More than half the year has passed and I dont have anything to say for myself.
Welp. It was a tough winter and spring this year, I know that much and I am sure that played a part in my lack of desire to blog.
I saw an opportunity to freelance write for a local children and family publication here and it got me thinking about writing more seriously. When I was a kid, for at least a couple years I wanted to be an author, I remember having the encouragement from teachers and attempting to write some non fiction but remember it wasnt really that easy so I dont think I enjoyed it and that was that.
But I do like to write, I enjoy research papers even, so maybe my niche just isn't nonfiction. I can write about what I know about. I have had a couple small articles published in a couple different papers regarding Camp Fire and that was fun!
I used to be a regular journaler too, and even wrote poetry.
Where did literary C go?
Hmmph. I really want to find her again.
I know there arent many who follow us here and I love you all so maybe I will begin to test the waters here. I feel like I am still missing my calling and I want to be open and creative to what could possibly be. I just revamped my excitement for the Law of Attraction and am going to really work on attracting some good stuff!
I think I need to make a list of things I could write about that would be interesting for others to read ...guess that would be a start...
I would still like to get some crafts up on my Etsy site too, I love my site name and have had good crafting intentions but...well that is why I used the work intentions. I have had no inspiration.
Good, good, good, good vibrations...I am learning to take inspiration from all that is around me and not let negativity take and keep a grip. When I do this successfully my creativity flows.
My current everyday goal is to remove the word "don't" from my vocabulary.
Okay well the cats are driving me crazy stepping on the keyboard so I am off for now.
Happy Summer to you all!
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
OUT with the old and IN with the new!
Happy New Year!
I have been a really bad blogger this year so I thought I would do a recap of what our year was like. Tomorrow I will post The Year in Pictures...
Twas a long yet quick year, as they often seem to be each year older that we get. This year is one I am happy to say goodbye to although I am grateful for the good things that were brought to us.
2009 began for us with a massive NY Day windstorm that blew down many of the big ponderosa's in our neighborhood and yard. The neighbors behind us needed to patch a giant hole in their garage roof as a result, the neighbors across the street got lucky by the skin of their teeth. It was nervewracking.
The rest of winter 2009 had John stuck in snow removal h-e-double hockeysticks. An unappreciative job that had rediculous expectations for snow removal , demanding very long sleepless nights and days and to always be on call. This is never good for anyone's health, mental or physical. It also limited what we could do because we never knew when that dreaded call would come.
I was however able to spend a few lovely days in Florida solo, with the in-laws, in February thanks to a work conference adjacent to the Villages. It was nice to dig out the flipflops and feel sunshine for a few days. I also saw my first real deal alligator, not in a zoo, swimming in the lake that my conference was held on. I love to see nature in its real state of living!
Unfortunately, though I caught a nasty virus traveling home that not only had me very sick on my birthday but landed me in the hospital a few days later as the virus attacked my lungs and took away my ability to breathe. Not fun. Especially without health insurance. It took several months for me to regain my full strength and energy. Now we still have the bills to remind us.
Then John was laid off from returning to his job in the spring. And after he sold his soul to them for the winter! The good thing here is that it was a blessing in disguise and it didn't take long for someone else to scoop him up. This change of environment and release of negativity was a top highlight of 2009.
I was also awarded the Big Sister of the Month award in March which means a whole lot to me. I love being a Big Sister, I love my Little Sister dearly and I just want to be the best big sister that I can.
Spring 2009 brought the 5th anniversary of losing my father. Wow, 5 years, seems like it was only a blink of an eye ago that I received that unforgettable phonecall. I did however get to have a delicious Amato's italian sandwich with him while I tended to his grave this past April. This also means I got to have some quality time in Maine with Mom, Charlie and the kiddos. A good thing.
Just before summer really kicked off we added to our family by rescuing a beautiful one year old blue heeler-border collie named Wiley. Wiley has been one of the best things to come out of 2009 as we have grown to love him to pieces and he has shown us what a smart, loving and obedient dog he is.
Summer was good I think, busy for both of us, especially since my job began to seriously financially struggle due to the economy and all its destruction. The stress of having the future of an organzation on your shoulders is one I could really do with out. I can not report that things have gotten too much better as of now. So I work harder and try harder and hope that my team can help me see it through.
Since summer slipped away, we finally had our first camping getaway in the middle of September. It was a great getaway and very overdue. We explored southern Oregon and went to the Oregon Caves which was a pretty cool experience. Live music was also invovled with the weekend which is always a highlight for me, espcially when it is my favorite band, Gov't Mule. They even played our wedding song and we danced together under the stars. A special moment of 2009.
Fall came in and out quite quickly. We had our first snowfall the first weekend of October and as I sit here today and write this there is a massive blizzard going on outside. Several inches have landed just in the past couple hours. Geez. I would rather have a New Year snow storm though than a New Year wind storm again!
We extended our family one more time at the end of October when a little black cat found her way to my office one night and I took her in and we tried to find her owners. After about a week we made contact with the people registered to her mircrochip and then they never showed to pick her up when they were supposed to and they never called me back. By this time we had taken to her a bit and well, now she has grown our family 6-pack to 7.
Mom came for a visit in November, and we had our first Thanksgiving dinner together in 10 years. We baked and baked and baked and ate and ate and ate. It was awesome!
Then at the beginning of December some really cold temperatures came upon us and we had our first real negative temperature experience. One of the nights it got down to -20 degrees. Brrr. We had ice on the inside of our windows. Yikes. The pipes froze for a week in my office. At least they didn't burst.
This winter has been much more pleasant for John as he has not been in snow removal h-e-double hockeysticks this year. He is unemployed, but he has a snowboarding season pass and no work stress, and that makes him a happy man. He even got to share some holiday cheer with the community while selling Christmas trees for a couple weeks as an odd job.
A homeless man recently took residence in the national forest that we have for a backyard and well, it has been cold, and we have been thinking about him and his 2 dogs. We tossed around bringing him a blanket or something but well we never did. Then on Christmas Eve it was very clear to us that he was still living out there so we decided that we could do something for him and that we should stop talking about it and do it.
Ya know, John is out of work, we are living paycheck to paycheck but we still have things that we can give so we ransacked the house and put together 2 big bags of anything that we could think of that could be of help. When we were done we had a pile of everything from warm clothes, new socks, cereal, soup, travel size items, soap, new toothvrush, dog food and treats, a sewing kit and a deck of cards, a brand new rainsuit, rope and a tarp, propane, camping pads, on and on and on....we felt so accomplished and lucky that we could do so. We delivered it to him on Christmas day, and although he was not at his tent site, we left everything neatly tucked near it and covered it with the tarp. We saw that someone else had brought a small box of items too and this really made us feel happy that we were not the only ones capable of doing good.
Now as this blizzard keeps pouring down on this eve of the new year, I wonder how he and the pooches are managing out there and am grateful for all that I have and the loved ones that fill my life. "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man with no feet" The roof over our heads, the cars we drive, the cords of wood neatly piled outside,our family and friends and the food in our cupboards are not to be taken for granted.
My new year pledge for 2010 is to make it the best year ever. To put that Law of Attraction to work and to send only positive vibes into the cosmos so that in return that is only what comes back.
Good things are going to happen this coming year, I know it.
I send those same positive vibes out to each and every one of you that we are blessed to know and have in our lives. May you all have the best year ever!
Life- the best way to predict it, is to create it.
I have been a really bad blogger this year so I thought I would do a recap of what our year was like. Tomorrow I will post The Year in Pictures...
Twas a long yet quick year, as they often seem to be each year older that we get. This year is one I am happy to say goodbye to although I am grateful for the good things that were brought to us.
2009 began for us with a massive NY Day windstorm that blew down many of the big ponderosa's in our neighborhood and yard. The neighbors behind us needed to patch a giant hole in their garage roof as a result, the neighbors across the street got lucky by the skin of their teeth. It was nervewracking.
The rest of winter 2009 had John stuck in snow removal h-e-double hockeysticks. An unappreciative job that had rediculous expectations for snow removal , demanding very long sleepless nights and days and to always be on call. This is never good for anyone's health, mental or physical. It also limited what we could do because we never knew when that dreaded call would come.
I was however able to spend a few lovely days in Florida solo, with the in-laws, in February thanks to a work conference adjacent to the Villages. It was nice to dig out the flipflops and feel sunshine for a few days. I also saw my first real deal alligator, not in a zoo, swimming in the lake that my conference was held on. I love to see nature in its real state of living!
Unfortunately, though I caught a nasty virus traveling home that not only had me very sick on my birthday but landed me in the hospital a few days later as the virus attacked my lungs and took away my ability to breathe. Not fun. Especially without health insurance. It took several months for me to regain my full strength and energy. Now we still have the bills to remind us.
Then John was laid off from returning to his job in the spring. And after he sold his soul to them for the winter! The good thing here is that it was a blessing in disguise and it didn't take long for someone else to scoop him up. This change of environment and release of negativity was a top highlight of 2009.
I was also awarded the Big Sister of the Month award in March which means a whole lot to me. I love being a Big Sister, I love my Little Sister dearly and I just want to be the best big sister that I can.
Spring 2009 brought the 5th anniversary of losing my father. Wow, 5 years, seems like it was only a blink of an eye ago that I received that unforgettable phonecall. I did however get to have a delicious Amato's italian sandwich with him while I tended to his grave this past April. This also means I got to have some quality time in Maine with Mom, Charlie and the kiddos. A good thing.
Just before summer really kicked off we added to our family by rescuing a beautiful one year old blue heeler-border collie named Wiley. Wiley has been one of the best things to come out of 2009 as we have grown to love him to pieces and he has shown us what a smart, loving and obedient dog he is.
Summer was good I think, busy for both of us, especially since my job began to seriously financially struggle due to the economy and all its destruction. The stress of having the future of an organzation on your shoulders is one I could really do with out. I can not report that things have gotten too much better as of now. So I work harder and try harder and hope that my team can help me see it through.
Since summer slipped away, we finally had our first camping getaway in the middle of September. It was a great getaway and very overdue. We explored southern Oregon and went to the Oregon Caves which was a pretty cool experience. Live music was also invovled with the weekend which is always a highlight for me, espcially when it is my favorite band, Gov't Mule. They even played our wedding song and we danced together under the stars. A special moment of 2009.
Fall came in and out quite quickly. We had our first snowfall the first weekend of October and as I sit here today and write this there is a massive blizzard going on outside. Several inches have landed just in the past couple hours. Geez. I would rather have a New Year snow storm though than a New Year wind storm again!
We extended our family one more time at the end of October when a little black cat found her way to my office one night and I took her in and we tried to find her owners. After about a week we made contact with the people registered to her mircrochip and then they never showed to pick her up when they were supposed to and they never called me back. By this time we had taken to her a bit and well, now she has grown our family 6-pack to 7.
Mom came for a visit in November, and we had our first Thanksgiving dinner together in 10 years. We baked and baked and baked and ate and ate and ate. It was awesome!
Then at the beginning of December some really cold temperatures came upon us and we had our first real negative temperature experience. One of the nights it got down to -20 degrees. Brrr. We had ice on the inside of our windows. Yikes. The pipes froze for a week in my office. At least they didn't burst.
This winter has been much more pleasant for John as he has not been in snow removal h-e-double hockeysticks this year. He is unemployed, but he has a snowboarding season pass and no work stress, and that makes him a happy man. He even got to share some holiday cheer with the community while selling Christmas trees for a couple weeks as an odd job.
A homeless man recently took residence in the national forest that we have for a backyard and well, it has been cold, and we have been thinking about him and his 2 dogs. We tossed around bringing him a blanket or something but well we never did. Then on Christmas Eve it was very clear to us that he was still living out there so we decided that we could do something for him and that we should stop talking about it and do it.
Ya know, John is out of work, we are living paycheck to paycheck but we still have things that we can give so we ransacked the house and put together 2 big bags of anything that we could think of that could be of help. When we were done we had a pile of everything from warm clothes, new socks, cereal, soup, travel size items, soap, new toothvrush, dog food and treats, a sewing kit and a deck of cards, a brand new rainsuit, rope and a tarp, propane, camping pads, on and on and on....we felt so accomplished and lucky that we could do so. We delivered it to him on Christmas day, and although he was not at his tent site, we left everything neatly tucked near it and covered it with the tarp. We saw that someone else had brought a small box of items too and this really made us feel happy that we were not the only ones capable of doing good.
Now as this blizzard keeps pouring down on this eve of the new year, I wonder how he and the pooches are managing out there and am grateful for all that I have and the loved ones that fill my life. "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man with no feet" The roof over our heads, the cars we drive, the cords of wood neatly piled outside,our family and friends and the food in our cupboards are not to be taken for granted.
My new year pledge for 2010 is to make it the best year ever. To put that Law of Attraction to work and to send only positive vibes into the cosmos so that in return that is only what comes back.
Good things are going to happen this coming year, I know it.
I send those same positive vibes out to each and every one of you that we are blessed to know and have in our lives. May you all have the best year ever!
Life- the best way to predict it, is to create it.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Little Luna Lovegood
Little Luna found me at the CF office one recent Thursday night and was a roller coaster ride for the first week. She was so sweet and loving and looked like she might have had a coller on...I poster that I found her on Craigs List while she lived in our garage and then/now our spare room. No one was looking for her, no missing kitty signs in the neighborhood, nothing. I felt bad for all the people who were looking for their cats, may that never happen to us. Anyway, so while no one is claiming her J & I fall in love with her. J asks me not to try and find her a home but requests that we keep her instead.
We talk to a local clinic and bring her in to get spayed and shots. Also to check if she is mircrochipped. Turns out she is. The mircrochip co. leaves a msg for the person that morning. That evening I got a phone call. The people lived near by and I would bring her in the following day at noon to the office and they would come and get her. They never came. I called the number on my phone and left a concerned message. They never called back. I dont understand and I never will so I just need to stop trying to "get it". She was also already spayed, so that is good. Now I will take her in the morning to get the shots just in case and to change the microchip info into our names. She doesnt deserve to go anywhere. We will love her more than she can ever know.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Summer
Summer has come and almost gone and I havent been on here at all!
Wiley sure has kept us busy!
Below we hiked Tumalo Mountain...great views! South Sister, Middle Sister and Broken Top in the background.
One of many animal rescues this summer including 3 baby rabbits and a half dozen baby quail, this here is one of our hummingbird friends who couldnt seem to fly... poor little guy
Got Wood? Well, we sure do. We have been busy these last few weeks getting ready for winter. It sure is a good feeling knowing that we will be warm and cozy this winter no matter what Mother Nature brings.
Full moon on our evening Wiley walk...
Wiley sure has kept us busy!
Below we hiked Tumalo Mountain...great views! South Sister, Middle Sister and Broken Top in the background.
One of many animal rescues this summer including 3 baby rabbits and a half dozen baby quail, this here is one of our hummingbird friends who couldnt seem to fly... poor little guy
Got Wood? Well, we sure do. We have been busy these last few weeks getting ready for winter. It sure is a good feeling knowing that we will be warm and cozy this winter no matter what Mother Nature brings.
Full moon on our evening Wiley walk...
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Wild Wiley
On Sunday, May 17th 2009, The Brousseau Clan became a sextet.
It's a boy and his name is Wiley!
He is one year old and is half border collie and half blue heeler.
He is really quite beautiful with his unique markings and is a bit of a smarty pants. We will be able to train him to do all kinds of fun things!
Below is in my office where he hangs with me all day and has become a Camp Fire dog!
He is awesome, we got an amazing dog and the whole experience has been better than we imagined!
It's a boy and his name is Wiley!
He is one year old and is half border collie and half blue heeler.
He is really quite beautiful with his unique markings and is a bit of a smarty pants. We will be able to train him to do all kinds of fun things!
These first few pictures were from our first night with him.
Below is in my office where he hangs with me all day and has become a Camp Fire dog!
He is awesome, we got an amazing dog and the whole experience has been better than we imagined!
We are still integrating him into the house with the cats, Mocha is interested, Stubby is curious but Minou is ticked off, she has quite a growl to her!
Each day seems to get a little smoother, another couple weeks and I am sure things will be fine!
Wild Wiley has stolen our hearts!
Oh yeah, and yes, he is named after Wile E. Coyote...we hear from people on a regular basis how he resembles a coyote. You should see his shadow in the road when he is on point!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday Morning Visit
We had 6 deer visit us this morning, part of thier trail runs right up through our back yard...and right to the salad garden that awaits them this spring and summer in the front yard. What we didn't know was that they are the reason this bird feeder empties much quicker than our other one...
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
A couple days later...
Okay so back to the house behind us, this is it now because there is a giant hole in the roof, turns out there is more tree on the other side of the house that we can't see that just grazed the jacuzzi that the homeowners were literally sitting in only moments before...
This is the house across the street, a very large tree that actually just grazed the garage and shook up the storage shed, wiping out the power lines (and the power for 12 hours) and landing in the street...
This is the neighbors fence in their front yard
And what we had to do in our yard to save the rest of the fence from collapsing
This is the house across the street, a very large tree that actually just grazed the garage and shook up the storage shed, wiping out the power lines (and the power for 12 hours) and landing in the street...
This is the neighbors fence in their front yard
And what we had to do in our yard to save the rest of the fence from collapsing
Crazy stuff.
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