friday love

i really heart this song....it's not the best version since it's live... but nonetheless....good song!!! i just finished listening to it watching the sun fall across the ocean in a beautiful golden wave....and getting ready to start a painting (totally clueless what it will be...but feeling in the mood to paint), so we shall see!

happy weekend one and all! xoxoxo

wednesday wisdom

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."

- Flora Whittemore

happy birthday mom

wishing my mom the happiest of birthdays today. i've been blessed many, many times in my life but one of the most significant is with a great mom.

See...my mom never judged me, never gave me unwanted advice, never pushed me to do things that my heart wasn't in, never lied to me, never really told me what to do once i started to become a young adult...instead she loved me, listened to me, trusted me, believed in how she raised me, let me find my OWN way, and was always there for me. i only hope i can be a fragment of these things for my 4 babies. i hope she has the best birthday and does something FOR her!! i love you mom!

conversations w/ a 6 year old

hey....that could be a title to a book!! hmmmmmm.......

ANYWAY....i HAD to post this conversation i had with my youngest in the car a couple of days ago. she is such a free spirit, full of piss & vinegar, and has a love/lust for life that we all should have!

so, with that being said here is our convo ver batim... (or i should say hers since i didn't have any time to respond)

syd: "mom, i really, really love God even though i can't see Him and i don't know Him....(takes a little breath) - i really LOVE the way tori dresses, i want to get some clothes just like her!!"

God, i love her and her little mind!!

A RECOMMENDATION

okay...so i recently went back home to Illinois to visit all of my immediate family and could hardly put this book down. i LOVE to read and pretty much like all different types of books, but if you like a good mystery/thriller I highly recommend this. It is the author Gillian Flynn's debut novel. It's one of those that is hard to put down because you so badly want to KNOW yet you so badly DON'T!!! I will admit it is a bit disturbing and may sit with you for awhile. Nonetheless...an inviting read. Like Stephen King wrote on the backside "the story just stayed there in my head, coiled and hissing, like a snake in a cave."

maybe...

photo: mom & dad's backyard. it is so beautiful. this photo was taken right after we had a rainstorm pass through. i snapped it while my mom and i were sitting down on the dock talking and having an ice cold beer!! it was quite peaceful...and so great having my mama to myself for a bit!

i have been very blessed in my life in countless ways...but one of THEE most significant is with an amazing, honest, non judgmental, loving, loyal mom....and this list could go on and on. I sat with her and shared my excitement for my upcoming journey in October for the Be Present Retreats. I shared with her my fears and anxieties and joys and gratefulness for being able to be a part of what i know is going to be an amazing, unforgettable experience. She said "I'm excited for you and proud of you for being courageous enough to go!"

She also gave me a list of "Maybe's" and I thought I would share one with my blogger friends!

"MAYBE...THE HAPPIEST OF PEOPLE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE BEST OF EVERYTHING; THEY JUST MAKE THE MOST OF EVERYTHING THAT COMES ALONG THEIR WAY."

dance heart sister

here is the heart sister i painted for my sweet, sweet niece Alexandra. Her passion is dancing and i am fortunate enough to be home in Illinois visiting family and getting to see her perform on Friday night! she is going to be in 5th grade and is one of thee most compassionate children i have ever met...and honestly, i am NOT just saying that because she is related to me!! ; ) she is precious beyond words and tells me many times when i visit how much she loves me! i tell you what...i don't think any of us can hear that enough!!

Gratefulness/Craziness/and then some...

I L.O.V.E. THIS MAN...I REALLY, REALLY DO!!!!! I'M SO GRATEFUL GOD BROUGHT HIM TO ME.

and unfortunately... lately i have been a real "b" to him....why is it our spouses or those closest to us get the brunt of our bitchy attitudes, our PMS, our moodiness, our shortcomings, our frustrations, etc... ??? i was pulling one of those "i am outside of myself" watching myself be a complete and total idiot last night and i ended up staying up into wee hours of the night trying to psycho-analyze why i act the way i do sometimes. it's like i am completely aware of the fact that I am being a complete and total ass...yet i don't know how to stop it! sounds kinda crazy!! i am one of those girls who seems to get PMS pretty bad and it mostly has to do with my mental state (so to speak)! i have tried many things to help curb this but can't seem to find anything that really works. i was hoping some of my blog friends out there may have some suggestions??????? P.L.E.A.S.E!! i really don't want to subject my prince of a husband to my pms antics any longer...he is so UNdeserving of that!! especially considering the fact that come 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning we are going to be apart for 3 weeks!! i would be ever so grateful (and so would he) for any suggestions to help eliminate some of the craziness and then some!

ADVICE

today i received great advice...you know, the kind that the person has no idea they are even giving to you! i love it when it comes to you in that innocent fashion.

i met this lovely, adventuresome 76 year old firecracker today that said something to me that really hit me. she told me last year she made a decision. a decision to simply "accept". accept the way things are and don't complain...just accept. i just sat there quiet for a minute and looked at her, smiled and said you are so right but that can be hard to do. she looked at me and laughed and said yea, it was a really tough year!!! L.O.V.E.D IT!!!

but isn't it so true...how much easier would our lives be if we just learned to accept. accept others for the way they are good, bad, indifferent. accept the traffic we may be stuck in when we already are late to where we need to be. accept our children's growth, changes, puberty, moods, etc..., etc.... accept our spouses for their shortcomings (after all, we ALL have them). accept the weather that may come our way...even when we are living in 100+ degree temps in the summertime! accept ourselves for who we are, who we strive to be and who we have yet to become.... A N D

graciously ACCEPT that big, fat glass of wine waiting at the end of each day!!!! Cheers!!!

calling all parents....

so over the last few days i have gone back to doing color pencil sketches...which seems to come quite a bit easier to me than painting! i am hoping that will all change once I journey to this come October!!

i wanted to post the sketch i did of what i seem to experience on a daily basis as a parent to a near 15 year old girl. i am CERTAIN many of you other parents can completely relate to this!! and to you parents whose children have not hit pre-teen/teenage years...just get ready!!! : ) It's acomin!!! so with that being said and you viewing my sketch...i need to ask a question and am hopeful to get some answers...

when i get "the roll of the eyes" at comments / requests i make...i tend to get angry and irritated and cop an attitude myself. words such as "you roll your eyes like that at me one more time...and you'll be sorry" or if i am in a really bad mood..."okay, hand over your cell phone...you know how we feel about the disrespect of the rolling eyes"!!

so my question or questions are these: is that too harsh? should i just ignore it? what do you guys do?? is this just a phase she is going through??

i do have to say that she did laugh when i showed her the latest sketch i did of her! i am trying to make light of it but i would be lying if i said it wasn't one of those "thorns in my side"!! i think i'm gonna have to ask my mom if i did it to her a lot..it simply could be karma!

Today

My note from the Universe Today:

It's always better to give too much, pay too much, and love too much, than not enough.

Wouldn't you all agree?

my winning treasure

I won this LOVELY necklace from a very talented, beautiful lady...Micki! I absolutely adore her artwork, reading her blog and awaiting her new creations. I think I will be fighting with my daugters over this necklace...they've already been asking to wear it!! Thank you Micki - I hope to wear this well for you!!