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Archive for the ‘inspiration’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (2/13/15)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, Health, Husbands, inspiration, Recycling, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Friday's Fresh Five! Oh, we’re going to a hukilau
A huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau
Ev’rybody loves a hukilau
Where the laulau is the kau kau at the big luau

Oh, we’ll throw our nets out into the sea
And all the ama ama come a-swimming to me
Oh, we’re going to a hukilau
A huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau

Words and music by Jack Owens

The Hukilau Song can be heard throughout my home, as my husband and I practice playing our new ukuleles together. It all started when my husband asked for a ukulele for Christmas, so that he could sing to our granddaughter. He began taking classes at a local music shop and started spending a lot of time searching for instructional videos on the internet. I felt left out, but being already overextended, I had no intention of learning how to play a new musical instrument. Seeing the joy it brought him, however, I itched to get my hands on a ukulele and try playing its happy music. A few weeks ago, he surprised me with an early Valentine’s Day gift – my very own ukulele. Our mastery of chords and strumming patterns is progressing well, but our singing definitely needs work. Besides learning a new skill together, filling our home with music, and having a ton of fun, we’ve also discovered that it is a great stress reliever. The moral of the story is: the couple that strums together, hums together!

#1 – The Nimble Brain
Ways to Exercise Your Brain Whether you are learning how to play a new musical instrument or learning a new language, your brain thanks you for keeping it nimble. Want to learn more ways to exercise your brain? From mental_floss comes this list of 11 Ingenious Ways to Exercise Your Brain When You’re Stuck Inside.

#2 – Love Is All Around
Hearts In Nature When looking for love, it’s a matter of perspective. See if you can find the hearts in the captivating Hearts In Nature photo series.

#3 – Repurposing Photos
30 Creative Ways to Repurpose Photos If you have boxes of photos taking up space in your home, you might want to repurpose them. I like to use them to make photo mosaics, but so many other clever ideas exist on the internet. To get started, check out Brit + Co’s 30 Creative Ways to Repurpose Photos.

#4 – Rules For Being
12 Rules for Being a Beautiful Human Being “This moment is a gift” is rule number 11 of the 12 Rules For Being a Beautiful Human. They are good reminders for all of us, as we journey through life.

#5 – Making Your Own Music
“Play with your heart, sing with your soul.”
Unknown

Now go and spread joy!

 

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (2/6/15)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Environment and Ecology, inspiration, Photography, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Steller's Jay

Calls of “shaack shaack shaack!” interrupt the peace and quiet of the creek area behind my house. My eyes follow the sound and see blue-feathered birds swoop elegantly from tree branch to tree branch. Behaving as if they own the area, these noisy birds parade on my deck like beauty queens and scare off smaller birds from feeders. Teasing me with their frequent appearances, I go inside to get my camera. Ironically, the moment I step back outside, they are nowhere to be found. “Just one good photo of a Steller’s Jay, that’s all I want,” I think to myself. After waiting patiently for that one shot and then viewing the image on my computer, I know that a single photo of these striking birds will not be enough for me.

#1 – Is it Blue or Cerulean?
Color Thesaurus What color is the bird in the lead photo above? If your answer is like mine and you said blue, you may want to check out a color chart that young adult writer and illustrator Ingrid Sundberg created. Her Color Thesaurus gives specific names to shades and hues of colors. So, instead of describing the bird as just being blue, we can now say that it is a deep cerulean blue-colored bird with touches of cobalt and aegean.

#2 – Photos for Perfectionists
The Perfect Snowball Imagine a snowball that’s perfectly round. If you are a bit of a perfectionist, you will appreciate the shape of this snowball and the other 34 Photos That Will Satisfy All Perfectionists.

#3 – Growing Onions in a Plastic Bottle
Growing Onions Vertically Because I hate putting plastic products in the garbage and because I hate cleaning out my refrigerator and throwing away limp produce, the idea of growing green onions vertically in plastic bottles appeals to me. Having fresh green onions available at a moment’s notice and re-purposing a plastic bottle at the same time sounds like a win-win situation. Click here if you would like to learn more about this subject.

#4 – Mysteries of the Unseen World
In this TED Talk filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg provides us with glimpses of the incredible unseen world around us.

#5 – Do You Really See?
“The more often we see the things around us – even the beautiful and wonderful things – the more they become invisible to us. That is why we often take for granted the beauty of this world: the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds – even those we love. Because we see things so often, we see them less and less.”
Joseph B. Wirthlin

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/30/15)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Helping Others, inspiration, Parenting, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 30, 2015| Leave a Comment »

January, 30, 2015 Edition My camera lens focuses on the distant reaches of my backyard. Trying to capture an image of a particular bird, I’ve been sitting motionless on a rock for about 10 minutes. I sense movement to my right and turn my head to see a squirrel perched on a nearby rock. The squirrel sits and stares at me as if to say, “What about me? Aren’t you going to take my picture?” I chuckle and say out loud, “Well, if you give me a smile, I’ll take your picture too.” Lo and behold, the squirrel smiles.

#1 – Connections Between Man and Nature
Artwork by Elicia Edijanto Indonesian artist Elicia Edijanto creates simple, yet emotional juxtapositions of humans and nature. More specifically, her delicate black and white watercolor paintings portray connections between children and animals. There is a certain vulnerability displayed in her work – not just that of the children, but also that of the majestic animals. Check out Striking Black-and-White Watercolors Depict Children and Wild Animals to see examples of her work.

#2 – Developing Gratitude
Squirrel in Tree Living a life of gratitude keeps me in the present. One of the things that I am grateful for right now is having the time and the wherewithal to pursue my hobbies – like sitting and photographing wildlife in my backyard. I appreciate that to do so is a luxury not afforded to everyone. What are you grateful for? Developing an attitude of gratitude does not come easy to everyone. If you need a little help, read 5 Ways to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude to get you thinking and start the process.

#3 – 36 Questions
36 Questions The title of an article in Psychology Today Want to Get Closer to Your Partner? Try These 36 Questions is slightly misleading. Sure, if you were to ask your partner any of the questions from the three sets of 12 questions, you would learn more about him/her and possibly become closer. But, I think the 36 questions are good thought-provoking questions that would shed light on anyone you want to know better – a friend, a co-worker, your children, etc. Try answering some of the questions yourself. Maybe in the process, you’ll learn something about yourself that you didn’t realize before. To provide you with a brief preview, here are the first questions from each set:

Set 1, Question 1: Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?

Set 2, Question 13: If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future, or anything else, what would you want to know?

Set 3, Question 25: Make 3 true “we” statements each. For instance ‘We are both in this room feeling … “

#4 – Valentine’s Day Food and Crafts
41 Heart-Shaped DIYs To Actually Get You Excited For Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day brings smiles to the faces of so many people. In a little over two weeks that special day will be here. For inspiration, take a look at these 41-Heart-Shaped DIYS to Get You Excited For Valentine’s Day and let the fun begin!

#5 – A Smile Is . . .
“A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose.”
Tom Wilson

“Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart.”
Anthony J. D’Angelo

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”
Phyllis Diller

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.”
Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/23/15)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Entertainment, Environment and Ecology, Gardening, Health, inspiration, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Dandelion Waiting patiently in the gentle breeze, the white hair-like tufts of salsify plants sway to and fro. Suddenly, a perfect gust of wind releases them from their mother plant and they float effortlessly in the air, promising to fulfill their destinies. We are each blown to the “wind” to discover and create our own destinies.

#1 – Award-Winning Photos
Astonishing Award-Winning Photographs of 2014 To be in the right place at the right time and to be able to capture something extraordinarily special with a camera is what many photographers live for. I have an appreciation for photographers who travel, because through them the rest of us can see the world. Here are The Most Astonishing Photos That Won Awards in 2014.

#2 – One Piece of Advice
Advice That Changed Experts Lives Getting advice from fitness, nutrition, and health pros is interesting, but learning about what specific advice helped them the most is even more interesting. Check out We Asked 25 Experts for the One Piece of Advice That’s Changed Their Life the Most.

#3 – Another Tile Game
2048 Tile Game Take a break from what you are doing and play a game. Stand up, stretch, and be ready to sharpen your brain. A little while back, I linked to the K Tile Game. Now, I have discovered its numeral soul mate in the form of the 2048 Tile Game. Click on the link to play. Using the arrow keys on your keypad, manipulate the numbers in the grid so that similar numbers can touch and then merge. The goal is to get to the 2048 tile. Warning: this game is more challenging than the K Tile Game.

#4 – Mixing Reality With Fantasy
Realistic and Fantastical Art by Rob Gonsales When a realistic painting style collides with fantasy elements, you get the intriguing artwork of Rob Gonsales, a Canadian artist.

#5 – Let It Be
“There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be . . . .”
John Lennon

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/16/15)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Entertainment, inspiration, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 16, 2015| 3 Comments »

IMG_0275 Book Stack -T What do the books laying around your home reveal about you? Plenty. Are you a romantic, a gardener, a do-it-yourself-type of person? Looking at this short stack of my books, can you tell that I read books about history, like to cook, love dogs, collect books just for their titles and don’t like to clean my house, worship well-written classics, pretend that I can read French, and search for nuggets of wisdom?

#1 – Characteristics of Book Lovers
19 Things Only Book Lovers Will Understand This week a friend and I found we shared similar tendencies when we are around books, such as in libraries and book stores. Both of us lovingly run fingers down book spines and both of us enjoy feeling the heft of books in our hands. Odd you say? I think you would be surprised how many other book lovers do the same things. Check out the 19 Things Only Book Lovers Will Understand and see if you recognize any of the traits in yourself or in someone you know.

#2 – Searching For A Book?
Searching For Old Books If there’s an old book or a book out of print that you really want to get your hands on, consider searching for it on AddALL. I searched for several books on the site and within 20 seconds pages of sources appeared. You can also search AddALL for other things such as books in print and ebooks.

#3 – Ikea Versus Apple
While on the subjects of books, this Ikea ad is just too tongue-in-cheek for me not to share it:

#4 – DIY Creative Chandeliers
29 Magnificent Chandeliers Made Out of Crazy things To all the people who think, “What if . . . ,” please don’t ever stop thinking that way. The world needs your creative and outside-the-box way of looking at things. To that point here are 29 Magnificent Chandeliers Made Out of Crazy Things. Some are made from pages of books, plastic bottles, waxed paper, zip ties, etc. These projects would be even better, if they are fashioned out of re-purposed goods.

#5 – Reading Outside the Box
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
Haruki Murakami

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/9/15)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Environment and Ecology, Gardening, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

January 9, 2015 Edition In the stillness of a winter garden, where many plants rest to conserve their energy, songbirds flit here and there while singing their songs. When skies are more grey than blue and when landscapes are more drab than vivid, these birds spread joy by serenading us all day long. When was the last time you went outside just to listen to the birds sing?

#1 – Feed the Birds
Winter Feeding Birds In North America During the winter, don’t forget to keep your bird feeders full and provide a source of fresh water for our faithful little troubadours. If you are wondering what type of food to feed birds in North America, Bird Watcher’s Digest has a list of Top 10 Foods For Winter Bird Feeding.

#2 – Winter in Japan
Winter in Japan When it’s cold, space heaters and sweaters are my best friends. I rarely heat my entire house, because it seems like a waste of energy when I know I’m going to be in only one room for a significant period of time. After reading the interesting article How to Cut Out Home Heating Oil—Japanese Style, I have greater appreciation for my cozy warm house and a newfound appreciation for what families can gain by not having central heat.

#3 – Free As A Bird
Vandog Traveller Could you quit your job, convert an old rusty van into your new home, travel, and be free as a bird? That’s what Mike Hudson did. In 2013, he quit his job and began the painstaking task of converting an aging van. With the conversion complete, Mike is out and about discovering the world. Check out his blog called Vandog Traveller for details on the conversion and for tales of his travels. I love his list of wants: Vanddog's list of dreams

#4 – More Awesome Kitchen Hacks
16 Awesome Kitchen Hacks If you’re like me, you’ve probably tried many kitchen hacks and discovered that some of them worked and some of them didn’t work. Don’t get discouraged by the past failures, because there are always more hacks to try! Here are 16 Useful Kitchen Hacks You Need In Your Life. Let me know which ones you like the best.

#5 – Break Your Shell
“The bird dares to break the shell, then the shell breaks open and the bird can fly openly. This is the simplest principle of success. You dream, you dare and and you fly.”
― Israelmore Ayivor

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (12/19/14)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, Holidays, Husbands, inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

December 19, 2014 Edition Holidays bring cherished memories, family traditions, favorite foods, festive decorations, and opportunities to gather together. This is true across the world. Hanging this wreath on my front door is a holiday tradition for my family. The wreath was made by my husband and is the only example of his woodworking skills. With angels gloriously sending out stars of hope and joy to all who see it, Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas for my family without this lovely wreath adorning our door.

#1 – Delicious Pancakes!
21 Delicious Pancake Recipes If your holiday morning traditionally includes serving pancakes for breakfast, you might want to check out these 21 Crazy Delicious Pancake Recipes. You’ll be hard-pressed to pick a favorite.

#2 – Gift In a Jar
96 Great Homemade Gift in a Jar Recipes If you are in need of last minute gifts, look no further than your kitchen cabinet. Just find an empty jar and make one of the 96 Great Homemade Gift In A Jar projects.

#3 – Knitting With Glass
Artist Carol Milne Knits With Glass Traditionally, knitting involves the use of some sort of fiber. Artist Carol Milne “knits” with glass. She developed a technique that uses glass to create knitted sculptures. Pieces of her artwork are as delicate and intricate as some of the finest fiber-knitted goods.

#4 – Helping the Homeless

Homeless People: Do You Just Walk on By? If you see me walkin’ down the street
And I start to cry each time we meet
Walk on by, walk on by
Make believe that you don’t see the tears
Just let me grieve in private ’cause each time I see you
I break down and cry, I cry
– Dionne Warwick

Using the lyrics to a song as an introduction to her article “Homeless People: Do You Just ‘Walk on By‘”?, writer Pam Bailey reports on the changing numbers of homeless people, on the dilemma of whether to give them money or not, and on alternative ways to help them.

#5 – Make It Part of Our Daily Lives
“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness . . . the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.” Dalai Lama

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (12/12/14)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Entertainment, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

December 12, 2014 Edition With a pretty red bow tied around its neck, a ukelele sits under my Christmas tree waiting for nimble fingers to strum it and voices to sing along with it. My husband rarely asks for anything for Christmas, but this year he wants a ukelele. He wants to be able to sing songs to our new granddaughter. On Christmas morning, wrapping paper and ribbons will be strewn all over and there will be food aplenty. More memorably, though, music, love, and laughter will fill the air.

#1 – Sing Along!
Sing Along “Singing is not about being a star or knowing how to do it well. It’s about enjoying the gift of our voices and sharing them with others,” says Tania De Jong, an Australian singer and global speaker. In her article, 10 Reasons to Make Singing Your Happiness Drug and her TEDx Talk, she presents compelling reasons why singing is good for our brains and for our happiness. She also adds, “And it’s free, because we all have a voice!”

#2 – Christmas Decorating Ideas
Stylish and Easy DIY Holiday Home Decor ideascor Candle holders made from wine glasses and snow made from salt are just two of the clever ideas found in 23 Stylish and Easy DIY Home Decor Ideas. Just more examples of creative people letting their voices be heard.

#3 – Creatively Wired
Chicken Wire Art Chicken wire is not your average art medium, but some creative people around the world use it to make incredible three-dimensional artwork. Click the link to check out amazing examples of chicken wire sculptures.

#4 – Life Lessons From Children’s Books
Life Lessons from Children's Books Don’t underestimate what kids can learn from reading children’s books, or adults for that matter. Some phrases from favorite children’s book characters continue to teach us life lessons. Interesting Life Lessons, Adults Can Learn From Children’s Books contains a nice collection of quotes to revisit.

#5 – Be Part of the Choir
“A choir is made up of many voices, including yours and mine. If one by one all go silent then all that will be left are the soloists. Don’t let a loud few determine the nature of the sound. It makes for poor harmony and diminishes the song.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (12/5/14)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Entertainment, Gift Ideas, Holidays, inspiration, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

December 5, 2014 Edition While Charlotte sleeps peacefully in my arms, her tiny hand holds onto the drawstring of my sweatshirt. With this sweet little gesture, she might as well be holding onto my heartstrings. Heartstrings connect all of us together. Throughout the year and particularly during this holiday season, reach out to others and those less fortunate. Connecting heartstrings multiplies everyone’s joy.

#1 – Pieces of Wisdom
11 Pieces of Wisdom Certain to touch your heart are these 11 Pieces of Wisdom. With the accompanying back stories, this collection of quotes and sayings shows how people were inspired to alter their paths and change their lives.

#2 – It’s a Wrap
Creative Gift Wrapping Ideas
With 24 Cute And Incredibly Useful Gift Wrap DIYs you’re sure to find an idea that touches your creative side. Ideas range from printing your own fabric to making ribbons out of balloons.

#3 – What If The Lights Went Out?
What If the Lights Went Out? As I drove through the dark streets of my neighborhood after a sudden power failure, I wondered what major cities would look like without lights. Serendipitously, I came across this series of photographs of What Cities Would Look Like If We Turned Off The Lights. French photographer Thierry Cohen attempts to remind people “of the starry universe that surrounds them, even if they can’t always see it.” Referring to a typical city resident, he says, “To show him stars is to help him dream again.”

#4 – Tile Game
Tile Game Sometimes when I have a hard time falling asleep, I play computer games. When my eyes are tired, I become sleepy. Here’s a tile game that I just discovered. The deceptively easy goal is to move letters around in a grid until you get a letter K. Duplicate letters in proximity to each other can be combined to advance you to the next letter, but beware of the grid slowly filling up. Piece of cake? Not so. It takes a fair amount of strategy.

#5 – Give and Receive
“What comes from the heart, touches the heart.”
Don Sibet

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (11/28/14)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Entertainment, Environment and Ecology, Holidays, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Kids, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »

November 28, 2014 Edition The demolished turkey platter sits pitifully on the table. People, who once engaged in lively conversation, sit in food comas with their pants unbuttoned. The Thanksgiving feast is a thing of the past. But wait! One more course has yet to be served. Out from the kitchen comes the pièce de résistance, a sterling silver platter carrying an assortment of wishbones. Go ahead and take one. Surely, after a day of giving thanks, there must be one more wish you’d like to make.

#1 – Wish For A Greener Lifestyle
If you wish for a greener planet, you need to consider the amount of trash you dispose of on a daily basis. Inspiration for changing to a greener lifestyle and ideas on ways to reduce your trash output can be found at Zero Waste Home.

#2 -Storytelling
Pixar's 22 Rules to Phenominal Storytelling Oh, the tales I will spin for my granddaughter Charlotte. Since all children love to be told bedtime stories, I look forward to the time when Charlotte is old enough to snuggle up to me and say, “Grandma, please tell me a story.”  I’ll smile and recite a little story of my own creation, written especially for her. If you would like to do the same for your children or grandchildren, Pixar’s 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling will give your storytelling ability a boost.

#3 – Holiday Garlands
24 Christmas Garland Tutorials Crank up the holiday music and let the decorating begin! Check out these 24 Christmas Garland Tutorials and before you know it, you’ll be singing, crafting, and wishing you had more areas in your home to decorate.

#4 – Baking Substitutions
Do you ever wish your local grocery store were just a little closer? The holiday baking season can be stressful, particularly if you are all set to prepare something and discover you are missing an ingredient. Before you dash out to the market, check out this infographic featured on Fine Dining Lovers or check out this link to Baking and Cooking Ingredient Substitution Chart from What’s Cooking America. A Guide to Cooking and Baking Substitutions

#5 – Wish
“We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.”
Louisa May Alcott

Now go and spread joy!

 

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