Charity

Yesterday, my dear friend Patty and I went out to lunch at my most favorite place in the world, the Cheesecake Factory. I'm not really sure why they call it a "Factory" - it's a very nice place that has nothing to do with big robotic machines or smokestacks. If it was any kind of factory, it should be called the Fat Factory, because that's what I get after I eat there. Anyway, we had the most adorable waiter...not the "OMG - he's so hot" kind of waiter, but the "he is as cute as a button" kind of waiter. His name was Johnny. He had some kind of cute accent, and you would have thought that working at the Cheesecake Factory was comparable to winning the lottery, in his eyes. After a delicious lunch, we paid and Patty decided to give him a $20 tip, which was about 50% of our bill. SO NICE, and he deserved it. He came by after taking our payment, just to thank us for the nice gesture. He was SOOOOOO grateful! So grateful in fact, that Patty pulled out another $20 and sent it over to him.

This gesture pretty much sent me on a natural high for the rest of the day. Such kindness given to someone who did nothing but show us the same. I admire Patty so much for her generous heart, and her compassion for others. I am inspired to commit simple acts of kindness myself as much as possible, knowing not only how good it feels, but how important it is to contribute to the good will of society as a whole.

HELPING HOLLA -

Summer...so far

HOLLA -

Letting Go

I've been working on a little personal project as of late. It's common for me to get all bunched up about things (pretty easily), and let the bad energy float around for awhile. This is unhealthy, I know, so I've been "exercising" my ability to let go and flush out the junk and let the peace flow in. It seems that I am tested on this just about every day, so it hasn't been easy.

Situation at work....flush it out. Frustrating and disappointing words heard/said/read...flush it out. Fear of the ghost that keeps tinkering around in my house (yes, it happened again today)...flush it out. Everyday troubles....flush it out. Let the peace rolllllllllllllll in. When I take time to consciously do this instead of reacting, I usually find the peace settles in much easier.

Ahhh.

Sometimes it's hard to know if what I'm feeling is legitimate. Maybe there's something that deserves some of my energy. A good test for this is to focus on the "thing" and see what kind of feeling it brings. Good, peaceful feeling = keep it. Hold on to it. Bad, ugly, unsettling feeling = flush it out.

I usually find that waiting and watching for peace allows the "situation" to resolve itself without my help, which is pretty fantastic.

Stay tuned for more observations on peace and letting go.

HOLLA -

Ghost House

Last night, we get back from camping. I am unpacking the stuff in the cooler to the fridge, and Ben is carrying stuff upstairs. He yells down to me, "Did you turn the t.v. on in the spare bedroom?"

This has happened before, at least two times. We come home from being gone somewhere, and we hear the t.v. on upstairs. We go up there, and there it is, usually on some sports channel. We turn it off, and go about our business.

This time it was the computer monitor, which is also a t.v. On sports.

I don't mind Kurt watching t.v., I just wish he was able to turn it off.


I think it's time to move.

HOLLA -

Last Weekend in Pictures

SHATTO MILK - Osborn, MO









CELEBRATION AT THE STATION - KC







THIS WEEKEND...MORE OF THESE.



HOLLA -