by Krista | Mar 11, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
Hello luvs. xo
I’m in too much pain to write today, so I thought I’d just share some quotes and pictures that have inspired and cheered me this week.
So grateful for you today. 🙂
* * *
“Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.” ~ Tolle
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” K. Gibran
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” ~Anne Lamott
“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today.
I can choose which it shall be.
Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” – Groucho Marx
“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” –AA Milne
by Krista | Mar 4, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
Hello luvs. How was your week? Are you oh-so-happy it’s Friday? Me too. 🙂
I’m sleepy today, feeling dreamy and quiet and finding it quite marvelous to get lost in pictures of beautiful places of warmth and sunshine and solitude. Like this grassy shore on Denarau Island, Fiji dotted with beguiling places to sit and stare out to sea.
I’ve become quite entranced with the ocean of late, reading all sorts of books on underwater research and discovery. I love reading about submersibles, picturing folks bobbing along under the water seeing creatures and shipwrecks and all manner of interesting caves and rock formations. Even thinking about being down there myself makes me feel claustrophobic with a sudden need to take deep gulps of air, but I do like seeing those worlds through others eyes.
My weekend has started off beautifully with a jolly dinner with my grandparents. They showed me old pictures and told me all sorts of great stories about their life in Denmark before immigrating to Canada. I loved it.
I’m really looking forward to good visits with dear friends, sleeping in and buying groceries. I’m craving potatoes something fierce!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and would love to hear what interesting things you’ve been learning about lately. 🙂
by Krista | Feb 25, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
Hello dear ones. xo
When I was in the woods the other day I looked up into what I thought would be bare tree trunks and stark branches. Instead the sun was glowing through dozens of ferns growing up the mossy tree, rendering them a brilliant lime green against the bright blue sky. Aren’t they gorgeous? 🙂
I’ve been reading a lot of quotes by Teddy Roosevelt this week. I thought I’d share a few that are especially dear to me, and make me take a deep breath and press on with courage and a smile:
It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again;
because there is not effort without error and shortcomings;
but who does actually strive to do the deed;
who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion,
who spends himself in a worthy cause,
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement
and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.
So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
***
There are two things that I want you to make up your minds to:
first, that you are going to have a good time as long as you live –
I have no use for the sour-faced man –
and next, that you are going to do something worthwhile,
that you are going to work hard and do the things you set out to do.
***
I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life;
I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.
***
Wishing you a beautiful weekend of rest and happiness with people you love and who love you back.
What has given you courage this week?
xo
by Krista | Feb 18, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
It’s a glorious thing to get off a red eye flight and crawl into a wondrously comfy bed only to wake up a few hours later to the tropical beauties of Fiji.
That’s just what happened to me on a beautiful layover in Nadi, Fiji on my way back to the US from Australia in January. Stretching luxuriously I made myself get up, slipped into one of my favorite sundresses, grabbed sunglasses and camera and headed out for a stroll along the beaches of Denarau Island.
Denarau Island is renowned for it’s opulent resorts, golf courses, fine restaurants, and shopping, but my favorite place is the beach. The lovely thing about staying at any of the resorts on the island is that you get access to all of them: their beaches, restaurants, even their swimming pools. It’s perfect for a nice long walk from one beach to the next.
I made my way past hammocks swinging in the sea breezes, kids shrieking happily in the surf, and businessmen snoozing in their lounge chairs. I walked and walked, the waves lapping at my ankles, sun beating down wondrously, until the resorts ended and a bit of wilderness began.
I was delighted by the flowering vines encroaching onto the sand, hundreds of vibrant pink flowers stretching up to the sun.
I spent a blissful time imagining how lovely it would be to own a stretch of beach like this. To build a simple cottage with huge windows open to the wind and a wide wrap around porch from which to watch sunsets and storms alike. It was a splendid dream.
After a bit I wandered back to civilization, stopping to watch a boy fishing from shore. When he caught me observing him I smiled and he ran up to me and asked excitedly, “Did you see them?” I shook my head so he dashed a ways down the beach, pulled off a bit of dough from a bag and threw it into the water. Within seconds fish were wriggling just below the surface, nibbling their treat. We both grinned and he went back to his fishing, pleased as punch to have an audience.
It was a beautiful morning in Fiji.
What is your favorite thing to do at the beach?
by Krista | Feb 11, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
Hello, luvs. 🙂 I’m writing to you this evening surrounded by library books and back issues of Victoria magazine and Christmas cds and flickering candles. A hot cup of sweet orange tea is brewing as I huddle under a quilt and heating pad to keep warm. It’s a wonderfully cozy night. The sort of night I hope to have many of in the months and years to come.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since I got home from my travels. I learned a lot of things on these trips, not the least of which was that somehow I had well and truly become a workaholic. In my attempts to get out of debt, pay mounting medical bills, and meet unnecessarily lofty expectations I had for myself, I had taken on one full-time job and four part-time jobs. To do it all I was getting 4-5 hours sleep a night and working myself silly.
R.I.D.I.C.U.L.O.U.S.
Needless to say, when my brother Ryan sent me a ticket to fly to Amsterdam to spend Christmas and New Year’s with my family, I cried. 🙂 I was so happy, but also exhausted, worn out, utterly done in. All I wanted to do was sleep, stare out the window and wander aimlessly doing anything but work. So I did.
I enjoyed every bloomin’ moment of that trip: blizzards, long walks in the icy dunes, eating my siblings’ delish homemade food, visits over foamy coffee, playing Settlers of Catan, watching old movies, meeting new and old friends for good ol’ chats, and wandering the streets of the Netherlands and Germany. It was wonderful.
When a dear friend gave me a plane ticket for Australia the day after I got home, I cried again. 🙂 I could hardly believe such kindness.
By then I was starting to perk up. After a couple of weeks on my Aussie friends’ farms eating fresh eggs and fruit, going for walks and getting lots of sleep, I could think about work again without cringing, and felt my creativity and enthusiasm coming back. Instead of plotting out jobs, assignments and goals, I realized how much I missed reading good stories, listening to new music, watch great movies, just sitting and watching the sunset, going to bed early, taking walks, spending leisurely time with dear ones. I wanted to live beautifully again.
Instead of a To-Do List, I started writing a Dream List – the one I told you about here earlier this week. It wasn’t so much about what I want to accomplish, but more how I want my life to look, feel, and be. I don’t want to be a workaholic. I don’t want to be constantly worrying about finances and debt. I DO want to live a happy, peaceful life with people I love and who love me back, with enough to meet my needs and share with others.
Now I’m back home in Washington, learning how to live what’s in my heart. I’ve thought long and hard through my priorities and responsibilities, and a lot of things have been shifted into the “Not Now” and “Maybe Never But That’s OK” piles. I’ve looked at my budget and figured out ways to cut costs so I don’t have to work so much.
And I’m happy because the things in the Important Pile, really are. 🙂
What is one thing you do each day that makes you happy?
by Krista | Feb 4, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
There is something so peaceful about sunset on my friends farm in Australia, especially after days and days of torrential rains and flooding. It was good to see the ground become firm again after feeling like you were walking on a sponge, good to see the thick, black clouds drift away and clear blue sky take over, good to see the animals perk up, their rain-washed coats glistening in the last rays of the sun.
I liked how happy the wildflowers looked, stretching up for some sunshine.
I loved walking about just before the sun slipped down behind the hills, strolling around the gum trees glowing in the amber light, casting long, cool shadows along the lush green grass.
It was so very good to feel the sun on my face again.
That night I decided to introduce taco salad to the Aussie table and went to town to pick up hamburger and all the fixings. Alas, with the main food distribution center in Brisbane under water, farmland turned into lakes, and disintegrated roads keeping the foods trucks from getting through, many of the grocery store shelves were almost empty. I was able to get a few veggies but there was no hamburger left. Our only option was kangaroo burger (kangaroo mince to my Aussie friends). I was thrilled! 🙂
High in protein and very low in fat – usually below 2% – kangaroo is one of the healthiest meats around. Studies show that it can help lower cholesterol, improve blood flow, reduce the blood’s tendency to clot, and thereby reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
The kangaroo mince was very lean but had a consistency more similar to sausage than ground beef. I placed it in the skillet and started frying and soon a scent not unlike deer or moose wafted through the house. I added taco seasoning and kidney beans and the somewhat gamey smell virtually disappeared. Piled atop lettuces, sugar snap peas, tomato, avocado, and topped with extra sharp cheddar cheese, the taco kangaroo mince was absolutely delicious. I am officially a fan. 🙂
For more information on where to buy kangaroo meat, click here.
What is the most unusual meat you’ve ever eaten?
