a load off

something has shifted in my world. i'm feeling less pressure, and more possibility. i think it has something to do with all the housecleaning i've been doing...it gives you a huge feeling of accomplishment and it makes everything lighter around you. i still haven't mastered the need for a sewing corner in the living room, but i've got a somewhat workable station set up that quickens the set-up process. there's no way to have the ironing board at the ready, though, it's just too baby and puppy unfriendly. i'd like to say that's not an obstacle, but last night jubal was sleeping and i could have at least sewed some napkins, but the thought of setting up the board and iron and then maybe he'd wake up and there'd be this hot, spindly legged danger all set up--it turned me off. i was tired already form cleaning house and mothering all day, but still. as usual, it's a work-in-progress.

dad took me to my MRI results appointment, at which we learned that i have a beautiful, healthy-looking brain. no MS, no cysts, no tumors, no unexplained lumps or shadows. it appears that i really do just have an adult-onset simple tic disorder. okay. i can live with that. the doctor said they don't really know what causes it and that it might go away. i can live with that, too. the doctors at the neurology clinic were so awesome and wonderful that i plan to send a thank you card.

yesterday i turned over the pea bed and vesta planted the peas. jubal and i planted some more primroses and had fun getting our hands in the dirt. it feels great to have some spots of color and the promise of future peas. i'm excited to start the garden season!

i am grateful for:
1. my new kitchen aid food processor (my other one broke months ago--it was a cheapy one--and i've really missed the quick slicing and shredding and butter cutting in....by the way this is the Best. Food Processor. Ever. it's like driving a pinto and then someone gives you a porsche. highly recommended)
2. the earthworms in my garden
3. my sewing machine (still! i love it! and i got a free motion foot for it, which will be awesome once i get used to using it)
4. my clean floors (thank you, self)
5. the spring-like quality to the air

and some recommended reading:
the graveyard book, by neil gaiman (available here: http://www.amazon.com/Graveyard-Book-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0060530928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234974489&sr=1-1 ) this is a book for the whole family if your kids aren't teeny tiny, as it could be a little scary. it's about a boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard, and his experiences and misadventures and what happens to him as he grows up in such an unlikely setting. and it's by neil gaiman, so you KNOW it's going to be good. and it was. we were all sad to have it end, it was one of those books. i think we'll be reading the princess bride next.

outliers: the story of success by malcolm gladwell (available here: http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922). i LOVE malcolm gladwell and all of his books (the tipping point and blink), because they are damn fascinating. i plan to make a shirt with a line drawing of his face that says "malcolm gladwell excites me"). this one is about how success happens and why it is never a one-person thing--we have this American Myth that people pull themselves up by their bootstraps and by their own sheer tenacity create wealth and success for themselves...don't get me wrong--it takes amazing skill, a force of will, determination, etc., etc.--but it also takes some amazing circumstances to be set in place around the future successful being. some examples of success stories in the book are the beatles, bill joy, bill gates, and canadian A-team hockey guys. read it!