Christmas All Year Long…

Christmas is a little bit of home that we hold in our hearts

Have you noticed that a few blogs have snow gently falling?  How cool is that?  Thanks WordPress as the virtual snow just raised my spirits up a notch!  My heartfelt thanks to my blogger friend David at http://davidkanigan.com/  for kindly letting me in on the way to make it snow!  FYI:  You should stop by and see him as well ~ he’s a master of cool stuff!

I love snow, don’t you?  Watching it gently fall outside while I”m cozy and nestled warmly inside?  Ahh…it’s beginning to feel a bit like Christmas…and it feels so good!  Now if the Jersey weather would just be less tropical, I’d be happy!  I know, I know, there’s time for cold ~ I agree…but a nip in the air would make it feel more like Christmas!

Lucky for me, I found this card last night when I was working and when I found this one, I knew that I had to use it for my inspiration.  You see, for me, it brings up the possibility that if we were to keep that little bit of home in our hearts all year long, we could make the Christmas Spirit last all year long…how wonderful would that be?  Can you imagine it?  Wouldn’t you like it?  A bit of holiday spirit everyday?!

Imagine a Baker’s Dozen of Warm, Gooey Ways Our Lives Would Change

When We Keep the Christmas Spirit in Our Hearts for 12 Months

1.  We feel the love and generosity in the air all year long.

2.  Everyone stays on their best behavior so that Santa and his Elves don’t put them on the Naughty List!

3.  More people are singing and smiling everyday!

4.  The Season of Giving and of World Peace is an everyday occurrence.

5.  Gratefulness is a daily sentiment ~ instead of tipping only at Christmas!

6.  Happy memories with family and friends occur more often!

7.  Reminiscing about those who have passed keeps their memories alive.

8.  A lightness in heart keeps people huggable.

9.  We sit down and enjoy our meals ~ with our families and friends!

10.  We send cards filled with loving words and pictures of our families and connect more often!

11.  I Believe is a sentiment heard more often than not!

12.  We enjoy the twinkling of lights and take time to contemplate their beauty.

13.  We embrace The Presents of Presence each and everyday!

Join me…let’s keep the Holiday Spirit glowing!

Keep Twinkling and Shine On!

xo

In my search for a good  follow up to yesterday’s post, I checked out the newest cards to find one as my inspiration.  You may not know that most of the images that I feature in my blog are actual cards from my business which I use to springboard my blog post ~ hopefully bringing to you, a bit of inspiration.  If the picture/card is not from the card catalog, then it’s one that I made in about 5 minutes from my own photo and the templates/elements of the free system.  If you want to try it for yourself, you can click below…

http://www.rememberchristmas.com/deanery

Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Nor’Easters ~ Help!

I feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz…truly…it’s been one thing after another here for this Jersey Gal.  Hurricane Sandy last week gave us downed trees, power outages, loss of food, loss of life ~ not to mention destruction of property in overwhelming proportions.  Sandy devastated the surrounding areas and many, including my sister and Mom are still without power.  Now I know that we can’t compare Sandy to Andrew or Katrina…but still…and she arrived on Monday October 29th.

One week later, on Monday November 5th, we had an earthquake in Ringwood, NJ  ~ just one week after Sandy hit…which personally I didn’t feel where I live.  A 2.0 magnitude which was reportedly heard as a loud boom for those awake at 1am in the morning.  For an area which is still power deprived, still cleaning up after Hurricane Sandy, I just can’t imagine the fright that the earthquake gave those who felt it.

And then, last night…just two days later, a Nor’Easter hit us.  A Nor’Easter is defined as a macro storm blowing in from the northeast.  Weathermen had been telling us that we would experience heavy rains and high winds in my area…instead, we received a heavy mantle of white snow to the tune of 5 inches at my home which was pretty to watch as it came down, but only if you were happily bundled in a warm home with heat and food.  Luckily for us, we have power, I had made homemade chicken soup and we had heat and each other.

It’s the simple things in life my friends.

Shelter, food and love and not necessarily in that order…but for now, yes, in that order.

So I’m asking for help here…not for myself but for those who need it…for those who’ve lost everything.  The Red Cross is a charitable, well-known, hard-working group who are here, providing water, shelter, clothing, blood for hospitals and funds for those who need it.  Perhaps you would like to help but don’t know what you can do…below please find some links ~ you can donate from your cell phone by texting ~ you can donate blood for those who need it ~ you can donate online if you choose.

If you can’t do any of the above, then I simply ask that you take a moment to give…

Thanks for the littlest to the biggest blessings that you have in your life. 

From shelter and food, to love and family…to health, to wealth and to an abundance of clean, fresh air that we breathe…to water, to blankets, to smiles and to heartfelt hugs which are abundant when you choose.

Click below to…

Donate to the Red Cross!

Be thankful, be generous…be blessed.

Thank you from my heart.

xo

Falling Back in Time with Gratitude to Sandy

Yesterday was an awesome day….after 6 days of no power and daylight savings time heralding the early morn, I am happy to report I am back online today…I have power back at our house and I feel reborn.  Silly though it may sound to you, this past week has been very difficult for me.  We had a few trees down on our property, but within the neighborhood, we had many huge trees down, some completely blocking the road, many taking down power lines as they fell during Hurricane Sandy.

Surely, I am not alone in my trials and tribulations with Hurricane Sandy.  In fact, I am in better shape than most having only lost power and thus two refrigerators and freezers of food.  Our family has our health, our home and our pets with no damage to our home.  We are blessed.  I know we are and I am grateful for everything.

Unable to leave our home, our family settled in and bonded.  We played Monopoly and Rummikub.  We had my mom with us so we had lots of good chats, some tears for the loss of my dad and we bonded over memories.  We snuggled under blankets, read books by the light of the sun (when we could) and we walked around with battery operated candles which made life safer with 2 cats who have no understanding of open flames.

We visited neighbors, bonded together while we helped eachother cut up and haul to the curb fallen trees.  We shared news, we walked the neighborhood to expend nervous energy and we were just thankful for all of the little blessings.

Now that the power is back in our little alcove, we are looking to others to help them as they endure Hurricane Sandy’s wrath.  The devastation is mind-blowing now that we have the ability to see on tv and on the internet what is happening locally.  The sadness is truly heart-wrenching…

So please take this opportunity to count your blessings today…and always.  Look around and help others when you can…be kind, reach out and give a helping hand to someone who needs it…and you will find that your life force, your blessings and your vibrations increase!

And in case you don’t know what Rummikub is…you’re missing out! It’s a family fun game!

click on the picture…

Blessings to all of you!
Happy Monday!
xo