Woolly Bears to Butterflies

I was running the other day and almost ran right over a woolly bear (at least I think it was a woolly bear). Isn't it weird that caterpillars look completely different from butterflies, and yet, they are the same? A transformation that turns a fuzzy, ground dwelling, worm-like thing into a beautiful, flying, butterfly. Makes me think about all of the other transformations we see in life, and those we don't see, or can't see.

Costly Conversations

At 10¢ a text, somehow texting is becoming the most popular form of communication... making an entire conversation set you back $5, $10, $20? Unless you have unlimited texting? Then, you probably also have a cellular bill about the size of your mortgage!

Texting is so impersonal, void of any emotion... like robots sending short messages back and forth. People used to mail beautiful, handwritten letters and now they send short digital texts with the least amount of words possible. What's wrong with the phone? Emailing? Or, even sending notes with pigeons might be more affordable and personal! - It's crazy!

"Real" Books & Magazines

"Will the Internet kill magazines?

Did instant coffee kill coffee?"

- Magazines, The Power of Print®

I sure hope the internet isn't killing magazines and that Kindle won't "kill" books... A lot of companies have stopped printing their catalogs and magazines and just host them on their websites now. Personally, I don't think this route is very user-friendly. It takes awhile to load the pages, everything is really small and, well - its just not the same!

If I'm going to read a book, magazine, catalog... I need to be able to feel the pages, flip the pages, fold the pages, write on the pages, mark the pages, highlight the pages... maybe even rip a page out! This isn't possible with Kindle. Which is why I'll always be a "real book" person.

PS: Thank God instant coffee didn't "kill" the real stuff! ;)

I Hope It Rains Today

We are supposed to get rain today, I hope it rains ALLLLL day! Something about hearing the pitter patter of rain makes me really productive. It fuels me! I'm content to keep working because its rainy outside.

Rainy days make me want to clean too and get super organized. I start riffling through closets, organizing the dreaded kitchen junk drawer (actually "drawers" I should say). Its the perfect background to being creative as well. Maybe I'll finish some more Isabelle pages after work. Oh, and workouts... rainy days are perfect for spinning :)

So, needless to say, I hope it rains today.

The September Sun

I need to advantage of this great September weather and spend a lot of time outside. Pretty soon outside will just be a place we race through to avoid the freezing temps and blustery storms. All of the Summer's yard work will be blanketed by snow and forgotten till Spring.

Its always a little sad to see Summer end. Flowers are slowly shriveling up and dying. The grass is getting ready to hibernate. School buses are keeping kids from play... Trees are having a hard time hanging onto their leaves... and there is that crisp chill in the air.

But for now, flowers are still blooming, the windows are open and the sun can still "kiss" your skin - so I'm going to enjoy it!

Squirrel "Highways"

Lately whenever I look out to my backyard I see a squirrel or two skipping along the top of our fence. I didn't see that many squirrels in the Summer... maybe they are out collecting Fall nuts? They use the fences in our neighborhood like highways, some more trafficked than others.

Beautiful Basil

This morning I was cutting some roses from my garden to bring inside and put in a vase... when I looked over at my basil plant and thought "why not make a vase of basil too!" So I clipped some fresh sprigs, put in a little vase and placed on top of my stove. It smells wonderful! I can't stop looking at it. ;) Our basil plant is humongous! We can only eat so much basil. Wish I would have had this idea earlier in the Summer. Poor basil plant has been blooming for months but still growing.

It is amazing to me how cheery this makes my kitchen smell and feel. Something about a fresh vase of flowers inside is just wonderful, so cozy. Growing up, I remember my Mom always had fresh flowers from her garden in the house. Even the tiniest little snippet of a flower in a mini bud vase brought a comfy cheerfulness to the entire house.

Anyway, I put the roses in a little bud vase for the bathroom... These are the simple things that make life so beautiful.