love flash mob

do you read glennon's words over at momastery? if not, you should try it. glennon's words have provided me much food for thought, and even more, a constant reminder of the magic of love. love can move mountains, lift up a broken and weary soul, bring together distant strangers, and shine a guiding light in dark moments. glennon and her monkees have built a network {using the equally magical internet} where strangers join {e-}hands to do hard things, stories are shared, mistakes are accepted, individual quirks are celebrated, and love wins.

today, glennon and the monkees are tapping into that network of love, joining e-hands to show four families that love wins. today is a LOVE FLASH MOB day, where the momastery world donates what they can to give to those who need. today, momastery {through their charity arm, monkee see - monkee do} is helping four little ones {and their families} to get guardian angel service dogs that, due to special conditions, the little ones dearly need to monitor their health and/or safety.  no pressure here - really! none, at all - but if you are interested in being a part of today's magic, click on over to read glennon's words about compassion and the four little ones in need of it today. donations are limited to $25, and every penny goes directly to those in need.

quote: wayne dyer.

abeautifulmess selfies: 27-30

day 27   ::   day 28

day 29   ::    day 30

foundation of respect

i just finished a non-fiction work by kurt vonnegut. honest assessment? i'm not a big fan. it's a disorderly collection of pieces of articles and speeches he's used before, accompanied by commentary that sometimes clarifies the pieces and sometimes doesn't. put it all together and what you get is one big ol' judgmental mish-mash that is not worth the $9.99 amazon is currently charging for it. {thank goodness i picked it up on a kindle daily deal sale for $0.99!} i hear his fiction is better, so here's hoping i won't be as frustrated when i finally crack open slaughterhouse five.

that being said, there was one anecdote that i actually related to. in a discussion on religion and marriage, he noted that people get divorced "because they don't love each other anymore" and likened it to "trading in a car when the ashtrays are full."  he clarified that "the transmission is shot and there's a crack in the engine block" when you no longer respect each other.  i think that perspective - that respect, more than love, is the foundation of a lasting relationship - deserves serious consideration.  because really, isn't it the love that is built on friendship and respect that lasts? {with a healthy dose of chemistry, of course ;)}.

abeautifulmess selfies: 23-26

day 23   ::   day 24

day 25   ::   day 26

abeautifulmess selfies: 19-22

day 19   ::   day 20

day 21   ::   day 22

building habits: update 1

about a month ago, i posted about my micro quotas and macro goals, and promised an update. i'm getting somewhere with a few, and almost nowhere with others. and then there are the ones i forgot to mention, but have been working on anyway.  so, the update goes a little like this:

quota: thirty minutes of rosetta stone per day // goal: learn spanish
progress: minus the week my guy was visiting, i have managed at least 15 minutes a day. not exactly 30 minutes, but daily use! plus, i seem to get through a lot of the units faster than the stated time, so those 15 minutes are solid learning :)
verdict: semi-met, but definitely room for improvement.

quota: two hours per weekend documenting // goal: digitalize memorabilia
progress: i haven't managed to make it to fedex-kinko's yet to start digitalizing old photos (which is a major part of the goal), but i did manage to finish the 2009 family photobook for my mom and keep my 2013 photobook up to date. i don't know if i'd consider this semi-met or not, since i really want to get those photos in digital format and haven't yet.
verdict: needs work!

quota: one hour article work per week // goal: write an article by october 2013
progress: zero.
verdict: try again?

quota: go to bed and wake 15 minutes earlier each day // goal: reasonable hours
progress: i don't even know how to gauge this. it varies daily, with a lot of days being decent on bedtime, but other days being absolutely awful. i think maybe this micro-quota needs to be revised...new version, "turn off electronics by 11pm."
verdict: try the new angle!

new quota: 3 green smoothies a week // new goal: healthier eating
progress: at least one a week, but if i can manage the reasonable hours, then more smoothies will be a lot simpler to manage.
verdict: will improve in tandem with reasonable hours, but pretty rubbish presently.

new quota: 3 workouts a week // new goal: healthy living
progress: does paddle boarding count? because if so, then i have improved on this one quite a bit in the last week or so. even managed 2 rounds of jillian and some pinterest routine my sister dragged me through. just have to keep it up now...
verdict: semi-met, but definitely room for improvement.

next update in a month!