Revisiting this week's OM [one moment] meet up

Last weekend, I went to San Francisco for the Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs.  The conference was a great opportunity to hear from other bloggers and small businesses as well as get inspired, and network.  I plan to blog in more detail about some of the great speakers.

I went to the conference with two talented ladies, Angie (Angie Allen Stationary) and Cyn (River Dog Prints), who are on a similar trajectory in life as myself.  It was wonderful to talk and laugh about shop and family, while sharing new ideas and helpful advice.  The weekend was everything a girls weekend should be.

My moment this past week was appreciating how we all met.  We took a leap of faith to get to know strangers - online via blogging and social networking.  What began as friendly banter, was nurtured into true friendships.  We wouldn't have met otherwise and now we are friends.  It has made me realize that friends can be found via many vehicles. We never know how a connection will be made or relationship transpire.  We just need to be open to the possibilities.

Thanks, Cyn and Angie, for a wonderful weekend.  I feel fortunate to have both of you in my life and I value our friendship.

Please visit last week's OM [one moment] meet up and join us.  I'd love to hear what one moment stood out in your week.

  Breakfast at Farm Table

Blossoming friendships - OM [one moment] meet up

I'm still having a tough time blogging from the West Coast.  The 3 hour time difference from the East Coast is doing me in especially since I had gotten into the habit of posting in the mid afternoon out there.  So, please bear with me.  I'm just happy to have started blogging again.

I've been working on my OM post this week but it isn't quite finished.  It is about friendship and I hope to finish it later today but certainly over the weekend.  In the meantime, I don't want you to have to wait to link to this week's post.  So, have it!  Please tell me about your special moment this week!

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What word would your friends use to describe you? OM [one moment] meet up #56

A friend recently told me a story about a guy she dated, many years ago, who asked her a thought provoking question.

"If you asked a friend to describe you with only one word, what would that word be?"

The guy asking her this question, in her words, was an "egotistical, money hungry person" who said his friends would use the word "humble" to describe him.

Isn't it interesting what people think about themselves or think others think about them.

My friend said that at that time in her life, she thought her friends would have called her "interesting."  After all, she was traveling the world with wanderlust coursing through her veins.

This really got me thinking about what word would most describe me.  I'm sure for different people it would vary.  I also think that it may have changed over the years.  Words I'd love to have describe me would be sincere, honest, genuine, true.  The words I'd choose for myself right now would be sad, overwhelmed, anxious, pained, numb.

I'm finding it helpful to toss some of these words around in my noggin.  I know we are not just a word, but a series of complex emotions and experiences.  We also have the ability to change perceptions - our own or others.  Simply acknowledging this was a comforting moment for me this week.

What word would YOUR FRIENDS use to describe you?
What word would YOU use to describe yourself?

NOTE:  Click on word.  at the top of the page to be taken to a fun side project of mine. 

Beekeeping with a friend - OM [one minute] meet up #53

A highlight during our visit to the UK was seeing a dear friend.  Sue and I met while working together at the University of Chicago years ago.  She is the kindest, most genuine and honest soul I've ever met and has a special place in my heart. 

Sue moved to London 7 years ago and is now keeping bees in south London.  We spent a day exploring the beautiful gardens and surroundings of East Croydon (pictures to come).  Sue and her boyfriend took us the a spectacular estate where they keep one of 5 hive locations.  We donned our beekeeping suits and got up close and personal with thousands of bees.  Hearing the volume of buzz rise from a hive is amazing.  It isn't time for harvesting honey yet, so we simply made sure all was well with the hives.

Bees are amazing.  Their hives are an eco system of complex relationships between worker bees, drones, and the queen.  To hear my friends talk about what the bees do and the entire process of maintaining the hives to harvesting the honey (which I was able to taste directly from the hive) was unbelievable.  For a few minutes, I even considered starting a hive when we move (along with getting a few chickens).  Then I remembered I don't have an agricultural bone in my body.

Sue and Mike share their knowledge of beekeeping on their website, Bees 'n' Beans, and in teaching classes.  I'd love for you to visit their site and follow them on Twitter.  Who knows, maybe one of you will be a future beekeeper.

I have wonderful photos to share, but they are on Chris' computer today.  I'll be sure to post them soon.

Hope you have a great weekend!
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OM is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment.  Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, actively looking for and sharing these moments will promote balance in our lives.

Share in the OM comments here, on your own blog (leave us a link in your comments)  or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter,  use hash tag - #omMeetup so we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!

Parental duty to embarrass kids

I met my friend, Lourdes, in a mommy/baby class when our first borns were 9 months old. I remember telling my husband that there was a woman who oddly stared at me from across the singing circle.

It just so happened that our babies were both born on the same day, just hours apart. Even more coincidentally, we had the same doctor and delivered at the same hospital (my hubby remembers passing her hubby in the hall). She is half Japanese and I am half Vietnamese. Our husbands both brewed beer at the time and are beer snobs. You see where this is all going - instant friends!

So Lourdes and her family came to visit this past week from Chicago. We hadn't seen the kids in 3 years and 3 years is a lifetime in their development. M & M are both 12 going on 25. Seeing each other could've gone south quickly, but instead they hit it off like they've been together this whole time. You could feel the connection in the air - secret looks and jokes.

Anyway, they spent a lot of time together and realized they still have a lot in common. Having spent the first solid 6 years of their lives together (first sleepovers, first kiss, Halloweens, New Years, chicken pox, etc.) it was fun to see that they are still very much alike. They even look like siblings.

On our last evening together, we thought it was time to break out the photos. M & M sat on the couch as we began pouring through the boxes. There are hundreds of photos that immediately took us back through those 6 years. We didn't even look through most of them.

It began with a photo I refer to as the "garden of Eden" shot. [Side note: we gave them the choice of letting the other see some of the really naked photos. We're saving those for when we really need them!] Although slightly embarrassed, the kids actually enjoyed reminiscing. We laughed and cried.

"Remember New Year's 2000 when we thought it was a great idea to wake our 3 year olds to ring in the new millennium?" What were we thinking!

One evening at the kid's table at dinner M (their daughter) sadly told M (my son) that the 'nook fairy' came and took away her 'nook.' They were 2ish and being weened from their pacifiers. My son very matter of factly said, "Well, you know that your mom can just buy another one at the store."

How can you not laugh at the innocence of kids and while this may be embarrassing I don't want to forget - the two playing 'Little Mermaid' behind a chair only to have M shout, "M has a rash on her vagina."

or

M (their daughter) asking her mom if the androgynous person in line at the post office has a "china or a peanut?"

Classic!!

NOTE: the photo is of their youngest son, V (age 6), on the recent cover of Chicago Parent.

On the grid but just a little...

Although I'm back from vacation, we now have some good friends visiting us from Chicago. Picture a house full of 5 kids (including the two oldest who were born on the same day and were best friends for the first 6 years of their lives). We are cramming years of catching up and great laughs.I still have one more week of summer vacation with the kids next week, then off to school they go. This summer flew by, didn't it?!

So, enjoy the weekend. I hope to be back to my usual online obsession next week.

Oh, and stop by my friend and fellow Arts in RI teammate's blog to wish her a happy birthday! Happy birthday, Kristin!

Leo birthday card, by Kristin Crane