Under my Nose

I bought this little

sculpture two years

ago.  

I certainly didn't need

another knick knack

for our house and I

certainly didn't need

one that seemed, to

this thrift and vintage-

loving girl, to be

expensive.

The store had two, so

I decided to wait for

this object of my

affection to go on

sale.

It didn't.

When only one 

remained, I purchased

it for this reason
alone:

It made me smile.

I justified the price

by telling myself,

It's actually a piece

of art.  An investment.

I'd spent hours

painting and stenciling

our powder room walls,

then stalking flea

markets for the finishing

accessories, to create,

in the end, a mish-mash

of happy.

This little piece just

seemed to belong here.

Since the powder room

sits across the hall from

my computer cubby, I

would see it and

admire it every day.

But like a lot of truly

wonderful things that

I pass by daily,

I stopped actually

seeing 

this whimsical little piece

a long time ago.

But today it caught

my eye.  

And made me consider,

What other marvelous

things am I not really

seeing, that are right

there, 

under

my

nose?

My front-loading

washer and dryer.

{Praise for you both

is way overdue!}

The view out my

back window.

{Thank you, sweet

birds, for adding

beauty to the scene.}

The hodge podge

of footwear on my

mud room floor.

{I need to really see

this, as I know I will

blink and it will be

gone, all too soon.....}

The rolling ladder

in our home office,

all set to access those

out of reach books.

{The very ladder that

had me at hello

 when we were

house-hunting.}

The little bits and pieces

 all around me that say,

You are loved.

Although I like to believe

that I've cultivated

a heart that recognizes

these blessings laid

out before me, life,

in its busy-ness, often

wraps me in blinders.

I don't want to be

blind to these things.

I want to see.

Always.

What's under

your

nose?

xo

Suzanne

Little Lamb

My oldest is nearly 18.

Her oldest is ten.

My youngest is 14.

Her youngest is

almost

here.

She became a mom earlier.

I became a mom later.

Technically, I could

be her mom.

But as with so many

women I've befriended

in my life, it isn't about

chronological age.

It's about spirit.

And she has it,

in bunches.

Roots in South Dakota

but transplanted to

North Carolina, Alicia

is a smart, funny,

creative and organized

wife and home-schooling

mama to three ~ soon

to be four ~ kiddos.

We have a mutual

friend who invited me

and a few other bloggers

to fete Alicia and bebe

to be with a virtual 

baby shower, 

since we all live

in different states.

Today is the day : )

***************

Dear April Baby,

In a few, short weeks,

you will be here, a

fellow citizen of this

amazing place that

we call Earth.

A little lamb of God.

I have always been

awed by the odds of

being born.  That those

exact genetic materials

came together, to form

you, is such a miracle.

Greater odds than

winning the lottery.

Greater odds than

a meteor falling from

the sky.

Greater odds than 

becoming president,

winning an olympic

gold medal or walking

on the moon.

And yet, here you are.

I have learned a lot,

as a citizen of this

big old planet.....

And I have tried to

share some of the 

important bits with

my own children.

Little citizen,

little lamb,

this is what I advise:

Love with your whole heart.

Be grateful.  Say thank you.

Celebrate the small things.

Kindness always counts.

Be your own best friend.

Choose to be happy.

Enjoy the ride.

Here's a toast to the 

wonder that is you, and

the life that is spread

before you, just waiting

to be tasted.

I hope you'll find it as

sweet 
as you are 

certain

to be.

xo

Suzanne

Mailing to Alicia:

1- Painting created just for bebe

by my daughter

2- Jelly beans & meringues
{For big brothers & sister}


3 - Thymes baby shampoo 
{Love that baby scent!}

4- Oh-so-soft security blanket

5- Ity-bitty Minnetonka moccasins

{A Minnesota original}  

6- Love


To peek at more shower
celebrations for Alicia,
click below:

True Beauty

Halle Berry

Catherine Zeta-Jones
Beyonce
Jennifer Lopez
Christina Hendricks
Anne Hathaway

Imagine that face staring 

back at you in the mirror, 

each and every day.

Not just attractive, but 

exquisite.  

It's award season for
celebrities, so we are
seeing these faces and
what they are wearing,
nearly every day in the
news, on-line and in print.

My daughter and I were

considering the idea of true

beauty the other morning

over breakfast.  

My girl

She explained how one

of her favorite actresses,

the talented and very lovely

Jennifer Lawrence, had been

Photo-Shopped recently 

by a magazine.

They changed a bunch of

things and even removed her

freckles.....

She's already so pretty,

Mommy.

Why do they do that?

We discussed the media's 

unrealistic standard of beauty,

which they perpetuate by

perfecting even those

who most of us deem pretty

darn perfect to begin with.

{The media meaning

both men and women
promoting these ideals.}

Sadly, many people idolize

beautiful people only because

they are beautiful.  As if somehow

they did something special to

aquire these features, and for

that reason alone, should be

applauded.

In reality, they simply had the

good fortune to be born with 

the right genetic mix that 

created them.

Luck.

In my day, a face like

a doll was envied.

Barbie, anyone?

Now dolls like Bratz,

heavily made up and
with exaggerated facial
features, are the new

ideal for little girls.

Why do we buy into this?

Is it any wonder that

girls at younger and younger

ages feel compelled to
strive for perfection?

The Media puts so much

importance on 

outward

appearance.

And yet ~

and yet......

If I asked you to close your

eyes and picture seven women

who you love more than 

any others in the world,

would you make the 

selection based on how 

they look?

Me neither.

Instead, we love them 
for characteristics

like kindness, humor,

compassion, dedication,

strength, loyalty and 
courage.

Not traits that you see

in a mirror, but instead,

the ones that you feel

in your heart.

And because they

love us, too,

just as we are.

This is the standard
we should all be
advancing. 

True beauty can't
be Photo-Shopped.



Sorry, Media.

xo

Suzanne

Quirks and All

I met two of them when

we moved to Minnesota

in February of 2000.

We were all moms in the

same kindergarten class and

they kindly reached out 

to me.

The beginning of precious

friendships.

{Now the little ones who
brought us together are

seniors in high school.}

Like a rolling snowball,

this group pulled in more

friends over the years,

and eventually, we met

regularly to do yoga

together.

And to laugh.

And to share common

experiences over coffee

or lunch.

And to just

be

ourselves.

One of the original

yoga girls has a family

home in Palm Desert,

California {lucky duck}

and invited the group 

to stay last week for a
few days.

Luckier us.

Besides birthday trips 

I've made with my mom 

and two I've made with 

another friend, I've never 

had a girl's weekend away.

It was wonderful.

The information super-

highway has nothing 

on seven friends together 

for four days.

We shared tips on nutrition

and skin care, hopes and

dreams for the second acts

of our lives and parenting

strategies {both for our

own kids and our parents}.

And we laughed.

Oh, how we laughed.

We cried a little, too.

Comes with the territory.

We made a pact that we

won't get plastic surgery.....

But also promised that if

one of us does, we'll love

her, anyway : )

Spending this much time

together, we became 

familiar with each other's 

little idiosyncrasies.

Like the friend who gets

anxious about overhead

luggage space, worries about

bad chemicals in food and

body products, and is prone 

to showing off her 

daughter's artwork.

{Thanks for indulging

me, ladies!}

But mostly we learned that

there is nothing more 

comforting

on this journey of life 

than the embrace and 

support of

dear

dear

friends,

who care for you, 

quirks and all.

It's a special kind of love.

I hope you have it in 
your life, too.

"Yes 'em, old friends is
always best, 'lest you can
catch a new one that's 
fit to make an old one
out of."

~ Sarah Orne Jewett

xo

Suzanne

Linking with Friday Moments