Kindness

I am often blown away by the thoughtfulness, kindness, and generosity of others. To think of others is wonderful. A kind act, no matter how small it may seem to you, can be tremendous and reassuring to others. That's how I strive to be each day - thoughtful of others. Okay in all honesty, I fail miserably some days. So I try to be as thoughtful as possible to those in my life and then if I can, I try to reach beyond my little circle of life. A smile. A hello. A hug for someone who is down. A little note to tell someone they are awesome. Stopping instead of breezing by when you ask someone how they are and they say, "Not so great." These are things we can do and it's so easy and costs nothing but a few seconds, maybe a few minutes, of our whole, entire, long life. But think what it does for the other person. I have been fortunate in my life. I have family and friends who love me for me and nurture the silly, crazy, click-happy me that bubbles up each morning. I have people who notice that if they don't hear me, then something must be up. I have so much I want to do and even when I'm pooped, I think how nice it is to have the freedom to do so much - anything really. I try not to take these things for granted and I relish each person, each activity, each minute. One day I won't be able to do that so I'd rather go to sleep exhausted than being bored in life. Not sure how anyone can be bored in life but people say that quite often.

Here are two examples of people making the extra effort in life when they didn't have to and in the total span of perhaps minutes in their lives, they made a huge impact on me.

Last weekend at the Come & Take It Festival, a customer (Anne) saw my Think Pink bracelet and chose to pay cash rather than by credit so that we could keep all the money for GBR. I told her she didn't have to do that but she told me she is a breast cancer survivor and she wanted to support us so I told her my sister had been diagnosed with it and we shared a few minutes with each other in supoort of Thuy. Anne came back later that day and she came behind the tables to put a necklace on me that she had bought with Thuy and me in mind. I was so touched and I will never forget Ann and the time she took out of her day to talk with me and to bring me this gift.

And yesterday a good friend told us he bought a pillow with my sister in mind. What touches me is that these two people don't even know Thuy but they think about her. They pray for her. And I am so incredibly moved by the goodness of those actions. It fills me with hope in a world where the negative things are in the forefront of media so much. Too much. So I'm tuning in to my own channel where 95% of the news is good. Or better than good, even.

What I have

Lately there has been a lot of illness and death around me and while I'm deeply saddened when we lose a dear friend or when someone, like my mom, is seriously ill, I am reminded that I have to appreciate what I have right now. So here are just SOME of the things I take note of daily so that I don't take them for granted.

• I have good health.
• I have a great relationship with my best friend and soul mate.
• I have a lot of loving, caring people in my life.
• I have a job that provides what we need and more.
• I have eyes that allow me to see the sun rise and set each day.
• I have ears that heard beautiful drops of rain outside my home this morning.
• I have cameras that let me capture images of things that capture me.
• I have the freedom to share whatever I want.
• I have faith, love and peace.
• I have adventures daily.
• I have laughter that lifts my spirits even when things look kind of gray.
• I have THINGS but I don't let them rule me.

I'm pretty thankful. But now, hearing other people's concerns, fears, troubles...I try to be even more aware of the good things in my life and not take them for granted. My worst days are still many times better than some people's best day. My mom being ill is worrisome but I have a dear friend who has her mom recovering from surgery, her stepmom near death in hospice and her mother-in-law recently moved into a nursing home, and herself also recovering from surgery. The load on her shoulders is so heavy that my heart aches for them all. It's a hard time for many. But at least we are alive to experience it together and to learn from it all. We just have to take what we are learning and make it meaningful. <3

Photos Shoots Are Soothing

It's funny how my friend brings in a tray of cupcakes and the first thing I think is - oooh! I need to shoot those! I love to photograph things and her adorable little creations are fun to snap. And snapping away is a great escape for me. When I am in photography mode, my mind is focused and I could look up twenty minutes later in a blink of an eye. I love it. And I've been enjoying the iPhone 4s camera with its 8 megapixel capability. Not bad when you think it's a great camera without having to lug around the lovely but hefty Nikon D90. And I love that Laurie, my friend and officemate jumps right in on the action now. We start with an idea and then we just start shooting. So. We start with a few props in the office. And we go to this -

And then we try a plain backdrop -

And another great thing about the iPhone? The cool and fun apps that helped me enhance the pictures a little bit. What else helps soothe me? Blogging.

Next Week Will Be Tet Already

And I am not even going to be as ready as I would have been 5 years ago. There is no way I can have the house as clean and neat as I would like it to be unless I take off work and do nothing else but prepare between now and Monday. Yikes. That's not going to happen so we'll do the best we can. Tomorrow is work and then prepare ourselves for bee class Saturday morning. Then maybe a visit to the gym before they close. Saturday evening will be for taking stock of equipment to see what we need to purchase (hopefully not much) and ... hmm ... there was some other big bee biz thing we said we'd do but I can't recall. Oh yes, look at the application for submitting an Adult Continuing Education course with Comal County. We're going to write up something for GBR. This reminds me of the fun days of knitting class with Sary in SA. The teacher was horrid as a teacher but a great knitter. Somehow Sary and I got through it, as everyone else in class, and we went on to teach a LOT of other friends. And out of that, the Knit Night social gatherings were born. Seems like a long time ago right now.

Back to Tet. At least I have door decorations and sweets this year! Hooray for trips to and through Houston. I love that 99 Market - so conveniently located along IH-10. :) Now, gotta get to bed. I need an early start tomorrow. The other job requires some data pulled together for a 2p meeting. I feel like I'm in college a bit. At least I have until 2p to finish my data gathering assignment. Nighty night.

Earl says...

...talk to the hand because I am outta here! Sadly, my little cubemate is no more. At least I haven't seen him in a while so I'm not sure what has happened to him. My neighbor found a "fried" lizard outside our building and he says THAT was Earl and I thought it was too but then last week I did see a green lizard so maybe that chicken-fried-Earl wasn't Earl! lol - we'll never know for sure. Looks like Ronnie and I should caught Earl for tagging sooner like we had talked about doing.

Okay, so moving on...been BUSY! Very busy. But here I am sitting in Irving, all packed and ready to go home. woo hoo! Being away a full week up here hasn't happened in a while so I am ready for home. That's for sure. People are so interesting - we're going through a lot of changes with a new CIO and you should see how people's attitudes have changed. Not all bad - working later, follow-through on projects, talking to their customers. Good stuff. I'm hopeful that things will really turn around here.

Okay, I need to go post to GBR blog before bed. Me tired.

Kitty & Friends

My baby turned seven yesterday! I love my kitty cat even if he does drive me crazy sometimes trying to get me or Mark to hang with him while he eats. Ugh. That Smokey. Wanting company while he eats. He's too funny and he is constantly making us laugh with his antics. Baby kitty knows many commands now - sit, up (on his hind legs), sit back down, shake paw (leftie like you Sary), crouch down....and we've been working on rollover but he's not quite there yet. ALMOST! lol

Today I am really missing my buds from the library and all the fun times we've had together. I ran across these pictures and they made me smile as I recalled our many jaunts here and there to snap pictures for our blogs.



This one below is one of my favorites of Sarah and Sonia snapping shots. Very funny poses and totally candid and unrehearsed. I miss you guys a lot and I miss our fun times we've had together. :-) Of course, I would not go back there now...but I miss YOU.

Interesting finds at TLA

This week Mark manned the his publisher's booth during Tx Library Assocation's Annual Conference. It was so fun to take the day off in order to join him for booth sitting as well as to attend his presentation. He did a great job, of course, and we had a ton of fun at the booth. We saw former colleagues and friends and we also made new friends with people who stopped by to inquire about the books and publisher. A lot of work but also a lot of fun!

I love seeing the bigger displays during these conferences, especially at ALA, lot of money there. Anyway, here are two of my faves this conference - that chair! It was so colorful and fun. It beckoned to me from across the aisle. By the end of the first day, I simply HAD to go try it out. Loved it. That'd be fun to have but it doesn't fit anywhere in the house. Shucks.

Here's the other thing I liked - check out that big ole eraser!!!! lol - how can you NOT want to pick that thing up and try it out?!?! It's not a REAL eraser. It's sort of like a pillow. Somewhat disappointing but a whole lot lighter than had it been real rubber. I had a ton of fun!

Happy April

Hi everyone, time for an update! Sometimes I forget what I've posted, where I posted it and when. :-) I love technology and gadgets - do you? We have so many (too many perhaps) ways to stay in touch - text messages, chats and messengers, 4 or 5 blogs, Facebook, Twitter, work email, personal email and on and on. I've been trying to make more time for the more personal phone calls and in-person time. I'd rather have a real hug than a virtual one from family and friends!

Having said all that, La China and Ta-Ravel still should get updated so here we go. Work is going better. I still miss the team a lot but at least I have friends around me here in Seguin and I'm not traveling up to Irving much. When I do, I actually enjoy it b/c I love seeing Jess and reconnecting with her. I feel more in tune with the "new" work when we can do face-to-face sessions. I'm currently learning how to creat e-Learning, which is new and pretty neat to me. It just means rethinking how to teach some things I've always taught in person. Learning a lot so that's a good thing.

Home is super - nothing but great things going on there. Mark and I enjoy our time together whether we're tending bees or hanging out and talking about what we want to do in the near future. We're ready for adventures elsewhere so you never know when or where that'll take us. We'll keep you posted.

Time to end, folks. Mark's taking this China off to SA for some Vietnamese food. Woo hoo! Y'all have a great week. Mark's got the Tx Library Assoc. Annual Conference in town this week so very little to no beekeeping going on for a while. TTYL.

That Stings!

This is how I felt work did me today. Bad stinger. :-( I miss my peeps. I miss training and helping people. It stinks to go through them at the library and then again here. I know I should appreciate having a job and I DO. I just wish I could do something that brings me joy; something that touches me.

Oh yes, the stinger. Cool, huh? Good thing I had gloves on! Mark saved me! I had forgotten mine like a bad beekeeper. lol. The little bee wouldn't leave me alone even after I walked away quite a distance and for quite some time. I got tired of her and to be honest, the thought did cross my mind that I could kill two birds with one stone - get rid of her so I could get closer to the hives AND take a picture of a stinger, which I had been wanting to catch (though not on ME). As soon as she landed on my hand again, I smacked and she stung. And then she DIED!!!! Poor thing.

Ok, now I need to do some work. But as a treat, I let myself update three blogs. Woohoo! lol. To all my special peeps...I MISS YOU VERY MUCH.

Book Talk and Friends

Nothing makes me happier than when I see Mark happy. And that's how he is when he's working on bees or when he's presenting one of his book talks, as he was this past Saturday at the San Antonio Public Library. I'm so proud of him! And I love to see how passionate he gets when he's teaching other people how to replicate his research methods in order to trace their personal genealogy. Cool.

This week started out rough with allergies, headaches and other ailments. After doctor visits, tender loving care from Mark and super wonderful friends, things are looking up. Well, I am anyway. I need to work on not getting so overwhelmed. And I need to have more fun. And I need to do more photography and crafting. And by the way, not only is Sunday Valentine's Day...it's also VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!! Year of the Tiger, folks! We better get ready!

Depending on one another

This week started off really, really, really, really, really rough. I am normally a positive, upbeat person but sometimes even I need help. Sometimes I just want to rest quietly and let others help me. And I'm lucky, because I am surrounded by family and friends who love me and provide me with all the help I need. Near or far, it's a good feeling to know you can call on people just to talk if you need to do so.

I felt like this yellow fungus for some reason. You know, I'm resting on others. Relying on others to carry me when I am a little down and out. I pull from their strength. They lend me support; nurture me for a while. Melancholy. I felt melancholy. Usually I feel bubbly.

Anyway, I don't dwell on the bad or the negative for long usually. But I did want to say that I am a very lucky person to have a really good life filled with awesome people. And when I think I am having a hard time, reminders are sent my way that show me I'm not the only one going through difficult times. Hopefully I can be as great a support to them as others have been for me lately.

Party Time

Yaaaay! I'm on vacation. Had a great work week which included a trip up to Irving for an IT Training Summit that my new boss hosted. It was really cool and I loved being able to help her a bit with goodies for the attendies and also by presenting one of the group sessions. I love doing that sort of thing!

Then we kicked of the official start of the weekend with a surprise dinner at Cheesecake Factory for Mark. Some of our friends met us there and I even managed to fool him even though two of our Segun friends rode with us. He thought that was the surprise. lol. We had a really awesome time - lots of laughing and love and lots of great food. Several of us are thinking this should be a new tradition for birthday celebrations. Next up, March birthday for Tim I believe. :-)

Hot, hot, hot!

I wish I was in some refreshingly cool water right about now. Just came in from running errands. It is blazing hot again. I think we're at day 43 or 44 of the 100+ degrees. Crazy hot. Doesn't this water look awesome? It's on Town Lake up in Austin when we went canoeing up there with Mark's brother from CT and his family. I loved the clear waters as well as the wildlife we saw (Herons, fish, turtles...the dogs I could have lived without. Austinites love to take their dogs EVERYWHERE, lol.).

Waiting for Mark to return home and then we're headed to Sonia's mom's house to make a Vietnamese feast of eggrolls and fried rice. I haven't done that in a long time so we're all looking forward to it and I hope it turns out yummy. Gonna be a hot day to fry some eggrolls but at least they have a pool we can jump in afterwards!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sarah! :)

A Night Out

It was a crazy week and nothing helps get you ready like a night out with friends, enjoying great talk and awesome food. We met our friends at Big Kahuna in SA, after doing a few shops at the Quarry. It was cold and windy so a good bowl of soup was perfect. The broth was wonderful, very tasty. The chicken and shrimp were also delicious and tasted fresh. We also had fresh spring rolls (or summer, I never remember who calls it what) and sampled the NEW authentic Vietnamese fried eggroll. DELICIOUS. I highly recommend it. No longer do we have to drive to Taste of Asia to get a real, almost like mom's, eggroll. Check it out.

The BK is under new management though the kids are still around now and then. Vicky is the new lady we see and she told us she was going to slowly incorporate new dishes on the menu -- there you go SA peeps, you heard me, get back over there and try them out again. AND Thinh told me that they will soon host a knitting group. He wanted me to invite my friends there so when he gives me dates, I will pass those on. Looks like we will continue to have Knit Nites though just not hosted by US!

Vogue

I love this shot and when I look at it, Madonna's Vogue goes through my head. LOL

Just got back from another walk. The weather has been so perfect lately, it's hard not to want to be outside! The only not-so-great thing is that it is obviously getting darker sooner. :( booooo. But as long as we get dinner in and we head out by 7:15p, we still have light left for an enjoyable walk.

Knitting Friends and Big Kahuna

Well, I wouldn't say "never." Some things I still have to work on in life. Actually, I should say I am typically not these things but of course there are plenty of things for me to work on in myself. And here are two other fortunes I thought fun, funny and appropriate last night. :)



Last night we met friends in San Antonio at the Big Kahuna for dinner, catching up and some crafting. Two of us knitted and one person drew/colored. I haven't seen my SA pals in months and I can't tell yuou how my heart swelled to see them and to give them each a hug. It was so wonderful!

The above yarn was given to me by Mark and I have been wanting to do something special with it and last night, I finally decided. My friend Tu Ann, who cooks at and was an owner of BK, really liked the yarn (50% Merino, 50% silk) so much that I am going to make a special scarf for her. I think I even have a pattern in mind but I need to get it on paper. Nothing fancy. I will snap a shot once I make some progress.

Wasabi Yoda

This picture makes me laugh out loud. :) Can you see Yoda??? See that cool light saber?

This is an abstract creation by my travel buddy. I have really enjoyed our trip together; it's our last one for the Kronos team as we are moving on to other projects and other and new team members will take over future site visits for rollout.

Here's where the wasabi came from prior to the art session.

The Good Old Days

It's nice to be home. I had a fabulous day...worked, got my hair cut (love it off my neck, it's so humid and hot here), went to Gift & Gourmet, watched Spiderman 3 with my honey and now I'm enjoying a cup of tea before bed. And blogging. Of course.

I have started to really put my mind to Christmas ideas as it's pretty much September; can you believe it???? I mean, where has the year gone? Someone once told me, long ago, that as you get older, the time seems to go by even faster each day! What?? Stop! I want to enjoy some of these things for a longer time; not faster. Oh well. Better keep writing and stop thinking about losing time.

I found some things for friends here and there. And so it made me think of my friend Sarah. This is a shot from when we went to a meditation class together after work when we were still at the SA Public Library (that seems ages ago!). The class was held at the SA Museum of Art and so we walked under this Chihuly and stopped to gaze a bit. It's lovely. When I look at the colors and glass, I can lose myself in it. I was thinking of Sarah because I was looking at a cool crafted creations site but I can't mention it here as I'm getting gifts from it. BUT, Sarah and I talked and crafted and so I think of you Sarah! I will share the site later! ;)