Feeling Zen

My mother was a big believer in Karma. She may have been very in-tune to her religion, but she also believed that you get back what you put out in the world. If you bring pain to others, someday, somehow, in this life or not, you will get your due. So I have no doubt she was absolutely dancing a jig this week when O.J. Simpson was sentenced to do hard time for being well, O.J. After all the time she spent watching and analyzing the murder trial!

There's a lot going on in our life right now, so I'm clinging to prayer, and to the philosophy that crappy things may happen in life, but it is up to us how we handle them. So I'm moving through recent stress with as much positive energy as possible. At the risk of being too Pollyanna for my own good, here's a list of some things I'm loving right now . . .

1. My birthday- I had about the best birthday ever this week. The kids at school surprised me with all kinds of adorable treats, and my wonderful husband planned the best birthday dinner surprise. Jon drove me around town, pulled into several restaurants, before finally arriving at our destination. It was giddy-fun, and the food was so good we both shed a tear.

2. Fresh Chistmas Trees-We went to an actual tree farm last week to get our Christmas tree. We decided to skip the big, bulky artifical this year, and I'm so happy we did. Really, there is nothing like the scent of blue spruce.

3. Christmas Music- I am a total sap when it comes to music. James Taylor makes me cry on a normal day, but his Christmas CD is a true killer. Not to mention The Carpenters. I think I now have the Carpenter's Christmas album memorized! And this year, I found A Kenny (as in Rogers) and Dolly (and in Parton) Christmas on iTunes. Best $9 I've spent in a long time! (Jon may disagree. Just a bit.) Kenny and Dolly and I go way back. I'm still annoyed that Kenny first dumped Mary Ann and then got the second worst facelift in Hollywood (The worst facelift award goes to Jennifer Gray.) My first Kenny Rogers Christmas album was very scandelous--I believe there was a bra on a couch in the back cover illustration. But I love me some Kenny and Dolly Christmas!

4. Cookie Baking with Kids- I invited some of my students over yesterday to help bake cookies. It was a wild, floury mess, but so much fun! If you can picture 5 girls, one with autism, and two with big time ADD, you can imagine how my kitchen looked! I think I'm going to be scraping white chocolate off of the ceiling in July. But Jon and I had a ball with them, and they were all so polite. It was good kid-energy on Fox Sedge Lane!

5. Baby Kaull's Bedroom-Ooooh, it is starting to look so cute! After our almost match last week, I decided to kick the nursery into gear. I have a woman making some window treatments and accent pillows. I re-framed an antique print that was in my room as a child, and have picked up a few cute accents. No theme--just calming blues, greens, and white. We're going to work on the finishing touches on Christmas Day. (I'll post pics then--our camera is now dead, so we're calling Santa.) It has become my favorite quiet place to read and dream about the little toddler who will some day be tearing that cute room apart!