Awesome quote

I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. – Oprah Winfrey

Passion=Purpose=Opportunity ( get use to seeing this saying...it will soom make perfect sense ).

Music Heaven

Ok, I am in music heaven this week. Last night I saw Israel New Breed in Concert, tonight I saw my all time favorite gospel artist Cece Winan. I don't know what it is about her music, except that it speaks to me. I have followed her music as far back as when her and her brother first started singing. I don't have every album she has ever made but I have most of them. I thought I would go crazy when I saw her tonight, but she has a way of making you humble yourself before God. I stayed in the worship mode and at times I forgot she was right in front of me. She shared some deep revelations with us this evening, and its making me really think. Tommorrow night I get to see Martha Munizzi. If you have ever been to my disney website you will see these artist names listed under my favorites. The fact that I get to see all three of them within a week is such a blessing. Thank you Lord !

Easter Sunday

We had a great Easter. My mom and sister both said it was a good day. Thought I would share a few more pictures.

Happy Birthday to....ME

Happy Birthday to ...Me. Today I turned 42. Update : I spent Sunday afternoon celebrating Easter and my birthday with my family. After our morning service we headed to my mom's home to celebrate with a Easter brunch. My mom and sister surprised me with dinner, cake and presents. It was a good day all around.

She's Got the Look !

While uploading some pictures to my scrap blog, I came across this picture that Marc snapped of me ( its rare that I am not the one behind the camera ). Anyway, do you remember when you were a child and all it took was for your mom to give you that look and you would straighten up in a hurry ? Can I ask why that does not work on husbands ? Marc should have been considered the class clown in school, but from all I can gather on him, he was way more serious then he is now. If only they could see him now .....well he's just plain worrisome at times ! He has always been the one to pick at you. He does it with our family, co-workers and especially with our church congregation. He's known as "trouble" at church and usually someone will yell here comes trouble. Often people ask me how I have been able to put up with him for the last 24 years. My reply is always the same...I ignore him. I can't even tell you what he did to me the day that he took this picture ( I'm sure that the look was well deserved ). When someone meets Marc for the first time they usually end up asking my children if its fun at our house all the time ? Their response is NO ! Despite all of this I will say this about Marc.....When your his friend, you could not have asked for a more loyal, loving person. He's the most charitable person I know. He would give you the clothes off of his back if need be ( and he is very well known for giving gifts out for any occasion...even if its just a Youth Advisory staff meeting at church ) . He loves babies and young people. His face light ups when he sees a baby ( we know the look even before we know what or whom he is looking at ). At times he is a pest, but the one legacy I feel he has passed on to my children is that same loving feeling towards their own ( blood or not ). I don't think they realize how loyal they are, and how they have taken on some of the characteristics of Dad. TJ is that way with his sisters and cousins ... very rarely will he deny them if they ask him for something ( if he says no it usually means he just does not have it to give ). He is the same with me. Nicki would carry every friend at her school where they wanted to go if she had the gas money to do it ( she is the same with me ). Quisha would take in every child in the world, if she thought she could. Marc is the same way. Last week we found out that our friends would not be able to keep their foster kids. I swear if my husband had been able to get on a plane to Hawaii that day to help out, he would have. He cried over the lost of those two girls and we had only been with them two weeks. He's really a softy. So the next time you see me give the "look", its not so much because I am trying to stop "trouble" ( well maybe it is ). Underneath the look is pride in a husband who may pluck my nerves on a daily basis , but I wouldn't trade him for nothing !

5 Must Haves

in my fridge
1. eggs
2. orange juice/cranberry juice
3. cheese
4. onions ( my mother in-law said your house always smells like you are cooking up a storm when you have onions on the stove )
5. Frozen vegetables ( I love my Pamphered Chef Micro cooker, just put a little water in the bottom and in 10 minutes you have steamed veggies )

in my closet
1. my capris
2. my slip on mules
3. disney shirts
4. my purse collection
5. my jean suits ( I can switch these around a lot )

in my purse
1. planner
2. chap stick
3. pen
4. wallet ( with pics of my kids )
5. compact

in my car
1. my bible
2. fav. Gospel cds
3. notebook ( for doodling while riding )
4. sunglasses
5. an extra purse and shoes

on my TiVo (assuming i had TiVo)
1. Boston Legal
2. Commander In Chief
3. Starting Over
4. General Hospital
5. The Unit

Tag, you're IT!!!

Disney Layouts

Thought I would post some Disney layouts from our May trip last year. Hey, they don't call me the DisneyQueen for nothing !

aLTERED sTATE OF mIND

I have been doing a 21 day challenge about exploring habits ( good and bad ) and how you can change them ( or enhance a good habit ) through an art journal. I am really enjoying where this journey is taking me. I have been blessed to have reared my children to adulthood ( sometimes they bring me back to reality , and remind me I'm still mom ) and now I have lots of free time to really get to explore Cyndi. Its hard to believe its been a month since Marc surprised me with a trip to Hawaii. And so much has happened in that short period of time. Its as if a light went on inside of me and I am seeing the world in a whole new way. I have a friend named Maggie who has a zest for life. Even when she calls you on the phone she is already laughing, and it becomes contagious. Before you know it, your laughing also and don't even know why ! She finds the most unthinkable stuff to alter ( from a slide mount to a domino ). She shows her creativity in her work and she also shows it in the way she treats her friends and family. We call her the Target Queen, and at any given day she will call you, or send you a photo message showing you some item she picked up in the dollar spot at Target. Yesterday I spent the afternoon with her and another on-line friend name Pam. We met four or more years ago on-line and about two years ago we met in person. When Marc had to go away on business near Pam and Maggie I tagged along for the ride. The morning we planned to meet Maggie called me to tell me she had already been to a Target that morning and had brought me a key holder from the dollar spot at Target to alter ( see, in the 21 day challenge I made a goal to stop playing around with my art, use my stash and just "create" ). Now thanks to Maggie ( and several trips to Target ), I have lots of things waiting to alter. I also now look at everyday items in a new way. Anything can be altered in some form or another. You just have to imagine the potential. I'm realizing that I can be altered in the way I experience life each day. Instead of looking at myself as a has been mother who's job is done now that my children are grown , I am starting to get that in many ways my life is just beginning. So today I am looking at my life through a filter and I embracing an aLTERED sTATE OF mIND.

My Hopes and Dreams

Wow! Someone just posted on the twopeas scrap site a challenge question. What are your hopes and dreams ( and it must not include wishes for family, friends, or your children )?

Now that one is hard because so much of who I am is wrapped up in my family, friends and church. They are my daily life and most of what I do and think is based on how it may benefit them. So , to think of only myself is very hard. But I will try.

First and foremost I wish for a stronger relationship with God ( because I can accomplish nothing without him ). I wish for health and happiness and for time to explore and understand who I am . If you think about it, my entire adult life has been spent being a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, etc. I have not had a lot of time to explore the real me....because it has been defined by who I am. In a few weeks I will be forty two years old. I'm starting to come into my own person ( I have always been a late bloomer ). I am developing an attitude about what I will take and what I won't put up with. I know what I like and I am staring to ask for those things ( and I don't mean materialistic ). I have had people judge me...because I was a SAHM, because I am a minister's wife, and because I am ....ME. It has taken me a long time to get comfortable in my skin. I like scrapbooking and Disney ( you don't have to like it or understand why I do ). I like Bass loafers( sometimes I even wear them without socks ) and shoes with tassels on them . If that's too preppy for you...well that's your problem not mine. I like to walk at the beach ( not get in the water mind you, just look and listen ). I don't have a college degree ( but I am proud of the fact that my husband and children are getting theirs ), and I am ok with that. I have gotten my education in so many other forms--life lessons, travel, getting to know other people from different backgrounds. I love dressing up in matchy matchy clothing ( my instructors at Barbizon School of Fashion merchandising never told me it was a problem ). I like to watch beauty pageants ( was in one when I was younger and was even first runner up ). I like to dance, love my Christian music and will always crave nutty buddies. My favorite food is Italian ( not seafood or soulfood ). My favorite color is blue and I am proud to wear pink. I love being a girly girl and I am not ashamed to admit that I love old black and white musicals. I want my daughters to learn that being different is ok...but in order for that to happen, I must first admit it to myself. So my biggest wish for ....."ME" is to just be ......."ME". As far as dreams are concerned, I dream of one day owning my own business ( one that works ). Traveling to all 50 states. Visiting all of the Disney parks, and living to a ripe old age of 90 still standing tall with my best Sunday outfit on listening to family and friends singing Happy Birthday to ...ME.