Through The Tulips Words of 'Wiz'dom

March 12, 2011

Saturday Smiles

Filed under: Gratitude,Inspiration,Things I Love — gardener @ 7:34 am

After waking up to a cloudy morning- the sun has broken through and as I type this- is shining on my shoulders. It feels great. The slowly rising temps and the sunshine have really energized and inspired me the past few days and I feel better than I have in a long time and for that, I’m extremely grateful.

Before I head off to the bathtub, I thought I’d share 5 things that make me smile today. I’d also love to hear what is bringing a smile to your face today- and every day.

5 Things that Bring a Smile to My Face Today

  • The warmth of sunshine on my shoulders.
  • Movie night tonight with Desere.
  • Clothes on the clothes-line, blowing in the wind.
  • Leftover quiche for dinner, which means no cooking!
  • Sleeping late.

February 28, 2011

Thinking- Again

Filed under: Inspiration,Life,Shop til ya Drop,Techy,Things I Love — gardener @ 11:52 am

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. I know- no surprise, right? I like to think, sometimes too much and tend to be pretty analytical. That is often a good thing, but there are also times when it isn’t.

In this case- I think it’s a good thing. Mom and my BFF have been spending some time together once a week and they’ve been coming up with ideas on designs for applique’s and also embroidery. This is a GREAT thing- especially since I can’t be there to help encourage and inspire mom. She is very talented, but underestimates herself, so S. being there with her, pushing her is really producing results.

Mom and I have talked about going into business together for a while. Actually it would be HER business, but I would handle the web aspects of things. She would do the work, and I’d keep the emails and orders flowing smoothly. S’s husband is a creative genius and he’s in the process of creating a logo for her. Personally, I think it should incorporate a tulip somewhere in the mix.

It brings me joy to see others that I love succeed and do well with things they are passionate about. I want to see everyone live their potential. Those are things that make me smile!

February 20, 2011

Is That Sunshine I See?

Filed under: Gratitude,Home,In the Neighborhood,Inspiration,Life — gardener @ 9:39 am

For the past two days I’ve been keeping a close eye on the weather here and they have said that today and tomorrow would bring rain and possibly light snow. I honestly don’t mind the rain on the days that I can stay inside in my PJ’s (like today) and since I haven’t seen any snow this year, I wouldn’t mind that either- as long as it found a way to stick around for a few days.

Not so surprisingly, neither was the case today. It has remained around the freezing point today- maybe a little higher with grey skies most of the day. Now, as I sit here with the laptop in my lap and me stretched out across the love seat, I noticed the afternoon sun shining on the wall. Looking outside, I see a pinkish glow to the sky in the west. It may sound odd- but for some reason it makes me smile. Little things, my friends- little things.

February 19, 2011

Forgiveness

Filed under: Food for Thought,Inspiration,Life,Quotes- Soul Food — gardener @ 10:33 am

As I’ve gotten older (and I like to think wiser), I’ve realized the importance of forgiveness.   I also have noticed that those that fail to see the importance- those that carry around anger, hate, hurt and resentment of things that happened in the past, are in some ways still allowing that moment in time control their life.    I’ve also noticed that for some people, lack of forgivness has manifested like cancer in their lives and forgiveness is something they are incapable of.   They spend so much time thinking about how they have been wronged and victimized that they fail to recognize that they are the ones missing out.

Years ago Marcel and I had a conversation about how he couldn’t comprehend how I forgave me ex-husband for the things that he did to me.   He said they were inexcusable and I would agree, they were.  I explained to him that I didn’t do it for my ex, but instead, I did it for myself.   It was something that I carried around and it kept me from living in the ‘now’.

Several days ago I was watching Oprah and she said that the best meaning of forgiveness that she had ever heard was:

“Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.”

I love quotations, so I wrote it down, but this stayed with me long after I finished watching the show.   After all, isn’t that what makes it so difficult for us to let go of the things that have happened to us- the fact that we ask ourselves a gazillion questions as to what we could have done to make things have a different outcome?   

Let it go- forgive- accept that is, is and nothing will ever change that.   Start living today!

On Age and Wisdom

Filed under: Health/ Fitness,Inspiration,Sands of Time — gardener @ 9:20 am

When I was around 20-21 years old, I remember thinking that I needed to lose weight. Granted, I didn’t ‘really’ need to lose weight, but somewhere I’d gotten this idea planted in my head. Back in the day- I didn’t think or know anything about ‘healthy eating’, so my solution was to take ephedra diet pills. Not only did it give me energy, it made me not even want to consider eating. Needless to say- I lost weight (even though I was already a size 8).

Here I am 20+ years later and several sizes larger than an 8 and learned that the best way to get where you want to go is to do the work, not by taking shortcuts. That can be said with diet and exercise, but also pretty much with everything else in life.

February 18, 2011

Blank Canvas

Filed under: Food for Thought,Inspiration,Life,Things I Love — gardener @ 10:31 am

I was looking at the blank canvas this morning and thinking about what I’d like to paint.   Since I had to be somewhere, I ended up not going through the motions of pulling out everything, only to have to put it away again a half hour later.  When I want to paint, I want to be able to do so without having to think about being rushed.  

I ran my errands with Marcel, came home and decided to go through my shoes.  I’ve needed to for a while and I ended up throwing away two pair and putting aside about 6 other pair that I never wear and will give to the thrift shop.   While I was sitting in the middle of the floor, I couldn’t help but think about how life is like that canvas. 

Our lives are a canvas- a flowing tapestry that is sometimes colorful and sometimes dark.   Ultimately how we paint it is entirely up to us.

February 15, 2011

Nurturing Creativity

Filed under: Inspiration,Life,Things I Love — gardener @ 9:15 am

I’ve been realizing in this little journey that I’ve been on lately that something I’ve been missing in my life is that I haven’t spent enough time being creative.   I need to spend more time with my photography, with creating jewelry and even painting.  I’d forgotten how much I love painting until I went to Paint Party Studios when I was home for the holidays.   I went twice and loved it both times.  

I’ve decided to start spending time each week tapping into that creativity and doing something for me.   I’ve found that if I don’t nurture that creative side of me, that I feel as though something is missing.   

Today I bought some acrylic paint, some brushes and canvas.   At this point I haven’t decided exactly what I’ll paint, but I can assure you that it will be colorful!

February 12, 2011

Shiny Happy People

Filed under: Gratitude,Inspiration,Life — gardener @ 5:49 am

After a pretty emotional week (which included a sick doggie); I can say that the weekend has arrived and I’m feeling a little more energetic ready to take on the world.

I guess you could say that since we’ve returned from our trip that the pendulum of emotions have been across the board and I’m determined that things will stay on the upward swing.  I know that part of it has to do with the peri-menopause (which I’ve been said to have a severe case of) and other little obstables, but I really want to start focusing on the positive, especially since I know it will make a difference in how I deal with the negative.

I have a busy day ahead of me, but I wanted to share a few things I’m grateful for.    I’m always grateful, but I know I need to take more time to recognize those little things in life that I’m grateful for. 

My Gratitude List for February 12, 2011.

Today I’m Grateful For:

  • Dinner out with friends and my favorite guy tonight.
  • Inspiration to be more creative.
  • JJ, who is feeling MUCH better today.
  • Relaxing mornings and a good nights sleep.
  • The color red, which I always tend to gravitate towards.

January 28, 2011

Note to Self- Write it Down!

Filed under: Food for Thought,Inspiration,Life — gardener @ 1:33 am

I’ve been seeing many things in the past few weeks that I’d like to write about and when I get these spurts of inspiration, I tell myself that I don’t need to write them down, because the thoughts are so great that I’ll remember them. Now generally, that may be the case, but since this grey matter has been on overdrive for the past year, I should have learned by now that if I don’t write it down, I’ll forget it.

So this entry is more of a note to myself in hopes that if I actually type it out here, that I WILL remember to write down the various inspirations and ideas that I come up with so that when the time comes that I can actually sit here and write- all I have to do is pull out my notes and start tapping the words out on the keyboard.

Sometimes I make my own life so difficult when it doesn’t have to be. Do you do the same?

November 3, 2010

Thanksgiving- More than a Holiday

Filed under: Gratitude,Holidays,Inspiration,Things I Love — gardener @ 11:01 am

I was thinking a few days ago about Thanksgiving- and how it really is more than a holiday of indulgence and football. The significance of that day is how people of different cultures came together and shared a moment together and were thankful for all they had been blessed with.

Even though some countries don’t celebrate Thanksgiving- I believe that we all have something (or many) things that we are thankful for and that we should spend the month of November and December focusing on those things that are of importance to us. Be grateful for the little things in your life- and in counting your own blessings- look around and see how you can reach out and help another, a perfect stranger possibly.

When we reflect on the richness of our own lifes- I personally believe giving and doing for others are the things that make our lives even richer. I challenge you all to spend the holiday season in love and in service to others and see how it impacts those around you and also who you are. I bet such an act would change all of our lives in a positive way and couldn’t we use a little more of that?

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress