Random things to end 2014

I just realized I have not posted for a whole YEAR! With pintrest and so many other social media outlets, I kind of let the blog slide. So, here are some random things I want to share.
Here's to a great ending for 2014 and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I think this is SO PRETTY!!

And this is so simple and just gorgeous

This is great! I definitely need less sugar - one of my major weaknesses. Along with worrying!! procrastinating and a bit less social media. Too much jumping on and off Facebook and Twitter. I am a very social person though, and a news junkie!! So that can be hard. I recently read a great idea about trying to watch a whole movie without checking your phone.  It made me notice how much I DO stop and check my phone. I also turned off my notifications which makes  a big difference. It's amazing how that beep makes us instantly HAVE to know what's up!

WOW. All the horrific terrorism in France just makes you stop and realize how scary it is in our world right now. I love this show of bravery and all these people proclaiming they will NOT stand down and let the bad guys win.

Here's to 2014

Another New Year - a fresh start, a clean slate.  I’m always excited for New Years...so on NYE day when I got a speeding ticket I was feeling a bit discouraged.  I was going 30 in a 30 (BUT- the speed limit was 20 mph because it was school zone - but, wait - there is NO school, all the kids are on on winter break and I didn’t notice the flashing yellow light!  Years ago I was a “speed demon” Nothing dangerous, but always running late, etc. caused me to have a (minor) lead foot. Until one day I realized how much money I was wasting on tickets and stopped speeding for good.  So, between feeling like I broke my own “goal” + that this ticket was a bit “unfair” I forced myself to snap out of pity-party mode and let it go.

So...here’s to positive changes, always learning and growing, understanding YOUR own true value and worth, having faith (esp in times of trouble), peace of mind during uncertainty, the confidence to let go when you need to, kindness & gratitude (my favorite things), and lastly...forgiveness & compassion for those who offend you.

Here are some great quotes and things to remember.

I love what an old friend I really admired wrote:
I know NYE can feel bittersweet. Relax into it. Send graditude to your losses & accomplishments in 2013 & look brightly toward all you will create, all the people you will meet and all the ways you will grow in 2014 and beyond. Time to make choices and have courage, resolve and delight.
~ Lisa Weber

Open more of the light within you today by letting go of a grudge that's weighing you down. Regardless of how you think someone harmed you, the grudge is not worth carrying. Think of the grudge and the person involved now, intentionally offering it up to the divine so it's easier to let go.
~ Selacia

Often times it is better to be kind than to be right. We do not always need an intelligent mind that speaks, just a patient heart that listens. Be kind whenever possible. And realize that it is always possible. It takes a great deal of strength to be gentle and kind. And when you practice kindness and bring sunshine to the lives of others, you cannot keep it from yourself.
~ author unknown

One of our traditions is always light fireworks on NYE at midnight. Here is our fave-The Chinese Happiness lamp.

The end of another summer...

By the end of August I am always ready for FALL (whose real name is Autumn!  And I really want to call my favorite season by it's real name, but I am so used to saying FALL)

Highlights this summer:
Our first 'real' garden. Tomatoes, green peppers, onions - basil, oregano, cilantro. I really wish we would have planted lettuce - but there's always next year. And the pink rose bush I got for Mother's Day is gorgeous.  I love seeing it right when I pull in the driveway.

Making delicious water!  Super easy and refreshing. By just adding any of the following... lemons, limes, cucumbers, blackberries and lots of ice. A pretty glass and a straw make it even better!!

The beach. Gulf Shores, Alabama.  We all piled into my parents gray van and drove for 12 hrs. Passengers included:  my son Alex (11) my niece and nephew...Nicole (20) and Andrew (17)  The only one missing was my sister, but she had just gotten married and was in Texas :(  It was a lovely week of riding bikes, walking up and down the gulf's longest pier, swimming in the ocean, family time, laying out in the sun on the sand and reading ...

We also went to the Naval Aviation Museum (actually in Pensacola-about 30 miles away)  Tons of WWII, Vietnam, and Blue Angels planes. You don't have to be a military buff or into aviation AT ALL to be highly impressed and amazed with how cool this place is.  It's a must-see...and it's FREE.

And then the lighthouse tour. I am a huge chicken and only made it 20 steps out of about 250.  It was a wrought iron spiral staircase and you could see thru the steps while climbing!
Vertigo + Heights = Forget It!

Last but not least (sigh) a tropical petting zoo ... where the only (minor) family quarrel broke out.

My fave concert this summer was John Mayer-12th row center!  My niece and I are huge fans and this is the 2nd time we've seen him together.  It's been 3 years since JM's been to STL...and it was an awesome show!! Oh, and here is some cool art that fans submitted for his new album "Paradise Valley" Not sure how I missed this fun artistic little project...I would have loved to submit something.

SPRING CLEANING

Yes, I know it's June...but still wanted to post these simple, great (and cheap) tips! A big part of feng sui is cleaning, so here you go. Have fun!!

6 AIR PURIFYING HOUSE PLANTS

• Bamboo Palm  Removes formaldahyde; acts as a natural humidifier
• Snake Plant  Absorb nitrogen oxides and formaldahyde
• Areca Palm  One of the best air purifying plants for general clean air
• Spider Plant  Great for removing carbon monoxide and other toxins or impurities. One of three plants NASA deems best at removing formaldahyde from the air
• Peace Lily  Could be called the “clean-all” often placed in bathrooms or laundry rooms as they’re known for removing mold spores. Also know to remove formaldahyde and trichloroethylene
• Gerbera Daisy  These gorgeous flowers remove benzene from the air, and are known to improve sleep by absorbing carbon dioxide and giving off more oxygen over night

CLEAN YOUR MATTRESS

Pour 1 cup baking soda into a mason jar and add 4 drops of lavender essential oil. Shake. Using a kitchen strainer, sprinkle the baking soda mixture all over the mattress & let it sit for an hour or so. Thoroughly vacuum the mattress. Bye-bye dust mites and other nasty things. The baking soda helps draw up any moisture & deep dirtiness. It deodorizes and leaves the mattress smelling fresh and clean.
For more great tips>> http://bit.ly/Motivate-Me

 
 









HOMEMADE FEBREZE ... ahhhhh
OK, talk about easy and cheap - can't wait to try this!
1/8 cup of fabric softener
2 tablespoons baking soda
Hot tap water
Spray bottle

BAGUA MIRROR

Hang this somewhere outside to bring good energy and balance to your yard!  Help balance the negative energy from power lines and street cross walks near your property...bring good health to your plants and flowers, or promote good energy between your house and your neighbors. Of course you need to help create your own 'good energy' in your space/yard.
*I have not made one of these yet...and need to look up if there are specifics with the colors you use, etc.

A random thought...from a Rock Star

Ahhhh - some words of wisdom that I really like from the interesting (and strange) Jack White. As much as I love all things technical...the internet, i-tunes, blogging, Twitter, Flickr, FaceBook, Instagram, Pintrest, etc. I dis-like there is less balance. That is such a simple - yet key word - for me! I hate it that bookstores and record stores are almost extinct. That almost everything is replaced by a techy gadget. That we are always plugged in. I still want to buy the actual CD sometimes...and flip thru the booklet, look at the design - turn the actual pages of a book....get a 'real' card or invite in the mailbox with a stamp on it!  Talk on the phone vs - only texting/emailing. Stuff like that. Some studies have shown with all this internet interaction - alot of people are actually lonelier, even with their 724 FB friends. And that's just kinda sad.

"Why go to a bookstore and get a real book? You can just download it. Why talk to other human beings, discuss different authors, writing styles and influences? Just click your mouse. Well here's what they'll someday learn if they have a soul; there's no romance in a mouse click. There's no beauty in sitting for hours playing video games (anyone proud of that stop reading now and post your opinion in the nearest forum). The screen of an iPhone is convenient, but it’s no comparison to a 70mm showing of a film in a gorgeous theater. The Internet is two-dimensional…helpful and entertaining, but no replacement for face-to-face interaction with a human being. But we know all of that, right? Well, do we? Maybe we know all that, but so what?  Let's wake each other up.

The world hasn't stopped moving. Out there, people are still talking to each other face-to-face, exchanging ideas and turning each other on. Art houses are showing films, people are drinking coffee and telling tall tales, women and men are confusing each other and record stores are selling discs full of soul that you haven’t felt yet. So why do we choose to hide in our caves and settle for replication? We know better. We should at least. We need to re-educate ourselves about human interaction."

-Jack White

'My suffering left me sad and gloomy...'

The Life of Pi has become one of my favorite movies. You hear people say...oh, that story about a boy - trapped on a boat - with a tiger. Yes, that's part of it ... but it's SO much more than that. A captivating story, spiritual, adventurous and sad.  Part of it is present day...told by Pi as an adult to a reporter who is writing about his surviving the shipwreck as a teen.

And the cinematography! The visuals are beyond belief (glowing fish, millions of meerkats, a beautiful botanical garden in India)  As a young boy PI is both fascinated and confused w/ religion and ends up becoming a Christian, a Muslim and a Hindu, all at once. Which sorta sounds like me, as I am Catholic but am also fascinated with Buddhism and Hinduism. And I really loved how he found something good in all of them!

Another amazing thing ... the main character (Pi) has never acted before!  And although he is ferocious, mean and hungry - you will also end up loving his sidekick - the bengal tiger "Richard Parker"  The way their friendship is forced to develop ... between the fear, the hunger, the endless ocean and the desperate struggle to survive. This small thing that Pi says regarding their relationship is so heartfelt and full of despair! 
“Dare I say I miss him?  I do. I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love.  I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart."  ~Pi

So, if you haven't seen it, rent it.  And the book is worth reading, too.  Here is some great art I found!

Presents, Poinsettas & Puerto Rico!

... and pinecones!  These are a few of my favorite things this holiday, and since last years post was a bit snarky (for lack of a better word) this years will focus on JOY (noun) \joi\  defined as a state of happiness or felicity; bliss; a source or cause of delight; the emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires

A few weeks ago I got a GREAT deal on airfare from my work - so my son and I took off for Puerto Rico at the last minute. It was a whirlwind, but that made it extra exciting! It was: relaxing, tropical, warm, and the resort was decked out for Christmas with beautiful trees, lights, gold and silver reindeers...and tons of poinsettas!  We befriended a sweet stray island dog and had so much fun!

Midnight Mass - a tradition I loved and used to do every year. There's something about being in a warm church on a dark and cold night. But I skipped it again this year, the exhaustion from all the running around prevailed, and the cold and dark actually didn't sound so good (so, the JOY that would have come from going was replaced with guilt from not going)

Les Miserables - one of my FAVE Broadway shows ever - opened today on Christmas. To say I have been waiting for this movie for months now would be an understatement.  Plus, I love going to the movies on a Holidays...it reminds me of being young, my cousins and I would go after Thanksgiving dinner, and I'd always be shocked that they'd get popcorn after we just stuffed ourselves?!

Merry Christmas - and since it's the season of JOY- here are some words of wisdom from Peggy Sullivan to help create more JOY in
your life. And a few Christmas-y pics that I like. Feliz Navidad!

• Let go of where you 'think' you should be in your life
• Move on from what you 'could have' accomplished by now
• When a negative thought moves into your head, let it keep moving
   (this makes more room for the positive thoughts)
• Choose to slow down
• Find joy even in the most mundane tasks
• Look up and actually "see" the sky; truely "feel" the breeze on your skin