A la Stephanie Morrison...

(ETA: Stephanie Morrison is one wonderful corner of the triangular-shaped friendship of Sara, Stephanie, & Clarissa)
Background information: Lily, Natalie and I had to drive from our home in the sticks to the medical center on a Wednesday afternoon. It's a long way. Then, when we got there, we waited over an hour (in those little doctor offices!!) to see the doctor. THEN, on the way home, we took the HOV lane. It was moving at a snail's pace. Doncha hate that? You think you're all cool in the special lane and it is slower than the rush hour traffic lanes. suck.
The moral of this story is me and lily were stuck in small confines together for approximately 4.5 hours on our medical center excursion. That's a lot of Lily time.

A notable Lily conversation:

Me (approx. 5:45 p.m. somewhere on a Houston Freeway): Man, Lily, you TALK a loooooooot.

Lily: I knoooooooooow. I.can't.help.it. (said all whiny but sharp) My mouth.........(pause).......it's always open! It.won't.stop.talking!

::::

Later on that same drive, while passing through downtown I spy a questionable looking person/woman wheeling her little doggie in a doggie pram.

Me: Oh, Lily, look at the lady with the doggy in the buggy!

Lily: That's not a lady. He doesn't have eyelashes. Only girls have eyelashes.

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Here's my Steph with baby Maris (who is 4 days older than Noodle! so cool!)

HAPPY DAY HAPPY DAY CLICK HERE

one of my favorite photography websites picked my picture as a picture of the day that represents hope. click below! (oh, when you click, scroll down until you see Saraluna14 - that's me!)

LOOK AT ME ROCK ;-)))))

For each of you

Two of my faithful readers have had some downright awful events happen in their lives over the last month/week. You know who you are. I am thinking of you.

All of you reading can take away something from this beautiful piece of writing I found. It made my heart swell. Perhaps you can share it with someone else who could use it as well. It is from a blog in Hong Kong, so some of the grammar might be topsy turvy ;-)

Here is a nice sharing from my friend Jinyuan. Please read it and hope it helps you when you meet something frustrating. It does help me.

Have you ever observed
the behaviour of birds
in the face of adversity?
For days and days they make their nests,
sometimes gathering materials brought from far away
And when they have completed the nest
and are ready to lay eggs,
the weather, or the work of humans, or some animal,
destroys it,
and it falls to the ground,
all that they have done with so much effort
Do they stop, bewildered,
and leave the work?
No way.
They start over
building the nest
again and again
until they have eggs in the nest again.
Sometimes,and very often before the chicks are are hatched,
an animal, a child, or a storm
destroys the nest once again,
but this time
with its valuable contents.
It hurts to go back to begin again…
Even so, the birds do not ever stop,
they continue to sing and build,
and keep singing and building…..
Do you sometimes get the feeling that your life, your work, your family
is not what you had dreamed?
Do you sometimes want to say
“enough”,
the effort is not worthwhile.
It is all too much for me!
Are you tired of it all?
Do you feel that the daily struggle is a waste of time,
your trust has been betrayed,
your goals not reached just as you were about to get them?
Life strikes you down sometimes, but do you go on,
say a prayer,
put your faith in hope, not darkness?
Do not worry if you get injured in the battle,
that is to be expected.
Gather yourself together and rebuild your life,
so that it runs well again.
No matter what happens…
Do not shrink back, but move forward.
Life is a constant challenge,
but it is worthwhile to mostly accept it.
And never stop singing.

A Few of My Favorite Things...more

Well, these:

Her:

and Her:

and Texas in the Springtime. So pleasant!

Did you know...

that Anthropologie has a Garden Store? Sigh.


Thank you Stacy, Letha and Farrell for roll calling ;-)

Small Magazine

This is a wonderful online children's magazine. Even if you don't have kids...it's just eye candy.
Small Magazine

and the best news is that they just started a blog. FABU!

Smaller (the blog)

Saint Cupcake

Another of my favorite things: www.saintcupcake.com For $21 smackeroos, you too can have 3 cupcakes, 3 frostings, and 3 sprinkles sent to your door from swanky, cool, hip Portland, OR. Lily about peed her pants when I told her we needed to go to the mailbox to get our cupcakes. She was never more well behaved than after she got an entire package of cupcakes in the mail.
It was very fun. Do this for yourself, or a loved one!

Oh So Perfectly Said

(I have absolutely no idea who to attribute this to. I found it on a blog, who found it on a blog, who found it on a blog, etc.)

These are a few of my favorite things...

First up:

DO YOU HAVE COLD FEET? Seriously. Are your feet always cold in your house? Mine are.

Number one thing I am loving right now (tied for first place with the post below about Apartment Therapy!)

These.

They're actually a nice tan/latte color, not gray as it says. I wear these constantly at my house. The cool thing about wool is that it breathes and adjusts to the temperature naturally. My feet are never too hot - just perfect. I even sleep with these puppies on. I adore them. They are worth the money. Handmade. They make me happy.

And these are Lily's version. We call them our rainbow slippers.

Apartment Therapy

So. How have I decluttered and reorganized my home you ask? Well, some of you have asked. I stumbled upon an amazing, life-changing book/activity/project called Apartment Therapy: The 8 Step Home Cure (buy the book or download it to your kindle!)

This is the website that has also helped change my home (started by the author.) This is the section on the website that will give you tons of ideas and inspiration and help along the way with The Cure.

It is the first organization book that has ever made sense to me. It has heart and soul and you don't need to buy anything or be rich or have a beautiful house. It's all about putting the heart back into your home. It is a lovely, doable, manageable progression from week to week. It might have saved my marriage (and I am not kidding.)

We are actually stuck on week 2 still, but the hub and I are loving it. This book is for you if:

1. You hate your house

2. You love your house

3. You need a small change

4. You need a big change

5. You don't know what change, if any, you need

6. You want to redo your whole house

7. You only want to redo one room

8. You have great personal style

9. You have zero style

10. You are soooo organized!

11. You are a recovering slobaholic (like me)

12. Your house is perfect

13. Your house is a disaster

Catch my drift? EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.OF.YOU. can have a life changing moment with this book. I cannot recommend it enough.

That is my home reorganization secret. If I can do it? You can do it. Even if you think your house is perfect - read this book. It can be more perfect. I promise.

For My Local Readers

The Harvest Waldorf School
Visitor Morning Wednesday, April 22, 2009 9am - 11am

Ever think about when and where your child's sense of wonder began to diminish? Wish there were a way to educate children that protected their childhood while awakening their intellect?Looking for a truly unique way to educate your child that achieves the same rigorous academic goals? Searching for a learning environment that nurtures and supports your child's innate capacities?

Ever heard of Waldorf Education? The Harvest is a developing Waldorf school that believes in educating children from the inside out by providing the optimal environment for them to flourish developmentally. It takes a special place and a special teacher to nurture childrens' bodies, minds, and souls and we believe The Harvest is that place.

Please join us for our special Visitor Morning to learn more about the Waldorf philosophy, chat with our extraordinary teachers, learn about our Pre-K through 7th grade programs, and view our beautiful campus.
Please visit our web site at http://www.woodlandswaldorf. org/ to learn more about us.
Please RSVP by calling Tori at 832.381.4665 or emailing prophetmother@gmail.com.
The Harvest is located at 5125 Shadowbend Place (shares a building with Congregation Beth Shalom) in The Woodlands, between Lake Woodlands Drive and Gosling Road, near David Elementary.
Blessings,Tori Prophet-Schlough
Enrollment CoordinatorThe Harvest School

***Visitor Morning Wednesday 4/22 9am-11am!!!***
www.whywaldorfworks.org www.woodlandswaldorf.org
school 281-298-8632
cell 832-381-4665

Confession: I drive too fast.

I've always said that 55 is my default speed no matter where I am. I know, it's awful. I can't help it. I mean, I totally pay attention in school zones (and drive the speed limit) and also if there are obvious kids on the street, etc. However, on familiar roads, deserted roads, 4 lane roads in retail areas...I drive too fast.

Well, on March 27, 2009 the universe caught up with me in a BIG BIG way.

I got not one, but TWO tickets in TWO different parts of town on the SAME FREAKIN' DAY.

How many people do you know who have had THAT happen to them. Well, now you know one.

Instead of Writing My Own Posts...

I'll just let Sundry do it. Ditto everything she says in this post, but I'm not as eloquent, witty, hilarious, or creative. And she has the best commenters in the LAND. They are almost as funny as she is. Read those, too!