Today's Joy: Cruising the Garden Centers with Mom.
Picked Mom up today so we could check out a new garden center in our area and one we'd never visited before. She had a ball! Here is she at Goebbert's Farm in Hoffman Estates, IL, surrounded by her favorite, Geraniums. Never seen so many colors in one place! It was really nice to watch her get 'garden fever' and indulge her inner plant diva.

Here are a few other shots from Goebberts' and from WK Landscape & Garden Center in Hampshire, IL:

Today's Joy: Flexing My Creative Muscles.
Got a chance to indulge my inner decorator today, Reader. One of the things I like most about my job is putting together fun & fresh looks for my customers' homes and for store displays. Decorating a customer's room challenges me to create something that's both gorgeous and practical for life with kids and pets. But store displays are where I can really dive into creative whimsy. Today I whipped up an ice cream-themed table setting with polka dot dishware, bright yellow salad plates, pink and orange spotted placemats and ice cream sundae cookie jars. Okay, it sounds like a nightmare, but it came out all sherbet-y and delightful.

Evidently cow-patterned stuff is big this year. We've got a whole line of cow-themed dishware: bowls, mugs, spoon rests that could double for dessert plates and two varieties of salt and pepper shakers--all with prominent pink udders. Well, we had an extra table top so I decided to do a cow table setting. (When in Rome and all that.) Someone suggested using black leather placemats, which I paired with white-washed scroll chargers, cream dinner plates and cow bowls. Each setting also got a cow mug and cow dessert plate. I topped it off with a centerpiece display of all our cow merchandise. Surprisingly, it was so wacky it was cute! Not my taste, at all. But someone somewhere will come in and rejoice in cow nirvana.

Where else do you get the chance to try out many different looks without spending a fortune? Ah, creative itch scratched.

Joy is the will which labors, which overcomes obstacles, which knows triumph.
~ William Butler Yeats

Today's Joy: Opportunities As Blessings.
Reader, it's a good day. Had another interview today (new company). I think it went well, will know in the next day or so if I'll be called back for a second round. It looks like an excellent opportunity. With the job market so competitive, I'm feeling blessed just to have back-to-back interviews this week. Thank You, God!

Then, tonight, I open up my email and find my photo notecards and bookmarks have been accepted into a juried art show (my first!) scheduled for late July. Hurray! What a wonderful creative opportunity! My mind is all a-whir with plans for the next 2 & 1/2 months. Will need to increase my inventory, add collections (diversify, diversify, diversify!) & will need to acquire my own display equipment. But I'm not going to worry about it tonight--God will provide!

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'
Isaiah 30:19-21

Isn't it amazing how we are blessed when we follow the path He puts before us? Of course, there will be setbacks and difficulties to overcome. But that's simply the price we pay for what is most worth having. If you're on the fence about doing something, Reader, or if you just aren't sure what would be accomplished by tackling that little thing you've been wanting to try, put in the effort. Pray about it. Meditate on it. Ask for guidance. If after that, the obstacles in your mind have diminished at all--move forward. Do it! Put that positive energy out there! Even if it isn't successful, you will get back so much more than you hoped for.

Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart.
~ Myla Kabat-Zinn

Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. ~ Henry J. Kaiser

Quotes courtesy of motivationalquotes.com.

Photo: Me, In The Creative Process, May, 2010.

Today's Joy: #2
Hmm. Turns out I have two joys for today, Reader. While job hunting online yesterday, I emailed my resume on a lark and received an interview request less than an hour later.

Truth be told, I've stopped getting excited about going on interviews. The last several haven't panned out and winding up disappointed does a number on my daily positivity. So, I figured from now on, I'll go with low expectations, do my best and then let it go--God will take care of it. Nowadays, hiring contacts don't even acknowledge receipt of your resume anyway. So, a quick response was a pleasant surprise. Still, I wasn't going to get worked up over it.

But from the time I woke up this morning, I've felt God with me all day. I even came across these two bible passages while getting dressed:

Be confident in this one thing that God who has begun a good work in you will complete it!
~ Philippians 1:6

For it is God working in you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purposes.
~ Philippians 2:13

Okay. So maybe there's something more going on here. I went to the interview and it went beautifully. I really liked the look of the company and the opportunity. I connected well with my interviewer. She gave me a timed accuracy exercise and I was the only applicant to finish it! I left there knowing I'd put my best foot forward--a wonderful sensation. After all, who can stand against you when He stands with you?

Today's Joy: What the Rain Brings.
It's been gray and cold and rainy for two days now, Reader. In an effort not to mope about the lack of sunshine, I've been extra perky and wearing brightly-colored scarves. Then I noticed this afternoon that Aunt's irises are beginning to pop. So lovely! Isn't it funny how fresh, living things lift your mood? Like a little present from God. So here are a few of those just open, rain-kissed flowers in case you need a little pick-me-up too, Reader!

Photos: Aunt's Pink & Yellow Irises, Aunt's Herb Garden, May, 2010.

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~ From the television show The Wonder Years

Today's Joy: Your Best Days.
The word has been given, Reader. Another of the rare and delicious dinner cook-a-thons is scheduled for next Saturday night at our dear friend Todd's house! Hurray! I've blogged about these much-anticipated events in the past. And will be sure to include photos of this installment's culinary antics for your enjoyment.

In the meantime, Todd has set us a task. It's such a good one that I want to share it with you. He asked each of us to come prepared to name the three best times we've had in our lives. The only stipulation is you may not include the obvious--your wedding or the births of your children. Todd feels that would be a cop-out. (-;

So, poor Aunt was up until 1:30 this morning thinking furiously about her three best times. She fears she may well be up again all night tonight! All her effort has got me thinking about mine. After all, we can't show up to a Foodie Event with lame answers! (I hear the theme this time is a fab seafood spread....)

When I think of my three 'best times', two were spans of just a few hours while one actually lasted for several months. The first was my last semester in college at the University of Maine at Farmington. After 2 & 1/2 years of grueling class schedules and working full-time, that stretch from January to mid-May of 2003, was where all my hard work paid off. I attended the most stimulating classes of my college career, enjoyed deep & wonderful relationships with my professors and received opportunities I never expected. It was also the first time in my life I felt really together. My peers valued my opinion. I was proud of my work. I was hobnobbing with famous writers. It was simply the best time of my life up to that point.

My second best time was Christmas of 2008. It was one of my most favorite holidays. Just a few months before I would move to Texas, we were all gathered together around the dinner table--everybody seemed happy and at ease and in love. It was better than a Hallmark greeting card. And whatever happened afterwards, in that moment, we were all safe and well and perfectly content.

My third best time was just a week later. On a trip to Oklahoma City with my then-boyfriend, we spent New Years Eve at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in downtown OKC with my very best friends and their spouses. While it was chilly outside, in the conservatory, the air was warm and all the tropical plants were lit with Christmas lights and decked in gorgeous poinsettias. There was a band playing folk music down among the palm trees while listening couples lingered all along the crystal bridge above. I looked very smart in my favorite hound's tooth coat and hat. I remember feeling SO blessed to be spending New Year's Eve with my dearest friends and the man I loved for the first time in my life. It was romantic and wonderful.

Well, Reader. Hopefully my little reminiscence got you thinking about your three best times. What were they? And when? What made them so darn special? I'm all ears!

Every man's memory is his private literature. ~ Aldous Huxley

A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
~ Edward de Bono

Quotes courtesy of The Quote Garden.

Today's Joy: Contemplation.

Here are a few quotes and thoughts I've been ruminating on the last few days. May they get your neurons firing too, Reader (or perhaps lead to other ideas that get you thinking).

"It's gotta be more like

falling in love

than something to believe in.

More like

losing my heart

than giving my allegiance." ~ Jason Gray

"Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles, and the bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. Your decision to be, have and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties and challenges that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else."

~ Brian Tracy

Good Things: easy, elegant ideas that make life a little lovelier. ~ Martha Stewart

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young? ~ Paul Sweeney

Photo: Shoe Shiner Taking A Nap, Franklin Grove, IL, 2008.

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children. ~William Makepeace Thackeray

There's nothing like a mama-hug. ~Terri Guillemets

Today's Joy: Spending Mother's Day with The Moms in My Life.

It's been a lovely day, Reader. Got up early this morning and went over to make breakfast for my Mom before I had to go to work. She loves my omelets so I whipped her up a delicious one, with fresh veggies & Oaxaca cheese. We perused her garden a bit and had a nice talk. While she has always been my biggest fan, I'm especially grateful for her counsel & support over these last months. She keeps me centered when the world comes tumbling down. Love you, Mom!

After our delightful breakfast, I went to work and spent the afternoon helping many mothers find something nice in celebration of their day. Several husbands came into our store, spread their arms wide and said, "Honey, pick out whatever you want." There were also more than a few teenage sons tagging along with Mom while she shopped, holding her purse or shopping basket and patiently waiting while she compared curtains, patio cushions or dishware patterns. Everywhere I looked, there were little bits of love being demonstrated.

After work, I went home to have dinner with Aunt, Aunt Chef & Uncle. We went to our favorite local restaurant and yakked about this weekend's adventures. A wonderful way to wind up such a sweet day.

To all the Mothers of the World:

Thank You for raising us up right, and for not letting us roller blade/ride our bikes/play ball in the house.

Thank You for always listening to our problems and for loving us even when we're little stinkers.

Thank You for encouraging us to be our best selves and supporting us in whatever we do.

And Thank You for always making us feel special & loved. You hold our world in your hands!

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty

An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. ~Spanish Proverb

Quotes courtesy of The Quote Garden.

Photo: Mom & I at Bridal Shower Tea, 2006.