Daily 5 - Day 96

This was an incredibly off-kilter icky sort of day, but it ended really well, and I had a great evening cuddling a beautiful sleeping eight week old baby girl. You'll have to forgive me if several of today's daily list come from my evening plans!

Today's Daily 5 (or 10):

1. Topping today's list (which are generally in no particular order and are only numbered so I know when I reach 5 or 10 without stopping to count) is spending a few hours with baby A. cuddled against me. And she was asleep almost the whole time.
2. Laughing with A's mom, at the funny way she stretches and sprawls in her sleep - at one point she was laying in my lap, with both arms straight out to either side. No swaddling for this baby to sleep, she fights and kicks until she gets free!
3. Visiting over dinner and catching up with my friend F. We were involved in Young Life together in high school, which makes her one of my longest standing relationships. At that time she was already dating the guy she eventually married, and it's fun (if somewhat surreal) to have a friendship that has spanned, high school, university, jobs, figuring out careers, a little traveling on each of our parts, her marriage, and now the birth of her daughter. (We're grown-ups! When did that happen???)
   
4. Pea and bacon pasta, with garlic bread for dinner.
5. Cooking for a friend - I love cooking for other people, but particularly for the friends who I know really appreciate it because they don't cook much for themselves, or cook very simple meals.

   Cover via Amazon

6. Having the kid's Christmas book I bought yesterday as a baby gift be one my friend didn't have (always a gamble with a friend who LOVES Christmas, and is also an elementary school teacher who's been collecting kids' books for almost as long as I've known her.) The book, by the way, is "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" and is definitely my all-time favorite kid's Christmas book. The illustrations are beautiful, but more importantly, the story is absolutely fabulous.
7. Yoga tonight - it was good to stretch a bit
8. watching A. smile in her sleep
9. Seeing how well F. has adapted to being a "mom" and loving getting to see her in that role.
10. Curling up in bed, reflecting on how, even after a pretty crappy day, (from the moment I woke to when I finally made it home after work), I was able to have a really beautiful evening, and that's what I'm going to remember from this day, more than all the hard or crappy or really off-kilter moments.
    

Monday Morning

My day started with a bit of a shock, reading something unexpected on facebook. Not bad, just a surprise - a quotation that hit hard, some deep places that are still very raw. It pulled me into a place of memories, and I'm still feeling a little off balance from beginning my day that way.

My roommate didn't hear her alarm, and I had to wake her, a good 40 minutes after she is usually up and about. Since I am her ride to the train, that means I was running behind as well. We managed to get out of the house only about 10 minutes later than usual.

The work day has already been just a little bit crazy, and it's only an hour old.

The work week is likely to hold some "adventures" and probably some flaring tempers. Things are running behind (due to totally uncontrollable circumstances) and I think people are starting to get stressed.

For now, though, my goal is to get to the end of the day. Tonight I get to meet and cuddle the 2 month old daughter of a good friend. A little girl who was born on Rosh Hashanah and unknowingly gave me hope. I'm looking forward to cuddles with the baby, and catching up and laughing with her mom - hearing all about her new life as mommy. I'll enjoy making dinner for them, and hosting them in my home. I'm choosing to get through this day (looking for joy along the way) and anticipate deep joy tonight.

It's a Monday, but I'm going to get through it somehow.

Daily 5 - Day 95

Today's Daily 5 (and more...):

1. A walk in Nose Hill Park
2. baking a marble cake with chocolate icing (mostly because I'm having company tomorrow, but also because I felt like cake today)
3. home made pancakes for breakfast
4. finding two birthday gifts for a very affordable price while at the mall
5. discovering my favorite obscure (but really beautiful) children's Christmas story at a small local bookstore - a gift for a friend who has just recently had her first child and loves books. (here's hoping she doesn't have this one yet!)
6. a slow morning, getting out of bed a bit later than usual
7. chatting for a little while with a dear friend
8. taking a few photos again, and having them turn out not too badly
9. reading Proverbs... I've been reading this book off and on for a couple of months now, and I'm very struck by it.
10. curling up in bed with a book...
    

Experimenting with Visuals

Taste & See by lpippus featuring Tarina Tarantino jewelry

Items in this set:
Tarina Tarantino brooch
Sxc.hu
Gilek.com

Holding Onto You

I'm thinking tonight about a lyric my friend Karla Adolphe penned...

My heart is praying these words tonight, for myself and some dear friends... and hearing in the last few lines a quieting response from Jesus...

Holding Onto You

I see a million broken pieces on the floor
I can't believe you'd like to add one more
Meet me where I'm living, meet me where I am
All the stars have melted from my eyes
Only you know how many tears I've cried
Meet me where I'm living, meet me where I am
Holding onto you,
I'm holding onto you,
I'm holding onto you right now

Hush little baby don't say a word
Daddy's coming to get his little girl
Hush little baby, don't do a thing
Daddy's coming he's going to fix everything...

(to buy the song, click here, and scroll to the album "The Cathedral" to find the song)