So I Was Just Thinking

Discipline can sound like such a harsh word. It often conjures up thoughts of detention, grounding, the principal's office when actually it should be just the opposite. A person who lives a life of discipline is living a directed and goal oriented life - setting their sites on the prize and making sure everything that she does will lead toward that end. When I chose Discipline as my word for the year, it was because I saw my life spinning out of control. I was completely living in the moment which is not always a bad thing. However, I was letting circumstances dictate my actions instead of the other way around. It was a life full of excuses and shortcuts. For example fast food instead of cooking because I had too many things to do. A Disciplined life does not come over night. It is long journey, but it is one I am glad to make with my supportive bloggy friends. Continue reading to hear how these wonderful women are coming along on their personal journeys. AVTCoach : The way I see ...

My son is quite the character. I can only imagine the fun and games that await me as he gets older. As it stands, he definitely has a future in physical comedy. He is so full of energy and is constantly making us laugh with the things he says and does. For a kid who only started talking at 3 1/2, he is sure making up for lost time. He never just smiles at the camera - There is always a pose! He has his own sense of style. Oh, to be that young and carefree! Without my boy, this world would definitely be a duller place.

Since today is Earth Day, and we are supposed to be looking for more ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, I thought it was only appropriate to share this great find. Yesterday, I was driving home from a meeting, chatting on the phone with my mom. (I know - Shut up and drive.) As I pulled onto my block, I saw this prize in my neighbor's brush pile. I quickly pulled into my driveway, ran across the street and asked if she was actually throwing it away, and if she was, could I take it. She said yes. She was only using it to hold the pruned branches of her rose bushes. Yea me! I have never been afraid to ask people for their unwanted things. I have a trestle table and bench, a ladder back chair, a dining table with two upholstered chairs, lawn furniture for my mother's front yard....The list is endless. Unfortunately, that leaves me with a very full garage, so I will have to find something productive to do with this soon before my husband adds another item to his ever growing list of...

Enjoy! Song at Sunset By Walt Whitman 1819-1892 Splendor of ended day floating and filling me, Hour prophetic, hour resuming the past, Inflating my throat, you divine average, You earth and life till the last ray gleams I sing. Open mouth of my soul uttering gladness, Eyes of my soul seeing perfection, Natural life of me faithfully praising things, Corroborating forever the triumph of things. Illustrious every one! Illustrious what we name space, sphere of unnumber'd spirits, Illustrious the mystery of motion in all beings, even the tiniest insect, Illustrious the attribute of speech, the senses, the body, Illustrious the passing light--illustrious the pale reflection on the new moon in the western sky, Illustrious whatever I see or hear or touch, to the last. Good in all, In the satisfaction and aplomb of animals, In the annual return of the seasons, In the hilarity of youth, In the strength and flush of manhood, In the grandeur and exquisiteness of old age, In the superb vista...

This Easter was a little strange. I am not sure where it all went awry, but there were no eggs, no bunnies. The rabbits (toy) I bought are still sitting in my trunk. Not to say we didn't have a nice weekend, but it was not the usual egg dying, egg hunting, chocolate induced coma we are used to having. Good Friday was a school holiday and I had intended to take the kids to the zoo, but it was overcast and cold and I remembered that I had a doctor's appointment at 2 p.m. which would have cut into the zoo trip, so we stayed home until the appointment. James went to grammas and Caitlin went with me so we could shop for a couple of dresses and a pair of shoes for her. We finished the evening with dinner out for me and the kids. Dandelions - Treasures from your children - Nightmares in your yard Saturday morning was another cold laid back, and I checked the schedule of the local planetarium and the IMax theater. Monsters vs. Aliens was playing in Austin, so Gary and I packed up the k...

For those you haven't had the pleasure, I'd like you to meet my daughter. (By the way, if you haven't met her, where have you been??!!) What you should know about this girl: She marches to the beat of a different drummer. She doesn't care what you think about it. One moment she'll be admiring one classmate's new lip gloss, and in the next moment she is setting up a "playdate" with boys to trade Pokemon character trading cards at the local McDonald's. (She is always surprised when her parents say she can't go.) She doesn't find it strange that boys like to hang around her and love to talk to her at lunch. She can't remember where she put her homework, but she can name every character in a movie and every song on her iPod playlist, nor will she forget that you told her on April 10th you would take her to see a movie. If the name on a board game says Family 7 Mancala , that is what she will call it EVERY TIME - much to her parents' cha...

Your own horn that is. :-) This morning I gave my students the assignment to journal about the 10 Best Things About themselves. This a hard thing for a 10 year old to do, but equally hard for adults to do who have been told bragging is not nice. However, I did tell my kids that if they did theirs, I would do one about myself, so here goes. I love to talk. This can be seen in many lights, but for sure I am never lacking in something to keep the conversation going. One time I talked nonstop from my home to El Paso nine hours away. It sure made the time pass quickly. I am creative. Sometimes this creativity comes in the form of writing, drawing, scrapping, designing, songwriting...The list is endless. That being said, I am continually admiring other people's creativity and desiring what they have instead of what I am capable of doing. I will stop doing that! I am musical. I sing and play the flute. I want to do more of this, but for now my audience shall have to remain my steering whe...

One of the girls my daughter dances with lives way out of town. We have been going out there frequently in preparation for their upcoming competition. Everyday as we leave the "neighborhood," I admire the ranches, fences, live oaks and various other elements of the area that the developers left untouched. When we wind through roads that have trees popping up in the middle of them and pass over bridges built over gullies I tell myself, "Today you should really stop and take some pictures." Well, Tuesday, we finally stopped. Unfortunately, there must be cows nearby or someone walks their dog there everyday because it smelled so badly that these were the only pictures we could stand long enough to take. Which reminds me of something Henry David Thoreau said, “ There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted ” The beauty of the landscape couldn't overcome the overwhelming odor of who or what had been there before us. Here are some more quotes that...