I think it's a scrapbook kind of night

A sample layout from one of my FAVORITE scrapbook stores! 
Times to Remember , in Hershey PA

Last week, the flu really wiped me out.  I looked at my scrapbook table a couple of times, but my head was too foggy to make critical choices about color and design and which pictures should be featured.  But I am feeling MUCH better now, and it's time to play!

I can almost feel the paper in my hands.  I have a couple of packages of new stickers I'm itching to open and play with.  And then there are the wedding pictures I haven't even started scrapping yet.  And the camping trip, and the Mother's Day breakfast and the "My Faith" scrapbook I've been meaning to start ever since I skimmed through Courtney Walsh's book about it at a crop. I love the idea of putting things like faith or dreams or other "intangibles" into scrapbooks -- it helps me clarify my own feelings better than words alone ever do.

And then there's the "Behind the Camera" book I wanted to start with the stickers I got a few months ago, and the Pets scrapbook and the pages in my Journey Book I need to update and the pictures from the Rockies....

Yup, I'm sooooo ready to cut and paste and arrange, and pull out my newest Creating Keepsakes layout idea books for inspiration, and try something new for my journaling....

It's a good night to clear out some of those leftovers in the fridge and freezer, so cooking won't cut into my scrapping time, too. After all, I was meaning to clean out anyhow, and that was on my FlyLady list a week or so ago, and so I really should....

Yeah, it's a scrapbook kind of night.  Anyone with me?  Send me a link to the layouts you do tonight, and I'll post mine.

Peace to us all for Pink Saturday....

Clockwise, from wind chimes: Wiccan beltane, Buddhist nuns, Muslim girl in hijab, Christian Minister, Hindu bride, Jewish woman in Tallit

We're all in this together, this thing we call life.

Most of us want the same things.  Peace.  A healthy and happy family.  Good kids.  A warm, dry and safe place to live. Enough food on the table. Love. A chance to worship as we believe is right.  We are all so much the same. And yet so wonderfully different.

It really doesn't matter whether we put on a hijab or a tallit or a robe...and when it comes down to it, it doesn't matter how we address the Creator, whether in words or song or one name or another.  Our paths are different, but the mountain top is the same one.  We have just been placed on different roads to get there.

Today, on this anniversary of an act of hate, carried out by a few individuals, let's spend time remembering that we all...

Cry
Laugh
Sing
Smile
Grow
Love

If someone else's customs seem strange, ask questions.  If their words sound foreign to your ear, listen with your heart.  If they look different, ignore their clothes or their skin colour and look at their eyes. You'll recognize the kinship there.

And the next time you're tempted to say "They all..." about another religion -- or you feel that it might be better to remain silent when someone else heads that way -- remember that it's your sister or your brother who is being hated. And speak up, in love, for peace, for every member of our human family.

A joyous and peaceful September 11th Pink Saturday to you all.

Happy 5771!

I've been offline for a couple of days because of the flu and the holiday. It is Rosh Hashanah, so we spent yesterday in Temple at services, and then at my MIL's house last night for a delicious holiday dinner.

For those of you not familiar with the Jewish High Holidays, it shares some aspects with the secular New Year, in that we focus on doing better in the year to come. But it also has things that don't exist in the secular version.

We focus on forgiveness. On asking for it, and for giving it. And those requests are made to the people we may have hurt or offended in the past year. Sure, we ask G-d for mercy, but we have to deal with the people first. Otherwise, it's just taking the easy way out. And that doesn't count.

We also have a tradition that says that between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (which is a week from tomorrow), G-d writes our fate for the upcoming year -- who will live and die, who will succeed and fail, and such.

But there is a very Buddhist concept, tied up in the traditional Jewish message, that I am just learning. While we cannot change the heavenly decree, we can and are instructed to work on ourselves, through prayer and charity and learning, so that we can react better to the problems we may face (or even the blessings we may encounter.) It's so similar to the Buddhist idea that while suffering is an inevitable part of life, how we deal with the suffering either adds to or reduces the pain we feel. We have a choice.

I love it when I find yet another way that the great faiths of this world unite and intersect!

So to those who celebrate the High Holidays, and to those who do not, I want to share my wish for all of you. I hope that this year is....

A year of joy and prosperity....
A year of growth and learning....
A year of health....
A year of new opportunities to discover your path....
A year of gaining the skills and perspective to deal with the "downs" in life's ups and downs....
A year of exciting beginnings....
A year of satisfying endings...
A year to take at least one more step to knowing who you are...

Namaste. L'shana tova!

Feeling sick, counting blessings

The first week that the kids were back to school brought new stories about summer adventures, new books and supplies to buy -- and the flu.  First my daughter, who missed two days, and now me.  Fun.

So this morning as I struggle through work with my stuffy nose and headache and sore throat and general desire to crawl into bed ASAP, I decided it was a good time to count my blessings.  For me, that one of the best ways to overcome sadness or loneliness -- or a touch of the flu.

So here goes.....my top 10 blessings, in no special order (since they're all special blessings!)

1. My kids -- three wonderful, smart, kind and creative kids.  
2. My husband -- a true knight in shining armor, in far more than name alone
3. My health -- so I have the flu.  That will be gone in a day or three -- overall, I am blessed
4. Our home -- Sure sometimes I complain, or we wish things were bigger/smaller/cleaner/newer/fancier.  But it is a home filled with love and laughter and music and art and faith. 
5. My faith -- I cannot imagine how those without faith in G-d survive.  Really. 
6. The ability to read -- and to learn and understand and increase in knowledge and wisdom.  or just to enjoy a good mystery.  All a blessing. 
7. My job -- sometimes stressful, sometimes incredible.  But overall, where I am meant to be. 
8. My friends -- whether they're around the corner or on the other side of the earth, they are blessings through and through.  Even those I may never meet face to face -- blessings.
9. My life experiences -- sure at the time, some of it was so scary it was all I could do to face the day, but through it all, I have grown and learned and become who I am today. 
10. Time alone -- downtime and alone time are my chance to recharge and re-energize -- a blessing I cannot survive without.  

So now it's your turn...what are your top 10 blessings?  Now please excuse me...I need a tissue and some hot tea and....

What makes you want to play?

A couple of months ago, we adopted a puppy.  She's a Rhodesian Ridgeback/Boxer mix, and she loves to play. For Maya, anything can be a toy...a stray sock, a milk bottle lid, a carelessly dropped pencil.  We spend a lot of time getting things away from her, and substituting the right chew toys.

But there are a couple of toys that always spark that "Let's play!" attitude in this 50 pound, 8 month old pup, and one of her favorites is a set of interlocked rubber rings. All she has to do is see that toy in our hands, and it's instant playtime.

So that started me thinking...what makes it instant playtime for me?  What transcends the mood of the moment, and just shifts gears for me?  What does that for you?

For me, it's:

• Scrapbook stores - spot one, and I am instantly ready to play with paper and pictures!
• Taking a wrong turn onto an interesting street -- I go into explorer mode, and as my kids can attest, the result is usually a fun discovery or two.
• Windy days, especially cool windy days.  Especially cool windy days in autumn. I want to get outside and play as soon as I feel it! 

So what about you?  What triggers your playful spirit?  

Happy Pink Saturday!

Loving a rainy day

My three day weekend starts in just a little while...but a sudden rainstorm pulled me out of my office.  I love rainy days...especially rainy days when I can find a dry table at a sidewalk cafe, and watch the rain fall, while I read and sip tea.

Today isn't one of those cafe days, but I did get to capture a few shots of the this lovely, silvery day to share...I don't have much time for writing today, so I will let my pictures do the talking!

Have a great weekend, a wonderful holiday and Shabbat Shalom! (PS, Pink Saturday post will hopefully autopost tomorrow!)

The power of art

I went to Borders yesterday, armed with coupons...I had a 33% off one item, $5.00 in Borders Bucks and a 10% off personal shopping day coupon.  Within 3 minutes of entering the store, I knew exactly what all those discounts were going towards.  It wasn't planned.  But as I walked towards the back of the store, past the sale rack, there at eye level was the book The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole.

Nope, not on sale.  And the price tag of $24.99 for a softcover book almost stopped me.  Then I looked inside.  It is filled with reasons why, as moms and creative people, art is so essential.  And why it's so hard to find the time and the energy to do it.  It has sections on creating space, on creating time, on allowing ourselves to put our art as a priority, even if the laundry isn't all done, or the carpets need to be vacuumed.

And it has 12 weekly assignments.  And projects.  And I knew I had to have the book!  Because I have been neglecting my art.

My keys on the table

My perfectly toasted Jalapeño bagel 

I was so inspired, especially after my realization a few days ago that I was NOT taking any photos, that I jumped into assignment one today, and brought my camera with me to breakfast at Panera.  And I looked at the details around me...

I looked at the light and the shadows, and the way they played off the leaves and illuminated the sidewalk...And I paid attention to the curve of the bench, and the writing on it I had never noticed before.  And the way the water danced in the fountain, and the proud way the palm trees stood against the blue September sky.  I even looked again at the Alfred Angelo bridal store that just a few short months ago was so important to me as I prepared for my wedding....

...and I knew that the placement of that book, on that shelf, at that moment, was not a mistake or random event.  It's time to make art again.