Brussels Sprouts + Bowls of Spiders + Black Roses

Who likes brussels sprouts? OK, don't raise your hands all at the same time. I feel like green vegetables tend to get prematurely judged. Yes, brussels sprouts look like tiny cabbages, but just let me tell you, they are delicious (even ask my dad). This year, when we were picking out the plants to grow in our garden, I set my eye on a brussels sprouts plant, even though my parents had their doubts about if it would grow well.

So this week, we pulled those suckers out by their roots and started chopping off those round pieces of heaven one by one until we had a pot full. When you get them in the grocery stores (especially frozen) they tend to be bitter. I have more than once spit out a brussels sprout. But not these homegrown ones, they were perfection.

Brussels sprouts grow on a long stem. My dad and I had cut off all the leaves before this pic was taken.

Boil 'em, steam 'em, maybe even eat them raw.

Isn't this just a wonderful picture of the harvest moon? I'm not sure who shot this picture -- either my mom or dad -- but I couldn't help but share.

Back in the day, we decorated to scare all the kids who would trample through our haunted garage. Since then, we've toned it down a bit, made it classier I guess.

 Black rose, black dress, black heart. Hey, have you listened to the song "Black Roses" by the beautiful Clare Bowen (from one of my fav shows, Nashville)? If not, watch it. It's unbelievable.

Bowl full of spiders? Obviously!

 We've had this skeleton for yeeeeeeeears. His name is Mr. Bones. Maybe he shouldn't have played with that Ouija board. Am I right?

It's fall. Break out the hats!

Look at my precious Sadie. She always lays on the ground in front of this window, watching for my dad to come up the driveway.

Can you believe All Hallow's Eve is this weekend? Love it & can't wait.

Fresh Garden Salsa

What do I like most about summer? Going out to my garden, feeling the dirt between my toes as I pick ripe vegetables. Tomatoes, pickles, zucchini,onions, yellow squash, green beans - we plant a bundle, which makes it even more exciting when each is ready to be picked.

One of my favorite things to make when all the right produce is ripe....SALSA. From the beginning, I've never followed a recipe, but just picked an assortment of goodies and put it in a bowl and taste tested it for what it needs a little more of. To me, it's delicious, but everyone has their likes and dislikes. Here's a little photo selection of what I put in my fresh garden salsa:

I chose to use grape and cherry tomatoes instead of regular-sized tomatoes. It's just a preference. I think that these tomatoes are sweeter and have more flavor, so even though it takes a long time to chop these up, it's worth it.

A few years ago, I went to Burley Park, an antique and collectibles market, and came across a man selling purple pepper plants (the plant on the right). I had never seen them before (neither had my mom or grandma). The man said that the fruit grows purple and it has heat. Being such a unique find, my grandma and I both picked up a plant.

Here's an up close view of the purple pepper. Each year my grandma and I harvest the seeds when the pepper turns red. We save them for the next year and when spring comes around, we plant them. I put a few plants in my garden, too, and they are thriving. They aren't as tall as the ones grown in a pot, but they have peppers on them.

This is what I put in the salsa:

-medium-sized bowl full of cherry and grape tomatoes
-1 onion
-4 banana peppers
-2 green peppers
-2 jalepenos
-3 purple peppers
-salt and pepper to taste

I cut the tomatoes into about five pieces. This took quite a long time, but it was well worth it.

When I started cutting the jalapenos, I wasn't sure if I wanted to use two of them because I didn't want the salsa to be too spicy. I cut up one into very small pieces and the second one was added as I taste tested it for heat.

The purple peppers are very small, so they were cut into very small pieces. You can't even see them in the final picture of the salsa. My dad ate a slice of a purple pepper and he immediately said his mouth was burning. They definitely have some heat, but bring a nice addition to the salsa.

As for the rest of the vegetables, cut them into chunks. Stir that baby up and taste test it. Need a little salt? Add it. Want a little more spice? Cut up some more jalapenos or purple peppers.

TA-DA! Delicious fresh salsa made entirely with vegetables from my garden!

SERENITY

This is part of the 18 -ities practice, where each week I'll think about a word taken by spiritual leader and yoga master Sri Swami Sivanada, the writer and composer of The Song of Eighteen Ities. Read the introduction here.

"1.) Serenity 

Tranquility, acceptance, a feeling of peace. A moment of serenity is where it all begins. In this state of serenity, our mind is motionless and nothing disturbs our thoughts. Serenity is like a forest pool on a calm day. The pool's surface is as smooth as glass. If we come closer, we can see right down to the bottom of the pool."

 The first thought that came to mind when I read that excerpt from Happinez Magazine was my daily meditation. I might describe the details of this meditation at a later date, but the reason I do it is to center myself. When I concentrate on breathing and finding my center -- not daily tasks, issues that have come up, or anything else weighing on my thoughts -- I can truly find serenity.

The power of breath is truly amazing. Taking long, deep, intentional breaths can be extremely soothing. We all breathe shallow breaths most of the time, but engaging the belly into the exercise of breath stretches those muscles and moves that oxygen through your body.

Another thing that brings me serenity is being out in nature. There's a certain stillness, but also activeness that resides in the forest, garden, or at the beach. All the sounds around you are natural. There aren't cars whooshing by, or a TV blaring, but instead, the sound of rustling leaves and waves crashing. It allows you to see the beauty of what is earthly-made.

I also feel a sort of serenity when I'm creative writing, just scribbling down words or phrases that come to me. It almost feels like a brisk wind urging me to get this down on paper because I'll need it someday. It's a kind of relief that is soothing and energizing all at the same time.

What comes to mind when you think of the word SERENITY? I'd really love to hear.

Growing starts with introspection. Start with the -ities

Bookstores are my downfall. Whenever I walk into a bookstore, you can almost guarantee I won't walk out empty handed. At a very young age, I watched my mom hustle over to the magazine section of any store, looking for inspiration in pictures atop lifestyle and party magazines. It's been a tradition that whenever we waltz into Barnes and Noble, we head straight for the magazines.

Last week, I did not falter in this ritual. The lights shone bright overhead as I scanned the Stampington magazines (my favorite) for a new issue. I had all of them. But I kept scanning and as my eyes trailed the shelf, I saw an ornate pink pattern framing a woman doing anjali mudra (yoga term for what looks like prayer hands). The cover said "follow your heart" and "do you know what makes you happy?" with the slogan of "positive, wise, & loving life." So many things spoke to me on the cover that I had to open the pages and take a peek.

Glancing through, it brought positivity and the yogi spirit to life through beautiful pictures of nature, Buddhist temples, art, and words. There was an article on the importance of intentional breath, the influence of singing bowls, and one of my favorite articles talked about becoming introspective on blessings we have and exploring them through the 18 ities.

What are "ities," you ask? Words that end in -ity. Words like serenity, regularity, absence of vanity, sincerity, simplicity, veracity, equanimity, fixity, non-irritability, adaptability, humility, tenacity, integrity, nobility, magnanimity, charity, generosity, and purity. And those are the 18 highlighted by spiritual leader and yoga master Sri Swami Sivananda.

"Eighteen virtues. Think of them as words written on notes hanging in a forest along the path we travel - life's path," the article reads. "They are reminders of what we should look out for along the way, what we should investigate, what is important and what we can learn."

The intention is that you explore the -ity for a week and it will give you deeper insight into life and yourself. Always seeking ways to find more connection with myself and the encompassment of life, I decided to challenge myself to this journey. I encourage you to also take a deeper look at these words and try to decipher how they position in your life. If you're hesitant, you can always follow along on my 18-week voyage.

Stop back tomorrow for the first jump -- SERENITY.

First poem officially in print

It's not #ThrowbackThursday, but I have something from a few months ago to share. While I was living on Bainbridge Island, I went to the local bookstore, searching around for local poets' writing on the shelves. One of the books I pulled was an assortment of poems that had won the Poetry Corner's Contest sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanity Council.

After buying the book, reading it from cover to cover, I looked the competition up online and found that they celebrated National Poetry Month (April) by publishing the chosen poems, having a live reading, and posting the poems in the windows of businesses on the island for people to read as they passed by by.

The theme for 2015 was "Peace" and when I looked through my poems, I couldn't find anything that directly related to that topic. I tend to write about challenges and moments of dramatic impact. Even though nothing seemed to fit the theme, I submitted three poems, not expecting anything except a rejection letter.

Forgetting that I had even submitted the poems, I logged into my email one day at YES! and read the word "congratulations" and my stomach sunk. I had never been published before, and when I saw which poem had won, I got a little nervous.

The poem that they chose is called "Bruises, Blood, Dust" and it follows a mother and daughter struggling in an abusive home. The reason my stomach was in knots when I saw this poem had won was because many people write from their personal experiences and sometimes I do too, but the scenario in the poem is far from anything I've ever experienced. 

I can't remember what sparked this poem, but I can still clearly see the image of the home I created in my mind and distress that ran through my veins as I described what the characters were going through. All I know is I felt the need to write about this topic.

Although I was unable to attend the live reading from the poetry collection, I did order a copy of the book -- my first published poem. Kind of exciting.

My poem was displayed at the Bainbridge Island library

Published in print. So crazy.

Bruises, Blood, Dust

             by Kayla Schultz

It sounds like a band, drumming

to the beat of skin against skin,

bone against flesh. The thump, thump

thumping of her falling to the dirty kitchen tile,

scrubbed weekly, never clean.

she is inhaling, exhaling calmly,

walking away with dry cheeks, purpled

the color of grape lollipops.

Sticky red dribbling from her nose,

tickling like strawberry juice running

down swollen cheeks. Her daughter’s

tiny arm clings to Raggedy Anne,

healed with hand-sewn patches

in the shape of hearts to cover the gashes.

Rising from the tile, mother and daughter

walk hand in hand out the screen door,

You’ll never get away with this, he yells,

pounding his fists against the porch railing,

watching dust from the dirt road

envelop them until they disappear. 

Wisdom comes from those who take risks

The skies were dark with rain clouds today, making it feel like 6 p.m. when it was only 3. My day had been chaotic when a vibrant spirit walked into the lobby of my newest place of work. This greying woman had wet droplets on her jacket from the rain and the smell of blooming lilacs wafted in behind her as she approached me at the front desk. Many of you probably don’t know, but I am back in Michigan for the summer working at the American Youth Foundation Miniwanca, a camp on the shore of Lake Michigan. My primary duty at the camp is to help run seasonal staffing and this woman had come to sign in as a part of the medical team.

After gathering a stack of paperwork for her to fill out, we moved to comfy leather chairs, and as she began to write, I started to make small talk. She told me she loved the rain and could easily live in Seattle. I told her I had just gotten back from Seattle and that I also loved the rain. She told me about the last few years she worked on the medical team at Camp Miniwanca, talking about how excited she was to again be part of a dynamic duo in East Camp.

Wrinkles grew deep as she smiled telling me stories from her time in Hawaii – her home for over a decade. She moved back to Michigan just two years ago with no car or apartment, just stayed at her sister’s house for a few days before voyaging over to Miniwanca for the summer with no previous work in camps and not knowing what to expect.

With each new detail from her life, I was more amazed by this woman in front of me. Before knowing anything about her life, I had stereotyped her. This 70-something year-old woman expanded and inspired me, but it was one simple phrase that resonated with me – “I like change. I enjoy being adventurous.” It was more than just the phrase though, it was a combination of how her voice lowered, her eyes lit up, how her age had not dampened her energy and spirit for doing what excited her. And also that she seemed to be voyaging on this journey of life solo. She was a strong woman that talked with vigor and life and in that moment, I was jealous of her vivacity.

I’ve been making changes to my life and thinking a lot about what I want my future to be. I have to admit, it can change depending on what I’m reading, hearing and learning. But when it comes down to it, there are a few things that I feel are building blocks to my happiness: travel, poetry, art, writing, and adventure. I have goals to see new parts of the world, experience new cultures, and read as much poetry as I can. If I had it my way, I’d travel around the world, reading local poets’ work, interviewing them and finding out what makes them write such beautiful lines. Is this what my future holds? I don’t know, but it’s fun to think about.

We’ll see where my passions take me, but it is nice to be reminded that life isn’t about doing the 9-5 grind, but creating a life that sustains that passionate, happy, vibrant feeling throughout the entirety of your life. 

"And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret." -Kahlil Gibran

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

To the artistic woman who always has designs running through her head, or can spot a treasure at a flea market in .2 seconds. To the woman who will listen even when it's in the middle of her favorite show on TV. To the woman who instilled the value of treating others kindly and with respect - and modestly says that's the reason why she won Homecoming Queen. To the woman who raised me and loves me despite my weird tendencies. I love you mom. I hope you've had a wonderful year.

Like mother, like daughter - I guess.

I must've gotten the traveling bug from both parents. My mom is on the far right (wearing the "kiss me" sombrero) and this pic was taken in Tijuana, Mexico. She moved out to California for awhile.

The fam.

The fam years earlier.

Mom and dad in Olympic National Park.