Reminiscing while waiting for the coffee to kick in…

I was scrolling through my blog (I can do that fairly quickly as there aren’t that many posts) and ran across one of my very early posts… and it was kind of an eye opener, ah ha moment, or whatever they call it.  (http://ctabor.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/its-been-a-long-time-baby/)

It struck home because I realized I was still struggling with some of the same issues and situations… Makes me wonder if I’m just totally oblivious to understanding how to address making changes or am in denial about it all.

Anyway, sipping some coffee this morning, trying to wake up, after yet another lousy night’s sleep…. thinking I “should” be on my bike or “should” be doing this or that, and feeling stuck and obviously not doing anything because I’m sitting here writing in my blog instead! 

It always seems when I’m wallowing, I’ll see something like this inspirational little movie…

Lately, I’ve had more than a few days where I struggled not to feel despair or sorry for myself.  And, I’m certain others of you have had your own struggles or challenges.

It always seems when I’m wallowing, I’ll see something like this little movie, or get a peek inside an inspirational little book like “Living a Five Star Life” by Betty Mahalik; great reminders that with the right attitude and persistence, things can always get turned around. And not only for myself, but with some minimal commitment, also very likely for someone else. It takes realizing “less can be more” and remembering that there are many others in more need than I am.

This is one poignant reminder that we do have the power to make changes in our world. I hope you’ll find the same inspiration that I did from this little movie and a take a peek through the book mentioned above.  Enjoy.  http://www.everymondaymovie.com/

Christine

And as Ralph Waldo Emerson so aptly stated:  “The ancestor of every action is a thought”.

And another great quote by Langston Hughes:  “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”

Have a great day and a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

For those that replied to my photo request… thank you!

I got some interesting picks from friends and family out of my photos to help me narrow down my choices.

It was SO HARD to pick just two to submit. And the ones I thought I liked best and thought would be the favorites were not what others chose so it was quite interesting what others preferences were.

Here are the two I submitted.  I am not convinced they were my best, but I liked them.  I got so weary trying to figure it out, I just sort of pointed and clicked and those were it!   I have named them “Celestial Flower” and “Ahhhh-Green”.      Please click to see them larger.

I’ll share some of the winners with you after all the dust settles. Thanks again!

Christine

Help me pick two! Scott Kelby’s World Photo Walk…

I recently participated in Scott Kelby’s World Photo Walk and had a blast with my photo group… our “Walk” was in Palm Harbor, FL.  I took many many pictures and have actually narrowed them down to these so far. I need help selecting TWO to submit to the World competition. I’m not fooling myself as far as chances to win, but I want to participate.

If you can take a few minutes to watch and review these images, would love to know what two are YOUR favorites!

Need to hear TODAY, July 25th so I can submit before midnight tonight.

These images are a bit small on this page, so to see as a full size slideshow, please CLICK HERE.

Over to the right, you’ll see small icons to enable a slide show or other formats.  Although there may be some images that appear to be duplicates, there are actually slight differences in contrast or color and you may only be able to see these on a full screen view. ALSO, because the file sizes are large, it sometimes pauses to “load” the full, sharp image.

  Look forward to hearing from you!

It’s all about attitude… Happy 4th of July!

A perfect quote for this weekend — the birthday celebration of our country – a country with a history full of amazing stories of overcoming.

“Life without dreams is no life at all. When our existence gets reduced to a list of problems to solve or things to check off, passion dries up. Imagine a different list, one comprised of projects and activities that are the expression of your heart and soul. Reconnect to what makes you happy. Do you know what that is?”
~Marcia Wieder, author — Dreams are Whispers from the Soul

Typically the news is full of stories to go along with the holiday and no matter what your political position is, in spite of our troubled times, this is still considered one of the best places on earth to live.

When I am leaning towards my own pity pot something (or someone) always seems to presents itself to bring me back to gratitude and inspiration. And that is what happened again today.

This morning’s Today Show featured the story of a crippled and brain injured marine by the name of Keith Zeier. He made a commitment to run/walk 100 miles from Key Largo to Key West to raise funds for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Amazingly, he accomplished this in spite of collapsing at 75 miles. It was a wonderful story and great inspiration to me. I found another video and story about it here:

http://current.com/items/90027279_conquering-the-keys-a-wounded-veteran-runs-100-miles-for-charity.htm

This brings me to another site that always seems to come up with tidbits of wisdom and inspiration and today I happened upon two that really struck home with me.

My first Animoto video – Longwood Gardens, PA – a mini journey

Here’s a short glimpse of the beautiful Longwood Gardens, near West Chester, PA. Enjoy!

May has been a whirlwind!

I can’t believe I haven’t posted here in over a month.  But then again, May has been a whirlwind!

1st weekend in May, I attended Keith Wellman and Gary Ambrose’s Internet Marketing Seminar in Atlanta. Since that’s business related, won’t get into it here, but it was a really informative and excellent experience!  I hope to be updating my other blog with this info, so if you are so inclined, visit that one soon:  http://www.imwebgraphics.com/blog

2nd weekend in May, I was catching my breath, trying to get some riding/training in and still catching up from being out of town the weekend before.

3rd weekend in May, I was pedaling my little butt off in the MS150 Ride.

Grandma crashes on golf course – sends message to grandaughter, Steph, for missing graduation

Ok, you liked my pictures, well hold on to your hat!

OK, starting to have fun with this.  So going to put you through yet another slide show! Hang in there because this slide show is a little long, but there ARE some nice shots in there.

I have not massaged them in Photoshop yet, but there are a few I think I will fiddle with and that have potential as wall art, or at the very least, a screensaver.

I tend to enjoy textures, light and colors over “birds”, although birds can be exciting to see in the wild. I think you’ll see the definite affiinity I have for landscape or close ups.

The guy and gal in some of the pictures are my most favorite friends, Andrew and Donna.  I was instrumental in “fixing them up” years ago, although the first round fell flat for who knows why. Then, another attempt a year or so later, and vwallah!  They have now been married for at least 4 years I think.  They were my buds when still in Florida but career necessitated a move for them.

So, off they went and moved to Madison, Wisconsin, (brrrrrr) but seem happy there. I miss them terribly and have visited at least 3 times already.

Anyway, the point of  this is that when they came through Florida a few months ago on their way to a cruise departure, I met them on the other coast  of FL for some libation at the beach and then this great little excursion into the gigantic preserve there near Titusville.  We got some great shots that day, but I understand another trip is needed, because the day we were there, duck hunters were scaring away alot of the birds. (well, DUH, I’d stay away if I was a bird, too!)  LOL

Enjoy the slide show and forgive the music, but I thought it kind of fit the mood.  CLICK HERE OR ON THE PICTURE!

  Christine

A need to rejuvenate… it worked!

Well thought I’d better get up to date since it’s a long time since Christmas!

I felt like I needed a bit rejuvenating today, so off I went with my camera to nearby Honeymoon Island, FL  for a bit of “getting back to nature” and just getting in touch with myself again.  Photos are “as is” — nothing adjusted in photoshop but overall, they don’t look half bad and I certainly enjoyed my 3+ mile wandering on the island.

It was a beautiful breezy day… about 80 degrees.

I got to see (from a distance) a protected bald eagle’s nest, get swooped by and listened to the screeching calls of a multitude of ospreys and extremely surprised by the large rattlesnake crossing the path in front of me… all caught on film!

I hope you’ll enjoy this taste of Florida as much as I did today.

Pictures I captured on a trip to Titusville, FL on the Atlantic coast were much more spectacular. I’ll post a link to those soon.  Thanks for letting me share.

CLICK HERE or on the picture… Enjoy!

Christine 

2008 Christmas CHAOS… IS really Christmas FUN!!

I realize this is a little dated but am playing with a new video posting tool and thought I’d put these fun little videos up that you might enjoy. Let me know what you thought of my first Flip Mino videos! 

Christine

Christmas Morning 2008 – BEFORE it all began!

I especially like this video as it tends to capture the quiet and anticipation BEFORE all the Christmas Day Chaos really takes off.  Hope you enjoy!

Christine

It’s been a long time, baby…

I had a hard time even remembering the name of this blog so I could find it again.  I see I haven’t been here since last November and that is much too long.

But I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to use this blog for and now I think I know.

So, I will use it to just write and share my journey, my thoughts, my tribulations and hopefully my solutions, and you with me. I think it will be good for me, and in the course of it, perhaps it will help someone else.

Times are tough and I’ve certainly gone through some interesting ones over the years.  I thought I had “overcome”, as they say, as I was living well finally, bought my first home by myself and was fixing it up, had a pretty good job, great friends, generally happy (except for the ever present relationship problems)… and then the bottom slowly fell out. 

I thought I’d drop in…

I’ve actually been working on two other blogs and I plan to launch another one soon, but I’ll make sure every one knows where they are.

The first one is cyclingunlimited.com/blog and the second is at blogger and is called almost the same – I’m still gathering some great content from lots of sources and working on adding unique cycling gifts and items to my store, so be sure to check out the first link again soon.

My other blog will document my travels through the internet marketing world and share with you my trials and tribulations in an effort to help you avoid some of the same pitfalls I fell into (and monies I spent). I haven’t selected a name for it yet, but again, will announce soon. If you have domain ideas, I’m all ears!

In the meantime, I CAN recommend this comprehensive eBook, as it covers what you need to know to get started and beyond, and is written in terms most anyone can understand… even a newbie! And the good news is that it’s only $27!

There’s another site I ran across that a buddy is working on, and for you home theater buffs, this is a site worth checking out.  As soon as I make my next big check, I plan on getting myself a fancy new HD tv and home theater, so will definitely be checking this site out regularly. Be sure to visit and bookmark to visit again in the future: FUN HOME THEATER

I love sharing my finds…. so ENJOY and have a great day!

Christine

OK, well isn’t THIS boring!

Hello out there… anyone there?

Sooo, you think that when you set up your blog, you’re just going to be inspired and overflowing with all kinds of rhetoric, or that’s what I assumed.

HA! So, here sits my blog with NOTHING on it. How sad.

I actually want to have a “real” WordPress blog off MY url but I can’t seem to decide which url of the 50 or so I own should be the “chosen one”.  Talk about being paralyzed!  I keep chastising myself with “haven’t you ever heard of the phrase ‘just do it’?”  So just do something!

I have two other old blogs floating around out there on that “other” free blogging site, so feel free to check them out. They actually aren’t bad reading but I don’t think I plan on expanding them anytime soon.

So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to actually “do” something with my blog or how to move ahead and pick a darn niche or subject, I’m all ears.

Yours in blogging,
Christine

I forgot to include links to my old blogs just in case you’d like to visit:
http://cyclo-girl.blogspot.com/
and
http://thetreasuredetective.blogspot.com/