It's Springtime!

Happy Monday and Happy Easter Week, and spring break! It's just happy, happy, happy! 

It's springtime for sure with flowers and trees in full bloom, it's super pretty but on the flip side, could be making you suffer if you have allergies. I know I had a few sneezy days. It's crazy that we are suffering our 4th year of a horrible drought and the east coast is still getting crazy rain and snow. With all the intelligence and technology we have, how come we can share our sunshine and flowers and they can't water all of our agriculture with their over-abundance of the wet stuff? 

Speaking of the east coast and springtime, one of these days I will get to Washington DC to see the cherry blossom trees. The first Japanese cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC were planted on March 27, 1912. They were planted by First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda the wife of the Japanese ambassador. Over 3,000 trees were delivered the day before as a gift from Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki  with the intent of symbolizing

and honoring the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan. 

The delivery was a very coordinated effort several years in the making, and this was actually the second and only successful delivery. The first go-around happened in 1910, but the shipment of trees was unfortunately diseased and infested with bugs. Thankfully the 1912 shipment was perfect, and those cherry blossom trees still remain today. Friends of mine who have been while they are in bloom say it is a sight to behold, it's on my bucket list for sure.

What are your favorite springtime and Easter memories? Do you make Easter like Christmas with lots of gifts or is it more traditional with coloring eggs, a basket with some candy and a chocolate bunny and Easter dinner? We love to color eggs and Mason lives for an egg hunt. We also do an Easter basket with some candy and a small toy or two (fits in basket) but Dave lives for Easter dinner - rack of lam (that only he likes), ham (because only Dave likes lamb), a vegetable and the traditional lamb cake. I have several Easter memories through the years, Easter dresses and black patent leather shoes when I was little, then "Easter in the Woods" with a longtime boyfriends family - lots of fun for both kids and adults, and then the fun I've created for my family, but through all the years, Easter has never been about lots of material gifts.

Have a lovely spring break and Easter, I know we will!

It Rained!

Happy Monday!

It's officially springtime and last night we got rain, just a little but hopefully enough to wash away some of the pollen that has been plaguing me and so many others I know. This is going to be a busy, busy, busy week. Not only is it the last week before spring break, but Mason and I have a number of irons in the fire that seem to all need our (read "my") attention at the same time. It's interesting how these life tides ebb and flow, and how something that didn't pan out last year has a different meaning this year. I can't say it's less exciting or important, just that after a big disappointment and the passing of another year, I think one comes to realize that no matter what, it's all going to be okay regardless how it plays out so let's just enjoy the ride. I know this is true for me, and it seems like it may be so for Mason, too. 

Dave is back in school and not liking this class or the time it is taking to make school happen with work and family. I can honestly say it's so much easier to make it happen when you love the curriculum of your classes. I spent 5 1/2 hours editing video Saturday night and when I realized it was 1:30 AM, it seemed as if I had just sat down to get started. 

As we all head out the door this morning to work and school, remember to be kind, smile at people you don't know and hug those you do - just because! Have a great week.

Your Taste

Happy Monday, mother nature has been sure that she did not want to give us a real winter here in California, but she's not all the way sure she's ready for spring either. Our weather has been fickle, overcast with cool breezes one day, and then the next day it'll be bright and sunny 80°. Doesn't feel much like early March. I'm not really complaining, however we really need the rain. The rivers and lakes are going to be nothing but puddles this summer.

On other fronts, we have lots of exciting opportunities on the horizon. We can't share the details yet, but as soon as we can, we will! Mason is cooking like crazy and we are having a blast coming up with video ideas since I am loving my video classes so much. I edited my first video all the way through and though it's still very basic, I am getting more and more comfortable using the program and tools. I want to do so much more, I'm sure you all understand when you have an idea or a vision in your head of something you want to create, yet when you take action the end result is not even a fraction of what you imagined. Right? In one of my classes, my professor shared this little tidbit with us and did it ever speak to me! Maybe it will speak to you, too. Monday's are rarely our favorite day of the week, but if you can think with something that keeps you engaged and doing what you love, even if you are not as good at it as you would like to be, then I will have done my job! Really, take the minuscule amount of time it will take to watch this and enjoy a little spot of inspiration. Taste

Happy Monday and keep on moving forward, one step at a time and even if you don't get "there" the journey will be worth it. 

How Do You Know?

A little slice of life in America.

Happy Monday!

How do you know when to accept or decline? How do you know when to move ahead, slow down, or stop all together? How do you know if accepting a job is the right fit for you or even, why you are here to begin with? How do you know? I don't know. I don't always know if it's best to say yes or decline mostly because the information that is provided to begin with isn't always all of the information. I typically keep moving ahead until some force outside of my control slows me down or stops me - I don't think that is the best way to operate. I've gotten pretty good at knowing if a job is good for me or not simply based on the idea that my life with Dave and Mason comes first. I only have one child and if a job will prohibit me from attending field trips or cooking demos, it's not for me. And the grand daddy of all of life's questions, "Why am I here?" Some people live their whole lives and never really get clear on that answer. 

I've had some ideas along the way of what my purpose in life might be, but only recently did some things click that made it very clear why I'm here and what I need to be doing. Yeah, that's really cool, but it's not the be-all end-all it may sound like. Knowing what and why doesn't necessarily answer how, or when. Okay, when is a no brainer, when is now, but how? Let me back up a little and share how I got to what and why. Laughing! Is this feeling a little bit like, "Who's on first?"

"I'm back in school and I am working on a certificate in applied art and design with a multi-media emphasis. After getting my communications degree, I am back taking the classes that are fun, and for me, functional. I am LOVING my video classes (editing and production). When I was 8 I was sure I wanted to be an actress (super star and all), but my mom told me I wasn't the right type, I wasn't tall, thin or the blonde/blue with the makings of Farrah Faucet. I let go of my dreams in my early teens and believed that I was fat and looked like a boy. When I turned 30 I decided my mom was full of shit (not her fault, she did the best she could with what she had at the time) and I started taking acting classes. I loved doing that but then I came to a fork in the road and decided to marry Dave and have Mason. I'm glad I did and I love that Mason is so much like me (mostly, some times it pisses me off all to hell!), and after helping him make "movies" or cooking videos and being in these video classes I can see that my dream was not really to be a movie star as much as it was to work in visual communication and to teach. I have naturally done it through ceramics, crafts, cake decorating, cooking, painting river rocks, photography and so many other visual outlets. I go to school and some days it takes all I have not to squeal out loud (it would scare the crap out of the young'uns - and so early in the morning)! I have so many ideas and I am so inspired I can hardly sleep at night. Just wait, if I only bring a fraction of my ideas to life, I will leave a legacy that can't be rivaled! I feel like I found my purpose. WOW!"

This was a bit I wrote as soon as the pieces snapped together, in fact, it was as if it wrote itself. Is that how we know, we just know? I suppose that can be true, but it wasn't until I put myself in the position to be doing the things I love to do that it all came so undeniably clear; I'm here to tell stories, visually, that inspire people and encourage them to be all they can be. This I know.

What do you know and how? Have you given much thought to why you are here and what your purpose might be, or is? I'm sure you've pondered it a time or two, but do you know? I would love to hear your thoughts on all of this, as it pertains to me or you, or just in general. Have a great week and no matter what, put yourself in the position of doing the things you love, and you will know, you will just know. 

What's the Lesser of Two Evils?

It's Monday again! How do the Mondays seem to come back around so quickly? I know, I know, all the days come at equal intervals but Mondays seem to be the least popular. My last entry spoke to the idea that being busy is a choice, but to some degree, there are things that have timelines and deadlines and if not met, bad things happen. I am busy and to the things I have no say in the matter, I'll continue, and to the other things, well, it all depends on how awful the consequences. We have a number of weeks more to prepare and sell Dave's moms townhouse and then our visits will be just for that, visiting.

School is keeping me very busy (there's that word again) but incredibly stimulated creatively. The video editing and production projects we are doing are really fun and we are working with video in ways I never thought of. At this point of my education, all I can think is, so many ideas, so few years left in my life to see them all to fruition. 

I don't have much new information to share this week so let's keep this one short and sweet...one of the things on my list of things to do that does not have awful consequences when it is not fully published on time. Happy Monday!