banned book week

Something that means a lot to me is Books. I am an avid reader and books are like air and water to me. Without them I would not survive. Every year the last week in September is Banned Book Week. It is meant to raise awareness of Censorship and also of your First Amendment Right. So, my friends, get out there and READ! Books have been banned for centuries and for ridiculous reasons. My favorite Series of all time, The Harry Potter Series of books, have been banned for years. Go figure. Peace Out and Pick up a Book!

My favorite poster for Banned Book Week 2007.

solo road trip

I decided once a month to take a solo road trip. No kiddos along, no hubby. Just me and my camera. My inaugural trip was today, to beautiful Prescott Arizona. One of my favorite spots in Northern'ish Arizona to go. So I took a few ungodly amount of pictures and will post my favorite ones for you to enjoy!

This one was my favorite-favorite of the day.

... and this chair was irresistable...

well, until i saw the price $$$

a red scooter...

 a fabulous hat...

town gazebo...

one hundred one

What do you get a very special person who just happens to have turned 101? Well, when you reach that age you have or have had just about everything your heart has desired. So, that leaves us gift givers looking for something special. Something that will bring a smile to a sweet grandmothers face. The go to item that you can never have too much of... jewels, of course!

a new addition

Anyone who knows us knows how loving we are. That we love animals and that our home just hasn't been the same since our Golden Retriever, Hogan, passed away.  We have been searching for our new pup for about a year now. We researched a few breeds and have decided on the Coton du tulear. Although we really like to rescue animals from the Humane Socitety, these pups are not the breed you find in need of rescue. They are fantastic pups and once they find a home, rarely are they given up.  So, we have decided for once to find a breeder.  The temperament and personality of these pups would be a great addition to our family. Now we are trying to find the right breeder close to home. We are looking forward to finding the right people who provide the parents and the new pups with the love and attention that will be carried on in our own home. Keep your fingers crossed bloggers that we can have a new addition to our family before years end. <3

the big question

This is a long post, but considering the subject matter I think it is warranted.


People who know me personally know there have been recent events where I have had to think of the possibility of death. Not mine, but someone so close to me it might as well be me. I have been pondering one of the biggest unanswerable questions in the existence of humankind. What happens when you die?

I have always struggled with this question. I just don't think there are a set of big pearly gates in heaven where once admitted everyone gets there own mansion. I mean everyone is NOT that materialistic that now they have to feed us a story about everyone having their own mansion in the great beyond now are we? Anyway, literally or figuratively it really makes us sound petty and materialistic. No, I don't buy it. Our soul, our spirit is proof that we are more than blood, bones, skin and organs. We have a mind, free will, and a soul that make up the nitty gritty of who we are, not what we are. So, I wonder, once our heart stops beating and our brain ceases to function does our soul die too? The logical side of my brain tells me YES. However, The Intuitive side of my brain tells me the soul is spiritual and therefore everlasting.

The "reward" that religious zealots are trying to convince us awaits us after we die is a farce. All the struggling humankind has gone through is suppose to be smoothed over by believing our reward awaits us in the afterlife. The unexplainable is blanketed with the old standby "It is the will of God", GAH, I just don't buy it. I live my life being a good person, a decent human being because that is who I am, not because there is a reward for me, like a great big doggie treat in the sky, for a life well lived. I don't knock anyone who believes differently from me, if my friends, acquaintances or family members choose to believe differently I do not get offended or angry. I am curious, I question the "WHY" of why they believe, but I don't disregard their values or beliefs because they are different from mine. They, or I, am no less of a person because we have differing beliefs when it comes to God, Jesus, or Heaven/Hell. I am just intellectually curious why they choose to believe what they do. It is called free will and if someone wants to worship Jesus Christ or the Chihuahua from Taco Bell (totally 90's reference snuck in there) then so be it. What I don't get are the people who personally get pissed off because I ask them why it is they believe or because I don't follow the same religious beliefs. It's not the choice I am questioning, but why they believe, to gain perspective. To me the anger signals they themselves are uncomfortable with their decision of what they believe. If someone can have a serious spirited conversation with me without getting defensive or upset about their beliefs then I respect that.

I am not ignorant to world religions, I have studied a vast majority of them during my higher education. However, I have only found comfort and hope from one explanation of what happens to the soul when the human form ceases to exist. It states:

"The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother."

Not really an answer is it, however it does ring true to me somewhere in my core...

The jist of it is this. We cannot know what lies beyond death, it is an unanswerable question. But what brings solace to those who ponder is that we as a human race are like a baby in a mothers womb, we do not know what awaits us outside of our womb environment, but one day when our time is up, our soul will be born into a new existence. Not our consciousness, not our earthly form, but our soul. The understanding is that the "spiritual world" is a timeless and placeless extension of our own universe--and not some physically remote or removed place. That the soul, although undetectable by physical instruments, shows itself through the qualities of character that we associate with each person. The soul is the focal point for love and compassion, for faith and courage, for humility and other such "human" qualities that cannot be explained solely by thinking of a human being as an animal or as a sophisticated organic machine. The soul does not die; it endures everlastingly. When the human body dies, the soul is freed from ties with the physical body and the surrounding physical world and begins its progress through the spiritual world.

So, this really is NO answer at all other than, there may be some other form of existence that our souls progress towards that cannot be explained. So, an answer isn't so much supplied as Hope is. Organized religion has always left me with a uneasy feeling in my gut ... like something is just not right. So I've never really had a category to place myself in when people ask about my religious beliefs. I never really considered myself an atheist, so I guess I would say I am a Philosophical Humanist with a spiritual curiosity.

keeping it real

So, I've decided to try to blog more this year. I always start out the year not really making "resolutions" but just trying to gain perspective on what about my life I would like to change or eliminate or do more of. I actually do this relatively frequently throughout the year, but around the holidays it's always so hectic and I rarely focus on myself. So, with the holidays being over, I am reflecting on what is... and what isn't.

Here is what I've come up with. I would like to start doing more creative things with my time, spend more time outdoors, develop my photographic/editing skills, spend more time with my Mom, and spend more time doing creative things with my girls. Also, spend less time in front of the t.v. and of course/ as always, focus on being debt free.

So, I started by canceling my digital cable and home phone, saving about $110/month. This helps with the "not spending so much time in front of the t.v." and the "focus on being debt free" categories. I did make a lovely floral centerpiece for my table, (pictured above) but that took all of 30 minutes. So, I am on to finding the next creative project to occupy my time.

I am also planning on starting to walk in the evenings. It's hard because Gregg is gone to Chicago for 6 months, and I hate leaving the girls in the house alone, even if it is just for a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood. But, I am not going to make excuses, and I am going to find a way to make it happen.

So, I will keep updating my blog as life takes its course . . . and hopefully I will become a happier and healthier person this year, for myself, and for my family.

UPDATE 2/1/2010: I solved the "not leaving the girls home alone to go walking every night" problem. I bought a treadmill! Now, you are thinking "Great, well doesn't that blow her trying to save money to become debt free goal?!". NOPE, it doesn't. Bought it on Craigslist, for cash, for a screaming deal! Yay - that is what you call "killing two birds with one stone" !
(Wow, now that i read that saying it sounds pretty graphic, why would anyone want to kill one bird with one stone let alone two birds with one stone?!)