You Gotta Take a Chance

There you are at your local grocery store, standing in front of an intricate pyramid pile of crated clementines, longing for a natural dosage of vitamin C in the middle of winter. You close your eyes and can already taste the juicy goodness the package promises: "SWEET" - must be, it says it right on the crate! But you know better, now don't you? You know that even if you picked a good box the last time, this time you may not be so lucky. You make your selection, you put it back. You're as indecisive as a Taylor Swift song. You choose another box, prying your fingers through the mesh squeezing the deliberately placed clementines on top to ensure firmness. Ooo, too soft. Ooo, too hard. After about 3 crates have passed through your hands and the citrus doesn't sue you for sexual harrassment, you finally choose THE ONE! The one you will take home, the one in which you have so much hope in to be sweetly enjoyed.

Sometimes you choose wisely and the promised sweetness delivers. Sometimes you have regret and determine the promises are falling just a bit short of meeting your expectations. And sometimes, you find a couple rotten clementines hidden in the bottom of the crate, unnoticed by you under the glamour lighting at the store. Isn't this a lot like life? 

We can end up with a crate that holds just what we expected, or falls short of what we expected, or is absolutely inedible and we were tricked into buying it. It really doesn't matter, because when we're done with that crate, we'll find ourselves in the store once again, forced to choose another crate, blindly and without all the facts we wish we had. But, choose we will. Why? It's because the chance, the possibility, that this one DOES end up being sweet and delicious.

No matter what crate you end up with, know that you won't be eating the fruit it contains forever, no matter what it gives, and that you'll always be faced, once again, into making the choice. There's no sweetness guarantee. The only guarantee is that you'll find yourself in a position to choose again. Who knows, maybe you'll even choose to switch to apples?

Gratitude Journal Monday

I know you. You are a kind, grateful-hearted, beautiful person. You're not perfect, but you know the realities of perfection (dull and unattainable). You're not always in a good mood, but you know that's just part of life. There are good days, there are bad days, but, more often than not, there are in-between days. And, as you go about living those in-between days, you long to realize something. What's your something? Is it a dream, is it a certain number, is it love, is it putting away the laundry the same day you wash it? Whatever it is, I know who's in your corner, you just have to recognize it. Your cheerleader is more powerful than you could ever imagine: it is the Universe. And she's there, just waiting to help you make it happen. But, you have to do your part. Not sure where to start? How about with some gratitude? 

If I told you the more love you send out into the world, the more love you'll get in return, wouldn't you be more kind, generous, and understanding? If I told you the more of anything you send out, you'll receive double for your trouble, wouldn't you think twice about what you do, say, think, or feel? Really, the choice of what you want coming back to you is completely up to you. You're a smart cookie, choose and do wisely.

 
381. I am grateful for e-mail notifications from dentists reminding us of appointments (like the dentist appointment my son has this Monday morning- what?).

382. I am grateful I have Super Hubby to help in the raising of our son (I'm not quite sure how single moms do it?).

383. I am grateful my house is back in order and all the Christmas decorations have been put away (I'm still finding pine needles in obscure places, even after vacuuming a gajillion times).

384. I am grateful for my vacuum (saves the back and the knees).

385. I am grateful for a new week, filled with new possibilities and opportunities (I open myself to be wowed!).

How about you, friend? Express some of your own gratitude! I'd love to read where your heart is at. Not sure where to start? Click here to see my start.  

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 77.

Goodbye celebrating second Christmas and keeping traditions going through each generation.
Goodbye back-to-school and back-to-schedules - it's a good thing.
Goodbye rekindling my love for Downton Abbey - Season 3 begins!
Goodbye short bloggy break and realizing how much I love putting my thoughts into written words.
Goodbye experiencing good balance between work and play this week.

The winds are forever changing.

Hello bringing up tons of boxes to put away Christmas for another year.
Hello enjoying popping in a Blu-Ray and watching The Artiste with freshly popped corn with the family.
Hello trying our hand (or feet) at snowshoeing, if there's still snow to shoe on.
Hello realizing the impossibility as we go into a deep thaw with rising temps and rain.
Hello calm, quiet, and peace this weekend; reality or wishful thinking? We'll see, I guess.

My lesson learned this week is short but sweet. Sometimes you receive the blessing, but other times YOU are the blessing. When blessings are bestowed on us, it's a wonderful thing that we can enjoy and cherish. We like seeing the fruits of our labors or reaping what we sow. But, there will be times when you are placed into hard times or when you don't really like where you are or what you have to do. It may just be that He put you there, not to bless you, but rather to have you be a blessing to someone else. And, when that season is over but you stuck with it, you will be blessed for having been a blessing. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

What a Pain in the Tush

My blog has been bombarded by Comments from Anonymous sources leaving their links to sell my readers prescription drugs. Lately, I've been getting over 30 of these daily and I'm having trouble keeping up with deleting them and labeling each as Spam. You can't teach a computer new tricks so it hasn't "learned" that these types of comments are Spam. I swear this is bloggy torture equivalent to waterboarding OK, not really, but it's annoying nonetheless.

In an effort to stop these incessant comments from getting through the Spam blocker, I am forced to up the security on my Commenting page. My apologies, dear reader, but if you want to leave a comment, you'll have to enter the Validation ID. You know, the annoying pop-up window that gives you an obscure non-word and number to type-in so it doesn't think you're a computer (because we all know how well that distinction has been working out).

So, please, don't let the word verification discourage you from leaving a comment. It'll take a little more effort, yes, but at least you won't be brainwashed into buying generic drugs and I'll continue to keep my sanity. I'd love to keep hearing from you! Now, please leave me a comment to show me some love.

What I Made Wednesday {Best of 2012}

Lots and lots of creativity was going on over here in 2012! Some big names even took notice including Hobby Lobby and 3M. Thank you, thank you, dear reader, for being here each week to share in my crafts and recipes. I'll admit, some were duds, but 52 projects is a lot to expect from one gal in a year! Here's the ones in 2012 that got the most clicks and pins.

Top 5 Most Viewed Projects of 2012

 

5. A Harry Potter Birthday Party

4. Restaurant-Style Chicken Fingers

3. Melted Crayon Art

2. Milemarker 40

1.  My Hometown String Art

Can't wait to craft, cook, create, and share with you in 2013! 

A Matter of PERSPECTIVE

PERSPECTIVE 2013

What's in a word? A lot if you give it power. Each year many bloggers sit and ponder their word for the new year. Last year, for 2012, my word was "Better", click here to see the post. That idea really turned my intangible into tangible. I did "Do Better" and I got good at "Being Better". When you choose a word for the year, you become conscious of it and tend to ponder on it often. I not only gave the word "Better" power in my life, it seemed like it was nuclear-infused!

The year 2013 brings to my life a realization of the world around me. It's time I take my view of the world beyond my own borders and begin to put things into a new "Perspective". Sometimes I get into this funk I know it never happens to you. You know, those times when things just aren't going your way. Those moments when you think everyone is getting ahead and you're left behind eating their dust of glory and success. I've got to start declining the invitation to that "Self-Pity Party" because things are never as bad as they seem; at least not when you put things in perspective. Not when you begin to evaluate your life and circumstances from the angle of how far you've come, and not from how far you have yet to go.

It's time to get real, to shake of those gloomy glums and say, I've got a good life that has a promising future. In that, I can be happy. Don't let the joys of today get stolen from you because you long to have something bigger, better, more, more, more. Instead, enjoy what you have today, where you are today, and what you are doing today. Tomorrow will come without you longing for it. Just be in the moment and gain some perspective. You might be surprised at how enviable your current situation really is. Perspective.

What would be your word for 2013? 

Gratitude Journal Monday

Greetings, friends, and happy New Year! I'm so looking forward to sharing with you all the adventures 2013 has in store for us all. January is such a precious time, isn't it? We approach the new year with such gusto, full of hope, new beginnings, and wiped slates. It's a wintery scene where I live. I look outside and see the freshly fallen snow, so innocent and uninterrupted of footprints and dirt, at least for a little while.

Maybe this is how life looks right now, in the silence of January's bitter cold and beauty. Well, it's time to make some tracks where you are. Where are you going? What are your plans? Whatever they are, my hope for you is that your every dream is fulfilled. The road will be long and steep at times, but I want you to find the grace to push through and get to the glory that awaits you.

Start your 2013 with an attitude of gratitude; it paves the road for all good things.

376. I am grateful for meeting a friend for breakfast this morning at Panera and being OK with posting late today because of it.
377. I am grateful to God for instilling in me His words of wisdom and grace so it may help others.
378. Today I celebrate Christmas (again) and am grateful for my heritage and keeping on with traditions.
379. I am grateful for my life being so good.
380. I am grateful for a new year filled with good possibilities and wonderfulness. 

Please, feel free to share your own gratitude declarations. I'd love to know where your heart is! To read my start, click here.