a pieced and quilted life

the first encore.

of my life.

a week or two ago i came across something on she writes about encores. i read the e-mail quickly, and then got back to my lessons believing that the article was not one-hundred percent connected to or concerned with my life.

well, my mother called me later that day (or it could of been later that week - my days are a blur) and as she started to tell me about the changes her life is going through (good), i passed on what i had read earlier...that she was experiencing an encore in her life. i encouraged her to live it to the fullest, to dream wide big fat dreams and to do any and everything that would bring her peace and fulfillment. 

end of story. i thought.

i'm not sure if many of you know, but i'm attending a Christian-centered university. a part of my education is a couple of classes that center on a greater understanding of Christianity. the first was overview of the Bible, and this semester I am taking the Christian life. after this class, there will be no more that i have to take, however, i believe there will be more i want to take. (if i was a traditional student at my university i'd have to go to chapel daily (mon.-fri.), but since i am classified as an adult student (different program) my Christian fulfillment is met with two (very good) classes.)

anyway, in my current Christian studies class we're reading a book (which i love and recommend) called knowing God. and as i'm sitting here and reading it a thought occurs to me:

this is my first encore.

i don't think it was anything that i read particularly, but the overall change i've noticed in my life during these past three months re-dawned on me. i'm sure i've said it here before, in previous posts, but it needs repeating: i am not the same woman. not by far.

as i was reading and taking notes, i sort of looked back at myself and thought. this is not my life of 2009. nor 2007. nor 2005. nor 2003. i realized that i am on a new trail.

it is like my life is a journey through nature, and now i am encountering another terrain. as if before i was in the rainforest and now i'm going through the wide open plains or grasslands. nothing before, nothing after is neither bad nor good, but exists in its own respects, a life of its own.

i looked up encore in my handy dandy dictionary (not notebook) :)

encore - n. 1. a demand by an audience for an additional performance. 2. an additional performance in response to such a demand.

not bad, but i thought i'd change some words. here's my definition:

encore - n. 1. an encouragement by life for a new journey. 2. a new journey in response to changes in life.

my definition feels more applicable. it feels more understanding, as if through it we can understand and apply the concept of encores to our lives.

why encouragement instead of demand? new instead of additional? journey instead of performance? and changes in life in lieu of response to such a demand?

simple. life encourages us. life and the God of life, the God in our family, the God in nature, the God in the good things we do encourages us to move into new journeys. it happens when we respond to the changes in our lives, not the demands. demand is a negative word and the God in us...the life and God of our life is not negative. Life and the God of our life is shaping and creative, forceful and molding, but also loving and purposeful.

we most continually embrace life's encouragement to begin new journeys. we most respond to the changes in our lives, whatever they may be and set off as explorers, of ourselves, and journey through life's different, varied, and purposeful terrains.

remember: different, varied and purposeful.

i'm sitting here and i'm wondering out loud, and on screen -- what were the changes in my life? what encouraged me?

and it is simple, beautiful, and two-fold:

my granma and my children.

when granma died life ceased to continue as i knew it. it has been the most profound, in good and bad ways, experience my spirit has encountered to date. more profound than loosing my father at five. more profound than birthing my children. more profound than marrying my guardian angel. more profound than my childhood. more profound than anything.

more profound because it was painful and beautiful and inspiring and damning and pushing and uplifting all at once. there was never anything painful about bringing my children into the world. there was never anything beautiful about loosing my father tragically at five. there never anything damning about marrying edward. there was never nothing like that, all at once, in my childhood.

it was the moment and time when definition and purpose of life took up presence in my life.

which leads to my children.

they are the encouragement and the change. i realized i have to give them what granma gave me. what granma gave me personally and what granma gave me through my mother. what granma gave me in inspiration. what granma gave me in sacrifice. what granma gave me in love.

i look at my children and how loving, patient, nurturing and kind they were when i refused to get out of bed, even months after granma was gone and i am encouraged and inspired by their love. they deserve a granma-sized and abled mama who would do big and great things in their lives, by example. they deserve a mama who is strong enough to not only seek out but accomplish her dreams. they deserve a mama who lives up to her potential and does not hold back her gifts.

children do not do what you say, but what you do.

so...this encore is about what granma did for me. for my mother. for our family. her sacrifices. her love. her strength. her courage. her fire. her will to be her no matter who was looking, listening, or watching.

hear me when i say, that's my girl...and that's what i will do for my children. 

from my grandmother, to my mother, to me, to my daughter...out to the world.

so here i am today, smiling and knowing that it is true that granma's spirit lives on in me.

those things she sacrificed -- i will accomplish for her and me.

those things she taught -- i will teach in her name.

those things she embodied -- i will be for her, my children, and me.

granma never hid behind her talents, her strengths, her gifts. and that is what this first encore in my life is about.

sharing my talents, fortifying my strengths, and using my gifts.

we all have talents, strengths, and gifts...it is what makes us uniquely us...but it is up to us to share them, use them, and birth them out and into the world.

where ever you are in your life be like my granma, she would be proud and say to you like she said to me:

"you mark my words, i may be dead and gone but you gone do big thangs. granma knows what she talkin' bout. i may not live to see it, but you mark my words...granma knows what she talkin' bout."

i am marking your words granma.

love, ki

a very merry christmas....

pan dulce was baked...

tamales were made....

a new guitar was stromed...

by two nice gentlemen...

and a new playmate was made...

***

we've been enjoying eachother's company...exploring lots of new toys, books, and games...eating good homemade tamales and pan dulce like conchas and polvorones...

we hope your holidays are as tasteful, lyrical, and loving as ours has been.

feliz navidad!

la familia jimenez.

pictures for you mama, and some other random (knitting and best friend) stuff for everybody else.

 

they could barely open their eyes with the sun in their face... 

if i post a lot of pictures of my chil'ren here its because my mama demands them, regularly. she calls me up in the mid of morning and blurts out:

"send me some pictures of the kids"

it is so much easier for me to just direct her here...even though sometimes, most times, probably just to make me work a little bit harder she asks me to email them to her, and also text her some too.

if i don't have any new (and i mean within the last 48 hours new) from when her demands begin she says something like:

"geez...we don't have any new pictures...come on...i need to see some pictures of my babies...noo, some current ones"

i want to tell her that they haven't changed too much from the last set. that they are past that baby stage where they change every couple of weeks and each new month there is a list of facial features and such that has changed.

we know what they look like now. probably for almost forever. i still look about the same as i did about 26/25 years ago. well maybe i have more big people teeth, and my face is not as chubby, but still the thick eyebrows, the resemblance of my daddy...its all still there.

but still...here are almost new pictures for you mama:

 

the kids in downtown riverside

*little ones are taller than they appear in photos...especially the boy*

and i'm sorry to say that last night while brushing her teeth, yali dropped her sixth tooth. and no, i haven't taken a picture yet. so i guess she doesn't look the same...

other random stuff?

i finished some short knitting projects!

 

 

 

  

i finished my arm warmers...that are waaaay warm. and i finished my neck cowl...that is waaaaay too big...booo.

i blocked both projects to feel all knitting official...and now i'm anxious to start something new. some body please give me some suggestions...i need cheap, cute and fairly fast.

and also...i met my best friend's son for the first time...teo.

 

  

eddie roscoe, stephanie and baby teo

i can see he has so much of eddie's (my best friend, not my husband) personality...he's free, inquisitive and has the most friendly and giving spirit. within seconds of meeting me, he picked up leaves and were handing them to me. he looks like mama though...and he's a cutie.

eddie was my bestest of best friends at la verne...we have stories for days! almost all of my best memories involve in some way or another eddie roscoe. i really can go on and on with good things about him, but he'll probably read this...so i won't. hehe. let's just say he is my dearest friend. a farmer. a deeply thoughtful and spiritual guy. funny as heck...was great at keeping my gas tank full when i was broke and putting $2 in the car was fine with me, and he let me use his shoulder to cry real snot and tears on many of occasions back in the late '90's.

and...this is the kicker...he missed the taj mahal to kick it with me. yeap thats a darn good friend people. and, this is the other kicker...he gave all his clothes away to the locals there. all! i picked him up at the airport, and all he had was his backpack on his back and his harmonica in his hand. i dropped him off on his way there...so i knew he had more...when i headed for baggage...he informed me that he had given all this belongings to the locals he'd gotten to know.

he explained to me all he needed was the clothes on his back...and he'd surely acquire more soon enough. he also explained to me that clothes would be much harder for them to get than him...and finished by saying it was the least he could do after all they had given him.

i'm telling you people...he's a great guy.

...and isn't it ironic his name is eduardo...edward? him and his wife stephanie are great people, and geez i'm happy to call them my close friends.

okay...enough jiber-jabber....time for schooling today.

have a good one!

peace and luv,

ki

homeschool learning: the science and math behind cooking & baking

 

last night's dinner: chicken vegetable soup w/rice and sweet skillet cornbread 

a few days ago i talked about food, and about how much it enriches our lives. well, while doing science and math lessons with the kids yesterday i thought of another way i can sneak it into our lives. a learning way.

we were working on adding three digit numbers and carrying for the little guy and it took him a little bit of work to get it, he's working out of his grade level (which is 1st) for language arts and math in 2nd grade, the language arts is not much of a challenge, but the math..well its right on the line...sometimes too easy and sometimes just challenging enough.

with enough going over and over of place values...he got it...and was adding and carrying like a pro.

in science we were still working on the unit that introduces scientist, what they do and what tools they use. i thought...it would be great to bring this "alive" for them. so i decided to turn dinner into a science/math exercise.

this is what we did:

for dinner we were having chicken & vegetable soup with cornbread. since our current science unit covers the scientist tools for measuring and recording, i decided to let them observe, measure, record and get their hands dirty in our cooking lesson.

making soup science:

we used the soup to focus on temperature and volume. i had the kids measure the volume of the water/broth that we started with (in metrics) and then i had them take the temperature of the water/broth before we started to cook, and then i took the temperature afterwards. this is so they could see how heat rises temperatures and also get a sense for volume.

 

our ingredients

making cornbread science:

the real fun came when we turned making cornbread into science. since i know the recipe by heart...i figured this was a great recipe to turn into a science lesson. i could concentrate on them.

first:

i had them take note of the temperature needed to cook the cornbread and had them write it down on paper.

 

taking the temp. of the milk that goes into the cornbread

second:

i had them measure out and record all the ingredients (in metrics) and add them to the bowl and stir. this gave them a great idea of volume and continued on our conversation of what volume was. it also allowed me to show them that the volume of one cup of milk is the same volume of one cup of cornmeal or flour.

as we went along, i had them write out the recipe, making sure to accurately record the volumes in milliliters.

 

writing out the recipe 

third:

of course we mixed it all up and put it into the oven (again taking note of temperature, comparing it to the temperature of the soup cooking) to cook.

making cornbread math:

after we put the cornbread into the oven, i had them go back to their recipe and find the total volume of our cornbread batter.

they added up all the different volumes of the ingredients and found the total volume of the recipe.

talking over dinner:

while we ate dinner...we talked about the total volume we came up with...and i explained to them that the total volume of the cooked cornbread was that large number we got.

it was a very exciting little "experiment" for the kids and a great way to get them to see that science and math are always a part of our lives. they got a chance to see how they use science and math in everyday life.

 

measuring spoons with metric conversions

this is a great exercise to do with your kids when cooking any meal...i do suggest that it is a meal you know how to cook backwards and forwards, because you'll be explaining a lot and paying more attention to the kids then to the process of cooking. i also suggest having some measuring cups/spoons with metric conversions to make the process easier.

happy homeschooling!

luv, ki

 * i apologize for the less than stellar pictures...night time + camera + flash = yucky pictures

welcome back school...

i love it when school starts back up...its a lot of work...but really there is nothing better. i wish everyone could try the homeschooling experience...just once.

this year the little lady is in 2nd grade and the little guy is in 1st. 

we are so use to homeschooling and our way of life that the new season is gladly welcomed around here.

during the summer i missed having their full attention for four hours straight...and i think they missed having mine too.

i've signed up to be a mentor for k12 this year (for new families)...along with helping my sis along also (yes...she's now homeschooling with k12 too...yay!)...so i've decided to try and share a little more of what we do (homeschooling wise) here for those that i'll be mentoring...and any other curious souls.

we'll start with our first day...

the kids in front of our school room...very excited to be starting a new year...

handwriting with out tears...

concentrating...working hard...

independent work...

the discovery of silly bandz...thanks to their cousins...

secret messages to mommie...revealed...

if you can't tell....we love our schooling lifestyle. i know that i'm doing a great job when i get messages like these from the kids. 

last year, they wold write me love letters on their assignment sheets...i'd get back their work with hearts, stars and "i love you" and "your the best" all over their papers...

its their own way of letting me know they are learning...i know they don't realize it, but i do. when they are learning...they are happy...they feel loved...and send it right back to me.

i know homeschooling seems a bit radical for a lot of other families. people wonder about socialization and so on, they worry if they are equipped to teach their kids, if their kids could learn and thrive in this sort of setting...

well, my answer is...yes, you/they can.

no it isn't for every family/child...but if it is for your family/child...embrace it.

my children have excelled academically...both are working a grade level above...both love learning...both love exploring...and both love reading.

the great thing? they both have their individual talents, gifts and interest that are being meet.

the little lady? well she loves history, math...and reading.

the little guy? he loves science, spelling...and reading.

the k12 program really has given them a great appreciation for learning...for example, ya-ya loves mummies...she loves egyptian culture. we visited the natural history museum this summer and she was in love with the egyptian/mummy exhibit...it all came alive for her.

and the little guy has really taken a liking to science which has gotten him interested in bugs and different habitats...yesterday he bought a book on rain forests with his allowance...and two days before that a book on scorpions. 

i really can't say enough good things about our experience...i wish all kids had the opportunity to learn in this way. i know that as a mother...i relish the time i get teaching them...and how strong a bond it creates with our family.

i hope everyone's school year is off to a great start!

peace & luv,

ki

where did july go?

no really, did anyone keep tabs? i know i didn't it went by too fast....

last week was a yucky week for me...i'll spare the under-the-weather details...i save those for my sis nina, and e...

but, it's made me finally commit to a new vitamin regiment...complex b, b-12, and soon i'll be adding in calcium-magnesium, along with a few herbs that i've added already.

let me tell you about the complex b, liquid, sub-lingual supposedly raspberry flavored torture...it taste like evil...and doesn't leave your mouth soon enough. i'd rather drink (and swallow) brown listerine. truly. 

but...i'm slowly starting to feel better. so on with the show right? right!

i don't know about your july, but my july has been filled with writing, reading, dreaming (literally and figuratively), and carting the kids to golf classes.

i've had dreams about my granma that have made me wail and made me feel loved all at once...i've written some things i'm smitten with and disgusted by...and reading...well that's always a pleasure.

the kids "graduated" from their first month of golf class this past saturday...and it was such a pleasure to watch them play a hole all by themselves (with coach's tiny bit of help). their golf coach is such a wonderful teacher...he doesn't just teach them about golf, but he coaches them about life too.

at the end of each class we have a round table and each kid has to get up and speak in front of the class, telling what they learned that week. parents have to participate, but also, we have to let them go in the class too. the kids get chances to be leaders for the week and help the coach "run" the class...(mykey and yali were co-leaders last week)...they go off together as a group and exercise and stretch...its really been so wonderful for our family/kids.

wanting to stay present in the class...i haven't taken pictures till this past saturday...the graduation day (when us parents have to sit on the bench and not say a word to the kids)...

here is flicks from last saturday:

warm-up/putting practice:

 

 yali addressing the ball

putting...

mykey addressing the ball...

mykey putting...

impromptu tai-chi lesson by a golfer walking by, coach asked her to give the kids a lesson...so kindly she did..

they all did so good...i so wished i could of filmed it...it was too cute.

golfing a hole by themselves with coaches help...the graduation:

yali tee-ing off...she's got the pose (coach is big on posing to the ball stops)

     
yali chipping...see the coaches face...yeap it was a good swing!

mykey tee-ing off (i think)

mykey chipping, his swing got really strong and he was chipping the ball well...look at him all out there by himself...

    

once they got to the fringe, coach let them putt the ball... 

 

 putting...

 

hole in!

my little golfers...they were so proud of themselves...

coach debriefing them...and telling them how proud he was of them...as was me & e

the kids, e & i love the class...its a great chance for the kids to play with other kids, learn some leadership and public speaking skills...and pick up a love of golf. their coach is a retired police detective that has coached many kids to beginning pro careers and college scholarships...right now the kids just love the game...but hey, like coach says, who knows where this can take them in life.

and...we met another k-12 family in the class, the little girl is just one grade/year ahead of ya-ya...she's got nothing but older brothers...so me and her mom have decided to get the girls together for a reading club or something once school starts. i'm so happy for both girls.

we've never done the "play date" thing so i'm clueless as to how this will play out. they're a great family...so i'm sure things will go well.

well...here's to august...i hope to keep better tabs of my time...lots to do before school starts!

hope summer is warm, sunny and fun for everyone!

peace, ki

herbalicious

 

can u guess the herbs?

if you lived by me...i'd be rolling up a bunch of these herbs...wrapping them in moist paper towels, putting them in little baggies and sending you home with them..

we have an abundance of herbs now...they are beautiful and fragrant...green and bright..and incredible pungent.

last night i took them into my yoga class (iyengar) to share with my instructor and another student and geez...i perfumed the class. i also took them a few tomatoes and some squash recipes. 

i should also tell you that i hurt myself in class last night. we were getting into shoulder stand pose (for the first time) and i couldn't quite find my balance or get my hips and legs up...and managed to really strain my left tri-cep. not fun. thankfully its just sore now.

so back to the herbs. 

 

drying herb bouquet

there is really a lot you can do with herbs...besides cooking. i actually, we have been making little herb arrangements. they smell so good and look so pretty and simple. 

that wilted one up there is from last week...the little guy was a little under the weather (not sure if it was hay fever or a teeny tiny summer cold) and so me and ya-ya decided to make him a little bouquet of all his favorite herbs...because yes...he loves herbs. crazily so.

 

 

 the kids were so inspired they took pictures with their camera.

i've really enjoy growing the herbs this season. i think i'm going to create another herb/flower garden by the rose bushes. i have some pineapple sage growing there and it has really taken off. our hummingbird friend (as the kids call the resident hummingbird) loves to come and draw nectar from the sage's tubular flowers.

i've also noticed a lot more bee, butterfly and bird activity in our garden since we added the herb and flower garden. we have this large yellow and black butterfly that seems to be twittering around everyday. (there's also more grasshoppers, wasp, and june bugs...sigh)

it's been really rewarding to grow the flowers and herbs this year. i thought i only wanted to grow edible things (i know herbs are edible too) but found that there is a lot of pleasure in growing flowers two. if my budget allowed it my garden would literally explode with color and life every season.

i'm hoping within the next few seasons to add a few fruit trees, some fragrant flowers, bulbs and a rock garden for the kids. they love collecting rocks they dig up from the garden and find in other places so i think i'll introduce them to rock stacking and balancing. i have a friend lila who does it and man...the things she's created are beautiful. she's suppose to teach me and the kids...but she moved to l.a. so she's not as close as she used to be. :(

 

tomatoes & squashes...

and finally...are garden is doing fairly well in this heat. we've had some high heat hit us all of a sudden..and my plants took a beating. it went from overcast all day to over 105˚ in a matter of days. i've had to seriously prune back some of the leaves of my squash plants that didn't do to well. in fact some of them actually died, so i may replace them this weekend. i'm still waiting for my brussels sprouts to fully mature, along with my melons..and the corn has gotten a rough shake this year with a few corn worms.

other than that all is well in my gardening world...

oh and...i took a canning & preserving class tues. night...and ummm...i'm still not sure i'm ready for the big leap into canning. it was interesting though...the class was great if your a foodie...there was lots of samples of food going around...most of which i couldn't try. nothing was vegan or even vegetarian for that matter...well except for the chips and salsa (which was too hot for me). but, all in all it was great to be there and see a "live" cooking show..and pick up a few canning tricks.

while i was there i put on my writer's hat, had my writing notebook and came up with a good story start..as my instructor's call it. its amazing how different the world looks when you look at it through the eyes of a "fiction" writer. that...was awesome...being there as a "writer" and looking for stories. not my original intention...but good none the less.

alright...i'm babbling...

be peace, ki

i didn't eat it this way...i promise

 

love is in the details...of a lightly salted ruffles potato chip

if you keep your eyes open, your heart fertile and clear...if you open yourself up to the possibilities...

i promise -- you will find your heart in the oddest places...pull it out...and there...there is love.

my mother once told me the theme of my life was hearts...

i told her yes...the sign of love.

when she sees hearts she thinks of me...i bet. 

i'll tell you a secret. when i was a little girl (not that i'm not still), let's say around 6-7, somewhere floating between kindergarten and second grade. (my birthday's in feb. - i had to wait a year)

i drew heart people

with heart hands and feet

and heart houses

with heart windows and door knobs

and heart trees

growing heart leaves on stick line branches

and heart flowers

with green heart leaves

i added heart suns

pushing out stick line rays bursting at the tips 

with hearts.

i was the mascot of the heart people...wishing that one day i would wake up and look down at my hands and see hearts instead of fingers. my small, skinny feet i hoped too would expand and explode into heart feet...stepping and leaving heart imprints every where i walked. i thought, if i loved hard enough, long enough, softly and steady enough...i would look in the mirror and see a heart instead of my round, brown face. a brown heart would of suited me fine. long as it was a heart...it was mine for the taking.

at some point, i'm sure i realized that heart people, and heart houses didn't exist, but i never stopped thinking that they should.

 

 another shot...because i couldn't decide which one i liked the best.

my son and daughter write stories and draws pictures about peanut butter & jelly sandwhiches...my son tells me he likes his complexion because it matches peanut butter, and he loves peanut butter and eating, and peanut butter reminds him of eating. he loves peanut butter. i love the rationale of children. they are so transparent...they show us themselves proudly with not a single attachment to what should be, what's possible and what is or is not.

i think i secretly hoped that my daughter would draw heart people, but her seventh year is winding down, and even though at the entrance of my studio there is a heart girl hanging to prod her along she hasn't. instead she writes stories. stories for her little bother, and stories for me. instead she leaves me little notes scattered around the house in unexpected spots, and suspected ones too. 

she's written notes to remind me, notes to tell papa that mykey needs a broken toy (laying on the sheet of paper dismembered) fixed. she leaves us notes promising of fashion shows in her room at 5 pm on a sunday, promising herself as the model. she writes.

he eats.

i wonder who they'll be one day?

i've introduced her to this if you have a child who loves to write i'd suggest it. as for my little chef...i'm still on the look out for him...until we find something geared towards kids...allrecipes is our place.

luv, ki 

the toothless wonder & me sews a quilt (top)

and yes, she was a big help! her counting and math skills showed up when mine went out the door. 

she also has a fine knack for choosing fabric collections and did I mention her chit-chat is great company?

mother-daughter time is priceless...I'm soaking her up! hopefully we'll finish this quilt soon...and clothe those 5 little ladies! 

luv, ki

a little x-stitch lunch club.

when i was 12, my homeroom teacher, mrs. shaw had a small lunch group called x-stitch club. i never knew anything about needlework until i decided along with my best friend denishia to join her club. 

i would save up my lunch money ($2) and buy thread and fabric from her and stitch things for my mama. i remember stitching bunnies the most. and lots of "i love you."

i loved x-stitch and would sit and stitch for hours...making up stuff as i went along.

nothing was better than x-stitch, writing in my lisa frank notebooks and baking cakes for my mama. 

i've been trying to find time to stitch lately...and finally i'm with needle in hand again.

 

this summer i plan on being 12 again -- writing in my "squash blossom notebook", x-stitching...and baking cakes from scratch...

(i also plan on reading, gardening, canning, making lip balm {a much needed gardener's hand cream} and starting a blog with edward - his idea).

stitching with me is yali...this summer her goals are: to learn to play golf (and maybe tennis), finish reading the ivy & bean series, find another series, learn how to x-stitch, embroider and finish up her hand sewing lessons, and finally write a few stories & poems.

we girls have already started our summer goals:

 

a "design as i go" 10 year anniversary sampler for my e (and me). *please don't mind my dry gardener's hands. digging in soil constantly + lots of washing = my dry hands.

i love how focused her face is while stitching...she pokes her lips out and gets deep into her work.

i think there is something to be said and remembered about childhood...those things that we loved to do when we were young and had (almost) all the freedom in the world tells us a bit about ourselves. i promise myself i'll remember what my children love to do...and will report it back to them when they're older...remind them of who they are if they ever forget.

so does anyone want to join me & yali's x-stitch lunch club?

be love...ki