Magnetic poetry

I was tooling around the Internet today looking for poems on dancing and I found this interesting blog about magnetic poetry. Anyway, I did the assignment on the blog and made a magnetic poem out of the words available and here is what I came up with: (I really like it)

create silhouettes that say

live ~ imagine ~ passion

my harmony and rhythm

appear

perform

I am free

~ Col

Identification not Decoration

Meet, my new pal, Keith.

You might be wondering what the heck am I doing or better yet, what the heck is Keith doing?

Well, I'm actually re-living my labor days; yes, I mean giving birth to my children - labor days. As I breathed in and out with my jaw a bit clenched along with my fist, I thought to myself, "I wonder how long this pain is going to last; how long will this take?" And, "Holy Shit, this hurts!"

Keith was so great; it only took him 15 minutes. Thank GOD. I have no idea how others can take that pain for hours and hours. At least with Labor there is the good old epidural among other fine drugs like Nubian.

What is so crazy about this whole thing is that, I really don't like tattoos; they have never been my thing. Part of me has thought that if I ever did get one, it would need to have some deep meaning and in a place that no one could see unless I wanted it to be seen.

I heard an interesting saying about tattoos on the television show, LOST. A woman said to Jack, that tattoos are a symbol of identification not decoration. That resinated with me.

After thinking about what WOULD I tattoo on my lovely body, it was pretty clear....It would be something about dancing and my spirit/soul.

So, these are Kanji Japanese symbols: the top one meaning "spirit" or "soul" and the bottom two meaning "dancer".

I have no idea if they work together as a cohesive message of "spirit dancer" or "the soul of the dancer" but that is what it means to me. This collection of symbols represents the spirit of the dancer that resides in me and the connection of my spirit to the greater spirit of the universe.

Thank you to Keith for helping me take what was in my heart and giving it a bit of breath.

Thank you to Rob for sharing a part of your soul with me and connecting ours together in another wonderful strand.

Thanks to Rose and Elvis for being true, kind, genuine friends. The world is a better place because you are in it.

Life is so lovely, you just never know where you might find little nuggets of connection; I found it in an unexpected place! ;)

Discovering my EGO

Well it has been so long since I have been on my blog.

Before, I think I was writing for the audience. Well, let me back up a bit, at first I thought that I WOULD write for me, then I got some attention from others and felt that I should write to entertain or inspire others (including myself); which I still hope that my words and thoughts will do, however, I write for my soul to have a place to live outside of the realm of my body.

So I am reading, A New Earth, by Ekhart Tolle. (I'm writing for others here) His book is Oprah's book club selection and she is doing a web class each week (if you haven't been reading it - you still can and watch each week/chapter and enjoy it). Anyway the book is amazing. It is a spiritual book; intense, thought provoking, along with life changing but you have to be ready for it; open to it. It talks a lot of the ego (our ego) and my point is that I was writing for my ego to be heard, not necessarily for my soul to have a place. So from hear on out, I write so that my thoughts and feelings have a place outside of me. Somewhere that I can come back to and reflect, perhaps share w/ my kids and Rob.

So I say to all that have given me encouragement and yourselves, please feel free to continue coming here and sharing your thoughts as I adore this place of friendship, connection, and support for all of the obvious reasons and feel honored and blessed for those relationships.

I am just searching and exploring and looking and most of all discovering!
What a lovely time in my life.

~ Col

I've been TAGGED by Plo

Ok - so I've been tagged by PLO (who I just adore)! So, here it is...

1. Four Jobs That I've Had:
A seafood department clerk at a grocery store Giant Eagle: (first job)
A telephone answer service operator (second job) - yes, I know, me talking all day - hard to believe!
A daycare owner/provider (last job; hardest job, most rewarding job) - just think about all of those CRAZY parents! NONE of which are reading my blog!!! You know who they are!
A marketer for a funky sandwich shop (current job; most favorite of all of them and there are many more not listed)

2. Four Movies I'd Watch Over and Over
Sound of Music
Field of Dreams
Wizard of Oz
Forest Gump

3. Four Places I've Lived
Ft. Lauderdale (born there)
Pittsburgh (most of my life; until 22)
Roselle (when I first moved to IL)
Huntley (where I live now)

4. Four Fav Foods
Wine - yes it is a food; grapes! DUH
Pizza
Anything w/ Ranch
Chocolate

5. Four People I Email Almost Daily
Lyndsey (my boss)
Book club Gals - at least one of them
that's it on a daily basis! If it were talking on the phone; I'd add Rob, Alec, and Austin

6. Four Places I'd Rather Be
on a cruise ship
on an island
on the beach
floating in a pool of margaritas
(do you see the theme)

7. Four Things I Look Forward To This Year
Winning the LOTTO - BIG
Dancing
Being with my family and friends
Traveling

8. Four Folks I'll Tag
Julie
Kristen
Lisa
Erin

9. I've added one: Four Things I Do Every Day
Drink coffee
Say I love you to someone
Dance
Have gratitude

My own response to my blog from the night before

This is my own response to my blog from last night.

I woke up this morning and read a newsletter that I receive from EFT World Center (Emotional Freedom Techniques) and the gratitude exercise below was listed: (I've seen this before and it always helps me put things into perspective)

I choose to be grateful...
For my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
For the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means I can hear.
For the pile of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.
For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been capable of working hard.
For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means I am alive.
And finally, for too much e-mail because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.
~ Author Unknown

May the day have gentle reminders that your life is abundant
~ Col

Who the Hell Has Time to Blog?

It has been a crazy week for me at work and I haven't had anytime to sit, let alone contemplate anything beyond, I have to pee, I need another cup of coffee, do the kids have clean cloths, do I have clean cloths, what time does the train get in, do I have everything I need before I leave the house, Alec has pictures at WHAT time, and now it is Sunday and I haven't given my little soul any love. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying my work, dabbling in some new things which actually is stretching my creativity and my motivational skills but I feel very drained and my soul is craving some me time.

What is me time; hmmmm, well that all depends on the day, time and my mood. It could be a half hour in the basement, dancing. It could mean sitting with a favorite book (by the way I am reading Pillars of the Earth, only just under 1000 pages; my bookclub gals didn't want to undertake such a large book but I'm going to give it a shot). Okay, so back to what is me time; It could mean sitting with my photos and scrapbooking. It could be sitting with a stack of magazines that I have and doing some old fashion scrapbooking. I've been saving all kinds of magazines and I've been wanting to go back through them and make a collage of different images, articles, and phrases. Why? I just feel like my soul is asking to do it; I also think it is a neat way to see what things you are attracted to. It usually tells a story about ourselves. Basically it simply feels like something I want to do. I have also been wanting to submit a short essay about my experience in the basement. That experience wont find its way here in the blog world until I've submitted it to someone real; have no idea where and how, so if anyone reading has any suggestions as to where I could submit an essay to see if I can get it published, I am open to anything. Well almost anything.

Wow...that was some seriously rambling, but, now that I got all of that off of my chest, I kinda feel better. Whew.

I guess my questions is this: How do we work; be successful at that and find time for all of the other things that we need and love; family, friends, caring for ourselves and caring for our love relationships which in my case is my hubby, Rob. All of those people and things needs our care, attention, love, and patience, including our work. (oh dear, I totally forgot to mention, cleaning the house, laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills, homework, caring for the pets)

I wish I had the answer and I guess in part I think I do, balance. It is just that some days, weeks or even months, balance isn't an option. One element of our lives needs more care, attention and love. For me, I have a few of those HIGH NEED areas right now and balance doesn't seem to be as easily obtained as I would like. I suppose I will take one day at a time, do my best, live with my heart leading the way, and keep my sense of humor; so that when I forgot to wash the boys gym uniforms, pay a bill, pick up milk for breakfast, make that doctors appointment, I will be kind to myself and try to laugh. Seriously, what else can I do? :)

So as I wrap up the day wishing my soul a little more love, I do give many thanks for all that the day has given me; love from the boys (I love spending time with them) time with Rob (thanks for helping me with my presentation), a short but good workout, blogging, some chores got done (I have clean cloths for tomorrow and so does everyone else in the house) and last but not least, this place. I still am wrapping my head around it; the blogging world that is, but I have a feeling I am really going to enjoy my time spent here and so will my soul!

~ Col

I'm in love with Eat Pray Love!

Two words; LOVE IT!

~ I gotta tell ya, at first, I couldn't get into this book. I liked the way she wrote, funny; easy going but I just couldn't get into it. Perhaps reading late at night, just before bed and about halfway through my 2nd glass of red wine (love that time of day) wasn't the best time to be reading this one. Anyway, just about 1/3 way through the book when she was just about all the way through Italy (she is traveling; don't worry you know this from reading the back cover) she wrote about how she arrived in Italy, both physically and emotionally and how she was now leaving Italy both physically and emotionally; and in those few words, that is when it happened, I fell in love with her and the book! Fantastic. Did I say, I loved it? Ok, just want to make sure.

If you don't' know this, again, you can read the back cover: Liz (the author) goes on a spiritually journey to three countries; Italy (eat), India (pray) and Indonesia (love). I loved India the most. As I talked to others who had read the book, and yes they loved it too, it was interesting to see what part/place they liked best. Not everyone loved India as much as I did, in fact, a young co-worker of mine was bored by her travels there. I had not yet read that part and didn't give it much thought. This co-worker of mine just adored Lis's travels and experiences through Italy and Indonesia. After reading it myself, I thought, hmmmm...there it is again, that perspective thing. If we are open to it, we will realize so much not only how we see things but also how others see things. Being open to others' perspective teaches us (or at least me) so much about myself and the those that I share space with, both personally and professionally.

Okay, back to the book. For me, India was such a wonderful journey that I just might have to re-read it. I am having a book club planning meeting with my wonderful group (love those ladies) and I am going to suggest that we read this one. I have so many of the pages folded down to go back and re-read. One of my favorite parts is what she says about her Nephew and God. As I am on my own spiritual journey, that was such a powerful moment for me as I felt like; AHHHHH, yes, this is God; I get it! (and yes, I cried)

L-O-V-E this book for all of the delightful gifts it gave me. I hope you read it, love it, but mostly, I hope that you find eye opening AH-HA moments in it and are inspired by the many wonderful messages that are sprinkled throughout the book.

~ Happy reading
and enjoy the journey,
Col