LoveWins

"It is so ordered."

Huge, huge day of celebration today.

Here is how Justice Anthony Kennedy, who authored today’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the United States, closed his opinion.

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered. "

Are you a quitter?

“If you're 50 years old or younger, give every book about 50 pages before you decide to commit yourself to reading it, or give it up.

If you're over 50, which is when time gets shorter, subtract your age from 100 - the result is the number of pages you should read before deciding whether or not to quit. If you're 100 or over you get to judge the book by its cover, despite the dangers in doing so.” 
― Nancy Pearl

This just made me laugh. I've been a person who finished every book I started (same used to go for movies). Why? Maybe all those years of Catholic school. Maybe because somewhere I got the message that if I was going to start something I had to finish it. See it through. No matter what. Not doing so made one a quitter. And there were not much worse things you could be, except maybe a serial killer.

This all started to change a couple of years ago, when I realized that there was no parent/teacher/nun standing by with a red pen and ruler just waiting for me to quit. I am not the target audience for all books, and certainly all books are not masterpieces, so what was the holdup? I tentatively started not finishing a book. I created a Did Not Finish category on my Goodreads page to keep track of them, and for those interested, I've logged 38 DNFs since 2010. I've lost the guilt and given myself permission to quit. I still read too many "bad" (by which I mean not for me) books through to the end, but I've gotten better. I often give a book 50 or 100 pages to see if I'll commit, and I was quite proud of myself the other day when I quit a book 12 pages in. 12 pages! I've come a long way baby.

Life really is too short for bad books. Are you a quitter too?

Play date with Jonah

My 9 year old nephew was over Sunday morning, and we had such a good time with him. The kid is growing up so fast, and I loved getting a chance to check in with who he is right now.

One of the things we did was make cards to mail to family and friends. I am reminded of a Ben Franklin quote: We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!

Supplies: Layered template by Katie.

Journal page

A new year, new projects. So fun. I'm doing something different with my journals this year, and will share that soon.

The first page of a new journal is always a hard one for me. There is something about that blank white page of a new unfamiliar book. Decided to get out some supplies and start playing.

This is what my desk looks like. The room is a mess and needs to be cleaned and sorted, but I'd much rather play than clean. I tend to listen to music or a podcast while I play, and this time I was entertained by a Book Riot podcast.

The page turned out nothing like I had initially planned, but that is half the fun no? Decided to use non-precious supplies on this mixed media page, including Sharpie Flip Chart and Disney Princess markers. They just make me happy.

I found this quote on Pinterest, and thought it was an appropriate one for a new year and a new journal.

Journal page

"It is often hard to tell the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory. And someday you will likely discover that the small moments you're living now are really big ones with worth dreaming about. So learn to appreciate what you have now before time forces you to appreciate what you had then." (via Marc and Angel)

(Click on image to enlarge)

Background acrylic wash. Pen and markers.

Journal pages

A Picasso inspired page. Since getting the clutter out of my study have been on a creative ride - so fun.

We continue to have a beautiful fall out in these parts. It was almost 70 degrees on Sat! Incredible for this time of year when it could just as easily snow. Well, am sure there is some of that headed our way as well.


Here is quote to ponder:
A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life.

Quote of the day

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
-Elie Wiesel

Darwin Day

Darwin Day is a global celebration of science and reason held on or around Feb. 12, the birthday anniversary of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth.

And ain't is amazing that we are still in the midst of arguing about evolution versus creationism!

And wouldn't you know that I am currently reading this brilliant book that has me thinking about this very issue. Here is a quote from page 114: "There's no marriage between faith and reason. Only adultery."

Happy birthday Darwin.

Recent Reads

1. The Summer of the Great Grand-Mother
This is the second journal-type book by the author I have read and I loved it. The author's mother starts to get senile as she gets older and the book explores their relationship - past and present. I am reminded of all the stories that disappear when a person dies. This is such a gift the author has given her family.

2. The Painter from Shanghai
A book I picked up because I liked the cover art and to my delight I loved it. I had never heard of this Chinese painter, and am again reminded of how little I know about Chinese history and art. This is a great read - tough at times, but gets you really thinking about the choices people make.

3. Top 10 Las Vegas
This is one of several books I read recently in preparation for my upcoming trip to Vegas. Fun and fact filled.

4. Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips
Love this book. This is one I will buy, and hope to someday actually do all the trips described. Would be a great themed vacation.

5. The War of Art
Amazing little gem of a book. Another one I will read again and again. I felt a shift in my mental models as I read this. What could be a greater gift than that? Here is a little nugget:

"We're not born with unlimited choices.
We can't be anything we want to be. We come into this world with a specific, personal destiny.
We have a job to do, a calling to enact, a self to become. We are who we are from the cradle, and we're stuck with it.
Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it."

Quote of the Day

Remember that joy is found in creating, not in having. If you are on a materialistic path, simplify rather than amplify. See how little you need, rather than how much more you can manifest. Get back in touch with nature.
- Sonia Choquette

Quote of the Day

Fish quake at the mention of my name.
- bumper sticker.

When I'm near the end of a book, I need to sleep in the same room with it.
- Joan Didion

Quote of The Day

Tolerance is far too precious a possession to be confused with indifference or laxity.
- Andre Comte-Sponville

Quote of The Day

"We are not the center of the universe. The immobility of our world is an illusion. We spin. We speed through space. We circle the Sun. We live on a wandering star."

Am loving reading Galileo's Daughter - great insight into the man and the times he lived in.

Quote of The Day

Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Quote of The Day

Honor the land. Revere the horse.

- seen on a billboard in KY (cannot seem to get Kentucky out of my system)

Quote of The Day

Live each day as if it is your last
But learn each day as if you will love forever
- M. Gandhi

Quote of the day

"Better to go barefoot than to go without books".
- Icelandic expression

Happy New Year!

2008 already! Where did the time go?

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be gentle at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.

(Part of an Irish Blessing)

Quote of the Day

Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.

- Spencer Johnson

200th Post!

I find it hard to believe that I am up to my 200th post. Where has the time gone?

In celebration I leave you with this quote:

“Dare to be wise! Begin now. The man who puts off the day when he will live rightly is like the peasant who waits for the river to drain away. But it flows on, and will flow on for ever.”

--Horace