Welcome to Small Reflections


"Nothing is ever achieved without enthusiasm."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Duck photo source: Lisa's Chaos
I hope you enjoy your visit. If you're looking for something specific, check out the links to posts by category in my sidebar and down a ways. They'll assist with tracking down different types of posts found on each of my three blogs. You might also enjoy checking out the other sites: Sacred Ruminations, Blog Rolls, Bling & Blurbs, and Happily Retired Gal.

I hope you'll look around & leave comments
then visit me at my new blog ...

Giraffe Journal

and/or website ... Labyrinth Journal
both self-hosted at WordPress
where I publish as myself
rather than under a
pseudonym.

I've not had much time for posting or blog visits, but if you're interested I hope you'll find time to check out my new blog, Giraffe Journal or my Labyrinth Journal website ... both self hosted at WordPress.

Thanks for your visit and have a delightful day ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Monday, April 28, 2008

FunMonday#4 - Favorite Walk, Awards and More

(Thanks to Betty for this nifty Fun Monday graphic)

Fun Monday is hosted this week by
the Lurchers

We're asked to take you on our favorite walk ... and here are photos of a favorite for Molly and me. We walk down to Dog Beach where she can run and play off leash ... interacting with fur-friends ... playing 'fetch' in and out of the water.

Clicking on the collage will enlarge the photos ;--)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

AWARDS
I've been blessed with these awards during the past week

A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING:

Chris B at Ms Cellania
for this cool award and a Monday Motivational Meme!
(Chris, please see the 1st question in the
Meme of Fives below for mine)

I offer this award to everyone on my Blogroll!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Grandy of Functional Shumunctional
shared this 'original' award made with
her own loving hands ;--)
This award is up for grabs to all who comment on
today's post (or any other from last week)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Betty of Betty's This and That
for this lovely rose!

This 'rose' goes to all my 'regular' readers
and anyone who decides to 'tag' themselves for the
Meme of Fives below and leaves me
a link to their post ;--)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Misty Dawn of My Dogs Keep Me Sane
made this award for participants
of Camera Critters

and for now ... I'm keeping this one for myself!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *



I think this is Week 7 or 8 for me ;--)


I was tagged by Peajay last week after she was tagged by His Girl Friday at Wellied on Life for this meme of 'fives'.

Ten Years Ago I was teaching History and Language Arts to 8th graders in a Middle School setting ... thinking I'd be doing that for another 7-10 years ... however in 2001 the District offered a 'Golden Handshake' that was simply too good to pass up ... and I decided to take early retirement. I've been retired for 7 years and couldn't be happier.

Five things on my To-Do list today:
1. Write and publish Monday's post at Small Reflections.
2. Play with and walk Molly ... maybe to the beach if the weather stays warm.
3. Get myself to the gym for an hour work out.
4. Spend an hour or two clearing out 'clutter' from the house.
5. Visit 'bloggy friends' and other Fun Monday participants.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Pay off my home mortgage and set up 'investments' to augment my current 'retirement' income.
2. Hire someone to clean my house weekly ;--)
3. Set up a 'Foundation' to support and encourage innovative strategies leading to meaningful learning for kids and teachers.
4. Buy a small RV to allow me to join my sister & her husband 'on the road' occasionally.
5. Donate sizable 'chunks' of money to my favorite charities.

Five of my bad habits:
1. P R O C R A S T I N A T I O N !
2. I have a hard time letting go of 'stuph' I've collected over the years ... even when I no longer want or need it.
3. I have a tendency to put things off for another day or time rather than tackling tasks immediately.
4. I'm a 'perfectionist' and 'obsess' over things much longer than is often necessary.
5. Did I mention I procrastinate?

Four places I've lived:
1. With my parents and siblings in our 'family' home ... until I was married at 23.
2. In an apartment with my husband (for about a year) after he returned from his tour of duty in Vietnam.
3. In our 1st house ... in Orange County, CA ... near South Coast Plaza and John Wayne Airport (for 10 years).
4. Where I live now in the home I bought from my 'ex' when we divorced. It's near the Pacific Ocean.

Five jobs I've had:
1. Playground Director for after-school and summer programs.
2. Elementary School teacher - grades 2-6
3. Staff Developer - providing support and conducting workshops for adults in educational settings.
4. Middle School teacher - grades 6 and 8
5. College Professor of 'Methods of Teaching' courses for Graduate students seeking Teaching Credentials.

Five books I've read recently:
1. Julia Cameron's WALKING IN THE WORLD
2. Stephen King's DUMA KEY
3. Karen Casey's (Daily Meditations) KEEPERS OF THE WISDOM, Reflections from Lives Well Lived
4. Dean Koontz's THE DARKEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR
5. David Baldacci's STONE COLD
(Next up for me are A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini and A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle)

I'm supposed to tag FIVE people and/or communities ... but you know I don't 'tag' ... I do, however, encourage anyone who wants to play to do so and leave a link here so I can read & respond to YOUR answers.

Thought for Today
"Play fair. Don't hit people. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody." Robert Fulghum

29 comments:

Kayce aka lucy said...

i love the molly collage!

Hootin Anni said...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, yes, NOTHING can beat walks on the beach. And guess what?------

My Fun Monday is a walk on the beaches. With just a few photos of the views! Hope you can stop by. And may your day be filled with sunshine!

Peajay said...

Thanks Storyteller for your visit and participation.
Sláinte

Pamela said...

Where is that beach?
I had a beautiful rottweiler for 12 years - and always wanted to take them that 6 hour drive to the ocean.
Never took him -- it just never worked out.

Love to see the dogs at the beach

Anonymous said...

Ohh Molly is so cute. Love the beach collage...

KC said...

Congrats on your award.. The picture of Molly and the walk are great.. and what a Fun Meme.
Happy Monday.

storyteller said...

Lucy – She does have a wonderful time at the beach! These photos are from when she was younger and smaller … I suppose I could take my camera again to capture some newer photos … but with water for the two of us and an assortment of toys, I don’t need one more thing to carry and deal with on our walks.

Hootin’ Anni – Nope … walking at the beach is the BEST! I feel so fortunate to have the ocean so close by.

Peajay – You’re welcome. Since today’s Fun Monday was quick and easy I had time to devote to your questions too.

Pamela – I live a block and a half from the water in Southern California … and our ‘Dog Beach’ is about a 10 minute walk from home … so we can go often. I avoid it on weekends because it’s just too busy, so we always visit mid-week … usually in the mornings around 10-ish so Molly has time to dry off before it gets coolish.

Ellen – Thanks (on her behalf) … she IS a QT (if I do say so myself) and lots of fun. Your collages today were wonderful!

KC – I do feel ‘blessed’ in so many ways by the generosity of bloggers and I hope you ‘snagged’ one to pass along to others. I’ll be over to see what you’ve shared today in a little while.

Thanks to each of you for stopping by today and sharing your thoughts. I hope you’re all having a marvelous Monday!
Hugs and blessings,

Karen said...

Oh my gosh--where to begin! (Now see--I would have hoarded all that and doled it out over three or four blog entries--but then, I have a fear of drying up!) First off--love the Molly pics! What an absolutely gorgeous walk--I absolutely MUST go to the beach this summer--it's inexcusable that it's been so long--especially considering that I don't live THAT far from the ocean!

And I think I could take your Five Bad Habits list word for word--what is it with the procrastination? And the obsessing!

Hugs,
Stagwoman

storyteller said...

Karen – I suppose once upon a time I might have spread it out over time in multiple posts too … but I really don’t want to post more than once daily here at Small Reflections … and there’s just too much to do all of a sudden in this ‘virtual’ world … especially for my happily retired self.

I’ve been having some ‘memory’ issues again with my computer so it’s been harder to use Google Reader (perhaps because I need to seriously cull my reading list and soon) … but like with most things (see bad habits) I put it off and hold onto ‘stuph’ long after I should let go. LOL

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and are having a delightful day!
Hugs and blessings,

Jill said...

is the 'white' dog a lab? meeces.pieces@gmail.com

Ivanhoe said...

You have doggie beaches? How wonderful! I live about 20 mins from Lake Erie, but no doggie beaches here :o(
We will get a dog from shelter as soon as we finish our fence - hopefully next month.
Have a great Monday!

Aoj and The Lurchers said...

Thank you for playing Fun Monday! I've really enjoyed all the beach walks I've read about this week!

Akelamalu said...

Congrats on the awards. My favourite walk would be on a beach - I just wish I lived near one! :(

Anonymous said...

I love pictures of dogs on the beach. They are always so happy!

ChrisB said...

That's a lovely collage, beach walks would be my favourite if I had a choice~ of course that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the countryside as well!

Now why didn't I think of that for my first MMM~ I could have crossed one off the list~ damn~ how very smart of you :)

storyteller said...

Lil’ Mouse – Yup! Molly’s a ‘Labrador Retriever’ and her papers identify her as ‘yellow’ but the only ‘color’ she has is on the tips of her ears, tail, and backs of her hind legs. Her eyes DO look like she’s wearing mascara or eye-liner and there’s a faint strip of yellow down the middle of her back that gets ‘darker’ as she gets dirty … but she’s almost ‘blindingly’ white. There are ‘close ups’ of her in my first two Camera Critters posts shared the last two Saturdays.

Ivanhoe – Dogs aren’t allowed on most beaches, but there are a few ‘designated’ doggie beaches supported by contributions from individuals and staffed by volunteers. We’re fortunate to have one within walking distance of home. ‘Rescuing’ a dog is a wonderful option! Good for you ;--)

Angela – I loved responding to this week’s challenge and visiting others to see where they walk. There’s such variety to our surroundings and options. Thanks for stepping up to take charge in such a ‘fun’ way and for visiting here at Small Reflections this morning.

Akelamalu – Thanks … my bloggy friends are so generous and soon I’ll be able to make awards myself once I take the Photoshop Elements course I’ve signed up for. I’m very grateful to live near the ocean.

Karmyn – Yez … the dogs ARE happy when running free and playing with one another like this … in and out of the surf.

Chris – I love our beach walks, but looking at all the lovely walks shared in Fun Monday posts this week reminded me of what I miss living here. As for ‘combining things’ in my posts to get more taken care of … I’m learning to be adept at figuring out how best to do this thing. LOL

Thanks to everyone for visiting and sharing your thoughts. I enjoyed visiting YOUR ‘walks’ today too ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Momisodes said...

Oh that is a gorgeous beach! Molly is just adorable :) I can just imagine her frolicking in the sand and wagging her tail. So cute!

I loved reading more about you. I am such a procrastinator as well :)

Joy Des Jardins said...

I love those pictures on the beach Virginia.....so soothing somehow. Molly looks like she's having a great time.

You amaze me with how organized you are....every post seems so put together. Love all the stuff about YOU....always fun....

Ari_1965 said...

I love the feeling of walking barefoot on sand. I haven't done it in years.

Mike Golch said...

Storyteller,great set of awards.I got the same thing from Grandy as well.I took the award thayou ssaid I could thank you for that.I hope that you are haveing a great day.

Unknown said...

That looks like a great place to walk! Congrats on the awards! And don't you dare tell me about King's and Koonz's newest books. I haven't read them yet. :)

Alison said...

what a wonderful place for Molly to play...she is adorable BTW!!

Talking Bear said...

Hey Girl, I thought I would just stop by and say Hi! It has been awhile since I commented..anywhere. I have been very busy. Anyway, I love the posts, as always, and I love your outlook and how you share it. TB

storyteller said...

Sandy – It’s hard for me to imagine YOU procrastinating, but perhaps folks in this virtual world might say the same about me? Molly DOES love running freely and I’m always relieved to wear her out so she sleeps and leaves me be ;--)

Joy – Walking on the sand is not only excellent exercise, it’s a wonderful way to relax and get out of my ‘head’ for a while. I did spent 34 years teaching … so ‘organizational skills’ I’ve got. I wish I had your sense of humor …(or Sandy’s ‘abandon’ in writing about ‘whatever’ in her posts)… but I am enjoying myself and finding these ‘weekly activities’ giving me a bit of ‘structure’ so I don’t ‘run dry’ as Karen mentioned in her comment earlier.

Ari – Thanks for the visit to Small Reflections. Since you don’t do Blog 365, I’m not sure how your blog found it’s way into my ‘reader’ because it’s in the section with those from the MegaFeed. Must have been an error on my part and I’ll ‘fix’ that eventually.

Mike – I did have a delightful day, thanks. Hope you did too. I’m grateful to my blogging friends who share these awards so generously and I’m looking forward to making my own awards to give away soon, just like Grandy did.

Lisa Marie – Mum’s the word until you have a chance to read them for yourself ;--)

Alison – We’re most fortunate to have this ‘playground’ for Molly close by because I don’t have much of a back yard.

Talking Bear – How nice to see you out and about! Thanks for the ‘greeting’ and the kind words. I’ve not been visiting much myself these days … and I hope to remedy that somehow. I’m even having trouble with Google Reader freezing up on me in the last couple of weeks. Right now my computer is giving me problems with ‘inadequate’ memory again so I’ve been trying to ‘move’ files from the laptop to the external WD hard drive without messing things up too much. Some blogs (like yours) locks my computer up entirely … so I avoid them to save my sanity … at least until I get this figured out or purchase a new computer.

I appreciate all of you visiting and commenting here at Small Reflections and I hope you’ve enjoyed a marvelous Monday. I’m about ready to call it a night and take Molly for one last walk around the neighborhood.
Hugs and blessings,

RW said...

I hope TNChick finds her dog or someone dose and gets it back to her.

Jo Beaufoix said...

Ahhh, Molly is adorable. How cool they have a beach where dogs are free to roam. It looks like a wonderful walk.

storyteller said...

Roger – Thanks for asking. When I read your comment I stopped to check TNChick's blog and learned that Zoey's been found ... so I've updated the 'sticky' message to let everyone know.

Jo – I think she’s pretty special and we’re both grateful to have such a lovely ‘seaside playground’ so close by.

Thanks to both of you for visiting and commenting on my Fun Monday post this week.
Hugs and blessings,

Tina Coruth said...

Storyteller,

I love the photos of Molly and the beach!

I enjoyed reading your meme. I see you wrote a very important one that I left out of mine. "Hire someone to clean the house"! Although I left it out, I have a feeling that if I ever won all that money, I would think of it. LOL

Thank you for sharing the Great Blogger Friend Award! I am going to post it now. :-)

hugs,
Tina

storyteller said...

Tina - I’m clearing out my email box today … noticed the comment you left on this post on Monday and am happy to respond as I listen to (and stop occasionally to watch) a bit of the recorded French Open. I’m glad you enjoyed the meme and the award. I’ll be over in a little while to check out what you’ve been up to. Seems like a while since you’ve done much posting on your blog. I hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday!
Hugs and blessings,

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