"I'd Like To Thank the BlogCademy..."

Guess what? I got an award.... how bout that?

The Arte y Pico award (I have no clue what this means.... my "spanglish" is not quite that evolved...)

Anyway, sweet Bella bestowed this beautiful award upon me.

And, now I get to SHARE THE LOVE and pass it along to a handful of Blogger Buddies.

Here are the guidelines for this award...

1) Pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
3) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award which is here: Arte y Pico.

I'm awarding the Arte y Pico to the following blogs:

1. Beautiful D'Arcy who has become my Fast Friend.... she has such a full, happy, rich view of the world. I love reading her blog and I love her friendship!

2. Gustav from Australia who writes the most amazing, thought-provoking posts.

3. Robb (and Tara!) from New Zealand. I must say, I never knew anything about NZ before I started reading Robb's blog and now I'm transfixed by its beauty.

4. Laurie from SD. Laurie is MAGICAL with her camera.... who knew that such amazing beauty could be found in South Dakota??!! (Certainly not me!)

5. Karen from Seattle for her open and beautiful spirit. I think everyone who visits Karen's blog is deeply moved and touched by her spirit and her strength.

Hooray for Rafael Nadal - Job Well Done!!

Did you guys SEE the match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at Wimbledon today? Was it not one of THE most amazing Wimbledon's men's championship matches EVER?

I'm not even a huge tennis buff, but Hubster, my Mom and I were totally glued to the TV. It was very intense. The match shattered all Wimbledon records for the longest men's championship match in history - 4:48 I believe was the final time (plus, it had at least 2 rain delays and by the time the awards ceremony took place, the sun had all but gone down).

When it was done, both Nadal and Federer were exhausted and completely spent.

At the awards ceremony, Rafa was his characteristic humble, understated and adorable self (yes, I have a little crush). He almost looked like a little boy clutching that Wimbledon Championship Cup.... but the most heart-warming moment of all came, right after he won, when he jumped up into the stand to hug and kiss his Mother. (I looked over at my own mom, and she and I both had tears in our eyes... it was really such a sweet, endearing moment.)

WAY TO GO, RAFA!!! WELL DESERVED!!!

Breathtaking Visuals (Rocky Mountains, B.C.)

Stumbled upon this AMAZING photo-blog (once again, I'm astounded by the people I'm "meeting" in the blogosphere!!) and I was blown away by these photos!

Just looking at these I feel so serene and peaceful.

What a magnificent creation God blessed us with..... I'm constantly in awe when I see photos of places such as this!

(Thank you, Michele!) :-)

Need Some Giggles?

I think we should ALL strive to use the world Hullabaloo more in everday conversation!

(I just love this "lost in translation" stuff.... it always really tickles me!) :-)

For more funny "lost in translation" stuff (and other humorous stuff) be sure to check out FailBlog (big shout out to the lovely and radiant Karen for posting the link on her blog!)

A Sing-Along for the 4th of July!!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
I thought I'd put up a CLASSIC "Schoolhouse Rock" video from the 70's.
Do y'all remember this one? :-)
I can STILL sing the preamble to the Constitution, thanks to this video that aired during Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid!

C'mon now... click on the below and SING ALONG (I know you want to!)
:-)

And have a WONDERFUL, safe 4th of July!

Mr. Bear's BlogLand Screen Debut

My daughter, S., is a HUGE ham. She loves to perform, be goofy and make people laugh. (I have NO IDEA where she got this from..... wink wink.) :-)

Anyway, tonight after dinner, she said "Mom, I want you to put a video of me doing Mr. Bear's voice on your blog". (Mr. Bear is the "most treasured" stuffed animal in our house.)

Below is the video.
Enjoy.

Atlanta's Drought Crisis

This is Lake Lanier. This used to be a "boater's paradise". As you can see, due to the drought, there isn't a whole lot of boating going on now. Lake Lanier is also Atlanta's main supply of drinking water. The metro Atlanta area has a population of 5 million + people, and it's growing every day.

The lake has never been this low. Ever.

I have lived in Atlanta for many years, and have seen many droughts, but never anything of this magnitude. To say it's bad is an understatement.

Our local and state are busy bickering and pointing fingers about it and they aren't taking any real conservation measures to conserve and use wisely what we do have.

(Sonny Perdue, WAKE UP please!)

Fickle is the Heart of a 10 Year old Girl

UPDATE: When I picked up S around lunchtime from the slumber party she was at, I said "Honey, I noticed your Hannah Montana poster has been defaced. "
Sly smile from S. She then replied "Yes, because she's a fake. And anyway, I like Selena Gomez now. And I found out Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus are enemies in Real Life."
I look over. "Oh, you found that out, did you? Where did you find that out?"
S replied, with complete seriousness: "It was in 'Tiger Beat' ."
Well, then. Case clearly settled.
__________________________________
Hannah Montana used to be my daughter's HERO, however this morning I walked into S's room to find this lovely "modification" to one of her HM posters on the wall.
Judging by the green face, horns, black lips, and bear sticker on the nose, I guess it's safe to assume she's over her HM phase now....?

93 Degrees Today and Guess What.....

One of our A/C units has died.
Egad.

Luckily, it's the downstairs unit.
Upstairs is nice and cool.
Downstairs is warm, sticky and smells like a dog. :-)

BUT, believe it or not, the A/C service I called can come out TODAY!
Woo hoo!

Reality Check (a/k/a When God Kicks Your @ss)

Another challenging day today. I'm doing better with the battle against Negative Thinking, but it's a constant struggle. As I mentioned, this mental battle I'm dealing with is caused 99% by some financial issues that we're going through right now.

I realize (in my head) that these issues are temporary, however when you're paying your bills and you simply don't have money to cover everything you need to cover, it causes STRESS. And INDIGESTION. And you wind up YELLING at your spouse because they forgot to buy EVOO at the grocery store. (Yes, I did this tonight.)

Anyway, so I went to the gym this evening, because we all know that exercise makes you feel SO much better, not just physically, but mentally. And, on my way there (still frowning and feeling very "poor-little-me"), I heard on the radio a horrible story about a little girl who was kidnapped and most likely sexually assaulted by her uncle. (Her uncle!) Unimaginable. The next story was about hostages that were freed today in Colombia, and who had been held by FARQ (a Colombian terrorist group) for YEARS, in the jungle. (Can you imagine? Living as a hostage for YEARS? In the jungle? No, me neither.)

Then my cell phone rang - it was a former co-worker, calling to let me know that someone we knew at the company we used to work for was just diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. The man who received this diagnosis is in his mid 40's, the prime of his life, has a wife, 2 young children, etc. His prognosis is very poor as the cancer is already well advanced. He had almost no warning symptoms.

So, when I pulled into the gym, I parked my car, closed my eyes, and thanked God for all the blessings I DO have, and asked his forgiveness for my being such a whiner. And, almost immediately, I felt that wonderful soothing balm cover my spirit.... very difficult to describe.... Paul described it best in Philippians 4:7 as the "...peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension...."

I still have the same issues; nothing has changed.
Just now I have some much needed perspective.

Money-Saving Tips

Blogosphere Buddies,
Does the cost of gas make you see RED? (It does me!)
Are you fed up with the skyrocketing cost of groceries? (Me too!)
Feel somewhat depressed by the relentless Bad News on the TV? Feel let down by our national leaders, who are taking the collective Ostrich Approach to dealing with problem??

Well, I think, rather than suffer in silence, we should share "frugal tips" with one another.... and help each other get through this recession/crappy economy. WHAT SAY YOU?
Do I hear a big Hoorah??

Since I'm self-employed, I am ALWAYS trying to minimize my expenses (and maximize my income, which is a little more challenging). My goal is to be able to live a Beautiful Frugal life, in a paid-for house, with NO debt whatsoever, by the time my kids enter college. I can visualize it, but sometimes the mountains standing in the way seem pretty high.

So, here are my tips for today:

1. Shop at Aldi. Do you have an Aldi near you? If so, shop there. Aldi is a German-based grocery chain. They have 1 brand of each kind of food that they carry. You have to bag your own groceries, and they only take cash or debit cards, but you'll save a ton of money. And you'll be very pleased with the quality; they have a "double money back guarantee". I just got a gallon of milk there for $2.49. Cereal (Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, etc) are $1.69. A can of beef ravioli is .69. I find that when I shop there, compared to Kroger or Publix, I save about 25% - 30% off my grocery bill.

2. Brew your coffee at home. Yes, I know this is a tough thought. (By the way - Aldi has their own brand of coffee, but I'm a Maxwell House girl.... bit of a snob on that...) I love my Starbucks. And I will still buy it - as a treat - but not everyday anymore. It's just too expensive.

3. Keep a one month record of everything you buy. Everything. From a 25 cent pack of gum, to your Chick-Fil-A for lunch, to your mortgage, your car payment, EVERYTHING. Write it ALL down. Then, at the end of the month, transfer it to a spreadsheet (or Quicken, if you want to be fancy). Prepare to be shocked. (If you're like ME, you spend a TON on little things, here and there. ) So easy to do.

4. Give. Even if you can't afford to give financially, give of your time. Giving fills up your soul. Really.

OK, that's it from my corner of the universe..... what are your tips?

Orange Sky (for D'Arcy)

After reading my post on the Golden Georgia Sky, D'Arcy commented that I should check out the song "Orange Sky" by Alexi Murdoch.
I did, and I thought it was beautiful.

So, here it is for all to listen to. Thanks for the suggestion, D'Arce. :-)

My Sense of Smell is No Longer Offended....

So, last night, I was meeting with my small group, and we were meeting at Ginger's house.

It was a beautiful warm and breezy evening in Atlanta and Ginger has a lovely screened in porch which overlooks her lovely backyard, so that's where we decided to have our meeting.
We were all talking, sharing our week, our challenges, our triumphs, the ways we see God at work around us, and all of a sudden, one of Ginger's 3 dogs (who had been playing quietly in the far recesses of her backyard) came up, squatted right next to the porch, and took a huge, steaming dump right there.

A little bit of a buzzkill as far as the "mood" was concerned.

What struck me as so funny is all the women in my group acted like they were suffocating from the smell and, to be honest, I barely even noticed.

Clearly I've been dealing with Lots Of Poo lately.....

Scrappy Doo?!

We have given Diva a 2nd nickname - Scrappy Doo.

She has this little walk and when her ears are very perky, she looks JUST like Scrappy Doo.

(And she's got the attitude..... definitely.)

Once I get an appropriate photo (read: if I can get her to HOLD STILL long enough) , I'll do a "separated-at-birth" posting, and you will see!

General Positive vs. General Negative

OK, the below is a wee bit hokey, and not terribly well written, but I like the premise behind it. And, and since I'm personally dealing with a struggle against Negative Thinking lately, I thought it was rather ironic that an acquaintance (someone I barely know) included me on her distribution list for the email that contained this little message...

So read, take what makes sense to you, and discard the rest.

Monday Morning with the Generals
You have two powerful generals who are ready to carry out your every command. One is General Negative and the other is General Positive; they reside in your subconscious.
Each morning after reading the paper and hearing the news you get a briefing from each General. In your role as commander-in-chief you are in charge of your conscious mind. You “think it” and one of your great generals in command of your subconscious mind will obey. Which shall it be? What kind of day do I want? If you think negative thoughts, General Negative will respond. But if you think positive thoughts, General Positive will take over. You decide to act in a courageous manner; you declare war on all negative thoughts, including those people who want to say and act negative in your presence. This decision will cost you the favor of General Negative and all his followers. You are now in a war, General Negative has responded by declaring war on General Positive and it is going to be a protracted war; it may be a war that will last your entire life. They are both great commanders and both have huge armies with good support back home. Neither of these generals has ever lost a war. General Negative will not surrender quietly; you must keep your line of positive thoughts flowing to General Positive constantly if you want to be a positive, optimistic person.

Isn’t this the way it is in real life? The positive thoughts are always battling the negative thoughts for space on our ‘bus’? Some people win this battle easily; they act out the part played by the positive thinkers of the world. They maintain a positive mental attitude, they appear happy, upbeat and successful, a person everyone loves being around; they are like honey attracting bees; people are attracted to them.You don’t have to go far to find cynics and negative people commanded by General Negative; they surround us every day. He is the whining neighbor; she is the clock watcher I work with. They are the ones who are skeptical; they doubt everything; they are ones who say it won’t work; it can’t be done. “We tried that before,” is their personal mission statement. They never try anything new or different. Why should they, they know every thing; they know it won’t work. Having a negative mental attitude is unhealthy; it is destructive and it ruins people’s lives. “Life is cruel and not fair”; they lament and like the old song, “I get the neck of the chicken and the rumble seat ride.” General Negative has a great advertising and public relations department; he owns the news. A newspaper reporter recently commentedwhen questioned why all the newspapers were so full of bad stuff. “If it isn’t bad it really isn’t news,” was his answer. This is a good reason not to read the morning paper unless you want to start your day with a negative attitude.“Never think of failing,” for if you do your General Negative will command your subconscious. The subconscious mind is a slave to our conscious mind and willingly obeys its every command. Say the words, “This is a lousy day,” and behold you will have one. Say the words, “I feel great,” and if you are not very convincing say them again and again until you believe them. And now you are ready for a great day because you have planted a positive idea into your subconscious. General Positive will take it from there.