is awesome in the 2007 bbc tv movie 'persuasion'.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
"believe that this way of living, this focus on the present, the daily, the tangible, this intense concentration not on the news headlines but on the flowers growing in your own garden, the children growing in your own home, this way of living has the potential to open up the heavens, to yield a glittering handful of diamonds where a second ago there was coal. This way of living and noticing and building and crafting can crack through the movie sets and soundtracks that keep us waiting for our own life stories to begin, and set us free to observe the lives we have been creating all along without ever realizing it.
I don’t want to wait anymore. I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another. That’s the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don’t even see it, because I’m too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I am about to become. The big moments are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting.
The Heisman Trophy winner knows this. He knows that his big moment was not when they gave him the trophy. It was the thousand times he went to practice instead of going back to bed. It was the miles run on rainy days, the healthy meals when a burger sounded like heaven. That big moment represented and rested on a foundation of moments that had come before it.
I believe that if we cultivate a true attention, a deep ability to see what has been there all along, we will find worlds within us and between us, dreams and stories and memories spilling over. The nuances and shades and secrets and intimations of love and friendship and marriage an parenting are action-packed and multicolored, if you know where to look.
Today is your big moment. Moments, really. The life you’ve been waiting for is happening all around you. The scene unfolding right outside your window is worth more than the most beautiful painting, and the crackers and peanut butter that you’re having for lunch on the coffee table are as profound, in their own way, as the Last Supper. This is it. This is life in all its glory, swirling and unfolding around us, disguised as pedantic, pedestrian non-events. But pull of the mask and you will find your life, waiting to be made, chosen, woven, crafted.
Your life, right now, today, is exploding with energy and power and detail and dimension, better than the best movie you have ever seen. You and your family and your friends and your house and your dinner table and your garage have all the makings of a life of epic proportions, a story for the ages. Because they all are. Every life is.
You have stories worth telling, memories worth remembering, dreams worth working toward, a body worth feeding, a soul worth tending, and beyond that, the God of the universe dwells within you, the true culmination of super and natural.
You are more than dust and bones.
You are spirit and power and image of God.
And you have been given Today."
— Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)
I don’t want to wait anymore. I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another. That’s the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don’t even see it, because I’m too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I am about to become. The big moments are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting.
The Heisman Trophy winner knows this. He knows that his big moment was not when they gave him the trophy. It was the thousand times he went to practice instead of going back to bed. It was the miles run on rainy days, the healthy meals when a burger sounded like heaven. That big moment represented and rested on a foundation of moments that had come before it.
I believe that if we cultivate a true attention, a deep ability to see what has been there all along, we will find worlds within us and between us, dreams and stories and memories spilling over. The nuances and shades and secrets and intimations of love and friendship and marriage an parenting are action-packed and multicolored, if you know where to look.
Today is your big moment. Moments, really. The life you’ve been waiting for is happening all around you. The scene unfolding right outside your window is worth more than the most beautiful painting, and the crackers and peanut butter that you’re having for lunch on the coffee table are as profound, in their own way, as the Last Supper. This is it. This is life in all its glory, swirling and unfolding around us, disguised as pedantic, pedestrian non-events. But pull of the mask and you will find your life, waiting to be made, chosen, woven, crafted.
Your life, right now, today, is exploding with energy and power and detail and dimension, better than the best movie you have ever seen. You and your family and your friends and your house and your dinner table and your garage have all the makings of a life of epic proportions, a story for the ages. Because they all are. Every life is.
You have stories worth telling, memories worth remembering, dreams worth working toward, a body worth feeding, a soul worth tending, and beyond that, the God of the universe dwells within you, the true culmination of super and natural.
You are more than dust and bones.
You are spirit and power and image of God.
And you have been given Today."
— Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)
"I have always, essentially, been waiting. Waiting to become something else, waiting to be that person I always thought I was on the verge of becoming, waiting for that life I thought I would have. In my head, I was always one step away. In high school, I was biding my time until I could become the college version of myself, the one my mind could see so clearly. In college, the post-college “adult” person was always looming in front of me, smarter, stronger, more organized. Then the married person, then the person I’d become when we have kids. For twenty years, literally, I have waited to become the thin version of myself, because that’s when life will really begin.
And through all that waiting, here I am. My life is passing, day by day, and I am waiting for it to start. I am waiting for that time, that person, that event when my life will finally begin.
I love movies about “The Big Moment” – the game or the performance or the wedding day or the record deal, the stories that split time with that key event, and everything is reframed, before it and after it, because it has changed everything. I have always wanted this movie-worthy event, something that will change everything and grab me out of this waiting game into the whirlwind in front of me. I cry and cry at these movies, because I am still waiting for my own big moment. I had visions of life as an adventure, a thing to be celebrated and experienced, but all I was doing was going to work and coming home, and that wasn’t what it looked like in the movies.
John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” For me, life is what was happening while I was busy waiting for my big moment. I was ready for it and believed that the rest of my life would fade into the background, and that my big moment would carry me through life like a lifeboat.
The Big Moment, unfortunately, is an urban myth. Some people have them, in a sense, when they win the Heisman or become the next American Idol. But even that football player or that singer is living a life made up of more than that one moment. Life is a collection of a million, billion moments, tiny little moments and choices, like a handful of luminous, glowing pearl. It takes so much time, and so much work, and those beads and moments are so small, and so much less fabulous and dramatic than the movies.
But this is what I’m finding, in glimpses and flashes: this is it. This is it, in the best possible way. That thing I’m waiting for, that adventure, that move-score-worthy experience unfolding gracefully. This is it. Normal, daily life ticking by on our streets and sidewalks, in our houses and apartments, in our beds and at our dinner tables, in our dreams and prayers and fights and secrets – this pedestrian life is the most precious thing any of use will ever experience."
— Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)
And through all that waiting, here I am. My life is passing, day by day, and I am waiting for it to start. I am waiting for that time, that person, that event when my life will finally begin.
I love movies about “The Big Moment” – the game or the performance or the wedding day or the record deal, the stories that split time with that key event, and everything is reframed, before it and after it, because it has changed everything. I have always wanted this movie-worthy event, something that will change everything and grab me out of this waiting game into the whirlwind in front of me. I cry and cry at these movies, because I am still waiting for my own big moment. I had visions of life as an adventure, a thing to be celebrated and experienced, but all I was doing was going to work and coming home, and that wasn’t what it looked like in the movies.
John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” For me, life is what was happening while I was busy waiting for my big moment. I was ready for it and believed that the rest of my life would fade into the background, and that my big moment would carry me through life like a lifeboat.
The Big Moment, unfortunately, is an urban myth. Some people have them, in a sense, when they win the Heisman or become the next American Idol. But even that football player or that singer is living a life made up of more than that one moment. Life is a collection of a million, billion moments, tiny little moments and choices, like a handful of luminous, glowing pearl. It takes so much time, and so much work, and those beads and moments are so small, and so much less fabulous and dramatic than the movies.
But this is what I’m finding, in glimpses and flashes: this is it. This is it, in the best possible way. That thing I’m waiting for, that adventure, that move-score-worthy experience unfolding gracefully. This is it. Normal, daily life ticking by on our streets and sidewalks, in our houses and apartments, in our beds and at our dinner tables, in our dreams and prayers and fights and secrets – this pedestrian life is the most precious thing any of use will ever experience."
— Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
You're Only Old Once
I love seeing dedications/writings in books I flip through at Half Price Books. The other day I was reading through a Dr. Suess book called "You're Only Old Once" and found this.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
cheetos and twilight
Really Cheetos? Did you REALLY just almost make this a team jacob/team edward thing? Don't make me choose. Because it's going to be puffs. Every time. It's always been puffs and it will always BE puffs. But don't make me choose. From now on, I am Switzerland.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
these are a few of my favorite things...today
BACON. everything about it. the taste, the smell. the fact that my hair smells of it after im done broiling some.
the book "julia and julia" by julie powell. not only is this movie lifechanging, the book is as well. i'll never be the same.
It didnt rain today...i dont think. its hard to remember really when it rains almost every day here.
sleeping in is delicious. got to do that today for a while.
blueberry waffles and bacon for dinner. priceless.
i finally did the dishes today. after my two day walk out.
one day closer to seeing that little alien on the ultrasound monitor (my bff's coming child)
got a dr pepper from mcdonalds this evening and used only dimes to pay for it. i love dollar soda everydays. yay for mcdonalds. i'll support that.
mom can walk using a walker now. improvement is awesome.
the book "julia and julia" by julie powell. not only is this movie lifechanging, the book is as well. i'll never be the same.
It didnt rain today...i dont think. its hard to remember really when it rains almost every day here.
sleeping in is delicious. got to do that today for a while.
blueberry waffles and bacon for dinner. priceless.
i finally did the dishes today. after my two day walk out.
one day closer to seeing that little alien on the ultrasound monitor (my bff's coming child)
got a dr pepper from mcdonalds this evening and used only dimes to pay for it. i love dollar soda everydays. yay for mcdonalds. i'll support that.
mom can walk using a walker now. improvement is awesome.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
bests of today
met with my friends for tea and then dinner. we then walked by a pond and chatted for a while. it was a really nice time.
texted with a friend who rarely texts me. it was normal chat, but it was nice to chat anyway.
the dishes still sit in the sink waiting for me...tomorrow.
five days until the ultrasound to find out the sex of my best friend's baby.
a friend sent me a really cute picture of her daughter with an umbrella in a wagon. adorable.
had red robin onion rings. yummo.
i slept really well last night.
mom can start weight bearing on her right leg. doctors appointment today went well. she told me tonight that she walked out of the bathroom. ACCOMPLISHMENT.
my friends and family love me more than i think. and i am constantly being reminded of this.
texted with a friend who rarely texts me. it was normal chat, but it was nice to chat anyway.
the dishes still sit in the sink waiting for me...tomorrow.
five days until the ultrasound to find out the sex of my best friend's baby.
a friend sent me a really cute picture of her daughter with an umbrella in a wagon. adorable.
had red robin onion rings. yummo.
i slept really well last night.
mom can start weight bearing on her right leg. doctors appointment today went well. she told me tonight that she walked out of the bathroom. ACCOMPLISHMENT.
my friends and family love me more than i think. and i am constantly being reminded of this.
today's blessings
nobody said anything about the full sink of dishes that i'm to do, but didn't feel like getting to today.
sam bought me a diet coke after i picked her up from work. yum.
i can read and love to do it!
my sore throat is going away finally! (been sick since may 24th)
deadliest catch and after the catch were on today! i love that show and its counter part.
people read my blog today. (ashleysgoldhappenings.blogspot.com)
the clouds were BEAUTIFUL today.
i love the sound of pouring down rain at night when im in bed. that happened tonight.
mom's leg is healing nicely. she should get the go ahead for weight bearing tomorrow at her doctors appointment. yay.
i have parents that are still together and just celebrated their 39th (i think) wedding anniversary on the same day as my grandparents. not sure on the years of that one though. over 100 years total though. definately more than 60 for the grandparents. and there's still love all around.
sam bought me a diet coke after i picked her up from work. yum.
i can read and love to do it!
my sore throat is going away finally! (been sick since may 24th)
deadliest catch and after the catch were on today! i love that show and its counter part.
people read my blog today. (ashleysgoldhappenings.blogspot.com)
the clouds were BEAUTIFUL today.
i love the sound of pouring down rain at night when im in bed. that happened tonight.
mom's leg is healing nicely. she should get the go ahead for weight bearing tomorrow at her doctors appointment. yay.
i have parents that are still together and just celebrated their 39th (i think) wedding anniversary on the same day as my grandparents. not sure on the years of that one though. over 100 years total though. definately more than 60 for the grandparents. and there's still love all around.
Monday, June 14, 2010
blessings today
my talent for cooking. i made bbq pork for bbq pork sandwiches tonight. yum
Dial Soap smells like my grandma's house when i was little. i really miss that.
My cupcakes WORKED today. no failures. just awesomes.
Urbandictionary.com 'nuff said
Dial Soap smells like my grandma's house when i was little. i really miss that.
My cupcakes WORKED today. no failures. just awesomes.
Urbandictionary.com 'nuff said
Sunday, June 13, 2010
this week's little things:
mom got flowers from an old friend. really pretty flowers.
a friend bought me dinner at red robin last night. so sweet!
a lady from church brought us comfort food dinner (meatloaf, mashed potatos, green beans and rolls with watermelon). yum.
a friend drove along with me while i was driving my sister two hours out so i had a good chat time on the way back rather than be alone.
i finally found and bought a hard plastic take along cold liquid cup like those throw away/recycle latte cups from starbucks. with a straw. heaven.
i finished re-reading Eclipse in prep for the midnight showing.
mom got flowers from an old friend. really pretty flowers.
a friend bought me dinner at red robin last night. so sweet!
a lady from church brought us comfort food dinner (meatloaf, mashed potatos, green beans and rolls with watermelon). yum.
a friend drove along with me while i was driving my sister two hours out so i had a good chat time on the way back rather than be alone.
i finally found and bought a hard plastic take along cold liquid cup like those throw away/recycle latte cups from starbucks. with a straw. heaven.
i finished re-reading Eclipse in prep for the midnight showing.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)