Archive for the ‘random’ Category

Returning to an Old Flame?

April 27th, 2011

Well, we have now been in Seattle for just over a week.

It’s been sort of strange being here this trip because we aren’t just here for a normal visit. Normally our visits in the Seattle area are relatively short and we try and cram as much family time and friend time in as we can. This time is different. This time we are here for two months, and we know we’ll be back for another month or two in the fall. There isn’t as much need to rush or cram.

This trip is also different because we are considering whether or not we want to move back to the Seattle area. In many ways we are taking the next two months as a sort of exploratory trip, to re-evaluate our future and see if we can imagine living here again. At least that’s the intention (we haven’t really done much exploration, re-evaluation, or even talked much at all about it so far, but there’s time).

As I’ve thought about this trip a little bit this week I’ve had the weird feeling that it’s sort of like I’m trying to decide wether or not to get back together with an old flame. Deciding wether or not to move back to a city you’ve lived in before is sort of like that. You still remember all the things you loved about them, you notice new things to love about them, but you also still remember all the reasons why it didn’t work out before. I’ve thought about that off and on this week. There’s a lot I remember loving about Seattle. There’s a lot that I could see myself loving about Seattle now. But, there’s also things that I remember not loving, things that helped inspire our move. Some of those things aren’t issues as much now at this stage in life, but some of them are still very real and still very present. Do I want to go back to those things? Would it be the same if I went back, or would it be different? Am I different enough to make it different this time around?

As I wrote before, I have been feeling burned out on Prague, but I don’t want to just rush into a move just because of burn out. I want Bryan and I together to be intentional about evaluating where the best place for us is at this time. So, of course I made a list ;) Yes, I’m one of those list makers. I made a list of questions for us to ask ourselves as we consider wether or not we should move to Seattle. Really these are questions to ask yourself whenever you are considering any sort of move. Here they are:

1. Can we picture ourselves living there?
2. What is the overall culture there and do we feel like adding those cultural characteristics to our lives would be a good thing?
3. What kinds of opportunities would exist there for us and our children?
4. What areas of our lives would benefit most through our living there?
5. What areas of our lives might suffer from living there?
6. How well could our social needs be met there?
7. What sort of a support system would we have there?
8. What is the realistic cost of living?
9. What would be potentially difficult about living there?
10. What future goals could we meet by living there?
11. Are there any future goals that would be harder to meet because of living there?
12. How might moving there effect our health and the health of our children?
13. How might moving there effect us spiritually and emotionally?
14. What do we like about the area?
15. What don’t we like about the area?
16. What expectations do we have about living there and how realistic are they?
17. What do people who know us well think and say about us moving there?

These are the things we want to be talking through this next two months as we evaluate a posible move back to Seattle. These are the questions I want to keep in mind as we consider getting back together again with our own “old flame”.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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The Year Ahead

February 22nd, 2011

So, after two blog posts on the subject, I’m guessing you all know by now that we are pregnant. Yesterday marked the beginning of 13 weeks and my first trimester coming to an end. Being pregnant has radically changed our plans for this year and I thought it was about time that I filled you all in on what’s been going on.

The past two months I have had a steady decline in my health that has resulted in slightly more than an 8 pound weight loss (not a big deal for some, but sort of a big deal for me since I didn’t have any to lose to begin with AND I’m pregnant and should be gaining weight). Anyway, the short of it is that I have always struggled with allergies and food sensitivities, and although we have made a lot of progress on improving my health in the past few years, since becoming pregnant again things have really deteriorated.

Because of that we have decided to head back to the states, for a while… actually we leave Prague 2 weeks from Today. We still don’t have our schedule completely worked out, but we will be in the states from early March through the end of the year and will spend some time in Arizona, Seattle, and hopefully California as well.

I’m looking forward to being in the states so that I can see my wonderful midwife there, my chiropractor there (who has greatly improved my sensitivities and health issues in the past), and be closer to family. We have been feeling sad, though, to leave Prague so suddenly and have such a short time to say goodbye to some dear friends, but we also feel like this is really the right and wisest decision for us right now.

It has been hard to tell our friends that we are leaving so suddenly – I’ve made more than one person cry. I don’t like making my friends cry. It’s difficult when you know that the right decision for you is going to hurt people you care about. I guess life is just like that sometimes, but it really sucks.

This next two weeks will likely be crazy for us. We have to essentially pack everything up and move out of our current place, so I’ve been spending most of the past few days cleaning things out and organizing – something I used to sort of enjoy, but have been totally overwhelmed by lately. Let me just say, packing up your entire house with a toddler is NOT fun. I make piles of things to giveaway and things to keep only to find that within a matter of minutes Thad has gotten into them and mixed them up and I have to start over. I get a box packed only to have Thaddeus pull everything out of it seconds later. Yeah, it’s been a bit frustrating. Plus he’s just been so out of sorts with all the chaos and I haven’t been able to give him as much attention as normal and it’s really taking a toll on him – poor little guy.

Well, that’s where we are at right now. Not sure if there will be much time to write in the next few weeks, but I do have some posts half started so hopefully I’ll be able to finish them up and it won’t be completely silent around here. Pray for us as we pack, say goodbye, and try to re-enter life in the states for a while. We’d really appreciate your prayers and kind thoughts.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Things I’m Loving Lately

November 15th, 2010

Actually maybe I should title this post “Things I’m sort of addicted to lately…” cause this is stuff that I’ve recently discovered, but literally can’t get enough of right now! I hope it’s stuff you’ll enjoy too!

Yogamazing

I recently discovered yogamazing video podcasts on itunes and I LOVE them. Most of them are about 20 minutes long (which is about as long as I can do with Thad right now – so it’s perfect) and a lot of them are free on itunes. You can also get the most recent one free on the web site www.yogamazing.com and for a small fee you can download all the old ones.

I really love these videos! They have a great flow to them and he moves you from one pose to the next in an effortless and relaxed manner. The sequencing is at times truly creative and even inspired. In my opinion, the pace is perfect – not too fast, not too slow. Most of all though I love that he gives good instructions on posture and really emphasizes listening to your own body and just going where you are comfortable at that moment. So many yoga dvd’s and podcasts don’t really take into consideration what I consider to be one of the most basic tenants of yoga, “Listen to your Body”, and that really frustrates me, but Chaz at yogamazing is different, he really understands this tenant and will even put it into practice himself during a video. I love it!

Pinterest

Ok, I’m totally addicted to this right now. I just got my account set up and I can’t stop “pinning”. Basically this is a way to bookmark (or pin) pictures of things and organize them in “boards”. Essentially it’s a super easy way to create moodboards and inspiration boards online. It’s also a great way to find new inspiration and ideas through the community. I’ve been using it mostly to organize ideas I have for the retreat center/farm we are considering moving to soon. I’ve also used it to keep track of craft and sewing projects I want to do, ideas for Christmas decorations, and recipes I want to try. Pinterest is a super fun resource, especially for artists or those working on design related projects. I have an invite or two left so if you want one let me know in the comments and if no one else has claimed it first I’ll send one your way.

Pie

Can I just say that I LOVE pie? I don’t know why I didn’t realize this earlier, but pie is AMAZING! So, much better than cake for sure, and lately I’m even liking it more than cookies or other baked goods. My favorites lately have been pumpkin pie made with REAL pumpkin (it’s nearly impossible to find canned pumpkin puree here and I’m glad because it forced me to start using real pumpkin and it’s SO much better) and Coconut custard pie (lots of coconut, eggs, milk, and a bit of unrefined sugar make for a YUMMY treat – I think I’ll have to post the recipe soon…). I’m quite certain I’ve been making way too much pie, but it’s just been the perfect comfort food lately.

Bohemiae Rosa

I wrote last week about this wonderful farm and I just have to say again I’m still LOVING it! We got a half a chicken from them this week and it was SO delicious! Plus it was about as big as the whole chickens we get from the grocery store! After seeing how good the chicken was I’m seriously tempted to order a turkey from them, even though we probably won’t be hosting Thanksgiving and will go to someone else’s house. Hum, you think Bryan and I could finish a 26 pound turkey by ourselves before it goes bad? Maybe we’ll need help…anyone want to come over for turkey??
Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Summer Blogging Plan

June 28th, 2010

Today I wanted to take a little break from the normal schedule and my normal Admiration Monday posts to tell you a little bit about what to expect from me and this space over the coming months.

July

My husband and I will be traveling in the states for the whole month of July, which means that things may be a little out of the ordinary here on my blog. So, I wanted to give you all a heads up so you know what’s going to be happening.

I value this space and the community that is just beginning to develop around it. I want to continue building that community and make this a valuable and helpful space for all of you who visit me here. I don’t want my traveling to disrupt this space too drastically (as it has in the past). So, I will continue to post regularly while I travel.

IMG_3316But, I also wants to spend my long July days twirlying with my niece (isn’t she cute!), playing hid-n-go seek with my nephews, giggling with my beautiful sisters, eating ice cream with my cousins, sharing stories with my friends, going on long walks with my husband, cuddling with my baby, and generally soaking in the sunshine and beauty that is summer. To balance these two desires I’ve decided to enlist some help, plan ahead and let a few things go.

I’ve asked some dear, beautiful friends to write some guest posts for all of you to enjoy. So, expect to see a few guest posts around here in the coming weeks. Each of the people who will be writing guest posts mean so much to me and I’m really so excited to share them with you. I can’t wait to read what they will write, and feel so blessed that they have agreed to share a little bit of themselves here on my blog.

I have also been doing a lot of writing ahead of time, so that I won’t have to write as much while traveling. Because of this I can tell you I have some fun posts coming your way. I have a series about Traveling with a 9 Month Old that will start this week, recipes like macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup, Fish Burgers, and Olive Oil Cake, posts about How to Tell a Good Bed Time Story and a little about My Education. I hope you enjoy these and many other posts that I have planned for the coming weeks.

Even though guest bloggers and good planning will lighten the load for me I know that I still won’t have as much time to devote to you all. So, I want you to know up front that it might take me a little longer than normal to moderate comments, or respond to them. It might take me a little longer than normal to respond to your emails as well. I might not comment on all of your wonderful blogs quite as often. And I may not participate in all of the blog carnivals that I normal try to engage with. Don’t worry though I will definitely still be doing Two for Tuesday!

So, that’s July.

August

I’m supper excited about what I have planned for August here on the blog…IMG_5173

August 18th will be my husband and my 5th wedding anniversary. I know it’s not really that long, but it sort of feels like the first really significant anniversary we’ve had. I love being married to my husband and I can’t wait to celebrate with him. So, I’m expanding our celebration to include this site by naming August my own personal Love and Marriage Month.

I plan on all of the posts in August having to do with Love and Marriage. I plan on sharing my husband and my story with you – how we met, got engaged and what our wedding was like. My Admiration Monday posts will be about couple’s who I admire and have learned from. I’ll feature guest posts about marriage and love (speaking of which, if you are interested in writing a guest post on this subject please contact me, I’d love to talk with you about it). And maybe also write a bit about wedding planning. But, don’t worry there will still be lots of recipes too – maybe a wedding cake recipe, or a post about foods that can be aphrodisiacs, or a romantic dinner menu, who knows what I’ll come up with once inspiration strikes.

Oh, I’m so excited! I want to go start writing posts for August right now! Focus, Bethany, focus. First things, first!

Well, that’s what the summer will look like around here. I hope you enjoy your summer as much as I know I will! And I hope that you continue to visit regularly. You all are a blessing and encouragement to me!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

Photos by Beth Stedman


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The Best Way to Succeed

June 12th, 2010

My husband and I were talking recently and he made a comment that has stuck with me. He said:

“The quickest way to succeed is to help others succeed.”

I thought about this for a long time and I think he’s really right. Of course, there are a lot of different ways to “succeed” and not all of them involve helping someone else succeed. But, meeting a need for someone else, helping them to be successful, well, that is a pretty good, and often very quick, way for you to be successful yourself. Maybe there are times when it’s not the “quickest” way to succeed, but I think it might just be the BEST way to succeed.

So often, I think we compete with each other when we should be helping one another. I know that I don’t usually think about how I can help someone else succeed. Instead I think about how I can succeed – how I can succeed at blogging, at being a mom and wife, at teaching yoga, or at whatever other projects and interests I’m currently trying my hand at. But, how different would my relationships be if instead of focusing on myself and my own success I focused more on others and THEIR success. And, at least according to my husband, doing that could very well lead to the success I want for myself. Even if it doesn’t, by focusing on others and their success I would have improved the world just a little bit by making it a more compassionate, gracious, and relational place. And isn’t that a beautiful form of success in and of itself?

What have you done today to help someone else succeed?

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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