"BE..."

No secret resolutions, fancy promises, or wordy goals...

Just one plain and simple idea

"BE"

...my word of "direction" and my personal focus for 2009.

To "BE" in the moment...every moment...

fully..

actively, healthily, creatively, appreciatively, openly,

each and every day.
To "BE".

"The secret of health for both mind and body
is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future,
or anticipate troubles,
but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."
~Buddha

"BE".

“Do the one thing you think you cannot do.
Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time.
The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.
This is your moment.
Own it.”
~Oprah Winfrey

"BE".

"This very moment

is a seed from which the flowers of tomorrow's happiness grow."
~Margaret Lindsey

"BE".

"Just About Snowbound..."

in Steamboat...Steamboat Springs, Colorado, that is...

well, actually, about 20 miles to the north

near Steamboat Lake.

Scott talked to his brother the other day
and found out that Clark, Colorado had 24 inches of snow in 3 days...
which made the total snowfall in this area upwards of
48+ inches...over four feet deep!
It
also made snow shoeing a very interesting proposition.
"Invigorating"
I believe was the term that was used. :)
Even though we were told you would only sink down
"a foot or so"
in the dry "champagne powder" (so famous in this area)
I can't even imagine what it would be like.
Noooo, not at all!
Not even with a hot sauna to soothe my weary bones afterwards.
Nope!
I'd much rather sit by the roaring fire and sketch...
or watch the silent snow gently fall in the groves of aspens and pines.
Yes, that would be much better...for this desert dweller, me.
(This is a sketch I did when we visited in the fall...
a season I think I much prefer.)
Ooooh, could you please pass the hot chocolate
and stoke the fire a time or two? LOL:)

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up,
snow is exhilarating;
there is really no such thing as bad weather,
only different kinds of good weather."
~John Ruskin

"Sunday Night..."

...We
(Dad, Mom, Jack, Sharon, David, Susan, Joya, Jillian, Scott and I)
celebrated my mother's birthday...

at the Tonto Bar and Grill at the historic Rancho Manana
in Cave Creek Arizona.

Luminarias greeted us upon our arrival...

and lead us in to the cozy interiors of this once historic Pony Express stop.

We enjoyed a festival of southwestern styled food...
(note that I had "prickly pear" dressing in an homage to Cactus Monday...LOL)
and
topped it off with a scrumptious
"dark chocolate raspberry whipped cream filled"
delight of a birthday cake.

As the evening ended...
we walked out into the crisp, clear, chilly Arizona night
with our hearts full of love
and let the
lush, black-velvet starry skies of the desert
guide each of us homeward.

Happy Cactus Monday All!
May your day be filled with love and your night sky...star studded.

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday MOM!

"Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world."
~Author Unknown

"Good Bye Dial Up!..."

" Helloooo...you beautiful broadband you!"

For Christmas this year...my brothers, Jack and Mark...

and my sister, Susan, and I

gave our dad a brand spankin' new computer complete with...

(Drum roll Please...tatatattaat)...COX BROADBAND SERVICE!!!

"YEEEEES!"

My dad was like a kid in a candy shop yesterday

just watching Scott, Jack, and I

set up his system...

I can only imagine his bliss today

as he gets to sit down and play with his new toy!

WooHoo Dad! Enjoy every second!

We Love you! :)

"The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys."
~Author Unknown

"Zazzled, Mooed, Stamped, and Carded!"

...And Oh! What a treat each was!!!

First I was "Zazzled" with my first order of mandala stickers...WooHOO!

...Next I was "Moo"-ed 5 times by Teri in Arizona...
..."Moo-ed" another 5 times a month later by Sherry in Wisconsin...

Then I was internationally "Stamped"... ( I looove stamps of all kinds! :)
... and handmade Christmas "Carded" by Nina in Sweden!

Aren't these postal "goodies" just awesome ???
What a delight it was to go to the postal box and not just find bills!
LOL :)
Now I await all my holiday credit card expenditures to come in...
Nooooooo...no...no...Not as much fun...at all!
Not LOL :(

"Whew!..."

...I'm delightfully exhausted and thoroughly stuffed to the brim!

How about you???

:)

Sooo...What's next???

Mom's birthday...then onward we go to 2009!

Guess I had better get started on some goal planning...Hmmmm...:)

"Nothing happens unless first we dream."

~Carl Sandburg

"Sending Some Love..."

...from my little corner of the world to yours

on this special day of Christmas.

Now,
get cozy...warm drink in hand...tissue at the ready...
and
enjoy this beautiful movie clip
I found on while visiting over at Pippa's Porch a while back.
Ready? Click here to begin.

(Oooh...Turn up your speakers, too.)

"May God give you...

For every storm...a rainbow, for every tear...a smile,

for every care...a promise

and

a blessing...in each trial.

For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share,

for every sigh...a sweet song

and

an answer...for each prayer."
~Irish Blessing

PHOTO SOURCE: azcentral.com

"Starry Nights..."

...Peaceful hearts...

...My wishes for you this Christmas Eve..

"Christmas

waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold,

everything is softer and more beautiful."

~Norman Vincent Peale

"Merry Christmas..."

...to all my art loving friends and blog visitors...

... May the spirit of this season

decorate your imagination with light

and

fill your heart to the brim with

wonder,

joy, and peace.

Make each precious day matter. :)

"A Hallmark Moment..."

Seriously,

this really is just that...A Hallmark!

This is a scan of the Christmas card we sent out two years ago.

Just a quickie post for now

as I didn't want to miss any early morning Cactus Monday visitors

from across the pond...

(I am planning something original

to post

hopefully, by the end of this day...)

We'll see. LOL :)

But, as far as "remember forever Hallmark moments" go...

our little pre holiday get-together

Sunday

with my parents, my sister, my brother-in -law, and the twins

was especially delightful.

A super gorgeous Arizona day...

Tummies,

filled to the brim with sloppy joes

Dutch apple pie and Christmas cookies....

A pure, clear sunset -very close to the one above,

and

"Smiles all around"

made the day a picture perfect "capture" in my heart.

I hope you find a special"Hallmark moment", or two, of your own

today as you celebrate

this "Happy Cactus-Almost Christmas" Monday!

"Judy's Joes..."

My friend Judy's

Sloppy Joes are a #1 favorite request of my family.

My poor recipe card

looks like she's really been around the block a time or two

as several decades of kitchen smudges and a few messy splatters

have tarnished her once pristine white crispness.

(Guess it happens to the best of us! ) LOL :)

These delicious sandwiches have filled our tummies

on all kinds of family get-togethers...

and were a

absolute "must" during Sycamore Pumpkin Fests each October.

I made these Saturday for "pre holiday get-together" today.

Mmm...mmm...mmm!

There is just something very heartwarming

about

those good old-fashioned seasonal comfort foods we

make over and over again.

My illo above was drawn on the back side

of the butcher wrap from Basha's supermarket...

and was made

while I was waiting for the meat to brown.

It was fun to discover a new "paper" on which to draw!

I don't think

I ever really paid much attention to such mundane things

"before" EDM!

Ooooh! MY!

"Life before EDM"??? WAS there such a thing???

LOL :)

"Fa La, La, La, La..."

A few more ornaments...several of these on the "antique" side...

all of which have decked the halls

of many a Christmas past...

each one with its own story...each one a treasure.

"Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson:

you find the present tense, but the past perfect!"

~Owens Lee Pomeroy

"High Country..."

SNOWFALL! ...3 days...28 inches +

Here in the "Valley of the Sun"...where I live...
we received much needed rainfall from this storm front
But...
the high country is delirious with joy
since this significant weather system
dropped several feet of fresh powder on the peaks...
Actually, the Grand Canyon recorded over a foot of snow!
I can only imagine how stunning that must look!
As far as winter sports go here in AZ...
Sunrise Ski area in the White mountains to the east of Phoenix
opens today...
While the Arizona Snow Bowl
near Flagstaff to the north
will open Saturday.
What a Christmas wish come true
for those who ski, snow board or snowshoe!

I, on the other hand,
think I may just have to go to the pool before the weekend is over...
temps in the valley are to rebound back into the 60's
and
since pool water temp has been 83 degrees all week
I think that should feel just about right.
Ahhh...yes! This will be a good plan.

"Begin doing what you want to do now.
We are not living in eternity.
We have only this moment,
sparkling like a star in our hand-and melting like a snowflake..."
~Francis Bacon, Sr.
English Lawyer and Philosopher. 1561-1626

Celebrate Your Life...

...Each and Every Day...
... and
Each and Every Night!
Remembering the past...places travelled..people in our lives.

Mele Kalikimaka...Merry Christmas!

"Share our similarities, celebrate our differences."
~M. Scott Peck

"Out West..."

Things of the "old west" have always intrigued me...

I dearly remember

my cowgirl outfit I had as a little girl.

So...

it doesn't really surprise me

that I ended up living in the west and cherishing a western lifestyle.

I have an accumulation of Christmas ornaments that

borders on excessive...

Okay..

it is excessive....really excessive.

When I lived in the Midwest one Christmas season I

decorated 13 Christmas trees in my home...

Not all full sized...many were table top-

each with a different theme.

It was fun to dress up the long gray winter days

of the Midwest for the holidays.

My trees would be put up end of October..

and

were not taken down until mid January.

Things are different now.

The desert sun beckons me outdoors daily....

and the "skies are not cloudy all day." :)

My holiday decorations now are more carefully chosen

and are usually put up just before Thanksgiving

and taken down New Years Day.

Above are a few terracotta tile glazed ornaments

I chose to place on a smaller white Christmas tree in our guest room...

They really stand out against the white tree boughs...

and feel very festive

for our warmer Christmas season here in Arizona.

Ahh! Christmas "Out West"...

goes to show you if you dream hard enough...

childhood dreams do come true!! LOL :)

"Tomorrow hopes

we have learned something from Yesterday."
~John Wayne

Centering Chi...

I went to Tai Chi class Monday

and

I left feeling amazingly centered and inches taller...Seriously!

What a fabulous feeling...and

what a beautiful art form!

It has been written that...

"Tai Chi movements have a ballet-like quality;

yet

there is an underlying strength...
which gives one the strength of a bull;

the serenity of a Buddha."
~Sensei Sandeep Desai

Centering...Balance...Chi...
Meridians...Pathways...Yin...Yang
Life Force...Soul...Spirit
Dan Tien...Spinning Discs...Points From which Energy Flows
Mind...Body...Breath

Each are vital elements of Tai Chi...
and
all can be found freely oozing from my pen
when I am truly in the
"zone".
What a fabulous feeling!

"All that we are
is the result of what we have thought.
The mind is everything.
What we think we become."
~Buddha

"A Sonoran Christmas..."

As the sun rises this beautiful mid December day

all throughout Bloggy Land...

And slowly creeps over the sleepy Sonoran Desert...

It will be my pleasure to be your "official" tour guide

and introduce
to you a bit of the splendor of the Southwest during the holidays.

We decorate with all kinds of festive things...even "trees" of glass...

Don't know which way to turn?
Follow the luminaria...
a southwest tradition, for lighting the path for the spirit

of the Christ Child to your home...

and you will find all kinds of treasures beyond your wildest imagination.
Walk with me now...
and enjoy
the festive baubles and ornaments which decorate our trek...
through the solitude and quietness of this desert garden.

As we sight some of Dale Chihuly's artistic treasures

floating in quiet desert pools...

notice the reflections...click on images to enlarge if you like...

Chilly? Why not warm yourself by the fire, in the tradition of the

ancient ones

who once lived in this area.

Continue on the path into the sun

and find more glass sculptures

Don't they remind you of enormous Christmas bulbs?

The Nature of Glass Exhibit is everywhere!

lighting our way with festive color

We love to hang lots of festive ornaments during the holidays...

...And we hang them just about anywhere we can imagine!

Let's now look for a traditional holiday tree...

Can it Be?

Ah ha!

Right here in the desert...an evergreen!

We can walk on... or...we can rest at wee bit if you like...

Lets' rest...I feel like drawing a a couple of things.

How about here?

or

maybe even

Here!

This is my favorite spot...so cozy isn't it?

How about a hot chocolate..of a cuppa..0r a glass of wine?

My treat!

Musicians are going to be playing later today...We can come back

if you like...have a bite to eat

and listen to the sweet sounds of smooth jazz.

For now...are you ready to move on? Here's another pathway...

leading us to a tower of light...

standing guard before the sandstone peaks in Papago Park.

A shady resting spot...the Arizona sun can get very hot...even in the winter...

How about some fresh cool water to quench your thirst?

Ahhh...now to my most favorite of "Santa Chihuly's" gifts...

A boat of flowers and reeds...brilliant yet serenely magical...

It's my #1 favorite of them all! Mmmm!

Eventually the moon rises on this day...and the day will turn into night...

the desert will magically transform itself into a festival of lights...

and the beauty of nature's gifts will glow well into the night

and forever in our hearts.

Happy Christmas in Bloggy Land...:)

Pop in on the other participants and celebrate the whole day long!

And, finally,

For those of you who celebrate another tradition on this day...

Happy Cactus Monday All!

May all your holly-days be merry and bright

lit by that luminous luminaria of a light that

glows peacefully from

within! :)

"It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas;

soon The Bells Will Start,

and The Thing That Will Make Them Ring

Is the Carol That You Sing

right Within Your Heart."
~Sung by Perry Como