The Simple Pleasure of Soup

To enjoy  this delish dish vicariously, please click the image

An "early" post today.

The first day of the week, and the first day of the girls being back to school.  I was up early even though I wanted to sleep in since I did not sleep much last night.  P brought the girls to school, and Omi B will bring them home today.  I had to give in and admit that as much as I would like to do it myself today, I was afraid I will only worsen my condition.  It always seems simple enough biking to and fro, but the weather outside is cold and wet.  Plus, having awoken with a piercing ear ache, made me summon the courage to ask for help.

It is rather silly this, of not finding it easy to ask for help when it has always been willingly and generously given to me by many love ones.  But there it is, I am still constantly practicing.

P bought broth and veggies yesterday and I cooked it for breakfast a couple of hours ago.  It made a lot of difference, that he gave me a paracetamol and peppermint tea before I got up today. I am usually not so big with taking pills even as simple as aspirin.  But there it is again, I am constantly practicing.

When you have kids to care for, who are dependent on your well being, you simply need to over come all the things you feel you can't.  They make it simple.

It was very soothing the heating of the broth, adding the pre-cut veggies, writing emails while waiting for it to cook.  The act of "taking care of one-self", hopefully sends the body it's needed message to heal.

As the aroma wafted the air, the stress already lifted from my shoulder.  The first taste was like a mom's embrace: warm, reassuring.

I think, I will get another portion.  It should be what doctor's prescribes: soup the whole day.

Have a healthy week, y'all!

Back to the Future (the littlest bounces back to health!)

Today, we picked up the girls in Germany, where they spent their Spring school break.

I almost had to stay behind because of my stomach flu.  P assisted me with preparing myself, and did all he can to make the trip to and fro, as smooth as possible.

The littlest was very excited with the journey and most of all to be reunited with her sisters, whom she both adore.

I slept off the nausea I felt, and before I knew it we were already at the train station.  Shortly before we left home, P gave me tea to drink on the way, and while I was drinking it to calm my abdominal pains, I saw an opportunity for today's image while looking at the littlest from the viewing mirror.

As I mentioned last Tuesday in the post entitled, Health is Wealth (the littlest is not her Tiggery bouncy self), she was only the shadow of her self, that today was such a joy to see and hear her bouncing in her car seat.

Tomorrow, school begins again, and it will be 8 weeks until the next school break (Easter).


Positive quotes to affirm at the end of the day:

All the evidence that we have indicates that it is reasonable to assume in practically every human being…that there is an active will toward health, an impulse towards growth.
Abraham Maslow 

Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.
Lao Tzu  

I promise myself…to be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind; to talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet; to make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them; to look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true; to think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best; to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own; to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future; to wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet; to give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others; to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble; to think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds; to live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me.
Christian D. Larson  


May your weekend ends peacefully and begin wonderfully! 

Holding Hands & Hearts

While relaxing with the littlest today, watching yet again Mickey Mouse classic* online, she reached out to hold my hand; this is something I have done with the girls when we are sitting side by side, simply reaching out to hold their hands.

After waiting for the clip to end, I asked her if I could take a picture of our hands together for tonight's 365 ~ self-portraits.  She complied, and I had to quickly do it before she became impatient to resume her viewing fun!

I love holding hands; it has always had a calming effect on me.  Now it seems - with the littlest completing the circle - that all the girls have found comfort with this shared moment, as well.

There is a simple wordless conveying of affection with this gesture.  Unlike a hug (not a cuddle in this case), which you can normally, only hold for a certain amount of time, holding hands can go for longer moments.  One  can also walk while holding hands, which is obviously not possible with an affectionate hug. 

From my experience, when I have had misunderstandings with members of the family, a simple reaching out with the hand eases the tension.

I feel, when we reach out with our hands, we are opening our hearts to let love flow.


Have you held hands with your love ones lately?

*postscript to this blog 

I have been finding more and more joy in watching Mickey Mouse classic with the littlest.  Her laughter is simply infectious.  Please click on the link if you would like to search for them in youtube: list of Mickey Mouse classic.


And I am saving this other link for my own reference: Mickey Mouse Theatrical cartoon list

Enjoy!

Lasagna with Love (2)

Not feeling well - again.  This persistent cold virus seems to enjoy holidaying with us during the Spring break.

P baked lasagna tonight.  Even though my taste buds could not properly appreciate the usually tasty dish, I thoroughly appreciated his taking care of me the whole day.

Hopefully  a good night sleep will help.

Wishing y'all healthy weekend!

Writing & Travelling Heals

One of the reasons I joined FB is for self-therapy. There have simply been too many rapid changes in my life, and not enough peace to work through them. In the past, my tendecy is to work on personal issues alone. Of course, there are more than enough love ones, who were and are willing to listen, lend a helping hand, a comforting shoulder to lean on. But it was my nature to want to sort things out on my own.

It seems contrary to state this, this occurs to me while writing what I wrote , but I am in the core a very private person. They say life to be fully savoured should be balanced. I needed to learn how to be open again. Blogging seems to be the answer to that need.

Without going into much details, I would like to share that almost 2 years (on the 23rd of March) into using this medium - what is in general considered as a social networking site - as my online journal, album (personal/family) I have reaped a lot of positive changes in my life, which in turn has benefited my beloved family.

I once received a letter from a friend, whom I worked with during college, telling me that our friendship, hopefully will not have walls, no floors and no ceilings. I still laugh whenever I recall those words. It was probably between the years 1990-91 or 1991-92. The last couple of years before I left the Philippines.

Walls. It is very easy to build up walls around one-self. Sometimes, it is so easy to slip into building walls around one-self, that one realizes too late until one feels the result of closing one-self in.

What I needed to re-affirm for myself, and was able to in the almost two years of using FB, is that everyone goes through almost the same life phases, and almost everyone has the same dreams, goals, longings.

We all have different ways of travelling through life, different pace, different tempo. But all the same, we will all encounter road blocks, and challenges to overcome on the way to fulfill whatever it is that motivates us to wake up every single day.

Why am I writing all these thoughts, and why do I have all these thoughts?

I guess the result of being ill the last few days, and now feeling a whole lot better. It reminds me clearly about the relativity of time.

Also because I have been meaning to share pictures of our trip to Berlin but never got around it. Lately, I have been looking through them again, and I no longer feel so emotional about sharing.

I was 7 or 8 y.o. when I dreamed of going to Berlin. I visited it for the first time 1993, almost half a year after turning 21 (well, near it...we were in Berlin Potsdam with my German language classmate during a school trip). Then 1996, with my German husband. Easter 2006, eldest and middle daughter came along for the first time. 2009, with P and the littlest.

The Brandenburg Gate is very prominent in the history of Germany, Europe and the world.

It played a prominent role in my childhood imagination and visualisation of living life in Europe. Ironically enough, it bared silent witness to my simple life going through many transition.

Now, I look forward to going many times through this gate with an open heart, and an open mind to the future ahead.  Perhaps like the millions of visitors in awe of the freedom and hope this landmark represents.

Tulips Therapy

 Quotations for Affirmation to beautifully end the day:

Happiness is being at peace, being with loved ones, being comfortable…but most of all, it’s having those loved ones.
Johnny Cash 

The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love.
Hubert Humphrey
 
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
Aristotle 

Please click on the image for better view

My first tulips for this year from P! {{{heartsqueeze}}}

Being under the weather since Spring break begun has put my spirits down. I tried to not let it affect me so much. But after four days, what can I say, I did not only feel like down in the dumps, I looked like it.

Today, as the day turned into evening, and as P came home, I felt a surge of something magnificent, as he held and presented me the rainbow of tulips, and said, "Hope this lifts your spirit up."

Flowers, specially my favourite tulips, lifts my spirits up, when not feeling well.  What lifts your spirits up?

Health is Wealth (the littlest is not her Tiggery bouncy self)

Quotes for positive affirmation, to end the day:

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
Mahatma Gandhi

Mirth is God’s medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it.
Henry Ward Beecher

 Most of my major disappointments have turned out to be blessings in disguise. So whenever anything bad does happen to me, I kind of sit back and feel, well, if I give this enough time, it’ll turn out that this was good, so I shan’t worry about it too much.
William Gaines

 The day went by without a single chore done at home.  Littlest has been feeling poorly since middle of last week, and the last couple of days, she's only been a shadow of her Tiggery bouncy self.

There are simply many things on the to do list, which were planned to be done during the Spring school break while the older girls are vacationing away from home.  Three days have passed, and mostly it has been resting and clearing up what were "the day's rubbles".

I feel much better than last week but still not energetic enough to tackle all the things  I would like to do.

What did I do to make myself better about the piling chores and the stress building up in me?  Nothing.

Well, I did not do it alone, I shared the "nothing day" with the littlest.

P had to go to work this week because of a mishap with the dates for what was suppose to be a week of holiday in February.  It turned out, that he mistakenly applied for a week of holiday in March!

And so today, as he left early for work, the littlest and I slept in.  It was great to wake up to the bright happy face of the littlest as she greeted me, "Good morning, Mommy!" with a cheery but hoarse voice.

Normally she will be all over the flat energetically asking for her breakfast, afterwards she would ask if we will ride the bike to do some groceries.  But it seems that took all her energy just to ask for milk to drink.  She did not eat anything the whole day, but drank a lot of juices.

We spent the day relaxing on the couch, and she laid mostly on me for comfort, while she watched  Pingu, later on a lot of Mickey Mouse from the mid-30's, and Winnie the Pooh.

Although it breaks my heart everytime she coughed, and saw how weak she was, I was happy that I could comfort her in the simplest possible way.  It was also a new experience since I almost never experience her keeping still for such a long period of time!  She always sings, dances, talk almost the whole day.  Well, except when she is behind me when we are on the bike.  Even wen she is confined in her seat, she still sings, and chats the whole way-  her energy is omnipotent.

In the past, with the older girls, I will have anxiety attacks when they were ill. On the outside I am calm of course, and can attend to their needs, but inside I am in turmoil.  I thank P for this renewed strengthened attitude towards the girls health.

Today, I simply let everything be, and enjoyed "the nothing day" with my recovering Tigger.  Inwardly, I call it a fulfilling day because I was filled with happiness as I heard the littlest crackling laugh as Donald Duck's behind got stuck with toilet plunger in one of the classic cartoon episode.

I am looking forward to seeing her bounce all over the place again!  As much as I enjoyed the quiet of the day, I missed the energy she beams from within her.  Health is wealth, and is a heart's delight.

Please click on the image for a better view

How is the transition of Winter to Spring been treating you?


*postscript to this blog*


I forgot to write that the littlest got two McDonald's hamburger as a treat from P, which he brought home after work (I got a salad with crispy chicken), but only managed to eat half of the first one she opened.  She asked P to eat the rest.  The second one she kept, and said, "Mine." :)

Grasping Time

An affirmation quote to end the day...

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
Sydney J. Harris 

Lately, I have been thinking more and more of years passed.  

Perhaps because in less than four weeks, I am one year away from reaching a milestone in my life.  This year is my last year in my 30's.  I feel as if life whoosed by.  


When we brought the girls to Germany last Saturday, I brought a notebook and a pencil case filled with pencils, coloured pens hoping to write again thoughts with my own handwriting.  Funny, how this has become more and more of a novelty, writing with a pen on paper.


Before we reached the border, I have written down the 39 years that has passed in my life in chronological order. I encircled years that played a prominent role in shaping my life.  Then, I begun writing how I feel about the year 1972, my birth year. Not from the historical perspective nor from what was told to me about that year through stories of the family but simply the the year as collective numbers of 1, 9, 7, 2.


At this point, I am still undecided whether I should write memoirs of the last 4 decades of my life, as a way of grasping time, grasping my existence.


How do you grasp time?

Sunday's Simple Pleasures

Please click on image for better view

An abundance of Sunday's Simple Pleasures ~

Images clockwise from the top left:

• P and the littlest grocery shopping on an early Sunday evening 
• Chocolate cookies and stroopwafel for dessert after dinner
• Littlest helping P with sewing the small hanging "faux-fur" at the tip of my boot's laces
• P happy to have finally sewn those loose parts after one came off end of 2009 while we were vacationing at my brother's in Ireland :D (it was my sister-in-law's gift to me) and the other just recently
• Snacks for our movie night
• Me about to eat the spaghetti that P cooked the day before for our dinner tonight

The image at the center of the collage is the sunset we saw as we were driving on our way to the grocery store.

...and quotes for affirmation:

If my heart can become pure and simple like that of a child, I think there probably can be no greater happiness than this.
Kitaro Nishida

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
John Keats

I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.
Oscar Wilde

It's the most simplest things that puts joy in my heart.

How was your Sunday? What made your heart light and put a smile on your face?

Revisiting My Motivation: Mooosings

I blog because I ♡ writing.

Simple. :)

But when it starts becoming complicated in my mind, I revisit a motivational TED talk from Elizabeth Gilbert:

I do not profess to be a genius, nor have a genius: I simply love the creative process, and would love for it to be less of a "painful process".

Tonight, I will meditate on the quote below:

"Tis' better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else's perfectly."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

It describes how I see my own writing.  Imperfect but it is how my life is, and I love it.

How do you make creative process simple, when your mind starts making it complicated?

Revisiting Berlin: A Passion

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
Saint Augustine

I like this quote so much, and it describes how I see travel, eloquently.

Please click on the image for a better view of the collage :)

Berlin was on my mind tonight, and so I dug up images from our last trip there in July, 2009 and made a collage mixing it with tonight's 365 ~ self-portrait (bottom right).  Well, travel seemed to be the general theme of the evening.

Friday is mostly movie night for the family, and we had an early viewing of the film, Eat Pray Love (I got the DVD from P for Valentine's day) because we have to get up early the next day.  Everyone enjoyed the film! We all got to travel around the globe from the comforts of our couch.

Tomorrow we will do our own travelling to Germany, and although it is not our destination memories of our Summer trip to Berlin came back to me.  P and I spent 10 days with the littlest in this historic city almost 2 years ago.  It was not a liesure holiday alone but we went there for a specific purpose.  It was the Summer I gave up my Filipino citizenship, that I could become a German national.

There are a lot of stories to share about and surrounding those 10 day trip.  For P and the littlest, it was their first taste of the capital city of Germany.  For me it was the third.

I made a promise to myself that after a couple of years has passed I will be writing about  my Berlin stories, perhaps the memories will not be too emotional to revisit.

Berlin has a special place in my heart; a city I will definitely revisit many times in my life.

In place of stories I cannot yet share tonight, I leave you with quotes I will meditate on for affirmation :


Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost

A traveler am I, and a navigator, and every day I discover a new region within my soul.
Kahlil Gibran

The way is not in the sky, the way is in the heart. For the traveler who knows his direction, there is always a favorable wind.
Stuart Avery Gold  

What places have you revisited countless times in your travels?

Revisiting Keukenhof: A Tradition

I ♡  Keukenhof!  

Every year I plan, together with the family, to be at the opening of the world's most beautiful Spring Garden.  

Not only because it is around my birthday but it would truly be an unforgettable day to witness.  Alas, we have not managed it yet. We are not giving up though since every year is an opportunity to fulfill this!

We have visited two years in a row now, and this year, our third Keukenhof  year  will be a double treat - to quote the site,

The international flower exhibition has chosen ‘Germany: Land of Poets and Philosophers’ as its central theme...

 The girls will surely feel at home!

Here are some images we took from last year's visit to Keukenhof :

 

Clicking on the images will give you a better view

As I share with you the images of past Spring in late Winter, I would like to leave you with a link that might win you a VIP trip to Holland for Spring this year!

Just be. Ready for Spring.   (link's expired - updated 04.03.12)


If you click on the link, you will learn more details!

Are you ready for Spring?!

Time is Mine

Life is like an ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time.
Charles M. Schulz

Tonight I was talking to P once again about our perspectives of how we grasp time.

We have had many exchange of thoughts about this topic since we met, and I am fascinated to observe that the longer we are together the more we affirm to each other that we are feeling much and much more the master of our time.  Not that we are the perfect "time managers", far from it!

I think beside the fact that we now have a clearer grasp of our priorities in life, we both share those priorities. It make the daily dance in life wonderfully synchronised.

Specially if that someone breathes in the same beat as you are.  Time will seem to be passing by faster, also in the same breath, life  will feel more intense and lived with all of one's senses and consciousness.  There will be days that it seems that you did not have much time for yourself because of all the responsibilities, but it no longer feels like a loss but more of an opportunity to be creative the next day, and the other many days to come.

Although I am an advocate of the belief that we can go through life having other source of joy beside our (a) life partner, it does bring a lot of personal peace & happiness when you have that someone with whom you share your "lifetime".

Have you become the master of your time, or are you on your way to mastering time?

I leave you with the quote I would meditate on tonight as I fall as sleep, which I found under the subject time, on my favourite quote site Joy of Quotes:

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.
Michael Altshuler 

Spring is Peeking Around the Corner

Our first narcissus for this year graced our breakfast table this morning, and inspired the day's self-potrait.

I love flowers; jonquil is my birthflower, tulip is my favourite and I could spend a whole day gazing at a field of any kind of flowers....

If we make our goal to live a life of compassion and unconditional love, then the world will indeed become a garden where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.
~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

What blooms do you like?

My Double Chin ~ A Valetine's Day Poem

Isn´t it a wonder love makes our eyes glitter…

but our chin remains thicker…

 showing our teeth through our smile does not make it any better…

puffing our cheeks only makes our lover slumber ...

eventually, we accept our fate - duality of the chiny chin chin ...

and deep within, we hold a grin because someone loves us deeper than skin

This poem was originally posted in an anonymous blogging site on the 24th of January, 2009 .

I was a member there for four years.


Images were taken spontaneously via webcam of my old ACER laptop on the 22nd of January as part of my attempt at 365 ~ self-portrait (2009).

The images inspired the poem, which I now am revisiting for the second year in a row on Valentine's Day.

I remember P coming home from a long day of work, and I telling him (again!) that I was not feeling up to taking a picture because my double chin was terribly making me self-conscious.

P in spite of being tired was glad to be home, and I fed on his positive energy, which urged  me to  simply snap pictures completely forgetting the silly thoughts I had over my double chin.

2 years later, I still have a double chin, I still bask in the glow of a love shared so generously, and most of all, I feel grateful that I am blessed to carry the Valentine feeling of being cherished the whole year around.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Keep your double chin up ;) and feel the energy of love around you...it does not always have to come from a life partner. :)

The Splendour of Sunday

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.
Martha Graham

I love this quote.  There is - to use the first set of words in the quote itself - vitality within it...a life force.

As it seems to always be the case, I write this blog entry at the very end of a long day.  Mostly, I search for a quote when it is late to inspire me,  and when I am not sure if I could string words to summarize the overall feeling of the day.

I am fascinated with the fact that there are always existing thoughts of people I might never ever meet but  their words uttered at one point in their life, which exactly describes how  feel.

Biking is for me poetry in motion.  I feel inspired when I roll along the landscape of the countryside, myself being my own source of energy, bringing me forward towards my goal.

There is nothing more splendid than communing with nature, with one-self, while sitting on a bike on a Sunday morning.

What was your Sunday splendour?

For better view, please click on images.

Sweet Saturday

Some people say what they feel through love letters, some through flowers, but my P says it with food:

fluffy warm tasty pancakes for Saturday brunch!  

P took time in his very short day with the family to bake a batch of pancakes before he prepared himself for work.  This is a much appreciated gesture not only because he took the time to make something that the family loves but because he had a very short night (came home at past 3 am) and he has to be at work at exactly half an hour as I write this.

Sometimes words are not there, somedays flowers seems not enough,  and some special days you get lucky you get everything:

heartsqueezing words. . . I love you

flowers

and the pancakes :)

What made your Saturday sweet?

Click on images for better view  ♡♡♡

Sending special lovies & huggies to my army of angels and soulsistahs.  Most of all special lurvies to England!

TGIF. . .

. . .I can finally stay under the covers!!!

In order to have a real relationship with our creativity, we must take the time and care to cultivate it.
Julia Cameron

P.S. 12.02.11

Saturday will be much of the same... under the covers!

Where we once lived and Thursday Treat

Come with me, and let me tell you a story of how we once lived in Hamburg, Germany... :)

Last year, we had a series of accidents at home.

First, the littlest pulled a plug of the external HD, which caused it to fall down, and made the data in it inaccessible (it contained 3-4 years of documentation of our life in images).

Then my laptop had a virus, that shut down the system. Need I mention, that it was full of images that for the most part did not have any back-up anywhere else?

Call me a chronic procrastinator - I tend to make many images but most of the time, they stay ages in storage before I can share them... it is just me being me. lol

Anyway, I do want to save (have a back-up of) most of the rediscovered images we thought we have lost, and in the process, reminisce about days, that seems to belong to another lifetime.

Yes, that is the place I am thinking tonight, here in the Netherlands: mein Hamburg.  Where do your thoughts bring you today?

 P.S. 12.02.11

Being distracted yesterday, I broke off the unplanned title week theme.  So, tonight, I belatedly added "Thursday Treat" to the title, and the image to go along with it.

The best thing in life is chocolate cake for second breakfast: Thursday treat!

 

Wednesday's Weee: ♡ Dutch Morning Sky

taken at 7:54 am on the way to bringing the girls to school

The fresh air, the energy of the morning, and the sky are what makes up for standing up early! Thanks to beloved P for the lurvies, huggies, and loving the skies with us. Ik hou van je ♡!

I was not a morning person until I started working and living abroad (21 y.o.), and as the girls came one by one (27 y.o.). Although I still struggle to get out of bed (specially in Winter!), I do feel rewarded each and every day of the year for what I see outside when I finally step out, breathe in the morning air, look up in the sky!

I have missed recording images of how I see life in the Philippines (we could not afford a camera with quality, and the culture of using the camera for everyday while I was growing up still did not exist);  in UAE (the time there went like a blink!); in Germany (was simply too busy living and surviving, lol).

Now here in the Netherlands, I take time to take images from literally sunrise to sunset and in between a lot of what seems mundane for most but I hold dear.  Time goes by so fast, taking pictures makes me feel like I am grasping it just a little bit longer. :)

taken 1:37 pm right after coming home

How do you grasp time a little bit longer?

Clicking on the images will give you a better view!

Simple Tuesday Pleasures:

1. Squinting against the sun because there is a sunshine to squint at!!!

2. Having enough time to get off the bike, and take an image of a favourite spot for a long planned collage:

3. Sorting out pictures in the external HD while relaxing and occasionally doodling on a couple of images through different software.  In the process archiving and sharing a happy moment with the littlest to family & friends.

4. Biking in a wonderful weather, knowing that it is a blessing: the weather and the ability to bike.

5. Oh, almost forgot...being able and having the leisure time to chat with a Dutch villager walking her three beautiful dogs, in Dutch at the entrance of our village. It is always a simple pleasure to be paid a compliment for my simple Dutch and get positive encouragement.

What are your simple pleasures of Tuesday? :)

Clicking on the images will give you a better view! 

My Simple Monday Bliss

♡ Please click on image for better view

On my way to bed before midnight (!!!), I count three good things for Monday:

• We were in time for school in spite of standing up a little later than we should (having been sick and staying Thursday and Friday home plus the entire weekend, it was difficult to get into the rhythm of early morning again!)
• We were able to feed the ducks on our way back home after picking up the girls from school (with old bread and not newly bought ones from the bakery, as we were doing in the past,lol)
• The lovely dinner of spaghetti with bell peppers & meatballs (lotsa meataballs :D *Italian accent*) followed by delicious pudding was a delight to everyone specially since the family was gathered together complete; P was home early than usual from work!   

The beautiful things in life are free -  I surely agree!

What were your Monday bliss?

Communion in May & a Simple Prayer Today

Middle daughter by St Anthony of Padua Church

As mentioned in the previous post, the middle daughter has had her Sunday morning communion class today.  P brought her there on his way to work, and I picked her up an hour before noon.  It was a very windy day, that it was as if one is walking on the pedals of one's bike.

I felt very weak and unconcentrated while biking but arrived safely, and came home safely with the happy middle child.

She is looking forward to her first communion in May.

Tonight, I am sharing my personal prayer.

I have been struggling with my health, and now beset of self-doubt: I want to silence these paralyzing thoughts with an imploring, and hopeful prayer of healing.

What are you praying for tonight?

Somedays, I Need to be. . .

Please click image for better view

. . . a ninja mommy!

I am feeling a lot better today, but need to turn in early because middle daughter has an early Sunday communion class.

Elaborate blog entries will need to wait a couple of days more, perhaps a couple of weeks.  Yes, Spring break is near, and there will be much activities before, during and after the first school holiday for this year arrives.

Sending you all good thoughts, that you remain well and healthy.  Health really is wealth.

Swan Sightings

Please click on image for better view

Due to author feeling poorly tonight, text to this blog to follow  at some time in the future.

Living 365 ~ January, a look back and a look forward

Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything, or creating anything. Period. If you ain't desperate at some point, you ain't interesting. ~ Jim Carrey

I love this quote, as I adore Jim Carrey as an actor.


In my case, one could replace the word "desperation" on the quote with depression.  I still need to tell you about myself, but isn't a daily discovery about bits and pieces much more interesting that laying it all in one blog?  Well, tonight that depression bit, is what you will learn about me.

I was diagnosed with manic-depression 8 years ago, while still living in Germany.  Previously to that diagnosis, I had years of isolation with what I was going through.  My life went on like everyone elses but I struggled with what I was going through alone.

In part, this blog was born to have a platform to talk about how life could be very productive and positive after going through years of depression.  But also to record the success in finding natural ways to overcome the daily battles with this ailment.

Tonight, while looking for a quote for today's image, I stumbled upon a site called, Real Depression Help.  The site led me to Christina's Home Remedies, which offers natural help for depression.

This is what I find rewarding with 365, it leads me to the path I need and want to take, as I take steps towards other goals.  Two for a price of one!

Looking back to the month of January, it was very rewarding, not only in feeling accomplishment of confronting many fears and issues head on but also in setting a trend for what lies ahead.  It strengthened my motto, and battle cry: simplify, simplify, simplify!

Fire away, February! :)

I Have Noodles in My Nostrils

“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” ~ Robin Williams

Not feeling very well today (after announcing yesterday of having excellent health after such a long time!) Again, almost skipped the day but made a valiant effort to be "present" if not "perfect" for the project.

Tonight's spur of idea behind the portrait came after searching for a poetry about noodles. I wanted to make my depressing picture to a "fun" image as part of the month's 365 ~ self-portraits theme.

I would have used real noodles, but I am bushed.

Here is the poem, I found that inspired me to add belatedly noodles in my nostrils.

 

I Have Noodles in My Nostrils

I have noodles in my nostrils.
I have noodles on my nose.
There are noodles on my cheeks and chin
and dripping down my clothes.

I've got more upon my forehead.
Some are sticking to my neck.
It's completely disconcerting.
I'm a noodle-covered wreck.

I can see them on my kneecaps,
and I know they're in my shoes.
(When I stand they're somewhat squishy
and I feel them start to ooze.)

There are several in my pockets.
There's a handful in my hair.
And I'm pretty sure that some are even
in my underwear.

So try not to do what I did
(I'm a total nincompoop),
and don't ever fall asleep
while eating chicken noodle soup.

--Kenn Nesbitt

3 Fun Things in the First of February

Yay today is the first of February!

Tonight I share with you three fun things that I did:

1) Sat under (one of my many!) favourite tree, and took an image of it. This might become a fun series to do!

Please click image for better viewing

2) Searched for a joke to share tonight (have to see if this will be a regular thing...and for the sake of overcoming my perfectionist nature...I will only give myself one minute to search for a joke and have to stick to that time limit!):

"I told my wife that a man is like a fine wine... I always get better with age. The next day, she locked me in the wine cellar."



3) Realising that today was Tuesday, and not Monday!

  I have to laugh with P today when we talked over the phone - as we always do - during one of his mini-breaks at work because I thought it was Monday, and not as the reality is, Tuesday! One would think someone like me, who has four ongoing (yikes! lol) 365 projects will have a firm grip of what day it is.

But that is what 365 is all about being totally submerged with fun projects that is all about living in the now, that you forget the worries and stress of everyday life.  What a joy it is to discover that tomorrow is already the middle of the week, and  3 days shy away from the weekend!

What fun things did you do or happened to you today?