Sunday Scribblings #314 TREAT  Whether you are celebrating Easter or not, I hope that today finds you enjoying some sort of treat.

I’ve seriously had waaay to many food treats lately & need to hop on (and drive full speed ahead) on the healthy wagon.  Too many special events, too many parties, too many holidays and too much junk food!  Let’s just admit this isn’t going to happen until the end of April, with our birthdays coming up and 2 weddings this month.

I’m loving the Houston weather right now- it’s such a treat to sit outside and actually enjoy it.  Still not miserable in the mornings, delightful to sit outside in the afternoons & evenings.

I treated myself to some new clothes from Athleta and Victoria’s Secret today- an early birthday gift.

Sleeping in past 7 AM any day is considered a treat when 3:50 (M/W/F) and 5:30 (T/H) is the norm.

I don’t give the dogs as many treats as I did years ago, but they still occasionally get a rawhide and get plenty of treats at my mom’s house.

I’m going on a retreat this summer in New York to do yoga, photography & journaling.  So up my ally right now!

I treat myself to a monthly massage and usually get my nails done every 4 weeks depending on my schedule.  I’m waaay over-due for a haircut, but that’s more work (to drive downtown) than a treat.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Had a lovely Easter- hanging out with family after church.

Sunday Scribblings #313 -Reflect  I thought today might be a good day to stop and reflect.

The first day of the month is always great to reflect.  I feel like March was on warp-speed & I’ve spent all weekend catching up on things I’ve fallen behind on while I’ve been a busy bee.  I had such high hopes for March & I’m happy to say it was a great month- lots of high & lows, laughs & tears, time with friends & family, energy spent on workshops & classes.

I feel like I’ve done more reflecting in the last 8 months than the rest of my life!   Starting out small with things like the 30 Days of Lists that I did twice, progressing onto the Pathfinder Course and the Ordinary Courage class, and now diving head deep into a multitude of projects and courses that offer an opportunity to reflect on my marriage, my career, my faith, my photography.  It’s good- I’m enjoying it & wondering why it took me so long to discover so many opportunities like this.

I signed up for the Creative Joy retreat this June in NY to focus on yoga, photography & creativity.  I’ve never been on an official retreat before- where I’ve lavished time & energy on diving deeper, doing some soul searching & reflecting on my life.

I happy to see most of the Google search image results are stunning landscapes of mountains reflected in the water below.  Something brilliantly beautiful about the water looking like land through reflections of light.  I’ve taken a few nice reflection photos, but I’d love to take some like this one day.

I’m getting a blog make-over again soon.  Still working on a new logo, color scheme, header and some other things to spiff up the place.  I’m hoping it reflects me a little more & what I’m sharing on this little corner of the internet.

We recently bought one of those small round vanity mirrors that has the magnification on them & we love it.   It’s a totally random thing, but almost all the nice hotels have a fancy mirror & we have used it a ton since putting it up a few months back.

That’s one of the things I adore about blogging- it’s a chance to reflect on my life.  Even the 2 week lag it takes me to get from life to the blog is a great break to re-visit and re-live warm memories.   I love the opportunity to go back several years now & see how my life has changed, to reflect on how different things were even just a few years ago and know that these photos & stories are recorded.

Did a lot more reflecting that I thought I’d do today….time to get back to living life!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Such a great catch-up day again & hubby is making fish tacos for dinner.

Sunday Scribblings #312- The Rest of the Story 

The most obvious first thought about the rest of the story is Paul Harvey’s daily radio segments about unusual  or unbelievable news stories.

Along the lines of so many cliches, about judging a book by its cover or walking a mile in somebody else’s shoes, I’m realizing that so many people have a much more complicated and compelling story that we can see at first glace.  I’m getting better at not just seeing where and who people are that stand in front of me, but remembering they have a all been through tough times, experienced joy & heartbreak, and all have stories they could tell.

I’ve to a story to tell too, but I’m not ready right now to share the rest of it.

The girls were out last night in downtown Houston for a bachelorette party & the guys were in New Orleans, and you won’t likely hear any of the details on the rest of that story.

I rarely go and post my link on the original Sunday Scribblings post since I get to them so late in the day.  I’m struggling for thoughts on this prompt, so I went and click on several other writers’ posts & was fascinated how they all shared the rest of the story.  It’s almost as if the weekly word is given & everybody is free to finish the story in their own way- prose, random ramblings, stories, etc.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Went to the driving range for the first time in years during today’s gorgeous afternoon.

Sunday Scribblings #311 Honest - There is no ulterior motive for this… honest!

Honest is hard!  Sure, I don’t really have problem with lying all that often, but being 100% honest, open and completely truthful is hard.  I realize how often I have difficulty communicating with my husband and I just can’t find the words to go from my heart & mind to my mouth.

It felt really good to finally share all my projects yesterday & be honest about everything on my plate.   Honestly, I’m scared and nervous about how I’m going to handle it all and if it will live up to all my hopes and dreams for the blog.

Honest, I went non-stop again all weekend & 9:45 on Sunday night is the first time I’m sitting down to blog.  I did get some photos & collages lined up for posts this week.   And I’m totally OK with this being a rather short post & I’m really about to march upstairs to bed.

It feels so good to have great friends.  I’ve struggled with finding friends my whole life & the amazing people in my  life, family included, make me so stinkin’ happy these days.  I love them, love hanging out with them, love spending time with them.

I’m good.  Honestly, really good right now.  I feel like I’m finally finding my groove, tapping into my mojo, loving myself a little more these days & it’s good. It took some dark days, painful soul searching & lots of work to get here, but I realize it’s all part of life.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Husband had his first official crawfish boil all on his own today.

Sunday Scribblings #309 Search -

Oh mercy have I been searching lately!  I spent most of the fall of 2011 doing some soul searching, searching through things in my life, searching for how to hold my life together.  These days I’m searching for something different. I’ve found a purpose, embraced a project, located an idea that has ignited my passions.  Now I am searching for people to collaborate with, looking for the perfect partners to work with, finding all the necessary pieces and parts to make my absolutely insane dream come true.

In some other not so happy news, we are searching for some miracles for Ms. Zoe.  She was recently diagnosed with a tumor in her urethra & the prognosis isn’t very good.  We’re meeting with the surgeon on Wednesday to see if surgery would keep her comfortable & hopefully give her another good year.  I’m so thankful that she’s feeling good now, but we are trying to find the best route to give her a happy and comfortable last year with us.

In the last month, I’ve done more google searches & done more research than all of the previous year combined.  I’ve been amazed at how many people are out there searching for guidance, looking for inspiration, wanting to find mentors or coaches, seeking a deeper meaning to life, and generally just trying to find their way in this world.

I’ll just put this out there to the universe & maybe it will answer, but I’m really looking high & low, searching the world wide web to find some writers & creative types to work with on this project.  So if you are looking to be part of an exciting startup and want to be a part of a fabulous team, drop me a line.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Had a fabulous day filled with food & family!