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Monday
Mar222010

Mom made and marvelous

“Simply adorable!”

“Wonderfully whimsical.”   

“A charming, colorful addition to any child’s room.”

They’re Molly’s Mobiles!  Now her delightful handmade birds on branches can be yours to enjoy in your own home or to give as a gift. 

Simply choose general colors (green/pink, blue/orange, purple, red, etc.) and leave the rest up to her.  If you'd like to define the design a little more tightly, let her know that as well:  bold, soft, playful, boy or girl, etc.

1 bird: $35
2 birds: $55
3 birds: $70
4 birds: $85
5 birds: $95

To order, contact Molly at:  mollytrapp@yahoo.com  Mobiles are shipped from San Luis Obispo, CA. Local delivery is possible/nationwide is available for an additional charge. 

I'm placing my order today to beat the rush!!!

Sunday
Mar212010

Don't Delete the Duds.

Still one of my all-time favorite gifts: generating captions for pictures that I might have otherwise tossed.

I carried old photos with me as I ran errands along with Post-It's and pen to jot down possible captions. A bit of insanity leaked out at each red light.

As I sort through thousands of paper pictures, I have to remind myself that what was tossed in the trash could very well be a keeper.  All that's required is a little time in traffic combined with a willingness to take life a little less seriously. And we all seem to have that opportunity each day.  

Saturday
Mar202010

Edible petals defined the difference

Driver or passenger. Chauffeur or being chauffeured.  With or without/alcohol. 

Pomegranate juice, a squeeze of lime, fresh mint and sparkling water or champagne (with violas/pansies).  Your choice.  Both were excellent!  Here are a few of the details from today's celebration. A new child is being born into this world. Cheers! 


  

  

Friday
Mar192010

One Fine Day with Favorite Friends, Feathered and Otherwise

Sensory overload.  An abundance of good things.  Upcoming baby showers.  Yoga Birthdays.  Dental and chiropractic appointments/foot fixed/call me, Anne.  Capturing spring on my camera and in the shopping cart/Cost Plus.  Learning about New Year celebrations in Iran.  Preparations for tomorrow's celebration of a soon-to-be-birth/a hodge-podge of colors and things that make you laugh or smile.  If not, there's something wrong.  Thinking about Kathi and praying for her strength.  Welcoming friends/daughters/babies. Chickens to see. For the first time.  Grandmas with babies/but not feeling or looking old enough to be a grandparent.  Reminiscing about life with a wonderful, long-time  friend/talking about what little time is left/and very much appreciating what time we DO have/it's all really relative.  What could be more poignant/more satisfying/more fun/more colorful/more smile-producing?  Not a lot.  This is it.  Today. Much love sent to all of you. 

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GDl-3ZtLsh3vxoTg48hkVA?authkey=Gv1sRgCKnzrOqyjrHJzQE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_B-jgpkHMUzo/S6RSDuiSq9I/AAAAAAACrso/Jqm25qskXQc/s288/IMG_0237.JPG" /></a>


Thursday
Mar182010

Hop on over

Or as Cost Plus/World Market advertises: More Bunny. Less Money. I adore the few purchases I made. I may hop back over there again today. You'll see some of the wonderfully colorful spring additions in "Edible Flowers Defined the Difference" entry.

Wednesday
Mar172010

Continuation of yesterday's blog

Make friends with fiber.  You’ll feel fuller.  One study showed that those who ate a high-fiber breakfast saved 150 calories by eating less later in the day.

Wake up with water.  Both your day and your metabolism, that is.  Did you know that drinking too little water can contribute to an increase in body fat?  Dehydration causes a slight drop in body temperature.  In it’s wisdom, your body will attempt to help raise temperature by storing fat to act as an insulator.  Inefficient metabolism, and hoarding of fat may be the result of too little H2O consumption.

Gulp it from a goblet.  How to make that water more appealing?  Add a lemon slice, Emergen-C or ...

Ask and answer.  Am I really hungry…or just thirsty?

Toss it if it's toxic.  Plastic, a petroleum product, that is.  Normal wear-and-tear and cleaning of polycarbonate plastic bottles in a dishwasher, can cause the chemicals to leach.  The amount of leaching increases as the plastic ages and is degraded by use.   A separate study published in July in Environmental Health Perspectives confirmed this finding, and also detected leaching from new polycarbonate plastic.

Grab a grapefruit.  A new study by the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic confirmed that adding grapefruit and grapefruit juice to one's diet can result in weight loss. The grapefruit diet is not a myth!  With its high fiber content and low glycemic load, grapefruit may be a secret weight-loss weapon.  In a 12-week study, doctors monitored weight and metabolic factors of 100 men and women.  On average, participants who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost 3.6 pounds while those who drank a serving of grapefruit juice three themes a day lost 3.3 pounds.  Many patients in the study lost more than 10 pounds!  Whether it’s the properties of grapefruit or its ability to satiate appetites, gf appeared to help with weight loss and decreased insulin levels.  

Pick a Protein.  Protein requires more energy to be broken down, digested and absorbed.  Resting metabolic rate typically goes up after eating protein as much as two to three times more than after eating carbohydrates and fats.  In addition, complex, high-fiber carbohydrates like high-fiber vegetables and cereals burn more calories in digestion that simple carbohydrates.

Practice preventative pit stops.  Eat before you’re hungry.  Drink before thirsty.  Blood sugar doesn’t drop as dramatically and you're less likely to initiate an all-out eat-a-thon.

Bite the bullet.  Wake up a little hungry.  Remember, BREAK (the) FAST?

Serve up a small selection.  Put it on a petite plate.  Salad plates vs. dinner plates.

Weigh in weekly.  Or not. That may work for some but a daily check could catch those excess pounds before they creep in and on. 

Clever ways to cut calories?  Jump Start weight loss with one of the many calorie-restricted or protein-based diets (The Special K Cereal Diet.  The Cabbage Soup Diet, Atkins) 

Peruse the perimeter.  Most grocery stores stash the freshest foods there. 

Watch out for that wine!  Alcohol can pack on the pounds.  How to deal with wanting wine and later wishing you hadn’t had it?  Start with seltzer.  Or some other non-alcoholic beverage. 

Bring half home.  Share an entrée or pack it up for your pooch, particularly if you don't have one.

Beware of the bread basket.  Just say No.  Or Not Again, pls.

 

 

Tuesday
Mar162010

Reminder to Self: Get Back on Track

 

Over the past twenty-five years, I followed the same format each month: In preparation for the eight workshops, I researched, compiled/then shared ideas relevant to each topic. Women came prepared to discuss the agenda items. It was a monthly reminder for all of us to acknowledge What Mattered Most. Fitness was our topic each January. Our mornings together were inspiring, educational and Tremendously Fun. THAT'S exactly what I now need. To be inspired. Fun I can usually find!

Hopefully some of you out there will be motivated to get back on track with me!  Here goes...

Sunday
Mar142010

Taking the day off

Whoa, this is how I feel after Major Learning Curve Issues related to organizing the blog and, truth be told, being a little jet lagged.
Sunday
Mar142010

Springing Forward

As you step out in some pretty sensational designer shoes made by, that's right, YOU

Hey, if I can do it, so can you.

Thanks to my super creative/tremendously artistic/extraordinarily generous/collector-of-all-sorts-of-amazing-stuff friend, Susan, we left her garage workshop with shoes in hand and the sense that we all were incredibly talented. How much fun is THAT?

A lot, apparently, since I immediately placed mine on the dashboard and took pictures while driving home. Not a good idea. It was an exceedingly Joy-Filled Afternoon then. And even now as I look back at pictures of our time together.


Just gather together whatever you happen to have on hand. Or head to your local craft shop for spring flowers, foliage, fruit, bugs and/or beads AND, critical ingredient: Gem-Tac* or other permanent adhesive glue which, in this instance, was found superior to using a glue gun. Shop in your closet or a local thrift shop/Ross/Target for some comfy/cheap shoes or sandals that could use some embellishment. Then have at it. Helpful addition: Clothes pins to hold pieces in place while drying. Another perfect project for bringing friends together. 

Saturday
Mar132010

Forget the flash

Which, in my mind, totally obliterates all the magic. Given the choice, I’ll Almost Always pick a slightly blurred shot over A Far-More-Flattened, significantly brighter, photo.

Simply steady your camera or yourself against a tree, post, rock or table/anything sturdy... Turn off the auto flash on "point and shoot" models, crank up the ISO if that's an option and fire away. For additional stability, use your camera’s timing device and/or a mini tripod.

So here are some of my favorite hand-held photographs. Know that I took a LOT of pictures to score a keeper. I'll add several stabilizing devices, such as tripods I use, on the product page.

Friday
Mar122010

Brain Blog/Brain Fog

For some totally inexplicable reason, words weren’t happy just hanging around in my head until morning. No, they needed to get out. At THAT moment. 2 AM and 4 AM.

Dave: “Are you all right?”

Lois: “I need to blog.”

Dave: “Great. Tell people that your husband’s asleep.”

I tossed and turned for a while longer until I realized that, as always, it was hopeless. I needed to get up and put words on paper. Nothing brilliant. But also no hope of sleep unless I wrote. So today I’m totally trashed. I need to edit out whatever worthwhile bits and pieces (if any) that I jotted down in the dark. That’ll have to be tomorrow since I can barely put two words together today.

Wednesday
Mar102010

Better Than a Bouquet

Your photos turned into homemade stationery.

Wednesday
Mar102010

May this be a lantern to illuminate...

Sent by a friend with Kathi in mind. This is so incredibly beautiful, thoughtful and wise. <

"Reflection on your friend Kathi led me to re-visit one of my favorite sources of comfort: John O'Donohue. He's an Irish poet and writer whom I might have mentioned to you previously.

I found the attached blessing that I want to share with you. My experience of his writing is that the more often I read it, the more substantive and richer it becomes.

O'Donohue describes his meaning of blessing. He says "it isn't a sentiment or a question; it is a gracious invocation where the human heart pleads with the divine heart.""

Thank you, Thank you, Gail. This is an amazing piece.

FOR A FRIEND ON THE ARRIVAL OF ILLNESS
A blessing written by John O’Donohue, Irish Poet

Now is the time of dark invitation
Beyond a frontier you did not expect;
Abruptly, your old life seems distant.

You barely noticed how each day opened
A path through fields never questioned,
Yet expected, deep down, to hold treasure.
Now your time on earth becomes full of threat;
Before your eyes your future shrinks.

You lived absorbed in the day-to-day,
So continuous with everything around you,
That you could forget you were separate;

Now this dark companion has become between you.
Distances have opened in your eyes.
You feel that against your will
A stranger has married your heart.

Nothing before has made you
Feel so isolated and lost.

When the reverberations of shock subside in you,
May grace come to restore you to balance.
May it shape a new space in your heart
To embrace this illness as a teacher
Who has come to open your life to new worlds.

May you find in yourself
A courageous hospitality
Toward what is difficult,
Painful, and unknown.

May you learn to use this illness
As a lantern to illuminate
The new qualities that will emerge in you.

May the fragile harvesting of this slow light
Help to release whatever has become false in you.
May you trust this light to clear a path
Through all the fog of old unease and anxiety
Until you feel arising within you a tranquility
Profound enough to call the storm to stillness.

May you find the wisdom to listen to your illness:
Ask it why it came. Why it chose your friendship.
Where it wants to take you. What it wants you to know.
What quality of space it wants to create in you.
What you need to learn to become more fully yourself
That your presence may shine in the world.

May you keep faith with your body,
Learning to see it as a holy sanctuary
Which can bring this night-wound gradually
Toward the healing and freedom of dawn.

May you be granted the courage and vision
To work through passivity and self-pity,
To see the beauty you can harvest
From the riches of this dark invitation.

May you learn to receive it graciously,
And promise to learn swiftly
That it may leave you newborn,
Willing to dedicate your time to birth.

From O’Donohue’s book entitled To Bless the Space Between Us.

Tuesday
Mar092010

Sending you, dear Kathi, the strength, tenacity, boldness, beauty and power of spring 

Monday
Mar082010

Not the news we wanted to hear

From my friend, Betty, in Chicago:

Dear Everyone,

I just received a phone call from Kathi and she has asked me to relay this message to all of you.  When she is able to, she will send a message of her own.  Until then, this is what she has asked me to tell you --------------

She is not having surgery tomorrow.  Last week she had several tests to make certain that everything was good to go for tomorrow.  One of the tests was a CT scan of her liver.  The sad news is that they found a few "spots" of cancer on the liver.  So, she is going to have aggressive treatment on that area before they will do anything else.  That means that she is going to have the following treatment:

1 week (either this week or next) she will have a chemo treatment lasting about 8 hours, then she will have 2 weeks off.  This will be repeated for 3 or 4 cycles.  Then, when the cancer in the liver responds to that treatment, they will be able to do the other surgery. 

They will also biopsy the mass to see what is happening with the ovarian cancer.

She went to a cardiologist today for another test and she said that he was so kind.  He said that he was going to go to church tomorrow and pray for her.  Then after they talked for a while longer, he took her hands and said "Let’s say a prayer right here."

Needless to say, we cried when we talked.  I am so sad just thinking about all that she is facing.  Jennifer has flown in, because she came for the surgery.  Now she will be here for the first of the treatments.  Kathi said that they have all had long, hard cries.  I cannot even begin to imagine.

Kathi said that toward the end of the week, if you want to call she will know more and will feel like talking.  She isn't even sure if she is going to read her emails for awhile.

Life is so fragile and so uncertain.  And I am so sad at this moment.  I don't even know what to say.  There are no words.

I hope that I have given you the correct information.  It was all such a blur when we were talking.  She ended by telling me "You have had such sad things happen in your life and I don't want to leave you."  And please tell everyone that I love them.

Next email from Betty: I forgot to include this in the last message:

Kathi said "Please ask everyone to keep praying for me.  I need a miracle."

Please, anyone who sees this, pray for a miracle.  You would absolutely love Kathi, I know, as much as those of us who have known her, do.  I cannot believe this is happening to such an incredibly wonderful person, mom and friend.  Lois

 

 

Monday
Mar082010

Dear dear Kathi,

<

Know that those of us who know and love you AS WELL AS many, many others who only know of you will be holding you and your darling family in our hearts and prayers tonight, tomorrow during your surgery and as you begin the process of recovery.

The Light of God before me.
The Light of God behind me.
The Light of God above me.
The Light of God beside me.
The Light of God within me.

From the Prayer of St. Patrick

Saturday
Mar062010

Smart Systems For All Sorts of Scenarios

If you’ve lived in earthquake country long enough, you’ve undoubtedly experienced just how unnerving seismic shifts can be.

We knew that nothing, short of a very large earthquake, could possibly move the several thousand pound stone mantle that Four Extraordinarily Strong Men had placed in front of our fireplace. "Nothing," I then noted, "other than an mammoth earthquake." Why did I feel the need to say that? Remind me to never say that ever again.

So on October 17, 1989 we found ourselves sweeping up the remnants of our Enormous, Sure-to-Never-Budge, Mantle. We learned a lot from that experience. No more propped up anything/s. And ever since, our pantry doors have been in lock down mode.

Thanks to the Safety 1st Magnetic Tot Lok , plates/glasses, etc./though perhaps totally smashed in an earthquake/will remain in the cabinets until we decide to deal.

But you need to know this: Earthquakes are not the only reason to consider this amazing locking mechanism. It’s perfect for little folks AND teens tempted to see how well your liquor cabinet is stocked. Not YOUR kids, of course/all the others who might be around when you’re not. It’s invisible from the outside and is opened by sliding a magnet in place/this can be tricky at first but you’re fast learners, right? I thought so. Read the reviews on Amazon and make your own decision. Order one and try it out. If you’re handy, you can install it yourself. I'm getting in line to place my order for more mechanisms now!

Friday
Mar052010

Today: Talking About Talent

You’ll find her picture on both Organization and Kids Icons to the left AND as this Blog blossoms, you’ll find her inserted in almost every other FP topic. It’s Krista (left), one of my darling adopted daughters. Not officially, of course. She provided an invaluable glimpse into Life with Little Girls while I was busy with Two Wild and Crazy Boys. The hens and our dog were my only other daily connection with females. Great company, however . . .

Now the mom of a beautiful baby of her own, Krista’s budding childhood talents as a fledgling artist have taken flight. Co-authored with friend, Diana (right), their book, Alphabetica, is out in the world (with a second to be released spring 2011).

It’s perfect for providing hours of entertainment, education and creative inspiration for all, particularly other up-and-coming artists of all kinds and their parents. Alphabetica gets two thumbs up from here. As an educator and mom, I think it’s a must-have on family bookshelves.

See BOOKS on the Blog to order yours today. A perfect spring or Easter gift, wouldn’t you say?

I would.

Thursday
Mar042010

Be strong. Be brave. Breathe, darling friend.

Best said by our friend, Betty:

Kathi,

We are with you every step of the way tomorrow and all the future tomorrows. Not that it is of much help, 'cause you're the one taking the steps, but we are right there to walk this route with you.

I am a proctor in the 5th grade tomorrow while they are taking their standardized tests. My body will be sitting in that classroom, but my mind will be traveling with you and visualizing what you are experiencing as I watch the clock move.

As you wrote in your introduction to my book:

"I will weep when you are weeping,
When you laugh, I'll laugh with you,
I will share your joy and sorrow
'til we've seen this journey thru."

We have LOTS OF LAUGHS left and loads of joy to share.
We will see you through this and you can take that to the bank!

Love, Betty
Wednesday
Mar032010

Another rainy day but spring is here to stay

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. It's FFFFFFRRRRRREEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZING. And, yes, I know that we in CA are incredibly spoiled. Those on the east coast and midwest are still slogging through snow. Know that spring is coming your way soon!


Even the chickens are excited about producing more eggs!