Holiday Rush Jitters and a Little Danger With My Romance (Books That Is)

Posted on December 11, 2012 by blogadmin

It’s day 11 of what I will be referring to as the respiratory infection that stole pre-Christmas (the beginning of December). Today was the first morning I woke up and my throat did not feel like it was on fire. Still coughing a bit but things are so much better that they were a week ago.

So now I’m looking around, assessing my holiday situation so far and deciding what to do, how and when.

Here’s where I’m at:

– No Christmas tree
– No decorations
– A total of two Christmas presents have been purchased
– I will be working the next two weekends
– Preschool winter break starts next week

I think it’s all of this and looking around our neighborhood at all the houses completely decked out on the outside with softly glowing trees inside that is making me feel a little…panicked? Overwhelmed? Like I’m way behind on this whole holiday thing but I’m really not, too badly anyway and it just couldn’t be helped.
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Happiness Is Possible Today!

Posted on November 12, 2012 by blogadmin

page one of a book, Happiness and Peace Are Possible

Sometimes, setting an intention for the day can make all the difference.

What is your intention for today?

Image above is the first page of the book, You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment by Thich Nhat Hanh.

The Uphill Climb

Posted on October 15, 2012 by blogadmin

To say this past week for me was challenging may be a slight understatement.

I was shoved outside my comfort zone and had to deal head on with some really uncomfortable, difficult situations.

Naturally, I’ve been working on a post about this but am having a hard time finding the right words. And since I’d rather reduce than increase any stress at this point, I decided to step back, do some reading instead and begin the uphill climb back to feeling good and calm and clear.

Currently in progress – The Way of the Peaceful Warrior.

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Novel Obsession – How I Got Sucked In To The World Of Sookie Stackhouse

Posted on September 18, 2012 by blogadmin

Happy accidents are some of my favorite things in the world. You never know what great thing might be just around the corner, something that makes you excited, happy and in my case, maybe a little obsessed. But I’m choosing to look at the bright side!

I’ve always loved to read and was a total English nerd in high school. Finding authors and books I really love and connect with always makes me happy. And once I find something I enjoy, I usually want to find out more about that writer and read more of their work.

This is why today I have at least five Jack Kerouac books instead of just one, four by Amy Tan, several Hemingway, lots of Anne Rice from years ago and more recently, many greats from Thich Nhat Hanh.

It looks like I still carry that tendency with me because what started out as luckily finding one book for fifty cents on the library sale table:

Dead Until Dawn book
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Learning Happiness

Posted on August 12, 2012 by blogadmin

I’ve been slowly re-reading one of my favorite books and came across this passage that was the perfect reminder for me right now.

Asking ourselves Where am I going? we might speculate on what the world holds in store for us. We imagine the world outside us providing events and developments that determine our capacity for happiness. What truly determines our ability to be happy , however, are our responses, attitudes and beliefs about these external events. While we cannot always control external events, we can control our reactions to them for we can choose our thoughts. So, our karma is, for the most part, in our own hands.

– Buddhism for Mothers of Small Children by Sarah Napthali

The past week was a struggle that I ultimately had to give in to to avoid becoming really upset. I continue to get frustrated at times with finding the time and energy to do everything I want or feel like I need to do. I often get impatient and daydream of the “perfect” set of circumstances.
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Monday Listicles – The Books Edition!

Posted on April 22, 2012 by blogadmin

I was so excited about this week’s listicle topics – books! I love books so much, libraries and bookstores are sacred places to me so I could not wait to share some of the books I love.

Equally as cool and exciting, the list master Stasha herself is giving me the opportunity to choose next week’s topic! I immediately had 2 ideas.

I still can’t decide between them so pick the one you like or do a combo of both and get crazy with it:

#1 – list 10 things you really like about yourself, things you are good at, your super powers!
Or
#2 – You have 48 hours free of all responsibilities and unlimited cash, what 10 things would you do, places you’d go, etc.

But back to the books, where to even begin? Pick 10 favorites? I can’t choose a favorite child! So I tried this kind of unorganized categories approach. Let’s see how this goes…

1. Favorite kids book – I Love You Stinky Face

No matter what this little boy thinks of, there is nothing he can imagine becoming that would make his mom stop loving and caring for him. I’ve read this to both of my boys, over and over and over.
book cover for I Love You Stinky Face

Image from amazon.com

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Library Day

Posted on January 14, 2012 by blogadmin

library books

Just before the cold and snow really hit earlier this week, we headed out for our weekly trip to one of my favorite places, the library. From a really young age, I have loved to read. I’m also someone who values, needs and craves quiet, peaceful atmospheres so walking around book stores for hours, just browsing, has also become a favorite past time for me whenever I get the chance.
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