Treat Yo' Self.

If you're like me (and I'm afraid you may be, just a little), it's easy to get so deeply into the mode of self-sacrifice and serving others and just generally busy with life to the point of sometimes neglecting ourselves, or maybe just being too hard on ourselves because we have faults and aren't perfect, or are simply depressed and sad. It happens. It can happen a lot. So the purpose of this little post is to remind all of us to treat ourselves! Not to go crazy and be irresponsible, of course, but to show ourselves a little love and appreciation now and then for the many things we do for others every day. And we don't necessarily need to treat ourselves with something that costs money. It could just be some time, some peace and quiet, a heart-to-heart talk with a good friend, a long walk, curling up with a good book, making popcorn and watching a dvd, etc. Or we could simply look deeply into those eyes we see in the mirror and say, "hello, I love you!" once in a while.

This video excerpt is a funny reminder of just that... so go and treat yo' self today!

Hugs.

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."  —Buddha

Re-post: Hey Girl

So busy lately, on top of being sick last week. Life gets ugly sometimes, am I right? I am so blessed to have a nice patient hubby who is always there cheering for me when things get rough. Rich, you are the best and I LOVE YOU!

OK, so Beki over at The Rusted Chain is awesome. She's someone I hope to meet someday because she's amazingly talented, cute and funny as heck! I couldn't resist re-posting some of her recent "Hey Girls." Here they are. Enjoy! OK - I am off to watch The Bachelor (yes, I know........ it's awful, but if you ask me I think Ben DESERVES Courtney! He's a flippin' genius, as are all contestants on this show, and she is 99.44% pure evil. And will they live happily ever after? Of course not!!!!!!) PS: Kimmie, this Hugh is for you! 

"Life is simple; it's just not easy." —unknown

The Word Is: Happiness

Sometimes happiness comes and goes, and sometimes it eludes us for a while. Life can be extra challenging, and it seems this week is one of those times for me. Just not feeling well. It will get better, I know it. So to help in the process I made some art, and I found a sweet photo to re-post. Hope it cheers you.

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections."  —unknown

"Happiness is not the absence of problems; rather it is the ability to deal with them."  —unknown

"It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about."  —Dale Carnegie

Thanking God for the Flowers

Goodness gracious... it looks like Spring! There are trees blossoming all over the place around these parts, and I've also seen many daffodils blooming, which I have to say are one of the happiest flowers I know of. While we really do need more (some?) rain here in NorCal, the weather has been stunningly gorgeous and I've really been loving it. The nights are still quite cold but the days... just lovely! In fact I plan to spend several hours this coming week doing some weeding and general sprucing up in my front yard. 

Anyway, I am loving the early Spring, and also loving doing lots of new designing these days! Here is another sneak peek of a couple new designs that should be coming out either this summer or early in 2013. So much fun new stuff!

All right - I'm off to spend some quiet quality time with Rich in front of the TV... movie night! And somebody I know has a big birthday tomorrow... happy 52 to my hubs! Love you forever.

"It takes a long time to grow young."  —Pablo Picasso

"A birthday is the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip."  —unknown

Upon the Housetops...

The title of this post may bring to mind a jolly old elf in a red suit, but that's not quite what I wanted to talk about today. Consider this passage of scripture:

"Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."  —Luke 12:3

Now think of this scripture with regard to FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media. I heard a little lately about a certain ill-behaved "musician" (using the term very loosely) who won a Grammy last weekend and showed further poor behavior when reacting to some things said to/about him by others via Twitter. I read that within moments he reconsidered and deleted his offensive rants, but not before the tweets were captured by thousands; therefore they will live on forever in cyberspace, "proclaimed upon the housetops" if you will. Now consider the following, written by a wise and concerned young man:

"Nowadays, filming something and putting it on YouTube is as easy as taking out your phone, pressing a button to film, then pressing another to post. I predict that this will become an issue as my generation grows up and incorporates into the adult world. How weird would it be to see a video of your young women’s president Jello wrestling at a BYU frat party? Or a video surfacing of your bishop taking a bong hit when he was a teenager? Your wife (or mom) making out with some greasy skateboarder in high school? Will things like this impact you when you are a boss? A doctor? An elementary school teacher? It causes problems today, but I predict that when today’s carefree younger generation grows up, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media permanently floating around cyberspace are going to become extremely irritating. What do you think?"

Just some food for thought on a Thursday afternoon, something for kids and adults of all ages to consider. For the complete article including video, go HERE. 

"Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."  —Plato

A Short Valentine's Day Epilogue...

Just a quick comment... I am sitting here at my computer after a very long, nice day (except for the going-to-the-dentist part). I am thoroughly and completely exhausted, while in the kitchen my sweet husband is DOING THE DISHES. Oh how I love that man of mine. Not just for doing the dishes, but for so many reasons. He is nice, he works hard and without complaint for our family, he keeps getting out of bed every morning, he is honest, he is honorable, and he's also amazingly cute for an almost 52-year-old geezer. Just kidding, sweetie! I love you more and more every day. Forever and ever. Rich plus Kalani. It's true love, man.

"Can't help lovin' that man of mine!"  —Oscar Hammerstein

One Hundred Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers out there! Me? I get to spend my afternoon at the dentist - sounds like fun, am I right? Oh well, that's how life works out sometimes. But I have goodies for my family and a yummy dinner in the works and I've already given and received several hugs (with more to come, I'm sure!), so it's gonna be a good day, dentist and all...

Here's a new as-yet unpublished design from my super-secret new Valentine Collection, which will be available late in 2012. I have so many new things coming and I am so excited! OK, time to run. Enjoy your day!

"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me: love is knowing all about someone and still wanting to be with them more than any other person. Love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself. including the things you might be ashamed of. Love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still feeling weak in the knees when they walk into a room and smile at you."  —unknown