Up, Up and Away!

Just reliving my first (and only, so far) hot air balloon flight. Can't wait to go again! It is such an amazing and spiritual experience!

Here we are all loaded up and ready for lift-off! We enjoyed a lovely one hour flight, followed by a champagne toast and the balloonist's prayer:

The winds have welcomed you with softness,

The sun has blessed you with his warm hands

You have flown so high and so free,

That God has joined you in laughter, 

And set you gently again,

Into the loving arms of mother earth.

 More in another post on another day... (ha-ha!) No, I actually need time to recollect some memories from the experience.

Green Thumb

Since I am eating more veggies in my diet now, I thought I would try my hand at growing some food on my own. I'm starting out with one of my favorite herbs, cilantro, and sweet bell peppers.

 Here's the cilantro just starting out. It's a little more robust now, but still far from being mature enough to harvest.

.

...and here are the sweet bell peppers...or, at least they will be one day. :-) I did cheat a bit and buy this plant already started, but it's in my care now. 

Bonsai!

I purchased this little bonsai plant recently to add some greenery and zen to my life. Haven't pruned or trimmed it as yet. I'm terrified of scalping it, so I'm choosing instead to let it be and then prune as I feel guided to do so.

My latest jewelry creations

Have gotten into beading and jewelry making of late. One of my many interests as a scanner. Hope you enjoy!

Still need to work on the clasp for this one, but it's done otherwise.

My most complicated piece to date. :-)

Love the colors in this one! Turquoise is one of my absolute favorite colors!

It was fun to put together, too!

Sweet Deal of the Day

Was out browsing at Pier One this past weekend and found a lovely display plate on sale that I just couldn't resist. The original price was $27, marked down to $14, and then when I got to the register, it rang up at $7! Sa-weet!

I just love all the happy and cheerful colors in it and the butterflies and wildflowers! Makes me think of spring and warm, breezy days. Take a look below. You can click on the picture for a larger image.

Journaling for Inspiration

 

Been feeling out of sorts in my life lately, so I'm going to try my hand at journalling for the first time in a long time. I picked up several journal books this at the bookstore this weekend. Included above are: You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise L. Hay; Attitudes of Gratitude (a guided journal,) by M.J. Ryan, The Woman's Book of Confidence (also a guided journal,) by Sue Patton Thoele, Wreck This Journal, by Keri Smith, and some of the index cards I made containing some of my favorite inspirational quotes.

I began wrecking the journal yesterday by cracking its spine. You have no idea how hard that is for a bookworm to do. I was raised to love books, and never to abuse them. I do have to say, however, it felt positively liberating to crack the spine. I think it has forgiven me, though. I hope it forgives me for the rest of the things I'm supposed to do to it. A word to the wise, never crack a book's spine in a bookstore. They're not prepared for that. In case you're wondering, I had already purchased the book.

Can't wait to see what I learn from the other journals!

Green Eggs and Hamadeus

 

This CD caught my eye while browsing at Best Buy this past weekend. I loved the Dr. Suess books while I was growing up, and I'm a classical music fan, so I just had to check it out! Rob Kapilow is an educator of classical music, as well as a composer. In this CD he explains how Mozart was telling a story, using only notes, as a writer would tell a story using words. He then proceeds to break down Mozart's "A Little Night Music" into manageable chunks that most classical music laymen can understand and appreciate, although the CD is primarily aimed at a much younger audience. You can learn more about Rob Kapilow and his work on his website at http://www.robkapilow.com/