Reflections

Since I spend 51 weeks out of the year complaining, please indulge me as I take five days to be grateful. Notice I'm not doing 30 days of gratitude; I don't want to damage my reputation. *smile*

As some of you may have noticed, I've updated my blog; Google finally let me change my header! I also updated the standalone pages (About Me, etc.) and added new Share buttons on the bottom of each post from sharethis.com. If you're so inclined, I'd appreciate a look-see and feedback. Thanks!

During June and July I played around with water refraction photography. My plants were appreciative because they received extra water; especially the vincas, which seemed to retain droplets the best. Again, this was using the Opteka magnifier before purchase of the 100mm macro lens. There are better examples on the web, but I sure had fun playing!

"Life is an echo, what you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others exists in you." Unknown

As we begin Thanksgiving week, I am steering my thoughts and prayers to a place of deeper gratitude. I oftentimes grumble, and I've been known to get judge-y. God has to continually remind me how much I have to be thankful for—how he rescued me from the muck and mire. And the minute a criticism escapes my lips, I get a gentle tap on the shoulder that says, "Hey, you're not perfect either. Be kind. Be compassionate."

If we fill ourselves with God and his love, we will be like these water drops, reflecting his beauty back into the world.

My prayer for those struggling is to search for God with all their hearts and to ask for his gifts which are wisdom, peace, strength and kindness, and so much more. Start with that and all the other puzzle pieces will fall into place in a miraculous way. Watch and see.

Sharing with Our World Tuesday.

Thankful

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.
It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.
We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
~Albert Schweitzer

From time to time I go through periods of melancholy, which I experienced this past week. Then last night Double D went to the mailbox and handed me a small box. "What's this all about?" he asked.

"Oh, my sweet bloggy friend! I wonder what it is?!"

I knew the package was coming, but wasn't expecting it for a few more days. Delighted, I tore open the package and inside found the most beautiful, sterling silver hummingbird earrings. My sweet friend (who asked to remain anonymous), knows me well. What's strange is I received notice that it was coming before I published The Impossible post. How did she know ahead of time that I could use a lift?

I tried my best to photograph the earrings; unfortunately, indoor photography is not my strong suit. It has been raining most of the day, so I could not take them outside for my favorite natural light shots. Here they are anyway--aren't they beautiful?

Playing with the Solarize feature in Lightroom

My purple LSU shirt kept reflecting onto the silver, so I just left it. 

I adore these earrings, but I also appreciate the thought and care and time that went into this gesture. "Appreciate" isn't really the right term—maybe "deep gratitude" is the closest phrase to what I'm feeling. So, thank you, thank you for your generosity and friendship. I am humbly blessed knowing that God is still working through His people on earth.

Now, I've got to lighten this up with a silly joke. You've probably seen it, but here it is anyway:

Big Ed seemed to always fall asleep during the Sunday sermon. His wife was fed up and decided to deal with the embarrassing situation.

The next Sunday when he fell asleep, she quietly removed some pungent Limburger cheese from a ziplock bag in her purse and passed it under his nose.

Groggily startled, Big Ed blurted out, "No, Helen, no—don't kiss me now!"

Snort! Have a great weekend everybody!

Sharing with Nancy at 

Flowers ++

Not too much going on this week...

just trying to see and do and visit loved ones before I...

get ready...


GO BACK TO WORK!

Yes, I got the job. Woot! Thanks for all the prayers, well wishes, and good thoughts sent my way. I really appreciate it! Unless something out of the ordinary comes up to prevent me from taking on this fabulous position (with the year I've had it wouldn't surprise me), I will start on June 18th. Three miles away and NO PANTYHOSE. Did I mention that already? Hee.

These are flowers I've seen lately, some unidentifiable. If you can help me ID them I'd be thrilled to pieces.

ID #1 needed
Indian Pink - thanks, Mamabug!

Coneflowers - notice the heart vine so gracefully growing through them.

ID #2 needed

ID #3 needed

Periwinkles?
Update: Duranta from the Verbena family
Thanks, Deanna!

ID #4 needed
Flowering Maple
Thanks, Pat at Bailey Road

Captured this green anole one second before he jumped off the foot of a staute

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to say what the job was: Executive Assistant to the CEO of a local credit union. 

Guaranteed gratitude or receive a refund!

I wasn't going to post anything today but this evening I was catching up on my blog reading and became inspired by all the "Gratitude" posts. Realizing that even though my family is scattered and our future is so uncertain, my heart is filled with joy despite the whirlwind around us.

I was fortunate enough to stumble on this youtube video by Louie Schwartzberg of TEDxSF which was posted on cottage 960's blog. It's almost 10 minutes long, but so captivating and inspiring, I just had to borrow it. And if you don't have time to look at it now, bookmark it for later. I promise you will be uplifted. Guaranteed or your money back! :)