Wonders of Creation

Wednesday Wonders of Creation, a place for me to wax poetic about people who amaze me, influence and impress me, who have made an impact on my life in profound ways.

Today, since it's my darling daughter Skye's "birthday month" as she puts it, I'm going to start with her. On March 3, she turned 21 which seems to have happened in the blink of an eye. Really, she's all grown up?

 The day I went into labor, it started raining softly, as the day progressed and my labor pains grew, the weather also kept pace. By the time we made our way to the midwives, it had become one seriously stormy night, complete with thunder, lightening and raging gusts of wind that rattled the windows of the old Victorian house that had been turned into a birthing center. It was the kind of storm that would make a Bronte novel proud. I've always called her my little weather witch, because as soon as she came into this world, the winds calmed, the rain stopped and the sun came out blissfully. By the time we drove home with her that morning it had turned into the most beautiful Spring day, with blue skies to break your heart.

Controlling the winds!

This is how she describes herself on her blog:
"Once upon a time, a girl named Skye was born from stardust. She always knew she was kinda quirky. She loves the color pink, anything that sparkles, and pretending to be grown up. Skye tries to see the positive in everything. She adores baking cupcakes. She aspires to be a travel show host, a famous writer, a Princess, the best girlfriend ever, and an icon."

May her dreams and aspirations all come true, with blessings she hasn't even dreamed up yet! She inspires me on a regular basis, and I'm in awe of her brilliant quirky mind. Her sassiness and foot stomping are to be admired as strength of her spirit. To say she's a beauty wouldn't be to brag overmuch, she is. She touches the life of everyone she ever comes into contact with, making their day just a bit happier, sparklier, and magical. She's been a gift to my life that goes beyond words. I consider her, and her sweet brother Cory, to be my life's greatest achievements!

I usually find a song for her and post the lyrics for her birthday. This year it's an old favorite from Natalie Merchant, which thanks to Skye is inspiring my Wednesday theme. From the minute I heard this song, it reminded me of Skye, myself and the women in my family. We all seem capable of throwing people off balance, confounding and astounding. We're all a wonder!

Wonder

Doctors have come from distant cities
Just to see me
Stand over my bed
Disbelieving what they're seeing

They say I must be one of the wonders
Of god's own creation
And as far as they can see they can offer
No explanation

Newspapers ask intimate questions
Want confessions
They reach into my head
To steal the glory of my story

They say I must be one of the wonders
Of god's own creation
And as far as they can see they can offer
No explanation

O, I believe
Fate smiled and Destiny
Laughed as she came to my cradle
Know this child will be able
Laughed as my body she lifted
Know this child will be gifted
With love, with patience and with faith
She'll make her way

People see me
I'm a challenge to your balance
I'm over your heads
How I confound you and astound you
To know I must be one of the wonders
Of god's own creation
And as far as you can see you can offer me
No explanation

O, I believe
Fate smiled and Destiny
Laughed as she came to my cradle
Know this child will be able
Laughed as she came to my mother
Know this child will not suffer
Laughed as my body she lifted
Know this child will be gifted
With love, with patience and with faith
She'll make her way

So you can see I'm not fibbing about her brilliance, go check out her blog!
Oh My Skye!

Simple Bliss Sundays

Another new theme day! Simple Bliss Sundays, because Sundays are always a day that I like to stay home, relax, cook delicious things, pamper myself and soothe my soul.

Whatever I'm doing, I've become completely hooked on watching Oprah's Super Soul Sunday a completely mind blowing, heart opening series of some of the wisest, thought provoking people on the planet.

Today we started out with a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon and english muffins with marmalade. Then I moved on to putting a pot of black eyes peas on to simmer for dinner later. Chopping all the veggies, and then sauteeing them with bacon and ham absolutely equals bliss!

I'm a latecomer to cooking black eyes peas, only making my first batch this past New Years day. Honestly, I used to HATE them. I thought they were stinky and one of the nastiest things ever. Memire (my darling Grandmother) used to try and make me eat them, yet even for her I wouldn't do it. Then John got me to taste some a few months ago. They were....okay, sorta. Tolerable, but I knew I could probably make them more to my liking if I made my own. So on New Years day I decided to be traditional and give it a shot. They were heavenly, done my way, and so now they're on a regular rotation for our dinner menu. We just serve them up over steamed rice, maybe with corn bread as a side. Now to wait for these little yummies to be finished!

My next plan for the day is a long hot shower. My sinuses have been giving me pure hell for more than a month now. I've done the double round of antibiotics, and everything else known to humankind, yet they are still making my head ache like there are little dwarves tunneling in my skull with jackhammers. Hot showers, herbs or spices steaming on the stove, using my neti pot, and taking tons of mucinex seem the only things that make a difference for a short time.

To make my afternoon shower more relaxing and pampering, I made a citrus sugar body scrub. I adore making sugar scrubs of all kinds. If I'm in a pinch for time and just need some quick exfoliating I'll just grab a couple spoonfuls of table sugar, dampen it between my palms and use it as is.

When I do have more time, I grab a bowl, add sugar, a few drops of vegetable oil ( I like olive, almond, canola or coconut oils) then I add in whatever strikes my fancy. I've used everything from a dash of chai spice blend, (great with brown sugar) to ginger, various essential oils like rose, jasmine, chammomile, or peppermint, to citrus like today. It's pretty much anything goes depending on what scents you like.             

Here's todays recipe if you'd like to try making your own.

Zest of one orange and one tangerine

About five tablespoons sugar

a few drops of olive oil.

Blend together until you have a light crumbly mixture.

Take a shower as normal, then right before you get out use the scrub all over. With citrus, I would not use it on my face or other delicate spots. Use your common sense, some things shouldn't go near your eyes. If you've zested the citrus finely it should wash right down the drain, so you don't have to worry about clogs.

May your Sunday also be filled with blissful moments dear sugarpeas!

Moonlit Mondays

Since I decided to start writing again on this sorely neglected blog I thought it would be fun to have a few days a week with a topic. Mondays have been deemed Moonlit, and are for romance, love and sensual pursuits. A sweet way to make an otherwise unloved day of the week into something to look forward to!

Tonight I'll keep it short, with just a suggestion to visit a blog I discovered through Pinterest, which by the way, if you haven't gone over to the dark side of Pinterest I have to ask, WHY not?? How could you resist delightful things like this that pop onto your computer screen randomly like magic?

This lovely recipe for the above pictured limoncello tiramisu led me to the very cool website, The Love Bite which is crammed full of recipes that look drool worthy and neato ideas for dates. I can't wait to try some out and explore more of the love!

Share the love sugarpeas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ~art by Bella Pilar

What's the story Morning Glory?

So what is the story? Where on Earth have I been? Why haven't I written anything in ages? Very good questions to ask, even to myself. I'm not really so sure, though I can peg blame on a few of the usual suspects.

For the most part I can blame it on not having enough time, which would be very true. Last year went zipping by so fast I think I still have whiplash from it all. We got notice last year that we were moving, again! John was tagged to be a recruiter, so he went off to school for a few months in the spring and early summer while Skye and I went into chaos mode. Then over the summer we accomplished the move from Fort Benning, Georgia, to out on Long Island New York.

If you've ever done a move with the military, you know that even a short distance move becomes a three ring circus. Things go wrong or crop up that no sane person would ever imagine. We 've been living in East Meadow since the beginning August and like any move we've ever made it always takes at least the first six months to get the house in some semblance of order again.

From chaos......

...to calm!

While John was off at school Skye and I were busy bees working on the flowers and decorations for Sam and Kailins wedding, our darling Memire passed away. So we had her memorial right before the wedding and it still seems like a blur to me. In the midst of it all Skye was also trying to get herself set for a move to go to school in Jacksonville, while I got the house and our lives ready for New York. That there was a slight bit of craziness doesn't quite cover it.

Our Memire, Katy Ruth Moody Perron

Add into all that my normal health issue of fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue blah-de-blah, dealing with severe anemia the past few years which is still unresolved, it's a wonder I got anything done at all.



My hibernating cohorts, Remy and Charlotte.

There are days where getting the most mundane things done becomes like trying to climb Mount Everest. Do the dishes, fall back to bed for an hour. Cook dinner, rest an hour before cleaning up. Run errands for an afternoon, rest most of the next day. I don't say that for a pitty party, just to put into perspective how my body is most of the time. Sometimes I even have to do a full on hibernation. Those who know me best know when I say I'm going "down the rabbit hole" to hide and rest, to be patient. I'll emerge eventually! Sometimes just after an hour nap, sometimes after a month or so of staying home and curling up into myself while almost completely ignoring the outside world.

 I was glad to see this suggested in another blog I was reading this morning, 10-Things-to-Remind-Yourself-on-a-Daily-Basis  "2. It is okay to be alone or pull back from the world. Sometimes we just need to step back and re-evaluate a situation, a relationship, or just life in general. When I went through my healing period, I spent a lot of time alone as I tried to become my own best friend again. If you need to go into hiding for awhile and work on stitching yourself back up, take the time to do that. It is so important to pull back and spend quality time with yourself every now and then."

One day soon I'll do a more in depth post on living with a chronic illness, but suffice it to say that it's no picnic to have to be familiar with the issue through myself, my sister who has lupus, and my grandmother who also had fibromyalgia. I'm lucky and blessed that I can still function, I have use of all my body despite it all, I don't have anything fatal, yet I do function on a much lower energy level than your average bear. I also deal with plenty of pain constantly. One of the best websites I've found for helping maintain a decent perspective and being gentle with myself is Little and Often . Michael Nobbs is brilliant! How could you not love someone who suggests tea and cake on a regular basis?

Now that we've covered two good reasons for not writing, what else can I find to explain the neglect of this lovely little home I have on the interwebs? Laziness? Not really. Fear of not having anything to say? A blank mind? That's kinda rare in our family to ever admit to. We're all big mouths and if you can catch us without an opinion or something to talk about you better check for a pulse!

I will say that wondering if anyone would even care about my mundane ramblings occurs to me and has stayed my hand from the keyboard on occasion. Then I tell myself that we all end up having something in common even if it is trivial or mundane. Usually that is exactly where our commonalities are!

So with that in mind, stay in touch darling friends and family! For as Lord Byron said "If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad."

LOST, in paradise!

I'm about to watch the second to last episode of Lost tonight and I'm feeling terribly nostalgic for Hawaii. The memories of my favorite place on the planet and my favorite tv show of all time will forever be entangled. Knowing the show was filmed on Oahu gave me incentive to explore places I might not have found on my own, like the beautiful beach above where the Losties have their beach camp.

I used to like going there when I knew they weren't filming, thinking it was my own little private piece of heaven. Sometimes I even shared it with family!

We got so lucky one Sunday afternoon. There were turtles all over, laying in the sun, and playing in the waves.

 

I'm sure I have lots more pictures buried somewhere on my external hard drive. I'll have to post more when I dig them up. For now, it's off to get comfy in my favorite chair, TV on, snacks ready!

Listening for something deeper within.

As I sit sipping coffee under the shade of our little curtained pavillion in the backyard, I've been trying to decide just what to do today. My to do list has gone off the deep end, right off the pages of my planner with more to do than I want to think about. Just for today, I want to listen to what my body says. I want to shut out the noise and chatter of what I should be doing, and just flow with what would truly give my body the rest it needs after the stress of the past few weeks.

So what are some good ideas? I'm going to ponder these from Jennifer Louden's blog. As always she is inspirational, and has just the right thoughts at the time I need them most. http://www.comfortqueen.com/choose-your-life-mondays-kinds-of-renewal/comment-page-1#comment-4914

Oh, and I owe a few gratitudes since I was so busy with family over the weekend, and was so wiped out yesterday when they left that all I could do is sleep. I think the current tally owed is four, I'll add an extra for today and call it even!

~Sweet puppydogs playing in the grass, chasing butterflies and dozing in the sunshine.
~Fresh hot hazelnut coffee in one of my favorite mugs with the quote "Worrying does not empty tomorrow of it's troubles. It empties today of it's Strength."
~For the technology that lets me communicate with John over such long distances. Thank you for Instant Messages!
~For the cool spring breeze that I know will be gone in a few hours. I think we're supposed to hit 90 again today????
~Knowing to trust myelf, for the lessons learned over many years proving that my heart (and gut) don't steer me wrong.

Until tomorrow...
Have a delightful day whevere you are!

Better late than never!

Quick and easy thing to be grateful for today. Family! Which would be why I almost forgot to post my gratitude today. My Mom, Sis, Brother in Law, and two Nieces came up today for a weekend visit. It's been chaos and shenanigans, but tons of fun as always!

Also, John finally made it to where he's supposed to be in Iraq. Now maybe he can get settled, get internet set up, and we can fall into those odd, but normal deployment routines.

I may get a beatin' for posting this picture, but I can't resist. I love my April Fool and miss him terribly!

John's little mishap...

This morning I've very grateful that John's mishap at the range yesterday wasn't anything serious. Somehow, a stray shell casing flew at him and smacked him on the cheekbone just next to his eye. Yeeeouch! He probably has a second degree burn about an inch and a half long, but more than likely not bad enough to leave a scar. I'm just thankful that he's fine now other than a bit of pain.

Skye and I have a Prayer for Safety candle burning for him now from http://zenamoon.com/  and we're sending lots of protective energy his way. I'm the one who is supposed to attract weird accidents like tree branches stabbing me in the leg on hikes, falling UP the stairs and generally being the household clutz, not him! I'm really beginning to think they should give Army wives pay for extra stress and worry while their spouses are gone, just like the guys get hazard pay. I think we deserve it!

Going backwards to move forward...

Yesterday I realized that to go forward during the next few months of John being in Iraq, I have to go backwards to re-learn how I was able to live through his last deployment.

The first thing I found was gratitude. No matter how hard each day was, I forced myself to look for something that I was grateful for.

Profound, spiritual or just the mundane, it didn't matter. As long as I brought my consciousness towards the blessings I have all around me. The tiniest tweak of my mind is all it takes to turn the days where I don't even want to get out of bed, into a day I'm thrilled to be alive, or at least willing to actually get out of bed!

So here we go again, my Daily Attitude of Gratitude!

Today, I'm grateful for a wonderful walk Skye and I took last night out into the woods behind our neighborhood. I've taken to calling it the Faery Woods, because everytime I go back there I find something magical. Last night was no exception! We left the house just before sunset, and walked down an old abandoned road just to see how far it went ( a LONG way!). As we ambled along, we saw a deer, heard all the birds twittering their goodnights, inhaled the sweet scent of spring buds and blossoms and even found clusters of wild daffodils to pick. As we journeyed back towards home, the moon slowly rose up into the sky like a huge golden ball. I felt like we were experiencing something Divine and definitely touched by Spirit.

A song for my beautiful girl Skye on her nineteenth birthday.

Rising from a shell
Running to spring
It is her time, it is her time
Watch her run with ribbons undone

She's a rose in a lily's cloak
She can hide her charms
It is her right, there will be time
To chase the sun with ribbons undone


She runs like a fire does
Just picking up daises
Comes in for a landing
A pure flash of lightning


Past alice blue blossoms
You follow her laughter
And then she'll surprise you
Arms filled with lavender


Yes my little pony is growing up fast
She corrects me and says
"You mean a thoroughbred"


A look in her eyes says the battle's beginning
From school she comes home and cries
I don't want to grow up Mom at least not tonight


You're a girl
Rising from a shell
Running through spring
With summer's hand in reach now
It is your time
It is your time
So just run with ribbons undone
It is your time yes my angel
It is your time
So just run with ribbons undone

~Ribbons Undone ~Tori Amos~

Sparklie Saturday, the Evening Edition

Last night was really relaxing and we had a wonderful time without doing much of anything special! I was once again completely inspired by watching Julie and Julia. I want shiny copper pots hanging on my wall. I want to cook delicious food dripping with butter! I want to spend hours making food that brings sighs of satisfaction and groans of pleasure when it's eaten.

I think that was accomplished with our dinner, Eggs Benedict, which literally did drip with hollandaise sauce. When our plates we clean, we each got spoons and slurped up the rest of the holladaise right out of the pot! Bad, bad girls!

We barely gave our dinner time to settle before we made cupcakes. Skye was the Queen of Sparklie Saturday all cozy, licking the batter out of the bowl. Talk about decadant multi-tasking fun! Eating batter, on the computer, magazine open, and watching the movie.

Her cupcake got the pink sprinkles, I couldn't take so much more sugar on top of the frosting. Does that mean I'm getting old if I don't want a sugar overload? We ended up with WAY too many cupcakes, so we're going to take them to share at the flower shop. I think everyone there will need the sugar boost this week with Valentines Day approaching.

I have to say that our first Sparklie Saturday was a complete success! As soon as we recover from Valentines Day at the flower shop we'll have to schedule another. We may need a whole weekend at that point.

I hope everyone has been inspired to have a little more fun, look for the sparkle in your day, relax and let life flow like a lazy river! One last bit of fun from yesterday, suggestions from Susan Branch that embody the spirit of what Sparklie Saturdays can be.

Sparklie Saturday...afternoon lollygagging!

For the most part there's been alot of lazing around going on today, which in my opinion so always good for the soul. A little lollygagging never hurt anyone! The only thing that's bad about today is that John got stuck on staff duty so has to work all day and night.

I've been working more on this ole blog here. I'm still trying to get used to this format after having TypePad for so long. So far so good, but I still haven't figured out how to make a photo album for the page. For now I'll just stuff all my visual goodies into a post.

Susan Branch artwork

Skye is on her way upstairs for a shower, to make it extra sparklie, she's going to use her new Snow Fairy goodies from LUSH. If she leaves me enough hot water (which I doubt LOL) I'm going to get a hot bath soon. I still have a Comforter bath bomb in my stash to use. I think I'll be having a cup of my new favorite tea while I'm soaking! I bought it the other day on a whim, because the box was pretty of course, and it turns out that it is amazing!

In the meantime while I await my hot water I'm heading up to snuggle under the covers with my journal and two new books to read.

I also got a new 'Days'  book by Susan Branch to start my gratitude journal in. I've been doing gratitude journals for years in various forms, but the 'Days' book is my favorite place to keep the things I'm grateful for each day. Since I'm starting a bit late this year, I'm going to fill up all the January days with as many things I can think of that I'm thankful for. I've been meaning to do a 100 thing to be thankful for list anyhow, now I have a place to put it.

On the menu for dinner tonight, we decided to make something special that Skye and I both love but don't take the time to make very often. It may normally be for breakfast but tonight, we're having Eggs Benedict for dinner! We're going to watch Julie and Julia while I cook, then have pink sprinkle covered vanilla-bean cupcakes for dessert. Maybe I can take pictures before Skye starts eating them up.

I have declared it to be Sparklie Saturday in our house! I think I'm longing for some way to combat the gloomy weather outside with some fun and frivolity as we wait for the the lush green of springtime to return.
There will be pedicures, hot bubble baths, lazy naps, snuggly jammies, posibble wearing of tutu's and decadent cocktails. Maybe even pink cupcakes! It's about doing something a little more fancy than the ordinary, being a little more care free, even if that's just deciding to sleep in till noon (as Skye did!) or spending hours tucked into a cozy corner reading a new book.

So for now, I'm off to go start having some fun!