50 Things I Like About Spring...

You may ask,

"Why are you writing about Spring

a month after the fact.

Well, in Cleveland,

March 21 is sort of a "pre-spring"

or

Springtime Eve

By April 21, we're pretty much out of the woods when it comes to Blizzards and such..

so here goes...

50 Things I Like About

Spring!!!

Heavy coats to the rear of the closet - light jackets to the front!

open windows for fresh air

strawberries are in season

capris

sitting outside for lunch

neighbors emerge from hibernation

My Birthday!

linen jackets

fresh salads

Easter

sunshine

tiny buds peeking out of the soil

Memorial Day

flowering trees

bright blue skies

umbrellas

my first sign of tanning

people on bikes

cantalope

cookouts

dandelions

my hair blowing in the breeze

Mother's Day

a tall glass of water with a slice of lemon

people-watching while waiting for the bus

motorcycles

thunderstorms

colorful gardens

farmer's open-air markets

iced tea

new neighbors

billowing curtains

getting in shape

sitting on the stoop of my apartment

bird's songs

fresh fruit

the scent of lilac bushes

moms with strollers

the unexpected snow storm ;-)

taking walks

spring cleaning

bouquets of daffodils

runners and walkers

floral body sprays

my cloth slouch bag

Robin red-breasts

joggers

driving with the windows down

rainbows

the end of tax season!!

<><

Whirlwind weekend

My grandson, Alex came to visit me this weekend from out of town.  Oh, and he brought his parents too.  It is so fun to hang out with a 3 year old.  He is so full of energy, and so curious about EVERYTHING! And sometimes a little stubborn too! We went to the Science Center Saturday.

everything is such a wonder!

Erica, Alex and Mike

My daughter Cara tried to take a picture of Alex giving me a good-bye kiss.  He likes those big "smack" kisses that are so hard to catch on camera.  After about 15 tries (yeah, he fired away 15 in a row!)  our camera battery died.  This was the best of the bunch!

My Art Idea Notebook!

Last week, spent an afternoon at one of my favorite places - JoAnn's.

In their clearance isle, I found a notebook regularly $2.00 marked down 75% to 50cents!

The notebook is 4"x6" and is the perfect size to stash in my bag. 

Orange/pink with black tectured "felt"

and NO LINES!!  YAY!!!

I divided the notebook into 6 sections; 

Ideas for Art Journal

Ideas for Art Projects

Ideas for my Blog  ;-)

Miscellaneous Ideas

Supplies (needed and craved!)

and finally, Health and Exercse - which I'm seriously thinking about keeping a separate notebook for. 

(my first entries under Miscellaneous Art Projects)

I "repurposed" some used index tabs I had at work.

I'll post my progress on this project!

Keep Creating!!

How Big is God?

 "Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,

And the heavens are the work of Your hands."
~Psalm 102:25


"But God made the earth by his power;

he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding."
~Jeremiah 10:12





God is so big... He created ALL this and MORE!!!
Yet...
He loved you and me so much ...
He sent His only Son to die
for our sins on the cross...

Here's to contemplating the Universe..

Under Pressure

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
~ John14:27 

The last week or so has been very challenging.  A week ago Saturday, I worked, leaving me with no weekend.  This time of year is extremely hectic and it is very possible to become overwhelmed.  On top of that, I had an atc swap that was overdue so I was up way too late Tuesday and Wednesday as I scrambled to create "quality" pieces for the artists as promised.

Thursday, (April Fool's day) as I was sitting in an extremely boring meeting, a sudden feeling swept over me - a feeling that something definitely wasn't ok.  My left hand went numb, and then my left arm and my palms were wet with persperation. I thought to myself, "am I having a heart attack or a stroke?"  I had a co-worker walk me to the nurse's office, where I discovered my blood pressure had climbed extremely high.  Long story short - 911 was called and when they paramedics arrived my blood pressure had risen another 40 points!  Off to the hospital I went, ambulence sirens wailing and all!

As I lay there in the ambulence - by now I was feeling a tightening in my chest - the thought occurred to me that I could see the Lord face to face - even this very day.  A strange thing happened.  I had such a peace come over me.  I was ready - if it were His will.  I'd always thought that when faced with death, I would have a laundry list of things I'd regret never doing - travelling - watching my grandson grow up- seeing my new grandchild etc etc.  But no, at the end of the day (literally!) those things didn't concern me.  I was ready to leave this earth to spend eternity with Jesus. And I knew He would take good care of my children in my absence, even through their mourning.

Well, I was kept overnight for observation and a barage of tests.   I went home the next day with a "clean bill of health" and a renewed motivation to begin living a healthier lifestyle Praise God!!!

I returned home on Good Friday to meditate on my Savior who cares for me and died for my sins and defeated death 3 days later by arising in victory!!!




Happy Easter!
<><