Instagrammin’ in Daytona Beach

I’ve almost completely neglected my Canon. Between travel and self-care and tons of creating (my new parenting e-course!), adding the taking, editing and uploading of photos to my list just ain’t happening.

But I am loving Instagram (@tarawagner) and the ability to snap a quick photo for posterity, add a cute filter and upload to multiple online places all at once. (If I’m really busy I take them with the regular camera, which let’s me take multiple all at once, and import them into Instagram for filtering and uploading as we’re driving.)

It’s not the same as what would come from my Canon, and there are twinges of guilt I feel for not keeping up with it (I have photos from Christmas that are still on my memory card), but I can’t ignore the sense of ease it brings. And ease is good when you travel full-time.

Some recent photos from our days in Daytona Beach:

Ooh! Did I show off my new case yet? From Cuptakes!

Game night

Ready for the Jeff Dunham show! #ocdunham

How can you not love doggy noses?

Low emissions vehicle parking...wonder if people would egg us for parking our big giant veggie oil truck here.

Mini golf with the Halldorsens

The Unschool Bus

Who has caps lock and got a hole on one? THIS GIRL!

That was my hole in one. ;)

Patterns of Messiness

10 minutes to clean up...but only 5 to get dirty again ;) #rv #travel

Life has been interesting lately. Thankfully “interesting” is not code for “really overwhelming” or “downright shitty” although we’ve had those moments here or there. ;)

No, interesting in that we’re hitting a good stride, pieces are falling into place, while new challenges arise that actually don’t knock us senseless. We’ve been creating and recreating and the hubby and I both have tons of goodness coming to all of you this year.

The photo above is of the living area of our RV.

There’s a rocket project on the table, clean and dirty dishes in the sink, juggling props on the seat, piles of pillows and blankets on the couch (which has been almost permanently folded down into a bed for over a week). What you can’t see is the piles of clothing in our room or the piles of…well, piles of piles in Zeb’s.

Yes, it only takes us 5 minutes to straighten up and 30 to clean from top to bottom. But it only takes about as long to get it dirty again. ;)

This used to drive me batty.

Being a highly sensitive person, my exterior surroundings would seriously affect my interior surroundings. And they still do – I spent the morning cleaning up our room and we spent a few minutes last night tidying up the living area.

The more I practice my own mindfulness the smoother my day runs, the easier I take the (literal and figurative) ”messy” parts of life in stride, the more grounded I can feel when Life happens (or threatens to topple down on us).

My biggest struggle is in allowing myself to create the space I need to practice the very things that help me to feel this way.

My pattern USUALLY goes like this:

  • Realize I need to fill my cup – badly
  • Go into Catch-up mode to love myself better
  • Feel amazing, empowered, productive and grounded
  • So amazing, empowered, productive and grounded that I forget I need to maintain this practice DAILY
  • Realize I’ve neglected myself again and try to catch up

I was talking with my girlfriends a couple weeks ago. We connect as a group on the phone nearly every week to collectively support one another in our personal and professional goals, and we took a moment to touch on the things that we get to do for ourselves right now as we focus on some deeper things.

As they were each sharing, it clicked for me that my goal of water-food-essential oils-walking-yoga-meditation-fun-downtime-unpluggedness was NOT what I was really needing.

All of those things spring organically from one place – my mindfulness and my commitment to meeting myself and Spirit in Stillness.

In short, what was a list I was about to rattle off to them became one thing – meditation.

Each and every day I meet that Stillness, the actions of drinking enough water or eating the right foods or getting up and moving or choosing to shut it all down or keeping up with the clutter happen organically.

I know this and yet I allowed myself to be distracted from it.

Again.

Stillness is where I see my next step clearly. Stillness is where I hear my Organic Wisdom speaking. Stillness is where I access my creativity and where all my best ideas come from. Stillness is where I THRIVE.

And I resist it.

And I resist doing the work to DIG IN to why I resist it.

Until I’m running on empty and coaching myself toward my own work again. (Funny how that happens. :P )

Right now I’m enjoying the quiet of the library (and fast wifi – hallelujah) and breathing and feeling grounded and productive because I took 10 minutes today to stretch and breath. I didn’t meditate. But I did choose mindfulness, my living meditation. And I’m feeling the affects.

I’m also feeling that whisper that asks, “Why do you resist what you know is so, so good?” And I’m stubbornly answering with “I’ll get to that later.

And I’m smiling at myself and the utter ridiculousness of human resistance and acknowledging the pattern…not just of the pattern of my own messiness but of learning what the messiness is still teaching me.

Making Magic in the Florida Keys

We only had 48 hours, me and my love. (Zeb is still in Vegas for a couple more days, in case you’re wondering.)

But we rocked it.

We stayed in Marathon, in a tiny little (slightly shabby) cottage on the beach, for only $100 a night. (Yellowtail Inn.)

We ate amazing seafood with our fingers, and laughed as the dog discovered the ocean, and drank a little too much rum, and drunk texted because how could we not.

We did a little dancing, but not nearly enough. And toured Duval St and held hands and smiled and made love.

And we realized two things:

  1. We really must live by the beach one day. Preferably in the Keys. For really.
  2. We really must make little adventures like this take place more often. Like monthly. Turning the computers off and setting our autoresponders on our email and creating a mini Adventure Week. Every month. Seriously. We do work for ourselves and loving the hell of our life and doing it our way is one of the perks of that. So we’re making that happen.

Justin’s favorite part: “Feeding the fish” over the side of the boat…watching a jellyfish eat his lunch really did it for him.

My favorite part: Snorkeling. And watching Justin feed the fish. ;)

The view from our cottage!

And a very happy dog on the beach!

Weeeeeeee!

Sandy feet from now on

Snorkeling rocked. So did the wild boat ride over the waves!

Qtip!

Lunch!

Hogfish and scallops :)

Life preservers for the lunch crowd... Just in case.

Keys Kombo for lunch. Lobster, shrimp, scallops, hogfish...mmm

I wanna live here please

Good seafood

I totally thought this said Tampon Feeding.

Keys Fishery line

Of course Justin was the mermaid.

Full Moon Gathering with the EcoWomb (Video)

We spent the first full moon of 2012 camping and eating, laughing and talking, playing music and connecting with the EcoWomb family and many new friends. It was also when I burned my dreads and the first week I had to play with my new phone and it’s many awesome apps.

It’s funny; I recently remembered I set the intention to create some fun home videos over two years ago.

It makes me smile to realize yet another forgotten intention came to fruition in its own timing. Mmm…the things I used to stress over I’ve learned to trust and allow. That feels good (now to learn how to apply it to other areas). :)

P.S. Apparently, YouTube censored my video because of the song I used to show our videos and pictures. Ironically, it was the song “One Love” by Bob Marley…you know, the guy all for love and gratitude, instead of greed. Apparently, the record company didn’t get the memo. I wish I had time to redo it but I don’t – and I’m leaving it up because I can still watch it. :P But I’ve included our photos of our time below as a lame alternative to an otherwise great video.

Bonfire with friends...yes please. http://instagr.am/p/fUVg1/

Full moon rising...

And our full moon gathering...

Stay clear of pier...

Under the pier...

Angela!

Our first time at the Atlantic :)

Love these trees!

The First Place I Didn’t Want To Leave

Grayton Beach State Park.

We stayed two weeks and I so fell in love.

I fell in love with the calm waters of the Gulf, and listening to them as I fell asleep. I sooo loved laying in the sun, soaking up the sun in the cool breeze. The nearby bookstore and library. The beautiful homes with observation decks to see the water. The locally-own natural food store and their aaaaaamazing cheese!

Granted, I haven’t visited in the middle of summer. Maybe I wouldn’t love the area so much then.

But NOW…oh, it so deeply fed my soul to lay my blanket out, and sink my toes in and just BE right in that moment, sinking into meditation and feeling all the scattered parts of myself come back together, reconnecting to that sense of gratitude.

I can see us snowbirding to Grayton over and over again.

In fact, Justin applied to camp host there. Four months in that gorgeous place? Yes please. :)

Some photos from our time (and our Thanksgiving) at the beach (you can see all the photos here):

My Favorite View 2

Shore

Grayton Boardwalk

Grayton Beach

Sunset 2

Watching it Set

Sunset on the Gulf

Gulf Fence

Thanksgiving Morning

Thanksgiving Dinner

Justin in Grayton Beach