http://www.insideroutlook.com Insights from the inside Mon, 18 Dec 2006 21:28:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Happy Birthday Mackenzie! She stares at me with unnerving focus. I know she doesn’t understand the words, but she really looks like she is trying to figure me out. I look away sheepishly. I love infants, and a birthday party for a one year old is just too good to ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/move/37 I haven’t even picked out a Halloween costume, and it has already snowed. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for winter weather as long as all the trappings come along with it, like hot chocolate, warm muffins, and snuggly pajamas. We only got about a quarter of an inch, ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/move/36 This past weekend was the Fouth of July, and we are getting a new appreciation for staying at home. Everywhere we go, traffic, crowds, and delays make us question our ideas of fun activities. We recently decided to check out the beaches on the lake. We were prepared for crowds ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/move/35 I realized that we had officially become settled in just the other day. It was time to mop. I don’t mind household chores, but mopping this apartment is a different thing. With hardwood and tile floors throughout, every room needs mopping. Now I know it is not a technically challenging ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/move/34 Big truck full of stuff we couldn’t part with, his Explorer on a trailor, and twelve hours with a cat in the cab. Then, four floors of up, up, and up. Don’t wonder why we haven’t kept this updated. We are just now catching our breath, getting Internet, and trying ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/move/33 After an exhausting 11 hour drive on a rainy Sunday, we drove around the small village of Elmhurst which is right outside the metro area of Chicago. It is right on the commuter rail line, and has the most adorable downtown. Just imagine a River Market on steroids with places ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/move/31 Things are going into boxes already. There is a stack of boxes in our entrance and we have been wrapping the fragile pieces of memorabilia and tucking them into their temporary homes for the long drive northward. In doing so, personal priorities and ancient artifacts sometimes come into contention. While ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/move/30 Well, we brought home the first round of scavenged boxes for the upcoming move. Have you priced new, flat boxes lately? They are as expensive per cubic foot as property in the Heights! We are coming to more concrete terms with the reality of moving each day, but it doesn’t ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/move/29 Words for the Heart The Heart Sutra is chanted at almost every Buddhist occasion. Most serious practitioners have it memorized from reciting it so often. Some may even think they understand it because they know it word for word. Hakuin saw the error of such a view, so he wrote some ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/books/28 Shinji Shobogenzo Dogen studied Buddhism as a kid, but he did not hold the “True Dharma-Eye Treasury” until he returned from China. Dogen is synonymous with Zen teaching in Japan and even America today, but he stands on some mighty shoulders. His collection of 301 Zen stories, or koans, collected from ... http://www.insideroutlook.com/books/27