Bubbles

Yesterday was Sunday - I went to look for the snail mail. huh? I also forgot to post a Sacred Life Sunday post. I'm all mixed up on what day it is between the holidays and my husband being on vacation from work.

So this morning as I did a little web surfing and went to read the Inner Christmas topic for today I realized I'd missed the Sacred Sunday. The Inner Christmas topic was about reflection and anticipation. Lynn wrote and I quote "Reflection comes from the Latin word that means to bend back. “Bend” has such grace in its meaning. When we reflect in our thinking we gracefully bend back to what was past."

Reflect is what I did this morning. I've gently bent back to yesterday specifically to what was sacred about yesterday.

I took a bath. Soaking in a bathtub is the most relaxing comforting thing for me to do. It's a sacred activity. I try to conserve water and I have a big bathtub so I usually only take about one bath a week in the winter and less in the summer. This act of conserving water has made me more mindful about a long soak in the tub. I never do it unless I have the proper amount of time to really deepen into the bliss of it.

What I've noticed is that when I bring my full attention to it and my willingness to surrender to it - it truly becomes a very sacred activity. Coincidentally, the day six topic for Inner Christmas was warming and cooling and it encouraged me to take that bath.

I love how words or topics seem to circle about until they land like angels in your mind. Yesterday it was like a green light of encouragement to go nourish myself in the bath. What showed up today was reflection. Not only did the Inner Christmas encourage this - I saw that Zen Habits had a very practical posting of advice on the topic of reflection. It is that time of the year when we reflect on our Sacred Life. Or consciously choose to make changes.....

So as we all celebrate the turning of the calender year I offer you bubbles. No matter if you celebrate the New Year with champagne or sparkling apple cider. Or if you choose to take a bubble bath.

I hope laughter bubbles up from your depths and delights your soul
and may you find time to reflect as you anticipate the turn of the calender page.

For some reason I also want to send out to you the spiritual gospel song......."THIS little LIGHT of mine........I'm gonna let it SHINE......." come on sing it now.........

......let it SHINE, let it SHINE, let it SHINE!!

Happy New Year!

Yip, yip.....yooooowl!

Sacred Life Sunday - angel

Blessings to you all.

To find links to all the Sacred Life Participants click here.
I'm off to my reading corner for some time spent with this book.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Technically I should have wished this yesterday if you live in the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones. But if you live in the Central or Eastern Time Zone - the Winter Solstice happened at 1:08 AM today.

This Solstice - I'll be trudging through the snow today to do cat care for neighbors. I'm also planning to go to the local 1oth annual poetry by candlelight reading tonight.

If you need a bright summer reminder click here

If you would like to read what I was writing last winter solstice click here

If you would rather be entertained by the cuteness then go here or here

Just have a great day! Blessings...........

P.S. It's 1:42 PM local time here and the wind is blowing the snow all around at 40 mph and guess what the windchill is - yes - 13 degrees! Bbrrrr! Oh and the mail brought one missing package - I'm sure the other will appear next week.

12 Random Christmas things about me

I tagged myself for this one from Journey to Authenticity - completely ignoring rule number three. Here are the rules in case you were wondering:

The rules

1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas

2. Please refer to it as a "hoopla" and not the dreaded 'm'-word

3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this "if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this "hoopla" circulating through the Blogosphere.

4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.

Here is my hoopla :

1. 2 packages were sent to us on December 6th from one set of relatives. One package arrived last Monday and the other one is missing? I'm thinking of proposing to this group of family that we celebrate Christmas in July because that is when we usually see each other in person and then no mailing would be involved. Another package we heard would be coming from another relative but we aren't clear if it was mailed on or before or after the 12th and it hasn't appeared yet either. It almost makes me want to wish everyone a "Happy Stressmas!"

2. Every year I say I'll get a real tree - but then every year I think I will be hosting some guests and yet they don't come. Next year might be the year I get a real tree for just me and my husband.

3. I usually have a little fake tree I put up. My little fake tree I'm fond of - it's been with me for almost a decade. It's not very tall but it is skinny and it allows the ornaments to hang and dangle under limbs instead of laying all weird on top of a cone shape. I wrote this "m" - I mean hoopla earlier today. And before publishing this -We put up the little tree!

4. It isn't that I'm a humbug. But last year I think I was in such shock over my Mom that I went through all the motions of Christmas - the tree and the cards. This year I miss her even more and all of it seems more challenging - especially writing the cards. This afternoon we put up the tree and I got out all the ornaments and burst into tears. Yet, I feel good tonight. Glad to have it look so festive in my house. Glad to see the gentle smile on my husband's face.

While we were putting up the tree it was snowing. At the height of the storm we saw a flash and heard SNOW THUNDER! I've never actually heard snow thunder. I've heard of it but not actually heard it with my own ears. How cool is that!

5. When I was a kid my Dad would go hunting. He'd come home with a tree from the N.M. woods. A least a few years of my childhood I remember he would come home with a second small tree for me to be put in the room we called the playroom.

6. I think as a kid I loved Christmas the most because my sister or brother or both would come home for a visit. Once I remember all three of my siblings came (my oldest brother was in the Air Force and didn't come home too often).

One of the more memorable visits was the year I was maybe 10 or 11 and my sister and brother both came. My sister handmade for me a stuffed horse - well it was half zebra. She also made my brother these crazy slippers. They looked like creature feet. I laughed so hard. Somewhere there are photos - but I don't think they are at my house right now. I just remember how fun it was to have my siblings there.

7. My mom loved See's blackwalnut candies. Oh, how I wish See's Candies still made them. Every Christmas my Dad would arrive home one day with a big box - it had to be at least 5 pounds if not more. My Mom and I would eat those candies until they were all gone in what was probably a very short amount of time. I crave them at this time of year.

8. About the only really traditional thing that I associate with Christmas is my Grandma Danielson's Cookies. We never decorated them. Just made them and ate a whole lot of them. This year I plan to make them and take some over to my sister's house. Those cookies have a process and the last step is stirring in all the flour - every time I get to that step and feel how much strength it takes to get those last few cups of flour mixed into the dough I think "Holy - MY Grandmother's must have had some arm muscles!"

Grandma Danielson (she is my great grandmother)

9. My husband and I open our gifts on Christmas Eve. I don't know why we started that tradition. As a kid we also opened our gifts on Christmas Eve. I hear rumor that it was my Dad's decision. He had German ancestry and now I learned at Journey to Authenticity that it is a German tradition - so maybe that is why- hmm?

10. I actually love Christmas. I love the decorations and the ornaments - you pull them out of storage and go oh yeah.....it's so nice to see them again. They become like friends you only get to see once a year. I love the lights and the candles. I love the music - (but not the stuff they play in the stores to put you in the mood to shop - ugh!). I've been listening to Pandora and making up Christmas mixes.

What I love about Christmas is this: It's the birth of LOVE. Under all the hoopla of it all - it's about LOVE. Isn't everything about love at the core.....but this is a season where we actually get to sense the magic and mystery and beauty of it.

11. My favorite Christmas album is John Denver and the Muppets.

12. A few weeks ago I went to visit Tales from the Labyrinth. A link there directed me to this site which I want to share with you all. I'm going to participate in the 12 Holy Nights of Inner Christmas.

Change of plan.....

OK....I know it isn't anything close to the snow the Eastern US is getting but it has messed up my plans to go into Albuquerque today. This storm arrived a half a day earlier than expected. Luckily the fridge and the pantry have food, but I may have to get a little creative in what I choose to put together for dinner tonight.
On the positive side I have a chance to write those Holiday cards I've been putting off......and how can this kind of weather not inspire the process. And my creative brain has been kicked into gear overnight by this lovely bead and storywoman .....so me thinks my hands may be in clay later today exploring. The stores will wait...... and it will be a funner day. I know you are thinking what kind of word is funner?.......but this change of plan will be just that....... funner.

Sacred Life Sunday - Beauty

I hope you all can see the rainbow. It's faint, but it is there. Keep your gaze open to the sacred....

Random Me

Self portrait of moi...... wearing my first fully finished crocheted scarf. I used Lion Brand HOMESPUN yarn in the color Coral Gables.

7 Random or Weird Things about me:
I was tagged by Deborah of Spiritual Anecdotes to give seven random things about me. It is a meme that I believe has gone around the blogosphere for a while now. I'll use that as my reason for not tagging other blogs. Yet if you haven't yet done this one and you read my blog - consider yourself tagged - you know who you are, so when you have it posted let me know! You can view the proper rules and Deborah's own list here.

1. My one addiction is to coffee. I must have a good cup of coffee first thing in the morning. I get cranky without a good cup of coffee. I prefer a cup (usually two) of medium roast brew from freshly ground beans. Don't forget a little milk and sugar. Recently, I've reduced my fat intake so I've adjusted to using some milk instead of half and half.

2. I have a bad habit of leaving drawers and cabinet doors open. I think I get so involved in what I'm getting out of the storage that I forget to shut the drawer or door. It happens the most when I am cooking. My husband would probably say this is my number one weird random thing about me.

3. In my opinion - I would say my number one weird random thing about me is that I'm like a parrot when it comes to sounds, tunes, and commercial jingles. They go in my head and the next thing I'm parroting the sound. Christmas music is particularly insidious. I may not know the words but the tune goes in and I parrot it. Bless my husband's heart - he usually just laughs. When I hear him laugh I try to stop.

4. I make homemade pizza once a week. I don't make the sauce from scratch. I use a quarter of a jar of spaghetti sauce for that. But I make the dough from scratch using my bread machine. I can top it with lots of veggies. We also use meat - but it is so wonderful to eat a pizza loaded up with zucchini, bell peppers, and mushrooms. I cook the pizza on one of those baking stones. And every week I find myself saying I love my pizza!

5. When I'm being creative I work my lips. Especially if I am being creative using my hands to make or craft something. I always know when I have had a creative day because my lips need chap stick. Sometimes, you might even hear me say, "Hold your mouth right" because when I'm working on a project and I'm hoping something will come together I just have to work those lips and hold my mouth right that way it will all work out just right!

6. I love kale. The green leafy vegetable. It makes me feel strong. Every time I eat it I always feel like I've just consumed a super food.

7. I'm really good at finding lost objects in clutter. I had a lot of practice as a kid searching for eyeglasses or keys. We used to run around saying, "here keys....here keys"....like we were calling a puppy dog to us. All that searching developed a visual skill though. I can find lost glasses, keys, masking tape, etc.... One day I was in a small kitchen supply store. The salesclerk said, "I've lost my phone in here somewhere." I asked her what color it was and then I found it easily for her. It was on a shelf near the woks and Asian style dishes.

Thanks for the fun Deborah. I hope that is random or weird.......and to all of you -please, when you're leaving a comment - "hold your mouth right"

now burning

I jumped in there finally - into the RSS pool - thanks feedburner! I'm still not exactly sure what I'm doing but if you have a reader and want to put my blog into it - look over to the sidebar and you'll find the subscribe link button. And if something isn't working please let me know....thanks.

Currently.........

I feel like everything inside of me is different. I feel completely different from the way I felt a year ago or two years ago or three years ago. The change within is motivating me to change the outside of me. Not just my physical body - but also my environment. The change within is making me realize that my time management is in chaos. It's cluttered and disorganized.

Of course we are always changing. How we feel is always in flux. What I'm referring to is a fundamental change and not just the slow changes occurring all the time. There are beliefs and habits I've carried around and used for years that no longer work. I've held on to things in my past and I no longer want to keep accumulating them.

Clearing through my parent's past - their memories and stuff has had a huge impact on creating this fundamental change inside me. The job was overwhelming and mostly it is finished yet not quite. What is left to do is motivating my own willingness to deal with my own life of memories and stuff and interests. What I've learned from this task so far is that so much is not important - what remains after someone is gone is the love - the memories of the essential energy of that person. All the stuff - even the stuff that is connected to the memories is only stuff and not really all that important.

I want to live in the present moment. That is the life I want.

I'm old enough now to have accumulated a lot of hobbies and I see how it is all too much. The most important things to me are not getting done because I have been holding too tightly to the past in the form of someday projects. I chose to be in the position of being a sifter and sorter of my parent's stuff. And it has in all honesty been a burden AND (I hope my Mom can somehow get this too) it's been a wonderful teaching for me. My important things aren't getting done because I let my cluttered time management - or lazy time management - keep me from taking action on the things important to me. I see how I can accumulate better choices and little by little they add up to creating the life I want instead of being buried and stuck in the clutter of a lifetime.

So this is where I'm at currently:

Decluttering is my biggest passion right now.
Here is a partial list of things to be purged and organized:

• stuff,
• mementos and memorabilia of the past(see note below),
• habits that are no longer useful,
• outdated beliefs,
• clothes,
• email,
• digital photos (not sorted well enough to find them when I want them)
  
• digital files,
• paperfiles,
• projects I want to "someday do" and clearly will never do,
• books,
• CD's - cassette tapes(yikes!),

*mementos, memorabilia of past - I'm not talking about getting rid of everything from the past but giving the stuff I keep an honorable display and letting go of the rest.


I want to live in the present moment. I want to use my time here on earth - I want to use my precious sweet life wisely. So the other place I find myself is getting into integrity. Making my environment in sync with who I am and using my time to support who I am. Granted I know that this accumulation didn't happen overnight and it won't change overnight but this is where I'm at - little by little beginning to make different choices.

These are the priorities:
Decluttering, time management, and doing what is most important to me right now. What has fundamentally changed inside of me is this: I no longer need to keep this "stuff" as an excuse to living a powerful creative life in the present moment. I used to think I could get to clearing the clutter someday - but meanwhile I keep adding more and more to it.

I'm back... but prepare yourselves....because my blog content may become a lot about adding by subtracting........

Topics coming soon on my blog:

• I've been tagged to give you random and weird things about me
• the importance of declaring oneself a writer
• My currently favorite books
• sprinkled with decluttering inspiration
• photos of course
  
• updates on time management
• and the posts about the important stuff to me which is writing and creativity!

I just took away two posts I wrote and posted yesterday. They seemed long and tedious to me this morning. So today, I have nothing yet to offer you my readers except blessings on your journey...........