The day in photos.....

And yup......we'll both be sleeping really, really well tonight.

NO doubt about that one.....

Fairy dusting.....

"Together" people have their not so together moments.

Sometimes, falling apart is how we get put back together.

On the road.......

Dragonflies....

Floating sculptures in marshy lakes....

A memorial of bricks.......

The sunset on a statue....

*happy sigh*

It's been a good travel day. :-)

Today's Fairy Thought.....

We don't have to be so frightened of pain.

It does not have to overwhelm us.

We are strong enough to deal with hurt feelings.

And we don't have to become martyrs, claiming that hurt feelings and suffering are all there is to life.

We need only allow ourselves to feel hurt, when that's appropriate, and take responsibility for our feelings, behaviors, and what we need to do to take care of ourselves.

We don't have to analyze or justify our feelings.

We only need to feel them, and try not to let them control our behavior.

It's okay to feel hurt; it's okay to cry; it's okay to move on to the next feeling, when it's time.

Our willingness and capacity to feel joy will eventually match our willingness and capacity to feel hurt.

Things that make me happy

....retractable ethernet cables. (they are AWESOME!!!!!)

....the smell of freshly cut hay.

....old tractors putt-putting past the house.

....rumble seats.

....freshly made lemonade.

....neighbors that pop over for a brief visit/catch-up.

....glittery gold fireworks.

....kebabs on the grill.

....watching himself 'sit and spin'. *snickering*

Making a mental note........

*chuckling*

Wanna throw a 'gotta be organized' neurotic person for a loop?



Tell him you've got the availability to leave a day earlier for a vacation than you'd originally planned for.

Whhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

He's kinda cute when he starts running around willy-nilly. LOL

Today's Reading Fairy

Resentment costs you much and gives you nothing.

Forgiveness costs you nothing and sets you free.
Fighting against something gives it added strength and influence.

When there's no one telling you what to do is when you truly learn.

When your thoughts are still, you gain great insight.
By being flexible you can remain firm.

Though some of life is bad, all of life is good. Be at peace in this moment.

k.......gotta get organized for the adventure.......

k.......he's got a list started.

A list.

Now, keep in mind I already had a list started and it coulda been added to?
But noooooooooooooo....he has a list, I have a list......and we're gonna check 'em against the other.
Why......I have no clue. LOL Cuz....he'll feel better maybe?

Right.
Cameras.
Binoculars.
Cooler.
Oh..........virtual ice cubes! We got some yaknow.....bitty squares of soft plastic with watery stuff in 'em.........
Right then........yes, another "OH look a chicken" moment......

k......
Suitcases. Oh man......that means I gotta make decisions about what to pack. Maybe I'll let himself do the packing and just live with it. LOL BAD PLAN, Mel......pack your ownself!
k....
Colorbooks and crayons, bubbles, and......(gosh......here's the harder decision--what TOYS do I take for the road?!) (k.....visit to the toy baskets might be required. And yes, that's plural--basketS!)
Decisions, decisions, decisions!

k.....
Maps! Yup.....made the list.....cuz......

What do I wanna drink on the road?
Ummmmmmmm........ oh boy........another decision?
Toss in the water with vitamins and electrolytes. *shrugs* This is the least of my worries.

I have TOYS to decide on, dangit!!

K!!!!
Prezzie for the sister and brother-in-law.
Cell phone charger(s). (yup....three....THREE chargers for the THREE phones...O.M.G.!!!)
Battery charger(s)....two camera's don'tchaknow.....

Bucket and shovel! Uh huh......and then I can put toys inSIDE the bucket and have more to play with.....

Yeah, yeah........back to the list.....
I'd still have to decide what to put IN the bucket....which means I need to go check out the baskets and start picking......which could be a process and a half cuz if I go check out the toy baskets--well, HELLO....I'm GONNA PLAY!!!!

Ah.
NOW I see why there's two lists!
One to be accomplished and one to be ignored while Mel roots through the toy baskets!
What a very clever man!!!!!!!

:-)



************************
And I'll have you know that one just got me a pat on the head.

Today's thought from the reading fairy

Those who are mentally and emotionally healthy are those who have learned when to say yes, when to say no, and when to say whoopee!

--Willard S. Krabill

Who will sing me lullabies........

Lay me down gently, lay me down low,

I fear I am broken and won't mend, I know.

One thing I ask when the stars light the skies,

Who now will sing me lullabies,

Oh who now will sing me lullabies.

In this big world I'm lonely, for I am but small,

Oh angels in heaven, don't you care for me at all?

You heard my heart breaking for it rang through the skies,

So why don't you sing me lullabies,

Oh why don't you sing me lullabies.

I lay here; I'm weeping for the stars they have come,

I lay here not sleeping; now the long night has begun.

The man in the moon, oh he can't help but cry,

For there's no one to sing me lullabies,

Oh there's no one to sing me lullabies.

So lay me down gently, oh lay me down low,

I fear I am broken and won't mend, I know .

One thing I ask when the stars light the skies,

Who now will sing me lullabies,

Oh who now will sing me lullabies.

Who will sing me to sleep

Who will sing me to sleep

Who will sing me to sleep

Who will sing me to sleep

Who will sing me to sleep

Who will sing......

Give a listen.....

A gal can't even whine!!

Soooooooo.....I take back every kindly thing I said about WPIML. LOL

k......not really.
But I gotta remember where I can 'find sympathy in the dictionary' BEFORE I ring that fella.....or he's just gonna remind me every time and I'm just gonna wrinkle my nose and roll my eyes and grumble........
He's a great listener, WPIML.
I swear, he's got it down to a fine art.
Either that--or he really does know me inside and out.
I wonder if he comes with a plan of attack, or if he's just feigning like he's listening while he's plotting how to get Mel to grumble.

"And your part is?"

No no no.........see, I just wanna kvetch and blame and get sympathy....

"And your part is?"

Do we REALLY haffta talk 'my part'? I mean, it's not like I wanna DO anything, I just wanna complain!

"And your part is?"

*sigh*

Yeah, there's NO getting out of 'personal responsibility' with that man.
Absolutely no way on G-d's green earth that he's gonna just 'go with it' and let me have my whinging, whiney moment and dole out a 'Awwww......what a sucky deal......'. Though he did say "Sucks to be you, huh?"
He just didn't sound like he meant it.....

And what's my part?
My part is I like to whine and DO nothing so I can just be a victim/martyr, thanksverymuch for asking!

Yeah, yeah......

"If ya always do whatcha've always done, you'll always get whatcha've always got....."

Have I mentioned how much I well and truly do LOVE WPIML?

Yeah, well.....I take it BACK!!!!!

(just kidding......) (I think.....)

A short diddy from the reading fairies.....

Whatever it is you desire--
give it,

be it,

support it,

enjoy it.

QOTW 7/6

Name two people can you talk to for hours?

The Sister.....cuz she's--my sister? We can ramble on about the silliest things and never run out of things to kibbitz about. She's silly. She's a good confidant. She's gonna tell me the truth even if she knows I'll be a bit crabby about it--cuz she knows I'll love her no matter what.

Oh, and we giggle a lot when we talk to each other. Who doesn't like a good giggle now and then?!

Wisepersoninmylife--cuz he's really, really important to me and he's....special to me. That man has helped me wade through the muck and mire of this thing called life.....and I owe him a debt of gratitude for helping me be all that I AM today.
He knows the good, the bad and the ugly of Mel. I can rely on him to call it as he sees it....he cares more about my LIFE than he does about my 'poor little fragile feelings'. Trust me-- he's pissed me off many a time--but he's a wisened old bird and the type that I just wanna stand next to cuz of how warm and peaceful it feels there, yaknow?

k......now I gotta call WPIML....LOL

(already talked to the sister this morning!) ;-)

TFTD

Be truly thankful for having been through so much.

Then get busy creating the best of what can be.

Let go of the useless drama that is already over.

Hold on to the positive value that you've gained from it all.

Always there are new possibilities to explore, new ways to grow, and new worlds to experience.

With each new now, the world is filled with fresh opportunities to be.

Sparkle, glitter and love......

Wanna know what my Fourth of July was about?

See below......

And if you don't 'see' what I see......that's okay.

Cuz I see it.

I know on the end of that hand reaching up is a mom who'd 'lost' her kiddo to something that seemed more powerful than her love.

Sparkle and glitter.....

And love---wins.

TFTD......

Sometimes, it's appropriate not to give up and to try harder.

Sometimes, it's more appropriate to let go, detach, and stop trying so hard.

If it doesn't work, if it doesn't flow, maybe life is trying to tell us something.

Life is a gentle teacher.

She doesn't always send neon road signs to guide us.

Sometimes, the signs are more subtle.

Something not working may be a sign!

Let go.

If we have become frustrated by repeated efforts that aren't producing desired results, we may be trying to force ourselves down the wrong path.

Sometimes, a different solution is appropriate.

Sometimes, a different path opens up.

Often, the answer will emerge more clearly in the quietness of letting go than it will in the urgency, frustration, and desperation of pushing harder.

Learn to recognize when something isn't working or isn't flowing.

Step back and wait for clear guidance.

Today's Thought......

We come to this day with a choice of whether to be for something or against it.
Shall we put energy into what we seek and admire or shall we give our energy to opposition and resistance of what we dislike?

Criticizing may be a helpful first stage in learning, but it is seductive because it holds little risk and we feel safe doing it.

In that comfort we forget to go forward to create what we really want.

Negative energy, when we are seduced by it, creates negative results.

Risk creating something positive.

Independence Day 2008

It's Independence Day......
It's early.
And I'm tired, go figure.

I think it's the amount of emotional energy that's getting packed into the days as of late.
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for some additional responsibilities to help organize folks who are providing counseling to flood victims.
Three counties worth of flood victims, no less.
And it's really not a small undertaking......the grant is a gift--and trust me when I say that I can't say that loud enough.
It truly is a gift....there's so many people hurting, so many lives forever changed.....

I didn't apply for the grant--I'm pretty clear I was too emotionally emeshed in the devastation and not thinking about things in a broader sense.
But boy....I'm glad someone had their stuff together to do the writing that needed done.
It certainly wasn't me.

I did get in the middle and offered to help organize.
And since it's three counties we're serving and I was 'ordered' to physically steer clear of the risks involved by being in the trenches of it all--I raised my hand for being one of three people to organize those folks who can be where I cannot.
*sigh*
And I soooo feel a need to be in the thick of things.....
But I don't get to be.
And I'm working on getting over that.
Failing miserably.....but workin' on it.......

Hopefully soon?


Photos of lives scattered on lawns to dry.
Piles of debrise tossed to the parking, waiting on trucks that will carry their life possessions, their memories, their children's toys to six football fields worth of 'in the process of being created' dump sites.
Empty eyes of those who've lost their homes, their jobs, their pets but not their families.




Don't forget gratitude as you scramble to piece together and salvage the ravaged remains......


The fireworks will still go off tonight.
Sparklers will happen.


Life goes on.

How come......

How come I don't get to be a part of the 4th of July parade anymore?!

k.......I have an answer to that.....I don't get to be cuz I take the simple and add to it until it becomes complicated and huge.
k......so I have a creative mind!
This isn't an all bad thing!!!!!
We've won a trophy EVERY YEAR..........but the years *I* was involved, we won a HUGE trophy.
I oughta know......they're sitting in the office 11 months of the year...until someone drags them to the unit to motivate the kiddos for THIS years float......

Speaking of this years' float....

Tomorrow I'm getting the task of putting together a float that I know zilch about.
It's become a major undertaking for the kiddos, of course.......and I ain't talking the float, I'm talking the fine art of keeping Ms. Mel in the dark.

I ask how the float is coming along.
I get "Don't worry Ms. Mel. It's coming along GREAT."

I ask what they're intending to do with that huge globe looking like thingy with all the glitter and I get "Don't worry Ms. Mel.....we know where it's going."

I ask what they're doing with all those garbage bags with smiley's painted on 'em. (k....they ARE cute lookin'!)
I get "Don't worry Ms. Mel......we have a plan......."

HELLO?!?!
Tomorrow is the parade and I don't have a clue what the end product is suppose to look like?!
And I'll be in early to help assemble it?!
Right.
I'll just tell 'em to stick the globe thingy on the front of the semi-truck that's hauling the trailer......'cept the driver won't be able to see around the darn thing to drive.....

"Don't worry Ms. Mel......we know how to put it together......."

Uh huh.....
I DON'T!!!!!

And I think I wanna be a smiling garbage bag thingy....



But I don't think they oughta get such joy from secret keeping.
NOR do I think they oughta be 'allowed' to store the parade candy IN the office if I'm not 'allowed' to know the details.......

*nodding head*
I'm gonna open a bag--pull out a few handfuls of parade candy and walk onto the unit this morning, tossing some at every kiddo that continues to tell me "Don't worry Ms. Mel......"






LOL
Oh yeah......THAT'LL teach 'em! LOL

Fairy reminder......

If you want to be interesting, be interested.

If you want to be heard, listen.
If you wish to truly learn, teach.

If you would like to be wealthy, be generous.
If you desire to be understood, take the time to understand.

If you want the world to change for the better, make a positive change in yourself.

If you long for peace, be peaceful.
What you give to life is what life becomes for you.