Connecting The Dots

Connecting The Dots

Connection is one of my favorite words because I know that connections are important in this life.  To make connections with other sentient beings, with ideas and philosophies and through the heart, mind and soul, for me, is connecting the dots of being.

Over twenty years ago when chatting on the internet was just starting for me, I met a woman named Jeanne in a cat chat room.  I was newly married and we had just gotten a rescue kitten.  Jeanne was a seasoned cat owner and when I had asked a question on the forum, she answered.  By sharing her knowledge and with me hungry for answers, we began to write back and forth and our friendship blossomed via email.  We talked about life and love and friendship and family….and of course, cats!

Fast forward 20 years and we are Facebook friends, having found each other again on the internet highway.  Occasional likes and messages have kept us in contact even though we had lost touch for many years.  When I asked a cat question on Facebook and quickly Jeanne answered, thus began our re-connection.  As we were messaging on Facebook, and then moved to emails, it was as if no time had passed.  We began catching up over the past years, quickly and easily.  The best part was that we knew what a blessing it was to reconnect again.

We’ve never met in person, yet Jeanne and I have been friends for years.  Life is so different from when we were children, as back then, our friends were limited to those we knew in person.  Much like modern-day pen pals, I guess life has evolved to internet friendships.

So today, I’m grateful for all of our connections, internet and otherwise.  I love how blogging has expanded our friendships globally.  I can now count friendships with all of you, in many different countries and across the USA.  We are gratefully united through friendship and caring.

Have you felt that instant connection with someone whom you’ve never met except on the internet?  Was it through blogging?  Please share!

Shine On!

xo

 

 

Watching Glass Shatter

By James J. Cudney

Recently, I connected with a newly published author who’s also an incredible blogger.  Jay, as he’s known to friends, is a great connector as you’ll find on his blog This Is My Truth Now.

Jay writes about so much that it’s impossible for me to put him in a neatly boxed description so you’ll just have to trust me on this one and go over to visit him.  You won’t be disappointed.  He has a plethora of subjects from his favorite dog Ryder who debuts on Mondays (for all you dog lovers) to his numerous book reviews which I can’t imagine how he reads so much, but he does!  Then, there’s his delightful sense of humor and banter with his blogging pals.  It’s almost like dancing, when you ‘talk’ with him.  You know, that give and take as you move through the blogosphere?   As those who fish say, he’s a keeper and I’m glad to share his blog and book with you today!

Let me start by telling you that Watching Glass Shatter reviews can be found here for Good Reads.  You can also find them here on Amazon! Oh, and here’s the link to buy it here!  For old school readers, the paperback book itself is now available too on the same link!

When I recount that it’s Jay’s fault that I had a sleepless night and an unproductive next day, I mean it.  I usually read a little on my kindle before bedtime, so I started his book as I usually do, thinking I’d read a chapter or two.  Honestly, I picked it up because he’s a fellow blogger and I’m loyal like that – and the subject of family interests me.  I was smitten by reading the description of the book so I thought, what the heck!  What I didn’t expect was the depth to which his characters touched me, each with their own individualized perceptions and feelings to round out the formation of a family in every sense of the word.  If you’re a part of a family, you know there are nuances between members, subtle and yet sometimes stark reminders of a shared past.  Delve into the family unit long enough and you’ll find all sorts of relationships, beliefs and hidden secrets.

Jay’s book makes no exception as he invites us into the Glass family with open arms.  Beautifully written, detailed and believable, we journey with them through the death of their patriarch father Ben and experience the aftermath of Glass shattering.

This is why I couldn’t put his book down until I finished it.  Pulling my heartstrings with each character, Jay kept me reading until the very wee hours of the morning.  When I was finished, I fell asleep sated with the love and connections of a family I just met.

Please join me in welcoming  James J. Cudney to the realm of newly published author.  This is a book you won’t want to miss!  Be sure to pop over to his blog too and tell him Misifusa sent you!

Here’s the tour schedule if you want to follow it!  Join the community of bloggers who are supporting Jay and his book tour!

And if you feel inclined, please stop by GoodReads or Amazon to write a book review for him after you’ve read it.  Thank you!  I always love to support other bloggers and I know you do too!

Shine On!

xo

 

Save

Save

Enlighten

To enlighten is to give someone greater spiritual insight or knowledge about a subject.  It’s also to illuminate and to inform and to shed light on an object.

My life thus far has been a series of moments and experiences which have miraculously helped me to open up spiritually.  It is with much gratitude that I acknowledge those that walked with me on this path, especially when times were hard, sharing experiences, giving advice, being open to listening with careful attention and shedding light on situations that I may not have been able to myself.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, I am happy in the present moment.  Even when the skies get cloudy or times get hard, I always turn my face towards the light in hopes of feeling peace, love, and The Presents of Presence.

I hope you have a lovely day today too.  I woke up with this song in my head this morning which I think is perfect for a Sunday.  Please enjoy and continue to shine your heartlights on all as you help us to become enlightened by your knowledge, your insight and your joy.

Shine On!

xo

Thanks John Denver for the Sunshine song.  Do you remember this one?

The Popular Rabbit, Rabbit!

I have a bunch of popular posts which I could have never imagined would be the ones that are clicked on most in my stats.  Seemingly innocuous posts are the ones which get the most traffic.  Does that happen to you?

Examples:  My grasshopper one – you may remember, I found a grasshopper in the house.  Or the one about the owl who kept me up at night?  That’s another popular one according to the stats page.  Seeing a shooting star comes up a lot too.  The angelic ones do tend to bring traffic to my site as well.

I think it’s interesting what brings people to our blog posts.  I know that for me, I have been following many of you for years and it feels as if we are friends, even though we’ve never met.  Perhaps that’s the empathetic soul speaking now, but when you blog about something sad or meaningful that has changed your life, I’m there.  When I say I’m keeping you in my prayers, I am.  And frankly, I feel that when you write those things too, you are truthful as well.

Surely this probably won’t be a post you would click on, but I saw the Popular – The Daily Post  prompt and just wanted to write today.

Before I forget, it’s the first of October!  You know what to do, right?

Say Rabbit Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit!

May October be a beautiful month for you!

Shine On!

xo

How To Sprinkle Priceless Moments Throughout Your Day

The Daily Post inspired me today to write, so here it goes!

I have a gift called The Presents of Presence.  You may know it and me by now, but if you don’t, here I am.  I love to sprinkle priceless moments throughout the day.  You know what I mean, don’t you?  Those quiet moments when you smile at a stranger and they smile back.  Or when you make a connection with someone else through blogging or a random conversation or even one of those long soul to soul conversations we have sometimes with the ones we love?

It’s stopping to look around and catching the Praying Mantis sitting there on the patio chair when you’re outside watering the plants.  If I hadn’t been looking around, I certainly would have missed his presence.  It’s the small reminder that when we don’t take the time to notice all that’s around us, be it in nature, in friendships, in changes in the air or in the vibrations, we miss priceless moments.  It’s in being PRESENT, mindful and still at the precise moment to enjoy a gift from God and the Universe.

Synchronicity and coincidence share special space in my life.  Countless times I have noticed a priceless moment simply because it was there, waiting for me to see it.  When we are open, we allow these priceless moments to be felt and acknowledged.  When we are gung-ho rushing through life, we may miss them.

You can be the receiver of the priceless moments or the giver.  Best of all, you can be both!  Sprinkle happiness wherever you go.  Enjoy meeting new people, sharing the road of life and sparkling by being you!  You are a gift to us all!

Shine On!

xo

My Blog’s Gone Wild!

Oh my goodness!  Did you notice that I posted THREE TIMES yesterday!  I mean THREE different, separate posts???  I’ve NEVER done that in all my years of blogging.  You know that can only mean that the Universe has other plans or there’s a sneaky gremlin in my computer who thought he’d play a trick on me!  I mean, I didn’t even schedule those posts for yesterday (well except the first one), but somehow they all ended up posting!

How Bizarre!

Has this ever happened to you?  Did you think I’d gone off my rocker?  Did you unfollow me for posting too many times in one day?  Please don’t cancel your follow!  I don’t know what happened yesterday, but I guess the WordPress demons had a good laugh!  AND used up a few of my drafts that I was saving!  Joanna, can you please send me some help over here?  I remember when your blog acted up too!

Well, it’s all out there now, so I hope you enjoyed them!

May you have a good day…I will pray that nothing other than this post publishes today!

Ahhh…sweet peace!

Shine On!

xo

Sharing Experiences

Blogging is sharing experiences via writing as you well know if you’re a blogger.  We read blogs to share our experiences and to connect along the way.  Sometimes there’s a tidbit in someone’s blog which ignites a part of us in a good way.  I’ve learned so much from reading your blogs – new vocabulary, new books, and assimilated new ideas into my life.  I’ve connected through shared similar life experiences and found friendships, whether brief or long-term.  I’ve enjoyed expanding my thinking, my music repertoire and my enjoyment of reading with you as well.  I’ve felt when you’ve had challenges and grief in your lives and I have felt your support and caring when the same has happened in mine.

Writing with openness requires great vulnerability.  I don’t believe that when we open up to the world we are being weak.  I think it takes great strength to show ourselves in emotional truth for we never know how it will be perceived.  I feel grateful that I’ve found truth in the Universal code of kindness that if you don’t have something nice to say, you keep it to yourself because if it’s not helpful, then it’s hurtful and the majority doesn’t intend to hurt anyone else.

There may always be those who misunderstand me for which I’m sad, but I’ve accepted them.   Their fear-based beliefs keep them from opening up and experiencing life in different ways.  Fear can do strange things to people’s minds and being fear-based brings much anxiety to the most stable of individuals.  It is only when we release fear that we can embrace the plethora of goodness in life.  Sure, there are times when we are hurt, when misunderstandings occur and when people just don’t act with kindness.  That happens everywhere.  We must accept that we are all on our own journeys and that they intersect at different times.  We may walk on the path of life with someone for awhile and then part ways.  Or we may stay, sharing the path on and off for a lifetime.  What I know for sure is that each time our paths cross, whether it’s in a good situation or a teaching moment, we come away with a richer life experience for having crossed paths.

And isn’t that what life school is all about?  Learning, growing and experiencing all different types of situations and people?  Taking what comes to us a calm way and finding the good in the encounter – even when at the time it seems not so good?  When we are healed or when we can view it as an observer, we realize that the encounter has helped us to learn more about ourselves, to understand people in general and to enjoy the tapestry of experiences that is this life.  We are grateful for the peace and the  learning opportunity that we may have missed we if hadn’t crossed paths in this lifetime.

So I thank you for reading my blog and for opening up and letting us be with you through your blogs.  It is my honor to connect with you always.

Thanks for being you!

Shine On!

xo

Today is Your Day to Twinkle Sparkle Glow and Shine

Today is Your Day to Twinkle Sparkle Glow Shine

Officially it’s January 1st, 2013, and with the dawn, a new year is heralded in today and officially closes the door on 2012….at least in my book.  I awoke this morning with the little ditty of Rabbit Rabbit in my head (and out my mouth) before my first sip of coffee.  I’m not taking any chances on the first day of the month AND new year!  Are you scratching your head and wondering why?  Here’s the answer!  https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/rabbit-rabbit/

In the meantime, I thought this was a great card to begin the new year with ~ Don’t you love the optimism of this card ~ it has the ability to make you smile and to increase your desire to continue to SHINE ON!  This is yet another year to shine for all of us!  Are you ready?  On your mark, get set and let’s Twinkle Sparkle Glow and Shine On this year!

It’s only a matter of attitude ~ a shift if you will ~ and like any habit, it’s one that you can acquire easily without much extra effort…you just have to remember that you are a shining star.  That’s it!

You shine on with your attitude, your words, your expressions and by being yourself!  Even the brightest stars may have days when we feel less than sparkly, but our light is always shining in our souls!  I would love to see us all twinkling, sparkling, glowing and shining this year!  Imagine if as a connected community we allowed our inner lights to blossom and ignite the lights in others!  We could be a fireball of enthusiastic bloggers who connect like the amazing twinkly lights of the New Year’s Ball in Times Square!  Imagine the world cheering us on as we descend next New Year’s Eve on a year filled with every type of shining moment imaginable!  Imagine the power of a community filled with love, light and individuals who’ve come together with enthusiasm, optimism and in inspiration!

So please join me this year as we travel on our Journey of Endurance ~

Igniting our inner stars to

Twinkle,

Sparkle,

Glow

and Shine On! 

Happy 2013!

xo

A Thanksgiving Feast of Super Sweet Bloggers!

I figured with the upcoming holiday season fast approaching, a bit of gratitude during Thanksgiving week would be appropriate ~ and give you a chance to expand your blogging reader instead of your waistlines!  🙂  So…first of all, my sincere and sweet thanks to Holly Michael at award-party(her blog is called Holly Michael’s Writing Straight ~ Connecting and Inspiring Along Life’s Crooked Lines by Author & Freelance Writer Holly Michael).  Holly’s inspirational blog along with her amazing photos of faraway places that she’s visited in her blessed lifetime will keep you coming back post after post!  Thank you again Holly for all!  I feel so grateful! xo

Now for the super sweet and gooey:

Rules for this award include:  Thank the super sweet blogger who made the nomination, Nominate a baker’s dozen of other bloggers (below) and answer five questions:

1. Cookie or cake?  Cookie – good, soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies (no nuts, raisins ok)
2. Chocolate or Vanilla? Both
3. What is your favorite sweet treat? Too many to name! 🙂
4. When do you crave sweet things the most? Equally all the time, except when I’m sleeping. LOL
5. If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? Bon Bon

And for the sweetness award, I nominate these super-sweet blogs:

1.  serenityspell.com

Christina’s got the amazing wildlife in Florida front and center!  She makes this big ol’ world seem manageable with her photogenic views of Florida and its inhabitants.  Sprinkle in a big of inspiration and you’ve got FeyGirl’s number.  Not to be missed!

2.  waitingforthekarmatruck.com

Mimi’s got it going on at the Karma Truck!  Stop by and see her…share a cup of coffee on her porch as she’s always got something fun over there on her blog!

3.  antodesimone.wordpress.com

Antonio’s poems in English and Italian will delight you as well as his photographs!  Perhaps you’ll be inspired to learn Italian?!

4.  brainsnorts.wordpress.com

Rich’s blog is full of fun ~ stories to be read, cartoons to write captions for, news to understand…there’s so much to enjoy!  Make sure you stop by to check him out!  You won’t be disappointed!

5.  paperkeeper.wordpress.com

Bonnie’s blog always has something special for you as does her Etsy business.  She’s a lovely lady who may keep her heart in her pocket, but captures all of ours.

6. jumpingonclouds.com

Jump on clouds and ride along the journey of a woman who speaks so openly and lovingly about her recovery from PTSD and her Mom’s recent brain cancer diagnosis.

7.  livingsuccess3d.wordpress.com

Judit is an amazing  coach who will give you tools, strategies and tactics to help you with successfully transforming not only your own personal and professional world, but the world around us ~ you can count on inspirational stories, straight talk and no mumbo jumbo…what a special find!

8.  letlifeinpractices.com

Kristin’s blog is a plethora of information, inspiration and tips for your life!  Get ready to find how to Let Life…and soar!

9.  hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com

Esperanza will hug you in her special way…enjoy her special brand of Hope & Hugs!  You know you’ll get hope because that’s what Esperanza means!

10.  thoughtsfromanamericanwoman.wordpress.com

Patty helps those in the military connect ~ in addition, she shares heartwarming stories that will always bring a smile to your face!

Please check out these super sweet bloggers…you will be happy that you did!  They are awesome!

Happy Thanksgiving week!   I”m grateful to ALL of You for your amazing posts!

Keep on Blogging!

xo

Sunshine Blogger Award!

Sunshine Blog Award

Thank you to hurdlestohappiness.wordpress.com  for your kind nomination for the Sunshine Blog Award!   Dan’s goal to ‘Help Viewers Overcome Daily Obstacles and Ultimately Achieve Happiness”  will make you happy as well!  His photographs of Spain make me happy as well!

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Link the award to the person who gave it to me.

2. Answer the questions about myself.

3. Nominate bloggers for the award.

4. Link my nominees to the post and comment on their blog, letting them know about the award.

About Me: 

1.  Misifusa is a common cat name in Spain.

2. Twitter Name: @Misifusa1

3. My Passion:  To SEND OUT LOVE through my SendOutCards business everyday and to inspire others to enjoy their lives today!

4. Favorite Time of Year:  I love every season so I don’t think I can choose one!  They are all my favorites!

5. Favorite Vacation:  Every time I return to Spain!

6. Favorite Physical Activity:  Tennis

7. What puts a Smile on My Face:  I love to imagine how good someone feels when they open a card from me or someone else!

Bloggers: This award is presented to bloggers who have been actively commenting and following my blog.  You inspire me to write more often, to think deeply, to Even while I was away from my blog these past few weeks, these bloggers kept my blog alive and well. You definitely add sunshine to my blog, so this award is from me to you, with hopes of adding some sunshine to yours

1.  sharechair.wordpress.com Got an iPad, iPhone, eReader?  Need some help with technology?  Want an enthusiastic friend to teach you?  Well, here you have her!  Please enjoy a few lessons which will definitely teach you something new in a fun way!  Thanks for making learning fun!

2.  cauldronsandcupcakes.com Nicole’s got a way about her in which she makes cooking fun, sprinkles in some readings (along with delish cupcakes which are guilt free) and just finished a 30 day gratitude challenge…an interesting and wonderful mix of fairies, food, healing and energy work!  You’ll enjoy every part of her blog!

3.  lesleycarter.wordpress.com  Bucket List Publications brings you a world filled with adventure, food, travel and fun!  Perfectly named, keep this blog on your follow list so you can get ideas for your own Bucket List!  Big or small adventures brighten your day!

4. peacewithmylife.com  Karel brings comfort out of chaos ~ and don’t miss her photos!  Join her in her journey through the chaos of life into peace!  She will make your life happier!

Congratulations to everyone for your Sunshine Blog nomination! You all deserve it!

xo