A faithful friend

Just thought it would be fitting to leave a picture of my treasured pet out here. She was with me for 15 years. She had a stroke around 2 a.m. on April 18th--same as my dad's birthday. By 4 a.m. the vet put her down. While she would be seen by most as just an animal . . . she was a beloved pet and companion for more than a decade. It is not a small thing. This is how I will remember her best:



Sleep well.

Award Winning Speaker!

You know, most people would take their 3rd place trophy in defeat and put it in an obscure place and hope that they do better the next time.

Well, not me! I am happy to display my 3rd place trophy. I've come a long way in 3 years. I absolutely disliked speaking in public. I would do anything not to speak in public. It was so obvious, the tremor in my voice. I even believe my face betrayed me.

Today? I am still nervous before a speech. But it is not a reason to not get up and speak. I realize that 9 of 10 speakers still have butterflies, jitters and nervousness before a speech. A wise person once said, "courage is not the absence of fear. It is moving forward in spite of it." I understand that now. Besides, I've also realized what "fear" really is:

F- false
E- evidence
A- appearing
R- real

You may stumble over your words from time to time; you may feel butterfiles in your belly; you may even forget part of your speech; worst of all: your hair (that you paid handsomely for) may fall onto the floor in the middle of your speech, but it is not life-threatening. It is life. And life is meant to be lived. Not tolerated, not survived, not endured. Lived and lived to its fullest. This I work on each day. Living.

So here it is, in all it's glory:


Why the yarn? It is competing with the knitting. There may sometimes be a contest scheduled during my normal knitting night with my friends; it competes with knitting when I have a speech that has to be written for my normal meeting so that I can advance my speaking skills ( I am currently working on my advanced designation). My dream?

1. To become a professional speaker (yes, I want to be paid to speak). This is important to me because I want to use that money to help others. In the right venue, you can make a fair amount of money. I will be able to have wells dug in the countries I visit where I see the need--clean drinking water is something I think many of us take for granted.
2. To win the International world champion of speakers award. It is the highest award that you can win as a speaker in Toastmasters. It means you go to the annual International Convention and you've won numerous other contests to get there (this year it's being held in Calgary, Alberta CANADA). I would absolutely like to take this from dream status to goal status to reality. Hmmm.

The tag line? I've decided in order to become what I want, I should look at myself as I want to be seen by others. Technically, I am an award winning speaker. Now, did I say contest wining? No. So, I haven't lied, now have I? Aaah, that poetic license. Beautiful. It is all about marketing oneself.

Enough dreaming for now. I actually have a very long to-do list today.

Pick a theme and stick with it!

Okay, so it is waaaay past the holiday season, but it's still winter and I just had to show this picture. There is this house that I see each season that is lit from rooftop to the lawn and I used to wonder to myself things like, BGE surely loves this house! Or, when is too much, too much? Or worse even, pick a theme, just pick a theme and stick with it, will ya?

But you know, that's what happens when youi base your thoughts and opinions on your own personal feelings, choices and aesthetic. Never once did I make an effort to stop by and maybe speak to the owner or take a moment to think maybe just maybe the theme or motivation is deeper than what I can physically see.

Well, guess what? This year, I happen to be driving by one night and I wanted to shoot the picture and in the front yard were the owners. Without thinking I pullover, get out and start yelling, yoo hoo! and I strike up a conversation with the wife, Mary. Lovely woman. Just as sweet as pie. Her motivation? Putting up lights was something her father did when she was a child. She honors that memory by continuing the tradition. You can't put a price on that. So the theme to me is love and honoring my parent. We should honor our parents--how's that for a wintry theme? Whether the lights are too many or not, well, I've decided that I personally could never put up enough lights to honor my folks. Thanks Mary.