Setting the Mood...

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I am choosing to "shine" this week.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

I love St. Patrick's Day. I am a tad bit Irish so that may be the reason. Or, it could possibly be that it is just a really fun holiday.

There's no stressing in having to get the house all cleaned up because everyone is coming over.

There's no cooking and baking all day.

There's no shopping and trying to find just the right present for someone.

It is just a day to be all jolly and take pride in your Irishness.

I think back to my St. Patrick celebrations of years past:

I met my best friend on St. Patrick's Day 1990, this was also the same day that I began my phobia with port-a-potties.

The first time I had enough money to actually buy the O'Connell's mug with green beer in it was St. Patrick's Day 1993.

My first time to call in to work sick because I had a hang-over was the day after St. Patrick's Day 1996.

My first night away from Averi was St. Patrick's Day 1997.

My first time to ride in a cab (in Norman) was St. Patrick's Day 2003.

My first time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at somewhere other than O'Connell's was 2006.

I spent St. Patrick's Day 2009 driving home from Santa Fe and I thought it was super cool that I actually drove through a town called Shamrock (in Texas).

I have lots of good memories pertaining to St. Patrick's Day. Instead of getting my party on and partaking in the drinking of green beer, I spent St. Patrick's Day 2011 cooking a green dinner for the fam. We had spinach tortellini with pesto, and nobody gripped or complained about it. Aren't I a lucky girl?

Oh, and just to settle an argument around here...do you have to wear green if you have green eyes?

Happy St. Patty's Day me friends!

Right Now...

Right Now, I am...

:: listening to Bill O'Reilly on Fox News, Teddy snore while sleeping on the couch, Chris' fingers hitting his computer keys, and Averi's pencil shading something in her sketchbook-lots going on here!

:: embracing the warmer days ahead and the beauty that this season brings.

:: enjoying having the week off for Spring Break-no school, no lessons, no practices!!!

:: marveling at the artistic talents of my daughter. Her drawings are simply amazing.

:: loving my bathroom makeover! It is getting close to done and I'm soooo excited.

:: feeling a little bummed that all of the shows I have DVR'd this past week got erased somehow...Sisterwives, Teen Mom 2, Jersey Shore, Glee, Amazing Race, The Real Housewives of Orange County...all of my smut, guilty pleasure shows.

:: watching time go too quickly

Right Now, I am...

So thankful for the Lent devotion that I read this morning and for the opportunities that it opened up for me today. It was all about forgiveness. There was an application to do and mine was so divinely orchestrated, it is almost scary. A very spiritual moment for me today that I completely saw a Glimpse of God in.

Did you know????

That March 14th is Pie Day?

Pi is 3.14 something, something, something, etc.

So, for Pie Day, I completed one of my 100 things to do in 2o11...I made a pie.

From scratch!

Crust and all!

I am becoming quite domesticated, I tell ya!

And it makes this guy pretty happy!

Happy Pie Day!

Did you get to enjoy some pie today?

In Ten Years...

In ten years...

I went from being a mom of one to a mom of two.

The day I came home from the hospital after having my sweet Cali girl, Chris left me with both Averi and Cali while he went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for me. I remember thinking to myself (while Averi uncharacteristically was bouncing off the walls and Cali was laying in her bassinet that Averi was about to tip over), "What have I done?"

I was an old pro at being a mom to one. I knew Averi. Everything about her. But here now is this baby who is completely different than Averi was. She was A LOT bigger. She had NO hair. And she was a funky yellowish, orange color. But she was so, so beautiful...just like her big sister.

I didn't know this baby. Yes, she grew inside me for the last nine months, but I didn't know if she was a mellow baby, a fussy baby, anything about her, really. And I couldn't devote all of my time and attention to just her because I had another child to care for. I knew Chris wouldn't be around a whole lot to help because at the time he had a very demanding job where he had to travel often. My mom wasn't available to help me. I just wasn't sure I could "do" two kids. Too late now, huh?

Anyways, I think back to that moment because these last ten years have been the best years ever. What was I thinking being all scared and overwhelmed? I remember back to the late nights where it was just me and my babygirl. Chris was either gone or asleep, Averi was asleep, and it was just us, Cali all snuggled up nursing the night away. And one particular thing I remember about those times was feeling complete. I was complete, my family was complete...it was just a sense of serenity, that everything was good and all was right with the world. And my world was exactly what I had hoped for.

God blessed us at just the right moment in our lives with Cali. He knew we needed another daughter to love, cherish, nurture and adore. I think of all the souls in heaven, He picked the very best one to become Cali Amanda Campbell. She has brought so much sunshine to all of our lives.

Here's some things I absolutely love about Cali:

-She is the most snuggly thing ever. I love that even at 10 years old she still prefers to sit on my lap and have me hold her as to anything else.

-She is so loving. She always has to kiss and hug everyone goodnight...sometimes more than once. And she always makes sure she gives Mamaw and Papa Jim and her other grandparents or relatives a hug when she sees them.

-She is very thoughtful and generous.

-She has a really good personality and has lots of friends.

-She tells me her dreams EVERY morning and some of them are real doozies.

-She is strong-willed (I know this sometimes is a real pain in the butt for me, but I think it is a good trait to have, and it is a trait that I admire because it is so NOT a trait that she gets from me.)

-She is a reader. She loves books and she loves to read. Sometimes she will read 3 books at one time. I love to read, so I really LOVE that she loves to read. Plus, now I have a Borders buddy.

-She's kinda shy, but she's kinda not...she is not afraid to get up and perform.

-She is Chris through and through...she looks like him, she acts like him, she thinks like him...no wonder I love her so much!

-She keeps her room pretty clean.

-She loves to be playing outdoors...riding her bike or scooter, swinging, exploring.

-She's one super, sweet, silly mama's baby.

If the next ten years are as joyous as the last, I'm bound to be one happy mama! And here's to 110 more years with Cali O'Malley the Alley Cat aka Cali BoBo aka BoBo Skinny aka Peepers aka Cali Amanda Campbell!

Update

I added my 100 things to do in 2011 list to the sidebar of my blog. Here is what I have done so far..

#99 Bake Bread.

I bought a package of bread mix a few months ago. I got it out and mixed it up and OH. MY. GOODNESS. I may never buy store bought bread again! It was sooooo delicious. I made a loaf of whole wheat bread. Of course it was a mix, but I'm thinking making it from scratch may not be all that different. Oh, it was good!

#28 Enroll Cali in gymnastics.

She loves gymnastics! And she is really good at it. She comes home each day after class and tells me what her goal for the next time is going to be. Like, "I'm going to try to flip over the high bar next time," or "My goal is to do the splits." I love that she is setting goals for herself. And I love that she has found something that she enjoys and feels confident in doing.

This picture has nothing to do with gymnastics, but I had to share it because we saw this after leaving gymnastics on our way to piano lessons...three big poodles on top of their house's roof! How bizarre! I'll get a picture of Cali at gymnastics next week when she goes.

#90 Take a Yoga Class.

I just did this last week. I got my cousin, Danyelle to go with me and we tried out the "Yoga Lite" class at the Y. It was called Yoga Lite because it is easier, which is perfect because I've never done Yoga nor had Danyelle. It was not much of a workout, so later in the week we attended the "Fitness Yoga" class.

Woh! Major difference. I was sweating like crazy, my muscles were quaking, it was intense...the chair pose, a plank, a dancer's pose...my favorite was the child's pose, HA! I did really enjoy it and plan to go back, today, in fact.

A funny story from the class: The instructor asked us to turn our phones off at the beginning of class and I did. Well at the end of class we are all in relaxation pose and my phone starts going off...I only turned the ringer off so it is vibrating LOUDLY. Then just as it quits, we hear snoring. Someone on the other side of the room FELL ASLEEP and they were sawing logs! Too funny. So it wasn't real relaxing. Amusing maybe! The girl who fell asleep, her friend had to wake her up after class was over. Poor thing. She was so embarrassed and she kept saying that she didn't get any sleep the night before. After we left, Danyelle said, "You better nudge me awake the second I start snoring if I ever fall asleep!" I told her she better do the same. Unfortunately, I have no picture to share of this accomplishment!

#31 Make a table for behind the couch.

Chris actually made it. But I designed it. It turned out great and I love having that space filled in. And a place to put more pictures and stuff.

#61 Go to World Market with Barb.

My friend Barbara and I have been talking about trekking up to north OKC to go to World Market for a few years now. We FINALLY did it last month. It is a large store that has different booths all through it where people sell anything from homemade, crafty stuff to antiques to clothes, to jewelry to all kinds of cool stuff. I came home with a antique statue of Mary and a letterpress "C". I saw all sorts of other stuff I want to get, I just have to save my pennies.

#14 Stay in my PJ's all day.

This was pretty easy to accomplish when we had all of the snowy/icy weather last month and no school for 4 days straight-2 weeks in a row. Actually, I think me and the girls did this a couple of days. Sorry, no picture.