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A Poem by Carin

She gives her head a nod and shakes

Her vision is blurry, not clear, or deep

After some wine, then lousy sleep

Sweet dreams and rest don't come that cheap

She rises from her cozy bed

Still tired but must now look ahead

Football, Poem, and a Tree

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Resistance

What resistance's about? We think we know

We watched the media, and they said so

The resistance's not fresh, but dark and deep

Let's pray from sunrise until we sleep

Whichever side we are on, our fate we own

Stay kind, do good, we're not alone

Sunrise Amphitheater Elopement Wedding

 I am trying to load some pictures but they must be "heavy" and won't load. I got married a few days ago and I am beyond grateful finally tying the knot with my soulmate of ten years. We are living together now and are still finding new things about each other.

I can watch this raw video over and over, with or without audio. I am sorry, it is quite long--28 minutes. No editing has been done yet.

We did a wedding 2020 style, no visitors. Everybody is safe. No guilt.

Mother

You are the one, my mentor, my mother, my mom.

You are my guide, my anchor, and the one I will forever admire.

Under a rainstorm or darkness, you went on with your routine as I have grown mature in mind.

You were a
R-EGULAR
O-RGANIZED
U-NEXCITING
T-YPICAL, but
I-MPORTANT
N-ORMAL
E-VERYDAY kind of mother, so I thought.

How silly I was as a young lady tall enough to be an adult, yet very short in mind to wish you were just like other moms wearing business clothes, high heels, and makeup?

Now I still have many more years to be half as good as you, mimicking your routine as a great nurse many look up to.

Six Sentence Story: Green Coat

He tore my green, soft, favorite coat, the one I wore so much.

I felt I was not the one he wanted me to be, not anymore. 

All good things must come to an end, or should it be just the bad?

Clutching my torn coat and shutting the door in front of him, tears shed from my burning eyes.

I said goodbye.

It is his loss, not mine.

House

Sometimes I take for granted some simple things

Comes Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring

The roof, the heat, the shelter I live in

The security I got used too, all comforting

Last night I awoke not from the smoke

From a deep sleep, my slumber suddenly broke

The fume, overwhelming, gave me an ache

In my head, that is, I could not take

I was nauseous too, as I went downstairs

I saw my teen spray painting by the furnace

It is winter night so it’s on too

I caught her in time, we could have . . . whew

The house could have blown up, but it did not

We are alive, so I thank God

We have a house, though not a lot

We are all safe and that’s enough

(And just in case you wonder . . . a “fine” scolding, my daughter got)

Birthday Delights

(I will keep this short as I have two long reports to write for school and it is already 5:30 pm on a Sunday).

To write this post

Is exciting at most

Because here I disclose

Blessings that arose

It was my birthday yesterday

And although I had a cold

My discomfort was controlled

And out of bed, I rolled

To eat food that I like

Sushi, ice cream delights

To receive flowers full of life

Are worth a snow day's drive

What more, I got to go

To the steam room

Away from snow

Look at me

Sitting as if . . .

I was meditating

Does it show?

Fill-In Sunday

I believe I can deal with procrastination.

I need to go "Marie Kondo" my desk to reduce distraction.

It does not do good to lose my attention.

(And do other things that just cost me tension).

I find self-caring to be a walk in the park

(Well, not really)

But when I get started self-caring gives me this spark

It opens my eyes, I can see in the dark

I can fight my anxiety and put it in a halt!

          It is a late morning for me getting up from a late evening from doing homework last night. I should say from the early morning because I went to bed past midnight. Part of me is thinking, "what am I doing?" I decided to go back to college to advance my degree. It has been a year now, and here I am still going. I am two subjects away from going up a level. Doing school work gets my mind off the stressful situations around me--family, work--which I love. 

          I made instant Pho and added ground meat. My friends would be shocked, as I switched to non-meat diet since last May but it is veggie meat :) so it's okay. I plan to do some work after this blog post entry, then go to church. I will go to the gym for an hour workout, longer than my usual and try to do about 10,000 steps of the treadmill and other machines. Yesterday, I only did 8,000 :( because I buried my head doing homework and it is just not easy marching in place as I type while my head was covered with books and papers. Can you imagine?

          Good Sunday to you all! May your day be restful or productive or both. 

February Reasons to be Merry

Ice cream cake, black rice pudding, Eggs Benedict from our favorite restaurant.

Hello, hello, I'm glad I'm here

My presence is back in the blogosphere

I thought why not, it gives me cheer

Writing good thoughts sets aside my fears

As you see here, I post a lot about food

It is one of the things that sure boost my mood

I had ice cream cake shaped like a heart, you see

Breakfast and lunch times with my sweetheart and me

Pad Thai noodles, black rice pudding

Eggs Benedict in front of the wall art

Seafood curry, spicy soup while we look

At salt-and-pepper-cow-so-cute 

A valentine day with my special dude

With flowers, rose plant, and, yes, more food

Even sitting in the gym massage chair

Made me feel, "Oh, so good."

In a more serious note, I feel grateful for the grace we received

For the safety from a hit and run accident

My daughter's safe, we're relieved

We are thankful that this morning the thief was caught

Breaking in my daughter's car right in the lot

In our neighborhood

I am thankful for yoga, therapy, and support 

For the gym on these cold days

And exercise there where it's not cold

I am thankful to be reminded to write a blog post

As I'd rather be writing my gratitude here

Highlighting the good and getting them exposed

Birthday 47 Gratitude

It is my birthday and I am thankful for

Some ten, not four

Or maybe more

Who's keeping score?

Not me for sure

But here I go

I am thankful for:

1. Gluten-free birthday cake from Whole Foods store
2. A pill organizer my daughter is actually using
3. Old picture of my son playing
4. A convenient place for car washing
5. An outdoor place for dog walking
6. A fave restaurant for birthday feasting
7. A selfie of me and daughter smiling
8. The church that inspires me to keep praying
9. A spring wellness challenge I'm participating
10. A silly shirt my daughter thinks is annoying 

(Sometimes parents should annoy their teens too!)

I turned 47 yesterday. My week is not over celebrating

Have a good weekend.

Please Save Me from "F"

It's February

It's a great time to be

Freely writing and word finding

Fun words for you to see

As often, the visual me

Have to find some inspirations

To add for considerations

To help with my creation

A flower collage seems like a good fit

With my daughter above 

Donning our fuschia knits

Below it is us sharing some food

To  the right are some flowers
That help boost my mood

And lastly, it's Snowball

Our furball who's small

He may not be that tall

But he sure can growl

------------------

From here I will stop

And boldly, I ask

If you're 65 and up

Will you help me out?

Please answer some questions

For around four minutes

I'll compensate you for  your time

(As you save me from getting an F)

For my college class online.

Here's the link: Survey
As of now, 2/14/2018, 5pm MST, I got enough participants. So thank you guys for reading.

Join the fun ABC Wednesday group!

New Year, New Gratitude

They are not really new

Just to be true

They are common gratitude

I had from last year

My cute dog Velvet

Is still here to give joy

She does not have to do anything

Like play tricks with her toy

Just laying down comfy

With toys that are fluffy

As she's looking so comfy

She is kinda funny

I am thankful for Fitbit

It inspires me, I admit it

I may not push as hard to get fit

If I am without it

It's a constant reminder

I have on my wrist

I am thankful for my bike

With a Kindle holder

I can read as I pedal

And stay in when it's colder

I am thankful for candles

I used with my prayers

I found that they make

The experience a little deeper

There is something about flames

That calms my brain

It eases some pain

And lesses some strain

I am thankful for abundance of food

Paul and I don't gamble

But we splurge on food

We like to sample

It's a simple pleasure to try different dishes

Japanese, Mexican, Chinese

Cooked and prepared by others

(No need to wash the dishes)

Oh there is something new I am thankful for

It's this cool eye pillow

I bought from FSA store

It relieves my eyes that are sore

And reduces puffiness

I use it sometimes

It feels good, also,  on my head

The Great Outdoors

What am I thankful for?

There are many as before

As I head out my door

I had a chance to explore

I hiked with my nurse friends

It was a great time to spend

Just talking and walking

I did not want it to end

Oh, and last fourth of July

I hung out with my guy

We just looked up in the sky

Watching a show of fireworks up high

And then my last day in Cali

That I spent with my family

Walking by the beach merrily

And dipping in the pool lazily

P is for a Parent's Prayer

My gratitude for prayer is so great,

My family is good that I have faith

The years are gone when my teens were astray

Praise, the Lord my God, He wiped my tears away

His grace is great, now I have other things in mind

(Not just wishing) that is all I do,

While waiting for the moment

To reach the dreams that I can do

I have always like to learn more, either through reading or taking classes or lessons. My children's lives and activities got so hectic in the past that I did not have the sanity or the time. Things are better now for many months I actually can give time for myself. I even signed up for a gym membership and actually go every day. I plan to read more books. Maybe, I can devote some time studying for work. 

Jump

A little depressed, nothing to do

I turned to my side

to the radio at the bedside

I picked a station

That gives me joy 

The one that plays

Jazz and  jingles that I enjoy
Soon, I'm not upset

I am not even mad

Instead, I'm glad and jumping 

Happy, just like that

(or at least, I got up from the bed)

Colors and Peacocks

There is beauty around us

It may be for fee or for free

Regardless, it is there

To enjoy, for you and me

Wave a Wand

A cluttered house where clothes are not put away

My house today is just like yesterday

I think I will be organized someday

Paul with a grin says, "That's what you say"

Sign, Sing, and a Birthday

Happy Birthday, Paul

A greeting before eating

It's Paul's birthday

In form of singing 

Warmth in the Cold

Not much snow did we get recently But we enjoyed the time just equally I do not ski, so needlessly I don't miss the snow, I'm tropical you see :)