Sunday, April 1, 2018
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Asiatic Lily Study
I received some beautiful Asiatic Lilies from my boss at work last week and have been enjoying watching them bloom. I decided to break out my camera and take several photos.
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Christmas Cookies
Who would have thought that one simple moment would cause me to break down so easily? Certainly, not me, but it did happen. Throughout the twenty three years that we have been together, DJ has never asked for or gone after the little blue tin full of butter cookies that he did while grocery shopping the other day. And, I have to ask myself why on this day, this year, did he decide that he wanted to grab that little blue tin and place it in the cart? He certainly could not have gauged my reaction to seeing the tin, nor could he have expected the gesture to flood my mind with the sweet memories that brought tears to my eyes. Now, I have cried over cookies in a grocery store before, but that is a different story about pregnancy and Grasshoppers. Maybe, I will tell you that story some day.
Looking down in the basket at that little blue tin, a realization struck. I will never have another Christmas with her. Many little blue tins like this little blue tin spent their lifetimes in a closet holding buttons to place on clothing, beads to make jewelry, receipts for important purchases, and crayons broken by children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Those little blue tins sat on a kitchen counter, anxious to be opened by anyone that crossed the threshold into the warm kitchen and home filled with love. The sweet taste of butter and sugar awaiting to be chosen by the people that she loved more than anyone in the world, her family.
Sweet memories of an entire family gathered in a home completely crowded, full of laughter, and the spirit of Christmas filling the air struck my mind so quickly, that I could not contain the emotion. Flashes of a beautiful aunt with an infectious laugh, always happy and always proud, taken far before her time. Flashes of my father's freckled fingers, nimbly reaching down into that tin to grab the cookies with the little chocolate bits. I think I get my love of chocolate from him. Flashes of small children running to the counter and snatching a cookie and shoving it in their mouths before anyone could stop them. So much love and so much warmth could be found in every Christmas in her home, and every Christmas, that little blue tin of cookies sat on that counter and waited for all of us.
Christmas does not seem to be anywhere close to the same as it did when those little blue tins sat on her counter, and that chapter in my life has come to a close. So, today, it is time for me to create my own chapter and try to make my Christmases special in their own little way. Although my heart is heavy with the loss of so many people that I love, I will always remember that I carry them all with me, and they will always influence how I chose to celebrate my Christmas this year and all of the years to come, with love, laughter, and the spirit of Christmas.
Looking down in the basket at that little blue tin, a realization struck. I will never have another Christmas with her. Many little blue tins like this little blue tin spent their lifetimes in a closet holding buttons to place on clothing, beads to make jewelry, receipts for important purchases, and crayons broken by children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Those little blue tins sat on a kitchen counter, anxious to be opened by anyone that crossed the threshold into the warm kitchen and home filled with love. The sweet taste of butter and sugar awaiting to be chosen by the people that she loved more than anyone in the world, her family.
Sweet memories of an entire family gathered in a home completely crowded, full of laughter, and the spirit of Christmas filling the air struck my mind so quickly, that I could not contain the emotion. Flashes of a beautiful aunt with an infectious laugh, always happy and always proud, taken far before her time. Flashes of my father's freckled fingers, nimbly reaching down into that tin to grab the cookies with the little chocolate bits. I think I get my love of chocolate from him. Flashes of small children running to the counter and snatching a cookie and shoving it in their mouths before anyone could stop them. So much love and so much warmth could be found in every Christmas in her home, and every Christmas, that little blue tin of cookies sat on that counter and waited for all of us.
Christmas does not seem to be anywhere close to the same as it did when those little blue tins sat on her counter, and that chapter in my life has come to a close. So, today, it is time for me to create my own chapter and try to make my Christmases special in their own little way. Although my heart is heavy with the loss of so many people that I love, I will always remember that I carry them all with me, and they will always influence how I chose to celebrate my Christmas this year and all of the years to come, with love, laughter, and the spirit of Christmas.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Monday, November 13, 2017
Bad Decisions
Making decisions is not always my strong suit; so naturally, when I found it, I knew that I had to buy it. It has become one of my favorite things to keep around when I feel like doing absolutely nothing at all and sometimes even when I go out. It has become my one, my only, favorite white tank top with the most wonderful phrase that sums me up perfectly, "PRETTY GOOD AT MAKING BAD DECISIONS."
Bad decision number one, buying a white shirt. Seriously, do I not even know myself anymore? I have spilled ink, paint, chocolate, and soda on this shirt. This amazing shirt has spent more time soaking than on my body. Now do you understand why I almost always wear black? It is so much easier to hide stains on a black shirt.
Bad decision number two, getting half way to the truck before realizing that I had on a black bra with my coveted white shirt. It is a good thing that I had a jacket on. Otherwise, I would have gotten more stares than what I had. Hey, at least I even had a bra on! By the way, did I tell you it is an acid washed material? No bra could have been absolutely catastrophic.
Bad decision number three, hugging Killer while wearing a white shirt. Killer has really soft fluffy black fur, so now, I have a really soft fluffy black fur shirt that is supposed to be white. Oh, my! The lint screen is going to be completely full on this shirt alone. It is almost as bad as hugging Princess when I wear black. Princess is my son's Siamese cat.
Bad decision number four, knowing that my shirt has spent most of its life soaking, I decided to wear it tonight completely aware that I was going to be chowing down on Buffalo Wings and pizza. Yep, you guessed it. My shirt only got to be worn for a few hours before going back into the soak, where it sits now. The worst part is that all the guys were here tonight, and not one of them let me know that I had a streak of wing sauce just below my breasts all the way to the bottom of the shirt. It has been a couple of hours since the bright orange wing sauce decorated my awesome shirt, and the sauce ended up stiffening up the material. I really hope the cleanser works wonders. Oxygen to the rescue!
Although these are only four bad decisions, three of them are decisions that I made just after five this evening. Can you imagine what a full day must be like, let alone a week, month, or year? Hey, the way I see it is that bad decisions lead to learning experiences. Learning experiences lead to better choices. And, better choices lead to a happier life. Come on bad decisions! I can take you on.
Bad decision number one, buying a white shirt. Seriously, do I not even know myself anymore? I have spilled ink, paint, chocolate, and soda on this shirt. This amazing shirt has spent more time soaking than on my body. Now do you understand why I almost always wear black? It is so much easier to hide stains on a black shirt.
Bad decision number two, getting half way to the truck before realizing that I had on a black bra with my coveted white shirt. It is a good thing that I had a jacket on. Otherwise, I would have gotten more stares than what I had. Hey, at least I even had a bra on! By the way, did I tell you it is an acid washed material? No bra could have been absolutely catastrophic.
Bad decision number three, hugging Killer while wearing a white shirt. Killer has really soft fluffy black fur, so now, I have a really soft fluffy black fur shirt that is supposed to be white. Oh, my! The lint screen is going to be completely full on this shirt alone. It is almost as bad as hugging Princess when I wear black. Princess is my son's Siamese cat.
Bad decision number four, knowing that my shirt has spent most of its life soaking, I decided to wear it tonight completely aware that I was going to be chowing down on Buffalo Wings and pizza. Yep, you guessed it. My shirt only got to be worn for a few hours before going back into the soak, where it sits now. The worst part is that all the guys were here tonight, and not one of them let me know that I had a streak of wing sauce just below my breasts all the way to the bottom of the shirt. It has been a couple of hours since the bright orange wing sauce decorated my awesome shirt, and the sauce ended up stiffening up the material. I really hope the cleanser works wonders. Oxygen to the rescue!
Although these are only four bad decisions, three of them are decisions that I made just after five this evening. Can you imagine what a full day must be like, let alone a week, month, or year? Hey, the way I see it is that bad decisions lead to learning experiences. Learning experiences lead to better choices. And, better choices lead to a happier life. Come on bad decisions! I can take you on.
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