get the party started

i lovelovelove this song!  It's N O T H I N G like the music I like to listen but it caught my attention.

I was cleaning on Saturday and Sam had one of his stations playing on Pandora.  After an hour or two of listening this song came on.  interesting.  I wouldn't have expected a song like this to have popped up.  I immediately bookmarked it. :)

Shirley Bassey's name was unknown to me but her voice is distinctive.  She sang the James Bond "Goldfinger" theme song (and probably a whole bunch of other familiar songs).

It's so much fun!  and great to clean to:)  I pulled it up on YouTube and kept hitting replay.  Play it loud!  Really loud!

love it.

the fire starter sessions

It came!  "The Fire Starter Sessions" arrived in the mail yesterday.  I started reading it last night and had a hard time putting it down. This video is a glimpse into the book.

There is something different about this.  I've glanced through a lot of motivation material in the past but have never been a girl to pour over the stuff.  I'm pretty practical and down to earth and don't get into a lot of "fluffy" stuff.  Don't like fluffy sentiment, fluffy food, fluffy conversation, etc.  Not sure if those are real phrases but I think they make the point.  I'm as empathetic and encouraging as they come but like things real and honest.

This stuff is not "fluffy".  

Laporte's words go right to my heart. right to my gut.

My feelings are transformed into words.  It's energizing.

truthbomb #38

LACK OF PASSION IS FATAL

                                                                 -danielle laporte

truthbomb #36

EXAMINE WHAT YOU TOLERATE

                                                                        -danielle laporte

bergeson nursery

We made our annual trip to Bergeson Nursery last night.  My mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, my mom, and I attended the seminar on perennials and hardy roses.  Joe Bergeson presented another entertaining lecture on our favorite hobby, gardening.   

What I learned:

1-  our husbands are lucky (as my mother-in-law pointed out!) that we spend our 'girls night out' at a nursery learning how to beautify our homes and nurture our passions :)

2-  Morden rose bushes are not necessarily the rosebush of choice for our area

3-  gardening really is one of my passions

4-  i may not be able to dig as many holes as i used to

5-  blooms are great but give me a shrub with beautiful structure and foliage any day

6-  visiting in the car on the ride down and on the way home is as enjoyable as the actual nursery visit

7-  i am lucky to share my passion with 4 amazing women

eric bergeson

Love it.

Marv

I have had this post sitting in 'draft' form for months.  It's not that I felt uncomfortable posting my feelings but my feelings were continuously changing as I moved through the days without Marv.  I also worried that I would ineffectively reflect the deep feelings I have for him or somehow minimize the impact the past year has had on us by trying to describe it using words.  I would pull up the draft and add more or revise.  I never felt 'done'.  When it came to Marv, I just couldn't finish.  I realize now that I will never feel done.  And now I feel anxious to share my feelings for a man that is so deeply loved.  This is the post I started over 3 months ago...

January 8, 2011 was horrific.  It is impossible to put into words what we were feeling on the day we heard that our beloved Marv had died.  And so I won't try to.  As the 2011 Christmas holiday approached, almost a whole year since he had died, I began to brace myself for another wave of sickening dread.  It had happened the entire year... the first birthday celebrated without Marv, the first Easter, the family vacation, the football games, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then January 8, 2012.  How did we make it through an entire year without our Marv?  We had to.  And we did.  It is because of the man Marv was that we endured.


My experience is of course different than Steve's and his family's.  I knew Marv for over 20 years....not a lifetime.  But my relationship with Marv was rich and life-changing and his death left me aching in a way I had never experienced.


The big things were hard without him...holidays, birthdays.  But the little things are what cut my heart out.  I was particularly struck by his absence one evening when Steve and I came home from one of our boys' activities.  I can't recall the activity but the image of Steve sitting in the chair in our family room is unforgettable.  Steve is so proud of his boys and on this night, he was especially proud.  We got home and started in on our evening routines.  I was in the kitchen and saw Steve sitting in the chair reading the paper.  For the past 20 years, evenings often consisted of a phone call from Marv or to him.  On this night, there would have been a telephone in Steve's hand and he would have filled Marv in on every detail related to his grandson.  But instead, Steve sat in silence.  I felt the familiar punch in the gut as I was moved by Marv's absence.  His absence hovered in the air of our home and was thick.


Marv's absence...that is what I struggled with.  How could we continue without his eyes staring into ours with his intense sincerity?  We were special to him and important.  His attention proved that over and over.  How could we continue without his frequent walks through our yard, checking out the garden or a new project?  How could we get along without his generous laugh, warm pats on the back, and a devotion that was fierce?


I don't know.  But we are getting along.  Isn't that amazing?  This life process is amazing and we are reminded of the impact our relationships with others have.  And that's everything.  Relationships.  That word has been moving in and out of my brain lately...for lots of reasons.  And once again it comes down to that.  Not money, not accomplishment, not recognition...its about relationships.  Simple really.  And that is how we move on.  His relationship with us continues to shape our days, shape our actions, shape our thoughts...Marv continues to do that.


And now I am moved by his presence.  I was lingering in the aura of his absence and slowly it is now his presence that I am more aware of.  I will always feel lonesome.  But a thankfulness and an awareness of his presence has helped me heal.  Marv is in his son.  Marv is in Steve's laugh, in his warm conversation, in his sincere interest in the daily activities of others.  Marv is in his grandsons.  Characteristics surface and we see our beloved Marv in our boys.  Marv is in my nieces and nephews...in his home...in his garden...in his friends...in his community...in old routines that live on.  Marv's presence is everywhere.


This man should still be here.  That is the confusing part.  I can't quite shake that off.  But the relationships he established with us and our love for him continue to thrive and breathe.   He is present in our love.

Our wonderful Marv

favorite pins of the week...

white feather hosta...amazing!

s'mores cake in a jar

unbelievable...

I'm doing this!  Absolutely love the idea of hanging blankets in the rooms that they are used in.  and I would use 3m velcro on the bar bases so no holes in the wall (of course)!  

Sources of all pictured pins are found on my Pinterest boards.

Happy Weekend!

music

I've been waiting to post these photos of our FMS Jazz Band because I wanted to include an amazing video of our LHS orchestra!  But, uploading photos and videos is a skill that I have not efficiently mastered.  The video needs to be edited and I don't know how.  I'm waiting for someone to help me:) A lot of these photos should be edited but I'm rather impatient and find the whole photo management and editing process stressful.  I'm hoping this changes as I love taking pictures! 

Isaac and the FMS Jazz Band at the Band Burger Dinner...

What would we do without our music program?  I've pushed our kids to be involved in some way with music.  I'm so proud of the wonderful music our kids produce at such a young age!

thanks, Sam

My son emailed me a quote that he found...

Greatness is not found 

in possessions, power, 

position, or prestige. 

It is discovered in goodness, 

humility, service, & character. 

                                                                                  -W Ward 

love it.

danielle laporte

I've got Danielle LaPorte on my mind.  I blogged about one of her recent posts a week or so ago and have been thinking about her since.  I did a little more researching and reading and am wondering how I've missed her along the way!  Amazing.  Ben and I pre-ordered her book yesterday on Amazon ("The Fire Starter Sessions").  Wow!

Her bio found on her website goes like this...

A list of “Top 10 Blogs by Women That Might Change Your Life,” describes Danielle LaPorte like this:

“She’s confidently contrarian, feminine, decisive, and creative. She combines spirituality with sound business principles. She has an e-program, a line of chic, minimalist notecards, and gives coaching sessions at $1000 a pop. She’s been listed, ranked and quoted. At the core of her success is her ability to write. She writes beautifully, lustfully, and poignantly and is quite possibly the most talented and insightful writer publishing on the web. If you haven’t experienced www.daniellelaporte.com, you are missing the best of the web.”

and that is what struck me.  Her writing is so compelling.  I keep reading and reading and can't quite get enough.  

Another post from her blog was particularly consuming, the grand pep talk.  It's inspiring and definitely a reread.

I was copying a bunch of excerpts from the post and then decided to just paste the whole thing in my blog...

the grand pep talk: decide to rise (refer to this when in doubt, or sick & tired.)

I’m all for mental health days. And gentleness. And I think the world should take the month of December off. And for the love of God, a 4 day work week would revolutionize the collective human spirit and thusly, healthcare. But this pep talk isn’t about taking it easy, this is about another form of self care: doing whatever it takes.

Just got dumped? Lace up your runners and move your body.
Under the weather? Go in to work any way, wearing your favorite sweater.
Up to your earrings in deadlines? Go cheer on your friend. Show up at the bake sale. Call your mother.
Crying before show time? Put some tea bags on your eyes. Say a prayer. Enter stage left.
Push. Turn up the volume. Go hard. Go harder.
Re-prioritize your aches and pains.
Infuse your sensitivities with courage.
Tell fear to f@#$ right the f@#% off.
Devote to Done.

There are soul-justified reasons to cancel. There are times to just stop. This isn’t one of them. Keep going. Show up. Full on. Full tilt. Full out. Decide to be one of those people who pull it off.

Do what you say you’re going to do. Don’t let us down. 
Decide to rise.

Why decide to rise? Not for the reasons you might think. In fact, these are the reasons that will make you sick and tired:

Do not rise out of obligation. Do not rise because of feared consequences. Do not rise because you think being tough makes you smarter (it doesn’t.)

Decide to rise because you want to expand — your being, your life, your possibilities.

Decide to rise because super powers are meant to be activated and applied in everyday life.

Decide to rise to explore your place in the universe.

On the other side of deciding to rise is illumination, ecstasy, insight. And the angel of your strength is there waiting, smiling, applauding, with a goblet of endorphins for you. Drink up.

When you transcend circumstances you get special privileges. You get evidence that you are indeed amazing, and irrefutable proof that what your heart and mind choose is what matters. And you get the deep knowing that life wants you to win.

Decide to rise.

Lean in. Listen up. Closely.
It’s your soul speaking and she says, Get UP! I need you. I want you. I am you. Choose me.
Lean in. Listen up. Closely.

Decide to rise.


It speaks to my heart and my head at the same time.  I love it.

good friday

Words of love... I've had a copy of this reading laying on our computer desk for over a year.  Words of encouragement and hope were shared with us when Steve's dad died.  This morning I'm thinking about them and retrieving them and sharing them.  Unforgettable words of love...

The earth has covered only that which was mortal
       Of those to whom we have said our farewell.
We shall not see again
       the familiar glowing face, the warm illuminate eye,
Nor hear the beloved voice.

We shall not sit face to face,
        Across the family table, or side by side
In the home of a friend or in worship.

We shall not feel the kiss
       That once evoked our deepest response.
Yet death has failed and must surrender

For the beloved who is gone
       Lives and will always live through the years
Not in some distant corner of our being,
       To be uncovered only in a rare moment
Or by a sudden surge of recall.
       The beloved has become a presence
Rooted so deep that life cannot carry us far from the cherished
       Now hallowed center of memory and love.
They live and move within us,
       In spheres beyond dominion.

We thank Thee, O God of life and love,
       For the resurrecting gift of memory
Which endows Thy children fashioned in Thy image
       With The God-like sovereign power
To give immortality through love.
       Blessed be Thou, O God
Who enables Thy Children to remember.
                            - Rabbi Morris Adler

atlas hangs on

I found an adorable reading of a favorite story of mine, "Atlas Hangs on".

The storybook is found on this website.  I read it with my 5th graders.

read the story... read it outloud... and then read it again. :)

money

I read an interesting post about money on a blog by Danielle LaPorte ...

20 personal money practices that got me to a place of grooving prosperity. (part 1)

helpful... simple... 

Am I the only one who doesn't know who Danielle LaPorte is?  These reviews about her book, "The Fire Starter Sessions", are interesting to read...

love bugs

These two are such good friends.  I have so many pictures of Cinder and Copper napping together...all cuddled up!  In this picture, Copper's got his chin resting on Cinder...sometimes Cinder lays on Copper's back.  It is so funny and so sweet.

memories

I've had this quote or line from a Waltons episode floating in and out of my mind over the past year.  I hadn't thought about it for years until last summer.

The memory was triggered when I was out working in our garden.  Giggles, shouts, and then crying :) drifted into our yard.  We have new neighbors with small children and they were out playing.   It had been years since those sounds were heard in our yard.  Those sweet voices actually seemed to originate from the air around me... and they floated around my head.  I stopped and listened.  My boys' voices have long since past that stage of high-pitched giggling and shouting!  There are very few sounds that are as sweet as children's voices in the summer evening air.  And those voices triggered memories of my own boys' sweet laughter... sweet chanting...

The line..."the ghosts of the children we were".  That's what I remembered.   It was a line from an ending scene of a Waltons episode.   Those words struck me as a youth when I heard them for the first time and then they were embedded in my memory when I heard them again as an adult.   But it has been many years since I've thought about those words.  There was something about the summertime air and those sweet voices that triggered them.

And now those words surface again. So I googled the line that I remember and found a Waltons website with summaries of episodes.  The website also includes the beginning and ending narratives from each episode (which I will be reading--all of them!).   I found the episode... season 2 episode 8 "The Braggart"....


"It's late now in Virginia, that ball field which once echoed to the sounds of our games is quiet except for the call of crickets and the ghosts of the children we were. For my brothers and sisters and I are all grown now, and our children play other games in places far from Waltons Mountain. Still, there's something about the fall of night that turns our thoughts homeward".