Pray For Rain

A lot going on with this little fam right now. 

July is a dry and hot month here, and that's just the weather pattern/climate/living in the South/living and working in Mississippi. But it just so happens that this is the month we need some moisture in the ground. Ain't it funny?

And so that's life. There's nothing to do but ask politely, please endow a red dot, maybe even a big green dot over the land. When it doesn't happen, you wonder why not.

But there's nothing to know here. Everything is as it should be. Dry, or wet.

Lately, we've been blessed on several fronts. It's been a crazy spring and summer over here on the inside of this lake and everywhere we've been.

4th of July with the family at Providence.

A beautiful, fun wedding in Baltimore last weekend. Congrats Lauren and Michael!

The best dog on the planet. 

A baby salad--baby spinach, baby tomatoes, baby carrots, baby corns, baby pickles.
It was a terrible salad, not tasty at all. Honestly. I made it. I made it to convey a message to Will's family. Not to eat. Because I looked at this and wanted to throw up. Actually told people not to eat it. It's just for looks. And for general cuteness.  I should have made a sign.

So you've probably guessed by now. We're prego! Surprise! We are so grateful and excited. It's weird, it's crazy, it doesn't feel so good right now actually, but I have never anticipated anything more in my life, and I can't wait to see Will as a father. Once I have the energy, I am going to be ecstatic. 

Expecting couple on the harbor in Baltimore. 

So I do a lot of praying. I pray for rain. I also pray for money. I pray for health. But my biggest prayer was for my heart to be opened somehow, to love and serve all the time, 24/7. The best answers sneak up and surprise the hey out of you. 

You get what you ask for, for the most part. Except if it's rain in July. You're on your own there. It's just not in the cards.

"Man---despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments---owes his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains." -Unknown (good quote in one of my nutrition books).

Mother Teresa's only prayer was "Thank you."

Nice.

Anticipatory,

Liza Jane

Somewhere Only We Know

It's a blahg. Just blah. I mean, I'm talking about grocery shopping. 

Well just hang tight. We've got some big stuff coming up around the bend. 

Last weekend we went to see my grandparents at my family's farm in Arkansas. 

Canadian geese.

This little family above was eagerly waiting for my grandmother to put out seed.

Secret hole. About 17 people in the world know where this neat little pond is. That morning, it was 65 degrees. I kid you not. It was shocking. 

Jackson all excited--outside cousin Eric's house. He loves Eric and Allie.

Will about to tube down the river.

Rock collection. So the rock thing is genetic. 

View of my grandparents' place from the cabin on the hill.

Blog's been blah. Been a pretty busy summer. Pretty too.

But I send you my utmost peace and love, even though I don't have much creative energy. It happens. 

Distractedly,

Liza Jane

Hey Joe

This is a pretty dark Jimi Hendrix song. 

But, I'm about to talk about a happy and sunshiney place. Of course. By the way, when did it become such a bad thing to be an optimist? When did talking about good things make you a delusional crazy?

You won't believe what I'm going to say:

I had a lovely grocery shopping experience, and I was not in a local, natural, small-scale grocery mart.

I hate commercial places, and if I could choose, I would conduct all matters of business and life right on my pier, and have my groceries delivered to me. But alas, life would find a way to kick me in the tush, and I'd no doubt, soon be looking into the eyes of an alligator. Plus, I'd get hot. 

Commercialism in its finest. It looks like no one is shopping there, but I bet there were 700 people in this popular grocery store in Nashville. I just told everyone to move out of the way so I could snap with my phone. 

And so, I was in Nashville this past weekend for my sister-in-law's baby shower, which was lovely. I did not get any pictures, because there was a shower at the shower. But it was lovely, and the baby's-a-comin'. 

These people are probably going to sue me, thank God my blog is not that popular. 

I was dreading having to go to the grocery before my 6-hour trip home. Then I found a shortcut--Trader Joe's. Pleasant, fun music. Pleasant, fun plants. Pleasant, fun greeting cards. Pleasant, fun people. Pleasant, fun organic produce. Not too big, but big enough that I have been sustained through this week. Really crowded but easy to get around.

The best part--Trader Joe's is cheap! Compared to other commercial, large-scale grocery stores, it's like Joe is doing charity!

The guy who checked me out was really nice too. We had a deep conversation about his life, my life and everything that mattered to us. You think I'm joking but I'm not. He's from Washington, and says the best time of year to go to the Northwest is the summertime. Good to know. 

See? You get info you need everywhere you go. Life's always trying to hand you something, if only we were a little more open (Lesson for the day). 

Have a good one.

Jovially,

Liza Jane

Lively Up Yourself

Especially, if you got about 2 and a half hours of sleep. Especially if you ended up roaming around your house from 12:30-3:30, thinking about every person you've ever known, and everything you've ever done. Especially if your eyes sag, and your body only wants to slumber. Especially if your mind is as foggy as San Francisco. Especially if you have important activities the day after that nightmare that you actually wish was a nightmare--the night you hardly slept. 

You've got to lively up yourself. 

Summer is the the season of boat rides and Bob Marley.

I've been there, friend. In fact, I was there yesterday. You feel angry. You feel sad. You feel like crawling in bed for the whole day. But, you can't. We all know that a nap after that kind of night can really go awry. "Just 30 minutes." And suddenly, it's been 3 hours. You know that sleepless hell awaits  you tonight. Because you were stupid enough to think a nap wouldn't go wrong. 

So you don't take a nap, and you end up explaining to everyone you talk to that you did not sleep the night before. EVERYONE. Some stranger asks where you got that top, "Sorry. I only slept for three hours last night. What did you say?" "That'll be 17 dollars and 86 cents." "Ooops. How much was it? I didn't hear you. I fell asleep in my brain. I only had 3 hours of sleep." Everyone who talks to you sounds like Charlie Brown's monotonous, droning teacher. 

It is these days that you might need some kind of elixir to bring you back.

I wish I could sit here and support coffee, but I can't. I love the smell of it, and the taste of it.

But I know the effects, friend. Caffeine can overload the liver, and slow down its duty of cleaning the toxins out of the body. It also promotes stress hormones--the last thing you might need on an exhaustive day. I'm not going with tea, because even though I love tea, if you're looking for livelying up yourself, you're looking for caffeinated tea. 

So I propose:

Sort of looks like a superhero. 

Kombucha, baby. I love saying the word Kombucha. Sometimes I just say it because it's fun to say Kombucha. There are different brands of Kombucha. Reed's is my second favorite Kombucha. I also like Synergy Drink's Kombucha. Kombucha is a cultured, live food. This particular Kombucha is long-aged. All are raw. Kombucha has probiotics (good flora is excellent for digestion), beneficial enzymes (hhmm, once again digestion), vitamins, and organic acids that detoxify, energize and balance out your your body.

What's digestion got to with energy?

Everything. A large percentage of your body's energy is almost always working on digestion. What happens when that energy is free?

You lively up yourself. Bless all the Kombucha makers of the world.

I would love to create something that wakes people up. 

Effectively,

Liza Jane

Big Green Tractor

We are definitely at the height of greenness down here in Mississippi.

It feels like we're at the height of heat, but I know that's probably not the case. But it feels like it.

Actually, today it's breezy...and a little itchy (I got attacked by ants while I was playing in the yard--I'm actually not joking. This is true). 

The corn is high (take a look over yonder and see for yourself), and the cotton is popping up. Right here in the middle of June, people's gardens are bearing the fruits of their labors. (Not me, I did not have time so stop judging).

We're just tucked and nestled into this green sanctuary. Green grass, green trees, green plants.

I'm really excited because I look at the figs coming in on my fig trees, and I say out loud to any raccoons that may be around, "They're mine this year! Don't even think about it. I can get violent. I did not take a non-violent oath."

Anyways, celebrating this green glory, I want to talk to you today about Chlorella, kids.

Chlorella is a form of green algae. Get this: it is 65% protein. Boom. Yeah, 15 grams of protein in a tablespoon. Bam. 

I'll stop now with the onomatopoeia. According to Kimberly Snyder, Spirulina is a pretty cool sister to Chlorella. It's a blue-green algae that's about 60% protein. They both contain essential amino acids. They're high in chlorophyll.

They rejuvenate the body. AND they ward off energy slumps! Hell yeah for me!

So how do you get Chlorella? Fresh greens, baby. Or if you are an athlete or travel a lot, you can get organic Chlorella in tablets at your local health food store, (Whole Foods Store has 'em). 

Organic Chlorella by Green Foods. Got these from Lisa. Active enzymes, nutrient dense, with stuff like Magnesium, Potassium (Rock Steady baby). 

Green queen in the big, green scene.

Green is good. Definitely my favorite color. So I'm smilin'.

Vitally,

Liza Jane

Dog Days Are Over

No, my friend. They've just begun. That sun is hard and bright and scorching hot. 

But you know I adore the sun. Who doesn't like fruit and vegetables, having a tan, hot fun in the summertime? The sun is an important nourishment, no? The nourishment. The energy. 

We ask for it to come closer in the winter--but it's distant and far away. And then we beg for it to back off in the summer--but it's suffocating and stifling. In Mississippi, it can feel like the sun has wrapped in its golden fingers around you, engulfed you in its fist of blinding heat, holds you still, slows you down, turns your face beet-red. Makes it hard to breathe, fostering laziness and fogginess in the mind. 

Truly, the sun is only a broad-spectrum mother, bending and stooping towards the earth, giving attention and nourishment--vitality and discipline. 

This is the discipline part of her parenting.

So the trick when it gets really hot like this...

Even when it's 97 degrees, we've got to keep going, keep breathing. 

Keep your eye on the ball. Keep your eye on the prize, what you love, what you believe in.

Keep going. Even if it feels like you can't breathe.

Determinedly,

Liza Jane

Family Affair

Another road trip, another fantastic family gathering.

I know the photo below is a repeat. It is kind of weird how fanatic we are about this creature:

Loves to rest his head out of a window.
We almost get in wrecks looking back at how serene Jackson is when he does this. He's so zen.

 And oh, the magic of a pet-friendly hotel. Although I'm sure the scene below was not allowed.

Will hit it off with my family, whom he could not get to know at our wedding.

I said, "You're going to fit right in with my mom's side of my family. They're all big and tall, happy and laid back."And before I knew it, I had no idea where he was. He literally blended in with all the men. 

Football on the beach.

Aahh, yes. Welcome to the world's luckiest fishing village.

GrannE and her six children. My mom is the only short one (front, pink dress).

At Ashley and Mike's ceremony

It's a family affair. 

Gettin hitched. 

Standing around after the wedding. 

Will on a paddle board. By the way, I don't mean to brag, but I did it.
I did it for at least ten seconds. I was in Downward Facing Dog on the paddle board for about seven seconds. I read an article about yoga paddle boarding, and thought, that might be a nice way for me to conquer my fear of waves. I saw my opportunity and took it.  

Happy Mommie. I don't write that much about her, but she's a special woman, and I'm thankful to be her daughter.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. 

As seen above, no matter where you go, sometimes home is the best place to be. That sunset over the bay got nothing on this sunset that greeted us when we got home. As soon as we had finished unloading the car, the torrential downpours began and a storm lulled us to sleep. 

As I said, nothing like a good rain in June. There's definitely no place like home either.

Luckily,

Liza Jane