Sometimes I think the harder we look for happiness, the more elusive it can be. It’s like searching for Mr. Goodbar. But if we just sit quietly, appreciating and in the moment, it sneaks up on us.
That’s not to say that we don’t have to work at it or take charge of our own happiness. Like Cathy writes below in the comments section, I often say that I fight for my happiness!
I’ve learned through the years that I need to bring happiness into my moments, if I expect to experience it. I remind myself to do those small things for myself that secure my happiness, to be good to myself, to take time to enjoy the moments that run through our fingers.
I’ve talked with a number of folks over the years and in recent weeks whose concerns are ratcheting up. They are looking to establish (more) joy in their lives in the face of negative reports and a general malaise. Concerns about the world; their finances; life in general; their health, their work, their marriage; retirement funds — anything you can think of — are stealing their peace and occupying their thoughts.
Over the years I’ve looked into happiness, read a number of books, worked on it for myself, and tried to discern what, exactly, is happiness? I don’t know that it is possible to be happy every moment, but even in the midst of problems, it is possible to be a happy person, or at least to experience joy at some level and in some moments. So happiness isn’t determined by whether a person is happy every single moment, but whether it is an attitude of heart and mind.
An analogy that came to me a number of years ago that I’ve often shared with others is this:
Every incident of goodness; every moment of joy; every good thought or deed; every kind word experienced or given; every beautiful thing we notice; every bit of gratitude we express; every note of music we hear or play; every time we appreciate something around us; every time we give or receive a compliment; every time we take time to take time is like a pearl we are stringing in our lives.
The knots in the string are life’s problems.
When we look at a strand of pearls, yes, we see the knots, but we don’t focus on them. They only serve to make the strand more beautiful. What we see is the complete strand with the individual pearls. The knots hold the pearls securely, as well as set them apart from each other so that we may better see and appreciate the individual pearls.
That seemed like enough, and for years that is what I strove to understand and share.
But this past week, when talking to someone, it occurred to me to think out loud as we were talking: What is the string?
And in an instant I listened to the idea come out of my mouth that I hadn’t yet had:
The string is happiness.
I loved the idea that there is a string of happiness moving through our lives and that we are stringing together moments of love, joy, goodness, peace — the loveliness of life — on it.
May you be blessed by this idea, as much as I was to receive it, and may today and every day be filled with many beautiful and precious blessings.
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There aren’t many people who can hold a candle to Dorothy Dale Kloss, the oldest showgirl in the world. (But my aunt is still tap dancing in her 80s!)
It’s a lot of fun to research her name on the Internet, then see her in various videos and listen to the audio of her on a radio show.
Talk about inspiration!
Think about what it takes to rehearse for 8 hour stretches, pun intended.
She has beauty, verve and humor, not to mention grace, stamina and ability.
I wanna be her when I grow up. But to do that, first I’ll have to begin to take tap lessons (never took them, but took ballet and jazz.) Book Girl has a good start as she is taking up tap again.
What to do with her life
She wondered what she would do with her life when her son and his family moved cross country. She had been a professional dancer from the time she was 15 and even taught Bob Fosse when he was a boy. Imagine that! One of her students suggested she audition for the Follies in Palm Springs.
She won her spot when she was 71 (all them are 55 or older.)
And she has a 63 year old boyfriend. How about that!
Don’t you just love to hear of people who are still active and vital! I sure do.
And how come I didn’t know this was there when I was visiting Palm Springs! Now that I’m not visiting Palm Springs, I hear about the show! Where’s the justice in that!
But here’s the thing
When I grow up, I wanna be a little bit crazy; a little bit wild; a little bit zany, and whole lotta me. I want to be more me than the me I was and the me I am. LOL! And why not, when to get there, we only need to plan for it today.
I hope you put some fun in your life today! Amen to that!
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Can you remember any of your favorite teachers?
I had a number of favorite teachers, starting with my kindergarten teacher. I just loved her. She must have had a lot of love too. Later I had wonderful teachers in high school and several professors in college who were terrific teachers — they filled immense lecture halls and had students standing in line in hopes of openings.
And I don’t remember any of their names. I can hardly remember what they looked like.
How about what they taught?
I don’t really remember anything that was taught specifically, but somehow a lifelong love of learning was either inspired or nurtured in me. For that, I am grateful.
And my love of reading was likely a reflection of having good teachers.
Scary times too
I had a third grade teacher who shook me once until my teeth rattled, literally. I don’t think a teacher could get away with that today. I doubt I ever told my family. It was bully tactics. I hated her before, and I hated her afterward — or at least I hated the way she acted.
A bad teacher can do immeasurable harm.
And now?
For a long time I wanted to be a teacher. My father felt it was not something I would want for a lifetime, and perhaps he was right. OTOH, to some degree I teach everyday, so that desire to share what is learned is still evident.
How about you?
Do you count your favorite teachers in making your life happier? Did you ever have a teacher who belittled?
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Nicholas Winton, now 100 years old, was a 29 year old London stockbroker who traveled to Czechoslovakia in 1938, where he rescued hundreds of Jewish children from likely or certain death. Winton’s parents were of German Jewish descent.
Even his wife didn’t know about it until 40 years after they were married, he remarked in 1999.
Everything that happened before the war actually didn’t feel important in the light of the war itself.
Winton, alarmed at the time — and rightly — that Czechoslovakia would be invaded by the Nazis and Jewish residents sent to concentration camps, persuaded British officials to accept the children as long as foster homes were found and a 50 pound guarantee was paid for each child. He set about raising funds and organizing passage.
Eight trains carried the children to Britain in the months before the war. A few went to Sweden. Many never saw their parents again, because of the Holocaust.
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the rescue, a vintage train carrying about two dozen survivors and their families pulled into London’s Liverpool Street Station this past Friday after three days journey by rail and ferry from Prague. They greeted Nicholas, frail though he was.
It’s wonderful to see you all after 70 years. Don’t leave it quite so long until we meet here again. Nicholas Winton
I never heard about him until today when the story of the kindertransports was retold in our paper.
It’s quite remarkable that someone in the heat of confusing times would be led to act decisively in a timely fashion without regard to himself to save others and give them life. It looks easy in retrospect, but I bet we don’t know the half of it or the persuading that needed to take place. And I don’t suppose that 50 pounds each was a small sum in those days, not to mention the cost of passage.
To me, he is a righteous man. The world would have been poorer without him. He’s another man I’d like to know. I was glad he lived long enough to be recognized for his part. And not to forget the part of all those who aided in giving funds, some of whom might have been their own families. May their memories be for a blessing.
Had you heard of him before?
Don’t be prepared in your life only to do no wrong; Be prepared every day to try to do some good. Sir Nicholas Winton
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
don’t steal my posts — you know who you are!
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Nearly every day I take my youngest to her elementary school. I enjoy spending this time spent with her, as I enjoyed spending it with her siblings. Some days it gives us the only real private time we have together. And we talk about anything or nothing, sometimes singing silly songs and being goofy.
One day last winter, against all odds, there was so much frost on the ground covering the golf course, that it looked like there had been a hard snow in the night. I don’t ever remember seeing it like that in all the years that we have lived here. If I hadn’t been driving my daughter, I would not have seen it, because later in the day it would have disappeared in the sunshine. I promised myself to take my camera with me this winter, so that I can snap a picture or three, if I get this opportunity again.
Fast forward to this year. The safety patrol is made up of a lot of good kids, as it is every year. They have to have good grades and good citizenship. They have to want to do it, in all kinds of weather (though not snow.) And they are pretty faithful, being on time and dependable.
These kids help the other kids out of their cars and make sure the car doors are shut. They usually say something like, “Have a nice day.” And it all becomes part of a ritual of good will without a whole lot of meaning, just a nice gesture and good manners.
This year there is a kiddo who is a little cherub. He reminds me a bit of pictures of my uncle as a young boy. He has the smile of an angel that just lights up his face, and when he says, “Have a nice day,” I feel that have I truly received a blessing. He’s someone I’d like to follow up with through the years to see him as a young man, to see what field of work he is led into.
It’s always nice to start out the day with a blessing.
And it’s good to realize we’ve received one, to be self-aware enough that we allow the blessings we receive to permeate our being, not just roll off us like water from a duck’s back.
Is it still a blessing, if we are unaware that we’ve received one? I think so. But being aware of a blessing might be the equivalent of giving us a double portion of blessing — the blessing and the recognition of it.
I don’t know about you, but I need all the blessing I can get!
And you know, I don’t think this boy has any awareness that he has given me a blessing. The difference in the words as he says them is he really means them.
There’s a lesson in there for me also. I don’t think we half know the times we have blessed someone else, unless they tell us, but perhaps intention and presence, being in the now, truly being with someone, with the words we say to them, takes the mundane and makes it divine.
Were you blessed by something or someone today? Or did you bring a blessing to someone else? I’d love to hear about it!
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
don’t steal my posts — you know who you are!
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I was speaking with a dear friend this morning, and she mentioned that she has just loved this from an earlier post of mine, so I’m rerunning this portion of it.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
How does one stay fresh?
Be open to new ideas — don’t automatically be critical of or dismiss them.
Get out and about. Mingle with others who think differently than you do.
Get rid of things — and beliefs — that are no longer appropriate, don’t make you happy, or aren’t beautiful.
Learn something new everyday. If you’re not a reader, find someone who loves to share new ideas. Let them do the reading. Encourage them to share.
Make choices that lead to happiness.
Try to surround yourself with positive people. Be that positive person. Don’t be a joy-sucker.
Let by-gones be by-gones. Insofar as possible, forgive others, while being wise.
Be forward looking. Look to the future expecting good things.
Help someone.
Give a compliment.
Smile.
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
don’t steal my posts — you know who you are!
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What do you think, could you do it?
I have to admit I’ve pared down some this week — as have my kids without even being asked! — and I’ve given away clothes and other items on a regular basis for years. But it still seems like I collect more than I give away.
Of course, I could always get a bigger house. JK.
OTOH, just because I live where the heat index will knock you off your feet, I’m not sure I should be indiscriminately moving out my winter coats that I may need if I head north or west, even for a visit. I might wear them once or twice a year here, and they take up much needed space, but I don’t have to buy them again.
But maybe it’s time to pare down again — and again — and again. I keep thinking one of my grown kids will need some of it to furnish an apartment…
Well, I do like his idea of grouping. We could group our collections. What!? these gazillion makeup items? oh, no, no, no, they are my collection of makeup items. Ditto for my bead supplies. Ditto for books (he calls it his library). Ditto…
The 100 Thing Challenge is my little way to personalize my efforts to fight consumerism.
That said, a lot of other people are participating, too. I’ll be working on ways for people to connect. For example, the 100 Thing Challenge Facebook Page. Please join and participate!
Goal: By November 12, 2008 I will only have 100 personal things. I will live with only 100 personal things for one full year, until November 12, 2009.
Rules: Remember, this is my 100 Thing Challenge. I get to set the rules and decide when a rule can be stretched or outright broken. Basically I’m going by the spirit of the challenge not the letter of the challenge.
1. “Personal Things” means things that are entirely or mostly mine. Clearly family-shared and household things (e.g. dining room table, piano, bed, plates, etc.) are not considered a personal thing. Right now my wife and daughters are curious about what I’m up to, but they prefer to observe rather than participate.
2. Memorabilia – I was going to keep a small box of memorabilia. But it turned out that I don’t have much. So I’m ditching this idea and just counting a few things.
3. Books – Ah, here’s the rub. We’re avid readers in our home. And even the books I don’t read thrice a year look so very attractive as they collect dust on the bookshelves. And many of my books are kind of work related. Strange as it sounds, I have a lot of history books that relate directly or indirectly to consumerism, and thus help me with the 100 Thing Challenge.
4. A few items are counted in groups. This includes underwear and socks. I’m not keeping a lot of either. We do, though, run a household. The idea of trying to manage laundry with a few pairs of skivvies and socks is both unrealistic and gross.
5. We are keeping some household tools: hammer, screwdriver, tape measure, etc. Just last week I needed some tools to put up my daughter’s gymnastics bar. I’m not using them for anything more than honey-do projects.
6. I’ve left myself some cushion in case I receive a gift or two over the next year. But hopefully everyone who might give me a gift knows that they shouldn’t! Anyway, once I receive a gift, I have 7 days to figure out what to do with it before it counts toward my 100 Thing Challenge. I figure that should be enough time to either graciously lose it or get rid of some other thing.
7. Finally, I can get new things. But I have to always remain under 100 things total. And also if I am “replacing” something, I have to get rid of the original thing first before I get the new thing.
REVISED LIST July 16, 2009
1. NRSV Bible with Prayer Book – Published by Oxford University Press and given to me at a publishing conference. I love the Prayer Book prayers, especially the prayer for Vocation.
2. ESV Bible – A nice size and given to me by friends at Crossway. This is the one I take places; you know, like church.
3. Hand-me-down Bible – A small New Testament given to me by my dad. I believe he had it with him in Vietnam and, before that, my grandfather had it with him in WWII.
4. Wedding ring – Thirteen years and going strong!
5. Library – My one “cheat” of the 100 Thing Challenge. But there’s more to it than that. Read blog posts and, eventually, the book.
6. Journal – Small, lined, black Moleskine. I only count active journals — the one I’m using — as a thing on my list. Retired journals — one’s I’ve filled up — are stored for reference. (Aside: I’ve been less than impressed with Moleskine’s quality control recently. The last three journals have had weak bindings and other flaws. Does success breed shoddy manufacturing?)
7. Mechanical pencil – A blue Pentel P207 0.7mm lead. Had this thing for a few years. Love it. Though I saw a 0.9mm version the other day and was tempted.
8. Ballpoint pen – A Monteverde pen given to me by my sister. There is some pen history in my life. All the others are gone. More details some day, maybe in the book.
9. Wallet – Believe it or not, it is an Eddie Bauer wallet that I think I purchased in the mid 1990s! It looks it.
10. Sunglasses – Tifosi sunglasses are really great quality at an amazing price. Less status. More awesomeness.
11. Watch – An old Nike Oregonian, but the altimeter feature seems to be on the fritz. Might need to replace if I ever become wealthy and spend my days climbing mountains. – Replaced on 7/25/09 with new, less fancy, Nike watch found on sale. (I destroyed the old one by slamming it in the trunk of my car – lame!)
12. iMac – Technically the iMac belongs to my wife. I am using my MacBook Pro to write and conduct whatever techno-business comes my way. But I still have thousands of pictures on the iMac and sometimes even use it for checking email or wasting time on Facebook. Thus, I am counting the iMac.
13. MacBook Pro – As I mentioned.
14. HP printer – Again, my kids use it far more than me for coloring pages. But hey, I do print sometimes to proofread.
15. External hard drive – Seagate. Right now we have a very simple backup system. I am considering replacing this with a more robust setup, given that storage is so cheap these days.
16. Cell phone – The free Nokia kind. No iPhones, Blackberries, or other mobile devices for me.
17. Headphones – Bose. I thought of going without headphones. But they come in handy at work for listening to music. And they’ll be handy once my wife and I really get the Schooled In Marriage Podcast going.
18. Camera – Lumix LX3. I purged my Canon 30D SLR and equipment. I regret that.
19. SD card for point-and-shoot Lumix camera.
20. Home office desk
21. Home office chair
22. Desk lamp
23. File cabinet
24. Side table – I’ve gone back and forth on this one. Probably should just trash it and thus make less room for clutter.
25. Car – Sixteen year old Mazda 929 given to me by my dad. Thanks!
26. Planet Earth DVD – Still watch this pretty regularly with the kids. Totally worth owning. Not as good as actually being outside, but an incredible reminder of how amazing our world is.
27. Toothbrush
28. Razor – I have a razor and buy replacement blades for it. I don’t count a 5-pack of replacement blades as additional things. Nit picking will do nothing to solve America’s problems of over consumption.
29. Travel/work backpack – Tried to get rid of this, but it’s too handy for carrying my laptop and for a carry on luggage item for travel.
30. Garment bag – Don’t really use this, since I don’t really travel much anymore. You can be that if I get rid of it, though, I will be in a pinch.
31. Suitcase – Same as the garment bag.
32. Backpacking backpack – Osprey Atmos 35, which is really too small even for weekend trips. But if and when I get out, it’s usually for a 2 day, 1 night hike. So for now, this does the trick.
33. Tent – REI Half Dome. A great overall 2 person tent.
34. Sleeping bag – Marmot Helium (not EQ).
35. Sleeping pad – Therm-a-Rest. The lightweight egg crate kind. (Confession: I have swiped my wife’s Big Agnes insulated inflatable sleeping pad once or twice.)
36. Stove – MSR Pocket Rocket. Probably not the best stove for a one-stove backpacker. But it’s what I’ve got and will have to do for now.
37. Cook set – 2 pots, 1 lid, 1 handle. Didn’t seem to make sense to throw pieces away. But honestly, I normally only take one pot.
38. Spork – Red Light My Fire spork. This is the infamous “spork” from the Time Magazine 100 Thing Challenge article.
39. Water bladder – Platypus
40. Headlamp
41. Knife – Benchmade. One of my most cherished things. Is there anything more handy than a quality pocket knife?
42. Climbing shoes – Keeping these for now, though I hardly ever go bouldering or in-door climbing.
43. Chalk bag – My seven year old gymnast thinks this belongs to her. Truth be told, I just let her borrow it for our chin up pullovers on the bar in the hallway.
44. Mittens – REI
45. Wool hat – (That my wife says looks ugly.)
46. Fleece jacket – Patagonia
47. Rain jacket – Marmot
48. Rain pants – Patagonia
49. Thermal shirt – Patagonia
50. Thermal pants – Patagonia
51. Wicking shirt
52. Wicking shirt
53. Running shorts
54. Running shoes – Vasque – replaced on 5/20/09 with the same ones I had before. They are nice trail runners that can handle very lightweight backpacking.
55. T-shirt – Advertising Amore Ministries
56. T-shirt – Advertising Igniter Media Group
57. T-shirt – From Timberps on Etsy. I really like this guy’s artwork.
58. T-shirt – “Hogsmeade is for lovers” shirt from HP Prognostications
59. T-shirt – From Old Navy
60. T-shirt – It’s organic cotton and has an old tractor on it! 6/19/09 – father’s day gift from wife!
61. T-shirt – Plant with Purpose (Plantwithpurpose.org) t-shirt. It’s a large, so we’ll see if it fits – might turn into a night shirt my wife.
62. Board shorts – Patagonia. These are very light. I like them but feel pretty showy when they get wet, if you catch my drift. Might replace next time there’s a sale somewhere.
63. Board shorts
64. Wetsuit – Xcel – found on Craigslist for like 60% of retail, only used once. Very nice deal.
65. Surfboard – 7′ 8″ TDK shaped locally (leash)
66. Soft rack (bought and returned one set that were lame. Got a new set for less that work great)
67. Plastic storage box I use to contain wetsuits, towels in the trunk of my car.
68. Plastic bottle for water to wash off after a surf.
69. Shorts – Just normal old shorts for kicking around.
70. PJ pants – Dragonfly print that my 3 year old picked out.
71. Jacket – REI cord. Casual but useable for work.
72. Suit jacket
73. Suit pants
74. Tie
75. Dress shirt
76. Dress shirt
77. Business casual cords
78. Jeans
79. Jeans – replaced a pair of faded and ripped jeans on 5/16/09
80. Button-down shirt long sleeve – J. Crew cord. This is like my flannel shirt snugly. I’ve had it for years. It’s held up so well that I almost have a hard time being critical of J. Crew.
81. Button-down shirt long sleeve – Orange plaid. Given from my parents, purchased somewhere in Europe.
82. Button-down shirt long sleeve
83. Button-down shirt – Patagonia wrinkle free. I like this shirt a lot. Cannot be wrinkled. Love it.
84. Button-down shirt – Mountain Hardware. Nice light, summery shirt.
85. Button-down shirt – REI. So far pretty wrinkle resistant.
86. Button-down shirt – A seagull pooped on this one, but it washed up fine.
87. Button-down shirt – REI sale rack after lunch with daughters at Islands. 5/31/09.
88. Brown belt – replaced on 5/16/09. The old one was getting pretty awful.
89. Brown shoes – replaced on 5/20/09 with Dr. Martens. I know they’re not fashionable anymore, but I love Dr. Martens.
90. Flip flops
91. Underwear (10) – replaced 12/25/08. I count underwear as a group of items. My desire is to resist consumerism, not hygiene.
92. Undershirts (6) – replaced 12/25/08. Same as underwear.
93. Socks (?) – same as underwear and undershirts.
94. Moo.com personal business cards – Kind of for my writing “business”
Gone. There has been lots, lots more than this that I’ve gotten rid of. These are the things I kept track of. But there are a lot more clothes and random items that are no longer in my possession.
1. Balance board
2. Yoga mat
3. Backpack
4. Self-portrait oil painting
5. Small Longaberger basket
6. Campagnolo Croce d’Aune rear derailer
7. Pens
8. Shoot horn
9. Knife
10. Knife
11. Broken Sigma flash for Canon (easy fix for gadget person)
12. Baseball hat
13. Sweat pants
14. Crocs
15. Green wool sweater
16. Dress pants cords
17. Dress pants black
18. Dress pants brown
19. Jeans
20. Sport jacket
21. Mountain Hardware Synchro Jacket
22. Old J Crew jacket that I love but need to let go
23. Compass
24. Rock climbing shoes
25. Chalk bag
26. Magnesium fire starter stick
27. USB headset with microphone
28. HDD portable
29. Pewter Gollum
30. Pewter Beorn
31. Pewter Hobbit
32. Harry Potter figurine – want to give it to someone at Portus
33. Bike trainer – the kind that holds the rear wheel while you peddle furiously in the kitchen, freaking the dog out and bothering the family with all the noise
34. Backpacker magazine
35. NEED magazine (just stopped coming)
36. MacBook G4
37. Canon 30D
38. Canon 17-40L lens
39. Canon 430 flash
40. Diffuser
41. Tripod with ball head
42. Camera bag – includes some lens tissue and duster
43. Rope – Gave it to my daughter who is enjoying it and using it
44. Camelback bottle – MISSING – I might replace this.
45. Sun hat
46. Nose hair trimmers – whatever. This gadget was more like a torture device. I’m just going to borrow the tiny scissors we have in the bathroom drawer from now on.
47. Marklin train collection
48. Woodworking tools – Very sad about this.
49. Side table drawer – My wife insisted on keeping this as “her” item, but I’m not going to use it.
50. Hiking boots
51. Bicycling bib shorts
52. Award-winning self-portrait oil painting
53. Button-down shirt
54. Brown sweatshirt
55. Button-down shirt
56. Black belt
57. Black shoes
58. Business casual pants
59. T-shirt
60. T-shirt
61. T-shirt
62. Sport coat
63. Sport coat
64. Sleeping bag
65. Sleeping pad
66. Need Magazine subscription
67. Button-down shirt – Sort of pink and really wrinkly. Going to get rid of it.
68. Sweater – Gap. Piece of crap. A hole in the collar. Pills. Going to get ride of it.
69. Rock climbing wall – sold to buddy who’s putting it up in his son’s room!
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My day was productive in a steady way, no rush, no hurry.
I took my time with the start of the day, and I reorganized the bathroom counter. And surprisingly I can still find what I’m looking for! I streamlined the way I remember what products I used, if I write it up hours after the fact.
Did errands on the way to a meeting I conducted, including moseying to the post office. Once at the meeting site, before the meeting I went to two places. One gave me an estimate of changing a pair of earrings. I learned something new: this jeweler uses laser which has no heat to solder (maybe not always) but in the case of something that would break under heat. It makes it easy to make changes, but expensive to use the laser. I had asked him about turning the post into a loop. He didn’t think so. I told him I had to make up my mind how I wanted to wear them. I liked them as posts, but didn’t reach for them much, as I prefer longer earrings.
The woman I hoped that Book Girl would meet was not going to be in until after we had left the area, so that will have to be for another day.
After the meeting and having lunch out, we mosied our way home via another couple of errands, Starbucks, and the library.
Once home, I asked Book Girl if she preferred the earrings as posts or as hanging earrings. She said, definitely hanging. I don’t wear many posts that are earring-y. My posts generally dangle. I decided to see if I could turn the earring posts and save the money to convert them. Nothing ventured; nothing gained! The only thing I had to lose was possibly needing to get them converted by laser.
One worked perfectly. The other lost the tip of the post because I had to rework it, so I had to jury rig another wire. But it was a great idea. Probably the best one of the day. I had wondered for a while if this were possible. Today was the day I executed it
Then it was on to dinner (lots of corn on the cob to go with), Curves, and blogging. At Curves I met a woman exercising with me who works with the local agencies that handle foster care and children with severe emotional or developmental needs. I shared with her some of my understanding and experience. She said she learned a lot from me, that I should give talks to her SWers. We exchanged cards.
What did you do today? Don’t you feel good to get some organizing in?
Not to mention opening the empty Avon container! And hearing from a friend on facebook; getting some interesting followers on twitter; just a generally good day, one you’d like to remember, but is just your basic average day that is nothing memorable. Of such is the stuff of life. And in a couple of ways it was more than remarkable.
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Book Girl and I went to a movie this morning, 17 Again, which we thoroughly enjoyed, then wandered into a shop, had lunch and went on a trek to take advantage of 15-20% sales.
And we wandered into a Benefit makeover session with national makeup artists in Sephora, with a nice gwp + 15% off everything in the store with an email coupon.
So my pictures from today are after the Benefit tweaking, and I forgot to take pictures earlier.
Unfortunately for me, the lippie that I chose as I walked in was sold out by the time I knew it was the one I wanted, as were the other products she used on me that I didn’t already own.
You can’t buy it, if they don’t have it!
On the way home we thought of an idea to rearrange the furniture in the family room, so at midnight my 13 yo was helping me shift furniture around. The 11 yo was at a sleepover.
It looks great! Very usable. But there are still a few things to do in the morning. I wish it were totally done, but it was impossible!
I promise to post FOTD pictures from the Benefit makeover tomorrow.
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I’ve wanted to try Fyrinnae for a while now. I’ve liked the looks on others and was pretty sure they would look good on me if they would apply nicely (as they did.)
For $26 I received all of this (in the two photos below):
Lip Lustres: (L to R) Lollipop-pop, Shibuya, Glitter Kittiez, Type A
You can see my review here and the colors as I wear them.
Shadows: (L to R)
I will be reviewing these as I wear them.
Top: Daijodan, Arcane Magic Dragon Mix
Lower: Arcane Magic Archmage, Professional Colors Embrace
Right side alone: Immortality (free sample with order)
What I wore today: Lips: Visual Kei Lip Lustre
Lids: Digital Faerie (pictured left below) Lower and lined above: Biker Chic (pictured right below)
Fyrinnae is clear on their home page the time frame for receipt of their products. Mine came in good order, in less time than I expected.
Do you wear Fyrinnae? What colors have you tried? Do you love it?
So far, after one day’s application, I can say I do love it! If you haven’t tried anything of theirs yet, give them a try. Let me know what colors you tried and how you like them.
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