Friday, February 19, 2010

I love my life...really, I do.

I just have to say today, that I love my life. I have so much to be thankful for and today, I am choosing to be thankful. I have a wonderful husband who makes me laugh everyday and works hard to provide for us. I have the most amazing, beautiful sisters a girl could ever ask for. I have wonderful friends who will drop everything and be there for me in the middle of the night. I have my mom, who though she has her faults, does make me laugh a lot - there's just something to say about the bond between a mother and her daughter. I have a wonderful extended family, including the parents, siblings, niece and nephew that I gained when I married Danny. I have my beautiful Taylor and silly Jackson. I have a loving father who I know is watching me each day, and each day, I send him my love and try so hard to make him proud. So many good people in my life!! I feel like I have been a little vague about some things that my girls and I are going through....that is completely intentional, and perhaps someday soon all will be revealed, but the time is not now. Sometimes, life is just tough, but I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many people who love and support me.

I saw this quote today, and found some peace in it: "The best way out is always through." - Robert Frost. How true is that!? You can't run from your problems (they will inevitably catch up with you). You can't ignore them (they will sneak up and get you when you least expect it). You really just have to go through - not around, and you will find your way out.

To continue with my random thoughts for the day....someone said to me yesterday, "Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel?" My internal reaction was "Yep - I see the light. It's a different light than what you're seeing, but I do see a light." (Of course, I just replied with a "Yes!" and the conversation moved on.) This short exchange reminded me of a song by Shooter Jennings (the incredibly talented son of Waylon Jennings, and husband of Drea de Matteo). The song is called "The Song is Still Slipping Away" and the one line that I just love is "the light that you're chasing in the tunnel is a train." Sometimes, it really does feel like that....you work hard, you feel like you're making progress, the goal is in sight, and you look up and see the train getting ready to smack you back down. Well, my friends (the two or perhaps three of you that actually read this blog), today, I see the light. The real light in the tunnel - not the train, but the light of day. I am working hard to get out of this tunnel and can't wait to see what's waiting out there for me!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Happy Birthday!

It's hard to believe the 4 years ago today my entire family was gathered at the hospital waiting to meet our new niece or nephew. My sister and brother in law didn't find out the sex of the baby, so we were all very anxious. As soon as my sister told me she was pregnant, I just knew it was a girl. We all cried out of sheer joy when we saw her for the first time. This little lady has brought many laughs to our family and I love her so much. So, happy 4th birthday to my most favorite princess of all time - Taylor Reed!

Taylor on her 1st birthday


The not so little anymore Taylor and me at Christmas this year.


Out of fairness - I can't forget that today is also my brother's birthday. Hard to believe he's 30! Happy birthday bro! Love ya!


Upcoming Activities....

I have several things coming up in the next few months that I am super excited about! Work is really crazy right now....I have lots of big projects on my plate and trying to find the time to accomplish all of my goals is really stressing me out. So, I am planning to take time for myself. A few fun things to look forward to:

1. Craft night! I just love it - if I do craft night by myself or have a few friends and bottles of wine over, I love it. It's a good release and let's me see something to completion.


2. Pure Romance Party - this is going to be wild and so much fun. More girls only time, but it will so be worth it

3. Book/Movie Club - a few of my friends and I were talking about having a book club. We would read books that have been made into movies (and you always must read the book first). After we each read the book, we will get together for dinner to discuss the book and watch the movie. Can't wait for that to happen!

4. Enjoying a work free weekend and some alone time....while I hate that Danny's schedule has changed and he's working weekends now, I am really excited to have some "me" time this weekend.

Beyond that, I am sending out positive energy into the universe and hoping that some shines back upon me. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired....so ready for a change. Hope it's coming soon.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Argh.

It seems to have been a frustrating week for some people close to me (not excluding myself). Days filled with annoyances, frustrations, and generally feeling underappreciated. Sometimes, life just sucks and can get the best of us. I found this quote this afternoon:

"People who fail to achieve their goals usually get stopped by frustration. They allow frustration to keep them from taking the necessary actions that would support them in achieving their desire. You get through this roadblock by plowing through frustration, taking each setback as feedback you can learn from, and pushing ahead. I doubt you'll find many successful people who have not experienced this. All successful people learn that success is buried on the other side of frustration." - Anthony Robbins

I love that last line. I have a vision in my head of climbing to the top of the mountain and being able to see your successes. I know it's cheesy....but I am serious. I spent some time in the Cote d'Ivoire (West Africa) about 9 years ago (hard to believe it was that long ago) and one of my most memorable experiences was climbing to the top of a "mountain." I don't know if it was really a mountain, but it was big. And steep. The 4 girls I travelled there with and I were staying in this village and for several days, we heard the locals talking about this mountain. So towards the end of our stay there, one of the locals said that they would take us to the top. We walked through some beautiful tropical areas and tried all several kinds of fruit and met a few critters along the way. We finally got to the base of this mountain and realized that it was very, very steep. All of us girls were wearing long skirts and sandals. We started to climb and there were a few points along the way that I was ready to quit. But, I decided that I did not want to be the one to go home and say "yeah, I almost climbed this mountain." I wanted to complete the challenge. Well, by the time I got to the top, I had left my sandals about halfway down, I was hot, sweaty and probably a little stinky. But, when we got to the top, our friend (the local) walked away for a few minutes and came back with a pineapple. He pulled out a large knife and cut the pineapple for each of us to eat. It was the juiciest, most delicious pineapple I've ever had in my entire life. The frustrations I felt on the climb were well worth it once I had that small piece of pineapple.


So, to my friends who are feeling a little frustrated - a little blue - a little peeved, dream about the pineapple. We'll get through this and we'll all be better people for it. Once we get to the pineapple (success, if you're following my corny analogy), it will be sweeter, juicier and more delicious than we ever imagined after getting across this mountatin.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

My newest addiction...

Besides my renewed passion for crafting, my other newest addiction is the show "Criminal Minds." My friend, Kristin (her new blog is here), has been a fan of the show for quite some time. I know that I had seen at least one episode in the past, but I've so enjoyed watching tons of episodes. Thanks to a few cable networks, "Criminal Minds" is on the air constantly! I have my DVR set to record all episodes and have watched many of them! Typically, there is a quote read at the beginning and the end of each episode, one of the characters reads a quote. There was an episode on a few weeks ago and the character J.J. read this quote at the end:

"Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn." -- C.S. Lewis.

I just can't seem to get this quote out of my head. Over the course of my life, I've had several experiences that I feel really mimic the sentiment of this quote. So many situations that I have survived have taught me tough lessons in life. I try not to allow difficult times to make me a cynical person - sometimes I succeed and sometimes I do not. While life hasn't always been easy, I have learned priceless lessons that I wouldn't have otherwise. In the past, when I would share bits and pieces of my "life story," I sometimes felt like people really pitied me or felt sorry for me. That's not what I'm about. If I didn't go through those circumstances, I know that I would not be the person I am today.

Monday, February 1, 2010

New notecards...

I've had some fun in the past couple of weeks making some new notecards. I'm really excited about these! I made so many over the Christmas holiday, and really liked them, but just felt like they might be missing something. To me, that something was COLOR! I love the whole black and white thing - but I was ready for more.... So, here are a few of the newest collection of "Notecards by Lizzie!" My friend Rebecca is trying to convince me to sell them. My problem is - I love them so much, I just want to look at them! I'll have to send some out, but I just want them all for me! :)


I realized that I didn't take pictures of some of my favorites - I'll have to get those uploaded and post soon!

Not too much exciting happening otherwise. I am so glad Monday is close to over...ready to move forward in this week. I had a busy weekend (we had Vannah's 14th birthday party - wow is really all I can say about that) and have another busy one ahead! On Saturday, I have a "Professional Development" class in the morning, birthday party in the afternoon and fundraiser that evening. Sunday will be completely dedicated to the couch, good food, hopefully a few good friends, and the Super Bowl (GO COLTS!). Perhaps over the course of this week, I'll get in some good cooking, baking or crafting! If so, I'll be sure to document that there.