When the Jewel Fairy Visits! Video and How-To

Jewel Fairy Visits are a pretty special event around our house!  When our Jewel Fairy comes for a visit to deliver her "magic jewels" a.k.a rocks or gems from the craft store or dollar tree, there is a tangible excitement in the air!  She doesn't come often but when she does, it is magic and all my kids still believe!  They ask me often to do my "jewel fairy dance" so she will come and leave her magic jewels for them.  Most of the time I find myself telling them that she doesn't visit very often since she has other kids to visit.  It usually means that I don't have A. The Jewels, B. The Energy, C. The time, or D. All of the above.  Most of the time I pretend to get on The Jewel Fairy website and check to see what her policies are.  I pretend to read things like:

• The Jewel Fairy only visits once every few months due to the high demand from other children.
• The Jewel Fairy rarely does doubles (come more than once a day).  
• Jewels from the jewel fairy are different every time.  
• Kids must be hiding when their mom or dad does the jewel fairy chant/dance.  
• Never kick a jewel fairy in the mouth.  Okay, maybe that was the gift horse.  

The Jewel Fairy came today!  She decided that it was a special occasion since our neighbor BFF is leaving for two weeks.  Usually I only do the special jewel fairy dance/chant (which I pull from my ear and is different every time) for such things as playdates, birthday parties, etc. but today was just an ordinary day made extraordinary.  

There was a slight problem to my perfect plan today since the neighbor friend decided to call me out on my "jewel fairy" tricks.  She accused ME of being the jewel fairy of of course my oldest daughter started to be a little skeptic too.  Man, they really had me working it.  But in the end, they still seemed to believe.  They even wrote the jewel fairy a thank-you note and left a gift under the tree.  

This is our Japanese Maple Jewel Fairy Tree where we find our Jewels from the Jewel Fairy!

Here's what they left for the Jewel Fairy today.  It is still there.  Not sure what I'll do for this one.  

How-To Jewel Fairy Visit
You too can have the Jewel Fairy come for a visit!  It's easy, inexpensive and kids LOVE it! Boys and girls alike.  And it makes for a great 4-6 year old birthday party activity! Here's all you need to do.


1. Buy some inexpensive gems or rocks from the dollar store or craft store.  Around Christmas time, we had the Christmas Jewel Fairy come for a visit and she brought these:

2.  If you're hosting a party, sometimes it is nice to have some little bags to use for the kids to collect their jewels in.  Otherwise, we use jewelry boxes, tupperware, plastic baggies, etc.  

3.  Have the kids go to another room to hide.  

4.  Put the jewels where you want them.

5.  Make up a silly song, dance or chant.  Today we said something like "Jewel Fairy, Jewel Fairy come to our house.  Come and leave us something other than a mouse!" Yeah, you'll hear that in the video.  I'd suggest something a little better.  Ha!  

6.  Call the kids out and watch the magic as they find the jewels and collect them. 

7.  Enjoy!

Here's a video from today's Jewel Fairy visit.  Note: I know I sound ridiculous thinking of my Jewel Fairy chant on the fly...give me some credit...I had no idea what I would say until I said it.  

I'll be doing a giveaway for my favorite Handful Bra soon!  All you members of the tiny tittie committee better be on the look out for this fabulous product!  I wear mine all the time!  

Amanda

I Love You Running! You Make Me Happy!

Running is so much more to me than just a form of exercise. So much more than just a way to stay in shape.  
It is my soul food.  
It keeps me happy.  
Makes me feel balanced.  
Helps me to see life in COLOR! 
 A gift indeed!  


And when someone that loves running so truly and deeply finds themselves unable to run or exercise, life tends to take on a grey and dull quality.  Not to mention the mood swings, lack of energy, feeling gross, a decrease in happy feelings and thoughts...life without running and exercise is just not nearly as wonderful for someone that loves it so much. So many of us have been there.  Faced with injury or sickness.  Trying out new forms of exercise in hopes of finding a "temporary replacement". Some of us even start making deals with God that if we can just run again then we won't train so hard but remember to enjoy running for the simple act that it is...just to run! We'll take care of ourselves this time...focus on better form, eat better, ice, stretch and roll...we won't take it for granted!  Then there are some that just can't run anymore due to bad knees or more serious injury, like the doctor I saw the other day. Oh, how his eyes lit up when I mentioned that I just finished a marathon.  You could tell that he shared this love for running.  He didn't have to say a word.  You could see it on his face and hear it in his questions. Hearing him talk made me realize just how important it is to care for our bodies and be wise with "How we Run".

This week has been a weird week for me.  It has been an almost  "forced break".  I believe that my body really did need it because I wasn't doing such a good job at taking a break and "being still".  So it took a double whammy to knock me on my buns!  


PMS+ Kidney infection + drastic drop in exercise + bacon all over my kitchen = one grumpy woman! 

Last night I could take it no longer! I'd done my duty of making bacon for father's day, our house stank of it (still does), I'd rested and took my medication for 5 straight days, and somehow managed to shovel copious amounts of crap down my throat and I was left feeling like a grumpy piece of lard.  So I headed out the door and just ran.  Didn't have a plan in mind...it was just a time to run!  


I felt better within the first two minutes of getting my heart rate up.  I was smiling at strangers, waving to the neighbors, and returning to myself one stride at a time! After a 10.5 mile run at marathon pace I am feeling AMAZING!  Like someone turned the lights on.  Like a blindfold was lifted.  Like I just took the best happy pill that was ever invented.  I missed this feeling! I missed this simple pleasure of running! Running because I LOVE it and NEED it and not because I am training for something and feel like I HAVE TO RUN.  Running because it is just part of ME!  Part of what makes life Sweet. Part of what makes me a better Amanda!


1.  If you're not a "runner", is there something that you do that brings the color to life, turns the lights on, and just makes you feel like a better you when you are doing it?  
2. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.  I've had this book for awhile but have yet to read it.  My husband recently read it and has been incredibly inspired.  I've never seen him so inspired to run. He used to say that he wasn't a runner and would rather stick pencils in his eyes than run a marathon and now he is looking up races for ultra marathons! I'm reading it now so that we can discuss it.  Have you read this book? 
3.  I have a few friends who are just starting to run.  They want to know a good book for beginner runners.  Any suggestions?

Amanda

A Time For Everything...Even Bacon! And Father Figures and Remembering My Dad.

Bacon
It disgusts me.  
The smell
The look.
What it is. 
What is left in the pan after it cooks.   
But I do admit that it doesn't taste so bad if I try to forget how bad it is for me. We never have bacon in the house.  Unless it is Father's Day or my husband's birthday.  We might even take some along when we go to a beach house or camping with friends. Once my husband tried to bring some home when I was pregnant with our firstborn.  I was so irrational an hormonal that I threw it out of the house onto the driveway and yelled "We will not live like this?!"  I think I might have mentioned something about how bacon is horrible for you and how it makes you fat and prone to heart attacks.  Poor guy was just trying to get a little bacon.  Then last year for Father's Day I made him Turkey Bacon.  I still have not lived that one down with his buddies that found out about it.  Until now.  Tomorrow is redemption day for me.  I figure if I can't have a redemption marathon then I might as well redeem myself on Father's Day.  I even got the thick cut kind.  And who knew that something this bad for you could be so expensive?!  

Yuck yuck yuck!  

He deserves it!  He's everything I've ever wanted in a husband and a father for our children.  The relationship he has with our kids is just what I would have wanted with my own father.  So, BACON it is!  Bring on the BACON!  


Father's Day
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!  My dad died when I was little but I've had several father figures in my life that have played different roles in my life.  The lack of a strong father figure in my life has always been something that makes my heart hurt.  I've always wanted that special father/daughter relationship that I see many of my friends have.  The kind of relationship where I feel protected, loved, and adored all wrapped into one.  A father that is hard on me but only because he believes in me.  A father that is part of my life and supports me in all that I do, even when he doesn't see eye-to-eye with me. Someone that is "like" me. I've always imagined the father that is present in my life and makes a point to let me know that I am loved and never alone in life.  


I may not have had this type of father/daughter relationship that I always imagined.  Not everyone does.  Relationships are not always perfect or how we think they should be but the important thing is that we have people in our life that are there for us and that love and support us.  I've had several people in my life that have filled a "fatherly role" and for them I am thankful.  They have not been perfect but they've served a purpose in my life and shown me love and support in their own way.  


My Grandfather--My dad's dad, My Grandfather Bardwell Odum.  This man was a strong and loving presence in my life.  Even all the way from Dallas, Texas.  Once my dad died (his son), my Grandfather made sure that he would be there to support us in ways that my father wouldn't be able to.  He was very hard on us kids.  Many times overly critical.  But he always always told me how proud he was of me and how much he loved me.  He encouraged me and taught me to understand the value of money.  He taught me how to save money and be wise with it.  And it is because of his encouragement and support that I went to college.  I loved my Grandpa so very very much.  I miss him.  I miss the summers we went to visit him.  Swimming in his pool.  How he taught me to whistle, catch fish, eat frog legs, and dive off a diving board.  I love how he signed me up for my first mile race when I was only 9 or 10 and he inspired us to run. He told us stories of our father, our family history, and stories about his life and our relatives from generations back. He died a little over a year ago and I miss him so much. I'm so thankful for the close relationship I had with him despite the times that we didn't get along. I love you Grandpa!  


My Father-in-Law--I may not have the closest relationship with my FIL but he is one of the most loving and supportive fathers I know.  He is ALWAYS there for us and he loves his family more than anything!  I know he is there for me no matter what!  He would do anything for us.  I'm so very grateful that my husband has had his father as an example throughout his life.  Someone to show him what is important in life...relationships and family!  Someone to model the value of giving time, being able change, working on a marriage to make it work, and being able to admit when he is wrong.  Thank you Pat!  You are such a gift!


My Dad Died Young
In honor of my own father, here is a picture I've shared before.  I don't have many pictures of him from when I was a baby and until he died but I did get some old pictures of him after my Grandpa died.  I was also sent a few of his running medals.  

Many of you are familiar with a few posts that I wrote about my dad.  The posts that explain how he died, some trials in his life, his love for running and how I feel connected to him when I run. They are pretty important to me so for those that are interested, I'll include them here again in honor of father's day:
Passion, Determination and the Will to Run
The Deepest Part of My Running Heart--Running for Him


I'll also include this poem that I wrote for him several years back.  


The Earth His Home
The earth he cherished.
The mountains, 
     His nutrients.
The land, 
    His fuel.
Nature enriched his life,
     With it
He filled his soul.
Now he enriches the earth
Under that 
      Quivering aspen tree.


The earth fell down upon him.
      Robbing him of his breath. 
Leaving his soul to dance
      Above Mount Buffalo and 
his body to rest beneath the roots of 
      the tree that he planted for us to climb.
The small brick, painted,
       DAVID
placed at the foot of the white wood.
      That was was where my father lived.


A father I was too young to know
      But am engrained with his spirit.
His breath fills my lungs,
      His power is in my legs,
His strength in my will.


The soft steps of my feet and the 
      rhythm of my breath
      are a call to him.
Running gracefully under the open sky that is
      unusual in beauty
The road that stretches out to touch the end 
     It is a connection
He runs beside me and tells me 
    He is proud.


It is I that continues his vision--
     that holds the earth so dear.
The mountains, my inspiration
     his music fills me up.  
His dream carries me with its passion.


He lives among nature
      The sun cresting on the mountain
His soul dancing, wandering free over
      Lake Dillon.


Just as earth he so loved,
     so too, earth took him.
Now he enriches the earth 
Under that
      Quivering aspen tree.  
               

Amanda