"Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees." -J. Willard Marriott, founder of Marriott Hotels
I was reminded of something today. As I sat at my desk watching and waiting for the impending thunderstorm, I noticed how furiously the trees were swaying and flailing about. Then I thought, wow...it's amazing how strong some of these trees are. The wind whooshes in and some of them are practically horizontal, but then they just pop right back into place.
And then that reminded me of that Biosphere 2 project from the early 90s. Do you remember that? These scientists built a self-contained bio-dome thingie to observe nature and test theories, etc. Well a funny thing happened to the trees they planted. The trees grew fast, but they kept falling over! After the scientists observed and investigated, they realized that the lack of wind created trees with softer wood than they would normally grow out in the wild. They thought of every detail in the Biosphere except for one important factor --- the WIND. Pretty interesting, huh?
So then I got to thinking that people are kinda like trees. If we just floated through life without any trials or tough times (or wind) then we wouldn't know how in the sam hill to cope with a crisis. Sure, maybe the mess we're in makes us feel beat up, and maybe we lose a few branches. Maybe we even go from standing tall to flopped over and skimming the ground. But we eventually bounce back up back to our original stance. And we grow bark ...and we get strong.
There are so many times that I've screwed up or just found myself in the middle of a good old fashioned mess. Every time, I was convinced that my life was surely over...and that I could never recoup this time. No way. Never. Not this time! But my life was never over. The clock kept ticking and I always survived. And I came out stronger, a little taller, and ready for the next storm.
Drumroll please.............
I am writing my 100th blog post. Can you believe it?!?! It's been 7 months since I created Harper Valley and I've enjoyed every moment. I wasn't quite sure why I started a blog, but I am very sure about why I've carried on. My blog has become a way to share my artsy projects, an avenue for staying in touch with family/friends, and a pretty kewl means of documenting my life.
Before my blog bursts at the seams with data, I'd like to convert it into a book. Maybe my future spawn will read it one day and get a kick out of it. Who knows? Check out Blurb to see how you can make a blog book too.
So how do you like my Wordle? That's the word cloud you see above. I typed all 100 of my blog post titles into the Wordle text box and look what came out! The program automatically ranks the words based on frequency, so the larger the word...the more I've used it in my post titles. I found it interesting that "day" was the most prominent word. Seems pretty apropos since my blog is full of a-day-in-the-life stories.
As a way to say ~thanks~ to you...my loyal blog supporters, I'm giving away a soldered marble necklace charm, handmade by my friend, Amanda. The charm is an orange speckled marble complete with a steel cable choker. Enjoy more of Amanda's creations at her shop on Etsy.
To win this whimsical and unique jewelry piece, post a comment below and I'll pick a winner at random (using random.org) on Wednesday, May 6th at 8pm EDT. Be sure to complete the email/blog field so I'll know how to reach you.
Thank you for allowing me to share my DAYS with you!!! =)
*UPDATED 5/6/08: The winner of this lovely charm necklace is.....Janet Kornegay! I know. I know. She's my sister. I swear this is not rigged! I used random.org to generate a winner and created the list based on the order the comments were received. But don't despair! Through a course of interesting events, I just so happen to have an extra marble charm and it may have your name on it. So check back soon for another drawing!
PONDER THIS QUOTE: "We evolve at the rate of the tribe we're plugged into."
***Found this on Pecannoot's blog. Loved it!!
I did it! I auditioned for the Easter choir at church. OK, so there was no audition. But...I didn't know that until I arrived. For several weeks, I've been mentally torturing preparing myself for this night. This Easter Idol-esque night. This nerve-wracking, anxiety-ridden night. My thoughts have been consumed with flashes of me tripping on stage, my voice sounding like poo, people heckling me and throwing tomatoes. Alright, I knew there wouldn't be tomatoes, but I was still scerred. But I just knew in my heart that I was supposed to do this, despite the fear and doubt. I knew that I was supposed to do it ---> afraid.
After a few minutes into the "audition," our leader said that we only have to sway and smile to get in. Whew! Big sigh of relief. Hooray! No tomatoes or humiliation. That's it! After that, it was lots of singing, harmonizing, and some good ole fashioned gettin' down. It was a piece o' cake! And it was FUN.
Can you imagine if I would have chickened out? I would have missed out on an amazing experience. On my way to the rehearsal tonight, I kept saying..ok God..I know I'm supposed to do this, so you've gotta help me out here. And He sure did. No audition. I'm so glad I did it afraid!
Here's what we're singing:
"Glorious" by Martha Munizzi
"We Have Overcome" by Isreal & New Breed
"Mighty to Save" by Hillsong
"Overcome" by Desperation Band
I started a new tradition today. I'm calling it -- No TV Sunday. Not too original, I know. If you can think of a better name...drop me a note with your suggestion. I usually keep the TV on all weekend for background noise, and convince myself that I won't watch it...."It's just background noise," I say. But as I go about my day..I end up sitting down for 30 minutes here, a few hours there, etc. And before I know it, I've wasted the whole day watching a bunch of garbage that I've already seen or that's totally mind numbing.
Since I turned off the TV five hours ago, I've blown through all kinds of chores, and I still have four more hours left in the day. So far, I made a big pot o' chili, made chicken salad, vacuumed, washed three loads of laundry, mopped the floors, took out the trash, reorganized my kitchen cabinets, and cleaned out my dresser drawers. Whew. I'm tuckered out just typing all that. Ha!
Of course, I still need some ambiance, so I turned on my all time favorite weekend radio station...104.1. They never disappoint with the 80s Alternative on Sunday afternoons!
Now I have time for some chillaxin, reading, phone calls, or whatever my little heart feels like doing. Hooray for No TV Sundays!! What could you accomplish if you turned off the TV right now? DO IT!!!! (unless you're hungover...in that case, feel free to veg)
