LOVE THURSDAY

Yesterday's post took up most of my brain juice, so today will be light on words and heavy on the pics. Saturday, I attended a mini golf pub crawl benefitting the KC AIDS Walk and it was awesome. Here's a pic of the lovely people I hung out with.

There was lots of shenanigans. This is Xander's mascot. Poor baby lost her eye last year. This year, her hair was unfortunately ripped from her head. It was fixed later by pinning it to her head with a swizzle stick.

This is the last picture I took before I gave into the Vodka.

It was a really fun time and one of the things I loved the most about it was that I was anonymous. I could just be the beard so to speak. The only thing I needed to worry about was getting the ball in the hole. Oh....the inappropriate references to holes and balls. I heard all of them on Saturday. The whole set can be seen here including Gay Prom pictures!

Enjoy! And Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

I have plans for a new vegetable garden. The plans are still in my head, but I know it's going to be a raised bed garden and there will be asparagus. Right now, a big pile of wood is sitting in the spot where all that will happen. So the first task will be to do something about that wood pile. I'm tempted to put out a "wood for sale" sign. We've had days here where the weather is very tempting. It's calling me out to the yard to do stuff. But then, just like that, the weather changes and it's cold or raining or both. I kind of like it. But then I look out into my back yard and see a mess and shoulders scrunch up to my ears and I sag a little bit. There's the old garden, cluttered with leaves and debris from the new roof. Dead tomato plants list to one side. Half of the garden is empty. The only patch of green is the kale that's still going strong. There's a lot of back breaking work to be done out there and sometimes I look out there and I can't even fathom where to begin.

But I know I want to begin which is a god start. I never imagined I'd get so much joy out of growing my own veggies.

LOVE THURSDAY

Just after we moved to KCMO, the OKC zoo got a brand new baby elephant. They also put in a new elephant habitat. So I didn't hesitate when I got a text Sunday from Traci saying that they were at the zoo and then asked if I wanted to see the baby elephant. Yes! Yes I did want to see that baby elephant. And she's so cute and fuzzy and I think if I had a slightly bigger car, she'd fit in it and I could bring her home. I don't know when my fascination with elephants actually started. I've always loved them. I just think they're magnificent. They are the largest mammal on land and for the most part live peaceful lives. In fact, they have very human like qualities. They fight when provoked. They form strong and loving bonds. They mourn their dead. They have a language. They are magnificent. I will admit that sometimes, when I'm having snarky bad thoughts, I will remind myself to be more elephant like. It may seem insulting to think of yourself as being like an elephant what with their size and appearance. But then again, it's all about perspective. I look at an elephant and see it's beauty and it's strength. It's easy to want to behave like an elephant.

Yes, I love the new baby elephant and would gladly take her home with me. Plus, I got to spend the day with this kid.

Happy Love Thursday.

LOVE THURSDAY

I've always believed in the power of connections. There's a reason we are all on this planet together at the same time and one individual's actions affects the multitude. This is why, of course, we should all be working together as a team. I know. It's all very hippie socialist. I have very hippie socialist ideas. I'm sure I'm on some sort of watch list. But think about it. Let's say you purposely punch someone in the nose (1). That person is probably going to punch you back (2). This violence will most likely be witnessed by at least one other person (3). The witness takes in the energy from the violence which then gets spent by hitting, yelling, crying to or with or at someone else (4). See how this wave continues to grow? Now flip that. Instead of a punch in the nose, you gave a hug or words of love and encouragement and we see how that wave spreads. We are all connected. You know what else reinforces that connection? The Internet. Sweet Suebob got out her bullhorn on Twitter and the lovely Kizz put out a call and people sent out some serious good vibes. And we had a really good day followed by another pretty good day. Most of those vibes came from strangers. I don't know them and they don't really know me. But they came. See? We are all connected. Words of encouragement mean just as much from a stranger as they do from your own mother. And when you receive it, you pass it on.

We've been asked many times if we believe in prayer. We do. Maybe we don't say traditional prayers in our home, but we do take time to acknowledge to power of connections, the good in our lives. Prayer is just another form of that good energy. And we'll take it. We'll take a little for ourselves and pass on what we can to others in need. Today, I love all of you, friends and strangers alike.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

I really thought about not doing an entry today. I've been in a bad place. The things I've written in my journal are not things I'm sure I want others to see. The other day, I wrote a list of things I hate. The truth is, I don't want to revert to old habits. I don't want this blog to return to the unhappy bitch place. Nor do I want to be the cancer blog. There's a lot I just don't want right now. The reality is, I'm sad and cancer is now a major player in my life. That doesn't mean that I've lost. I still have love. I still have Thursdays. I still have plenty of things that I do want. And you know what? I still have a little bit of hope. So I felt that even the slightest attempt at a Love Thursday entry was worth the effort. Because, you see, these entries are a practice. They are a practice in mindfulness and little bit of gratitude. They remind me to see the love and beauty that surrounds us. And we are surrounded.

Even though I cart my camera every where, I just haven't been inspired to take it out and use it. So today, I thought it would be good to look back on older photos and maybe start choosing some things from the past.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

We received a care package on Tuesday. Inside we found fudge, coffee, hand sanitizer, multiple tubes of lip balm, tins of Altoids, Hershey Kisses, and an envelope of funny things (the most valued item in the box). An envelope of funny things. Seems so simple. We are a household of funny things. We laugh. That's what we do. But after the very serious, very scary diagnosis, laughing came to a screeching halt. After a couple of days of things sinking in, I told Chris "enough! We laugh everyday!". We laugh everyday! That's the rule. Every day, no exception. Did you know there's a rumor floating around that some guy cured his cancer by watching the Three Stooges? I can't find much evidence that's it's true, but I choose to believe it really happened. I choose to believe that laughter truly is the best medicine.

So, do you know how to catch a unique rabbit? You 'neaque up on it. And this is why that envelope of funny things is so important to me and why it's my Love Thursday.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

I've been really reluctant to refer to this place as home. Part of the reason is guilt. I worry that if I refer to KCMO as home, I'll hurt the feelings of my family and friends in my OKC home. But New Year's day, I just kept thinking how nice it would be to be home. Truly home. There's something to be said about having your own sanctuary. Not just your own bed or being surrounded by your own things, but a place that you can call yours. That's exactly what our little house has come to represent. It is 800 square feet of our very own. It is a quiet place were Chris can convalesce. It is a place where I can sleep comfortably naked between the covers. It is a place that I don't dread going to after a long day of work. It is our oasis. It's been a while since I've had that.

I love that I finally have a place to call home. But I also love that I have more than one place to call home. I am lucky to be able to have my heart spread across such a wide expanse of places, each one containing lots of love and laughter and hope.

Welcome home and Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

Every year when I was little, I'd get an advent calender for the month of December. They were nothing fancy, just colored cardboard. The doors would open up to a scene in a story or a picture of something Christmasy. The advent calender was my favorite thing. In November, I'd start obsessing over what advent calender I was going to get and driving my mother crazy with daily questions about when I was going to get my advent calender. Every day in December, first thing I'd do upon waking, was to hop out of bed and open a door on my calender. Sometimes I would even try to peak through a corner to get a glimpse at the next day's picture. I loved my advent calender. Last month I noticed Trader Joe's had advent calenders for $1 and so I did the "oh, let's get advent calenders!" dance. Chris let me get them just to shut me up. But these advent calenders are way better than the ones I'd get as kid. You know why? They have candy in them! Every day you get a little square of chocolate molded into something Christmas like. We've had the most fun deciphering our daily treats. Because it's molded, the shape of what ever it's supposed to be ends up a little distorted. One day Chris declared that he'd gotten a gas pump that was really meant to be a bugle. One day, I got something that looked suspiciously like the Tardis. I think it was supposed to be a present, but it really looked like the Tardis. The day before yesterday, I got a Christmas squid. My favorite was the day I got a mushroom because that was what it really was supposed to be. A mushroom. I had no idea mushrooms were a Christmas thing.

I thought about making next years' advent calendar, but what would be the fun in that? I'd already know what I was getting each day. The calendars we bought for this year takes an old tradition and puts a new spin on it. It's brought us so much joy and laughter and reminds me of the days I used to anxiously count down the days until Christmas. Santa is this close.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

I know. I know. I've used Union Station for a Love Thursday entry several times already, but people. This. Place. Is. AWESOME! And yesterday was the most fun at Union Station yet. I'm totally about to break my "no blogging about work rule". It can't be helped. Yesterday was our department Holiday party and we celebrated by doing a scavenger hunt at Union Station. It was fan-freakin-tastic. I didn't even know you could go up to the third level balconies, but you can and we did. The scavenger hunt took us all over the Station and down into the nooks and crannies. We learned about the restoration and Harvey Girls. We learned about the Union Station Massacre and "Pretty Boy" Floyd. There are actual bullet holes still to be seen out front! I stuck my finger in one.

And guess whose team won? Guess?!? That's right. My team. Go Team Burlington Route!

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

I had a lot of entry ideas for this week's Love Thursday floating around in my brain, and I finally decided to go the sappy route only because the words for that entry have been piecing themselves together in whole sentences in my head. Those sentences are taking up too much space. Earlier this week, I noticed that my friend Jen had posted something about Swiftwind. Swiftwind is a Masters of the Universe thing and reading her entries brought up some memories. J was a HUGE fan of He-Man and watched the cartoon faithfully. He would stand in front of the TV with his little He-Man sword held high and declare that "He. Had. THE POWER!". He was a staunch defender of Grayskull. And for the rest of his life, J did have the power and was a staunch defender. He never stopped believing that he was He-Man.

There was a time, probably when we were kids, where we all believed we had some kind of power. Most of us either stopped believing or just forgot. I think it's more of the latter. It's easy to forget we have any kind of power. The truth is we have a lot of power. We have the power of our voices to right a wrong. We have the power to love and find the beauty in things that are different. So today's Love Thursday is a reminder. Remember that you have the power. Use it wisely.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

Last year, one of Chris's co-workers gave us a nativity scene for Christmas. She had heard that I'd fallen in love with a certain nativity scene that was being sold at a local furniture shop. Every time they played an ad featuring that nativity, I would exclaim how craptacular it was with the fake moss and serious figurines. We didn't really have a place to set it last year (we barely had a place for the tree), but this year we have the perfect spot. As I was taking it out of the box, Chris was lamenting the fact that he never picked up a Tauntaun to add to the nativity. Then he started going on about all the things he'd like to add and how he envisioned one day the entire credenza covered with an action figure nativity. You know how some people put up a miniature Christmas village? Something like that, but centered around our nativity scene. And as he was describing how he would hang a helicopter over it all so that it would pass back and forth over the baby Jesus and maybe throw in the Batman signal, I looked at my husband and knew that he was the best decision that I've ever made.

This year's additions to the nativity scene: Abominable Snowman, Princess Leia, and a dancing Ganesh.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

Monday, I taught a very reluctant group how to balance in tree pose. Short week, gray day, all equals tired apathetic teens. But I pushed them any way and class turned out great. While we were wobbling about on one leg, I commented on how I tend to stand for like this while I'm waiting in lines. One girl's eyes got big and jaw dropped open. She gasped and said "aren't you worried what other people will think?!?". I looked straight at her and defiantly said "NO". When I was her age, I can remember saying that I didn't care what other people thought about me, but secretly, I cared. I cared a great deal. It made it so hard to be my authentic self. And I know, at times, I played along to please the crowd. If I have any regrets from my youth, it would be those times I did not remain true to myself. But sometimes I wasn't comfortable being my authentic self. Sometimes being my true self felt like wearing pantyhose and pointy heals while everyone else is wearing jeans and tennis shoes. I wasn't comfortable because I was worried about what others would think. Again, I'm not sure what happened. I'm sure age plays a big part, but honestly, I can say that I don't really care what others think of me. As long as my actions and words are not causing anyone any harm. That's the kicker.

And that's exactly what I told that girl and why I love teaching this class. Could you imagine how much easier things could have been for you if you knew with out a doubt that it truly doesn't matter what others think of you as long as you're not causing them any harm? Be OK with being you.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

Saturday morning I woke up early, so I got out of bed and rolled out my yoga mat. I'm not good at Saturday morning home practices. I'll get up and drive to a studio on a Saturday morning, but I struggle with rolling the mat out at home. My yoga practice is for me, meaning I do it for selfish reasons. To get up on a Saturday and do my practice, when I have the day off to spend with Chris or cleaning or something productive, just seems decadent. I mean, it's bad enough that I slept in until almost eight. But the first thought in my brain when I opened my eyes that morning was "I should get up and do yoga". I felt that I should honor that thought. It sort of started the ball for the day. After savasana, I deep cleaned my mat and then went out to the garden for the final (seriously) haul of tomatoes. I picked about twenty green tomatoes and I'm sure I left a few behind; they now line the windowsills of our south facing windows slowly turning to shades of red. We are hoping to make tomato soup some day. The day progressed and I went to a knitting shop to purchase a new set of circular needles for a project I'm working on. I had been given a gift card and I thought I only had $20 on it. This meant I could get a nice set of bamboo needles and maybe some pretty yarn for a hat for my sister. But as I checked out, the clerk said I had $50 on that card and I was all "wait! What?!!? I can buy that pretty soft purple yarn for myself too?!". I told the clerk that I had lingered over this yarn for a while, but it was too expensive and it was in my color, so it would have to be a knitting project for myself and because of that, I moved on to find a suitable yarn for my sister's hat. But because of the gift card, I could do something nice for me. What a treat!

You're like "where is this going? all I see are green tomatoes". It has something to do with honoring those first thoughts. OK...it's not always a good idea (my first thought about the new job offer was to say "no"), but you know, those thoughts like "I should take a nap" or "I should walk down the street and take some pictures" (Dude, that's something I totally should do because the guy up the street grows these crazy wicked mums). I'm talking about those thoughts that would make you feel better, but you probably don't think you have the time for. Honor those thoughts.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

I seriously have nothing for Love Thursday. I have been too busy scrolling through all the fabrics on the this site. Chris and I still haven't replaced our Christmas stockings and in a fit of pure crazy and desperation I decided to just make our stockings. I do know how to use a sewing machine, or at least I used to. It's probably just like riding a bike. That header picture is direct reflection of what's going on in my brain right now. Scattered, I believe is the word. When I'm not looking at fabric, I'm knitting. When I'm not knitting, I'm roaming aimlessly around the house looking at things that I need to do or things I should do or things I want to do or....You get the idea.

We have a lot of scattered leaves around here these days. Yards are covered in layers of gold and red. You see people out raking them into big piles and bagging them up. I'm not into the whole raking thing. I think all the scattered leaves are pretty. Plus, there are still plenty of leaves left on the trees. If rake up the leaves now, I'll just have to do it again in few days. Eventually, Mother Nature will take care of all those leaves any way. I just have to have a little patience.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

Union Station is my favorite place. I could go there every week and just roam around the building. The late afternoon is the best time to go. It's the magic time because the light comes through the windows in all these bouncy angles.

I don't consider myself to be very romantic. Chris and I tend to fail at planned romance. But Union Station makes me envision all kinds of dreamy scenarios. If I had been born with money to burn, this is where my wedding would have taken place. It's the type of place where a guy purposes to a girl and then they immediately jump on a train to elope. Assuming she'd say yes.

I'd say yes. If he asked me again. I'd say yes.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

It is the season of the pumpkin and tonight I will sit down and carve the pumpkin I picked out of the pumpkin bin at the grocery store (it was $2.99!). When I was a kid, I would choose my pumpkin (very carefully) from a veggie stand we would always stop at on our way home from War Eagle's big Fall art festival. I would painstakingly draw my design on my pumpkin and then diligently supervise as my dad would carve out my design. It was our thing. To this day, I very carefully choose a pumpkin and painstakingly draw on my design. The difference now is that I am the one to do the carving (much to Chris's dismay). But every year, I think of the time Dad and I would spend together on that pumpkin. This is why I still stick with the tradition of carving a pumpkin every year. It reminds me of the good times that I had with my dad when I was little. My costume for Halloween may have not always been well planned and often it turned out to be a last minute "I'm a princess!" costume. But my pumpkin was always perfect.

One day I will no longer be able to wield a knife. Maybe that's the day I stop the tradition. But I doubt it.

Happy Love Thursday!

Update:

LOVE THURSDAY

There's a fountain we pass every time we go to the laundry mat or COSTCO. The fountain sits up on a hill, so from the street you can't really tell what the monument is for. Just before the weather turned cold, but not before the leaves started to fall from the trees, I made Chris stop so that I could take a 365 day picture at this fountain. We trekked our way up the hill to the fountain, jabbering back and forth about silly (that's what we do), but when we got to the fountain and realized it was built to honor Eagle Scouts, we both became very still. It just seemed so, I don't have the right words, serendipitous I think. I thought for sure the fountain was there to honor a politician of some sorts.

Most of the men in my family are or were once involved with the Boy Scouts. I think my dad was even troop leader for my brother. J was one of the youngest Boy Scout to receive the Eagle Scout award and I just heard the other day that this weekend will be Quinn's first Cub Scout camping trip. There's just something about a Boy Scout. It's old fashioned and kitschy. They fit in the same category as watching the Muppet Show on Saturday evenings while my sister made fry-bread.

Here's to finding the serendipitous and happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

I've never been one for cold weather and I've always associated Fall with cold. But these last few weeks here the weather has been perfect. The mornings are brisk but the evenings have been warm. Sometimes I just can't get over the differences in the weather. I don't remember ever experiencing Fall weather like this in Oklahoma. But what really grabs me are all the colors. The trees are so vivid. Just when you think a tree has turned the brightest shade of red or yellow it can possibly turn, the next morning you wake up and it's an even brighter darker shade of red or yellow. It's breathtaking. It forces you to stop and look. It forces you to see the light sparkling through the leaves. It forces you to take a moment to listen to the sound of the leaves as the breeze from passing cars rustles the ones that have fallen to the pavement.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

As we entered the Cider Fest on Saturday, we walked past an ice-cream vendor who had quite the ice-cream maker. His tractor like set up had every male participant stopping and staring. The machine is based off the old hand crank system except it uses a tractor engine to run the crank part. We stood, fascinated, watching the guy tinker with this and that and then the unveiling of the ice-cream. Chris and I shared a cup. It tasted just as good as all those times dad used to make ice-cream in his old hand crank machine. This happened a lot when we were kids, especially at Pepaw's house. Pepaw loved his ice-cream. I remember waiting and waiting. It seemed like it took hours and hours to make. I think this is why it tasted so good. It is a reminder to be patient. A couple of weeks ago, my Italian Phrase for the day was Abbia pazienza, be patient. How many times do I have to remind myself to abbia pazienza? Some times I feel like that little girl Chris and I watched flip out over TJ's yogurt. She was hopping up and down, pointing at the pink yogurt. IwantpinkIwantPINKiwantpppppink. She was saying it so fast, she was practically hyperventilating. Chris thought she was going to spontaneously combust. There are times when I feel this way on the inside, like that little girl is standing just under my heart jumping up and down, iwantpinkiwantpinkiwantpink. Those are days I have to remind myself to breathe and to abbia pazienza. Some times I am lucky enough to notice when things around me are telling me to abbia pazienza.

I think it's nice when the world around you gets in on the act and start to remind you to abbia pazienza. It's true that sometimes you can be too patient, but usually, for the most part, good things come to those who wait. Like ice-cream.

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

Yesterday, Chookooloonks posted a question asking about your top five best decisions. I was surprised that I didn't have to hesitate to answer. I mean, it's easy to list five bad decisions. I could list hundreds of them, too many of them wardrobe or food related. But five good things? I think they were easy because they are all things that I love or have led to great happiness. Chris: This was easy. OK...I did have to be convinced that marriage was a good idea. And it was. It is. But the decision to be with Chris, in this relationship is easily the best decision.

Hooper: I have often said that we didn't rescue Hooper as much as he rescued us. He doesn't fail to make us laugh every day. Even when he has fleas.

The Scooter: No brainer. Hands down. Third best decision.

Taking This Job: The decision to say yes to this job opened the both of us up to some much needed change. It led us to happy and new and crazy and did I mention happy? Yeah...it was a really good decision.

Yoga Teacher Training: I learned a lot about myself and my health by doing this program. It caused me to develop my own practice. I've learned to go easy on myself and I've learned to challenge myself. Most of all I've learned that I really enjoy sharing my practice with others. It's something I love to do.

I think that's the thing. That's the key to making a good decision. Is it something you love? Is it something that will make you smile? Is it something that may seem difficult at first, but in the end will bring you joy?

Happy Love Thursday!