Hope

HOPE is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I ’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

-Emily Dickinson

My inspiration this week comes from one of my all time favorite poems by Emily Dickinson, I've loved this since I first found it as a teenager.  For this  self professed "Dream Girl", HOPE is an important part of my life.  Without it, what do we really have?

There is so much I hope for, at this time in my life in particular, and always.  First and foremost on my mind these days is HOPE that my beloved uncle will fully recover from the recently found cancer he has been diagnosed with.  He is only 43 years old.  We grew up together, so we are more like cousins than uncle and niece.  He has never smoked and does not drink.  He and his wife are dentists, and they are truly two of the nicest people I know.  He will finish his last chemo and radiation treatment on Monday.  We are all hopeful that it has worked.  It's been a rough few weeks for him.  I can't even imagine what he must have felt when he first found out.  It was surreal, to say the least.

I am continually full of HOPE for my daughters, who are bright, sweet girls.  I imagine their futures, and wish them success in whatever path they choose in life.

I am also hopeful this week for a new opportunity that may be coming my way.  For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know I've been trying to find ways to make some extra money, and thinking of getting a second job.  Well, sometimes things come to us in indirect ways.  In my attempt to find a commercial kitchen to bake out of, I contacted the owner of a cute little organic cafe located in the downtown area (where I live) of my city.  As it turns out, one of her daughters, and my youngest went to pre-school together about 11 years ago.  She was offering me lots of good advice and gave me the hourly rate for her kitchen rental. 

During our conversation, she asked if I was interested in working for someone else.  She was recently accepted into the farmers market in a very upscale poplular city about 20 minutes away.  She needs somone to help her run the market on Sundays...she even asked if my 14 year-old daughter might be interested too!  A farmer's market!  I love them!  I've been to this one quite a bit and I just love it.  It's very busy and offers a wide selection of fruits, veggies, artisanal food, and much more. 

How exciting!  Spending the day outside, meeting new people, and doing what I love...food!    The only glitch...she (Lynn), must do enough business in her booth to actually pay me.  She begins on Feb. 28th, so only time will tell how the first couple of weeks go...but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and remain full of...you guessed it...HOPE!

A little update on last week's "Accomplishment"post...I did get my truck cleaned, even managed to stop after work and get the oil changed, started cleaning up my yard, got the layers and cupcakes done for the baby shower order for this weekend, finished the candy bars for the same shower, cleaned my bathrooms, and even cleaned out my spice cabinet before the weekend was over!

This weekend, the list grows once again, but I am relieved to say, the cake and cupcakes are finished, and my friend seemed to be happy with them.  I can't wait to hear how the shower went and if her guests liked my desserts.  I have been re-thinking whether or not I actually want to take a cake order again...I am definitely more into the baking part than the decorating!  Very stressful, and being a bit of a perfectionist makes it doubly hard.  My first attempt was "ok", but nothing I'd go around bragging about.  I can confidently say that it tasted really good though!  And after all, when the cake is cut, who remembers what it looked like anymore when you are taking that first bite!

Wishing you a future of HOPE and Happy Thoughts,
Lisa

Accomplishment, one day at a time...

"The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” -Abraham Lincoln

I usually try to find a good quote for my blog.  It's sort of a starting point for me, a way to focus and begin.  I love this quote, it makes me stop and think, one day at a time, that's all we have.  Stop worrying and jumping ahead letting yourself get overwhelmed with life.   Dealing with things one day at time, one problem at a time, is the only way for most of us to keep our sanity.

I personally will let everything build up in my mind sometimes, and let myself get completely overwhelmed.  I am learning how to better deal with that.  I kind of have to stop, and literally think about what tasks I have and what order I can do them in.  I'm what I've heard people call, a hummingbird.  I flitter around, starting on project or chore, then without finishing, I'm on  to something else.  I can tell you from personal experience, this is not a good way to accomplish things.  You usually wind up with a lot of half done stuff, and you don't feel any better about things than when you first started. 

I purposely decided to write about this right now, because this week I've been feeling that overwhelming, "how will I ever get it all done?" feeling.  So, I thought if I stopped for a bit, and wrote about it, I might be able to focus and actually be able to accomplish a few things this weekend.

First off, I have hard time taking time to do fun stuff lately.  Money is has been tight too, so I haven't done a lot socially, with friends or my daughter.  I decided, that for Valentine's Day this year, I would take my daughter out for the day and do something fun, rather than buy her a gift.

She was off school on Friday, so I took the day off as well, and we headed out of town to a diner that is owned by one of the band members of Green Day.  My daughter is 14 and she LOVES Green Day.  We also found the mobile cupcake truck that roams the streets of Berkeley selling scrumptious cupcakes, just like an ice cream truck.  What a great business idea...I had to check this out.  It was a good day, if it had not been for the parking ticket I got while we were purchasing our cupcakes, it would have been perfect.  We ended our day by seeing the new romantic comedy, Valentine's Day.  I think I'm pretty lucky that my daughter is still ok with spending the day with her mom.  That could change at any moment.

Now that we've had some fun, it's time for some serious business, like housework, laundry, baking, yardwork, cleaning my disgustingly dirty truck. 

 

I think it's time to make a list, to stop and prioritize.  That's what I will do first.  I think when you  have a lot to do, it helps to be able to check off each task as you complete them.  I have learned that the sense of accomplishment when you do something for yourself, is really quite powerful. I am a visual person, and if I can see a list of things I've finished, it really helps me feel better.  I think it's all part of focussing on the positive.  Look at your list, and notice what has been finished, not what still needs to be done.

Ok, I think I'm on to something here, it's time go make that list and clean that truck.

Wishing you a week of accomplishment and Happy Thoughts,

Lisa

Reflection

"Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have." -Unknown

I found this quote today, and it really spoke to me.  This is just so true, profound in it's simple message, but something we take for granted. 

Yesterday I found out a woman I went to Jr. High with passed away.  She was only 40 years old.  I had not spoken to or seen her in many years, but I always remembered her with kindness.  We worked together in the office before school started in the morning.  We always had fun together.  Throughout high school I would say hi in passing, she was a couple years younger, so we didn't really hang out in the same circle of friends. 

From what I gather, it sounds as though she passed quickly and suddenly, of a brain anuerism.   She was a beautiful lady, I was her "friend" on Facebook, so I had seen recent pictures of her, and she was still the pretty girl I remembered from all those years ago.  When something like this happens, it stops me cold in my tracks.  Life is so precious, it can be taken away so quickly, and without warning.  We say this all the time, but I don't think it really sinks in until something like this happens.  I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and sadness her close friends and family must be feeling right now.  She was simply too young.  It just doesn't seem fair. 

I try to find the "reason" when things like this happen.  Maybe it's not for me to know.  I have to continue to believe that there is a reason for everything that happens in life, but this is difficult.

I can only hope that those people that were closest to Cara find a little peace in the memories they have of her and will always be able to keep that in their hearts.

I think today, I will not worry if all the laundry gets done, or how many weeds are growing in my garden.  I will spend the day with my daughter and appreciate what I do have and not worry about what I don't.

Peace to you.

Happy Thoughts,
Lisa