No Guarantees

“Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.”

~John W. Gardner~

~~~~~~

This morning a man woke up and got ready for work.

He hopped in to his vehicle and drove away from his home.

It was raining, and the rain was turning to ice on the roads.

Somehow....the ice became deadly, and that man will never go home to his family again.

I don't know this man.

I only know that it didn't happen too far from here.

And I know that someone lost something today they will never get back.

~~~~

I'm sorry to start a new week off with somber thoughts....but this struck me hard today.

Some where out there today is a grieving family.

They had no idea this morning would be their last with him.

What were the final words spoken?

What will their last memory be of him?

~~~~~~

I once heard a story of a man who lived in a very tumultuous country.

Freedom did not exist.

Everything you held dear or believed in could be snatched from you without explanation.

Even your life.

He woke up every morning, got ready for work, and before he left he hugged and kissed his children and wife good-by, with tears 

streaming down his face and a prayer on his lips.

He never knew if this would be the day he wouldn't come home.

~~~~~

Makes you stop and wonder how you want to leave your house in the morning.

Or how you want to say goodbye to those who are walking out the door.

No....I don't want to live in fear or worry.

Not at all.

What I do want is to not take every  moment for granted.

And use every opportunity I am given to show those in my life I love them.

We need to live like there are no tomorrows.

There are no guarantees in this life, but the choices we choose to make.

Choose wisely today.

Every moment is a gift.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Heartfelt Walk~~~

One day last week....(after a very trying and tiring day).....I decided to go for a walk.

Of course I took my camera...

~

...and just took pictures of everything that made me smile.

It was a smile-filled walk.

This particular capture held me though.

It was almost as though this tree had a heart.

It held me in a sense of wonder.

Of awe.

That's what nature and being outdoors does for me.

It makes me feel alive again.

It gives me heart to get through the next round of another day.

~ My Heart-Full tree ~

A woodland in full color is awesome as a forest fire, in magnitude at least, but a single tree is like a dancing tongue of flame to warm the heart.

Hal Borland

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pay it Forward

Several weeks ago I won a "Pay it Forward" opportunity 
from Heather at The Patchwork Heart".....


...and last week I received my Pay It Forward present in my mailbox~~~

ANOTHER gift from the other side of the world!!!

Thank you Heather! The present was amazing and it really made my day. 
(Note...I was heading off to work after a very, very long day...when I stopped at my mailbox and found your package. I think I got my work done a lot more quickly that night;)


~~~~~
I have always wanted to do this.....even have tried to pay for someone else's coffee in the drive-thru line with hopes they would pass it on.
(Not sure if they did...but I had a vision;)


I promise to post a little item

 to the first 3 people

 who comment on THIS POST
~who will then do the same~

and keep the kindness moving on.

There is no time scale to this...

just in the next 365 days!

(Make sure you email me your address so I know where to send your Pay-It-Forward gift!)

So.....don't hesitate. 

Have fun and Pay it Forward:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simple

Reflecting on Simple

My Simple List:

~ walking has to be one of my favorite things to do~

~ being with those i love~

~ thinking of everything, and then again- of nothing in particular~

~ eating my favorite food~

~ reading too~

~ watching my kids learn~

~ finding a new place to explore while i'm out in my wooded backyard~

~ sitting quietly on my back hill under a moon~

{and my list can go on and on}

Oh how I wish it was only my Simple List that

 I had to get done today.

~~~~~~

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see.  

~John Burroughs

~~~~~~~

Have a wonder-full weekend.....

~ Time to Remember~

Today is a day to

~Remember~

(where we came from)

~and to also think of where it is we're going~

REMEMBER

November 11, 2010

~~~~~~~~~

(top photo from here)

Happening Now

I love this picture.

I took it on one of my walks around a lake near here.

It makes me think of life.

How we stumble through it and all its troubles, just waiting for the troubles to be finished so we can get on with REAL LIFE.

~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. 

At last it dawned on me that these obstacles 

were my life. "

~Alfred D’Souza

~~~~~~~~~

I came across this quote yesterday and it struck a nerve.

How often I have done this.

Waiting for real life to begin.....

It's hard when you feel like you're stuck in the same place and not getting any where.

It's hard when you feel life is preying upon you and striking out- using you as the target.

It's hard to remember that this path we're on...no matter how rough- 

IS actually 

Real Life.

{It's not the destination but the journey.}

I finally feel like I'm understanding this.

Finally.

~Now I just have to learn now to handle the rough path with a 

bit more grace than I have been~

Have a wonderful day in your Real Life....regardless of where it's taking you.

It's happening now.

Yesterday, I was 16

My oldest turns 16 today.

Bittersweet.

No...I know 16 isn't old and grown up and leaving and all.

{But I was just 16.     Yesterday.
And so much has happened in one day I can hardly grasp it.}

Tomorrow he'll be 18. 

Then 25. 

Then I could be a grandma.

(WHAT?)

{I am only 19 as I type this...
unless I type looking in the mirror. 
Then I remember  what age I'm supposed to be.}

How does this time thing happen?
You go to bed when you're 18-
and wake up 36,
 with 4 kids,
 and a mortgage,
and a few more "smile lines" around your eyes.

But! 

Today is Today.

~~~~~

Happy Birthday Bud!

On this day I wish you
courage~for all the moments you find yourself in,

commitment~to all the matters and relationships you come upon,

strength~ to stand in every situation,

safety~ as you travel to places you have never traveled before.

Happy Birthday

~~~~~

My thought for today....

Where will I be when I next open my eyes.

This Time Change

I always find this time of year hard.
Our sunlight goes south and we're left (on a good day) with 8 hours of sunshine. 
That's 16 hours of dark.


I dread the short days.
Even this "Daylight Savings Time" thing doesn't help me! Who are we kidding!!!!
 It's still the exact amount of Daylight- we just changed at what end of the day it is at!!!
(nice try guys....)


So as I woke up at my "usual time".....
~~~regardless of turning my clock back last night~~~
here we go:

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.

~Sir Francis Bacon

Keep your face to the sunshine

and you will not see the shadows.

~Helen Keller

A gray day provides the best light.

~Leonardo da Vinci

Turning on the light is easy if you know where the switch is.

~Colin Wilson

There never was a night that could defeat a sunrise.

~unknown

I'm going to miss today's sunrise if I keep on with this.

And looking out at all the oranges and pinks- 

It's going to be magnificent!

(Even if it is an hour late!)

Puzzled Friday~

(enlarge for a better view)

During a road trip I took last summer, 

I had to stop and go explore this stone house.

I'd like to know its story. 

It seemed as though someone just plunked it in the middle of absolutely no where. 

Out of place~
yet seeming to belong in that wide, open field of nothing.

~~~

"I expect to pass through life but once.

If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, 

or any good thing I can do to a fellow human being, 

let me do it now, 

and do not defer or neglect it, 

as I shall not pass this way again."

~William Penn

On the other side of the World....

There is a girl out there- on the other side of the world- who I wish I could meet.

We are the same age.
We have the exact same number of kids.
We love the same type of sport.

I found her blog when I was looking up Triathlon Blogs....and am so glad I did.

She just completed a sprint triathlon on Sunday and I just want to give her a big
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
She did an amazing job and has trained incredibly hard for this day.
 I'm super proud of all she is accomplishing!
{You can see her story on the day here!}
~~~~

I am continually amazed by the people I have met through this world of Blogging.
I have had comments and been sent e-mails...always encouraging and inspiring me.
I've also learned a lot from others and connected with people who I never would have "met" otherwise.
And there is such talent out there!!
I have met writers, artists, photographers.
There are runners and triathletes, those into the style thing of things (which I'm not too great at), and incredible  cooks.
There are those of you who post an encouraging word or 2 on your post which inspire me or get me through yet another day of routine.

I enjoy learning  from all of you....
even if we seem worlds apart!
~~
On that note.....
I got a package in the mail yesterday!!!!!
{You have to know~ I mourn the loss of letter writing and posting packages.
My little black mailbox usually contains bills and junk mail...and I think with all the online banking I'm finally doing, even my bills hardly come through the mail anymore.}

So when I found this in my mailbox at the end of the driveway.....

....all the way from here......

...I was ecstatic.

Still am.

And it made my day, my week.

HA!

It made this entire new month!!

Thank you so much  Saskia for your package and note.

It meant more than you know!!

~~~~~

(Fun Note: Upon receiving a phone call from me~sharing my Excitement over my package...my sister sent me a link to here:

Letter Writers Alliance

It's WRITE up my alley.....seeing as how I long for my letter writing days.

Take a peek.

It will make you miss the "old-fashioned" means of communicating.

~~~~~

{{I think I want to go mail something now.....}}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a wonderful thing is the mail, capable of conveying across continents a warm human hand-clasp.  ~Author Unknown

~~~~

Instead of textbooks....

....we tend to do things a little more "hands-on" for our subjects.

This weekend we went to my sister's place~
they've been studying England and wanted to present what they learned.

Of course we had to play the part.....

Queen (Dawn)Victoria and Princess (Molly)Anne

(I'm pretty sure I was yelling

 "Off with their heads!")

~~~~~~~

 My sister's place~ where she was part Owner of 

"Charlie's Fish and Chips".

Chef(s)

Homemade Fish and Chips

Eton Mess

~~~~

Guests started to arrive....

Queen Elizabeth and Charlie Chaplin

~~~~

English Schoolgirl and Oliver Twist

~~~~

~~~~~~~~~

After Guest Introductions and English fare.....we were presented with a Power Point presentation my niece and nephew put together on England.

~

Of course...no English party would be complete without an episode of MR.Bean....

and listening to music by English artists.

~~~~~~

{My kids and I are studying Thailand this month.

I'm hoping my sister realizes our presentation won't be quite so elaborate.

She's amazing.}

~~~~~~

Thanks for showing us all you learned about this country guys~

We had a jolly good time!

~~~~~


Recipe for 
ENGLISH BEER BATTERED FISH


2 cups flour
1 egg
1tsp. baking powder
salt/pepper
(mix the above together)


Add:
1 cup beer
1 cup soda water
(stir well and let sit for 20 minutes)


Dry fish with paper towel
and then dip the cod fillets into rice flour, 
followed by the above batter.
Drop into deep fryer until cooked.

Any time it's possible to learn without a textbook I'll take it.

Especially if it involves food.

:)

~new month~

you know the saying,

"tomorrow is a new day- with no mistakes in it"

?

i think new months are even nicer.

an entire 30 or so days...laid out in front of you

~with no mistakes in any of them~

Happy 1st of November