Sunday, March 04, 2012

best day ever!

oh my goodness... what a wonderful day we had!  we got to be a part of "parade of giants"!  (google it~pretty awesome stuff!)  just look...


dallas, texas was one cool place to be today for the bridge celebrations!



What a view!



I got to be "left-handed" today.  :)  Meet Victor Considérant, the puppet we helped carry in the parade...


gonna be hard to top this day, but I look forward to the adventures! 
heart hands and lots of smiles <3

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

love...

do you believe in love?

i do.  i married him 15 years ago.  valentine's day.  i'm a hopeless romantic kinda gal.  <sigh.>  he puts up with my antics, my drama and me; just as i am.  we are complete opposites and completely the same.  how does that happen?!?  it is the gift of marriage.  two people become one.  we choose to be kind to one another, love unconditionally and kiss (on the lips) every day.

happy heart day to you!  i adore today for so many reasons.  fifteen to be exact.  <3

Monday, January 30, 2012

why, what?...


...what is my path in life?  why am i at The Container Store?  what angel brought me to my Martin?  why do I "feel" things???...  
i'm not sure.  but i KNOW I am here for a big, big purpose.  (please let me know if you have figured all this out, cause i'm still trying!)
the journey is life, right?  (life brings death.  still struggling with that one.)  
BUT!  i adore life!  i love being happy, silly, smiling and fun. i adore sharing that with others!  i just wish i had more time to share the silliness with Mom & Daddy.
one of my favorite greeting cards (framed of course) says, 
it actually sits right by the back door to remind me every day.  "I came to live out loud."  
facebook is such an amazing resource (yes, really).  i was lucky enough to see and read this tonight...i only hope i can follow her example of living out loud... 
peace and love my friends.  heart hands and smiles.
by Giselle Fernandez

One of my great passions in life is seeking out women who live out loud—the brave and daring dames who connect deep to their yearning and purpose, shunning paychecks and predictability, courageously leaping into the abyss to make their dreams reality.
I seek them out perhaps because it is my great longing to be among them.
My initial thought that they all just woke up one day—self-realized, and fully awake to who they are. But I have discovered that it doesn’t just happen. It is a journey of the soul. It is a series of experiences, waves, and roadways traveled. Until one gets to a point where the old ways just aren’t working anymore. It’s like a light switched on inside that can’t be turned off. A light that’s bright and powerful, like a jolt of lightning, that this is your one life—your  blessed, precious shot to live and do exactly as you believe, feel, and make real, each precious day.
So many of us put off, silence, ignore, or rationalize that voice, every calling us to be less “human doings” and more “human beings.”
These extraordinary women, when I find them, invite us all to ask ourselves, “Are we being exactly who we are born to be?” and “Are we doing exactly what our being is born to do?”
Across the globe, I have encountered numerous such phenoms that have awakened to their highest path—their “True North,” exemplifying that acting on a dream not only becomes a sense of fulfilled destiny, but almost always involves profound work that invariably makes the world a better place.
I know myself how difficult it is to detach from fears and habits that bind us—despite their stagnant waters. I know the allure of the possible, and the closeness of a dream. I also know the the fragility of commitment that draws one to the edge of the cliff, ready to jump—then pulls you back not to dare once more. But no matter how many times I’ve retreated from the mighty calling, no matter the sense of resignation—that, Will I ever be bold enough to jump? or should I just make peace with what-is and just settle?—there is always a voice whispering my name, smiling from within, a knowing that just will not go away. Like so many of you, I know I was born to change the world—in my own way, in this life, with my unique gifts. I just don’t know when that “one day” will be. But my dream is to do it with my eyes wide open, just as the inspiring women mavericks across the globe that have inspired me. They invite a spirit of urgency to get on track, on purpose, to live our lives out loud.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

wind chimes...

...two in particular touch my soul.  Mom sings out back and Daddy dances out front.  (we gave Mom the wind chime for Christmas several years ago & Daddy gave us the one out front.)  i actually talk to them, no really.  "hi mom!" and "lovely day daddy." it's as if they are watching over us with the wind.  well, that's what i choose to believe.  it helps to keep them close.  sigh.

it's really windy out tonight.  they are singing and dancing.

heart hands for my amazing Mom & Daddy.  <3  I miss them so.

much much love, your amy leigh

Sunday, January 01, 2012

happy new year...

celebrate!  just because you can. 

love the amazing day to day things that make you smile.

happy new year!  heart hands and smiles...


Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas spirit...

...what is Christmas spirit?  I'm guessing we will have a similar definition...

Here is my question to ponder...why is it Christmas spirit?  Why don't we have yummy, merry spirit EVERY day?  Wouldn't the world be a happier place?!  (not that we aren't happy, but you get my drift)

I am generally so tired of Christmas music (I work retail, and we get to start that in mid-October.  That's my birthday time people!! :), but this year I cannot get enough!  I LOVE pandora!  I adore Michael Buble's Christmas CD!  (yes, i bought an actual cd)  I am obsessed with stretching out the Christmas spirit this year.  Not sure why, but it feels smiley and wonderful and good.  I love feeling smiley and wonderful and good, don't you?

Let's stretch the spirit of happy loveliness...just because we can.  Hug the ones you love.  Tell them how much you adore them.  Smile a.l.o.t.  It gives you gorgeous laugh lines (I am rare and love mine).

Merry merry Christmas.

heart hands and smiles to all, and to all a good night.  :)
Look at this lover that we got from Santa.  He has purred his way into our hearts.

Sunday, December 04, 2011

twinkle lights & traditions

Why does it become more "possible" to be patient and kind during the holiday season?  I'm not sure I even need an answer to that question...I just love that it "is."  <sigh>

Maybe the twinkle lights help?!  I know that my spirit is lifted from all the Christmas deco's that were hung in our home today.  Smiling from ear to ear admiring the wonderment that surrounds me tonight.  :)  What a wonderful tradition of decorating we have here.  <3

One tradition in particular makes my heart smile a mile.  My Mom's "snoopy tree."  It stands with pride in my kitchen aglow with every ornament she admired.  She loved her tree so much, it even stayed up year-round sometimes.  Ho Ho Ho, my Paw-paw would say!



Wishing you joy & love this holiday season.

Make it magical.

heart hands and smiles. xox

Friday, November 25, 2011

thx...

thx.  thanks.  THANKS.  thank you.  Thank You.  no really, thank you.  you.

sooooo many things to be thankful for.  i need reminding of that sometimes, i guess we all do.  today for some reason was one of those days.  it's Thanksgiving though, why am i in need of a reminder?  (been pondering that question all day.)

i'm thankful for such a loverly day with family.  the giggles were bountiful with the kiddos, and it makes me a whole new person when i get to soak them in.  sigh.

blessings to you and yours.
signing off with a thankful heart...love, auntie amy

best.walk.ever!  please notice the bucket, which we chocked full of acorns, pecans and leaves...otherwise known as "nature."  :)




Friday, October 21, 2011

left brain, right brain...

what are you???

(Left:) "I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am."

(Right:) "I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feet. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be."


this is an advertisement, but I am moved by it's meaning; not to mention the beautiful colors & description!

i believe we are all a little bit of both, but that is open to interpretation, of course.  i LOVE that about this crazy colorful world we live in.  just sayin.

thanks chrissy for finding and posting this work of art.  it provokes thought and smiles from my soul.

heart hands <3 

Thursday, October 13, 2011

lucky 13...

it's my birthday today!!!  I love, love, love birthdays!  i was born on Friday the 13th! (it's my lucky number btw)



what a yummy day it was!  i felt like a Princess...



the weather decided to become amazing today! (thanks Mother N!)

REAL s'mores topped off my loverly day!

pretty sure I am the luckiest birfday girl EVA!
sleep tight all... lots of love.  xoxoxoxoxoxox

Sunday, October 09, 2011

to cry or not to cry...

that is the question.

I saw a "tear jerker" movie with my niece last night (Dolphin Tale).  If you know me, you KNOW I was crying.  She asked me "why?"  I said, "Because I'm happy."  Does that make any sense at all, especially to a 6 year old?!  (6 and a half to be correct btw.)  I've been thinking all day about that and my answer is...no.

Do we always need to make sense?  I believe not.  Leave it to a brilliant 6 year old to help us remember that.  "Adults are just big kids." ~CL

Today is an emotional day for me, for my family.  We lost my Mom to the C word 3 years ago.  1,095 days to be exact.  As we march on with our little lives, the positive & loving things keep us going.  Do I want to cry today?  Maybe.

Emotions...happy, sad and everything inbetween.  Express yourself as you see fit.  It's what makes us unique.

heart hands  XOX

Saturday, October 08, 2011

auntie amy...

is the BEST job ever!!!
Today I got to...

...deliver cookies as big as their heads!

...see a blue ribbon for her first report card!

...witness her amazing photography skills!  (it's in the genes you know.)

...see an awesome movie!  (Dolphin Tale)

What a wonderful day of Auntie-ing.  sigh.
Did I mention I get to do it again tomorrow?!?
xoxox  auntie amy :)

Monday, September 19, 2011

queen of random...

i love to take pictures...of random, beautiful things.  my aunt Caddah just recently dubbed me "queen of random."  i adore this new title!  (afterall, she is an artist!  a REAL artist.  i just throw out what i see/feel.)  thanks Caddah for reminding me that i am an artist too...in my random way.  keets!
hoola hoop fun!  made for "adults" of all ages!  (growing up is over-rated. just sayin)
xoxox