The Musician's Wife

Photography Website

It's nearly done, please feel free to visit and subscribe to my photography blog!  I'll still try to post my 2011 in photos but my general photography posts will go HERE!  Thanks!

 

A few of my favorite blogs

Simply Sugar and Gluten Free: I know I've mentioned this blog before, but I'm mentioning it again anyway!  Amy posts daily recipes for delicious food that is free of gluten (barley, wheat, rye and any derivative of these items) that also avoid copious amounts of cane sugar.  She's revamping her site and her cookbook is hot off the presses, so go check her out.  I can't wait to get my copy in the mail!!

 

 

 

 

 

SouleMama: This blog is simply beautiful.  Amanda is one of those bloggers who writes posts that bring me to a place of calm and reflection.  She is an amazing crafter, knitter and mother who's stories will bring a smile to your face even if you're not one of those things yourself.  In fact, my knitting life  is lived entirely and vicariously through her blog.  (I am as inept with two needles as I am with a guitar.)  She also has written a couple of books and her sponsors are nearly all small, independent businesses that sell handmade items.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Mom: This site's tagline is: "Life hacks for home managers." and it's true.  The articles on this blog are insightful yet to the point.  I learn a lot in the ten or so minutes it takes to read these posts that are chock full of helpful tips on everything from cleaning and organization to budgeting and spending meaningful time with your family.  I purchased Tsh Oxenreider's book, Organized Simplicity and am excited to begin implementing some of the practical strategies she writes about. It's always nice to read a book written by someone who realizes what real life with small children and a busy house is like! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sound on the Sound: This is one of the best Seattle area music blogs out there.  The writers are smart and intriguing.  Their featured song, poster and show links are a great place to get started digging into the Seattle music scene.   I love that they feature a poster, which is often the first thing I check out when I go to the site.  I'm working on a collection of show posters so I always enjoy seeing what the designer/art world has been busy creating.

What are some of YOUR favorite blogs?

Book Review: The Wisdom of the Enneagram

I think that a lot of conflict that I have had in my life has stemmed mostly from not understanding myself.  It's good and necessary to try to understand others, but like the verse that says you should take the plank out of your eye before helping someone else with theirs, I fear we cannot be effective in this world until we delve more into who we are.

I hold the belief that each of us was fearfully and wonderfully made...that we were knit together with intentionality and purpose.  While I have, in the past, leaned toward the opionion that thinking too much about oneself is by nature a selfish act I have realized recently that it can be one of the most loving things you can do for others.  To know thyself is to better thyself, if your heart is in the right place.  By that I mean we shouldn't look deeply into ourselves for only our own benefit, but for the benefit of everyone we will ever interact with. 

The key to this is finding a way to learn more about ourselves that is rich and expansive but also tangible and understandable.  

One can definitely do this through the book The Wisdom of The Enneagram.

 

Instead of simply pegging someone as a certain thing (left brained, right brained, Type A B or C), giving them a lable and telling them to live with it, The Wisdom of the Enneagram goes in depth not only about each of the nine types but also about how each type tends to behave when healthy, average and unhealthy.  The authors also give detailed desriptions of types within types (beacause none of us is static) as well as tools to help equip their readers to fight against the unhealthy tendencies of their personalities and to cultivate all that is wonderful in them as well.

This is a very well put together book has been pivotal for me recently.  Brad is going to take the personality test as well and then we will worth together to understand both ourselves and one another better. I highly recommend this for couples who want to gain deeper intimacy through personal understanding.

Reading through all the types has been helpful, too.  It has helped me grasp the personalities and traits of people who I admire and also those who I have been hurt by.  Both have been eye opening (So and so isn't perfect so I don't need to be either!) and challenging (especially to those lazy tendencies to simply paint people into corners and leave them there, labled and unchangable in my mind's eye.)

The biggest thing I've gotten from this book so far is that the personality I've been given is acceptable and worthy.   While I have in the past totally accepted the lie that people like me are not "good enough" I am learning, slowy, to push that idea away and to embrace myself, my gifts and my heart for what they are:  God given, special and, if navigated with the right compass, completely able to foster good in the world. 

I so deeply want that for everyone!

**A disclaimer for my Christian readers: Less I come off as an I'm okay, you're okay theologically ungrounded person, please be certain that I do not believe this text is a replacement for the Bible's instructions on how Christians should live a Godly, fullfilling life.  However, this is an excellent tool to delve deeply in the well of how God made you in order that application of the Bible become more practical and easier to grasp for who you are.  It is my belief that being a Christian does not make us robots who assimilate the Bible and then respond to God in exactly the same way as one another and I feel, in fact, that any attempt to so do is wildly offensive to the intrinsic nature of God.  Also, this is not a book written from the perspective of Christianity but it does contain information on spirituality that does not offend or speak opposite of the Bible in anyway yet seeks to help the reader enhance their spiritual life if they wish.**

This is important reading for any committed couple, leader, pastor, parent, teacher and anyone who has sought to know and understand themselves or others in a deep and meaningful way.

 

My new blog

 

I started a new blog, which will be in addition to this one.   It's for my artsy side so I don't clutter up this blog which is supposed to focus on being a wife and a mom.

So, go over there and check it out, if you'd like, and please let me know what you think!

Spanks!

a soul ajar

The Sketchbook Project 2011

 

My sister in law posted this event on facebook and I decided I wanted to participate! 

The theme I was given was 'Make mine a double' and I realized that a good way to stick to that theme while not being restricted by it would be to do this sketchbook with my daughter Kaeleigh!  She LOVES to draw and, for five, is suprisingly gifted so this will be a really fun one on one project to do with her.

If you like to draw or have kids that do, check it out!

~Kim

Three Things...and a little on the side.

 

 

Three things that happened today:

1. The cute little ribbon on my cute underpants untied and became hopelessly caught in the zipper of my pants.  I wonder if it's the universe telling me I'm too "curvy" for skinny jeans.  (To the two males who read my blog, sorry about the TMI.  Just wait until I write a post about ovaries and FHP's.  I'm going to entitle it "Steak", just to throw you off.  Muah ha ha!)
2. Our dog ran away.  Oh, we found him again, because it seems like everyone in our neighborhood knows him as he's made a habit of doing this whenever we leave the house lately.  See, when we bought this house we decided that we wanted the cat boxes in the garage and that entailed putting in a kitty door.  For some reason we chose the "Chubby" cat door and lo and behold, our 70 pound boxer can fit through it.  Since we leave our garage door up a bit for the cats to go in and out, he has learned that if he lays on his side and paddles his feet like an idiot he can b a r e l y slide under the door.  But not before punching out the screens in any open window he can get to, to see if he can go out that way first.  He must know how stupid he looks squeezing his giant ribcage through half a foot of space.  (perhaps this is similar to how I look squeezing into my beloved  jeans? )  How do we know this for sure since we're gone?  Let's just say that today we played detective and I witnessed the whole thing myself.   Dang dog.  I managed to fix the separation anxiety that he came with and now he decides to regress?  What is up with that?  Okay, don't answer me.  I know exactly what is going on, I just don't really want to deal with it right now.  But deal I must, for that is what you do when you commit to take care of an animal.  Dang , dang dog!
3. My camera is acting wonky again and so the photos to go with my awesome giveaway post are also wonky.  So that will have to wait until tomorrow.  Boo, camera.  Boo!

So, anywhoo...that's my lot today.  

Oh 

blah 

dee.

However!

(I love howevers.)

Tomorrow night I get to go to my friend Tony Kevin Jr.'s show at the Tractor (thanks to my sweet friend, Danielle.  Hi Danielle!)  I am really proud of Tony and this show is going to be fantabulous...if you're in Seattle tomorrow night, please join us!  I'm really excited to get the show poster to add to my growing collection.

This may or may not be a preview...

Buy Tony's album!

Also, Brad is playing a late set at ToST (11pm) so you can scoot over there and maybe catch him after.

Today was not the best, but I got to cuddle my littles and my fridge is full, so I really can't complain too much.  

How was your day today?

Odosketch!

http://sketch.odopod.com/

Here's mine!

Songs from friends and strangers

 

Two things have happened today.

The first is that I put my foot in my mouth.

Seeing as it is hard to walk with one foot on the floor and the other in your pie hole, I happened to stumble head first into humility.  There's a quote somewhere about humility being shy and disappearing the moment you mention it's name, so I'll leave it at that.  Let's just say that I also stumbled upon the phrase "power wrapped in gentleness".  I plan on meditating on this for a while.

The second thing that happened is music.  How fitting!

Music can heal and tear and inspire and convict and anger and sadden and gladden.  Sometimes all at once.

Watching and hearing music happen right before your very eyes makes the responses complicated.

Because you're there and others are there and the artist is there.  They are real and breathing the same air as you and some are bearing their hearts and others are being extremely talented pricks and still others are just doing their job.

If it is someone you know who is playing their music for you it can be like an unexpected gift.  It's cute because they're nervous to share with you, like a child who has made something in class and is proud but worried because somehow we're all tainted at some point in our lives with the knowledge that there will always be another or many others out there who do everything better than we.  

You might be getting a hand print in a frame or a song but that's just what you can hold in your hands or hear with your ears.

What you're really getting is their vulnerability.  You're getting their trust, for the moment at least.

That's the beauty of a song from someone you know.

Now, some strangers, who wear musician as their name tag, this is their job.  A few carry the mantle with the humility and grace that is necessary to really, honestly give their songs to you.  Nothing needed in return.  Just listen.  Listen.

Don't listen with your brain that dissects the rhythm or questions dissonance or hears lyrics that do not apply to any memory it can recall.

Listen with your heart.  Feel the places inside that the low notes reverberate inside you.  If you listen with your heart you can feel with your physical being.  If you listen with your heart you can hear the harmony even if it is not being sung.  Often it seems to be woman's voice...to my ears at least.

Maybe it's wisdom, like from the Proverbs, beckoning me to hear.

That's the beauty of a song from a stranger.

To my friend, Jonny, thank you for your gift.

To Diane Cluck, thank you for coming to a little town and playing in a little garage for us and being the humble kind of giver that we need.

It was a wonderful night. 

 The fall from my stumble only bruised my pride but I got so much more in return in this night of feasting and accepting.

Bite of Seattle Stage Set-up, or My Husband, the Artist

When you play at a venue or festival, often times they ask you to send them a sheet that spells out in detail what the band's stage set-up will be.  When you're playing with a full band it can get kind of complicated and the sound people and stage crews need to know where everyone will be standing.

  It seems kind of strange but keep in mind that everyone is attached by some kind of wire to their instrument and/or a mic.  If these are not set up correctly you get tangled wires, feedback issues and possibly bad sound.  

The following is Brad's rendition of the stage set up for this year's Bite of Seattle.  It's just him and his secondary piano player.  But he still had to send it in because at things like this, details are very important.

Note that Danielle is wearing a skirt, while Brad is both without clothes OR facial hair.  I always wonder why, in stick figure drawing, some stickpeople get certain identifying items and some don't.  But I love how the perspective is as correct as possible.  

He's adorable, but should probably stick to song writing.  

I'm just sayin'. 

Update on me, my man and some blogs I recommend

Hello people!

How have you been?

I have been pretty good

Wildly uninspired, but good.  I'm feeling better and I think I'm recovering from my bout of gluten suckiness. 

Brad and I had a nice long talk about the future and what we should do and we have our plan mapped out.  It feels so GOOD just knowing what we're going to do.  If all goes as we think it will, we will have all of our debt paid off in three to six months, our house short sold (saled?) or a deed in lieu in the works with first and last set aside for a new place and money saved to boot.  If you're wondering what I'm talking about reading this post will help enlighten you.

Brad has done some more recording and should have the EP done by August.  He's headlining a show July 10th which is really exciting.  Headlining a show means you're the main event...it's a big honor no matter how small the venue.  It's also a big responsibility because the bands are responsible for promoting the show and the headliner most of all.  If you're local or going to be in the Seattle area on July 10th it would be awesome for you to come!  Check out Brad's website for more details.

My housecleaning post needs to be revamped...I think I might split it into parts, with an introduction of basics and then specifics for different rooms of the house.  We'll see...stay tuned!

Other than that, not much exciting is going on around these parts. 

If you really want to read some seriously hilarious action packed posts, go check out my blog-friend Taylor over at The Lumberjack's Wife.   Oh my goodness...I have laughed so hard at nearly every post this last few weeks...go say hi and have a laugh yourself!

For some awesome parenting insight and AMAZING recipes, go check out Mindee over at Our Front Door.

For a great blog that's all artsy and not at all fartsy I just love i art u!

For a little taste of  modern hipster visit the folks over at Le Grand Cru.

I have a few more, but my netbook is acting weird so before I toss it out the window I'll sign off for my sanity!