My Kind of...

Last weekend was my kind of weekend. Practically perfect in every way. Even if it turned out a little different than I thought.

You see, the plan was to spend Saturday and Sunday at Laguna Beach with my cousin Arleen. Which is exactly what happened.

The weather on Saturday was in the upper 70's, lower 80's. Sunday the weather was a bit cooler, in the mid to lower 70's, but still beautiful. Just like the weatherman predicted.

The hotel was lovely. In a wonderful location, right on the beach, Mediterranean style, reminding me so much of Greece. We had an ocean view and I slept with the sliding glass door open with the sound of the waves lulling me to sleep. Just like Trip Advisor promised.

All our meals were so delicious. Lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch all eaten outside within sight of the ocean.

We had planned to write, journal, take photos and we did just that, but we did more talking then anything else. I took five cameras with me and only took one out the whole weekend. I didn't even feel bad about it. I learned so much about my cousin. I learned of her love for her family and for our God. I learned of her strength and compassions. I learned of her hopes and dreams.

She encouraged me in ways she will never know.

It was my kind of weekend.

Love is...

Even the most bitter person can't help but think about Love today. I admit when I was that bitter person. There was a time when Valentine's Day was a bane to my existence. A reminder that I was single, there would be no bouquet of roses, no boxes of candy, no intimate love note.

I missed many a wonderful opportunity to focus on the love I did have, which was all around me. Thankfully those days are long gone. Oh, I'm still single, but I choose to focus on the love that I have. And there is so much love in my life. I am so blessed.

I wish I could say I'm the perfect lover. There are times I think I am, until I think of what Francis Chan suggested, that we take I Corinthians 4-7 and replace the word "love" in the verses with "I"...

Love is patient with I am patient.

Love is kind with I am kind.

Love does not demand its own way with I do not demand my own way.

And I am convicted every time. And while I think that Frances Chan has a good point...we need to look in the mirror and love better. I also think that we need to acknowledge that we will always fall short. It doesn't mean there isn't love.

Love is a wonderful gift from God.

Love is up to us to give freely and up to us to receive.

Love is not perfect, but it is the best thing in life.

Love is worth the effort (and sometimes it is effort)

Love is the answer.

Postcard Possibilities

I spent a little time last night looking through my archives for possibilities to consider for the Liberate Your Art Postcard swap.

It was easier than I thought.

Finding possibilities, that is.

Most came from our trip to Italy last year.

Which is really no surprise.

It's going to be hard to make the final cuts.

I was checking out Moo.com and the good news is that the prints can all be individual so I'll pare it down to four.

It'll be interesting to see the final product in print since I've never color calibrated my laptop...or any monitor for that matter.

Hopefully at least one version will come out as good or better than I imagine.

I'm excited about the whole thing. Wondering if I should add textures or if it's too much to do at the last minute.

I'll sleep on it.

No is Not an Option

Sometimes, I don't take no for an answer. When you're armed with a camera you have to be sensitive to the fact that most people don't like getting their pictures taken. Though I have to say that the current generation doesn't seem to have that problem which is evident by the daily stream of self portraits I see on Instagram.

So when Brie came into my room the other day to snuggle with Belle, pointing out to me how cute they both looked, I took that to be an open invitation to snap a view photos of said cuteness. The fact that she stayed put as I went downstairs to get my camera was a second verifying fact.

Which is why I ignored her protests and continued to take a few pictures despite her complaints. After all, I don't post embarrassing or bad shots. After all, her room, cellphone and Instagram stream are filled with photos that I took.

After all, they did look might cute.

Something New

Going to try something new. Something I haven't tried before. Nothing big. Nothing exciting.

Going to make me my first quilt. Well, the quilt isn't really for me. It's for my Sunny Boy.

I've been wanting to do this for over a year now. Ever since I saw one on someone else's blog and thought, "I can do that". Sometimes I tell myself that even though I don't know if I really can. I find it helps to believe in myself.

My son is a t-shirt guy. Once he has one that is near and dear to his heart, he wears it to death.

When he got married he had to leave some of his t-shirts behind. He couldn't bring himself to trash them so I going to make him a quilt.

I might need to collaborate with my daughter-in-law as she has more experience than I do. Yesterday I started with the easiest and hardest step...the beginning.

Oh, and something else new I decided to do is join the Liberate Your Art postcard swap. The first step was to sign up. The next step is to go through my photos and pick a photo. If you're interested in joining, do the first step, click on the link below and join in the fun.

Her Smile

She has a beautiful smile.

She loves to smile for the camera, but I like to catch it at it's most natural.

When she's not really aware of the camera or so busy in the moment that she has forgotten all about it.

Those are my favorite.

The Second Time Around

This time around, it's easier. The new (and much improved) infusion center helps. a. lot.

Last time, on average I got into the infusion chair at least an hour to an hour and a half after my scheduled appointment. This time, there hasn't been an appointment where I haven't been in my chair either early or within 5 minutes of my appointment.

Last time, the infusion center was located on the corner of the third floor, cramped and far away from the parking lot. This time the infusion center is on the first floor, one of the areas closest to the parking lot. And it's so pretty.

Last time, the infusion chairs were comfortable, but old and almost impossible to recline on your own. This time the infusion chairs are comfortable, but have remotes to make it easy to recline at the touch of a button.

Last time, I was frightened, angry, scared. This time, I'm thankful, friendly, at-ease.

Oh, and this time around there is free Wifi.