.refresh.

say hello to my little friends! the one on the left is basil, and the one on the right is lavender. i bought them while i was out at the farmer's market today. it was an incredible find, especially after talking with a dear friend about how much i wanted a basil plant. so i paid 5 dollars for the plants, and then went to home depot afterwards for the pots and soil. all under 10 dollars and a total of one hour. it's funny how the little things can be such gifts! i've been so funky lately, battling family issues in my head and in my dreams. i made some brunch and caught suzie orman on public television. in just 5 minutes, she changed my whole outlook on life. just like that, in 8 simple words.

Harmony-Balance-Courage-Generosity-Happiness-Cleanliness-Beauty-Wisdom.

if you can get your thoughts, words and actions to be one in the same, you have acheived harmony. if you have harmony, you can establish balance. once you have balance, you can be courageous....and so on. her words made me want to be a better person. like right after, i realized how i needed to change my line of thinking. for instance, i could be annoyed with the fact that my coffee filter folded over and coffee grinds got in my coffee, but you know what? i'm not going to let that ruin my day. instead, i'll just make another pot. simple as that.
so empowering! and then we can be good role models to our friends that are struggling with any of these areas in their lives. what a great gift. <3

.inspiration.

i love stories when people go above and beyond their call of duty. i love when people take the time to treat someone with the respect and honor they really do deserve. everyday, someone is always under appreciated, and the world seems so self-absorbed and too busy to care about their own. so i really loved this story about this soldier that asked if there was a way some of the US baseball team could sign his flag that he brought home from iraq. the security guard led him to the clubhouse where everyone signed it and then gave him a ball that the all-star team had signed.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-perezteamusa031809&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
maybe i'm just a huge sap when it comes to kindness because i just don't see it as often as i wish i could. but anyway, i'm glad i got to read that today. it convicts me to keep going in this master's program so that i'll be able to help people in a great way in the future. =)

.space.

this was my view on my way to school one morning. i couldn't help but take a picture because it was truly breathtaking. i'm a big nature appreciater, meaning, i'm not necessarily the camper-walk-through-the-grass-barefoot kinda gal, but i LOVE star gazing, moon gazing, sunset gazing, rainbows and such. i think what i love so much about it, is that it helps me feel connected to something greater. it renews my faith, because it makes me think about Him wanting to make us happy, to create something so beautiful that would remind us of Him. whenever i get all granola happy, i think about all the places i still want to see in this world. i don't want to keep on waiting. i want to do it while i'm still healthy and able to carry a 30 pound pack on my bag while trekking up a trail on a mountain in ecuador. i want to appreciate that i still have all my senses, that i can see, hear and feel these things. we just gotta live our lives, and it's unfortunate that we get all sucked into our work worlds that a lot of the time perpetuate monotony. so i will try too, to get out there, to not be afraid to get my hands dirty and to take the time to gaze at the stars a bit more.
go ahead, find Leo's Heart tonight.

.you go girl.

source: defenselink.mil

Isn't this neat!?! Yesterday, for the first time in U.S. history, a woman military officer pinned on the rank of four-star general. i was reading about this woman, and at 55, it's awesome to see her where she is, especially when she started out in school where she couldn't attend west point like her father and brother had. and here she is as a 4 star general. amazing. Army Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody is now in charge of the Army Materiel Command that has about 130,000 service members in about 150 locations worldwide. so cool. and she's so freakin funny!
during her speech, as she attributed her sucess to her family and friends, she goes,

“There is no one more surprised than I, except of course my husband. You know what they say -- behind every successful woman, there’s an astonished man."

girl power!