strength

Read this on another blog today...got me thinking.

Strength to go on is not something I think about. Its something that I do. Not out of obligation or guilt but because of love. When things go wrong (and they always do) it reminds me of the ever changing world. Things are never smooth. There are always bumps in the road. There are always obstacles to conquer. How boring life would be if things stayed the same and challenges never presented themselves. Its during these stressful times that you find out how strong you are, not how weak. Behind every storm is a rainbow. Eleanor Roosevelt said "Women are like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water." I try to remember than when I am having a really bad day!

the old way is okay

so i've been neglecting my online writings and reverting back to the old fashioned ways of recording my thoughts, my ideas...do you remember the pen and paper thing? it's funny how it works...found myself rubbing in the ink stains and trying to find a flat surface that could be comfortably written on. when i am in the mood to write about something, i write and lately, i find that my hand can barely keep up with the amount of words that fly onto the paper. but, it works! brilliantly too! to add to this excitment, i am almost finished with what is probably my 25th journal. i've never actually counted but there are many. i've also got many blank ones in waiting. through my travels, i pick a new one up...that is, of course, if there's one that calls my name. the last one was purchased in london. to shop at the camden market was absolutely one of the highlights of the trip. if only i had dressed warmer, the entire experience would be one of the best. regardless of the chill factor, i was very happy with the shopping purchases which not only included a great new journal but a sterling silver ring that is frequently worn on the left thumb (something new i added to my daily jewelry routine), a t-shirt for my brother that read, "dolphins are gay sharks" (later i found out his girlfriend has a dolphin tattoo...oops!) and little glass boxes with really great designs (they packaged them too so they'd travel safely back to the U.S.). to think, i was only there for about an hour. ted found a hat. again, we were freezing so i truly believe he would've purchased a ski suit if he had had another 30 minutes. back to journaling, it is absolutely one of my all time favorite things to do. over the weekend, i went to a great event called "speaking of women's health." the most valuable take-away for me was not the loreal gift bag with over a $100 worth of products...but the idea of starting a "best thing of the day" journal. those of you who are anti-journaling because of the time commitment and the guilt of not doing it every day can take this idea and run with it. it requires less than a minute a day. she suggested writing down the best thing of the previous day in the morning so you can spend the entire day paying close attention to the best things for an entire 24-hour period. imagine...everyone looking for the best in their days instead of focusng on the worst AND even better...writing it down so it can be a testament that the best existed for each of us on that particular day, during one of those small moments that if we're not careful, we can completely miss because we're busy waiting for the big ones. i fell in love with the idea and have already recorded some of the best things in the old paper journal.

best thing of the day: theo imitating hurricane ernesto

ernesto manifesto

thanks for stopping by, now get out of our state!

birthday alert

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

AMAYA!

I hope you have a wonderful day with momma ginger.

celebrating today

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GENIUS!!

Hope you have an absolutely quiet day full of nothing stressful or crazy.

i'm sensitive and i'd like to stay that way

do you ever walk into a room or stand next to someone and just feel bad energy?

all around weekend

lovely friday night with the lotz's at seasons and their friend, larry, who is a registrar for a really cool art gallery in new york city. i am being added to his christmas card list because the man designs his card all year long. can't wait to get it. in addition, he is dating a girl who designs all of the white homeware stuff for anthropoligie. that's got to be a cool job...designing stuff, seeing it actually get made and knowing that hundreds of people have your work in their homes. neat-o!

talked to joy! i just love that girl. she is a true frie! hope to see her soon...her and marty are making the house on rosestone the place to be. let me know when you need the dragonfly and i'll be there!

saturday was a good day of overcast weather which inspires me to organize...so needed this time. i went through tons of stuff, paperwork and several boxes in the office and got it in shape to make it find-able and pretty. before the office makeover, ted and i got some fuel while enjoying a fine brunch that morning with friends at first watch. did you know that the hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards? that night, we got take out at ID which is always a plus. i got to see firsthand while waiting for my food, the joys of satellite tv...it was barely raining and there was no signal on their set. go cable people! the dish is so unreliable...

sunday was fabulous weather...enjoyed doing the canoe thing with ted down the wekiva river. excellent relationship therapy. guess who sits in the front of the boat? me!! met up with the lotz's down at the park. happy to see maya too! it's been awhile. ted and i could've stayed all day long but they were wanting to get some mexican food. headed over to soccer that night for a little scrimmage. scored a goal and had about ten shots on goal. i wasn't connecting as well this time. plus, we played with the sun in our eyes. i was surprised i could drive home afterward.

off to the week...it's going to be a busy one but very exciting too!

50 big ones

Happy Birthday to my fabulous

Auntie Mila!

I love you and all your dynamic qualities that makes

you one of the most amazing women I know!

how was your day? see mine in picture below:

for everyone, a common place

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
~Margaret Mead, US Anthropologist, 1901 - 1978

as many times as i have participated in group exercises that require people to start a conversation about something that may or may not be important to them and find a way to synergize thoughts and ideas, i am amazed at how beautiful the process can become if everyone jumps in and actively contributes to a real collaboration...not of egos, or stories or complaints but true possibilities that only a group made up of exactly the people in the room can create at that very moment. it is absolutely awesome! and certainly, one of the greatest gifts i feel God has given us as human beings. to feel a sincere commonality with total strangers who later, at times quickly, become colleagues, friends or part of your chosen family. for the past couple of days, i had an opportunity to sit at the table with a few people who i did not know and had no prior connection with other than we all work for the same company. after ten hours of meeting time, we came to a genuine understanding of what we need to do as a group to accomplish a massive task. what's even better than that is the sense that i am confident that we can do it based on the understanding of all those present during the process. it's exciting to be a part of an unfolding of personalities, interests, concerns, likes, dislikes, hopes, passions, reasons, similarities, differences...to see each element find a common place so that everyone has a chance to be a contributor, to carry the cause forward for everyone. i just love it. i love to participate. i love to witness it. i love to create it or inspire it among groups i'm in. it doesn't happen every day but then, i can't help but wonder why couldn't it?. why couldn't we all just set aside our pride, selfishness and pettiness about the small stuff and search for ways to serve the common good? we all have the ability. we all have the choice. we all have the power to influence, to change, to evolve, to inspire. i'm just grateful for being reminded of what i can do but more importantly from today, what a small group of citizens can do to change the world.

peruse this site -- www.howtochangetheworld.org, become a social entrepreneur or someone who is working to build a better place, community and world for all of us

hope and beauty

I know the world is filled with troubles and many injustices. But reality is as beautiful as it is ugly. I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. I just couldn't write anything without hope in it.

~Oscar Hammerstein

cute baby alert (thanks best brother)

hello monday, goodbye weekend

lovely couple of days saturday and sunday ended up being.

friday kicked it off right with a trip to tampa and back for work. got back in enough time to hit the gym and head over to the lotz's to watch the ever-so-dreamy matthew mcconaughey in failure to launch. you too can see this movie because i actually own it. yep! i'm adding it to my dvd collection. let's see...that makes about 11 or 12 now. wow! i've got to get some new shelves or a storage bin.

saturday arrived quite nicely with nice weather and an agenda full of nothingness so with that, ted and i were able to create whatever we wanted. we went above and beyond by going to breakfast (imagine that) at the maitland first watch. our nothingness agenda was destroyed when we discovered that the new addition to our car family was sounding ill. we drove it down to the honda doctor where they gladly told us that the alignment was way off...like accident off...i promise i haven't hit anything! really people!! to top it off with a big fat cherry, the honda, my new car, requires super duper diva tires which are of course, tres expensive. so, to celebrate this news, ted and i decided to get hair cuts on a saturday, aka busiest day of the salon work week. we dared ourselves to try and get an appointment with the extremely popular and prego, cathy, on a day when salon ciseaux has absolutely no parking...none! we did it (it's all about who you know) and got out of there before the sun went down. we ran into some of the get along gang and ted invited everyone over to eat leftovers. that was great considering i was planning to sit and read this new book my boss at work hooked me up with. we're talking intellectual fodder for the brain -- two of the shopaholic books by sophie kinsella. i am in the middle of shopaholic says i do, gets married, something like that. jmo was right. you could read these during a layout session poolside or in the tub. they're fun, light and not too over the top so you can somewhat relate. so, all this to say, that saturdays are like a box of chocolates...you just never know what you're gonna get. a whole lot of nothingness turned into a great big of everything!

sunday was planned out from the get go. i am happy to report that i made it to the soccer scrimmage where i scored one of the last goals of the evening. it was not the highlight, far from it because one of the guys -- jim, also a member of the voodoo posse, did a pele kick. what's a pele kick you ask? basically, it's a back flip that somehow propels your foot to hit the ball and kick it into the goal. totally amazing! seriously, i think i've only ever seen pele on tv do this.

so, here we are on monday and i can't believe i'm still typing. today was extremely busy at work...i like it though because it makes me feel more and more part of the team. i really do love the team. they're good people that i have enjoyed getting to know. kena's super! rei's fun! jmo's cool! fi's on vaca. this week but i still like her anyway because she's australian. had a great lunch today with some prsa folks. left the office on the late side due to time getting ahead of me. it worked out traffic wise since i had to meet ted at the tire place with the very sick honda. she's not good when she's down like this. so, how much are the tires going to cost? over six hundred dollars...i feel the fire in my wallet. ouch! yes, you read "six" and then you read "hundred" and instead of my wish coming true for it to be in pennies, it's actually stayed as dollars. i remember paying two hundred dollars in college on tires for the vw golf and thinking that was outrageous. i guess i have to dip into the "oh no! fund" which is always a bummer but that's why it's called, "oh no!" so, again, ted and i wanted to commemorate this highway robbery by cleaning our other two cars this evening. well, wait a sec. it was me cleaning, scrubbing, drying and he did what most guys do...played with the water hose. yes, a very important job but it's only part of the process but then again, i'm just happy he participated. yay ted!

to end this overdone outpour, i will review and conclude that after all of this, i'm still so grateful, even soon to be without six hundred big ones in the bank. my life is constantly moving forward and i'm just trying to make sure i've got the right wheels (had to do it) to keep me on this crazy road. some days it feels like the audobon, others are a total dirt road with lots of holes full of mud and big sharp pointy rocks. but hey! i'm on it and i am lovin' the drive.

out with a bang

last night voodoo played a stellar game. it ended in double overtime and penalty shots. we lost by one which was fine considering we all wanted to sit and have some guin-erade. there is a team photo that my teddy took prior to the sweat match so when it's off the camera, also known as the black hole, i will post it with pride. in the meantime, thanks so much to the girls, especially gingie, who came through for me last night in a major way. she is hilarious and someone you don't want to mess with. she could seriously become a successful private eye. until next season...

stop and breathe

this is just such a great photo to me...i am trying to learn more about flickr so in the meantime,

i keep coming across so many great shots like this one.

this picture inspires a moment of just being -- no worries about what to do or buy or where to go. just sitting back and taking in what God gives to us daily...a life full of breathtaking moments that require nothing but taking the time to remember to stop, to take in and to see what is possible through Him.

moonday, no jellies

have you ever seen a moon jelly? spent my day at the beach yesterday and refused to go deep into the water because of the awful possibility of getting stung by a jelly fish. oh! the thought just makes makes my skin crawl.

you know how they say you can't really fear what you know...well, i am afraid of this. jellies are all over the place and over a year ago, i blindly swam through a bunch of them while snorkeling while my dear teddy scuba dived down in the keys. i lived, of course, but next time, the boat may be the place for me.

have you ever been stung? jelly? bee?

happiness to all my fries!

Celebrate the joy of friendship on this very special day!

It's FRIENDSHIP DAY!

Friendship Day thoughts (from a friendly site)

The abundant joys of friendship is enriched with its purity, simplicity, sincerity and trust. It is the intensity of the love that leaves behind trails of sweet memories to cherish the core of life giving a whole new meaning to it. The enigma of friendship strengthens with the bonds of relationships so unique which is unselfish, intimate, pure and beautiful. A bond, unburdened by the constraints of age, sex, religion, social status and other such artificial values that encompass all relations of mankind. Friendship means a firm and gentle relation. It has a responsibility of sharing and caring. It is priceless, incomparable and has an afterglow that shines life like happy sunshine. Friendship means you can confide, share secrets, have oneness and above all, equal wave lengths to match your interests and similar outlook. It has the power of appreciation whatever is noble and loving. A real friend walks in with you when all the rest fall apart in time of need. A true friend believes in your dreams and wishes the best of everything. Friendship is like a vase, once broken cannot be mended. Each person needs for a longing to talk and with the changing time, making friends has a whole new meaning.

Recipe for a Happy Friendship

2 cups of genuine interest
4 spoons of understanding
1 cup of recognition
1 cup of appreciation
2 spoons of tenderness
1 cup of simple courtesies
3 glasses of kindness
4 spoons of faith
1 cup of friendship
1 jug of laughter
1 jug of smiles
2 mugs of consideration for others

Procedure
Take Genuine Interest and make an effort to Understand. Mix Thoroughly with Recognition and Appreciation. Blend with Simple courtesies. Add Faith, Friendship and an abundance of Laughter.

Top freely with smiles and consideration for others. Bake with bright openness. Garnish with Love. Serve daily with generous helpings.

ATTITUDE – YOU can make the difference!

To smile;
To apologize;
To be unselfish;
To admit mistakes;
To enjoy your work;
To laugh at yourself;
To think and then act;
To forgive and forget;
To control bad temper;
To make someone happy;
To learn from mistakes;
To respond and not react;
To be honest and truthful;
To refrain from criticism;
To shoulder deserved blame;
To keep cool when provoked;
To listen without interrupting;
To respect others’ point of view;
To do a little more than expected;
To be well mannered to near and dear ones.

go go gadget girl!

worked on getting it together today. lots of little projects here and there. i covet having time to work on them. ted and i were able to spend some quality time together. always a plus on a weekend.

Leader and a Movie

Thanks to www.phillaeger.com, I found a site that after a brief quiz, told me the following about what kind of leader and what kind of movie I am:

welcome weekend

morning buzz

Kia and the rest of the crew served the buzz to me this morning. Caffeine not necessary.



80's morning at The Daily Buzz. Joined the nationally syndicated news and weather with personality team this morning for an hour of their broadcast to check out how it all goes down in the teeny tiny studio in Lake Mary. So much fun and great energy! Got to see Anne and Deanne. Deanne is having her baby Jack tomorrow! She is amazing and still so model-esque at one day before delivery. Met the production guys and gal. Got a photo for Teddy signed by his crush -- Andrea J. It's really a great way to start the day!

no go for voodoo

so, we lost again to a stinky team. the real score was 2-2 but our team kept getting called out. i'm glad that my team is as fun as it is. playoffs -- here we come!

letting go vs. holding on

letting go so that i may appreciate why i held on. i don't have to do everything to be anything. i can just be me and hold on to what is true. there are so many imposters. things, situations, peole who pose as one thing to only serve their own purposes. by moving forward, i see clearly what He has placed before me. in the end, no one will look at my gpa, church attendance record, bank account, drivers license or my credit score to define who i was or what my life was all about. it is my heart, those i loved, those moments i shared and the difference i made with it all while i was here.

i let go.

you go.

you go and i hold on.

i hold on.

to you.

you go and i hold on.

i hold me.

for me.

i go for me and i hold on.

thinking of jennifer

I was perusing the blogosphere and came across one that has been written by a 50 year old guy who has lost three of his four children in the last four years. His voice is very distinct and insightful on what his grief has brought him and where he is now knowing there's less years of life ahead of him than ever before.

It is always tempting to put things off another week, another month, another year, but if I do that, I will put off living life forever.

In the end, as so many people drift away and are lost at the end of frayed tethers of letters, all that seems to remain is family, and some friends as close as family.So many moves in my life, so few roots in so many ways.

How do you lose a child? How? The thought is painful enough. It brings me back to realizing how vulnerable we all are to reality, to death, to suffering.

thanks tangos and flowers

Was visiting tangos and flowers and couldn't help but get struck by the following excerpt:

Gilbert Chesterton met the question squarely."Christianity has not been tried and found wanting," he wrote. "It has been found difficult and untried." Mahatma Ghandi once said, I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians." He gave as his reason, " They are so unlike your Christ." Unless and until we have men and women who live by the inner dynamism of the Spirit, human torches aglow with the fire of LOVE for Christ, Christianity will be a musty antique of a medieval past.

Only the Holy Spirit conveys the dynamic character of the moral life and nurtures the willingness to accept initiative. External law had bred a don't get involved attitude. Stressing the mere and minimal fulfillment of precept, it makes Christians cautious about making waves. Just float through life like a majestic iceberg taking no chances. A prominent American churchman remarked recently: " Other people, often not even Christians, are speaking out the sound principles of Christ in the struggle for racial justice more faithfully than we. They are looked upon as fanatics- YET they are doing a very Christian thing- things we should be doing if we see Christ in our fellow man." What a strange breed of Christianity the law has ushered in! What little resemblance it bears to the Gospel of Jesus Christ!