"Makes Me Smile" Monday

A little interior transformation is

making me smile today !!!

Our bathroom is now rid of its shiny

Victorian-ish floral wallpaper:

. . . the "during" part . . .

. . . and is now a lovely shade of blue

(pale cadet, to be exact !) :

Every other room in the house had already been touched by our paintbrushes . . . now our last room is done, and the paintbrushes can rest (for a loooooonnnnggg time) !!!


Happy Monday !!!!

"Makes Me Smile" Monday

"Many a cool summer evening we spent

on the porch, conversation our

entertainment . . . just the cool

breeze and the sinking sun."

- Richard R. Radtke, "Porches"

(from an old Victoria magazine)

Yeah, that's how we've been spending our time lately . . . on the porch !! The perfect place to be, rain or shine !!!

Happy Monday !

Fun Flickr Collage

I had so much fun putting together this little photo meme, thanks to the lovely Jenn !!

1. Happy birthday, Melissa!, 2. Hot Chocolate, 3. WM Prom 2006 table, 4. Summer Berries Red Current01, 5. Wentworth Miller, 6. Singapore Sling, 7. A Taste of the Cotswolds, 8. Tiramisu Tart, 9. decorator fabrics in store, 10. The Road Home, Mendocino, 11. Dreamer, you know you are a dreamer, 12. black.white.martypants

These photos are the answers to a list of questions about yourself . . . I won't repeat the list (it can be found here), but I think you can get a good idea just by looking at these picture titles !!!

Fun, fun, fun !!!

"Makes Me Smile" Monday

Today's post topic is a no-brainer, really . . . .

the Olympics are underway, afterall !!!!

As I do every 4 years, when my favorite sport is being watched by the world, I take a trip down memory lane and relive some of my best gymnastics moments. I guess it's especially appropriate this year, as exactly 20 years ago I was at what turned out to be my peak, and having the best competitive year of my gymnastics life. I'd had an exceptional state competition that year, hitting all 8 routines that weekend (this is THE goal of any and every gymnast !), and had competed in my first regional competition. The icing on the cake, though, was competing in my first and only national competition . . . I was only 12 years old, and had only been involved in the sport for 3 years !!!

And even though I didn't hit all of my routines at nationals, I hit THIS routine . . . my constant nemesis, my bar routine. Bars was a total struggle for me. But on this particular day, it all came together at just the right time. As long as I live, I will never forget the feeling of making this routine . . . of getting to the end of the routine, to the dreaded skill that I always fell on, right before the dismount . . . and making it through. I remember thinking, " Oh my God, I did it . . . let's stick this dismount and savor the moment !" I will always remember that feeling . . . there's nothing like it. And even better, I have pictures of the blessed moment:

I went on to finish 7th all-around in that national competition. The picture below is from the newspaper article that was done about my qualifying for nationals . . . a bit yellowed and torn, but still intact 20 years later !!!!

I could wax eloquent for days about my gymnastics experience . . . the good, the bad, and the ugly ! Watching the Olympics brings it all back for me. I was never of the same caliber as the girls you see on TV . . . I only knew a small taste of what their whole experience must be like. But the love and appreciation for the sport never goes away. I am forever awed by the strength and power of the sport, and its beauty and grace. And I'm grateful that I was blessed to be a part of this amazing sport, even for a short time.

Go Team USA !!!

"Makes Me Smile" Monday

Two words sum it up today: LIBRARY CARD !!!

I'm not sure exactly what prompted me to get a library card after all these years. Maybe it's the fact that the co-worker who loans me (and many patients !) books from her vast personal library is retiring at the end of the year. Or maybe that I'm going thru books so quickly lately that I'd have to live at Barnes & Noble to keep myself stocked ! Most likely, though, it's the fact that books are expensive (like everything these days !), and it finally dawned on me that I can get them from the library for FREE !!!! What a great concept !!!! And after my first run 2 weeks ago, I remembered that it's not just fiction that's available . . . I can get cookbooks, and decorating books, and books about knitting, and . . . and . . . . so many options !!! I feel like a kid again, all excited to go to the library . . . I was looking forward to it all day today !!!

I was denied a library card once, actually. When Jack was in seminary and we lived outside Boston (and we really had no money !), I found the most beautiful library in a neighboring town . . . it was this quaint little stone building in the midst of a picture-book New England town, overlooking the water. I just wanted to use that location because it was so beautiful. But they refused me a library card, and said I had to get one from the library in the town I lived in . . . even though both were in the same county and all !!! I was so upset at being turned down for a FREE LIBRARY CARD that I never got one at all while we lived there. That just seemed to add to the trauma that was my time there.

Oh well . . . that's all in the past ! I've got my card now, and I'm ready to go !!!!

Happy Monday !!!