Holes

During a great message today I heard this, a little something I'll never forget.

A father needed to help his son with his outbursts of anger. He told his son, "every time you feel angry I want you to go out to the fence and drive a nail through it." So every time his son was angry he would go out to the fence and drive a nail through the post. His son found that each day he drove less and less nails into the wood.

The son came to his father and told him that he was rid of his anger. The father told him, "very good. Now everyday you don't feel angry go back out to the post and remove a nail." After all the nails had been removed he told his father.

His father said, "very good. (Looking at the post full of holes.) This is what your anger does, it leaves an impact in other peoples' lives."

In light of the many tragedies we've been hearing about, I thought this was fantastic. Just as a You-Tube message can leave an impression on us, this did me. E and I have been talking a lot lately about bullies. And I continue to remind him that, "hurting people, hurt people."

The full message today was from James 1: 19-27.

Everything That's Beautiful

"Everything that's beautiful, everything that's wonderful, every perfect gift comes from you".

The other morning e and I wanted to "rock out" (thank you Janine for the lingo, it's cute to hear him say it). I put on a Chris Tomlin album and we danced and sang to Everything That's Beautiful. 

e says to me: "Yeah, it can't come from US then it wouldn't be a great surprise!"

You're right e. You're a perfect gift, one that is full of surprises daily! And for this I give thanks.

Dinner Talk

e: "I'm going to live with my Daddy when I'm older."

Me: "You are?"

e: "Yeah, I'm not going to live far away!" (said with a "gosh/dah" like attitude with a smile)

Me: "True, (with exaggeration) that's not far away!"

e: "It's south, actually I'll live in the south."

Me: "The south, like Florida, where Papa Joe lives?"

e: "Yeah, or southwest."

Me: (never hearing him refer to the southwest) "Oh, like New Mexico or Texas?"

e: "Yeah, Texas, you know where they have those things?" (he's now motioning with his pointer fingers and going poke poke)

Me: "e, are you talking about a cactus?"

e: "Yeah, those."

Not sure where Southwest - Texas - Cactus all came from but it's hilarious to me. 

Well done e!

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you were a 'good person' is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you’re a vegetarian."

 "We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions." 

Added To My Book

Added more images to my Design set on Flickr.

This body of work, spanning from 2000-2010, are some of my favorites from their time. The work ranges from National brands to local St. Louis musicians. I also had to throw in the series of e's Birthday invitations, I love them.

I don't have a website but rather a Flickr site that houses my Design, Art and Photography. Now I'm happy to say that it's updated!

Enjoy!

Dinner Menu

Our sushi favorites

e's:

Cucumber rolls

Avocado rolls

Hamachi kama (yellow tail jaw)

Seaweed salad

Tamago (sweet egg omelet)

Ebi (cooked prawn)

Mine:

Hamachi kama

Octopus or seaweed salad

Shiro maguro (white tuna)

Unagi (freshwater eel)

Spicy scallop

It's always fun to choose the rolls and we always finish with something sweet like: mochi ice cream. Flavors: red bean, chocolate, strawberry and mango...delicious!

Hungry?

Christmas 2009

Aunt Celine and Lorianna's tree in FL.

This year e and I traveled to Tallahassee for Christmas and New Years. It had been since e was a year that we had participated in all the holiday traditions with the family. This year's recipe called for all the emotions and I'm still feeling the affects. (I journal this entry now before it's 2011 and I see that 2010 has only 12 entries.)

2008 was nice beginning the rituals of Santa's cookies and treats for his reindeers in our St. Louis home but I have to admit there is something so special about a house full of people and having time to visit with old friends in a town I called home for 20 years. 

2008, our home in STL.

We traveled for an extended time to Florida to stay with Celine and Lorianna, they were the perfect hostesses. From day one of landing in the warmer climate we were super busy. Mornings started very early and nights lasted well into the morning, a perfect recipe for sleep deprivation. 

Our time consisted of seeing Papa Joe, being with the entire family for both Christmas Eve and day and celebrating friendships I've had for 20+ years. Starting with Papa Joe, the time out on the farm was super special. e did his job helping Papa feed up the horses.

We also spent time out on the golf course with Papa Joe and Uncle CJ.

Golfing was super fun and I even got to try the sport. It felt good giving the ball my all but didn't do so well at it. e on the other hand, by the time he got in a few practice rounds in was doing rather well both at the sport and driving the cart.

Mentioning Uncle CJ, another special part of this trip was that Mom and Uncle CJ came too. It was a real blessing to have everyone together this year. Here is a great photo of the four of us on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve was just as I remembered with the Polish dinner before Catholic Mass. To finish the evening we played the game, Yankee swap. This game is always hilarious with 18 people. Aunt Mary's house was full of people and full of laughter. Christmas dinner needed yet another leaf in the table to house us all. 

Christmas morning we all woke at Celine and Lo's. After waiting patiently for (Great) Gran and Aunt Celeste to arrive we tore into the thoughtful gifts. One very special gift e received this year was his very own and super nice camera. After presents we ate a great breakfast and rested until it was time to head out for dinner.

The trip was full (as I mentioned) not only with family but friends as well. After Christmas a few of us girls were able to get a night out since our travel dates overlapped. It was so nice seeing everyone. Nikki made a special flight in so that she could catch up (so thoughtful). It had been a long time seeing some of them and what was so fantastic was we picked up right where we all left off. True friendships withstand the test of time, this group is for life!

(Left to Right: Jeanie, Heidi, Carrie, Nikki, Anita and myself)

It was difficult coming back to an empty home. e's father was able to pick us up from the airport and immediately started his visit with e since we had been gone for weeks. I mourned the quiet a little and caught up on sleep. I truly enjoy a full home and all the commotion. Thank you to everyone who made these holidays so special! Now onward to 2010!

You can see a lot more photos of Christmas 2009 here uploaded to e's Flickr site.

2009 Handmade

 

This past Christmas I decided to be creative and make some handmade gifts. In the eleventh hour, staying up until midnight, three days before traveling home to Florida, I made these Holiday Thank You Note Cards. The very next day I was able to get the design to my printer and they so thoughtfully rushed this job through to completion. I was happy to pack these cards on time to give as gifts for family and friends.

2009 was a year where creativity in handmade crafts made a presence. I was hopeful to get more pieces made but I'm happy with what I did accomplish. I am notorious for having lofty ideas and never generating one so several won out and for this I'm thankful.

The image close-up also shows a "Little Abbie" I blogged about her here. This is a gift for a my dear friend Andrea who we'll be seeing this evening for dinner. 

Let's see what 2010 brings out as far as my creativity! 

Enjoy!

Vintage Wedding Design

Design*Sponge is a daily website dedicated to home and product design. I try and make it a ritual to visit this site which gives me creative inspiration. I've been making a list of things to redesign in my own home so I've been frequently visiting.

Today I caught this entry and I'm overwhelmed by just how stunning this wedding is in every detail! Immediately when I saw her dress I thought of my grandmothers dress. I have been blessed by my grandmother to walk down the isle in her vintage treasure. I hope that I can one day wear her dress and even more hopeful she'll still be with us when I do so.

The part of Arlene's dress that I love is her slip. It's simple, elegant and sexy. When I saw this dress I thought how perfect it would be to overlay whimsical flowers and lace over the top. In addition to the dress, each detail of this wedding is perfectly designed. The flowers in various vessels in an array of colors and textures and the little handmade details add a sweet final touch. I could really see myself in this family of photographs, the bride and her new groom look wonderfully happy.

I have high hopes to get back into this blog I share with e. I thought this would be the perfect first entry. Perhaps I will get Gran's dress out and take a photograph of it. I think it would add to this entry and I'd like to have a journal of it. 

Enjoy.