The Art of Seeing- four leaf clover edition

Before May of this year, I never found four leaf clovers. I used to think it was because they were rare and I was unlucky. When I found my first one, I felt a childlike excitement, followed by the errant thought- 'did I just mess up my chances of winning the lottery jackpot'?

Since then, I've found several more four leaf clovers (I think my count is somewhere around 10). Sometimes I am looking for them; other times I will just look down and there will be one sitting at my feet, seemingly saying 'Hello. Now that you've noticed me, are you going to bring me home'? Of course, I cannot resist plucking the clover from the ground, bringing it home, tucking it between two cards and nestling it between two pages of a particularly lengthy tome.

A friend asked me tonight, 'how do you find them/so many of them'? I thought about it for a moment, then two. I realized it's not about looking and finding, but seeing things in new ways. When I hunt four leaf clovers, I usually crouch down or sit in the grass, feeling the tips of each blade rub against my palms and my calves as I gently brush the clumps of clover from side to side. Sometimes, I just sit and stare at the ground.

Before I began actually finding them, I just saw a big expanse of green that I really couldn't have cared less about. Now, I see each plant, each stem of clover and clover flower, the devil's paintbrushes that sometimes resemble spindly dandelions, the complex weave of grass and other plants that produce the tapestry I call my lawn. My eyes are drawn to the ants, beetles, and spiders that move on and under its vast two to three inch canopy. Once you really begin to see on that level, it becomes easy to spot a four leaf clover hiding in a sea of three leafers. In fact, it reminds me of Sesame Street when they would show you the 4 objects and sing the song about how one is different. Looking for four leaf clovers once I learned to see is just like watching that as an adult.

I feel tranquil and closer to nature in a way that I've never felt before. I recommend that everyone with access to a clover patch grab a cup of coffee, tea, or your beverage of choice, take your shoes off, and relax. I think you'll find that instead of actually having to look for it, the clover will jump out at you.

Blueberry Minky made possible by Abby's Lane!

I little while back I came across Abby's Lane through facebook. Abby's Lane is an online retailer of cloth diapers and various other baby/child products. I "liked" the business (but I prefer using the old verbiage of "fan") and checked out her blog. She happened to be running a contest, so I entered. Now, I typically don't win anything, so imagine my surprise when I found out I actually WON! It was a great prize too, $50 voucher good towards anything in the store! I was completely psyched but unprepared for the sheer amount of time I would spend trying to figure out what I actually wanted!

Finally I settled on a Blueberry Minky one size pocket cloth diaper in cow print, a pair of cow print baby legs, and some cloths. I would have never been able to convince my Dear Husband (hereafter referred to as DH), who holds the purse strings in our house, of the necessity of owning one of those gorgeous diapers! It was with the utmost glee that I placed my order, used my voucher, and anxiously awaited my fluffy mail.

Abby's Lane customer service is great and shipping is super fast! Before I knew it, I had my- ahem, I mean my son's- cow print Blueberry minky diaper in hand. Now I have to say, this diaper is incredibly soft! The inserts are great too and the overall look is so cute! My DH felt bad for our son, saying that we'd be paying for years of therapy as punishment for putting him in that black and white contraption. I don't care what he says, Sam enjoyed every minute of it!



As of an hour ago, I just found out I won a contest from Blooming Jasmine Boutique so I'll be writing about the burp cloths I won once I receive them!