A year of celebration...

Thanks to my cousin Catherine for this idea and actually I sent this out in an e-mail last month to my two beautiful girlfriends in NYC. A celebration of the accomplishments of the year. Now is the perfect time to recognize all you have done in 2010 and be willing to live in faith that you will accomplish all you desire in 2011. It is amazing to look at what you have accomplished and allow yourself space to envision what you desire for the coming year. There is no better way to go forward than to acknowledge all you have done. Here is my list of celebrations for 2010 and my intentions for 2011 will come within the week.

From December 2010 backwards to the beginning of the year...


December- Read Erin's e-mail and everyone's replies and was totally inspired to write my own. We have all accomplished SO much! Feeling SUPER grateful for this exercise!

November- Opened my own wellness studio with three other amazing women. The OM collective. Went to Erin's IntenSati class in NYC and rocked it with one of the best Sati instructor's around. Met my paving partners and enjoyed the friendship we had developed over the year. Saw my dear g-friend Erika perform as a principle in ROA in Mpls.

October- Stepped out on my own and began planning to open my own studio with 3 other women.

September- Began my Ayurveda studies and moved forward into deeper healing work that has been my vision.

August- came out of Kickboxing retirement and fought as the main event on a USA national kickboxing event against a Canadian champion. Procured an invitation to fight at the World Kickboxing championships in Dublin, Ireland in 2011 as a member of Team USA.

July- Trained my ass off for my coming fight, really trained my ass off, lost 10 lbs. Probably all in my butt. Taught my first IAM workshop which becomes the beginning of my vision for 2011.

June- Started training for my return into the ring

May- Booked out my first two bootcamps of the season

April- had full sati classes that rocked

March- Was the front page of the variety section of Mpls paper with a story on my sati classes

Feb- Started my Reiki Master training.

Jan- Set intentions for an amazing year of my own creation. Continued forward with a beautiful paving practice with my girlfriends I met in November. Led a super successful fitness retreat in Vieques, Puerto Rico.

What are your accomplishments? please share I would love to hear what you made happen during 2010!

L-

Bearly making it

If I was a bear then I could hole up for the winter, do nothing but sleep, go to the bathroom, eat, and watch TV (you know bears love TV) then come back to life in the the spring.

I have definitely entered the winter funk. It lasts somewhere between 1-3 weeks. From the beginning of the cold, into the desire for it to end, and then finally out of it when I accept reality; that we are going to be here for a good 3-4 months and I don't want to stay depressed that long.

Eventually I will make my way out on my x-country skis and fall in love with winter again. I will get into the spirit of the season and be excited about this time of incubation when one allows their ideas and inspirations to grow, spend time cultivating them and then nurturing the fruition of all their thoughts and dreams to manifest for a new year.

For now I am grumpy about the delayed traffic due to terrible snow storms last week and accumulated snow, the minus zero temps, the late sunrises and early sunsets, and the general chill I feel all over my body when I go outdoors.

I am scrooge, and my only cure is to turn on the music and dance! Really. This is my go-to for a better feeling; dance party. Even if it is only for 5 seconds. Let's do it right now, MTV 5 second dance party. The song is below. Turn it on for a feel good opportunity, dance around the room and get at least a little bit of winter blues relief, a little is more than nothing and more than enough! Dog days are over whenever you decide to dance!

Dog Days are over
Dance, even if you have to warn others to get out of the way first.

It's Official

Winter is here and amazingly I made it this long...snow last week, freezing rain over the weekend, and yes Blaise-I hate you with your e-mail about hanging out by the pool in 80 degree weather writing today-, but I have fully pulled out the boots.

I was looking forward to a new year with new boots (Blaise gifted me with her furry beauties when she moved to Tx and clearly stated she would no longer be needing them). I tried, I really did. But they are about 1- 1/2 sizes too big and if it isn't enough that I already get teased relentlessly for living in boots 7 months out of the year, try doing it when every step you take makes a large plopping sound (remember wearing your dad's shoes when you were young? Yeah kind of like this). So sorry Blaise, but I wore them for a week and got blisters and many jokes directed towards me and finally passed them off to another size niner then broke out the 6 yr old boots that I have been wearing, well, since 6 years ago.

Here's to winter. Remember, spring comes based not on Groundhog day and whether he sees his shadow or not, but on when Lisa puts the boots back on the top shelf of the closet for the season, and I wouldn't hope for much before April. Settle in for another one...unless your Blaise and sitting by the pool in Austin!


Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. ~Author Unknown

Every life is a blessing

It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

When is your last day? You will never know but perhaps a reminder that life is truly short, is a life you loved, lost to you. My cousin John died today. Our lives our limited, what we share with the world while we are here is our greatest opportunity. And my most beautiful memory is of pictures my Aunt shared with me while John was in Yoga training. Pictures of him bending and stretching like a true yogi. And so he was. My deepest dedication to him would be 'NAMASTE'. Even in his passing the light in me recognizes the light that lives within him and I am grateful for this deep, if even painful reminder; life is precious and not to be taken for gran-tide.

Thank you John, Your life was a blessing!

Painting is like gardening

Well not really at all actually. But I have to find some way to tie together what I am doing with my garden right? And that is what I am doing (painting), or rather, that is what I did all day today, and what I will be doing all day tomorrow, after what I propose will be a terribly painful trip to Ikea (sorry Sarah, it may seem sacrilege but I do NOT love Ikea).

All of these things are so exciting of course, the painting and even the dreaded trip to Ikea are for my new space 'The OM Collective' which I most recently blogged about. Balance has moved out and the OM is moving in and there is nothing in the space. After 6 years at Balance being in the space in this way is scary and yet exhilarating.



Not more than two days ago this empty room was filled with stuff, all a part of what Balance was, and now it has nothing, all a part of what will become 'The OM Collective'.

"One creates from nothing. If you try to create from something you're just changing something. So in order to create something you first have to be able to create nothing. "
-- Werner Erhard

I love this quote, and I intend for this to become my focus for fall/winter. Gardening is behind me, for the season of cold is upon us, yes it is. My empty pots are proof of that (they are still on the fence outside because they are damn heavy and neither Matt or I want to carry them down the stairs)



The pots have nothing in them, the perennials have been cut back to nearly nothing, the leaves cover everything and my garden is in hibernation. Do you want to read about nothing? This could be a very elevated blog if it was about nothing, or terribly boring, or just empty. I would post every day, nothing. Easy enough, if I have nothing to write, than nothing is ever left unwritten. But...



I have plenty to write and I do not need to go into hibernation like my perennials. SO what is gardening after all? When I checked I found this sweet description....a fertile and delightful spot or region. How perfect, my new fertile spot is my new space. Ahhh, a sigh of contentment.

I have a spot. One that is mine to develop, nurture, water, and shine light on, and at the perfect time, just when my garden needs to sleep. This will keep me busy, but I promise to write, let you know all of what is happening in my new fertile spot, and of course, how all of it relates to my life. And no need to even change the title of my blog, I am a novice gardener, I think I always will be, there will always be something to create from nothing. And every time it will be different, so it is like starting fresh with each new delightful unknown.

In the moment I allow that I know nothing, I allow myself to know all.

OM for one and OM for all

Life can change at a rapid rate. I am experiencing this. Not more than 45 days ago I posted this I find that what I always thought- being a partner at Balance Fitness Studio- is not happening.

I thought I would have to go out on my own, which felt so lonely. Though I want to build my own business, focused on Wholeness, accessible for every one, I still desire connection and interaction with others that have the same vision. My heart's desire has been answered.

In an unbelievable turn of events, I will be leasing the current Balance space with 3 other women. All mothers, all nurturers, all entrepreneurs, dedicated to wellness and community.

We are the OM collective. We have created a space for all independent teachers of varying disciplines to come in and guide their students to living a full life.

We are also going to have a healing room for people to practice massage, breath work, Reiki, and Ayurveda. Hello, this will be what I head up! It is my path. The build out will happen in a few months and in the interim the four of us are getting to know each other (easily) discovering that we all have a similar vision and this flower is just beginning to open, in the fall no less!

I can't wait to share more with you as this unfolds, and of course I haven't been in my garden yet, because this has taken up much of my time.

I promise to give the full low down of our collective OM experience as well as my garden consolidation in the next week. I wanted to share this news because my heart is soaring.

I am not alone, a single daisy in a vase; instead I am what I have always wished, a bright blast of Echinacea, next to the Lilies, next to the Roses, next to the Zinnias. I am not only one beauty to behold, but a part of the greater beauty, the garden. I am my own, and yet I am all!

All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.
-Swami Vivekananda

Thanks, and thanks!

I got this in the mail today! I was so excited, and I am so grateful. Thank you dad for this gift. After finding this magazine he thought I might be interested and subscribed me. How awesome, perusing is has made me think that I make take a break from all the stuff I have been doing recently to get my company growing and get back to my garden growing tomorrow. It has felt a bit neglected me thinks, and it will do some good to get outside, commune with nature, revive my creativity, and release some stress. More on how this turns out tomorrow!

I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.
- William Shakespeare

Fall=Change

We have defintely entered the fall season...the weather has changed, I still don't have any tomatoes, but my autumn fire seedams are bright and beautiful. I have been quite successful this season with perinnals and annuals, not so much with the veggie garden, but another year awaits us and I am sure that my knowledge and experience will allow for a growth year in 2011. Fall offers us change, and change offers us growth. I am sure that many of my plantings will have the opportunity to hibernate and next year become even more than they were this year.

Funny though as I enter a growth stage there isn't much hibernating happening. I have moved away from my involvement with Balance Fitness studio and am working on expanding my own brand Sante' Fitness. This comes with a lot of work. And a lot of uncertanity. What will come of my new endeavor? And as I enter into so much change I find that many of the things I was certain of before I now doubt.

Like:
Can I engage the students I need to sign up?
Do I have the ability to succeed on my own?
Will I be able to handle the logistics, and day to day pieces of my company?

It is so challenging to go out on your own and try something new.

And yet, this year I did that with my garden. I pulled up grass, planted new things, they are growing. I set up a veggie garden, this didn't go as planned but things are still growing there, even if they aren't veggies. My garden offered me some beautiful results and some ho-hum results but I never would have known if I hadn't tried.
And there are many things growing in my garden that experts said might not grow, which I contribute to tenacity in the plant.

So what is my tenacity in this time of change? Can I flow with it? Can I build my brand and my company and see growth, despite what the experts say?

I believe I can if I have some clear goals and I do!

1. I want to offer health and wellness at an affordable price point
2. I want a brilliant and beautiful life available to all
3. I want to offer this to others and get paid well for my services
4. I want to support you in loving your life, and your body
5. I want to inspire you to live your best life and inspire others to do the same

I have a few things in the cooker to move me forward in this direction and I look to my garden, many of the things I have planted that have grown so much this summer and I wonder, after a winter of quiet where will you be? I am assured that they will grow to a larger magnitude next year. And I am assured the same of myself during this time of change. It might be challenging at first, it might be lean and cold and bitter for a bit, but by next year, things will be blossoming and I will be in a rapid state of growth and my dreams of impacting the lives of others for the better will be a reality!

I find that what I always thought- being a partner at Balance Fitness Studio- is not happening. And so I must be willing to grow in another spot other than the one I had planted myself in. And I believe that with a clear set of goals I will grow wherever I am. It might take some time to re-root myeslf but change can equal growth if you wish it to. And I am courageous, I will grow wherever I am.

Grow where you are planted- Unknown

If your counting...42 days

42 days, that is quite possibly most of the summer. And I thought I was doing so well. Here is what happens; life. And then you get so far away from all of it (your garden, your blog, your friends) when you finally take a look everything needs a bit of watering and weeding. First let me apologize that I haven't watered you by checking in, second let me say I haven't done much weeding, so my mind is filled with clutter and lots of unneeded growth. Third, please forgive me if I unload all of this clutter on you at one time.

Let me note that while I didn't win my fight I was spectacular and offered an exclusive invitation to fight at next years world championships. Consider yourself invited if you wish to be there! Since that amazing day, my life has turned in many different directions, which has of course led to my absence blog side.

There are some parts of my life in upheaval. I have planned for A the last 5 years and now I have learned that A is not possible and I must go after B. The only problem in this is that I didn't have B planned. So I am feeling a bit like a re-plant in my garden.

I believe that life throws curve balls to wake you up. I am waking up. This doesn't mean I haven't been a bit lost, and things aren't blurry, but my eyes are opening to more possibilities every day. If this seems a bit vague, it is as it is must be.

Last week a monarch butterfly was hanging about my back garden. She was there ALL day and I asked myself, "where did you come from, how did you make it here, why do you stay"?



And then the next day, she was gone. And I realized I must ask myself the same questions, and in the tomorrow, I will be gone. Change is inevitable. We need to ask ourselves some vital questions. Where did we come from? Why are we here/how did we get here? And why do we stay?

When something no longer loves us up and expands our growth, why indeed do we stay? Because we are comfortable? Not a great reason to remain; a frog placed in cold water over a stove stays because it is comfortable, and as the heat increases never jumps because they always maintain a certain amount of comfort. At least until their cooked... and I am eating their legs (at that point they probably don't care) But I don't want any one to eat my legs so, I'm going to jump!

I prefer to be the butterfly that flits/floats for a day, and then moves on. And so I will, and I promise more....give me some time!

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. ~Author Unknown

A most delightful day

Oh I often wish I had my camera, today was no exception. I spent the afternoon on the Tangletown Garden tour with my friend Arlys. We traipsed about by car from one private garden to the next enjoying what other gardeners have done with their space. I loved the variety.

One garden was blended with a neighbors and the north/south side of their houses was called "rusty alley". They had taken found objects otherwise left for disposal and used them in their space. Sewage and man holes as steppers, a old bed spring against the house crawling with clematis, used and left for forgotten pipes covered in vines, and other rusty pieces exploding with annuals. Sorry no pic, this was unbelievably cool.

At another location (one of Tangletown's owners) the garden was brimming with palms, annuals, exotic plants, a "moat" surrounding the back patio swimming with the LARGEST koi I have ever seen, fountains, and pots galore, and even a popcorn plant. I so want one of these, when you rub your hands through the foliage and then touch your nose it smells like buttered popcorn. No lie! (Blaise this is an annual here but I would see if you can grow it year round in Tx, it is so fun).

Another beautiful space evoked a sense of peace and well being Japanese style, beautiful paths, rocks, and Japanese inspired fountains. I was happy to have a chance to talk with the owner at this location when I noticed her overgrown lavender (I planted some this year and am hoping beyond hope that it returns next year). She planted it 4 years ago and has moved it three times since as it keeps getting bigger. YAH!

It was such a fun afternoon finished with a beautiful dinner on Arlys's patio. Her patio is another find and a great way to end the tour, it is filled with containers overflowing with succulents, flowering annuals, herbs, and other gorgeous rare finds (most of which were procured at Tangletown).

We grilled some amazing salmon and made this recipe from The Barefoot Contessa. A pic I found online is below but again, oh I wish I had my camera, our version looked much brighter and yummier than this(I think because we cooked the salmon rare and on the grill before we broke it up).



Bummer about the camera I wish I could share pics, suffice to share with you the beautiful time I had with my dear friend!

“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.”

No affiliation to gardening whatsoever.

Just an opportunity to pedal tickets!
I am fighting again, did you know this? If you read this blog the answer is yes. Do you want to come and watch? If you love me the answer is yes! I am selling tickets, tell your friends, tell anyone that would love a fun night out at the Hilton downtown. (Blaise, the awesome community of friends has already purchased a table, bummed you and Bess can't be there though!)

Bring one, bring all, but buy your tickets through me, it makes a difference.
And revel in this poster that would not at all make you believe that I love my garden as much as I do!

I am training hard and that is why you haven't seen so much of my garden lately, those weeds are loving the opportunity to grow.

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. Muhammad Ali-

The gratitude garden- Thank you for the small stuff

This month the focus of my IntenSati series has been Acceptance. One of the things I have been teaching in class is that in order to move from judgment to acceptance we must focus on gratitude. The expression of gratitude always lifts our spirits and shifts us from whining and complaining, to...well...appreciation.

Sometimes I get wrapped up in how "big" the gratitude must be, but was gently reminded tonight when I read my mom's post that something so small as appreciation for warm, running water after a weekend of camping, can shift your perspective.

I tried this. I was exhausted when I arrived home tonight, easy to complain of my long day, my achy body, so on and so forth.

My hubby cleaned the house tonight.
My hubby got my chicken cooking on the grill so I could eat as soon as I got home.
My hubby watered the garden for me so that I could eat without rushing.

And appreciation is overflowing, so much so that I have the energy to share this.

Thank you Matt, I love you, you are awesome!


Who does not thank for little will not thank for much. ~Estonian Proverb

Share it all the big and the small, happier you will be, just you see.

What a surprise

Ok I love Donna (aka Blaise) she offered this to me

Now, I find it interesting that you have not – at all- equated you fighting to your garden. I think there is something there??

She is right the thing that is most occupying my mind right now is my upcoming kickboxing fight August 7th (I have tickets so let me know if you want to come).
And it is curious that since it is taking up so much room in my schedule and my head, what a wonder that I haven't posted on it.

So here it is, just for my hot (in Tx) and bothered (by the government lines) friend:

What a surprise:
1. The US national kickboxing team petitioned me to join with them
2. I am coming out of retirement after 6 years to fight again
3. I am 35 and think I can do this again (the last time I fought I was in my twenties)
4. I am willing to put myself through the physical aches and pains of training
5. I am willing to put myself through the arduous process of cutting weight for said fight which means no ice cream and cheese burgers
6. I am able to handle a full bootcamp, private training schedule WHILE training myself for this fight
7. I actually BELIEVE I will win this fight!

This from my garden...


What a surprise:
1. I found this peanut growing out of my window box
2. I have never put a peanut in my window box
3. A PEANUT IS GROWING OUT OF MY WINDOW BOX
4. Peanuts can actually grow in Minnesota
5. Peanuts grow out of peanuts (I didn't know this)
6. This peanut actually somehow (still no clue on how it happened) ended up in my window box
7. And it grew!


(I took the peanut off the top of what was growing and put it behind in this pic)

Always mystify, mislead and surprise the enemy if possible.
Thomas J. Jackson

Hoping the peanut doesn't consider me an enemy, but safe to say the girl from Canada that I am going to beat should. OR if not an enemy at least a rival, and I have many surprises up my sleeve! COME AND WATCH

Ladies of the lake

Another day at the lake...how lucky am I? I spent the day at Marilyn's cabin on Sugar lake. She is one of my beautiful swim swans that I teach twice a week. We drove about an hour north and arrived at her sweet cabin and had hours of entertaining conversation, (I would tell you about what, but you would never believe it)laughs, great food, wine, and yes, more laughs. I was hoping perhaps to get some answers to life as these swans have been around a bit longer than I (ages 62-80), funny though, Jane said, "Lisa it is so nice to have you hear maybe we can get some answers from you". So I guess that no one had answers, but we had plenty to discuss, 5 hours flew by in no time. It was so fun, my life keeps getting better and better!



Marilyn's cabin (this one really is a cabin and so cute) is 30 feet off the lake, almost on the water. It does feel like you are on the lake while sitting on the deck. When they had it built years ago, there was no specification of how close you could build to the shore line. These days your foundation must be back 150feet. So this place is special, and I just love that they built the deck around this tree rather than cutting it down. So great!



The ladies of the lake



So many amazing and colorful birds were fluttering around Marilyn's gardens, bird houses, and feeders. I saw a yellow finch, a hummingbird, and even 2 loons on the water. I heard one of them sing their lovely and entrancing song. And me? Well I am so blessed I am singing as well. So many great days in a row, I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.






A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.
Lou Holtz

The fun of nothing

My father-in-law has quite a thumb of his own... so fun to be here and enjoy other people's gardens, knowing that mine was in good care with my little sis Ash on watering duty. Enjoy the pics of the lake and please note that the Van Ahn boys and girl(Sarah) were greatly missed on this trip. Matt is getting older and is still a complete rock star on the wakeboard. I love this man SO much!










We really had 3 days of doing nothing other than enjoying the lake, sun, our family, food, sleep, and a Star Wars marathon on Spike. Ahhh, more of this please!

There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want. ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

The voice of nature

Matt and I drove down to his parents lake home (check: home NOT cabin) for the 4th of July. It has been a beautiful and relaxing 3 days so far, I love it here!




Yesterday I was out on a training run (5 miles with intervals) when a deer crossed my path. She stopped to stare, I did too. Then from behind the trees out popped two little fawns. So sweet. They stopped too, and there the 4 of us were, staring at each other. I waited until they decided to turn and run off, about 2 minutes later. And then I had a moment; (before I began running again) I looked around at the trees, caught a few butterflies out of the corner of my eye, and watched the fluffy white cotton tails of the fawns head deeper into the woods, I understood that all the work I've done in my gardens is just for this, to be able to hear nature. In this space all is quiet, serene, perfectly in balance, and inspired. Since I began digging in the earth, planting veggies, growing different varieties of perennials, I've learned so much; I've begun to listen again.

And yet, so much of my time is still spent in my hunk of metal car, on my computer, phone, listening to my ipod, buying products from stores that destroyed some part of nature so that I could own them.

I must remember these moments, because when I listen to nature everything is...well indescribable...you have to listen to it yourself to understand it and to feel it. One thing I know; I do not feel this in the presence of technology, and industry, only nature.

Rivers and rocks and trees have always been talking to us, but we've forgotten how to listen.
- Michael Roads

Not so happy

She is not happy. Though she doesn't look too bad in this photo. There are some undeniably unhappy symptoms. 1. She often droops even after sunshine and watering. 2. She is not getting ready to blossom as her counterpart below is. 3. She has some yellowed and brown leaves. Though these two plants (yikes I don't know the species) are in similar parts of the garden, with similar rain and sunshine, they are not the same. This one is unhappy.




She is happy. Bright and buoyant leaves. Getting ready to blossom in (what I remember from last year) red flowers. She doesn't droop or yellow, or brown.

I am taking a page out of life here and moving my unhappy to be with my happy. There could be many reasons that my unhappy is this way, but I have decided after spending the morning with my unhappy friend Bess that it is because she needs to make a move to be near her happy counterpart. Cue life here. My friends that I have mentioned before, Bess and Blaise, have begun their new adventure, but Bess's cafe hasn't sold yet and so she is still here, away from Blaise, the happy, free spirit that makes all well in her life. To be fair Blaise is unhappy too, but Blaise will thrive anywhere (even in the hot TX sun). I moved my unhappy to be with my happy, because I know that when Bess sells the cafe (soon, soon) she will go to be with Blaise and will be happy. Holding out for the two of them to be together soon, and holding out that my unhappy will transform now that I have moved her to be near her happy counterpart. A post will come soon of the two of them blossoming together, probably about the same time the cafe sells and Bess is off to be with Blaise (this is what I expect as my garden will mirror life, or life will mirror my garden).


We are always happier when in the presence of those we love!

Miracles

A day of Miracles...

This perfect pink bloom showed up today, June 26th, in my garden.


This perfect pink bloom showed up today, June 26th, in my life. Lennon Eleanor Larson, love her!

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -- Albert Einstein

15 minutes of watering, 15 minutes of fame (my garden celebrating me)

So validating to read my mom's post tonight... You may remember a few months back when I took on 30 days of pre-paving.(btw, funny to read this post in which I desired 8 people in my class and had 3. Now I regularly have 8 people in class and usually 10-12) Well, I am still doing it. I have two beautiful girlfriends (one in NYC, one in NJ) that I share my pre-paves with daily. Today my "word" for the day was TIME. I pre-paved that I had all the time I needed and time was on my side. All I needed to accomplish would happen easily and effortlessly. This paved on my busiest day of the week with appointments. After boot camp this morning I had only moments at home before heading off to my next apt. and I thought to myself, "I don't have enough time to water the garden". But then I thought again, "just do it now, you are busy all day and won't get to it later, do what you can now". Proceed to the most hot and humid day yet, and I am ever so glad that I took those 15 minutes this morning to give my lovelies the little time I had and water them the best I could.

When I arrived home tonight they all looked happy and healthy and no one seemed too sad or wilted. Thank goodness I adapted myself to the mentality I learned when reading Success Through a Positive Mental attitude by Napoleon Hill, "DO IT NOW"!

From the book
The secret of getting things done is to act. The self-starter is the self-motivator DO IT NOW!

And in the face of this, more evidence in my favor when I read mom's blog tonight about what? Procrastination! I love what she pasted from fly girls, a new outlook on it all:

Our procrastination is fueled by our perfectionism. We get caught in the trap of thinking we don't have time to do it right. This is when we do nothing.

Did I do it right? Probably not, I am sure my beauties could have used a bit more of a soaking, but I gave them what I had, which was more than nothing, and they love me for that something I gave (15 minutes of fame right from my garden).

Happy Father's day

What a beautiful day! Two of the things I love most: Time in my garden. Time with my father.

Matt and I had my mom and dad over for dinner and we ate outside in the garden. It was a beautiful night. We cooked on my new grill (thanks Matt) and enjoyed lovely conversation (of course not until the US open had finished)and food. I LOVE my dad the mostest! It was the best Sunday so far this summer. The garden is really growing in so be sure to check out the Flicker photos at the top, they've all been updated as of today. A little love, compassion, and devotion all make it possible to see my babies getting bigger. I spose it is the same my dad offered me, and look how I've blossomed. Thanks for all the love dad. And to my two amazing father-in-laws David and Bruce; Happy dad's day, thanks for weeding Matt so well, he turned out nice too!

A man's children and his garden both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season.

~ Anonymous

Oh Canada...

My sister Kelley and I went to Plants and Things today. Yes it is in Anok....I mean Canada, but so fun for us. We stopped and got Caribou coolers and had a lovely chat on our way out of the Country (or into the country).

This place did not disappoint. It was CRAZY! I wish I had taken pics, but alas I did not think ahead to grab my camera before our road trip (and to be honest, even though Kel said this place was insane, I didn't have any grasp on how much so until we got there).

We perused for a good hour before grabbing the goodies we both wanted. I had NO problem spending my $100 gift card that the fam gave me for my birthday, but proudly (this is for you Matt) I only went $20 over.

I got so many splendid things I can't even begin...so suffice with a pic (tho everything is kind of crammed together here so it is hard to see exactly HOW much I got; A LOT). And please notice that along with the annuals, perennials, and herbs I bought, I purchased a cute trellis (bottom left corner) that will soon be climbing with Morning Glory (also purchased today) and not pictured are totally cute herb stakes that I didn't get a shot of because it got too dark (I planted until 10pm).



The most fun of all of this was the time with my sis. She got baby sitters (thanks Ashley, Martin, Cassie) and we were able to connect, talk about our lives, and just be together.

Time is free, but it is priceless

Stay tuned for updated pics on flicker stream of the gardens, just waiting for dawn

Aches, Ants, and Amazingness

Just another day in the garden. It doesn't seem to matter that I am training for a kickboxing fight in August and am sore enough already, I must add more fuel to the fire. I spent the morning removing Chilton around the tree in our front slope and replacing it with the same granite rock that I added earlier this year. Well, for continuity I guess, but to say that it was challenging is an understatement. My tired and achy body is even more so now. After much heavy rock lifting (rock into the truck, rock out of the truck, rock onto the slope, Chilton off the slope, Chilton into the truck, and Chilton off the truck)I am sufficiently whipped. Before pic above and after pic below, please OOH and AH, it helps alleviate my soreness.




My lettuce from seed is sad at best, despicable at worst. Today I succumbed and bought a few lettuce plants from the garden center to fill in the space around the minuscule and depressed leaves that are already growing and when I began planting them I unearthed this. Perhaps I am not such a brown thumb as I thought. Anyone have tips for getting rid of an ant colony living underneath your lettuce?

This is my first year of vegetables. I have done herbs before and a few perennials but never veggies. Recently I have been bemoaning the latent growth of my tomato plants, but today I saw this, small and alone, but nevertheless AMAZING! Oh how excited I became, and this was all it took to make today; THE BEST DAY EVER!



Find joy in the small things in life, and you will find joy often.

A treasure of sorts, my treasure for sure

Last night we celebrated my birthday at my sister Kelley's house. She has recently caught the gardening bug (be careful, it is contagious) and it was so fun to see all she has done with her recently fenced in backyard. Her hubby Josh did all the labor on the fence and now Matt is waiting nervously for the moment I propose the same of him. It would go something like this...'Hon, wouldn't it be nice to have some privacy, with all your AWESOME skills, I bet we could do it on a dime". Doing it on a dime is my trick in since Matt can't resist the idea of saving money. Though he is often busy on side projects so he might not have the time...Sigh*



I love how gardening brings people together, and Kel and I had a little fun over the "tulips" that she dug up from her neighbor's yard. The house has gone into foreclosure and before the woman moved out Kelley pulled up some of her tulips. Turns out the tulips were actually day lilies...according to me. According to her...they were tulips. So we asked my dad, through the front window. "What is this?" (holding up a sample of the day lily foliage). "It's a weed", was his reply.
Well it is all in the perception of the individual. And so it is. One person's trash...another person's treasure. But they are still day lilies and you'll know I am right when they start blooming in a few weeks. Tulips don't bloom the end of June, day lilies do.



This sweet little birdbath was my birthday gift from my family. I love cats and though I will not be collecting cat figurines in my house, a little kitsch in the garden is perfect. I love it, Thanks! They also got me a gift card to plants and things, a garden center in Anoka (aka Canada). Kelley and I will bond once again when we head down there to spend my monies. Stay tuned for all the yummy plants and things I get there next week.

What you perceive, you will receive. Whether it is trash or treasure is up to you. You'll get what you see. Why not see treasure, it is so much prettier to look at.

The next Great Adventure

While I am contemplating what next particular plant variety I would like to include in my garden (I am loving the smokebush right now)my friends Blaise (aka Donna) and Bess are on to their next great adventure. A little background here... Blaise and Bess owned a beautiful Victorian in uptown and had one of the most amazing gardens in the city. They put time, money, love into their backyard that was featured in gardening magazines and many awesome parties they hosted. Last years breast cancer fund raising party was a soiree like no other and center court was their garden. Besides Bess's yummy cafe, when I think of the two of them, their backyard always comes to my mind. They have been dear friends to Matt and I, they've fed us, loved us, allowed us to partake in their endless beer fridge, and included us into one of the greatest communities of friends in Minneapolis. Because of the two of them our lives are brighter and better.

So with that background and a few tears I will continue...Blaise and Bess are on to their next great adventure. They sold their labor of love and bought a guest home in Austin Tx, and are in tow right now with their lovelies, dogs: Leo and Louie, cat: Ariel. They will take up residence in Austin and it will be a better city for having the two of them.

And here we are...yesterday I popped over to see them before they were off. I watched the movers loading up their too numerous to count boxes, and hung out one final time in their beautiful garden. Already devoid of their energy and love it lacked the luster is has always held for me and I realized, it never was the garden, it was always them. They are the ones that made that space so special. I will be missing them, not their garden. They gifted me with this beautiful pot of succulents that is pictured. A piece of their garden to take home to mine, and these splendid, warm weathers will be a nice reminder every time I look at them, that my dear friends are warm and happy in Austin.

It is sad to see your friends go...but also exciting. Blaise has an awesome blog, documenting her experiences in her amusing, personal, and over the top energy style, and I know it will help me stay connected. These two are an example to us all. It takes so much courage to see (and feel) when you're done with one adventure and then pick up and move on to the next (they really took this one to heart and actually MOVED on to the next) . Change is daunting, but necessary if you want to get the most out of each moment in life. I know they will thrive. They are the types that exceed all expectations, and go for the blue ribbon blossom.

With that I think I will move some plants around in my garden, that is about all the courage I have right now!

A life of effort for one crowning moment

This from my friend Donna,

"It’s actually pretty hard to kill most plants. It’s the other ones you’ll covet."

And it has already begun. I am coveting a plant that could be particularly difficult to grow in the Midwest. I know this not because of my expert gardening knowledge but because I found it as a regional pick in Fine Gardening. It was a regional pick for the southwest region, and that is not my area, BUT, and this is a very big BUT, the hardiness zones on the Century plant Agave parryi are 4-10 and Minnesota could be considered zone 4, maybe, if it isn't a hard winter for the next 10-15 years. Here is why I desire this plant so much.

From Fine Gardening: Century plant boasts a trance-inducing turquoise beauty. This plant remains compact for most of its 10-12 year life span. In its last year, it produces one of the most striking flowers on earth.

Imagine this, a life of effort for one crowning moment of glory. And it is all worth it.

A mass of dirt

Every moment a beginning, every moment an end.- Mark Salzman

I LOVE Mass plantings! I am utterly awed and inspired by gardens that have gorgeous blocks of beautiful plants growing together. And I find that in the space I am in (beginning my garden) this has been a difficult thing to display as plants take time, love, sunshine, and water to grow to the enormous specification of what I describe as "mass". Another thing, the more plants, the more money. And I have less of the latter. A lesson of patience has been bestowed upon me here as I split 2 of my larger Autumn fire sedums and bought 6 low walker cat mint perennials and placed them around my "dirt" rock bed that has been planted with annual seeds and gladiola bulbs. When I look at it I see a lot more dirt than I wish to see. And yet I know that this is a moment of beginning...beginning the growth and an end as well. Soon the dirt will be filled in with flowers, shrubs, and hopefully butterflies.

Here is the beginning...


And someday the end...

In the meantime I will take this from 'The Power of Patience' and live contentedly in the love I experience when I am in this dirt that I see so much of!

"Patience is the willingness to be in the now exactly as it is. Even if we wish or hope or pray that someday it will change, patience allows us to live as happily and contentedly as possible right now."

And here we go...

Thanks for coming, not that I don't love my 30 day experiences but I am a bit run down on it and have been loving my garden most these days. So I thought, why not blog about my garden and how all of it relates to my life? This is fair, it is summer and I know all that I want to do has to do with being in my gardens so for this time of year it is a perfect opportunity for me to not disappear from the blogging world and instead put my words to where my heart is; the earth. Gardening is new for me, I mean really new.

Last year a beautiful friend gifted me many things from her garden and I began my "back perennial garden" (pictured at the top) this has grown in beautifully and I have expanded to a front south side perennial/annual garden, more love in my foundation beds, and a rock garden on the front slope. I have also included a veggie garden on my south side (my first ever) and numerous beautiful pots of annuals and herbs.

So here we go... this summer is all about relating my life to my garden. What will I learn, how will I grow as my flowers, veggies, grasses, and herbs grow? I have already gained so much knowledge from being in the earth I can't wait to share all of it with you, so please join me this summer in the evolution of my garden and the rooting down of my life. I hope to have many metaphors of how my life exists in relation to my garden and I think this will be a fun hiatus from construction of days (ie, 30 days).

And so we enter 100 days of summer rather than 30 days of experiences and there in lies a few months of watching and learning as we grow with the plants, trees, grasses, around us. I am so grateful hibernation is over and growth goes into a rapid rate. I am ready for all of it!