"I get by with a little help from my friends." - John Lennon

This is an entry to thank some good friends.....it gets to the thank you as soon as I'm done with my rant, ha-ha.

This last week has been a pretty rough one guys. Due to a minor chemical imbalance, my hurt feelings/pride/dignity, and several arguments with my long-distance, military husband, I really did have the worst couple of days of my life. Okay.....I know I shouldn't be dramatic. If an, albeit, SAVAGE migraine and a spell of edgy depression is the worst thing that has happened to me I should be very grateful. Still it was pretty bad....

Bad week or not here I am, on this lovely Sunday night, totally fine. I would have loved to stay home from work, sleep forever and feel sorry for myself but I didn't. As a matter of fact I wasn't even late for work. I stayed late when I needed to, I put on a happy face when I had meetings with other teachers and made it through just fine. I consider myself to be a very strong woman and crying myself to sleep just wasn't going to cut it. And really, strong or not, I would have never called into work. I get anxiety about potty schedules, work-jobs, markers having the right caps on them and whether or not everyone cleaned their face after lunch.

Anyway, I did this with a little help from a few good friends and this entry is dedicated to all of those people. See? I told you I would get to it. They don't always know what to say but they are great listeners. And even if I'm in one of those pissed-that-you're-even-trying-to-make-me don't want to laugh moods, they always get a giggle out of me. Without them I would have made it through the week just as fine. A few less smiles and not as many laughs but just as fine. I am the kind of person who says "I don't need anyone," and I don't. I much prefer to do things alone, only worry about myself and if something doesn't get done or goes wrong, I'm the only person I can blame. But my friends love me in spite of this (I think) and I love them for that. I love them for coming to my rescue even if I don't want their help. I love them for telling me what I don't always want to hear, for keeping the times I cry a secret, and for letting me just be me. I'm a great actor, it's being "me" that's hard. I love you guys so much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are my light in the storm!

Here are a few pictures of me and a person who is always there when I need her.

I'm always shocking her. :)

Unfortunately if we are in a picture, we think it's good regardless.

What a great kisser! :)

That's a real smile.

Like I said, "good regardless".

We have swag all our own.

Later Texass!

Okay so, if you know one thing about me you know I hate where I live. The heat, scenery (or lack there of), the maintreamness, pretty much everything. So I will be heading for the wonderful city of San Fransisco next month, and after that Christmas in Seattle. I can't wait! Stay tuned for pics. I might put some up of my trip last year, but probably not!

When fortune calls, offer her a chair.

I was talking to my husband on the phone today, telling him about all the plans I have for our new apartment. My problems in telling him this were 1) He thought I was out of my mind and did not see how a glass head would look nice, no matter where I put it. 2) That everything I got was overpriced and 3) That I had too many chairs. Now I did go a little chair crazy but I really can not help myself. So these are a few of the chairs I have chosen for our new abode. Enjoy!

Replica of the 1946 DCM Chair. They are $225 a piece. This is only on my wish list :(

Bamboo Chair and Ottoman, from Target believe it or not. Retails at about $450.00 but I got mine for $110.00 :)

A very talented man named David Gray made these for me. They are $220.00 a piece, check him out! eponarockinghorses.com

I got these for my dining room at advancedinteriordesigns.com. They were a great price at $150.00 for a set of two, but I am thinking of going with the Ikea chairs below. They are an even better price at $50.00 a piece and they look like the DCM Chairs that I cannot afford!

I love these more and more!

The Barcelona style chair and ottoman. At $800.00 this is also only on my wish list.

A magical cottage in the woods

If I only know one thing about myself it is this: I am across the bored on everything. I go from tough girl to dainty lady, from left to right, Modern to classic, hot to cold. If you have seen the picture of the modern house I posted and compared it to this one then you should know what I am talking about. I cannot help it, it is just the way I am. I am not sure if it is an identity crisis or I really do just love all kinds of different things. I love this house though. I feel like any moment fairies will arrive with the tiny blonde child, Aurora, sleeping in their arms. It is magical.

Oh for a book and a shady nook...

To know me is to know that I love books. Not just reading, but books themselves, so I am going to collect them. The first book I have amassed is a collection of poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who is definetly a favorite of mine. It was published in 1947 and belonged to my grandmother. Below is a list of all the books I would like to attain. Come back because I will surely update the list often.

You will see that Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice are the first on the list. They are, without a doubt, two of the most beautiful novels ever written. I would defend the characters, Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennet, like I would defend my mother. Not that they would need my help. :)

Jane Eyre (1943 Random House), Pride and Prejudice, The Merchant of Venice, Villette, Romeo and Juliet, Anna Karenina, The Tempest, The Count of Monte Cristo, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet (I am told I act like him ha-ha), Julius Caesar, Wuthering Heights, Moby Dick, A Tale of Two Cities, Macbeth, War and Peace, Antony and Cleopatra, Oliver Twist, The Man in the Iron Mask, Emma, Othello, Sense and Sensibility, The Three Musketeers, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Lady Susan, Don Quixote, Tales, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Vanity Fair

To be continued...

As for my house....

So I thought, since I love interior design, that I would throw in what I would consider my dream house and how I picture the rooms there in. Okay so here is my sad story: My husband has traveled the world. He has been to countries like Thailand, Australia, The Philippines, Korea, Japan and many more, but STILL he prefers western simplicity. GAH! I struggle to become a more cultured individual from afar and like to incorporate things from many different countries to pull a room together. Where is the justice?!?!

My dream home.

There is something wondrous about a white bedroom. I love pale color palates, especially in the more intimate spaces like master bed and baths.

I would add a medieval chair, and a different sofa and but wholly I like this look. I would also change the throw pillows, add more art and add books to the decor, a room without books is wasted space.

I would like a combination of these two dining areas.
Strange I know, but I love it! I am not the kind of person to sit in a formal dining room, I eat dinner sitting on the counter top at my mom's. And being a vegetarian I am in no way a "meat and potatoes" kind of girl so I wanted a dining room that looks like the kind of food I usually eat. Strange, I know.

Except for cooking everyday meals, the kitchen is not a room I see myself spending a lot of time in. Regardless, I still had a vision of how it should look and had a hard time finding a picture that resembles it. This is as close as I could get; just envision a glass wall to add more light.

In home library and study. Always wanted one.

Again, just add a glass wall and eliminate the red and it would be perfect.

Who would not want a closet this big. Of course it would be filled with beautiful clothing, which as eco-friendly, charity driven, and unworldly as I try to be, I cannot deny my love for. I am ashamed. :)



To be continued.....

Shine!

I would like to give anyone who happens to stumble across my accumulation of thought further insight into myself by addressing the title of my blog. I hope it gives you a better idea about me. The title comes from a quote by Buddha. Buddah says: Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine! First lets address the star of the show, my favorite word ever, the word shine. Hearing it is like a peal of bells! I think s-h words sound obnoxious but the sharpness of the ine-ending is just fantastic. Shine, beautiful! Now for the quote itself, I think it is pretty self-explantory; live a pure life, be calm, clean, and still, master your passions, these are all things that everyone should do. Then there is the final line ..."like the moon come out from behind the clouds. Shine!" Which means stop blending in! Do not become a piece of furniture in a poorly decored room, be a work of art that jumps off the walls, be the color the pulls the room together, the chair that steals the show. Be the best you can be! SHINE! Shine with all your might. Work your hardest to find what makes you happy, to find the place that you belong, the place you shine!