Peace

Seriously, this has been a cool week. I don't often have cool weeks where the crazy days and bad moments don't get to me, but this week has just been so awesome. My friends are having cool life moments and I am actually at peace with who I am.

I have been able to be creative and I have big news...my cards will hopefully be sold through Rarebits shortly. We are developing personalized cards that will be monogrammed and plan to have samples listed shortly on the site. I love this company (ok, the owners have been "family" forever, so I am a little biased) and their philosophy of loving who you are and those around you is inspiring. I am very excited because I usually don't have confidence in what I create and this has made me feel really good about my creations and me. It is a cool, natural high feeling.

So, peace blog friends :).

more cleaning and good giveaways

ok, so today I deep cleaned my room...vacuumed (even the walls), dusted, polished, windexed and mopped the floor (that was gross, very very gross). I have been feeling that I need to minimize and simplify my life. So that's what I am working on, trying to declutter and make my life comfortable and the spaces I live in spotless and organized. I am not the best organizer. Any tips?

Here is the clean room. Very clean, but yeah, I have a lot of furniture. Oh, and the Orbit gum box blocks the light from the street light. If I close the shade I loose the breeze. It's a trend that'll catch on, you watch.


And on to the giveaway. I have also gone through my handmade, handstamped cards and determined that I have sent most of them to everyone in my family. I have over 25 cards to give to my blog friends...leave a comment and I will get them to you complete with envelopes. (And Jamie, I will bring the stickers to you at the v-ball game...I didn't forget I promise).

taking time to discover

I never used to be into nature...nature meant yard work or getting dirty and I just wasn't interested. In stepped Freddy who is Father Nature. He loves animals, plants, anything to do with the outdoors and being nurturing and I have to say, that at first that was a scary thing.

Freddy knew how to make nature exciting for me, though, and that was through photography. He took me to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale three years ago and I was completely amazed. The colors, the flowers, the overall beauty of the place was alluring. I took tons of photos and really got to appreciate the beauty that was so close to home. We get to there usually every couple of seasons and we also love the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden where we are contributing members.

My love for nature took a while, but I soon got my own orchids and have taken pretty good care of them and have watched them bloom annually, which is a true gift.

Today Freddy and I made another trip to the Arboretum, the first in a while. I think it was our first at the end of the summer and we saw some beautiful dahlias and black eyed susans in bloom. I also loved seeing the butterflies and ospreys. One other magical moment of the day was chatting with a couple for over an hour. They were celebrating their 48th wedding anniversary and shared with us fascinating stories about their world-wide travels and life experiences. That was a true gift.

Here are some photos from the day:
views:







Flowers (and a butterfly):







Freddy wanting a hug from a goose:



Us under the tree canopy:





So get discovering...find a new place to check out and talk to random people. It is really enriching.

i purged

not food, but emotions and scrap stuff.

first, I have been a bad blogger and a bad flickr uploader and I do apolpgize. life has been nutty...read Jamie's blog from a couple of days ago, as she put the experience into words better than I could. It was crazy, but I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I didn't hate going to work last week (could just be I am on va-kay next week, LOL). I just realized that I have wanted change in my life and I have to start making that happen. I am very good at talking the talk but not doing any walking. So this is a baby step, but I feel great, so much more relaxed. So that was the emotional purge.

The scrap purge was insane!!

Here are the before photos: (I can't believe I am posting these...they are scary)










I spent from 11am-2:30pm and then from 4pm-10:30pm completely getting rid of papers, stickers, embellishments, and stamps while blasting Counting Crows (the new album is so good). I have an excess problem (you all know of my pen obsession) and tend to buy 2, 3, 4 of everything. I have never gone through all my scrap stuff since I started four years ago. I just couldn't imagine the task. And it was sucky. It was hours of paper sorting mostly.

Here are my to-give-away piles (leave a note if you want anything, as I have no idea where to give it. Lots of awesome paper).




And these are the after photos:







yay! I have a workspace back. It has been a while since I seriously scrapped just for me and not for the design team at scrapper's playground. I caught the bug again and can't wait to create. I am hoping to get that vision board happening.

Hope u are all having a good weekend...and I promise to be a better blogger.

Political Ranting

Ok, so I told you it might take me an extra day to do this and I apologize. First of all, I just found my missing checkbook that I have been insanely looking for all this week. YAY!! I actually just finished doing the happy dance.

And on to bigger and better things. I have been trying to figure out how to best describe my political leanings. I don't want to offend, I am just letting you know what I believe. All are entitled to an opinion and I am just letting you know mine. I do believe this photo says a lot (ok, the shirt says a lot).


Yup. I hated Bush before it was cool. I guess hate is a strong word, but I really dislike the things he says, does, etc. The only thing I have ever liked about him (and it actually isn't really him) is his daughter Jenna's wedding dress. That's it.

I am angry about so much going on in this country. The leaders (ok, primarily Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, etc), the policies (no-child left behind is a ridiculous policy. I do not support abstinence only sex-ed. I want Guantanamo to be closed and the prisoners tried as human beings. I could go on and on all day), the economy is a mess, I want our troops home, for them to be taken care of when they get home, and for their families to be supported. I want this war over. We need to realize that we have a lot going on here (people are still trying to figure out how to clean up after Katrina - 3 YEARS AGO!!!) and we need to pay attention to issues we can fix. I am ready for friends fighting in Iraq to come home. They don't want to go back and they emotionally suffer daily.

I want there to be acceptance for all people, for them to enjoy the rights that are deserved.

So who am I politically and what do I stand for?
-I am a progressive and unabashedly liberal
-I believe in rights for all people - if it doesn't hurt anyone then I am ok with it
-I believe in pursing diplomacy and that force should be used only as a last resort once all others measures to peace have been exhausted
-I believe that I have the right not to be lied to by my politicians (this really is a dream)
-Torture is never ok. Never never never. Not by our CIA, not by anyone. How would we like our soldiers to be treated?
-Religion and politics must be kept separate.
-I hope this country can move toward reaching out to the poor and disadvantaged, thus I believe that health care, welfare, and social justice programs should be well funded and extended to help more people
-Tax the rich...a lot
-We should help the disadvantaged people in other countries when they struggle (example: Darfur in the Sudan)
-We should pressure countries to improve human rights within their societies (China, this is you)
-We should have leaders who are upstanding (not, as Natalie mentioned, a reformed coke addict alcoholic. Seriously, c'mon are you kidding me????) I could do a whole post on W, but maybe another day.

I am ready for change. I want politicians who are willing to help this country progress towards a promising future. And most of all I want PEACE!!

Well, blog friends, there ya go! love to all and have a happy weekend!

Get ready for tomorrow's post...

This is to kinda prep you for what I think I will blog about tomorrow (or Friday, depending on when I actually get to blog). 2 of my 3 blog buddies requested I post about my political beliefs, but before I do so, I wanted to start by being grateful. and to warn you that tomorrow will be intense!!

This is a slightly cheesy sounding post, especially when you contrast it with tomorrow. I am so fortunate to live in the US of A. I can have this blog, I can write what I want about where I live and the beliefs that are important to me. I can pray to whomever whenever. I can be friends with anyone. I can read any book I want, listen to music I want, and wear the designers (or lack there of) that I want. To quote a great movie "America $@&^ Yeah!!!

I have the freedom to walk outside and not be afraid of rebels with AK 47s walking around. I know that I can say what I want about the problems here and not get arrested or thrown in jail and I am very grateful for this. I am so lucky that I have the freedom to be me and the freedom to dissent. I love where I live. This is a beautiful country and I can't imagine living anywhere else. I am proud of where I live (ok, for the most part).

That all being said, I have the freedom to be angry about the government, the media, the people in power,etc. And I am so grateful for that (I am trying to be less angry and instead see that I can make changes, but this is a hard concept to grasp). I don't like being angry, there's no other way I can be.

This is my favorite quote about how I feel. I don't know who said it, but it is my sentiment exactly and sums up what I will write about tomorrow.

"A Patriot supports his/her country all the time....

and, his/her government when it deserves it.

put into words

I am not one who forwards many emails. They have to be incredible or something I didn't consider before. Today I received this email and I am so in love with pretty much everything it says. It is completely uplifting and helps me put life and all that comes with it into perspective. And so, I am sharing it with my blog friends. Read and enjoy:

Good Tips...

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep .

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water . Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. GOD heals everything.

29. However good or bad a situation is it will change.

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will, stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!) Hey I'm thinking of ya!

37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

My faves are # 4, 10, 11, 13, 14, oh ok, I like em all.They really made me stop, think and want to move forward.

reflecting

This has been a week of reflecting and a week of realizing that wonderful people meet you on this journey right when you need them to be there.

This week I got to laugh a lot, cry a bit, and learn that there are so many good things and people for which I am grateful. If you read this blog, chances are you have been part of this week and part of why I have really felt blessed to be surrounded by incredibly motivating, inspiring and uplifting people.

I hope you all have a fun week, one where you can grow a little, heal a little, change a little, and become more of who you are.