- two weeks -

We survived two weeks of tending grandkids! It was just a coincidence that a chain of watching the kiddies happened over the past two weeks. Some parents were here part of the time, and we all managed to work together to get the job done. Everyone stayed quite happy.


Carter is content with trucks and blocks.

Claire is cute and fine about everything.

Emmett arrived and grandpa took the boys for a bike ride on their little Strider balance bikes. 

We met up at Becky's when Aaron and Aimee and the big girls got home and got this precious photo of all six of the grands.

The little nine-month-old cousins that we love so much. 

Of course, we're shoppers and we had to shop. This little girl is excited and well trained. 

So fun to have these two. However, baby got sick and will probably not look back on Logan with fondness. 

This little guy is a bundle of energy. 

And love. 

And then it was time to say goodbye to the last kid. 

Grammy is, well, HAPPY TO BE FREE!!! (No offense, kids.)

iNspirRed by...

6 Fool Proof Ways to Make A Difference

                                                        

I like these suggestions from life coach and blogger Jennifer Louden. I follow her blog because I like her writing and her lively voice. I find that her approach is "not the usual," and she simply inspires me. She's always realistic about the fact that we WANT to serve and make a difference but sometimes don't have the ability to take on HUGE projects. Her ideas below are filled with small but meaningful things everyone can accomplish. Here are six great ways to serve: 

One

Acknowledge that you want to. Feel into the ache in your heart or the tug in your belly.  Bow to your desire.
Maybe your desire is to educate girls, end under-earning, heal veterans, open a dialogue between warring neighbors, stop bullying in your kid’s school, get people dancing…. whatever it is, embrace your longing.
Here’s the secret that will set you free: the longing doesn’t go away. Ever. It’s  your fuel. And your compass. Listen to its insistent whispers. Learn to live with the itch.

Two

Stand up to any voice – internal or external – that says you can’t make a difference. Or at least not the way you really want to.  Give those voices a cup of tea – or a shot of tequila – and say, “I know you’re afraid I’ll get hurt, look like a fool, lose my shirt, break my heart, get burned out. I understand. I’ll do my best to take care of me and here I go.”
We are all afraid. We’ve got that going for us.

Three

Step away from the idea that changing the world = big. The world is changed one relationship at a time. One story. One handshake. One hug.
It has nothing to do with bigness. This is hard for our egos. Oh well, what isn’t?

Four

Stop thinking changing the world means you have to be someone different than you are right now or learn something new or take another course in discovering your life purpose. 

Five

Instead, notice what you can’t help but do and go offer that to someone today.  Love to write? Go help the kid who lives on the corner with his college application. Too much? Write someone an actual note telling them something they do that makes a difference.
Believe in the power of raw food to heal? Make a raw food meal for a friend or two without telling them it’s raw or making a big deal out of it.
Love to love? Ride the subway at rush hour and direct loving kindness at each person.
Have no time for any of this? Cool, why not concentrate on shrinking your carbon footprint? Doing so can save you time, energy and money so hot diggity dog. Plus if we all did it, wow-wee!

Six

Exult in the truth we are all one. Savor & serve. Self-care & world-care. Breathe in, breathe out. No separation.

6-12-12 birthday

 

 

 

 

 

We went to Cafe Sabor for my birthday - me, Scott, my mom and dad, my son Mike and Sierra (cute girlfriend),and my brother Doug and sister-in-law Kimberly. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the warm evening temperature. Scott brought little flowering cactus plants that he bought just for me - for centerpieces. He almost brought a SpongeBob SquarePants Pinata - but said having to fill it with candy made him think again. But the cactus plants were cute as can be. The quesadilla and chimichanga were lovely and yummy. We ate way too many chips and salsa. Fried ice cream served with a  birthday song by our waiters was the perfect ending.

And for my birthday, I wore white pants...something I haven't done in years. I'm the black pants girl, you know. I don't do white. But a few days ago, while shopping, I bought some. Bonnie talked me into it...she even sent me a text last week, "Got those white pants yet?"  I do and goodness sake, they go with everything! Happy Birthday to me. 

+ pots planted yippee +

I guess you could call it my hobby. I enjoy buying flowers and planting them in pots for my front porch and yard. I've spent the past week (off and on) finding flowers I like and getting them planted. I only lost one plant - you can see the wilted mint plant in the box behind me. It needed to go in the ground a lot sooner. The other flowers are beautiful...I love the bright colors. The geraniums were just gorgeous this year.

Scott has figured out an easy way to haul the heavy pots from the backyard to the front. He spent the whole evening cleaning leaves out of our shrubs and bushes. Bags and bags of leaves. We always have a huge leaf cleanup in the spring because our ornamental pear trees don't drop their leaves until January or February. 

This is my favorite flower pot of all. I planted it with all pink flowers in honor of the arrival of two little granddaughters in the past year. Baby Claire and Baby Lizzie are as pretty as the pink flowers I chose and planted. And they bring so much joy to their families and to us. Each time I water these flowers, I'll think of those precious babies and say a prayer of gratitude.  

 

- just thinking -

Today is June first. Summer has arrived and I'm loving the blue skies and warmer temperatures. And it smells so good outside. Right now, I'm sitting beside an open window and breathing in air that smells sort of grassy and flower-y and fresh. It's good for me to be taking deep breaths of the fragrant night air. (Good for anybody - I think we all have a tendency toward shallow breathing.)

I've been working in my yard and getting some good exercise while pulling weeds and digging in dirt. It's amazing how "out of shape" I feel after three months of pretty much not exercising except for a bit of walking. Today I bought the last of the flowers I'll be planting - not so many this year because the perennials I've planted over the past couple of summers are finally starting to fill up the flower garden - exactly as I planned so I won't have to spend so much time and money planting annuals in my back yard.

We went to a wedding reception this evening, and it was so fun and creative and charming. I love that couples are putting so much personality into their wedding celebrations. I love the sharing that goes on on the internet. I feel it fuels creativity and generates ideas.