Gasp...

The lovely Clare, from Romance and the Roses, was kind enough to give me this blog award! It's taken me awhile to figure out how to connect a link to my post, (she was nice enough to help me with that, too) so I'm just now getting around to posting this. Sorry, Clare! *smile*

I'm really so grateful that somebody enjoys reading my blog...I never thought that anything I had to say or share would be of the least interest to anyone else...so thank you so much!

...I'm supposed to give this award to ten other people, but I'll have to do that in another post!

Jimmy...

"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."
~James Dean

Don't fuss, dear...

"It's that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so don't fuss, dear; get on with it."

~Audrey Hepburn

Ouch...

A few weeks ago I got my ear pierced. That's right. One ear.

I had gotten both of my ears pierced long ago when I was nine, but I had a lot of problems with them then and had to take the earrings out. They thus promptly decided to close over, wouldn't you figure. *smile*

I then went back several years later to have them pierced once more and I again had problems...at least, with one ear I did. So I ended up with one ear pierced and one ear that had closed over twice! I didn't exactly want to walk around with just one earring in...though my sister Sarah kept claiming that I could start my own unique style. Nuh-uh! Not me!

Even with much trying I couldn't get an earring in that persnickety old ear. After hearing all about my earring woes, Sarah finally decided that she would help me and tried putting it in for me, but she actually just ended up puncturing another hole. I'm not kidding...let me tell you, that was one painful experience!

Finally, just a few weeks ago, my Mom (on the spur of the moment) talked me into getting it pierced once more. I know it sounds crazy after all that piercing and re-piercing, but she caught me in a unstable moment when I was surrounded by row after row, of all of these lovely, make-your-knees-go-weak, earrings. Very handily, (grrr!) there just happened to be an ear piercing station in the shop, and before I knew it my Mom had whisked me over there, saying that I just had to get my ears pierced.

It's not that I was afraid, per se....I just don't happen to like pain very much. I prefer to think of myself as a delicate, flower-like, sort of girl, who's lily white hands and skin are more easily injured than other girls (hee-hee), instead of just coming right out and saying that I'm a sissy.

I climbed up into that stool with my eyes as big as saucers (or so I imagine them to have looked) and my feet dangling down as if I were five years old again. I'm not sure if it was an extra tall chair or if my legs are just extra short, but either way, it made me feel more nervous than I already was, as everyone in the shop could get a good look at me if they wanted too. Which, by the way, is not a good thing if you feel you are about to cry.

Miss "Ear-Piercer" took her good old time getting everything ready, laughing and chatting until I was about ready to grab the collar of her shirt and growl out at her through clenched teeth... "Just get on with it, anyway!" But thankfully, before I knew it, it was over and I had a brand new earring in my ear to prove it. It really wasn't as horrible as my vivid imagination tried to make me believe it would be. It actually didn't hurt much at all.

So now I can hardly wait to buy all of the lovely new earrings that I can wear again! And just in case you were wondering, I haven't had any problems at all this time. I may have an ornery set of ears, but you have to give it to me...I'm persistent!

Time flies...

Time seems to fly by so quickly. I've been meaning to put up a new post every day, but even with all of my good intentions, time has somehow managed to slip past me once again, and here it is...a whole week gone by with nothing new. I'm sorry I've neglected you so, dear blog.

I've managed to sneak a moment just now, to sit here at the computer and muse. Dreaming is one of my favorite past-times (if you can call it that) and I haven't been able to do very much of it lately. I like to take a moment every once in a while to collect my thoughts; to try and remember what path I want to be walking and to realize which one my feet are really on. I get some of my best ideas for writing when I can sit and "think out" all of the thoughts that are in my head. You wouldn't believe what a strange mix of ideas I can have pooling in my head all at once. It even surprises me sometimes still (who should be used to myself, by now). *smile*

I'm tired and a bit "world-weary" just now, with a headache and chills pulling me down. But, I'm going to try and be more faithful with my posts. Even the best intentions don't really get you anywhere unless you follow through on them.

I really didn't have much to say for now, I just wanted to pop my head in and say "hello." To let you know that I'm here and still me.

Good-night for now, sweet world.

Father of the Bride...

This fun, loveable film, features a young, sweet-faced Elizabeth Taylor as Kay Banks, a girl on the verge of getting married. Spencer Tracy stars as her father, Stanley Banks, who has more than a little trouble with the news that he's about to lose his "little" girl to another man.

Stanley T. Banks: You fathers will understand. You have a little girl. She looks up to you. You're her oracle. You're her hero. And then the day comes when she gets her first permanent wave and goes to her first real party, and from that day on, you're in a constant state of panic.

Stanley T. Banks: Who giveth this woman? "This woman." But she's not a woman. She's still a child. And she's leaving us. What's it going to be like to come home and not find her? Not to hear her voice calling "Hi, Pops" as I come in? I suddenly realized what I was doing. I was giving up Kay. Something inside me began to hurt.

* * * * * * * * *

Ellie Banks: Oh, Stanley. I don't know how to explain. A wedding. A church wedding. Well it's, it's what every girl dreams of. A bridal dress, the orange blossoms, the music. It's something lovely to remember all the rest of her life. And something for us to remember too.

Ingrid...

Ingrid Bergman

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

~Abraham Lincoln         

Harvey...

You just have to love Jimmy Stewart in the movie Harvey.  His character is so extraordinarily different from the typical and yet he's the most lovable of the lot of them.  I've really come to appreciate this movie more in the last few years.  I can't believe this is me saying this, but I actually disliked Jimmy Stewart and most of the movies he starred in, when I was very small.  Thankfully, I've realized how wrong I was, *smile* and he's been one of my favorite actors for years.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *   

Elwood P. Dowd:  Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."  Well for years I was smart.  I recommend pleasant.  You may quote me.

     ~Jimmy Stewart in "Harvey"          

City Lights...

I'm in town at my aunt's house watching her dog for her while she's away.  Not the most glamorous job...but it works.  This is the town where my family used to live.  A few years ago we moved way out into the country, to a pretty little place with rolling hills and dirt roads.  We don't know very many people there, but we like it just the same.  We have twenty-five acres that we can use as we please.  

Our extended family always wonders why we would want to move so far away from everything and everyone that we have ever known.  They just don't understand.  Sometimes you get tired of living in a busy city, cramped in with people all around you.  Sometimes you get tired of all of the hustle and bustle, people crabby and work-worn, too impatient to wait for people who want to stop and smell the roses.  

The country gives you room to breathe; room to think.  There's nothing quite like the great expanse of sky over our farm at night.  I like to go out with my sister after dark when's she feeding the animals, and just stand there with my head tilted back, looking up in awe at the night sky.  I've never in my life seen anything more beautiful.

In the city it's hard to imagine that so much outdoors exists.  You can only see one small patch of sky in the horizon; you can only see a few stars shining down on you, their brilliancy dimmed to a weak glow from all of the city lights.  

It took me several years to get used to how dark it was in the country when the sun went down.  That sounds like a funny statement, because night is night, right?  But there really is a difference.  You don't know how dependent you've become on something until it's taken away.  That's how it was with me and the city lights.  At our new home, without any towns or houses being very near, when it gets dark, it's pitch black.  At first, the darkness almost frightened me.  But once I got used to it, it seemed like that's how it really should have been all along.  The darkness envelopes you and the stars fill the sky with their brilliancy.  

Sure, it's nice to come back to town every once in awhile, to see all of the familiar people and places, but at the end of my stay, I'm always glad to go home again.

They can keep their city lights!

Glamour...

Grace Kelly

Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress.

~Coco Chanel

Home again...

I'm back!

I'm home again after spending almost a week at my Aunt and Uncle's house. It was nice to visit and help them, but it's so nice to be back at home! I have so many things to catch up on, and I can't wait to start putting up more posts!

Goodnight for now...

Shine...

Always be

a first-rate version of yourself,

instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

~Judy Garland

Daydream Believer...

It may be those that do most, dream most.

~Stephen Leacock

I don't want to settle for anything less than the best, in anything for my life. I'm not talking about possessions, or money, or anything like that...I just don't want to ever forget about all of the dreams that I have...

Sometimes when life becomes hard and there are more struggles than good times, it seems like it would be so easy to just settle for something simpler, than to have to keep fighting each day for your dreams. I have to remember to cling to the hope that somehow everything will work out; that although my life will not always be perfect, though my life will not always turn out the way I want it to, if I can remember to stay true to myself and remember to keep reaching towards my dreams, someday, somehow, they will come true!

Hard work and struggles make you stronger....and I'm thankful for my own set of them. I really mean that. So...I'm going to keep on dreaming big. I have so much of my life left to live - I can see it stretched out before me with unlimited possibilities and potential.

I can't help myself...I'm a dreamer!

The Important Thing...

"The important thing is to enjoy your life--to be happy--it's all that matters."

~Audrey Hepburn

Beauty...

Sometimes life is so beautiful it takes my breath away. Even in moments when it seems like nothing will ever be right again, there is always some small part of me that knows that life will always be worth living, even just for the hope of seeing a glimpse of that same beauty in another day.

I want to always live my life in such a way, that in many years from now, when I'm old and gray, I will be able to close my eyes and look back over my life, and have no regrets. Be assured that I will make many mistakes, but I don't want to ever miss out on life because I have been afraid, or because I've been too proud to say what is in my heart, or to proud to admit that I was wrong.

I'm obsessed with beautiful things, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem at first glance. Whether it's watching the sun go down beneath the big hill out back, or doing something to surprise someone that I love just for that one moment that I can see their eyes light up from within, or listening to the soft, steady breathing of my sweet sister Elizabeth from her own small bed across the room; for me...it's small moments like these that would make me choose to live my life, mistakes and all, all over again in a heartbeat.

Laughter...

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.

~Anne Frank