Things to Consider

Candy: We moved into our apartment in The Villas at Park West yesterday and we have cable and internet to call our own, along with a rental furniture package. It's amazing how much we missed the small, luxurious things in life after being on the road for nearly seven weeks now.

If you'd like our address for the time being, just email or call us.

We've been spending a fair amount of time at the local Barnes & Noble bookstore (we call it B&N), as well as getting to know the Pueblo area a bit more. Our apartment is on the very western edge of Pueblo, between Pueblo proper and the new, planned community of Pueblo West. We're in a pretty new complex that is out in the country and there's lots of open space all around.

The other day at the B&N I came across some great quotes, of which my favorite is this: "Happiness is not a station to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." Margaret Lee Runbeck is credited with saying it, and it struck me that our traveling has been filled with happiness, even when it's been challenging to keep moving.

Tonight I was reading a book (at B&N, of course) entitled The Joys of Much Too Much, by Bonnie Fuller. She's the editorial director of American Media, which owns some 20 magazines such as Shape and Men's Fitness.

Some interesting things struck me from my reading, the first of which is a statement made to Ms. Fuller by David Brown, the producer of the movie Jaws. He said to her that "under no circumstances, face the facts." I had to read it twice to grasp the concept, but it really could change my life (and yours, too) if I apply it. What if I didn't face all the "factual"' obstacles that keep me from reaching my professional dreams? What if you didn't face them?

Ms. Fuller also wrote that "if you ask with enough conviction and frequency, someone will definitely answer in the affirmative sooner or later." Of course I've known this for a long time, but it was a great reminder in this time of job (& soul) searching for both Tim and me.

Ms. Fuller doesn't believe there is any such thing as balance. There's juggling, but you can't give equal treatment to everyone and everything. You can give your whole effort to what matters most to you--your family, your work, your passions--and that's enough. The rest is not that important.

I also realized through my reading tonight that a fairly large portion of the obstacles I faced at my last place of employment were because my bosses were threatened by my work ethic and my talent. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be changed in that type of situation, except to change one's boss and/or place of employment.

I know, it's a lot to garner from one book, but I guess I was especially open to the concepts in it tonight.

On another note, I printed some of the photos from our blog today in 2"x3" sizes to make a photo collage. Here's my idea: they could be "Tiny Art" and could be collaged either on the wall in a frame, or laminated and magnetized for really cool fridge art. I'd love to know what you think about that. I made a little collage for our fridge and it looks pretty sweet.
We went to see the movie Akeelah and the Bee tonight. It was great. I was especially struck by a series of quotes by Marianne Williamson featured in the movie. Here is what she had to say.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be?

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. As we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

Wow. Did that hit you as hard as it does me?

The photo at the top of the post is what I saw in our living room today. The shadow struck me as pretty cool, and I hope you like it as much as I do. I'm planning to set up some photo projects for myself during the month of May and will definitely share them with you.

Also, I dug up a photo from our trip that was taken near St. Cloud, Minnesota. Here it is.
Well, I guess that's it for tonight. We're both having a great time in Pueblo and are eager to keep learning while we wait for whatever's next. We'd love to hear from you, and hope that you're doing well also. Take care.