“Can we stop acting like joy has an age limit? If buying a stuffed animal, rewatching cartoons, using a coloring book, collecting cute stationery, or sleeping with a fuzzy blanket brings you peace in this chaotic world, that’s valid. The world is heavy. Bills are real. Burnout is constant. If something soft or silly makes…
Category: Random
Something silly
Draw a crazy picture, Write a nutty poem, Sing a mumble-gumble song, Whistle through your comb. Do a loony-goony dance ‘Cross the kitchen floor, Put something silly in the world That ain’t been there before. Just some random photos from a little exploration over the past weekend. Sometimes lovely, mostly creative, even a little silly…
Let July be July
Let July be July, and let August be August. And let yourself just be even in the uncertainty. You don’t have to fix everything. You don’t have to solve everything. And you can still find peace and grow in the wild of changing things.” – Morgan Harper Nichols July. It has been quite a month….
Everyone
“You can’t be best friends with everyone. But you can notice everyone. You can make room for everyone. You can be kind and generous and thoughtful and sympathetic to everyone. You can offer a smile to everyone. You can make eye contact with everyone. You can probably even offer a simple “hello” to everyone. And…
Good Grief
Day seven surprise…the most unbelievably ginormous blueberry I have ever seen. I dropped a fresh pint on my kitchen floor and blueberries went rolling everywhere. I cannot get over the size of this thing. I can’t even bring myself to eat it.
Celebrate?
“Every day is a new opportunity to begin again. Every day is your birthday.” – The Book of Joy, Lasting Happiness in a Changing World Just a funny photo and a quote from a book I’m currently reading. They seemed to go together. I spotted this party aftermath in the middle of a parking lot…
Meet Me in St. Louis
This weekend, I briefly explored downtown with my younger son, taking in some of the temporary graffiti art — and some permanent art accents on some old buildings. I love this town.
Take a moment
You’re so hard on yourself. But remember, everyone has a chapter they don’t read out loud. Take a moment. Sit back. Marvel at your life, at the mistakes that gave you wisdom, at the suffering that gave you strength. Despite everything, you still move forward; be proud of this. Continue to endure. Continue to persevere….
Baked with love
“The secret ingredient is always love.” Blackberry and peach crisp. Baked with love.
Beautiful slime
“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” – Pablo Picasso Tiny neighbor: Do you just love my beautiful slime? Me: I just love your beautiful slime!! Yes, I really did. And I hope she never, ever, ever loses her imagination or stops loving her creations.
Yikes
Can you see the shadow that looks like a big spider going for my leg??
Every Adventure is Worthwhile
“Adventure starts where plans end.” Late last Sunday afternoon, on a whim, I set out on a little adventure. A local artist had left a clue to the hidden location of one of his “finders keepers” pieces on his instagram page. Oh, I really wanted it. I didn’t have any plans left for the weekend,…
It’s the Most Wonderful Time…
…of the deer. I thought the deer at Laumeier Sculpture Park needed a little holiday inspiration. There. That’s better.
Aaaaand….
We didn’t even make it to Thanksgiving this year. Every year since 2011, during my holiday shopping I’ve found… Smushed Santas… …squashed teddy bears… …gutted snowmen… …pushed-in nutcrackers… …pinched teddy bear heads… …and punctured teddy bear heads. And now, may I introduce the 2017 inductee into the Mutilated Christmas Chocolate Collection: Pushed-in Snowman! I spotted…
Reminder
Sometimes life reminds us that we need to view ourselves more kindly… through a lens of love, as it were.
Find Your Strong
“You’re going to be happy,” said life, “but first I’ll make you strong.” Maybe it started with the purchase of this “persist” shirt, but I’ve been thinking about strength lately – both the physical and spiritual kind. The “I can do this” kind of strength. Perhaps it’s because my nest will empty at the end…
Welcome Interruption (video)
Sometimes we can stand to not take ourselves so seriously. The results are still beautiful, only more fun.
See What I Mean??
Spotted this during my run the other day and I’m still mystified by it. Seriously? What is up with the random discarded glasses? I’ve spotted these things again and again and again. It’s like those random, matchless sneakers you see on the side of the road every now and then. Who loses a shoe and doesn’t know it?…
He…and Her
I spotted these well-worn Frozen princess shoes at the post office this afternoon — on a young, rambunctious boy. He and his brother were pretending to sword fight with the chained pens on the counter and kept dropping their trucks on the floor. They were everything you’d expect from a pair of young boys —…
Not the Easter Bunny…
Aw, man. If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know that since 2011, I’ve documented at least one photo per year of chocolate Santa casualties in stores at Christmastime. Here’s some news: apparently the Easter bunny isn’t immune to the aggression. Come on, is it really that difficult to figure out it the chocolate…
What Happened to My Snowman?
From the students at my church who brought you “I am Not a Turkey” (post here), may I present “What Happened to My Snowman?” “Snowmen shouldn’t go to battle! They would get shot! They would melt! They might get hit by a tank! Finally, they can’t drive tanks! Snowmen shouldn’t go to BATTLE!!!” “Snowmen shouldn’t sit by…
Love From Head to Toe
I didn’t pay much attention to them at first. I was waiting to pick up my to-go order and checking out my phone. But then I caught these lighted shoes out the corner of my eye. Ironman-red lighted sneaks. After I finally managed to look beyond the shoes, I had to check out who they belonged…
Shine Brighter
“Set intentions, not resolutions.” While I’ve been happy to embrace the fresh start of a new year, I haven’t really been up to establishing any resolutions. I’ve cleaned up my surroundings and made some needed repairs in preparation for the new year, but that’s about the extent of it. As someone who has historically worked to improve, I’ve felt kind…
She Was a Force
“Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” – Carrie Fisher Times they are a-changin’ for HERoes. They can wear pink capes and tiaras. And play with dolls from a line of DC Superhero Girls. They…
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