Colored Pencil

"Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling." G.K. Charleston

Perspective

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." ~ Buddha

A little about moi ~

This bloggieville is an amazing space! I've found dozens of amazing, inspiring people out there. People that I think are my people, meaning that if we were to meet on the street...it would be instant friends! So I thought I'd put out a little about me - being that there's so much of you that's been shared (thank you)!
1) Are you currently in a serious relationship? Why, yes! Oct. 28 will be 19 years of marriage - whooot!
2) What was your dream growing up? I wanted to be a dentist, a Flight attendant and live an eternal barbie life.
3) What talent do you wish you had? I wish I could sing - granted I can sing, it just sounds bad
4) If I bought you a drink what would it be? Ice tea
5) Favorite vegetable? Yes, I'll take them all
6) What was the last book you read?eat, pray, love
7) What zodiac sign are you?Sagittarius
8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? just ears pierce (2 on left ear, 1 on right)
9) Worst Habit? Embarrassed to admit, but I bite my toenails (eeek!)
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? Funny you should ask, you see there's the story about Marien....
11) What is your favorite sport? soccer
12) Do you have a negative or optimistic attitude? I'm negatively optimistic, or is it optimistically negative? Naw, I'm pretty much a glass 1/2 full kinda gal, and when I'm not, it doesn't take me long to get there.
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? well, that really depends who you are - we'd probably try jumping up & down to make the elevator go - there'd be giggles and singing for sure!
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? Hard to answer, but I wouldn't trade anything, those things have made me who I am .
15) Tell me one weird fact about you. I love the smell of skunk !?!?!
16) Do you have any pets? My lovely Chloe dog
17) What if i showed up at your house unexpectedly? Why are you still at my door - come on in!
18) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? Thicker hair
19) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? Depends on the crime
20) What color of eyes do you have? hazel (blue/green)
21) Ever been arrested? Ha! (no)
22) Bottle or can soda? bottle
23) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? Pay off our dept :(
27) What's your favorite place to hang at? Don't have one
28) Do you believe in ghosts? I don't don't believe in ghosts - if that makes any sense!
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Cook
30) Do you swear a lot? Nope
31) Biggest pet peeve? Eating w/mouth open
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself? optimistic
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance? Hello, going on 20 years of the big M - what do you think?
35) Do you believe in God? YESSSS!

Dirty Dozen

Top Foods to choose Organic

Here's a listing of the 12 top foods to choose organic due to their high contamination of pesticides and chemicals (even after washing and peeling). Chemical pesticides are known to cause cancer, birth defects, nervous system and brain damage, and development problems in children.

1. Meat: beef, pork, and poultry. The EPA reports that meat is contaminated with higher levels of pesticides than any plant food. Many chemical pesticides are fat-soluble and accumulate in fatty tissue of animals.


2. Dairy: milk, cheese and butter. For similar reasons to meat. Also growth hormones and antibiotics are invariabley found in commercial milk products and are a serious health concern.


3. Strawberries. Strawberries are the most heavily dosed crops with pesticides in America.


4. Apples. Apples are almost as contaminated with pesticides as strawberries. Peeling non-organic apples reduces these chemicals, but does not eliminate the danger.


5. Tomatoes. More than 30 pesticides are standard to spray on conventionally grown tomatoes. Their thin skin does not protect the meat from the chemicals.


6. Potatoes. One of the most popular vegies is also among the most laden with pesticides. Fungicides added to the soil is another reason to go organic.


7. Spinach (and other greens including lettuce). Spinach was found by the FDA to be one of the most frequently contaminated crops with some of the most potent pesticides used on food.


8. Coffee. Most coffee is grown in countries where there are little to no standards or regulations for chemicals. Purchasing "Fair Trade" is further assurance that the coffee is free of pestisides as well as supports farms and workers with more equanimity and reward.


9. Peaches and Nectarines. As in tomatoes, 45 different pesticides are routinely applied to these fruits . The thin skin does not protect the fruit from these poisons.


10. Grapes. (especially imported). Because they are delicate, grapes are sprayed several times during the different growth stages. The thin skin does not offer much protection from these poisons. Several of the most poisonous pesticides banned in the U.S. are still used on grapes grown abroad.


11. Celery. At least 29 different chemicals are applied the celery as it grows. It cannot be washed off because celery doesn't have any protective skin.


12. Bell Peppers (Red & Green). As with other thin skinned fruits & veggies - it offers no real protection from the poisons.

This list was complied by Renee Loux. There is a plethora of information at her site: Renee Loux

I WON! I WON!

I'm not one to win anything, but this past week I was on uberkool erica's blog and entered her "where am I" contest - and what do you know? I WON! Looky and see what I won! An adorable print of "live your poem"! Go check her stuff out - she's hip, kool and way talented!

My wish for you

My wish for my daughter -

• That you never loose your sense of adventure
• That you never loose your zest for life
• That your dreams come true - don't stop dreaming
• That your happiness far outweighs your sorrows
• That you laugh daily
• That you surround yourself with friends that support you and encourage you to grow
• That you find love

Manifesto

I've been seeking clarity lately...been in such a fog for such a long time. Good news is that I finally realize that I'm in a fog! Perhaps I'm on the right road now?!?! Anyhoo, I've been reading a lot of books/blogs on creativity and being true to yourself. One of my faves is Kimberly Wilson aka hiptranquilchic. She has opened up a whole new world for me - and one such tidbit shared is this Manifesto from Z.B.A.

1. It's okay not to know. It's okay to be vulnerable. No one has all the answers. We value and learn from the questions and the asking.
2. We are learning to appreciate the mystery and sacredness of our lives and the mystery and sacredness of life.
3. Life is short. There is no escape from old age, sickness, and death. Death is a great teacher. Recognizing the shortness of our lives provides motivation to live fully in each day and in each moment.
4. We understand the importance of taking regular quite time for ourselves. Through reflection and by slowing down we develop an appreciation for life and we increase our capacity for understanding.
5. We are learning to trust our inner wisdom. Our bodies and minds are amazing, unexplainable, and unfathomable.
6. It's okay to be uneasy, to be uncomfortable, to grieve, to feel pain. Recognizing when something is off, feeling the depth of loss, experiencing pain, is the first step toward change and growth.
7. Practice active listening - listening deeply to yourself and to others. Listen to others without formulating your own ideas. Listen to yourself before speaking.
8. We all seek balance in our lives - balancing work and family, balancing our inner and outer lives, balancing what we want to do and what we must do.
9. We are learning that we can be fully ourselves in all situations - at work, as parents, as children, as friends, as lovers.
10. Being ourselves at work is vital to our health and happiness. Our time is too valuable to sell, at any price.
11. Each moment is precious. In every moment we have an opportunity to discover, to grow, to speak the truth.
12. Each moment is ordinary. In every moment we can realize we are fine, just as we are. Nothing else is needed.
13. We appreciate what is paradoxical. What may at first seem contradictory or beyond our understanding may be true. After all, who is it that is breathing? Who is it that dreams? How is it that these hands effortlessly glide along this keyboard?
14. Age is a state of mind. We have the opportunity to grow to be more like ourselves every day.
15. Developing intimate relationships is a vital part of our lives and our development. Intimacy requires openness, honesty, and vulnerability.
16. Real, honest open communication is highly valued - and takes real skill and effort.
17. When we slow down and learn to trust ourselves, joy arises naturally.
18. When we slow down and learn to trust ourselves, creativity arises naturally.
19. Self-knowledge and understanding require persistence and perseverance. Developing awareness and balance is an ongoing, unending process.
20. Self-knowledge and understanding require discipline. Whatever path we take requires structure, guidelines, and feedback.
21. Self-knowledge and understanding require courage.
22. Diversity is essential. Ourdifferences enrich ourlives. There is no "other," just as our right hand is not a stranger to our left hand.
23. A simplerule to follow is do good, avoid harm. Of course, this is not simple or easy.
24. There are many paths and many practices toward developing awareness and personal growth.
25. Our everyday lives and activities provide fertile ground for developing growth and understanding.
26. We can learn to appreciate the gifts we've received from our parents and to forgive them. We understand on a deep level all we have received from the generations that have come before us.
27. We feel a deep responsibility for our children and for the generations that will come after us.
28. We can all act as change agents. We can choose to take action in improving and healing our environment and our society. There is no shortage of issues to address, of healing to take place.
29. We are all change agents on a personal level - we either create healing amongst those we live and work with or we create stress.
30. We can choose to act as change agents in relation to our communities.
31. We can choose to act as change agents in relation to our society or on a global level.
32. Everything we hold as dear will one day change and disappear. Every business that now exists will one day cease. Every person now alive will one day die.
33. At a deep level, we realize that we are neither in control nor not in control Our task is to paddle to boar, with awareness and integrity. The flow of the river is outside our doing.
34. We all have the power to find peace and happiness in the midst of change and impermanence.
35. We have the power to heal ourselves, our communities, and our planet.

Whew! That was a doozy! I'm still trying to wrap my mind/emotions/spirit around these points, but they ring true to my deepest desires of where I want to be within myself.