These posts won't stay lame for long! I am just trying to finish up an Intercultural Communication project, and then I plan to thrill anyone who happens to be reading with my wonderful journey to become extremely logical using rhetorical argument. But again, don't worry! I'll make it exciting for you. Promise.
Monday, August 23, 2010
when eternity doesn't seem so far away...
my husband blaine
makes my life very perfect
I live in a dream
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood...
Oh, the fun of community profiling! Click here to see mine (Nearly Empty Nests), and enter your own postal code to find your own!
Monday, August 16, 2010
I know that...
No matter how much time lies between eternity and where I am now, I will walk beside her the entire way.
Here's to the best of best friends...!
(Sorry for stealing your photo, bestie! Just had to share you with the world!)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Today's wisdom from a master...Dr. Seuss!
Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Packing tape and a starfish
It's Saturday, and I feel like hosting story-hour, so I thought I would tell a story about my husband, and the way that he wraps presents!
For the Christmas season of 2008, Blaine and I agreed that we wouldn't spend much on presents for each other. So, I was very surprised on Christmas morning when Blaine handed me a very large box, with beautiful, perfect wrapping paper and a bow. When I did, there was another box that was wrapped with the same painstaking care and beautiful decorations.
(Oh wait, I need to mention that under the wrapping paper was tape - rolls and rolls of packing tape to seal up every box edge. I need a knife or pair of scissors just to get the tape off. Blaine thinks this is infinitely funny because it takes me so much longer to open gifts! On average, it probably took me an extra 5 minutes to take the tape off of each box!)
This continued with 5 or 6 more smaller boxes contained within, with interesting things added into the boxes to keep me guessing about its contents (this husband of mine - he's creative. He uses things like screws, weights, and soup cans to trick me about the contents of gifts!).
Finally, I came to a small box, about the size of a package of cream cheese. Again with the paper, again with the tape, but this time, when I finally managed to pry the box open, I saw this:
Now, this was not what we had agreed on. I bought him a DVD, for heaven's sake!
So, I opened it, and saw this:
A starfish! One of my favourite vacation experiences is tide-pools, and my husband knew this. I love this bracelet, and I love him!
I don't tell this story to say, "Check it out - I have a Tiffany bracelet!" I want to say, "Check it out - my husband is an amazingly thoughtful gift-giver!"
Here's why:
1. He knows what I like and remembers it (we saw this starfish collection in Seattle a number of years ago).
2. He wants to make it special by creating an entire experience for me out of opening the gift (albeit, somewhat irritatingly so!).
3. At the end of the day, the gift doesn't matter as much as feeling adored does.
And so I wish today...for anyone that happens to be reading this...that you are adored. I'm so thankful that I am!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Time with a hero
Spending time with a "hero" is a really surreal experience. I had that experience today. I got to talk with Carla.
She's one of my heroes for a number of reasons, but one of the most meaningful is that her voice resonates in my mind whenever I write. Her advice and teaching changed the way that I think and the way that I write. She helped me to appreciate the value of a semi-colon, the beauty of a serial comma, and using more verbs than nouns in my writing. But her most important lesson was her 5 C's in writing:
She's one of my heroes for a number of reasons, but one of the most meaningful is that her voice resonates in my mind whenever I write. Her advice and teaching changed the way that I think and the way that I write. She helped me to appreciate the value of a semi-colon, the beauty of a serial comma, and using more verbs than nouns in my writing. But her most important lesson was her 5 C's in writing:
- Clear – always aim for high level of clarity
- Concise – use sharp phrases and sentences
- Correct – follow rules of grammar, spelling, usage
- Compelling – you must say something
- Creative – always be interesting!
Words not required...
if it's true that a picture speaks a thousand words, here are a thousand for you:
Hope you enjoy them! More later...
Photo credit
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
My new friend
It happens often to me. Normally, I'm speechless for a few minutes, although this time it was a few days.
I came across beautiful words put together by a beautiful artist who captivated millions with her stories.
She captivates me with the letters on a page that create sheer wonder in my soul...
Oh, that I could become a wordsmith of the calibre of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Her words will last forever...
These are the new ones that I re-discovered this week:
"Look at that sea, girls--all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds."
Not only am I captivated by the words, but by the life that is led by someone who lives them out...I see that person as someone who makes the most of opportunities ...someone who appreciates ...someone who enjoys ...someone who exudes.
Maybe a little bit like experiencing every moment between eternity and where I am now.
I came across beautiful words put together by a beautiful artist who captivated millions with her stories.
She captivates me with the letters on a page that create sheer wonder in my soul...
Oh, that I could become a wordsmith of the calibre of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Her words will last forever...
These are the new ones that I re-discovered this week:
"Look at that sea, girls--all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds."
Not only am I captivated by the words, but by the life that is led by someone who lives them out...I see that person as someone who makes the most of opportunities ...someone who appreciates ...someone who enjoys ...someone who exudes.
Maybe a little bit like experiencing every moment between eternity and where I am now.
Words
What am I about?
There has never been anything that has fuelled my passion like words. They make me laugh, make me cry, give me a sense of every emotion between eternity and where I am now.
I'm figuring this out a little later than the average person - I wasn't a bookworm, or someone who journalled intensively. In fact, I'm 33 and only just now figuring out how to complete a Bachelor's degree with my words. I've known that words make me feel things deeply, and words put together in specific ways have a special magical power to entice and enrapture me like nothing else.
I don't know how long that I'll have to describe what I am experiencing between eternity and where I am now, but the best I can do is try.
So, here goes!
As a fledgling writer studying under a master, the challenge went out that if I want to be a better writer, I need to just get to it and write; if I want to be a better storyteller, I need to listen to stories being told; if I want to be a better rhetorician, I need to ravenously intake all of the persuasive discourse that I can.
My other blog is about being grateful. It's terribly written, with all small caps, and probably terrible punctuation. It was saying something about me when I started it, but has since ceased speaking (that could be because I haven't updated it!). I think I might get rid of it, but haven't completely convinced myself yet that a blog focusing on gratitude should be removed from the blogosphere.
With that blog in mind, I wanted to take a deeper look at my life - not only to express my gratitude, but also my recognition of a life that is finite, and my need to appreciate every moment. I believe that my life will end with a new start in heaven, but until then, I have some work to do!
I want to be able to share my words and passions with you, my readers. It's a journey and a mission.
If you come along, I'd be thrilled, because I like nothing better than to share my love of words with others. If you stop by for a little while, I will consider myself fortunate that we shared this bit of time between eternity and where I am now. That's a phrase that you'll see a lot, because I have other plans too...
To copy one of my favourite professors, I will probably develop a slightly capricious side...some jokes, some fun, some videos, some words. All trying to appreciate the moments between eternity and where I am now.
There has never been anything that has fuelled my passion like words. They make me laugh, make me cry, give me a sense of every emotion between eternity and where I am now.
I'm figuring this out a little later than the average person - I wasn't a bookworm, or someone who journalled intensively. In fact, I'm 33 and only just now figuring out how to complete a Bachelor's degree with my words. I've known that words make me feel things deeply, and words put together in specific ways have a special magical power to entice and enrapture me like nothing else.
I don't know how long that I'll have to describe what I am experiencing between eternity and where I am now, but the best I can do is try.
So, here goes!
As a fledgling writer studying under a master, the challenge went out that if I want to be a better writer, I need to just get to it and write; if I want to be a better storyteller, I need to listen to stories being told; if I want to be a better rhetorician, I need to ravenously intake all of the persuasive discourse that I can.
My other blog is about being grateful. It's terribly written, with all small caps, and probably terrible punctuation. It was saying something about me when I started it, but has since ceased speaking (that could be because I haven't updated it!). I think I might get rid of it, but haven't completely convinced myself yet that a blog focusing on gratitude should be removed from the blogosphere.
With that blog in mind, I wanted to take a deeper look at my life - not only to express my gratitude, but also my recognition of a life that is finite, and my need to appreciate every moment. I believe that my life will end with a new start in heaven, but until then, I have some work to do!
I want to be able to share my words and passions with you, my readers. It's a journey and a mission.
If you come along, I'd be thrilled, because I like nothing better than to share my love of words with others. If you stop by for a little while, I will consider myself fortunate that we shared this bit of time between eternity and where I am now. That's a phrase that you'll see a lot, because I have other plans too...
To copy one of my favourite professors, I will probably develop a slightly capricious side...some jokes, some fun, some videos, some words. All trying to appreciate the moments between eternity and where I am now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)