Happy Easter

Wishing you a joyous Easter filled with love, laughter, and cherished moments with family and friends. May the spirit of renewal and hope brighten your day and fill your hearts with happiness.

Happy Easter to you and yours!🐰🌷🥚

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Thoughtful Thursday – Statue of Liberty

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July 4, 1884, France gifted to the United States the Statue of Liberty for the 100th birthday of our country. What a monumental and inspirational gift she was and still is. She stands for many things but each part is represented by a different element in her design.

Lady Liberty’s torch is a symbol of enlightenment to show us the path to freedom, liberty and justice. The crown which is a halo with rays like the sun are another way for her to enlighten the world. The tablet Lady Liberty holds in her left hand is inscribed with Roman numerals which read July 4, 1776, and represent a book of law. The broken chains and shackle at her feet show she is free from servitude and oppression especially with the recent abolition of slavery in the country at that time.

Lady Liberty stands 305 feet tall, including the pedestal in New York Harbor. From 1892 to 1954 she has greeted more than 12 million immigrants and travelers that entered the United States through the Ellis Island Gateway. She is a inspiring symbol to all of us.

I hope you enjoyed this post today. Wishing you a Happy and Safe 4th of July!

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Thoughtful Thursday – Give Mom a Gift that Touches her Heart 💖

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Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 14th. Often we take for granted all the wonderful things that mom’s do for us everyday. Like the pile of clean clothes that magically appear in your dresser or the sweet love note with encouraging words that are hidden in your lunch bag. What about the breakfast or dinner that’s ready to go just when you’re starving, in a rush and don’t have time to make anything for yourself. Let’s not forget all the love and support they give as the biggest fan of our lives!

This Mother’s Day give her a gift that touches her heart. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Spend the day with her doing her favorite things.
  • Serve her favorite home cooked meal on a beautifully decorated table.
  • Create a themed meal from a place that she wants to visit.
  • Bake her favorite sweet treats and serve them up bistro style.
  • Plan a walk or hike in her favorite park and enjoy the great outdoors.
  • Go to the nursery with her and get a few flowers to plant in her garden.
  • Take her on a picnic and spend a quiet afternoon talking.
  • Go on a nice bike ride and stop for a light bite.
  • Spend an afternoon at the local museum.
  • If she has a lot of responsibilities offer to pitch in and give her the day off.
  • Serve her breakfast in bed or cook a morning brunch.
  • Watch her favorite movies with her and bring all of her favorite snacks.
  • Take an art class with her, whether online or in person and create something together.
  • Make a scrapbook filled with all of your favorite memories and photos of her.
  • Make her a handmade card or mini book with special photos or memorabilia.
  • If you’re computer savvy, create a video slide show of your favorites times spent together.
  • Make her a spa basket with handmade treatments (plenty of recipes can be found online).

Get creative, put a little extra thought into it and give her a special gift from your heart!

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“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.” ~Mitch Albom

Thoughtful Thursday – Earth Day

Earth Day is being celebrated this Saturday, April 22, 2023. It’s origins began in 1970 as a way to change the public’s outlook and bring awareness to environmental issues plaguing our beautiful planet.

Almost 7 billion people share this amazing planet with 10 million animal species and 300,000 plant species. That’s a lot of inhabitants when you think about it. Plus the entire surface of the earth is a series of connected ecosystems that provide precious resources that sustain all life here on Earth. So it’s imperative that we take care of our planet.

We live a world of plastic and although it was a great invention because it made so many things possible, it may also be our undoing. Stats show that in 2021 there was 363,762,732,605 pounds of plastic polluting the world’s oceans. Plus microplastics which are tiny pieces of plastic can be found in almost all water systems around the world including rivers, lakes, streams and oceans. It is said that there is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way. These are very scary stats because where does that leave us in 10, 20 and even 50 years from now? Will this planet be able to sustain life at all?

We all need to pitch in and do our part to reduce, reuse and recycle. We need to work together to come up with better ideas and solutions to reducing our footprint on this planet. So that life will continue to thrive.

What are some of the things you do to help make a better tomorrow?

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“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” ~Unknown

Source: Earth Day Fact Sheet

All photos in the slide presentation above were taken by Maria Vidaurre

Thoughtful Thursday Easter Sunday

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Hard to believe that Easter will be upon us this coming Sunday, April 9th. These first months of the year have just flown by. I hope that you’ll be able to spend time with family and friends on this beautiful day and create some wonderful memories!!

I remember growing up how magical my mom would make Easter for us. It would start with a morning mass and then transition to a fun filled day with family and friends. The Easter Egg hunts were always the most exciting part of my day! I hold those memories dear to my heart and I’m so very thankful for them.

Wishing you a joyous Easter Celebration!!

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Celebrate Flower Painting

Everyone needs to Celebrate the wins in life. Whether you’re cheering on a friend or you’re simply happy to have reached your goal. Big or small, they deserve recognition and so do you!

This painting was created with lots of texture on a 4×12 inch canvas with bright cheerful colors of blue, pink and purple. It’s accented with a little glitter and is overflowing with pure happiness.

It would make the perfect gift as this flower will last a lifetime! Celebrate is available in my Etsy shop.

Have a wonderful day!

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Thoughtful Thursday A Romantic Evening

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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, this coming Monday. There’s nothing better than snuggling in front of the TV and watching a movie together for a romantic evening. A simple movie can make for an extravagant and memorable night if you pay attention to the details.

Start by lighting a few candles and serve chocolate covered strawberries with a champagne. Or if you prefer popcorn, serve freshly popped corn with homemade cookies and your favorite candies. The main thing is to use your imagination and create a fun and magical night.

These are my top picks for Valentine movies. They’re all nice, light hearted movies with happy endings:

  1. Pride and Prejudice Starring Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen (2005)
  2. The Holiday Starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law & Jack Black (2006)
  3. Notting Hill Starring Hugh Grant & Julia Roberts (1999)
  4. Laws of Attraction Starring Pierce Brosnan & Julianne Moore (2004)
  5. Robin Hood Starring Russell Crowe & Kate Blanchette (2010)
  6. Sense and Sensibility Starring Emma Thompson & Kate Winslet (1995)
  7. What’s Up Doc Starring Barbra Streisand & Ryan O’Neal (1972)
  8. The Proposal Starring Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds (2009)
  9. Sweet Home Alabama Starring Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey & Josh Lucas (2002)
  10. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Starring Kate Hudson & Matthew McConaghey (2003)
  11. Kate and Leopold Starring Meg Ryan & Hugh Jackman (2001)
  12. Must Love Dogs Starring Diane Lane & John Cusak (2005)
  13. Fool’s Gold Starring Kate Hudson & Matthew McConaghey (2008)
  14. Two Weeks Notice Starring Sandra Bullock & Hugh Grant (2002)

Hope this sparks your creativity for romance. Thanks for stopping by!!

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Love isn’t about the time you spend together. It’s about the memories you create.” ~Unknown

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Thoughtful Thursday When life throws you a curve ball

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You may or may not have noticed I’ve been MIA for the last few weeks. I ended up getting pretty sick just before the holidays. So Christmas and New Year’s celebrations skipped my house this year. It felt strange but was necessary.

I’ve had people say to me, wow that’s a terrible way to end the year. But I don’t see it that way. Life threw me one heck of a curve ball. Instead of going crazy during the holidays trying to get everything done, I was forced to take it easy. It was the most chill holiday season I’ve ever had. And when someone says it was a terrible way to end the year, I say no it was great because I made it through it all and I’m still here ready to make this a better world, one day at time!

It’s taking a little more time than I expected to get my mojo back. My creative muse has also taken a hiatus. But I’m slowly getting myself rolling again with short workouts and super healthy eating habits. I’m grateful that I can continue to share my happiness with all of you 💖

Today I start a new course called Interactive Abstracts with Jodi Ohl. I’m really looking forward to this class and getting my creative muse back on track. With all of the rest I got I feel blessed to be more focused on what I want to accomplish this year. So you can expect great things from me in 2022!

When life throws you a curve ball, and believe me it will, don’t fight it. Go with the flow. Life is perfectly imperfect. Sometimes these curve balls give you a lot to think about. So find that silver lining in the cloud. Pick up the pieces and move forward with gratitude which is the best attitude!

I hope your holidays were awesome! I wish you the greatest success in 2022!!!

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“Gratitude: It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude. It’s gratitude that brings us happiness.” ~Unknown

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Thoughtful Thursday New Year’s Resolutions

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It’s hard to believe that there are only 23 days until the New Year and then we’ll be in 2022. With the holidays in full swing many of us have busier than usual schedules. But this is the perfect time to start thinking about the New Year and what you want to accomplish.

A good place to start is to see where you are on your resolutions from this year. Did you get to where you wanted to be? If you did that’s awesome! If you didn’t, then take a look at what may have thrown you off course. Think about how you can improve on that for the next year.

When deciding on New Year’s resolutions, choose ones that resonate with you. And I mean something that you “really” want to attain. Don’t make resolutions for things that you feel would be nice to do or have some day. Those half hearted resolutions will never get off the ground because you’ll never fully commit to them. And by not reaching them, it’ll have a negative impact in your mind.

So stick with fewer resolutions that you’re passionate about. Put all of your heart into reaching your goal and you will. Stay focused and remind yourself everyday of what you’re aiming for. Check in weekly to make sure you’re staying on course and if you need to adjust your resolutions a bit, that’s ok they’re not set in stone.

Quick Summary:

  • Set New Year resolutions that are attainable and that you’re passionate about.
  • Decide on 3 resolutions at the most. Too many are overwhelming.
  • Give yourself deadlines to make your resolutions a reality.
  • Look at your resolutions everyday to keep you on track.
  • If life throws you a curve ball, adjust your resolution a bit.
  • Most important, be kind to yourself and celebrate the journey!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by!!

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“What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal on what YOU bring to the New Year.” ~Vern McLellan

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