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Archive: August 2021

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One more summer until she is a teen

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About me

Alongside my husband and 5 kids, I'm a fan of hometown roots and passport stamps. Our days revolve around the idea that building tables is better than building fences, cookies should be shared, and adding more color is always good.

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underthesycamore

Back in the day, I homeschooled five kids and regu

Back in the day, I homeschooled five kids and regularly posted craft/DIY tutorials. Between those two things, I amassed A LOT of random supplies. I’m finally tackling clearing out stuff and organizing what I want to keep. The library hosts craft supply swaps for teens, but I missed the spring event. I might box up a bunch to deliver for the next round. Libraries often offer plant and seed swaps too - and almost always take donations. (Yay for libraries and all they offer the community!)

*I still homeschool my girls, but it requires very few supplies. The guys have all graduated high school.

From the blog archives…scroll through to read.

From the blog archives…scroll through to read.

She loves to celebrate people. I love that about h

She loves to celebrate people. I love that about her.

Over a decade ago, my family was on a five-week ro

Over a decade ago, my family was on a five-week road trip in our 1966 Avion trailer. A mutual friend connected me to Nici, the owner of @digandco , when we were driving through her Montana town. Their family welcomed our road-weary crew into their home, handed me the best cup of coffee, and showed us around their garden. We came as strangers and left as friends.

I recently was given the dream task of making the bouquet and ceremony flowers for my son’s wedding (yep, you read that right. Corbett is married. More on that when they get the pictures back!). The night before we picked the flowers up, a package from Nici arrived with a new pruner and other goodies.

Sweet memories for me - playing with flowers and a thoughtful gift from a friend.

I use pruners several times a week for my indoor and outdoor plants, but I have only owned the cheapest ones I can find. I had no idea what a game-changer good pruners are!

The first copy of my book arrived on my doorstep y

The first copy of my book arrived on my doorstep yesterday! While most copies are currently on a ship from Colombia to the US, a box arrived via air to my publisher. The release date is still August 5th (it takes a bit of time coming by water and then making it to different distributors!).

It isn’t a travel guide—in the sense that it’s not a list of places to go and how to do it. It’s more a celebration of the world, its people, and the fun that comes with curiosity. I dream of families or book clubs reading it together and learning new things about places that might be unknown to them. Every chapter includes cultural insights, budget travel tips, and a question to ponder alone or together. It is for those who travel and those who don’t.

Pre-orders are up on Bookshop.org (which supports independent bookstores), Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other major retailers. Pre-orders are so helpful because they let distributors know if there is interest in the book and if they should carry it.

Today, I stopped by the post office to drop off a

Today, I stopped by the post office to drop off a box of goodies that will go in packages my publisher sends out with my book. Later, I’ll be able to give away a couple of those boxes on Instagram.

Evann snapped a photo for me. One thing I love about living in the same place for decades is the connection of memories. It is easy to see the big picture when you can trace so much to the same places. In high school, this was the place where I dropped off a letter to the local paper’s editor after I got fired up about a community issue. It is also where I applied for my first passport as a college student. A decade later, Chris and I took a photo in this spot when we sent off our final adoption paperwork. Fast forward another decade, and our family of seven sat inside getting our passports updated for a trip around the world.

Today, I stepped inside as an author, sending something to my publisher. I wrote a book. How wild is that?!

I saw a post by @lilylifts about using gardening g

I saw a post by @lilylifts about using gardening gloves on slick pull-up bars and we had to test it out. When we were doing CrossFit the bars were rough and I used leather grips. Now it’s a slick bar only and it’s hard to hold for long. We’ve been using liquid chalk, but this is better (and cheaper). Yay for random tips on instagram! Off to find tighter gloves for all of us…

Standing at her register, she looked down at the f

Standing at her register, she looked down at the flowers in my cart. “Zinnias remind me of my mom. She always planted them.” We chatted a bit about the flowers, and the conversation turned to her story. When she shared that she was born in Santa Marta, Colombia, I exclaimed, “Santa Marta?! I’ve been there!” Imagine the movie Elf when he says, “Santa! I know him.” It was the same.

She was pleasantly shocked to learn I knew the town of her birth, and I was giddy to meet someone from a town I had visited. Someone else came to her line, so I had to move on, but I walked away grinning. When I looked back, she was still smiling, too.

Santa Marta is on the coast of Colombia. We played basketball at the local park every day, stayed in a neighborhood, and ate empanadas each night from a sweet lady’s cart down the road. We also devoured the best tacos of our trip.

Our $30 night Airbnb in Bogota made me squeal the

Our $30 night Airbnb in Bogota made me squeal the moment I walked inside. When booking our trip, I knew I wanted to stay in the city’s historical area, with its terracotta roofs, cafes, museums, and many easy streets to wander down. I found the perfect spot for us.

To clarify - these tips are for outside the US. I find it much harder to find anything in our budget inside the US, which is why we use our trailer and campgrounds.

Here & now || The day before I flew to Colombia, I

Here & now || The day before I flew to Colombia, I wrapped up my last day of Spanish 1 at our community college. I was the second in class to give a three-minute presentation in Spanish (no notes, no English). Listening to all my classmates present, I was so proud of us. In January, we struggled to string together two words. There we were, throwing out complete sentences!

Many of us will return for Spanish 2 in the fall. I can’t wait. In 15 weeks, I saw so much progress. I can understand more of what my Spanish-speaking friends are saying, and slowly but surely, I am starting to be able to chat back. I sound like a toddler, but most toddlers I know are pretty fun to talk to, so I count it as a win.

In the spring of 2023, I was positively giddy to b

In the spring of 2023, I was positively giddy to be wandering among street art in Bogotá. Never did I imagine that 2 years later I would return as a first-time author to witness the pages of my book being printed in the same city. You just never know!

Nestled high in the Andes, Bogotá has a populatio

Nestled high in the Andes, Bogotá has a population of about 8 million and is the third highest country capital in elevation. From the historic La Candelaria district where we stayed, we could gaze out at the buzzing city. Chris and I spent a few days doing some urban hiking (walking all over the city 😉), eating all the food and drinking as much coffee before 4pm as we could.

I’m going to post behind-the-scenes of the print

I’m going to post behind-the-scenes of the printing process, but I wanted to start with these. By the time my book leaves this facility, over 100 people will have had their hands on my book. The highlight of seeing my book printed was meeting those making it happen. It is a 3rd generation family-run business that is intentional about positively impacting their community. It was incredibly humbling to step back and see so many people caring about my book. I love that Chris captured the video in the third slide. You can see me pausing to look at those around me. I gave as many hugs and “thank you”s as I could.

“I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go.” — Indiana Jones (and me, all the time)

Crying. Laughing. Indiana Jones in the background as I stood in Colombia watching my book being printed. What a day. What a day!

A few months ago, I learned my book would be print

A few months ago, I learned my book would be printed in Colombia. We spent 8 weeks traveling throughout the country and were marked by the hospitality, creativity, and kindness of those we met. And the food. And the natural beauty. And the food!

I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask my publisher if I could fly down and visit the printer in person. So, I asked.

Tomorrow, I get to see pages of my book rolling off the press in Colombia. It doesn’t feel real.

Prom and formal season. They both keep their socia

Prom and formal season. They both keep their social calendars very full. Thankfully (for me), they both went to at least one of the same dances with friends and I got to take photos.

She wrapped up 8th grade with Mock Trial - not wha

She wrapped up 8th grade with Mock Trial - not what I expected to be her favorite subject this school year. As a witness and as a defense attorney, there were no signs of a once shy and timid girl.

High school, here she comes!

Counting little joys…

Counting little joys…

“Mom, the tree is taking over the living room.” 😏

I started using @happyhappyhouseplant Plant Food in July 2024 and it has made a literal HUGE difference. It comes as a concentrate and I’ve only gone through half a bottle….watering ALL my plants with it once a week. I recommend it to everyone!

10% off code: UNDERTHESYCAMORE

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