Thought I would share about the picture with the orange sky and rock mountains. I painted this picture a couple of months ago and recently took a picture of it, uploaded it to Blingee (blinkee?) and added the Santa hat to the orb and made it snow on the mountains. Fun stuff, I never knew Blogging could be so interesting. Maybe my new job will be Blog worthy as well. Maybe I'll call it Green with ivy!
I am working on another landscape. This one is a little more detailed. Mountains, meadows, a barn and a path. I really like it so far but I will probably not get back around to painting on it until after the holidays.
Tomorrow I am going to measure my future office and pick out paint for it. I'm excited to see what my choices are, hopefully there will be one that that just screams ME! I also am going to Angie's Christmas open house at her salon. I think my good friend Judy and my darling daughter are going with me so I'm excited about having a girl's day out.
Went and let Debbra cut my hair today - it was getting a little out of control.
Just watched the creepiest movie on TV. It was called The Strangers. Just about scared me out of my pajamas. Speaking of which.....Santa Baby, I need lounging britches, I've blown the seat out of 2 pair in the past 2 weeks. No, no, I'm quite sure I don't need to lose a few pounds.
Gotta go and put the bod to bed.
Smoochies! :)
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Clock is Ticking
I'm starting to regret putting that Christmas countdown counter on my blog. It has started to infect me with a real sense of urgency. It also seems like it is moving at light speed toward the point of no return. Don't get me wrong. I have done some things to prepare, but I'm just not motivated enough.
I have a couple of little things to do today and then I'm really going to start getting serious about my house decorating. I don't know if I will be able to do anything outside, but I can at least get my tree up and decorated.
Since no one hardly ever comments on The Cherry Bowl, I challenge you to leave a comment and tell me what you want Santa to bring you this year. I'll start.
This year for Christmas, I want blogger comments.
I have a couple of little things to do today and then I'm really going to start getting serious about my house decorating. I don't know if I will be able to do anything outside, but I can at least get my tree up and decorated.
Since no one hardly ever comments on The Cherry Bowl, I challenge you to leave a comment and tell me what you want Santa to bring you this year. I'll start.
This year for Christmas, I want blogger comments.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Things We Bring
Life is an ever evolving movie full of twists and turns. Within each of us lies a story interesting beyond words if we could only know how to tell it. Watch any movie and there will be times when you are excited, depressed, happy, sad and incredulous that such things could really happen. But guess what? Amazing things do happen in ordinary people’s lives that we never know about, never see. And as quickly as those amazing moments flash alive, they flicker into memory and are stored away.
I am forever amazed at the complexity of the human relationship. Relationships have a maze like quality. No two are the same. One might lead us on an incredible journey while another may lead us to a dead end with no easy way out.
When people are young, perhaps 14 or so they begin to seek out relationships with an opposite of their gender. Most of their experience has been with family or friends who are like them. Suddenly they begin to notice pleasing aspects in members of the opposite sex.
These relationships are the first step in their travelogue of life. A young boy and girl bring to this experience an innocence. An almost pure attraction. Not yet have they been wounded by others so they explore this relationship with excitement. They are learning themselves in a whole new way. They are fun to watch although often they are almost nauseating in their innocent enjoyment of having a significant other. Sometimes these relationships which are born in youth, endure, grow and last a lifetime. Unfortunately, more often they die a natural death and the participants move on to another playing field.
No relationship that follows will have the same purity of spirit. For suddenly, there has been hurt. Someone cared more than the other and someone’s heart developed a little crack. And that slightly damaged heart is forced to move along life’s highway in search of another vehicle. The hurting person now brings with them a wariness and distrust. The offender develops a self assured cockiness that thickens the skin and hardens the heart ever so slightly.
These two people move in and out of life. Through darkness and light they bump against other travelers and sometimes they rest in a new relationship for a while. And the mold has been set, the die cast. The hurting heart usually continues to be battered about and indeed can even look for the ability to inflict pain in others. The crack becomes bigger exposing tender parts beneath.
It isn’t that a damaged person really wants to be hurt, but they have grown used to it. It clouds the vision and they can no longer “see” those qualities of pure affection. Deep inside, they yearn for something better, different, healthy. But they bring that poor little hurting heart along for every ride they take and soon the trip just doesn’t seem worth it at all.
And so, human beings bring along their baggage into every future relationship. Some have cute little monogrammed tote bags and they cringe at the sight of someone struggling to load their steamer trunk into a new experience. But all baggage both large or small is problematic. Because we bring it with us, we are never free of the events that packed it in the first place. Sometimes we even like to sit and go through our suitcases full of issues and relive them. It hurts and feels good all at the same time, like picking at a scab. Unfortunately, once we are through examining the contents of our luggage, we carefully repack it. We never seem to find even one little item that we can leave behind. In fact, now that we’ve began the reloading, we often find we have more to put back than when we unpacked. And so, we bring ever increasing numbers of cases and boxes. Now we need a cart to load them on. Soon instead of us hauling them, they are dragging us down the road of life. Occasionally, they can stack themselves into huge roadblocks that keep us from going forward and we’re much to afraid to go back. After all, we know what happened before.
The things we bring can be changed but it isn’t easy. Imagine getting to your destination without your luggage. Everything familiar is in that suitcase. Some of it you don’t even really need; you brought it “just in case.” That suitcase is a part of you, in essence it IS you. Now what? What if that piece of baggage is lost forever. What if it winds up in a baggage room in Milwaukee, untagged and unclaimed.
After mourning the fact that it is indeed lost, cursing the careless handling by those in charge and wringing your hands about what to do, you decide. You get yourself to the nearest all purpose store and buy a new toothbrush, shampoo and a pair of serviceable undies. You hang your travel worn clothes on the shower rod and run a hot bath and steam the wrinkles out of your slacks and your spirit as well.
And tomorrow the sun rises like always and you are still part of life. That suitcase may be missing, but you are still here. And, because you’ve lost your luggage, there is a brand new aspect to your existence.
None of us will live and love and be unchanged. We each will hurt and be hurt. We will stand and fall and stand again. We will bring our experience with us and try to educate our children.
What I hope is that along the way, we can begin to cast aside our baggage. It isn’t in the failure of a relationship that we find the thorn. The thorn is in never trying again, never allowing ourselves to trust. The thorn is waiting in one of those suitcases to prick our finger and make us remember our pain.
So bring with you instead your injured heart with a bright shiny SpongeBob band-aid. Open your heart instead of your baggage. Make the thing you bring a willingness to try and try and try again and bring your love and allow it to seek its’ mirror.
I am forever amazed at the complexity of the human relationship. Relationships have a maze like quality. No two are the same. One might lead us on an incredible journey while another may lead us to a dead end with no easy way out.
When people are young, perhaps 14 or so they begin to seek out relationships with an opposite of their gender. Most of their experience has been with family or friends who are like them. Suddenly they begin to notice pleasing aspects in members of the opposite sex.
These relationships are the first step in their travelogue of life. A young boy and girl bring to this experience an innocence. An almost pure attraction. Not yet have they been wounded by others so they explore this relationship with excitement. They are learning themselves in a whole new way. They are fun to watch although often they are almost nauseating in their innocent enjoyment of having a significant other. Sometimes these relationships which are born in youth, endure, grow and last a lifetime. Unfortunately, more often they die a natural death and the participants move on to another playing field.
No relationship that follows will have the same purity of spirit. For suddenly, there has been hurt. Someone cared more than the other and someone’s heart developed a little crack. And that slightly damaged heart is forced to move along life’s highway in search of another vehicle. The hurting person now brings with them a wariness and distrust. The offender develops a self assured cockiness that thickens the skin and hardens the heart ever so slightly.
These two people move in and out of life. Through darkness and light they bump against other travelers and sometimes they rest in a new relationship for a while. And the mold has been set, the die cast. The hurting heart usually continues to be battered about and indeed can even look for the ability to inflict pain in others. The crack becomes bigger exposing tender parts beneath.
It isn’t that a damaged person really wants to be hurt, but they have grown used to it. It clouds the vision and they can no longer “see” those qualities of pure affection. Deep inside, they yearn for something better, different, healthy. But they bring that poor little hurting heart along for every ride they take and soon the trip just doesn’t seem worth it at all.
And so, human beings bring along their baggage into every future relationship. Some have cute little monogrammed tote bags and they cringe at the sight of someone struggling to load their steamer trunk into a new experience. But all baggage both large or small is problematic. Because we bring it with us, we are never free of the events that packed it in the first place. Sometimes we even like to sit and go through our suitcases full of issues and relive them. It hurts and feels good all at the same time, like picking at a scab. Unfortunately, once we are through examining the contents of our luggage, we carefully repack it. We never seem to find even one little item that we can leave behind. In fact, now that we’ve began the reloading, we often find we have more to put back than when we unpacked. And so, we bring ever increasing numbers of cases and boxes. Now we need a cart to load them on. Soon instead of us hauling them, they are dragging us down the road of life. Occasionally, they can stack themselves into huge roadblocks that keep us from going forward and we’re much to afraid to go back. After all, we know what happened before.
The things we bring can be changed but it isn’t easy. Imagine getting to your destination without your luggage. Everything familiar is in that suitcase. Some of it you don’t even really need; you brought it “just in case.” That suitcase is a part of you, in essence it IS you. Now what? What if that piece of baggage is lost forever. What if it winds up in a baggage room in Milwaukee, untagged and unclaimed.
After mourning the fact that it is indeed lost, cursing the careless handling by those in charge and wringing your hands about what to do, you decide. You get yourself to the nearest all purpose store and buy a new toothbrush, shampoo and a pair of serviceable undies. You hang your travel worn clothes on the shower rod and run a hot bath and steam the wrinkles out of your slacks and your spirit as well.
And tomorrow the sun rises like always and you are still part of life. That suitcase may be missing, but you are still here. And, because you’ve lost your luggage, there is a brand new aspect to your existence.
None of us will live and love and be unchanged. We each will hurt and be hurt. We will stand and fall and stand again. We will bring our experience with us and try to educate our children.
What I hope is that along the way, we can begin to cast aside our baggage. It isn’t in the failure of a relationship that we find the thorn. The thorn is in never trying again, never allowing ourselves to trust. The thorn is waiting in one of those suitcases to prick our finger and make us remember our pain.
So bring with you instead your injured heart with a bright shiny SpongeBob band-aid. Open your heart instead of your baggage. Make the thing you bring a willingness to try and try and try again and bring your love and allow it to seek its’ mirror.
Cherry Flop
I have been up since 3:00 a.m. I am not able to sleep. I let myself get waaaay too stressed yesterday and I will pay the price for it today.
I took my son to the airport yesterday. His flight was leaving at 7:00 p.m. We rolled out of my driveway headed to Tulsa at 5:00. Doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out what kind of trip we had. Since they like for you to be at the airport a minimum of 1 hour prior to boarding and it is a minimum of an hour and a half drive to Tulsa, it just doesn't compute. The highway between here and there is under continual construction and we went through a whole section of single lane highway, got into Tulsa and I made one wrong turn which worked out pretty easily. We came to a stop in front of the United ticketing counter at 6:50.
Son jumped out, grabbed his bag and hit the ground running. Of course they were holding his ticket so he had to show ID, etc. go through security and run for the plane. Sometime during all this, he lost his cell phone so he is now in Salt Lake City Utah without any way to keep in touch.
If someone could please explain to me why men procrastinate the way they do, I would certainly appreciate the insight.
I was literally so stressed by the time he boarded the plane that I almost got a hotel room and stayed the night in Tulsa. I decided I would go eat and give myself time to unwind a little before heading home and naturally, took the wrong exit and wound up headed for Missouri.
I have made probably 5 trips to Tulsa in my lifetime and have wound up lost 3 of them. I told darling son's girlfriend that when it is time for him to come home, she is going to have to figure out how she can get him from Tulsa to Fort Smith without me.
So it would appear that a long nap is in my future for today. Feel free to join me.
I took my son to the airport yesterday. His flight was leaving at 7:00 p.m. We rolled out of my driveway headed to Tulsa at 5:00. Doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out what kind of trip we had. Since they like for you to be at the airport a minimum of 1 hour prior to boarding and it is a minimum of an hour and a half drive to Tulsa, it just doesn't compute. The highway between here and there is under continual construction and we went through a whole section of single lane highway, got into Tulsa and I made one wrong turn which worked out pretty easily. We came to a stop in front of the United ticketing counter at 6:50.
Son jumped out, grabbed his bag and hit the ground running. Of course they were holding his ticket so he had to show ID, etc. go through security and run for the plane. Sometime during all this, he lost his cell phone so he is now in Salt Lake City Utah without any way to keep in touch.
If someone could please explain to me why men procrastinate the way they do, I would certainly appreciate the insight.
I was literally so stressed by the time he boarded the plane that I almost got a hotel room and stayed the night in Tulsa. I decided I would go eat and give myself time to unwind a little before heading home and naturally, took the wrong exit and wound up headed for Missouri.
I have made probably 5 trips to Tulsa in my lifetime and have wound up lost 3 of them. I told darling son's girlfriend that when it is time for him to come home, she is going to have to figure out how she can get him from Tulsa to Fort Smith without me.
So it would appear that a long nap is in my future for today. Feel free to join me.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Happy Birthday Darling Husband
Today was Roger's birthday. Unfortunately, I had to make a whirlwind trip to Tulsa and was unable to spend any time with him on his birthday. I think he had a pretty crappy day all around so I am going to spend the rest of the week trying to make up for a less than stellar birthday. He does so much for all of us and it seems like he always gets the short end of the stick.
I don't know if it is because it comes right after Thanksgiving and everyone has sort of let down after the turkey hype or what but I personally have the hardest time remembering and it just sneaks up on me every year. I have to do better, he deserves better.
Gotta go, am very tired and kind of depressed that I have made my sweetheart unhappy. No cherry on top for me, I'm a bad girl.
I don't know if it is because it comes right after Thanksgiving and everyone has sort of let down after the turkey hype or what but I personally have the hardest time remembering and it just sneaks up on me every year. I have to do better, he deserves better.
Gotta go, am very tired and kind of depressed that I have made my sweetheart unhappy. No cherry on top for me, I'm a bad girl.
Saving a Buck
Over the Thanksgiving holidays, I was disturbed to hear about people who were injured and even killed during the crazed event known as "Black Friday."
One has to wonder exactly what creates such a frenzy among what one hopes are usually sane people. Since most of us overspend at Christmas anyway, how much of a savings can precipitate the need to camp out in the cold and then stampede like cattle in a thunderstorm.
Is this the result of "herd" mentality? Have we reduced ourselves to little more than sheep blindly crowding into pens for slaughter? Or are we so completely numb to the "what ifs" of our behavior that we cease to think rationally?
I believe that had I have been in that crowd at Wal-Mart and knew that someone died I would have a difficult time ever getting over it.
However along with the crowds of senseless shoppers there are others to share the blame. First of all, if stores can "slash" their prices for holiday shopping, couldn't they have some decent discounts all along? And the media.....I hate to even get started on my soapbox there. The same people who make elections last for years by analyzing, critiquing and denegrating can work the public into a froth. Perhaps if we weren't told that prices were good for "1 DAY ONLY!" we might have more sense.
But ultimately, the responsibility lies with us. It is our job to behave like human beings, not savages. That same HDTV that we are so driven to obtain the day after Thanksgiving may very well be drastically discounted after Christmas as well. And frankly, given the state of our world, our country and our economy I would like to see people decide to work really hard to recapture the whole meaning of Christmas. Chances are none of those people who rushed the doors of Wal-mart were doing so to buy items for the poor, the sick or the homeless. They were rushing to purchase for people who more than likely, have too much, eat too much and appreciate too little. I still remember Christmas as a little girl when most of my gifts were much needed clothes. My best package came in the mail from my grandmother. The big boot box was filled with books, a box of chocolate covered cherries, a Lifesaver "book" and some item that grandma made with her own hands. As a child I had no use for a toilet paper roll cover constructed from a doll body with a crocheted skirt but she made it. And she made it just for me. At the time, it never crossed my mind that she had made dozens of them and everyone in the family got the same thing. All I cared about was the fact that she remembered me and cared enough to make something for me. I would give anything to be able to look forward to seeing that boot box arrive in the mail this Christmas.
As we all ratchet up for Christmas, I hope we can approach it with peaceful calm. De-stress the event as much as you can. Remember Jesus was born in a lowly stable with little comfort and He was a King. Without Him, there would be no Christmas.
One has to wonder exactly what creates such a frenzy among what one hopes are usually sane people. Since most of us overspend at Christmas anyway, how much of a savings can precipitate the need to camp out in the cold and then stampede like cattle in a thunderstorm.
Is this the result of "herd" mentality? Have we reduced ourselves to little more than sheep blindly crowding into pens for slaughter? Or are we so completely numb to the "what ifs" of our behavior that we cease to think rationally?
I believe that had I have been in that crowd at Wal-Mart and knew that someone died I would have a difficult time ever getting over it.
However along with the crowds of senseless shoppers there are others to share the blame. First of all, if stores can "slash" their prices for holiday shopping, couldn't they have some decent discounts all along? And the media.....I hate to even get started on my soapbox there. The same people who make elections last for years by analyzing, critiquing and denegrating can work the public into a froth. Perhaps if we weren't told that prices were good for "1 DAY ONLY!" we might have more sense.
But ultimately, the responsibility lies with us. It is our job to behave like human beings, not savages. That same HDTV that we are so driven to obtain the day after Thanksgiving may very well be drastically discounted after Christmas as well. And frankly, given the state of our world, our country and our economy I would like to see people decide to work really hard to recapture the whole meaning of Christmas. Chances are none of those people who rushed the doors of Wal-mart were doing so to buy items for the poor, the sick or the homeless. They were rushing to purchase for people who more than likely, have too much, eat too much and appreciate too little. I still remember Christmas as a little girl when most of my gifts were much needed clothes. My best package came in the mail from my grandmother. The big boot box was filled with books, a box of chocolate covered cherries, a Lifesaver "book" and some item that grandma made with her own hands. As a child I had no use for a toilet paper roll cover constructed from a doll body with a crocheted skirt but she made it. And she made it just for me. At the time, it never crossed my mind that she had made dozens of them and everyone in the family got the same thing. All I cared about was the fact that she remembered me and cared enough to make something for me. I would give anything to be able to look forward to seeing that boot box arrive in the mail this Christmas.
As we all ratchet up for Christmas, I hope we can approach it with peaceful calm. De-stress the event as much as you can. Remember Jesus was born in a lowly stable with little comfort and He was a King. Without Him, there would be no Christmas.
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