Source: tumblr.com via Marlana on Pinterest
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
People are crazy :)
"God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy."
I love that song from Billy Currington. If you haven't heard it, you can check out the YouTube video.
Elijah had an ear appointment today down the hill in San Bernardino. The last time I took him there we were way early, so him and I had a lunch date at IHOP. Even though that was five months ago, of course he remembers! He asked at the appointment if we could go to the restaurant after. I said if he listens to the doctor and behaves then we can go (that went for AJ as well!). They were both good and as their reward, we went to IHOP just around the corner from his ENT doctor's office. I kept asking him if he was sure he wanted to eat there, because lately he has also asked about Red Robin. He was sure he wanted to eat at IHOP. Fine by me!
We pull up to IHOP and it is just after 4:00pm. The parking lot was nearly empty and as I glanced at the clock, I thought we probably even beat the early bird special. When we go inside there are only two other people sitting at a table together, a man sporting a long beard accompanied by a young gal (looked like his daughter). The boys and I are seated at a table a few rows down. We order our meal, the boys are playing and we're minding our own business. About 10 minutes later I see an elderly gentleman come in and sitting alone. It's funny how oddly aware you are of being one of three groups of people in a restaurant. It makes the restaurant seem so much smaller without the usual filled booths. I would have thought that sitting in there with so few people would make the restaurant seem bigger, but instead it made me oddly aware of who was around me and how easily I could see from wall to wall. I suppose when the restaurant is filled with people, you don't pay nearly as much attention to them.
Why are people crazy, you ask?
The first to leave is the man with the beard. I notice him say something quietly to the waiter before they leave but I don't think much of it. About 10-15 minutes after that man leaves, I overhear our waiter telling the elderly gentleman that the man with the beard sitting at the booth by the window paid for his meal. The waiter says, "He didn't want me to tell you until after he left, but he wanted to pay for your meal." I thought that was the sweetest thing I heard and realized how kind that was of the other man.
A moment later, the waiter walks up to me, and says, "I just wanted to let you know, the man that was sitting over here with the beard paid for your meal and the other gentleman's over there. He didn't want me to tell you until after he left, but he wanted to pay for both your meals." I was speechless. When I overheard the waiter saying the elderly man's meal was paid for, I thought that was kind enough, let alone paying for my meal and Elijah's and AJ's. Somehow I managed to spit out to the waiter how shocked and kind that was. For real, I was speechless. That doesn't happy very often, mind you! I've never had a stranger do such a kind thing like that for me. On the way home, Billy Currington's song "God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy" played through my mind. Granted we aren't talking about a millionaire inheritance, but I continue to think how amazing and kind that man is.
I was so appreciative, I wanted to leave a huge tip for the waiter, even though he wasn't the one who did this kind act. The generosity left me wanting to give more to someone. Unfortunately for me I only had my debit card on me and was planning on adding my tip on the receipt at the end of the meal. When we were leaving, AJ wanted chocolate milk and not regular milk, so I tried to use that as an excuse to get the waiter to ring up something else for me. When I asked him I said I could pay for the extra, but he told me don't worry about it. I hope he saw what I was trying to do and didn't think I was some jerk who was jipping him a tip! However, the least I could do was leave a "Keep Your Tips!" Ron Paul 2012 card on the table for him... :)
AJ chowing down on his burger. He's such a good eater!
Elijah eating his yogurt from his "Create a Face" pancake meal. The booth right behind Elijah's head is where the awesome-generous man was sitting.
On another note, earlier today when I was making the scrapbook page, Elijah decided he wanted to join me in crafting and art. He says, "I'm going to make a butterfly!" and every few minutes was coming to me for advice or assistance about his butterfly. In the end, he did it all himself and I just helped him by cutting the ribbon/string for his butterfly and we put some glue dots to hold it down. He is so proud of this butterfly. It's so sweet! When I asked if I could take a picture of him with it (Hello, Project Life!), he beamed with pleasure! He was even so proud of his art that he asked to tape it by his bunk bed. So sweet. :) Little man likes to craft and be artsy just like his Mama and Daddy!
Project 365 / Project Life - Jan 10
AJ's first smile - Scrapbook LO
Supplies:
Pattern Paper: DCWV, "Nana's Nursery"
Cardstock, Stamps, Ink, Punch: Stampin' Up!
Vellum Quote: Colorbok
Brads: JoAnns
I thought about adding a journaling section... but I really didn't have much to say about it, just that there was his first smile caught on camera! Haha! I know, I'm ridiculously behind by just now scrapbooking AJ's first smile! Yikes! Oh well, I'm glad I finally got this page done! I love this photo of him!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Proud moments
Ever look at something and think of how proud and privileged you are to have certain people in your life? Without those special loved ones, life wouldn't be the same. Seeing the passion of others makes me realize how much each person touches us every day; how each person and what they do, or the way they express their passion brings a smile to my face. I'm touched by some of those moments this evening.
My wonderful husband sketching little monster designs... I love his art and the excitement he has for design. He inspires me to continue pursuing what I love every night. As he sits and sketches, it reminds me to sit and write. Even if it is just a sentence or two, the point is to just keep writing... just keep doing what we are passionate about.
Project 365 / Project Life - Jan 9
Check out this awesome little video from my good friend Max (--MAXIMUS!-- picture me saying that all Gladiator style). This video makes me so proud that he is a friend in our lives, and even more proud that he is Adam's Godfather. What a wonderful inspiration AJ has to look to as his Godfather. This evening, as Patrick and I were talking, we were expressing our disappointment over the current state our country is in. I look at the unemployment rate around us, so many struggling, and see everything says "Made in China," -- it is disheartening. I ordered an NFL jersey all to find out... where is it shipping from? China. (We can't even make an NFL jersey here? Really?!)
We're very passionate about the Ron Paul 2012 campaign. In fact, I should kick myself a bit more to blog about it. Seeing this video with Max in it makes my heart leap and gives me such encouragement that there are people out there who still care about our country. There are people out there willing to fight to better our lives in America. Seeing Max's devotion and love inspires me. Every time I'm feeling a little down about the state of the world, I can turn to something from him and feel that fire burning inside me again to push for what we believe in.
I hope some people can take two minutes to check out this video!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The powerful play goes on
One of the greatest letters ever received...
Project 365 / Project Life - Jan 8
After all the blood, sweat, and tears -- (okay, more like writer's cramp, Starbucks, and tears) -- I see all my hard work paid off. It all went to this moment, seeing that glorious "Congratulations!" Still, I remember feeling like the day of -no more school- would ever come. It feels good to say, "I'm a college graduate." I'm smart and I've worked my ass off the last few years working for this.
Everyone asks, "What are you going to do now?" Sometimes I simply respond, "What do you mean What are you gonna do now??" -- Exactly what I am doing! What is so wrong with working in a retail job? It's a good job, something new every day, good benefits, friendly coworkers, and pretty decent pay as far as I'm concerned. I suppose it is beyond some people that working so hard for my degree wasn't really about "What are you going to do now?" -- it was about personal achievements. It was a goal I set for myself years ago and I didn't want to fail. I loved learning all along the way. Within the English program, I discovered who I am. I found my bliss. Sure, having my degree may (or may not) help advance me in the working world, but that's not what my goal was about.
I don't understand how some people view: career = life. What I do for a living is not who I am. Therefore, getting my degree is not necessarily about where it will take me in the future. While it may help, it was something I needed to do for me. I love the satisfaction of saying that I am a college graduate. I'm smart; I made it; I worked so hard for this and now I have achieved it.
In response to: "What are you going to do now?"
I'm going to revel in my triumph of attaining my BA in English.
I'll also flaunt my knowledge of poetry and leave you with a beautiful poem from Walt Whitman that sums up life:
O Me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.
....
Indeed, Walt. I will contribute my verse.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Dance like no one is watching... or your family.
I love that saying "Dance like no one is watching, Sing like no one is listening, Love like you've never been hurt, and Live like it's heaven on earth."
Sometimes you just need to let loose and dance without care! Dance like no one is watching... or in the case tonight, my family was watching, and my husband snapped some photos of me dancing to "Just Dance 3" on the Wii. Even though I danced for years growing up, it has been so long now since I've done anything I felt so rusty and there were moments I'm sure I looked like a fool. Nevertheless, it is a blast! I absolutely love this game. Doesn't it feel good to just let go?!
Project 365 / Project Life - Jan 7
Tonight I came home from work to find my boys watching "Winter Wipeout." I remember a show on Spike TV a while back (I'm not sure if it is still on?) called MXC, and this show reminds me of it. It's a funny game show where people do some crazy obstacle course to win money. Elijah and AJ found it hilarious and were acting out moments of the show. Adorable!
Past the "scrappers block"
It has been way too long since I've made a scrapbook page. Way too long. Way way WAY too long!
Did I mention it has been a while?
I started making this page... uhm... ages ago. At least 6 months ago. Probably longer than that. I got stuck in that "scrappers block" on the page. shoved it on the shelf and haven't touched it since. In fact, I got so stuck on it I didn't even touch any other pages or cards or anything. I let this one page get me stuck and I couldn't get past it.
Sometimes those writers block, scrappers block, artist block, whatever, is so bad we just gotta demolition through it. Essentially, I just had to force myself to get through it. I reminded myself, it does not have to be perfect. The only thing that matters is the photo, getting it on a page, and just writing a quick little blurb about the memory of that photo. I suppose sometimes we have to remind ourselves to get past our perfection (--thanks FlyLady--) and just do it! It's the thought and preserving that memory that matters, not how perfect or imperfect the scrapbook page looks.
So here we are. It isn't my favorite page, but I'm just proud I finally go through that block and now can let the rest of those creative juices flow... scrapbooking is about telling our story through paper, not the paper itself! (Although, any scrapbooker will tell you paper is awesome!)
[Supplies from Stampin' Up!]
Journaling: Your smile gets me every time! I think you'll be breaking many hearts in your future with those good looks!
Valentine's Day {09}
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