I'm it!

Mel tagged me so here it goes!

THE FIVE TAG
10 years ago I:
1. Wasn't married : )
2. Had no kids : )
3. thought I had so much to do
4. really didn't do too much
5. slept through the night

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Scrapbook
2. Go out for supper
3. help the kids spend their birthday gift card from toy-r-us
4. take a Tylenol for this headache
5. give up coke (as in cola : )

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Chocolate cake
2. Chocolate cookies
3. Chocolate bar
4. Chocolate macaroons
5. Chocolate chocolate : )

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. quit my job
2. buy an island
3. hire a chef
4. give away my house to someone who needs it
5. take all my girlfriends on a fantastic vacation!!!

5 places I have lived:
1. Hillsborough
2. UNB dorm
3. Graham Ave apartment
4. Windsor St apartment
5. Southwood Park in a house :)

Five jobs I have had:
1. Waitress
2. ice cream server
3. toll booth operator
4. museum tour guide
5. lab technologist

I tag...Whoever wants to and
1. Hollee
2. Jenn
3. Amy
4. Shelley
5. Krista

You scratch my back....

So I haven't been doing very well at updating lately. I feel like I lost my mojo so I am going to try a new tactic. I need some practice with my camera and I have recently joined and online photography class so I thought I would try to post a picture every few days and talk about it. Please feel free to comment on what you think of the picture and even how you would have improved it. I was using my zoom at it's max on this shot because I didn't want to get to close in case I gave them a scare and they stopped. In hind sight I would have tried to move a bit left or right so it doesn't look like there is a bucket coming out of their head. I'm getting better at looking around for distractions but I was so occupied with trying to quickly get the shot that I didn't look around. I still think it is a cool picture : )

Mindfulness Poem by Joh Kabat Zinn

I wanted to share this poem that I heard today. I actually got chills when they read it. Love that!


Have you ever had the experience of stopping so completely,
of being in your body so completely,
of being in your life so completely,
that what you knew and what you didn't know,
that what had been and what was yet to come,
and the way things are right now,
no longer held even the slightest hint of anxiety or discord,
a moment of complete presence beyond striving,
beyond mere acceptance,
beyond the desire to escape or fix anything or plunge ahead,
a moment of pure being,
no longer in time,
a moment of pure seeing, pure feeling,
a moment in which life simply is,
and that is-ness grabs you by all your senses, all your memories, by your very genes, by your loves, and welcomes you home,
that is a taste of mindfulness.

Mindfulness sounds so simple so why is it so rare? For me I think it is because I let myself get too caught up in everyday issues – kids fighting, issues with the hubby, stress at work, etc.

Genuine happiness should not be dependent on how my day is going.

Everyday stresses can send me in a tailspin quicker than I like to admit. I need to become more aware that I am losing grasp of what is really important. That is going to take some work : )

Forgiveness

I took a little hiatus from blog land but I heard a quote today that touched me and I wanted to write about it here so I would always know where to find it.

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. - Mark Twain

I think that is so beautiful. I am listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer on my ipod and he talks about how the most important thing in the universe is forgiveness. We need forgiveness in order to get past bitterness, anger, tension, fear, hatred, hostility, rage - all of those feelings that come from how others treat us. He goes on to say that life if perfect because everything you have experienced so far has brought you to this perfect moment. Pretty cool stuff.

What I am thankful for ( in 100 words or less )

Family - seeing them, holding them, hugging them every day.
Friendship – feeling that deep connection that never falters.
Laughter – the effect of a bold hearty guffaw that can instantly change a negative into a positive.
Awareness – not taking anything for granted. Experiencing each moment as you would a precious jewel.
Music – hearing a song that makes me want to sing – outloud – in front of complete strangers : )
Feeling Safe – realizing how lucky I am to live in a place without earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, or any disaster that could endanger the lives of my family and friends.

Feel free to give it a try! It is liberating!

Picutes from the farm

These were all taken with the zoom. I definitely need some help in this area. They are all blurry and the composition is not great. The good news is that I have the whole LONG weekend to play!

Have a great weekend everyone : )

New Purchase!

I've been looking for a new camera for a while now but with so many options out there it was quite daunting. I looked at dSLR's but felt quite intimidated not only by price of the lenses but also by the technical terminology that seemed to accompany them. I decided to go with the Canon G9. It is a "Point and Shoot" camera but can also do manual functions and has the option of adding lenses and an external flash if I ever decide to expand my love of photography. I have only begun to experiment but so far I think that I made the right choice. Here is a picture of an apple bud that I took this morning using the macro function (everything else was on auto).

There are some problems with the picture( the shadow underneath and the blurry leaves just to the right) but I couldn't believe the details and the quality. Here is what happens when I zoom in:

Now I'm on the hunt for a class to help me improve my photography skills. Has anyone taken a photography class that they would recommend?