Spring is coming...

I have been out walking on every sunny day and the signs of spring are everywhere.

Spring, the season of renewal and rebirth, is a good time to take stock, fix up and clean up and find in those efforts a breath of freshness. I am looking forward to planting the pansies, seeing if my lilacs survived the winter and watching for all the flowering trees to blossom. It will be sad to say goodbye to one of the most beautiful winter seasons that I ever remember, but it's good to be moving in the direction of spring. Onward!

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it-- but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Hard Times By Charles Dickens...

This book was not as compelling to me as far as the characters and their stories, but one of Dickens most fascinating novels as far as social commentary and one of his bravest.

One of the most interesting points that Dickens makes concerns the trouble with labor unions, something that I think we still struggle with today. On one hand, those unions were desperately needed to get people out of dangerous and impossible working conditions, to get them reasonable pay, to get children out of the factories. But, then as now, unions pose problems not just for companies, but also for labor. For example, when is it correct to force a man not to earn his daily bread, whether he agrees with a strike or not? In Utah, we are a "right to work" state, therefore unions have less power, labor is not forced to strike, which I think is good for the most part, but our teachers are paid less than I think every other state in the union. c's teacher is easily worth 100 Grand a year. The woman is a superstar! Most teachers are members of the union and union dues are steep at $50 per month(I think?) for which union members really get nothing in my opinion.

Dicken's deplored the working conditions of the laborers, the prejudice against them, the environmental impact of the smoke and other pollutants put out by the mills. Society has made great progress in all these areas atleast in 1rst world nations, but still Dickens has pointed out some things that still plague us today. It is amazing how relevant his writing remains. I am in awe. Thanks Janice for the recommendation. This was a great read!

P.S. Just please forgive me.. the spell check on blogger is still broken and I'm really horrid with spelling on my own these days.

Happy Valentine's Day to YOU!

Be True to your own heart. I think that is a wonderful sentiment for Valentine's day, which should not just be a day for lovers, but a day to celebrate every kind of real love. So this is my conversation heart to you today. Happy Valentine's Day!

Be true. Be true to your own convictions. You know what is right, and you know what is wrong. You know when you are doing the proper thing. You know when you are giving strength to the right cause. Be loyal. Be faithful. Be true.

~Gordon B. Hinckley

A Frosty Window Pane...

We had a blustery evening. I was so grateful to be home in a warm house looking out my crystal window on a winter dreamland.

Thoughts & Flowers...

My pocketbook can trust me at the mall and even at the craft store these days, but I get into trouble at the garden center every time where pretty little posies put a spell on me so that I must bring them home. Aren't they lovely? I love spring flowers and they are coming... this is Campanula from Croatia. Isn't the world full of wonders. It is a perennial if you plant it in your garden and it will grow and bloom every spring in zones 4-9. Flowers make me happy. Color and beauty must be important in the world for their own sake.. or why would flowers be. I think that we are meant to be happy. I think we are meant to find joy in the little miracles around us.

I have a large collection of quotes and I found one the other day that I must put in one of my boxes soon because it reads, "Happiness is a form of courage." Holbrook Jackson said that and I've had that quote rattling around in my brain for days. It's true if you think about it. Happiness is a form of faith and maybe one of the best ways in which faith can be expressed. Happiness is contagious and can be shared. Happiness is a form of faith which replaces fear with gratitude. Happiness is a form of forgiveness. We're happier when we can be patient with ourselves and others. I'm not good at that yet, but I want to be. It's been something to think about. What makes you happy?

Giveaway...

I hope that I'm not finding out about this too late, but I think Lisa will still let me participate. Find out about One World, One Heart HERE

I am giving away this daffodil box from

ThE LOvE BoXeS SHoP

Please enter just once (so my random number program gives everyone a fair chance).

Lori is the winner! Congratulations Lori!

Cupcakes...

We like cupcakes around here (cupcakes taste better than cake)... but we.. actually I sure make a mess making them. How do you get the cupcake batter in the liners without spilling it all over the counter and the pan so you have to soak the pan after to get the burnt on batter off? I also tried to make these with peanut M's in the shape of a heart, which didn't really work out.. I will just put ooooie goooie cinnamon hearts on next time or maybe just one tiny red hot.. that might be cute.

Kaffe Fassett...

As is so often the case, today there was the most beautiful post on All Things Bright & Beautiful. I fell immediately and madly in love with these paintings by Kaffe Fassett.

Happy Birthday!

It's my sister's birthday this week! Happy Birthday Boo!
And, it's C's birthday this week... and you know what... I bought him this really fun present and I hid it really well... and now I can't find it anywhere. We've turned the house upside-down, little c and I, and it's just nowhere to be found. Dang. So, I guess we'll present it when we find it.
But, I know he'll like this PB Heart!

Happy Birthday C! You are my handsome prince more than ever! We love you!

Whitethorn Woods...

Ireland has a similar culture to Mexico in that their pagan history and their Catholic religion can get all mixed up together. In the Whitethorn woods is a well that is held sacred by many of the towns people. They walk there to pray and to leave small petitions on paper for St. Anne so that she will grant their wishes.

The book is a collection of short stories, many of them about the people who come to pray at the well, but some just about the people who live in the town.

My favorite is about a girl who plans an office weekend getaway, but then is not included in the group. She is terribly hurt, but she learns a lot about who she is and how she appears to others and how to reach outside herself and make those around her happy.

This book is available on tape at the library, but the readers are only so-so... so you can just read this one if you like. :)

Valentine Dinner...

Our neighborhood has a progressive dinner every year at this time. I always like to volunteer to host because I can do pink and red. It's been so fun putting this table together this morning. I wish the food was going to be something French and spectacular with cream sauce, but with all this frilly foofy stuff.. I'm making Taco Soup.. it's my never (almost never fail) go to recipe. I wish I had 10 of them, but I don't. Someday though, I'm going to set this table and make something fabulously French with cream sauce. :)

I love this Tutu swimsuit!

See it here...

Daffodil Box...

This box sold yesterday, but there are more in the works.
I will hopefully have one available in the shop this afternoon.
The quote reads: The Infinite has written its name on the heavens in shining stars, and on the earth in tender flowers... Jean Paul Richter

ThE LOve BoXeS SHop

7 things I love & a visit from my Dinosaur...

Natasha has tagged me to list 7 things I love... I can't break all the many things I love down to 7 things, so I will tell you seven things I loved about yesterday.
1. shades of green & thinking of daffodils

2. the bright and sparkling day that always comes after a storm has blown through

3. the piles of snow that look like a million bazillion diamonds

4. a good story with a happy ending

5. hugs and kisses

6. making a new friend

7. a nice visit from our dinosaur friend

I tag (only if you want to)... Shelese, Amy, Allison, Liz and anyone else who wants to play! :)

The Redneck Cookbook...

I was going to write this post and propose the idea of my one day composing a Redneck Cookbook, but what do you know ... it's been done!
The Redneck Cookbook: 165 Mighty Fine Fixin's and Other Things to Get Down Your Gullet..
has already been published. Oh well. You still get my recipe for tuna fish. I love a good tuna sandwich. I'm sorry these pictures look like the nasty food in Napolean Dynamite... I only had flouresant lighting in the kitchen by the dinner hour yesterday.. although we are happily gaining daylight every day.

So, I start with 2 cans of good albacore tuna, good mayo (I like Helleman's), two stalks of celery finely chopped, 1 stalk of green onion, very heaping tablespoons of sweet and dill relish.. or more, some tomatoe slices and a dash of pepper and sea salt.

What is your favorite ingredient? Or do you loathe tuna? Or do you love it on rye... yum!

New Year's Resolutions...

I'm still working on them. I haven't given up yet. I like this salad mix, by the way, it's delish. It doesn't have that wierd flavor that bagged salad often has. I don't know what that is, whether it's the platic they package it in, or a soap they wash the salad in... don't know, but this tastes just delish! Have you ever noticed how serving sizes for salad and peas are really big (you have to eat half of this bag for one serving.. a serving of peas is 2/3 cup). And yet, a serving of ice cream is only half of a cup.. bummmer.

I wanted to loose a little weight for my sister's wedding. I want to have a family photo taken and I don't want to look like a marshmallow in the pictures.

I reported that I read this book called, "This Year I Will" about achieving your goals (I have about 5 things I'd really like to accomplish this year). One of the many helpful suggestions in the book is the make a daily plan of how to achieve these goals. Part of my daily plan is to eat 5 servings of fresh fruit/or veggies per day. I thought this would be easier than exercising everyday for sure. After all, I love fruits and veggies!

But, after I looked into it a bit more. The tomato slice on your turkey sandwich is a nice and colorful touch, but it doesn't really count. During this year to this point, I've only made it to 4. That was yesterday. 5 a day, everyday, is more difficult than 30 mins. of exercise for me anyway.

Today I'm going to eat a banana and an orange for breakfast and see if I can't make it to 5 easier like that. Does anyone remember the name of that book about those 2 sisters who lived to be 100? One was named Sadie I think... anyway, they ate 9 servings of fruit and veggies per day! I can't even imagine it!

So Pretty...

You must see this amazing post. It's one of the prettiest homes I've ever seen.

Beeeeeeeeauteeeeeeful...

The Wasatch Mountains today...

New Earrings...

In

ThE LOvE BoXes SHoP

for Valentines...

Happy Groundhog Day!

We'll be watching this movie tonight with our popcorn and having a great time!