One Part Inspiration...

So if you have nothing to do on exam week, you can always grab the kids and head off to WalMart and get their school pictures done. This is not fun if the kids are little, but it's piles of fun when they are big. Who knew? Wish I had. When my first born son was eighteen months, and I took him and his sister for pictures. It was a very stressful experience. For one thing, he bounced around like a rubber ball and very nearly bounced right off that faux-carpet box that every photo studio has. I caught him just in time. In the picture, he is teetering on the edge of the box - I am outside the picture gasping just before I grabbed him. When he was three, I took him and his sister to get their pictures done. Somewhere in the parenting manual, there is a paragraph that states if you are a good parent, you will commit to annual photographs to document the children's growth. So there I was, eight and a half months pregnant, trucking off to get a three year old and a four and 1/2 year o...

I am not the most organized person I know. However, I have become, a student of organization. I struggle against clutter and piles of paper, and messy drawers etc. Martha Stewart would be in that " Superdy D uperdy organized" category. But then again, Martha has a company which I imagine includes some very efficient secretaries, accountants, cleaners, shoppers and chauffeurs. On any given day, I am at least two of those - and many more - so if I don't have it all together, I refuse to go on a guilt trip. When I have my ducks in a row, so to speak, I do feel a certain sense of accomplishment that I never get from say, staying in my jammies , watching t.v. in the middle of the day. So I like to try out ideas or products and often look through websites and magazines for what might help me do my jobs more efficiently. This is mainly so that I can get to that "Boy, I feel great about what I have accomplished" feeling. And when I find something that works, I am mo...

The other night I couldn't sleep. [Not a new thing in my life, as some of you regular readers may know.] However, I knew I was being rather restless and decided to give my husband a break and head downstairs to the spare bedroom. What to do? What to do? I was too tired to concentrate on watching t.v. But I was too awake to turn off the light and lie there waiting for sleep. So I pulled out an old journal and began to thumb through the pages. There were various articles I had clipped. Some were inspirational. You know the type. "Get -going- and -conquer- the- world" type of articles. Some were about child rearing. There was a few with decorating advice. And there were some journal entries and letters. I read some of my letters I had never sent. I didn't send them, because they ended up too long and involved. ... in writing them I had basically booo-hoo-hooed my way through, explaining the mess that I was in and the things I wished that I could change and couldn't. ...

Do you keep track of things that make you laugh? I am not talking about watching a funny tv show. I have found, that there are enough things in regular old life that are 'laugh out loud' moments. I have a little journal that I keep with various things that have made me chuckle in teaching piano. Other journals hold various things that the kids have said that made me laugh. I'm going to share a couple of them with you just for the joy of spreading the 'best medicine ' about. *Mom: [ in an attempt to increase trivia knowledge at the dinner table] Why is there a bat on the Bacardi label? Daughter: Because that's all they drink at baseball games? *Music Therapist: [ while running a program on Irish music and trivia] Do you know what the easiest way to get an Irish name is? Client: Marry an Irish Man? [Music Therapist was actually thinking "Add O' to your name. As in 'O Smith or 'O Jones] *Client who was brought into music area to 'listen to the ...

What kind of thoughts go through your head on Sunday night? Do you dread the beginning of the new week? For years and years I did. In high school, I used to pray that old prayer " Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, that's one less test I'll have to take". In my college days, Sunday night heralded the end of the two days of the week I enjoyed most. Lived for. Looked forward to. And all to soon were over. I remember feeling sadder as the day wore on, knowing that it was going to be another 5 days before I got to enjoy time with my then boyfriend. He didn't really understand why I was such a drag to be with by the end of Sunday night. In fact, I am amazed that he stuck with me over those years, because I was predictably uptight by the time Sunday evening arrived. When I entered the workforce, it was often difficult to get to sleep in Sunday nights because I would worry about sleeping in on Monday. I would lay ...

Tomorrow, I am going to the dentist. The words "tooth ache", and "dentist", fill me with a mix of "how bad could it be" and "oh man, I bet it's going to be worse than I thought". I have always tried to be brave when it comes to my teeth. After all, I survived braces. I had 6 teeth pulled to have the braces put on. [small mouth,...believe it or not....too many big teeth...when they told me that, I almost felt like neighing like a horse .....]. I have had fillings. I have had cleanings and I even survived a root canal. But I find that as I get older, I dread the visits more and more. I hope my dentist realizes it's nothing personal. I am sure he is a fine young man who loves his family, and gives to the poor. It's just all the paraphernalia around teeth I hate. It's the needles. It's the sound of the drill. It's the taste and feel of metal. It's having to tolerate foreign items in my mouth. It's not being allowed to ...

You'd think that, if you are out catching turkeys and loading them up in the middle of the night, the least you could do is turn off your back up warning signal. Who's going to run into you at that hour of the night? Certainly, not your neighbours to the south of you who are trying to get to sleep. And if you are an RCMP officer, and you pull someone over, would it be too much to ask that you turn off the flashing lights? Honestly. Between the beeep beeep beeeping and the flashhhh flashhhh, flashhing, how's a girl to get her beauty sleep? I'm so glad I live in the country. It's so much more quiet out here. Now let's turn the dial the other way. Since I'm up anyway, I might as well get a drink of warm milk, check my non-existent email and catch up on my blogging. Oops, my toes are beginning to get cold. Better make it a short one.

Today was "Cafe Mocha" Day. It was one of those days when it just seemed right to treat myself to a special drink. I was so pleased that I could add a banana nut muffin to my order and I had one penny left. Later, I realized that it was also a "Quality Street Chocolate" day. That's what happens when you go to the store that has a post office connected to it and they have all their Christmas candy at half price. I was elated to be able to mail my packages at the same time as celebrating this auspicious occasion. Imagine my surprise when I discovered at 6:00 p.m, that today was also "Tortilla Chip" day. The red and green ones that are just that right amount of crunchy and salty and spicy. It's been quite a day. I am looking forward to tomorrow. It's "Happy Birthday Cake" day.

I just bought a great pair of shoes. In an unscientific survey, I notice that many times people comment about some one's shoes as often as they comment on a new hairdo or a great shirt. Now, I'm no Imelda Marcos but I have to admit, that if I could, I'd buy a lot of really great shoes. I suppose I could go to a psychoanalyst to find out why exactly shoes appeal to me. But I am going to save a few dollars and analyze it myself. Shoes are part of a personal statement. They state how you are feeling, who you are feeling like, and how comfortable you are with yourself. Sometimes they say just how busy you are. Or they shout out you are in a party mood. Or perhaps a "don't mess with me mood". Some people don't have a consciousness about their shoes. I've just become aware of it in the last several years. Perhaps I don't have enough to think about, but nevertheless, I've learned a few things about shoes recently. In the movie "In Her Shoes...

I am at my desk. At least I think it is my desk. It is covered in various papers that I have to deal with and haven't. Why is that do you think???? Well, I would love to give a million excuses but I only have one reason. I haven't done anything about it in a very long time. Since last year sometime actually. (What a relief that "last year" sounds worse than it really is, since this is January 11) A cursory glance reveals a paper on which I had drawn a diagram for my son in an attempt to share a life lesson. There are coupons which are now expired, clipped to help me save money. There is a number of bills...oh yes, I guess I have to pay them sometime this month ...is it the end of the month yet?? Maybe I'll just wait until then. There are pictures sent to me at Christmas time which need to be popped into albums. There's a singing Christmas card. What advice do you have about that? Should I keep it? Try and salvage the singing part? Throw it out? It cost someone...

I was at a funeral today and this poem was read. It gave me some food for thought. I thought I'd share it with you cyber readers. I found the site on the internet - there's a "movie" you can watch with the words and some scenic pictures. After the poem was read, the nephew of "Auntie Anne" stood to give her eulogy. He stated the date of her birth and then the date of her death and then he said emphatically "What a dash!" If you read the poem, you will know, that was a great compliment for a great lady. Blessings on you this week. Thanks for reading. http://www.lindaslyrics.com/dash_story.html

I know it comes with the territory, but why is it that the KIDS get to go on the trip, and the MOM is left with the paperwork to flog the latest fund raiser to the few family and friends that are left? We are all chocolated out!!!! Please, no more wrapping paper!!!! And I don't have anything worth donating for a silent auction....[now, there's a question that always leaves room for pause. "What exactly do I have that would even be considered good enough to donate? No...not that....I could...no I guess not....what about .......??....hmmm...nope...nothing unless they want my latest whack of toilet paper from Costco..... "] Fundraiser chairpersons spout off words like "teach the kids responsibility"; it is all about "building community". We're working for a common cause....Cause schmause ....Community schmunity . I'll tell you how that plays out. "Here Mom, I gotta sell chocolates, can you take this to work and get all those people ther...

I am feeling random. In no particular order, for whatever it's worth, here are seven random things about me. 7. I don't wear tons of it, but I like jewellry. I got a ring from my husband's grandma which I wear on my right hand. It has three clusters of diamonds. Also on that hand I wear the anniversary ring which my husband gave me when I was pregnant with my daughter. It used to cradle my original wedding set, but that set was stolen. 6. I believe in setting goals. I like to look back on goals that I have set, just to see what happened. Some of the goals I have reached have been in setting aside time to be with my children, learning organizational skills, finding people who will pray with me, and some finanacial goals - which if I told you about them, I'd have to kill you. 5. I used to think I loved all cats. But we have had a few 'not so great cats' and I have changed my mind. One of my memories of cats is Bandit. He was brought to me on the day that my sister...

Between yesterday and today, I have heard of 5 deaths of loved ones. Age is not a factor. Two were in their late teens. Three were a beloved mom and dad and sister. Each a separate incident. No matter how long we think we will live, we never really know when our last breath will be. I don't really have anything brilliant to say except to remind myself again to keep the important things important and to let the other things go. Seat up, seat down, squeeze in the middle, squeeze at the end, make the bed, or don't make the bed. What does it really matter except in a brief moment of annoyance? I am off to hug my family members. I hope you will do the same.

Today, I received an invitation to celebrate my "long term service award". I wasn't aware that I was old enough to have a long term service award! What a shock~! It happens in February. Oh my! What will I wear, what should I say in my speech??? [I don't think I'll be given the opportunity to give a speech, but perhaps I should make one, just in case I am called upon?!] So many questions, so little time. After two weeks holiday, it is a little hard to be thinking about going anywhere tomorrow that doesn't allow me to pad about in pajamas all day. The comfort for me is that I know I generally feel this way after a long(ish) holiday and usually I ease back into routine with very few bumps in the road. I truly feel blessed to be in a job that allows me to enjoy using many skills and encourages me to learn new ones. I have a wonderful team that I work with and their support of me in my music therapy skills and their interest in my input into the other part...

Do you ever look at something for a long time and the more you look at it, the more it bothers you? So you finally do something about it? To others it seems a random act. But in reality, it has been needing attention for such a long time and no one else lets it bother them and they aren't even sure why it bothered you so much to deal with it. I am talking here about such things as items left on the stairs - waiting for someone to take them to their rightful place. Or perhaps, it is the 2ft square of messed up paint job that needs to be rectified. I am guessing that some of you know what I am talking about. Or it might be a project that needs doing that sits right in the middle of your walk way and every time you walk by, it bothers you that it needs doing. Sometime in the summer, I was seized with a great need to fix something in the house that had been bothering me for a long time. No one else had mentioned it. No one even seemed to care. But it stared at me for several years, da...

As I was taking Christmas down this year, I was mentally going over the stories of the various ornaments. - The tree angel that we "splurged" on in the second year of marriage. She is the object of great interest every year because we take turns putting her on as the last decoration of the tree. -The gold ornaments my brother bought for me the year I mentioned that I wanted to do a "nice tree with gold and white". [they even have snowmen on them] - The snowman stuffy that Kola ate the foot off. [I put it up every year just for spite]. By far, my best Christmas ornament story this year is the one of my ebony nativity set. My in-laws brought it back for me from Angola. I treasured it because it came from them. I love the African lines in the carving. The Christmas after we moved to this place I looked every where for it and couldn't find it. I concluded that it must have been put in the burn pile in a box we'd brought from the other house. I felt sad because ...

As I have pondered the year that was 2007, I realize that blessings have been mine in abundance. I didn't always recognize it or acknowledge it, but here's a good opportunity to list a few other blessings from the past year. Not only did we have the chance to travel in 2007, but there were so many other things I look back and thank God for. Here's a partial list: The steady support of friends and family Wise counsel which helped me make it through some tough decisions A great job where I get to exercise more than just my musical skills Affirmations from clients about the services that I offer Laughter My husband who gives me a good dose of reality therapy mixed in with compassion My kids who have grown so much as young adults this year A growing sense of the global community who serve God faithfully A place to live where I enjoy a mix of country and close-to-town activities My garden which gave me so much pleasure when I drove in the driveway I am also thankful for blogging...