I'm trying to talk myself into loving the pace I am stuck at right now...it feels like a whirlwind.

Bit it does makes me appreciate...

long showers,

my bed at night,

friends who check in to make sure I'm still alive,

red lights,

and even grocery store lines.

Some days we just need to be forced into standing still so we can be observant to how special the day is.

busy days

I have been so crazy busy lately! I began my student teaching last week and between doing that, going to my credential classes and working...it really keeps me hopping! I'm lovin' the cooler weather and shorter days though. There's just something about the leaves collecting everywhere that says life isn't supposed to be orderly all the time...a little mayhem will ensure that I appreciate winding down in the evenings and sipping on my hot coffee as I'm headed out the door early in the mornings. It's the little things right? What do you find yourself appreciating these days?

ever so thankful

I've been so busy...not even sure how it all happened! It's like I woke up one morning and found out I had all these obligations and appointments. Phew...where did my summer break go? I've been working part-time merchandising Hallmark cards, doing mom and dad's weekly shopping and shuttling mom to appointments and then in my spare time I got a wild hair and decided to open an etsy shop...that's been keeping me fairly busy! I'll reveal THAT to you once I get it all dialed in and looking pretty! And then...I may be hired to edit someone's novel, but won't find out about that until tomorrow. I ordered my books for school...5 books = $300...yikes! And tuition went sky high too! It's a good thing much of my busy work equates to money or I'd just sit down and cry.

Kristin got moved into her place and I've talked to her every day this week...bless her heart, she does make every effort to make me feel better and tonight she'll be home for the weekend. In fact, both kids will be home again this weekend (it helps when their boyfriend/girlfriend lives in town).

My heart is thankful today for...

busy hands ~
encouragement ~
peace of mind ~
a love for all things vintage ~
sweet blogging friends who don't forget about me ~
and a tail-waggin' dog ~

love makes the world go round

Some times we do what we do because we have love in our hearts and other times it's because we just don't have any sense. The trick is learning to distinguish the difference.










Thank you Mae for this sweet award...so many things have been blessing my days. If you have left a comment on my blog in the month of July, I'd really like you to take this award and put it on your blog...if you like posting awards...if you don't, then I expect you'll be spreadin' some love around anyway! Please share one of the spontaneous things you like doing to show a loved one they are special in your eyes ~

from ear to ear

Today's smiles ~

a sweet blog award from Salute... (thank you).
apricots galore...
sweet Lacey with pink bows in her hair...
a cool house...
fresh sun tea...
books, books, books...












I'm supposed to pass this award on to a few newly discovered blogs, but I think all of the blogs I visit are quite lovely so please take it...to you from me, with a smile :)

I have so many things I want to share, but right now I am contemplating making Apricot Jam so I'd better get busy before I change my mind! Have a good weekend ~

simply celebrational

It's the little things worth celebrating...

dragonflies in the garden...
sorbet on a blistery hot day...
a smile that reaches through the phone...
a treasured book of poems rediscovered...
a garden swing resting in the shade...
laughter from kids playing in the water...

what little things are a celebration in your day?

a la carte

On the menu today:
turkey burgers with all the fixins' and good advice:
don't pee in public.
I love my homeless friends.

kind(red)

Isn't it true that there is a time and place for everything? There have been times when I wished I had gone to college at the age I was supposed to...and then I remind myself that raising babies was far more important, and now I also realize I would never have appreciated earning an education then like I do now. Somewhere along the way I gained an observant eye that allowed me to see the potential for goodness in everything. I am filled with wonder and awe at the precious and glorious gift God has instilled in all things. Now that graduation is over, I know it is only a shifting of gears...a move toward higher ground. With all this crazy English stuff etched into my brain, I can focus on kids, students, the future. They are, after all, the purpose for all of those late nights and bazillions of drafts written and rewritten. I'm excited. I have my degree and I have been accepted into the teaching credential program. This weekend was a nice way to cap off those achievements. Erik came home and we were able to spend some time together. Both of the kids came to my graduation and I am proud of them for sitting through the entire event with minimal grumbling afterward. It was very long. The gift of their time just means so much to me. On Friday I was surprised by the UPS man (literally) as he walked up behind me and I didn't hear him. Lucky for him I have quick reflexes and didn't douse him with the garden hose! He laughed and handed me a box...a gift. Kimberly was so sweet to send me an adorable little Willow Tree figurine "Love of Learning" and a cute little Hallmark Red book "Be Inspi(red)" filled with words of hope and courage. She knows how I love "words" but what she doesn't know is that I had recently been inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and their motto is "Let the love of learning rule humanity" and that these words had niched a special place in my heart. I love the idea of the love of learning ruling humanity. If everyone were filled with the wonder and awe of discovery, surely only good things would come from that. So thank you Kim and thank you to everyone who has sent me cards, e-cards, and gifted me with thoughtful words of encouragement. You have all shared in the moment and I just love knowing people I have never met can be so kind and loving....we could even transpose those words to say "Let the learning of love rule humanity." I like that. If only all the world could be like my sweet blogging friends!

this little light of mine...

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Take these words along with the image when you post your award.

I received this cute little award from Annette, a very special friend and fellow blogger who I love for a number of reasons, but mostly because she is real. What you see is what you get. She tells it like it is and she is just so precious in her spirit that I consider her to be an angel here on earth. The words on her blog are like a patchwork quilt--they are colorful, warm, and reflect a number of things on her heart...always honest and precise. Thank you Nettie for just being YOU...I'll pass this little gem on with careful consideration to the meaning behind it.

Even though I have been incredibly busy...too busy to post, I often sneak away from my work long enough to find refuge in a few of your blogs. I love everyone, so selecting just a handful is a task that tugs at my heart, but these blogs do it for me....they often bring me peace in one way or another - and for that I thank you and offer you this cute little "award" to adorn your blog.
So take it, pass it on, spread the joy...and know there is a corner of appreciation stored in my heart for the way you bless my day when I visit your blog.

Butterfly Gardener

Road Sage

Faith Of A Single Mom

Jules Stones

Just BEing John-Michael

Joy: (noun) a source of great pleasure

Things that bring me joy...

Sweet, thoughtful text messages...just because.

An adventurous heart.

An empty garden patch and a basket full of seeds.

Friends that drop by with friendship dough.

Poems that say "Read me again!"

Hearing my kids sing when they think no one is listening.

The scent of lavender blooming.

A hug from Earl.

Fresh strawberries.

Spontaneous phone calls: "Hey mom, do you want a coffee?"

We are each blessed uniquely and completely.

Please share some of your joys,

together we will sing our praises ~

a Valentine thank you ~

Some of you are sweet generous souls who I have never met and you have touched my heart by being proactive in your belief that one person CAN make a difference…
You allowed compassion to drive your efforts…
You wished and prayed right along with me and helped me spread the word…
…and you helped make the world feel just a little smaller…

To my sweet blogging friends who have posted Earl’s picture (prior to today) on your blogs, I have a special Valentine gift of love just for going the extra mile (and a genuine heartfelt thank you for your kindness). Please email me your mailing address so I can get your gift of gratitude mailed to you!

As for Earl, he continues to be homeless and I continue to ask him questions hoping he will provide me with new information he may have remembered. The contacts who were helping me in Columbus, Ohio (where Earl's daughter is supposed to live) and Sweetwater, Tennessee (where Earl is from) feel they have exhausted their resources. I have placed ads in both of those towns with no success. Angie Hill is turning out to be a difficult person to find! Meanwhile I keep pretty close tabs on Earl and he always manages to make me smile with his witty remarks and sincere appreciation of my efforts...he really is quite a character. Thank you to everyone who has asked about him or whispered a prayer...your thoughtfulness has been very encouraging and some of your emails have been a blessing in my day.

friday's update

It's cold outside. I keep reminding myself I live in California and just because I have to put on a sweater does not mean it is really that cold. Tonight I visited my downtown friends and since the shelter has opened I have had fewer people to feed. I think I fed about ten tonight and I gave out 3 sweatshirts I have managed to collect. I haven't seen Earl in two weeks, but we have been giving each other messages through the grapevine. I have provided one of the ladies who sees him daily with a list of names of people he may be related to. I am hoping to make some phone calls this week to a few leads that have surfaced. They say he is not communicating any better, but I might try to find him over the weekend myself to save some time and see for myself. Many people are very generous this time of year so they really have plenty to eat and they tell me they have dry places to sleep. From week to week not much changes for them. They share the latest events with me. One of them steals library books, reads them and returns them in the night depository. I told her she shouldn't steal them, but she pointed out she really was just borrowing them. I guess she is right and there are far worse things she could be stealing, and maybe she is, but she didn't share that part. It really makes no difference, I do not judge her, I only care if she is hungry or not and most often she is. Tomorrow is the first day of winter and I am just very grateful it does not snow here, I already have enough to worry about....but more than worrying, my heart is just bursting with appreciation for how God blesses my life....in the day to day happenings there are so many things that do not get shared here for one reason or another, but one thing I can say for certain, without reservation, is GOD IS GOOD.

thank you...

I am truly touched and humbled to receive this award and I really don't know what to say. At the heart of blogging we each reach out in our unique way to share a message, encourage others, and try to spread a little sunshine, but often we are the ones relishing the much needed friendships that transpire, and it is heavenly to experience the joy of so much unconditional caring that goes on here. Karen, I thank you for this gift, but more importantly I thank you for your kind heart and the friendship you so graciously extend to others...

...and now I get the privilege of passing it on to Seven Brilliant Bloggers who have repeatedly blessed me with their words ~ Please accept this award from my heart to yours ~ for all that you say and for all that you don't say ~ for always being uplifting and true ~ for bringing me your corner of the world and sharing your views ~ for all the kind words you so generously leave on my doorstep ~ for being Brilliant in my eyes ~

Annette

Kimberly
Jules

Brenda

Patti

Debbie

Lisa

I know it's a bit excessive posting twice in one day, but I am going out of town and wanted to acknowledge this award before leaving....have a wonderful day!

Tuesday's Treasure

I was most thoughtfully awarded this "blogging with a purpose" award from Jules and since it is the first token I have received since I began blogging in July 2007 I am claiming it as my treasure today! Although I am not quite certain what my PURPOSE for blogging is I'd like to think I am simply "here to live out loud"...famous words by French Activist/Artist Emile Zola...but he is dead, so he won't mind me keeping his words alive I'm sure. As part of receiving this honor I believe it is customary to pass it along to FIVE people and so I will, but along with passing "the torch" so to speak, I would like to add a personal note to each of these special people and let them know how their purpose is met in my heart, despite what their purpose might actually be in blogging. Please accept this from my blog to yours and know that a lot of thought went behind who I chose, although I would have preferred to stretch it to a few more people, I will keep with the tradition with these FIVE:

To: Annette ~ who has provided me with unconditional friendship since the 3rd grade and whose blog is authentic and real, adhering to the spirit of visiting an old friend on a relaxing porch with a glass of suntea on a summer day.

To: Kimberly ~ who has become such a dear sweet friend, always uplifting and encouraging, whose blog provides me with inspiration in countless ways and she genuinely cares...I can feel it.

To: Phyllis ~ who has provided me with friendship and scripture to read every single morning, whose blog brings me joy and quiet time, two things I need to kick start my day.

To: John-Michael ~ for keeping a welcome mat out for me even when I don't agree with everything he has to say, he keeps loving me anyway, because that's just who he is, and whose blog serves as a refuge I can actually get lost in because he so eloquently articulates an inspirational balance between life's questions and answers.

To: Debbie ~ for making me laugh out loud on most days so that my family wonders if I'm truly OK, and for sharing real life in a real way, whose blog is not only entertaining just from her sheer personality, but also inspirational in the down-to-earth-, keepin'-it-real aspect.

Everyone who visits my blog is a real treasure to me, all for different reasons, and I thank everyone who drops by from the bottom of my heart. I have genuinely come to care for you all and I am honored to call each of you FRIEND.

" A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."

- Arabian Proverb

far away fridays

Our little journey to the beach was wonderful...regretfully, it was too windy (and a little too chilly) to lie on the beach and soak up the sun, but we did soak up some culture in Santa Cruz, watch a movie (The Visitor), go for nice walks, beautiful drives, and we had our fair share of delicious coffee. It was nice spending time with Kristin (she's such a fun girl...she makes me laugh until my sides ache), we browsed through antique stores and the World Market...yesterday we actually ended up in Capitola and discovered many cute shops and beach houses there that made us drool...it was so nice to get away and just be carefree...

Indeed a thankful thursday

The UPS truck pulled up in front of my house and I reassured my husband that I didn't buy anything...and then I turned the box over in my hands to see the sweet familiar name of a blogging friend. Family members gathered around because they were being nosey...and then I opened what would turn out to be a gift from the Pay-It-Forward game we played a few months back...I opened the cup first and the little note with the pretty scalloped edges made me smile...and then when I read one of my past posts carefully adhered to the wrapping paper I was touched...truly touched that a gift could be so perfectly chosen...I actually got a little tear in my eye and my family thought I was crazy I'm sure...

Kimberly, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for my sweet gifts.

The Willow Tree "Quiet Strength" plaque was in response to a post I wrote about how I liked whispering in a horse's ear...and this little wall decor captures that sentiment perfectly and the coffee cup is almost too pretty to use, but I will and it will make each morning more celebrational!

Again, thank you...

peace * friendship * appreciation

sweet thoughtfulness makes my heart smile...

I received this in the mail yesterday

from Patti at Treasure Barn

made especially for me

a little card that reflects my blog,

very creative...

oh, and a bookmarker too,

all festive in a hand-painted envelope...

thank you again, Patti

your friendship is a blessing

what a precious little haven this blogosphere

has turned out to be where we can learn and share,

pray and laugh, meet new people and in the process

probably learn a little about ourselves.

Just goes to show it doesn't take someone being present to know a smile.

an email to share

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die.

Colleagues forget favors.

Careers end.

BUT.........

Sisters are there,

No matter how much time and how

Many miles are between you.

A girl friend is never farther away

Than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you

Have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life

Will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,

Praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on

Your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the

Valley's' end.
Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk
Beside you...

Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,

Daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law,

Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended

Family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and

Neither would I.

When we began this adventure called

Womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or

Sorrows that lay ahead.

Nor did we know how much we

Would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still.

Pass this on

To all the women who help make your life meaningful.

I just did.

Sacred Sunday

There are days that are made beautiful, not by my love for the cleansing rain or the glimmers of sunshine that soak through my skin, wakening me to the promise of newness...but by the surrounding of God's grace through lovely outreaches of gratitude and expressions of sincerity. I am very observant these days of all the ways He reaches in my heart and stills my spirit so that I might recognize and appreciate all that is born of friendship...both new and old...sweet sentiments through the mail and thoughtful words by phone...all I'm certain, sent on the wings of angels to teach me more about myself through two little words...thank you. These words are humbling to me...I want the warmness in my heart to surface as a smile and say "You are welcome...", but instead it surfaces as rosy cheeks in a blush that makes me feel vulnerable that I have opened up to another and been received most graciously...am I worthy of such appreciation? Surely I am delighted by its presence, but these words alone are such a gift that I stumble over them not nearly as graciously as I would like...why is that? I hear these words throughout my day and think of the trivial things they are applied to and then when I hear or see them through the special effort of deliverance I am halted in my tracks suddenly dumbfounded, but my heart is filled with the sincerest appreciation of my own because of it. I in turn wonder if I am lacking the grace of expression in those gifts I receive from God...when he nudges me with His sweet spirit, do I stand dumbfounded...not knowing how to react? When I am graced by His gifts do I harvest their meaning and share with others the beauty of recognizing what He has layed before me? How might I be more graceful in pointing out the abundance of His love...through friends...kindness...and the swelling of my own heart. Truly, most days are sweetened by His touch...I pray that I might not fumble with His grace and let words so precious sit unspoken upon my tongue....thank you and you are welcome...

Father, I pray with a joyous and grateful heart of all things you deliver unto my path....for the blessings of friendships and the gift of words..."thank you". I pray that I might receive them in the grace in which they were delivered and offer them up to you Lord. Amen

One moment

I am here. I am taking some time to breathe in and close my eyes. I want to feel this rain on my face. I want to stomp in the puddles and peel off my wet socks and know that I will be here when they dry. I want to set aside the "to do" list and have a cup of coffee with me. I want to experience these days of Christmas with the candles lit. I want to take time to notice how many leaves are left on the trees and I want to be sure to tell the neighbors how nice their holiday lights look.