four sentences to joy.

i’m a big believer in the power of gratitude –
of practicing gratitude my own self, & of sharing my gratitude with the people who evoke it,
to lift them up with the knowledge & acknowledgement that what they were or did for me
made a positive difference. it mattered.

plus, expressing thanks is just good manners, y’all.
remember the essentials, please & thank you?
well, it seems to me that we’re currently living in a acquisition-centric culture
where please is the order of the day & thank you is wrongly losing rank.

for example, when’s the last time you wrote an actual pen-to-paper thank-you note?

no, the pen & the paper aren’t really the point.
but truly, isn’t a handwritten missive,
arriving in your metal mailbox via a human postal-carrier’s hand,
more meaningful than its e-quivalent?

yes. yes, it is.

so, just in case you may be a tad rusty,
here’s all you need to create a perfect thank-you note:

:: a small sheet of paper or notecard

:: a fitting envelope

:: a first-class stamp

:: a writing implement

:: someone to be thankful to for something, & his|her mailing address

:: a greeting – something like dear wendy, works perfectly.

:: sentence 1 – a statement of thanks for
whatever it is your grateful for, simple & straightforward.
thank you very much for the generous gift card you sent me for my birthday.

:: sentence 2 – say something about the item, deed, what have you,
that you especially appreciate.
amazon.com is my favorite spot to shop, so the gift card will
definitely be put to good use – maybe on several online occasions!

:: sentence 3 – say something about the person that you especially appreciate.
you’re such a kind & thoughtful gift-giver;
having someone like you remember & celebrate my birthday each year
really makes me feel like someone special.

:: sentence 4 – reiterate your thanks & add another personal note, if possible.
thanks again so much – i hope we can
catch up in person over the summer … over margaritas??

:: a closing – something like all the best, kristen works perfectly.

into the envelope, seal, stamp, address, mail. done & done.

& well done! you just added a dose of humanity &
a slice of joy to the world.

because gratitude begets joy.
put four sentences together today & make someone happy.

[regarding the image at the top: in 2010, canadian author yann martel
received a thoughtful thank-you note in response to his award-winning novel,
life of pi, from father of two & free-world leader barack obama.
this particular note doesn't follow my four-sentence formula,
but is a fine example of a beautifully & elegantly written thank-you nonetheless.]

earth day poem. yes.

happy earth day, y'all.
i made this at instant hai-
ku generator.

:)

happy easter day.

or, as my grandfather, pops, used to exclaim,
happy easter, egg!!

here's hoping yours is full of wholesome smiles,
cute little bunnies & chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.

:)

have yourself a cozy little easter [egg].

humpty dumpty egg cosy pattern available @ hand made awards.

truly, what is more uk-ier than an egg cosy?
well, other than a tea cosy. but so much less obvious.

tiny. whimsical. unnecessary. sort of froofy. oddly humorous.
they're like something a monty python sketch might revolve around.

nevertheless, they're out there, in many different iterations,
awaiting homes abundant with chilly soft-boiled eggs
for them to work their warming magic on.

here's a selection of egg cosies i found @ etsy.com,
ready for their biggest yearly season: easter.
enjoy!

colorful caps available @ my crochet shop.

yellow rose of t-eggs-as available @ mary matthews handmade.

modren bunnies available @ one legged goose.

mama duck available @ denizas decor.

shurprised sheeps available @ kooshka london.

darling sharks available @ my knitting world.

so many hats available @ grahams bazaar.

eastery ears available @ lemon cucullu.

his + hers easter bonnets available @ it took two.

10-gallon toppers available @ 13 hippies.

lizard heads-or-tails available @ spring fresh.

god woke up.

& he was groggy
so he got a nice cup of coffee
& went to site
under an apple tree.
he sat there
drinking his coffee,
listening to the birds,
when all of a sudden
it hit him.
he was happy.
god was happy!
& he wished there
was just someone to see it.
he'd gotten such a bad rap
all these years
for being pissed off
all the time.
& he really wasn't.
maybe a little cranky.
but here he was,
happy.
mellow yellow.
the birds were singing
& he was at peace.
buddha told him it
could be this way,
but he'd never really
believed it until now.
life really was easier,
sitting under a tree.

~ cynthia rylant ~

happy national poetry month, everyone!
here's hoping it's as happy as god with a cup of coffee under a tree.


image via desktop nexus.

happy birthday, ms.

happy happy birthday to my fellow feminist + writer, ms. gloria steinem.

she turns 80yo today, & i must say, if this is what being an octogenarian
looks like, then i'm happy to be over halfway there!

she is spending her birthday riding elephants in botswana.
seriously – isn't that how we all want to spend our 80th?

inspirational as ever, ms. s.
cheers to you – keep on keepin' on!

"the truth will set you free,
but first it will piss you off."

"i have yet to hear a man ask for advice
on how to combine marriage and a career."

"writing is the only thing that, when i do it,
i don't feel i should be doing something else."

"like art, revolutions come from
combining what exists into
what has never existed before."

"we've begun to raise daughters more like sons;
but few have the courage to raise our sons
more like our daughters."

"i'm keeping my torch, thank you –
& i am using it to light the torches of others."

"the future depends entirely on
what each of us does every day;
a movement is only people moving.
to feel its warmth and motion around us
is the end as well as the means."

"a feminist is anyone who recognizes
the equality and full humanity
of women and men."

i feel lucky.

happy happy st. paddy's day t'ya!!

ok, that's the best brogue you'll get out of me,
as my ancestry is german, german, german, german, german, polish, german & german.

ja.

nevertheless, i mich glücklich.
that is, i feel lucky.

blessed. grateful. whatever.
but today, let's call it lucky.

:: lucky to live in austin, texas, especially in the springtime.

:: lucky to live in a beautiful home i feel more & more at home in all the time.

:: lucky to live with our wonderful four-family all together for the time being.

:: lucky to live with three good dogs who keep me company & make me smile.

:: lucky to live in a strong, resilient, reasonably healthy body.

:: lucky to work for myself, from my own home office, with some amazing people.

:: lucky to have the creative gifts & practical talents i have.

:: lucky to have plenty of healthy, caring family.

:: lucky to have so many beautiful, brilliant, loving friends.

:: lucky to be here now. & now. & now.

:: lucky to be 46 going on 47.

:: lucky to be me.

:: lucky to feel so, so lucky.

how about you? how are you feeling lucky today?

love this photobomber.

our big boy turned eleven a couple of weeks ago.
i was sure i wanted to blog about it,
but i wasn't sure what i wanted to say.

then, a couple of days ago, a fellow blogger inspired me.
she posted about one of her sons, who has adhd
along with one of the world's biggest hearts.
she closed with this:

sometimes it is necessary to diagnose & label
in an effort to explain & understand limitations
in each other as we make our way through life.

but it is far more important
to see into each others' hearts &
to appreciate the gifts & strengths we possess
to connect with & improve our world.

& that is what i want to make sure my tween boy knows.

that no matter how much he struggles with math –
or whatever other academic challenges might pop up –
his success [or lack thereof] with
prime numbers or probability or word problems

means nothing

compared to his success at kindness, helpfulness, friendship,
creativity, compassion, gratitude, joy, self-care,
love & wholeheartedness. & he is
already wildly successful at all of those.

being a good student – that is, a student who does his best
& who doesn't give up [just keep swimming!!] – is important.
but not as important as being a good human.

& at age eleven, our boy is already an unqualified success at that.

up.

i expected the holidays to be intense. they ever are, especially when you’re the mom of the holiday-hosting household, which i am.

but january? i expected it to be full, but fresh. The calm beyond the storm of The Season. the reset button called A New Year.

not so much for me this time around.

my january was two trips to dallas, my mom’s 80th birthday, two science fair projects, three bouts of stomach virus, one car accident, one big goat show [with one blue ribbon!], & one Mother of All Migraines [surprising? um, no].

plus, you know, Daily Life. seriously, y’all, we just returned our christmas tree to the garage yesterday.

all of which is to say, for me, in 2014, february is the new january.

so … happy new year [it is the new lunar year, after all]!!

since 2008, i’ve adopted a new year’s tradition [begun by artist & designer ali edwards] called one little word.

i choose one word for myself for the year – a word i can focus, meditate & reflect upon as i go about my Daily Life. i invite it in, live with it, let it speak to me & follow where it leads.

my past words have included embrace, hello, full, clear, light & shine.

for 2014, i’ve decided my one little word is [drumroll, please] … up [applause, please].

up | ready, eager, open, awake, into a happy mood

last year, i moved forward from several spots where i had been stuck for years.
this year, i intend to keep moving forward, but upward, too.

i’m moving on up, turning it up a notch, taking it to a whole. ‘nother. level.
just call me Ms. 45-Degrees 2014.

it’s a new year, everyone. what’s your one little word going to be?


image available via poster inspired @ etsy.com.

for every monday ever.

this is a post-lift, plain & pure,
from one of my favorite blogs, simple mom.

blog-mistress & key voice tsh oxenreider
penned this one, & it's just such a
remarkable reminder, it's well worth repeating.

enjoy:

as you start this new week,
may you find a sliver of inspiration in an unexpected place —
your preschooler’s scribble on the back of your grocery list,
the first daffodil in your backyard,
a harebrained story retold by your child as you chop the onions,
a lovely shade of nail polish on sale.

may you remember to stop & really listen to
those little bits of inspiration gifted to you.
during the carpool line & the costco shopping,
may you tune in your ears & eyes just so,
so that you stop & remark on the loveliness of that yellow bell pepper.
may you find that song on the radio
that makes you want to crank up the volume,
sing along, & maybe roll down the windows.

& when things are hard this week —
& there will be hard times this week —
may you remember the good parts of your day, too,
so that you resist labeling the whole day “horrible.”
& if your day truly is a train wreck,
may you find solid sleep,
so that you can wake up again,
ready to roll up your sleeves
& start over.

every new day is a gift. remember that this week.


image source: iris @ the natural gardener, 4.13.13, by me.

celebrate a woman.

what happens on a mama blog
when international women's day
happens during spring break . . .

we honor! we celebrate! we sing! just a dozen days later.

a pair of iwd items i must share,
both courtesy of the huffington post:

she's the reason:

a call to honor the unsung women who have helped shape us,
the ones who changed our life path in some essential way,
who made an important difference for us with their
presence, words, works, kindness or example, but might not know it.

huffpost requested readers to submit their "she's the reason"
stories via email & twitter for future publication up on the website.

but i'm going to go much more personal with mine.
this month, i will write a personal note to three such women in my life
to let them know they're the reason for something i cherish . . . & thank them for it.

wouldn't it be amazing to receive a letter like that? i think so, too.

one woman, y'all:

25 songstresses from 20 countries around the world
come together to sing a song of solidarity.
"one woman" was written for un women,
the international organization for women's rights.

it's beautiful & moving & available for download internationally:




image source: brazilian artiste bebel gilberto.

hooray, renée!

my dear friend renée trudeau
— life coach, author & balance facilitator —
has done it again.

her newly released book, nurturing the soul of your family:
10 ways to reconnect & find peace in everyday life,
clearly lights ten paths to experiencing greater ease,
flow & harmony amidst the daily navigation of
stressful commutes, homework squabbles, hurried mealtimes &
other challenges so many of us face as modern parents.

tomorrow, in conjunction with & celebration of
the first day of spring, renée is hosting a
book-release party like none other, a
"rejuvenating, joyful & connective evening of self-renewal,
storytelling, exercises & creative play"
based upon the book's themes.

here are the deets:
wednesday, march 20th, 6-9p
mercury hall @ 615 cardinal lane
austin, texas
tix will be $45 at the door

for the price of admission, participants get:
:: a two-hour self-renewal retreat led by renée;
:: wine + bevs with culinary delights by spoon & co. catering;
:: a private house concert by austin singer-songwriter tricia mitchell; &
:: an autographed copy of renée's new book.

a portion of the event's profits will go to benefit
the children in nature collaborative of austin.

for more info about the event —
which is sure to be both amazing & inspirational,
just like my dear friend renée —
click here.


image source: belief network.

atx: keeping pets alive!

a day late & a short shoutout
to austin pets alive!,
a key force behind my hometown's
no-kill badge of honor . . .

february marked austin's second anniversary
of being a no-kill city,
continuing our run of being
the biggest no-kill city in the u.s.

apa! alone saved over 6,000
dogs & cats just last year.

atx: keeping it weird, keeping pets alive
& keeping me proud to be an austinite!


image source: nicole mlakar photography.

anti-valentine's? you've got options.

i, for one, love valentine's day.

much like hamilton wright mabie & christmas,
i believe a season which engages the world
in a conspiracy of love can't be all bad.

yet i understand the anti-val sentiment out there.

i come from a place of more love = more good,
but i get the bitter bad that can come from
a painful brush with the ugly underbelly of the beast.

this year, i came across some alternatives for
the luv sux crowd that are a sort of love redirection . . .
other options to consider for coming feb fourteenths:



v-day | one billion rising.

v-day is a global activist movement to end violence against women & girls worldwide.

through v-day campaigns, creative events raise
awareness & money to help stop
rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation & sex slavery.



for its 15th anniversary, v-day launched one billion rising,
a campaign to get one-billion women & their loved ones
to walk out, dance, rise up & demand an end to such violence.

why one billion?
1 of 3 women worldwide will experience violence in her lifetime.
that's over one-billion women impacted by violence.

that's atrocious. that's unacceptable.

i don't know whether one-billion rising will continue,
but v-day definitely will, & being a part of it
is a great way to show some love to the women in your life.

click here to like v-day over at facebook.




generosity day.

generosity day was launched five years ago by sasha dichter to redirect valentine's day.

it's one day of sharing love with everyone,
being generous to everyone, practicing saying yes.
it's about love, action + human connection.

the goal is to spend february 14th
cultivating your practice of generosity through simple acts of kindness,
creating more generosity out in the world & becoming a more open person along the way.



click here to like generosity day over at facebook.




occupy valentine's day.

& finally, this much more casual-yet-fabulous notion
from brilliant writer anne lamott,
via a couple of facebook status posts:

"we are all so pumped about valentine's day.
you could cut the excitement around here with a knife.

my first plan was to celebrate by giving the kitty a flea dip & overeating,
but i think i've come up with a better idea.

. . . let's start an occupy valentine's day movement.

let's begin with the premise that another word for valentine's day is thursday.
& on thursday, as an act of radical self-care, we will celebrate the miracle
that a few people love us so much, that we can go on, & bear up, no matter what;
that even though they know the darkest, most human & intimate & disgusting stuff about us,
they still love us. in fact, they love us more and more through the years.
this is so wild, & is really my only hope. it is what salvation looks like.

let's celebrate that all you need is love; & that god is love & love is god; that love will heal all,
although unfortunately, maybe not on our time, i.e., by wednesday, right after lunch.
but it will. when all is said & done, love is sovereign on this earth.

so let's go crazy with love on thursday.
if we want to be filled with loving feelings, all it takes is to
do a bunch of loving things for others & ourselves. that's all it takes!
you take the action, & the insight will follow: that all you need is love. crazy.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *

it's wednesday. i'm so happy just thinking about having stolen tomorrow
back from the maws of commerce & exploitation. we did it.
we get to have free time tomorrow, like in elementary school when
miraculously, you got a free 45 minutes to paint or read or simply catch-up.
tomorrow, we get to practice living as fully as we are able,
without having to eat chocolates that we begged people not to give us.
& at the same time, we can eat all the chocolate we want, because tomorrow is
our day. it's occupy valentine's day.

let the rumpus begin, the rumpus of radical self-care,
of eating what we want, when we want it;
of wearing the clothes we feel comfortable and most ourselves in,
instead of the clothes that somebody else loves to see us wear
because it makes them have better self-esteem.

tomorrow, instead of holding our breath to see if somebody remembered, or produced,
or honored our stated hope that we just receive a sweet card,
instead of sweets that we don't want or need,
we get to be love-crazy with everyone god or life puts in our path to love."



image sources: despair.com, v-day, generosity day, see jane work.

i {heart} hearts.

sharing a collection of hearts
found amidst nature, from a broad spectrum
of unknown sources [mea culpa] . . .

to wish you a naturally & delightfully
happy valentine's day!

coral heart.

blowhole heart.

knothole heart.

tree heart.

island heart, argentina.

island heart, croatia.

cloudy heart.

mars heart.

snowy heart.

sweet heart.

hope today finds you with a happy heart & someone special to share it with!!

jump for love.

marilyn monroe.

as part of my three-word manifesto for 2013 –
dream. realize. shine! –
i'm reading three pieces of personal-growth inspiration each month:

you: staying young: the owner's manual for extending your warranty
by mehmet oz & michael roizen

happier at home: kiss more, jump more, abandon a project, read samuel johnson, & my other experiments in the practice of everyday life
by gretchen rubin

one bite at a time: 52 projects for making life simpler
by tsh oxenreider

host dick clark.

i read a piece of each at the beginning of the month,
write notes about it & ponder whether or how to
incorporate some of the concepts into my life.

one of the suggestions included in this month's chapter of
happiness guru gretchen rubin's book is simply to jump.
deciding she needs to literally put a spring in her step,
rubin resolves to jump every day:

actress janet leigh.

"i jumped in a silly way to make my daughters laugh,
i gave a secret skip on my way to the drugstore,
i hopped up & down in my office,
i did jumping jacks after i wok up in the morning,
i jumped down the last few stairs.

journalist mike wallace.

the sheer goofiness of it always made me feel cheerier,
& the energy of the gesture made me feel more energetic.
energy creates energy."

actress brigitte bardot.

rubin also refers to the work of
american portrait photographer philippe halsman,
who became known for his exhilarating snapshots of
famous people mid-air. quoth halsman:

host ed sullivan.

"when you ask a person to jump,
his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping
& the mask falls, so that the real person appears."

actress audrey hepburn.

philippe halsman's jump book, published in 1959,
contained 178 photos of celebrity jumpers, & a tongue-in-cheek discussion of
halsman's philosophy of jump photography, jumpology.

37th u.s. president richard nixon.

it's love month, y'all –
jump for it!!

the duchess & duke of windsor.

images source: philippehalsman.com.