Category Archives: living positive lives

Sharing Sisters

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There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”  ~ Maya Angelou

“Set still, chile,” said the stellar character that you will learn a lot about in my upcoming book as she fed our little brother his lunch. Our mother had run to the store to get a gallon of milk and the woman, the star of my story, had been given the task of watching over us kids as we ate our lunch.

“What did yo’ sisters give ya?” she asked my brother, “a bunch of dem squiggly wigglies in your pants? Dem girlies is always carryin’ around dem squiggly wigglies deh dig up out da Earf. Must be God give us dem creatures for a reason, but I ain’t knowd what it is. My preacher man ain’t read me dat part yet from da Greatest Story Ever Tole.”

What a character! She was talking about the worms my sister and I always dug up out of the garden and shared with each other.

When my twin sister and I were little we always thought everything should come in pairs like we did and like the animals in the story of Noah in the Bible. When we only had one of something, my sister and I always shared it. We’d pull a worm apart until we had two equal pieces. Yes, I know – how cruel! But give me a break – we were only two little children. All we could think was that it wasn’t fair if one of us had something and not the other.

My twin and I shared everything and had utmost trust in each other until we became teenagers and when it came to clothes. We never trusted that we’d get things back from each other in the same condition as when they were lent out. But, have there ever been teenage sisters who have been good at sharing clothes?

Trust, attachment and caring are all inside the pages of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. But, the real treasure in the story will come from the enlightenment you will find through the unique perspectives and colorful dialogue of the stellar character.

lifes a garden dig it

Don’t miss out on the MP-3 audio book version of “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” when it comes out! This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Sour to Sunny Moods

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Julie AndrewsI am posting this image on the Vernal Equinox  for the benefit of my mother. Our family traveled many, many miles together on road trips. Most of them were pleasurable except when we four kids started fighting. Every time the mood in the car began to turn sour, my mother engaged us in singing songs from our favorite movie – The Sound of Music. Then the atmosphere began to lighten , better moods sprung up and we’d forget about our troubles with our brothers and sisters.

Ah, yes, as with every family there are instigators and peacemakers among us, but I am not going to point any fingers. Besides, “I can’t remember if I am the good sister or the evil sister.” Each of my siblings would probably tell you a different story! They all have their own  independent opinions, which was the reason the fights began in the first place. There isn’t one among us who doesn’t have a  strong view on everything in life.

Which do you think I might be? A peacemaker or instigator? Hey now, keep your opinion to yourself . Today is the International Day of Happiness and the vernal equinox is supposed to be about balance and harmony in the cosmos. Let’s not open a can of worms until Monday!

Do come back to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow – I’ll tell you about the road trip I am taking this weekend.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com .

St. Patty’s Day Creativity

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St Pattys Day Prompts..Happy St. Patty’s Day! Today we are going to have fun with a little Irish creativity. Are you ready to begin your story? When I found this image, I thought “Good lord – how appropriate each one of these writing prompts would have been for my recently completed publication Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfillment in the Unexpected. Any one of them could have aided me in my writing.

In honor of St. Patty’s Day I am going to craft something that summarizes parts of my memoir but it’s different than from what’s actually written in it. These thoughts may give you a hint as to what’s between the covers.

Using the prompts you can begin to craft your own story.

  • At the end of the rainbow….. my heart echoed.
  • The day I met my leprechaun….I prayed there’d be another to follow.
  • The luck of the Irish wasn’t with me when… my story began.
  • I was just picking up the pot of gold when…I realized it was inside me all the time.
  • I opened my eyes to find a leprechaun…who arrived as a big surprise.

Happy Saint Patty’s Day to All My Beloveds!

“Love leaves a memory no one can steal.” ~from

a headstone in Ireland

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Film Friday: Top Irish Movies

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St. Patty’s Day is just around the corner. A few years ago for the “Wearing of the Green Day,” I featured outstanding Irish writers. If you missed the blog, here is a link to it. https://allthingsfulfilling.com/2012/03/17/irish-city-of-literature/.

 Today on this Film Friday, I thought I’d feature the top ten Irish movies. I’m going to put “My Left Foot,” a story about a disabled artist, poet and writer on my list. I’ve been hoping to see this movie for quite some time now, and still haven’t.Click for Info & Ordering

Here is the list. To read summaries of each of these movies, please go to IrishCentral.com, through this link. http://bit.ly/1dMBPwP.

  • The  Commitments
  • The Quiet Man
  • My Left Foot
  • The Field
  • In the Name of the Father
  • Intermission
  • The Snapper
  • The Crying Game
  • Once
  • Waking Ted Devine

On Monday, Irish writing prompts will be the subject on All Things Fulfilling. I’ll be offering some lead sentences that might just be the thing you need to start writing your tale about Irish gents or ladies who have been in your lineage. No one can tell better stories than the Irish because there are many colorful characters to draw from in most Irish families.

irish limerick

 

 Live, laugh and love! See you back here on Monday. Have a nice weekend everyone!

The Lady in the Choir

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laughing sistersWhy is it that when you have a twin sister, everything is doubly  funny? I swear my sister and I can have more fun laughing at something that might not strike anyone else as being one bit funny.

A good hearty belly laugh is only annoying if it happens in inappropriate places. When we were kids, it always happened in church. My sister and I didn’t dare even glance at each other when the mezzo-soprano in the choir started singing. There was something about her voice that made us listen but we found her inflection hysterical. If we even saw one anothers faces in our peripheral vision, it was all over – we’d lose control and laugh so hard we’d have tears running down our cheeks. Then our little brothers got in on the action.

Somehow our parents always knew exactly what started it and struggled to keep their own joy of hearing us twins laughing together in check and in cheek. Someone had to be the adults and keep order in the family. Week after week we vowed to our parents that it would never happen again, but oh, how we were telling a story.

Since I have been taught that God is love, I knew I’d be forgiven and not be struck down by the devil. Our scolding often came from someone else who you’ll learn more about in my memoir. Whenever she got word of our childish antics, her words had a more powerful effect than anything our parents could have ever uttered.

“Lord a Mercy,” she’d say “What is you? A bunch a heathens, laughin’ in da Lord’s house?” Have you ever noticed how carefully one listens to someone who is speaking a different dialect?

“It was the funny lady in the choir’s fault,” my sister and I’d say, taking no responsibility for our inability to control ourselves. After all, we were just children.

That’s another family story that wasn’t included in my memoir from All Things Fulfilling. This blog is brought to you by www.CornestoneFulfillmentService.com.

An Author to Watch

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“You write in order to change the world … if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.” ~ James Baldwin 

I’ve been so busy I haven’t picked up a book other than my own to proofread it for the zillionth time in several weeks. Not having time to read drives me crazy – walking and reading are my most treasured personal freedoms. It’s how I relax and escape.

library hospital for themind. jpgOn Friday I decided I REALLY needed an outlet aside from what I am doing. I caved and went to the library. I found a real honey of a story by debut novelist Natalie Baszile called “Queen Sugar.”http://bit.ly/1nAv4B9. Oh my, how I have enjoyed it. It has not disappointed. Author Tayari Jones describes the book as “a page turning, heart breaking novel of the new South, where the past is never truly past, but the future is a hot, bright promise.” Put this book, published by Penguin, on your To Read List. In my opinion, the author has interwoven important societal messages and cultural values into a well-crafted story.  Natalie Baszile, I’m keeping my eye on you. You are a great writer!

Now it’s back to work. There is so much a head of me to look forward to.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.

The Glory in the Challenge

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On Thursday, a very important package was delivered to my mailbox. It was a “proof copy,” the first printed and bound copy of my memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.”

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As I opened the package, this is what I was feeling – HAZY!

IMAG0997 In the same blur that has existed for several years now, while the book has been in the making. Writing and publishing a book independently, if I must be candid, takes commitment, persistence, a “can do/will do/nothing is going to stop me attitude. I had determined from the start that I would take on the words of Robert Schuller as a challenge when he asked “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” I was out to answer that and prove it to myself!

Sure, there have been challenges along the way (some big and some small) but I never lost heart in what I was doing because I believed so strongly in the story that I knew one day I’d tell. Every time I got a little disillusioned with my progress, I’d remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who once said “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but rising up every time we fail.”

Here it is – the proof copy. I’m excited but not done yet. Another go round of proofreading faces me.

IMAG0998                                        IMAG0999

You’ll learn more about why I felt it was so important to tell my story when you read it. It has to do with the beautiful traits of a character in it. Although categorized as a memoir, it’s far more than a family tale. There is meaningful value in the universal messages tucked between the covers.

Today, I present to you all my glory……………and by Mothers’ Day, you can share it with me, when you read my story! You can even have it any way you like it – in print from www.Bookcrafters.com and other major on-line booksellers, in an e-book or audio book format. For those who decide on the audio book format – you are in for a very special treat!

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.com. I’m so excited! This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Thank you, Patient Souls

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St Francis quote about doing few things wellI have always been too good at multi-tasking as most women are. But there are consequences that come with allowing ourselves to do too much.

I think this sign should hang in front of every mirror in every household where there is a woman present. Some lessons are easier learned than others, and this reminder hanging plainly in the face of women might alleviate the guilt feelings that come along  when we CAN’T do it all.

Over the past few years, as I have written my memoir, there are things that I know I am guilty of – having neglected certain people, circumstances or tasks. I apologize! It’s not like me at all. But, I guess since I am only a human being, like everyone else, sometimes I screw up or overcommit.

There have been compromises that have been necessary to getting the “other job done.” I am talking about writing and independently publishing a book. Thankfully, my regrets are few. Penning my story has been most personally fulfilling thing I’ve done in my life.

Do return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, I’ll have a surprise for you that has made my transgressions all worthwhile.

god bless you and thank you

Today I ‘d like to honor anyone who has had to be patient

 with me and who has had to sacrifice, so that I could get the job done!

Signed, Forever Grateful.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com  .

 

Life Below the Mason-Dixon Line

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I recognize the fact that there are many people across this big vast country called the United States of America who have had no exposure to southern living. In fact, for some individuals just the mention of the Mason-Dixon Line is a little bewildering. Wondering where the Mason-Dixon Line runs? Here’s a map. I grew up not terribly far from Annapolis in Baltimore.

Life below the Mason Dixon Line

One of the most interesting things of having been so far removed from my East Coast roots, over the past five years, is the opportunity I’ve had to learn something through experience (and by reading books from Western writers) about life in this part of the country. While I have been here in Colorado, it’s been especially interesting to travel to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico where life is distinctively different than anything I have ever been immersed in before.

So, what’s it like being a southern belle? This list will give you a bit of the southern flavors of living.

Quotes about the South

From a Baltimore gal’s perspective, there’s something that is missing from this list. If you are from Maryland, you are often called “hun.”  If you are  called “hun,” when you go visiting someone in the “Land of Pleasant Living,” don’t feel insulted and turn around and go back home where you came from. Feel accepted, honored and loved, it is the term of endearment for nearly everyone.

Putting a value judgment on what kind of lifestyle is more fulfilling than another doesn’t quite seem fair.  I think it’s all about what you get used to. But I do feel strongly there is value in experiencing different ways of life, even if it is even through reading.

Tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, do return for some valuable information about how to seek validation of your work as a quality writer.

On Monday I will be honestly opening my heart about some of the costs of  writing and publishing a book.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Believe it or Not

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 Y'all ain't gonna believe this.Being a twin, my sister and I were partners in crime. Only our silly, foolish double-trouble was more of the innocent kind.

For a child, there is nothing more fulfilling than having someone to pair up with who is also “game” for participating in childhood foolishness – I had that partner in my sister. For instance, once when we had tired of playing with our baby dolls we took up the challenge of trying to diaper two big toads that were leaping about our yard. “Kleenex and mini-sized safety pins, will work perfectly,” we thought. Yeah, I know, “Oh how silly.” An impossible task to achieve, when the toads were intent on hopping around. It kept us busy for a whole afternoon.

The stellar character my upcoming memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” caught us in action. “Lord a Mercy,” she said, “what is ya’ll doin’? Y’all leave dem leapin’ lizards ‘lone. You’ll be growing in all da wrong places if ya keeps on touchin’ dem warts on dem frowgs!” 

Ahhh…that’s only one story that was left out of my memoir. Believe it or not, I’ve got plenty more to tell.  Other tales are  coming on Mother’s Day, when “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” is released.

If you haven’t done so already, go to our new About the Book page on All Things Fulfilling,  you can see the book cover image and read some reviews from pre-publication readers, too.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow!