Are pretty much my life these days.

None of which make good blog fodder, I realize. At least not for this blog.

So, to sum up my last 6 months:
Jesus is King (as always), Ron Paul is the 45th President (if I have anything at all to do with it), this summer kicked our asses (yep, I just said that), and Pinterest is the love of my life.

I’m sure your last 6 months looked a little different… but that was mine.

.

I am telling you, Pinterest is the answer to burned out bloggers everywhere. And I should know. A quick installment of the “Pin it” button and an internet surfing session later– you’ll be well on your way to a collection of what you consider the best the internet has to offer. Remember that old post where we talked about inspiration files? That’s what Pinterest is, it’s an online bulletin board for your recipes, your dream home, your wedding plans, your movie star crushes, whatever.

.
Are you Pinning yet? I’d love to check out your boards.                                                                             Here’s mine.

And here’s Gwen’s.

Hope you all are well, and entering this holiday season feeling happy, healthy and blessed. And if I don’t see you before then, Merry Christmas! ~Anna

PS) Have I apologized yet for using my first ever blatant swear word on this blog? Did you hear about what happened in Texas this summer? Do I get a pass then? If not, just imagine I was talking about our donkeys (heck yeah, we have donkeys). Summer kicked their asses too.

If you have any trouble signing up, or getting started with Pinning right away, let me know. I’ll send you a link that should make it easier. anna@witbehind.com

The dog counts, right?!

Last week the youngest daughter of The Sphinx moved on to greener pastures. Greener might be pushing it, her new locale is known for their potatoes though. We are empty-nesters.

Parenting isn’t something that comes naturally to me and I got into the game pretty late. She was already in college. Very cool, no dealing with diapers, no stepping on Barbie’s shoes with bare feet, always being able to pawn off deficiencies by saying “You raised her, I didn’t.”

There were unexpected rewards and tons of lessons learned. I became more patient. Yeah right, I just like to think that I became more patient. Well, I did learn to share, a bit, was often asked for fashion expertise, wiped away a few tears, and sewed a button or two.

It was like parenting on steroids and fast forward at the same time. It was fun. She was fun. It was hard. She hogged the bathroom. I don’t want to do it again, but I want her back. Well. as long as she promises to listen to something other than Country music.

So the daughter, that wasn’t really a daughter and was never even a child to me. decides to bail right before Thanksgiving and her Birthday. There will be an empty chair at the table. Happy Thanksgiving M. Happy Birthday too. No matter what the future brings, there will always be a chair for you at my table.

To the Wit family, that isn’t a family, but oftentimes feels like you have always been there, there is a chair here for ya’ll too. I just may have to dig it out of the garage and dust it off.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I celebrated my 40th birthday last month. Stop, I didn’t tell you this in order to get birthday wishes, it was more to set the stage, give you some perspective. They say that age is just a number, but that number, 40, means a heck of a lot to most people.

I won’t lie to you and say that physically, I feel like a kid. I don’t. Mentally however, is a totally different story. I refuse to accept that there are things that I can no longer do, wear, say, or eat. Like a teenager, the minute you tell me that I can’t do something, I want to do it even more.

Case in point, Heelys. They now make them in sizes for adults. And they don’t look like cotton candy kids shoes anymore. They look like your everyday canvas deck shoes.

When the chance to review them came up, there wasn’t any hesitation. I wanted these puppies and I wanted to prove a point. Sure, I could have said no or I could have corralled the grandkids into my bloggy plot. Nope. No way. Not gonna happen. I wanted to tell the world that 40 doesn’t mean that you have one foot in the grave and that we adults could be just as fun and unexpected as them pesky younger people.

They came in the mail. Really nice looking shoes, I thought. If the whole rolling thing doesn’t work out, I can wear these minus the wheels. Cool beans, let’s roll.

The Cons-

• It does take a bit to get the hang of these. These are not the skates or blades you had as a kid. There was some stumbling and if your calves aren’t in shape, there will be a burn with pro-longed use.
• They work best on perfectly flat surfaces. If your driveway is blacktop and in need of resurfacing you might want to hit the sidewalk or garage floor until you feel confident.
• You will stumble here and there. It took me a couple of hours to really get skating.
• Be ready for some incredulous looks from your family.

The Pros-

• You will be a wee bit taller and the fit is really comfortable. (The wheel itself and the sturdy sole construction add about an inch)
• Shopping, even at the grocery store, has never been more fun. Trust me.
• They give you a whole new perspective on things. Things just look different when you are gliding by them as opposed to walking by.
• The  looks you get while gliding past people are priceless. The Sphinx even got a kick out of watching people do double takes.

Conclusion-

These puppies aren’t just for kids and are great for the kid in all of us. Bonus-they look hot!

A big thanks goes to Heelys for sending me this pair and proving that being 40 doesn’t mean you have one foot in the grave!

Heelys is throwing a Black Friday special!! Between Nov 25-Nov 28, Buy any pair of Heelys, get the second pair for $25. Or buy a Nano, and get a pair of shoes for $25, and get free ground shipping on all orders! Check them all out at heelys.com.

If you’re planning to vote in the 2012 presidential election, it’s time to decide.

Disclaimer: Following recipes is not my strong suit. I tend to see them as inspiration, or a jumping off point, picking and choosing ingredients as I see fit or what I have on hand. Seldom do I actually measure anything. Also, since we are economically challenged, I am not big on buying big ticket spices or tools to use only once and be forgotten.

Basic One-Jar Pickles

• 1 regular very fresh sliced cucumber (mine were dinky and curved, so I cut up a few)
• 1ish cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1ish cup of water
• 2 Tablespoons of Pickling Spice (I spent $1.49 on some of the Mexican spices that they have on pegboards at the grocery, much cheaper than buying one from the regular spice aisle or buying individual ingredients to make my own)
• 2 Tablespoons of crushed fresh garlic
• 1 small sliced onion
• 4ish Tablespoons of sugar

Put everything above except for the cucumbers in a sauce pan and simmer for a good while. I did it until the onion pieces were soft/almost translucent. (no freaking clue how long that was, I don’t own a watch)

Meanwhile, I placed about half of the cucumber slices in a sterilized jar. Then I added the vinegar mix and the rest of the cucumbers, put on a lid and popped it in the fridge.

Ta-Dahhhhhhh!

You will, hopefully, take a better picture of yours before they start disappearing.

Next time, I will make tomato relish. Who’s with me?

Okay, Okay, Okay, I know that you think we ran off and joined the Circus.

Not a bad gig when you think of it though. You get to travel, play with animals, bask in applause, and wear the latest big top fashions, but I digress.

Anna is dealing with what I like to call, Computer Interuptus, AKA a bad PC with a broken keyboard. I haven’t seen it so I am picturing something like this….

They also have been having a major drought and a wee bit of a heat wave, you may have heard of it.

On the other hand, I have been chilling here…..

Growing these….

Sewing pants out of this….

and this….

Don’t laugh, they are comfy even if they look like clown pants. Hmm, maybe I should join the circus?

Then I painted this…

Yes, it is a closet door, but makes for a great mod headboard…with a few alterations.

Also spent some time getting a part or two removed, getting healthy, and working on my tan.

What neither of us have done is blog. It is really amazing how fast you can get out of the habit. One week, it seems that all you can think about is what you want to post next, what a great idea that is for the blog, how you want to share that…or this….and the next you feel all at ease, not thinking about it. Then another week goes by and this little voice in your head starts saying, “When are you going to go back to blogging?” “How are you going to get back on the horse?” That sort of thing starts to prey on your mind.

It is a mixture of guilt or longing and a time to reevaluate.

I love blogging, but I don’t like how it was taking over my life. It would be one thing if I was rolling in dough from it, but as a hobby, it can’t continue to dominate my life. You know? Life can’t be what happens while you are busy blogging.

So, after a long vacay, I am back and we are working on getting Anna back. Hopefully with more balance, focus, and more clown pants.

What have ya’ll been doing? Want some Leopard or Russian Blue Tomatoes?

photo © 2011 Kamil Antosiewicz Monika Powalisz | more info (via: Wylio)

completely not what you expected and totally not like the movies. I took my Kindle along with me on our trip to Disneyland. (Great trip, except when I got home I was as sick as a dog. Remember, people have cooties) On it, I had been reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

We have all seen the movies, right? I counted like 15 different adaptations on IMBD.com. Crazy Doctor goes to his creepy family estate, creates a monster with a bit of help from lightening and body parts, monster then goes on a rampage killing people, villagers get all pissed off and burn him up in a windmill. Are you with me here?

The book, I mean the actual words of Mary Shelley, are somewhat different. No, not somewhat, like freaking completely different. Case in point, he creates his monster while away at school, not in some secret lab on the family estate and while the whole creating thing is left somewhat ambiguous, there is no mention of lightening.

Now, you might say, does it really matter where the monster was created? No, not really, but his creation is so horrifying to him that he has a breakdown that puts him in a sort of stupor for two years in which he stays at school, doesn’t go home. The flipping monster disappears, Victor not knowing or caring what he has gotten himself up to.

It’s all down hill from there. There are so many differences from the movie adaptations that I could write a whole book on them. The monster goes after Victor’s loved ones, not random villagers. He isn’t cornered in a windmill and burned to ashes. Victor has chances to do away with him, but doesn’t for some reason, yet follows him to the end of the earth only to die in Antarctica before he catches him.

The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking about how my expectations about Frankenstein were a lot like life. We have these great plans and creations, that we think we know what is going to happen and how it all turns out. Then stuff happens and we end up picking up all of the random pieces and starting over with a new plan, a new mission, a somewhat distorted view of ourselves.

Then, when you throw in the expectations that other people have for us, like our parents, and you end up with one hot mess of broken dreams and goals. Take me for example, I am sure my parents pictured me wearing a suit every day for some corporation with 2.2 kids and loving uber-successful husband named Chip or something like that. They sure didn’t cotton me having my own ideas of what having a happy life was or that I didn’t want to have kids, preferred to wear pants without zippers, was a mad scientist in the kitchen, or would end up almost forty with one less ovary and a mountain of medical bills.

Okay, I didn’t plan on all of that either, but you know what they say, Life is what happens when you are busy making plans.

My point, and I swear I had one when I started this, was that life is what more about our attitude than what we create. Sure, we had dreams, goals, plans and they are important to have, but they aren’t as important as how we approach what we actually end up with. Our expectations can sometimes lead to us shooting ourselves in the foot and forgetting to celebrate our uniqueness, our own story.

Living the good life, is about working with what you’ve got, not kicking yourself in the pants for what you don’t have or haven’t achieved. It isn’t about creating a monster. It is about taking time to smell the roses.

What hasn’t gone just the way you planned lately? How have you conquered it?

I am on a serious stuff diet.  And just like if someone you loved was on a diet-diet, you wouldn’t offer them a twinkie, I’m asking, if ya love me, NO MORE STUFF!

While I’m really good at watching my personal intake of stuff, and good about Goodwilling it when it’s time for it to go, I am not good about the inflow of stuff coming from other people. I never get rid of it, because ya know, so&so gave it to me.

Plus I am a horrible manager of stuff. Just horrible.  Stuff as a whole, depresses me.

Oh sure, I can think of many things that have been given to me over the years, that I absolutely love and am woefully attached to, but as a whole, when all of those things are combined and then mixed in with things that I never use; use but don’t need; are pretty, but serve no function; or worse… have never found a permanent home in my home, well that’s when I start to lose it. Certifiably lose it. 

I just need some time to reevaluate what I need, what I want that’s worthy of getting, what’s lovely to me- not to Country Living, and what I can function without, before the next onslaught of stuff comes along.

For years I’ve wanted to “opt out” of the holidays. All of them. No plastic eggs at easter, (for real, I have serious qualms about the Passover and the Resurrection taking a backseat to the Easter Bunny, don’t even get me started on Santa) no plastic pumpkins at halloween, or mounds of gifts at Christmas.

Now I realize that this is all personal preference, and in fact, some of the most deeply spiritual people I know enjoy very much participating in all of the above. This isn’t about what makes someone good, or about getting on an anti-consumerism high horse. This is about me personally, and how stuff is currently affecting me. 

If I’m so worked up about it, why haven’t I done something? Excellent question. My dad, Randy, was pretty good about reminding his kids (and anyone else who needed to hear it) that IT wasn’t ALL about US. “It’s not all about you, Anna.”

Man, was he right. I know several adults who never got that message. They really do live their lives like it is all about them. They’re not the most enjoyable people to be around.

Blocking the stuff outright wouldn’t be fair to people like my wacky sister, Gigi, who loves to shower my kids with colorful plastic, gadgety doo-dads, trendy clothes and processed sugar. She once, very eloquently reminded me that her giving was about her, something she wanted to do, and she was tired of being reminded about how she “really shouldn’t have” every time she did. (Yeah, it was actually more eloquent than that, I just can’t remember it verbatim.)

Plus, a life of minimilism could potentially be just as unhealthy and obsessive for me, as a hoarder’s life style. Not to mention, while minimilism certainly sounds better for the environment, I’m not convinced that it is healthier than a life constructed around a simple balance of things.

So here I am, trying to figure out a way to navigate through the next 15 years of stuff. (I expect that dealing with stuff is going to be easier, once I’m no longer responsible for regulating my children’s stuff as well. It’s the only thought that gets me through most days.) And manage it in a way, that lets others be true to their wildly generous and thoughtful ways.

Any ideas?

Right now, as you read this, I am packing up the dog and the overnight bag to go to that hallowed place that used to pay me big bucks to shill expensive sodas and ice cream that you could have bought for under a dollar across the street while wearing a silly costume.

This place, they say, is where a kid can be a kid and it is perfectly normal to wear funny hats with mouse ears or have your children on leashes. There will be smiles a plenty and over-priced tchotchkes abound. Dreams will come true, if only for a night. They close at 8PM though, so the night will be short.

Poor Murphy will be in stir while The Sphinx and I run off to Disneyland. I would like to say that I am really excited, but I have this fear of people in costumes. If Mickey or Tiger go to hug me or something, there will be blood.

However, I posted a review of a book that came out today over at Chew & Digest Books. So if you want to check out cuddly kittens that make my head hurt, read The Meowmorphosis.

When was the last time you visited Disneyland or Disney World?

Catch you this weekend.

photo © 2009 Anna Fox | more info (via: Wylio)

It was a few months ago that I first heard of Project 333, but true to my nature, I didn’t jump on the bandwagon. Bandwagon jumping is something I don’t do a lot of.

For example:  I didn’t start staying ‘Dude’ until just a couple of years ago, twenty years after I was first introduced to the term.

However, once I’ve decided to jump a wagon… I’m fully committed. Dude.

In a nutshell Project 333 is all about being able to fit your clothes… in a nutshell.

33 items is the suggested number of clothing articles, including accessories, that you keep in your closet during a season.  Folks, that is not a lot of stuff. You know the 80-20 rule and how it applies to closets right? You only wear 20 percent of the things you own, 80 percent of the time. Project 333 is about keeping the 20 and sending the 80 packing. Can you do it?

I did.

When I moved into this house, I was in love with my closet space, the house was built 82 years ago, so obviously it doesn’t compare to today’s closets, but it was better than anything I had lived with in a long time.

Then I moved all of my stuff in, and it’s been my least favorite space ever since. What happened???Last night I embarked on Project 333, a minimalist’s approach to closet space. And y’all… the thrill is back!

The numbers of 33 things for 3 months, are arbitrary, and just something to shoot for. I’ve already filled one 30 gallon trash sack and I’m betting I could come close to filling another before today is done.

If the project sounds like one you could benefit from, here’s the link: http://www.theproject333.com/archives/

There is not a lot of info on the site (WHICH I LOVE- No excuse to stay on the computer “researching” and find yourself bogged down with analysis paralysis.) I started with the oldest post, and worked my way up. Each time I read an article and felt a surge of motivation I would go to my closet and toss. Inevitably at some point, I’d find myself bogged down in the task staring blankly at the mess. When that happened, I’d return to the computer and read a bit more, until inspiration struck again. 5 minutes of reading was equal to roughly 10 minutes of purging. Yeehaw!

Today Mama Cow woke up to me standing next to a thirty gallon trash bag that appeared to be housing a family of 5…

“Whoa, when did you do that?”

“Last night.”

“Wow.”

“Yep.”