My Favorite :)

The Mask You Live In - Trailer

The Power of your words.....

Never doubt for one minute the power of a heartfelt thank you note.  This was my very favorite Christmas gift this year. 

Unconditional Love is all I want.....

If you give a little love you can get a little love of your own

Wow!

My favorite....love her and love her book!!

Westies at Watkins 2013: do you see us :)

Live from a house party that Macy attended :)

My new favorite song......

I'm on a boat......

It feels good to go away and it feels good to be home. Our pets were so glad to see us. My highlights of the trip were family dinner every night, going to foreign countries and seeing how other people live. Belize was my favorite as a local, Raymond took us through Belize City and we got to walk into the local areas. He was very protective of us. My very favorite thing of all was meeting all of the workers from all over. They were all so kind and shared so much about their home lives. They work on the ship for 7 months and then return home for 3 months before signing on again. I loved hearing about their lives and their loved ones. So many beautiful souls on that ship. The kids met so many new friends from all over and that was really pretty cool too.
So grateful that my parents are healthy and wanted to book a vacation with us. It was great to have them with us.

I hope you enjoy the words below!!

Namaste,

Michele

A prayer for the sleepwalkers…….
My brothers and sisters
Give no pity, but empathy
For the sleepwalkers don't know they're asleep…….

Taught to divide themselves from birth
You're Republican
I'm democrat
You're Muslim
I'm catholic
You're gay
I'm straight
You're poor
I'm middle class
You're a convict
I'm free
They're told repeatedly to divide themselves
Bred to think that questioning authority
Using their logical mind to critically think is a sin
Somehow unpatriotic
They're trained to ridicule anyone who does
In order to be controlled, manipulated, and ignorant
My brothers and sisters who now see
Do not despise or pity the sleepwalkers
Remember my brothers and sisters
We were once them
Have hope that we can bring them from their hypnosis
It is possible that we can
Look at ourselves
Though the awakening process
Is abrupt, abrasive, and shocking
Once they accept the truth
Like you and I did my brothers and sisters
They'll soon begin to see the lies as a house of cards
Which rapidly falls to the ground
They begin to see
That what they were programmed to think

What was black is now white
What was white is now black
My brothers and sisters
Keep speaking the truth
For truth speaks for itself
Truth speaks in volumes
That is our duty my brothers and sisters
For the sleepwalkers may pretend to ignore you
May ridicule you
Or call you crazy
But believe it or not
They are listening
My brothers and sisters
Remember if it wasn't for another awake human
Who spoke truth to you
Where would you be?

~Rich Abcunas

Kids React to Controversial Cheerios Commercial

I want to be in this video!!!

What is Love???

Woman who received country's first near-total face transplant at Cleveland Clinic discusses recovery

 I had the priviledge to meet her prior to her surgery while I was waiting for coffee at Starbucks at Cleveland Clinic. She is someone that I will never forget.....she was very kind and not a bitter person at all prior to the surgery. Beautiful story and transformation.....
click on the link below!



Woman who received country's first near-total face transplant at Cleveland Clinic discusses recovery

9 year old discusses the meaning of life and the universe

Family Fun Time.......

Put in Bay

Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean" (Cover by Jocelyn & Chantry)

Please come see the band Jocelyn in Canton on Aug 16th.....very very good guys with so much ambition......

Love, Love, Love

Eminence FrontThe Who Studio

This song was written in the 80's....but I think this was pretty progressive then....of course I did not get it then....maybe I don't get it now....but it is about being fake....trying to "impress the neighbors" I just had this ahaa moment today driving home from work and listening to this. We try in so many ways to keep from showing who we really are..... competitive sports, big cars, big houses, cosmetic surgery, important positions in jobs..etc......it is all an Eminence front......

 

The sun shines, and people forget
The spray flies as the speedboat glides
And people forget, forget they're hiding

The girls smile, and people forget
The snow packs as the skier tracks
People forget, forget they're hiding

Behind an eminence front
Eminence front, it's a put on
It's an eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on

An eminence front
Eminence front, a put on, eminence front
It's an eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on
It's a put on, it's a put on, it's a put on

Come and join the party
Dress to kill
Won't you come and join the party
Dress to kill, dress to kill

[- From: http://www.elyrics.net -]
Drinks flow, people forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins
People forget, forget they're hiding

The news slows, people forget
The shares crash, hopes are dashed
People forget, forget they're hiding

Behind an eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on
It's just an eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on

An eminence front
An eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's a put on
It's a put on, it's a put on, it's a put on

Come and join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to

Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to kill

Dress yourself to kill

Really good article here!!

http://gu.com/p/356tg

The Child in Nature

THE CHILD IN NATURE: A Film by Miranda Andersen, 13, about Nature-Deficit Disorder

Sarah Kay performs " B "

If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she’s gonna call me Point B,

because that way she knows that no matter what happens,

at least she can always find her way to me.

And I’m going to paint solar systems on the backs of her hands,

so she has to learn the entire universe before she can say,

“Oh, I know that like the back of my hand.”

And she’s going to learn that this life will hit you hard in the face,

wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach.

But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

There is hurt here that cannot be fixed by Band-Aids or poetry.

So the first time she realizes that Wonder Woman isn’t coming,

Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal.

Believe me, I’ve tried. “And, baby,” I’ll tell her, don’t keep your nose up in the air like that.

I know that trick; I’ve done it a million times.

You’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house,

so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him.

Or else find the boy who lit the fire in the first place,

to see if you can change him.”

But I know she will anyway, so instead I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boots nearby,

because there is no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix.

Okay, there’s a few heartbreaks that chocolate can’t fix.

But that’s what the rain boots are for.

Because rain will wash away everything, if you let it.

I want her to look at the world through the underside of a glass-bottom boat,

to look through a microscope at the galaxies that exist on the pinpoint of a human mind,

because that’s the way my mom taught me.

That there’ll be days like this.

♫ There’ll be days like this, my momma said. ♫

When you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises;

when you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you want to save are the ones standing on your cape;

when your boots will fill with rain, and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment.

And those are the very days you have all the more reason to say thank you.

Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline,

no matter how many times it’s swept away.

You will put the wind in winsome, lose some.

You will put the star in starting over, and over.

And no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute, be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.

And yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting, I am pretty damn naive.

But I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar.

It can crumble so easily, but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.

“Baby,” I’ll tell her, “remember, your mama is a warrior,

and your papa is a warrior,

and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more.”

Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things.

And always apologize when you’ve done something wrong.

But don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.

Your voice is small, but don’t ever stop singing.

And when they finally hand you heartache,

when they slip war and hatred under your door and offer you handouts on street-corners of cynicism and defeat,

you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.

REINCARNATION, Past Life Evidence

This is my friend, Claire :)

Jocelyn Covering Stacy's Mom (Macy's Mom Edition)

awweeee....thanks Jocelyn.....lol   :)

Macy had a party last night :)




https://www.facebook.com/WeAreJocelyn

Let it shine

"Universe Gone Dancing" by Mark S. Kuhar with art Sven Geier

"Universe Gone Dancing" by Mark S. Kuhar with art Sven Geier

Nothing that is on this physical plane is constant.....everything is constantly changing......so we might as well go with the flow and step out of our comfort zones and be open to change.... The only constant is change.....

“Change”
by Clarice Lispector

“Change.
But start slowly, because direction is more important than speed.
Sit in another chair, on the other side of the table.
Later on, change tables.
When you go out, try to walk on the other side of the street. Then change your route, walk calmly down other streets, observing closely the places you pass by.
Take other buses. Change your wardrobe for a while; give away your old shoes and try to walk barefoot for a few days– even if only at home.
Take off a whole afternoon to stroll about freely, listening to the birds or the noise of the cars.
Open and shut the drawers and doors with your left hand.
Sleep on the other side of the bed. Then try sleeping in other beds.
Watch other TV programs, read other books, live other romances– even of only in your imagination.
Sleep until later. Go to bed earlier.
Learn a new word a day.
Eat a little less, eat a little more, eat differently; choose new seasonings, new colors,
things you have never dared to experiment.
Lunch in other places, go to other restaurants, order another kind of drink
and buy bread at another bakery.
Lunch earlier, have dinner later, or vice-versa.
Try something new every day: a new side, a new method, a new flavor,
a new way, a new pleasure, a new position.
Pick another market, another make of soap, another toothpaste.
Take a bath at different times of the day.
Use pens with different colors.
Go and visit other places.
Love more and more and in different ways. Even when you think that the other will be frightened, suggest what you have always dreamed about doing when you make love.
Change your bag, your wallet, your suitcases, buy new glasses, write other poems.
Open an account in another bank, go to other cinemas, other hairdressers,
other theaters, visit new museums.
Change. And think seriously of finding another job, another activity,
work that is more like what you expect from life, more dignified, more human.
If you cannot find reasons to be free, invent them: be creative.
And grab the chance to take a long, enjoyable trip– preferably without any destination.
Try new things. Change again. Make another change. Experiment something else.
You will certainly know better things and worse things than those you already know, but that does not matter. What matters most is change, movement, dynamism, energy.
Only what is dead does not change– and you are alive.”

Play Ball!

I was lucky to film one of Marko's hits tonight.  I love to watch him and his team play baseball!!!

and I got to snap this picture a few days ago...... makes me smile.

Mark got a new toy......

I stole this from Macy. Mira and Macy went to a concert in Columbus Friday....I am glad they like to do stuff together. Makes me smile ........

My dad took this picture of Marko last week......

and here is the picture of Mark coaching Marko a few weeks ago.....

Here is Marko as a first baseman......

and here is a picture from last night.....My dad took Marko to the Indians game last night and it was $1.00 dog night.  Can you tell they love baseball???

. . . whether your name is Gehrig, or Ripken, DiMaggio, or Robinson, or that of some youngster who picks up his bat or puts on his glove, you are challenged by the game of baseball to do your very best, day in and day out, and that's all I've ever tried to do

Cal Ripken Jr.

Washing camping blankets......good times!!!!

I am simply grateful for today.....

Mother's Day 2013 and Mother's Day 2004

So I've decided to be proactive and tell my kids what I want for mother's day. Here it is:

What I Want for Mother’s Day

Dear Children,

Mother’s Day is coming up, and I thought I should tell you what I want. This way there’s no guilty panic or last minute purchasing of flowers at the closest gas station. So, this is what I want, this year and every year after; it’s pretty simple really.

I want you to be a decent human being.

I want you to be who you are, but don’t be an asshole.

I want you to work hard at everything you do, because life is too short not to give it everything you’ve got.

I want you to ask for help when you need it.

I want you to help others when they need it.

I want you to learn how to cook, do your own laundry, pay your bills and know how to clean a bathroom.

When you screw up, and you will, more than once, I want you to own it, because it’s the screw-ups that make the victories sweeter.

I want you to travel, because the world is huge and you are one part of it.

I want you to know that even when we hate each other, I will never stop loving you.

I want you to play nicely with others.

I want you to feed your curiosity.

I want you to find a way to do what you love, and realize that that might look different than you originally thought.

I want you to respect every human being’s right to be who they are.

I want you to sometimes be more interested in someone else than in yourself.

I want you to know that you are flawed and you are extraordinary. There is no one else like you.

I want you to know that I would lay down my life for you in Lily Potter fashion any day of the week.

I want you to realize how lucky you are every once in awhile even if only for an instant.

I want you to know love, even if it means getting hurt.

I want you to relax and not feel guilty about it.

I want you to know life can be brutally hard sometimes.

I want you to know that you can choose happiness even when the dark side offers you cookies.

And I wouldn’t mind breakfast in bed.

See, simple.

Love,

Mom

ps.  Mary Carpenter wrote this...not me....but I feel like it could have been written by me!!!

Twelve Signs You Are A Good Parent©

Twelve Signs You Are A Good Parent©

I have number 3 down pretty well.....
I love this article!!!

 Here is a picture from mom's weekend at O.U.  We had so much fun!!!! I am so proud of Mira and who she is.......
I hope you enjoy the quote below.




As I crawled out of the hell of my own making, I became willing to develop a voice based on a higher truth. The first step was to lose my need to align my acceptablity with mass consciousness-after all, I would return to the Great Mystery the same way I showed up, alone. Hiding in a crowd, avoiding the truth of the Emperor's new clothes, or getting a bunch of money was not gonna stave off the great equalizer when the mistress of Death came to call. It had been easy to be mesmerized by cultural norms. After all, I had been taught it was rude or judgmental to speak of things that weren't quite right. I had to discover that acknowledging and judging were/are different things. I had to find the courage to see, no matter what, if I was gonna make it into conscious awareness! -  Gini Gentry

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.” 

-Mary Jean Irion