Gratitude Monday

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Due to a week of traveling, it has been awhile since I've posted anything on my blog.  I'm grateful that my family and I returned home safely from our travels.  I love to travel, but the means of getting from point A to point B can make me a little anxious:  missing a connecting flight in Atlanta and having to wait 7 hours for the next flight, riding in taxi cabs in New York City, bicycling in the busy streets of New York City to get to Central Park, and public transportation in general.  These are all things that happened on my travels this past week, but the positive side is I enjoyed them and it's good for me to get out of my comfort zone every so often. Actually, I enjoyed all of the them with the exception of the 7 hour wait in Atlanta's airport.  A life worth living comes with some risk.  I am grateful my friend understands how New York's subway system works which helped reduce my risk factor.

I'm grateful for the Fall like weather we are having today even if it is just a tease.  Fall is around the corner and it is my favorite time of year.  We also had some Fall weather this past weekend while visiting family in Arkansas.  I'm grateful I had the opportunity to visit the new Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.  The architecture and the grounds are beautiful.  I'm thankful there are people who are much more talented at drawing and sculpting than I am and who have the vision to create beautiful works of art.

Last but not least, I'm grateful my computer automatically saved this post because I accidentally hit the delete button and my writing temporarily disappeared.

Olympic Fever

London 2012

We are all capable of so much more than we think we are.  I love watching the Olympics even though I've never been much of an athlete, and I don't typically love watching sports.   The Olympics brings together people from different countries (many of which I never even knew existed) who share their remarkable athletic abilities with the world. Talents that they've worked hard to perfect through a lot of blood, sweat and tears.  These athletes had the determination to stick with their passion and on some occasions do things that seem inhumanly possible.  The athletes aren't just a testament to what the human body can do, but more importantly what the mind can create when we believe in ourselves. 

After seeing Dorthy Hamil in the 1976 Winter Olympics, I aspired to be a professional ice skater.  I had the Dorothy Hamil haircut and the muscular thighs, but that was the extent of our similarities.  I enjoyed ice skating, but did I have the desire to dedicate half my day to it?  The answer is not so much.   There is a small percentage of people who can say they are Olympians, but the rest of us have been given other talents.  Do you know what yours is and will you believe in it?

Little Box of Sunshine

I'm a big fan of the website pinterest with so many ideas and too little time. This is one of the ideas I pinned that I knew I just had to do.  The original idea is from  http://happymoneysaver.com/send-a-box-of-sunshine-to-brighten-someones-day/  I thought it was very cute and knew just the person that could use some good cheer.  I have a friend who has had a few rough years battling breast cancer and is now going through radiation treatments after giving birth to her third child.  She also just moved out of state and is trying to get settled into a new home.  She always puts on a happy face, but I'm sure there are days when it's tough to be cheerful.   This is my version of the little box of sunshine based on things I thought she would like.  It includes the following:

• Burt's Bees lemon cuticle cream
• Burt's Beels lemon & Vitamin E bath and body oil
• Lemonade sticks
• yellow nail polish
• JR Watkins lemon cream lotion
• Burt's Bees radiance lip shimmer

Is there someone you can think of that could use a little box of sunshine?

Gratitude Monday

Our old next door neighbors are visiting, and I'm thankful we didn't have to make the 6 hour drive to see them.  They came to us.  She also brought along her homemade chocolate chip cookies which we miss almost as much as we miss them.  I'm also thankful I get to visit an old friend this week in Connecticut. I will be spending next Monday in New York City.   I can't seem to get enough of that city.  I have been several times and there is always something new to see.

On a different note back to school shopping is right around the corner.  I love all of the fun notebooks, pens and markers.  I'm always grateful for a new journal or cute folder even though I'm not going back to school.   I will always be a student in some way.  I'm always taking some sort of on line course and  I love learning new things.   I'm also loving all of the dorm room items that are on sale this time of year.  It takes me back to my college years.  

Spare Change

I recently came across a baggie full of change on my kitchen counter.  I asked my husband what it was for and he explained it was spare change which was sitting in his car.  You know the little compartment in your car that you throw quarters, nickles, dimes and pennies in after going through a drive through window.  You never know when you might need spare change.  It reminded me of a post I had written on my former blog www.dawnpasco.blogspot.com about Mattie Stepanek.  I thought I would share it again here.

Oprah describes Mattie Stepanek as one of the brightest lights to ever grace her stage and the planet. Poet, Mattie Stepanek, appeared on the Oprah show numerous times before his passing in 2004 from a rare form of muscular dystrophy. It is impossible for me to watch a show about him without going through a box of Kleenex. Oprah interviewed his mother Jeni on one of her favorite guests of all times shows. Jeni has written a book about her life with Mattie called Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie Stepanek. Jeni also suffers from muscular dystrophy and has buried all four of her children who died from the disease. She said Mattie's spirit continues to inspire her every day. She shared the story of how Mattie learned of Oprah. The story brings me to tears just retelling it. They were going into a thrift store and Jeni spied a nickle on the ground. She told Mattie it must be his lucky day and Mattie said that means someone else is unlucky because they lost their money. He was six years old at the time and insisted they give the nickle to the store manager because someone would be looking for it. The manager sort of laughed and questioned what you could buy with a nickle. Mattie's response was a gift. The manager told him to keep it and find a gift. He loved books and discovered one about a girl who went from rags to riches, Oprah Winfrey, and inside the cover it was marked 5 cents. He didn't know who Oprah was, but the book caught his attention. He read the book on the way home from the store. Later he told his mother that God put it into his heart that he and Oprah were to be together for a few years and are part of each others reason for being.

 Ever since I learned of this story in May of 2011, I look at spare change a lot differently.

Good Combinations

I can't say enough about Trader Joes.  They  have so many unique items that you can't get from your local grocery store.  My friend Anne told me about this delightful food pairing:  Buffalo Wheat Thins which you can find at your local grocer and Trader Joe's Blue Cheese Roasted Pecan Dip.  I'm warning you it's very addictive and the nice part is you don't have to cook anything.   Pay no attention to the nutritional content and it will taste even better.

Gratitude Monday

My husband and I saw the new Batman movie Dark Knight over the weekend.  At one point during the movie I became a little anxious when several gunmen opened fire in the stock exchange building.  I thought of the gunman in Colorado who randomly shot over 70 people at a midnight showing of the movie just two days before. I choose not to watch the news much anymore.  They can be masters at repeating the same story 50 different ways.  The nail place I go to has a television and normally Ellen or some game show is being televised.  This time it was a news stations and for the entire hour I was there all they talked about was the Colorado shooting.  Unless there is new information to report I don't see the point in endlessly rehashing this tragic story. What is normally a pleasurable experience,  left me feeling sick and stressed out. I can't imagine how those who were present must be feeling.

Gratitude Mondays are about making a conscious effort to focus on the positive things in life.  It's something I try to do every day, but can easily forget.  I have a natural inclination to gravitate to the negative. I'm thankful for the flowers, plants and trees that are still thriving despite the heat wave we're experiencing.  I'm grateful there are more sane people than insane people in this world.  I'm grateful for the many people who choose to do good in this world and help instead of harming others.  I'm grateful for people who use their extraordinary God given talents to make this world a better place.  Batman would be one of those people if he were real.