Tag Archives: Blog

Just Life

Birthday Cake!

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It’s funny. Today is July 13th. It’s my first birthday!  Like most newborns, I didn’t have any specific expectations on life as a blogger. I didn’t worry about growing up, just existed from day today, happily scribbling away stories about the many places on mother earth I’ve been fortunate to live in or visit, the lions and gorillas I’ve had the pleasure to meet, tried some slightly humoristic pieces on life lessons, a few cooking stories, some explorations of nature and many more poems than I ever thought existed in this little newborn. I also like colorful illustrations, like most infants do, so I’ve been busy upgrading my skills in photography. Oh, and I almost forgot, I’ve also lent my laptop numerous times to my most faithful follower, Bumble the toy poodle.

It has been a fun, but not a completely smooth ride. In the cause of the past 12 months, I’ve caught all the common illnesses of early childhood. Like the urge to check the stats at least once a day and sometimes every few hours, constantly count the countries where my visitors came from, and for a while become dependent on sugar in the sweet likes. As luck would have it, I got healthy enough to survive for a full year. Much of the medicine that finally cured my baby bugs came in a bottle labeled “You’re into this for fun, as much and as long as you want to”.

So now I am a happy baby, just learning to walk and talk. Many words come out okay now and most people seem to understand what I’m saying. I already nibble in all kinds of foods, some more solid than others. But the best thing is that I am surrounded by my large and caring family. I have gradually learned to know them, distinguish the mother and father figures, aunts and uncles, grandparents, siblings, rowdy teens and the kids like me. I have to say that some of the members of my family are colorful characters. I love colors and there is so much for me to learn from all of them.

I truly love my family. All the diversity, all the skillful writers, storytellers, poets, photographers and artists all over the world. Can you imagine how many wonderful places I can visit when I get old enough to travel to see all of them? But there is one drawback. My family is not completely stable, it’s actually rather fluid. Suddenly someone disappears. They may or may not say goodbye. Sometimes a family member will tell me that they need to take a break, vacation on a beautiful island or have gotten married and will be moving on.  I will miss them, but it feels good to be able to wish them well. Sometimes they show up again, refreshed and full of energy. That’s party time, milk and cookies! A break can be a good thing. My running shoes edited (2)

But sometimes they just plainly disappear. Puff – they are gone. No waving goodbye or so long. In my little mind I get worried. I miss them and wonder what might have happened. But I guess such is life, growing pains included in the package. Change is the new normal, as I heard someone say. He is much wiser and older than me.

Now that I am one full year old, I look forward to my toddler years. Learning to run as a writer will be a blast! I’ll get faster everywhere. And probably hurt my knees a few times. Then, before I know it, I’ll go to kindergarten and real school – learning everything! Maybe I finally learn to focus my blog, it’s anyone’s guess. I’m also sure I’ll have my summer breaks and other vacations from blogging every now and then. Then I’ll soon become a teen, rebellious and all. Writing about controversial topics and getting hundreds of comments will be so cool.

Oh, I’m getting ahead of myself. Such a terribly wild imagination. But one thing is as sure as the feather like hair on my baby head, my evening prayer tonight will include giving thanks and asking for blessings for my family. After eating the candle. I promise I won’t forget.

Just Life, Poems

Tiny Lessons

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foot prints in the sand

At the edge of water

somewhere

silently observing

ocean waves

just like days

come from the past

and fade into the future

searching for the now

the moment that exists.

*

At the shores of silence

anywhere

barely reflecting

images on the water

like illustrations

of past measures of success

now inadequate

and unnecessary

because life just is.

*

At the dawn of tomorrow

right here

eagerly expecting

life, like the bird’s song, to thrive

beginnings of self-realization

insisting for birth

and then – with uncertain steps

making foot prints

one for each tiny lesson.

Just Life

Appreciation in Multitude!

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In the last couple of weeks, just before and during my recent trip, I have received the honor of four award nominations – from four truly wonderful bloggers. Thank you so much! I am very happy and encouraged!

I received One Lovely Blog Award from Ivon at  http://ivonprefontaine.wordpress.com/. His blog Teacher as Transformer always offers words of wisdom with beautiful nature photos, and invites us to follow our personal path. His thoughts and poems make me quiet down and reflect on what is important. I read his blog regularly and invite you to discover it too!

I also received One Lovely Blog Award from http://exceedingspeed.wordpress.com/. I visit her blog every day for sharp and humorous observations and discussions about practically anything in life.  Always right on the money! She makes me laugh, smile and nod or shake my head. Her blog was recently Freshly Pressed – you have to check it out!

I was nominated for an award of my choice (see below!) by http://fortyteencandles.com/. Her blog is super interesting. She is a writer and I hope she’ll do the “Na.No.Wri.Slo” if not the “Na.No.Wri.Mo” to be on the N.Y. Times best seller list! I have followed her blog for quite a while, and you should pay a visit today too!

This week I was also nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award by http://healthyazblog.wordpress.com/. Her blog inspires us to live well, not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually! I have found her blog both interesting and inspiring. Lots of good stuff there! Please go visit her blog today!

Thank you all four great bloggers for these nominations!

Now, trying to follow the rules, I will need to tell something about me. Here we go with seven things that I don’t remember sharing previously:

  1. I have a granddaughter who is 2.5 years old. She is a bundle of joy – and energy! She loves music and recently entertained me with her own song and dance performance. I laughed so hard I got tears in my eyes.  XOXO to our little goof ball!
  2. I love nature (obvious from my blog, huh?), particularly wild animals of any kind, all kinds of waterways whether oceans, lakes, rivers, marshes, streams or just puddles, and beautiful trees and flowers. I also love mountains, and….yeah, basically all of it.
  3. I try to keep fit by walking a lot. My little dog loves it too so I have an eager walking buddy. And occasionally I force myself to go to the gym, but I am a lousy “enforcer” on that one…
  4. I have held driver’s permits from numerous countries/states. I wish I could have kept them as memorabilia…The one from Zambia was a “book” –  bigger than my passport, and when our son was about 3 years old, he used it to demonstrate he could write a huge capital A. On the second page – with a black permanent marker!  That’s the initial of my first name. A like in Tiny. I think he wanted to make sure everyone would know it was mine.
  5. I wish my first name was Ann, but it’s not. My name is so rare that when googled, all of me pops up. That’s a bit of a nuisance in this age of www-dot, so Tiny is better. And it’s polite too, Tiny like in small. I wish I was!
  6.  In second grade, I was hit by a baseball bat right on my nose during a practice session in the PE class. When I woke up I saw the classic view of my teachers and fellow pupils bending over me. Heads and blue sky. My nose was the size of a mountain for a long time, my eyes peering out just a little – outward in different directions on both sides. I got some free time in the middle of the term, great!
  7. I am continuously involved in one conversation or another, with family and friends (including blogging friends), but particularly with my inner self and with God.

Now, bending the rules a little bit again, I will nominate 15-20 very different blogs that I like to read for an award. There are many more wonderful blogs I enjoy and follow, but I have left out those blogs that have huge followings and some that I nominated/showcased just a little while ago.

Learning from my friend FortyteenCandles, the nominees can choose their award from those above!  Just display the award, tell something about yourself and share the encouragement further at your convenience! I’ve been following some of the nominated blogs for quite a while, but there are also some that I have discovered fairly recently. They are all very different, but inspiring in their own way, and definitely worth your visit!

http://retireediary.wordpress.com/ – beautiful photos and narratives from all over the world!

http://hikingphoto.com – stunning, gorgeous photography – and advice for “the advanced”!

http://christiansperka.wordpress.com/ – wonderful wildlife photography with narratives from Thanda Game Reserve in South Africa!

http://ivonprefontaine.wordpress.com/ – wisdom, poetry with photos, thoughtful reflections!

http://exceedingspeed.wordpress.com/ – humor, topical issues, sharp & quick – always!

http://jlroeder.wordpress.com/ – wonderful, imaginative short stories! Is there a book in the making soon?

http://mixolydianblog.wordpress.com/ – music and music stories!

http://everywhereonce.com/ – travel, beautiful photos, advice and observations!

http://lizziejoysphotosuite.com/ – recent discovery, divine photography!

http://livingtheseasons.com/ – new discovery, wonderful photography with narratives, lots of nature and flowers!

http://garyschollmeier.com/– beautiful observations in the form of photos on daily basis!

http://1001scribbles.wordpress.com/ – recent discovery, wonderful photos, videos from all over the place!

http://globalunison.wordpress.com/ – recent discovery, beautiful poetry, photos and stories!

http://hugmamma.com/ – always good stuff for soul and mind!

http://thispoet.wordpress.com/ – beautiful and thoughtful poetry!

http://fortyteencandles.com – take 20 minutes of your life back! And other good stuff!

http://healthyazblog.wordpress.com/– be encouraged and inspired to live well!

http://aleafinspringtime.wordpress.com/ – new discovery, wonderful stories, poems and photos for enjoyment!

Thank you to all nominees for sharing inspiring stories, photos and/or poetry! I greet you all with a “thank you flower” that gently bends over the path we travel. And wish you a beautiful day.