Story of Now

After stopping at Cub on my way home from work today, I started to ponder some things. I feel that there has been much loss around me lately and that has made me step back and examine life. If I died tomorrow, would I be satisfied with the way I lived my life? Am I content with the way I have treated my family and friends and strangers? Am I living a passionate life with compassion? Do I enjoy the beauty of all things? Am I participating in things that bring me joy? Do I really listen to people? Have I repaired all the hurt I have caused? Have I said the really important things that need to be heard? Have I been patient with others? Have I been good to the earth? Have I made healthy choices for myself? I suppose the list of questions could go on. Whatever needs to be done to feel satisfied, can be started now. Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.

This is Diesel and he just turned 6 months on Friday, which happened to be my day to babysit! He is 6 months and full of wonder and joy. I just love watching him explore and laugh and communicate. Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.

I enjoy that peaceful feeling I get when the skies are still stormy and yet there is sunlight. I think it just may be my favorite type of light. I was on my way home from my moms last Friday, and it was just barely raining. The sky was beautiful. I was equipped with my camera and my nifty fifty. I took some backroads and found that I was the only one on those roads. It was good. It was peaceful. I tried some different things. I shot through the window to get the drops. I played around and it was great! Sometimes it becomes more about the feeling when I am shooting than what the pictures actually look like. This was sooooo therapeutic for me. Ahhhh...when I have my camera in hand it just makes the world mine! I thought I'd share a few that I liked. The goal of life is living in agreement with nature. ~Zeno

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to do a session of a four generation family. I was so thrilled to be able to do this. What a beautiful, loving family they are! Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.

This is Matt looking at pebbles on the shore of Lake Superior. I love the way he sees the world. He embraces it with compassion and a yearning to understand. Matt and I enjoyed our 6 month Wedding Anniversary this past Friday by driving up to the North Shore. We jammed out to good tunes, walked around Gooseberry Falls, talked, explored, paused to take in natures beauty, laughed, kissed, and celebrated our love! Matt taught me how to skip rocks...he is such a good patient teacher! I am so blessed! Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.

Last night I shared a plate of nachos with my wonderful husband. As we sat there, we talked about our future and our dreams. It is in the simple things that I find pleasure! Have a great day!

The Kindness contest winner is nominee #2. There will be pictures to follow. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that voted, I very much appreciate it. He that plants trees loves others beside himself. Dr. Thomas Fuller

I have had a new fascination with retro-looking birds lately. So, with this new fascination I decided I would design my own Photoshop bird brushes. I also have a bit of an obsession with quotes, if you hadn't already noticed :) Fascination with retro birds + obsession with quotes= new card designs Creating bird brushes led me to create some other brushes including: trees, flowers and text. Enjoy and please let me know what you think! I would love to hear your comments!!

I got two wonderful nominations for the Kindness moves Mountains contest. Both of these women sound extraordinary! Here is wishing that everyone has someone that is a blessing in their life. Please read the nomination stories and vote for your favorite. Poll is on the right side of the blog! Names have been substituted by just the first initial of their name. #1 I would love to nominate my dear friend and co-worker P. P is an inspiration to me. She has dedicated her life to helping others and worked tirelessly in the process. Whenever I need to get turned around P is always there to guide me and help me see things as they are. She and her husband raised two children who have now moved away from home and her daughter has children of her own. P is a volunteer through her church, for the school, and is also an advocate for social justice. She has taken trips with students to poverty stricken areas and helped those in need. She has also been a sponser for a special gentleman who recently ...

Ava was 7 months on the day we did these pictures. It had been a long day, and she was pretty tired but she did a great job! Here is just a few to show off her cuteness! To love, cuddle, play with, adore, that's what baby girls are for. Unknown

This poem truly touches my soul. I read it and felt peaceful. It brought images of my past into the present; things I have done, people I've known, emotions I've felt. _____________________________________________________________________ Kindness By Naomi Shihab Nye Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop, the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever. Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness, you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road. You must see how this could be you, how he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive. Before you know kindne...

A couple of weeks ago I got to be part of a great act of kindness; a renewing of an old picture and a reliving of memories. You see my Grandparents are a part of an old neighborhood. Years ago the neighbors would get together to celebrate many occasions, one of which was New Years. One of the guys from the neighborhood was a great illustrator and drew up a picture of "New Years 1962" and gave it to my Grandparents. This great illustration has been given a new life; taken from it's plastic bag, matted and framed and now hangs prominently in my Grandparents den. The idea to get it framed came from one of my brothers and then my dad took the idea and ran with it. To witness my Grandparents delight in this gift and to see them reliving the memories of yesteryear was so moving!! Here they are, 91 years old, married for 60+ years, and just recently in and out of the hospital for three months...and then before my eyes taken back 40 years. I will never forget the joy they emitted...

As I continue to take nominations for my "Kindness moves Mountains" contest, I thought I'd say what kindness is to me and how I have experienced it and witnessed it through my life. Kindness makes ripples across the world. Just as one little ounce of anger can turn into a whole pool of destruction, one ounce of kindness can turn into an ocean of joy, peace and happiness. Kindness is in the every day things. It is listening and hugging. It is cuddling. A sweet note. A door held. An unexpected gift. A heartfelt thank you. Encouraging words. A phone call. A favor. Volunteering. Donating to charity. Helping a friend move. Speaking words that connect. Doing a chore that's usually not yours. Making a special meal. Patience. Tolerance. Teaching someone. Reading a book to a child. Letting someone go ahead in line at the store. A shoulder to cry on. A smile. Showing love to a hurt animal. Sending flowers to someone who is ill or has lost someone. Making a meal for someone goin...

Please click the above image for full view! I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. William Penn

In his eyes, the world is perfect. He does not see war. His simple needs are met. He knows true love. He spreads joy to all those who are near. Babies are very humbling beings to me. Their wonderment is so amazing! Their eyes tell the truth, they cannot tell a lie. A baby is a simple little being, with no desire to hurt anyone. A baby does not have prejudice or judgement, although they know the difference between harsh tones and kindness. They do know whether someone is tense or relaxed, attentive or distant. They know the true nature of others. Babies are such a blessing to this world! This is my very dear friend Emmy's baby boy! So precious! Emmy, you are a wonderful mom!

An attitude of gratitude. A simple thing really. A choice. A way of life. An appreciation for life, for the way things are, for the way things work. This video is not able to be embedded , but please click on the link for viewing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus Life truly is amazing if you take a moment to observe and ponder and appreciate! There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy. Ralph H. Blum

Hugs. More than just wrapping your arms around someone. A hug can instantly connect you and another person. It can heal your wounds. It can enliven you. It can break down boundaries and bring forth growth. A hug can bring security and warmth. Hugs are free. Hug someone today! Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.

After 6 weeks in the hospital/transitional care, my Grandpa is home. I am happy the sweethearts are back together. I am hoping they take care of eachother and stay safe! As a family we will continue to watch over them, cook some meals and clean. Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.

The experts say that when you dream of a house it represents "self" or ones soul. It makes sense to me. A house has so many rooms, sometimes each with a different theme...their own character. We each have different "rooms" within us. There is the room of "I like..." and it's opposite "I don't like..." There is the room of "I get sad when..." "I am happy when..." "these are my favorite people" "these people rub me the wrong way" "I have these talents" "I can't do..." I have been doing some examining of myself lately. It all started a few days ago at lunch. I got a meal that came with pudding. Pudding belongs in my room of "I don't like". I looked at the pudding, it was butterscotch and thought "Hey, I like butterscotch". So, I thought I'd bring a spoonful to my mouth just to test whether pudding still belongs in the "I don't like" room...

It seems to happen to me every Winter. I get in a rut. I don't take out my camera as much. Tonight I decided it was time for a little picture project. I grabbed my glass ice cream dish, food coloring, white tagboard and my camera with the 50mm lens on it. I had fun and I really like some of the images I got. I would love to try this outdoors on a sunny day too! Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.