Colorado for Christmas

Blank Canvas

The canvas is still white- maybe this weekend?

Today

Today I shall grab a paintbrush.  Let's see what happens.

Very Thankful...China Town, San Francisco.

Thankful.

Character

San Francisco- Nike Women's Marathon 2013

The last leg of the journey- watching my youngest run in her first marathon.  Don't be delicate; be vast and brilliant.

Paris - October 13, 2013

A beautiful day in Paris.  We went from Notre Dame to the batobus- the water taxi for the river Seine. We stopped at the Eiffel Tower but it was shut down due to a bomb scare.

 

We got some ice cream as we waited around to see what was going on.



Day one in Paris.

We arrived around 10am- had to keep moving so we did not fall asleep.

Notre Dame

See you soon...

Coming soon- back to Paris in two weeks...

The Power of Positive Thinking

Girl Time

Planning a trip to Paris then off to San Francisco.  Looking forward to time with my girls. My oldest will join me in Paris.
My youngest will be running her first Marathon in San Fran- her sister and I will arrive from Paris and will be cheering her on!

Buddha...

Happiness as a goal...

Working on this one today...

Procrastination
Stop thinking you will finally get to whatever task is at hand tomorrow. Live in the present, and get your sh*t done when it needs to be done. Maximize your time to the best of your ability. Complete each task you need to as soon as you can. This allows you to feel free from worry and stress by getting things out of the way as soon as possible. You also allow yourself more free time to enjoy the things you love.

Pedometer

So, I found a pedometer on Monday and clipped it to my pants.  After a three day test I found that I walk about 4 miles a day.  My goal is to add one more mile to that by Friday.

Free Me

My mother freed her toad, I now need to free myself.  I live in Massachusetts but my heart is in Colorado. Time to make that happen.

Free the Toad

My mother, Ethel Daly, turns 82 on Monday.
She is having a family filled weekend which includes a luncheon she organized at a hotel in Fort Collins on Sunday.  Both my daughters will be there but I will not.  I will be there soon though.

My mom's goal is to have her life organized by Monday.  Papers filed, areas cleaned- she wants to be perfect. I told her I already think she is perfect.

Her other goal is to free the toad that is trapped in her basement window well.  The toad has been in the window well for a while.A few days ago she went to check on the toad and it looked dead.  My mother told me she never cries anymore, even though she has a lot to cry about, but she did cry for this toad.  She told me she was distraught because she had not done enough to save it.

My mom never gives up.  She poured some water on the toad and enlisted the neighborhood children in catching bugs to put in the well with the toad.  The toad has rallied and is hanging on for dear life.  Mom and the children are working on a name for the toad using the initials from all of the children's' names. 

Mom has a plan to set the toad free and she will do it on Monday, July 29th.  Her 82nd Birthday.  She tells me she will place a box in the window well and use a long handled spoon to nudge the toad into the box.  She will then whisk it away to a nearby lake.

I am proud to be her daughter.

Reboot

I had the wonderful opportunity to reboot last weekend.  I was working too hard, not sleeping enough and basically needed to remind myself of what really matters.
My oldest daughter responded to my need and took the red eye to Boston.  This was exactly what I needed.
Summer began for me last weekend... thank you Dani.

Summer Time!

Friday, June 21, was the start of summer.  I should be planning vacations and sitting by the pool but instead I am working.
I really like my work but think the lack of balance is making my life very shallow.
I started to read a book yesterday- the first one in a long time (thanks Dani).  It's a re-read, "The Temple of My Familiar". One of my favorites by Alice Walker.

MOSAIC

 I have glued my fingers together a couple of times. This weekend alone I have made three trips to Michael's - buying even more supplies.

Go Bruins

This is the statue of Bobby Orr outside of TD Garden in Boston.

Penguin Ice Bucket

Growing up my family owned the West Bend Penguin Hot and Cold Server Ice Bucket.  I found one yesterday (beside the dumpster) and I nabbed it.
I called my mom- she doesn't know what happened to the family Penguin but I have my suspicions. 
Now I have one!

New Hobby - Project #1

Time Flies?

Waking up to June 1, my first thought was, "Time Flies".

Reminded me of this poem by Henry Austin Dobson.

The Paradox Of Time

Time goes, you say? Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go;
Or else, were this not so,
What need to chain the hours,
For Youth were always ours?
Time goes, you say?-ah no!

Ours is the eyes' deceit
Of men whose flying feet
Lead through some landscape low;
We pass, and think we see
The earth's fixed surface flee:-
Alas, Time stays,-we go!

Once in the days of old,
Your locks were curling gold,
And mine had shamed the crow.
Now, in the self-same stage,
We've reached the silver age;
Time goes, you say?-ah no!

Once, when my voice was strong,
I filled the woods with song
To praise your 'rose' and 'snow';
My bird, that sang, is dead;
Where are your roses fled?
Alas, Time stays,-we go!

See, in what traversed ways,
What backward Fate delays
The hopes we used to know;
Where are our old desires?-
Ah, where those vanished fires?
Time goes, you say?-ah no!

How far, how far, O Sweet,
The past behind our feet
Lies in the even-glow!
Now, on the forward way,
Let us fold hands, and pray;
Alas, Time stays,-we go!

Feed the Orphans

While raising my daughters I was introduced to the term "endorphins". 

Here is Wikipedia's definition:

Endorphins ("endogenous morphine") are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters.^[1] They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during exercise,^[2] excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm,^[3][4] and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being.

I learned we all need to make a daily habit of doing those things that create a feeling of well-being.   We need to feed our endorphins.

I some how managed to morph endorphins to Orphans and from there the regular directive for us all became, "Make sure you feed the Orphans".

I still tell my girls - "feed the Orphans" and I remind myself I need to do the same.

Let's take care of ourselves!

The start of a new week...

This week will be a good one. I am going to work less, walk more, eat better and sleep later.  I am going to explore my new hobby!  Excited to get started but not sure where to begin.

Memorial Day 2013

#bostonstrong

Sad times here near Boston.  Horror at the start of the week and now disbelief and fear.

“ A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner. ”

Hello Morocco

I purchased my first Tagine..and my first Tagine cookbook.  Plans are for some Moroccan dishes being cooked by me very soon.

From Williams-Sonoma   http://www.williams-sonoma.com/ 

Desire...

"I kneeled to the crickets trilling
underfoot as if about
to burst from their crusty shells;
and like a child again
marveled to hear so clear
and brave a music pour
from such a small machine.
What makes the engine go?
Desire, desire, desire.
The longing for the dance
stirs in the buried life."

My favorite line in the poem, Touch Me
by Stanley Kunitz

http://goo.gl/n9iUR

Eggplant Parm

Returned from my wonderful adventure in New Hampshire.  Cooked my first ever eggplant parm.  I did not bread the eggplant and it turned out great.
I ate half of this...

Relaxation at Wentworth by The Sea - New Hampshire

Today has been a chance to relax, decompress and reflect.

Personal Happiness

I have always known and preached that no one can be responsible for my happiness other than me.  That said, when I have not been happy I have not really done anything to change it.  Well, from this day forward I plan to take an action every day to make sure I own my own happiness; and I hope to make others happy in the process.

“Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves, that you forget, truly forget....how much you have always loved to swim.”
― Tyler Knott Gregson