I’m Unlocking My Full Power

I love the Internet because it’s so easy to connect with people and share great ideas. This week I read Sherri McConnell’s Saturday Seven blog where she shares recommendations on seven different topics. She always sends me down interesting paths of learning, and this week I was especially intrigued by Leo Babauta’s blog post, Be All In: Unlock Your Full Power. Babauta writes that rarely are we “all in” on anything and we can’t be 100% committed to everything. This brought me back to my question of the year:

Changes at our Farm: Unlocking Power

We moved from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area in 2020 to our farmhouse. For me, it was a huge leap of faith made during a leap year. I like living in a city, so in the back of my mind, I’ve always had an exit strategy of sorts. I keep looking for the next great place to live in our retirement. In other words, I wasn’t all in on my husband’s dream of living in the country. So, after reading Babauta’s blog post, I knew I had to go all in on our farm. And that’s when things got moving, literally. My husband climbed in his skid steer and started moving earth. Talk about unlocking power!

John Deere skid loader moving soil and rocks

The last house we owned always felt like Tim and Ann’s house, the previous homeowners, simply because we didn’t change anything after we moved in. So here’s our short list of plans to make this house feel like our home:

  • Remove the current boulder wall and redesign the foundation planting. Since my husband loves working with stone, he went to work immediately!
  • Replace a lot of the light fixtures. Even though they are new – and even very nice – I wouldn’t have selected them. A friend recommended a designer, and we are making final selections next week.
  • Buy a farmhouse table and eight chairs for our dining area. This has been on our wishlist since we moved in, and this week we found the perfect set on Facebook Marketplace. Our patience paid off big time!

Changes to Our Diet

During May, we are eating our way through the Whole 30 plan to reduce inflammation and other food issues. Talk about going all in: this is a big commitment, and we’ve made it to day 18. We’re eating vegetables, fruit, nuts, and meat. We aren’t eating any dairy products, grains, or added sugar. Honestly, buying an air fryer is making this so much easier than the first time we did this several years ago. The taste of roasted vegetables and fish is so much better! Plus, we are finally feeling better after trashing all our good eating habits during the stresses of 2020. I wish I could say my cravings for sweets are gone, but I’m still literally dreaming about desserts at night. (I can still see that pan of Scotcheroos featured in one of my dreams. Yum!)

When I’m hungry and going through sugar withdrawal, the only one who feels safe around me is Wally. Everyone else keeps their distance.

blond fluffy dog lying in a bed of clover

Pursuing Fun

After painting my sewing room, I’m settling back in and starting a new quilt. Summer Memories is challenging enough to keep me thinking and fun enough that I want to keep sewing. That’s a great combination! The cherry on top is that I’m using all my favorite fabrics from my stash. I’ve held on to these too long just waiting for the perfect quilt pattern.

basket blocks for a quilt

I’ve been listening to books and podcasts while I sew. One podcast I particularly enjoyed was Jeff Brown’s conversation with Miriam Schulman on the Read to Lead podcast. Schulman offered so much insight into taking risks and even tips on how she reads books. If you listen to the episode, let me know if you gleaned some inspiration!

three books to read and a set of Apple air pods

The books pictured above are my newest books. I’m reading A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson with my husband and our small study group. All of us are enjoying the rich discussion!

Just Plain Fun

Today I read Leanna’s I Like Thursday #350 blog post, and she recounted brushes with celebrities and celebrity crushes. It brought to mind a sweet gift from my dear son, who used to be a camera operator on the set for KSTP-TV. He asked the meteorologist, Ken Barlow, to record a video birthday greeting for me. If you live in a place with weather like Minnesota, meteorologists are our celebrities, so this was a special birthday surprise. Have you had any cool brushes with fame? I’d love to hear about it!

Joyfully,

Tracie