What made you smile today?

[WingsOnFire]

Taking a coworker to a Japanese Steak House for her 55th birthday with her mother and best friend. Her husband doesn't like to do those kinds of things. So three of us from work took her out. It was alot of fun!

[AtLast]

I had a very difficult day today. Yet, I was able to put my despair aside for awhile as I walked to a favorite spot over looking the Bay and the SF skyline. It is a meditation area named for Cesar Chavez and points to the North, South, East & West with simple rock scultures and has writings of his struggles and realization of the social goals he worked for. There is a strong sense of spirit in this place. The spirit of overcoming what troubles us even when it feels impossible. The circle of life in the soft breezes brought a smile to my face even if I was anxious and scared. California poppies are in bloom in wonderful splashes of bright orange along with other wild flowers all around this area and you can see Mt Tam, too. I love the legend of Mt Tam and can see the sleeping Indian Maiden clearly. Breath taking and a loving image.

So, as usual, centering brought a smile and some comfort. I will have to remember this and go to this special place while trying to deal with some difficult decisions along the way.

[Miss Scarlett]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

I had a very difficult day today. Yet, I was able to put my despair aside for awhile as I walked to a favorite spot over looking the Bay and the SF skyline. It is a meditation area named for Cesar Chavez and points to the North, South, East & West with simple rock scultures and has writings of his struggles and realization of the social goals he worked for. There is a strong sense of spirit in this place. The spirit of overcoming what troubles us even when it feels impossible. The circle of life in the soft breezes brought a smile to my face even if I was anxious and scared. California poppies are in bloom in wonderful splashes of bright orange along with other wild flowers all around this area and you can see Mt Tam, too. I love the legend of Mt Tam and can see the sleeping Indian Maiden clearly. Breath taking and a loving image.

So, as usual, centering brought a smile and some comfort. I will have to remember this and go to this special place while trying to deal with some difficult decisions along the way.

i know what you mean about having a special place to find centering. Mine is atop Waterrock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC...

[bright_arrow]

Doing the math and realizing my promotion and pay increase from PT to FT - while it didn't seem like it'd make such a difference - raised my annual income almost $5k

Woohoo!

[PinkieLee]

What made me smile...

After working 13 hours at both jobs yesterday, coming home to find my boo had turned our plain light fixture in the dining room into a chandelier for me, with these cool magnetic blingies that she found at Hobby Lobby.



and her telling me we will go back tonight and get the fancy shades, too

**Martha freakin' Stewart I tell you**

[Diva]

Returning to DCMC on Tuesday to continue volunteering!!!!!!!!!!! YEA!

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by PinkieLee

What made me smile...

After working 13 hours at both jobs yesterday, coming home to find my boo had turned our plain light fixture in the dining room into a chandelier for me, with these cool magnetic blingies that she found at Hobby Lobby.



and her telling me we will go back tonight and get the fancy shades, too

**Martha freakin' Stewart I tell you**

This post DEMANDS pictures.

Or maybe it's me.

Either way, time's a ticking, missy.

*taps foot*

[Diva]

Ethel beginning to feel right at home.....in spite of Lucy!

[Soon]

knowing it's Friday!

Feeling half well...coffee and liqueurs with Big Gay Al - The FagFather...singing show tunes in an empty bar...skyping with the girl...sharing Matt with the Planet...adding an awful lot of cds to my virgin imac...it's just after 2am and I'm still loading cds and there's still only 2.9gb...feels great to listen to all of this again

[Miss Scarlett]

Snuggles and kisses from a Shih Tzu while waiting for his hamburger at Sonic...

[JakeTulane]

A vibrating cell phone, kind words, brainteasers, hello's, and goodbye's.. and partaking.

[Miss Scarlett]

This also made me cry...click on the link and check out the photos they're what made me cry...that little boy is precious!

From our local paper this morning...

Love for young fan's as big as a house
Charlotte Checkers, with help from the community, raise money to buy home for boy and his family.

By Elisabeth Arriero
earriero@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Saturday, Apr. 09, 2011


The hometown hockey team paid back a little boy's loyalty and then some Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena.

After months of fundraising, the Charlotte Checkers raised enough money to buy a home for one of their biggest fans, Zach Bennett, 11, and his family. At a ceremony before Friday's game, the Checkers presented the family with keys to the house.

The Albany, N.Y., resident, who has a degenerative disease known as neurofibromatosis, has been a fan of the Checkers since they were known as the Albany River Rats.

The River Rats relocated to Charlotte last year. Several months ago, the Bennetts decided to follow their team to Charlotte when they realized the city is home to specialists who treat Zach's disorder.

Zach has had both of his legs amputated because of his disorder, which causes soft-tissue tumors to grow on nerves.

But a stubborn real estate market and a lack of money left the family grounded in Albany.

Then in January, Checkers players, coaches and staff - many of who knew the Bennetts from Albany - decided to expedite a reunion.

With the help of jersey auctions, fan support and numerous fundraisers, the dream was realized on March 22.

That's when the Charlotte Checkers closed on a three-bedroom, ranch-style home in Matthews for the Bennetts.

"There were a series of unbelievable coincidences that allowed this to happen," said Tera Black, chief operating officer for the Checkers. "It's absolutely perfect for all their needs."

Unlike their old home, the Matthews home is handicap accessible, thanks to donated remodeling work by Timberstone Homes of Charlotte. It's also located near a shopping center - a feature that was paramount for Zach's mom, Danielle, who also has neurofibromatosis.

Zach's room makes up for the year in which he was apart from his beloved team.

From the hockey table converted into a desk to the hockey sticks above his bed, there's no denying the deep bond between Zach and the Checkers.

"It's gone to a higher level now," said Zach's father, Randy Bennett. "We had a relationship with them there in Albany, but I think our relationship here surpassed that by 1,000 times."

Added Zach: "They're just like my brothers."

For a family that has faced hardships over the years, the Bennetts finally caught another break over the last few weeks.

The Bennetts sold their Albany house within days of the Checkers closing on their new home in Charlotte.

And thanks to donations the team received during its fundraising drive, the Bennetts won't have to haul their old furniture to North Carolina. Their Charlotte home has brand-new furniture.

"Everything just fell into place," said Danielle Bennett. "We were thrilled."

Right wing Brad Herauf said that helping the Bennetts relocate to Charlotte wouldn't have been possible without the team's fans.

"It's really a tribute to the people of Charlotte," Herauf said. "It's great to see the love of all people coming together to make a situation right."

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...as-big-as.html

[girl_dee]

This!! A real life butch on Her tractor makes me smile

[Kobi]

It is a beautiful day and might even hit 50! As they are predicting
nice weather for all of next week, I uncovered the a/c - okay it
may only hit 59 here but still. And the deck stuff is uncovered and
cleaned.

Now I am going to go tan for a bit cuz everytime I prepare for
spring, snow finds its way here.

[JakeTulane]

Words with meaning.

[Ms. Tabitha]

something that made my toes curl last night...

in other news......
Ivan has good color and looks like he is feeling much better

[sylvie]

- orders to bed especially early last night, to be woken when He got home.. i do love my Daddytime..♥
- day 2 of my "Eat Well & Be Active" challenge, and it going so much better than i expected.. i got this!
- a weekend off!
- hearing my children's laughter
- everyday with Him, Mr Mtn does brighten my everyday.. ♥
- my self journey, and being good to myself.. self bully hasn't surfaced at all, pretty proud of me for that..

[Miss Scarlett]

The cry of the Red-shouldered Hawk in the woods outside my apartment...

A random encounter - did I tell you I'm a nutter magnet? - with two women outside a Blackpool Promenade coffee shop (where they'd had the nerve to charge me extra for a splash of milk in my Americano tsk! The only place in the whole of the country it's ever happened)

...anyhoo, having a pleasant chat with these two women, one happily married, the other unhappily single but not good at finding 'nice' men; we were quite happily chuntering away when a somewhat drunk guy made a bee-line for us and then proceeded to sit betwixt me and the two ladies and engage them in drunken conversation/pick-up lines. The three of us kept looking at each other and laughing at his ineptitude. "Two out of ten for pick-up lines mate" I said and when he went inside to buy coffee we three escaped him.

Encounters like that always make me smile.