Light

Well, I am wrapping up my first month writing this daily blog and including one photo, and it's been great!  I almost forgot twice, but jumped out of bed to write in.  I've noticed that I really pay attention throughout my day because I never know what moment I would like to mention and be grateful for.  Truly, there is more than I can say, but I'm keeping it to a couple lines of text! (haha)  So, there is light at the end of the tunnel with daily blogging, and only 11 more months to go for this challenge.

My photo today is a set of bright colored candles all lit and on the stove.  I like to see which one is going to "win" or burn down the quickest, and the glow of them all in a row is quite pretty!

BSoleille, finding the bright side of the day!

terri

One more January Sky

Today, I could not help but be wowed by this morning's brilliant sunrise, and tonight's brilliant sunset.  I did happen to take a couple sunrise photos, but too bright.  However, this evening's sunset was terrific with the orange and purple streaks dancing across the big blue sky - breathtaking.

BSoleille! Finding the sunny side of today!

terri

Happy Sunday

Thankful that I spent time today working on a quilt top that is also my photo of the day!  Almost done, but plan to "finish" it at my upcoming quilt retreat in a few weeks!  I love this pattern and the way you see the light and dark dance across the quilt!

BSoleille!

terri

Just an ordinary Saturday

It's a blessing to sleep in a little on Saturday and do what you want to do (like go for a run with the dogs and then head to the library to quilt the afternoon away!) To top off the day, go out for dinner with the husband.  Now that's just an ordinary, but fun, January Saturday!

Photo today of Lucy-Loo when she was about 1.5 years old!  Got to love those big blue eyes!

BSoleille!
terri

Another January Sky

Hanging out with my two guys on a Friday night is a delight.  We got a bite to eat and then watched a movie on the sofa with the dogs cuddled around us!  Heaven......
My photo is another January sky taken at almost sundown with several hawks circling around for quite some time.  Not sure what they were going for tonight......

BSoleille!
terri

Apple Class

Today I have to give kudos to one of my favorite Apple Class instructors, Carl.  He is gentle and kind, and a fabulous professional that has put up with some of my "crazy" questions learning the Apple rocket ship, er computer over the past three years.  Thankfully, these guys have helped me learn, explore and create things I never thought possible that I could really do myself!  What a learning curve with all this new technology.....

My photo is taken at 8am sharp this morning with Carl!  (Photo by another Apple employee, Sean)

BSoleille...finding the bright side of technology!

terri

Wool socks!

On these cool January days, nothing beats keeping your toes and feet warm like a pair of fairly thick wool socks!  I am thankful I found the ones that seem to work best for me (and my family) that are bought at Costco - the Kirkland brand!

Photo taken last month in Ohio before the snow started flying...perfect blue sky and symmetrical tree top!

BSoleille!
terri

Pines of Roma

A great Italian meal with several nurses and volunteers who have taken the best care of my kids at Special Love, Inc. camps over the past 10 years.  These ladies have seen it all at camp, and they continue to donate their time, energy and professionalism to keep kids coming back year after year!  I simply cannot thank them enough for keeping mine in line......haha!

Photo taken by the waiter: Left side: Kathy, Marilyn, me, Peggy; Right side starting in back, Christine, Trish, Tammy, Kate and Little Louise!

BSoleille!
terri

Grey Foggy Day!

I just finished the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Issacson and it was fantastic!  Almost 600 pages of the story of the Apple Corporation and all it's competitors through 40 years of making the great products we have today!  Jobs had passion for his products that's for sure, and he loved great design in anything.  I hope his wife ordered some furniture now, since they had very little in their home because nothing was good enough for him, as it all boiled down to design.....

Weather and climate can offer the best design of all.....always changing!

Photo today taken on the Crofton, MD, parkway.

BSoleille, finding the bright side of life....

terri

Would you like a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate, Mom?

My son has asked me this question since the weather turned cold, almost daily (thankfully)!  When I tell him which one I would like, he eagerly prepares me a cup of hot something, and I feel very spoiled!  My photo today is a cup of hot chocolate, a great treat on a very cold Sunday morning!  Thank you, Ryan!

BSoleille!  Go ahead, and make one for yourself, sit back and enjoy the flavor.....
terri

Would you like the chance to win this quilt.....?

This was the question asked today to the passersby on my guild's raffle quilt where it's being showcased for several January and February weekends at the Sports and Learning Center just outside of Fex Ex Field near Washington, D.C.  It's a lovely building and there were several sports activities going on all at once!  But the highlight was spending time with another lovely guild member talking about our quilts and projects and our lives in general.  We ended up going out to dinner afterwards to make a day of it!

Photo is of the Southern Comforters Raffle Quilt 2012 (designed by member Charlotte Kielszak):

BSoleille!
terri

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening!

Greetings are the kickstart of the day, afternoon, or evening and reflect a positive spin on how we will move forward in our day, no matter what part of the day we are in.  We certainly cannot change what life generally throws at us, but our attitude towards anything coming our way is something we can control.   I am trying to keep it positive as best as I can and to simply, smile!

My photo was taken in Ohio last month.  Check out that tall duck and its attitude!

BSoleille!
terri

Cold January day, beautiful sunrise!

I have to admit, I don't really like cold weather, but a few cold mornings I did not mind after taking a hot shower (one of life's greatest pleasures), and drinking hot tea before heading out the door.  My photo is a sunrise in Annapolis, MD.  Brisk cool morning, but energized for the day!

BSoleille, for finding bright skies throughout the day.....
terri

Worth Pondering

I "found" a little blessing today, a quote from Dr. Leo Buscaglia, on a faded piece of newspaper I cut out a long time ago:  "It's not enough to have lived.  We should be determined to live for something.  May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely."  I guess I figured it was a keeper, and it's relevant today as it was the day I cut it out of the paper!  I feel that sharing my quilts has certainly created some joy to a few people along the way and I will continue as long as I as my eyesight and fingers let me!

  My photo today is of my dining room table; a quilter at work with many projects spread out......

BSoleille!  Finding the bright and good in life!
terri

Liquid Sunshine

Today we had lots of rain, beginning last night and into today.  Listening to the rain, AKA "liquid sunshine" is my favorite way to fall asleep as those drops hit against the windowpanes.  My photo is taken through a window and raindrops, but you will have to look close at the trees in the backgroud; it's kind of a surreal photo today!

BSoleille!
terri

Naps

Naps are little blessings in life, especially those power ones that are 20-30 minutes long- energizing you back to business at hand!

Photo of two "power nappers"; Lucky and Lucy-Loo

Cousins and iPhone!

I am thankful to have good cousins, and growing up they were fun to hang around with when the adults were talking and playing cards.  My photo is the younger generation of cousins on my side of the family, having fun at my Mom's 80th Bday celebration!

L-R: Brandon, Justin, Nathan, Dylan, Zachary, Ryan, Grandma Sophie, and Olivia!

As for the iPhone, God love that invention, but one must update it to work and not shut off as it happened to my son, Ryan this morning.  In a "panic" we drove to the Verizon store for a 30 second fix by the doorman, we did not even get 2ft. or two feet in the front door and the problem was solved!

BSoleille, finding the bright side of technology.....
terri

Quilting at the Library

I am very thankful that my guild, Southern Comforters of Bowie, MD, has access to use of the Crofton Library at least once a month, if not twice!  It has been named Katz's bee, and anyone within our guild can use the big conference to sew, pin quilts, or just catch up with the folks who show up to sew.  My photo today is one of the ladies' quilts seeing what works...and lots of opinions all around!

From L-R: Cappy, Elfrieda (her quilt), Margaret, Pam and Pat!

BSoleille,
terri

Everyone loves a celebration!

Celebrations are blessings in life for all kinds of things.  I am thankful that we were able to celebrate my Mom's 80th Birthday last month in Cleveland, Ohio (her bday was in Nov.) with family, friends, cousins and kids!  What a great night it was and my Mom was the belle of the "ball"! (Photo of my Mom, husband Bill and me - courtesy of my cousin Larry)

BSoleille!
terri

The Long and Winding Road!

I am thankful for music!  On my runs this week, I listened to the Beatles 1 album the whole way through (20 or 21 songs).  I bet everyone over age 30 knows every.word.to.every.song!  The Bealtes 10,000 hours of "practice"(credit to Malcolm Gladwell in his book - "Outliers") before the British Invasion in the late 60's did them proud,  for they had "instant" success and loved the by the entire world....priceless!

BSoleille!
terri

2 Bee or Not to be!

My 2 Bee is a quilting bee with only one other person, Trish.  She and I have been a 2 Bee for about 5 years, starting off going to local Mexican Restaurants, talking about the quilts and projects we were working on, but then decided to forgo the "out to lunch" and instead sew and quilt with each other about once a month.  I am thankful to get together when we can and share our love of quilting!  Photo is at Trish's dining room table taken by her son, Steven.

BSoleille,
terri

Ladies Who Lunch!

My blessing today is a reflection on good friendships.  Maybe it's the new year, with a renewed interest in catching up with "old" friends, but luckily, I have been able to have a couple of lunches and a breakfast with wonderful people that I am blessed to be a part of my life!  To have a friend, you have to be one, and I hope I can hold my end of the bargain when it comes to friendships, old and new!

BSoleielle!
terri

Monday, Monday

Good evening,

A long chat on a cold grey day with a former college roommate is what I am thankful for today! A couple hours breezed by as we caught up on our busy lives.  On another note, I finished the tshirt quilt I was working on over the weekend.  It's getting shipped tomorrow to it's new owner in Chicago, IL!

BSoleielle!

terri

Love Sundays

I almost forgot to post today!  Yikes.... I am thankful that my daughter Olivia had such a nice Christmas break and got back to JMU safely!  We took her out to breakfast on Friday, and dinner last night (to an new restaurant in Annapolis) and it was just so cool to hang out with her when we could during her "vacation".  My photo is the sky we both loved on Friday morning since we were up so early and shared the sunrise while at breakfast!

B Soleilelle!

terri

Recertification class today for USSF Soccer!

Today I am thankful that I passed the 2012 USSF soccer test that I took two weeks ago on-line!  That meant I got to spend a good part of today sitting in a recert class with 50 other soccer refs going over the nuances of the game, so hopefully, we/I will make better calls this year!  A highlight this year is that my whole family recertified this year!  Can't wait to get out on the pitch this spring......

BSoleielle! For sunny skies....
Terri

TGIF - does anybody say that anymore?

Good Day to you,

I mentioned in an earlier post about the January skies, and when I got home this afternoon, I about screamed on how today's sky looked like a burning forest!  I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped several as the sun was going down quick!  January skies are breathtakinly beautiful!  Have a great weekend....

BSoleielle!

terri

5 for 5!

Hi there,

Believe it or not, I am really enjoying this process so far.....I know, I'm not even a week in, but I have been looking at life just a little differently, maybe even "tuning" in more with what I am doing in the moment!

Today, I was able to get to work on a tshirt quilt for a dear friend's daughter.  It was very comforting getting into my sewing room, albeit a messy one, as all my cares melted away for a couple of hours as I worked and listened to the radio.  Now that is a blessing for sure!  (Photo by my husband;  me in my messy sewing room haha!)

BSoleielle!  The sunny side of today!

terri

Great Day!

Good Evening!

Today I am grateful for my quilting bee!  We celebrated our 10th anniversary last year commemerating it with, of course,  a quilt using the same design!  However, no one is done with it yet, but we are all working on it and they are in different stages of completion. My bee ranges in age from the 40's-80's, and we are a very tight knit group.  These are all remarkable ladies, and we've laughed and cried with all of life's ups and downs meeting at least twice a month through the last 10 years.  Our common bond is quilting, but we've discussed about everything under the sun during our time spent together.  This has truly been a blessing in my life, and I am thankful to the mentoring, both quilting and non-quilting that has been bestowed on me through the years.

My photo today is my bee:  Georgia, Susie, Lori, Cathy, Loretto and Flo (Marcy and Mary not picured).

BSoleielle!  Highlighting the bright side of life....

terri

Day 3

Today I am thankful for two wild and crazy running partners!  They are always ready in an instant to go 4 miles, even on a bitter cold and windy afternoon!  They are my dogs, Lucky (poodle-mix) and Lucy (a husky mix, AKA, "JYD" or junk-yard dog!)  NOTE:  Photo by my daughter, Olivia!

And one more thing for today, do you ever notice the January skies?  They are the most beautiful of all the months.  I bet the skies turned about 100 times over the course of my run today, from bright blue to dark grey, to some sprinkles of snow, to brilliant sunshine once home and all color ranges of the blue-grey-white spectrum.  If you have not noticed them, tune into the January skies in your neck of woods, you won't be disappointed!

BSoleielle!  The bright side of life...
terri

January 2, 2012

Today I am thankful that I can run, although did not do so today....but, thanks to my Mom's Christmas gift to me, a crisp $50 bill,  I was able to purchase a new pair of running shoes!  I will use them tomorrow for sure!

BSoleille!  Looking at the bright side of life...

terri

My daily gratitude/photo journal for 2012

January 1, 2012

I read somewhere in the last two weeks about writing a sentence or two of gratitude and taking at least one photo a day for the next year. I thought and thought about taking this on, especially after turning 50 this fall. I wanted to take my attitude of gratitude to the next level through my 50th year so I am going to do it!

Today is January 1, 2012 and the first time to write this out, WOW! Another year and I hope it's a good one. I am thankful for the wonderful holiday season we just had, having a wonderful Christmas with traveling to Cleveland, OH to be with family and friends for one week, then having a small New Year's Eve party with some soccer families we've met through my daughter's club team. Good food, good laughs and good people, that's what it's all about!

My photo for today, is my beautiful Christmas tree that makes me and my family happy; I just love the white lights twinkling in the night!

BSoleielle! For the bright side of life.....

terri