Thought for the Day

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

- Mark Twain

Temptation Tuesday

While doing research for a project I came across this beautiful jewelry line. I thought it would be perfect for Temptation Tuesday. Here are just a few sneak peeks. You really should check out their website. I especially love their earrings!

(all images via)

Happy Tuesday!

Shareen Vintage

I just read some exciting news about a wonderful woman that I have known for quite some time- Shareen Mitchell. Shareen is the force behind the popular Shareen Vintage stores that are in Los Angeles and New York. If you aren't familiar with her you really should check out her website. She has an amazing eye for vintage clothing that she makes look new, fresh, and up-to-date, and she also creates her own pieces as well. Now she is getting her very own reality series on Discovery's Planet Green channel which will show how she puts everything together!

My Mom, Sisters and I have been shopping with her for years- starting when she just had a booth at Melrose Trading Post. In fact, one of my sisters did some modeling for her and can be seen on her website.

It isn't that we are close friends, we haven't ever been out to lunch, and don't socialize, but once she did an incredible thing for me that had nothing to do with shopping or clothes. Mom and LAG took me to her store for my Birthday and as she was helping me try on a piece, Shareen noticed that I wasn't feeling well. We started talking about how I had been having a health problem for a while, that no doctors had been able to help me, and that I couldn't work because of it. She told me about a woman she used to see and recommended that I contact her.

Like I said, I had been out of work and was thinking that there was no way that I could afford to go to this woman, and as if she was reading my mind, Shareen insisted that she would pay for my initial work up and visit! I couldn't believe it! I really needed something and here she was offering her help, and asking only that I get better.

She really is such a fantastic and generous spirit, and I am so happy things are going well for her. Best wishes to Shareen! I will be watching and supporting, and I hope that some of you will too!

(photo courtesy of The New York Times- Gordon M. Grant)

Love Story

Below is a video that I found from a friend's blog. I couldn't help but be moved and I HAD to re-post. It's a beautiful story. I hope you enjoy it. (If it doesn't automatically have a play button for you click on the "Danny & Annie" portion of the icon.)

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Get My Head Out of My Ass and Blog

The above is what I was very recently ordered so here is my thought for tonight...

"Never take life seriously. No one gets out alive anyway."

Summary of Life

Summary of Life

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..

2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.

3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.

4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.

5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..

6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..

7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.

8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.

2) Wrinkles don't hurt.

3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts

4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground...

5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.

6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy..

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional...

2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.

4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.

5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions...

6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician

7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

Teal Toes

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

I heard about Lisa From Bumpkin on a Swing's story from many of my blogger friends. I was not fortunate enough to get to know her before she quickly succumbed to this deadly foe. (You can read some of her story here.) From what I can tell, she was an amazing woman who was taken from the world and her loved ones much too soon!

Ovarian cancer is a silent, stealthy killer about which we should all become more aware. Check out the organization "Teal Toes" for more information. Here is an excerpt from their site about the symptoms:

"Historically ovarian cancer was called the “silent killer” because symptoms were not thought to develop until the chance of cure was poor. However, recent studies have shown this term is untrue and that the following symptoms are much more likely to occur in women with ovarian cancer than women in the general population. These symptoms include:
*Bloating
*Pelvic or abdominal pain
*Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
*Urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency)
Women with ovarian cancer report that symptoms are persistent and represent a change from normal for their bodies. The frequency and/or number of such symptoms are key factors in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Several studies show that even early stage ovarian cancer can produce these symptoms.
Women who have these symptoms almost daily for more than a few weeks should see their doctor, preferably a gynecologist. Prompt medical evaluation may lead to detection at the earliest possible stage of the disease."

For Lisa, and all of the other women and families out there who have lost loved ones, but also so we can help spread the word and educate women about the symptoms, I got in on the action. Even my Wonderful Husband let me give him ONE Teal Toe! Something so simple could save lives.

Ladies, all too often we ignore ourselves and "power through" even when we aren't feeling well. Pay attention to your own health! The best and only way to take care of your family is by taking care of yourself!!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my Precious Girl Darla's 6th Birthday! Mr. R, my Darling husband, thinks I am completely crazy for making even a mention of this. Why? Well, if you have looked at the photos of our children you will find that My Precious Girl is actually a dog. (DO NOT tell her that!)

I never really understood before her how completely attached you can become to your "pet". I kind of thought that people who treated animals like they were children were more than a little crazy. But, now I am in love! Sometimes I wonder if I will love and fuss over my human children this much. (Probably.)

Anyway, take a look at this face and tell me what's not to love...

(poor thing was still drugged from having teeth removed)

(this is her serious shot)

(she's a sleeper -just like her Mom- and loves to nest in any clothes she can find)

(snuggling with her best stuffed friend Elephante)

(she loves to travel)

(this is her scruffy puppy "I didn't do it " face )

So, with a face like that and inspite of my husband's laughing at me, I want to wish my little angel a very Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Day!

I

U

!

Don't forget it! No matter how down you might get there is someone who loves you. Even if you don't know it.

Spread some cheer. Smile at a stranger. It just might make their day, and it sure won't hurt yours!

Attitude IS Everything

I got the below story in an email from my Aunt. She said it made her think of me, my Mom, and Sisters. I was so flattered because I really try to live my life with a positive attitude, and believe that positivity makes a difference. Is it hard sometimes? Yes. But attitude is everything! You CAN have a great life no matter what your circumstance, you just have to see it that way!

Enjoy...

"John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!' He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!' 'You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?

'He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood I choose to be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or....I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.

He continued, '...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked. 'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude....I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Wandering Minds

Hello My Sweets! I know I have been gone for a long time. I guess my mind has been wandering a little lately and as it turns out, according to a story in Aug 30th's LA Times by Melissa Healy, it may have been super good for me. Here is a little excerpt...

"Just as sleep appears to play an important role in learning, memory consolidation and maintaining the body's metabolic function, some scientists wonder whether unstructured mental time — time to zone out and daydream — might also play a key role in our mental well-being. If so, that's a cautionary tale for a society that prizes productivity and takes a dim view of mind-wandering.

Such social pressure, Schooler says, overlooks the lessons from
studies on the resting brain — that zoning out and daydreaming, indulged in at
appropriate times, might serve a larger purpose in keeping us healthy and
happy.

"People have this fear of being inadequately engaged, and as a consequence
they overlook how engaging their own minds can be," Schooler says. "Each one of
us can be pretty good company to ourselves if we allow our minds to go
there."

So, even though I may have been gone for a while, rest assured that I have been enjoying my own company! Now I hope to be back and to be able to enjoy the company of all of you as well!

Lots of Love,