The Empty Bench.
Make room…
in your heart,
in your soul,
in your home,
in your life.
Fill it with…
love,
acceptance,
warmth,
peace.
#RealMeaningofChristmas
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Inspiration
She is Beautiful
“She was beautiful,
but not like those girls in the magazines.
She was beautiful for the way she thought.
She was beautiful for the sparkle in her eyes
when she talked about something she loved.
She was beautiful for her ability to make other people smile
even if she was sad.
No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks.
She was beautiful deep down to her soul.
She is beautiful.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Let’s teach this to our daughters
and granddaughters
and sisters
and friends.
And….
let’s teach this to
ourselves.
#BestGiftEver #LoveYourself
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
A Rule of Life
“Those of us
who are warm and dry
and safe and well-fed
must show up for those
who are cold and wet
and endangered and hungry.
That’s a rule of life.
Every ethical and religious and spiritual
tradition in the world
agrees on that rule.”
-Elizabeth Gilbert
thecompassioncollective.org
The true spirit of the season is not in simply buying gifts,
but in giving and doing what we can for those in need.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
#RealMeaningofChristmas
Never Regret A Day
No Regrets Abstract Watercolor
Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give happiness.
Bad days give experience.
Worst days give lessons.
Best days give memories.
(source unknown)
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Three Things We Cry For
Hazel Eye with Tear Drop Watercolor 5×6 Fabriano Artistico
“There are three things we cry for in life:
things that are lost,
things that are found,
and things that are magnificent.”
– Douglas Coupland, author, artist, designer
Wishing you many tears of joy experiencing things that are magnificent!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Sticks and Stones
Sticks and Stones…
can break our bones.
But bones can heal.
Words…
can harm us deeply.
And they can be hard to heal from.
As I looked at this photo I took last week
of a charming old building made of stone
and covered with twisted, tangled sticks,
it reminded me of the old childhood adage
“Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words will never hurt me.”
And I realized how absurd that is…
I have suffered through
my share of broken bones in my life,
but they have healed.
There are words, however,
that have been spoken
that have changed my life forever.
Choose your words carefully…
Consider their power.
Words can seriously hurt.
But also know
words have the power
to love and heal.
They have the power
to build up
rather than tear down.
They have the power
to create positive change
now and forever.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Let’s Teach our Children
to be kind to those who are not kind.
They need love the most.
to offer help to those who struggle.
It is in giving that we receive the most.
to be a friend to the lonely.
They are often the best friends.
to sit with those sitting alone.
They have much to share.
to look for the good in others.
That is when we learn the most about ourselves.
These are the ways we can teach our children
to change the world.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Looking Up
Looking up
past the bare
tangled
web
that tries to
block our view…
Looking beyond
what is
closest
and darkest
and right before
our line of sight…
Is beauty
and brightness
and color
and possibilities
and hopefulness
and mystery.
Look up…
Look beyond…
See the beauty.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Different?
Tools of the Trade – Sauerkraut Stompers – Krautfest 2016
It may be a different color…
a different size…
a different shape.
It may be old…
It may be new.
It may be made of a different material…
or put together in a different way.
But it still does the job…
it still has purpose.
Tools of the trade
can be as diverse and unique
as the people who use them.
Why, though, is it so easy to accept and embrace different “things,”
but difficult, for so many, to accept and embrace “different” people?
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Empty Nest
The Empty Nest
Today you stretch your wings
and show us how we taught you to fly.
Today you pack up all the things you have and need
to make your own life and home.
Today you say good-bye and I love you when you walk away,
but you don’t come back to stay.
Today you take my love with you
and know it will always be here.
Today you leave the nest.
and memories are sneaking out of my eyes and rolling down my cheeks.
Today and always, I am so very happy for you… so very proud…
but I can’t help feeling a little emptiness in the very core of my soul.
Today you begin creating your own nest
but please don’t forget you will always be a part of mine.
Wishing you the best… today and always
from my full momma’s heart..
and empty nest.
Cheers & Hugs NCM ❤
Love,
Mom
the creative life in between 
