Set The Mood

It's Monday morning.

A brand new start to a brand new day in a brand new week.

What mood do you choose?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I had a really crappy day yesterday.

I could not shake my crappy mood.

Overwhelmed, irritated, frustrated.

I tried and tried to shake it but

the ugliness clung to me like a wet coat.

After searching my thick skull for a reason,

the source of the mood was discovered.

I have a 17 year old cat.

We've had him since he was one.

He's a wonderful fella...

when he's not waking me at the ass crack of dawn. 

Every morning the same thing.

Meow meow meow meow meow meow

meow meOW MEOW MEOWWWWW!!!!!

He'll sit on the floor and stare at me in my bed.

MEOW

He'll wander the house and yell MEOW!!!!

In all fairness, the vet has suspicions that he

has the beginning of dementia (poor fella)

and one of the first things I do when I wake

is give him heave duty pain meds for his arthritic

hips and spine (again, poor fella).

You might be thinking, "What a meanie!

Blaming that poor old cat for her fowl mood."

Yeah. I know! That's the conclusion I came to myself.

Except I didn't blame the cat. I blamed me.

My attitude. My perception.

I went to bed wanting nothing more than to sleep in.

I never sleep in.

Four children, one husband, two cats.

One mom. No late mornings for me.

I went to bed at 10 p.m. and was woken at 6 a.m.

Rather than perceiving my night as a full night's sleep,

I was immediately frustrated that I was woken up.

The constant Meoooowwww plucked at my nerves.

All I wanted was to sleep in and wake on my own!!

Is that too much to ask??????

Perception.

I set the mood. I set the impossible expectation.

Seeing my error, last night before bed I lay my head

down with a different mindset. Instead of "I want to sleep in", I thought "I will get enough good sleep and wake

to my faithful old friend who loves me and needs me."

See the difference?

I woke this morning feeling rested.

Faithful Farley was right there waiting for food, medicine and love and I was up and happy and ready to oblige.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Again I say...

It's Monday morning.
A brand new start to a brand new day in a brand new week.
What mood do you choose?

No fancy pictures here, just my faithful old man cat.

He's such a good guy.

I'm thankful for every day we have together.

Nothing to say - Monday

 It's Monday.

Not much to say.

 I'll leave it up to others today.

Faith makes things possible, not easy.  ~Author Unknown

If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished? ~Rumi

The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.  ~Hanna Rion

Random

Monday

What a day!

Lots to do in little time.

In honor of my non-focused, rush filled day,

I share with you a bit of random.

Going to order THIS for hubby for Christmas.

Or maybe THIS.

Eh, what the heck! I'll get both!

Free photo editing fun for the whole family! Easy breezy.

40 high quality photo effects done online

A gorgeous movement of L♥VE.

Seriously. These feelings flashcards are THE BEST!

Should be in every classroom, every home, everywhere!!!

Love Them!!!!

 I am soooo going to make these delicious tarts!

Gigi is awesome!

Whew! That should keep you busy!

Just for good measure, I will show you my two new Etsy listings as of today.

Quaker vintage Vat fabric

vintage tins

If interested, you can find them HERE.

Random Monday

Lennon.

Cool dude.

Knows how to chill.

I'm taking lessons.

;)

Cool Dude Lennon chillin' in is pad.

Not much time to write today but I

wanted to share a few links with you.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The always generous Jerry Jones

from Shadowhouse Creations

is sharing some cool free fonts HERE.

The best of human nature here.

The Prez making home brew here.

The best cure for insomnia

is a Monday morning.  ~Author Unknown

Mastering Meditation

It's lamb season at the farm.

Watching those sweet fuzzy babies brings peace to my heart.

Today's news headline brings hope to so very many.

Peace and hope.

Important words.

Light words.

Love words.

I have tried for YEARS to meditate

finding it near impossible to shut down the chattering of my brain.

To focus.

My breathing is not steady and I struggle in that area as well.

I am ecstatic to say I have cracked the code!

Not everyone wants to meditate.

Not everyone who practices has difficulty.

For those who do, you have to find what works for you.

Some approach meditation traditionally.

Some walk and meditate.

Some use visualization.

Some use prayer.

I am going to share my technique in hopes it will help someone else

who is struggling, find a way that works for them.

 *******

The term "Let go and let God".

Valuable

You do not have to be religious.

You do not have to be of a particular religion.

Consider God to be God, Higher Power, Divine Being, Energy.

Whatever your belief.

I have practiced "Let go and let God".

It has been important to me.

I tend to have control issues.
I tend to take on too much.

I tend to live cranial.

One night as I was sitting in bed

very troubled

trying to meditate

I decided to let go and let God.

Something clicked.

I applied it to meditation.

As I exhaled, I thought "Let go"

(let go of worry, anxiety, control, all the negative, exhale it out of your body)

As I inhaled, I thought "Let God"

(bring in the good, the love, the peace, the positive, inhale and fill your body with good)

Exhale = Let Go

Inhale = Let God

Exhale

Inhale

Exhale

Inhale

As I said those four little words

visualizing all negative leaving with the exhaled breath

and all positive entering on the inhale

I achieved my first successful meditation session.

Call it prayer,

call it meditation, 

call it whatever you wish.

It works for me

and perhaps it will work for you as well.

May you have a Peace and Hope filled day!

Happy Monday!

Monday

Here we go.

You and me, Monday.

We really need to have a talk.

What's with the grey skies and freezing rain...

...again!!!

Are you unaware of the length of my 'to-do' list?

What if we cut a deal?

I will do my best to be the sunshine today

if you will simply be gentle with me.

Capisce?

Deal.

Happy Sunny Monday To All My Fellow Bloggers!!!

If you don't have sunshine in your area

I challenge you to be the sunshine today!

Double Dog DARE!

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.  ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

What's on your 'to-do' list today? I have already knocked off a few items! Perhaps I will count this blog post as my "me" time and mark off a third! Perspective Baby.

Love is Everywhere

Love truly is everywhere.

Open your heart and it will find you.

 

I love finding hearts in nature.

Heart shaped stones,

hearts in trees,

leaves shaped as hearts.

This year

a theme has presented itself to me

over and over.

Driveway double hearts!

People backing up, then pulling out.

Leaves two pretty hearts behind.

 

I often wonder if the driver

upon arriving back home

notices the love they left behind.

Cyber Monday

It's here.

The holiday shopping season.

Ugh!

I tried to tell the kids that due to the recent economy crisis

Santa has lost his workshop to foreclosure

and all the elves have left to work with

is glue and toothpicks.

I must use sarcasm entirely too much in this house

as they did not buy one single word of it.

Drat!

That means I need to come up with some Christmas cash!

In honor of Cyber Monday

I have created a sale in my Etsy shop.

Everything in the shop is 20% off

starting today and running through Friday.

I am hoping to get more items listed as the week progresses.

To take advantage of the sale

enter coupon code

YIPPEE

at checkout.

To all my cyber chummies who check out my shop,

Thank You!!!

To the rest,

don't worry.

I still love you too!

;)

Happy Silly Cyber Monday!

Monday Funny

Okay.

I just have to share this.

I was driving the kids to school this morning.

The sky was flashing with lightening.

The rain was so intense I could hardly see the road.

I dropped kids off safe and sound

and headed back home with a morning radio show

dialed in to keep me company

and keep my mind off the storm outside.

(driving in rain w/bald tires = worry)

The morning personalities had a comedian in house.

Luckily I was pulling into the driveway as he threw out his first lines.

If not, I may have driven straight into a ditch!

My day started with a huge belly laugh!!!!

Wish I knew who he was so I could

a. thank him

b. give him credit

 

Comedian speaking of online dating sites:

(paraphrased)

Every woman's profile has the same thing.

I love moonlit walks on the beach.

I love moonlit walks on the beach.

I love moonlit walks on the beach.

So one night I went to the beach.

There were at least 500 women walking around!

Buah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!

Is it just me? or is that funny?

So obvious yet I never thought of it or heard it before.

Totally got me.

Hope it made you smile too.

Nothing like starting out the week with a belly laugh.

Have a blessed and happy week my friends.

p.s. can you believe I was able to get that moon shot with my little digital?

Simplify

My weekend theme

worked out so well

I am carrying over

into my week.

Why?

simply because ;)

What are you in need of this week?

My Man is The Man!!!!

The weekend was successfully spent having fun! Now I will pay for my fun with the mega load of work I have to catch up on. This post will be simple. I'm sharing a few pics of one of the latest chainsaw carving my uberly talented husband has been working on. May your day be filled with beauty. Happy Monday!