seeds. One of the simplest, most gorgeous salads you’ll ever scoop into your gravy-weary mouth!

 

So on this first day of December, as we move away from a magical and delicious Thanksgiving, as we tiptoe into wintertime and all of those related temptations and implications, I am making this new temporary pact with myself:

lazyw wintertime fitness plan

Simple enough, right? Just daily habits that are sustainable, flexible, and completely geared toward living fully and feeling amazing. That’s what I want. To have a full life and feel great day to day. If along this path my jeans size diminished a bit, then so be it. If not, I’m happy with that too.

How are you feeling physically, post feast? Do you deal with guilt after indulging, or are you at peace? What was you favorite amazing food this past week? How do you plan to care for yourself this winter? Tell me everything!

Take care of your body.
It’s the only place you have to live.
~Jim Rohn
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

thanksgiving grocery prep

It was Tuesday around 4 pm. My original plan was to drive straight home from garden class and get started on some housework then maybe go for a run before nightfall. But Handsome called me and made the very wise suggestion that I buy our Thanksgiving feast supplies now, if possible, because of some chatter he’d heard on the radio. Something about “record-setting shoppers” and “everyone in the civilized world is off work on Wednesday.” Crazy, slightly intimidating stuff. Even my idea of grocery shopping in the wee hours Wednesday morning might have been not quite enough to avoid the chaos.

Well. By chance I had my list with me, a three page list to be exact, a yellow legal pad filled with recipes and seating charts and what to buy from which store and in what department. I was wearing my super duper comfy plaid sneakers. And I had a fully charged cell phone. Ready for elbowing my way through at least half of my impressive list. Expecting stress.

I’m a list writer.

And a little bit of a worrier, despite my best efforts.

And I’m easily impressed.

On to my favorite grocery store in nearby Midwest City!

Friends, I want to tell you that after one deep breath and a forced smile, I was in for a wonderful surprise! Last night’s hunt (hunting is exactly what it is, am I right?) was a total pleasure. From beginning to end, I actually had a good time. Everyone there was happy, smiling broadly at each other and practicing Grandma-worthy manners. No children (and there were lots of children around) were screaming. Every aisle was sardine-packed with people and their heavy carts, but instead of competing with each other, we all were helping each other locate and reach needed items. I hope to never forget this particular woman who was searching for flaked coconut in the baking aisle. She was met with at least four happy, anonymous neighbors helping her get exactly the bag she wanted, without having to maneuver her cart. I watched the bag of coconut pass hand to hand like a passenger in a confectioner’s mosh pit until it reached its grateful cook. And everyone cheered when the mission was accomplished! Hilarious.

I got a dose of instant Christmas spirit last night, just shopping for Thanksgiving! It didn’t hurt that the store was piping in gentle, low volume Christmas carols. I sang out loud and danced a little while exploring the aisles.

 

lazyw Thanksgiving groceries
I snapped this photo about halfway through my market expedition.

 

My Mom and I chatted on the phone throughout the magical shopping trip, reviewing family recipes and letting the excitement for Thursday build between us. I found everything on my list. The butcher knows me and helped me find steals. The produce guy is about the nicest man ever and made sure I got the biggest fans of kale and prettiest oranges, as always. Butterball turkeys were half off! My cashier was the funniest girl in the world who is always trying to get me to try this particular Mexican orange soda (it’s possible her sweet disposition caused me to save $20 or $30). And when I finally wheeled our massive bounty from the sliding electric doors to my waiting Jeep, I caught a glimpse of the sunset, streaked red and purple, gold and silver. The crescent moon hung seductively between some wispy clouds, and I couldn’t wait to get home to my guy. On Twitter late in the evening I noticed that my sweet friend Rose had been admiring the moon too. It really was captivating.

 

A previously clean and clear, delicately dressed buffet table in our dining room is now loaded to the max with gorgeous raw materials for cooking. We are so blessed.
A previously clean and clear, delicately dressed buffet table in our dining room is now loaded to the max with gorgeous raw materials for cooking. We are so blessed. Blessed beyond reason.

 

So what is on the Lazy W menu?

Strong coffee, bacon, and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, for those who come early while the feast is being prepared. Then turkey (times two). Ham. At least two different stuffing recipes. Egg noodles from scratch. Julia Child’s garlic-mashed potatoes. Canned cranberry jelly (Handsome’s favorite) as well as raw citrus-cranberry relish. Marshmallow-roasted sweet potatoes. Scalloped sweet potatoes by Katie. Piles and piles of homemade rolls. Kale-pomegranate salad with olive oil and sea salt. Green bean casserole. Pumpkin pie. Pecan pie. Chocolate fudge cake. Lemon Ice Box Pie. Pink Stuff. And much more. We are planning a feast for the eyes and the belly. A great binding for a farm-full of people.

 

It is frozen rock solid as of Tuesday at 8 pm. Will it thaw in time?
It was frozen rock solid as of Tuesday at 8 pm. Will it thaw in time?

 

Today, the prep day, is going to be so much fun! I am incredibly grateful for the freedom to stay home and do this. To enjoy this process and fill every room in our home with love and decorations and yummy calories. I am unreasonably excited to brine this ample bird. To spend all of Wednesday loving this turkey. Flavoring it with dried sage from our own little herb garden. Adorning its white platter given to me by my Dad years ago. Giving thanks for its fatness. Etcetera. (Update: as of 8 am on Wednesday, it is softening in a sink of cold water. Thanks Melissa!)

 

I am loving the freedom to dress and decorate every table any way I want to! Different fabrics, fresh fruits, candles, and more. So fun.
In addition to food adventures, I am loving the freedom to dress and decorate every table any way I want to! Different fabrics, fresh fruits, candles,poetry maybe, and more. So fun. The celebration of a holiday in our home fills my heart to the brim!

 

I am bursting with gratitude for sure.

So “Happy Thanksgiving Grocery Wednesday,” friends! I hope that if you are out in the retail world today, your expedition is as charmed as mine was last night. If you are home rolling out pie crusts and brining poultry, ironing cloth napkins and searching for extra chairs, I hope you enjoy every minute. I hope you enjoy it all so thoroughly that you never furrow your brow. That you smile widely and giggle a lot. I hope you play music and wear your favorite necklace and get a surprise note or phone call from someone who makes your heart leap.

I hope you forget to count calories, because you are so busy counting blessings.

Now? I better sign off. Lots to do before the big event tomorrow. Lots to enjoy in every way.

To be sensual, he wrote, is to respect and rejoice 
in the force of life itself,
and to be present in all that one does,
from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread.
~Judith Newton
Tasting Home, Coming of Age in the Kitchen*
XOXOXOXO

 

*book review coming soon!

 

 

 

 

thanksgiving heart prep

With only days until Thanksgiving, my heart is shifting in miraculous ways. So is our life. Life is shifting in miraculous ways, and I feel it over and over again at the most unexpected moments. The more I consciously still myself and concentrate on that shifting sensation, the more it expands. And it feels wonderful. Unpredictable, a little scary maybe, but wonderful. Long-whispered prayers are being answered for us, out of the blue.

At the same time, loss that we would never have predicted is carving big holes in our bones. Loved ones gone, loved ones missing. All our traditions and routines are cast in a new light, and it’s not always pretty. Of course the holiday season brings all of this center stage.

Life, despite loss, is thriving. This holiday season will be much different from last year. Just as last year was much different from the year before. It’s this brackish water where we’re always drawn to swim, this deep pool, warm and salty like tears. But clear and sparkling in the sun. Both.

Sometimes in bitter moments I wonder if life sends us pain to temper the joy, to keep us humble. But in my heart I believe the opposite: That life sends us joy to help us bounce back from pain. To give us good things to reach for, people to actively love, instead of crumbling in around ourselves.

The Not Always Lazy W, thelazyw, oklahoma

This week we did a pretty silly thing. On a whim of decluttering mania, owed in part to the recent snow storm (cabin fever makes us want to clean) but mostly to a summer’s worth of collecting and indulgent fake decorating, Handsome and I sold a bunch of our furniture and put even more in storage. Dishes, too. The downstairs front room is pretty much empty now, vacant and echo-y like we just moved in. Pacino the parrot loves the new acoustics.

And it turns out we’re hosting Thanksgiving! haha, Haha, see what I mean? Shifting. Life is shifting, but it mostly gives me this effervescent feeling in my belly, and it warms my heart. Let’s call it… Emotional champagne. Okay?

lazyw, The Not Always Lazy W

Maybe because I’m a Pisces? I don’t know. But this back-and-forth swimmy reality, this brackish-water awareness that life is both grief and joy, both profound loss and shocking, blinding relief, it pleases me deeply. The balance keeps me upright and in the moment. Anything is possible. Both thrilling and terrifying, every day holds the potential for very real miracles.

So I have learned to look neither too far ahead nor too far in the past, except to give thanks and ask for grace. This day, this exact moment, is more than enough. We are not alone, and no matter what happens we will be okay.

thelazyw, The Not Always Lazy W, oklahoma, faith, thanksgiving
dormancy and new life holding hands

Back to Thanksgiving prep! This weekend Handsome and I are recharging our batteries a bit. Hoping to spend some time with good friends and maybe our oldest daughter. Probably doing a little domestic rearranging, a little nest feathering. A lot of romancing.

As I type, the skies are bluish gray and pouring rain all over the golden trees and pale, dormant fields. Beats of thunder are rumbling gently. We are sipping perfect coffee and watching old episode of Rifle Man. Sifting though Pinterest boards to really zero in on Thanksgiving projects. Enduring the occasional outburst from our acoustic-loving parrot. Every moment is so full. Pressed to the edges with life.

Okay. Turkey Day.

If you’re like me you like to look around and see what the experts are doing to prepare for the holidays. I have found a handful of really stellar posts that have sent my hostess soul absolutely into the stratosphere! Please check these out, if you haven’t already…

  • King Arthur Flour offered a detailed outline of preparing the feast itself. Really detailed, practical, and customizable!
  • Speaking of detailed, of course, there is the queen of step-by-step, Oklahoma’s very own Pioneer Woman. This post from 2008 is great. And it’s illustrated!
  • Then the Nester wrote about hospitality and how she needed to offer it to herself first, to refill her well. Beautiful! Must read. I teared up a few times and craved a frothy coffee and decided that my newly emptied living room shall be decorated with all kinds of new texture. Go see for yourself.
  • Possibly my most beloved blogger, Edie, wrote an equally beautiful but more colorful post on her Thanksgiving prep. She always shares both the how-to and the why, and that’s why I appreciate her so much. My favorite part? Her admonition to cup our hands on the faces of our loved ones, make eye contact, and tell them thank you.

What treasures have you found to read? What’s happening in your heart this Thanksgiving? I hope you can see your blessings clearly, up close, and with the heavy weight of gratitude that also lifts your burdens. I hope you too can enjoy swimming in the bright, salty, brackish waters of life.

leaves

Happy weekend, friends! Much love from the Lazy W.

God has two dwellings.
One in heaven and the other
in a meek and thankful heart.
Izaak Walton
xoxoxoxo

 

5 things times 4 for Mama Kat

This week I am accepting Mama Kat’s fun invitation to write four lists of five things, following her prompts. I like lists. Let’s do this.

5 Things You Don’t Know About Me:

  1. I have broken my two top front teeth a total of at least nine separate times. It all started in about 3rd grade but has happened as recently as two years ago. I should totally tell you those stories sometime. Or not.
  2. I have two beautiful, smart, talented, loving daughters, ages 17 and 19. I write about them pretty scarcely but they are on my mind every minute of every day.
  3. I am the oldest of five kids, and my sweet parents had me when they were barely 16 years old. I have always been proud of their accomplishments, of how they raised a family so early and with such little preparation. As we all three age, I feel closer and closer to them. I have good friends who are nearer to their age than mine, and it helps me see my parents as people, not just parents.
  4. Our house is probably haunted.
  5. I am really, really, really afraid of frogs. It’s embarrassing. And we have a lot of frogs at the Lazy W. It’s awful.
teeny tiny green frog, the stuff of nightmares
teeny tiny green frog, the stuff of nightmares

 5 Things I’m Knowledgeable About:

  1. I can diagram any sentence, any day of the week, without compensation. I actually love doing it. Some people might correct your grammar while you are speaking; I will silently diagram your spoken sentences.
  2. Beethoven and Mozart are not unfamiliar to me on the piano. My favorite is Moonlight Sonata for its mournfulness.
  3. With a little encouragement I can change the oil in both a Camaro and a Jeep.
  4. Photosynthesis makes so much sense to me it’s ridiculous. All the mysteries in a garden are beautiful, meaningful, enticing poetry and I cannot get enough. And I am one week from the end of Master Gardener classes, yay! They have taught us a metric ton of good stuff there.
  5. Parrot behavior. I should probably write a book on it. Since little infant Pacino came to live with us almost 10 years ago (WOW) we have learned a lot through trial and error. The parrotish things we know to be true are close to what other people say, but I honestly think we know a bit extra. His vocabulary is exploding right now, by the way, which is fun. At last count he had mastery of 130+ words and phrases. Look out, world.
This was Pacino earlier tonight while I was just getting started. He helped me a lot b cuddling my arms and eating most of the tortilla chips I had out. Thanks, buddy.
This was Pacino earlier tonight while I was just getting started at the computer. He helped me a lot by cuddling and kissing my arms and then eating most of the tortilla chips I had put out. Thanks, buddy. Thanks for helping me avoid a few empty calories.

5 Things I Know Nothing About:

  1. Calculus. Also, wait… which math discipline comes right before calculus?
  2. Wrestling, both professional and normal wrestling, like at high school. Have no idea about it. Are they both fake, or what? But thanks to the Expendables movie I do know that it can cause something called “cauliflower ear.” I think my little brother really lucked out on that one.
  3. How to pronounce the brand name “Aeropostale.” This word makes me loopy. So when I find myself in that rare but inescapable situation where I need to say it aloud to someone, like maybe at a cool thrift store? I try to say it as fast as possible and under my breath. It never goes undetected, sadly, and that too is embarrassing.
  4. What the heck is the difference between megabyte, SEO, and the Cloud? Where did everyone learn this stuff? It was all just invented, right?
  5. How to make my eyebrows pretty. Just kill me.

 rp_january-plate-collage-with-sticker.jpg

5 Things I Believe:

  1. That your imagination is terrifyingly powerful. The places you allow your mind to wander and rest can (and most likely will) become the scenery of your reality. So be bold, be careful, and be positive with your thoughts.
  2. Names and titles matter. Use them with intention and loyalty.
  3. Running a few miles and drinking good, rich coffee every day truly makes me a friendlier, more energetic, more generous person. It’s just silly to mess with that routine.
  4. Love is more powerful than any emotion. It is more powerful than hate, bitterness, anger, sadness, anything. But Love has to be invited in, welcomed, and nurtured. It is more than a feeling; it is a mode of action and a thought process. A true force of nature. Made full, Love really can conquer all. I believe that in my bones.
  5. The moon has legit influence over us. I have been watching the moon phases for a few years now and believe whole heartedly that people, animals, and the garden and weather are all affected by the waxing and waning of this beautiful heavenly body.

haunted farm lazy w oklahoma ghost story

 

Thanks Mama Kat, that was fun! My list of “Things You Don’t Know About Me” could have been much longer, as could have the list of “Things I Know Nothing About.” But such is life. Thanks for stopping in, everyone! Now please tell me something about yourself using these prompts!

“Know Thyself.”
~Socrates
XOXOXOXO

Kat Bouska
http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/