Eli Turns Two

My youngest grandson, Eli. turned two in May.... His Birthday party was a cookout yesterday....
Since Eli is a big SpongeBob fan, his party was complete with all the trimmings from the "Krusty Krab".

I just wanted to share some of the smiling faces with you...

IMAGE & WORDS #4 ~ SOFT

     
      IMAGE & WORDS Week 4           Our hostess this week is: MIA   And the theme she has chosen is: SOFT         If you would like to play along... follow the link below!!!             Photo taken 05-30-2009 with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS     Bitter are the tears of a child: Sweeten them. Deep are the thoughts of a child: Quiet them. Sharp is the grief of a child: Take it from him. Soft is the heart of a child: Do not harden it.   ~ Pamela Glenconner          

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY ~ OFF THE BEATEN PATH

 

 

PICTURE PICTURE FRIDAY

Our hostess this week is CHERIE

and the theme she has given us is:

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

 

To Join in the fun,

Just click on the link below:

Off The Beaten Path.... What a great theme!

My first thought was of the last trip I made with John to Northern California.

You may recognize the cave from prettier shots that John has posted,

but in this one you could see the rocks all the way to the entrance.

No Path here for sure! (And that is the only way to get where we were!)

The Cave itself is Off The Beaten Path

but to get down to where the picture was taken you had to make your own way!

 

Jot Dean Cave

A neat place to be Off The Beaten Path!

(But than being Off The Beaten Path is usually neat!)

 

 

"45 Things Life Taught Me"

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.
 
 My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once
 more:


 1.       Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

 2.       When in doubt, just take the next small step.
 
  3.       Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...

  4.       Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.  Your
             friends and parents will.  Stay in touch.

   5.       Pay off your credit cards every month.

   6.       You don't have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

   7.       Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
 
   8.       It's OK to get angry with God.  He can take it.

   9.       Save for retirement starting with your first pay cheque.

  10.     When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
 
  11.     Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

   12.     It's OK to let your children see you cry.

   13.     Don't compare your life to others.  You have no idea what
             their journey is all about.

   14.     If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

   15.     Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But don't
             worry; God never blinks.
 
   16.     Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.

   17.     Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

   18.     Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

   19.     It's never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the
              second one is up to you and no one else.

   20.     When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't
              take no for an answer.

   21.     Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy
              lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion,
              today is special.

   22.     Over prepare, then go with the flow.
 
   23.     Be eccentric now.  Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

   24.     The most important sex organ is the brain.

   25.     No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

   26.     Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five
              years, will this matter?'

   27.     Always choose life.

   28.     Forgive everyone everything.

   29.     What other people think of you is none of your business.

   30.     Time heals almost everything.  Give time.

  31.     However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
 
   32.     Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.

    33.     Believe in miracles.

   34.     God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything
              you did or didn't do.

   35.     Don't audit life.  Show up and make the most of it now.

   36.     Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

   37.     Your children get only one childhood.
 
   38.     All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
  
   39.     Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.

   40.     If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone
             else's, we'd grab ours back.

    41.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

   42.     The best is yet to come.

  43.     No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

  44.     Yield.

   45.     Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

The List

The List

Do you have anything to be thankful for? In his classic novel Robinson Crusoe, author Daniel Defoe has shipwrecked Crusoe take inventory of his life. He makes two lists. One is a list of his problems. The other is an inventory of that for which he can give thanks.

A problem he writes is that he has no clothing. On his corresponding list he writes that the weather is warm and he really has little need for clothing. Another problem is that all of his provisions were lost at sea. But on the other list he writes that he has fresh fruit and water and can provide for himself. And so it goes. He lists his problems and likewise lists all that he has going for him. He is surprised at the size of the list of his assets.

How long would your list be if you took inventory of your blessings - all of that for which you can give thanks? For family. For friends. For faith. For health and the necessities of life. Did you know that some one million people will die this week...how is your health? Those who have food, clothing and shelter have more than much of our world's population will ever possess. Do you have these necessities of living?

How long would your list be if you took inventory of your blessings...and added one new item daily? Would you be amazed at the size of the list?

You have 1,440 minutes in every day. How would your life be different if you spent just 15 of those minutes daily giving thanks? Just 15 minutes filling your mind with concrete examples of how fortunate you are? Most of us would discover even after a few days that the exercise was life changing!

Poet Courtland Sayers put it this way:

      "Five thousand breathless dawns all new;

One million flowers fresh in dew. 

    Five thousand sunsets wrapped in gold

One million snowflakes served ice cold. 

      Five quiet friends, one baby's love;

One white sea of clouds above. 

      One June night in a fragrant wood;

One heart that loved and understood. 

      I wondered when I waked that day -

In God's name - how could I ever pay?"

Christian mystic Meister Eckhart said, "If the only prayer you say in your whole life is 'thank you,' that would suffice." I suspect he is right.

~ Steve Goodier
"Your Life Support"








I have the longest list!!!!
& So many of you are at the top of the list!
I wanted you to know!!!
Thank you so much...
for being you
And for being here!

IMAGE & WORDS ~ NO THEME ~ WEEK THREE

   
   

IMAGE & WORDS 

NO THEME

WEEK THREE

      The hostess this week is: DANIELLE     Link to Image & Words
      Thank you, Danielle.  Had so much fun doing this, your week... Took two pictures from my last trip to California... The background I took out the truck window, as John drove along the coast at Carmel. The picture of myself was taken at a rest area in the bathroom mirror. (Yes, I play with my camera a lot!) In GIMP I put me over The coast picture and  faded myself. I have friends like this!!! And I'm so glad!!!    
            WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!! (As you do enjoy)  DON'T FORGET TO GIVE THANKS  TO THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED AND THOSE WHO HAVE DIED FOR US!!!              

Poetry Posse ~ Week 31 (5/3/5)

   

 

 

MJ is hosting this week

and she has given us a

fun challenge!

 

 

The challenge is to write a poetry composed of

five words for the first line,

three words on the second

and five again on the last.

Rhyming or not,

doesn't matter either what your topic is.

 

 

 

 

 

To Join in the fun

click on the link below:

 

 

 

 

Reflecting on days long past,
Thinking, I pause...
To find cherished memories remain.

 

 

 

 

Image & Words ~ Week Two ~ Anything Goes

 

 

IMAGE & WORDS

WEEK 2

ANYTHING GOES

 

 

To join the group and have some fun

click & follow the button below!

 

 

 

Love this idea of Images & Words...

Look so forward to trying more and visiting others!

 

 

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY ~ BUSY

 

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY

To join in the fun click on the pretty hostess below:

 

As you see our Hostess this week is Heather,
And the theme she has chosen is:

 

BUSY

A big welcome back to Heather!!!
We always miss you when you are gone!
So happy for your time spent with loved ones!!!


Following Heather's example I went with the busy child at play....

as taken ~ no playing in gimp or picnik lol

Eli busy playing ball with his water bottle bat...

and his wadded up aluminum piece for a ball
 while big brother plays ball on the field
(Eli will be two a week from Saturday)

 

the follow thru:

 I know, two pictures are against the rules but I'm a grandmother & he is so cute ~ lol

 

He is always busy doing something... dancing, baseball, when big brother is playing wee... Eli swings at golf, bats the ball, rolls the ball down the alley ~ always in motion... to have the energy of a two year old!

 

Another fun week...

Wishing everyone a great weekend!!!

 

DRIVING OUT BAD NAILS

DRIVING OUT BAD NAILS

A teacher who was lecturing on habits told his class, "Anything you repeat twenty times is yours forever."
From the back of the classroom
came a whispered voice, "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah…." Of course, what the teacher was trying to say is that any behavior, often repeated, becomes habit.

The Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus once said, "A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit." And if I understand him right, he suggests that saying no to a bad habit is not enough. Instead, we should try to replace it with a good one. Repeat the new behavior twenty times … and it is yours.


If any behavior, good or bad, is often repeated, it becomes stronger and more powerful. "Since habits become power, make them work for you and not against you," said  E. Stanley Jones. In other words, drive out the undesirable nail, the behavior you'd like to change, with a better
one.

One woman did just that after lamenting to her friend, "I hate being late. It has been a problem for me all of my life."

"Do you really want to change that habit?" her friend asked. The woman said that she did and her friend responded, "All right. Every time you're late for work or anywhere else, then give me $25."

"I'd go broke!" she said. "But I'll do $10."

"It's got to hurt," said the friend.

"Believe me, that will hurt," the woman replied. They agreed that the money should be deposited in a jar and used for charity.

In the first week, the habitually tardy woman made a concerted effort to plan ahead and she only paid $10 to her friend. The next week, $20.  The third week, none at all. By week five, she had built a strong habit of leaving early, and her new behavior replaced the old pattern of tardiness that had hindered her for so long. She drove out one nail with another one. And she found freedom.

If you're like me, there is a bad nail you want to remove. Today is a good day to pick up a better nail and start using it.

from Your Life Support
   ~ Steve Goodier

WISHING EVERYONE
A WONDERFUL UPCOMING WEEKEND!!!!

Clear blue waters, sandy beaches, fun & play everyday!

How about that glass of red wine?

Some good company and a nice glass of red wine...
sounding interesting?

from 60 Minutes

Or maybe the answer is two Resveratrol a day???

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY ~ SPOOKY

 

 

PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY

The host this week is JohnOh

And the theme he has chosen is:

 

 

To Join in the fun...

Follow the Link below ( The Penguin)

 

Picture was taken June 24, 2008 with my Kodak Z740 Digital Zoom Camera

 

So he doesn't look spooky to you?  Well, he didn't to me either that June morning when I came home from work and found them up this tree in my yard,  I was excited. Grabbed my camera out of the car and begin taking pictures. What a find! Surely a good Picture Perfect Friday one of these days (Little did I know).

No, not Spooky until I found they lived with me..... and Animal Control told me they had calls from people who woke up face to face with a raccoon in their bed. That is when I moved downstairs (I believe in sharing and decided the upstairs could be theirs ~ LOL).  That was several months after the picture was taken.

They are sly little devils ... and have avoided capture to this day.. but the trap is set and their days at this address are numbered ( Now, how is that for positive thinking?)

And yes, I still sleep downstairs... The thought of sleeping with a raccoon is SPOOKY to me!!!

 

Wishing each and everyone

a wonderful Raccoon-free Weekend!!!