Be Still Tuesday...Practicing Patience

I've never been the person who has trouble sitting down. I guess you could say that procrastinating chores is something that just comes naturally to me. When I set my mind on something I want with a passion, however, kindly step out of the way so I don't mow you over with my over-zealousness. In other words, it's all about what I really want to do. 

But I've noticed lately that even when I'm sitting still, I'm rarely allowing my mind to be still. Silence is important and I am always amazed at how relaxed and energized I feel when I take time to just be consciously in the moment...no scrolling the pinterest boards, checking facebook, twitter and instagram on my laptop or iphone but just.being.still...for a moment...or even a minute. ;) 

Tuesday is yoga day at the gym I go to and I always look forward to going to that class at noon because I know I'm going to be forced to put everything aside and practice patience and stillness for that one hour. 

And I always walk away feeling renewed and more at peace with my soul. 

One of my very favorite Bible verses (Psalm 46:10) is one most everyone has at least heard or seen written at some point and was also an inspirational force for my beginning this blog in March of 2010...

I don't know what it is about that simple verse that speaks so deeply to me but I can just about hear and envision God Himself speaking directly to me each time I see it written.  

So starting today, I am dedicating Tuesdays here on this blog to being still. I may share a "be still" moment or photo from my own life experiences or I may share another's piece of writing, video, photo or whatever else that I've found exceptionally uplifting or inspiring...

Dracen never gets up at first call on school mornings. In fact, he is quite the "patience tester". This morning, after he FINALLY got up, ate his breakfast and brushed his teeth, I yelled down the hallway that it was time to go but was forced to go back and fetch him. I found him sitting in my bathroom, slowly-slowly combing his hair (that was still sticking up all over his head) like he had all the time in the world. I grabbed the comb out of his hand, slapped some water on his head and combed it down in ten seconds flat and told him to "COME ON! It's time to GO!"

He slowly got up and went into his room to find another shirt because he decided he just could not live with the one he was wearing. I was tempted to LOSE IT and normally, I would have. 

But today, something (maybe the grace of God) came over me. I looked at the clock that read  7:19 (I try to pull out of the driveway by 7:20) and decided that I was going to stay calm, patient and peaceful, no matter what.

 So I propped myself up against the door frame, crossed my arms, and just watched him. He opened a dresser drawer and began fumbling through shirts, clearly looking for something in particular. I quietly and calmly asked him which shirt he was looking for and he said, "Umm...just one second, Mom" and then he promptly pulled one out and over his head and headed toward me and the door.

And we made it on time, just as we always do.

It was a sort of  'a-ha' moment for me...the realization that yelling, panicking and running around barking orders and idle threats into the wind like the sky is falling not only doesn't work but adds a ton of unnecessary stress and negative energy to the situation and to all within it. 

Patience really does pay off. 

Now if I can just remember that again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that...

Trying to be Still,

Countdown to Summer

Last year, if you'll recall, I did a lot of bitching and whining about our summer here being cut way short, with school ending in June and starting back in early August, due to a silly weather waiver. This year, since the waiver is no more, the kids are getting out earlier (May 23rd) since they started so early and then going back to normal start time the end of August with the rest of the state, so our summer break will be a little over 3 months long. 

I'm very much looking forward to three months of not having to deal with Dracen's early morning grumpy bear syndrome because sweet-Lord-in-heaven that child has really been testing my morning patience, which is barely there to begin with.  

He and Popaw plowed and planted his very own vegetable garden in our backyard Saturday morning.

Charlie plowed it up for him last spring and then Dracen got busy doing this-that-and-everything-else on weekends and never got it planted. Since he was just a toddler, he has loved helping his popaw in the  garden and now, at the age of 9 and a half, he has graduated to his very own.

I love seeing him get that excited over something besides watching marathons of Duck Dynasty and American Hoggers. Well, that isn't entirely fair. There's not much he loves more than playing baseball and hunting turkey.

Turkey hunting is something he just took up this year. He told me last night that the best way to wake him up in the mornings is to tell him we're going turkey hunting since he swears he springs right outta bed when Popaw wakes him for that. Somehow I don't think he'd buy that on a Monday morning so I haven't tried it...yet.

Devin spent his entire weekend, with the exception of church yesterday morning, upstairs in the bonus room watching Netflix and playing XBox. We barely seem him anymore. When he came down to put his laundry in the washer last night, it almost startled me because I nearly forgot someone else was in the house. 

I told Charlie he needs to take him to the shop and work him some this summer because he has strong tendencies toward sleeping past noon, couching it all day long, and staying up until ungodly hours of the night. Teenagers are another breed. But we were all there once. 

And this (and the seemingly long summer ahead) too shall pass...

Too quickly, no doubt. 

I sneaked and got a few shots of the garden-planting through the bedroom window with the zoom lens Charlie gave me for Christmas. I love that thing...

Makes me feel like a spy.

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.  Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.  ~Alex Haley

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.  ~W.E. Johns

The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.  ~George Bernard Shaw

Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.~Lois Wyse

Friday Favorites

After my birthday dinner at Red Lobster last Friday I came home and changed right into my pajamas, just as I said I would and just after I got completely unpresentable and settled in on the couch, Dracen decided to play photographer and take some "birthday photos" of me and the Darlings. He even went into the kitchen for a  glob of peanut butter that he told me to put on my nose for Brisco to lick off so he could get a funny shot. I don't think I have to tell you that that did not happen. 

So he moved onto Lucky who was minding his own and sleeping peacefully in the sunroom. I had no idea that he was using props until he came in and started showing me his work on the display screen of the camera. All three dogs ended up having their mug shots taken while wearing this getup but the one of Lucky cracked me up the most, making it my first favorite for this week...

Laid Back...way back

Never a dull moment when 

Dray's in the house

She's Got Style

I bought a crochet cardigan 

 similar to this at Belk recently

and I am loving it in this ensemble.

Honest Mistake

I know I shared this on my facebook

page the other day but it just

cracks me up and

pretty much sums up my feelings on running.

source

Aldo Lucyno Flat

I don't know what it is about these

little funky shoes but 

they just drew me right in.

Piperlime

Inspiration
I'm looking to get rid of my big, bulky
leather recliner sofa and loveseat
and replace them with a cozy
sofa and maybe two comfy chairs.
Maybe something similar to this...

source

I'm a Cornball
but I know you laughed.

source


Ain't it the truth?

They're Real!
I had never heard of this brand
of mascara before but I got
it as a free sample from 
Sephora a couple of weeks ago
and am absolutely loving it.

Sephora


Be Yourself
Yes!

 


Little Troublemaker
So we watched Django Unchained last weekend
and this is now one of my all-time
favorite movie scenes...
I've been quoting Django (Jamie Foxx)all week.

Hope y'all have a great weekend,

10 Dream Hotels

When I saw Mama Kat's writing prompt, 5.) 10 Hotels You Wouldn’t Hate Vacationing In, I knew I'd have no problem at all coming up with ten...

1. Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa (Bora Bora, French Polynesia). A tiki hut over the water with a canopy bed, personal plunge pool and spa on site? Yes, please.

 2. Shangri-La Hotel (Paris, France). With rooms starting at eleven hundred American dollars per night this will most likely remain in my Only In Your Dreams file but oh-m-gee, at the view!

3. Giraffe Manor (Nairobi, Kenya). "The only hotel in the world where you can eat breakfast with giraffe". I shared pics from this hotel in a Friday Favorites post awhile back. If I ever make it to Kenya, this is where you'll find me...

4. Oia Castle Luxury Hotel (Oia, Greece). "Sitting just below the famous Castle ruins, the private villas and suites are a breathtaking site bound to capture the heart of all those who enter."  When do we leave? 

5. Inverlochy Castle Hotel (Fort William, Scotland). I have a fascination with Scotland, thanks to Diana Gabaldan and Jamie Fraser. The 8th book in her Outlander series is due out the end of this year...Eeeee! 

 6. Villa le Rose (Florence, Italy). So this isn't exactly a hotel but according to travelchannel.com, it is : "nestled in the rolling hills outside Florence, Italy, a study in luxury."...and me and "12 friends can enjoy its chef-made breakfasts, private swimming pool and 24-hour butler service".  So who's going with? 

7. Blanket Bay Lodge (Glenorchy, Otago, New Zealand). Because I'm pretty sure I'd have no trouble  at all getting used to this view.

8. Enchantment Resort & Spa (Sedona, Arizona) What can I say? I'm a sucker for a great view. Throw in a spa and I'm sold every time.

9. Lapa Rios Eco Lodge (Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica). They had me at bungalow nestled within the rain forest. And plus, I've always wanted to sleep under one of these...

10. Sausage Dog Hotel (St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK). Okay, so it's not actually for people, rather a boarding place for Dachshunds but still...I'd gladly work off my stay tending to the little long dogs. Who knew such a place existed? I think I'll start one here in North Carolina...

Bon Voyage,

Friday Favorites...I'm 21 again!

I always start mentally preparing myself for the age I'm about to turn two or three months before my birthday. It's not something I do consciously, rather something that just naturally happens. It hit me a few weeks ago that I would be turning 21 for a second time this year...today. That is all kinds of crazy surreal and it is so true that the older we get, the faster time goes.

Devin told me this morning that I'm old (he's such a charmer, that one) and to him, I suppose I am. I woke up from the most bizarre dream a couple of mornings ago in which I discovered that I was turning 70, only I still looked exactly the same and no time had passed and I was so very confused when the realization hit me. Yeah, I don't even know what to make of that one but I don't feel anywhere near 70, or even 42. Most days I don't feel a day over 25...okay, 30...ish. 

My first 21st birthday was on Easter Sunday so I couldn't really rip it up like I'd hoped and in 21 years retrospect, that was probably a good thing. I suppose I could paint the town red and dance on the tables tonight if I really wanted to but maybe Devin's right about me being old because my idea of a good birthday now consists of going to Red Lobster for my favorite coconut shrimp bites and shrimp scampi and then coming home, changing into pj's, and watching a movie on the comfort of my own couch. Django is supposed to arrive from Netflix today and I've been a Quentin Tarantino fan since Darin and I first watched Pulp Fiction back in the 90's. It's that whole warped sense of humor thing, which brings me to my first two favorites for this week...

Cracks me up!

I first saw this years ago and just

came across it again on Pinterest...

Still just as funny today.

Wi-fi in heaven?

source

Always makes me smile

My little buddy showed up again Sunday.
I think he likes to have his picture taken.

Shoe Lust

By Stuart Weitzman at Nordstrom. 

Way too pricey for my blood

but shoe lusting is still free, right?

Introverts Unite

I  think I need this for my birthday.

BwaHaHaa!

via Pinterest

Birthday lunch in Paris?

Oui!

 Sigh...

Maybe someday.

original source not found

Doormat

I saw this awhile back and have

been thinking about ordering it

because when you ring my doorbell,

the barking is so loud 

you'd think we had 20 dogs instead of 3.

And only two of them bark.

Amazon

I've always believed this

source

When I was really 21

Or maybe I was 22.

My memory is starting to fade...

(But don't tell Devin)

  Birthday Song

So I was going to put 50 Cent's In Da Club 
here but then I played it and remembered
the lyrics and since I try to keep this blog
PG-13, I decided to stick with The Beatles.
(Yes, I'm a 50 fan. I'm just full of surprises)

Happy Friday, Y'all!