Walk by Moonlight

My dad used to ask me, quite often, if I needed an "attitude adjustment".  In order to help me understand what an attitude adjustment was, he would play Hank Williams Jr on the cassette player in the pick up truck.

Well tonight I needed an attitude adjustment and I am quite thankful for my husband and his much kinder ways than my father. We took a walk by moonlight. Rather than just walking the driveway, we suited up and walked around the woods in the newly fallen snow. It was a fun time. Decompressing, taking in the sights, the scents and the sounds. He showed me new deer rubbings that I had not seen before.  He also showed me tracks that I thought were from the dogs & showed me how to tell that it was really a deer track.


We walked, we talked, we absorbed, we observed & I released. It was much needed decompression and I am thankful to him for having that sense about him to know I needed to decompress and knowing the perfect way to do it.



Hope you have a wonderful Thursday evening.
Cheers!

Several topics tonight

 Several thing bouncing around in my head. 

1) I fully intend to get out and take pictures of Christmas Lights (not sure when). But until than, I want to take the time to thank all of those beautiful people who decorate their houses with lights. While I may not feel in the Christmas spirit this year, the houses so beautifully decorated with lights brings a smile to my heart. I love seeing what people put on display.

Bundled up for the snow.

2) Around this time of year I often think of my husband's grandmother "Nonie". Nonie touched me in such a special way. She was a woman of grace and taught me the finer points of being a lady. I can still picture Nonie getting bundled up every morning for the drive down to her house. And than when she would come home, I would sit in the kitchen & talk to her. Nonie knew that this simple gal was good for her Johnnie Boy and she could overlook any imperfections that I may have felt were hard to over look.
 (Sorry, I can't get my picture of her to upload.)



3) A dear friend of mine (Michelle P-W http://www.omwithmichelle.com/ )- shared this blog post on her facebook page & I wanted to share it with you. Touches home on so many points and not just for those who are in the final stages of their life. http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2011/06/23/regrets/


So I hope you read Paulo's blog post...because here goes...
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. This is something I struggle with at times and have become much stronger about in the last few years. I know realize that I do not have to live my life to please others. Only I need to be happy with the decisions that I make. 


2. I wish I didn’t work so hard. I'm okay with this one. I know my limits and most of the time I know when enough is enough. 

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. I'm about 50/50 with this one. Some people would say I have no filter while others would say I filter myself too much. I can openly express my feelings of love, appreciation & compassion. It's my feelings of disappointment, regret, and let down that I tend to fight with. 

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. So while you may only hear from me at Christmas time or a once a year birthday card, know that I am making an attempt to stay in touch with you. My life has been touched by many people and I am grateful for all of you. 


5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. While people may think me silly, childish, afraid to grow up, they are wrong. The things I do to keep myself happy also keep me young. I still color in coloring books, I still wear furry animal hats and furry animal slippers (not necessarily at the same time). I still add stickers to my letters. I still draw a smiley face after my name. Allow yourself to be happier, do silly things, laugh & cry for no reason & I believe you will life a much younger life. 

Gus and I being HAPPY during our Texas visit! 

Paying it Forward

 I am a firm believer in the action of "paying it forward". Be it with a simple smile, a kind word, a heartfelt note to someone in need or paying for the person in line behind me at the drive thru. I believe kindness starts with me.

I have been following a Caring Bridge Journal for sometime now and want to share it with you. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickplys/journal/1

Patrick Plys son, Chris Plys, was in the olympics and I believe that is where I first heard about Patrick's story. Patrick's wife Laura writes beautiful entries in their caring bridge journal and inspires me with her writings. There are so many things I would love to share with you about Patrick. I"ve never met him but feel like I know him thru following their story. Patrick recently had a birthday & asked that everyone send him a birthday card to help celebrate his birthday. Imagine their surprise when they were overwhelmed with over 300 birthday cards. Each & every card was read by the family (in shifts). 

But recently Patrick & Laura were told by the doctors that they have exhausted all resources in Patrick's fight.  I cried as I read that entry. Than today I cried again when I read how many birthday cards they received & that they read each one.

**UPDATE** it is with tears in my eyes that I write this. Patrick ended his battle on Friday 1/6/12. He fought the good fight and did so with Joy in his heart. Until the end Patrick believed that "Miracles Do Happen!" While I know that Patrick is now an angel watching over his family, I am saddened at his passing. My gratefulness goes out to his wife Laura and all their children for openly choosing to share Patrick's journey on the web. I hope in turn the whole world will hold you in the palm of their hand during this sorrowful time. ****

So I will be including them in my Christmas Card list and sending a card. I hope that you will think about them & possibly include them in your list as well.

Patrick & Laura Plys
4120 Gilliat St
Duluth, MN 55804

I tell you..these Minnesota people that have been popping up in my life lately have touched me dearly. Thanks you Minnesotans.

Cheers all!

Made in America/Keeping it Local

Earlier today I posted on Facebook that I like buying locally for christmas gifts. Most of the time when I buy locally, I know the artisan making the product and I feel good knowing that a locally purchased (made) Christmas Gift is a two fold gift. Not only is it going to the recipient I intended it for, but in turn I am providing the artisan with a method to provide their own christmas gifts (money).

I spent a good portion of my day pondering if I could manage to do all of my christmas shopping locally this year. I should tell you that the gift I purchased this morning was the first Christmas shopping I've done this year, so probably buying locally would be a good thing as I won't have to spend money on shipping, often expedited shipping, extra waste in packaging, the angst of worrying if it will get here on time, blah, blah, blah.

So tonight as I casually listened to the TV, Diane Swayer ran a piece about Made in America (here is the link: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/MadeInAmerica/mailform?id=12912252 )
They were talking about how people are taking the pledge to only purchase christmas gifts made in America. How parents were getting children involved in their mission. How people spent alot of time looking at the packaging to see where it was made.

So here is my challenge to you and to myself. Maybe not everyday, but when you are in the grocery store, department store, drug store...take the time to make sure one of the items you are picking up was "made in america".

I will also try to keep my gift purchasing for christmas local. I've already got several ideas in mind.


P.S.
One more thing for you to check out. Have you ever used flavored salts in your cooking?  Have you wondered where to get them? You don't have to. YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN. I've been viewing several recipes for flavored and smoked salts and am thinking what cool gifts they would make. Showers, Christmas, Housewarming, Host/Hostess, etc. Let me know if your interested & I'll post in another blog.

Thanks again for sharing in my pleasure.
Cheers!

Off Days

Sorry for not posting. Just having a few off days here. Days where you get the creepy crawly feelings and can't shake them. As far as I know I have no reason for these happening, today at least.

So yesterday my 2nd nephew deployed for Afghanistan. Wishing him lots of luck and lots of positive vibes are being sent to his new wife.

Matthew & Brittany Simms 11-11-11 

Matthew Simms day before deployment & with his new promotion!


So how many nephews do I have that I have to refer to them...lol...My oldest nephew is Joshua, than there is Matthew, than my niece Kimber and than my 3rd nephew Zachary. All my sisters kids. All kids that I didn't have a lot of interaction with because of living in NM most of their lives and than not speaking to my sister for most of the other time.  They are all great kids and I am glad to reconnect with each of them via Facebook. 


I also have two nephews by marriage. Two beautiful little boys that I am very proud of. Ennis is 5 and currently living in Canada with his dad. Ennis and I connect via his love for books & stickers.  Liam is 11 months and lives in NY. Liam was born 6 weeks early and is quite a handsome little dude. I suspect he will be walking before Christmas. Right now he is big on clapping.


Weather here is still abnormally beautiful & I am loving it. Sucks for the deer hunters, too warm for deer to move. News is on the TV now. Talk about some possible snow this week. Keeping my fingers crossed that the buck is brought home for our freezer! 


So til tomorrow. I hope you have a great night! Cheers! 

Little Surprises...

It's the little surprises in life that make you smile more often.

Surprises like reaching into a winter jacket, at the end of a long day, and finding that you have a pair of warm, cozy gloves waiting for you in the pockets. So carelessly stowed away in the spring is now lovingly found with joy. Your hands rejoice that you have once again thought of them. Little do they know it was done with carelessness when the weather started turning warmer and the coat got more and more forgotten.

Surprises like reaching into a pair of pants and finding money that you forgot you had left in there.

Surprises like finding little treats in purses stored away during season changes. Treats like lipstick, change, love notes, gift cards.

These surprises are all such fun things and ones that we forget happen from season to season. Tonight I am thankful for those found warm, cozy gloves and in the spring I will be thankful for more found things.

Joy for this Friday Evening. Play Safe.

jumbling thoughts..tis the season

Wow! So many thoughts bouncing around in my head tonight. Hard to settle them down.


But, I saw this quote and wanted to share.

‎"You're never fully dressed without a smile." -Martin Charnin

I often toy with this idea when I am doing my self portraits. Do I smile or do I try to portray a serious image. Even though I often opt for the serious image look, I think the smile tends to come thru the eyes. 


When I started in customer service (many years ago) they gave us a pocket mirror to put on our desk. We were told to look in the mirror every time we answered the phone. The point was "people can hear your smile". Now many years later when I answer my office phone it is about 98% of the time with that smile in my voice.


So tonight I am allowing my jumbling, bouncing thoughts to have some time doing what they do and I am sharing my smile with you. 


Cheers!