A feast for the eyes…

Monday, April 18, 2011

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.~Martin Luther





Around 1945, when he was just a young boy, Volker Kraft saw his very first Easter Tree, in German, and decided he would have one of his very own, when he grew up. Time passed and young Volker became a married man, with a family. But his childhood dream stuck with him and so he decorated a small apple tree in his yard, using 18 colored plastic eggs and began realizing his dream come true with his very first Easter Tree in 1965.



As the years past he and his wife, Christa couldn’t afford buy so many plastic Easter eggs. So they began drilling holes into real eggs, using the contents in the kitchen, and then hand painting the shells as decorations. When their children got old enough, they started helping with the decorating, and the Easter Tree became a family tradition, known not only in their home town of Saalfeld, but all over Germany.

The number of Easter eggs hung by the tree’s branches grew every year, and in 2011 it has reached an incredible 9,800 eggs.



See more pictures and read about this beautiful Easter Tree here.....

www.eierbaum-saalfeld.de/?seite=kurz
video&lang=eng

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Don’t be April’s Fool….

Friday, April 01, 2011

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

What an awesome quote by Maria Robinson and how appropriate for the start of a brand new month. Do you realize that we are already through the first quarter of 2011? It’s amazing how time flies when you’re trying to use every moment of every day to reach all your goals. And yet, we have all the time in the world to walk that path to healthier living and reach our finish line.



After reading Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” a few years back and really concentrating on living in the moment I found that time actually slowed a bit because I was focused on what I was doing or what was going on around me instead of worrying about the future or regretting the past. I found there really is enough time each day to do what truly needs to be done. And in doing so the future takes care of itself and there are no moments wasted wallowing in regret.



Don’t be April’s fool and find yourself at the same point you started 30 days before when May comes-a-knocking. Make April count towards your new ending. Each moment, every decision, all choices, build on the last one… you can’t go back but you can begin again right now. Not tomorrow, not next Monday… now. This very moment is the start of your NEW ending. Make it count… you will never get this moment back again.

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Let’s all sing like the birdies sing…

Sunday, March 20, 2011

I fell in love with spring the year after my brother Tom died. Fall had always held my heart but 2007 brought me a second lover. And I’m glad She’s back again to remind us that life goes on and it can be very, very sweet.

When Tom was dying he asked me what sound set the mood for each day as I awoke in the morning. With out hesitation I answered, “Oh, birds singing!!!” Then I quickly cringed inside because I knew that many a night he’d lay awake bothered by a mockingbird or two who’d perch outside his window taunting him to take aim with his pellet gun. He answered their calls once but felt so bad after carefully burying them in the backyard, wrapped regretfully in used tissue paper and placed in an old shoebox. He didn’t say a thing about my answer nor did we talk about it again. But I knew he and our brother John were making plans to meet up in a dream, after he died, and surf the cosmos together. So when the birds began singing… all day and all night the summer that Tom passed away and then continued all through the following fall, winter and spring… I knew Tom had sent them. Their songs still fill me with sweet joy each morning as they continue to remind me of how much Tom and I love each other still.

For Tom
November 18, 2008
Words by Grama Speedy
To be illustrated by
T. C. & Riley
Stella & Ollie
&
Brodie

FLY AWAY

Gargoyles, perched high in the sky
Watching over each passerby
Weary the travelers sigh
As the full moon climbs high

He always wanted to fly
Like birds high in the sky
Now a broken passerby
Filled with the sweetest of sighs

Oh, If only he could fly…….

Fluff tickles his nose
Feathers begin to grow
Feet leave the ground on tippy-toes
As the wind kicks up and starts to blow

Fly…

Surrounded now by cheering crows
Higher and higher he begins to glow
Only the Angels really know
When it’s time for us to go

And fly

Gargoyles smile as he passes by
He gazes down as we wave good-bye
Weary no more
He soars high in the sky

And fly’s

Flying to heaven on Angels wings
Taking memories, no need for things
He fly’s to meet the King of Kings
As bells toll, and birdies sing
He finally got to flap his wings

And fly, fly, fly………



Some day I too shall fly and sing as sweetly. In the mean time… welcome spring with all your promise… I knew you were coming.

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From To-Do to Ta-Da!!!

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Nine months ago.....











Eight months later.....













No life is great!!!!!!!!!!!!



My next goal is to reach my one year Sparkversary on June 21, 2011... the plan is to stay S. M. A. R. T.



"Our scars remind us of our past; it is up to us weather we let them dictate our future!"

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My WMD’s….

Monday, February 28, 2011

My WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

I was going to change the M to a W, as in “weight,” but Mass works for me.

SparkPeople is, of course, my number one weapon. The nutrition tracker, informative articles, SparkTeam challenges, motivational blogs and supportive members all work towards success if you take the time to use the tools available.

Steve Siebold’s Fat Loser program has become my one-two punch. I’m finding it’s the perfect combination with SparkPeople for me right now.

My dear SparkFriend “Tublady” recommended it some weeks ago in a blog titled “Can you handle some tough love?” Tisha is one of my “Sheros” and if you haven’t been blessed to know her yet then I suggest you get over there and check her out. She’s a 69 year old great-grandmother who joined SP in May of last year and has lost more than 150 pounds!!!! Yes, you read that right. She is also one of those Sparkers whom you look at and wonder “How can she be so motivated to exercise like she does?” I look at her routine and marvel at her tenacity and then just shake my head in awe of her progress. Well, she only had to mention the fat loser program once and I was all over it. True, we don’t agree with every thing Steve says but 99% ain’t bad!!! I’m not even sure if his words would have rung true with me before joining SparkPeople but they sure do make sense now. His program is free and online with twenty-one 8-18, minute videos with 3 daily homework questions. Very simple to do and very enlightening. I’m on Day 16, and have had questions answered that I didn’t even know I had. I’ve also learned what makes winners like Tisha tick and it’s some thing we all can benefit from in every aspect of our lives. This is not just about losing weight.

If you are interested in adding another weapon to your arsenal or just want a personal coach to cheer you on in your journey to a happier, healthier and more fit lifestyle, here’s the link.

www.fatloser.com/

I Googled Steve before even clicking on TUBLADY’s link because my life used to be fear and scarcity-based. Now it’s based in abundance. What a concept I’m learning to make decisions with logical thinking and motivate myself with emotion. The trick is to never mix the two. You may not like what he has to say but its spot on and blends beautifully with SparkPeoples philosophy. I’m so glad I can say I am a fat loser!!!!

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