Charm is the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves.
A charming person has a natural talent, a gift for elevating others from the inside out.
Do you have someone like that in your life?
Tags: quotes, inspiration, life, self, charm, relationships, Henri Frederic Amiel
Moving away from your home, your state, your work, your friends, and your family isn’t easy.
Everything is new.
The excitement of change comes with a price: stress.
I am taking some lessons from the trees in this new climate.
In the first photograph you can see a skinny tree standing beside a house on the right. On the day I took these photographs I watched that skinny little tree — standing taller than the house — bear more and more snow as the day went on, gradually bowing under the increasing weight until the tip dragged on the ground. I thought the trunk might break. The homeowner soon tramped out and whip-lashed the flexible branches, freeing the snow and allowing the tree to spring back to its original posture. I noticed that the tree stayed upright after that, regardless of the continuing snowfall.
The first wet snow sticks and pulls everything down. If this initial weight is released, further snow slips off more easily.
I might need some help shaking off that first snow, but I will stand tall again.
Let’s think the unthinkable, let’s do the undoable. Let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.
— Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency)
wide open spaces
This year I am trying new things, taking more risks, and worrying less.
I am driving in snow storms.
I am taking photographs of sunsets through dirty car windows.
I am thinking a little bit less.
I am taking more action.
Life seems simpler.
Tags: adventure, Douglas Adams, life, life changes, lifestyle, quotes, worrying
[Since beginning the writing of this post, I have moved halfway across the country and have begun a full-scale job hunt, so I now have an actual excuse! HA!]
Here’s the story: A Clean Surface has been nominated for a whole bunch of blogger awards recently, courtesy of love letters to strangers and l0ve 0ut l0ud and jared blake dicroce and wish i were there 24/7. In exchange, I was supposed to follow all sorts of instructions. That didn’t happen. It still isn’t going to happen. I was busy, and am now even busier. So, I am making up my own rules. (You think I can’t do that, but just watch me!)
With thanks to my nominators, I will simply list some blogs I think deserve more attention, to spread the love.
accidental stepmom ~Six stepchildren. This is a brave woman.
sh*t my 6 year old says ~I get a lot of laughs from this smartypants kid.
an afternoon with ~Inspiring photographs from inside the homes of some interesting, creative people.
district of chic ~Classy clothes.
the byronicman ~Mainly humor. Be sure to check out the burglar/crime fighter post.
the 16th bar ~As a petite woman, I appreciate the fashion tips from Frankie Ortiz, a young designer who is launching a petite line in 2012. You can look it up it on Facebook, too.
something new please ~Very short creative writings accompanying some weird photos.
all write ~This one is new for me. I came to it through praise I read about his post on Elizabeth Taylor. I followed a link, agreed with the praise and subscribed immediately.
raising my rainbow ~This is about “…the adventures in raising a slightly effeminate, possibly gay, totally fabulous son” as the author has put it… This is another new find for me, and I have enjoyed every bit I have read.
(I hope you check some of these out and enjoy them as much as I have.)
This week, my husband and I and our two children moved from the West Coast to the middle of the country. Goodbye California coastline, hello cows and corn!
We packed in one day.
We drove our two vehicle caravan through California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska for the next four days.
On the first day of driving, we made an unscheduled restroom stop at a gas station in the Truckee area. My husband climbed out of the 16 foot truck and noticed this:
This is NOT the way you want your tires to look when you are driving thousands of miles through freezing temperatures and mountain roads.
Unfortunately, the nearest roadside assistance was over an hour away.
However, our long delay actually turned out better than we could have expected.
"Where the Hell is Truckee?"
We were lucky, not only because we noticed the tire problem before we had a blowout on the road, but also because there was a restaurant next to the gas station. Donner Pass Pizza, owned and operated by a native of our home area, kept us warm and made us feel at home while we waited nearly two hours for our tire to be changed.
The owner's sports memorabilia. There was a 49ers game playing as we ate.
We enjoyed pizza, minestrone soup, sourdough bread sticks, and some of the most delicious homemade french fries I have ever tasted. I would have taken a photograph of the fries but they disappeared pretty quickly and I didn’t get nearly enough of them.
There was a pool table, which saved our children from getting too bored. We even saw some of our first snow there.
There may have been some cheating...
STAY OFF
Thank you, Donner Pass Pizza!
Tags: Donner Pass Pizza, driving, family, Home, moving
If you have been knocked down by life, and you need some help pulling yourself up, how about this motivational video?
Tags: failure, inspiration, life, motivation, success
The month of January has come around again and people want to be perfect. It happens every year.
No point in trying to overhaul your life all at once. Relax.
Just pick one specific problem to solve. When that is done, think of another problem.
CAUTION: Be sure not to think of all of the problems at once! That is a rookie mistake. You might end up catatonic.
Recently, I thought about my pants and felt annoyed. I realized that I had a pants problem. Some pants were too big, some were too small, some were too long, and most of the pants were not where they were supposed to be. (I was going to say that some of the pants were “too old”, but let’s be realistic — too old means too small.)
I have the pant situation under control now, thanks to some hemming, some hanging, and some handing off to charity. I have nine pairs of pants, and that is plenty.
Pants can be symbolic of life. I have watched What Not to Wear enough times to know that I am supposed to dress for the life I want, and the body I have. Those shiny, stretchy, hot pink pants I used to wear would not work for me now. I am a decade older, I am a size larger, and I go out less frequently. This sounds bad, but it isn’t. I would not trade the last decade for a trim waistline and a pair of pink pants.
There is a happy middle ground between pink pants and mom jeans, however, and that is where I am staying.
Tags: clothes, January, life, new year, pants, perfection, resolutions
I would like to share this wonderful post from Susan, author of the blog The Great Balancing Act.
The Great Balancing Act: “Things I Learned In 2011″
As you all reflect on the year’s end, I hope that you find some meaningful perspective.
I know that a few of Susan’s personal lessons rang true for me, although my struggles have certainly been different from hers. It has been one of the worst years of my life, but I have learned so much that I can carry forward with me into the new year, whatever happens.
Oh Magic 8 Ball, will 2012 be a better year?
I would love to hear some of the lessons you have learned in 2011, and I hope you will share.
Candy decorations courtesy of my eleven year old.
There is one absolutely crucial fact you need to know to prevent structural collapse in your gingerbread home.
It is all about the icing.
If you want your walls and roof to stay where you want them, you MUST get the consistency of the icing right.
Sometimes the directions on the kit will tell you the icing should have the consistency of toothpaste.
Please note: Either they are deliberately lying to you, or else they are brushing with some seriously thick toothpaste! Don’t listen to them.
First of all, don’t even think of it as icing. Think of it as mortar. This will give you a more accurate idea of how thick it should be.
Be very stingy with your water. Make the icing so thick it will bend a spoon. Make it so thick it is like dough, and almost rolls into a ball. Use plenty of it. If you get it thick enough, there is virtually no “drying time”. This best if you have children. Kids like gingerbread houses but they do not like waiting. Waiting is boring. Ask any kid.
Remember that the roof sections of the house will need to fight gravity, unlike the walls. You may need to hold the roof for a few moments, until it sets, to prevent sliding.
When your house is firmly together, you can add very miniscule amounts of water to the remaining icing until it is thickly spreadable, but not at all drippy. Decorate the sides of the house before icing the roof, because it adds weight. The softened icing will allow you to do a little piping (with the bag and nozzle) and ice the roof.
A few other tips:
If your roof has a gap at the top, use more thick frosting and then cover with large gumdrops. No problem.
If you are piping (squeezing with the bag and nozzle) and your icing gets too soft from the warmth of your hands, pop the piping bag into the freezer for a few moments and it will harden up. Just don’t forget it is in there.
To make your house stick to the base, add icing to the undersides of the walls or just add some icing along the bottom edge after it is assembled to prevent slipping. If it looks messy, just slap some candy over it.
Remember, this is supposed to be fun. If it were a job, someone would be paying you. Don’t get upset. It is only gingerbread, not your actual home. If all else fails, just break it apart, frost it, and call it cookies!
Tags: Christmas, Decorating, family, food, gingerbread, holiday, Home, how to, life
