intentional living

An interesting link found on the nester lists resources for intentional living. 

watch Moneyball

We watched the movie, Moneyball, last night.  I love it more this morning than I did last night...it's one of those movies.  It quietly captures the struggle of a man and other athletes who don't neatly satisfy expectations of the sporting world.  The movie is an example of what I love about sports...it's about the team, appreciating your gifts, working together, and thinking outside the box.  And yet these things are not glorified in an unrealistic way in this movie...I like that.  It's just the way you do things.  What a wonderful example of the opportunities that exist in sports.  I'm an amateur when it comes to sports...of course I am.  I'm a mom that watches her boys thrive and struggle in sports.  Amateur or pro, you just know when you are watching something special. Whether it's in a movie or on the field or on the floor.  It is rare and inspiring.

                                        

Funny scene between Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

Harry Potter

Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

What a wonderful week!  We celebrated, enjoyed each other, worshipped, played, laughed, and relaxed!  Couldn't ask for more.  We are all back to school and work.  Not an easy transition but it is ok to 'move on'.  Christmas gift giving was kept pretty simple this year.  Steve did not cooperate, however, and gave me a Kindle Fire!!  I wasn't expecting it as the agreement was 'not to buy anything big for each other'.  He said he never agreed to that but I'm pretty sure he did.  Oh well.  It's over and done and I love it!  Perfect little gadget for reading blogs.  What a great guy. :)

  

A pretty package from me to my mother-in-law...

I love the way the presents look under the tree!

The boys loved their posters!  Simple and fun.  It's easy to see who they belong to...each of their personalities is reflected!

This one is Ben's and I want it.  Best band ever!

And look what sweet Emily made for us!  She painted a favorite quote of ours onto a canvas.  I love it!

Christmas table centerpiece...

I picked up these reindeer at TJ Maxx and love them on the table.  Dollar store ornaments in glass look very pretty.

I exchanged the brown runner for white placemats and packed away the reindeer for our New Year's centerpiece.

Nothing fancy...

Cozy evening light...

It's been so great having Ben home from college.  This is one of his favorite spots...next to the Christmas tree with his laptop!

decorating for Christmas

"This is the best tree we've ever had!"  It's the same thing we say every year.  I think it has to be true this year, though.  Steve picks out the nicest trees.  It's perfect.

This evening was especially pretty.  I don't know why.  I tried not to spend anything on decorations this year.  So, I got creative.  I took my short strings of lights (25 bulbs) and put them under my white milk glass dishes.  They are lined up on the piano.

The dishes I chose have a scalloped edge so the string of lights can run under the edge.  I wouldn't want the dish to be uneven!  That would drive me crazy.  There is a power strip under the garland.

Pretty ornaments...

Ben's log cabin...

I like to wrap as early as possible so I can enjoy the pretty packages.

Ok.  I can't say that this was a success, but I learned what not to do for next year!  I have a collection of bird ornaments and I like the idea of a 'stick tree'.  Hmmm...not exactly what I was after but it's kinda cute. 

I love decorating with strings of lights.  I'm always looking for containers that have holes or cut-outs so I can run a string of lights out of it and to an outlet.

I have not mastered taking pictures in the dark!  I took the boughs that Steve cut from the bottom of our tree and put together little greenery arrangements. Simple.

Steve does such a good job with the lights outside.  Simple and pretty.  He decorated another evergreen this year.  It's very very pretty.

Amanita Design

I was on an excellent academic website at work today with my kids in speech therapy.  BBC bitesize has some interesting and entertaining activities targeting specific academic skills.  The UK has excellent educational sites and most are free.

As I was waiting for a group of kids to arrive for their session, I clicked on the game, Questionaut, at the bottom of the homepage. I'm always on the lookout for games that: elicit lots of talking, target specific skills, are entertaining, creative, and lovely. That last one is for me. They are not easy to come by. For every 20 websites/activities I review I bookmark maybe one.

I was lifted out of my seat by the graphics and design of this particular game. Not only is it intriguing for kids, but the images are striking and the music lovely. After only a few minutes, I googled Amanita Design, creator of the game. I will be exploring this independent design studio a lot more in the future. 

Amanita Design blog  

Instagram

Cool free app for the iphone... Instagram

Wish I had an iphone...

It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures.

Snap a photo with your iPhone, choose a filter to transform the look and feel, send to Facebook, Twitter or Flickr – it’s all as easy as pie. It’s photo sharing, reinvented.

Oh yeah, did we mention it’s free?