Sometimes…often…inspiration escapes me. Laziness gets in the way. Little distractions and excuses fill my mind and leave me bored and uncreative. I want to write…and cook, inspire and create. I want to fill my days with beautiful moments and delicious food. How do you begin when the excuses are many and energy is lacking?

I have to start small and hope it grows.

Pay close attention to the tiny happenings nearby. A sparrow lands, momentarily, to snatch a seed from the new window feeder.

Joy comes with each new seedling that pushes it’s way up from the trays on the table. Go check – are there any new tips of green? Pet the sleeping kitty on the way.

Don’t let the desire for perfection get in the way. Just write. Don’t edit. Now is not the time.

Bake some chicken thighs just so you can eat the crispy skins. Eat another piece of salted chocolate just to make it’s dark flavor last a little longer.

Pay attention. Don’t miss it.

Life and creativity is everywhere. Sometimes we have to work a little harder to find it. This is where I start. These few paragraphs are my attempt to begin again.

I’m in! Sort of…not really very much. But – I can begin moving in and unpacking! And if I ever find my camera in all this mess – I’ll put pictures up 🙂 And some day I will feel clean again – the previous renter didn’t clean very well before she left so I’ve been wiping out kitchen cabinets – and mice got into my storage unit and pooped all over everything – and it’s hot and dusty. So a shower is definitely in order sometime soon!
On another note – my dad says he is going to buy me a gun 🙂 haha! woohoo! I guess there are benefits to my dad thinking we all need to be able to fight to the end and hole up in a bunker (I’m paraphrasing – a lot).

Here we are in Bellingham! Ayla and I moved to Bellingham Washington at the end of June! We finally found a place to live – that we can’t get into until the first – but huge relief anyways. I still don’t have a job… the search continues… Ayla and I have managed to stay friends even though we are sharing a postage stamp of a room and a “full” size bed. I think one of the hardest things to handle so far (other than missing friends and being in a strange place) is not really being able to cook… I don’t feel like I can use the kitchen here and there isn’t really room in the fridge for anything more than a few veggies. Can’t wait to get into our house!

So it’s time to move on with my life… most literally. Ayla and I need to get out of Moscow. Forget some things. Meet new people. Find a change of scenery. Figure out what we’re doing. Dig in the dirt. You get the idea.
We both want to live slightly out of town, or at the very least in a place with a large yard. I want to try having a mini “farm”. You know – a garden, chickens, fruit trees… Ayla is a great roommate and told me that was fine as long as she doesn’t have to do anything with the chickens! We have to live someplace big enough that Ayla can find a busy spa, or a Clinique counter at some Macy’s. And I want a bread bakery… I want to use my newly found skills with dough.

There’s this person that keeps popping into my head and I need to go someplace where everything that I do doesn’t remind me of him.

My mom has inspired me to move toward the west side of Washington State. Incidentally that is also closer to her… She has been feeding me information about something called – Respit Care, for foster kids/parents. It sounds like a great way to make some extra money, minister to families, work with kids, and join my family in their newest adoption plan.
Another reason that moving over there would be a good idea is just the fact that we could be close to the ocean. I mean – if we wanted to we could have a little boat and go crabbing… we could dig for clams year round… we could harvest mussels… we could smell that salty fresh air whenever we wanted to… talk about awesome!

There’s a lot that has to happen before we can move and that means it’ll probably be sometime in the spring. I’m not sure if that’s soon enough for us – we may be slightly kookoo by then, but that’ll give us time to plan and such. It will also give me time to enjoy Carrie and Eddie’s baby, as well as a short time to enjoy Jon and Lindsey’s baby! (By the way – Carrie is due next week and Jon and Lindsey are finding out what they’re having next week! Exciting Exciting!)

Changes are coming and we are all moving forward with our lives…