Fiona's first lost tooth -- at age almost 6 1/2. :)

And when I say lost, I mean lost.  She was playing at the park with our friends Alex, Mikaela, and Sofia when suddenly that wiggly tooth that had been hanging around was gone!

Friday 56 & Book Beginnings Friday-- Friday, October 1, 2010 -- Copying Oneself & Being Followed

Hosted by Tonya, at Storytime with Books,
Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

The only thing considered worse than copying the masters was to copy oneself.  "To copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others.  It leads to sterility," Picasso observed.

~Becoming a Life Change Artist: Seven Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life by Fred Mandell, Ph.D. & Kathleen Jordan, Ph.D.

Hosted by Becky, at Page Turners Books.  Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

March 23, 1907  I hate being followed.

~Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus

This is the third in R. L. LaFevers' Theodosia Throckmorton series and my daughter and I have really been enjoying them.  I like this opening sentence, but the one that follows is even better:  "I especially hate being followed by a bunch of lunatic adults playing at being occultists."  :)

More from Becoming a Life Change Artist

p.  40
We may overestimate the magnitude of risk we might take in changing our live, and underestimate our personal ability to successfully navigate such a change. Many of us also mistakenly believe that we  must fully understand and be happy with the potential financial consequences of a life change.  And that belief also causes us to assume that we need to know in advance our exact life circumstances if we are make a change.  None of these constraining assumptions is true.

p. 51
Choose what you pay attention to; do not let others choose for you.

W.W.W. Wednesdays -- September 29, 2010

Answer the following questions:


What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you'll read next?




Currently reading:

•  Becoming a Life Change Artist:  Seven Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life by Fred Mandell, Ph.D. and Kathleen Jordan, Ph.D.
• Zoo Story:  Life in the Garden of Captives by Thomas French
• Theodosia and the Eye of Horus by R. L. LaFevers

Recently finished:

• The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome
• An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd
• The Godmother by Carrie Adams

Up next:

•  1066 and All That by W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman
• Mary Modern by Camille DeAngelis

Teaser Tuesdays -- Tuesday September 28, 2010 -- Zoo Story by Thomas French

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers! 

Cover via Amazon

That October, Virginia Edmonds and the other manatee keepers were still working around the clock to save Loo, the abandoned calf found in the Caloosahatchee River.  He'd been having trouble adjusting to the formula.

~page 93, Zoo Story:  Life in the Garden of Captives by Thomas French

The Simple Woman's Daybook -- September 27, 2010

 See more daybook info here.

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... another lovely Colorado day -- Perhaps I will try to soak up some more sun today.

I am thinking... my body could really use a massage.

I am thankful for... love and acceptance.

From the learning rooms... "She recognized that to move into the future in a meaningful way, she would need to surrender her longing for what was familiar and comfortable."  p 13, Becoming a Life Change Artist: Seven Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life

From the kitchen... canning tomatoes with friends this evening


I am creating... a bowl of oatmeal for my six-year-old.  :)

I am reading... Zoo Story:  Life in the Garden of Captives by Thomas French to my daughter. 

I am hoping... to go to a potluck on Friday at my daughter's school.

I am hearing... my daughter sneeze from upstairs.

Around the house... preparing for an impending move.

One of my favorite things...fine point Sharpies

A few plans for the rest of the week:  Figuring out where I am moving to, seeing the doctor on Wednesday afternoon, hopefully seeing a friend who is visiting from Indiana, and get my address change to some of my creditors

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...  Buffy Sainte-Marie - my namesake

Image by sidrguelph via Flickr

What matters to you most in life?

I just barely started reading Becoming a Life Change Artist: Seven Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life by Fred Mandell, Ph.D. & Kathleen Jordan, Ph.D.

The foreword is written by Richard J. Leider, the founder and chairman of the Inventure Group.  He speaks of asking people "What matters most to you in life?" and how often they don't really have a ready answer/haven't thought about it in a long time.

His question made me stop and think.  I'm not sure I have anything momentous or unique to say or even fully formed ideas.  But I just wrote down some of my first thoughts in my journal and will share them here.

• being kind and supportive to others
• a belief that, above all else, relationships are what we leave behind on this planet & that making a difference can happen in big or small ways
• being a good listener
• modeling good lifestyle choices to/for my daughter
• being interdependent (rather than dependent or independent)
• taking the time to both work and play
• learning to be more gentle
• laughter
• tears
• joy
• hope
• being welcoming
• living in community and contributing to that community
• creating traditions and making memories
• learning and growing and loving