The Challenge

After reading this - I decided that I too wanted to accept the 50 book Challenge. I’ve always loved reading.  And just like my daughter I have a wide range of genres I like to peruse from Fiction, Non-Fiction, Christian Fiction, Self-Help, Biography, Historical Fiction, yah, I know it’s mostly fiction.. .. .. After resigning from my job in April I found that without going into the office on a regular occasion it led me to not getting to the library as often as I’d like and therefore not having any books to read. Somewhere from them until the end of the 2012 year I seemed to have lost my passion for reading. So this challenge is exactly what I needed to get me back at it.

Before we left for our holidays, I had downloaded several books to my kobo and also went to the second hand store and bought several books.  I knew that I wanted to read while sitting by the pool and soaking up the sun.

To be honest I had a hard time getting back into reading ~ the first few books I really had to focus on what I was reading and to concentrate on the storyline or I found myself getting confused.

Thankfully, I persevered and ended up reading:
#1 Triplets - Molley Gregorie
#2 Acts of Malice - Perri O’Shaughnessy
#3 Secrets - Danielle Steel
#4 Extreme Measures - Michael Palmer
#5 Angles Flight - Michael Connolly

With my love for reading returning, I quickly headed out to the library to pick up some more books since we returned home. I hadn’t realized how much I loved or had missed reading.

Now I’m onto this novel #6 Low Pressure - Sandra Brown, and have Linda Howards' novel 'Up Close and Dangerous' waiting to be the 7th book . If I keep at this pace I’ll be sure to finish this challenge well before the year is up.

Thanks Krystle for this challenge - I most definitely accept!

How about you? What are you reading these days?

Blessings

Home

After being away on holidays in Jamaica for almost two weeks, I was quite excited to drive in our laneway and see our home.

HOME ~ That 4 letter word that can evoke so many different emotions!

While it was great to be away {and I'll share more after I upload the photos, get some laundry done, buy a few grocereis and am not quite so tired} I am certainly gald to be home!

Blessings

Taking a break

I'll be taking a bit of a break from blogging ~

while we enjoy our holidays in Jamaica!

Blessings

Ms. Green

As I was perusing through my file of photos on the computer - I came across this one;

and realized that each time I see it it gives me a boost of courage. {in fact, it's the new background photo on my computer}

I like to think that Ms. Green M & M with her with her luscious lips, slightly suggestive smile and white-hot go-go boots, known famously for her sometimes intimidating “I melt for no one” bravado, has just the right amount of attitude. 

We all have our favorite color of M & M. The one that you reach for first when there is a big bowl of candy staring at you. I have even heard about people who will only eat certain colors and then throw away the rest. While I think that's a bit extreme, I admit that I like to segregate and prioritize my M & M - eating experience. Yellow is always last, in case you were wondering. 
 
And then I found this:
Each color has its own special subconscious meaning.  What does your favorite say about you?
Green: I'll start with green, because thanks to the M&M ad campaign, we're all aware that a preference for green means that you're a sexual deviant. You tend to overemphasize the importance of sex in your life and often feel rejected when your date feigns a headache after you suggestively ask if he or she is into pony play. The answer is always no. Especially on the first date.
Red: If your fingers tend to gravitate toward the bright red candies in the bowl, this implies that you're confident, bold, and passionate. Red is probably the most popular M&M color choice, but you don't care. If you want red, you'll take red, consequences be damned. Let the next person who comes by seeking candy settle for their second favorite. You were there first, and you deserve the best.
Blue: People who prefer blue M&Ms are trendsetters. You like being on the cutting edge of things. Many of the traditionalists did not feel the need to add blue to the preexisting M&M color choices, but you were all for it, because you live for excitement and the unknown possibilities life has to offer. Charlie Sheen loves blue M&Ms.
Orange: You don't play by any rules, do you? Orange enthusiasts are wild, carefree, and march to the beat of their own drum. You won't often meet someone who prefers orange, but when you do, you better prepare yourself, because it's going to be a fun night.
Yellow: What is wrong with you? Yellow M&Ms are not only unnatural, but unattractive. Yellow is the least popular M&M color. People who prefer yellow M&Ms tend to go against the grain and are sometimes diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorders, which is directly linked with psychopathy. It's a fact. Ask Dr. Phil.
Brown: The traditionalist. Chocolate is naturally brown, and therefore you reason that the brown M&Ms provide the most naturally occurring color choice. You like things to be as they should. A place for everything and everything in its place, is your motto. You might have a tendency to towards a little obsessive-compulsiveness, but that's okay. Not everyone has to be cool.

How about you? What your favourite M & M?
And if your answer that you don't have a favorite and you just eat them indiscriminately, well then, that's all I need to know about you.

Blessings

so i'm not perfect

so i’m not perfect

is that a surprise?

maybe only to myself.

in my mind

i know

that no one is perfect.

and yet

i expect myself to be?

i beat myself up

when i make a mistake

i agonize over what i

should have

done differently.

i need to learn how to forgive myself

for not being perfect.

one of the hardest things to do

and yet

i know

it is a key

to a peaceful heart.

so i chose to forgive myself

and ask God to help me

release myself

from the need to be perfect

for today at least

 blessings

5 Lessons in Life

Have you ever taken a look at yourself and thought, “Girl, you’re so messed up, I can barely stand you?” I’m not talking about staring down a mirror and complaining about the shape of your nose or the crow’s feet perched beside your eyes.

I’m referring to moments when you simply don’t like yourself.

The times when you feel awkward, inadequate, friendless and unwanted. The days when your best efforts reel in disappointment instead of accolades. Moments when your actions beget disapproval and your voice crawls timid down your throbbing throat.

Perhaps the bitter feelings toward yourself surfaced after you made a mistake. Maybe you found yourself stirring a pot when you only intended to sprinkle in some seeds of goodwill. Instead of feeling like you’ve made a mistake, you might feel like you are a mistake. I’ve been there before.

For many of the battles I fought during my life, I found my most formidable opponent to be myself:
Each time I owned an error I didn’t make, I delivered a quick jab to my left
When dredged up past guilt, I landed a hook punch to my jaw
And, whenever I believed a lie about my self-worth, I dealt a severe uppercut that sent me wobbling to the floor

Time and time again I go to that miserable place where I slap on a label that reads “misfit” instead of proudly displaying the one emblazoned with “beloved.”

They tell me that I’m God’s child. That I am beautiful, wanted … adored. They tell me that I have a purpose.

I like these 5 lessons in Life from Dr. Seuss:

One reason why I share such personal anecdotes on my blog is because I know I’m not alone. I know that many of the experiences and feelings that are etched into my life are shared by others. I’m hoping that when I bring light to my own issues, I can help others feel less alienated and more whole.


Blessings

Some Days

Have you ever felt some times in your life, that the world must be spinning a little bit faster or time had some how sped up? That things in life were going a little too fast, was too much and all at the same time? A period in life where you just couldn't seem to catch your breath? It seems lately, my “to do” list keeps growing, my days keeps filling up and yet I can getting nothing or so it seems done. There is so many places to get to, things to accomplish, cleaning to do and work and laundry and .. . ..and . .. . .and . ...   I'm tired.

I was driving home from work last night and running through the list in my mind of everything I have to get done and try remember for this week. From work stuff to home stuff, to appointments, plans and commitments. Honestly it made me even more tired just thinking about it.

Some days I feel so overwhelmed and lost that I forget which way is left and right. I get confused at the littlest things. I think that when I get like this, it is my mind and body telling me to slow down. To breath.

Often times, I’m sure like many of you, I go through my day in a bit of a blur ~ not knowing whether or not I accomplished anything.  

Sometimes I just wish that life came with a pause button. I don't want a rewind button, and I’m sure I do not need a fast forward button ~ just simply a pause button. To stop the spinning, the running, the constant doing and catch my breath.

Even as I sit here and write this, I have to really stop my thoughts and focus. I can think of no less than a dozen things that need doing. And yet, they can wait, or at least that is what I am telling that little voice inside my head. For right now, for this moment, I am pressing pause. The dishes can wait, the vacuuming and the bookwork. I do not have to be any where for a few minutes. Sitting at my desk, at home in the country and I am content or at least trying to be.

When those voices start to creep in saying I should be, have to be and get going already, I silence them with this:
Matthew 11:28-30 {New Living Translation (NLT)}
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

It was in this quiet stolen moment when I had an epiphany. I can only do so much in one day, in one hour. There is no crime in stolen moments to catch my breath. It can be the same for you. We have to learn to create our own pause buttons. To put aside the stresses of everyday life, the chores and just simply; be. It is far too easy to keep running and running until you drop from exhaustion. Or we make ourselves sick because we are trying to be everywhere at the same time. We can only do ~ what we can do!

Life is what it is.

You can either go through life at mach 10, constantly doing, and miss things. Or you can learn to create your own pause button. Stop. Catch your breath. Focus on what's important and then, carry on.

Blessings