1. Tomorrow is February 1st, and you know how I love firsts.
2. I am coming to terms with the fact that I am quite talented in the kitchen. Not everyone can use all the knives, several dish towels and turn a 30-minute meal into a 2-hour ordeal.
3. Shannon Calder is back in the blogging world. (Yeah for us!) Let's welcome her.
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train." ~Oscar Wilde
Read more...I wouldn't actually call giving a presentation to 9 people public speaking. But today it counts as courage. Yeah for me!
Read more...If you believe social media should be cage-free, copy-free and cruelty-free, grab a badge from Brene Brown here. She is kind of a genius.
Read more...Sometimes courage is taking one tiny step when you would rather stand still. (I haven't forgotten my word of the year.)
Read more...Through serendipity and good friends, these words found their way to me:
"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well."
~ Diane Ackerman
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We’re afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We will fall!”
“Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.
~ Guillaume Apollinaire, 1880-1918, French poet & philosopher
Three Tylenol. Two Excedrin. One allergy pill.
I don't know if it's the sudden change in weather or that my dreams last night involved doing math in my head, but my head hurts.
I went to three grocery stores and made three dishes and that pretty much took up my whole day. I'm rather in awe of my friends who do this sort of thing far more efficiently and with the accompaniment of children.
Read more...In our marriage, they sometimes look like this: "I'm sorry I found you particularly annoying today." This is best if said with a kiss.
Read more...I spent about 5 hours driving to and from Fresno with this madwoman today. In between the driving, we showered a dear mama-to-be with love. Yes, you are right to be jealous.
Read more...
I have an aversion to the word want. Something about it has always seemed selfish and even a bit whiny to me. But is it really? I mean, if you don't know what you want or if you are afraid to admit what you want, how can you expect to get it?
Read more...I know more than one amazing person with a mid-January birthday. And now, I know one more. Welcome to the world, Colin Jeremy.
Read more..."Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
"No person has the right to rain on your dreams." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Scarlett Johansson walks on stage, and my dad says, "Who's that?"
Then Katey Sagal wins for "Sons of Anarchy," and he says, "Sons of what?"
Before we know it, someone is accepting an award for something else we've never heard of.
And then my mom goes, "What, Facebook?"
"No," we respond in unison.
I swear we watch plenty of TV, but it must be all NCIS and The Good Wife because we don't know who half these people are but they sure are pretty.
I woke up in a panic not once but twice last night.
I kept dreaming that John and I forgot to pack and pay for a trip to France, which we were taking with all of our friends and they were all going to leave without us if we didn't get it together fast.
(Some of you travel extremely well, by the way.)
How clever the unconscious mind is. Just in case I was tired of the I-forgot-to-attend-class-all-semester-and-now-I-have-to-take-a-final dream, my mind came up with something new to worry about. Fabulous!
Last week, my friend told me she thinks this is going to be my year.
Yesterday, another friend shared with me this sweet saying: "There is no spot where God is not."
Today, my aunt sent me an email letting me know she is asking St. Rita of Cascia (patron of impossible dreams) to pray for me. My aunt said she's not sure what my dreams might be, but she just felt drawn to St. Rita.
All this encouragement leaves me speechless, but I'm keeping these words close to my heart.
My mom's keys were hiding in the car. In the car!
We were getting ready to map out a search grid of my parents' house, but I never would have thought to look inside the car.
My sister found them in the backseat, sunken down between the seats, not far from Dylan's car seat.
I know my sweet nephew is only two months old, but I'm wondering if the case of the missing keys was his first prank.
Dylan, you mastermind, you got us good.
This morning, after thanking John for his overall help and support, he said, "Happy wife, happy life."
So smart, I thought.
This evening, he and my dad had the following text conversation.
John: "My friend's son gets stickers at school when he obeys. I think we should adopt a similar program."
Dad: "For the wives."
John: "Of course."
Dad: "Demerits when they disobey."
What happened to our good start?
"I am a merciful mother to all who love me and trust me and invoke my help." ~Our Lady to Juan Diego
Read more...My mom's car keys have been missing since Christmas Eve.
Today, my parents locked themselves out of their bedroom.
And this evening, my sister locked herself out of my parents' car.
Kind of a strange theme for the New Year.
What a joy to see a friend all a glow.
Reminds me how important it is to honor the ones we love.
Some people won't choose to be happy until they are terribly unhappy.
Some people never make the better choice.
But some wise souls see happy as the only choice.
For them, it's non-negotiable.
That's the type of person I want to be.
My mom called in a panic.
"I'm out of butter," she said.
My dad understood immediately the seriousness of the situation. He and I were out and about and assured her we would stop at the store.
No one should go there hungry.
We got the butter plus asparagus, bread, ice cream and a whole pie.
It was a really nice dinner.
My purplely, glittery nail polish chipped this morning, and I should have taken it as a sign. But I insist on learning the hard way. It's the fourth day of the year, and I'm making an official request for less trouble, more sparkle. (Not just for me, but for my loved ones, too.)
Read more...I had it in mind to practice patience today. To be cheerful despite my to-do list. It was not a complete success.
What is it you plan to do with this wild and precious year?
~Mary Oliver, adapted
Other than being Courageous, I'm still working out my 2011 plans. I used to have very specific New Year's resolutions. Things like the number of books I wanted to read to the number of vegetables I wanted to eat in a day. Currently, I'm not too worried about the specifics. In fact, thinking about the details may induce a panic attack. Instead, I'm trying to let the big picture guide me. The overall theme (it sounds very Oprah): Spend 2011 stepping into the life that's meant for me.
Cheers to the New Year!
Courage.
That's my word for 2011. That's what the next 12 months will be about.
Courage to change.
Courage to speak up.
Courage to tell the truth.
Courage to try new things.
Courage to follow through.
Courage to be wrong, broken and vulnerable.
Courage to be foolish.
Courage to be misunderstood.
Courage to follow my bliss.
Courage to say no.
Courage to say yes.
Courage to start this.
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