Go wild!

I have been thinking (oh no right?) lately about different ways in which we find to relieve stress, relax, channel our creative juices or just simply let loose and live!

I know most of us have our hobbies or favorite past times that we usually engage in during our free time but how many of us take a minute each day to just be silly?  I mean like running in the rain silly, dancing down the hallway crazy, singing in the mirror with your brush as your microphone, really "rolling on the floor laughing " instead of just as a virtual response to something funny.  How many times after a long day, difficult situation, or just because, do we let our inner child out to play?

I have been thinking about children and my own childhood and how easy it can be to let the bad roll off our shoulders, Children just move on to the next thing that makes them happy and play! 

Imagine this............. You come home from work after a grueling day and you throw it all to the wind and you get out your Childhood toys (Not literally).  You may have had a favorite doll, or truck or game, puzzle, jump- rope, anything that made you feel good.  So why not try it now. 

I am 50 years old and yesterday I went out back and jumped on the trampoline and it felt good!  I have been known to pull out my Dick and Jane coloring books and let me tell you I can color a mean page and drink a glass of wine while doing it.  Now I don't sit and play house with my old dolls or anything but I find what feels good now and just do it.  It may be as simple as hanging a new picture on the wall, or moving furniture around.  It is still the same furniture, the same room but man just changing it all around is something new! 

Just take time to reminisce, I always smile when I think of the things I did as a kid, my friends, favorite toys, memories can make you feel remarkable.

When you feel good don't suppress it, run down the hall and jump high and say yea!  When you don't feel so good, look in the mirror and make faces at yourself- you will laugh!

My wish is just that you find joy in each day even if it is small joy!  A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.  Embrace the unexpected !

We could learn alot from a box of crayons, some are sharp, some are pretty, and some are dull, some have wild names, and all are different colors but they all have to live in the same box !

Gotta go I have the urge to sing in the mirror while making faces at myself!

plug it in, charge it up!

In a world of laptops, ipads, netbooks, e-readers, cell phones that do everything for you but breathe for you I can't help but think we are missing something.  I get progress I really do but I still wonder if we are missing something in the midst of all the advances.

Before I get alot of naysayers I am not anti-technology.  I love the doors that have been opened through the use of the Internet how easily I can get an answer to any question within seconds.  I love knowing that I can reach a loved one so easily by the use of cellular phones.  I have to say though that I cannot see me using an e-reader.  It is not about convenience for me.  Shopping for books is a hobby, it is a date night, it is so competitive that you can buy bestsellers on line for $.02. 

Where am I going with all of this? 

While I love some of these advances, I feel losses at times as well, even with the changes I love.  The Internet is awesome I agree and it has opened so many doors for me, however have you ever thought of when you were growing up and you did not have the world at your fingertips?  Just the fact that I have a good memory about using encyclopedias shows it had a lasting affect on me.  I am not sure if it is the idea that your parents invested in them for you that makes it a warm memory or how important I felt "researching" something.  Now you type in a few words and you have more search engines than you need with a plethora of information.  ( Not a bad thing) but I know that my 9 year old is not unique in knowing how to do that on his own.  He does not need me to sit with him and help him sift through all the information so is he losing out on a special memory?  I like to think that his memories will just be different but still special. 

I can't really say many negatives about the benefits of instant connection with the use of our cell phones.  I have to admit I love that my son can reach me anytime.  I know that when 40 years ago when I was 10 it was unheard of, but my son carries one in his pocket so I can be available to him at a moments notice and I like that.  I guess I would have to wonder though if  the little device in his pocket had made him more independent of me.  Having the ability to reach one another while he rides his bike all over the neighborhood makes me feel safe and I still make sure he has clear face to face expectations so not to lose that communication.
I am also saddened by the misuse of phones and how it has shaped our society.  I recently was out to dinner with my husband and son and watched a family of 3- mom, dad and teenage daughter eating as well.  Throughout the entire meal the dad and daughter were texting while to mom glared out the window, what a loss of time together. 

I have to add though that I do think there are some amazing opportunities because of technology.  I smile when my 29 year old son who is living in Saudi Arabia can get on his x-box and play a game with my 9 year old while talking through a set of headphones. 

Wow- I started this blog with the idea of breaking out of all the stresses that life brings us and be a kid.  How did I end up here?  I guess I was thinking of the changes that are so prevalent in our lives.  So the idea I had will grow with tomorrows post.

Inspiration overload

Ok so we have 6 more months before the arrival of our first grand baby!  One would think putting together a nursery should be fairly simple but it is more overwhelming than the cereal aisle in a grocery store!

No longer is it just a room or a space for baby to sleep.  A nursery is the baby's comfort place.  As adults we have our favorite place we like to go to.  Our dogs if they have a crate come to rely on that as their "safe place".

A baby's nursery needs to be pleasing to both the baby and mom and dad.  Of course our little nugget in training cannot tell us what he/she prefers and must rely on us to choose wisely.  The nursery is the place that baby will want to go when he/she feels overstimulated, when he is tired and wants to comfort of his own space.  It must have a calming effect for the times when times are not so settled.  It needs to be a happy place, a soothing place, a comfortable place for mom & dad as they will spend many hours there standing over the crib making sure nugget is sleeping ok.  It is the place where many miles will be put on the rocking chair and many lullabies will be sung.

So a nursery is so much more than a room to place the crib.  Look at some of my most recent picks.  I think I will take multiple ideas from different rooms and combine my favorites!

Here is an argyle idea if little nugget is a girl!

Love the colors in this gender neutral nursery !

Possibilities!

Dots for our Southern Gentlebaby!

Love the Vintage travel bedding and wall art!

Definitely a favorite for the little Prince!

Fun and Sassy!

Would be a front runner for me!


Well this is a few of the cazillion ideas out there.  I know that we will be inspired once we find the 1 thing we love we will design the rest around it!
I do know that it will be done with a tremendous amount of love and anticipation.



Are you current?

At every stage of life, we find peace and fulfillment in our relationships that are current.  A current relationship is one in which both have said everything they need to say to one another, whether it is supporting or challenging.  Our relationships are current when we no longer harbor unexpressed feelings.

Lately I have been thinking alot about the relationships I have and have had.  If we were to create a category for all the different relationships we have I imagine there would be an abundance of varied answers.

Relationship is the way in which two or more concepts, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.

Wow that opens up so many avenues. 

The relationships we have with our families and close friends are of a more intimate matter than what we may have with our co-workers or a mere acquaintance.  We have relationships with our pets, our hair stylist, our banker, the list of human relations can go on and on. 

We also have relationships with objects- we may have a love/hate relationship with our exercise equipment.  When we make a decision to buy a new vehicle we enter into it with great care in choosing this object that we will have a relationship with. 

Some relationships are called mutually beneficial relationships in which both parties will benefit from.  There is a bird that lives off the back of tortoises by pulling off the old detritus from their skin.  This is mutually beneficial because it feeds the birds and because the tortoises are better off without it.

With all that said ( I told you I ramble with my thoughts) my inspiration this week comes from my thoughts about my relationships in my life.

What can I do to make sure I am current with my spouse, my children, my siblings, my dear friends?  It is as much my responsibility as it is those who I enter into relationships with to be "current"  If I never had another chance to speak with them do they really know me?  So they know what is important to me? So they know how important they are to me?  Do they know that I fight fiercely for those I love?  Do they know that if they needed me the highest mountain would not seperate me from them?  Do they know that they and their feelings mean so much more to me than things? 
Do they know that loving them keeps me alive?

Not all relationships are supposed to last a lifetime; some are supposed to end.  Some are supposed to last fifty years, others six months, some relationships are only complete when a person dies; others complete themselves during our lifetimes.  The length of a relationship, or how it ends, in s never wrong.  It's simply life.  Ultimately, we have to look at relationships in terms of whether or not they are complete, and how to best complete them.

Are you Current ?

Changes

Today as I felt the sweltering heat at 90 degrees, I began thinking of why I like living in location that exposes me to all four seasons.  As I thought about this I really struggled to determine which was my favorite and then I realized that I love something about them all.

I smiled though in thinking that when I am in the middle of one of these seasons I am thinking about the next one and what that will bring.  Why do we do that?  We anticipate the summer fun and when we are smack dab in the middle of all the activity we desire the slower pace of winter.

I have decided that I am going to try harder to be reminded when I am in each season that;

Winter brings the crisp white snow that I Love even when it is so cold that breathing in makes your nostrils stick together.  I love how I feel each year when the first flakes begin to fall and you feel like it is the first time you have seen snow.  Why is that?  Are we amazed that it really did snow again?   Then the times when the snow keeps you home, when you have to go out and shovel in order to get out, Making a snowman and coming in for hot chocolate with red noses and burning cheeks.  The greatest thing about winter is celebrating the birth of our Savior.  I love everything about the preparations for Christmas.  The days of decorating so everything is just perfect for the family.  The hours of thought that is put into choosing just the right gift.  The baking of all the family favorites and making those cut-outs come to life with icing.  I love the smells of winter/holidays.  The cookie baking, candles burning, pine trees, smells that spark warm comfort memories of years growing up.  With winter though comes an end to all that is good about it and then it turns into the end of winter which brings gray days, dirty snow, after holiday blues and the desire for Spring.

Spring Makes me feel like everything is fresh again.  The grass changes from winter brown to a rich green color.  The flowers that lay dormant those long winter months begin to bud and soon burst with color. New life is all around us.  I feel a burst of energy and the need to rid our home of all the germs that may have been trapped through the winter.  Removing the dust that has accumulated and making everything feel new!  The smells of winter become the smells of spring- my favorite, when the Lilacs bloom.  I love  having that smell drift through the open windows and being amazed at the memories it prompts.  One sniff of the lilac bush and I am back at my childhood home picking one of many large bouquets from our giant Lilac tree.  Carefully making the stems long enough (something ingrained in me from mom) so that they can get water in just the right size vase.  Taking them inside and having mom wrap a wet paper towel and then foil around them so I could proudly carry them to my teacher.
By the end of spring usually we are tired of the rain and ready for the fun that will begin with Summer!

Summer guarantees warm temperatures and promises busy schedules.  Most people take their family vacations during this month.  We are excited about doing all the things that we are limited to during the other seasons.  We gather more frequently with friends and family.  It is likely the most popular season of all. Summer brings people out!  Clothing styles are completely different than those worn in any of the other 3 seasons.  Our meal planning changes in the summer.  Do you enjoy a hot dog or hamburger in the dead of winter like you do fresh off the grill in the summer?  How often do you make that favorite potato salad or fresh squeezed lemonade other than in the summer?  As much as I love summer and all the activity it brings I am probably more ready for it to end than any other season.  I am usually ready for the crisp temperatures and smells of Fall.

Fall  brings the death of our beautiful flower gardens, but the amazing beauty of the changing colors.  It brings the last burst of color before the stark white of winter.  I Love fall!  I love the fall holidays.  I love the slower pace of fall.  All those activities that do not take place in the fall are packed away with new memories made.  Fall brings smells all it's own.  No greater smell than that of the fall apples, fall scented candles, fall festivals and hay rides.  The colors of pumpkins and fall flowers.  Again our meal planning changes.  My first pot of chili for the season is on Halloween when I pull out the crock pot and simmer it all day.  Getting out the pumpkin glasses and fall colored dishes and sit down to a steaming bowl of chili before heading out to satisfy all the trick or treaters.  Fall brings the anticipation though of that next glorious season
Winter and we begin all over again anticipating a year of traditions old and new and memory making once again.










Silence of winter !





New Life!





Tastes of summer!





Colors of Fall!



Just Grandma

Ahhhhhhhhhh the weekend is upon us once again. What do you have planned?

Friday- family picture taken- check
          Out to dinner- Check
          Watch an exciting tv show with my boys- check
          Blog- check
          go to bed with a good book- YES!

Saturday will bring my normal weekly cleaning, laundry and then pulling weeds from my garden.  Fixing dinner for good friends.

Sunday after church we will head to the pool which we are now part owners of.  (not really just feels that way after paying membership fees) It will force me however to slow down and enjoy it because I paid for it!

As you know from an earlier blog I am going to be Blessed with a grandbaby.  My most daunting task this week has been figuring out what I want to be called.  When my daughter asked me that, I didn;t think it was an unusual questions as I know there are now so many different names for Grandma.  As I have been giving it much thought I wondered what is worng with "just grandma"?  I think it is a title held in the highest esteem.

Rest in Peace

Like most of our country I am saddened by the verdict in the Cassey Anthony trial. 

We just celebrated our Country and the freedoms that come with it.  I LOVE our country so I do not want the wrong message coming across with my post. 

Even before the verdict my mind went to recent disappointments in the news, ie, the recent removal of  "Under God" from our pledge during a major sports event.

We celebrate that we have "freedoms' including what is supposed to be freedom of religion.  Yes we can choose  where we worship, however we cannot fully choose how we worship.  Our children cannot pray before a meal in school, they cannot openly pray before a test or a school event lest they offend someone who may not share those beliefs.

My son is currently serving in the United States Navy and he is stationed in a foreign country.  A country that is only 2% Christian.  This country however lives their religion.  5 times a day loud speakers announce that it is time to pray and as a country they pray.  Can you imagine that being done in the United States where we have all these freedoms?

So  should we really be surprised with "Innocent until proven guilty"  Should it not say "Innocent even if guilty"?

The 1 thing though I find comfort in is that I serve a fair and Just God and he will ultimately be holding judgement for those involved in taking the life of this beautiful child. 

God help our Country!

Rest in Peace precious child there are many people who want you free.

Always wear a glove!

Sometimes life just throws you a hard ball, the kind that stings even if you are wearing a glove.  Finding that 1 thing today is about what makes the sting feel better.

Comfort comes from many different sources, and is individualized.  What makes me feel better may be entirely different from what you may need. 

Some people lick their wounds with retail therapy while others prefer solitude.

While I find climbing a Mountain to be very spiritual, others may find it very taxing.
 
Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury.Giving yourself a break and accepting your imperfections helps alleviate some of the stresses we put on ourselves to "measure up"  Just who are we trying to measure up to?  The neighbors grass look greener, so soon you see everyone on your street watering their lawn because they cannot have the neighbors looking better.

• Set aside relaxation time. 
• Connect with others. 
• Do something you enjoy every day.
• Keep your sense of humor.

Our society pressure us to "fit in" and accomplishing all we must, to do so we put stress on ourselves that leads to unhealthy living.

Find that 1 thing that makes you feel at peace, that feeds your soul, that calms your spirit.

Figure out where you need to be before  that hard ball comes your way, so when you catch it you will have your glove on.

Find your peaceful place and go there for YOU!