Tag Archives: Blog

Absent again…

Posted in Personal Growth, Spirituality, Uncategorized by

I’m out of town again — back to my home town this time.  Walked off without my laptop and doing internet on my phone drives me crazy.  The computers at our hotel have been down and now that I can get on, their ancient browser won’t let me see anything in “The Reader”. 

Given my recent questions about blogging and my commitment to it, I’m finding this pretty funny.  I am VERY sorry, though, that I’m unable to read your blogs.   I’ll be back to my laptop soon and I’m sure I’ll be bursting with things to say.  And I’m looking forward to reading your posts again!

More awards — and official no more awards notice

Posted in awards, Personal Growth, Spiritual Journey, Uncategorized by

I’ve been nominated for three more awards, one a repeat and two new ones. I want to say a big thanks to those who nominated me: Make Believe Boutique (Sunshine Award), Peace With My Life (One Lovely Blog Award), and Blue Butterflies and Me (Day Dreamer Award). I feel so honored every time someone names me for one of these awards. I’ll put in the requirements below.

At the same time I’m extremely grateful for every award I also feel a need to say “enough”, please don’t nominate me for any more. The acceptance posts are very time consuming and I’ve reached a point where I’m not adding new blogs to my list at a pace that allows the networking to keep expanding, which I feel is the main point of these awards. From here on out if someone nominates this blog I will say thank you and put a link to them in a post but I will not fulfill any of the requirements of the reward. Thanks so much to all those who have nominated me in the past. Links to the award posts I’ve made are below and I encourage you to check out the blogs I’ve listed.

I’ve received the Sunshine Award in the past so I am going to just offer my thanks to Make Believe Boutique and refer you to the post in which I previously accepted the award.

The One Lovely Blog Award requirements: as always, thank and link to the one who nominated you; name seven things about yourself and nominate seven more bloggers. Thanks again to Peace With My Life.

Seven things about myself:

  1. I took piano lessons for 12 years and voice lessons for 5 and wanted to go to music school.
  2. My aunt, the late Mary Jane Gallaher, was the first woman turf reporter in the world and I used to tool around with her while she took pictures for her stories.
  3. My grandfather, Allen Gallaher, bred and raced horses and his horse Chilhowee once beat Black Gold.
  4. Although I didn’t want to go, I adored every minute of a trip to Bali some years ago.
  5. As an attorney (long ago) I did nuclear power plant cases; trying to stop them…
  6. I was on a vacation to the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples on September 11, 2001 and I heard the news while traveling on a hydrofoil across the Bay.
  7. I’m a major chocoholic even though I’m not supposed to eat it. Dark chocolate. Dark chocolate from Belgium, France or Italy. Brownies, cakes, cookies, candy, ice cream favorites: chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.

As far as the blogs I nominate, I don’t have seven new ones, so I’m offering a couple I’ve found recently that I really like and I refer you to the previous posts in which I gave awards to see some great blogs on spiritual topics (and occasionally expats in France and Italy and cooking):

  1. Everyday Miracles
  2. Marinating Online
  3. Schwingeninswitzerland

For the Daydreamer Award, again I thank Blue Butterflies and Me. The rules:

1) Upon receipt of this award, you are to take a mental vacation for five minutes. Gaze off into space, look out of the window, have yourself a wonderful day dream.

2) When you have returned from your day dream, you are required to take another one tomorrow.

3) Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

  1. Award this to three (3) people. You can only pass on this award to three (3) people only.

My nominees:

1. Genie Speaks

2. Catseyesk

3. Tracie Louise Photography 

Previous posts on awards:

Versatile Blogger and Sunshine Award

More Awards–Wow 

Awards Again 

Commentator Award

Awards–again…

Posted in awards, Personal Growth, Spirituality, Uncategorized by

Every time I receive another award nomination I feel thrilled, so I’m excited to announce that I’ve been awarded some more.

First, I’ve gotten another nomination for the Versatile Blogger Award. For this I have to say a big thanks to MetaphyzGirl at Angela’s Space. Please be sure to check her blog out. I’ve been nominated for the Versatile Blogger before and I’m starting to have trouble coming up with nominations so I’m going the lazy route and linking you to the first post in which I accepted the Versatile Blogger award. Please check out the blogs I listed there as they’re still among my faves.

Next, I’ve been nominated for my second Sunshine Award which I accept with great thanks and appreciation to Genie at Geniespeaks. Her blog is inspiring so be sure to take a look. My last Sunshine Award was accepted on the same post as the Versatile Blogger and I refer you again to that post for all the nominees I made for this award and ditto on being faves of mine.

Finally, big thanks to FoodStories who has nominated me for a new award called The Illuminating Blogger. The rules for this one are:

Food Stories is pleased to present the Illuminating Blogger Award, a fabulous award that anyone can bestow on their fellow bloggers for illuminating, informative blog content.

Here’s how it works:

1. The nominee should visit the award site (http://foodstoriesblog.com/illuminating-blogger-award/) and leave a comment indicating that they have been nominated and by whom. (This step is so important because it’s the only way that we can create a blogroll of award winners).
2. The Nominee should thank the person that nominated them by posting & including a link to their blog.
3. Share one random thing about yourself in your blog post.
4. Select at least five other bloggers that you enjoy reading their illuminating, informative posts and nominate them for the award.
5. Notify your  nominees by leaving a comment on their blog, including a link to the award site (http://foodstoriesblog.com/illuminating-blogger-award/).

Something random about me: I’m a huge fan of coffee and picky about the kind and the prep. I’m so in love with the coffee from La Coppa in Mill Valley, CA that I brought back five pounds of coffee in my suitcase plus two more pounds for friends I’ve enticed into the love… You can mail order but I saved a bundle and what’s a sore arm???

My nominees (I’m trying as always to present new ones but I’m losing track):

Since it’s AlphabeThursday and the letter today is “A”, this is my contribution for that too.

A second view of chilling in Marin

Posted in New Age, Personal Growth, Spiritual Journey, Uncategorized by

They have a lovely temple/meditation space in the back yard…

Note: Part of the lazy… I really posted this on my Sassy blog… You just get a different picture.

I’m beginning my second week in beautiful Marin. Time here always seems to fly by far too quickly. This place where I house sit is on a spectacular property that’s almost two acres, some of it wooded and adjoined to a county park on one side. Hills, greenery, flowers, the sweet scent of jasmine floating through the gentle air… What’s not to love?

My soul, besides feeding on the landscape, is being nourished by visits with loving friends and two new acquaintances I hope to see every time I return. For those of you who also read Amrita Blaine’s Heart of the Matter blog, I had a lovely lunch with her and so deeply appreciate that the blogging world has proved to be such an amazing network of great people.

My laptop is here and I’m trying to keep up with all the blogging—both reading and writing—but the friends and the walks and the lying in the grass to drink in the energy keep calling to me. I’ve already missed AlphabeThursday and Saturday Centus and my reading is sporadic. I hope you’ll forgive my lapses… my soul is busy being renewed. I know, I know, lesson to be learned: nourish soul wherever I am…

More awards — wow!

Posted in awards, Personal Growth, Spiritual Journey, Uncategorized by

I’m blown away that these awards keep coming. I’ve just been awarded the Beautiful Blogger award by Yamyah at Into the Heart (you should check her out)  Thanks so much Yamyah.

Here is the skinny on what you need to do if you accept the Beautiful Blogger award:

  • Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog.
  • Share the love by passing the award along to six other bloggers you adore.
  • Keep writing, inspiring, loving and living in joy and beauty!

This is the first one I’ve seen where the rules for it vary all over the place if you research it but I’m sticking with the rules with which I was presented!

I’ve also been presented the Kreativ Blogger award by Whispers of the Heart.  Thank you — I’m really honored. This one requires that you thank the one who gave it to you and link back to that blog, share 7 things about yourself and pass the award on to 5-10 other bloggers.  I’ve already listed quite a few bloggers on other awards and I don’t have enough other bloggers to give sixteen more so I’m going to stay with five for this one and the lists are below.

As far as seven things about me, when I started making a list and went back to look at the Versatile blogger post I realized I was making the same list:

  • I took music lessons for many years
  • I don’t read anything serious any more – three degrees wore me out on serious
  • I’m a major francophile – since I was 10; think it must have been a past life…
  • Though it’s hard to make room for more than France, I fell in love with Italy some years ago
  • I’m a really mean, cranky driver; I might be the only person who knows how to drive :>)
  • Writing fiction was like breathing for me as a child.

My nominations for the Beautiful Blogger award (nominated=winner):

My nominations for the Kreativ Blogger Award:

AlphabeThursday is on my other blog…

Posted in Personal Growth, Uncategorized by

Salty Being Peace

On a whim I posted my AlphabeThursday piece on Not Just Sassy on the Inside since it wasn’t really a spiritual journey post.  Then I realized every time I commented on other people’s posts for this one that it’s this blog that shows up to identify me.  Since I’m too lazy to write anything else tonight, I thought I’d just offer this little redirect to the other post (plus take the chance to provide another view of cutie pie up there)…

From “what’s a blog” to “hey it’s my blog’s first anniversary”–wow!

Posted in New Age, Personal Growth, Spirituality, Uncategorized by

Note:  The photo really has nothing to do with the post (although you’re welcome to free associate and let me know how it does in the comments).  This was less than three days after the tornadoes blasted through Kentucky and I just felt like putting it up.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a whole year—as of today, March 14—since I started this blog. I barely knew what a blog was and I’d certainly never read one let alone studied anything about how to set one up. But I’d started writing some short pieces on my spiritual journey and I kept getting meditative nudges to get them out there on the internet. A little sniffing around brought me to WordPress and the notion that a blog would be a good forum for presenting these pieces.

The requirement for a name popped up so fast I didn’t really know what to pick. When I first moved from California to Kentucky my friends out there wanted to know about life here so I sent periodic e-mail dispatches I called Notes from the Bluegrass and you can guess from there how this strange title was the first thing that occurred to me. My advice now would be to wait to set up the blog until you’ve thought of a good name.

At first I just wrote and posted with a commitment to myself to put up two a week. My page didn’t have anything extra on it and I accidentally linked to Facebook while trying to get a Facebook like button. Occasionally I got a random “like” or comment but by and large my stats were flat-lined at zero. Unsure whether I had enough to say to keep posting or the discipline to write regularly it felt like it was all I could do to dream up topics and get something posted twice a week.

The lack of readers eventually disappointed, so I began looking at the WordPress files on how to get more readers. Suddenly I surfed and commented and liked and found my subscriber list growing. I’m now part of a network of spiritual bloggers, many of whom are all following one another. I’ve set up another blog for fiction writing exercises, which has led to more networking. Then I set up a blog for my not-so-spiritual alter-ego, Not Just Sassy on the Inside.

Talk about writing practice! And as my favorite writing guru, Natalie Goldberg*, teaches, the more I write the more it flows. Giving a goose to my writing is just one of the benefits. I’m thrilled every day when my in box is full of e-mails telling me people have liked and commented and subscribed. And because I know how happy it makes me, I feel happy every time I click “like” or “follow” or make a comment because I know there’s a good chance someone else is going to feel good.

The first year has been more inspiring and fun than I could have imagined and I’m so grateful. Most of all I’m grateful for all of you who subscribe and read. I smile when your now familiar faces appear under my posts or in my e-mails and I’m a writer who lacks words to express how much it means to me. Thank you for helping to make this first year great!

*Writing Down the Bones  and Wild Mind have been my favorite books on writing for many years.

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I’m honored to be a HUG award recipient

Posted in New Age, Personal Growth, Spiritual Journey, Uncategorized by

The HUG Award© is for people who embrace and hug the world with hope:

Hope for Love………..Hope for Freedom………..Hope for Peace

Hope for Equality………..Hope for Unity……….Hope for Joy and Happiness

Hope for Compassion and Mercy……….Hope for Faith

Hope for Wholeness and Wellness……….Hope for Prosperity

Hope for Ecological Preservation……….Hope for Oneness

The HUG Award© is initiated by A Hope for Today at http://ahopefortoday.com, which promotes hope, love, peace, equality, and unity for all people.

The HUG Award© recognizes and honors those who help keep hope alive in our current world, which is plagued by war, natural disasters, and economic recession.

The HUG Award© is for those who cross boundaries–nationality, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual-orientation, age, stature, disability, religion, spiritual beliefs, education, political inclination, or social-economic status–to nurture hope and show respect for the dignity of all citizens of the world.

The HUG Award© is for those who use their available resources–a smile, a hug, a helping hand, a listening ear, a voice, time, money, possessions, education, personality, talent, websites and blogs—to nurture hope and show respect for the dignity of all citizens of the world.

The HUG Award© is a recipient-perpetuated award established according to the guidelines and copyright at http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/.

Since this award is not limited to blogs, I am reaching outside the blog world and my first nominee is Martha Creek, minister, teacher, creator of joy.  Since this award also doesn’t limit the number of nominees and does not make you compose and post your entire list at once, there will be more nominees forthcoming from me!  Thanks to Connie for nominating me!

The Liebster Award

Posted in Personal Growth, Spiritual Journey, Uncategorized by

Liebster Blog Award — given by Kate Hawkes of Wellness with Kate

It’s always so nice to get an award and it hasn’t happened often to me so I appreciate receiving this one.

The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  Liebster is German (n.) and means: sweetheart, beloved person, darling.

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to his or her blog

2. Copy and paste the “Liebster Blog Award” icon into your post

3. Pass the award on to 5 of your fellow bloggers and let them know you did so

Thank you, Kate, for honoring me with this award! And congratulations to you, too, for receiving it. Based on its name, the Liebster Blog award is a way to show a fellow blogger you appreciate the kindness they bring to the blogosphere. As such, here are my 5 nominations. I had trouble making it only 5 and for some who are left out, it’s because you either definitely exceed the 200 subscriber rule or I can’t tell from your site whether you do or don’t….

  1. Ann Quilts – Ann has always been a fine artist and now she’s sharing her process and tricks of the trade.

  2. The Heart of the Matter – Beautifully written personal anecdotes with a Buddhist perspective that remind me of the path and that we’re just people working our way along…

  3. Waking Spirals – Lovely art with nice spiritual commentary

  4. Dimitie Kendall – Spiritual writings

  5. Maggie Scribbles – Spiritual journey and life