Aren't we clean enough yet????

Okay, here's the end of the shower creations. Check out the beautiful shower umbrella that we made using silk leaves instead of the standard lace for this "very hand-made wedding."

Also, I've included a picture of the shower cupcakes (we had cupcakes instead of a cake because the girls' first date was for cupcakes and hot chocolate) which were handmade also (not by my hands though but by a friend's). They were very yummy!

Let's Take a Shower - Part Deux...

Here is the finished cake topper from a few angles. The black kitty represents the ghost of kitties past, present and future. The girls each had beautiful black cats that passed away from kidney disease (at different times). They are making donations in honor of their guests to a cat rescue place for the wedding so I thought Shadow and my grandkitty Dougie should be represented.

Let's take a "Shower"....

Here is the shower favor from Courtney and Marie's shower. We (and when I say we I mean Jo and I) wrapped it in burlap and tied it with twine. We attached the silly little limmerick (Scott's work) and attached that with the twine also. Then we "glue lined" a silk leaf on the top. Even the disk with the poem had a leaf punch for the hole.

The poem didn't come that clear so this is what it said:

In Brooklyn two girls met by fate

On a highly, unlikely blind date

Their relationship flowered

And now they've been showered

So to thank you here's a hand-made

hot plate!

Courtney & Marie

Money makes the world go around?

This is a quick post today because I have decided to really attack my book writing with a purpose. I am dedicating 4 hours a day to it and it's almost time for me to go to work. Tomorrow I have to get up earlier so I can get my "other jobs" done before 10 am which is to be my starting time for writing.

So here goes....

"If you could be guaranteed one thing in life, BESIDES MONEY, what would it be?"

Now, really think about this question. I know at first thought you might say, health or love. But think about all the possibilities! I guess your choice will, very much, depend on your circumstances which leads me to this quote from my daily calendar...

"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other with us in our minds wherever we go." - Martha Washington

So with that in mind, I pick "contentment." I would love to always have contentment in my life and never a yearning for something more or different or easier....that's, of course, since I can't have buckets of money!!!!

I wish you all a "contented" day!

Who am I???

Another interesting Oprah and Eckart class. I had a "wow" moment tonight. The class was about the "roles" we all have and how they don't define who we are.

It got me to thinking that I have always been labeled and that I've always felt defined by those labels. I started out being Gus's daughter (everybody know my father in our community), then I became Dot's sister (my next older sister, Dorothea, was very popular...at least that's what it said in all the boys' bathroom stalls.....just kidding...she's a saint!), next I was Scott's wife, followed by Courtney's and Steven's mother. In the middle of those I help many other roles which labeled me...Service Unit manager for Girl Scouts, Vice President of the church council, Chairman of the church poperty committee, secretary of the board of directors for our town house community and on and on.

I think that is why I'm searching for something now. I have no label. Even though I'll always be Scott's wife and Courtney and Steven's mom, those labels no longer say who I am or I no longer allow them to. I learned tonight that they never really did define me but that I defined myself through those labels and that molded who I was and how I acted.

So my question is, what do you think you are defined by and is it an accurate definintion of who you really are?

Out with the old, in with the new....

I was reading about "habits" today. Habits can be either strengthened or broken. I'm sure we all know which habits we have that we'd like to change or break. They don't only have to be physical bad habits, like having to chow down on that big bag of popcorn followed by a giant-sized Goobers at the movies, but they can be bad habits of your thoughts. It seems those bad thought habits can, oftentimes, be more dangerous than the physical type. What is she talking about, you say?

Well, a bad habit of thought for me is thinking that I'm unorganized and unfocused. Because I keep reaffirming that to myself, I find that my life is somewhat overwhelming.

It seems when we think bad things about ourselves and about others they become true. Even if they really aren't true they become that way in our minds making it hard to see past what we have manifested. In other words, as in my case, I'm probably not really that unorganized or unfocused, as I'm able to put these words together (and I think they make a little sense), I have dinner for my husband most evenings (a little take out never hurts), I take good care of my pets and I think I'm a good friend, mother and sister, but by reaffirming those negative thoughts over and over to myself chaos seems to follow me. My desk is a cluttered mess, my kitchen needs straightening, projects need completing, my filing system is here, there, and everywhere, etc., etc., etc.

The same holds true for how we view others in our lives. If we always focus on characteristics of our family and friends that may not be, in our eyes anyway, the best, they become the person we have imagined them to be. For instance, let's say you have a friend or someone in your family who quite often looks to you for help. If you focus on the fact that they can't seem to do anything on their own...that they are helpless...and you keep reaffirming that in your thinking then they become a burden to you, someone who you always have to help and do for. Now if you focus on the things they DO get done and the successes they have, you no longer feel like they are such a burden when they do need your help (I know this first-hand because I have a husband...hi honey!)

So by focusing on the good parts of yourself or others around, you are really enhancing your own life and development. It's a win, win situation. You raise up yourself and them. It's a wonderful thing!

So my task for today is:

Reflect on how you thought of someone today who may have "bugged" you and decide how you can change your thinking about that person to raise up their and your own lives. Try to make this kind of positive and affirming thinking a new habit! Good Luck!