Since the computer is being bothersome I am spending as little time on it as possible (yesterday and today at least, hopefully tomorrow I should have time to look at it properly)! Decided to attach my high school senior portrait (class of 2001) because this March is the ten-year-reunion gathering. Tempus Fugit!! Lovely gentle rain today, as a random side note!!
"When I was five years old, my parents always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me I didn't understand the assignment and I told them they didn't understand life."
I do not know who wrote this, nor when I first read it, but it follows my life and thought process very well. [Although I am not sure this is the exact quote I read, but it is close enough]. So I have decided that today I am going to ramble a bit about being happy living life. I have believed from the time I was very young that being happy was the most important thing growing up. I understand that people can see "being happy" from different points of view, but for me being happy centers around family, nature, and an overall positive spirit.
Family and friends are quite important, not only because of the support they can offer you, but because of the support we can offer in return. Trying to be a good person, offering help, not deliberately hurting people, volunteering -- these are all positive things. I also think that having a family of my own one day will make me happy, but who knows -- perhaps being happy includes everything mentioned above (and either more or less!) but not being married.
At this point in my life I do not see how I would be completely happy without the love of my life being a part of my life, for me to support him and for him to be there to support me -- but life has gone on for so many people who say they are happy... And I know that I have had brilliantly wonderful happy moments/times in my life without being married. So perhaps this year I should step back from the idea that I have in my head that includes a husband (and child/ren) and focus more on myself and creating happy moments for others.
Not sure where my ramblings are going, have lost my train of thought for the moment, so I shall end this blog for now. I do hope that today everyone remembers something/some point in time that made them happy, and smiles at least once!
Starting off with an update to my list of books I have read in 2011 - four more to add to the list. Two follow the train of historical fiction set in England and the other two veer from that path into my "random assorted books" section. The first two: Mademoiselle Boleyn" by Robin Maxwell and "The King's Confidante" by Jean Plaidy; the second two: "Waiter Rant" by Steve Dublanica and "Mr. Darcy's Little Sister" by C. Allyn Pierson. Not sure at the moment if I shall be continuing with historical fiction (I only have one or two more books before I move into Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth - which would be a large step forward from the "older" England)... I might stick to my "random assorted books" though.
Alright, getting back to the point for this particular blog, family. Specifically I have been in the mood to write about all of the lovely babies that have become a part of our lives over the past two years! There must have been something in the water because when I try to compute the amount of babies that have arrived in relationships that previously had zero children - let me try and start with the youngest and work my way up (apologies in advance for being off by a few weeks for some of these, they all seemed to appear at the same time!)...
four (and a half)-month-old girl
six-month-old girl
nine-month-old twins (a boy and a girl)
ten-month-old boy
13-month-old girl (Have not met her, and rarely hear about her, so am VERY fuzzy about her age; I know she is between 11 and 15 months old)
16-month-old boy
17-month-old twins (a boy and a girl)
19-month-old girl
...Then the jump to a seven-year-old cousin, then another jump up to a 15-year-old cousin, followed by a third jump up to a 20-year-old cousin. So in the past 20 years there had been very few babies around, then in the last year and a half basically there are babies popping up like beautiful angelic flowers in our lives! I love little kids; spent the past two summers co-running a preschool summer camp and the past two semesters helping in an infant/toddler classroom then a toddler classroom. (I received my B.A. with honors in 2006, but since then have slowly been working on a child development certification/degree at a local community college while working).
Ramblings. Yes, I do ramble quite often!! Okay, so although there have been many new babies, I have been invited to spend time with the four and a half-month-old the most (every Wednesday since she was born, except for maybe four days scattered in here and there); quite a bit of time with the nine-month-old twins and the 19-month old girl; also have been invited to spend time with the six-month-old girl (unfortunately I have been an ungrateful cousin and spent time with her only at family gatherings so far)... Oh, and I have spend some time around the 10-month-old boy as well. Wow, that took much longer than I realized to figure out ages and type this all out! I wonder if it will make sense when read...perhaps not. Hmmm....
I also wanted to mention that across the street there is a young couple expecting their first child in about five weeks, and they want me to come by and help a few days a week, so I am looking forward to having that opportunity as well : ) Yesterday I spent several hours with my four and a half-month-old cousin, and although I love her to pieces, she makes me want to spend time with more babies!!
Anyone have a 0-5 year old child, live in Southern California, and have an interest in inviting an experienced babysitter/mothers helper/CPR and First Aid certified individual over to visit? I love working/playing with little kids, and as everyone with children (or who work with young children) knows, spending time with children is pretty much the next best thing to "laughter is the best medicine" in life : ) ...More randomness from me, but I have been thinking about taking an au pair/live-in nanny position, perhaps a travel one - last month marked ten years for me being an employee for Recreation and Parks, much of that time spent in the camping division/child care... I have my passport and am a bit tired of feeling like I am always in the same place [not true, but it feels that way sometimes unfortunately]...
I don't know. Am feeling a bit off recently. More reading and more time with children! I hope everyone is doing well, especially those who have asked for prayers (or who I know need them and I am praying for anyway - too many family/extended family/friends have become quite ill the past two months, many requiring surgery, including the 10-month-old boy)... Prayers and positive vibes and hope being sent to all who need it ::HUGS::
*Edit - I feel this post is quite rambling but I am not in the proper mindset to re-write it and make it more clear at the moment. Perhaps later?
Yay! Apparently I have people reading my rather random, very rambling blog because Nathalie has tagged me in her "The Versatile Blogger" post! (This is the first time I have ever written a blog, so although I was able to save the image, I am not sure I have created the correct link to her post - let me know if there are problems/if anyone has questions for me please??) Continuing with ramblings now...
Here are the rules for the award:
Tell your readers ten things about yourself that you might not have divulged before, and pass the award on to seven new people at blogs that are fairly new to you.
So 10 things about myself that I haven't divulged before:
1) I decided to title my blog "Rose Rambling" because (obviously!) I ramble; including "Rose" as part of the title was also an obvious choice for me though. I spent several summers as a camp counselor/junior camp counselor and we were able to pick our own "Nature Names" instead of using our "regular" first names. I rarely react to someone calling out the name Rose now, but every now and then I still turn my head, especially if it is a child calling.
2) My profile photo for this blog was taken mid-summer 2010, the day that I donated my hair for the second time to Locks For Love (a great program that takes donated hair and creates wigs for those who have had cancer). My first time I donated almost exactly 12" of hair; however, this past summer I was able to donate just over 15" of hair! Not only did it feel great to donate to a great cause, but I also got a fun summer haircut and my shower time was drastically shortened!
3) When I was younger (roughly ages 0-8 years) my family and I would visit friends in Mexico, or they would come to visit us, every single summer. So thanks to my family [and family friends] I am able to speak Spanish - although I have not been practicing anywhere near as often as I should! I think my communication ability has unfortunately dropped to simple conversational skills, but I do still understand much more Spanish than I am able to speak.
4) I have taken several semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) for fun, and although my lack of practice (again!) has caused me to lose my fluidity, I can still manage reasonably well when communicating with hard-of-hearing or Deaf individuals. I should start getting back into Deaf Culture, it was fun learning a new way to communicate.
5) I do not drink coffee (even though I do tend to enjoy the smell of it). I tend to drink tea (sometimes with sugar, never with milk) or hot chocolate when I am cold or feeling under the weather. As for "regular" drinks I usually stick to flat water or juice; occasionally soda or chocolate milkshakes find their way into the mix.
6) I really dislike scary/horror anything - books, movies, music, you name it. I turn into a huge scaredy-cat and I want to take this opportunity to blame part of my family (even though I love them all!) - especially my two older cousins and my mom - for this dislike. My cousins would hide then jump out at me/grab at me and my mom never liked anything scary/horror so growing up it was natural to follow her lead. This past Halloween was the first time I willingly attempted to watch a scary movie and to continue my honest streak, I had nightmares off and on for a couple of weeks.
7) I don't want to "waste" a number here by mentioning things that have come up in my previous blogs, so I am going to try and cram in the most important points into one number (hopefully I am not cheating too much)! I really love to read, spend time with family and friends, be in nature, and volunteer/work with kids.
8) One summer when I was in elementary school I won an award for bowling - but I think it was part of the six-week-long bowling camp my parents had put me in, it likely had nothing to do with my bowling abilities : ) I do enjoy going bowling when the opportunity presents itself though!
9) I decided to start a blog partially because I had never blogged before. I had bookmarked an old roommates blog a few years back and followed it that way; after I joined facebook I noticed more friends who had blogs. I have started to followed their blogs, their friends blogs, or other blogs that I find interesting for one reason or another. (For example, one blog I am following is an anonymous teacher who spent every single day of last school year eating, taking photos of, and commenting on the food in her cafeteria. The exact same food most of her students were forced to eat she secretly voluntarily ate and commented on - I found it quite interesting for various reasons). I hope that no one has found me to be unwelcome or bothersome by me choosing to follow them - I do hope that in return everyone feels more than welcome to read/follow my blog!
10) Save the best for last, right? Okay so my favorite thing that I have not shared yet? This past summer I became a godmother for the very first time! My best friend had twins in the spring (a girl and a boy) and I became the godmother to an adorable little boy! I miss the family so much right now because they do not live in the USA, but I am looking forward to them visiting California next summer! (So that might just be the best for me, but still. My blog, my ramblings, right? *grins*)
Okay, so Nathalie said I am to pass this award onto seven other people, but I don't have anyone following my blog officially so I am not quite sure how to pass it on. I am going to steal her words in lieu of knowing how to tag people, so... "If you're reading this though and would like to join in, please do! Leave a comment to let me know so that I can read it too."
Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Several years ago I went to the "new" J. Paul Getty Museum here in California. It was my first time at this museum and it had recently re-opened (hence me referring to it as "new"). I went with family, friends, and quite unfortunately a fever somewhere around 104 degrees. Yes, I know I should not have gone while sick, but I did not want to miss the opportunity. Having such a high temperature combined with other not-good feelings has left me with a very, very hazy memory of that day. I remember walking quite a bit, liking the shapes of the buildings along with some of the artwork, and really enjoying the garden and water features on the property.
At some point we must have viewed Winslow Homer's oil painting titled "Sunlight and Shadow" because I know I had never seen it before. I apparently expressed an interest in it (though I have no memory of this!) and secretly my parents purchased a poster copy of the painting which was given to me when I moved into my first college dorm room [several hours away from home]. I LOVE this painting. It reminds me of so many things - nature, relaxing, enjoying reading... The dress the lady has on is even a blue tone (and I love the color blue).
I could go on and on about this painting, but hopefully I shall successfully attach an image of it below so you can look at it, enjoy it, and learn a bit about me because I would love to be this lady and I often try to do what she does. I had a hammock for a while, but I love to lay back and look up at the leaves, at the sky... I love to read, and this image always reminds me of my family who are very important to me as well.
Anyway, enough ramblings for the moment, hopefully this image will make you smile, (or at least help you remember something that makes you relax). Have a wonderful week filled with sunshine!
...so I decided to come online. Unfortunately nothing comes to mind except the people I want to be talking with, how late (or early, depending on how you look at it!) it is, and the fact that I am in the mood for pancakes and bacon. Or even scrambled eggs and bacon. Too lazy and tired to make any foodings at the moment.
Today I have not accomplished much (well, I did read a new book and re-read one I've had on my bookshelf for a while) and I find my mind drifting back and recalling good and bad moments in life. If I could have a hug - several actually - perhaps my mind would settle down. Then again, perhaps not.
Books make me happy - they have been a part of my life since before I could actually read (although I would pretend of course) and as mentioned earlier this month I am likely to write several blogs that include books I am reading, have read, or shall read in the future.
I was never that interested in history classes as I was growing up. In more recent years however, I discovered that I enjoyed reading historical fiction -- I could imagine along with the author and learn about history without becoming bored. Historical fiction about England around the time of Henry VII, Henry VIII (and his six wives), Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth I are my number one interest... I also am becoming interested in historical fiction based in ancient Egypt, around the time of Cleopatra.
This month I have decided to read/re-read books from my historical fiction collection and have completed five so far - I have attempted to read/re-read them in historical order, although there is some overlap in time. The books ranged anywhere from 287 pages up to 661 pages in length.
"To Hold The Crown" by Jean Plaidy; "The Constant Princess" by Philippa Gregory; "The Secret Bride" by Diane Haeger; "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory; and "Mary Queen Of France" by Jean Plaidy are the five I have completed so far. I am planning on reading another four to six books from this time period, then moving on.
When it comes to series, I am planning (during the next eleven months) to re-read the Harry Potter books, several books by Louisa May Alcott, various C.S. Lewis pieces, Laura Ingalls Wilder series on her own life, and what I call my "children books" which range from "Twenty-One Balloons" by William Pene du Bois to "The Girl With The Silver Eyes" by Willo Davis Roberts.
Although I do love to read, I shall be saving a future blog for movies/DVDs I have watched in the past few months/am planning to watch in the next few months. Any suggestions for music, books, or movies are welcome, as are suggestions for titles for future blogs... Hope that everyone has a wonderful week!
*Edit: Forgot to include "Doomed Queen Anne" by Carolyn Meyer which makes six books.
This evening I just finished a seventh "Portrait of an Unknown Woman" by Vanora Bennett - different from most historical fictions from this period, with the focus is on Sir Thomas More and more of his home life though the eyes of one of his adopted daughters (Meg Giggs) verses the court life during the time of Henry VIII.
This month I do not feel as though I have been "doing" much; more often I simply find myself "thinking"... Which can be about anything, anyone, and anytime. Another song has been in my head (although I was up late last night as well and finished another book - need to blog about reading, perhaps tomorrow)... A song some may be familiar with, or can at least Google...
"You've got to know when to hold 'em/ Know when to fold 'em/ Know when to walk away/ Know when to run/ You never count your money/ When you're sittin' at the table/ There'll be time enough for countin'/ When the dealin's done"
Surprisingly for me, I have been getting songs (or particular artists) stuck in my head recently. Don't get me wrong, I have read/re-read several books since this new year began, but today it has been all Frank Sinatra, all day. What are some snippets from his top three (well, top three on my mind today) songs that have been floating around in my head you ask? As follows...
"Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away" ... "I've got the world on a string/ I'm sitting on a rainbow" ... "Fly me to the moon/ Let me play among the stars/ Let me see what spring is like/ On a-Jupiter and Mars" ...
There are so many artists I enjoy listening to, but most of the music I lean towards can be classified as Country (I grew up with it and love it so please don't groan at me thank you in advance!), Christmas (I have a large family who I love and it is always a big holiday), and Classics.
Now don't ask me what songs/artists fall into what category please, nor should you assume I dislike others because these three are my "favorite" categories. I listen to pretty much anything except electronica/high pitched/alien type sounds that go on forever and honestly make my eardrums feel like bleeding. I listen to pretty much anything, especially if I am with someone - whether in a car for a quick trip to grab food, at a pub listening to different groups perform, or at a concert (the last I do rarely, but it has happened).
The title of this post made me pause because I do read quite a bit, so I suppose one of my future posts should include some of the books I have read and those I am interested in reading. Until then, my unknown audience, I hope that you all have had a wonderful day and that tomorrow is even better!
I have been listening to Michael Buble recently - "Another winter day/ Has come and gone away/ In even Paris and Rome/ And I wanna go home/ Let me go home" - it has reminded me of family and friends that I miss. Reminds me of people from my past and those I have yet to meet.
Trying to write anything that gets posted and writing to an unknown audience makes me wonder what I should really say. I shall ramble quite often, mention how I have been a bookworm my entire life, that I love nature, and I am looking for people who are willing to be friends with me.
I enjoy making new friends, love spending time with infants/toddlers, and am good at various arts and crafts. When it comes to meeting new people I have found that the internet helps me because I have always been a bit on the shy side. It can be difficult for me to approach others, yet I never walk away from anyone who needs me.
This is the first month of a new year, and while time marches on I have felt stuck recently. Hopefully sharing my ramblings and following others I shall share, learn, and grow in ways I can only imagine. I found a quote that I feel is quite fitting today, on the 25th anniversary of the USA celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr, who said: "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Looking forward to meeting new friends, improving the friendships I already have, and reconnecting with those I have been out of touch with.
