tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86140029461979598382024-03-05T22:46:56.646-06:00Cafe ElsewhereHanging out and talking up great living - family and friends, great places on the web, social media, and fun times.Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.comBlogger227125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-67466880254953563022012-12-01T09:00:00.001-06:002014-11-17T16:00:10.092-06:00The Last Ornament<div class="posterous_autopost">
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Our new kittens had fun with the last ornament to go on the tree. As usual I've done the whole thing, mostly, by myself. Hubby is not interested and my son, though claiming to be participating, is more interested in lighting candles and creating a device from which to hang mistletoe over the door. So my ambiance is the faint sound of Christmas music trailing from the bedroom, Hubby trying to figure out how to voice command his video game (“Equip flame spell!”.... “Equip lightning spell!”....”Assign flame spell”...”Assign healing spell!) and the “hammer hammer hammer” of my son's work. </div>
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Still, my mood is not dispelled and I persist in the annual tree trimming with my usual warm and fuzzy feelings. Three broken ornaments still get hung because of their sentimental value: A Christopher Radko of Kermit the Frog in a Santa hat, climbing out of a now-broken chimney; Ceramic ball with tree scene painted on it my father's widow bought for me at an art show, soon after my father's death (hole in the back side is hung against the tree... an invisible scar); and a crystal angel with a broken wing my husband gave me our first Christmas together. All the ornaments have some memory associated with them, some more significant than others. They are placed on the tree in order of emotional attachment, but even the least have some meaning.</div>
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I'm thinking about a co-worker who decided for the first time this year not to put up the tree. Her kids are grown and her husband doesn't care any more about their tree than mine does. I wonder if some day I'll be the same way?..... Nah, I can't see it happening.</div>
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Oh. I missed a box. Hold on ...</div>
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<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/the-last-ornament">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-863990166676912112012-09-03T16:17:00.001-05:002012-09-03T16:17:30.935-05:00Where's My Coffee! (A One Day Challenge)<div class='posterous_autopost'><p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M18EB4/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005M18EB4&linkCode=as2&tag=hubpages0156-20"><img src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005M18EB4&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=hubpages0156-20" border="0" alt="" /></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hubpages0156-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B005M18EB4" border="0" height="1" alt="" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I am not much of a coffee drinker (but – don’t let me run out of Diet Coke… ever!) so I can relate to those who absolutely must have their {insert highly addictive caffeinated beverage here] to get their day started on a productive, positive and … dare I say “sane?” note. My husband is a serious coffee drinker who imbibes in highly leaded black coffee all day every day. So, when our coffee pot went out this weekend, we were shopping for a new one before the sun had a chance to dry the morning dew.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Since this was the second pot to die on us in the two and a half years we’ve lived in this place, my husband decided to try plugging the new pot in a different spot. Mind you, it’s only on the other side of the stove from where the old one was, but the past two days have been rather comical as I watch him get used to this small change – especially early in the morning when he starts to make his first pot. He habitually steps to the old coffee pot spot, and at one point he nearly poured a carafe full of water all over the empty countertop. Even later in the day, reaching for another cup, he’ll step to the old spot and stand there for a second or two with a dumfounded look until he remembers the new pot is now one more step to the left.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Observing his having to create a new habit adjusting to his coffee pot spot makes me think of advice I’ve seen quite a bit – that one can create a “habit” by practicing a new behavior for thirty days. This teaches your brain to automatically cue the behavior without having to consciously think about it. Several times, I’ve started these 30 day brain training exercises, but I’ve never been able to make it the whole 30 days. I think, even though 30 days is not a long time, it seems like forever to me when imagining my impatient self with this new positive habit.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Seeing proof of this theory in my husband’s coffee habit reinforces in me that it <em>is</em> possible, so how do I make myself do this for 30 days? I think I’ll try some advice I learned many years ago when working with addicts: ”one day at a time”. I will simply not worry about the next 29 days. In fact, I don’t even think I’ll keep track. I’ll just set myself up a reminder, maybe in several places (Outlook, cell phone calendar, a sticky on my bathroom mirror, and maybe another on my laptop).</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">My new habit? I’m going to leave something on my plate at every meal. I am always taking more food than I need to fill me up, then feeling like I have to finish it even if I am already full. So I will start small and leave something, at least one bite, on my plate. I can do that for one day.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Would you like to join me for a day? What new habit would you like to start? Don’t worry. I won’t hold you accountable. This is a deal between you and your own brain just for one day. You can decide about tomorrow some other day.</p> <p> </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/wheres-my-coffee-a-one-day-challenge">"Do" Dreaming</a> </p> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-9874574631605705832012-06-23T22:08:00.001-05:002014-11-17T21:05:01.286-06:00Old Cars and Dogs<div class="posterous_autopost">
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I’ve had a recurring dream for a while now that I somehow gather up every car I’ve ever driven and collect them at the home where I grew up. My Dad’s old MGB (sweet! and I totaled it!), rescued from near the dorm I lived in in college; the little red S-15 pickup with the long bed I had when I left home, found in the lower forty of the parking lot at the hospital where I used to work… mixed in with these and other cars in my past is the iconic 57 Chevy, which I never owned, but I think must represent the time I was born into (I was not born until ’63, but the car represents that whole generation of cars to me, I think).</div>
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Recently the dream has changed from old cars to old dogs. The sweetheart pets of my life follow me around in a pack everywhere I go. Sandy, the beautiful blond Cocker mix who was hit by a car as a juvie and walked with a kind of sideways swagger (I had to give her away when I moved to an apartment in Tampa that didn’t allow pets); Babe the adorable and loving little terrier mix who ended up with my Mom and lived until she was nearly 20; Beckett the beagle, my earliest memory of a dog; Joe-Ben, a beautiful Airedale whose death was heart-wrenching for the whole family; Abbie, the needy but adorable and endearingly sweet black cocker-terrier mix whom I had to send off to the no-kill shelter when she bit my toddler (terriers are so possessive!); and lastly, Sparta, the rescued black lab and her offspring Pip, whom we had to let go when a Katrina-stressed giant Oak fell in our backyard and destroyed the fence that kept them in… all great friends and loving dogs whom I apparently still miss.</div>
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Don’t get me wrong: I have had my share of human grief. I lost a dear friend to AIDS in ’88. I lost my father (at only 56 years old) to Cancer in ’96. Then I lost a good friend from childhood to a <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/aircrash/dissection.html" style="color: #006699;" target="_blank" title="Crash of SwissAir flight 111">plane crash in ’98</a> (I named my kid after her). I think I have “grieved” these deaths appropriately, allowing time to mourn and feel the feelings: to go through Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/elizabeth-kubler-ross" style="color: #006699;" target="_blank" title="Elizabeth Kubler Ross">stages of grief</a>.</div>
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Maybe my dream could be telling me I need to grieve other losses. It seems trivial to think we need to go through the process with cars… but maybe not so much with dogs (they are our best friends after all) – either way, I think we do tend diminish loss in general in our lives. Obviously I have. So let’s take a minute or few to let them go.</div>
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I release these feelings of guilt and pain over the loss of dear pets all, and even the loss of things not living, but which hold meaning for a time in my past. I am ready to move on with gratitude for the gifts they left me, yet to live in the present. I let go of dreams not come true, and hold dear the moment of now, and I am thankful for dreams remaining. I appreciate the opportunity to allow life experiences to manifest in my current life with joy.</div>
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<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/old-cars-and-dogs">"Do" Dreaming</a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-49608543975358434562012-06-23T11:01:00.001-05:002014-11-17T21:06:46.983-06:00That Nice Lady<div class="posterous_autopost">
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“I was just talking to that <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">nice</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">lady</span>”</div>
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My family used to get tickled at my grandmother when she would say that. She was a few years into her illness when she made friends with a woman she called “that <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">nice</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">lady</span>”. It took us a while, but when we finally met her new friend, we laughed with joy – “Of Course!”</div>
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Yes, she was a very <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">nice</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">lady</span> indeed.</div>
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What my Nana, who had Alzheimer’s, was doing, was talking to the “<span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">nice</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">lady</span>” in the mirror. That was her new friend. Not realizing the reflection was herself, she was having conversations with a person she did not recognize, but with whom she really liked. </div>
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Some 25 years later, I find a lesson in that. When you look in the mirror, could you think of the reflection you see as a stranger, yet a person you could like? Could it be that he or she might be someone you could become good friends with? Why or why not? Maybe it’s time to have a heart-to-heart with that “<span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">nice</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">lady</span>” (or man) in your mirror. Maybe you’ll meet someone you like! Even in the throes of a bitter and debilitating disease, my Nana found something good in herself. </div>
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What’s your excuse?</div>
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<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/that-nice-lady">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-43457482284873660322012-06-22T06:55:00.001-05:002014-11-17T21:30:10.856-06:00True Reach<div class="posterous_autopost">
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<span style="background-color: white;">Klout.c</span>om measures our web presence in many different categories and on several different scales. One of them is “True Reach”. While it is nice to know someone is out there reading my stuff, I have to admit it is not really possible to measure the unknown. In the spirit of <em>It’s a Wonderful Life</em>, I dare say it might not always be a good thing to know every statistic or algorithm about the effectiveness of your presence in this world, online or not.<br />
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There are some (<span style="background-color: white;">probably more than you realize) folks out there getting your message whom you will never know about. Imagine a kind of circular version of “the Butterfly Effect”: somehow (we hope) the good we put out in the world will one day find its way back to us (though it will most likely be in a different form and without a tracking device). Still, good things that come to us could be a reciprocal effect of something we did once upon a time, however small or seemingly insignificant. Even more profound, these gifts of reciprocity could be the effect of something our parents did, or their parents even.</span><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline;"> </span><br />
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Imagine your own butterfly effect in full living color, flying from your own good energy and spreading little bits of fairy dust along the way. As the butterfly effect of you flutters in the shadows of the sun, wave goodbye and welcome the next with a deep incoming breath – we are part of a living universe, full of unseen but not invisible energy in every thought and action. Some even theorize that the whole universe is but one organism.<br />
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So, if your “Klout” score is not as high as you might like, especially in the area of “True Reach”, know this: someone <em>is</em> listening out there. Just be okay without knowing who.<br />
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<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/true-reach">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-69915433906065952102012-06-21T06:48:00.001-05:002014-11-17T21:31:34.496-06:00No Peeking<div class="posterous_autopost">
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I’ve had it all wrong this whole time. I misunderstood the “tree falling in the woods” question. If you are not familiar with it, it goes something like this: If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear, does it make a noise?<br />
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<em>(“Of course it makes a noise!” I thought. “Why would it not?”)</em><br />
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But it turns out there is a scientific reason why it might not. Now, I finally get it. Apparently, in quantum physics (which I do not even pretend to understand), waves and particles of energy act differently when we’re paying attention to what they are doing, than when we are not. I have been going about this whole “Law of Attraction” thing completely in the wrong way. I heard my mentors when they said “don’t get emotionally attached to the outcome”, but I misunderstood that. Really, what they mean is, once you hold the intention, let it go. Do not wait for this thing to happen or magically appear on your doorstep. Instead, let God and the Universe do their thing, and...<br />
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<strong>NO Peeking! </strong><br />
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I know you want to look, but don’t. Just like we can never look back, we cannot look for results either. Now is where you are, where “it” is. Do what feels natural and right in this moment. Trust your instincts. Be and do the most you can – right<em>now</em>. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/no-peeking">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-50985469768598111902012-06-11T18:51:00.001-05:002014-11-17T21:32:37.974-06:00Not the Only One<div class="posterous_autopost">
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I just dropped my son off to summer camp, his fourth year now. I've been going to this place for one reason or another on a regular basis for most of my life, and know these old roads well. What always strikes me when I drive up is how lonesome and desolate it seems. I'm almost always the only car as far as I can see in either direction. Knowing I'm not the only one heading this way, because camp holds a couple hundred kids plus staff, and it starts at the same time for all of us, I wonder why It is that, as usual, I see no other cars as I drive closer and closer to our destination. Not until we turn off the state highway and on to the mile long way that leads to my son's long awaited week of bliss do I see other cars. <br />
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How does this happen? Is there some kind of magical barrier that keeps each car at just the right gap behind the next so that we "get" the country road feeling as we ride in? Most of us who've stayed here see it as a magical place... "holy ground", so the thought that we are led quietly to the turn off is not that out of place, for this place. </div>
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It is peaceful and inviting, especially in summer. Waving overgrowth in a thousand shades of green tickle in the wind as I drive by. Lone horses, still from summer's heat, stand stoic, poised. Each acre taunts a new landscape fit for framing. I resist the urge to stop and take pictures. The kid is getting in his last hit of digital addiction before a week of nature by watching "Annoying Orange" YouTube videos on my smart phone. So, while the scene is lovely, the sound is not. Still, I feel a strong gratitude for this time alone in the country. I forget how much it means to me to be out here. It is probably the only time I feel safe and alone at the same time. Even though I see no others, I know they are there, sharing this lonesome road - not far ahead and not far behind: a quiet parade of souls in solitude. Even with the annoying orange, I love this.</div>
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I get to experience a lovely drive alone in the country, and I'm not the only one.</div>
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<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/not-the-only-one">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-37986593196870451932012-05-10T11:15:00.001-05:002012-05-10T11:27:38.539-05:00Oceanic Treasure: Free for the Taking<div class="posterous_autopost">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recycled art fish, by <a href="http://cgrecicladoartistico.blogspot.com/">http://cgrecicladoartistico.blogspot.com/</a></td></tr>
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Think of it as artistic gold. Mile after fish choking mile, debris from God knows where travels across the ocean to land forever in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or one of the other recently discovered oceanic trash-fills growing like <i>The Blob</i> in our beautiful Earth’s waters. But, what if we could do something extraordinary with it? </div>
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According to Miriam Goldstein, of the <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_20576845/scientists-find-100-fold-increase-plastic-trash-pacific">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a> </div>
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cleaning up the plastic trash in the ocean is virtually impossible, given the vast scale. The Pacific Garbage Patch, for example, stretches for hundreds of miles and is located 1,000 miles north of Hawaii.</div>
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"Most people who work on this issue agree that prevention is the critical step," she said. "Once a piece of plastic is in the ocean, it is really hard and expensive to get it out again."</blockquote>
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But what if someone were willing to pay for it? Say, an art lover who happens to also have a passion for our planet? Does such a person exist? I dare say yes. <br />
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What if we could, with our social media collective consciousness, make this “trash” a viable commodity? What if it were bought and sold on the big markets? Then it could be “harvested” by would be gold-miner types, and sold to the highest bidder, who could create stuff with it and sell it for what it is: a savior of fish: Hope for the planet: Love of the ocean; Sea bird saved. </div>
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It would take a lot, for sure. Somebody would have to come up with a way to authenticate it. We won’t use just any trash… it has to be ocean trash. Salt content, perhaps? The 14k stamp equivalent of “yep it’s real, folks!”</div>
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Oh it’s not a new idea. See what Oregon-based artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi is already doing!</div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/html/compose/static_files/goog_1158336293">Washed Ashore: Plastics, Sea Life Art</a></span></strong><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://chulavistanaturecenter.org/seasonalexhibits/WashedAshore/default.html"> is a nationally acclaimed, environmental art exhibit featuring massive sculptures and other art pieces made entirely of marine debris collected from beaches, such as plastic ropes, nets, toys, cigarette lighters, flip-flops, Frisbees and more.</a> </span></div>
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What if we could take it even further? Make every household in the world want a piece of ocean-saving art? People are already making dresses out of recycled plastic. Just think of the possibilities! This would have to be way more than an ocean awareness campaign. We need to bring in the big boys - The folks with serious cash: Investors who expect a serious return on their dollar. Somebody to fund the clean up and be excited to reap the rewards. </div>
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Probably the best way to do that, is to create a demand. Pre-orders anyone?</div>
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<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/oceanic-treasure-free-for-the-taking">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-22179398742440769142012-05-09T11:21:00.001-05:002012-05-09T11:21:56.291-05:00Into the Blu<div class='posterous_autopost'><div style="padding-bottom: 2px; line-height: 0px;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/114278909264829850/" target="_blank"><img src="http://media-cache9.pinterest.com/upload/114278909264829850_7duchTnM_c.jpg" border="0" height="360" alt="" width="480" /></a></div> <p /> <div style="float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;"> <p style="font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;">Source: <a href="http://www.thesealliance.org/sites/default/files/content_item_images/lionfishbahamas.jpg" style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;">thesealliance.org</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/karenlkay/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;">Karen</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #76838b;">Pinterest</a></p> </div> <p>It's a social network! It's an app! It's a screen saver! It's a game! No - well yes! It's all of the above and more - it's the freshly launched <a href="http://theblu.com" title="The Blu" target="_blank">theblu.com </a>, now in open beta. The purpose is to raise awareness (and funds) for carefully selected non-profit groups dedicated to protecting and preserving our oceans and the delicate ecosystems within. There is fun for all types... techies, artistics, socially concious, and those who just like to play. </p> <p>Since it is fresh and still in Beta, it's got some quirks, but it shows promise of really taking off and bringing a fresh platform for those of us who like to explore new things in the ever evolving arena of social networking. I personally am really excited, because saving the ocean is my big passion. I have adopted three fish already with my 100 credits I got for signing up. I named them Speedy, Goldie, and Rosie. I can choose to follow just them in my own habitat, or move to the common area habitat where everybody gets to play in the beginning. Once things are more evolved, I think the idea is to spend moolah to get to play in other habitats. The site donates 25% of every dollar to one of thier non-profit collaboraters, who currently consist of</p> <ul style="margin: 10px; color: #111; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px;"> <li><a href="http://www.thesealliance.org/">Mission Blu</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.wildaid.org/">WildAid</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.opsociety.org/">Oceanic Preservation Society</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.oceanelders.org/">Ocean Elders</a></li> <a href="http://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian Institution</a> --> <li><a href="http://www.sio.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a></li> </ul> <p><strong></strong> For those who love to create beautiful graphic images (I wish I had the patience), you can sign up to help create the environment. That seems like it would be pretty rewarding! You get credit forever for each species you develop. How's that for getting in on the ground (er... ocean) floor?</p> <p>The social networking part is a little different than what one might expect. For now, from what I can tell, you "follow" the other members by clicking on their fish, and going to the info about that fish which tells you who the owner is. You can then choose to follow them if you wish. I think the trick is to use the screen saver function, which keeps it going while you're away from your computer, so that others can "find" your fishies.</p> <p>I'm still a novice, so I may not be 100% correct about how it all works. Will let y'all know when I figure out more! For now, come join me! My nickname is "kkay". See you in the Blu!</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/into-the-blu">"Do" Dreaming</a> </p> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-59829562372727836562012-05-01T07:25:00.001-05:002012-05-01T07:25:09.933-05:00Peace is Flowing from the Conestoga River!<div class='posterous_autopost'><div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <object height="315" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="420" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hwWqeNgHuH0?version=3&hl=en_US" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hwWqeNgHuH0?version=3&hl=en_US" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" height="315" width="420" /></object> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://ironedoutdiva.com/2012/05/peace-is-flowing-from-the-conestoga-river/">ironedoutdiva.com</a></div> <p>Meet my friend Kate on my blog today! She's standing by 2 chat! <a href="http://ironedoutdiva.com/2012/05/peace-is-flowing-from-the-conestoga-river/">http://ironedoutdiva.com/2012/05/peace-is-flowing-from-the-conestoga-river/</a></p></div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/peace-is-flowing-from-the-conestoga-river">"Do" Dreaming</a> </p> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-7853508271121526952012-04-16T09:01:00.001-05:002012-04-16T09:01:41.045-05:00Tax Day Rainbow<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klkay/7083860059/" title="Tax Day Rainbow_Photo"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7083860059_4f69fc47b1.jpg" alt="Tax Day Rainbow_Photo by KarenLKay" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klkay/7083860059/">Tax Day Rainbow_Photo</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klkay/">KarenLKay</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>Last day of tax season (officially anyway) and what greets me as I pull in to work but a gorgeous double rainbow!<br /><br />What a lovely way to start the week!<br /><br />Happy Monday Y'all!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-69665904288491854252012-03-23T16:36:00.001-05:002012-03-23T16:36:05.652-05:00Peaceful Waters<div class='posterous_autopost'><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/karenlkay/V1OYn8wY1nyjO24XoRtBgSzq7QTe31f1msVF63lVUeIioJlTglAnSEMZq9Q1/ocean_pins.jpg"><img alt="Ocean_pins" height="285" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/karenlkay/7l3WL42mjlUjOgBR1mkaJ1y7MpoAuKaSOtXc9jEOY7dQClS2liAl5pBjIHVj/ocean_pins.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <p></p><div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter">Grouped next to each other in their little corner of my newest addiction (Pinterest), is a collection of pins depicting my passion for the ocean. Back in the fall I took on a challenge at Squidoo to make <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/deep-water-exploration" title="deep water exploration" target="_blank">30 lenses on one niche</a>. I chose “deep water exploration” and ended up with such a diverse group of 30 lenses that I am still narrowing that niche down even now. For me, the love has to be the cause. By that, I mean I love that which is vulnerable. So “cause” is the niche. I hope I am making sense. The point is that I have been searching for the right playground to write in for several years now. I have twisted and turned here and there, and now, finally, I feel at home in the watery underworld of ocean life and with it my passion for saving the oceans. Maybe it’s a phase, or maybe I’m finding my calling, at nearly 50 years old. Perhaps that’s a blessing?</div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/peaceful-waters">"Do" Dreaming</a> </p> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-17152710720654116592012-03-17T09:01:00.002-05:002012-03-17T09:05:59.433-05:00Greens & Rainbows ~ Joy to you!<div class="posterous_autopost"><div style="line-height: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px;"></div><div style="line-height: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/114278909264567373/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="397" src="http://media-cdn9.pinterest.com/upload/114278909264567373_BgXQC29P_c.jpg" width="554" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="float: left; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px;">Source: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/double_rainbow_shutterstock_52676314_web.jpg" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">shutterstock.com</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/karenlkay/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Karen</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div></div><div><div style="font-size: 10px;"><a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/112183729">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div><div style="font-size: 10px;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">May your path be straight and clear, may the wind make your journey a breeze. May you always find joy in the smallest of things, and may love follow you all of your day.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Happy St Patrick's day all!</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-8357646283880217092011-12-22T10:16:00.001-06:002014-11-17T20:56:37.017-06:00Even Stop Lights<div class="posterous_autopost">
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Sometimes I think thoughts that are kinda kooky. You may know the types of thoughts I mean. Thoughts that, if you were to share, you just know those you love would roll their eyes and come up with something like "there she goes again". </div>
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So I think these thoughts but rarely allow myself the priveledge of sharing. I know it's taking a risk to share, and most of the time, I just don't do it. One example has to do with Christmas and stop lights. I suppose it's because daylight savings time goes back to "normal time" not long before the Holiday Season starts which makes this work, but it occures to me, that during the Holidays, the green and red (and gold even) of traffic lights, coupled with the red of tail lights if sitting in traffic, make for quite a Christmas-y show. So, does that sound kinda kooky to you? I figured as much.</div>
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But, here's the fun part: While preparing the music for a Christmas Party and reviewing the words to some favorite carols, I noticed something. It has been shared before. Yep. By Ray Evans, two-time Acadamy Award winning songwriter. In.... you ready for this<em>? Silver Bells ! </em> </div>
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Strings of street lights, even stop lights</div>
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Blink a bright red and green</div>
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And the shoppers run home with their treasures</div>
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That's the beginning of the second verse! So if a big time composer can share a funky thought, why can't I? </div>
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In fact, I should!</div>
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What about you?</div>
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photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yopizza">Yopizza</a></div>
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<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/even-stop-lights">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-84149601343977998552011-12-03T08:42:00.001-06:002015-12-02T12:56:45.515-06:00The Hole in the Y'all<div class="posterous_autopost">
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For real - it's true. Y'all has a big ole hole in it. I guess most people think "Y'all" is a contraction of sorts - combining "You" and "all". But I beg to differ. It's not even slang. You see, "Y'all" when said correctly (Yawl) and in the right circumstance - to those for whom we hold endearment, the word has a much bigger meaning.<br />
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"You", yes. "All", not really. It's inclusive with the use of the "aw" - those for whom we feel "awe" for. Our beloved friends, family, and others perhaps in the near vicinity who get the vibe just for being there. </div>
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It's a big ole hole because it represents the place in our hearts for which "Y'all" as our dear ones fill. It's a big ole hole because we have to make a big one with our mouth to say it right. (try saying it without making a hole) - the general feeling about the use of "Y'all" is that it's simply a lazy Southern way to say a greeting. </div>
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Oh, Y'all. There is nothing lazy about saying it. Not only is it packed with emotion, but it's not easy to say at all, at least in the physical sense. It's certainly much easier to say "you all" or "you'ns" (or however that'n goes) than it is to use every muscle in the mouth to make that big ole hole in "Y'all".</div>
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We just can't help it. If you're part of "Y'all", then you're being awed. In a way it is a short cut.... "You? .....awe"</div>
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Thanks Y'all!</div>
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Image via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/24550737@N04/8173178136/" target="_blank">Flick creative commons</a><br /><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-71287161287979858612011-10-13T09:46:00.001-05:002011-10-13T09:46:48.636-05:00Color Intervention<div class='posterous_autopost'><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="2011-10-11-img_5117" height="333" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/karenlkay/1DKoDSKCavdQOpaFas4HpRIYYsHSzcLSRqmjNmo3KbER1jMxMcqCvhWLOA65/2011-10-11-IMG_5117.jpg" width="500" /> </div> <p></p><div>The area between San Diego and Tijuana hosts a biannual "Interzone Festival" or "Festival Tijuana Interzona". This year's festival included an Urban Renewal project, where artists from all over were invited to spruce up outside walls of buildings scattered all over the poorest parts of the area.</div> <div> </div> <div>The resulting art is fascinating, healing and humourous, yet it has a sense of realness to it. The placement of the art is art in itself. The randomness of bright colors and brush strokes of living a grande life juxtaposed against dilapidated trailers sliding down a filthy hillside is like a cry from within the souls of those who live and have lived her. See me! I am here! I feel and thrive in this environment every day all day. </div> <div> </div> <div>The art serves a dual purpose. To bring awareness of the plight of poverty, and to bring light to an otherwise dank and unforgiving place.</div> <div> </div> <div>I cannot deny any human's right to rise from poverty.</div> <div> </div> <div>My family has it pretty tough right now. But I live like a king compared to these folks. Rise on up, Y'all. In Love.</div> <div> </div> <div>see full interview with curator <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carmen-zella/interzona-urban-art_b_1005029.html">Carmen Zella</a></div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/color-intervention">"Do" Dreaming</a> </p> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-16097348654877511462011-09-08T15:30:00.008-05:002011-09-08T16:15:38.766-05:00Cafe Elsewhere won an Award!How about this! I won an award as one of <a href="http://habitualvictory.com/">Mike Shippey's</a> choice of 15 "Most Versatile Bloggers". I'm honored! I think this is the first one ever for Cafe Elsewhere! Thanks Mike!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4L8nTzk6iSDXg4xOlfJmT0tGAC8gylCZP8dFh2OGwaOjS9dfhsqjYeqVnt5EV6VyIveaKHhGysDqyzXXae8xMvfxOhQB8SzRk50lA5nQ13b_z1dFNHoJJlO2cG3UX7pN4a9yTvriCVI/s1600/666133293_30d19f598a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4L8nTzk6iSDXg4xOlfJmT0tGAC8gylCZP8dFh2OGwaOjS9dfhsqjYeqVnt5EV6VyIveaKHhGysDqyzXXae8xMvfxOhQB8SzRk50lA5nQ13b_z1dFNHoJJlO2cG3UX7pN4a9yTvriCVI/s320/666133293_30d19f598a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here is how it works: Anyone who accepts this fine award, as a Versatile Blogger, is asked for nothing. Just bask in your glory! (or you can do these three things:)<br />
<br />
1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post. <br />
<br />
2. Share 7 things about yourself<br />
<br />
3. Pass this Award along to 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it!<br />
<br />
O-Kay? (heh heh)<br />
Here we go!<br />
<br />
SEVEN THINGS ABOUT ME<br />
<br />
<em>1. I did not get married until I was 42 years old.</em><br />
<em>2. Both Stan Lee and Tom Wolfe came to our house when I was a kid.</em><br />
<em>3. I love Lions. It started with the Cowardly Lion and grew from there.</em><br />
<em>4. My 9 year old son is the greatest miracle of my life.</em><br />
<em>5. My favorite movie of all time is </em><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/we-love-out-of-africa"><em>Out of Africa</em></a><br />
<em>6. I am not much of a vegetable eater, but veggie lasagna is my favorite food.</em><br />
<em>7. I like to </em><a href="http://visuallyinspired.wordpress.com/"><em>write poetry</em></a><em> based on awesome photographs.</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And here they are! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<em><span style="font-size: large;">THE 15 BLOGS THAT I CHOOSE TO PASS </span></em><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><em>THE “VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD</em>” to:</span><br />
<br />
...... drum roll please! (in no particular order!)<br />
<br />
I would like to ditto some of Mike's but will play nice and keep them unique!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1. </span><a href="http://juliaharwood.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-does-nature-heal.html"><span style="font-size: large;">Healing Art</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Julia K Harwood</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. </span><a href="http://poundaweekblogchallenge.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">The Pound a Week Blog Challenge</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Steve Mancini</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. </span><a href="http://fairbyray.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Fairness </span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Ray Beckerman</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4. </span><a href="http://bouncingbacknow.com/blog/"><span style="font-size: large;">Bouncing Back Now</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Donna Thompson</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">5. </span><a href="http://aiminglow.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Aiming Low</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Sugar Jones </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">6. Cori Padgett's </span><a href="http://www.biggirlbranding.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Big Girl Branding</span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">7. </span><a href="http://www.shiftyourlife.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Shift your Life</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> with DocMarion Ross</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8. </span><a href="http://leadershipforgood.com/blog/"><span style="font-size: large;">Leadership for Good</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Mike Cassidy</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">9. Linette Daniels' </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://empoweringyouthforsuccess.com/">Empowering Youth for Success</a> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: large;">10. </span><a href="http://karen-keller.com/2011/09/?cat=-113,-215"><span style="font-size: large;">Karen Keller</span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">11. </span><a href="http://theworkathomewife.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">The WAH Wife</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> - Angie Nelson</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">12. </span><a href="http://liveyourdivinedestiny.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Live your Destiny</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> with BrightMichelle Casto</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">13. </span><a href="http://www.quick-good-fortune.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Quick Good Fortune</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Cheryl Janecky</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">14. </span><a href="http://mukunda22.crabbysbeach.com/blogs/"><span style="font-size: large;">Daily Prayer for Healing</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Kate Loving</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">15. </span><a href="http://www.thebridgemaker.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">The Bridgemaker</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Alex Blackwell</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
Not all of these are necessarily new, but all are ones I have enjoyed over the past few months. It was kinda hard to narrow it down to 15, even leaving out the ones I would have put on the list that Mike already had on his.... so really I just stopped at 15. There are a lot of great bloggers out there! That's a good thing! <br />
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have!<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
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</script><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-41618218753681529392011-08-29T13:05:00.000-05:002011-08-29T13:05:25.690-05:006 Tips for Giving in Tough Economic Times<a href="http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?type=fr_personal&fr_id=36137&px=22777047&post_id=105955&bpg=rlist&pg=personal">2011 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Hinds-Jackson MS Making Strides</a> <br />
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For many of us, barely scraping by, it is difficult to come up with extra money to contribute to our favorite charities.<br />
<br />
<br />
Here are a 6 easy and fun ways to come up with extra money for giving:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pcWKQYmdH_A/TlvTndUXIGI/AAAAAAAAApc/yRT12XgF7Yc/s1600/potluck+flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qaa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pcWKQYmdH_A/TlvTndUXIGI/AAAAAAAAApc/yRT12XgF7Yc/s1600/potluck+flyer.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">1. Organize an aluminum can drive in your workplace or neighborhood, and contribute the money you make.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">2. Hold a multi-family rummage sale for the cause. Make sure you let people know it is for your cause.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">3. Have a potluck meal together with your co-workers or at your church or other community group, and ask everyone who comes to give a dollar (or more)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">4. Decrease your gas budget for the month by carpooling or combining trips, and donate the money saved.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">5. Invite kids in your neighborhood to help you with a penny drive.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">6. Hold a bake sale. Brownies and Choc Chip cookies are easy and always sell well!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>There are plenty more ways, but these should get you started! <br />
<br />
Now that there are no excuses, I thank you in advance for your contribution! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://main.acsevents.org/goto/kkstride">Please Sponsor me in "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" Walk with the American Cancer Society</a> <br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-3483016295064095162011-08-24T12:58:00.002-05:002011-08-24T13:05:32.535-05:00#NoMoreRecession ~ A Hashtag for Good<div class="posterous_autopost"><div class="p_embed p_image_embed"><img alt="139818702_44dc937e1f" height="333" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/karenlkay/5e7bnsuEz55PhdFmeVCKlkzB3KtJZwqItKFDAeeRMvZMmhYNFRUxI6Mn2jm5/139818702_44dc937e1f.jpg" width="500" /> </div><div> It's a simple idea, really. Think of one thing people can do to help someone hurting because of the Recession, and tweet it with the hashtag #NoMoreRecession .</div><div></div><div>You know how sometimes you get that "lightbulb" in your head? Maybe it was a great idea that could help us dig ourselves out of this Recession mess! But instead of acting on it, we moved on to something else, and it was forgotten by the end of the day...</div><div></div><div>Take a second and tweet it next time, with the #NoMoreRecession hashtag. Let's see what we can do about it together!</div><div></div><div>I don't know the answers. But I do know that if a lot of us do a bunch of little things, it will add up. A tweet for good is a little thing. An idea can be a big or a little thing, depending on the action we take. Start with the easy stuff. I've tweeted a few to help you get started.</div><div></div><div>I'm tracking it on my <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/tentcitiesinamerica">lens on Tent Cities</a>.... So you can check there or on <a href="http://tweetchat.com/">tweetchat</a>, or wherever you want. Just share your ideas (don't forget the #NoMoreRecession hashtag) and retweet some others you see that look doable.</div><div></div><div>You in?</div><div></div><div>Let's do it!<br />
<br />
<br />
Photo: Gray's Papaya, New York City - <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aturkus/139818702/">by Aturkus</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/nomorerecession-a-hashtag-for-good">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-25312471027271389292011-08-15T14:43:00.001-05:002011-08-15T15:48:23.680-05:00Summer's End<script src="http://cdn.gigya.com/wildfire/js/wfapiv2.js">
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<div id="divWildfirePost"></div>The first sign that Summer is ending is the increase in activity in 'Special Offer' events. I have two awesome such events to share with you today, plus, I'm including my new creation "Deep Water Mind Triip" Download link.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iGq_AACXGFE/TkmGDZrS63I/AAAAAAAAAoo/ocUjPhqm-as/s1600/Deep_Water_Mind_Logo_jpg_scaled500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" naa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iGq_AACXGFE/TkmGDZrS63I/AAAAAAAAAoo/ocUjPhqm-as/s1600/Deep_Water_Mind_Logo_jpg_scaled500.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
The end of summer marks many things for me. I'm a summer person, (but not a hot weather person. That creates a bit of a conflict... lol.) Seriously though, it means change. For the most part, in a good way. I love the Back-to-School, here comes fall, Halloween, the Holidays, all that good stuff, every year. Let's celebrate it with a couple of cool things for you!<br />
<br />
The first is the end of summer giveaway called "Summer Rain". This one is a bit smaller than the usual giveaway I might normally share, but I like it because it's intimate. It's a nice way to "ease" into the goodness coming, and I have created a brand new gift for it (which is what I'm sharing with you today!)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://successfulentrepreneursnichemarketingsolutions.com/display.aspx?page=110">http://successfulentrepreneursnichemarketingsolutions.com/display.aspx?page=110</a><br />
<br />
I've given it a lookover and here's a head's up on a few of the gifts I'm most exited about:<br />
<br />
•Master Class with John Thornhill<br />
<br />
•Discover Your Life Passion<br />
<br />
•How to Become Your Best Self<br />
<br />
•The Mind Weapon Video<br />
<br />
•Review on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder<br />
<br />
•The Primal You Report<br />
<br />
•And of course my new gift "Deep Water Mind Trip"<br />
<br />
But you don't need to worry about finding that last one, because you're already an awesome reader and I'm sharing with you now!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://successconcentration.com/deepwatermindtrip">http://successconcentration.com/deepwatermindtrip</a><br />
<br />
<br />
The Summer Rain Giveaway event starts tomorrow, August 16. But, you can go ahead and sign up now if you have a gift you'd like to submit. <br />
<br />
<br />
Now for the 2nd Exciting event~! Launching Today!<br />
<br />
I've just finished reading one of the most amazingly enjoyable books on "Success" to come<br />
along in a long time: "An Invitation to Your Financial Success and Freedom"<br />
<br />
It's already being hailed as an instant classic, and compared with "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson ... and even "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson.<br />
<br />
Written by Dr. Mary Ozegovich - known affectionately as Dr. Mary Oz,"An Invitation To Your Financial Success And Freedom" packs an incredible amount <br />
of helpful strategies into its pages.<br />
<br />
It's a light, fun, highly entertaining read, in a style that puts the readers right in the story. Because it's written in "allegory" style - it never gets ponderous or confusing, the way so many "Success", "Business", or "Self-Help" books do.<br />
<br />
Instead, this is a book you can easily read in an evening - even if you come home exhausted<br />
from a grueling day at work - and immediately absorb its lessons without having to think about<br />
it.<br />
<br />
In fact, although it's not a "kids' book", I'd be willing to bet you could read "An Invitation To<br />
Your Financial Success And Freedom" to your older children, and they would totally "get it".<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It really is that simple, that entertaining, and that clearly written.<br />
If your business or private life isn't where you want to be, then "something" might be missing <br />
... and I'm willing to bet you can find it in "An Invitation To Your Financial Success And<br />
Freedom".<br />
<br />
While you're there, have a look at all the bonus gifts she's giving you with your copy of the book. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mcssl.com/app/?Clk=4414193">http://www.mcssl.com/app/?Clk=4414193</a><br />
<br />
<br />
All those gifts she's offering you are available on a "limited time" basis.<br />
<br />
That link again is:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mcssl.com/app/?Clk=4414193">http://www.mcssl.com/app/?Clk=4414193</a><br />
<br />
Mary's mentor is one of my favorite authors - Og Mandino. The book is written in an even simpler style, but I like the message.<br />
<br />
Y'all have a great beginning of the end of Summer, and I look forward to hearing from you soon~!<br />
<br />
All my best to you always,<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
KK<br />
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<img alt="" height="533" id="yui_3_5_1_2_1449083381256_695" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmUw3uVbnYLoPaLs7sl3joBm_gMlx4eEraCuoCst7_dMSJKrKBqzDqCxzAi09ef3y23gLpovnlxbcMwlzxDyD2TjgoaPiury6rcuKpYETNa2OPiDvChJ0MURWZhvzsNwBZ-WpGEg_Mf_Y/s1600/cc51+045edited.jpg#creole%20gumbo%20800x533" style="height: 533px; width: 800px;" width="800" />
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Sometimes my poor hearing is beneficial. I was listening to a speech by the Dalia Lama on my earbuds today, and he said “We are all made by God. We all come from the same source”. I was trying to multitask, however and mis-heard it as “same sauce”. </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
So, I decided to ponder that a bit. If we do come from the same source, then that would also be the same sauce, would it not? How is it, then that we are all so unique? If we all have the same exact ingredients, i.e., the “same sauce”, then we should be clones of each other, correct? All men would look and act like Adam, all women would look and act like Eve, done deal.</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
But no. That is not the case. </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Down in New Orleans (N’Awlins), the Cajuns have their own style of cooking, which almost always starts with a roux. (per Wikipedia, “Roux” is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking”) So yeah, we may all come from the same “roux”, and start out with the same sauce, but there are gazillions of factors, both genetic and environmental that get thrown into the sauce and make us unique, not “same sauce” but individuals. If you’ve ever had Cajun Gumbo, you know that it’s never the same twice, no matter how much you try to follow the recipe. So even though we may all have the same ingredients, we can celebrate the fact that our individual footprint on the universe is ours alone.</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
My sauce would have quite a bit of salt, honey, brown sugar….. but with a little kick. Kind of like Sweet and Sour sauce, but not pink. More earth tones. Yeah. </div>
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So, what about you? What’s in your sauce? </div>
<div style="font-size: 10px;">
<br /><a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/same-sauce"></a> </div>
<div style="font-size: 10px;">
Image via<a href="http://creolecontessa.com/2012/12/smokey-creole-gumbo-with-hot-sauce/" target="_blank"> Creale Contessa</a><br /><a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/same-sauce"></a> </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-81345566948208021032011-08-03T09:58:00.003-05:002011-08-03T10:09:16.971-05:00Why it Doesn’t Have to be so Hard<div class="posterous_autopost"><div class="p_embed p_image_embed"><img alt="Joyful_child-245x300" height="300" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/karenlkay/kZYEVYDap4AigRJMTeJO2XoF0d4mkfAGFkoyHugLk5FrZWLeIr7VNX5ubbE9/joyful_child-245x300.jpg" width="245" /> </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">So many times in my life and work, I come across people who seem to be shrouded in misery. Everything they say is something about a horrible thing that happened to them, or to someone else, or is happening somewhere in the world. Everything they do revolves around something painful or miserable. It’s almost like we seek out the biggest award for being the most miserable person still living. The end game, being death, is the apparent goal here.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I get it. Misery sells… Misery loves company… and all that other (not so happy) crap. Why though? Why do we humans so often want to focus on bad things? Especially now, that we are in a more enlightened age, and we know that “money flows where attention goes”. If we’re focusing on the toilet, or things that are equally disgusting, that’s where our life goes. So why do we keep doing this? How can we break the pattern of constant negative talk and negative thinking?</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">It’s kind of scary to some. In fact, it’s downright frightening. But it doesn’t have to be. According to Dr Hu Len, whom I’ve studied through Dr. Joe Vitale for the past few years, it all boils down to the relationship with our inner child. I remember back several years (maybe decades?) ago when the inner child was all the rage… healing the inner child was seen then as a sort of ultimate traumatic drama – raw and painful, the trophy of the day for martyrs of pain. If someone needed to “heal” their inner child, then they must have been through something horrifying at a tender young age. People started “blaming” all their problems on early childhood trauma. This became something of a badge of honor for negativity hounds…. The big excuse. The reason for every bad thing that ever happened in the history of the universe.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">But that’s not what Dr. Len’s teaching is about. Healing does not necessarily mean going back and dredging up some horrible nightmare of a memory and reliving it. Healing the inner child is just that. A healing process. A loving, healing, nurturing and simple exercise he calls “cleaning”. </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://4ff4fke7exe3um68sbteki3p4j.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=IC" target="_top">Dr. Joe Vitales Inner Child Meditation </a></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Dr. Vitale has teamed up with awesome musician Mathew Dixon in a new meditation that guides you through healing your inner child relationship. This is a beautiful “core” guided process that combines the healing power of music and inner love to bring you in tune with most true self: the one untarnished by negative thinking; the little girl or boy filled with wonder and trust and genuine hopeful expectations. This is the relationship most important in your life, according to Dr. Len, and it deserves to be nurtured, loved, and free to express itself as you whenever the opportunity presents itself.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://4ff4fke7exe3um68sbteki3p4j.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=IC" target="_top">Dr. Joe Vitales Inner Child Meditation </a><br />
<div style="font-size: 10px;"><a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/why-it-doesnt-have-to-be-so-hard">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-65676777405499487382011-07-20T09:48:00.002-05:002011-07-20T09:51:22.281-05:00Neshoba County Fair - Real Life Social Networking: Southern Style<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/visitmississippi/3483646999/" title="Neshoba County Fair Harness Races - Philadelphia, Mississippi"><img alt="Neshoba County Fair Harness Races - Philadelphia, Mississippi by visitmississippi" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3483646999_3ca91373d8.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/visitmississippi/3483646999/">Neshoba County Fair Harness Races - Philadelphia, Mississippi</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/visitmississippi/">visitmississippi</a> on Flickr.</span></div>It's comin' up, Y'all! There's something about a bunch of southerners willin' to embrace the heat of the Dog Days of Summer just to get out and hang with friends that's just plain, well, nuts! But by the time you get a few belly bustin' meals in you and sit a spell on a cabin porch, you're ready to chill no matter what the weather.<br />
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Sweet Iced Tea has nothin' on the 600 plus families who come and stay for the week year after year, generation after generation. Good Southern homemade cookin' is an understatement. Kids grow up with crazy memories of this place, and romances brew anew with every passing year.<br />
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From seat grabbin' for the Miss Neshoba County beauty pageant, to slinging mud on the race track, and politicians slingin' more from the stump, you're gonna get your money's worth plus some, no matter what day you come. <br />
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But don't expect to see the locals emerge from their air conditioned cabins until later in the evenin, when it cools down a little. Mississippi's Giant House Party people do party... with plenty of pickin' and grinnin' - usually until the wee hours, and sleep it off most of the mornin'. Reminds me a bit of the Big Easy... especially during Mardi Gras. Not the costumes or cajun-ness (who could wear a costume in this heat?) but the extreme parties at night and the laid back easiness of the days.<br />
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I've only been once, and that was just for the day. I went for the flea market/ craft show held in the square every first Saturday of the fair. It's been probably 10 years ago now, and I still have some of the stuff I bought that day sitting right here on my desk. I have friends who go for the week every year. They don't talk about it much. It's like it's a different life, for a while, and it seems to want to stay that way... separated from the real world.<br />
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We can learn a little something from these avid annual southern partiers. When in good company, and around people you trust, it's okay to let your hair down a little.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-11802193520383089832011-07-07T15:26:00.002-05:002011-07-07T15:45:42.687-05:00Mapping Trees - Working Beyond Passion<div class="posterous_autopost"><div class="p_embed p_image_embed"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kBiZH8TqHNg/ThYa3oYHv2I/AAAAAAAAAkk/SIy9T-gQNRA/s1600/centralpark_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kBiZH8TqHNg/ThYa3oYHv2I/AAAAAAAAAkk/SIy9T-gQNRA/s1600/centralpark_05.jpg" /></a></div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: #ccc 1px solid; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br />
</blockquote><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">“Do what you love and the money will follow.”</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">That is the best and worst advice I've ever gotten. There is a grain of truth in it, no doubt. But mostly I think it’s bunk. I don’t mean that in a negative way either. It’s just not a complete sentence in a real-world kind of meaning. Money doesn’t “follow”. Money is not mobile. Money is a thing, not a person. People follow. </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">“Follow your bliss” is a little better, though still lacking in completion. It may not roll of the tongue quite as nicely, but the real thing should go something like this:</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: #ccc 1px solid; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> </div>“Figure out what it is about the thing you love to do the most that can bring in an income that is enough to satisfy you, and go and do that, then do it some more, then more after that. At some point you might start getting sick of it and not feel the love for it like you once did. Keep doing it anyway. The more you work through the pain and stretch yourself, the more you grow. Then when it’s all done, you can look back and see yourself in your work and smile.”</blockquote></div>What’s really magical about art “work” is that it never turns out the way we originally plan. We have an idea, we start to hash it out, give it shape, and by the time it’s done, it’s often something else entirely. I love feel-good stories about how things come about that way.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Edward Barnard loves trees and he loves New York City. So, he decided to write a book called “New York City Trees”. That’s special in and of itself… but watch the magic here. He needed help covering the vast area that is Central Park, so he teamed up with Ken Chaya, who knew little about trees but is an avid Central Park birder. Together they created a map of <a href="http://centralparknature.com/">every tree in Central Park.</a> It’s fresh, it’s unique, original, creative, and…. It’s a hit!</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I’ve been following someone new lately, a fellow by the name of Brian Johnson, who writes what he calls “<a href="http://www.philosophersnotes.com/samples?c=SGMedia">Philosopher’s Notes</a>”. Really it’s not just notes, but audio and pdf versions of his musings on different books, mostly in the self help genre but many that touch on every aspect of our lives. He’s indeed quite the philosopher, but what he’s doing for me is help me look at things in a new way. Kind of like what Mr. Chaya said after working with Bernard for a while on the Central Park Map: </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: #ccc 1px solid; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">“The park never looked the same again, once I began to discover the many many different species of trees.”</div></blockquote><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div> <br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: #ccc 1px solid; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"Every creative journey is marked by passion. Pressure Comes along for the creative ride"... Brian Johnson, from <a href="http://www.philosophersnotes.com/samples?c=SGMedia">Philosopher's Notes</a> on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585420298/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=hubpages0156-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1585420298">The Creativity Book</a> by Eric Maisel, Ph. D</div></blockquote></div><div style="font-size: 10px;"><a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/mapping-trees-working-beyond-passion">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8614002946197959838.post-75538091881397163852011-07-01T08:35:00.002-05:002011-07-01T08:56:32.221-05:00Inspired Within:Letting Out Our Light<div class="posterous_autopost"><div class="p_embed p_image_embed"><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/karenlkay/cc3XGoMHtrWlxFGuhOvJmVkFbtbXFQYuKbp8YWnhqsXugFtVgSOWlHW7Ka1e/inspirediwthin.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Inspirediwthin" height="320" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/karenlkay/4xcUbqAWjWIZ4OQtMIH6YkBEqlcbUbsdOOVlOUpERcKyS9CgAkyin1BGxDkn/inspirediwthin.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="231" /></a> </div><div>We already know this, but most of the time we ignore it.</div><div></div><div>If we hear it, or feel it, or see it, it is sometimes just a fleeting moment, and we miss the opportunity to acknowledge it.</div><div></div><div>Are you inspired at this moment?</div><div></div><div>Don't say no. Because I challenge you - you are.</div><div></div><div>Every second we are inspired. Every action we take is inspired. </div><div></div><div>We call ourselves looking for inspiration, when in fact we are choosing which inspired action to take in any given moment all the time, every day, in every single thing we do.</div><div></div><div>Why do you get out of bed? Why do you go <em>to</em> bed? Why do you eat or yawn or laugh or cry?</div><div></div><div>If you do any of those things, you are inspired.</div><div></div><div>Not poetic enough for you? Okay, then listen to the part of you, the light in you, that is begging to be set free.</div><div></div><div>Your gifts are unique to you. You cannot be anyone else but the beautiful, inspired person you are already. </div><div></div><div>There is no trick to finding your light. It is a simple matter, really, of allowing the clutter to dissipate, for a few minutes, once or twice a day, so that you can listen to your light.</div><div></div><div>Shhhhhh.</div><div></div><div>Be still.</div><div></div><div>Allow your light to glow a little brighter. Feel your warmth.</div><div></div><div>Breathe in, Breathe out.</div><div></div><div>You realize the universe needs your gift, and you are willing to share it.</div><div></div><div>Take time to get to know your gift(s).</div><div></div><div>You are gifted. Let us see!</div><div><br />
Photo by <a href="http://www.dreamstime.com/mmero_info">Mikhail Nekrasov</a><br />
</div><div style="font-size: 10px;"><a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://karenlkay.posterous.com/inspired-withinletting-out-our-light">"Do" Dreaming</a> </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Comments/Suggestions welcome and encouraged!</div>Karen L Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01012696705404489992noreply@blogger.com1