MOMENTS MOM LOVES

Cookie, Jessette, Mark and Cole
I am so in love with these kids!!!

Junior High Dance

Right Now

You may go to heaven when you die,
Eternal Life is where you are right now. 

Three Pots Of Water

BY JOHN ASSARAF

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its richness and savored its aroma.

The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity – boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get even better and change the situation around you.

Cookie's New Favorite

Sea Feathers

Sea Feathers, Crinoid, New Caledonia

TOMMY

One of my dearest friends lost his son Friday.
 My heart is broken.
No matter the distance, no matter the past,
No matter the time spent apart,
Your child is always your child.
No parent should ever have the pain of losing their child.
My love and sympathy go out to Bill and Ginger.

"Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage you cannot practice 
any other  virtue consistently!"

Maya Angelou

Mommyism

Thought of The Day

Florence Syndrome

Florence syndrome: is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place, can happens with music, photography or all kind of beauty….

PERFECT

A Barn
The Woods
Green Fields
An Old Truck
A Rainy Afternoon

It must be HEAVEN!!!

I WANT TO GO THERE

WORDS

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Shelly on Pinterest

12 Things To Do

Source: msaudacioushp.tumblr.com via Shelly on Pinterest

Quote of The Day

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Shelly on Pinterest

SWAG

Cookie went to the Diamond Backs game last night.
A really cool field trip for the end of  junior high!

National Geographics Picture of The Day

Living a Miraculous Life by GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN

 Many of us long for a life of happiness, balance and peace, but we don’t believe we can have it. But the great paradox is that our lack of faith in love and miracles is what blocks us from receiving love and miracles. Many of us have more faith in fear than we do in love and miracles. If we want to live a miraculous life, we must raise the volume on the loving voice within us and turn down the volume on our fear.

The first step in choosing love over fear is to understand your fear. As a student of A Course in Miracles I learned to become the witness to my fear-based thoughts. Each time I felt fear set in, I’d take a deep breath, step outside of my thoughts and actions, and witness my behavior. By witnessing my fears I was able to see how delusional they actually were. For instance, early in my career I ran a public relations business. With every new client came a new opportunity to negotiate my monthly retainer. I hated negotiating. It made me feel anxious and jittery, and I’d lose my sense of calm. When I acknowledged my fears around negotiating for more money, I realized it was related to a belief I’d picked up that women shouldn’t ask for more. This was an outside projection the world had created, and I’d chosen to believe it. But when I got honest about my fear, I was able to see how this “lack” mentality had become a fear-based pattern in my mind.

Once you’ve gained clarity about your fears, the next step is willingness. ACourse in Miracles says that the slightest willingness is all you need to receive the guidance to change. When we become open to let go of our fear, we open our heart, mind and energy to be guided to a new perspective. Willingness raises your consciousness of new possibilities and ignites what I call your ~ing (your inner guide). Your ~ing is the voice of love, your inspiration and your intuition. All you need is a little willingness to get your~ing on and receive guidance to change.

This guidance will come in different forms: intuition, inspiration, and sometimes even through synchronicities. Often we can experience intuition as a strong inner knowing that offers us guidance of some form. Inspiration can be experienced as a feeling of flow and excitement that comes through in moments when our thoughts and actions are aligned with love. Then there are moments of synchronicity, which are really cool—like when you’re thinking about your mother and she calls or when you keep hearing about a new book and the next day it falls off the shelf in the store.

In my new book, May Cause Miracles, I emphasize three other key components to living a miraculous life: gratitude, forgiveness and love. The act of forgiveness is to the miracle worker as lettuce is to the raw foodie.

Forgiveness guides us to cleanse ourselves of the old, junky fear and shines light on the darkness of our worries, doubts and suspicions. Rather than continuing to play the role of victim, we can forgive and be set free. With each choice to forgive, we shift our perception from fear to love.

Forgiveness is like air: we need it to survive.

Then comes gratitude. An emphasis on gratitude is the only attitude for the miracle worker. Living a grateful life creates more abundance, acceptance and appreciation. In order to transform your fears back to love, you must embrace a way of being that puts gratitude first.

Each new day, intend to be grateful.

Finally, there is love—the most crucial ingredient. A Course in Miracles teaches that the only thing missing in any situation is love, and where there is fear there is no love. Therefore, living with an open heart and embracing love as our true purpose is essential to living a miraculous life.

When you choose to perceive love over fear, life begins to flow.

http://www.healyourlife.com/author-gabrielle-bernstein/2013/04/wisdom/personal-growth/living-a-miraculous-life?utm_id=PGNews#

What's The First Word You See?

Description

I read an article by Andrew Weil about his mother. He described her as Charming, Elegant and Witty. She had a wonderful sense of humor, boundless energy and a huge circle of devoted friends. She was admired and loved.

I wonder how I will be remembered, what will be my description.

The CROODS

Lovely

Food For Thought

Okay I am ready to get back into the program!!!

I Want To See It All

I have such a desire to see it all.

 I don't want to miss a thing. 

I may not yet be a world traveler...

But I am working on it! 

It's time to see new places, 

Learn new things,

Enjoy those that I love!

I am guilty on so many.......

I AM.......

Because Vampires Don't Sparkle

Thought of The Day

Spread Laughter & Cure Boredom

Poppin Tags 4 Mark

I LOVE MORNINGS

To The Youth

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED

TRY DOING IT THE WAY MOM TOLD YOU TO 

IN THE BEGINNING!

M O M

I WANT THIS

It's A DRY Heat

HIGH ENOUGH

Got to love a BAD BOY!!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

You have a masterpiece inside you, you know. 
One unlike any that has ever been created, or ever will be. 
If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, 
it will not get painted. 
No one else can paint it. Only you.
Gordon MacKenzie

Thank You

For being on my mind
For the thoughtful things you do
For how you make me feel
For wanting to be together
For loving me
For being YOU!

Today.....

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

A PESSIMIST IS ONE WHO 
MAKES DIFFICULTIES OF HIS OPPORTUNITIES 
AND AN OPTIMIST IS ONE WHO 
MAKES OPPORTUNITIES OF HIS DIFFICULTIES

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

ALWAYS BELIEVE 
THAT SOMETHING WONDERFUL 
IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!

MOVING DAY AT THE BANK

I believe that WHO you work with can make or break your work experiance.
No mater how you feel about the job itself, the folks that work shoulder to shoulder with you influance the daily adventure.
Here at the bank we are in transition. New teams, new team leaders, new coaches, new coworkers, new seating charts.
I like everyone I work with. I am blessed. But there are some coworkers that just make my day brighter! I am grateful for a boss that listens to our oppinions. She cares how we feel. I didn't get the seating chart of my dreams however. So I quietly requested a change or two, after all, being able to chat with your work pals is good for moral thus it is good for business. I can tell you that my request was answered with a " That's a great idea!" And by lunch I was organizing my belongings into the seat I had chosen.
One of the guys in my team asked "Angie do you always get your way?"
To the I relied "Why Yes I do!!!" And thus life at the bank is very good ?

Who Needs Fiction?

Hawesville has one city cop.
The city cop misplaced his gun.
No one said it was stolen. Just Missplaced!
I am a BIG city girl, and my perseptions may be bias,
but in my book that sounds like He Lost It.
Don't worry though.....a town hall member bought him a new one!


While we are speaking of Town Hall, listen to this.....

Charley gets along with everyone pretty well. He is in Real Estate. It may be common knowledge that his dealings are not all too straight and he likes his adult beverages a bit too much, but he is a nice guy.
Well, good old Charley has been the mayor for sometime. I guess he felt pretty secure in his mayoral duties. So during election season Charley took the wife on a vaca to Hawaii! Nice right!
While the mayor was away, Rita, one of the gals in town, got busy talking with her neighbors. All her friends wrote Rita in on the write in ballot. And while Charley was basking on the sunny beach, unaware that he had any compition, Rita won the election! Charley came back far more tanned but far less in control.
Mayor Rita changed all the town "Welcome" signs to a lovely pink color!
Don't worry about Charley though, he ran for the councelman ticket. And got it. Now a large majority of the local news and views are the minutes from the Town Councel meeting, between Charley and the new Mayor!

This came out of the news and view in Hawesville. It's all true! Just go with it!! 

FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

I HAVE WORKED AT DISCOVER 

FOR 5 YEARS TODAY

For the half decade of service I was given a gift. 

There were many things to choose from.

At first I was sure I wanted 

something sparkly and pretty. 

Then I thought, something for the 

entertainment center in my home.

But the more I thought about it, 

the more I looked at my options, 

I thought something useful, 

 something that wont go out of style, 

something everyone can use. 

So I chose a 

15 piece Henkel Knife Set 

with a black knife block.

I love it!!!