A New Year . . .

Last night we rang in the new year with a house full of friends and kids.  It was beautifully chaotic and noisy.  It actually wasn't really that noisy until I broke out the noise makers and then it turned into what sounded like a gigantic flock of geese had landed in our living room.  Really it did.  My husband gave me a look and I gave him a smile because it was all for the kids.  He just shook his head knowing how I am.  I often have to remind him that he knew how I was when he married me yet still chose to put a ring on it.  Haha!!  : )  Every one of those kids made it to midnight including the six month old baby Amelia who took a brief power nap and then had more energy than all of us.  At 11:56 we gathered in the living room and turned on the television for the big countdown.  While we waited for the ball to drop, I took a few seconds to look around the room at all of the people that had gathered there.  Lots of happy, smiling faces.  It had been such a fun night.  A gathering of new friends that now feel like old friends.  Our hope when we moved to our new town was that we'd meet some new friends that were easy going, fun and liked to talk as much as we do.  We definitely found them!!  : )

I wish you all a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful 2017.  I'm looking forward to this new year.  This clean slate.  I'm still thinking about what my word for this year is.  I've narrowed it down to a few.  Have you picked your word yet?  If you want to share, I'd love to hear what it is.


Namaste ~ Wendy

Christmas Catch Up . . .

Making . . .

Baking . . .

 Happy faces . . .

 Keeping tradition alive . . .

 A sense of wonder . . .

 A feeling of gratitude for things that could've turned out to be so much worse . . .

 Spending time with cousins before our Christmas feast . . .

Who could ask for anything more?!!?

We had the most wonderful first Christmas in our new home.  The day was filled with love and laughter, family and food.  We are blessed beyond belief and our children know this which fills me to the brim.  Tonight we celebrate with family and friends with an early reservation so we can be home and safely tucked away for the stroke of midnight. 

From the bottom of my heart, I want to wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year.  The world is changing and not always for the better.  The friends that I've made in "blog land" brighten my day with their beautiful photos and words and comments that they leave for me.  Although I may never meet you in person, we are truly connected.  : )  xoxo


~ Wendy

Blank Pages . . .

For a New Beginning . . .  

In out-of-the-way places of the heart, where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming, waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire, feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on, still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety and the gray promises that sameness whispered.
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent.  Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled and out you stepped onto new ground.
Your eyes young again with energy and dream.  A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear, you can trust the promise of this opening; unfurl yourself
Into the grace of beginning that is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure.  Hold nothing back.  Learn to find ease in risk.
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, for your soul senses the world that awaits you.

Written by John O'Donohue

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I posted this last New Year's Day as well.  It is something that makes me smile when I read it.  Another new year is here.  365 days of blank pages and endless possibilities.  My husband and I have been talking about what our goals are for 2014.  They include taking better care of ourselves and releasing what holds us back and blocks us from the abundance that the Universe wishes to bestow upon us. We're going to make a dream board later today that represents what our hopes and dreams are for ourselves and our family for this year and for our future as well. 

Last year I chose a word to focus on for the year to come.  Admittedly, I forgot what that word was until I just peeked at last year's new year's post.  Surprisingly, I picked the same word for 2014 as I did for 2013.  At least I'm consistent.  : )

That word is ~

Release of "stuff."  Whether it be emotional stuff, physical stuff or stuff laying around the house that is neither useful nor beautiful anymore.  Release of negative thought patterns that keep us stuck in a rut.  In 12-step programs it's known as F.E.A.R.  ~ False Evidence Appearing Real. 

Along with "releasing" I also want to take more time to do things that I haven't done in a long while.  Having a toddler and a new job will do that to you for sure!!  : )  I want to begin to create again.  I used to make cards and loved to do so.  I have so many beautiful papers just sitting in cabinets that are waiting to be used again!!  I want to improve my photography skills as well.  For my birthday last year, my husband gave me the gift of lessons on how to use my camera in more then just a "point and shoot" kind of way.  Lessons that I've yet to use almost one year later.  I feel so inspired by the photos that other bloggers take. I know I can be better then I am with a few lessons.  I want to take the camera off of "auto" more often and start using that "manual" setting!!  : )  I also want to read at least one book this year.  Sad to say but it will be one more then I read in 2013.  : (  I equate reading with sleeping since the only time I have to read is before I go to bed.  Unfortunately, I'm usually so tired when I go to bed that after about the third page I end up reading the same line over and over again until I realize I've been nodding off while reading it.  Oh well.  At least I've tried.  : )  Years ago, I read The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  I'm going to dig this out and make that my goal to read.  It's really a wonderful book and I highly recommend it if you're looking to get in touch with your creative side again.

We're getting ready for a big snowstorm here in New York that is supposed to start tomorrow and go into Friday.  I'm like a little kid when it comes to this sort of stuff.  I love the feeling of being in my warm and cozy cottage while the snow is falling outside.  Unfortunately, this also means that I have to make a trip to the grocery store today instead of tomorrow.  Our cupboards are pretty bare and I can't look at another takeout menu!!!  It looks like homemade chicken dumpling soup and hot cocoa in our near future!!!!  I wish you a happy and healthy 2014 with many opportunities to fill your "blank pages" with beautiful and inspirational memories.  If you feel inspired to choose a word for the new year, I'd love to know what it is.  We're all in this thing called life together, after all!!  : )


Many blessings for a beautiful and peaceful 2014 ~ Wendy

Resolutions . . .

 
My husband tells me I'm anti-social.  Anybody who knows me and is drinking coffee while reading this more than likely just spit it out.  All of my report cards read "Wendy is a good student but she socializes too much."  My mother would attest to that one.
 

 
My husband and my kids also say that I'm a homebody.  I will agree to this one.  I've always loved being at home.  I spent a lot of time in my room growing up playing the guitar, writing songs, listening to music and reading.  When I moved out and had my own apartment in my early 20's, I had a few years of going out almost every night with my friends and staying out until all hours and cursing the birds while I tried to fall asleep as they were beginning their day in the tree outside my window.

Our friends' dogs, Georgia . . .

and Penny.

When I met my first husband and got married and had a baby right away I loved being at home, playing house (for real this time!!) and doing the wife and mother things.  We did spend a lot of time with friends as we were all raising our kids at the same time and all needed some adult conversation.  I've been a stay-at-home mom for more than twenty years and God knows adult conversation is a very important thing!!  After my first husband passed away, I was very content being home and being with  my sons.  My incredibly wonderful friends and family kept us busy with dinner invitations and play dates and I had the occasional night out to myself but I would always feel like I needed to be with my boys.

A fire in the back yard.

Our friends put their Christmas tree in the back yard after they take the ornaments off of it.  It lights up the whole yard and looks so beautiful for another month or so.  I thought this was such a great idea!!

 Then I met Jim who is the epitome of a social butterfly.  I swear he would strike up a conversation with a tree if he was alone in a forest.  His personality is what first made me fall in love with him.  Well that and his blue eyes and dimples!!  : )  We've been together for six years now and I truly am perfectly content just being with him and our children, in our little cottage, on a Friday night.  However, I've decided I'm going to make an effort to be more sociable this year.
  

 So the other day when I went to pick up my middle son from our/his friend's house, I actually got out of the car and knocked on the door instead of texting him to tell him I was there (apparently, beeping your horn to let them know isn't "cool" anymore!!).   I was welcomed with open arms and stayed for a couple of minutes and ooooed and aaaaahed over their electric fireplace which I would've sworn was the real deal and then made definite plans for a family get together that actually included a day and a time.  I called my husband at work when I got home to make sure he was off the day we agreed upon and everything was a go!!
 

I thought this was such a great family Christmas present!!  It's a wooden "Connect Four" game that my friend, Suzanne, found in Toys R Us.  She leaves it right out on the coffee table for impromptu games anytime. 

This past weekend we did it!!  Dinner with an absolutely wonderful family that we've known for years.  One of the nicest families you'll ever meet!!  We ate and drank and laughed and played music and talked about our childhoods and getting older and our children and our hopes and dreams for the future.  My social cup was completely filled when we left and I can't wait to do it all again!!

Megan having her first guitar lesson!!

This has inspired me to take my childhood guitar out of the garage to be re-strung.  I forgot how much fun it is to sit around and make music and, when Megan is old enough, Suzanne (who teaches piano and guitar) is going to teach her how to play it. 

We've also decided, since we're going to be staying in our house now (more than likely) and have always wanted a fireplace, we're going to go the electric fireplace route.  They can heat your whole downstairs with the touch of a button, turn off at the touch of a button and are direct vent now right out the side of your house so you don't even need a chimney.  We're adding it to our "To Do" list.  Or should I say our "Honey Do" list?!!?  : )


Many blessings for a happy Tuesday ~ Wendy

A Gift on New Year's Day . . .

New Year's Eve was quiet around these parts.  My husband had to work his last night shift before he starts his new job next week.  My two oldest sons were out celebrating with friends.  My youngest son and our "adopted" Fresh Air Fund son, Jakhai, Megan and I ordered Chinese food and hunkered down for the night.  "Amateur Night" as my Dad used to call it.  : )  While the three young ones played upstairs, I perused Pinterest and found some wonderful images to share on my New Year's Day post.  The post never quite made it to the blog and neither did the Pinterest images but for such a WONDERFUL reason.

I had a visitor in my backyard . . .

"Amazing and majestic bird of prey, the eagle is often desired as a totem. It holds strong medicine. The eagle soars high in the sky, yet will swoop down to the ground in a swift motion to capture a mouse from the forest or fish from the water. Because of this the eagle is considered a strong connection between earth and sky energies. The eagle has keen sight to be able to see his prey on the ground. As a totem the eagle also represents keen insight. As a messenger the eagle offers visionary talents. If the eagle visits you likely have clairvoyant abilities that could be tapped. The eagle also represents spiritual growth. When you see an eagle soaring overhead it is likely that you are ready to progress to the next level spiritually. "

I think 2013 is going to be a good year. : )

Many blessings for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year that is filled to the brim with unexpected gifts from the Universe ~ Wendy

{this moment} . . .

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.


Many blessings for a happy and peaceful weekend ~ Wendy

Sunday Sayings . . .

" Celebrate endings for they precede new beginnings. "


Many blessings for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!! ~ Wendy

Starting to Get Back in the Saddle Again . . .

Having a baby this past year really threw me for a loop. I have next to zero time management skills to begin with so trying to juggle taking care of a nursing infant, a household with three other kids and two dogs and three cats and every twist and turn that life had to throw at me left me with very little time for my two Etsy shops or for blogging.



Now that the baby is a little older and not as "attached" to me as often as she was the first six months of her life, I'm carving out more time for me. YAY ME !!!! ; )





I've started listing some pretty Valentine goodies in my shop.





Sweet vintage images for scrapping or handmade cards.












A mechanical vintage Valentine with eyes that move from side to side.












February 14th will be here before you know it !!








It really feels good to be back!!

Many blessings ~ Wendy

My New Year's Wish for You . . .

Many years ago, when I was still in the working world, I had the most wonderful boss. His name was Floyd. He was full of stories and wisdom and I loved to sit in his office and listen to him speak. One of the things that he introduced me to is the following poem. Floyd passed away several years ago but I will never forget the impact he made on my life.

I stopped making New Year's resolutions years ago and, instead, try to live by these words. On the eve of this new year, I wish you love and I wish you joy. I wish you good health and prosperity. I wish that all of your dreams come true.



Desiderata


Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.


With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

Many blessings ~ Wendy