Make Your Own Path.

Like.Love.Want.

A love for the sea.

I love the sea. I love sunshine.  Together, nothing makes me happier.

With the warmer weather starting to creep in, sometimes it is too hot to cuddle and fall asleep in his arms... so we hold hands until we drift off into dream land.  It's the little things that make life so special...

<3 <3 <3

This is all I want.

This is all I want.

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dreams,
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic,
or to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself,
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when its not pretty every day,
and if you can source your life from God's presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of a lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't interest me who you are,
how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the Fire with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

"
— Orion Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder

There is no place like home.

What a great time to be in San Francisco... wishing I could join in the celebration... Go Giants!!!!

Watch this: Run this town.

You Can Heal Your Life.

I just finished a book called, "You Can Heal Your Life," by Louise L. Hays. I know a lot of people are still put off by Self Help books and don't believe affirmations (and all things a like) can really do any good, but for me I am willing to try anything to better myself and my mind.  

The theme of this book is that positive thinking can change your life.  Life is not about what happens, but how you react to it.  

An affirmation I pulled from the book:

In the infinity of life where I am,

all is perfect, whole and complete.

I support myself, and life supports me

and in every area of my life.

I reinforce that which I learn in joyous ways.

My day begins with gratitude and joy.

I look forward with enthusiasm and to the adventures of the day,

knowing that in my life, "All is good."

I love who I am and all that I do.

I am the living, joyous expression of life.

All is well in my world.

When something in your life is making you unhappy, there is only one way to fix it and that is to CHANGE.  A dear friend of mine just shared her blog with me and I found a post about how to make that first step.  It may seem like the hardest thing to do, but step-by-step you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, and as a result be happy.  And all is well in your world. :-)

Check it out: The Levels of Change - Travel's Muse

Trust me on the sunscreen.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…

I will dispense this advice now. 


Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…

What ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live

in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

I love this. Champagne & Sequins blog you rock!!!!

Oh Australia...

Australia is a bit behind on most things including internet connectivity. There is a limit to how much downloading and uploading one can do, and even with the highest gig's purchased, somehow the bf and I have managed to go over which means the internet runs like a dial up until the next monthly cycle begins. Annoying to say the very least.

Anyway, not much news down under... caught up on the latest Gossip Girl episodes and might I say that Serena is looking more gorgeous than ever.  I love her. 

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly...