Promise Yourself ...

"Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!"

-- Christian D. Larson

I love a good quote as much as the next person, and when I spied this one at B&N over the holidays, I could not resist ... it now hangs on the magnet board in my craft room. {source: quotable magnets from quotable cards - www.quotablecards.com }

-- Davielle

MVPs

San Diego Chargers - freaking ROCK the NFL this evening with a big fat win over the Indianapolis Colts. {sorry, "grand" Trevor}

5' 6" / 180 pounds - Darren Sproles is MVP again for San Diego --

And call me the mossy one that just crawled out from under a rock, but WHO KNEW

that Antonio Gates was movie-star handsome?!

Sheesh!

Football just doesn't get much better than a Wild Card Game WIN in OVERTIME !!!

Football Love from your worn out blogger,

-- Davielle

those HEPBURN gals

Although not related in any way, shape, or form, the Actresses HEPBURN have always been amongst my favorites ... forever, I've idolized Katherine; and in the last 10 years, Audrey has joined her on my Top Five Actresses List.

Katherine, with her love Spencer Tracy (above, left) - Audrey spans 3 decades

The depth and breadth of their abilities, and of their beauty, is almost beyond words.

Some of my favorite KH movies include THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, ON GOLDEN POND, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, BRINGING UP BABY, and WOMAN OF THE YEAR

THANKS TO MY FRIEND ANN, I just learned of something exciting ... visit this link to find out all about the Katherine Hepburn Theater, opening in Summer 2009:
http://www.katharinehepburntheater.org/

in my humble opinion, Audrey rocked any & everything she ever wore

Some of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies are SABRINA, ROMAN HOLIDAY, FUNNY FACE, and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S


I have forever admired this particular "look" of Kate's ...


"I'm a personality as well as an actress. Show me an actress who isn’t a personality, and you’ll show me a woman who isn’t a star".
- Katharine Hepburn


many beautiful women starred opposite Cary Grant ... but few had the magical chemistry that Kate shared with Cary in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY


If Hollywood had its own Mount Rushmore, Cary Grant's profile would be the most prominent: the hair that Katharine Hepburn mussed in Bringing Up Baby (1938), the eyes that Eva Marie Saint couldn't quite meet in North by Northwest (1959), the lips that locked so breathtakingly with Ingrid Bergman's in Notorious (1946), and, of course, the cleft chin that fascinated Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963). For more CG images and insight, visit this cool site: http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue05/features/carygrant.htm

That's it for my morning musings on Katherine & Audrey ... two lovely ladies, inside & out.

-- Davielle

Life ...

"Life has got to be lived -- that's all there is to it."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

Happy New Year, everyone.

I think Eleanor has made a fantastic point here, one well worth taking to heart -- LIFE has just got to be lived. How simple is that? {you'd be surprised ...}

Me, I'm the curious type, and I always love to hear what others are RESOLVING for their New Year.



If you want to know what some others around the country are resolving for 2009, take a look at this little article:
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2008-12-31-voa2.cfm



Closer to home, this article covers a news segment on making NY Resolutions, with a focus on our children:
http://blogs.sandiego6.com/blogs/your_family_matters/archive/2008/12/25/3637014.aspx



And here's a link to the TOP TEN NY Resolutions -- pretty generic, but worth taking a look at:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/105004/top_ten_new_years_resolutions_for_the.html



All I asked one of our daughters for Christmas was that she STOP SMOKING - or at the very least, that she cut way back. I didn't quite get that promise out of her, but I sure hope she'll make this heart-healthy NY Resolution -- for her sake, and for peace of mind for all our family.



Please comment to this post with YOUR resolutions, but remember -- if they're too "intimate" in nature, you may want to just give me the more public ones here!



HNY, everyone --
Davielle

Looking Heavenward

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."
-- Emerson

Just working hard to remain ever-grateful for all my blessings --

And continuing to ask for your loving, healing thoughts and prayers for our friend, and our god-daughter, Andi --


.. Davi & Mark
12-30-08

LOVE BEGINS AT HOME ...

"Love begins at home,

and it is not how much we do ...

but how much love we put in that action."

-- Mother Teresa

Isn't that a beautiful reminder that it's not WHAT we do, but HOW we do it? If we offer up all our acts {yes, even housework!} with love & thanksgiving for all the blessings we have -- isn't that what makes it all better?

I am a terrible housekeeper. It's not a secret. So I hereby vow to do my housework & household chores with a strong measure of THANKSGIVING in the coming new year. {Resolution Number One, we'll call it}

I do love to cook. Trouble is, I do not cook for Mark and I on a regular basis -- rather, we put something together for ourselves when it suits us -- not a very "bonding" way to exist, I have to admit. I am a good cook. Another non-secret. And I want to publicly note here that I am SO inspired by the "what's cooking in our kitchen" posts that friend Ann D puts on her blog -- WOW, does she do it up right! So I hereby vow to PREPARE A MEAL {whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner - it doesn't matter} for my husband in the coming new year - at least every other day. {Resolution Number Two, we'll call that one}

I very much enjoy attending Mass at our Church. Do I make sure to get to Mass at least once a week? NO, I do not. My spiritual health suffers for it, I believe. So I hereby vow to make attending Mass more of a priority in my life. {Resolution Number Three, we'll call this one}

That's it for me, for now, regarding my New Year's Resolutions ... oh, of course I have all the other usual suspects: lose weight / get in shape / make time to WALK, alone or with Rocky / ALL THAT STUFF. I also intend to continue on with getting a handle on the migraines I've lived with for 47 years --

More on all the "healthy" matters later, though.

Right now, Mark and I need to get to our dinner and we are trying to get a hospital visit in with our god-daughter, Andi, who is again in serious condition and fighting for her life.

In the big scheme of things, doesn't it sound oh-so-easy to just BE GRATEFUL for everything we DO have, and to just stop grousing about the rest?

-- D.

A Few of My Favorite Things

It's MY birthday, so I get to post about a few of my favorite things ... and in case that phrase isn't ringing any bells for you, the movie SOUND OF MUSIC is on that list. ;-)

Rain. I love the rain. As a youngster, it ALWAYS rained for me on my birthday. Seriously. And today, guess what? RAIN, on my half-decade birthday. Wow.

if that is not the most romantical dance photo ever, I don't know what is ... my goodness !!!

Gene Kelly - and all talented artistic dancers. And what's better than Gene Kelly in that musical "Singin' in the Rain" ???

And speaking of gifted athletes ... this heart-filled Thoroughbred filly, RUFFIAN, has always had a large piece of my heart. She has a heartbreaking story, though, which I will not go into here - if you don't know it, and you care to, you can google her and read it for yourself. Me, I prefer to remember Ruffian as the valiant beauty you see here:

An old-fashioned, blowsy, ENGLISH COUNTRY GARDEN, complete with thatched-roof cottage. I have to say, THIS is my storybook dream house & garden. Isn't it darling?

And FREESIA blossoms. They smell like heaven, they remind me of Mark's and my favorite place, Deetjen's Big Sur Inn {'cause they usually have cut freesia on the tables there}, and they naturalize in the garden. Ah, freesia.

So those are just a random few of my favorite things.

And the blessing of good friends and the love of a great family. Don't mind me - I'm just waxing nostalgic - but then, I get to do that - it's MY birthday !!!

-- D.