Mary Kay Party!

You know how it goes...you're trying to help out a friend get started in a new business. In this economy, everyone's doing all they can to get some extra cash - or just some cash period, to live on, so as the story goes, we did it - had a Mary Kay party to help out our friend who's getting started in the business. Here's a few pictures of the immense amount of fun we had - all while doing something nice for someone else, imagine that!!

Season of Change

Boy, do I hate this - change! As I get older, I'm not as adept to changes as I used to be. I try to be. I try to flexible, and spontaneous and all those good things. And usually I am. But once in awhile, a huge change comes along that takes all the wind out of my sails and sets me back a little. Right now, I'm experiencing a change like that - relationship changes are always the hardest, I think. It's hard to be hurt, it's hard to be rejected, it's hard to keep my mouth shut - lol! But besides relationship changes recently, I've begun to attend a different church (with my children), I've been blessed with my first grandchild (another on the way - yay!), some things appear to be changing with my work, and on and on. It's just a season of change. I've heard it said that without change, growth cannot occur. I suppose that's accurate - it's just usually uncomfortable, and I don't really like it. Besides being out of my comfort zone with all the changes, the loss of a friendship is a great sadness to me - I will be ok, but for awhile, I will be sad.

Let it Go!

I am currently reading Bishop T.D. Jakes' newest book, "Let it Go". In the words of one of my friends, "are you sure you want to do that?" Lol! I love T.D. Jakes and have read several of his other books, always resulting in a positive change for my life. This book is about forgiveness. It appears that I have several things inside that may, in the end, qualify as unforgiveness. It is a book that has a very timely message. I am anxious to gain some wisdom in this arena, as well as how to navigate the waters of extending forgiveness to others. Anyone who knows me very well, knows that I am motivated for every single thing that I do by my children. I learned early on in motherhood, that I could not pass on to my children, anything that I did not possess - in other words, if I have a problem with a neighbor who has wronged me, I can't help them forgive a neighbor who has wronged them. Thus my motivation to improve my life skills lies in the hope of being able to continue to parent them, even at my age - in a different way than when they were small, of course. Anyway, T.D. Jakes said something recently in an interview that stuck with me and increased my motivation to improve. He said when we harbor unforgiveness for an event where someone wronged us, we stay "incarcerated" as it were, in that same spot - we can't move on past it. I don't want to stay incarcerated where my unforgiveness lies, so I'm on a trek to see what can be done about it.

Fun Times!

Today some friends and I had a fun outing. We went to Created Just by Me in Washington and painted some pottery pieces, after, of course, we had a wonderful lunch at Busy Corner in Goodfield, complete with pie! Created Just by Me workers will glaze and fire our pieces and we'll pick them up in about a week or so - can't wait! Then we walked around the square (or circle - whichever you prefer) and stopped in a couple stores. It was a beautiful day out, and the good food, lots of laughs, and fun activities were great!

Fun Times Ahead!

Tomorrow some of my friends and I are going on an outing. Do we sound like old women? Ha! Just a little excursion for fun. I would love to be a person who could travel for days at a time, seeing exotic places, etc., etc. However, my current budget and time restrains that wanderlust in me. So instead, I like to plan little fun afternoon adventures, such as this one. We are meeting for lunch after I get done working, then heading over to Created Just by Me in Washington to, as best as I can describe, make some pottery type things???? There's a whole lot of info about painting, firing, glazing - I don't know. All I know is we plan to eat, laugh, and have fun. It's these short little "getaways" that bring a bright spot into some of the harder, more difficult times of life. I'll let you know how it all goes, and I'll try to take some pictures of us with our creations. What fun little getaway are you planning for the weekend?

Spencer!

Here's my cute little grandson, Spencer. He's now 7 weeks old (I think - born January 27th). That was his little green outfit for St. Patrick's Day. He's laying underneath some little toy thingy that plays loud music and lights up - he absolutely loves it! And I absolutely love him!

Teaching

Today a few of us went to lunch at a buffet after church. While in line making a beautiful salad (if I do say so myself), I was behind a man and a boy, approximately age 6, (who I assume was the gentleman's son), making their salads. The man was extremely kind and patient with the boy, as he asked him to pick out the things he wanted - didn't get mad when the boy wanted to go back to get something he'd missed, etc. But this next happening was the thing that made me the most happy. You might think it a small thing, and you might think it silly that I'm making a big deal about it, but to me, this move embodied what a father (or a grandfather, a mother, a grandmother - anyone who is helping to teach and/or rear a child) would do. The man asked the boy what kind of dressing he wanted on his salad and proceeded to tell him his choices. The boy replied, "what is bleu cheese?" The man didn't miss a beat - he said, "here's the best thing to do. Take the spoon in the dressing and put just a little bit on the edge of your plate. Then take your finger - just your little finger and dip the tip just a little in that dressing and taste it. If you like it, we'll put it on your salad." He could have just blown the kid off, saying, you probably wouldn't like it anyway or he could have gotten impatient with the boy taking up extra time. But he didn't. He just waited and instructed. Now, I really don't remember if the boy like the dressing or not, but I was so impressed with the time, patience and actual instructions the man gave the boy. Life lessons, even with something so "trivial" as finding out if you like a salad dressing or not. We could use more "elder" people teaching the young ones in such a fashion. Pass on some of the hard earned wisdom you have acquired to someone younger than you today - that's how we leave a legacy!

What is the Truth?

We are being encouraged in the massage world to alter what information we are passing on to our clients (customers, patients - whatever they call you - I call you friends), to only include information that we can site conclusive, scientific research for support. Hmmm. That would leave out alot of positive feedback information that I have received from people whom I've had the privilege of working on, as well as some of what I have experienced in massage myself. What do you think? Do we only allow into our belief system as true, that which we can scientifically prove? That appears to limit what we label as "truth" significantly. I have known for a long time that "truth" is whatever we have chosen to believe - it might not be an accurate fact, but if I believe something to be true, it is truth to me; therefore, I will make choices consistent with that truth, alter my behavior to collaborate, and on and on. The end result is that my mind, and thus my body and my life expect that fact to be true for me. I think we can all go back in our minds to an instance where we may have believed something to be true that later in life, we realized was false. So what is the truth? Can we only believe what science tells us is hard, cold facts? Or can we open up our minds and lives to experiences that sometimes defy science and fact? I am a person of the latter persuasion - some have even called me naive (I don't mind). You don't have to prove alot of things scientifically to me for me to believe it. It has been kinda fun, though, reading these massage research articles and having science back up what I've known to be true for over 10 years! Regardless of which camp you reside in, everyone needs massage - get one soon!

Time...not enough of it!

There's just not enough time in the day for all I want to accomplish. Add to that fact, I find I'm moving just a scoche (sp?) slower as I age. Oh well. I have so much I want to share with you - I have a new grandson, I'm going to be blessed with a new granddaughter, I went on a trip, we all got the flu while there, I got a new car, my new car got damaged. Oh - ain't life grand? Actually, it really is. Amidst all the turmoil, the disappointments, and the sadness of life, it really is the most amazing gift we have. And it's ours - ours to make what we want out of it. We can sit around, feeling sorry for ourselves and wishing things were different for us, or we can take some steps to make things different in our lives. As everything is turning to spring here in central Illinois, let's open up our lives and branch out to see the good in the things around us. Good things are out there - sometimes we just have to change our perspective. Here's a few pictures from our trip - enjoy! (Sorry, they're kinda in the wrong order and not too many of them because I had camera troubles - imagine that!

Spencer in his new Apache cradle board.

Spencer in his new Apache cradle board.

Spencer in his new Apache cradle board.

Cheyanne, Josh and Jesse - what an adorable little family!

It's windy out here tailgating!

A scenery shot for Patrick.

Mal, Cheyanne, Maya, and Shanna waiting for the pizza(s).

Jesse eating a grape.

Mal and Maya on my bed.

Alexa and Jesse playing with the sugar packets.

Shanna and Maya.

Patrick and Maya during worship.

Debra (Maya's mom) and Spencer.

The Bullcalf family.

Jesse.

Clayton and Spencer.

Spencer.