A change in perspective...

So I woke up grumpy this morning after several dreams that left me disgruntled, and the morning went down from there. A bright point early in the day was that I found several new blogs I enjoyed from Nadine's Just being me blog, check them out if you have time: My five men and Life at Willow manor. Both ladies are engaging and I pulled some great recipes of their sites. So back to the darkness that had settled over me this am... I finally tracked it down to ungratitude, is that a word? Any way, it was my state of mind this morning. So I decided I needed to do something about it, and began thinking about all that I have to be grateful for, here's a short list:

• I work from home, and set my own hours, schedule and agenda.
• I have great friends that make me laugh, keep my head on straight, encourage me and allow me to encourage them. The above schedule allows me to meet with them when I want, unlike when I worked in Corporate America.
• Chris and I are both healthy, enjoy each others company and have a great marriage.
• I've been able to read a bunch the past few weeks, both business and pleasure and mostly on the deck in the sun, I figure over 5000 pages...
• I love where I live, and that it's SPRING! Oh... no allergies, another benefit of not dealing with Corporate America...
• Life is gooood and God loves me.

Once I was reminded of all that, a better perspective, and mood settled over me. May your day be brighter today as you reflect on all that you are grateful for.

Fun quizzes...

So I took a couple of random quizzes today on Blogthings, can't figure out how to link them here for you to take but thought I'd share my results with you:

What Do Your Initials Say About You?
YMT
You Are Progressive and Unpredictable

When You Are Comfortable:
You are cutting edge, offbeat, and even a little weird. You are fascinated with trends and technology.
People see you as a bit strange. They're not sure what they should expect of you. You are definitely apt to do your own thing.

When You Are At Your Best:
You are a hard worker. You need security and stability in your life, even if that means putting in long hours.
People see you as solid and dependable. You are always able to see the good in situations. Other find this comforting.

When You Are in a Social Setting:
You are a hyper, restless person. You need to keep busy, and you always are willing to take charge in life.
People see you as energetic and motivating. You inspire people to be the best they can be.

And:
Your International Spy Name is Sass Day
Your Code Name: Timberwolf
You Reside in: Berlin
Why You're a Good Spy: You have total recall (I wish!)

Etsy...

On this blog you've been exposed to some of my photographic efforts. For the past several years I have been turning my photography into journal themed notecards, and recently I added them to Etsy. You can view what I have online here: www.BlueSeehorseImages.etsy.com Only a small fraction of what I have is online, feel free to call if you're looking for something special.

A toast to all parents!

My sister had her 3rd child this week, and Chris and I had the pleasure of taking care of Asaiah, 9 years old, and Porter, 15 months old, for 3 days. Chris and I love them both, as well as the 9 nieces and nephews his siblings have added to the family, but I'll tell you our appreciation for parents went way up this week. Yes I know it's different when they are your own and you kinda grown into life together, but boy howdy we were glad to pass them back to their parents and get back to the peace and quiet of our "normal" life. I suppose it didn't help that we got a call as we were headed to bed on Monday eve. Midnight found us at the hospital and at 1:30, just before the crabbies set in we decided to take the kids home, where we arrived at 3am. Only to be woken by their dog (oh did I mention we had LuLu as well???) at 3:30 and 5:30 and my mother at 8:30 to tell us Justine Raquel Montoya Randell had arrived at 5:30. And then, Porter was up. She was so tired she went into Energizer bunny mode. Needless to say we all took naps on Tuesday.
When Asiaha was growing up, we spent a lot of time with he and Ang. Now that she's married and living over an hour away, we haven't spent as much time with Asaiah or with Porter. It was good to connect and to be a part of their lives. I hope we are connected to Justine in the same way.

I've finally succumbed ...

...to Facebook. Two events pushed me over the edge, one getting an invite that turned out to be sent in error (Facebook sucked her entire Outlook address book when she signed on at work) and the desire to reconnect with an old friend whos' contact info I had had expired. I've found it fun, a bit voyeuristic but I've re-connected with several people.

On another note... I won a copy of Nadine Zawacki's first book, I expect more will follow. It's titled Prisoner of Circumstance. I was hooked from page 3. I've added it to my reading shelf... but having trouble making the shelf behave...

Snow and dreaming of the sun...

Alot has happened in the last 3 weeks. We finally got out the 28th, Chris towed the truck to the main road which was bare and dry. We had snow until the 4th when we began getting warmer weather and heavy rains... which resulted in flooding. No water in or near the house, Thank God, but the driveway had about 2' of water in the "low spot", and Ben Howard was closed for a day and a half. Our driveway and Ben Howard are now open, but we have a lake in the yard. All in all we've been house bound for about 3 weeks of the last 6. One of the main things that has been keeping us busy has been building our new Travel business. You can book your travel here: www.Wild2Travel.com.The PowerSearch engine is the most robust in the industry. Sign up as a preferred member and you will automatically receive the lowest price guarantee on your tips. The company specializes in something called DreamTrips - prepackaged vacation deals that are at wholesale prices for 4 and 5 star trips. Check them out. If you're interested in your own business, check out www.Wild2Travel.biz. Feel free to email or call if you have questions 206.288.3999 or Yvonne@Wild2Travel.com. In the meantime, here are some pictures to dream by....

Our snow adventure

Since we got our first snow last Friday, we've left the house twice for short trips into town.

Yesterday we decided to go into town, but by the time we pulled ourselves together it was too late, so we set our sights on today. We headed out about 11am, and got no further than about 20' from the garage.

After about 30 minutes of pushing and rocking our way down the driveway, we were stuck. And this is after Chris had cleared it yesterday.

So, Chris started up the tractor again, but found that the gearing was frozen. After consulting with the tractor guys in town, and letting it run for an hour, we was able to get it moving, and then he pulled the car back to the turn around area, re cleared the driveway and I drove the car into the garage.

I think we'll stay home today...