LIGHT TOMORROW WITH TODAY

 

I really like this beautiful quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  E.B.B. was a poet in the Victorian era and was quite popular in England and the United States.

 Although this quote has been attributed to her,  research deeper into the matter finds the exact reference unclear.  

So what does it mean to light tomorrow with today?

In my mind it means that the choices and actions you make and take will determine the course of your future.  It can be a very narrow meaning (Hey precook your chicken today so your dinner prep is faster tomorrow) or it can have a more broad connotation (Put aside a portion of each paycheck into a savings account to help secure your financial health for retirement).  Of course those are just 2 simple examples.

What you do today can either move your tomorrow forward or backward, today is your opportunity to create a more positive tomorrow. Make the most of it. ♥

Rock Painting!

Do you like picking up cool or interesting rocks wherever you go? 

How many of you have kids with a rock collection on their dressers or bookshelves?

Well today is your day friends!  September 16th is National Collect Rocks Day ...(Ok seriously, who comes up with this stuff?)

Now I like to collect rocks as much as the next person, and when we cleaned out our house before moving we have no less than 487 tons of rocks in various bags, boxes and other collection forms around our house. some were from vacations. Some were from the "mine for precious gems" tourist trap places. Some were from kids school when Diamond Dave would come and they would get a bag of rocks.

But you know what rock activity has become popular the past few years? Rock painting.  

You paint rocks with various acrylic paints, paint pens etc, and then when they dry you hide them in various places like parks, flower beds etc hoping others will find them.  Some people will put a facebook group  site on the rock, and when it is found people will take a picture and upload it to that FB site.  Pretty cool.  It is amazing how an easy, family friendly and artistic activity can make people so happy!

Here is a great introduction to Rockpainting 101 video from youtube.  

New to Rock Painting? Here are some really artistic things you can do with rock painting! Beginner to advanced!

Lets Make a hat!

 So I am all for the weird holidays!  Drink your water day, make your bed day, wear mascara day (not sure if any of these are actually real holidays)  

Well today is no different. It's September 15th which means It's Make a hat day!!  This can be a fun hat for kids, a serious hat, a paper hat or even a service project hat.

A few months ago during the lockdown I was looking for something to do to combat boredom and to also be of service.  I found a local organization that provides crochet or knit hats and blankets to preemies, so I followed their directions and ended up crocheting 80 little preemie hats!!  It was such a great experience for me to be able to use my skills and also help the little babies who need the extra layers. I ended up donating these to Preemies of the Carolinas, (it was a project I had found through justserve.org.)

SO are we ready to make a hat??  I have rounded up a few cool hat making tutorials for your hat making pleasure!

we will start of easy with the ubiquitous newspaper hat!!  I remember back in the day when we would do a play at school about George Washington or Paul Revere etc, we would make the hats out of newpaper, then pain and decorate.  Easy peasy.  

Easy newspaper hat from instructables.com

Got a lot of cardstock and fun things on hand to decorate with? These patterns are perfect for kids who want to create. A variety of templates to cut out , color and bling out.

Paper cutout hats from firstpalette.com

Okay seriously, HOW CUTE ARE THESE?? If you are like me then you have an entire rubbermade giant tote filled with fabric and fabric squares and fat quarters just waiting for a project to be used on!  

Easy Fabric Covered Party Hats by Brendid.com

These ADORABLE  mini halloween top hats are PERFECT!!  These patterns  come as a digital download for members of happythought . 

Halloween top hats from happythought.co.uk

Ok my ovaries are screaming at me just looking at these sweet little hats (SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!)  Soft knit fabric scraps and a little yarn for an adorable pom pom and you have the perfect gift for a baby shower!

Adorable baby hats by madeeveryday.com

Feeling adventurous with yarn and hook?  

10 crochet beanie hat patterns from theSprucecrafts.com

Most people think that if you can crochet then you can knit. I have found this to be a patently false rumor!!  I am not going to lie and say that I can knit...because I cant.  I am a very basic beginner, and my hands are clumsy and I am all thumbs...BUT I can loom knit!  This was the greatest invention. If you can wrap yarn around pegs, you can knit a hat!

Loom knit hat intructions  by dreamalittlebigger.com

 When you think of crazy hats, what comes to mind. For me it is the Kentucky Derby.  Need a hat for a derby party? Check out an easy hat making tutorial.  Kentucky Derby Hat by Jennifermartinovici.typepadcom

Or if you are looking for more KY derby hat inspirations, head over to hative.com for 30 of the funnest derby hats around!

So what will YOU make today??

Daily Struggle- grief post

 Many people know that September is a Challenging month in our house.  It marks the birth of our first Child, and then 2 weeks later marks the death of that child. Then September 30/Oct 1, marks the death of our oldest son.  This is the 22 year that we have been without Jillian.  She was only 2 weeks old when she passed from a genetic condition called Trisomy 18.  We only had her sweet perfect soul for 14 days, I thought my mothers heart couldnt break any more.  Every September 4 and September 18 a little piece of my heart breaks all over again.  But After 22 years it certainly has gotten easier. We have Family Day on those 2 days. We dont go to work, and we just spend time with our family. We talk about her and our memories we had with her for that short time. So for the past 19 years September was Jillian month, and we just tried to get through it best we could.

NOW.... 

This Sept 30/Oct 1 marks the 1 year anniversary of Peters passing (King Peter).  I spent so many years of my life and his life keeping him alive.  I spent the majority of his life taking him to dr appointments, specialists, procedures. After his heart transplant I spent hours making sure he was eating right, exercising, keeping his new heart healthy. We made sure he was able to live the life that he wanted to live. Made sure he got to see and do and experience as much as possible within his limits. I worked hard to make sure we had the money and insurance to see to his needs. I spent 19 years catering to his various whims and obsessions(The Wiggles, Bob the Builder, Cars, Thomas the Train, The Flash, Dr Who, The Avengers etc) I spent 19 years doing this.  When he died, i floundered.  A huge portion of my "why" was taken away. I spent so long being a protector and caretaker and organizer and advocate, that once he was gone I was lost. I felt like part of my identity was taken away and I didnt know what to do.  Who was I without Peter. I felt like a huge part of my being was wrapped up in being Peters mom.  When that physical part was taken away it threw me in a tailspin. The past year has been kind of a haze. I dont know how I have gotten through to be honest.

the weekend after Peter passed was a general conference for our church. One of the apostles got up and gave a talk about a woman who had lost her husband of like 50 years.  She threw herself into church work and service and a month later she told someone "I feel so happy! Is it bad of me that I am happy when I should be sad?" (or something like that).  Basically  the gist of the story was how the joy of the gospel can help lift us in our darkest times and by serving others we can increase our happiness. And I thought to myself  "EFF YOU ".  In my mind that lady was a terrible liar, she was putting on a brave face and trying to pretend that all was well because she had the gospel and a special light in her life and other bullsh--.( and made me feel less of a christian and upstanding member because I was not happy. )

When Jillian died I only had 2 weeks of experience and memories that I lost. It was devastating. I lost a year of my life grieving. That was only for 2 weeks. 

  Then I lost 19 years and it was soul crushing. I have tried serving others, I have tried immersing myself in the gospel and the love one another thing. I have prayed, I have tried to be happy and find ways to bring happiness. Guess what? I was still not happy.   

In the past 11 and a half months I have come to see that the timeline of events was heaven sent and the best possible case scenario. It still doesnt make it better or easier. I am still angry as hell, and sad and I still cry every single day.  It has been a little easier being away from NC.  At least here there aren't memories around every corner, and associated with everyone you see and meet.  We loved our church family more than we could say, but going to church was the hardest thing for us.  Everyone there knew and loved Peter so much and every person had a memory associated with them. It was just horrendous to go to church every Sunday and come home sobbing uncontrollably.  Every restaurant, every building, every street, every person.  It was unbearable.   A new location and new house and new job have helped immensely. Sometimes removing yourself can help a situation.

The closer I get to October 1st the more I have struggled, and I know it will be years before I am every fully "myself" again. And I dont think I need to hurry or rush the grieving process. I know if I try and "get over it" and force the process it will only make things worse in the long run.  I dont need to be the general conference lady, I can only be me and go through MY grieving process and timeline.

So I struggle, and I continue to struggle. And thats OK, because I know eventually as time removes us more and more from the situation that it will get easier and maybe I will have more peace with it. But right now I am not there.  And I dont apologize for that. I dont try and force things to save face or look better or be strong for others.  I can try and be happy, and I can try and find things that make me happy, but if I feel sad thats ok too.  I can go out and do unto others and do for others and help make the world a better place. I can  help others who are struggling by sharing my struggles. It doesnt mean I have to be over it or be OK with it. 

"Chin Up, Shoulders back. Lets see what we're made of, you and I".  

Happy Roald Dahl Day!

Today is Roald Dahl Day!  

  From Roald Dahl.com :"Roald Dahl was a spy, an ace fighter pilot, a chocolate historian and a medical inventor.

He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, and a treasury of original, evergreen, and beloved children’s books. He remains for many the world’s No. 1 storyteller.

Born in Llandaff, Wales, on 13th September 1916 to Norwegian parents, Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg, Dahl was named after Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian who had been the first man to reach the South Pole just four years earlier. A heroic start in life. But his early years were blighted by the tragic deaths of his older sister, Astri, and his father.

Wanting the best for her only son, his mother sent him to boarding school - first to St Peter's, Weston-super-Mare; then, in 1929, to Repton - where many bizarre and memorable events would later be recounted in Boy. Pupils at Repton were invited to trial chocolate bars, a memory that stayed with Dahl throughout his life, inspiring Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Schooldays happily behind him, Dahl’s lust for travel took him first to Canada, then to East Africa, where he worked for an oil company until the outbreak of World War Two. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force at 23 years old.

In September 1940, Dahl received severe injuries to his head, nose and back when his Gladiator crash-landed in the Western Desert. After six months recovering from his injuries in Alexandria he returned to action, taking part in The Battle of Athens. Later, after a posting to Washington, he supplied intelligence to MI6.

In 1953 Roald Dahl married the American actress, Patricia Neal, with whom he had five children. They divorced after 30 years, and he later married Felicity “Liccy” Crosland, who has furthered Roald’s legacy through the foundation of Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity and The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre.

In 1960 Roald helped invent the Wade-Dahl-Till valve, prompted by the need to alleviate the head injuries endured by his son after an accident in New York.

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There followed a burst of literary energy: in 1961 James and the Giant Peach was published in the US, followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Roald then wrote screenplays for the James Bond hit You Only Live Twice and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as adult novels such as Kiss Kiss. Fantastic Mr. Fox was published in 1970, the year before the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was released. The rest of the decade saw the publication of many other classics, including Danny the Champion of the World, The Enormous Crocodile, and My Uncle Oswald. 

Roald also enjoyed enormous success on television. Having already had his stories told in six episodes of the award winning US series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, his Tales of the Unexpected ran for several series between 1979 and 1988 in the UK. 

In the early 1980s he published The Twits, Revolting Rhymes, The BFG and The Witches. There followed two autobiographical books: Boy, in 1984 and Going Solo, in 1986. Matilda was published in 1988, Esio Trot in 1990, and finally, in 1991, came the posthumous delight of The Minpins.

Roald Dahl died on 23 November 1990, aged 74. He was buried in the parish church of St Peter and St Paul in Great Missenden - the Buckinghamshire village where today The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre continues his extraordinary mission to amaze, thrill and inspire generations of children and their parents.

WHAT AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE HE HAD!! I had no idea he had done all these things, what an interesting and exciting man he must have been! 

Growing up I had several Roald Dahl Books on my shelves.  I remember in 4th grade I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator  several times in succession. I loved it. Then for my birthday that year my aunt sent me "James and the Giant Peach".  I STILL have that book on my shelf.

Over the years I added BFG and Matilda to the shelves for my kids to read (Which they did and love). These are books that no matter how old I cam I can go back and reread again and again and still enjoy just as much now as I did back then.  There is probably a reason for that.  " In a 2017 UK poll of the greatest authors, songwriters, artists and photographers, Dahl was named the greatest storyteller of all time, ranking ahead of Dickens, Shakespeare, Rowling and Spielberg." (wikipedia)

a rare gift and talent , Roald Dahl certainly is one of the greatest storytellers of all time. 

He had lessons in all of his stories, quotes that were so deep and philosophical, but disguised so even children could see the true meaning. here are a few of my faves:

1. 'A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.' – The Twits

2.‘You’ll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that.’ – Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

3.‘And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.’ – Billy and The Minpins

4.‘Well, maybe it started that way. As a dream, but doesn’t everything? Those buildings. These lights. This whole city. Somebody had to dream about it first. And maybe that is what I did. I dreamed about coming here, but then I did it.’ – James and the Giant Peach

5. “I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it, and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.”-My Uncle Oswald

6.“Don’t gobblefunk around with words.”-The BFG

7.“Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn’t be exciting if they didn’t.”-Danny, The Champion of the World

8.“‘The matter with human beans,’ the BFG went on, ‘is that they is absolutely refusing to believe anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles.'”-The BFG

9.“Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world”-Matilda

10.“I think I have this thing where everybody has to think I’m the greatest. And if they aren’t completely knocked out and dazzled and slightly intimidated by me, I don’t feel good about myself.”-Fantastic Mr. Fox

Quote of the Day... Making a Happy Life.

"You do not find the happy life, YOU MAKE IT!"  (Camilla Eyring Kimball)

I think we are so obsessed with finding that magic button, you know? Finding that THING that can make us "happy".  Is it a new car? Is it a big fancy house? Is it going on exotic vacations?  Is it being skinny?  Is it having a lot of money?  For some...yes.  For others being happy means having a good spouse to build a life with. Having healthy children and making memories. Having everything you need. serving others.  And for others being happy means just not being unhappy. They dont particularly care what it all entails but as long as they dont struggle, they are good to go.  Happiness is one of those things that is not the same. It is not a one size fits all deal. My happy is not the same as your happy and vice versa.

So how do we find that happy?...we dont. We don't find anything.  It isnt something that is going to magically appear without any effort.  You cant just press a button and be content with the way your life is going. You need a direction and need to find out how to head that way. Everything we do contributes to the positive and negative in our life.  Every single thing we do has a reaction and consequence.  External forces applied to us can cause happy or unhappy and how we deal with it and process it matters.  I can have something terrible happen to me, and depending on my mindset and how I choose to deal with it determines how I let it affect my life. Easier said than done though, right? 

There are days I wake up and I just want to stay in bed crying, covers pulled over my head and forget about the world.  I want to eat a gallon of ice cream and watch Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Making the team on endless loop.  I dont want to be bothered with husband or son or even my sweet little fluffer dog.   But I get up.  I put on a smile that maybe sometimes doesnt match my inside and I FIND SOMETHING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR!!  It is amazing what flipping the mindset can do for an attitude.  Sometimes it is really hard to come up with something.  Sometimes it is something as basic as "I am grateful that this toilet paper is so soft !" or "I am grateful that my son put his shoes away in the closet instead of leaving them out on the floor".   One day last week I felt so foul. I was just in a mood.  I woke up just on the wrong side of the bed, everything was going wrong, I couldnt figure out anything to be grateful for. Satan was really tempting me.  I opened the sliding glass door, stepped out onto the patio and struggled.  I happened to look over and saw my fat orange cat  rolling in the rocks and he just looked at me with adoration and love and  I just thought "I am grateful that at least he loves me".  Then it was like a rolling stone gathering moss. Then I was grateful for a nice cool crisp morning, and then it was the fact that I can see the mountains every day, then it was my new chair, then it was the laundry my husband had folded for me, then it was a glass of the most amazing chocolate milk from the nearby dairy, then it was xyz, then xyz, then xyz.  I was able to make it happen.

FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT...OR FAKE IT UNTIL IT BECOMES SO. I find that once you have a positive thought in your head, it is easy to keep finding little victories throughout the day.  I struggle with depression and anxiety more often than I would like to admit.  I find that finding the positive side to even the most mundane stuff can really help make things seem a little better. It's a bunch of small victories.  One morning I had to dig deep and was grateful that my dish soap smelled so nice. One time I was grateful for my ungratefulness. It helped me realize without the bitter we couldnt know what the sweet was like. and it is OK to struggle to find things to be happy about some days. Without the dark we cant know light.

Another way to look at Making a happy life is to figure out what you want, and making a plan to get those things you want.  I love to travel and go on vacation...but sometimes my budget says "Woah, slow down there pal! You have x-y-z you have to take care of first!". So, I figure out a way to tweak a few things, maybe not go out to eat as much, dont get a giant bucket of popcorn at the movies (pre-covid of course).  When I was working full time, as soon as I would get home all my cash tips would get divvied up and a portion would go towards a vacation jar and the rest would go for groceries, gas, whatever. But i always made sure I put a little something in that jar every day, because I was working towards that goal of going somewhere.  Most days it was at least 20,  and some days it was only 5$, once or twice I only put in 2 dollars, depending on how bad of a cash day I had. BUT I MADE IT HAPPEN.  That was what I did to make my happy happen, AND still take care of my responsibilities.  Was it easy? No.  Was it worth it. Yes.  There were some days I wanted to raid that vacation jar so bad and go splurge on something else, justify to myself "Well it's my money and vacation is still like 4 months away, I can replace that by then..."  And some days I did raid the jar a little, and then when I went on vacation I would think "Just think of what else I could have done with that extra 100$ I stole out of my jar". Dont do that to yourself.  sometimes if it doesn't hurt it isn't worth it.

Sometimes we have things happen that are beyond our control, but it is our reaction to them that will determine where we end up.  DO we dig ourselves into a pit, or do we rise above and learn and become stronger?  Do we shrink and cry and let it beat us, or do we stand up  and go forth and help others with the same struggles?  How will you let circumstances determine your happy life?

SO to quote Dr Who " Chin up, shoulders back. Lets see what we're made of, you and I".

What are some things that YOU do to hep make a happy life?

 

September 11- I will never forget

 I posted this on my facebook page this morning, and just wanted to share it on my blog as well. This is my personal experience and feelings and opinion, and I ask that any comments be respectful in nature.

Sept 11, 2001 was one of those seemingly regular days. Who would have thought that only 2 hours after waking up our world would be turned upside down, changed forever.?

I will always remember where I was. I will always remember watching the coverage in disbelief that something like this could happen. I will always remember sobbing as I watched the towers fall on live TV, a horrible devastating scene and realizing the loss of life that had just occurred before my very eyes. I will always remember crying for those people who had to make a decision of jumping or burning to death. I will always remember crying for those people making their last phone call to their loved ones on the airplane before trying to stop the terrorists, only to lose their lives. I will always cry for the husbands that lost their wives, wives that lost their husbands, children that lost a parent, their world coming to a screeching halt and the hands of depraved madmen.

On the other side, I will always remember the way the country came together in the following days, loving each other and helping each other. Raising money, sending help, working together, loving their neighbor no matter what. 9/11 showed us the absolute worst of humanity and also the absolute best. I will never forget.