I'm not big on doing this...

...but I found it fitting for today, I think.

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
Psalm 34:17-18

New Header Images

Don't you love these latest Etsy finds!
~

First, the floral cut-out collage from box64studios:

I mean seriously...SiiiiCK!
~

Second, the circles table from michaelarras:

I have already picked the perfect spot for this in my home!
~

Finally, the recycled bike wheel clock from pixiethis:

Up-cycling at its BEST!
~

Please support handmade!

The thing about hope...

It’s hard to hold on when you need it,

but when it’s time to let go

it never fully fades.

And sometimes

...

I wish it would.

it's Friezing in here...

...and Seven loves it!

So, after the paperwork not going through

because the sales person forgot to get us to sign one page

yet my credit card was charged for the deposit

and no one called to inform us before our scheduled install

so I was left to waste 1/2 day waiting for no reason

and was left pretty underwhelmed with their upfront customer service...

I will never use Empire again!

But we have new carpet,

and it's great to be able to check one more thing off the

remodel list!

I remeber...

baking…

shrinky-dinks

learning…

to cross-stitch

journeys to mysterious lands…

the yellow river game ranch

years ago I was a summer nanny for two girls

I took them to the game ranch

they had never been

I loved watching them walk through

and just take it all in

something new

something beautiful

and that is what it’s about…

in spite of the storms

I still have wonderful, beautiful

memories

A few of our favorite things...

Wold War II Memorial

theFred loved this place

and found his grandfather's name among the honorees. Old Post Office

want to see a 360 degree view of D.C.

without waiting in line for the Washington Memorial

this is the place...

and you can even find a cheap lunch on the lower level!

White House

a must!
Crescent Bend, Knoxville
A beautiful 7-tiered garden with tulips in bloom...lovely!

~
We had an action packed week
and I am glad to be back in my very own bed.
Now we need another vacation to recover!

Peace of Self

when people get it wrong,

and they believe you to be

someone other than who you are

it is inevitable

that

the more you fight

to reveal the truth,

the less likely they are

to find you…

instead

you lose yourself in the fight

and become

that someone else

I lost.

I walked away

and found myself

again.

The fight continued,

but for the first time

I maintained my sense of self

and…

I lost again?

No.

Not a loss.

I did not lose myself.

At last,

I walked away

accomplished.

I may have lost the fight

but I won

the internal battle.

And though those people

are no longer around,

I am eternally grateful

for the gift

of life

of self

and

-peace-

Time to chillax...

The boss and I needed a break,

so we packed up...

our friends

and headed to Gatlinburn, TN.

To "Ahhh...The View" cabin

which was pronounced "awl" the view

by the owner.
And the view was nice...when the weather cooperated.

Of course, most of the weekend looked like this...

Scooby Doo's playground

Luckily we had two

weather channel monitors...

And finally the weather turned,

just as we started back home...

No matter...it was a lovely time away

with my best friend...

Sometimes we need to get away from the everyday

to remember the "awl"

of this magnificent world.

I lost my cool points...

because Amazon delivered this today…

Yeah, I know.
I did see the movie in the theater several months ago and was not that impressed.
But watching it the second time was better…maybe because I didn’t have two teenage girls letting out a little hormone-driven giggles every time Robert Pattenson spoke…moved…took a breath on screen.

But take another look… Okay, crisis averted – I may have just retained my one and only cool point.

Whew!

I finally splurged on the Across The Universe soundtrack!
I L-O-V-E that movie.
It’s truly trip-tastic.
And I still get chills every time it gets to this part.

Sometimes I need a little depth...

i debated, 
but in the end…
keeping this blog filled 
with 
surface level
thoughts
is just 
not 
me.
i have been through far 
too much.
life is 
beautiful
and 
painful.
and I am lucky 
to be alive
and 
feel 
alive
every 
day.
to the 
churched 
i am not 
Christian 
enough,
and to the
un-churched
i am 
too religious.
in the end, 
neither opinion 
matters.
i am 
what 
i am.
religiously unreligious
a faithful believer
forever accepting
never settling
always seeking...