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friday five spot.

19 Apr

Yay! The five spot again. I’m, like, on a roll or something:)

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1. First of all. This week was all kinds of vulnerable, professionally,  for me. I sent my manuscript, Flicker, out to Beta Readers. Doing that is like saying, “Here is this thing that is really important to me, will you please rip it to shreds?”

And then not fall apart in the process.

Look, I know: It is good for my book. It is good for me as a writer. It is good for me as a person.

BUT: clicking send on the pdf file still makes me  a little (and by a little I mean extremely) vulnerable because WHAT IF EVERYONE HATES IT/THINKS IT’S LAME/JUDGES MY SPELLING AND GRAMMER????

What then?

Well, I will tell you what, I will ave to keep working. Harder then ever. And that is a good thing too.

So basically I was hyperventilating the day after I sent it out and then I got a super encouraging email from one of the readers and was  like, okay. Even if 95% hate it, I still got 5% here, and that is enough for me to get through today.

My skin is growing thicker, I tell you. That is good too.

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2. Lincoln is a full on reader now. It is so awesome. He is all about Dr. Seuss and Fly Guy. I like his taste. I mean, Fly Guy is funny!

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3. I spent a million hours in the yard this work. I hate it. In my IG photo I hash tagged, #thisdoesnothingformysoul. It basically sums it up. I sooo wish I was one of those people who was really into getting my hands in the soil. But no. It is something I do only because we are the ghetto house on the block and I need to not be that person. I do care about my image on some level. I am a person.

The whole time I was in the yard I was dreaming, longingly, of this newly checked out stack in my house:

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I know. It is sooo sad to ignore beautiful books like those.

4. I got this super wonderful bar of soap in the mail this week from a friend. I LOVE IT. And so do my dreadlocks!!! If you are a reader with dreads, and have heard me talk about my Baking Soda and ACV wash, I have changed my ways in just one wash. Swoonworthy, I swear.

5. Look at my sweet new apron from my sister!

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I got one from the same company from my  Pop’s for Christmas — I love wearing it as a catch-all purse!

Okay, I hope you have a fabulous weekend friends! I still have some writing goals to meet for the week, so I’m hunkering down tomorrow to type (must make it happen!)! I hope you have lots of fun in store for yourself, also.

Oh, also, BIG BLOG SHOUT OUT TO ANNA AND KRISTY FOR COMMENTING WITH THEIR FIVE SPOT’S LAST WEEK. XOXOXOXOXO

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friday five spot!

12 Apr

It’s been awhile.

1.I feel like I should have done a disclaimer regarding all the photos in my last blog post of *me*. I published the post, and then became totally self-conscious of all the pictures of myself. The reason I did it was because when I first got dreadlocks I was so inspired by bloggers who recounted their experiences with pictures. It was like, even though my hair was often not feeling *great*, I felt like I could keep going by knowing what could come of my patience.

I told my friend about feeling so self-conscious and she told me a 1-10 ratio is a good rule of thumb. Like, for every one post of myself I should do ten on other things. And she said this rule can also be applied to Instagram photos. What do you think is a good ‘rule’ to follow regarding self portraits? Do you care? Am I being weird by even thinking about this? Isn’t this my blog anyway? Is anyone even reading this thing??

2. LOOK AT ISABELA’S FANCY KICKS!

IMG_6007My parents got her a gift certificate for her birthday in February to design her own footwear! It was thrilling for her, and I gotta say, she has a knack for color coordination, right? I love her choice of LIVE/LOVE on the tongues. One of her favorite singers has that tattooed on his knuckles and she thinks it is the coolest thing. I am really. really. really. hoping she doesn’t have a growth spurt anytime soon!

3. Speaking of tattoo’s I am getting a new one tomorrow!

IMG_6172I am so excited about my birthday present! And I am not going to tell you what it is going to be, but I’ll give you a hint. It has to do with my word of the year last year. Now you can dig through my archives to figure it out:)

4. These two are cracking me up lately.

IMG_6190They are both falling apart. Maisey is missing her top teeth, Lincoln his bottom two. Lincoln is getting scraps and cuts faster than any child. Neither can manage to keep their rooms tidy for longer than twelve minutes. They are a mess. I don’t remember Moses being such a disaster at six. Maybe he was a different sort. I don’t know. All I know is they are ridiculously cute disasters.

5. I have my new goals all mapped out for my new manuscript!

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I am so excited. I am 10k into the story right now, and have a hefty schedule ahead of me. My last book I wrote in 3 weeks after I got through the first 10k (I labored for a few months on the beginning, then I was on a roll). Now the editing has taken me the past 2 1/2 months, but I think it is *nearly* done. I have had my critique partners reading chapters, so I am editing on other peoples schedule. I am so thankful to have people working along side me!

I also want to apologize in advance for being a crappy friend for the next 6 weeks. Ha!

Okay— happy Friday friends! What have you been up to lately? Five spot in the comments!

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friday 5 spot!

15 Jun

Happy Friday friends! I am feeling extra cheery today and I think it may have a little something to do with the sunshine! It feels good to slip on sandals and keep the back door open. I admit the week feels pretty sweet already, after finishing my major goal yesterday, and I bought a bottle of champagne to toast that tonight on my weekly date-night-at-home.I apologize if any of you have seen these photos via instagram. I just love that little app. It’s like a mini-dose of facebook, but much prettier. It is social media I am down with. And I figure if you did see any of these photos there, it was like a preview to a movie. Not that this 5 spot is a feature film, but you know what I mean:)

1. Moses is rereading, for the third time, Harry Potter 1-4. He is gearing up to read #5, which is his ‘ending 2nd grade’ present. I was a little leery of letting him read the later books in the series, but he has proven himself knowledgable in all things wizard-ly. His prompt in his writing journal yesterday was a list of all the characters with a sentence of what they were like, “Hagrid: half giant, Care for Magical Animals teacher in Harry’s third year.” I figure he can go for it.

2. Birch Box #2 Arrived! It was as fun as the first. Check out those amazing band-aids! Love! Also, my friend and I were discussing other subscription services. There are so many awesome ones! I want to sign up for the m all! Here is an awesome post someone created linking a bunch of club of the month options. Which ones are you drooling over?

3. I am still apart of a monthly writing group that meets in my county. I found it through meetup.com. This week before the meeting I had a chance to sit down and work on some critiques for the group. It is such an honor to be a part of that process. I see that I am growing as a writer because I am surrounding myself with other writers. I challenge anyone reading this that if there is some area you want to grow in, seek out people who are like minded and learn from them. It is an amazing thing to be in a room with other individuals who are trying to carve out time in their lives to fuel their soul just like you. It is powerful and fun and will make you smile more, I promise.

4. Here is a snapshot of my living room. This is for you Amy:)

5. I also wanted to show you friends the papers taped to the wall above my computer. They are little images I see each time I walk by that make me happier. The words inspire. I want some version of these words for my next tattoo.

Okay. I need to go clean my kitchen. You can be happy I spared you from a snap shot of that catastrophe.

Go have a happy weekend.

xoxo, anya

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friday five spot!

1 Jun

It is Friday again! I love four day weeks like this. It gives us more time to pack in smiles & laughter & fun & makes the cruddy stuff less cruddy. Here is the five spot:

1. I just got these lovely Birkenstocks in the mail! I had been longing for a pair the past few months  {and when a lady in my writing group showed up with some Birks I just *knew* I couldn’t wait any longer}. I have been wearing TOMS most exclusively for a good long while and though they are adorable and trendy, they are also feet killers. Like KILLERS. I am old I tell you! So I bought these beauts off ebay for 31$! Can’t beat that! Also I feel very nostalgic since the last time I wore them was in high school when my BFF and I were obsessed with them. and yes I am wearing socks. At the end of May. Because I live in Washington.

2. My sister had a little singing show in my neck of the woods last weekend and I had the *pleasure* of joining her. The best part {besides her amazing vocals} was the margarita we downed with laughter. We also decided on our next tattoos. I will give you a hint: It has to do with my sister :)

3. BIRCH BOX! My May BB arrived in a highly anticipatory fashion because it was my first one! So fun. It was like opening a stocking in May. It was like getting all the fun products you want but wouldn’t splurge on. It was like, my crappy morning over *gently attempting to get my child to take their multi-vitamen*  became less crappy and more sparkly. Because now I have blue glitter eye liner. And I am rocking it. In my yoga pants. Because that’s how I roll. Truly though, it is a 10$ a month subscription, you get a box of deluxe sample {or full size!} goodies in a pretty box with a bow. If you sign up say I sent you {I get shopping credit!}

4. I fled the house last night {second night in a row…it was that kinda week for me…}I had dinner {soup, salad, breadsticks} set and the moment Jer walked in the door I exited. I had a 6:30 movie to get to! And dinner to buy. Which was a medium popcorn and cherry coke. Don’t judge. I needed to laugh. And I did to my favorite sort of movie. What To Expect was much better then the reviews and just what I needed. I went by myself as anyone who knows me knows that is one of my favorite indulgences. No one talks to you for 2 HOURS STRAIGHT. There was one other woman at the theater {it was a Thursday night}, alone as well. And even though I didn’t speak to her {I’m not that freaky} I still felt like I got her, like I knew what her week was like, where her head was. I felt in it with her. That felt nice.

5. I BOOKED MY ROOM FOR ORLANDO 2013! I know. I am just  a *little* excited.  Can you tell? When I attended in March I had an amazing time. It was a no brainer that I had to go again and see some of the most beautiful women on the planet. I think there are some spaces still available. If you are a mom parenting kids from trauma you. must. make. this. happen.

There you be peeps. I am in a really weird mood this morning so excuse anything that seemed *off*. I am still working on my first cup of coffee.

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friday 5 spot.

25 May

Hello Friends!

Well let me start off by saying I am finding my little life groove more and more each day and it feels good! Here is what I have been up to-ish as of late. And as a little pre-func p.s., I am in love with instagram and have been for the past year or so. If you are too, find me at anyamonroe! We can hang out via cool pictures!

1. I just made these amazing scones. They are my go to scone recipe {cranberry orange} and include 3 sticks of butter. So, yeah, maybe I shouldn’t make them *often* but they seemed perfect for a Friday morning treat for the kiddos. I made them in triangles here instead of circles and they are easier this way.

2.I painted another wall in my living room. It feels good to be continually adding color to my home that inspires and stirs creativity within me. If that is what I want my life to be about, I find that the space I am trying to do that in needs to match. This was a 20$ project and *much* messier then anticipated. It was magnetic paint from the hardware store and so cool and it WORKS! But, it is very. very. very. messy. Like, I need to repaint all around the circles because there is black splattered everywhere.

But don’t let that deter you completely. I used 4 coats and am thrilled with the results. I had old paint in the basement that I used to create the border and now there is places for the kids to hang artwork without you know, all over my fridge. Or taped to random doors. Or under their beds.

3. I have been back to my GoodWill addiction latley. My kids are outgrowing everything. Case in point:

I have been finding some great deals on summer gear, and trying to shop now when it is still chilly and no one else is thinking shorts and tank tops and summer dresses quite yet. I will do a fashion show shortly to show you my finds!

4. We have been playing lots of games lately. We currently have 4 versions of Dominion and let’s just say, as a family we should start entering some serious competitions because we are rocking it! This three day weekend is going to call for some serious gaming in our house! {Yes, I know, we are one step away from Magic the Gathering. I am okay with that.}

And while the bigger people play that, the little ones are loving the Picnic Game! It is the best game ever for little people and I can’t more highly recommend it. We have gotten a ton of use out of this!

5. I am so excited for summer. I have some amazing things in store the month of July and pictures like this:

are what is getting a smile on my face as the countdown begins to summer fun!

Have a fantastic weekend, friends.

xox,

anya

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friday five spot.

13 Apr

Hello friends! The sun is shining here in the Pacific Northwest and that means scooters, hula hoops and bikes are scattered around my yard {as opposed to our indoor playground aka the basement}!

Here is the five spot:

1. Yesterday, after my dreadiversary post, jerbear brought home this bottle of wine:

In honor of the two year mark. It totally cracked me up.

2.When Moses was little and the only kiddo I had, I remember taking him the pet store quite often. We have never been ‘pet people’, but little ones get so happy over seeing hamsters and rats crawling around that the five minute walk around the shop was always so worth it. Not to mention the one in our town is located next door to the Goodwill! Well, somehow I have not entered the pet store in the past 5 years and thought that yesterday after our GW run, perhaps the 3 little ones would like to poke around for a few minutes.

Pure Bliss!

3. Last night Jer decided we should have a birthday pre-funk date night and came home with the wine, but also a BLT salad from a pizza place we like. Once the kids were in bed we picked out a movie on the television. We landed on a new pre-release called A Little Bit of Heaven starring Kate Hudson. I think she is really adorable, but this movie… let’s just say I cried for an hour straight. I should have gathered as much from the synopsis, considering it is about a woman dying of cancer. Not a happy movie. It is a downer to say the least.

4. I am headed to Seattle this afternoon with Jer to celebrate my 30th birthday with my siblings. I thought about doing an entire post lamenting my old age, but decided against it. Afterall, this morning when Moses snuck in my bed to wish me happy birthday while the rest of the house was still sleeping, he asked, ‘Mom, how old are you?’ I said, ’30- aren’t I such an old lady!’ To which he responded, ‘Well, you are pretty old, but not really old, like grandma’. So that made me feel better. {Sorry mom..}

5. I have already felt so loved on this day! I opened my door this morning to find a box filled with these treasures:

My friend Pamela had these ceramic tiles made with some of my favorite photos on them!

And yesterday my friend Heather gave me this wonderful utility tote with my word of the year, BRAVE, embroidered on it {in my favorite color to boot!}:

I actually get a little teary eyed thinking about it because these are just so dang thoughtful. I am feeling the love today.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend friends. You have truly made this year more full for me by being apart of it through this blogging space.

 

 

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friday five spot.

23 Mar

1. I got a new BFF!

I watched the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead last week and am on the juicing band wagon. I know several other families are as well, like  this one and this one. I get why after a week of drinking this yummy stuff! This is my favorite blend:

beets+carrots+lemon+apple=:)

Truly though, it is much better then the V8 I tried to make yesterday. Maybe it was too much red onion, maybe too many tomatoes, all I know is it was seriously gross. I find this much more energizing then my green smoothies. Jer and I did a 30 day juice fast about 6 years ago. And I lost 24 pounds! But I was also a psycho *bleep* to be around so I am not going to do that again.

So what are we doing? This week I have been making Jer a 20 oz. bottles of juice for breakfast and lunch and I have been *mostly* doing the same. So we are meal replacing with amazing micronutrients! I am also *trying* to not eat or drink after 7pm. Sad right? But I will be much happier when I go to Jamaica this summer, just sayin’…I am not being hard core about it. I have cheated a few times (both were so worth it!), and that brings us to #2:

2. I saw these on Tuesday afternoon and on an impulse I stopped at the store on the way home from school for the ingredients. My kids thought I was magical.

So crappy picture aside, what is this?! It is an oreo topped with peanut butter, topped with an oreo topped with peanut butter baked inside a brownie. Um. Yeah. I also did a variation using cream cheese for the layers since I have one kiddo who dislikes peanuts. Basically a sugar coma- but oh so worth it.

3. Speaking of food, I have been really into making this apple cake. I have been making it once a week or so because it stores well and the kids love it. Also- so easy with the things I have on hand. Including the dozen canned apple quarts I don’t know what to do with. Fresh apples would work too. 

In a bowl mix:

3 cups flour

1 cup any sort of sugar

4 eggs

1 cup oil

1 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 cup apple juice or in my case the syrup from my canned apples

Then spread half the batter on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Lay apple slice (however many you have) and sprinkle with brown sugaer, nutmeg, cinnamon, whatever you have around.

Then spread the 2nd half of the batter and bake for an hour on 350*

Smells good. Tastes good. Every piece is always eaten up. I tweaked a recipe I found on cooks.com and like this more. Less sugar, no oranges. Easy breakfast for us!

4.Also on the food wagon…Lincoln turned !5! yesterday (post and pics to come after his party tomorrow) but for breakfast I made some yummy,easy donuts.

Combine:

1 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder

Drop by teaspoonfulls into a pan of hot oil and turn when one side is brown. When cooked through and golden throw them in powder sugar or cinnamon and sugar and dig in. this recipe makes like, 40. And the whole plate will be devoured. MAke this for breakfast tomorrow!

5. I promise ONE ‘spot’ un-food related:) I turned of my facebook account, again. I know. I did the same thing last year and I realize I am not the only person with a never ending inner struggle with, well, everything. It came down, for me, the fact that last year when I was without fb I completed a novel. I want to do that again. So it is time to take a step back from that social outlet. I am hoping to continue to use this little space, but if I am here less, know that I am working hard at finding the ever precarious tight rope of a dance called Balance.

Happy Weekend Friends!

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friday five spot.

9 Mar

Quick and to the point darlings:

1. We have been super into composting and recycling and being eco friendly with our waste this past week. In Orlando one of the ladies taught us about bottle bricks and so we have been making them. Well, actually one. Because this is the extent of our trash for the last 3 days (excluding diapers, I know, terrible)! Usually we go through one bag a DAY. So this is crazy cool. I will let you know what I will actually do with them when they are full but perhaps build furniture for outside?

2. The sun was out yesterday and I sent the kids out to play after school. They were having picnics and making forts and getting bloody lips and screaming at one another- but it was all happening outside! I am getting all butterfly-ey over the thought of spring because it means kids can explore OUTSIDE.

3. I started menu planning again due to a few reasons. 1) I am pretty busy in March and this gives Dad a good heads up on whats for dinner and 2)I save time and money at the grocery store. So Winning! And truly, I do feel more organized and less frantic about meals. It is all there laid out for me. Are any of you doing this anymore?

4. Bela has been making these little mixes for cookies and treats the last several weeks and really enjoys it. The instructions are simple (just add butter) and although she may be able to manage a more complicated recipe- this is a great beginning step for her, especially since she finds so much success at it. All the kids praise her work well done and are so excited about the treats she provides for everyone. It is a great self confidence booster and one that is worth the extra few dollars every shopping trip to add one into my basket. But I did find this little idea on pinterest and thought perhaps it would be worth a try?

Pre-Made Cookie Mixes!

5. I am headed to San Francisco this afternoon! I leave after school lets out for a quick weekend to celebrate with my oldest friend as she celebrates her 30th birthday with a big ‘ole bash! See you next week as I share about my little adventure!

{2 summers ago as we drove through SF on our west coast road trip!}

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friday five spot.

10 Feb

Hello Friends! Another Friday, so quickly, I can barely believe it! But it is good because I loveeeeeee weekends.

1. We are headed to my parent’s farm this weekend so they can enjoy an anniversary/v-day get away! It is hard or them to leave with their animals needing TLC on a daily basis so it is great to be able to step in to help! It is like a mini-vaca for us as well, sometimes just stepping out of the daily routine is! So, expect some llama and chicken pics next week:)

2. I have been debating if I should buy colored jeans for quite some time. And a few months ago I decided Yes!- but not willing to pay $22.97 at Target for something that is, well, a passing fad. But I love the bright happy colors! And even though the check out girl at Target said I was *to old* to wear them I said to heck with it! If I could find them under ten bucks that is!

Well, I found a pair of HOT PINK ones for $4.oo at the Goodwill, just my size! Well I snatched them up of course. My 5 yo was the only one available to take the pic, so apologies for the blurry-ness:

3. PINTEREST loves me again! Don’t ask me why, they never responded to my emails, but my log in suddenly decided to work. So follow me and I will follow you and we can be BFF’s in the world of pretty things!!

4. Speaking of pretty things, these are the valentines I am *helping* my kiddos create for their classmates next week, I ordered the bracelets on amazon though- I am not going to invest time to make 60…

5. THREE WEEKS TILL ORLANDO!! I am so ridiculously excited…

Have a lovely weekend friends

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friday 5 spot.

3 Feb

Hello Lovelies! Here is my ‘friday 5 spot’.I know you have been missing it desperately. {enter sarcasm}.

1. It is Friday and the sun is shining. Here is my view! Mountains people!

2.I woke up with my husband this morning but didn’t actually want to get out of bed. So I stayed under the down comforter and read my morning news for an hour. And by news I mean fb, twitter and google reader. I know. I am so educated about the world around me. Like, I know who everyone hates on this season of The Bachelor, that it is snowing at my friends house in Colorado and that other people {besides me} can’t log into pinterest. Big stuff.

But since it was early and my house was still quiet, I went to Bela’s (who was waking up) bed and asked her to sit with the iPad and keep vigil while I ran to the store to buy donuts. And they were devoured with coffee and board games this morning. The good life peeps. I can’t wait for a couple of years when I can pay her to babysit! {she can’t either!}

3. For Christmas in my stocking I got the book Zeitoun from my brother. {Yes, we are that family who still exchanges stocking stuffers with every. single. grown. up. member. of. the. family. I love it!} He had got himself a copy as well. Well, we read it and then had a little two person book club last week discussing the incredible real life account of Hurricane Katrina. I highly recommend it! I also recommend 2 person book clubs. It is harder to get off track. Maybe it was also due to the fact it was with a boy? Boys don’t talk about recipes and potty training and dieting and cute new purses like at my girl book club.

4. Last Saturday we went to the Tacoma Home & Garden Show. We went because there was a Vintage Junk section and I scored! I got a new desk, side table and this super fun silverware holder! I will wait to show the other items until my new living room reveal:) but here is the silverware thingy. I love, love, love it. I had been using mason jars to hold the ware, but they kept breaking on the bottom as the kids stuffed way to many forks in a quart sized jar. This is way better! And unique!

5.Tomorrow Bela and I are off to Seattle to see the musical OKLAHOMA! at the 5th Avenue Theater! We are so excited. It was one of her Christmas gifts and it is actually a sweet present because I get a date day with my daughter to boot! She loves the musical and has the soundtrack on her iPod so needless to say this is gonna be epic. {btw, I was also in this musical in high school. I know, pretty awesome, so I will be lip singing all the words as well!}.

Have a great Friday friends!

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