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Layer 2

Layer 1 Round 2 of Bloom True.

Week five of Bloom True

Well, that went fast. I am going to miss it so much. It was the frosting on the cake or the petals on the flowers or the details of paint on the canvas (hehehehe)
It has been wonderful, uplifting, spirit loving, self care, fun, and I have learned new techniques. I thought I would learn to paint JUST like Flora B BUT... I get to paint like me again. As soon as she wrote she wasn't going to direct our paintings and we had to paint like ourselves.... two wild hair ladies appeared and made me very happy. I have finished three canvases. I am not sure about the fourth yet. I need to finish some of the paper. So... I have loved it. I have loved the instagram prompts too. All in all a good thing.

Week 3 of Blooming

Letting go was the topic last week. That is always a good topic. I am letting go of expectations, letting go of fear, letting go of HAVING to know, letting go of other's opinion.
Thank you God for the courage to pay for the class. I am loving it. It is adding to my life.
Thank you God for parents. I am so grateful for mine, I am so grateful I am close to them, I am so grateful for the love.
Thank you God for the parents of my students.
Thank you God for the lessons in life you want me to learn and thank you God for Theresa.

I have lots today because I haven't been writing this as often... back to it. I loved rereading it this morning.

Life is painting a picture, not doing a sum. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Life is one brush stroke at a time. It is not a score card. 

9/24/2013 the day after Mark's birthday.

Grateful for Mark's 17th birthday. Grateful for the gift of his life. Grateful for all the lessons he has taught me and all I have been given through him. I might not be doing what I am doing if it wasn't for him. Thank you for his logical brain. I adore him. Thank you for his adorable teen age self. 

Sit loosely in the saddle of life. -Robert Louis Stevenson

I love the quote above. 

I am grateful for seeing FER in RVA and going to the street art fair. 

I am grateful I went to Marie's house Nd played Bunco. 

I am grateful I didn't sleep well but don't feel exhausted. 

Thank you God for this life. 

9/2/13

I am grateful we went camping in the mountains and had a delightful time, grateful for a day of rest after the adventure, and grateful it is the first day of school tomorrow... I am ready for a super school year.

Day 3 sadhana and grateful

Grateful I did day 3 of sadhana 

Grateful for the first day if work fine and went ok. 

Grateful I have three years of experience at my job. It makes  life so much easier knowing what to do and what to expect. Thank you God. 

Day 2 dance sadhana

August 22, 2013

Grateful Mark got contacts because he is so happy and of course so handsome.
Grateful we didn't go to the beach for the day and stayed in the sunny part of the state. Everything happens for a reason. We didn't drive for five hours and so had a peaceful day.
Grateful for summer vacation and a job that has given me time with my boys through the years. I have been blessed.
Grateful for schedules and the routines of life beginning again. I don't feel too grateful for that one, but I KNOW it will be ok once we begin.
Grateful for my job; there are many people who would love a job and I know when I wasn't working full time I would be pining for one. So.... thank you God for my job.

Grateful on 8/21/2013

I am grateful for the grant money to pay almost half the tuition bill for Fer. Thank you God so much. I am grateful Fer is in college and doing well and I am REALLY grateful that Mark is still home. I am grateful for my husband and his independent spirit. I am grateful I went to the thrift shop and got two new skirts yesterday... and Michael's had a buy one get one free canvas sale. I am grateful this morning for these last few summer mornings that I don't have to get up and get out of the house and  off to work. BUT I am super grateful I have a job. So, thank you God for my job.

8/19/2013

Grateful for dinner with mom and daddy. It was a delicious and precious evening. Mom is feeling so much better . Thank you God. 

Grateful we had a peaceful weekend and got along so well. 

Grateful we are taking care of business with Karen today. 

Grateful for ENOUGH. 

Grateful - August 18, 2013

Grateful for a quiet weekend and getting along with my loved one. I am blessed.
Grateful for the cool August days which feel like late September. Life isn't as sweaty as usual.
Grateful for dinners at mom's house tonight. We haven't done that in so long.

Beginning

I haven't done this and I haven't been painting enough.

So ... I am grateful for every day, for these precious end of summer relaxing days and a delightful trip to Tully, and doing art  today. Thank you God for all. 

8-8-13

Grateful for Tully.

Grateful for family.

Grateful for the destination. 

August 5th.

"What divinity do I see in those around me right now?" 
from Hazelden, Today's Gift. August 5th

Thank you for the message above. Allow me to see the GOD and divinity in those around me.
Thank you God for letting me wake up and have this day before me to myself. Please help me to use it wisely.
Thank you God for ENOUGH. I am trying to remember there is enough and live life with gratitude and generosity.
Thank you God for the message over and over, Live in the Love. Where there is love there is not room for fear and worry.  
Thank you God. for this healthy body. I know I take it for granted so often but I am so so grateful. It is a GREAT body.

Grateful for ordinary family days - Sunday 8/4/2013

Grateful we were all home today and were peaceful.
Grateful for HIT exercise workout this morning... felt very self righteous and healthy.
Grateful for time with my boys just BEING.
Grateful for these cool summer days.

July 23, 2013

I am grateful I have children who trust me enough to confide in me and vent to me. What a gift that is?
I am grateful for a day with my parents and my boys, eating at Wegman's, having 'Grandad' coffee and cookies, going to F'burg art galleries. I am so grateful to have days like that.
I am grateful for my job (I know I wrote that before) and getting me out of the house through the summer. I am grateful for what I have learned doing it and I AM saving the money earned. It is not going in the general fund.
I am grateful for doing morning pages (even though I don't paint on those days) BECAUSE.... I have learned that I am addicted to anxiety.

ANXIETY to FAITH
Always
Negative
X's and creates
Internal
Turmoil and RECLAIMS
YOU

LET IT GO... and TRUST....
and have
FAITH.

Thank you GOD for the awareness.

Grateful on Monday morning (in the summer)

I am grateful it is Monday and I am not working... oh I am so lucky/blessed to have these days and this time. Thank you God.
I am even more grateful that M and I went grocery shopping together, had a discussion about the meals and money spent on the meals, and were a team. Thank you God,. I know you were present because that REALLY is a miracle. Grocery shopping together is usually volatile and than I shut down which aggravates the situation. Yesterday was peaceful.
I am grateful we all went to the gym together yesterday. That was a first and fun. Everyone did their own thing and we had Diet cherry limeades afterwards. It was a gift from God.
Blessings are abundant.

Quotes that speak to me today

Finishing BIG

God boxes

I am thankful for a craft night making God Boxes at Laney's house. 

I am thankful for compassion .... It allows me to release all expectations and judgement. It is not mine to forgive,  it is mine  to be forgiven . 

I am thankful for listening to the Little Book of Contentment. "Contentment is a super power" he said. I love that. 

Please bless the para educators. I am grateful for the lessons they have taught me. REALLY. 

7/17/13

"I will be grateful today, for the experiences that give my tapestry it's beauty"

Each Day a New Beginning. July 17.

I  grateful it is Wednesday and I have a five day weekend. 

I  grateful for the gym that keeps me same. 

I am grateful for our Sunday hike which Bella is still recovering from. 

I am grateful for quiet moments looking up into the sky. Being in the now. 

Thank you God

Grateful on July 12

I didn't write this yesterday, but I KNOW I was grateful.
I am grateful I have the awareness that Morning Pages are not for me. Morning painting is for me. I think each morning I did the morning pages it became the morning whine and the morning make Kay in a bad mood and the morning find a wound and pick it.... I am grateful I am doing Morning Gratefuls and Morning Paintings. I let myself off the hook.

I am grateful for my message from my God, "He is my child and I will take care of him." Thank you God for the message. I KNOW he is in your hands. AND yesterday everything worked out.

Thank you for this summer soaking rain and staying home today.

Thank you for lifting weights..... they are making me strong and healthy.

Thank you for COURAGE which I know comes from you.

I am grateful for this day full of life and blessings. Thank you.

Grateful July 10, 2013

I am not feeling as grateful as usual; I think because I am tired and was idle this afternoon. So here goes ... usually writing my gratefuls down changes my frame of mind or rather I should just notice the frame of mind and say to myself, "ah, I see this at it is." and KNOW in my heart it will pass. I am deeply grateful for awareness of my thoughts and thoughts are not facts... they are just thoughts.

I am grateful my boys are all home, safe and sound. Sometimes it feels such a scarey world out there and I am absolutely powerless. Your will be done in their lives. Thank you GOD for taking care of them; lending them to me; letting me be their mother. I have more gratitude for motherhood than can ever be expressed or written down. It has been my greatest gift, and such an honor to be a mom.

Thank you GOD for my job and the sweet children I teach. I am so grateful they know the boundaries and I this last school year was such a blessing and a joy. I am so grateful for their little pure spirits. I know whatever students you send to me this school year will be the students YOU want me to have. Thank you for the class list today when I asked this morning for a clear sign... and  then the class list arrived. I think you answered the prayer. It is as YOU want it to be if I prayed and have faith. I am GRATEFUL for that.

Ending this, I am filled with gratitude again and peace. I should probably have done this earlier in the day.

Grateful on 7/9/13

Thank you GOD for my friend Patty – and her beautiful, generous spirit. Thank you for all she has done for service for you. She is a true blessing in my life and in others. Thank you for our friendship which has ebbed and flowed and made it through.

Thank you God, for this precious day. This is all I have. Thank you for the twenty four hours which I can choose to be happy or not. 

Thank you for a quiet evening at home with my little family. How blessed am I, that we are all together these precious summer days. No wonder we love summer so much. 

Thank you for THIS DAY.

Grateful 7/8/13

I am grateful I went to Marie’s house yesterday where we sat on the beautiful deck on a summer evening, listening to ONE OR TWO cicadas (not thousands), chatted with the ladies, living in the moment. It was a lovely evening.

Today I am grateful for my job, which doesn’t feel like a job. I am grateful to be learning something new and to be working with little, bitty children one on one. How lucky am I?

I am grateful I have been married for almost 27 years and we have a history together.

Grateful 7/7/13

Thank you God for the gentleman at breakfast and his precious comments, “Do they only grow giants in Fredericksburg?” “See you Redwoods in the sky” which means, “See you in heaven.” He was adorable.

Thank you God, for memories of the beach, Mark when he was about three running by a life guard in slow motion -  like Baywatch. Mark digging and digging holes, making it a race to keep the water out. Going to the Outer Banks with excessive friends who took EVERYTHING and the kitchen sink when they went on the beach.  Shopping in the tacky stores (which I didn’t do this time). Going in the Haunted House in Va Beach and Fer was scared to death. I should never have let him go in. Going body surfing. Going to Ocean City and coincidentally, Kid Cudi was there for a free concert (their favorite rap artist at the time). Biking on the boardwalks. Canoeing in the sound. Watching dolphins swim by (I saw them this trip). Now sunbathing all together and watching the world go by. A progression of taking our kids to the beach.

Thank you God for yummy, yummy food and for a reasonable hotel with the most beautiful flower offering in the lobby. 

Thank you God for the precious family time. We are blessed and I am SO grateful. 

Grateful 7/6/2013

Grateful for a day on the beach, enjoying the sun, waves, people watching, each other, memories of past beach trips, and a new memory. 

Grateful for discovering Yorktown, walking around the quaint little town, understanding a sliver more if American history. 

So so grateful our young men still want to go on family vacation weekends with us. How blessed are we they choose to be with us. 

Three days of living in the moment and in the light. Thank you God. 

Grateful 7/5/13

Grateful for rough starts to vacations because It makes the fun more sweet for the rest of the time. 

Grateful for the fireworks in Williamsburg and being able to walk from the hotel. 

Grateful we are going to Virginia Beach for the day and we are getting there early. 

Grateful days 7-4-2013

Grateful for my birthday... it was a happy one.
Grateful ma and pa came for dinner and my hubby was the sweetest, kindest, talkative man.
Grateful for driving to Richmond and walking around Short Pump while Fer had training.
Grateful we are going to Williamsburg.
Grateful Bella is on her holidays.
Grateful for the excitement of the Fourth of July.
Grateful for Fifi the cat, who has been my adoring pet for over ten years.

Grateful Day 5

Grateful for getting the book "The Prosperous Heart" I am looking forward to what it will teach me.
Grateful for my health - more grateful than I express. This body is a gift that works well and allows me experiences and walks and life... I could go on. I am so so so grateful for health.
Grateful for my summer job and learning ABA and being with one child at a time to teach. It really is a dream job. Thank you GOD for all.

Grateful Day Four

I am grateful for this husband of mine, who is passionate about motorcycles and fixing them, who has built us a beautiful home, who is an amazing outside of the box thinker, who is creative beyond words, who is enthusiastic about life, who has boundless energy, who has been a faithful and loving man, who has evolved into a gentleman I adore. I am so thankful for him.

I am grateful for quiet days when I get to walk around in circles, do my own thing, enjoying my home.

I am grateful for laughter at the dinner table with the four of us. The chuckle last night: I shall write a cookbook and I shall call it the “Sh%#*tiest Food Cook Book.” Inspirations on how not to cook. Works for me :)