Interesting quote

"Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong." -Lao-Tzu (600 B.C.)

Meanings of Flowers and herbs

I just posted on Stacie's blog about this, so thought I'd plop it here for my own reference.

And, what a neat way to give your significant other a message via flowers and herbs!

I recently found a site with the history and language of flowers and herbs, that includes the origins and meanings. It's very cool. For my wedding, I enjoyed placing little bits of florals and greenery about with special meanings.

There's also this one: http://www.lynnguistics.com/navigation/gardening/herbs/meanings.html but it only lists a few herbs in comparison to the first.

And then, I found more information in regards to wedding bouquets at this site: http://www.theherbaltouch.com/articles/wedbouquet.html.

So, I suppose I'm going to have to dig up a picture of my bouquet from my wedding. I included rosemary (for rembrance), lavender (devotion / best wishes ), roses (pink, dark pink, and white, here and there), tulips (friendship/ or the perfect lover), baby's breath (pure of heart) - oh my. It was a lot. :) And we had ivy planted through out the hall.

Yup, going to have to dig that up at some point.

Friday's Fancy

Soft rain has been dancing upon the house. I am filled with a feeling of peace, in the early moments of morning. It's quiet, and I am relishing each bit of quiet I get lately.

These past two months I've been running around a lot more than is comfortable to me. My plate is full again. How does this happen?

I want to dump it, clear it off, keep it clean, let it go. That's my way of regaining sanity you know - I clean and clear the physical, and hope it works on the mental. :)

I know that part of it is because I am out of routine. We have been tired in our household. Perhaps this weekend we shall be able to sleep in. There's a Poirot DVD waiting patiently for our indulging this weekend.

There are things that I want to get done, but don't want to do. Do they need to be done? They've not been done yet, and some would benefit from being done eventually I suppose.

The rain is soothing, as is the dark before the sunrise. I am ready to greet my day with open arms.

Attitude

I recently read this post by Ed over at his blog. First, it got me wondering if I'd told people - "Just you wait until... " in terms of babies. Hmmm... Ed, I think I might have said/written something along those lines, and if I did, I apologize.

I'm not one of those people sitting by, eating popcorn in wait for new parents to have issues, or to go through what we went through; however, I realize I've a tendency to blurt out my thoughts. I think it's just become a habit for me to say things like that, as there have been some people I know who've jumped into parenthood without a clue as to what to expect. In my own mind, I think I wanted to prepare them - life inevitably changes after baby. But then, in recent events, I suppose that's a judgement on my part.

What really strikes me about his post, and Ed in general, is the way he approaches life. He has FUN. In his words:

When faced with any responsibility we tend to see "fun" in those things that match our routines and see "work" in those things that do not. And, thus, there are those who suffer through and those who celebrate the very same things. Which is just a long-winded way of saying: it's all about attitude! After doing something I enjoy, I feel refreshed. After doing something that I just couldn't make myself enjoy, I feel exhausted, as if I have been swimming against a rip tide. So, I've found I get more done by doing things I enjoy.

I've learned to find stimulation in several otherwise mundane tasks. Far from being simple for it, I've found it takes a great deal of imagination, creativity, and energy. I've also found that thinking this way has made me often scratch my head when people warn me of the trials of most things in life.

So, please, let me adjust the Nike slogan of "Just Do It" and replace it with "Just Enjoy It".

Well written Ed (although, if you ever do get around to updating your post, let me know and I'll fix it here).

Perhaps I'll come up with a few other ponderings on this at another time. But right now, I just want to savor the words.

If you can't say something nice about someone...

don't say anything at all.

Recently, I've had an interesting email conversation with someone. The conversation revealed some things about myself that took me a bit off guard, as I didn't realize I was coming across in such a way, and then to realize how I was coming across bugged me.

Granted, it was this person's opinion and issue; however, it was something I wish I'd been aware of about myself early. Not so much how I come across to others, but the fact that I was acting in a manner that when others act, bothers me.

It has really been eye-opening, and it's given me a new perspective of who I am, and how I talk about things in general. I admit, seeing myself in this light has been rather sobering, especially because it bugs me when others have done those things. Then, you realize you've done them, and Ouch.

So, I'm a little more quiet as of late, trying to figure out how I want to change this, and be less judgemental. Hmmm...

Soft thoughts

I can hear the thunder, rolling through the night sky. The wind dances with the curtains, as it passes into the room. Today, I spent the day with my sweet little girl. We had a swimming lesson (she's doing SO well since her first class, now if only we can get her to blow bubbles...). We had lunch with her friends, then her Kindermusik class. She fell fast to sleep in the back car.

Today, I was blessed with good news, and reassurance from a dear friend, that I'm a good mom. And you know what, I know I'm a good mom.

My daughter is always smothering me with kisses, telling me she loves me, that she's proud of me. And I'm so proud of her. It was a tough weekend (we started toilet training), but she's been keeping her pants dry all this week, whenever she wears them. She has realized, however, that when in the diapers (bedtime and travel for now, she can get away without sitting on it).

In any case, each day I watch her grow and do new things. She is amazing, loving, and wonderful.

To a dear friend...

I'd like to take a moment, to congratulate a dear friend of mine on his impending fatherhood. I've known him for over a decade, and I know in my heart, he's going to be an awesome dad.

Congratulations dear friend, to you and your beautiful wife. What a wonderful journey to embark on.

I am SO HAPPY for you!

And, if you need any advice, you know where to find me. :)

Of course, this means that our friendship is now bumped up to that next level - sharing the kid experiences, and dishing out kid advice! Whoo hoo! Parenthood!