beautiful day

'and He departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. for He departed, and behold, He is here.'

gotta dance

'I often say I was born old and get younger with the years.'

looking back, I was a very serious child. focused. intent. my youth, while most enjoyable, were not the 'best years of my life'.

fast forwarding to now and just shy of mid-fifty I think how happy I am today. blessed. loved. content. joy fills my hours. possibilities fill my head. peace in my heart.

there is much being said regarding finding oneself. accepting life with its inpurities. accepting our own flaws. not giving into fear. each and every bit is true. and I readily admit I have those days when I fall prey to negativity. drop into a rut of indecision. celebrate my life with a little pity party. grouch. whine. cry. and carry-on. and on those days I feel old. act old. and while I don't particularily like myself on those days, I accept them (pray for patience and for others to have patience with me) and move on. because so many more - so many more - of my days are filled with the happy. a youthful exuberance, combined with a humble self-confidence of being me. good things within me. good things around me. I have been accused of living in a naive bubble. and perhaps that is true. but I prefer to be positive. forgiving. loving. giving. kind. accepting. wanting. wondering. and rejoice in the fact that I am still learning. how does that saying go? dance like there's nobody watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like here's nobody listening, live like it's heaven on earth.

'how old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?'

remember me

I was a bit of a whiner today. not intentionally. but somedays - even when I am in a good mood and filled with the happy - I hear myself fall into careless negativity. so in light of my discovery I am posting a note to self.













(I apologize because I cannot remember where I found this image; but I am ever so grateful for the reminder.)

hello Sunday

it was a good weekend. full of tidying (and true to form decluttering). turning my to-dos into dones.

got my bed cleaned off and the closet organized. winter out. hello summer. flip flops. linen. capri pants.

got some plants in their beds. our NPSOT (native plant society of Texas) had a sale and what they didn't sell they sold at cost to members. so some good bargains. but in the recent heat I needed to get them out of their little plastic pots and into a real bed. I was going to just put them in temporarily and relocate them once the remodel is finished. but I'm kind of liking them where they are so they may stay. it is a gardener's prerogative to be fickle. hello color. black-eyed susans. salvias. green tea roses.

got a dress for the wedding. had a dress. perfect for a spring wedding in Texas, but decided it was too summery for my niece's late April wedding in Boston. funny thing is they are the very same pattern. my new wedding dress is mostly navy with touches of rose, black and gold. I am totally in love with it. now I just need shoes. hello happiness. new clothes. family reunion (including both of our kiddos and the hubs side of the clan attending). joy abundant.

'happiness is the soundtrack of my life.'

action item

I mentioned I was taking an on-line course to declutter. and today I am taking part of the advice to heart. and tackling the dreaded (drum roll please) closet. I am a messy person. and it surprises me that after almost 33 years of marriage the hubs has not filed for the big D on grounds of a unkempt closet. he would be perfectly within his rights. totally uncontested. guilty as charged. but fortunately he is a most patient man and has taken this small flaw as another in the long list of imperfections that make me perfect (at least in his eyes).

anywho. with temperatures in our great state hitting close to 90 these days I see that summer is upon us. and it's time to retire my wool-ish attire for the season. but it is one of those chores that seems a good thing until you start. and then all it looks like is a fashion tornado hit several rooms in the house. the least of which not spared is my bed.


I take several breaks (like writing on my blog) throughout the process, which make the detail draw out and on for hours. and I decide that in addition to the closet I should hit the dresser and sort tee shirts and underwear. tick tick tick. but in the course of today's adventure I am finding a few things that I thought lost. a few things that I can't believe I still have. and a few things that I've been looking for. if the truth be know I do love an organized space. so all in all time well spent. I just want this part to be over soon.

'life is beautiful. dress accordingly.'

friendship

my life is full and happy. one spectacular reason for this is my circle of friends. an ever growing ring. a hug of gigantic proportions. immeasurable strength. indefinable comfort.

I tell the hubs that I love living where we do. the folks here are friendly. loving. giving. and then I think of the friends I have retained over the course of my life. from the places I have called home. all those places where I have left a little piece of my heart. and gained so much more in return.

I consider myself truly blessed. for family. for faith. for friendship. just the perfect blendship.

'she said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short.'

spring cleaning

this week I started an on-line class. a little self-help. soul-searching. psycho-assistance. and what it is leading me to learn to do is tidy my inner closet. fold and put up that which I can do nothing about. throw away that which is purely worry-worn and agnst-ridden. and air out the possibility. the hope. the dreams. the doable. and after washing and ironing, dress for success (without worrying when I'm a little wrinkled).

there are a few concepts I am learning (more so trying on) in my new mental wardrobe. things like allowing surprise. letting go. rearranging priorities. freeing up energy. the focus is to declutter. and I like the sound of that.

I live a very happy life. but what I need is to be able to concentrate because things get a little foggy at times. a little jumbled. a little disorderly.

so thank you, Mondo Beyondo. week one and I'm beginning to see the floor again.

'I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. it's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.'