My Christmas tree is up and I joyfully completed the task on Saturday after Thanksgiving. What is more amazing about that is I did it by myself. I am growing up hahaha!
I found so much joy putting up the tree this weekend that I took the least amount of time necessary to get it up and lighted. You see I am a master at procrastination. My style is minimalistic so my ratio of green to ornament is heavily in favor of the green tree. I know my mother’s style is the opposite and she may still comment on my very minimalistic approach, but for now she keeps mum.
This year I have used my red ball ornament. I’m still trying to get as much use from my old ornaments as I could. But the tree that I have right now is a new one. I gave my old tree away to Salvation Army. I use plastic tree versus real one. I love the smell of the real tree, but disposing it is so much hassle that I have never purchased a live one again.
Likewise the garlands are already decorating the banister in my staircase, they’re lit up as well. That’s about the extent of my decoration so far. I have yard decors that would have to wait for this weekend to be put up.
And speaking of Christmas, blogger pal Kayni broached up the idea of x-change gifts. I know this may cause a little wrinkle in the blog world as I passed the chance to play x-change gifts with Princessa Musang this year and said yes to Kayni. I’ll make it up to my other blogger pal some day.
Here’s my list for Kayni’s Christmas party:
Something you can use everyday: Cutesy journal
Something cute: Anything Sanrio/Hello Kitty
Something light or small: Kitty ornament or kitty item
Something fancy: Fancy (fashion) earrings
Something sweet: Dark chocolate bar
Favorite colors: Pink, yellow
Something you really need: Small wallet
Something you collect: Pressed pennies, postcards, ref magnets
If you have one wish, what would it be: Is this about world peace or totally selfish answers? I want to have one 5 x 8 print of your most favorite picture that you took. I’ll frame it and put it up on my wall.
I hope to get Kayni's response to these questions/lines soon so I can start shopping.
Happy Christmas everyone! I know too soon right?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Grateful
I'm always grateful for the emails I get even though many of them are forwarded inspirational or humorous messages from my friends. I read them all whatever they are and I keep them in my inbox.
A few minutes ago, I opened my email and saw this solitary email in my inbox. It's a wonderful prayer/poem. I'd like to share it with all of you.
A General Thanksgiving
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
A few minutes ago, I opened my email and saw this solitary email in my inbox. It's a wonderful prayer/poem. I'd like to share it with all of you.
A General Thanksgiving
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Today I'm Thankful for...
My post yesterday was about how thankful I was for winning concert tickets. Later that day I was reminded again that this is Thanksgiving week and a few months earlier I was planning on posting my daily thanksgiving post. Too late for a whole month's edition, right? So I'll just make do with daily gratitude for a week.
Today I'm grateful for the unexpected free coffee from the chief of our department. At about 4 pm I went down to the coffee cart for a little pick me up and I found him there getting his chai. He was just putting in his order when I showed up and before he could finish his order he said without hesitation --- and whatever she's having.
He certainly made my day. It wasn't just a cup of coffee, it also meant my budget for the week went a little further. I hope I'd be able to pass this generosity on to someone who most need it.
Today I'm grateful for the unexpected free coffee from the chief of our department. At about 4 pm I went down to the coffee cart for a little pick me up and I found him there getting his chai. He was just putting in his order when I showed up and before he could finish his order he said without hesitation --- and whatever she's having.
He certainly made my day. It wasn't just a cup of coffee, it also meant my budget for the week went a little further. I hope I'd be able to pass this generosity on to someone who most need it.
Monday, November 21, 2011
I Won! I Won
After years of lamenting my lousy fortune at raffles and other contests, I finally won something substantial. Ok, many moons ago I won a tee shirt. But I found out about it much later on so when I contacted the company that hosted the raffle, they said the time claiming prizes has lapsed. So that didn't count.
This time around it counted. Last week I was notified via email that I won a contest for a Pink Martini concert tickets. I don't know who Pink Martini is. If you don't either, just google them. The email also mentioned that someone would be contacting me for claiming info.
A day later the info was left on my answering machine. I was to go to the box office of the venue, which was Paramount Theater, the wonderful art deco style theater in Oakland, and collect my will-call tickets.
What a great thing, isn't it? So my husband and I decided to make it a date night. The concert starts at 7:30. Oakland is 20 miles away. We left by 5:30 - 5:45 and headed to Chinatown which is near the venue. Parking took up a few minutes to secure, street parking that is. Then we went to a Vietnamese place where we ordered Singapore noodles and some Vietnamese noodles. My apologies I cannot remember the "actual names" of the dishes. The Vietnamese noodle dish is the one I like and order all the time, but the Singapore noodles take a little bit of getting used to. I cannot marry the curry flavor with a noodle dish, sorry. One of my many many flaws is my inability to totally embrace the curry flavor.
When we reach the venue we found street parking, 2-3 blocks away, and the will-call and box office line was long. But we managed to get the tickets in the least amount of time. The theater is really opulent. I'll have to go back and see this theater in a tour or something.
The line to get some refreshments/beverages is long that we decided to just abandon that when 7:30 came around.
We have enjoyed great music via a 10-piece orchestra. Global music I think one said is their forte/genre.
Unfortunately it was a Sunday night and we had to work today so we left during the intermission. While we both wanted to stay and finish the concert, we knew that we'd be paying dearly Monday if we did. So old fogeys that we are we left for home.
I'm so glad I finally got to win something. One of the many things I'm thankful for.
This time around it counted. Last week I was notified via email that I won a contest for a Pink Martini concert tickets. I don't know who Pink Martini is. If you don't either, just google them. The email also mentioned that someone would be contacting me for claiming info.
A day later the info was left on my answering machine. I was to go to the box office of the venue, which was Paramount Theater, the wonderful art deco style theater in Oakland, and collect my will-call tickets.
What a great thing, isn't it? So my husband and I decided to make it a date night. The concert starts at 7:30. Oakland is 20 miles away. We left by 5:30 - 5:45 and headed to Chinatown which is near the venue. Parking took up a few minutes to secure, street parking that is. Then we went to a Vietnamese place where we ordered Singapore noodles and some Vietnamese noodles. My apologies I cannot remember the "actual names" of the dishes. The Vietnamese noodle dish is the one I like and order all the time, but the Singapore noodles take a little bit of getting used to. I cannot marry the curry flavor with a noodle dish, sorry. One of my many many flaws is my inability to totally embrace the curry flavor.
When we reach the venue we found street parking, 2-3 blocks away, and the will-call and box office line was long. But we managed to get the tickets in the least amount of time. The theater is really opulent. I'll have to go back and see this theater in a tour or something.
The line to get some refreshments/beverages is long that we decided to just abandon that when 7:30 came around.
We have enjoyed great music via a 10-piece orchestra. Global music I think one said is their forte/genre.
Unfortunately it was a Sunday night and we had to work today so we left during the intermission. While we both wanted to stay and finish the concert, we knew that we'd be paying dearly Monday if we did. So old fogeys that we are we left for home.
I'm so glad I finally got to win something. One of the many things I'm thankful for.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle.. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil’s name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Worry about nothing, pray about everything
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle.. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil’s name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Worry about nothing, pray about everything
Monday, November 14, 2011
Dear Blog
Poor neglected blog. 10 days since the last post. There’s a lot on my plate right now and maintaining four other blogs – mainly photo blogs – something has to suffer and I’m afraid it’s you.
Around these times you know I tend to be stressed out, dealing with traffic in order to get to and from work and the same thing during the weekend from one errand to another – too much drain on the energy.
I have stuff to tell you, but am too tired to make some sense still. But I have been caring for these little balls of fur that visit every day. This weekend hubs and I got to pet little Fuzzy. Yap, you know it, I have already named 2 of these cats. The other one is Midnite.
Fuzzy is fascinating. She came when she was a baby, brought by Gray, one of the original feral cats that visited us last year. Gray came to us as a baby and grew up a bit. She/he brought Fuzzy to us as a baby. Fuzzy played through the screen door with Buster. So they knew each other from the very beginning.
Gray and Midnite – the original one – were our first babies, they came every night. Because they were babies we used to put out bowls of milk, then they graduated to table scraps and cat food.
All of a sudden Midnite and Gray no longer came to visit. I was constantly worried they might have been run over or you know killed by dogs or something.
Our neighborhood is a safe haven for them, I believe. I know for a fact that our neighboor who we share a back fence with also feeds them.
Now this group has grown. And Fuzzy has grown too. She/he’s probably 3-4 months old now and very sweet little one. We got to pet her and she/he purred for us. Next step is to pick her up. And if she/he’s willing, we’ll get her spayed/neutered, get checked up and given all the necessary shots and we’ll adopt her.
Now all these is based on whether she will be tame enough to allow us to carry her. If that happens, I still have one hurdle to overcome. What will her/his arrival impact on Emma. Emma has been really aloof with all the cats feeding in the backyard. Buster we have no problem, he’s the sociable one. He greets them and plays with them thru the screen door.
We have put up an interim shelter for them since it has been raining lately and the temperature has dropped. Fuzzy has that wonderful long hair and it appears to have doubled since the weather has changed. What a beautiful cat.
However, the cats don’t seem to know how to use this interim shelter. We’ve been extremely busy with our weekends that we had no time to make their house. We still plan on making them some sort of shelter when the weather is lousy.
See how busy I am. I am not even mentioning about work, as I don’t want to say anything about it.
Love,
Me
Around these times you know I tend to be stressed out, dealing with traffic in order to get to and from work and the same thing during the weekend from one errand to another – too much drain on the energy.
I have stuff to tell you, but am too tired to make some sense still. But I have been caring for these little balls of fur that visit every day. This weekend hubs and I got to pet little Fuzzy. Yap, you know it, I have already named 2 of these cats. The other one is Midnite.
Fuzzy is fascinating. She came when she was a baby, brought by Gray, one of the original feral cats that visited us last year. Gray came to us as a baby and grew up a bit. She/he brought Fuzzy to us as a baby. Fuzzy played through the screen door with Buster. So they knew each other from the very beginning.
Gray and Midnite – the original one – were our first babies, they came every night. Because they were babies we used to put out bowls of milk, then they graduated to table scraps and cat food.
All of a sudden Midnite and Gray no longer came to visit. I was constantly worried they might have been run over or you know killed by dogs or something.
Our neighborhood is a safe haven for them, I believe. I know for a fact that our neighboor who we share a back fence with also feeds them.
Now this group has grown. And Fuzzy has grown too. She/he’s probably 3-4 months old now and very sweet little one. We got to pet her and she/he purred for us. Next step is to pick her up. And if she/he’s willing, we’ll get her spayed/neutered, get checked up and given all the necessary shots and we’ll adopt her.
Now all these is based on whether she will be tame enough to allow us to carry her. If that happens, I still have one hurdle to overcome. What will her/his arrival impact on Emma. Emma has been really aloof with all the cats feeding in the backyard. Buster we have no problem, he’s the sociable one. He greets them and plays with them thru the screen door.
We have put up an interim shelter for them since it has been raining lately and the temperature has dropped. Fuzzy has that wonderful long hair and it appears to have doubled since the weather has changed. What a beautiful cat.
However, the cats don’t seem to know how to use this interim shelter. We’ve been extremely busy with our weekends that we had no time to make their house. We still plan on making them some sort of shelter when the weather is lousy.
See how busy I am. I am not even mentioning about work, as I don’t want to say anything about it.
Love,
Me
Friday, November 4, 2011
Feeling the Season
Finally cool enough to be fall, and the leaves are starting to change colors.
This image was shot in Plumas County 10/22/11. There are some trees like this around my neighborhood, but not quite this showy yet.
The cool breeze is very welcome and the chill in the air is very comforting. I want to light a fire tonite while hubs and I cuddle in the couch laughing our heads off while watching BIG BANG THEORY on syndication.
Now I have a plan.
Happy weekend. Hope you're enjoying your fall season.
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