Canadian Thanksgiving

It's Canadian Thanksgiving today. I am in Washington celebrating with my family.

I just wanted to make note of this week. At work it was crazy and hectic as usual with the added load of planning for a Thanksgiving lunch for the staff and kids in our program.

A lot of team work and planning was put into this and in the end we had such a wonderful event.

Our lunch was beautifully decorated and food was delicious. We had enough food for kids to bring leftovers for their families. Most important of all the company was so great. Our kids were happy. The staff was happy and it was just a celebration if being together. We are definately a group of strangers that became a great big loving family. In the end we are very lucky to have eachother.

Today I'm in Bellevue with my own family and I feel so lucky to have such a caring and loving family to be a part of. I am grateful for so many things. I am grateful for a mom who is always trying to make sure we eat enough and wear enough clothes. I'm grateful for a dad that wants us to have the most clean and beautiful house to live in. I'm grateful for a sister that is always excited to bring the family out to enjoy a beautiful day. I am also grateful for my nieces who have made every day so much more special. Also for a brother in law that has become family.

I am also grateful to be alive and happy. Healthy and strong. I have great friends and family and I am also just happy with myself. I'm grateful for everyone who chooses to be in my life and everyone who was made my life meaningful. I'm also grateful for living in Canada where we have rights and freedoms to live our life as we choose. So I hope everyone out there has something to be grateful for.

Karma

Ever feel like you are experiencing Karma? Sometimes the Universe throws something at you that reminds you of who you are and what you learned, even if you feel you've learned it. It's a good lesson actually. Every body needs a reminder. Now I'm experiencing Karma. I will accept it and let it be. But experiencing Karma really opens your eyes. Rather than just knowing what you did wrong once you can feel what you did wrong. We are all innocent people just unconscious.

Karma and dharma. I gotta focus on my dharma now

Life lesson: don't complain about the choices you make like you have no choice.

If I refuse to ask questions I will have to live without answers and not complain.

I will have to accept what is without letting it be meaningful.

Fall ponderings.

The leaves have not changed and the weather is still reminiscent of summer. The only real change I've noticed is the mist in the morning and the dew that covers my car window in the morning. The days are still hot and muggy. Last night I went to a concert and it was still pretty warm out. We have had a long summer and I am grateful for that. Now it's Fall, and we are back to the hum drum of school life. Back to regular working hours and running around panicked in a classroom. With all the changes, I feel a difference in my mind and my body. I feel excited and tired all at the same time. I feel enthusiastic. I love the new year feeling when you get that rush that makes you think this year will be the year that our students will learn something they will carry with them for their entire lives. This will be the year. There are so many things to accomplish and the road is so long we can only imagine the finish line. But sometimes imagination is better than seeing the real thing. Imagination fuels creativity and hope. Sometimes the real thing will stop you in your tracks. So thank goodness for the illusion a new school year brings with it.

I noticed today that since I've started working again my shopping has gone up. Is this a coincidence or is this shopping therapy? Maybe I need to be more careful about this since I should be trying to save money as a life goal. The school year is when I do my New Years resolutions. It's when I feel like it's time to start a new. When I have an inkling to get a high instead of buying clothes I should go exercise which is my other life goal. I need to remember my goals. Actually I always remember them. I need to work at them. It's so easy to put them on the back burner.

Now also I am trying to ignore a situation or move on in my life and not let little things bother me. How do you do that? Do you just accept what is? That is essentially not resisting life. Be appreciative? I am. But sometimes it's very confusing where I am supposed to be. If things are right for me. If you are not sure are you just suppose to accept what you have and be appreciative?

Maybe the better thing to do is to look at this again in a few months. Not resisting also means stopping something that doesn't work. Things deserve some time however, I should not just be waiting around for the thing that is not working to disappear. Things like that don't disappear. I should also not be unreasonable with unattainable expectations.

On that note... I need to go to the doctor... one of these days I will go to the doctor... I really hate going to the doctor...another thing on the back burner. Avoidance is a great ability and can also be terrible.

Fall resolutions: Watching my spending, go to the gym, let go of something if I have to, go to the doctor... and stop putting things on the back burner.

Now it's time to go out and have a drink with the girls! 

I'm gonna pop some tags...

I went thrift shopping today! I was inspired by a coworker who found an awesome deal and I was feeling pretty lucky. I haven't found anything good in a long time but my good feeling was right. I found a load of stuff :)

A crystal 2-tier high tea stand. I don't have much crystal but this tea stand was really quite beautiful. I really like it. I got this for $5.


This is a creamer of a retro coffee set. I saw the coffee carafe last year at the same thrift shop but didn't buy it. This little guy is $1.


Baoding balls: I had these as a child. They make a ringing sound as you swirl them around in your hands. I find the sound and action very relaxing. Maybe they will help me with meditation. $6.


Asian style trivet. I love trivets and I use them a lot. Even though this is not vintage I liked how new it seemed and the style. $6. It feels like iron.


A beautiful glass jar. $1. Ill do something crafty with it.


Vintage binoculars with a leather strap. This is so beautiful even as a decorator piece. It works really well too. I need to clean it a little bit bc it is dusty. I splurged on this one because it was such a unique find. $20.


That's it for what I bought. However there was a bunch of other things worth noting in this blog.

1) This is a hand painted teapot made in occupied Japan. Too bad it had no lid.


2) Retro instant camera Kodak! There were a bunch of vintage cameras out there. I picked this up for another collector who loves vintage cams.


3) Vintage Camera #2. This one is also going to the collector.


4) Spotted!! An 88mm video camera. I picked it up and it was super heavy but useless without any film. It was sooo cool though. It's quite a striking piece of machinery.


That's it for the thrift shop today!!!

Sometimes life's occurrences seem really random but they can't be. Sometimes things seem pointless but I'm sure they are not. Just my thinking going off into different directions. I like to be a hopeful person and believe every action, occurrence, emotion happens for a reason and a good one at that.

Feeling grateful, feeling good.

Summer is almost over. School starts in just two weeks! I can't quite imagine going back to work just yet. There is still so much summer I want to soak up before I allow myself to be absorbed in thoughts of a less carefree nature. When you are having a good time you don't want it to stop right? Though I must not assume that the fun and the happiness ends when the season is over. I've had such a wonderful summer. Why wouldn't it carry on? However, summer is definitely my favourite season and always has been. It's always been the three months where I feel like I get a refill on my love of life, my soul and my heart. Do all summer babies love summer the most? Are there people out there that hate summer? I can't imagine why they would. Summer is where the good feelings last longer, when your skin stays hot and where you can have picnics at the park. It's such a beautiful season.


Andrea is born in the fall, she loves fall. Michelle is born in the winter... this I will have to investigate. Are we all drawn most to the season that we were born in? There is something special about every season even though I use to despise fall. Now I strive to always appreciate what nature has to offer. Summer: great weather, sunshine, warm breezes and wearing sun dresses. Fall: changing of the leaves, enjoying more coffee in doors, reading more books, rain drops on your face and coffee.  Winter: cold and fresh air through your nose, crispness, a blanket of white snow, warm beverages, fireplaces, and excuses to cuddle. Spring: light showers, landscape of green, life resumes, and seeing the first flowers bloom. These are things to look forward to soon. I hope that every season brings something amazing to share with us. A year flashes by so quickly now. Before you know it I will be blogging about summer again.  Speaking of change, the seasons we know now are also changing so much now around the world. Maybe 10 years from now seasons will not exist or will have changed definitions. The world is changing so fast, and so are we. Maybe one day fall will be my favourite season.


I am feeling a bit philosophical today. I think it has got to do with feeling good and wondering how I got to where I am today. Thinking of the last two years of my life I've been through some interesting situations. Because of those situations I have learned to rely on people more, ask for help, and I needed to connect with people deeply. One thing I really learned was to appreciate everything I had. I sort of see how random events connect now from last several years. Everything happens for a reason. Things are supposed to come full circle one day. It's not quite there yet but I'm sure that the trail will be much more obvious once I get there. A seemingly random thing which occurred a couple months ago will make sense one day. Take a look at your own life and see how obstacles have steered you onto another path. It's as if life is one of those really well written novel series where the writer has inserted clues in the first book about the third book even before it's written. I find that so fascinating. Are we all just characters in our own novels or in a big series? Who's writing these stories or are they already written?


Yesterday I was watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain on CNN. He started his series by saying something like since he was born he has been trying to get as far away from where he was and what he was born as. He said it in more a more poetic way of course but I felt his words very deeply. The words really carried a story of change and evolution both physically and spiritually. Some people desire that change and some resist it but we all have to endure it. Life is an endless journey. Around every corner you learn something new and you are an ever evolving person. If you don't change that's just all in your mind because you have. You should either bend like a reed or stand straight and stiff like a tree but the storm will eventually get you. Either way you won't be the same. Why resist life? Go with the flow, bend with the wind and see what happens. Maybe you'll get swooped up somewhere beautiful and find your new amazing home. Sometimes I feel like I haven't really learned about life until recently although I'm sure I've changed in the past. When I think back to when I was younger my focus on life was so different, nothing really affected me. I don' t know where this opportunity in my consciousness came from where I can now accept what is revolving around me. I can see everything more clearly now. I can see what is important to me now. I am also able to give and receive to the world more than I was able to before. I am so grateful for that connection.
I like to think some lessons in life are necessary in order to become a better and happier person. Things happen to make you change and evaluate what your purpose in life is. In a short period of time a tragedy actually becomes a blessing. Sometimes you gain something even when you lose something. Though no one wants to lose something precious you would never evolve if you didn't lose something dear to you. It's not out of regret or shame that you change, but more like you reach the depth of your inner person.You feel more, emanate more, absorb more, understand more, care more, you become more because you become a beacon that has gone deep and now you are sending that signal out for others. I feel like I vibrate at a different frequency now. I feel my frequency is capable of reaching out to a lot of people. I feel like I can help and give and be of service with no reserve at all. Or maybe I'm just happy today. Whatever it is I am grateful. Maybe tomorrow will be a different story but I'm happy about where I am now. Where are you now?