Oatcakes and Anti-

So, a beautiful friend, who is overflowing with life right now...figuratively and quite literally-- about to give birth any day...recently requested a batch of oatcakes I offered to make her. It's my 'throw together' specialty that Den loves to have in his lunch and the kids adore as well. They're awesome straight out of the freezer, which is ultra convenient for me who lets one-too-many-a-thang become a science experiment in the back of the fridge, and you can pack 'em with whatever you love (and know you should be eating). I don't (EVER) claim ultra-originality in anything I make, and most of my ideas come from somewhere else...but these are actually pretty dang good, and I actually did just throw together a bunch of stuff and-- most miraculously!-- remembered to write it down. Here goes: 1 1/4 c ground golden flaxseed 1 1/2 c flour (you can totally omit the flour and use only almond flour, which is what I often do) 2 c oats 1 c almond flour 1/4 c chia seeds 3/4 c sunflower seeds 1c coconut oil 3/4 c (or less, or use a different sweetener, or exchange for mashed banana) maple syrup 1/2 c whole dried cranberries 3/4 c dark chocolate chips note: If I don't use any flour, I'll often throw an egg in there to help it hold together, but it works without it, too. These are super-forgivable. I just throw in whatever I have on hand-- pumpkin seeds, cashews, cacao nibs, shredded coconut, anything! Preheat oven to 350. Mix together and dish into greased (I use coconut oil) muffin tin. Bake for 15-20 min (be watching, not exact here!) and continue to eat allll day. =) Confession: Since all of maybe 2 people even read this blog anymore, I wrote this one so I wouldn't lose this delicious recipe we love. Which means I just confessed that to myself and my two friends that don't need to know that no one reads this blog. Almost forgot: the 'anti-' in the header. If you've heard of the Enneagram, my confession #2 is that I'm a #8. Yikes. (If you've never heard of it, look it up and get addicted, 'cause it's pretty rad.) The #8 thing means I can be a little, wellll... anti-. Like, I know what I stand against (thanks for reminding me of this in your blog, Molly =)). But what am I FOR? Trying to focus on this lately, and not just focus, but to live in it. To live in it, and to allow others to stand in their OWN place for what THEY are for. Own it.

Shambhala Vision

Just read a great excerpt from one of Chogyam Trungpa's (Tibetan Buddhist and founder of Naropa University) books out of my fave magazine, The Sun (think: Christmas gift for all your friends and yourself...it's that good-- spiritual, political, thought-provoking, and NO ADS. Can't beat it), and loved it. "Ultimately, that is the definition of bravery: not being afraid of yourself...and the world. When we are afraid of ourselves and afraid of the seeming threat the world presents, then we become extremely selfish...But we can be much braver than that. We must try to think beyond our homes, beyond sending our children to school or getting to work in the morning...We must try to think how we can help this world." Oh, I wish I could say I couldn't relate to that... He goes on: "While everyone has a responsibility to help the world, we can create additional chaos if we try to impose our ideas or our help upon others. Many people have theories about what the world needs...The Shambhala teachings are not based on converting the world to another theory. The premise of Shambhala vision is that, in order to establish an enlightenend society for others, we need to discover what inherently we have to offer the world." Now tell me that's not beautiful, and, er, convicting? Convicting with a message of hope can never be bad though, right? Good stuff. Now go subscribe to The Sun.

Election Drama

I know there is sooo much talk about the election out there right now...Facebook is hilarious-- it annoys me, but then I think, Why not use social media for entering into dialogue and expressing our opinions? Should it only be used to let everyone know where we're eating and to post pictures of our friends and kids? I know this has been said by a million people, but is it reeeally that hard to understand where someone of a different opinion or political party is coming from? I mean , listen to someone's story or life situation and it all makes perfect sense. This is the first election that I feel like I actually get what Republicans are going for, where the Libertarian party looks a bit more appealing, and where I actually considered voting for Jill Stein of the Green Party (still regret that I didn't give her my vote, to be honest). Obviously, I'm disclosing that Obama got my vote. I don't feel a need to hide it or defend it this time around, nor do I feel 100% sure that I KNOW the right way of running a country. I think our fear of 'the other' is so apparent during election time. If we fear 'the other' of the same race and nationality, how much more do we fear 'others' from other countries, races, and who belong to political systems of which we could never relate? I think we're a long, long way from being able to engage in real dialogue (respectful dialogue) with others. As great as it is to be able to use social media to start that dialogue, we're still scared to actually talk about it face to face. We rant on Facebook and then don't bring it up at the dinner party because that isn't P.C. yet. Interesting. As my son likes to say, 'Peace and love. Grace be with you.' (He really says that. Like, every time someone leaves. Hilarious.)

Fall Craftiness

Fall is here! I go through little spurts of crafty inspiration, and then it flees. I'm waiting for my next one to come on so I can make a bunting for the living room. Hope it comes before Christmas... =)

SImplicity in its Simplest State

Ahhh, I love simplicity. Just the word gives me warm fuzzies. Is that how you spell 'fuzzies'? Don't think I've ever spelled that one out before. Oh yes, simplicity. I will write could write (shying away from commitment, remember?) many posts on simplicity. Any act of intentional simplicity makes me feel more connected: to my (true) self, the human race, nature, spirituality, everything. It's one of those things that you just know is right, no questioning. Making a gift out of my son's blocks (sssshhhh, he wasn't incredibly pleased with this idea), bringing cupcakes instead of buying them (still can't see the draw in a beautiful cupcake that tastes like...?), baking bread, sitting in the park and doing nothing, hand-making birthday gifts...does it not all just feel so GOOD? Just had to throw my contentment out into the universe. Amen.

Re-visiting an Old Friend

The last three hours I successfully escaped the nearly insurmountable urge to write a blog... I was left home alone to clean (a house that desperately needed cleaning, mind you) and of course all I could think about was a blog that I haven't written in for a year. Silly me. I really do have a desire to start up a blog. I'm sure it won't be perfectly regular (don't do too well with pressure over here); I'm sure it will have a different face and voice than our blogging while in Montreal, and I'm sure it may appear slightly controversial. HA! Threw you with that one, didn't I? I'm coming to discover that I'm slightly controversial by nature... I revel in controversy...and I do need a place to voice my, um, voice. So there. Not committing (I really can freeze in the face of commitment)to anything outlandish, but I will be here time to time, so follow if you're interested. I know I may be flying solo here, writing to no one, but I'm perfectly okay with that, and maybe would even prefer it. =) (Don't take it personally...) See you soon.

New Videos!

Been almost two months since our last post...yikes! Here's a short one to alert you of two new videos posted above, one of our little Nell (days away from 1 year on planet earth) and one of our Dennis, picking up yet another musical instrument. Also, enjoy the new pictures on your right. Hope to post again soon, soon-ER.