It's Official

I've moved to a new home. A new blog home, that is. Like I said before, it was time for a change. So if you read this, stop on by my new home and say hello. I'd love to hear from you!

Yeah Baby! We had an Earthquake!!

Wouldn't you know it? No phones, all circuits are busy or dead but my internet service? Indestructable! So, in case those of you who know me or are trying to call, we're fine. As the norm, cupboards flew open and things came flyin' out. Now I just have a mess to clean up! LOL. Oh, and for those of you that aren't aware of it yet, it was a 5.8 centered in Chino Hills, Ca. That's only 8 miles away from me so when you're that close to the epicenter, it feels like a 6.5!! But again, all is well! Now bring on those aftershocks!

Remember Me?!

You don't? Well, how can I blame you? It's been about 5 weeks since my last post and I really don't have a big following as it is, but for those 3 loyal readers (well, used to be, anyway!) I'm alive and well. Really, I am. I'm just going through some changes, all good, and I'm in a different place right now and it's a good place, a place that I want to open myself up to more. I still plan on blogging, but I want to go in a whole new direction. I want to redesign my blog, too. I need it to reflect the 'new', or should I say, 'updated' me. I'm not quite sure what that will be yet, but I'm excitedly mulling it over.

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Our world is not in the healthiest or happiest place right now. I know it could be better. I can't fix it myself but I can sure do my part. I'm tired of the negativity going on. I'm seeking the positive in life. I'm seeking hope and spirituality and faith and happiness and the goodness of people. In the past weeks since the loss of a friend, I'm seeing more of that and I didn't realize how much I need that. I crave it. I crave it for me, for my kids, for the world. Actually, it's all kind of exciting to me. My kids sense it; my husband and friends sense it. Yep, change is a'comin', and I can't wait! So, I'm not gone, just plotting and planning. You'll still be here when I get back, right? I sure hope so!

How Fun is This?!

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Next Tuesday is my brother's birthday. He would have been 43. In honor of his birthday, I created the above card. It's the size of a wallet-sized photo. I'm going to get a bunch of $5 Starbuck cards and attach them to the outside of the gift card holder that come with the cards. Then, the boys and myself are going to place them in/around different Starbuck's in the area. Anonymously, of course. The boys are beyond excited and quite frankly, so am I! I didn't come up with this fabulous idea myself. I read about it over at Kindness Girl's blog and I thought it was a fantastic idea. What a great thing to do! More importantly, what a great thing for the boys to learn from as well. I plan on taking pictures of where we leave the cards and I'll post those later. I'll let you know how it goes!

Words of Kindness

Yesterday was the memorial service for Keith Songer, someone who passed away much too soon. A memorial website was made in his honor and there's a guestbook to sign as well. I know you don't know Keith or his family, but any words of encouragement would do Kim and the girls good right now. In this situation, I don't think you have to know a person to offer words of kindness. Just tell 'em Chris sent you. Thanks.

Everyday Gifts

Tomorrow morning is the "Celebration of the Life of Keith Songer", a wonderful person who passed away much too soon. I haven't wanted to really think about it because I know I'll be doing that all day tomorrow. I went ahead and began working on the photos I took for a mom a couple of weeks ago of her kids. Instantly I started to feel better. Who doesn't feel good when looking at a picture of a laughing baby?. I took about a hundred pictures that day and it's to be expected that not all of them will turn out great. The photo above is one of the 'okay' pictures but nothing spectacular, but it's one of my personal favorites. I have such a thing for baby toes and fingers and always make a point to photograph them whenever working with a baby. I played around with it and decided on the above photo, just for me. It makes me feel better when I look at it. Keith is gone but babies will always be born and life will continue, though for the three wonderful girls and wife he's left behind, it's probably the most difficult thing for them right now. As the days pass, the gift of his legacy will shine through his wife and girls which, in itself, is an everyday gift that will keep on giving and that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.

Season of Change

Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
--Harold Thurman Whitman

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I read this quote over at Brene Brown's blog, Ordinary Courage and it really resonated with me. For awhile now I've felt empty, like something is missing. I have no idea what it is and I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like there's a foggy haze that I can't quite see through but I know once that fog clears I'll find what I've been searching for. If only it were that easy, right?

I've felt this way for awhile now. It started last August with the unexpected death of a homeless man that my family befriended about 5 years ago. We had become quite attached to him and his death really did a number on me. I felt guilty, like I didn't do enough or do more for him. I then began to realize that I was doing just enough to say I was doing something when I know I could have done more. Sometimes, I feel myself start to panic because I think I don't have enough time to do more or give more of myself, like I need to do it all and do it right now.

In reading Brene's post, she states that she's going "to do one important thing at a time". Wow. It never occured to me that I could do the same thing. How simply genius is that? I've been so consumed by not doing what I feel is enough that I never realized all I have to do is just slow down, take a deep breath and take one step at a time. If I'm so consumed with day-to-day living, making lunches, cleaning the house, helping with homework, when am I making myself a priority? You know the old saying: If mamma ain't happy, ain't no one happy.

Change is coming for me and it's time. I'm at a point in my life where I need to do something, do more. I have no idea when that will be or what it is yet. Brene made a 'coming alive' list and asked anyone else who makes one to share. It's a start, right? So here's my 'coming alive' list:

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1. Take an hour a day for just me, doing whatever the heck I want.

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2. Create something. Anything.

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3. Read a whole book.

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4. Take a sign language class.

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5. Laugh more with my kids.

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6. Sleep in

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7. Just be in the moment and not worry about what's coming next.

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That's a start, in no particular order. Will it be easy? Probably not, but I'm willing to give it a try.

How about you?