"Above the fray and beyond the pale" (thanks Pete for saying that!)

Kate and I had the MOST fun together!
We ate great food (her grilled lamb and steamed green beans were YUM YUM YUM!) We drank good wine (even made our own combination!), took a long walk in a beautiful place, saw an aligator (or 3!), got a manicure, and had my eyebrows waxed (I should have done a before and after photo-LOL)- and after all that...it was time to get ready for the "BLOG SUMMIT
-
I was as nervous and excited as I'd ever been. I was sweating like I had run a race, my mind was- in fact- racing, my stomach was all twitchy... WHY?




I was about to meet my beloved K9!!! :)





Now, to be fair, I had spoken to her on the phone several times, seen her picture, and we could probably fill a book with all the correspondence between us...but still- I hadn't met her face to face. I know it sounds silly...to get that worked up, but of all the bloggers I've met- this one already occupied a place in my heart, and meeting her was very important to me.

So- it was time to go...Kate and her dear husband helped me load up the car, and off we went to Julie's Waterfront.

We arrived a few minutes early- but not before everyone else. I saw K9 when I pulled into the parking lot and I couldn't manage to park my car correctly before I jumped out to hug her!
(I didn't realize my car wasn't pulled all the way into the parking space until it was time to leave :0 )


The evening was full of conversation and laughter. It was everything a Blog Summit should be- good people having a good time, and parting as better friends when the evening was over.



When it was time to part ways I was sorry to see the evening come to an end, but I was thrilled to follow K9 home and begin the next leg of this Florida adventure, which I'll post more about at the end of the week (if I can wait that long!)

Thank you all for your thoughts and notes...I'll get over to your pages soon.

I am having so much fun! I will be spoiled rotten by the time I get home-
Actually- with friends like all of you- I'm already spoiled!


Hugs everybody!

Memorial Day, 1969

I was born on May 30th, 1969... Memorial Day.

Growing up- I always knew that my B-day was a holiday...and I knew it had nothing to do with me. In 1971 Congress passed a law that Memorial Day would become the last Monday in May- rather than May 30th, the original day that we honored our soldiers who had died.

But the day I was born- May 30th, was a friday...and it was Memorial day. My dad was shipped out to sea for 6 months, 12 days after I was born.

My Great Uncle Hubert Crill was on a ship in Pearl Harbor when it was attacked.
He related the events of that day to me 12 years ago. I wish I had video of his account of what happened. He was scared to death, and fought, and lived to tell me the story.

My Grandfather fought in WWII
My Uncles fought in Vietnam.

My dad was on a sub for 4 years.

Take a moment today to remember our soldiers...both those who have passed, and those who walk among us. They are the real treasures of America... a reason to celebrate :)

_________________

I had lunch with a blog friend today- a special man who we know as "Greg the Gardener" http://gregsgeneralstore.blogspot.com/-

I guess I've been reading him for a few months now- his blogs are personal, and sensitive, quiet, and peaceful. I enjoy reading his posts, but the real joy came in meeting him.

If you ever travel south down I-95...let him know. You will meet a prince of a man in everyday clothes- he is kindhearted, a good listener, and someone you will enjoy the presence of. Thank you Greg- our meeting was the highlight of my day today :)

____________
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SOCCER DAD AND A SOCCER MOM:

Tonight I am in Jacksonville Florida- and there must be 50 kids here because of Soccer tournaments. These are some of the best behaved and polite kids I have ever met. Their dads are diligent, focused, and present. It's a pretty awesome thing to see-

But...

While I was in the hot tub tonight- a dad came out with his son to the pool. The kid only had about 10 minutes to swim- and the whole time the boy was in the pool- his dad was asking questions like, "Son, what are 3 things you think you could do to improve your game tomorrow?"
Or, "Think about your game today son...where did you fail...where could you improve?"
And, "Son...how are you going to play tomorrow?"
Son: "I'm going to play better!"
Dad: "How are you going to play better?"
Son: "I'm going to focus!"

and so on...and so on...

Finally- it was time for the boy to go. He kicked his ball, and it splashed into the hot tub where I was (and dad said, "Son, don't kick the ball in the pool area!")

The boy, who was no more than 12 or 13, walked over to where I was to get his ball.
And I said to him,
"Son, I hope you have FUN tomorrow"
He stoppped, paused, and looked at me, and said,

"Thank you, Ma'm".

Heavens...I hope he does have fun tomorrow! His dad was a good dad...and to be sure- I am a good mom, regardless of whether a kid is mine, or not.
_____________________

This was my view, at the pool, of the Umbrella- all the water dropletts looked like jewels.

Me and Cabo's cousin/brother/distant relation-

his name is "Wabo". Click on the Scary Monster if you don't understand this :)

This photo is for Kate- who likes black polish! :)

Mine is a deep shade of Pink, or a lighter shade of red...you decide! :)

And yes- the pink bag, and pink cup are mine... the Black Velvet with Diet Pepsi was lovely! :)

Question...

What’s going to happen if you start intentionally and deliberately appreciating who you are?

"There is nothing, and I do mean nothing that we cannot accomplish by appreciating who we are, being grateful for our infinite capacity and living into our Greatness."

Kim George,
Author of "Coaching into Greatness"

I get updates from the woman posted below...and even though sometimes I think it's corny...I never read what she writes without feeling empowered...

"You Are More Than Enough"‎
From: Nancy Tierney (nancy@unconditionalconfidence.com)

"I am more than enough"-

-
LOL...yep! Bust, Butt, and Abs are all more than enough!
But I know she wasn't talking about that.

I'm headed out this friday to visit friends in the deep south.

Friends I've met only once, or over the blog and phone,

and a few I've only read.

"Mayden" is a persona, based on Cora...but Cora is the real deal.
"Cora" has been known to yell at men in restaurants-
(and they read this blog- and they know I think the world of them...yes you, Mr. Cross and Mr. Wilson!).
I am a politically opinionated in person- mostly because I can't be quiet in person and BLURT out what I really think.
I flirt with everyone, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.
I can talk your head off.
I have scared people away.
I laugh- A LOT.
My brother in law tries to avoid me (not saying which one, I have at least 3)
But kids love me.
And so do dogs.

And I love deeply in return.
Once you're in my system...good luck getting out.

So...to my blog friends in the South- get ready! And if you want an honest "heads up"- ask Kate, or X-Dell to give you one. They've been there, done that, and I should make them T-shirts for the experience! LOL

Hugs everyone! Hope to see some of you this weekend!
If you want info about joining us- send me an email at:
Maydensvoyage@gmail.com and I'll give you the scoop-

Or if you can acesss I-95 and want to have lunch/coffee- on Friday

(or on my return trip June 2nd)- send a note about that too.

I'll let you know if I can work that out :)

Have a great week- YOU are wonderful! Believe it!

The Concert for Cadence...

Was a success! We have a long way to go, but we raised about 5% of what we need to raise- which was several thousand dollars. Pretty good for a free event where you had to bring your own food and chairs :)

I made this poster (tri-fold board). I tried to keep the pictures from getting wet...I cried a lot when I was putting it together... couldn't help it. She is adorable.

-

-

-

- Both old and young, came to have fun~

Thank you for thinking of us.

None of this is easy- and when I ponder what Cadence's life will be like long term...if there is a "long term" I know she is going to have one struggle after another.

But, "We have today"...and that is all ANY of us have. TODAY- Make it count. Tell someone you love them. Go for a walk and feel your blood pulsing through your viens.

Be AWAKE! Shake off the depression...enjoy the sunshine. Enjoy the loves in your life...we aren't promised tomorrow.

I'm off to go hug my kids now...even though I had a long walk today- and I haven't had my shower yet! :)

I'm such a good (stinky) mom! LOL :)

Tonight...I stopped traffic-

For this ONE photo~ Cropped~


- Contrast
Glow

- Solarized...

And I often feel I am not alone~

Someone is watching over me...

But I didn't see it until I looked at the photo in a new way.

Is it Grandpa, Aunt Martha, Uncle Jack, dear Mr. Saunders, Baron...

or Him?

Or all of them?

Whatever the case, I know I am in the good company of people who love me.

And so are you-

How to say NO! to anything -- or anyone

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ConsumerActionGuide/HowToSayNoToAnythingOrAnyone.aspx

"But, Uhhh"- she twists a strand of long hair around a finger, and in the graveled soil she kicks a pebble away with her pink Crocs...

"Why is it so hard for me to say "No"- TO ME?"

I'm faced with a difficult thing at the moment. Got a stinging realization about someone...ouch.

Yes- it really does sting- it's painful- and it only hurts because I care~

And if I didn't care...then it wouldn't hurt. Right?

Sigh- but I'm not like that. I don't seal my self/heart off to anyone- just to keep from getting injured. I never have and I hope I never will. But, perhaps this time...this time I have to hold back- tell myself "No".

The thing I've discovered was found in secret...something someone said or did and didn't think I would find out, or worse- didn't care. Oh- it's sad. I'm sad.

One of the most moving scenes I've ever watched in a movie was at the end of the most recent "Phantom of the Opera". Christine had been dead for a long time and her husband visits her grave on her birthday- only to find evidence that the Phantom was there earlier- having left a fresh rose and her ring- a token of the love he's held for her for 50 years or so.

That scene made me weep. The Phantom's love was twisted and harmful...but it was real- and it endured (and I know it was just a movie!). He kept it to himself for Christine's sake- he never again gave in to his desire to be with her...

Wonder how many times he had to tell himself "NO"?

Wonder how many times I will?

This was a silly post...but it felt good to write it down.

Hope you are having a beautiful day.

Mine has been- and I just need to let this thing go...

Bye thing!

Hugs for the rest of you :)

Yesterday...

I stood in line next to a man in uniform... a soldier in the Army, I think.

We were at Wendy's and I was ordering "take-out".

My heart welled up. I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep from getting teary.

All at once I wanted to hug him and kiss him on the cheek- and buy his lunch...

I should have tried. (maybe not kissed him- but the rest- perhaps?)

Anyway-as I went outside to leave...I looked around to see if I could tell which car was his. I found one with government issued plates- it was his.

I pulled out a little card from my wallet- and I wrote,

"Thank you for all the ways you serve our country"-

and on the reverse was my web address for Mayden's Voyage. Not that he needs to visit...but just in case he wondered who left the note.

I wrote this post because I want you to follow up with your own act of kindness for a soldier you might meet this week.

Don't leave me a message here...leave a message for a soldier- some where, some how, some way.

Say "thank you"-

Or "good to see you"-

Or "Have a great day :)"

Here's the only warning...the more often you show kindness and appreciation- the more often you will want to do it.

It makes a difference-

For the soldier...and for YOU.

-

Cadence Update-

Our first concert for Baby Cadence will be this Saturday- and I'm swamped beyond belief trying to finish up the last minute things that need to be printed and produced.

Bear with me. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I wonder if this isn't one of the most important things I've ever done in my life~ (top 5, for sure)

Love to each of you :)

Happy Mother's Day

For my Mother-

and To my friends...
Lux, Kate, Susan, Foam, Chesca, Roxanne, Malinda, Leelee, Barbara, and Nea- who are mothers, I wish you a beautiful day- full of blessing and peace-

Some quotes worth repeating~

:) :) :) :) :)

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back. ~William D. Tammeus

My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. ~Graycie Harmon

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. ~Jewish Proverb



When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty


Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

"Love, The key that unlocks the bars of impossibility."

Yeahhhh!!! :D :D :D

My braces were taken off today! :)
But I had a permanent retainer put in :(

A good friend said-
"You're halfway home"

I'll take it :)

Now for a set of ridiculously happy photos... -

-

So- that's it for now. There were more photos...but it got kind of silly~

Thanks for all your comments...It's driving me nuts not to be able to get back to all of you. I was trained by COTA today for the rest of what I needed to know about the PR stuff.

I've made flyers for the concert (May 19th), a brochure, a campaign letter, sent a letter to a local reporter, and hand-out cards for Cadence's web site...and I think I'm still mom.

And now my mouth feels awesome! It's wonderful :D

("She"- I've got a bag of pistachios for my afternoon snack! :) LOL- you slay me! )

-

"Supposed"

I'm "supposed" to get my braces off tomorrow...

I'll let you know how it goes :D

Transient~

I wrote this last year...felt right to re-post it~
Another busy week- but a good one :)
__________________________________________

Recall with me, for a moment, how it feels to stand before something enormous--
Like the sea, when the beach is empty; or the sky at night full of stars over a quiet plain.

I stand- awestruck- at the vastness that I am trying to comprehend, and yet I know that I can not comprehend it. The enormity of the ocean, or sky, or mountainside, seems to fill up my being- as if these that take up so much space must claim my space as well.

My mind, especially when viewing the ocean, likes to use the word "nothing" to describe it, as in, "nothing but sand and water as far as the eye can see", but of course, it's NOT "nothing". It's actually everything, or everything at the moment. The sea is not empty, nor is the sky, nor are the mountains. And when standing before them they eclipse and absorb me too.

Is this the "something" in our life experience that prepares us for death?
When I think about death and the finality of it I have the same feelings as when I stand before the ocean...It's huge, it's enormous...it will, or can, swallow me.

I ponder death...I peer, though not too closely, because I am not able.
And even if I were able I'm still not sure I would; and what I think I can see is deceiving.
It seems tranquil and quiet, but I strongly suspect otherwise.

What I know of death is the same as what a person knows about the ocean from a photograph...or better still, what they don't know, what they can not see.
The vastness, the depth, all the huge and tiny things swimming just beneath the suface, things that one could never imagine, existing right there under the rippling blue green water.

One of my childhood friends died almost a few years ago, she was 33.

She had battled cancer off and on since she was 12, and finally the treatment caught up with her. She passed into death, and when I saw her--in her casket-- this friend I had loved and laughed with, she was no longer there. What remained was a shell...her spirit was gone. She got caught up in the tide and was swept out, past the surf, past the big waves...way out there...where I can not reach her.

Sometimes I think of her and of all the things we learned together as children...and I wish I knew, or understood, what she knows now.

I stand at the shore and I feel so small. I stand under the midnight sky and I feel so tiny and insignificant...so transient.

Is it work, or family, or love that makes us feel more permanent and less temporary?

Or is it simply that we long for the country of our eternity...which is not here...and we will never feel as though we quite fit in because we are not supposed to?

I understand more this year about death than I ever have- and the one thing I do know is that love is greater than death and I take great comfort in that.

My love is never wasted.

It might be mis-understood, or not needed, or even unwanted...but it's never wasted. What I send out into the world, what I invest in others- comes back to me.

Death can not contain it, or stop it. I know that for certain...and I'm thankful.

And now for something completely different...

Just thought I'd do something funny for you...
I'm reading a book which advocates the NEED for me to do at least ONE THING I enjoy EVERY DAY!

Laughing is my thing...I love it.
The only thing I like more- is making you laugh.

Hope you do :)

What a week!

Monday- Sick child home all day...
Tuesday- got flyer stuff ready to present
Tues- night- 3 hour meeting for Cadence
Wed- Writing and contacting media outlets for Concert- getting campaign letter done
Thursday- 2 year old nephew all morning- including a visit to the Dr.
Lunch out...more work- dinner...



Here I am!
I miss you all :)

The link for Cadence~

Cadence