Spring Flowers!

It's that time of year, when you will get a season of blogs just so I can show off my flowers.  Recently a friend called my front garden "perfect" and a great balance of color.  I almost fell over I was so happy!  My garden is for me to enjoy, but I also love for my friends and neighbors to see these amazing little acts of nature too.  I love graphic flowers.  Big colors, sharp angles, and a lot of variety.  Not enough people get to see my garden, which brings me to my next topic:  I vow to invite people over WAY more often this summer.  A combination of my favorite things:  my garden, cooking, and entertaining!

Now onto the SPRING FLOWERS!

Starting with the first little CROCUS that popped up:

Next, onto my amazing little TULIPS, some of which came from Holland, HYACINTHS (I think that would be a good name for a little girl!), grape hyacinths, and DAFFODILS:

 

I got my raised HERB GARDEN in as soon as I could with our crazy Michigan weather!  Its the greatest thing in the world to go outside and pull in fresh herbs any time I need it for a recipe!  

And now onto my favorite:  My IRIS PARADE!  I planted several last fall, and all but 2 flowered.  These are amazing!

 

And the rest of the SPRING FLOWERS:

 

PEACE.  LOVE.  SERENE

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Marquette Hockey

If you're from the upper peninsula of Michigan, or Canada, for that matter, you know the importance of hockey.  Forget about football - hockey is where it's at.  Lucky for me, I got to at least learn the basics as a kid, and develop a not so bad set of skills and I now play on an official beer-league team!

A few years ago, a guy I went to high school with started the Marquette Old Timers Hockey Tournament.  It was a originally for 30 and older guys who just wanted to drink beer and have a good time.  I guess they are now allowing 18+ in the open and novice divisions, and yes, they have also added a women's division.  (Here's Serene for the 3 years they didn't have a women's division:  "Ryan, pleeease can we play?" ... "Ryan, don't you want to see hot chicks beat each other up?" ... "Ryan, your sisters play now - you HAVE to let us play!")

This tournament is the most fun of any tournament I've been to.  Yes, Im a little bit biased because I know almost everyone in town, but ask the rest of the girls!  They had fun too!  And a little bit of A SERENE LIFE nature thrown in ... A perfect weekend to forget about real life!  So after calling the girls who dropped everything to play for my team last year (the mqt girls), asked my team, and several actually wanted to play (the detroit girls)!  And then, thanks to KT, we picked up a few great players from the NMU (the nmu girls).  Here's the team!

First, the hockey:  Great games.  Great hockey.  Probably the hardest hockey I've ever played.  2 games on Saturday.  We lost the first game on Sat morning, which we found out put us out of finals contention.  We won our Sat night game 5-0.  We won our Sun afternoon game 10-0.  Yes, you heard right folks - ten to zip.  Towards the end of the game the opposing goalie actually skated out of the net and PLAYED THE PUCK all the way to the other end!  It was so much fun, I already can't wait to play next year.  And my season hasn't even started yet!

On more note - I am so proud of my girls.  So we had a $ dollar sign on our jersey for a friend in Marquette that very recently passed in a suspicious nature.  At the end of our Sunday game, our team presented his mom with the jersey with HIS number on it.  We didn't know it, but he was also a huge Detroit Tigers fan, so the old English D was especially sentimental.  There wasn't a dry eye in the house ...

Now backwards to Fri ... A little bit of time spent on Presque Isle.  No, I didn't get my time at Serene Point, but I still got some of the energy ... and the girls got to experience!  And Sam took some really cool pictures.  Love this yoga pose.

OH!  Did I mention that KIM JUMPED IN LAKE SUPERIOR!?  Brrr....

Friday afternoon 3rd street parade in honor of the tournament.  What other town puts on a parade for a hockey tournament??  Aww family time ...

pub crawl Fri night.  Ok, maybe I'll leave those stories on the bus.  Lap dances.  "I think he likes you".  Stolen pitchers.  Lots of beers.  Lots of boys.  Missed the NMU girls.

Sugarloaf mountain:  So if the hockey wasn't enough exercise, we decided to organize some of the troops and scale the side of a mountain.  Some took the "easy" trail, some took the "difficult" trail, and Sea and I decided to actually go rock climbing.  Easier for him since his legs are twice as long.  And of course, I can't resist an open space ... always handstands.

My Mom:  She's the best.  She put up with 5 of us girls, plus my brother, and always a smile.  She came to everyone one of our games, and even COACHED US!  She's a great coach too!  Maybe she has a new career ...  She also had food, made breakfast Sun morning, and had a huge mess to clean up after us.  THANKS MOM!!

What a weekend ... it just doesn't get better.

Peace.  Love.  Serene

The first days ...

A week and a half ago I was in my hometown of Marquette, MI. I have been there for every 4th of July since I left. Usually we (my brother and I) go to the bar and the lower harbor festival, and see all of the other people that are home for the weekend. I leave exhausted but I feel like I have made some connections. But THIS YEAR I realized that I rarely keep in contact with those people, and I have missed out on all of the beauty of the city.

So this year was different ...

THIS YEAR I enjoyed nature. I went kayaking with an elementary school friend (thank you Jessica!), and I found a spot. My spot. Do you know what Im talking about? That spot where you sit down and you just don't want to leave. It was on the end of the black rocks on Presque Isle. I closed my eyes and listened to the waves that were crashing 3 feet from me. I breathed in the fresh air, and listened to the seagulls. I smelled the water, and the hot rock, and the seaweed. I was far enough away that I rarely realized anyone else was there. It felt so good that I did that every day. I sat there until I felt it was time to leave.

So THIS YEAR I realized that the life I am living doesn't fit me anymore. I spend too much time at the bar and with people that aren't a priority. People that I don't have real conversations with. That I need to reconnect with earth. I need to garden, and kayak, and swim, and hike, and all of the things that gives me that deep-down energy you just can't get anywhere else. That although it takes a little bit more time and energy, I need to hang out with the people that MATTER.  The people that challenge me and teach me and make me laugh.  I came home full of energy and ideas. Changing my life isn't going to be easy, but Im the only one that can do it. And I believe my life is going to see some amazing things as I go through my transformation.

This blog will cover my transformation. Activities and learning such as: gardening, hiking, kayaking, making good friends a priority, composting, recycling, farmers market, cooking, wellness, my internship in cardiac rehab, yoga, exercise, nutrition, appreciation, reiki, integrative medicine, decorating, energy, family, and rain.