I'm alive, I'm alive!

dinner date.

Goodness, me.
I have felt like I have be absent from the blogging world a lot this past week.
This probably has to do with the fact that I have. :/
I completely missed my 'Tuesdays with Colie' post this past Tuesday.
So, it looks like this coming Tuesday you'll get a double post. :)
Which will be fun, but more typing for me. ;)
(& I don't even want to talk about how I have neglected my tumblr. poor thing.)


Anyhoo, I just wanted to update you all on what has been happening lately.

1. I have had the craziest work schedule. This is legit, considering I had two days off and then had an eight day work schedule afterwards.  :/ (I still have 3 more days after today) I'm obviously looking forward for next Wed/Thurs so that I can sleep in and relax a bit.

2. I got sick ... AGAIN!! geez. You know the saying, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired?" -- UMM... yea, well I am completely on board with that. I mean, I couldn't even drink coffee, folks!! & I LOVE coffee. :( **side note: coffee is the numbero UNO worst thing to drink with a sore throat. sad day, indeed. -- wonderful news, though. i finally got to drink a cup yesterday morning!! it was glorious. ;)


3. Nathan & I became official about 2 weeks ago, and he has been the biggest blessing in my life. :) & in between work and being sick ... I had some time to squeeze him into my crazy schedule. Which was nice, but meant we were both exhausted. I don't like that our work schedules are completely opposite of the other. :/ BUT! we do have next weekend off so that is going to be wonderful.
(ps. there will be photos of us together SOON!! ... I promise! :)


4. I am getting excited for one of my best friends, Jordan, having a birthday this coming Sunday! :) She will be the big 2-5! Which means she is closer to the big 3-0 than me. ;) **only by 3 months, though. ha.


I hope you have all been doing well!
I am looking forward to sharing more on this blog in the upcoming months. :)

I wanted to leave you with a photo from a recent trip that Nathan & I took while antique shopping. It was at a local shop, which was so sweet and got me quite giddy and excited. (the little things makes me happy. thrifting and antiquing are two of them!) Anyhoo, I came across this birthday card and couldn't help snapping a photo of it. I laughed so hard!! -- Now, I wish I had bought it for Jordan. ;)

Enjoy the weekend.

Stay warm.

much love, colie!

Tuesdays with Colie Week 2

taken from page 55 of 'tuesdays with morrie'

Unlike week one, this week's lesson hit me like a ton of bricks.

The other day I spoke about how I tend to worry far too much. : /

I believe that in that worry, I start feeling sorry for myself at times.

Do you have those moments?

I'm sure they happen far more often than we would like to admit.

Every time I read about Morrie in the last stages of his life, it always seems to tug at some emotion in my heart.

It makes me stop and remember that life truly is a beautiful thing.

Mitch says that even for Morrie, a dying man, who could no longer stand, barely wash/feed himself, or pull up his pants thought that he was lucky.

LUCKY!

Can you believe it?

That seems like a bit crazy since we tend to fret over even the smallest of things not going our way.

I think Morrie was special, though. 

I hope only to be more like him. :)

Mitch once asked Morrie if he felt sorry for himself.

This was his response:

"Sometimes, in the mornings. Thats when I mourn. I feel around my body, I move my fingers and hands - whatever I can still move - and I mourn what I've lost. I mourn the slow, insidious way in which I'm dying. But then I stop mourning. I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life. On the people who are coming to see me. On the stories I'm going to hear. On you - if its Tuesday. Because we're Tuesday people."

It is okay to be hurt, to worry, to be sad, to struggle, to feel broken.

Just remember that you are alive and that you have purpose.

In the mist of what we face, I hope we remember that life is short.

(and. so. very. precious.)

Don't feel sorry for yourself.

Be proud. 

Be grateful.

Give thanks.

Smile often.

HAPPY, HAPPY TUESDAY!

much love, friends.

(PS) ---> Mitch said that visiting with his old professor was like 'a cleansing rinse of human kindness'. 

So don't just remember to be kind to others, but remember to be kind to yourself. 

If you have made it this far in your life, then you are doing good. 

Until next week's lesson ...

Tuesdays with Colie, Week 1

feel free to purchase a copy for yourself. it is wonderful! :)

Do you know that feeling you get after reading a novel, that feeling of never wanting to let go of it. You want to hold onto the story, the characters, the emotions.
Yes? Good.
No? I hope you do someday.

Morrie is about to die.
He is in the last few months of his life when Mitch hears about his old professors illness.
And just as it would be, Mitch has one last class with Morrie.
In his home, by the window in his study.
With only a short time, Morrie shares the lessons about life and how to truly LIVE.

So, over the course of the next fourteen weeks, I have decided to take that journey.
I hope that you all do as well.

"Dying is only one thing to be sad over. Living unhappily is something else." -Morrie Schwartz

**taken from 'tuesdays with morrie' page 48**

Sometimes I just stop and think about how small we all are in comparison to the world, the universe.

We are the size of ants, smaller even.

I am not sure if we are even a speck.

In a sense, we barely exist to the world around us.

Yet, we do in fact exist.

We all desire to be happy and live a life filled with love.

However, sometimes we are constantly striving for things that in the end ... as Morrie talks about ... won't matter. 

We also forget to show compassion and love to others because we spend so much time thinking about what we need for ourselves. We never have enough, right?

We keep looking for what this world can offer us to make us momentarily happy.

I feel that many times we get so caught up in having more, that we let our dreams slip away.
I hope we can find them again. 

Morrie spoke of how something changed in him once he became ill. 

He began to feel closer to people when he began to suffer.

He felt their pain and hurt.

People he didn't even know ... that his heart ached for them and instantly he would come to tears. 

During one of Mitch's classes he had with his professor in college, Morrie showed up one day and just stood in front of the class.

He just starred ... and waited.

No sound.

Everyone fidgeting, nervous, awkward.

When the silence finally broke, Morrie got what he wanted all along.

A discussion about the effect of silence on human relations.

Why are we constantly moving?

We live in a time where silence rarely exists.

Who has the time, right?

I have to say that it is something that I have to remind myself daily to do.

I do not always succeed. 

Silence is very important, I feel.

I believe that in the silence we are able to really stop and reflect on what we really NEED in our lives, not just what we WANT. 

Silence allows us to slow down and enjoy life.

When we finally do that, I think that the pursuit of living begins again.

Morrie once said, "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in. Love is the only rational act."