A Poem to Ponder

I have recently come across this poem and it challenges me to the core - I hope it serves as an inspiration to you as well!

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.


Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people
won't feel insecure about you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

So as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.


by Marianne Williamson

Summer Salads

This time of year brings about an abundance of tomatoes in my garden. Thankfully, most of my family and myself love tomatoes. One of my favorite things to do with tomatoes came from my trip to Greece in 2006. We consumed Greek salad daily, maybe even twice a day, and I loved it! It is the most refreshing salad on a hot summer day. My recipe is simple...I don't even measure! Equal parts quartered tomatoes and sliced cucumber. A nice collection of red onion (depending on how much you like onion), Kalamata olives, a sprinkle of capers, a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar, goat or sheep's milk feta on top (a must - cow's milk feta tastes bad!) and a sprinkle of oregano (preferable fresh, but dried is just as good) I also like to sprinkle a little kosher salt and freshly ground pepper on mine. If I had to, I could live on this!

What type of foods do you crave when the heat turns up?

Beading gone wild!

I've been participating in an on-line creativity circle through Hip Tranquil Chick. One of my new endeavors is to start beading. Well, I took the Beading 101 class through Beadology here in Huntington Beach. Needless to say, I had a blast! Thankfully I was the only student, so I was able to ask all types of questions of my teacher, Erin. I finished my first necklace and was really happy with the results! I came home and tried my luck with matching earrings. Pleased again with the results! Well, the beading bug is still bitting, so last night I worked on necklace & earrings part deux! I'm turning into a lean mean beading machine!

Buzzing Bush

While in my garden weeding the other day, I heard a mesmerizing buzzing sound. Not just a faint buzz, but an overwhelming, all encompassing buzz. Lo and behold, my African Basil Bush (it's actually not suppose to be a bush, but it doesn't need to know that!) was entertaining and entire swarm of bees! They were humming along joyfully amongst the basil blooms! I was grateful to share my morning and garden with these lovely creatures. And I felt a sense of pride that I was supporting bees.