2012 Quotes

January 1, 2012 By

December 12, 2012

Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time.  We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.  We are the change that we seek.

Barack Obama

November 24, 2012

We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into  reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline,  and effort.

Jesse Owens

November 8, 2012

The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.

Albert Einstein

November 3, 2012

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the  excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.

Gloria Steinem

October 15, 2012

Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm

Ralph Waldo Emerson

September 17, 2012

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Thomas Edison

August 30, 2012

When your life flashes before your eyes, make sure you’ve got plenty to watch.

 Anonymous

 August 15, 2012

If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.

Chinese Proverb

July 30, 2012

Everyday we get another chance to get it right.

                                                                                Jacki Kelly             

 

July 18, 2012

The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.

                                                                                     Maya Angelou

 

July 9, 2012

A trip is what you take when you can’t take anymore of what you’ve been taking.

                                                                                      Adeline Ainsworth

 

July 3, 2012

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

                                                                                        Helen Keller

 

June 10, 2012

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

                                                                                         George Bernard Shaw

June 1, 2012

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

                                                                                       Friedrich Nietzche

May 20, 2012

A person isn’t who they are during the last conversation you had with them-they’re who they’ve been throughout your whole relationship

                                                                                        Rainer Maria Rilke

 

May 8, 2012

Don’t wait on others to give you what you think you deserve.  Give it to yourself.

                                                                                          Jacki Kelly

May 1, 2012

A delay is not a denial.

                                                                                          Rev. James Cleveland

April 14, 2012

We never now how high we are, till we are asked to rise, and then if we are true to plan our statures touch the skies–

                                                                                            Emily Dickinson

April 4, 2012

Find your happiness today, it’s the only thing worth looking for.

                                                                                              Jacki Kelly

March 26, 2012

It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.

                                                                                                Winston Churchill

March 7, 2012

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

                                                                                                 Aristotle

February 17, 2012

Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.

                                                                                                Henry David Thoreau

February 4, 2012

There is a soul force in the universe, which, if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results.

                                                                                                  Mahatma Gandhi

January 14, 2012

If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things; if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must full every moment of our lives with action, when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi?  Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds?  Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary?  For each of us, there is a desert to travel.  A star to discover.  And a being within ourselves to bring to life.

                                                                                                    Author Unknown

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THE DREADED LIST

December 29, 2011 By

It’s that time of year. Yes, you guessed it, time to make those New Year’s Resolutions.  The moment has come for me to be still and contemplate all the wonderful things I’m going to do in 2012.  I need to select life changing actions that will make me better, happier and healthier.

 

Maybe I’ve been cheating or maybe I haven’t focused enough in the past, but my resolutions have remained the same over the last few years.  So this year, I’m doing something radical.  I’m making a change.  Forget that stuff about eating right and exercising every day.  Next year I’m just going to have fun and be happy.

I’m going to eat chocolate, really good chocolate 

I’m going to sleep late on Saturday mornings

I’m going to take a walk during a warm summer rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m going to listen to my music and dance; I don’t care whose watching

I’m going to sing – off key – in the shower

Yep, it’s that simple.

How about you, care to join me?

 

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MARKING TIME

December 5, 2011 By

Have you ever stopped long enough to consider the effect time has on you?  Whether it’s friend or foe?  Well I have.  I’ve probably wasted too much time thinking about it and I’ve come to one satisfying conclusion.  Time – no matter how it’s measured –  in years, months or minutes is never quite as long as we think.

 

 

As this year draws to a close I find myself trying to capture memories that happened in March or July or even September.  What significant event took place that I need to remember or treasure?  That family get together to celebrate Independence Day seems like it occurred only yesterday.  Just a month ago the leaves on the tree in my backyard were a fabulous shade of red and orange.  Within days they’ve fallen, turned brown, have been picked up and discarded.  Already we’re facing mid-December and we just rang in the New Year a few moments ago.

 

Even those unpleasant events that we would like to forget come and go much quicker than we’re willing to acknowledge.  My last visit to the dentist only lasted 30 minutes but my gut tried to convince me I was there for hours.  The other day as I rushed home from work and got caught by that awful traffic light that seems to stay red for years, actually only held me up for less than a minute.

 

 

No matter how I mark time, I’m seldom happy with the clock.  It’s either moving too fast or too slow.  How about you, is time your friend or foe?

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EXERCISE ANYONE

November 16, 2011 By

Okay, I admit I’m one of those people that’s reads a story guaranteeing to help you lose weight or an exercise crazed that melts away 10 pounds in one day and I’m hooked.  I’ll park my butt in front of the television or flip to the designated page in the magazine to find the new and improved way to stay healthy with less time and pain.  

 

My exercise madness started after a lovely trip to Charleston, South   Carolina. During our visit I ate some of the most delicious foods on the plant.  You see, I love anything and everything cooked with grits.  I can eat grits and eggs for breakfast and then pig out on shrimp and grits for dinner.  While running on the tread mill the other day I watched Paula Dean make a grit soufflé that I must try.  But, I digress…

 

When I returned from Charleston, I stepped on the scale and five brand new fat pounds had followed me home.  I vowed to begin exercising every day, before that extra weight took up permanent residence on my thighs.  And I did. And it worked. In short order
those pounds were banished.

It’s true what they say. Doing something for 14 days becomes a habit.  Now I exercise everyday.  Even on vacation I pack my running shoes, workout clothes and find the fitness facility. But like everything else there is a downside.  Some mornings I ache from the pounding I take from my long runs.  I swear the glitch in my elbow is from the rowing machine and my calves are so developed my trouser socks are hard to pull up.  But still I’m always looking for that magical solution that will let me eat anything I want while still fitting into my clothes. So if you have that magic potion, please share t with me.  I’m always looking for new ideas.

 

I must confess, I have never exercised and said I wish I hadn’t done that.  But, my butt could have done without that New York Style Cheesecake; I gobbled up the other night.

 

How about you, do you have the miracle solutions?

 

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DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

October 25, 2011 By

How well you handle disappointment says a lot about your character. Life dishes up disappointment like daily specials at a corner diner.  They’re the speed bumps of life.  Some bumps are small like rain on the day you’ve planned an outside activity.  Others  are major like losing your house keys when you need to get to the bathroom. When life dishes up surprises I have a few choice ways for handling the unexpected.  I curl up in bed and hide under the blanket or cry in my soup and accept the inevitable, or square my shoulders to dig deeper for more determination.

This week my writing career hit a speed bump.  Like many diligent writers, I followed all the rules. I wrote the best manuscript I possibility could.  I shopped it around at several conferences, found an interested editor and sent it to her. Then, I started to work immediately on my next story idea.  In between I watched the phone and the mail, waiting for those magically words.  I waited.  And waited.  And waited some more.     

I waited four long grueling months before I decided to check on my manuscript.  I felt like someone had poured ice water down my back when I was told my manuscript could not be found.  Four months of waiting and nothing to show for it.  I had to reset the clock and start all over again.  The editor was kind enough to request I resend the manuscript and I did.  But first I had to wallow in my misfortune.  I gave myself four whole days to nurture my disaster.  Then I dusted off my melancholy and mailed another manuscript.  The waiting clock has been reset, life has returned to normal.  I’m waiting.

When life throws you a curve ball, what do you do?

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THE WORLD OF COMPROMISE

October 5, 2011 By

Did you compromise in your career?  Your chosen field of study? Where you live? Or your mate?  Maybe you compromised on what you ate for dinner last night. We all do it, sometimes knowingly, other times subconsciously. I imagine no one moves forward without making some compromises or concessions; that is of course unless you have a bulldozer personality.

 

When I was graduating from high school my mother sat me down, looked into my wild, excited eyes and said, “You better study something in college so that you can get a job when you graduate.”  I was disappointed.  I wanted to be a writer.  But she gave me excellent advice.  My mother is a fiercely independent woman who knows how hard the world can be. Her reality said black women can’t make a living writing.  So like a good daughter, I followed her sage advice and my life has turned out quite well.  (Thanks Mom!)  But of course I can’t help wondering ‘what if’.

If I had studied journalism in college instead of business administration would I now be a published author or would I be a starving writer, waiting tables while penning my big New York Times bestseller?  I’m getting a late start on the whole novel-writing thing, but I’d like to think my experiences add depth to my writing.

I wanted to know if I’m the only one scratching my head and pondering my choices, so I asked several people this question:

 

“If you could talk to your 18 year-old self, what would you say?”

 

To my amazement many of the responses   A few of them are below:

 

LW:        Follow your heart.  Don’t do what you think you should, do what you want

PC:         Keep writing.  Write your heart out

KM:        You’re not a bad person. Don’t go through life depressed

KRH:     Stop, relax, have some fun. Enjoy life

GH:        Enjoy yourself.  Live life to its fullest

RW:        Don’t be afraid. Follow your dreams

EB:         Learn as much as you can and you can do anything

PB:         In one lifetime you can have several careers, don’t fuss over one too much

Now it’s your turn.  “If you could talk to your 18 year-old self, what would you say?”

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RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS

September 16, 2011 By

28 slices of cheesecake

25 peach cobblers

8 vanilla bean crème brulees

50 scoops of ice creams

100 pieces of chocolate – hopefully with nuts

15 slices of cakes with delicious icing

 

This highlights a small portion of the wonderful desserts I’ve shared in the last few years while dining with family and friends.  We try not to eat sweets at breakfast.  It’s amazing how troubles and worries melt away while talking about them over while shoving something sinfully sweet into your mouth.

A few years back my family and I moved to Houston, Texas.  During our first few months there we unpacked boxes, navigated our way to the school and to work without getting lost and found our way to the fabulous mall, the Galleria.  We located all the good restaurants and checked out every Bar-be-que joint within a 20 mile radius. When we finally settled down and began to call the Lone Star state home, one thing was missing; my extended family and friends.

Sure we talked on the phone, we even sent a few e-mails but not being able to see them and share in their daily lives wasn’t easy.  One of my nicest surprises has been opening the door one warm evening and finding three of my dearest friends stand there.  They flew to Texas to celebrate my birthday.  I have never forgotten how they put their busy schedules on hold for me.  And thinking about it now still warms my heart and makes me smile.

Now we’re back on the east coast.  Back to where our roots grow strong and deep.

What I’ve learned is relationships require touch-points.  They require picking up the phone and making that call; driving those few extra miles to check in or making the time on your calendar. Family and good friends are precious gifts.

How do you stay connected with the people that are special to you?

 

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FAREWELL SUMMER

September 5, 2011 By

As summer draws to a close it makes me think about how much I cherished my summer vacations with my sisters.  When we were young, every summer we packed our shorts, tennis shoes and bathing suits and headed to Virginia.  Compared to growing up in the city it felt like a whole new world.  We tried to cram a lifetime into those two months.  And every year when September rolled around we headed home with lots of new adventures and experiences to hold us over until the next summer.

A few years ago I penned the followed ode, to help me remember the highlights that I hold so dear.

LAZY SUMMER DAYS

I remember lazy, lazy summer days when we crawled out of bed; ate breakfast of eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast smeared with sweet butter and grape jelly.  While our stomachs were still full we ran to the garden, snatched ripe tomatoes off the vine and sprinkled them with the salt stolen from the kitchen table.

I remember lazy, lazy summer days that seemed to go on forever; sitting on the front porch, laughing while we planned our futures.  Believing whatever we said would come true simply because we had the courage to voice it.

I remember lazy, lazy summer days waiting for rain showers to end so we could splash our bare feet in the rain water as it ran down the city drain.  Then we slid across the wet grass to play on the swings and soar to the sky.

I remember lazy, lazy summer days sandwiched between the school years when everything was funny and sweet and pure and simple.  We chased butterflies and lightning bugs, placed them in glass jars and fed them blades of grass.

I remember lazy, lazy summer days jumping rope, playing tag and red light, green light.  The only thing that ended our joyful frolic was pure exhaustion.  Then we crammed into the full size bed, told stories while we waited for the heat to dissipate so we could fall asleep.

I loved and miss those lazy summer days.     THE END

 

Share something that made your summer special.

 

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SLOWING DOWN

August 4, 2011 By

It’s become our tradition, every Memorial Day my husband and I go to the National Harbor on the Maryland, Virginia border. Rediscovering all the free museums and monuments has been a blast. This year we choose to visit the Washington Monument. Unfortunately, the reflecting pool was empty and under construction, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the beauty of this national treasure.

Of course while we were there we made some time for family. We’ve got a new baby in the family so one afternoon was spent sprawled on the floor watching him suck his toes. Now I know that might not sound like a lot of fun for some of you, but for one afternoon, we slowed down and relaxed. No phones, no computers, just one baby with ten fascinating toes. When I’m back to my hectic schedule I realize just how much I enjoyed that one afternoon.

Tell me about an unexpected joy you had in the last month.

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Hello world!

July 26, 2011 By

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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