in yesterday’s post, i took my friend katherine’s lead and created a “fantasy to do list.”

the purpose of a fantasy to do list is to start thinking beyond all of the many obligations that abound long enough to envision what life might look like with a little added refrains of fun. items on these lists have a strange way of slipping out of the hypothetical world and into our real lives! just try it. you’ll see.

to play along:

1. just scurry over to your own blog or facebook page and create your own list (however long or short) of things you would love to do. don’t let time or resources hold you back.
2. link to my blog by either grabbing my button (html code is located in the sidebar to your right) or simply attaching the link to this post, which is http://www.themsrevolution.com/2010/05/26/play-along/.
3. comment on this post or email me (themsrevolution[at]gmail[dot]com) and let me know you’re playing.
4. then, for those who have blogs, i’ll link from my blog to yours so we can all be inspired by each other’s lists. whether you’re playing along on facebook or on a blog, let me know if you accomplish a fantasy “to do,” in the coming weeks so i can give you a shout out on my blog!
5. invite your friends to play too!

here’s what the button looks like:

now go make those lists! have more fun!

who’s playing:

• stacy
• lane (facebook)
• secret agent mom
• megan
• katherine (the originator of the fantasy to do list)
• kathi
• jessa
• lindsey
• reverendmother
• melissa
• jaime
• emmy

in a few weeks, my dear friend and fellow young clergy woman, katherine, will be moving from southern california to the chicago area. in a valiant effort of wishful thinking, intended to distract her from the very real tasks associated with changing homes, jobs, and states, katherine recently posted a “fantasy to-do list” on her blog. then she quickly admitted that, “the likelihood of any of them happening [would be] woefully slim.”

but then guess what happened? she’s been working little things from this list into her life!

now everybody who knows me is aware that i will be living in memphis until jesus comes again, which is a euphemism for A VERY LONG TIME.* but i think everybody needs a fantasy to-do list. a move is a perfect occasion for one, and so is staying put. and as i have mentioned before, my recent entry into the re[frame] productivity system for creative people has buried me in pesky little task-laden note cards. my life is begging for a little fantasy.**

so, here it is. my very own fantasy to-do list in no particular order:

1. eat at restaurant iris

2. take an exotic yoga vacation

3. take the free tour of memphis’ ghost river brewing company.

4. host a make-your-own-pizza night, using the perfected crust recipe of my friend, mary.

5. eat at the chef’s table at felicia suzanne’s.

6. write a short story

7. attend a sewing workshop in florence, alabama hosted by alabama chanin.

8. learn to use photoshop

9. attend a wailin’ jennys concert.

10. get discovered. (i stole this from katherine but really, who doesn’t want to be discovered?)

*the above reference to the second coming was meant to be evocative of the traditional interpretation of this christian hopefulness — that jesus will return, in bodily form, to the earth someday. this is in distinct contrast to my own leanings in this department, which are that divinity, in all of its forms, bombards the earth daily, and that we live in a world of constant “second comings.”

**yes, i realize that by including the word “fantasy” in this post, i am setting myself up for a spam attack of the most disgusting kind.

i remember reading in a counseling textbook at some point during my divinity school education that women are particularly drawn toward mentors — other women who are modeling the kind of lives we want to lead. the theory is that in order to make up for a part of ourselves that is not yet fully realized, we integrate others into our identities by our associations with them. we perceive these others to have gifts in the areas where we have deficits. mentors are like the lily pads or resting places that can usher us into the kind of self-improvement that we seek.

i was struck by yesterday’s “mother of invention,” lindsey, who remarked that she’s been looking for “an everything mentor” for some time now. lindsey’s everything mentor would essentially be someone whose life is eerily similar to lindsey’s life, only the mentor would have all of the secrets to the holy grails of balance and wholeness. since, as lindsey laments, this “everything mentor” doesn’t seem to exist, she has resorted to filling her life with a variety of positive people and following her own instincts when it comes to shaping a life for herself.

i too searched my external world for models of balanced motherhood that were custom-made for the parameters of my life. in the absence of this model, i decided to start this blog by way of constructing my own. secretly i hoped that interviewing women of various backgrounds and circumstances would lead me to my “everything mentor,” and help others to find theirs too. but what i’ve learned is what lindsey has also learned: at some point, we just have to trust our own instincts and shape the best lives for ourselves that we can. though there are little gems in each “mothers of invention” feature that can help enhance a mother’s quality of life, it seems that the real inspiration comes when we read about someone who is living comfortably in their own authenticity, and we are inspired to find this self-acceptance and a new level of being real. i love connecting with all of the “mothers of invention” because i am doing what lindsey is doing — surrounding myself with positive people as i walk my particular path.

but enough of this waxing philosophic. let’s have a giveaway! my dear friend, jessa, over at happily home sewn has agreed to make a precious superkid cape for the lucky winner of this contest.

as you can see, the capes jessa sells in her etsy store are custom-made with the initial of the superkid in question and with fabric that fits the personality of said superkid. i love the idea of kids powering through life as they imagine their own heroic potential instead of that of spiderman or superwoman. below are instructions for entering the contest but if you don’t win, don’t fret! jessa has offered to waive the cost of shipping for MakeShift revolution readers who purchase capes from her site. you can take advantage of this discount by using this link to her store.

[update: winner posted here.]

 for one chance to win a custom-made superkid cape:

•  post a comment below, and include the initial of a super kid in your life and what makes him/her super. for example, my super kid, M, has the climbing powers of a monkey!

for additional chances to win a custom-made superkid cape:

• link to this giveaway from your blog (tell me you’ve done so in a comment below)
• subscribe to my blog via rss or email (tell me you’ve done so in a comment below)
• follow themsrevolution on twitter (leave your twitterID in a comment below)
• follow my blog on google friend connect, which is located on the sidebar and WAAAY down to the right (tell me you’ve done so in a comment below)

be sure to include your email address in your comment (will not be published) so that i can contact the winner. the contest will end at midnight on tuesday, may 4th.

i’m new to this blogging thing, and most days i feel like i’m still in that sparkly-eyed freshman daze. it’s kind of like navigating a new campus without key knowledge, such as how to make the best use of short-cuts and how to make “rice krispy treats” in the refectory out of the breakfast cereals, the grain station butter, and the sundae station  marshmallows. this is important stuff, my friends!

my new friend kate of my mommy monolgues, also a blogging newbie, is one of those girls on the hall who (metaphorically speaking of course) has declared a major, landed a boyfriend, and organized a spring break trip all within minutes of moving in. a good friend to have, eh?

kate recently gave me this “award” on her blog:

i am to list ten things that make me happy and pass the award along to a few friends. so, here goes! (note, i’m truly going to list things, not people, since this isn’t an academy awards speech.)

1. the britches and bloomers sewing pattern, which has allowed me to go crazy making “crazy pants” for my boys.
2. books i’ve read lately: the help, the elegance of the hedgehog, and until i find you.
3. la croix water. i’m addicted.
4. this envelope template kit from the paper source, that allows me to make funky envelopes out of recycled paper.
5. screw kappa napa chardonnay
6. spending the month of july in montreat, nc
7. bluegrass music
8. marimekko fabric, clothes, and household items.
9. the home practice yoga sequences in yoga journal — a tremendous help when i can’t get to the studio but still want someone else to direct my practice.
10. chuck taylors

and now, i hereby award/tag four friends:

1. http://nursegolfdiva.blogspot.com/ honest (and funny!) accounts of parenting and nursing (RN) from my beloved college room mate and friend.
2. http://katy-uncooked.blogspot.com/ a raw and inspiring narrative about how my divinity school friend, katy, took charge of her life and her health.
3. http://stuffparentsneed.blogspot.com/ giveaways, recipes, and musings from a favorite fellow mom and former co-worker.
4. http://reverendartistmother.blogspot.com/ inspiration from suzanne, an artist, minister, mom, and soul friend.

gotta go. we’re streaking the quad!

happy 101 rules:

1. copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. list who gave the award to you and use a link to her/his blog (or hyperlink).
3. list 10 things that make you happy.
4. pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award.

there’s a little book on my shelf called present moment, wonderful moment by spiritual teacher thich nhat hanh. on every page, there’s a short meditation encouraging readers to live life in the present moment. ordinary activities like hand-washing, teeth-brushing, tea-drinking and laundry-folding are re-framed as potential moments of prayer and gratitude.

next to that book sits my camera, a birthday gift from my husband that truly has revolutionized the images i’ve been able to capture of my kids, who are growing up like little weeds before my very eyes. only, let’s be real. my camera is never just sitting on the shelf these days beside a book about meditation. it has quite the social calendar, filled with walks, vacations, picnics, holiday gatherings, dates with the charger, and hook-ups with my hard drive. 

the problem is, now when i am out enjoying glorious spring weather with my family, and the monkey settles into a posture of rare stillness under a tree and beside a lake, for example, i have two conflicting voices that battle it out in my head. thich nhat hanh says, “live fully into this present moment. use it as a prayer for thanksgiving.” on the other hand, that old kodak commercial asserts itself with the push to drop everything and run for my camera. since i cannot laminate my children and preserve these precious years for all eternity, i feel the need to at least capture moments here and there. poor thich nhat hanh. i rarely ever listen to him.

in their book, i was a really good mom before i had kids, trisha ashworth and amy nobile write, “…our children…look to us to figure out how to enjoy their own lives, to decide what’s valuable in their days. do you want your children to think of a rainbow as a photo op or do you want them to learn how to pause and appreciate the beauty that’s before them right now” (161)?

ashworth and nobile make a good point. i want my children to be able to enjoy beauty without having to take it home or own it or freeze it in a still frame. on the other hand, my dabblings in photography have also actually helped me to look more closely at the intricate harmony in the natural world. with camera in hand, i’m much more likely to lie down in the cool grass to see something from a different angle or notice how much sweeter a sunset is with a little blond monkey curl in the foreground. i want my children to embrace this way of seeing as well.

but what i’ll probably end up passing along to the next generation is the tension i feel between capturing moments and living them. in a world filled with such beauty, surely this befuddlement is all part of experiencing the awe. it makes me sad to think that someday, the monkey won’t remember how to stand under a brilliant tree next to a lake and smile at the wonders of nature. but maybe then he’ll do as i have done, and let the camera lead him back into the way of appreciation.

[my sister-in-law is the subject of the first picture in this post. she shares the tension i describe above, and the two of us are often mistaken for tourists at family gatherings. also, the sources for this post can be found on the bibliography page located on the sidebar to your right.]

[update: check out this post, which reveals the winner of the billboard bag! http://www.themsrevolution.com/2010/04/05/billboard-bag-winner/]

our little revolution turned one month old yesterday! isn’t she just the cutest thing? sure, she still wakes me in the early morning like all newborns do but i don’t mind. there are just so many things to celebrate!

…or shall i say people?

i’m new to this bloggy thing but it seems to me that this would be a good time for a giveaway. one lucky winner will score “the billboard bag!”

here’s the story on the billboard bag. i recently purchased some jeans from a fancy little boutique in memphis. the first pair ripped when i leaned down to pick up the bird during a trip to the botanic gardens (yes, this was mortifying). the second pair made it home with the alarm thingy still attached. the third pair unzipped themselves fiftyleven times while the boys and i were at the zoo. the fourth pair are excellent! ANYWAY, since i returned to the boutique four times in two weeks, i had ample time to eye, admire, and finally, photograph a cute little spring bag. i was already thinking about how i could construct one of these for myself when i noticed the bag on a billboard advertisement for yet another fancy little boutique. i made a simple pattern, and much to my delight, the bag turned out great!

the bag pictured above is my new purse/diaper bag/briefcase/mobile disaster preparedness kit. but i will happily make a similar bag for one lucky winner. here’s how to enter:

for one chance to win:

•  post a comment below, and include either your own favorite makeshift moment -or- an idea for a future themsrevolution.com post.

for additional chances to win:

• link to this giveaway from your blog (tell me you’ve done so in a comment below)
• subscribe to my blog via rss or email
• follow themsrevolution on twitter (leave your twitterID in a comment below)
• follow my blog on google friend connect (on the sidebar, WAAAY down to the right)

be sure to include your email address in your comment (will not be published) so that i can contact the winner. the contest will end at midnight on saturday, april 3rd.

one of the benefits of the blogging life is that i’m starting to really notice things around my house for their creativity and absurdity. it all started when anne  found our ridiculously wonderful baby gate to be a source of humor and encouraged me to write a post about it. now i’m beginning to see everything for its potential to make me laugh. as it turns out, makeshift stuff is really funny! here are a few examples:

the whoopee cushion is more than a brilliant simulator of flatulence. it makes the perfect resting place for a half-eaten sucker.

and, as it would happen, an empty tangueray container is second only to the quaker oats can when it comes to the storage of hot wheels.

i wish i could take credit for these genius innovations but both are the brain children of my three-year-old monkey.

what are the hidden sources of makeshift humor in your house?

there are exciting things in store for this blog. my graphic designer is working hard on a custom header, background, and avatar (what the heck is that?). my html literacy is also a HUGE work in progress.  so… please pardon the chaos while i orient myself to the strange world of “tags,” “widgets,” “plugins,” and my new best friend: “wordpress for dummies.” and stay tuned for some aesthetic improvements.

this is a MAKESHIFT revolution after all!