Scrambled

I warn you, if you dare to read today's blog, it is a total scramble and jumps from topic to topic and is long...

"Dream big, work harder. Have lots of fun, lift a finger, do something for someone else. Cheer your friends on. Cheer yourself up. Celebrate as much as possible. Enjoy everything. Right now. It's OK to want more and do more but be present with where you are or who you are with. Don't rush the situation - even if it's bad. Move on when you can. Don't settle. Try everything you can and get over everything holding you back." [ Alex Beauchamp ]

I love this quote. It speaks to me. Back in January when I decided to upate my word for the year I chose celebrate, and to be perfectly honest it got lost along the way. Last year’s word of “joy” easily crept its way into my life in many different ways. For some reason “celebrate” has been more of a challenge. AND, that’s exactly why I chose it! So, 6 mths. into 2008 I am reminding myself to celebrate. Celebrate the small, everyday things that happen in my life!

…fresh grass.

There’s something about the smell of fresh grass that evokes strong positive feelings in me. The past two evenings I’ve been mowing our lawn and although it’s a household chore it’s one I really quite enjoy. It’s way up there above dishes, laundry, toilet bowl cleaning, dusting, making beds and of course floor scrubbing! If anyone’s read in the past, you will know I despise cleaning floors, so when Wally is around he is the chief floorman…vacuumer, sweeper, scrubber. That in itself is a reason to celebrate. I digress….as for the fresh mowed lawn it inspired me to, what else, take lots of photos, well, just because that’s generally what I do when one of my senses are peeked. It provokes other senses to come alive and well…it made me want to, what else, take photos. By the way, snowblowing/shoveling does not give me the same feeling of general happiness that lawn mowing does, so if anyone cares to share that chore with me when Wally starts traveling the world I would be perfectly happy to give it up, or kiss your feet if you so desire.

…hairapy

Every four weeks I go to see my beloved stylist Tim. It’s a relationship that can’t really be described as friendship, but is one that is extremely personal. I’ve known him for something like eight years and he’s visited me at my home. Tim has seen me through a lot. Today Tim, I bow down to you. I give you thanks for being a person who sees me. I give you thanks for getting me. Oh, and I say all this, not because you gave me FREE gorgeous highlights that even Wally saw without prompting. I say this, because you are generally an all around great guy!

…a few flowers to boot!

Have a great weekend everyone….and to those of you who have fathers, or are fathers or know fathers or who maybe even fathers to fur babies, have a wonderful day on Sunday.

I gave this to my Dad for Father's Day 2005. The actual photo has been hanging on my wall for many, many years.

CELEBRATE!

January 1, 2008

I began visiting Ali Edwards’ blog over a year ago now. Last year she suggested that we pick a word that would inspire us for the year. I chose Joy for 2007. This word found its way into my scrapbooking, onto my art canvasses and generally floated in my brain throughout the year. I found joy in so many little things and when I found myself feeling not so “joyful” my mind quickly reminded me that I had many things in my life that provided me great joy.

This year I have decided to take this one step further. I have decided on “celebrate”.

Main Entry:
cel·e·brate
Pronunciation:
\ˈse-lə-ˌbrāt\
Function:
verb
Inflected Form(s):
cel·e·brat·ed; cel·e·brat·ing
Etymology:
Middle English, from Latin celebratus, past participle of
celebrare to frequent, celebrate, from celebr-, celeber much frequented, famous;
perhaps akin to Latin celer
Date:
15th century
transitive verb1: to
perform (a sacrament or solemn ceremony) publicly and with appropriate rites 2 a: to honor (as a holiday) especially by solemn ceremonies or by
refraining from ordinary business b: to mark (as an anniversary) by festivities
or other deviation from routine3: to hold up or play up for public notice intransitive verb1: to observe a holiday, perform a religious ceremony, or
take part in a festival2: to observe a notable occasion with festivities

At first glance “celebrate” may seem frivolous, however, if you know me even a little bit, I’m not one to celebrate events of my life. This year I plan on celebrating all of the accomplishments and achievements in my life (sorry Wally). Maybe when we complete part of our never ending renovations we will celebrate with a gathering of friends or celebrate with a nice glass of wine – just the two of us. Celebrate the little milestones and celebrate the birthdays and anniversaries that have somehow become not so important. For whatever reason, I am not a person to feel comfortable celebrating anything about me. This year I choose to celebrate me and who I have become (warts and all). I want to celebrate the fact that I am so fortunate to have a loving relationship with my husband. I want to celebrate the fact that we are both reasonably healthy and have a lot of fun together.

Some of you know that my Dad recently passed away. I always dreamed of having a “wedding” celebration on our 10th anniversary which occurred last August. Because I didn’t want to inconvenience other people I missed out on my dream of having a father/daughter dance. My eyes are open now. I don’t ever want to miss a single celebration again.

Do you have a word that would represent you this year? Have fun thinking about it! When you come up with one, send me a note, I'd love to share.