2007 is coming to a close ...

Cheers to an incredible year full of love, laughter, learning and moments to cherish!! :)
I recieved the following as part of an email from a dear friend ...

Kiss and hug often. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably.

I plan on doing all 3 in '08 - how about you??!

Happy New Year's EVE ...

(Kiss someone you love at midnight!!)

The end of an email
(Send one with love - It goes a long way!)

How do you end your email messages? Do you close them with - bye, adios, all the best, best, yours, yours faithfully, with love and appreciation, love, thank you, be in touch … maybe you leave the ending statement off or simply sign your name?

I find the end of emails to be so interesting – The way a person ends an email is like a little glimpse into his/her soul or mood at the moment :) ...

Below are a few of my personal closing favorites:
(I added a little commentary so you can glimpse into my reasoning on all this!)
...

Happy Friday!
(Adapt the happy for whatever day it is, happy Monday and so on)
I like using the word happy at the end of anything. I feel this is a way to share happiness…
Just typing the word does wonders. Happy, happy, happy …

Create a GREAT day!
Several years ago, I was an Empowerment Leader/Coach and presented seminars/classes for corporations and private groups. This phrase was very fun to use and share – still is! Get out there people and CREATE something GREAT. Create, create, create ...

May it go well with you!
I used to work for a company called Just Roses and would occasionally be asked to work in one of their shops where the customers spoke very little English and Spanish was the native tongue. My brother, Robby, was fluent in Spanish and I asked him to give me some Spanish lessons to help me better communicate with the rose shoppers. Specifically, I wanted to say something nice to them at the end of our interaction. He taught me to say: May it go well with you (in Spanish) and you wouldn’t believe the smiles that phrase brought each time I said it! (For all I know, I butchered it so bad that I was really telling them to hurry and fly to the moon) but all in all I think we had a little meeting of the minds! And the farwells were happy ...

Lastly, my favorite way to close an email is with one of my favorite words - LOVE.
So few people end anything with that word or emotion – why? Are we afraid the word LOVE
will cause more trouble than good? (Something to think about)

Let’s try in 2008 to share more positive feelings, kinder words and end with MORE LOVE.

We can do this one email at a time … Join me on my quest to ACT with MORE LOVE.

How about this ending:

Happy Friday night - CREATE a splendid Weekend ...
Sending love and always love,
Wendy

:)

PS: Que te vaya bien (kay tay vah-yah bee-ehn)!

Music & Lyrics –
Starring: Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant

Have you seen this show? If so, you’ll recognize the song I posted via You Tube…
It’s the theme of the show and makes its way into the corners of the mind! I can’t get it out!!

Favorite scene: Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore in his apartment recording the demo of the below posted song.

Happy Wednesday!!

Cheers to love, life, movies and the day after Christmas!!
(We’re cleaning and de-junking the house) ...

Making room for all the NEW toys and surprises from Santa and loved ones.

Way Back Into Love (full version)

{Take 1} Posting a You Tube Video ...

My Grown Up Christmas List ...

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath the tree

But heaven only knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end

Oh, This is my grown up Christmas list
*******
(Lyrics from one of my favorite Christmas songs)

Merry Christmas!!

:)

Ahhh it's the night before Christmas and all through the house ...

The holiday food drive

{Tis the season to give ...}

Special thanks to all those who donated to this year’s Jason Lee Elementary food drive! We ended up with 24 boxes of food – which enabled us to give 4 boxes of food to 6 different families. Together, we MADE a difference … !!

Cheers to Christmas and the wonderful spirit of giving.
:)

Leavenworth, Washington
{The Enchanting Little Bavarian Village}

Last Saturday, we loaded our car (with kids, sleds a couple of movies and a few munchies) and headed for Leavenworth. This little town is nestled in the mountains and is completely charming and enchanting! We wanted to be part of their tree lighting ceremony and found ourselves with thousands of others counting down 10-9-8 until the town lights were all shining! We bumped into Santa Clause, a reigndeer, Father Time and even met a big fuzzy bear. It was such a magical day for us! I highly recommend visiting Leavenworth during the holidays… There is nothing like standing on a dark winter night in a crowded street full of thousands of people singing Silent Night ...

PS: Good Morning America recently filmed their show live from Leavenworth as it was chosen as one of the top 5 places in the USA to enjoy a display of holiday lights!

Feel free to visit the Leavenworth website:

http://www.leavenworth.org/

Photo credit: Our son Kade

NEWS FLASH: Mascara and sad movies don’t mix.

Tip for the 'silver screen' eyes:
Give your lashes a break when you watch “Griffin & Phoenix” …
(Romantic Comedy, Love story) 2006, PG-13
Estimated tears: 1,200 (give or take a few)

Trust me ... Waterproof mascara won't work for this film.

:)

A night at the Ballet ...

My daughter and I attended the Nutcracker by the Mid-Columbia Ballet tonight! OH it was splendid! I think ballet is so romantic and moving.

Good night - I'm off to dream of dancing snowflakes swirling around a giant rat king!

(Could be an interesting night!)
:)

Topics for the dinner table …

I heard it once said that you should never discuss politics or religion around the dinner table (especially true when there are guests present). Lately, don’t you find that everything ties back into religion or politics? I think that is WHAT we MUST discuss around the dinner table. Below are three topic starters – feel free to toss ‘em out over the big plates piled high
with delicious grub.
1
Faith and religion in America. I’d encourage you to watch Mitt Romney’s speech given earlier today about this very subject. No matter what religion or political party you belong to … I believe you’ll find his words have merit and truth. And are definitely worthy of ‘table talk’.
You can watch the Mitt Romney speech via the below link:
http://www.mittromney.com/
2
Gas Prices. We are in need of changes in this area. Throw out those two words in any setting and I guarantee you’ll tap into a rich source of oil price woes and disgust of our current petroleum situation. (I just walked in from filling up my rig with gas and had to laugh at myself when I went to the display board and it said: Would you like your receipt? I always press yes. It serves as tangible evidence that I actually DID spend that much on one tank). Yipes! See the banter and passions are flying already!
3
Love.
After the hearty meal and passionate discussions, you’ll most definitely want to wrap it all up with my favorite subject. Throw out this quote and let the emotions run wild:

“There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.”
~ George Sand

Cheers to dinnertime and the conversations that make it lively!

Starry, starry night (Vincent)

The way to know life is to LOVE many things.
~ Vincent Van Gogh

This is one of my all time favorite songs!!