A Woman's Decision

Beginning with today's post, I'm taking a break. There are a lot of things going on in my life, just like all of you. It may be a week, two weeks or a month. We'll see what happens. I just need to get some things done I've been putting off for a long time. But I truly thank all of you who follow and/or read my blog.
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Several weeks ago, we all read about Angelina Jolie having her breasts removed. I'm not fond of her, but I salute her decision to take a very pro-active stance on her body. I'd do the same thing. In fact, I did many years ago.

I'll not go into the details as it's very personal and it wasn't cancer but I made a decision for health reasons and would do it again in a heartbeat. Breasts are not the be all/end all to some women or men. I doubt seriously that many men, and I do mean men, not the narcissistic idiots that come out of Hollywood, marry women for their breasts. I know my hubby didn't. I've talked on this matter before on one of my blog posts. Some women are identified by their chests; I'm not one of them. Be happy with what you have. There are health risks to women with larger breasts. There are also other considerations with that also. I chose to do what I did and was extremely happy with the results.

But I'm glad it was brought to the forefront for women. Don't be afraid to take a pro-active stand on your health matters. Listen to your doctor but make your own decision. He'll inform you but he shouldn't be the one to make a decision for your own body. I'm certainly glad Miss Jolie did what she did so she wouldn't leave her children without a mother. Children need their mothers as much as they need their fathers. Wise decision, in my opinion.
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A very colorful entrance to an adorable place somewhere in Europe. France and Italy are pretty similar in their homes, all very lovely and fascinating architecture. This is a darling place though.

I love gorgeous arrays of pillows as art. I'm thinking of having Love Bunny make me shelves for the family room to display pillows I've made. I need to make more room in my office, where most of them are stored, and in my craft room. I'll be cleaning that out soon. Yeah, yeah, I know, you're heard that before, but this time I mean it as it's getting seriously trashed in there.

Another exceptional place for an al fresco dinner.

A stunning bunch of lavender. I'm not fond of the smell but its medicinal value is wonderful for burns.

An array of vintage hats. How wonderful that this owner was able to get so many with flowers on them.

I'd love to have this small vase. I know exactly where I'd use it.

I love impatiens for their strikingly vivid colors.

Don't we all wish we could create a cute vignette like this? I'd just love to have that old ice cream parlor chair!

Looks like British Colonial decor to me.

Just a bit of lace juxtaposed with peeling windows.

A place to sit and dream while surrounded with gorgeous roses.

These are French-enameled measuring cups. Cute!!!

A beachy-type decor. I do love the colors.

I just loved the stairs in this old home. I doubt I'd ever feel safe going up and down on them. I need a handrail as I'm a klutz, but I love the look. The stone fireplace is also a plus in this house.

A way to decorate a canning car. Just put earrings on it and it's an instant vase.

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Tidbit:

The Houses of Parliament have nearly 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases, 11 courtyards, 8 bars, and 6 restaurants—none of them open to the public.
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A Few Thoughts on Womanhood

My favorite instrument is the cello. I love to listen to Yo Yo Ma play. Here is a video of his music playing one of my favorite songs. He's one of the greatest musicians in the world. Enjoy while reading this post. If this doesn't touch your heart, there is no hope for you. ;-)

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Many years ago I was a die-hard feminist. No more. I actually had an epiphany and that changed my whole life. I love and appreciate men. They are as necessary as women are. I'm just a woman who loves her husband more than anything. So I'd like to post a few things about womanhood for all of you because no one else can do womanhood or mothering like a mother can. Now, I don't want to hear about men. Yes, they are absolutely special also, but we women give birth to the child. No man can do that, only women. Neither can a woman take the place of a father in the home. Men are necessary for children. Women are necessary for children. Nothing replaces a mother or father in the home.

There is great nobility in Motherhood. God planted within women something divine.

  The only way to get through this life is to laugh your way through it. You can either laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. And I sure do a lot of laughing. Crying gives me wrinkles and destroys my mascara and makeup.

The Lord uses us because of our unique personalities and differences rather than in spite of them. He needs every one of us with our blemishes and weaknesses and imperfections. Trust me, I definitely have mine, more than I'd care to have.

As you create your home, don't get distracted with a lot of things that have no meaning for you or your family. Don't dwell on your failures, but think of your successes. Have joy in your children. Have joy in your husband. Have joy in yourself. Be grateful for your journey.
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Stunning vintage cabinet. The way she decorate touches me as she has a very humble bench with a large dining table with glass on top. Some chairs are slipcovered and some aren't, just have pads on them. Everything topped off with a chandelier. Extraordinary!

I like old scroll work like this in a verdigris finish. To me it's one of the prettiest colors in the world.

A truly unique wall covering. I don't think I'd do it but she pulled it off rather well.

Who can resist pretty pink cookies in a flowered box, even if they are in a photograph?

Another French style dining room. Different chairs around the table and an old store scale for pizzazz.

I thought this was cute with the little soldiers hanging from the chandelier. Maybe it's for Christmas decorating but it would still look cute all year round.

Another cute room from one of our Swedish friends. I can tell from the flags.

Truly, for me, I'd rather have my cook top in a corner like this. That way you can work from both sides. I believe this is the ideal kitchen with the sink to the right but down a bit more from the stove. Our last house had it that way and it was perfect for me to cook.

Just a bit of whimsy for you today.

If this didn't start as a barn, you could have fooled me. It's just adorable, especially with all the vivid colors and that pool.

Greengate items. One of my favorite stores on the internet. They have the prettiest items for sale I've ever seen.

Maybe someone should coin the phrase rusticglam. (Hmmm, I think I just did!) This would be the lead photo. Very pretty.

By now, you should know I love clothes pin bags. I've made several unique froufrou-y ones for my laundry room to just hang in there along with decorated clothespins in them. Make your laundry room pretty!! You'll love being in there more.

We'd all love one of these tables in our kitchen or living room.

Simply beautiful tassels.

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Tidbit:

London's smallest house is only 3.5 feet wide and forms part of the Tyburn Convent on Hyde Park Place, where 20 nuns live. These nuns have taken a vow of silence and still pray for the souls of those who lost their lives on the "Tyburn Tree," London's main execution spot until 1783, where about fifty thousand people were executed.
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Linking up with Pink Saturday.  

Green Salads vs. Jello Cool Whip Fruit Salads

Since I've had so many "medical" things done to me lately with the skin cancer, surgery on hands for trigger fingers...sigh, endoscopy, where I never shut up talking when they pulled the tube out and I have no recollection of it to the delight of my hubby's warped sense of humor, etc., a friend sent me this. It's so funny I have to share it with you.

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I love salads: green vegetable salads, chicken salad, ham salad, Italian pasta salad, macaroni salad with olives, celery, onion and mayonnaise. I'm a salad girl. We always had a salad in my parent's house. I grew up eating salads. Then I joined the LDS Church and salads changed.

When we would go to a friend's house or a ward dinner, salad would be what Love Bunny and I called dessert, usually consisting of Jello in some form or another and fruit and whipped cream or Cool Whip in it. To us that is dessert or a fruit dessert. Fruit salad for us was apples, oranges, maraschino cherries,pineapple and sugar and the cherry juice. When hubs is in charge of a ward dinner, he tells them green salad, not a dessert salad. They will inevitably not listen and will bring a sweet dessert salad. I'll bring the vegetable salad. I'll then eat their dessert salad after the main course. Now, truthfully, I love the salads some of our friends make but nothing is a salad without lettuce and tomatoes to us. Here is my regular salad if we're just having a salad for a dinner.

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Carrots
Cucumbers
Red bell pepper
Kidney Beans
Pineapple
Craisins
Red onion, not yellow, love the color!
Shredded cheese, preferably extra sharp, our favorite
Pecans for me and sunflower seeds for hubs
Poppy seed dressing for me and Fat Free Italian for him
Topped off with salt and freshly ground black Tellicherry pepper. I love pepper, but especially freshly ground, which we use around here a lot. I have to limit my pepper because of my kidney stones (too numerous to count, as the doc says). And pepper is not good for people with kidney stones.

It's delicious. I love pineapple. A lot! I might throw in strawberries if I have them but don't always and they don't come in cans like pineapple. These fruits are my favorites—watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, coconut, strawberries.
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The woman who took this photo is a woman who understands my heart. It's perfect in my eyes.

A beautiful home in Europe. Yep, we all love these old stone homes that recall petite pleasures to our hearts.

A beautiful door with a gorgeous patina. This is one of my favorite colors. I love to see it on outside faucets or lead pipes.

An old forgotten wood box brought to its magnificence by a few pots of flowers.

A little french soap dish holding geegaws and buttons.

A pleasurable area to dine with friends.

A beautiful vintage pink enameled pitcher.

I found this pillow stunning! She probably had a "bad spot" in the petit point and did a creative fix to it. Gorgeous!

Another bedroom I find exceptionally appealing. That step-up area with a chair for reading is a plus. Just lovely.

One of the most colorful and delightful photos I've ever seen. I couldn't resist showing it to you.

This reminds me of Southern California and I have no idea why. Maybe it's the lusciousness of the garden or the way the golden sun filters through the trees of wisteria or maybe it's the smoginess of the sky. I love California.

I don't think I've ever seen such pretty pink frames all clustered together like this and I love it.

This homeowner has exceptional talent decorating like this. I find it lovely.

Now this is a true tree house! Isn't it cute?

For a tiny kitchen, I love this layout. Mine's small, but not as cute as this one.

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Tidbit:

When a male skier falls down, he tends to fall on his face. A woman skier tends to fall on her back.
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Maria

Maria is my friend and masseuse. I met her several years ago at Massage Envy. I asked for a deep tissue massage and got her one day. She's one of the best I've ever had. She knows my body well. But we are also sisters of the heart. She's from Mexico and a religious person like me, though not of my religion. She has 2 daughters who have given her 2 grandchildren.

Maria is lovely and has a gorgeous and sweet heart. Her life has not been easy and she suffers from depression. But I loved her from the first massage. She's intuitive. I tell her what's hurting and she fixes that hurt. Once I told her I was having a problem with my stomach I believe it was as that was several years ago. After she did a special thing to my stomach, it wasn't hurting! She is truly amazing. She is one of the most amazing women I've ever met and is in the top 5 of best masseuses I've ever had. All five I speak of are great, but in different ways. I don't think I could get through some days if I didn't treat myself to regular massages.

Maria is working at another place now and I'll follow her. She wants more freedom to use oils and such but also other techniques she likes to use. I'm excited for her. If you've never tried massage, I recommend it highly. I feel so much better after having one that I feel like a new person.

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A beautiful display of flowers from a lovely balcony.

I love the tablecloth draping on the floor. Sometimes I think I'd like one to drop to the floor but I love the scroll of the legs of my dining table and the claw foot at the bottom so much that I'd hate to cover it up though.

The white flowers I find stunningly beautiful amassed together as that. I don't know what kind they are as I'm pathetic at horticultural names. I once read a book about a landscape designer with 2 boys and her boys knew the Latin names of all the trees and flowers instead of the popular names. What a treat to be taught by a mother like that!

A heavenly haven for a walk or picnic or just to sit on a bench in here from the sun.

I love these old tins and the glass bottles of soda pop. I got one recently at World Market with a rubber top with wire that can be snapped back on fizzy or carbonated drinks. I love it for my Henry Weinhard's Roob Beer, the very best in the world!

A simple contrast in whites in this light-filled kitchen.

This reminds me of a Mexican restaurant in Old Town San Diego we used to frequent. We loved sitting under banana leaves in the hot sun and eating.

A most striking table setting with fantastic pink roses and stemmed glassware.

Another sweet getaway in a home where pink is a favorite color.

While this room looks more like something a man would like, I find it very appealing to my sense of aesthetics.

That white curved sofa is gorgeous!!!! I'd love one like it.

Cute wire basket with six places for glasses filled with roses. I wonder where these can be bought. I'd love to have a couple.

Another dream kitchen with lots of fabric embellishment along with pretty things strewn around the kitchen counter tops and island.

Oooooh, my! Yes, it's a beautiful hallway with beautiful rooms off the entrance to a lovely home.

Some woman has taken some lovely jewelry and made it into...whatever this gorgeous thing is called. I don't know, but it sure is stunning.

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Tidbit:

More than half of all doctors in Finland are females.
[I once read Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. In that book he told how women are encouraged to become doctors in Russia because it is considered a second-rate job and very low paying, extremely low paying and not prestigious at all. It's a tough book to read but I recommend it.]