Amazing Blogger Award

I just received this fantastic award from equally amazing blogger Donna at Donna's Art! Thanks, Mom! You're great!

The rule is that I must name 7 random or weird things about me. Hmmmm... let me see...

1. I have to be surrounded by lovely things that make me happy. My home is crammed with pictures, paintings, books, little inspirational things and funky doo-dads. I have something on every wall, on every surface. People walk into my house (or into my cube at work) and stop in their tracks to take it all in. (Almost like they've been hit by a truck!) I'm definitely not a minimalist!

2. Speaking books - I love them! Old, new, doesn't matter. I'm a sucker for bookstores, especially those that serve coffee and desserts.

3. I'd love to own a bookstore/gift shop - especially with my mom. We could drink coffee all day and sell books and crafts!

4. Speaking of crafts - I love them, too! I have a craft room that's loaded with all sorts of fun stuff - beads, fabric, paint, felt, paper, glue and much more. (I'm in the process of re-arranging the craft room but as soon as I'm done, I'll share photos.)

5. I meditate in my craft room for 30 minutes every morning.

6. I love the beach. I feel like my soul is restored every time I'm there. I'd like to plop my hypothetical coffee-bookstore-gift shop there.

7. I love to travel. My list of places-I'd-like-to-see include Paris, Rome, the Great Wall of China, somewhere in India, Indonesia and Spain. I'd like to take my daughter to the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. But, anywhere is fine, I just love to go! (Also, I'm a sucker for souvenirs - I have a magnet, lapel pin and squished penny collection from almost everywhere we've been since 1997. Once day I'm going to get a big corkboard to display it... just where to put it? - hmmmm. Now that's a good question.)

That's it for me. I'd like to pass this award onto Deb at Posted From Home and Shelbi at Keeper of the Chocolates. Have fun!

Rockin' Girl Blogger

Wow - I've just received the coveted Rockin' Girl Blogger award from Nan at On My Porch. Thanks, Nan! What an honor!

I told my daughter that since I'm a Rockin' Girl Blogger that she's my Rockin' Girl Daughter. Since we just happened to be watching "School of Rock" and dancing around the living room, she was pretty happy!

I'd like to pass this award on to Chocolate Girl at Keeper of the Chocolates, the best mama in the world, and Alexandra at Silver Bell Cottage, the best baker in the world.

Keep Rockin' girls!!

SMILE...

Like the ripples that are created from a pebble dropped into a lake, it's amazing what one smile can do in this life. Not just the smile that I wear, that seems to lift my own spirits, but the smiles that I give to others, in the grocery store, at the mall, in the parking lot.

Have you ever noticed the complete change in demeanor of someone who smiles? It's like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders, like light that shines from their skin. Sometimes someone will come toward me with a scowl, a frown, they are so serious I wonder what on earth could be the matter. You smile at them and they smile back and suddenly the stranger becomes a friend. You see them in a totally different way. They are no longer mean and distant, but kind and understanding. The transformation is so interesting.

For the past few years I've really been working on trying to be a more open and friendly person. I find that it creates a more peaceful atmosphere around me and around others. I hold open the door for someone, I drive with patience and courtesy imagining that my friends and family are in the cars around me, I look a cashier in the eye and say thank you - and really mean it. I leave big tips.

I'd like to think that these small practices are having a ripple effect. I'd like to think that the woman I allowed to go in front of me at the store will feel a little warmth inside. That maybe it will carry over on the road while she's driving and prevent a car accident. Or the man I just waved into a parking spot when we came to it at the same time will lighten up just a little bit. That maybe he'll go home that night and have the urge to give his wife a hug.

We have enough problems in this world to contend with. If we work on being a little bit nicer to each other, I wonder what kind of wonderful place we could create.

So - that's my quest. Laugh more. Smile more. Stay calm. Try to understand instead of react.

Be the light I wish to see in this world.