Springtime in North Texas

It's been a busy few months full of distractions. 

The main one was a major health scare that turned out to be absolutely nothing.  This served as a reminder to me that it is a very good idea to get a second, third or even fourth opinion.  On the plus side, I am totally fine.  On the negative side, I wasted a lot of emotional energy.   It also highlighted to me that it's not worth getting upset about something until you really know what you're dealing with.  The bright side of the ordeal was that my heightened emotional state prompted me to get many things done that I'd been putting off.  In fact, I created a big long list and knocked things off one by one.

In the midst of this I did a lot of gardening.  I got the school's veggie garden squared away, planted two new trees there and started a sunflower garden for them.  I then added several trees to our own backyard and prepped three raised beds to plant a variety of things: spinach, broccoli, carrots, romaine lettuce, strawberries, watermelons, tomatoes, bell peppers, corn and cucumbers.  I added blueberry bushes, ordered some banana trees and potted an avocado tree, a lemon tree and a clementine tree.  I also planted hibiscus and hydrangea plants.  I can't wait to see the blooms.

Here you see the cold weather crops coming up:

I added a new feeding station for Nemesis Squirrel because he wasn't sharing any birdseed with the birds.  It took him a week to figure out it was there, which surprised me given how clever he seems to be. 

Things are waking up here in North Texas.  The flowers and trees are budding and the grass is coming out of hibernation.  Spring and Autumn are my favorite seasons, so it's a happy time of year. 

One extra special experience was taking my boys camping for the first time.  Sleeping out under the stars and roasting marshmallows for s'mores (no, not organic) was so much fun! 

Don't wait to share these experiences with your kids.  There is no time like the present!

Holiday Inspiration

Take a moment.   Find a quiet place.  Stop.  Sit down.  Forget the presents, the decorating, the entertaining.   Step outside of yourself and your busy world.  Listen to your breath.  Listen to your heart beat.  Remember that there are many people in this world for whom every day is a life or death struggle.  Watch this video posted on Facebook by CNN Heroes and feel the giving spirit bloom within you.

Mothers Day for Peace

Earth Day's 40th Anniversary Is April 22 - Watch This And Get Inspired!

A Little Inspiration...

Steve Jobs: How to Live before You Die

In case you need a little inspiration today.  This did the trick for me...

Inspired by Bauby

My husband ordered an amazing movie last night on pay-per-view, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  It's an autobiographical film, based on the book by the same name, of Jean-Dominique Bauby.  Bauby was editor-in-chief of Elle until he suffered a stroke in December 1995.  He emerged from a coma 20 days later, intellect intact but almost completely paralyzed.  He had some movement in his head and eyes, one of which had to be sewn shut.  He dictated his book by blinking his left eye to select letters as a transcriber recited the french language frequency-ordered alphabet.  It took 10 months, dictating four hours per day.   He died of pneumonia two days after the book was published in french. 

I've been percolating a book in my head for a few months.  After watching this movie, I've decided to just go ahead and write it.  And if I utter even one word of complaint in the process, all I have to do is remind myself how incredibly difficult it was for Bauby.  That should shut me up.