See you again!

May, I'm not ready to see you leave yet I more than understand Time waits for no one.
There will be May posts that I missed coming up in June.
Let's make this happen.
Raise a glass and toast with me:
An amazing month.
An amazing set of memories.
Cheers, Month of May!

Today.

Good Morning, Monday.
Let's do this together.
xo, me

Team Up Thursday: Out of Focus.

What an absolutely fantastic challenge this week. Sometimes it is exactly these shots that resonate most with me.

Three cheers to Megan and Melody for a great choice!

Here is Puna's:

Puna has such a sensational eye for detail. She sees things in such a unique way that I am fascinated by. She makes me want to pick a full bouquet of those tiny white beauties to keep in my kitchen.

Thank you for being my partner. Go see her over at Life Signatures.

And here is mine:

It is SOOC. A first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Oh, I have ideas of how I am going to edit this one. It couldn't have been snapped any more perfect for me.
Until next week...Cheers!

On my mind.

We don't see the things the way they are. We see things the way WE are.
~Talmund

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.
~Elizabeth Bibesco

It isn't what the book costs. It's what it will cost you if you don't read it.
~Jim Rohn

On my mind.

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
~H. Jackson Brown

Maybe our favorite quotations say more about us than about the stories and people we're quoting.
~John Green

Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought.
~Henri L. Bergson

Let's Play #175.

Just go over and see Janet. Play along.

1. Salsa and ______sour cream_______.
2. ___A hot dog______ and you've even got mustard.
3. By the time I get home ____i should be just about ready for bed______.
4. _____Fresh fruit________ is what I look forward to most when grocery shopping.
5. And I was dreaming ____a little dream of you__________.
6. ___Love_____...is there anything else better?!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __textbook tango___, tomorrow my plans include __a celebration___ and Sunday, I want to __enjoy every minute___!

Team Up Thursday: Friends

That was the focus this week. Puna and I came up with some pretty different takes this week. What about you? Aren't you playing along? Megan over at Mental Inventory and Melody the HipMomma spun this one together. I'm sure either could help set you up with a partner.

Without further ado, Puna's image:

And mine:
Fish are something that come in and out of this house like the seasons. They last for a while and then float away to another world. One day I would love to have a gigantic tank filled with colourful little creatures that float along seemingly oblivious. Until then, I will settle for the tiny tank on the counter. These two beauties are Goldie and Sharpie, named by my super son. Can you guess which is which?

5 things.

There are five things that can't be recovered in life:
1 - the stone...after it is thrown
2 - the word...after it is said
3 - the occasion...after it is missed
4 - the time...after it is gone
5 - a person...after they die

I was sent this in an email and it has been weighing on my mind.
What are you thinking today?

On my mind.

Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.
~John Jakes

I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about.
~Oscar Wilde

Fiction is the truth inside the lie.
~Stephen King

Write without pay until somebody offers to pay.
~Mark Twain

I'm a what?!

A mini soccer ball, originally uploaded by mickbab.

Soccer coach.

The title immediately throws me back to my childhood. My dad became my coach after a slightly blurry phone call came in when he was half asleep. I can still see him nodding along with the voice on the line and muttering the occasional yup, uh huh, and OK.
He was greatness. Perhaps it was because he had two girls, perhaps it is just the person that he is but he advocated for us. He knew there were things girls needed that were different than boys (longer shorts, for starters). His first year coaching quickly shed light to the unfairness that us girls faced in an otherwise male dominated sport. There were some coaches that would bench the girls for full games at a time. It's no wonder they took to playing in clover. Dad spearheaded the business case for implementing a girls only league. He continued to coach and became a convener for the district as well as a board member for the community centre. Talk about a plate full.

I got the call about a month ago. It was a quiet Saturday evening. I was buried in a fantastic book when the phone rang. It took a few moments of convincing from the convener but Coach Kristina was born. My son is ecstatic. I am nervous. A team full of mini people all turning to me for direction and no real qualifications or prior experience makes for trepidation. One thing I am sure of is that I want to be that parent - that parent that is involved. Maybe this is another way for me to make a difference in this world.

Fast forward to this evening. It has been raining all weekend. It is cold. The wind feels like one from October and not one for May. The ground is soppy wet. The club scheduled a coaching clinic for newbies. Naively thinking it would be held inside, I dressed light - a pair of jeans, t-shirt and light sweater. Imagine my frozen ass doing a shuffle dance trying to stay warm as we stood in the rain on the field learning the three basic elements of the game and simple drills to entertain the mini mites.

Coaching lesson #1 - Always come prepared for the weather.

Recap: Mega Missons Year 27

May is my favorite month of the year.
Last year, I posted 27 things I wanted to tackle before turning 28. Here's how I did:

Keep things simple. They were simple enough.
Create a worry box. I haven't yet. I still want to.
Master my cappuccino maker. You bet I did. I can make one mean latte.
Pray. I'm still learning. More important is that now I do.
Give from the heart. I did and I continue to.
Make one major investment. If the bathroom reno doesn't count for this one, I'm not sure what does. I can't even begin to pretend the reno was what I had in mind last year when I wrote this but fate would have it this way.
Buy no more than 15 new books. I might have bought more. I didn't keep track.
Host a dinner party. It was at Christmas and it was absolutely wonderful.
Take a trip. I did! It was a quick hop for a day to another city but it was further than I thought I would make it.
Print a book. It was a photobook for my amazing sister. Blurb is awesome!
Teach a workshop. I let my gremlins win. I got too nervous about not being able or ready or qualified. I'm working these things through.
Plant a flower bed. Too bad I didn't think to snap a picture. I'm excited to see this year which of my perennials made it through the winter.
Lose 10 pounds. I have and then some. I'm comfortable in my body. I'm working with what I have.
Find work that I love. I enjoy what I do and I'm thankful to have a job.
Inventory my library. This one might take a whole life! I've started over at http://www.goodreads.com/. It's a great site!
Spend time outdoors. I'll take a woot woot on this one. We were even outdoors in drizzle. It was fantastic.
Build a sand castle. I didn't. We didn't go to the beach once.
Make ME space. I'm still working out the details. I did post about a few ideas for a dream space back in January.
Read at least one book per month. I know I read seven in one month (and they weren't mini 100 page nothings either) but I can't say I was diligent on one per month.
Jump in a pile of leaves. See, we raked the fall leaves this spring. The pile was gunky and slimy and just an ounce too nasty for me.
Eat healthier. I'm still trying although I've improved my eating habits from what they were.
Take a self-portrait every month. Try again next year.
Scrapbook. I've put a few pages together for our albums. I'd like to do more.
Break a habit or change a routine. Down to the wire on this one. I'm still trying.
Develop and stick to a budget. Right. Right. A budget.
Write. Ink to paper. I've come leaps and bounds with this. I'm even taking a writing course right now for ME. I love this.
Keep progress notes about this list. Mentally, I was in check.

Let's rock out 28! Day 1 was great.

Happy Birthday to me.