Saturday, January 31, 2009
Beauty...a new beginning...
Today is the last day of January 2009. I can not believe how fast it has gone. I want to thank Traci for her challenge. I've enjoyed having a theme so that I can FOCUS on my writing each day, but also because it's not easy to find beauty every day. Some days were just ugly - but that does not mean there was no beauty to be found.
I have found beauty in my children, the kindness of my husband, the generosity of a friend. I have found it in every day objects and daily rituals that would normally get taken for granted. A song can bring beauty, even the weather.
Our country is in a time that is very depressing and scary for some. The economy...well, let's just say there have been better days, right? Well, we can't sit around moping or feeling sorry for ourselves. We've got to go forward. Have you made some bad decisions? Have you broken all of your New Year resolutions? It's okay. You can have goals for February. As long as you choose to go forward, as long as you choose to wake up another day - you have a new chance.
There is beauty all around us (as I made note of before), but better than that -- there is beauty out there that is just for YOU. Will you look for it? Will you see it? Don't look past it.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Beauty...all around me...
This is the BEFORE shot of my sweet boy....
He was so good...a little frosted mini wheat for bribery never hurt. =]
My little guy got his hair cut today. Yup. His beautiful locks were just getting out of control! Daddy said it was time, so we did. One of my bestest besties came over. Vicki does all of our hair and she actually cut his hair when he was a few months old, but it was just to even it out. Anyway, we all got our hair cut. Marco was very well behaved. We aren't used to it yet, but I guess it'll grow, right? =[ I am watching for the ends to curl up...but I am not seeing it.
At any rate, Vicki and I had a great time talking. We don't live that far away from each other, but we don't get together as often as I'd like. That's going to have to change. I love spending time with her. We've had a lot of heart to heart talks...especially lately. I'm glad we can just be ourselves when we're with each other. Everyone should have that kind of friend.
Later in the evening, my friend Alma stopped by. She came to bring me some tamales and a surprise that she's had for me, "for a while", she said. I was excited to see what it was. Would you like to see? I love all things fall and pumpkin and leaves...of course you all know that already! I decorate in fall theme year round. This is what I got:
Dont you love it? A beautiful beaded leaf ornament and ceramic pumpkin.
Hannah made us the best dinner. Jaime (my brother-in-law) stopped by to pick up some Etsy orders that needed to be delivered to the direction he was going. I sent along extra items in hopes that they will sell too. My friend Virginia ordered a few and offered to show the other things too. She's always been such a good friend to me.
After dinner, my family and I were just sitting around and my husband says, "Who wants ice cream?" Of course that was followed by squeels and screams and shouts of joy. We went to Dairy Queen, ate way too much ice cream and then came home and watched Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. Awesome movie for any age! Could not have been a better day.
Now, as I type, the house is silent and all I can hear is light music from the computer and the occasional sigh from one of my sleeping children.
Life is good.
After...this is the best still shot I could get after he sat so long (and so well!)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
That's the truth!
You know those quotes on the Starbuck's cups called "The Way I See It"? Well, I always read mine and this one really struck a chord with me:
The Way I See It #17
The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say "no" - the may not be smart enough to say "yes." --Keith Olbermann
Boradcast journalist and host of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Oberman.
Today, I find BEAUTY in this truth. Think about it. You never know where you'll find something like this that just opens your mind!
The Way I See It #17
The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say "no" - the may not be smart enough to say "yes." --Keith Olbermann
Boradcast journalist and host of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Oberman.
Today, I find BEAUTY in this truth. Think about it. You never know where you'll find something like this that just opens your mind!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
10 things...
My friend Lee posted a writing-prompt. A couple of days ago, I asked to play along and I received my letter: S
The rules of the game are simple. Once assigned a letter you are to post 10 things that you love which begin with that letter. It took me a couple of days to get my act together, but I did manage to find ten things that start with the letter "S".
(If you want to play, leave me a message saying you want to play in my comment area. I’ll assign a random letter and on and on it goes.)
In no particular order:
1. Starbucks…Do I even need to explain this one? Not only do I enjoy the coffee there (yes, I know there are better coffees out there), but I also enjoy the seasonal flavors, the fun retail stuff that they usually have – and who doesn’t like to sit in a coffee shop with a friend to chat?
2. Singing…I’ve enjoyed singing since I was very young. I will never forget being forced to sing in a vocal solo competition in the 9th grade when I lived in Germany. I didn’t want to do it. I enjoyed singing as much as the next guy, but didn’t want to do it in front of anybody – especially by myself! The day of the competition, my pianist had a problem and didn’t show up. It was too late for a replacement and I ended up singing acapella. I was so nervous that I panicked and forgot the very first line. I was mortified. They told me to begin again and at that moment, I decided I should just do it and get it over with. Guess what? I took first place that year. I was shocked. It gave me the confidence I needed to stay interested in singing and I am thankful now that I did not quit that day.
3. Scrapbooking and Stamping…I know – that’s two things, but they go hand in hand. I love to scrapbook, because I feel it’s important to properly preserve and document our memories. I also think it’s important to take care of the amount of money with invest in taking and printing the photos. However, scrapping is more than just making a bunch of albums and playing with paper. It is like a therapy for me. I love the creative side of it and I love that it’s something I can do with my hands that will be around for years to come. The stamping goes along with it and with card making and crafting. It is definitely my favorite past time.
4. Seafood…I love just about all seafood. Crab legs, shrimp, mahi mahi, calamari…yum. The fresher – the better!
5. Sundays…I love to go to church on Sunday to be in the house of the Lord. I love the worship time, I love teaching, I love to listen to preaching that is always encouraging us to examine and better ourselves, I love the music and I love being with my church family.
6. Sightseeing… I am one of those people that, unless you are like me, you don’t want to go to a museum with. I like to read every single sign, take my time looking at the details, etc. I love to learn more about places that are unique to what I am used to, things that I am unfamiliar with, people that lived before me or in another place.
7. Seasons – Actually, this is a stretch…it’s the change of seasons that I love. I love it one season makes an obvious appearance after the other … my two favorite seasons are summer and fall. I love the summer with it’s carefree days and I love the fall that brings in all the rich colors and the holiday celebrations with family and friends.
8. Siblings – I am the oldest of 5. I have one brother and 3 sisters. The youngest is just turning 21. There was a time during and after college that I felt really sad about not having a real relationship with them. I went out of state for college and then, after college, I moved to California. I love them so much and I am happy to say that through Verizon, visits, Facebook, and blogging – we’ve gotten to know each other and I now consider them to be some of my very bestest friends! We even have a little blog called “Quint”essential. We each share a photo a week and it gets posted every Friday.
9. Son – I have 3 girls and of course, I love them more than I can even say, but then there is my son. *sigh* He is almost 17 months old. He has brought us so much joy (and anxiety =] ). He is so wild – but, I love it!! He usually has a mischievous grin on his face. You can usually find him climbing something dangerous, putting something from the dirt in his mouth, or about to stick something sharp into an electric outlet. When he isn’t stressing us to the limit, you can find him showing us “nice”, giving us kisses, enjoying butterfly kisses, or counting to 10. Yes, he’s the apple of my eye!
10. Spa – I have been lucky enough to have experienced a few facials and massages in my lifetime and I LOVE them. I would love to get them more regularly. My pet peeve though is getting any kind of treatment where it should be full-on pampering and instead the person is curt or very impersonal. I mean goodness, at least try to put a smile on your face before you give me the rub down! Sheesh!... Can you tell my last experience wasn’t my best? =]
BONUS: Sherry - I just thought I'd throw this in at the end! It wasn't until recently that I've really learned to love myself. No, I'm not perfect, yes, I am a work in progress...but I am okay with all of that now. I think the last 2 years or so have really helped me to know who I am and who I want to be!
The rules of the game are simple. Once assigned a letter you are to post 10 things that you love which begin with that letter. It took me a couple of days to get my act together, but I did manage to find ten things that start with the letter "S".
(If you want to play, leave me a message saying you want to play in my comment area. I’ll assign a random letter and on and on it goes.)
In no particular order:
1. Starbucks…Do I even need to explain this one? Not only do I enjoy the coffee there (yes, I know there are better coffees out there), but I also enjoy the seasonal flavors, the fun retail stuff that they usually have – and who doesn’t like to sit in a coffee shop with a friend to chat?
2. Singing…I’ve enjoyed singing since I was very young. I will never forget being forced to sing in a vocal solo competition in the 9th grade when I lived in Germany. I didn’t want to do it. I enjoyed singing as much as the next guy, but didn’t want to do it in front of anybody – especially by myself! The day of the competition, my pianist had a problem and didn’t show up. It was too late for a replacement and I ended up singing acapella. I was so nervous that I panicked and forgot the very first line. I was mortified. They told me to begin again and at that moment, I decided I should just do it and get it over with. Guess what? I took first place that year. I was shocked. It gave me the confidence I needed to stay interested in singing and I am thankful now that I did not quit that day.
3. Scrapbooking and Stamping…I know – that’s two things, but they go hand in hand. I love to scrapbook, because I feel it’s important to properly preserve and document our memories. I also think it’s important to take care of the amount of money with invest in taking and printing the photos. However, scrapping is more than just making a bunch of albums and playing with paper. It is like a therapy for me. I love the creative side of it and I love that it’s something I can do with my hands that will be around for years to come. The stamping goes along with it and with card making and crafting. It is definitely my favorite past time.
4. Seafood…I love just about all seafood. Crab legs, shrimp, mahi mahi, calamari…yum. The fresher – the better!
5. Sundays…I love to go to church on Sunday to be in the house of the Lord. I love the worship time, I love teaching, I love to listen to preaching that is always encouraging us to examine and better ourselves, I love the music and I love being with my church family.
6. Sightseeing… I am one of those people that, unless you are like me, you don’t want to go to a museum with. I like to read every single sign, take my time looking at the details, etc. I love to learn more about places that are unique to what I am used to, things that I am unfamiliar with, people that lived before me or in another place.
7. Seasons – Actually, this is a stretch…it’s the change of seasons that I love. I love it one season makes an obvious appearance after the other … my two favorite seasons are summer and fall. I love the summer with it’s carefree days and I love the fall that brings in all the rich colors and the holiday celebrations with family and friends.
8. Siblings – I am the oldest of 5. I have one brother and 3 sisters. The youngest is just turning 21. There was a time during and after college that I felt really sad about not having a real relationship with them. I went out of state for college and then, after college, I moved to California. I love them so much and I am happy to say that through Verizon, visits, Facebook, and blogging – we’ve gotten to know each other and I now consider them to be some of my very bestest friends! We even have a little blog called “Quint”essential. We each share a photo a week and it gets posted every Friday.
9. Son – I have 3 girls and of course, I love them more than I can even say, but then there is my son. *sigh* He is almost 17 months old. He has brought us so much joy (and anxiety =] ). He is so wild – but, I love it!! He usually has a mischievous grin on his face. You can usually find him climbing something dangerous, putting something from the dirt in his mouth, or about to stick something sharp into an electric outlet. When he isn’t stressing us to the limit, you can find him showing us “nice”, giving us kisses, enjoying butterfly kisses, or counting to 10. Yes, he’s the apple of my eye!
10. Spa – I have been lucky enough to have experienced a few facials and massages in my lifetime and I LOVE them. I would love to get them more regularly. My pet peeve though is getting any kind of treatment where it should be full-on pampering and instead the person is curt or very impersonal. I mean goodness, at least try to put a smile on your face before you give me the rub down! Sheesh!... Can you tell my last experience wasn’t my best? =]
BONUS: Sherry - I just thought I'd throw this in at the end! It wasn't until recently that I've really learned to love myself. No, I'm not perfect, yes, I am a work in progress...but I am okay with all of that now. I think the last 2 years or so have really helped me to know who I am and who I want to be!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Have I ever told you....
...that I love journals? Have I ever told you that I have a paper, notebook, and pen problem? LOL I am like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to an office supply store or a book store that has a really cool collection of stationery, journals and pens to choose from. Well, just this weekend, I received this very cool journal from a Secret Pal at church. I love it! It has a suede like cover, with metal eyelets and a cool 3D flower with a pearl center. I am trying to decide what I want to use it for. I like to stick with a theme for some of my journals. This one will have to be a special one.
Speaking of journals...have you seen these?? Oh, my word. I am practically drooling. I have seen these on-line, but have not actually held any in my hand yet. They are from a company, I believe in Canada, called ecojot. They use only 100% recycled materials, which is always a good thing and they have a wonderful story behind the creative art work.
I mean, WOW! Look at some of these designs. These are hand drawings. So cute and fun, bright colors, and it just makes me smile to look at them. =]
I can't even decide which ones I like best. I will be on the look out for them. Have you found any cool or fun products lately? Tell us about it!
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