Always Looking Up

"At the turn from our bedroom into the hallway, there is an old full-length mirror in a wooden frame. I can't help but catch a glimpse of myself as I pass. Turning fully toward the glass, I consider what I see. This reflected version of myself, wet, shaking, rumpled, pinched, and slightly stooped, would be alarming were it not for the self-satisfied expression pasted across my face. I would ask the obvious question,"What are you smiling about?," but I already know the answer: "It just gets better from here."

Michael J. Fox, "Always Looking up"

Manet's Grand Canal

Edouard Manet. Venice - Le Grand Canal. 1874.




I might have mentioned this before but this is my favorite painting. I even have a copy of it on my bedroom wall. I find it very soothing.



"Il ne s'agit pas de peindre la vie, mais de rendre vivante la peinture." (Pierre Bonnard)

Book of quotes

About 4 or 5 years ago, I started what I then called a book of quotes. For my own entertainment, I would gather up quotes and find online photos that would go with them and put them together in a booklet. I have lost the hard copy of the beginning of that booklet, but I found the word processing document on a CD-ROM... That must have been my first inkling at blogging because as I am looking at the word processing document now, it sure looks like a blog post!


So I am going to restart here, in a real blog... One quote or two at a time... Come back once in a while for new quotes and new images.

Love is the best medicine, and there is more than enough to go around once you open your heart.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Scrapbooking Expo!

Wow, yesterday was an amazing day!!!! I was lucky enough to be able to attend a Scrapbooking Expo in St Charles, IL, near Chicago. It was by far the most awesome experience in my scrapbooking life. I mean, you can shop till you drop and see TONS of scrapbooking related stuff... a pleasure for the eye and the creativity. I went there along with Melanis and Ellen. And let me tell you, we had a blast together. We also had Edwina with us, the little GPS system girl, and she didn’t do that great of a job on the way back. I mean, I love the Chicago skyline and everything, but that wasn’t the way we had intended to take to get back home. Oh well... For lunch the girls introduced me to the little pleasures of Sweet Tomatoes (to be pronounced Edwina style!)... Ahhh... Loved it!!!! I am trying to squeeze in the “church” inside joke, but for fear of burning in hell (yeah, I know, I should have thought about that sooner...) I will just say this: “Amen.” And there it is! THEY will understand. So all things considered, it was a fantastic day. I did buy a few things, but I must say that in the end we were quite reasonable in our spending... We could have done WAY more damage to our wallets than what we did. We know have a lot of scrapbook “work” ahead of us. We are already talking about other Scrapbook Expo. If anyone knows of any and when and when they take place, please let me know by leaving a comment. I had to include pictures of the Chicago skyline which, against our original planning, we were able to see on our way home. Thanks Edwina!

Us three on the way back from the Expo!

This is Edwina!

CHICAGO SKYLINE:

(Yes, I am aware that most of you in the U.S. know the Chicago skyline, but let's think about the non-U.S. residents amonst my friends and family who maybe, just maybe, one day will take a look at my blog...)

Mill Pond Festival Fireworks

We would never miss the fireworks! Granted, tonight's fireworks were a little disappointing, but still not bad for a small town like Union Mills. I am still trying to figure out how to take good pictures of fireworks, so for lack of having good pics to show, I am showing you what I have...

8 years

Today I realized that I have been a LaPorte Family YMCA Employee for 8 years. wow... time flies or what! it has been 8 years of all kinds of emotions and accompishments... I would not trade them for anything though. I have met some of the most selfless and amazing people I know. Those years have made me who I am today, and for that I can only and forever be gradeful!
I LOVE MY JOB!

Quote

"What is Life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself on the sunset." (Crowfoot, Native American Orator)

Summer Family

Despite the fact that I didn't get to hang out with them in the heat and sun this summer, we had a few good times spent together, and I still think very highly of my beloved fellow counselors. They have proved to me one more time how caring and loving they can be! Over the years I have created some fantastic relationships with some of them.... I am fully aware that I will probably never see some of them again, and it makes me sad. But I feel blessed to have met them! So here's to all of them, a great big Thank you for some great times... I love you guys!

Heart to Heart

A friend and I had a heart to heart talk earlier this month about a couple of things in particular and life in general. As I told him, life will throw lemons in your face, no doubt about it... But in the end, you have to stand tall to catch those damn lemons and make the best lemonade EVER! But you shouldn't go through all the crap alone... There is a point when you need to not only accept help and support but also go as far as asking for it... I have learned that the past few months. It is a lesson in humility like no other. There are things that turn into walls and you can't push them back alone... You cannot be afraid or embarrassed to grab the phone and make that call for help, or to write about it online and share it with the people you know... Because who knows who is suffering out there and might need support too? My experience is helping other people, and those same people who are in pain somehow are helping me too... Let's not fool ourselves: the healing process is a never ending process and it works both ways... By helping someone I am helping myself. Sitting on those steps, talking, I did realize all this... If there is a bright side to this huge bump in my life, that's got to be it... I take comfort in thinking that I am a better person and an even more understanding human being because of the things I had to deal with, because I CHOSE to be a better person. It is all about attitude, positive attitude. And that's it.

Remi's Favorites

A VERY SIMPLE PAGE... Just enough to get my rusty scrapping wheels going...

Font: Kristen ITC. The rest is just basics!!!! As I said, very simple...

Photo and journaling August 6, 2009.

Stampin' Up Party

New Day Foundation Tablets Challenge

Card Exchange August 8

Melanis & Jeff's 10th Wedding Anniversary

So here we are, today is Melanis and Jeff's 10th wedding anniversary. I had to think about THE card for a while. Of course, what I had in mind is NOT what you see below, but as they say, you have to go with the flow, and that's exactly what I did... 10th wedding anniversary is the "pewter" anniversary. I am having the hardest time saying the word, so never mind even coming up with something pewter-related to make the card. I guess pewter kinda looks like aluminum. I was going to use aluminum foil, but then I thought, what the heck... I am going for that silver tone paper I have... The only thing I stumbled on was whether to include a sentiment or not on the front of the card. I opted not to, and simply embossed the Happy Anniversary sentiment on the inside...

I can hardly believe it has been 10 years already! I remember us in that court room (the same room where incidentally Paul and I ended up being married less than a year later...). I remember that Melanis had made her own wedding dress... I remember Lew trying to cover up the A/C vent in the restaurant... I remember Bobbi and I sneaking in their garage through the little window to write on their car.... I remember going out with them that night, which is when Paul actually met Mel and Jeff... Good times... As they are getting ready for their anniversary trip to Las Vegas, I want to wish them many, many more years of happiness together. We love you guys, and know that we are so very happy to be a part of your 10 years of marriage...

Melanis and Jeff on their wedding. 08/07/99

Melanis and Jeff on their wedding. 08/07/99

Melanis and Jeff on their wedding. 08/07/99

Melanis and Jeff 10 years later...

HAPPY 10TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY MELANIS AND JEFF!!!!

Orange and Yellow Tablet

It took me a while to get down to working on it... It was due July 18th and I never got it done on time... but here it is now, ready to be turned in!

Summer, summer, where have you gone????

AS I am sitting here pondering on the joys of being a teacher and getting everything ready for the upcoming school year, I am also thinking that this weeks marks the end of the month of July, and to that, I say, "What?!?" In less than a month, kids will be going back to school, I will be getting back to the after school program, and then 3 weeks after that the preschool train will start its journey for another eventful year...
This summer has been a little different for me... I slowed down my working hours (yep, you are reading this right)... I did NOT miss being a camp counselor full time, although I did miss some amazing co-workers. I had a minor surgical procedure on my ankle, which turns out to be more of a pain than we (doctors and I) thought... But the biggest part of all has been to see Céline again (see 2 posts below this one). Catching up on 12 years without seeing each other is no small mission but oh so much fun!!!
I am not sure what the future has in store for me, but right now I am liking what I have... So let's just hope (in vain, I know...) that the last part fo the summer will not fly by as fast as the first part and let's make the best of it each and every moment...

ENJOY THE REST FO YOUR SUMMER EVERYONE!

Remi's Birthday card

Céline's Visit

Celine and I spent a week catching up on 12 years!!!! We tried to take as many photos of us two together as possible, and this one's my favorite!

Card Exchange July 18

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today Paul and I are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary... 9 year of happiness... He might not he be a perfect person, but neither am I, and we are perfect for each other! I love you Paul!

also, I remember starting this blog on our anniversary last year (I actually did check when my very first post was, and it was on July 1st), and I say that having kept this blog going for a year has been rewarding... Not always easy to keep it going and update it but I am trying... For those of you who have followed me the past year, a great big thank you!
So happy blogversary also...

So here's to many more years of living happily ever after, in marriage and in blogging! ;)