Three Cups of Tea

Have you read Three Cups of Tea yet? I found the book to stimulate my thinking about what I could do to help better the world. If you haven't read it yet I will just get you thinking. It takes you to the Islamic countries where women and girls are not treated well and rarely have the chance to go to school. What a difference one man (and a foundation now) have done for the females in this part of the world. Start thinking - What have I done today to make the world a better place for an individual or a group? The book makes you thankful for the opportunities you receive here in the U.S.A.

Time Flies!

I can't believe how time flies! The last time I posted was in May. I love reading everyone else's posts, I just can't keep up on mine.

Jazz

Our wonderful, long-eared, faithful springer spaniel was put to sleep yesterday. She lived for 15 years as the protector and caretaker of our family. I had always told myself I would never cry for a dog but she was the most faithful, gentle dog I have ever known. She would go to the end of the world for any one of us. In her early years she enjoyed chasing balls to the point she was knocked senseless once when she got too close to the golf club that was about to hit the golf ball. She loved any kind of a ball. When kids would lose their baseballs or basketballs over the fence, they were claimed by her and almost instantly shredded to the dismay of the kids. She used to like to shred everything in her path even the wiring on a couple of trailers parked in the backyard. She used to be a great jumper too and could scale a 6 foot fence with ease but she never took off like some of our dogs would, she loved us and wanted to remain with us. When Jamie had her wedding reception in our backyard, Jazz was sent to the neighbor's backyard for the evening but she managed to escape and joined the party, promptly getting tied to a tree. I think she jumped the fence and wanted to see what all of the fuss at the house was all about. She was also better housetrained than our small inside dogs and she knew more tricks. She learned at an early age how to open the door and get outside, how to twirl, and bark, and roll over, among other tricks. She was always game for anything. She used to love to go on walks but she always wanted to lead. I could never get her to stay at my side even though at one time I tried for weeks to teach her. In her later years we would let her roam down our hillside sniffing for deer and rabbits. She would lay on our front porch and sleep all day long. Not much would bother her because her sight and hearing were limited but when the deer came out at night she would sense them and scare them off. Oh, how I miss her. On Mother's Day, the day before she died, we had her out in the yard with all of us. It was such a beautiful day and she stayed by my side. Jamie even commented that Jazz must really love me because she wouldn't leave me. She must have known her time was limited. The next morning when I checked on her I knew it was time for her to go. She looked like she had had a stroke or something. This past year we had often wondered how much time she had left. I am glad she went on a beautiful spring day and not in the cold of winter or in the heat of summer. She was part of our family and she taught us how to love unconditionally. Jazz you will always be my favorite dog. I love you!

29 Days of Giving

So far, so good......
February 11 -The gift of comfort
February 12-The gift of caring
February 13-The gift of love
February 14 - Valentine's gifts to family members

Be That Kind of Woman

I came across this quote from Diane at the Petticoat Junction website and just had to share it with you. I think this is a great motto for women of virtue and caliber. I hope you feel the same sentiment.....

The 29 Day Giving Challenge

I found this cute website today that challenges us to give something away every day for the next 29 days. It can be time, money, resources, small, large, or whatever. A flower, a card, the gift of extra sleep, whatever gift you can give for the day. It is promoting the act of being grateful for what you have and sharing the blessing of abundance. It is important to record what you give away and you should give away something that is so hard to part with. The act of giving actually creates more abundance because of the "good" karma that follows when you give selflessly. I encourage you to visit the website at http://www.29gifts.org/ and begin your 29 days of giving! I would love to hear your stories! Check back often to see what others are doing to give.......

Today I wrote out valentines day cards to give to family, friends, and coworkers thanking them for being a blessing in my life!

A Kiss for My Sweetheart!

I came across this valentine pic and just had to share! Do you have some favorite valentine's you would like to share?......

Happy Valentine's Month

Isn't this the cutest valentine card ever! I love these old images. Have you started preparing your valentines? I bet you have more than one to give away..........

When HomeyK and I were dating 30+ years ago, he wrote me a poem on the back of a each valentine in a pack of valentine cards. I still have and cherish them...............

Home Organization

Last night I found the coolest site on home organization at www.houseoforder.com. Marie Caulder Ricks is the auther of this site. She has awesome hints on getting your house in order. Last night I made a list of what I needed to purchase at the store to get our home office organized. It took all morning to go to various stores to find the items I needed so now I have to get my clutter cleaned up. She has hints on everything in your house from how to keep a toddler from hitting to organizing menus to getting out of debt. I found it to be a wonderful help for me. Now if I can just get it all organized..........

Cloth Napkins

Today when I read Daisy Cottage, I saw that she uses colorful cloth napkins. What a cute idea! It is also a "green" idea. Cloth napkins can be used again and again and they are cheap to make. Just a square of fabric that can be laundered over and over until you just can't get out the stains. I made some a few years ago for a dinner party I hosted. They were in beautiful fall jewel tones, tied with some raffia. I wonder where they are..........mmmm.......

TweeT"ness"

Okay.... This is the third title change... Can I be fickle?..... I call my adorable granddaughter - Tweeter..... Tweet"ness" is cute"ness"....., pretty"ness"...., feel good"ness".... The vintage dictionary I have says a tweet is the thin, low, chirping note of a bird... what a melodious sound! I hope you find what tweeters your heart....

Honor Choir

My JP - all grown up, singing at Abravanel Hall! What a handsome young man!

All Creatures Great and Small

I am experimenting with my camera...... It is a simple one..... These bunnies were in my grandmother's home for awhile.... Now they grace my entry...

Happy New Year - 18 days late.......

This is wishful thinking when the weather outside is smoggy and 27 degrees! This was a couple of summers ago when there were no grandbabies. Hard to believe there was ever a time without those little ones.

My new year resolutions are:

1. Find a new hobby - In the community course catalog I saw belly dancing. Anyone want to join me?

2. Pay it forward - I already started this. Gave out small tokens of love and appreciation to two people already... snowflake labels, and heart sprinkles!.....

3. Eat less carbs.... and drink less diet coke...... mmm, what will happen to me?

4. Look only at the positive side of things.... I like the feel of this......

5. Remember my username and password..... so I don't have to dig through the cobwebs in the brain every time I want to blog...

6. Help to make this a beautiful world..... recycle, reduce, reuse.... go green.... buy local... plant more trees ..... plant a vegetable garden this year......

What are your new year resolutions?

Christmas Tree at the Bank

A bank opened up near our school this week and they invited a few of our classes to decorate the tree. I think it turned out really cute. I work in a great community with lots of business partners. It is really fun to be a part of the community because all of the businesses treat our school really well. Merry Christmas to all!

The 48 Second Lap

Isn't he fast! I love watching him skate. He is really into the fundamentals of his sport right now and loves to watch video of himself skating so he can pick apart what he is not doing correctly. At this race he shaved 2 seconds off of his time from 50 to 48. I can't remember how many meters it was. I think it was one lap around the rink. I challenge you to stick on some skates and see how fast you can make it around the oval!

Here is my favorite speed skater. At his last competition he took second place in his division. He is an awesome skater. The Olympic Oval is a great place to train and he gets to hobnob with Olympians. I wish I had his leg strength!

More Halloween Pics

Can you find the pumpkin pi?

Halloween Pic

We had a great Halloween! We hope you did too!

"Twilight"

Last Saturday, my daughter, daughter-in-law, and other family members, including my mom (my daughter's grandmother) and I did our first ever girls day out and saw the infamous "Twilight" movie. You'd think I would be too old to love a chick flik but I have to say it was a pretty cute show. The book was better but the great parts of the book were in the movie. I had to keep telling my mom (grandma) the what, whys, and whos of the story. Afterward, we had lunch at Mimi's (the restauraunt, not the dance studio). It was a fun day together with the girls and it was fun at work on Monday to hear everyone else's impressions of the movie.