Tuesday, September 23, 2008

excerpt

Something I just read and really liked in As A Woman Thinketh:

She who would accomplish little must sacrifice little;
she who would achieve much must sacrifice much;
she who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.

Lotus Pillow


***The pictures from my phone were deleted for whatever reason,
so I uploaded this picture. Hopefully it stays. :)
It's not the greatest picture, but it gets the idea across. ***




My camera is still suffering from a major attitude problem, so I took pictures of my latest completed craft with my phone...I'll have to figure out how to edit these pictures. Until then, here are some side-ways shots of a pillow I made with my lotus flower embroidery for a friend's birthday. It turned out really cute!

I worked on it on Sunday at "craft day" with a few friends. I've got a great craft/project idea in mind to decorate our bedroom. I'm glad I found a group of crafty gals to hang out with!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Pin-up Monograms

Yep, that's Pin-Up Monogram for Patrick's name.



And Pin-Up Monogram for my name.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Uncorked

Have you seen any great movies? How about your top list of amazing movies? One movie that is on my list of "WOW Movies" is "Uncorked." This little clip is from near the very end of the movie and has a guitar solo that I think is pretty sweet.



Seriously, this is a great movie to see. It's a tough one to find, though. Only one of all the Hollywood Video stores in all of Utah county had it. I was able to get it through Blockbuster Online so my hubby could see it a year ago. Unfortunately, it's not really on sale anywhere, and anywhere that is selling it has the price marked up super high.

Anyway, what I love about this movie is that it tells a story of a man who wants a certain life so badly...riches, comfort, etc. The way he is pursuing these desires, though, is a dead end. Through the insight of his eccentric uncle, life is given new clarity and new meaning.

I really relate to the man's resistance to the natural path. It's a challenge when you really think or feel that life is going to unfold a certain way, and (as we all probably know by now) at what seems the most inopportune moment, it all comes crumbling down. We are left confused, disparaged, disheartened, and wondering what to do.

In all that chaos, something beautiful is simultaneously developing. The moment where a choice can be made, new direction taken, and forward momentum created. Whether it is a movie, book, new acquaintace, etc., I absolutely thrive on anything which has subject matter gravitating around this concept.

I am currently reading "As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen. It was recommended to me by someone I hardly know yet highly respect. The copy I purchased is titled "As a Woman Thinketh," and it is exactly the same other than using "woman," "she," "her," etc. instead of "he," "man," "his," etc. I've been questioned a couple times by different people as to how necessary it is to change from male to female pronouns, and at this point, I'm sticking to enjoying being a woman and reading a book that has been redirected toward women. (that was a total side-tanjent)


As a Man/Woman Thinketh talks about how these circumstances in life are the "equitable outworking of her evolving, yet unevolved self." WOW...seriously, WOW!!!! Life experiences are the result of our innermost thoughts. They are also opportunities for us to learn and reroute ourselves onto a higher path. And, the same circumstances/experiences will continue to resurface over and over again until we do learn the lesson and make the appropriate changes. WOW! I feel like I always knew this, but conveniently denied knowing it. It was in my head only, not where it matters most...in my heart.

One of my favorite quotes from this book nails personal accountability right on the head:

"Woman is buffetted by circumstances so long as she believes herself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when she realizes that she is a creative power, and that she may command the hidden soil and seeds of her being out of which circumstaces grow, she then becomes the rightful master of herself."

So, I'm totally in deep thought about "life's purpose" and deciding how I am going to change my thoughts so I can achieve my life's purpose. Movies, books, discussions....bring it on. I love this stuff!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

cold weather is for the birds...or something like that

I can't believe how chilly it is already. I am sooooo not ready for fall/winter. I'm longing for next spring/summer...they can't come too soon. :) This winter I plan on "enjoying" the season. I'll get out and go snowboarding, play in the snow, go for drives (on fair-weathered days), and will go to a gym and play racquetball to stay active. Hopefully this will keep me happy throughout the cold yucky days. There's a reason I was born in and lived in Phoenix for 22 years of my life!