They say a picture is worth a thousand words..

Thought I'd share some pictures of my plants and trees around the home, and outside my home.

Above this, is my favorite light in the house, a thick blue glass hanging light. It's so pretty, and its also very, very heavy!

By far, my favorite is my Rubber Tree, isn't she beautiful?

 This is the black walnut tree trunk, and just behind it you can see the large pine tree.

 I thought it was pretty enough to take a picture, just looking up from the doorway - the way the branches seemed to spread out across the sky.. and if you look closely, at the top right hand corner, you'll see a bird hanging out I do love my black walnut tree. All I have to do is figure out how to harvest the walnuts!

 I can't remember what my Dad said this tree was, Marigold? maybe? Irregardless of what she's called, she is beautiful! I have probably a dozen or so of them surrounding the west side of the house, all with different colored blossoms. They smell wonderful too.

  Here you see my Cactus collection hanging out soaking up the summer sun. The one in the center, that's clearly not a cactus, is my pineapple plant. So neat to grow it from a store bought pineapple! I cannot wait until it births a fruity, delicious homemade pineapple for me! Yumm!

My flowering cactus, and my bamboo.

Hope you enjoyed your 'visit' maybe I'll share some more one day.

G'night & sleep well my xanga friends!

This has to be your first lesson in sannyas:
accept yourself, love yourself, drop all guilt, don’t divide yourself.
There is nothing higher, nothing lower; all of you is divine.
The lowest is as divine as the highest.
 
Osho

Accept whatsoever you are.
You are a great mystery of many multidimensional energies.
Accept it, and move with every energy with deep sensitivity, with awareness, with love, with understanding.
Move with it!
Then every desire becomes a vehicle to go beyond it.
Then every energy becomes a help.
And then this very world is nirvana,
this very body is a temple – a holy temple, a holy place.

Osho

 
 

The Sacred Temple of
the Goddess of Love
 lay pressed against me,
 I, the most fortunate
 man in the Universe.
 
We are so close,
 I feel her heart beat.
 Listening in silent wonder,
 tranquilized by its message,
 I am effortlessly entrained by
 the depths of her heart’s
 tonal vastness.
 
There is something
deeply familiar with
 this song she plays.
 YES! — I remember now!
 But it seems impossible ...
 for I am hearing the
 eternal music of
 my own soul.
 
~Teka Luttrell~

I have a place that I go walking distance from my home. It's goreous, its peaceful, and it's wonderful to go there when I need to think and feel like I've sort of shut the whole world out.

I have a ton of pictures from my special place.. Out of boredom, I decided to put them to some music.. this is what I came up with..

Hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThisIsSomeFreakyShit?feature=watch

Too cute =}

’But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ Alice remarked.
‘Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the Cat. ‘We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.’
‘How do you know I’m mad?’ said Alice.
‘You must be,” said the Cat. ‘or you wouldn’t have come here.’”

Lewis Carroll

I want to be intoxicated by your kiss

I feel your hand upon me
sweet, gentle strength
you give to me
I lean my head
nuzzling into your shoulder
my forehead on your neck
the side of my face on your collar bone
breathing in deep, I enjoy the smell of your cologne
you feel my breath on your skin
running my fingers along your chest
I feel your heart beating within
you are so unique, so wonderful
needing no words
we just lie here together
watching, cuddling
Enjoying the connectiveness of our hearts
knowing that sometimes it is
the silence that speaks
and silence that heals
You are my gentle strength
If I ever hurt your gentle heart
may the sky fall upon me
may the ocean swell and swallow me whole..
truth, honor, humility, fierce love,
'tis all that I ask for..

~written by little 'ole me~

We've all been-there, done-that at work, or just between friends. We start talking about a mutual friend or aquaintance. Next thing we know someone gets all upset and starts hating the person. Another gets all holier than thou, and thinks "how dare" that person be dishonest, or not spill her beans?! Someone, everyone needs to know this!

How do you deal with it?

This is my advice, this is the way I personally deal with issues such as this:

Most important, if you can steer clear of it -- do so! Trust me, you are better off *not* knowing!

However, if you cannot remove or walk away from the situation, here's my personal way of dealing with it.

It's the 3-question routine.

Question #1 :: Is it true?

Although it seems simple, and you think - oh I can trust this person. Don't! If it starts with a sentence such as: "oh Sandy told me, she found out from/at such 'n such" then don't go with it. How do you find out whether it is indeed fact or fiction? Ask the "source" - the one the rumor/truth/past is about.

Question #2 :: Does it affect me?

If it doesn't affect your job, your life, your family, drop it. Leave it alone. Who cares? Why upset yourself, or get all worked up over something that has absolutely no impact on your life? Exactly, there is no reason! So why bother. Wash your hands of it, let it blow like dry ashes into the wind.

Question #3 :: If it affects you, then ...

Deal with it directly!! Do not just get angry at the person who told you, or told another -who told someone -who read something, -who assumed (makin an ass of themself) -- Deal with it! The only way to rid yourself of a "problem" is to just deal with it and be done! If it's a person, talk to them! People don't just shoot you like tv movies & they won't 'eat you' like zombies lol. Explain how you feel, how the situation affects you, tell them you'd like them to stop the behavior. Chances are, that person got "sucked" into that web of "ohhh I know something" and didn't stop to think how what they said/did would affect you. People don't think before they speak half the time. Allow them to relate to you, as a person with feelings, with hurts, aspirations, etc. - just like them.

If it's an employment/fellow employee issue - use the chain of command. Go to your supervisor/leader, let 'em know what is happening and how it's affecting you. As I term it - do the "Verbal Vomit" keeping it inside and stewing over it is making it "poison" inside you! Doing that is only furthering your harm. Verbally Vomit, spill it out, hand it over to them, then, it's their issue to deal with, you've done what you can. Take a deep inhale/exhale and be done with it! If, in a few days the situation has not improved, or the supervisor didn't take it seriously, etc. - go the next step up in the chain of command. Try the Manager, do the same thing. Keep going until it is resolved. Again, it's poison, don't let it fester and steam up into much more than what it is/was.

People don't think. Plain and simple. Myself included! We get angry, we spout-off, we screw up, we hurt others. It's a fact of life, its a part of life. One we all wish we never had to deal with.

Just remind yourself of this: Bullying. Suicide, Depression, not fitting in, it happens in the adult-world too. Think of the last article you read about a kid committing suicide. Think of the famous ones who committed suicide. It happens. It's real. It's not the ones who appear weak, there is no way of knowing, really. Words hurt. People hurt & the pain is NOT always visible! Anyone can be or feel suicidal at anytime. It does not show like a scarlet letter on your chest.  It's situations like rumors, talking behind anothers' back, picking, making fun, etc.  that tend to push an already depressed, or upset individual to suicide, or shoot-outs at businesses. Not everyone is built emotionally to handle difficult situations. There is PTSD (posttraumatic-stress-disorder), Anxiety Disorders, history of suicide and/or abuse, all kinds of things that you aren't aware of. Stop. Think it over in your mind BEFORE you talk, or repeat things! Do you really want to feel responsible for pushing someone over the edge? Is that situation, fact, rumor, *really* worth it? Furthermore, truth be known, repeating it DOESN'T do anything for you does it? So, if it doesn't *do* anything for you, why are you doing it? Just to hurt another person? Are you really sure you'd like to do that?

Just a few of my deeper thoughts today...

Food for thought: I have a brother who committed suicide. I have a best friend that committed suicide. I have a sister that tried it. I attempted as a young teen. So, do I tend to over-react with situations? Perhaps. I just cannot stand idle while seeing someone potentially send another person over that edge. Then, I would be the one partially responsible because I did nothing to prevent/stop/bring attention to it. 

/the end/

Give but don't allow yourself to be used.

Love but don't allow your heart to be abused.

Trust but don't be naive.

Listen to others but don't lose your own voice.

 - Rishi

I've learned about a lot of flowers, trees (bark of them mostly) and various home remedies from my Grandparents growing up. At the time, I had no idea the depth of knowledge they had!
I am so glad they taught me what they did, and gave me some "life lessons" I will always cherish. I lived with them from about age 12 till I met my husband & moved out at age 17. I've always
known the great benefits of the marigold, however the following I didn't write. When it comes to flowers and herbs, its best to be precise So this info is from various sources online that I will list
at the bottom. I am definitely going to plant some marigolds around my home this year. I want to start a garden too. It's been a very long time since I have had a garden and fresh food from one! I sure do
miss the freshness, the satisfaction (pride) of growing my own, and of course the freshness of the herbal tea made from my own home-grown herbs!

Well, without further boring you, here's some great info all about the Marigold flower. Maybe even some stuff you didn't know

The Calendula 
Latin name: Calendula officinalis
 
Health Benefits of Calendula Flowers
 
Calendula is also known as common marigold. It has an orange or yellow bud, and can be grown indoors. 

It has many wonderful medicinal uses such as:
 
 
 • One of the best herbs for treating local skin problems such as burns, inflammation, mucositis, and pharyngitis. The phytochemicals in calendula oppose fungi, bacteria, viruses, and inflammation. They also excite white blood cells in the immune system to fight microbial invaders. For these reasons and others, calendula has been a good treatment for skin problems of all kinds, particularly cuts, scrapes, bruises, and minor wounds.

• Is used for intestinal disorders because it limits swelling and inflammation in the lining of the stomach and intestines. It is used to help with ulcers for this reason as well.

• Because of anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, it can be used to treat ear infections, eye infections such as conjunctivitis, and also for vaginal itching. It can also be used for diaper rash, eczema, or acne.

 • Other uses include treatment of varicose veins, capillary engorgement, and hepatic and splenic congestion.
 
 
 
Nutritional Benefits of Calendula Flowers

 • Contains beta-carotene.
 
 
 
How to Use Calendula Flowers

• Flowers are edible, and may be added to salads, cereals, rice, and soups to add flavor and color. The petals can also be dried for use in teas for internal use.

• For external use, it works best applied in a salve or oil and rubbed on generously.
 
 
 
Cautions and Side Effects of Calendula Flowers

 • Safe during pregnancy and nursing, and safe for children.

 • There are no known interactions or side effects from the flowers.

Interesting tidbits ~ The calendula is an annual flower native to the northern Mediterranean countries. Its name refers to its tendency to bloom with the calendar,
usually once a month or every new moon. The term "marigold" refers to the Virgin Mary, and marigolds are used in Catholic events honoring the Virgin Mary.
The Egyptians considered them to have rejuvenating properties. In the Hindu world, the flowers were used to adorn statues of gods in their temples,
as well as a colorant in food, fabrics, and cosmetics, and of particular interest, in the 18th and 19th century calendula was used to color cheese.
The calendula was originally used as food rather than as an herb. It adds flavor to cereals, rice, and soups. The petals can be added to salads.
As recently as 70 years ago, American physicians used calendula to treat amenorrhea, conjunctivitis, fevers, cuts, scrapes, bruises, and burns,
as well as minor infections of the skin.
 

Where I buy my herbs :: www.savvyteasandherbs.com & where I got the top information from.

I finally got my new theme up and done. Once I decided on the graphic, the rest went fairly easy. I'm still pondering whether I will keep this look or not.

I wanted something that was "classic" and relatively simple ~ as far as graphic content. I wanted it pleasing to the eyes instead of one of those ones
that make your eyes hurt, or strain!

So, what do *you* think? Good, bad, awful? Needs something more?

oh! And.. if you have issues with that damn "Processing" showing up and never, ever doing anything when trying to adjust, fix, change your theme -- I have a solution!
It kept doing that to me, and I got no where with xanga help, they just ignore it, although there are a ton of people that have complained about this issue! Anyway, just get yourself Google Chrome, and then do it! I used Internet Explorer, and it didn't and wouldn't work at all, ever. I decided to try using Google Chrome to see if maybe it was the browser, and wa-la! It worked like a charm So there's your fix lol. 

Not much to write about today.. So I'm going to leave you with a few short thoughts.  

I learned a new word today:

"Fudiculous" 

the mix of f-ing ridiculous, for use only when actual swearing isn't acceptable  

"I need to talk to you."
That one sentence that has the power to make you remember 
every single bad thing you did in your whole life. You flashback
to childhood, and want to run crying to your room.