Picking Up the Pace

Picking Up The Pace!

but first a few picks from January's visit to the Milwaukee area :)

Lake Michigan on a cold winter's day!

Breaking waves on snowy shores.

Ice "on the Rocks" lol

On the rocks, taking a closer look at the waves

Frozen surf!

This makes me miss the west coast so much!

Now, that's a lot of ice!

Looks like there's a storm brewing too!

Water is so amazing!

I love it!

Calming

Soothing

Cleansing

Definitely something I need more of! ;-)

This is THE WEEK that we get my sister moved out of her apartment and back in with us!

Today we're setting up a loft bed in one room; a twin over full futon bunk bed in another room; and decluttering another room to add in a weight bench.  Once those are all in place we return to our work on the office/craft/sewing area ~ which is getting a major overhaul to accommodate many changes so I can use it daily in my business.

One big difference my new business is bringing for me is greater mobility.  It's not yet anywhere close to full mobility again; but it is beginning to reverse and thus I'm seeing an increase in mobility. That is allowing me to sit at a desk more often now so instead of working from my bed I'm going to be working from a desk again!

There is definitely something good about absorbing more and better nutrition and removing as much toxins from the body and from the environment around you... and it's beginning to show a difference in my life that we all hope will make even better differences in the coming months!!!

:) :) :)

049 ~ Perfect!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

(a little behind...)

One of these days I'll figure out the how's and why's of photography!

Same everything but they came out different - WHY?  HOW???

I like both of them!  I just want to know how to make sure

I'm getting the look I want, when I want it!

Is that so much to ask?

There are so many things I want to know more about:

Why do some people seem to always get all the "good stuff" in life?

Why do others seem to always get all the "leftovers" in life?

Do they each do something, anything different?

Why is it that whatever it is you think you want, 

when you finally get it, you want something different?

If you're one of those people who always gets the leftovers,

is it really possible to change things in your life somehow

so you can start getting the good stuff instead?

Wouldn't this world be wonderful if everyone was content?

Wouldn't it be nice to know that whatever you desired, you'd get?

Wouldn't we all be better people without so much stress over 

getting the good stuff,

not getting the leftovers,

being able to meet our needs 

and then some

without a lot of hassles?

In a perfect world ...

there would be no want,

there would be no pain,

there would be no sorrow,

life would be all we want it to be, 

in every way possible!

Wouldn't you love a perfect world?

038 ~ Grasshoppers

Friday, November 26, 2010

(it's late - lol - see day 037 for an explanation)

Same cookies, different camera options.

If you don't recognize them, these are the 

Girl Scouts' Thin Mints Cookies.

They happen to be a favorite in our house. 

However they are also available year-round at most grocery stores (probably a little cheaper too) under the Keebler label with the name of Grasshoppers!

A few other Girl Scout cookies are out there too!

You can't get all of them anytime you want but several are available if you search them out.  You should be aware though, not all stores will carry all that could be available to you.  So it may take some tough tracking to find your favorite!

The art of photography escapes me it seems.  I know I pushed different buttons to effect the differences in these two pictures but it's not something I really took note of, so I've no idea what it was that made each result come out like it did.  My photographer friends would think me silly for not knowing.  Oh well, not my sort of expertise!  ;-)

I do however love the difference in two things that I know, since I arranged the cookies and took the pictures, are exactly the same things!  In an abstract way it shows how two people might see the same thing completely differently!  Or it could show how two identical twins could be so completely different in so many ways from one another!

So much of what we observe in our lives is unique to our perspective!  If we have the belief that our dead loved ones will be one day resurrected with all their ailments and imperfections removed, then the death of our loved ones is not a sad nor painful thing but it is joyful because the next time we see them we shall all be totally healthy and happy and ready to fully enjoy living!

Not everyone agrees with me.

Friends of mine who also believe in this resurrection are deeply saddened when a loved one dies.  They can be inconsolable at times.  They spend a lot of time mourning.  They have a hard time focusing on living.  They feel like a part of them is lost and gone forever and they don't know how to move on, to move ahead with their lives because this person is no longer a regular part of it.

I am truly empathetic of all they are experiencing.

I have been all these things; many times; too many times.  But I have come to see that there is no benefit to me, nor to the one who died, in all my sorrow and mourning.  I will cry still each time it happens.  I mourn the loss of their company.  I mourn the loss of their friendship.  I mourn the loss of their smile, their laugh, the way they made me laugh.  Yes, I mourn too.

But I will still be filled with joy because I know their suffering is over.  They will now not have to struggle to survive these difficult times we live in.  They won't have to live in pain all the time anymore.  They won't have to have someone always around to care for them or just help them do things they used to do but can't anymore.  They will be whole again the next time we meet.  They will be in paradise, where Jehovah will satisfy their every desire.  Who wouldn't be happy, even overjoyed to know that their loved one's next moment in life would be like this?

037 ~ Topsy-Turvy

Thursday, November 25, 2010

(yes, I know it's late - very late - but I'll explain that...)  ;-)

TOPSY ~ TURVY

or

WELCOME TO MY UPSIDE-DOWN LIFE!

This picture is taken with the camera upside-down while my niece is also upside-down over the side of her couch reaching for something on the floor.

:)

We took several shots that day, but this one stands out to me.

It seems to show a lot of effort going into the reach.

That's how I feel in my life right now; that there's a lot of effort going into it. While there may be lots of effort, there doesn't seem to be much to show for it yet.  I expect that will change and eventually there will be something to see for all the hard work.

Which brings me to the reason for the delay in posting this.

For 36 posts I've put out pics of various things that have in some way related to our life - the life of all those who are regulars in my life.  But I got to thinking about the whole 365 thing - maybe too much, but here goes. lol

Many people I know doing a 365 type blog are in it for the pictures.  Quite a few of them are photographers, as in building a business taking pictures of people they are not related to. :)  Some are doing one just because they love to take pictures. :)  Either way is fine, makes no real difference to me, but neither is a real part of my reason for doing this.  Sure, the picture part of this is fun and it will be cool to see what a year's worth of pictures say about my life, or this life of my family & friends.  But what I expect or expected to do with this venue is more journal-like than that.  Don't get me wrong, I do love to take pictures.  But I love writing more.  I'm a writer and always have been. What would a year's worth of pictures be to me without written words of commentary?  What benefit would they have without some analyzing of life and how we reach our goals in life?  And why not throw in some history behind the picture or the people & places in the picture?  It might not be a thousand words each day, but it will certainly be a lot more than it has been!

As I contemplated these thoughts, I held off posting anything new here.  So I will catch up now... posting for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and today all in one day... bringing us up to 40 days... but look for the format to change up some. 

;-)

024 ~ Hearts & Flowers

Hearts and Flowers are today's pic.  :)  Last night I had to search my button jar for replacements on one of my favorite winter tops.  The original buttons have been falling off; and I really should have just reinforced all of them as soon as the first one fell.  The most recent washing cost me two buttons, only one of which I have found.  Thus the search for replacements.  This was my favorite!  It's a metal heart, sort of an old tarnished gold.  The design within the heart is flowers with leaves and stems intertwining.  With these shining buttons my favorite thermal top seems all new! 


Funny how such a small change can make such a big difference!


Have you ever thought about that?


One little change... how much power it holds... amazing!!!


I am making small, little changes in my life these days... little by little they are affecting bigger differences. :) :) :)