Scenic Sundays: Local Favourites

((A quick look at some of my favourite scenic photos I've taken.

All of these shots remain untouched and unaltered.))

Today I wanted to show a sample of local shots I've taken from some of my favourite places to walk or travel through.

Five Minute Friday: Grit



 Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We write because we want to, not because we have to. We write for fun, for joy, for discovery at how much creativity is crammed in our heads and even if we just unlock if for five minutes it can paint the world in dazzling wonder.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. (that means if I spell something wrong, or use the wrong word, too late! let it go! don't feel you need to correct me.)
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & leave an encouraging comment.

On Fridays we just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. It’s such a relief, I promise. OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:
::

Grit

February 22-23 Photo-a-Day: Screens and Shoes

 "Where You Work"
February 22nd

- This is one of the views from where I work all day Sunday.

I get to see everything from a bird's-eye view while  I control what goes up on 2-7 screens.

I pay attention to lyrics, create and present slides with announcements and verses or sermon notes and I get to pick what colours and visual videos are played.

It's only a portion of what I do at work, but I always find it interesting and fun!

 "Your Shoes" 

February 23rd

- I was wearing my usual, nondescript black shoes to work today so instead I'm giving you a peak at my entire rack of shoes.

These are just the fall/winter/spring collection, with none of the summer pieces. I do love shoes and have a few pair too many of cute, fun runners or sneakers.

Toms, Converse and Sketchers are amoung my favs, along with the off Rocket Dog and simple cute flats.

February Photo-A-Day: Little Me!

 "A Fave Photo of You"
- I love this photo of me.
I was proably about 5 or 6.

We lived on a farm just north of Calgary where you could just barely see the city on the horizon. (Now that whole area is covered in homes and development!)

Behind me is one of our horses and the rest is the pretty, rolling hills.

I must have just lost a tooth around that day and my mom is taking a photo to capture the moment.

I also love my afro! No, I do NOT have curly hair (I wish!) but had many home perms as a child to keep my thick hair cute and manageable. (PS - one of my brother's nicknames for me back then was "Little Orphan Annie".)

This photo brings back so many memories, smells, sights and feelings.
Love it!

February Photo-a-Day: Pillows & a Pen

 "Something You Hate To Do" - I really, really hate getting up early in the morning when I have to, and leaving my comfortable pillows behind! (I'm much more of a night owl than an early bird!)

"Handwriting"- I've never really liked my own handwriting. Mosly because when I get impatient and my hand can't keep up to the tumbling thoughts from my head my penmanship becomes messy and childish as I cope to try and put everything down on paper. Of couse, I actually use a pen and paper much less frequently now that we use technology to capture our thoughts. I still love the feel of a pencil and the way  it looks to have your own thoughts and ideas recorded by your own hand.

Scenic Sundays - Tofino BC



((A quick look at some of my favourite scenic photos I've taken.

Other than a small crop here or there, they remain untouched and unaltered.))

Today these three shots come from one of my favourite places, Tofino, BC. And from one of my favourite camping trips there, back in the summer of 2008 with my cousin Katie.

We captured some amazing beaches and island shots! However, the best moments where I went trigger-happy on my camera was on our whale watching trip where we happened upon a pod of orcas or killer whales that were breaching and leaping out of the water! (Take a good look at the last photo.)

Best trip ever!

February Photo-a-Day Challenge: Drink

February Photo-a-Day

"Drink" - a mellow Saturday afternoon tea time.

(Go here to link up to the #febphotoaday party.)

Five Minute Friday: Delight




Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We write because we want to, not because we have to. We write for fun, for joy, for discovery at how much creativity is crammed in our heads and even if we just unlock if for five minutes it can paint the world in dazzling wonder.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. (that means if I spell something wrong, or use the wrong word, too late! let it go! don't feel you need to correct me.)
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & leave an encouraging comment.

On Fridays we just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. It’s such a relief, I promise. OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:
::

Delight…

Photo-A-Day Challenge! - Playing Catch Up

It's been a while since I've updated my February Photo-a-Day pictures.

A lot has happened in the past two weeks: a quick sad/happy family trip to Alberta, fun with nephews and cousins galore, a silly but major holiday, upstairs/downstairs games, sunshine, rain, beach and snow.

Here are my shots, some new a couple older but they fit.

(Go here to link up to the #febphotoaday party.)

It is an Ever-Fixed Mark...

 

I am a poetry girl.

I love many forms of poetry but at the heart I am a lover of Shakespeare and other cleverly crafted texts.

(And no, I do not mean 'texts' that come to you via some sort of small hand-held electronic devices.)

I mean 'texts' that have been handed down, translated, spoken, hand-scribed, illuminated, decorated, performed, typed, published and treasured throughout history.

Of course, what I love are...Books!

I love a variety of books. Books that contain stories or poems, short or long.

Today I turned to two of my favourite poems, sonnets by William Shakespeare.

Five Minute Friday: Trust

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them. (YOU CAN DO THAT OVER AT the Gypsymama blog or at the Blessed Motherhood blog)

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We write because we want to, not because we have to. We write for fun, for joy, for discovery.

On Fridays we just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. Won’t you join us? 

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

::

Trust…

kirs10 black shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

kirs10 black just shared an Instagram photo with you:

view full image

"Ode to Calgary sunsets and flat prairie skyline. "

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Stress Relief - The Good, the Bad and the Scaley

Today I've been thinking about something.

Stress.

Work stress, family stress, stress in a crisis, stress with pressure from around you.

What do you do when you are stressed out?

Do you get busy and try not to think of whatever it is that is bothering you?
Or do you cry and fret and get upset at everyone around you?
Do you get quiet and not let anyone know about the lava flow of emotions that threaten to erupt at some late time?
Do you grind your teeth or get a rash or have some physical manifestation of your stress?
Do you eat or not eat or sleep all the time or stay up into the wee hours?

When I feel stress pressing in I may do a few different things:

I may sleep less and stay up way too late.
I might snack more on things that are oh-so-bad for me...comfort foods like chips, ice cream and cookies.
I know I am great at bottling up my emotions and my stress so that I appear okay, but a slightly more silent and sullen version of myself. I try to keep it all in, out of the way, not dealing with it, even though I know that heading down route just makes the journey of getting through my stress so much more difficult and bumpy.

And then...Something funny that happened this week when I felt stressed: I bought a fish.

(as yet unnamed betta)

No, not some salmon for a good and healthy dinner.

I bought my second Siamese Fighting Fish (or betta) in the past month.

(My first, Samson, has since gone the way of the White Porcelain transportation device to fishy heaven. Poor little fishy guy!)

This time I did my new friend justice. I picked up a very small glass tank that came with a light, filter and I also bought a heater. (I think poor Samson keeled over since it is actually quite cool in my house and without a heater the bowl he was in never got warm.)

Yesterday I also picked up some more pretty polished river rocks and some silk plants to give him shelter and decorate his new home a bit. Today he is active and eating well and exploring.

But back to my topic.

I didn't realize what I had done or why until I got home with the new aquarium and began setting it up.



Note: At one point in my life, not too long ago, I had many, many fish and aquariums. Eventually I sold them and got down to one, but decided when I got my puppy over 2 years ago that I didn't have time for my fish upkeep so I got rid of the last tank.

Why, oh why, did I suddenly decide to buy another one?

This past week a very close relative was very ill in hospital with the outlook seemed very bleak and the day I got word that he had passed away I went right out and bought my new fish and tank.

How did that happen?

I know now it was from a mixture of wanting to distract myself, to feel good about something and not dealing with the emotions that came with the bad news. I felt the stress of losing someone, with memories and worry bubbling up I had to do something and what I found myself doing was a bit of retail therapy and distraction.

Have you ever gone this route? Or something similar?

I can see a new marketing campaign by pet store chains now: Stressed out? Buy a Pet! They -never- add any more stress to your life...ever.

Are you still with me after all that rambling? Good.

Here's the kicker.

An important lesson I've learned this year about stress is that nothing good can come of either holding the negative emotions inside or of letting them get so entangled into your personality that they change the person you want to be.

 I've been stressed before and I held onto that negativity for so long that it changed me. I held on to it so tightly that if it had been my physical hands that were holding that stress they would have lost all circulation and started to become dead and rotting along with the disgusting pound of stress they clung to.

This summer I had a quiet and emotion-filled few moments when I finally realized that the tugging on that tightly-held stress that I had been resising and fighting against was God trying to get me to give it over to Him. It was difficult and painful and I almost felt like I had to let Him pry my fingers loose as He pulled it from my grasp, but I laid it all at His feet. The best part was that He took it. All my doubt, all my anxiety, all my anger and bitterness, He took it all and filled me with His tender love and hope and peace.

Of course I have to make that choice daily to give it over to Him, but it's working. Slowly I am learning how wonderful it is to be free of that black cloud of stress that enveloped me. I can see the brightness ahead and I can feel the peace that is beyond my own understanding.

So what do you do with your stress?
Let me tell you....if you give it over to God, He's got some amazing peace for you! 

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust. ~ Psalm 4:8

 Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.] ~ John 14:27

Photo-A-Day Challenge! - Feb 4 & 5

Feb. 4th "A Stranger" - Yes, I did a bit of from-the-car-stranger-stalking. It's weird taking random photos of people. Then this guy was working so hard out in the cold, and his coat was so super bright on such a dreary afternoon that I thought I should take his picture.



Feb. 5th "10 am" - Okay, so I took a bit of licence. Some days I am with Willow on a beach around 10 am enjoying the gorgeous outdoors. (Plus, I just had to work in this uber-cute photo of little Willow! And I was working at 10 am today and trying to fix some problems so I missed snapping a literal 10 am shot.)

Risk - Not Just a Board Game

"To laugh is to risk being a fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
To express feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love or live.
Risks must be taken because, the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
Only a person who risks is free."
- Leo Buscalia

What are you going to risk today?

I often find myself stuck.

In a rut. Non-moving.

Yet infinitely comfortable.

I don't risk anything.

I relax and let life pass all around me and some days this feels excellent.

I am safe. I am okay. I am fine.

Yet some days I silently rage against my own passivity.

Photo-A-Day - February 1-3

Here are my first few February 2012 Photo-A Day Snaps:



Feb 1st - "My View" every morning when I walk my dog, Willow. I love my neighbourhood, right by the ocean! And these past few days have been so crisp and cool but I just stop and soak in the warm beams of sunlight for as many moments as I can. 



5 Minute Friday - "Real"

My good friend over at "Blessed Motherhood" just linked to a great little writing challenege called "5 Minute Friday".

According to the challenge's origins over at "The Gypsy Mama" we should write for five minutes flat on Fridays. We write because we want to, not because we have to. We write for fun, for joy, for discovery. We just write without worrying if it’s just write or not.

Won’t you join us?

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them.