There’s no place like home...

There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home! Around the holidays, if you are lucky and have the means to be “home” for Christmas, it brings great joy and excitement. Seeing family you’ve not seen in awhile, re-connecting with friends, it is a joyous occasion for most. But then there are those who feel maybe you can’t go home, you’ve been away too many years, or there’s a rift in your family. There’s maybe been a divorce and you don’t know which “home” is yours anymore. In my family, that is never the case, no matter what has happened, home is always home. We welcome in the strays, our friends who maybe can’t afford to travel, or just don’t have anyone to celebrate with. And it reminds me of three of the parables of Jesus on redemption: the Shepard going after the one lost sheep, the lady lighting a lamp and sweeping the floor to find the one lost coin and of course the prodigal son. You have never strayed too far from your loved ones to be forgiven…we have never strayed too far from God for Him to forgive us. It is amazing to me to think that no matter what I have done, thanks to a tiny baby born in a manger, all we have to do is asked to be forgiven and we will be welcomed with open arms to our Father’s house. Humbling isn’t it?

"Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato 50, Aristotle 40, and Jesus 3 and a half. Yet, the influence of Jesus Christ's brief ministry transcends infinitely that of the combined 130 years of these greatest philosophers of antiquity." An old Christmas Card quote.

The Art of Thank You...and Other Fine Manners

Merci, Danke schön, Grazie, Gracias, Toda, Teşekkür Ederim. No matter how you say it, saying Thank You is truly important. And unfortunately, it seems to me, a dying art!

In this era of technology: text messages, Facebook, and email, a handwritten thank you note is something you only see for wedding gifts. But it doesn't have to be reserved for formal thank yous. If someone gives you a gift, does you a favor or just makes your day brighter...take the time to sit down, pen to paper, and write them a small token of your appreciation! Here I am advocating the written word again. Hoorah, Postal Service! A handwritten thank you really has an impact. It makes your gift giver/good deed doer, want to repeat their kindness knowing it meant something to you.

There needs to be a revival of etiquette in this country!! A simple reminder of "please" and "thank you" and holding the door open for someone: just common courtesies.

I was with my "couple" friends the other day and both entered the building, both ignoring this poor man trying to get out the door with his arms full! When I held the door open for this dude, he was beyond appreciative, thanked me like four times. I could not believe that my friends had such a blind eye to him. Also, I rode with some other "couple" friends somewhere and when we got out of the car (exiting to the rear of the vehicle) the guy got out of the backseat and didn't close his own car door. So I had to close his door for him (as I had rode in the front), just to pass through!!! I'm sorry, you can't even close your own car door?!

The other day on Yahoo.com there was an article on 25 manners every kid should know by age 9. Age 9?! I see so many adults every day that need reminding!

Call me southern, call me old fashioned...but you know I'm right.

Wander Lust

Proud to say, that thanks to Operation Smokin' Hot, I can now fit into the jeans I wore when I got out of high school!! I haven't got all my photos back, she sent me a few "teasers" that I absolutely LOVE. So begins the waiting game.

I'm sitting here on my only day off this week listening to the fall leaves rustle and the wind chimes deep tone with my cup of coffee.....and I can't help but close my eyes and think of the places I've been. I'm reminded of early spring in England and France...with the cold rain and endless gray skies. I thought they were beautiful then, and I still do now. I just remember thinking will summer ever come? Now there are more profound thoughts, with the winds come change. Change of the seasons, the weather...but will it bring change for me? A career job finally, a new adventure??

I am ready, ready for the winds to blow me away...and onto the next thing. In all my winter seasons out west and summers spent traveling, I don't feel I've wasted my time. I've not conformed to the norm, that's for sure. But where is the fun in that? Older people think I've not wanted roots, younger people look up to me for living the dream...but in reality every place I've been has not felt like home. Have you ever felt homesick when you were right at home? I did when I was in high school, I remember feeling homesick for a place I'd never been. And now I've "been" I've seen places I never thought I would...and I still don't know what or where I want to be when I "grow up." I just know there has to be mountains...and the possibility of snow.

New beginnings...

So in my blogging absence, I was trying something new. I took a job that was offered to me (like they tracked me down through a mutual friend to offer it to me). It came at a time when I was so desperate for work. And now another offer has come along to save me from this one! I'll be helping with the marketing and advertising of a small boutique that my friend owns. I'm excited to get some new experience. Leaving my current job was a tough decision. One I am very glad I made. My last official day is tomorrow, and then I'll be filling in one night the following week.
My "new" job starts on Monday...and no more uniform! YAY! Fashion is BACK! So hopefully I'll have some new things to post along those lines. Also, operation smoking hot begins on Monday. I will have exactly one month before my photo shoot. I'm not talking a diet, I'm talking more water, veggies, exercise...more awareness of what goes in. So all I have to do is make it through tomorrow!

Le Printemps

If you live in the southeast, you may have come to the same conclusion I had: that we skipped spring. It has felt like summer most of this week and I have not been a happy chappy...I love springtime. Usually it means a box of Kleenex and a bottle of Zyrtec, but the things that I am most allergic to are not in bloom.......yet.

Today it finally feels like spring. In fact, I'd go so far as to say today is the perfect spring day. It is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, not a cloud in the sky...a crisp breeze...perfect! A light sweater, maybe a silk scarf...how very refreshing. Thank goodness for yesterday’s rain! Now if I could only convince my neighbors to take in the day...but ah the sound of weed-eaters :-(

Death at a Funeral

This is the original movie from 2007. I (inappropriately enough) watched this after my own Grandmother's passing and I must say, it was the exact comic relief I needed. It must have been one o'clock in the morning when it came on, and maybe it was the delirium of the hour or the situation...but I laughed...and laughed.

So now they are remaking it:



And I must admit, as hard as it would be to top the British on this one...it may be just as funny.

Not that this is in any way relevant, I just wanted to put out there that this is not the first time this movie was made. Have a good Thursday!

Alice in Wonderland!

I like most of Tim Burton's movies...and I LOVED Alice in Wonderland! What a pair, this story with his dark mind. I had never seen a movie in 3D before, so it was a real treat.
Alice In Wonderland Epk Featurette
The imagery, the characters...despite the obviously intoxicated man behind me and a woman with hilarious fits of laughter...the suspension of disbelief set in. My single complaint was the fabulous Johnny Depp...let it be said first that I adore him. In playing the Mad Hatter he used a few different voices, to display his varying levels of madness I suppose. One of the voices that turned up sounded very much like Capt. Jack Sparrow. It was slightly disappointing. I realize I will just have to see it again to "get" the voices, and maybe then I'll retract what I've written here. Such a minute detail I know...but trust me I still am a fan of his and this movie!

I even made a tea-party necklace for the occasion!