Through The Tulips Words of 'Wiz'dom

August 22, 2013

Going Digital

Filed under: Shop til ya Drop,Techy,Things I Love,Women — gardener @ 10:50 am

Have I ever mentioned how much I absolutely LOVE the digital magazines on my iPad?   I do.   I’ve gone digital on all my regular subscriptions (O Magazine and Southern Living) and because of the overall affordability of digital- (and all the great coupons Zinio sends) I’ve now got subscriptions to ALL of my favorites-   Taste of Home, Rachel Ray, Food Network, Martha Stewart Living,  HGTV,  Donna Hay, Reader’s Digest, Cosmopolitan and the list goes on…

I download them to my device when it’s time for the new issue and read them at my own leasure-  mostly when I’m on a trip somewhere or traveling.     I can take months and months worth of magazines and stacks of books all tucked away in my iPad-   There is nothing better for anyone who loves a good read or a good magazine.

January 25, 2013

Goals

Filed under: Inspiration,Life,Things I Love,Women — gardener @ 7:04 am

I was paying bills a little while ago and I can’t believe that the first month of 2013 is almost over. Time is flying! Even when we were traveling I couldn’t help but make some new goals for the year in regards to my business. I’ve been focusing on reading more about successful business people such as marty hanaka, Oprah, Jillian Michaels and the list goes on- so that I can maybe apply some of their practices to my own life.

This is my year to live beyond the fear and I plan on doing just that- and I’ve got realistic goals that I’m working towards that will definitely have me out of my comfort zone and living beyond fear. I know that beyond the fear- anything is possible. I’ll definitely be expounding on that later.

May 27, 2012

Little Milestones

Filed under: Life,Things I Love,Women — gardener @ 4:27 am

A friend of mine- who has been in a wheel chair for many years and unable to swim in public pools emailed me yesterday to tell me that she was able to swim at the condo pool where they are staying this weekend thanks to the ada pool lift. Her husband sent me a picture of her and her smile told the story of just how happy she was to have the opportunity to spend some time in the water outside of the pool at their home. Moments like that make my heart smile and from the sounds of things- she’ll be spending a lot of time in the pool this weekend and upcoming week. Yeah Christine!

December 5, 2011

Taking Time

Filed under: Health/ Fitness,Life,Women — gardener @ 11:07 am

One thing I’ve noticed about myself this year is that I have not taken the time to do things the way I should be doing them. I know- that may not make a lot of sense, but what has happened is that so many things have happened and have been going on- that I have just trudged forward without really taking the time to process what needs to be processed, plus I’ve forgotten to take some time for myself to take care of ‘me’ and I can see that it’s taken a toll.

2010 was a really bad year for me but I thought after taking a little time at the beginning of the year to work through a few things that I was ok- The truth is- I still wasn’t where I needed to be in many ways- and it has shown in a lot of things- including my weight- I’ve gained 10 pounds this year, and while I’m not happy about it- It has made me realize tha I need to take a closer look at myself and what’s going on around me- and why I’m struggling with some things that are outside of my control.

I feel tired on so many levels- and uninspired- even though great things are happening in my life. I know that it’s time to really take time and think about me.. and get back on track. I can do it- The first thing is going to be to dedicate more time to writing and doing more things that I love- and not just my business stuff- but exercise and keeping my body and mind healthy.

October 31, 2011

Balancing Act

Filed under: Life,Women — gardener @ 8:45 am

Things have been almost maddening busy around here with not a lot of time for me to catch up on email, write letters, or do much of anything else. I’m still trying to strike that balance time wise, but I’m fairly certain I’ll get there. I have felt somewhat like I’m walking a tightrope and there is a balancing act going on- one that I don’t seem to be winning.

We’ve had a few social things planned and this past Friday was one of them. I don’t know if it’s my age or what- but when I put my make-up on it didn’t seem like my eyelashes looked as good as they usually do. The thought of eyelash enhancer crossed my mind- but I’m going to wait and see if this eyelash misbehaving trend continues. I really want to look my best.

August 7, 2011

Host a Tapas Dinner with Friends (101 in 1001 List)

Filed under: 101 in 1001 days,Food,Things I Love,Women — gardener @ 4:05 am

Things have been somewhat busy around here, so I’m a little behind in sharing here all of the things I’ve been able to check off my 101 in 1001 list- which you can find here.

Number 36 on my list was to host a tapas dinner with friends, so on July 30th- that’s exactly what I did.    My friend Bobbi and I were officially the hostesses with the mostess, but we had it at my home.  

It wasn’t tapas in the traditional Spanish manner- but it was more a mish-mash of everyone bring something to contribute in mini.     The idea was to have a lot of little things and mostly to laugh and have fun in the midst of friends.   

Since Bobbi and I were the ones hosting- we provided all the drinks- the tiny tapas containers to present the food and also we created quite a few goodies to add to what ended up being a huge table of food.

The picture to your right shows two of the the many things we had-   grilled shrimp with seaweed salad inside cucumber ‘baskets’.    I also made marinated chicken breast bites wrapped in bacon- and Bobbi made this delicious (colorful and spicy) mango salsa to go along with them. It was the perfect combination.

We ate Orange Cream Cupcakes-  Oreo Cheesecake bites- and some sinfully delicious Peanut Butter Brownies with Fudge that were to die for- literally.      We also had stuffed olives, grape truffles, cranberry cream cheese muffins, blueberry muffins, ham-cheese roll-ups,  roasted nuts in various flavors, veggies tray, zucchini rolls, zucchini bites, meatballs, curry chicken breast, dim sum and the list goes on and on.  You get the idea though-   There was a LOT of food!

It was a lot of fun and I do believe everyone else enjoyed themselves as well.   Some came early to help set everything up, and most everyone offered to help clean up,  which I thought was very sweet considering the huge mound of dishes that I had to do. 

I have new ideas for another party but that won’t be until the first of the year sometime- during the winter months when there isn’t much to do- but I’ll share more about that at another time.

July 1, 2011

Let’s Get this Party Started

Filed under: Life,Seasons,Things I Love,Women — gardener @ 8:14 am

First day of July and I’m ready to get this ‘birthday month’ party started! Looks like I’m going to start it with a bang… we’re headed out tonight to Hein’s birthday dinner celebration and tomorrow I’ll be seeing Pirates of the Caribbean with Bobbi. Sunday will be a day of rest for me and Monday- more fun and adventures.

I hearby designate July as a month of celebrations!

June 15, 2011

25 Years Have Come and Gone

Filed under: Food for Thought,Gratitude,Life,Women,World — gardener @ 12:39 pm

Today I spent several hours watching the final three Oprah Winfrey Shows back-to-back.   I knew better.  Since I was tearing up at the thought of them- I should have known that watching them was going to lead me into a fit of the  ugly-cries, more than once.   I was overwhelmed with love and admiration, but also inspiration.  

I feel like I’ve been on an all-night crying binge and it pretty much wiped me out emotionally,  but yet I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.  I’d been doing a lot beforehand, but this really got the grey matter to working overtime.   

For a while now- I’ve strived to be the best person that I can be.   Today I realized that it’s more than I thought it was.  What ‘it’ is- I’m not yet sure, but I’ll keep you posted as I begin this new journey.

And for you Miss Winfrey-  I thank you for 25 years of service, love and dedication.

April 28, 2011

Fun Times

Filed under: Life,Seasons,Things I Love,Women — gardener @ 12:28 pm

I need to check in on my 101 things in 1001 days list and see if I’ve done anything as of late that I can check off. Today- I visited friends, both old and new, had a great lunch, did some walking around a new city (at least to me) and yes, ate a cupcake. It wasn’t just ‘any’ cupcake- it was an Oreo cupcake it was delicious! I brought a caramel one home for Marcel and tasted it too and it was just as sinfully good, but in a different way.

I also walked in the rain today- and spend some time walking around inside a cube shaped house. Fun times!

March 25, 2011

Surprise Phone Calls

Filed under: Things I Love,Women — gardener @ 11:39 am

Last night the phone rang and Marcel answered it. He brought it to me and when I asked who it was, he said he didn’t know. As soon as I said Hello and heard the other person speak, I knew it was my friend M. from Australia. We’ve talked several times in the past on the telephone and even though it has been quite some time- that’s one voice I won’t soon forget.

It was SO wonderful to catch up with her, share a few ideas and thoughts with each other and a little laughter. We both agreed that it had been far too long and we need to do it more often. Thank you again, M. for the wonderful surprise. It was definitely the highlight of my day.

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