BEING GREEN

A best friend is like a four leaf clover.  Hard to find and lucky to have. ~Author Unknown (Main Library's clover patch, February 2010)

...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. ~Isaiah 40:31 (B&N, Fall 2008)

A bland smile is like a green light at an intersection, it feels good when you get one, but you forget it the moment you're past it. ~Doug Coupland (Civic Center, February 2010)

All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever. ~I Peter 1:24-25 (Crystal Springs, April 2006)

No. I'm not seasick. Yes. I've always been GREEN. No. I did not eat grass as a child. ~Wicked, The Musicale (Civic Center, February 2010)

A woman is like a tea bag, you can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. ~Nancy Reagan (Neighbor's Front Yard, Summer 2009)

I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains. ~Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (Just outside a college football field, Santa Rosa, January 2010)

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. ~Author Unknown 

(Girl Scout Cookies, March 2010)

Virtue has a veil, vice a mask. ~Victor Hugo

(Half to Have It, Half Moon Bay, November 2009)

Coffee, n. break fluid. ~Author Unknown (Laurel Heights, March 2010)

Earth laughs in flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson (Trader Joe's, November 2009)

My least favorite thing in the world! (Oakland, Fall 2009)

Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is. ~Yoda (2004)

How GREEN are you? (Round 'bout the neighborhood, just yesterday)

On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~Thomas Jefferson (Little Mermaid Collage, 1997)

As Yavanna, Queen of the Earth and Giver of Fruits, JRR Tolkien's world, The Silmarillion (Halloween 2009)

Have you had your cacti today? (Mission Market, Summer 2008)

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver. ~Martin Luther (Conservatory of Flowers, Summer 2008)

I hope you're enjoying this GREEN (my favorite color) series as much as I loved putting it together. Here I am, wearing my all-worn out Army jacket which finally retired, with Crafty Chica Diva herself, Kate Murillo, at last year's super fun Maker Faire.  Plan to come to this year's crafter/maker's Disneyland.

I have more GREENS but time is limited.  Stay tuned for GREEN 2.

In the meantime, Happy St. Patrick's Day.  Read and learn more about the real St. Patrick.

ORDINARY THINGS THAT BRIGHTEN MY DAY

Yellow-colored objects appear to be gold. ~Aristotle 

Follow the yellow stripes and the yellow socks

Homegrown sunflowers by my homeschooled girl

My yellow-brown Mango

Potassium, anyone?

There goes the big yellow bus.

Don't take the escalator.  Climb.

Knitted hat by my then-10 yo

Fields of beautiful yellow weeds by the wayward

Costco's keylime cheesecake

My favorite place to shop

Don't forget to eat your yellows.

There is no blue without yellow and without orange. 

~Vincent Van Gogh

Watch where you're going...

Now, look around and find treasures.  They're everywhere.  Sometimes they're just under your nose.  And enjoy those golden MOMents!

So here I am telling everyone, "take the stairs."  Yet, I'm caught taking the escalator.  Well, I had a very good reason.  This photo was taken just 3 days after the accident that totaled our minivan.  On that day, we only had one car and 3 kids to shuttle, and it was my girls' first day of school!  A milestone for my homeschooled girl of 4 years, and I was determined to be there to release her into the "wild."  After transferring from one public transportation to another, we made it to the school just in time.  It was one of my golden MOMents, back pains, and all.

But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your Name may rejoice in You.~Psalm 5:11

RED 3: 老虎的新年好‘年

The Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile; forgetting all grudges, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is commonly called "Lunar New Year," because it is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. 

I used to be able to fit in one of these beautiful dresses. After bearing three children, there goes the shape. LOL!

The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as chú xī. It literally means "Year-Pass Eve".

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar.

The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.

This fortune cookie lady requires payment to photograph her.  I supposed that's her main stipend.

Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light up the atmosphere. The air is filled with strong Chinese emotions.

In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other cities, products of traditional Chinese style have started to lead fashion trend[s]. Buy yourself a Chinese-style coat, get your kids tiger-head hats and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have an authentic Chinese-style Spring Festival. ~Information taken from Wikipedia

Gung Hay Fat Choy from some cute (half) Chinese kids. #flashbackfridays 

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ~Ephesians 4:31

Photos taken in Old Chinatown.

RED 2: L'AMOUR

"We LOVE because 

HE first loved us." ~I John 4:19

“The heart is the only broken instrument that works.” 

~T.E. Kalem (Kiwi @ 5)

“For every love there is a heart somewhere  to receive it.”

(San Benito Inn, Half Moon Bay • 2009)

Home is where the heart is...

(Harmony, California • Population: 18 • 1992)

“Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever.”

(Sutro Bath Ruins • 1988 • Photo by Hinh Luong)

“A woman's flattery may inflate a man's head a little; but her criticism goes straight to his heart, and contracts it so that it can never again hold quite as much love for her.” ~Helen Rowland 

(Best seat in town • Marina Theatre showing INVICTUS • Date Night 01.10)

“Educating the mind without educating 

the heart is no education at all.” ~Aristotle 

(My old Odyssey dashboard • Star Wars Vday '09)

“I would rather have eyes that cannot see; ears that cannot hear; lips that cannot speak, than a heart that cannot love” 

~Robert Tizon 

(Mom's heart surgery, Santa Clara Kaiser • 2008)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

from the 5 of us!
Read the story of St. Valentine.