Motivational Monday

“You know, I do believe in magic. I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians. Oh, most everybody else didn’t realize we lived in that web of magic, connected by silver filaments of chance and circumstance. But I knew it all along. When I was twelve years old, the world was my magic lantern, and by its green spirit glow I saw the past, the present and into the future. You probably did too; you just don’t recall it. See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God’s sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they’d allowed to wither in themselves.


After you go so far away from it, though, you can’t really get it back. You can have seconds of it. Just seconds of knowing and remembering. When people get weepy at movies, it’s because in that dark theater the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the hard sun of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they’re left feeling a little heartsad and not knowing why. When a song stirs a memory, when motes of dust turning in a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you listen to a train passing on a track at night in the distance and wonder where it might be going, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm.

That’s what I believe.

The truth of life is that every year we get farther away from the essence that is born within us. We get shouldered with burdens, some of them good, some of them not so good. Things happen to us. Loved ones die. People get in wrecks and get crippled. People lose their way, for one reason or another. It’s not hard to do, in this world of crazy mazes. Life itself does its best to take that memory of magic away from us. You don’t know it’s happening until one day you feel you’ve lost something but you’re not sure what it is."

~ Robert  McCammon, Boy's Life

A Lovely Quote

“Do the things you used to talk about doing but never did. Know when to let go and when to hold on tight. Stop rushing. Don't be intimidated to say it like it is. Stop apologizing all the time. Learn to say no, so your yes has some oomph. Spend time with the friends who lift you up, and cut loose the ones who bring you down. Stop giving your power away. Be more concerned with being interested than being interesting. Be old enough to appreciate your freedom, and young enough to enjoy it. Finally know who you are. ”
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                         ~Kristin Armstrong

Exciting news!

I am excited to check in with all of you. My life is hectic as always and every free second has been filled. Thankfully, it's primarily been filled with some freelance writing gigs. I've been ghostwriting for several different websites for the last few months in addition to holding down my regular job. I love it, but I must admit that it feels nice to see my actual byline with my work. I'm happy to share with you all my first article in which I am getting full credit. Better news. I've been picked up by this company as an actual writer and will not only continue to get my byline published, but also receive a pretty decent fee for my work. Needless to say I'm beyond excited!

Do It Anyway

Every month, I give myself a little treat. I visit the most wonderful massage therapist in the world, Annie. In the hour that we spend together each month, I totally relax. She sets the background music up just for me and the room smells heavenly. Just entering the massage room, the scent of Eucalyptus and Lavender makes every muscle in my body automatically relax. The soft green on the walls and the angels placed strategically around the room offer such a serene atmosphere.

Annie is beyond pleasant herself and we chit chat until I doze off on the table. She is extremely good at what she does. She works every knot in my body out making me feel like a totally different person. A non-stressed, totally relaxed version of myself that is a little hard to find most days.

When I stand up to redress, beside the table, a small framed saying always catches my eye. It always makes me smile and remember what is truly important.

Last night, Keith went to visit Annie. I went along with him as I always do with a book in tow. When he was finished, I pointed out the frame to him. He agreed that it was a inspiring quote. One that I plan to frame myself now and set up in our home as a reminder to us each and everyday. For now, I wanted to share it with you all while it was fresh on my mind. Those of you on my Facebook have seen it before, but I doubt you'll mind seeing it again.

DO IT ANYWAY 

 By Mother Theresa

People are often unreasonable and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.


If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.


If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.


What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.


If you find serenity and happiness,they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.


The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.


Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.


You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway

A Whole New Year

Every year I make New Year's resolutions and pretty much always fail at them. I choose the same ones as many of you do. I am going to loose weight. I'm going to get organized. I'm going to wash dinner dishes every evening before bed. These things just don't happen for me. So, this year I chose something completely different and personal. I have promised myself that I will have more fun, enjoy life more, and take better care of myself.

That may sound odd to some of you or maybe most of you can relate. It seems I throw myself into work. It almost appears to be all I know. Since I've actually entered the real world and workforce, I've pretty much always kept either a full time and part time job or worked full time and attended school full time. When I decided to take time off before pursuing a Master's, I didn't expect the free time to be a burden. However, it appears in all my dedication to hard work that I've forgotten how to enjoy life a bit. How to relax and have fun. A sad reality that truly bothers me to my core.

While life is still harder than I wish, I've managed to keep trudging on. Something that should satisfy me, but doesn't. I don't just want to survive this life. I want to soak up every second and truly enjoy my days here. So, I'm pushing myself to do just that.

I'm letting dinner dishes go until the next morning, to enjoy a game of Scrabble or something on the XBox with Keith every chance we get. I'm stretching my boundaries and even trying out games like Halo, which I surprisingly find fun. Granted I still don't fully understand the game, but I like shooting at things. I'm taking more time to read and write. While I suppose some of the writing is considered work, I really enjoy it. I've been doing a lot of article writing for various websites and I pushed myself outside my bounds again last weekend by entering a creative short story contest. It was my first time entering a contest and I don't expect any great results, but I had fun and do plan on entering more.

I'm making time to see my friends and even planning a weekend getaway, which isn't until April. Yet, it's still going to be good to get away with all of them and just catch up. I've also decided to sign up for a short watercolor painting class. It should be interesting. I have absolutely no talent in that area, but it's advertised for beginners and I've always wanted  to give it a try.

I'm just glad to see progress in my resolutions. To be honest, I feel better. I think most of us have forgotten the value of fun and enjoyment. It really does benefit all areas of our lives. I'll leave you all with one last thought.

"Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies."  ~Erich Fromm

365 Day Project

I am actually keeping up witht this project. However, most have been rushed and I'm too ashamed to post them here. I promise I'll post again when I feel like they are okay to be seen. :)

365 Day Project

Day 1: January 1, 2011. Keith with our new car. My favorite part, completely assembled in Chicago, IL.

Day 2: January 2, 2011. Hanging out at home with Keith and Sable. Spent a good portion of the day in my pj's and it was wonderful.

Day 3: January 3, 2011. Keith and I both had long, hard days back at work after a long weekend. We were exhausted and just cuddled up on the couch to watch a movie.

Day 4: January 4, 2011. My sweet Sable can always cheer me up even on the worst of days.

A Wonderful Christmas...

This year Christmas was simply wonderful. More time seemed to be spent simply being together than usual, which is so important. I told Keith this Christmas was one of the best that I can remember. Everyone was so happy and there seemed to be so much love going around. In honor of such a wonderful holiday, I thought I would share a few of my favorite photos that seemed to capture my Christmas. Hope you all enjoy!

Getting a hug from my sweet nephew.

Sable in her Christmas sweater, enjoying the excitement as always.

My grandmother and cousins gathered around the stove cooking.

Payback on my aunt for her prank gifts, courtesy of Keith.

Can you see the emotion as my neice grabbed my gift before I could see what I got.

Precious trying to take part.

With my grandmother and cousins.

Keith shedding a tear over the book I mentioned I was putting together for him.

Keith helping our nephew with his trike that Keith found for him. (I admit that it's the coolest trike that I've ever seen.)

A family photo at Keith's parents.

Christmas

Brrr....I cannot get over how cold it has been here the last few days. I had been wishing for snow, but the slick roads and freezing temperatures have left me reconsidering. I've not decided that I'm very ready for Spring.

Unfortunately, the harsh weather has stopped any hope that I've had of getting out to finish my Christmas shopping. Thanks to the internet, the list I have left is very small. Still, I panic a bit if things aren't done a little early. I'm hoping to finish up this weekend and get everything wrapped up and under the tree.

I did finally take our Christmas photo on Tuesday and even though we couldn't agree on a photo, I rush ordered my cards with the photo Keith selected since he was good enough to cooperate to take one. I even managed to fill out the majority of them last night. Thankfully, most of them do not have a very long way to go.

Here's Keith's pick for the card and thus the one we used.

And my pick, which didn't make the cut. I'm still sharing it with you all though. So, at least I can say I used it somewhere.

Merry Christmas to you all just in case I don't make it back on here prior to Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful and happy holiday.

Christmas and Positive Thoughts

Perhaps, it's the Christmas season and the peace it brings. I'm not sure what's causing it, but I suddenly feel more optimistic than I have all year.

Needless to say, it has been another particularly hard year for us. You are all well aware of bits and pieces of family issues that has plagued our family this year. However, there are many more elements of stress and concern that has weighed heavy on my mind and heart. It's funny to me now, but they have all been brought on by the ugly traits that many people tend to display. I'm not sure how people become so self-involved and manipulative of others. Regardless, the year is almost over and nothing has changed. Issues still rage within our lives, but I feel calmer and more peaceful than should really be possible.

I find myself instead grateful for the way Keith and I have handled ourselves this year. We have stepped up and done everything that we felt was right even though it may have brought us more stress and worry. We purchased the farm in an attempt to keep my parents from loosing everything they had. Neither of us were particularly interested in farming, but in the words of our loan officer. We really took on a big undertaking not just in the land, but with everything associated with it.

We took in family and took care of them when they wouldn't or couldn't take care of themselves. We really didn't have to. We did it because we both truly believe in the importance of not only helping family when they need it, but helping anyone and everyone that we can.

We have both worked hard to improve ourselves and our lives. I am beyond proud of Keith for returning to school while working such long, hard hours. He has pulled close to a 100 average in one class that has ended and is looking at an A so far in the second one, which has been an extremely hard one. He has signed up already for two harder classes in the Spring, Sociology and Economics. However, I was most proud of a paper he wrote for one of his classes regarding his decision to return to school. He cited that I was his inspiration. That he saw how important education was to me and that if I could do it while working and caring for the house then he could certainly finish his degree while working. It touched me deeper than I can even begin to explain.

Even the Christmas spirit seems to be filling us both this year. This is the first year in about 5 or 6 that we have put up a large tree. I'll have to post a photograph. I plan on attempting a family Christmas photo in front of the tree this weekend and I'll share it with each of you who are still actually reading my blog. I have also managed some early shopping and even have some gifts wrapped. Normally, I'm Christmas Eve buying and wrapping gifts.

I also must apologize for my lack of posting. More than being busy, when things get so hard I tend to retreat into myself. I tend to shut down and work things out in privacy. So, I'll apologize and hope things begin to take a brighter turn. I tend to share more freely the positives in my life and I'm sure you all much prefer to hear those things.