Miracles

Life is a series of a thousand tiny miracles notice them.


I've always loved the group Smoky Robinson and the Miracles

(all motown groups)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmZqBxhRPGo

One of my favorite songs

There you will walk with my hand in your hand
You'll be Queen of the Stars  ♫

(͡๏̯͡๏)`(͡๏̯͡๏) **♪`♫*•.¸¸ღ (͡๏̯͡๏) ღ¸¸.•*´♫´♪*• ❣“ L☯ƔЄ is 
( , , ).( , , ) ♪`♫...a flower that grows in any soil, 
works its sweet miracles undaunted by autumn frost 
or winter snow, blooming fair and fragrant all the year,
and blessing those who give and those who receive.” 
~ Louisa May Alcott

If you fill your mind with wonderful thoughts, there can be no room left for doubt.” 

― Silvia Hartmann

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4QzHeUE-CM
Giggles are good for the soul

We are always on our way to a miracle

Peace comes when we accept what is happening and just make calm decisions that we can see.

Judy Frenette

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it.
Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces.
Smell the rain, and feel the wind.
Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”
~ Ashley Smith ~ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Av9yWZJUrk

Beautiful and relaxing

Our own life has to be our message
Thich Nhat Hanh

“There ain’t a body, be it mouse or man, that ain’t made better by a little soup.”

~Kate DiCamillo

(The Tale of Desperaux : Being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup and a spool of thread.)

Here’s a hearty, healthy soup that tastes just like stuffed green peppers!

~Stuffed Green Pepper Soup~

Brown and drain:

2 lb. lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 large green peppers, coarse chopped

Add:

2 (15 oz) cans organic tomato sauce

1 (15 oz) can beef broth or stock

1 (14 oz.) can organic, diced tomatoes with juice

1 Tablespoon Sriracha Hot Sauce (or your favorite)

1/4 cup ketchup

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon dry Italian seasoning

2 Tablespoons dry or fresh parsley

2 large cloves garlic, minced

Simmer on low, until everything is heated through (about 30 minutes.)

While soup is heating:

Make a couple cups of rice (lightly buttered and salted) according to package directions. When soup is heated through, ladle into bowls and top with a little cooked rice. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Recipe from Chin Deep

Thank you 

Massages are fabulous

“Life is about taking what's given to us and creating something wonderful.” 

― Belinda Jeffrey, One Long Thread

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..(´• ̮•)
.( . • . )
(... • .. )
..•*¨`*•
♫Merry Christmas  To All ♥ ♥ ♫Jingle Bells♫ Jingle Bells♫

This was from Logan's first Christmas 2012

Merry First Christmas sweet Logan Love..........

We love you so very very much.

More precious than gold♥

Through miles may lie between us

We are never far apart

For love does not count miles

It is measured in the heart♥

Thich Nhat Hanh

http://yoganonymous.com/7-lessons-thich-nhat-hanh-taught-us/

The great Thich Nhat Hanh, a beloved Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet, spiritual leader and peace activist, may be nearing the end of his life after suffering a severe brain hemorrhage, but his legacy will live on forever.

Nhat Hanh has published more than 100 books, has been active in the peace movement, promoting non-violent solutions to conflict and also refrains from animal products consumption as means of non-violence toward non-human animals.

7 Lessons Thich Nhat Hanh Taught Us

1. Be yourself.

“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”

“Be yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just Be.” 

“If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.” 

2. Being alive is a miracle.

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

“To live in the present moment is a miracle.” 

3. Be present.

“If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”

“The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.” 

“When you love someone, the best thing you can offer is your presence. How can you love if you are not there?”

“I have arrived. I am home. My destination is in each step.”

“Some people live as though they are already dead. There are people moving around us who are consumed by their past, terrified of their future, and stuck in their anger and jealousy. They are not alive; they are just walking corpses.” 

4. Love with every cell in your body.

“You must LOVE in such a way that the person you love feels FREE.”

“Inhale love, exhale gratitude.” 

5. Just breathe.

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” 

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.” 

6. Surrender.

“Letting go gives us the freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything — anger, anxiety, or possessions — we cannot be free.” 

“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.”

“I vow to let go of all worries and anxiety in order to be light and free.” 

7. Find peace.

“There is no path to peace. The path is peace.”

“Root down the violence in your life, and learn to live compassionately and mindfully. Seek peace. When you have peace within, real peace with others is possible.” 

“We are peaceful, if we are happy. We can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54aRrJWl_PI

… When you’re struggling with something, look at all the people around you and realize that every single person you see is struggling with something, and to them, it’s just as hard as what you’re going through. 

~Nicholas Sparks 

☆------•*✫*•-------✶¸.•*´☆´¯`ಌ¸.•*´✶´¯`ಌ¸.•*´✶¸.•*´☆´¯`✶
✶---(¯*( -.- )*¯)---May joy and peace surround you, ☯¸.•*´☆
☆---.(. /(")(")\ .)---Stay strong and keep Dreaming`☮´
✶¸.•*´☆´¯`✶¸.•*´☆´¯`✶¸.•*´☆´¯`✶¸.•*´☆´¯`✶¸.•*´☆´¯`✶
☾¸.·´¯`☯

We are Stardust We are Golden

We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.
~ Paulo Coelho

We are stardust we are golden and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden


There is nothing more beautiful than a rainbow - but it takes both rain and sunshine to make one. If life is to be rounded and many-colored, like a rainbow, both joy and sorrow must come to it.
~ Proverb

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.

~ Jim Valvano  and loved so very much

Your beliefs become your thoughts, 

Your thoughts become your feelings, 

Your feelings become your actions, 

Your actions become your habits, 

Your habits become your values, 

Your values become your destiny.

Qingyan (青岩古镇), one of the top four ancient towns in China’s Guizhou province

Photograph and text from Facebook

"Encouragement is awesome. It can actually change the course of another person's day, week or life." 
- Chuck Swindoll

Some of My Favorite Things

ღ

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see. ~John Burroughs

I love lattes and latte art and all beauty of Asia

These two rings are the colour of Justin and Ahram's birthstones

for February and December

Photograph taken by me

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ranehwa/4227814197/

Photograph seen on Geisha Moments on Facebook

with courtesy to the photographer on Flickr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbva86J6Guo

I love music♫  I love this song called December Prayer by Indina Menzel

I give thanks for arriving
Safely in a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world,
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life,
The waves of possibility
Breaking on the shore of dawn,
The harvest of the past
That awaits my hunger,
And all the furtherings
This new day will bring.~John O'Donohue



“Life has loveliness to sell, 
All beautiful and splendid things, 
Blue waves whitened on a cliff, 
Soaring fire that sways and sings, 
And children's faces looking up, 
Holding wonder like a cup. 

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.” ~Sara Teasdale


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-pX7sIjFY

This is still one of my favorites
Every Christmas Eve I would either read a brand new book to my son in his brand new Christmas pajamas
or watch a special movie like this one while we waited for Santa to arrive.
Many special memories and golden moments

Some of my favs fresh flowers beautiful latte

a great magazine good music and jewellery and lipstick and perfume

all slices of Heaven for me and a mail box brimming full of great news

cards and letters and greetings from loved ones.

More than words letters mingle souls

Coffee made in a french press

Glorious black white photographs

This photograph was taken by my beautiful daughter of the heart

Ahram a few years back

I love anything from Korea

And be sure to buy your coffee and products from

Cultured Coffee Bean in Toronto

I hope this will be my next Starbucks mug to add to my collection

And be sure to buy your coffee and products from

Cultured Coffee Bean in Toronto

Coffee is love in a mug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5_HFhBqDAc
Packing tips

11-11

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iccscUFY860

I love this commercial

11-11  We remember

Together we remember
They shall not grow old in our memories
We will remember and honour them forever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu4oy1IRTh8

Dire Straits Brother in Arms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd1FNPx_YN4#t=28
Everything you do connects you to the people places and things that matter

WE REMEMBER THEM.

At the rising of the sun and at its going down
 We remember them.

At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter
 We remember them.

At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring
 We remember them.

At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer
 We remember them.

At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn
 We remember them.

At the beginning of the year and when it ends
 We remember them.

As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as
 We remember them.

When we are weary and in need of strength
 We remember them.

When we are lost and sick at heart
 We remember them.

When we have joy we crave to share
 We remember them.

When we have decisions that are difficult to make
 We remember them.

When we have achievements that are based on theirs
 We remember them.

As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as
 We remember them.

Photographs taken my me a few years back


When serenity is restored .. new perspectives open to us and difficulty can begin to seem like an invitation to growth. - John O'Donohue

Photograph courtesy of Anna's Flowers

found on Facebook

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

From Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen, written in September 1914. 

“Why do we have to listen to our hearts?" the boy asked.

"Because, wherever your heart is, 
that is where you will find your treasure.” Paulo Coelho 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq5hFrb7b_E
Remembrance Day Bryan Adams

Roasted Garlic Mushrooms  

Ingredients:

16 even-sized open cup mushrooms, stalks cut level

3 tbsp corn or vegetable oil

1/4 c unsalted butter, softened

3 cloves garlic, chopped very finely

2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 c fresh breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Lightly fry the mushrooms, cap-side down, in hot oil for 20 seconds.

Arrange the mushrooms in a shallow roasting tin with the stalks facing upwards.

Mix together the butter, garlic, thyme, lemon juice and seasoning. Spoon a little garlic butter on to each mushroom, then lightly press the breadcrumbs on top. Either refrigerate for later use, or cook immediately in the oven for 10 minutes.

Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will  affect us.
Stephen R. Covey

¸.✿´´¯`•.¸¸. ིྀ.
We are each gifted in a unique and important way.
It is our privilege and our adventure 
to discover our own special light.” 
~Mary Dunbar~

‎You have to be the kind of person who can make the best out of a Tuesday. You know those people who live for the weekends? They’re wishing their life away. You have to find something worth living for or else you’ll look back and realize you’ve wasted your life away.

Drew Marvin, English Teacher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPH4LRASWbo
Let there be peace on earth

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." --G.K. Chesterton
Happy Remembrance Day

Monday Monday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTxT7feUlPg

Always we remember


"I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning."
~ J. B. Priestley 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKHjSA1Cf7Q

I can never hear this song enough

God loves it when we sing and dance

I love these Inge Look images

James Earl Jones has such a beautiful and distinguished voice.
I heard on Good Morning America today he spoke very little when he was young
as he had a stutter which made him shy to talk.

A hug can turn your day around, it’s like an emotional heimlich. Someone puts their arms around you, and they give you a squeeze and all your fear and anxiety comes shooting out of your mouth, and you can breathe again
-Pushing Daisies-. . .

Soulful Sunday

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╭•⊰✿ღღ
Your Life is a Message to the World
Make sure it is Inspiring ✿.¸¸.♡

In the End ✿.¸¸.♡ only Kindness matters !
═══════════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ══════════════

Those who believe in magic will find it everywhere. 

“There are four questions of value in life... 
What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? 
What is worth living "for, and what is worth dying for? 
The answer to each is same. 
Only love.” ~Johnny Depp

♡`º◇º`♡Have a very good Sunday and make marvelous  memories!♡`º◇º`♡

ƸӜƷ •✿ •✿ ƸӜƷ
......*¨`*•. (¯`v´¯) (¯`v´¯) .•*¨`*•✿....
......✿•*¨`*•.¸(¯`v´¯)¸.•´*¨`*•✿....
ƸӜƷ..*✿•Happy Soulful Sunday!•✿*..ƸӜƷ

. ✿(◕‿◕)✿

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTuPbJLqFKI
A Sunday kind of song for you
Sunshine Superman by Donovan
♫
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSlVxWtxEfE
And of course one of my favs always

"Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you've
  got to let it grow" .-John Lennon 

≧◡≦≧◡≦≧◡≦
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C28cebLkAg&app=desktop
Thanks Cheryl for all the beautiful links you send me and music
our lovely music♫
I love you with all my heart♥

“Magic exists. 
Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, 
the music of the wind and the silence of the stars? 
Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. 
It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part 
of the lives we live.” ~ Nora Roberts

(¯`✿´¯)
`•.¸.•´(¯`•✿•´¯)✿ .. "And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed
•.¸(¯`•✿•´¯) ✿ ¸.•✿ and every morning revealed new miracles."
✿ ` `•.¸.•´ ` ؛ ✿ ~Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

...Cheers gentlemen

"I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning."
~ J. B. Priestley ~

Ralph Waldo Emerson said; "Never lose an opportunity for seeing anything that is beautiful; For beauty is God's handwriting -- a wayside sacrament.
Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, And thank God for it as a cup of His blessing."

A Sunday well spent brings a week of content♥


 Our visions create the magic in us and our lives! Happy Sunday 

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships - so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people - so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish - so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform that pain to joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world - so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.

-The Benedictines (of course)


No one has the right to judge you, because no one really knows what you have been through. They might have heard the stories, but they didn’t feel what you felt in your heart. — Unknown