3.28.2012

heart.strings

just found this today.
i think i'm a bit behind the times.
.i have a feeling i should have know about it.


but it's salve for my soul.


MusicPlaylist
Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Bon Ivers {about the lyrics: stacks}





3.27.2012

what kind of prayers are you praying Right now?

i stumbled upon both of these videos within two weeks of each other.
i Need to listen. 


these are powerful words. 
i suggest watching them through
[ignore any attempts at artisty close.ups and hear the words











3.26.2012

we will open our eyes Wider

today was one of those days when i came home and had the strongest urge to pick up the phone
and call my mom. ..

just to have a simple, every day check in. how are you.
i love you. i need you. i wanna hear your voice phone call.

lets just say_i had to keep moving when my brain once again realized i couldn't do that.
it is like that still to this day.

of course, when i opened up You.Tube today this appeared.
gave me .goosebumps when i heard the .lyrics.

3.24.2012

this. makes me smile

i'm not sure why. really
_ but i'm fine with that.
i continue to stare at it.


pretty much know i'll never get the $595.00 to stare at it on my on walls.
there's the same chance of getting a live elephant in my own living room.






{source}

two pins



a little nail polish does go a long way.








creating new outfits after shopping in your closet


3.22.2012

enjoyed on this. day

{1 - one bag in a tall glass of ice cold water. just a hint of taste. perfection} {2} {3} {4}

3.19.2012

Come whisper in my ear

so this weekend i discovered Him.
he's been here all along.



and i've gotta admit i've fallen head over heels.
he can whisper in My. ear not Tess's.













Funny thing is _ we [Jayden, Tess and I - feline, canine and woman] watched Cesar episodes 
back to back this weekend
. all on the couch together
Spent the night basking in his glory
.. . and This is what i woke up to.


A chewed up book.
Marley and Me - nonetheless. 
[How the Heck?!!? did she pull THAT specific book off the shelf.
did i not notice it teetering on the edge for days now?


note her bone pefectly beside it.
tricky girl.






i couldn't have even positioned it that perfectly.
the spine still soaking wet.






dirt pulled from the plant.
this was what i caught her doing as i came down the steps.




and mulch pieces chewed into bits on the rug. 
i fear if i had not come down when i did, it could have been quite a scene.



Now, my little girl has left me with messes of astronomic magnitudes.


I came home once to an apartment full of gas
[she somehow managed to turn the knobs on the stove.top]
and a kitchen torn to shreds: the blinds ripped from the windows.

Jayden checking it all out. ... 
take notice of the Nature's Miracle bottle to the left. 
Of course, Tess had an accident in the mess of this all
_ One of her ongoing issues.


So this is absolutely nothing.
making it even more entertaining actually
I find it quite ironic that after nearly six or so months of perfection she decides to act up
Really, like REALLY???.


. ..just so we can get Cesar over here.


Mama wouldn't mind.
not one bit.



3.17.2012

happy saint. Patrick's day



three of my favorite things from the land where people wear a lot of hats.. .  


{Waking Ned Devine.  a must watch}





{source}    
my mom's corned beef dinner
{hers didn't  look near this fancy.. .but i know for sure it tasted better than this one}

the beauty of words

i watched My Week with Marilyn tonight
highly recommend it.. . 

this from one of the last scenes. 

clearly .Shakespeare. 
The Tempest
Act 4 Scene 1

beautiful. words. 

3.16.2012

sisters and twisters

this is my sister



this is her one true fear



this is the town she lives in 

this was last night
{the .Dexter mill. is seconds from where she lives} 



read her twister story here 




3.15.2012

i'll eat. you up!

one of my absolute favorite things is for someone to read to me
preferably picture books
preferably in bed.. .

but i think if Christopher Walken, ever in any crazy chance, did read to me in bed
. .. [ummMm, weirdness]
I may end up laughing so hard, he would never get through the story.



[this may not really be Mr. Walken but it surely does do him justice.. . let's just pretend]

and then there's a picure of max... .
he chases a dog with a fork
i don't think he's really gonna eat him
but kids are jerks.

3.14.2012

i heart teaching: reason #8 : versions of reality


In my mind, Ireland always looks like this scene from P.S. I Love You.


the backdrop, all green rolling hills, bright purple flowers





Today one of my students told me 
[during a lesson on writing definitions]
that Ireland was a country where people wore a lot of hats. 
yup.. . 

not a joke. 
.straight face and all. 


i don't know if this is what he was picturing

or this





 i've got to be honest. 
i did giggle a little. too loudly. when i was standing there in front of him. 
[i think because i imagined the first picture]

luckily, he's the type of kid who can realize i wasn't laughing at him.
.more at the situation. 

he laughed with me. and we then revised his definition: deleting the hat part. 

i later suggested, kindly, that during library he check out a book on Ireland. 
_when he returned he couldn't seem to put it down.

i guess his images of ireland are no sillier than mine. 
a country full of gerard butlers - gentle, mild mannered romantics.

.i guess it's all about our own versions of reality.




3.11.2012

simple happiness today

****
using Pinterest to actually create 
.. . craft .. be productive. 

i made these with my nieces out in michigan a few weeks ago.

HIP_351371878.147664

HIP_351371926.575571

HIP_351371867.509600


this is what actual the pin looked like 
{i'm liking my niece's work ABOVE better.. but i'm a bit biased}



a .board of activities. are pinned for the spring and summer
there's not much yet.
but it will fill up quickly just like the rest.
i have a mind's eye list a few pages long


***
Majestic No.5 Trash Receptacle



one of my favorite things in my apartment 
.although i never use it. 
an old garbage receptacle that allows pick.up outside. 

they still pick up my garbage 
[i'm indeed a lucky gal] .. 
but my bags are always too big to fit in this tiny wall can. 
i use the window to dump the goods. 

my dad seems to think someone is going to crawl in it one day. 
he would love to nail wooden boards over it. 
that would just ruin all its charm though
who would be able to fit through there? 


****

ThiS little girl.. 
waggin' her tail at the front door. 
.in my bedroom. 
.in the kitchen. 
.in the laundry room. 
she's one happy girl. 
who LOVEs her mama






dear mom.

i know you already know
but.
i miss you .SO .much.


i know how happy you are right now.
and i know how much pain you were in here.
but when i think about where you are this very second, my heart hurts a little less.




i love you.
i love you.
i LOVE you.
xoxo
xo



MusicPlaylist
Music Playlist at MixPod.com

3.10.2012

making room for change

the word CHANGE has been rolling around in my head lately.
i can't figure it out.



I am a stubborn girl. 
anyone who knows me. 
will tell you that. 
i won't hide it_ there's no trying to. 
so change IS tough.

i'm used to accepting bad changes that arise. 
wait.. . maybe not USED to them. .
more like recognizing how life is at any point ready to punch you in the gut with them
.. .[ bad to think like that, huh?] 

also a fan of the good - simple changes. 
a fresh new hair cut
finding a new recipe
meeting a new girlfriend you can talk to 

all the good changes seem so silly in comparison to the bad, when you type them out.

this past week, i snuck in to talk to my boss and tossed out an idea that may throw some more changes my way. 
potentially a big change, who knows? 
not sure i'm ready for it. 
maybe i'm just adding additional stress to my life. 

point is,
with change.. . if we never really know what our future holds and only know Whose hands our life is held in, then the "difficult" change shouldn't be so overwhelming right? 
.. so "knock the breath" right outta you.. .?




RIGHT?
doesn't that seem to make sense?

it all just still spins around.. . and continues.
seems the word, CHANGE, is a stubborn one as well. 









3.06.2012

.closer

Parenthood makes me bawl. 
not that i've needed help in that area recently. 

i caught up on two episodes tonight. 
the last two of the season. 

gosh.. .
and if they weren't the biggest tear jerkers ever.?! 
found more music. 

death cab for cutie, of course. 

to the start


I know there's been a bit of a debate about this commercial.. . but i Love. everything about.
i think chipotle deserves some applause.
.standing ovation, in fact.

.a visit or .two?


3.05.2012

memories waiting to be remembered



i had a very vivid memory of my mother a few days ago.
one i would of never recalled in conversation.

it simply had to be.

i was sitting on the edge of my bed brushing my hair and instead of yanking it all from the bottom
_ i held it at the edge of my head and brushed to the ends gently.

The knots all came smoothly out without a pain.

It was the strangest feeling.
I had in .THAT .very .moment become my mother in the simplest, silliest way.
i didn't even realize what i had done. ..twenty years later, the last time she brushed my hair like that.

I remember the days when she used to do that regularly.
I used to moan and groan_ and she used to tell my sister
and I the silly things her mother would say when she brushed her hair as a little girl.
"I'll show you what really hurts!"
We couldn't believe how our grandmother would tease her
.. . and we were jealous we never had the opportunity to ever meet her.

i'm a lucky girl to have such special memories of my mom. but it makes me So. sad to know that my future children are never going to know their grandmother. maybe one day, i'll be able to show them how she taught me how to brush my hair just so right.

.explosions

a song can stir such emotions with.out a single word.
.how can it be?

3.04.2012

because i know .that You love me



I was standing at my refrigerator staring at these two things. 






The second received most of my attention, much to the chagrin of my dog, Tess. 
Look at those sad eyes. 

My important [i knew that the day of]
left.over. scribbled. saved.notes. were
left intact on the door staring back at me. 


.DWELL. 
PSALM 91:14-16

then back up to the top one....  
"faithful in prayer"


i quickly found my purse for my bible, turning to the outlined verses. 
.noticing it already marked. 

[14]"BECAUSE HE LOVES ME," SAYS THE LORD, 
"I WILL RESCUE HIM;
I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME
[15] HE WILL CALL UPON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM
I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE. I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM. 
[16] WITH LONG LIFE I WILL SATISFY HIM AND SHOW HIM MY SALVATION."

[9] IF YOU MAKE THE MOST HIGH YOUR DWELLING _ EVEN THE LORD, 
WHO IS MY REFUGE _ [10] THEN NO HARM WILL BEFALL YOU, NO DISASTER WILL COME NEAR YOUR TENT. 
[11] FOR HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS.



3.03.2012

four simple plus.es

i am trying my hardest to look forward to the .spring. 
many challenging things are headed my way. 
many things i did not see coming as i looked into the future.

it seems that's how it always is, right? 
never as planned. 

so i'm choosing to think about some simple positives to get me through 
one day at time. 
cause that's all i can ask for. 



.simple beauty of the spring flowers. 
choosing some flowers and plants for the stoop
check out the Photobotanicus series by photographer Barry Rosenthal 
i originally found this through the online Anthology Magazine
Beautiful work to get you excited about what will be appearing in the next few weeks. 






_a new bike_ 
Will be needing this to get around  
I'm loving these vintage.y. ones.
with a basket, of course?! 





.the discovery of Hillsong NYC. 
{which is a few years old now}
considering I live directly across from the train station
this is super.Grand














visiting the LIBRARY on a regular basis
{check out these coasters from HouseofSixCats}
created by Kate @Chicalookate

Source: etsy.com via Kimberly on Pinterest