My Kid was an Honor Student

"I believe the key to happiness is: someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to."  Elvis Presley

 

Oh, I like  Mickey is waving left handed!!!

 

Week #34 LIFE's simple pleasures - stages of LIFE

 

We all go through different stages of LIFE. From being a child to a teenager, from a new driver to a college student, from a young adult to a married couple, from new parents to empty nesters and from grandparents to senior citizens.

 

Whatever you call your current stage in LIFE, we all go though numerous changes... every day.  This year of simple pleasures I am having so much fun finding things that I really connect with, during ALL the different stages and changes I am going through....

 

One act of kindness could change a person's outlook on LIFE, forever!

 

It's better to look back on LIFE and say: "I can't believe I did that." Than to look back and say: "I wish I did that."

 

LIFE is a beautiful struggle.

 

I am currently in the stage of 'empty nest', as we have taken our youngest child off to college. 

 

I truly know that family and friends are honest and sincere when they say my parent 'job' will never be over!  But the active day to day parenting that I have been doing for the past 20 years has come to an end.  And I do know that it is okay to grieve over this loss.

 

Not that I'm throwing all of the past AWAY, but I am moving forward (with some things)  This post is really about me growing up (just a little bit). 

 

The picture above, I have always LOVED my Mickey decal.  It always made me smile when I was looking for my car in the parking lot.  He was always waving at me.... here is your car, here is the PILOT.... (you know how many look-a-like cars are in the parking lot at Target??) 

 

And below is the decal of our family.  I've seen this response to those stick figure decals : I don't know why they do that. All it does is let potential kidnappers know that their next victim may be in that car. I think that most attempts to "personalize" family vehicles are terrible ideas. People driving around with their family's last name emblazoned on the back window, right next to little stick figures that represent the members of their family. Look below and you see a bumper sticker telling everyone where their child goes to school. Great idea!!!

 

I took these pictures for posterity.

 

So what did I do? ....  I peeled off my decals.

 

I removed the honor student and hockey parent clings from the side window.

 

I'm really sad that they are gone. But it is time for a change in this stage of my LIFE!

 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post to see what's new!

Lucky Lefty

One of my favorite quotes is from the creator of the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, Bill Watterson...

 

“You know what's weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change, but pretty soon...everything's different.” 

Ain't that the truth??

 

And the above picture is one of my favorite paintings I did for my he♥art journal.  LIFE is certainly an adventure!!

 

Knowledge is power!

 

I love to learn every day!

 

I can't explain in words how excited I am to write my daily blog posts about my LIFE'S simple pleasures of 2013. 

 

I hope you have enjoyed some of my adventures and have taken time to explore the little things around you that are just so amazing!!

 

Week #33 LIFE'S Simple pleasures - left handedness (embracing the uniqueness that is you!)

 

I admit it! My condition is Sinistrality. 

 

It sounds truly authentic and almost mysterious.  I am left handed.  Although I favor my left hand in writing and some day to day tasks, I don't think I'm officially ambidextrous, able to use both hands equally. I used to be able to write on a chalkboard with both hands at the same time, they were mirrored images of each other (sort of), part of that backward thinking.

 

This is where I think a lot of young people gain their confusion as children.  ( I

 know I did as a child)

 

You are born with a dominant preference to either the right or left side.  If a child is dominant in their left hand they are more often taught by and have tools (scissors, pencil sharpeners, desks, ringed binders) that are designed for 90% of the population, the right handers.  Thus, they have to either feel awkward using those products, or adapt to using both hands.  One percent of the population is truly ambidextrous: able to use both hands equally.  And most lefties are multi-handed: ability to use both hands to some degree.  Righties mostly do everything with their right hand (boring!!!)

 

So, as I finish out this week.... I wanted to post a few pictures of my newest creations... a Pinterest SUCCESS  (highlighted in Week #15) ... it's all the rage and the hottest fall craze.... a burlap wreath for the front door.  Using my 'right' brain.... many lefties are creative in music and art... I think that is a true fact about me!!  And so excited too.... the entire wreath cost me only $15.... I used coupons and most everything was 40% off at Hobby Lobby!!!

 

 

Left-handers are wired into the artistic half of the brain, which makes them imaginative, creative, surprising, ambiguous, exasperating, stubborn, emotional, witty, obsessive, infuriating, delightful, original, but never, never, dull.” James T deKay

 

Now go out there and BRIGHTEN SOMEONE'S DAY!!!

Advantage LEFTIES!

Well, it's official.... the nest is empty.... but that's a whole 'nother story for a different day!

This week I'm talking about #32 LIFE'S simple pleasures - left handedness ( or in some cases.... embracing your differences)

Science tells us that the right brain controls the left side of the body and the opposite is true for the left brain controlling the right side. There's a bit more science to it all.  Currently, scientist haven't quite figured out which gene it is that creates left handedness, but there are some statistics and facts that they have gathered throughout the years. 

Being left handed is genetic.  The older the mother is, the more likely she is to have left handed children. About 30 million people in the United States are left handed.

 

The girls in today's cards are lefties!

 

Four of 5 original designers of the Mac Computer are left handed. Three of the last 5 presidents were/are left handed. The Boston Strangler, Jack the Ripper, and Osama Bin Laden were lefties.

 

Additionally, left-handers are often discriminated against by social, educational, and religious institutions.  For thousands of years, the Devil has been associated with the left hand in various ways and is normally portrayed as being left-handed in pictures and other images. Social customs and even language set the left-hander apart as “different” and even “bad.  In many societies, efforts are made to "convert" children who are naturally left-handed to using their right hands.  Modern neurology strongly frowns upon this practice. Left handers are not disappearing and as the creativity of new science evolves, there is more understanding for the left handed child and more tools are being created specifically for their needs.

 

 

I don't know about you, but my eye is drawn to someone I see on tv doing things with their left hand.... writing or a manual tasks.  Because we live in a predominately right handed world, I notice... and get a little giddy when I see a fellow lefty!!! 

 

Here are a few noted lefties (in no particular order)  Presidents, Obama, Clinton, Bush 41, Reagan, Ford, Ben Franklin, Col. Oliver North, Alexander the Great, Prince Charles and William, Oprah, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Phil Collins, Jimi Hendrix, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Carol Burnett, Cary Grant, Peggy R. & Delores H!

 

Now, there are a lot of great things about being different and left handed.  One cool thing is.... I can work on the computer and move my mouse and write with my LEFT hand at the same time.... I don't have to adjust the mouse and drop it to write with my pen.  Gottcha there righties!!!!  Us lefties have to adapt to everything!!!!!

 

Left-Handed Logic

Is it just me???

I am so excited to find out that left-handed people have their own logic. 

Of course, if you are a righty... you really don't even have a clue what I'm talking about.... because almost 90% of the world is set up for those who are right handed.

I too have used my left-handedness as an excuse because I was unable to do something and felt uncomfortable with tools and activities .... cutting, ironing, vacuuming, hitting a ball, painting, serving food... the list goes on.

There is a forum I visited recently that made me smile... it was a list of things a left-hander finds odd or difficult to do... I too have often flipped a magazine from back to front, my check marks on a survey or a test are backwards, I sometimes extend my left hand when I shake someones hand, I do a little dance on the sidewalk trying to figure out which side I'm supposed to walk on crossing the path of another person.... some lefties have trouble with upside belt buckles or zippers, signing a sales receipt when its held down on the right side of the counter, papers in hanging files are upside down, difficulty with locks and keys and tying shoes.

Often left-handed people just think differently and even feel self-conscious when someone points out that they have backward thinking or backward logic.

I always thought I was a little different, and I never quite understood why. 

Well, now I know one of the reasons why my thinking and doing is so different.  I now love the fact that I'm unique and always in my RIGHT mind! I'm proud to be left-handed!!!

Today I Celebrate my Rights!

I am so excited to share this weeks' simple pleasure.

As a small child I never thought much about it.

As a teenager it really felt awkward.

Later, I realized I was so different.

Then I met others like me.

I'm pretty unique and special, and now I understand what was so different about me.

I wish I could have had the correct tools to make things simpler.

I can admit it now.... the condition I have is SINISTRALITY!!!!

In science we learn that the right hemisphere controls the left side of our body... it controls music art, creativity, perception, emotions, genius and holistic thinking!

Week #33 LIFE'S simple pleasures - being LEFT handed (or accepting something total unique to you)

Today, August 13 is International Left-handers day!!!  It's a day for people like me to celebrate our right to be left-handed.

If you are a righty.... you'll never really get it!  But if you are left-handed you understand what it is like to constantly adapt to a right handed world.

 

I've read that anywhere between 13 to fifteen percent of the population is left-handed. That is a small percentage to the rest of the world... especially for those that never think about the difficulty of writing in a notebook with the ring binding in the way, or scissors that aren't molded to our hand, or pencil sharpeners that we have to crank with our less dominant hand, or a computer mouse that is specifically made for the right handed typist.... the list goes on and on and on.

 

So in celebration of International Left-handers Day.....if you are right-handed, imagine yourself left-handed for a while. Eat with your left hand, write, shake a friends hand, throw a ball, stir a brownie mix, open a door.... try it all with your left hand!!!! What would change?

 

Go out and celebrate the southpaws that you know... because you have to admit.... we are ALWAYS in our right mind!!!!

 

Hey, and also.... go and BRIGHTEN SOMEONE'S DAY!!!

 

Who Said LIFE was Fair

Enjoy the simple pleasures in LIFE!!!!

Don't let them pass you by.... you do have a moment.... make a moment and slow down!!!

This week my blog has highlighted going to the Fair. 

There are so many different kind of Fairs to attend.  Just like finding those simple pleasures in LIFE.... there is probably a Fair to attract like minding, fun, creative.... artsty fartsy types.... Like a Starving Artist Fair.  My home town had one of those.  I like the name.... Starving Artist.... you do art because you have a passion and a love.... not because you want to make money!

Not until my kids were a little older in elementary school did we attend our first Book Fair.  I just loved helping set them up.  I've highlighted numerous times this year, in some form or manner.... that books are a wonderful simple pleasure!!!  Book Fairs are great..... you can buy wonderful new books at great prices and it benefits the school or library that sponsors the Fair.

 

County Fairs, 4H Fairs, Science Fairs.... State Fairs..... all amazing places to see goods and services sponsored by young people who have a passion for caring for their environment, the land and showcases how we can use the world and see it's resources today..... and in the future.

 

Who doesn't love the great smells when walking through the cow barn on a 95 degree day in the summer????

 

There are Street Fairs and Music Fairs..... Renaissance Faires and  Balloon Festivals.  All throughout the year.... local newspapers highlight special events throughout the city, county and state. 

 

A fair is a great place to see new things and get to know your area.  It's a place to exercise and to people watch.  It's a place to sample new foods and just sit and relax. It's a place to create a nice memory.

 

Let's all go to the fair!!!!  LIFE'S simple pleasure!!!

 

Full - Circle... of LIFE

As friends and family of mine, you all know that very shortly I will be going through another stage in LIFE.... I will be part of the Empty Nesters' Club. 

It's hitting me pretty hard.... there I said it!

We all have to make choices in LIFE. 

Our choice, Jeff and I when we became pregnant with Kyle was for me to be a stay-at-home mom.

Almost two years later with Holly barely 3 weeks old we moved to Tennessee and so our journey began.  Two moves and 18 years later... my job of every day event coordinator is about to end.  It is truly.... bitter-sweet.

One thing I do know is that I love to create... or in some CASE-s.... recreate.  That is something that is part of who I am. 

 

I had an aha moment recently.  I have incorporated Art imitating LIFE... or my LIFE imitating my art ♥

 

I've taken on a few self improvement awareness programs... if that's what I should call it.  As part of my Year of  (think of New Year's resolution ).... at the House of SHINE... I decided to take on the Year of LIFE's simple pleasures.

 

I also took an on-line mixed media class that goes the entire year.... it's called LIFEbook 2013.  Each week I get inspiration to think and feel my art.

 

And another activity is part of Do52.

 

 

Each week I pick a new Popsicle stick with a verb on it and try to incorporate that word into my  daily LIFE.

 

There is a method to my madness. I have been able to combine all of my interests and create a story.... my story!!!

 

 I get to dream it, believe it, think it, doodle it and live it!

 

And this is how I discovered that my LIFE, I'm living a full circle.  For the past 31 weeks I have been highlighting 'one' of LIFE's many simple pleasures... and I have been randomly picking a verb... and here is what I found interesting... all randomly chosen....

 

Week #1 we all need to LIGHTEN up on our BEVERAGES.... Week #2 there are different TYPES of SNOWFLAKES... Week #4 a FIREPLACE can SUPPORT the structure of a home.... Week #5 BOOKS can SPILL out of a backpack... okay....so a few of them don't work out but then there is.... Week #14 each SPRING I have a to do LIST to check off.... #16 a fun activity when you have extra TIME is to PEOPLE WATCH...#23 SUSPEND in time and STOP & SMELL THE ROSES.... #25 some people GATHER BUGS and collect them... #27 we OBSERVE other peoples' Birthdays and celebrate them.

 

LIFE has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.

Can I help you???

 

An adventurous LIFE does not necessarily mean climbing a mountain, swimming with the sharks or jumping off cliffs.  It means risking yourself by leaving a little piece of you behind in all things you meet along the way.

 

A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees - Amelia Earhart

 

LIFE moves pretty fast if you don't stop and look around once in awhile you could miss it.

 

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

BRIGHTEN SOMEONE'S DAY!!