A year or so ago I watched the most fascinating show about Centurians on HBO. Centurians are people who have lived to be 100. They all were so whimsical and fully of vitality. Hmmm, you think that vitality has something to do with LONGEVITY? I do!

Yesterday, our oldest living gentleman turned 114. WHAT? Yes, you read that correctly. He was in the HBO show, too, and he is so funny! Think laughter and humor have anything to do with LONGEVITY? I do!

His name is Walter Breuning and he was born Sept. 21, 1896, in Melrose, Minnesota. Can you imagine everything he has seen in his lifetime??? Two world wars, many others, the invention of the automobile, the lightbulb, the television, a man flown to the moon, a depression, many recessions – it is incredible to even think about it. I know how much fun I’ve always had talking to my grandmother and even my mom and mother-in-law about their ‘memories’ of no plumbing, getting their first television sets and their first cars!

I believe most people would love to live to 114 if they felt good. I always hear people who fear not feeling good saying they don’t want to live forever. My step dad’s mom is 92 and she still does her hair and make-up every day and walks two miles every morning. She as sharp as a whip and plays cards each day with her friends. My mom remarked one day that even at 92, she has more going on than most people half her age.

Isn’t that inspiring?

Read more about Walter. Isn’t he just so cute???

Photo By Ryan Hall, The Great Falls Tribune, AP

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I’ve been thinking about how to share this story with you. This morning, I woke up inspired to just share the whole thing and let you sift through the various ins and outs. Those of you who email me seems to like my long, rambling stories the most so here we go. I’ve written dribs and drabs of this… here’s the whole thing. Here’s to dreams!

When I was a senior in high school, I took a Creative Writing class with Mr. Bob Reed at R.L. Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Texas. For those of you who don’t know Ft. Worth, Paschal is a few blocks from Texas Christian University and our school colors were purple and white, just like TCU. Paschal is one of the oldest high schools in Fort Worth and it is situated in a historical area full of beautiful tudor-style, modern and traditional houses. I love the area because there are so much mature landscaping, including many old oak trees.

My senior year, I was dating a crazy guy…I broke up with him, but he was stalking me. So, the last six weeks of my senior year, I packed everything up, transferred to a school in Abilene, Texas (where I was born and also where my step dad’s parents lived) to finish the year.

Now, way back then, I won’t lie to you. I was all about working (as in J.O.B.), not school work. I was relentlessly bored in school and showed up just enough to play tennis, do my extracurricular activities and take the tests so I could stay in Honor Society. 

Mr. Reed gave me an ultimatum. I had already missed entering my short story in the Tarrant County Junior College writing contest. Apparently Mr. Reed thought my short story, Mary Jane, which was about a little country tom girl who was in ‘like’ with her little friend, would be a contender. One of my classmates won first place in that contest I had not even entered. He told me he would drop my grade a letter if I didn’t enter my story in the next one – the TCU writing contest.

At 4:56 pm, the day it was due by 5:00 pm, I ran up the front sidewalk as fast as I could hoping I could still get the entry in. I didn’t care about the contest, I just wanted to work, I wanted to be free and do my own thing and I just wanted to get on to college. I was already going to junior college part-time. Oh, and I needed to get packed to try to get away from Mr. Stalker! I had enough to do without worrying about some contest.

I ended up running into a very helpful person who pointed me to the right office and I slid the envelope under the door just in time (literally).

I was in school in Abilene when I received a package letting me know that I had won first place. My story was printed in the newsletter with the other winners. I don’t even think I cared at the time because my attention was so far out into the future. I certainly wasn’t present. Isn’t life ironic?

When I graduated from high school, I came back to graduation ceremonies and could breathe a sign of relief because my crazy boyfriend enlisted in the Army and was shipped off. Good-bye Mr. Stalker!

I am not sure I even took the time to acknowledge my writing, my love of writing or even consider I might be able to do something in writing. For me, freedom meant money and the sooner I had more money, the faster I could get to the freedom I so desperately desired.

I initially enrolled in school for business (that’s where the money is, right?), and dabbled in the idea of journalism, but quickly rejected it once I found out how much journalists make. Ditto for teaching, which I thought would be so fun to teach kids. Ah, to go back and know what I know now!

I made my mark in business, got two degrees along the way, created a very successful consulting practice, but something still was off. True, I have been writing most of my business career – and helping many people make a lot of money with my writing – from proposals that sell, to newsletters that connect businesses to businesses, to sales letters with huge returns, to reports that convey a unique message that speaks to the heart – I’ve been writing.

Then, one day, this Queen of Dreams character came along. She was fun, she was spunky, she was me before I started focusing on the world and making my way in it! About two years after this cartoon came to mind, I received a TCU Continuing Education catalog in the mail. I found it interesting as I had never received one before nor have I received on since. I looked and there were some writing classes, and I felt pulled to attend two of them.

I signed up, sent in the check and waited for the day to arrive. When I drove to TCU (by the way, the area around TCU, which is known as TCU hill, is one of my favorite places in the world! I love Fort Worth), I felt different. I felt this amazing energy of magic in the air. When I drove through the campus, I looked over at the sidewalk where I had sprinted decades before hoping to save my grade.

The class was fun, but I knew I wasn’t there for the class. I had taken myself there to remember what I knew way back then. That I am a writer. That I love to write. That I am a talented writer. As I walked along the campus, I felt happy and alive. I felt a magical electricity in the air. It seemed to whisper, You can do this.

Many other books and movies echoed that idea to my heart repeatedly. It is only in hindsight that I can see them so clearly. Movies such as Miss Potter held me entranced in the idea of writing as an occupation. I understood what it meant to have a character talk to you. That’s what writers do. I seemed to be stumbling over writer after writer who dared to dream and, more importantly, write. Po Bronson showed up. He had lived in the maze and dared to write meaningful books on his own terms, in his own way.

At times, I felt pulled to attend a writers’ workshop the teacher mentioned during that TCU writing class. I didn’t go. I made excuses. There’s a deafening silence that your heart makes when it quits whispering. I noticed the silence. The quiet reserve of, “I’ll wait for you.”

In the meantime, I published two books – books I wrote as much for myself as for others; wrote two others and authored more articles, blog entries and other business writings than I can even keep track of. I also learned how to love myself, how to acknowledge myself without wincing inside, how to be vulnerable without withering within and how to compassionately love others as myself. It’s been a busy time of growth and introspection. I’ve been growing into myself.

I realize now, two years ago, despite all of the outward encouragement (from Jan, my book publishing consultant “You have something really special,” from many publishers who requested my manuscript, from reviewers who loved my book, the reminder of the TCU award and the others I won in school, and so many more it would be quite embarrassing to list them!) that I simply didn’t feel I had the goods. What was I waiting for?

I have known for a long time we can’t ‘give’ to someone what must come from within. For me, I had to decide to make the trek from my head to my heart. I had to leap and have faith the net would appear.

And, so I have.

I can share with you that your big dream will feel really, really, possibly humongously big! It doesn’t feel like an accomplishment goal does, which, for me, feels like getting in a car and driving to a destination. In that place, I feel I can never rest. It’s always go, go, go. The next thing, the next thing, it’s never ending. It’s exhausting to me.

For me, the waking dream feels big, wide, lush like a valley. It feels like a place you go to live in, not a place you visit before rushing off to another destination (goal). It feels like coming home. It feels magical. It feels like everything you will create is already done. It has the feeling I’ve been searching for my entire life – a place where I can rest and know I’m just where I’m supposed to be.

I recently read an article about a woman who wrote about her experience with this. She is a writer, and as soon as she published her first novel, she knew it wasn’t ‘home.’ It took her NINE books before she found her valley. Now, she is happily creating from that place. I read that, and thought, ‘That’s just how life is… we create as we go and as we create, we get clearer and clearer, fine-tuning along the way.’

The most important thing is to let your heart roam so it can guide you home.

So, what’s your juicy dream? The one that you haven’t let see the light of day?

Susie Jordan, my soul sister friend from the one heart tribe sent me this. Wow, what a gift! I hope you enjoy. I love you, too.

Sivan…what a gift you have given us. Big hug.

P.S. I hope back to school brought fun, joy and loads of memories for all of you students, parents and kiddos. The kids in this video…wow, so sweet!

On the show this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mary Beth Maziarz, award-winning musician, singer, song writer and author of Kick-Ass Creativity: An Energy Makeover for Artists, Explorers, and Creative Professionals.

I made a commitment this year to cover and talk more about creativity on my show because I believe it is such a vital part of our creative power. Mary Beth offered great advice on the show (check out the podcast if you missed it). I am so grateful to Violette for introducing me to this kindred spirit because I LOVE her music. Her lyrics touched my heart and her vibe reminds me of artist favorites like Christine Kane and Sara Hickman.

Thanks, MB and here’s to kick-ass creativity! I fell in love with this song… it reminded me of how I feel about my own relationship with Mark. Check out more of Mary Beth’s videos on her YouTube Channel. You can find her music at leading retailers… she has many CDs to choose from…can’t wait to sample more myself!

Ever experience crazy love? I mean, you know, the drive over the cliff, I’m going to die without you love? Well, turns out that new brain research has insights on what makes us fall in love, stay in love and choose love over lust.

According to brain researchers, there are three kinds of love – sexual, romantic and attachment. Those of us who fall in love and stay in love tend to run the three kinds of love at various times. Those of us who don’t, tend to start with romantic love and end the relationship when romantic love fades.

Mark and I have been married for 10 years and I’m still amazed at our connection. It makes me think of Tom Cruise’s over the top sharing on Oprah when he told her about Kate, as he calls her. I still want to be with Mark. He’s the one I dream of. I can’t think of wanting to talk to anyone else about everything. I remember a few years ago realizing that our relationship had something special. It had staying power. Many people over the years have told us we inspired them…that our romantic connection can be felt when they are around us. Others have said that we have helped them believe in true love. If you all only knew the true story of what we’ve been through together…you would be even more inspired. Our relationship is definitely a soul agreement and love.

I had been married before and by the time six months rolled around, I knew something was very wrong. I didn’t have an attachment to my then husband. I enjoyed our friendship, but the spark was gone. Eventually we were more like roommates than soul mates. I’m even more thankful today for Mark because of my first marriage. I know our relationship is special – once in a lifetime.

Nightline Prime ran a special tonight called, The Secrets of Your Mind. It was the first of four parts. i guess even crazy love can be seen in our minds. And, as it turns out, it shows up in the “addiction” part of our minds. I can’t think of any better addiction. Can you?

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Ever receive a song written especially for you? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to write a song for someone you love?

A friend wrote this song for me… all I can say is…Wow!

Today is a day like none ever known

The day when a bright light was born

Dancing through life a day at a time

Today is the day to let your light shine

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you

One of the things people said over and over this year was… I’m so happy you were born. Now, maybe you have heard that all of your life, but I haven’t and each time I heard it I felt deeply touched.

Another friend sent this scrumptious art creation… Can you even believe it???

Last year, I wanted to do something special for a dear friend. I came up with the idea of sending a birthday card for every year she has been here – one for each year she was celebrating.

At first, I thought I would whip these out one a day, and I did for about a week, and then it was one every three or four days, and sometimes it was one every five days or so… MONTHS later… Let’s see, we share the same b-day, and I believe we finished around the first of the year… you do the math… July through January! LOL Good thing it is the thought that counts!

I enjoyed it so much and found myself not wanting to rush and wanting to really savor the experience. This took time and it is something I would recommend to anyone who really wants to consider how many years a person has lived… a card a year doesn’t seem like much until you start. And, that was exactly my intention… to really consider what makes a life and to celebrate my friend’s precious life in an extremely intentional way.

Do something fun, do something creative for someone you love today!

Last week on Queen of Dreams Radio, I talked about being the flow, living in the present and soaking up the amazing-ness of life. I have floated around on birthday dreams and wishes for more than a week now, and I wanted to share with you some of these.

I thought about this… and a remark someone made, actually, about someone else is what made me think… this isn’t about me and my birthday, this is about gratitude for those who make my life rich… with their creativity, with their Presence and with their loving kindness.

Yes, life is sweet! I wanted to share the love with you… to inspire you to create something for someone you love.

Can you see the quote? I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. – E.B. White Remember E.B.? He’s the guy who wrote Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and the little guide book every writer MUST HAVE… Elements of Style by he and his pal, William Strunk, Jr.  It wasn’t lost on me that E.B. came at a synchronous moment…as I have been pondering the intersection of the two…to both improve (or contribute to it) while also immensely enjoying it. I believe we each have an intersection in our hearts for experiencing that.

This is the first birthday card of the season… Miss Debbie and I have a big PLAY DATE planned next week, so this little card arrive in the mail with this little card tucked inside.

I went to lunch with another friend, and we had a scrumptious lunch at Houston’s (one of my favs) and then head over to Celestial Park, which is one of her favs. Now, one of my favs, and this is something no one has ever done for me – ever – on my birthday – thank you! And, yes, it is still this green here in Texas.

See that oblong shaped plaque? My friend stood at one end and I stood at the other and she sang happy birthday to me. The echo was beautiful and I felt like the Queen of the Stars! Those round plaques are the phases of the moon. If you match up the phases, then you can talk to each other across the open area.

Here’s the entryway to the upper deck area where the plaques are. Each one of the stairs has poems about the stars. This park is so special and starry!

The next day, some friends came over and brought this yummy cake… Italian Wedding Cream… can you say, “Forget the easy weight loss!” LOL So yummy.

One of the best things about this birthday has been the magic quality surrounding it that has persisted, I believe, because of where I’ve been living myself. These dear friends shared with us a project they were working on a couple of weeks ago. That was fun, cool and totally exciting, but then they asked… “Do you want to go with us? On tour?” I felt like, “How fast can I pack my bags? Oh yes!!” More details to come on that, and I can’t even wait for you to hear all about it because YOU will love it, too, and come do it with us. Shhhh, don’t tell, but it’s all about you, your dreams and getting the link up to anything that’s possible!

More tomorrow on this amazing birthday… full of love. Happy Birthday to you, too!

There’s something special about Disney World. People act differently; there’s a reverence at the park that is simply unmistakable. People don’t throw trash on the ground. Everyone has a kick in their step that says, “Hey, we’re at Disney World!” and the world seems to be just that much brighter when you step foot into Walt’s world.

We plan to spend this Valentine’s with Mickey, Minnie and the team. This is our fourth trip as a family … and we can’t WAIT to see the new attractions – especially the new coaster at Animal Kingdom.

Wherever you are this Valentine’s Day…spend the day in LOVE!

Big hug.

Yesterday, I enjoyed an amazing session with Dorine Fernandez, M.A. LAc, a Diplomat of Oriental Medicine, and wonderful acupuncturist. As I closed my eyes and breathed in the stillness, I heard this song in my head…live, live, live… sung to the Beatles song, All You Need is Love.

I smiled feeling the humor in this simple, sweet message. Ah, yes… live, live, live…that’s where it is, isn’t it?

Life is fun. We’ve been talking a great deal with people about singing their song. About truly letting go and doing what makes you giddy, happy with delight and in love with yourself and the world.

I’ve been following those things that inspire me, too. The guitar was my love…truly…when I was a kid. Last week I tired of ‘trying’ to get it and just strummed and strummed feeling the sound filling my body. I lost myself in the sound and knew that, regardless of the reason why I picked up this guitar, I needed to stay with it and see where it would take me.

Today, I went to my guitar lesson with Chris Buchanan who is as sweet a soul as has ever lived. His site is Patient Guitar Lessons.com and boy is he ever patient. What a gift.

As I listened, and played a little hummingbird came to the window. I asked if she comes often. He said no. She looped around and came back again. Wow. How beautiful.

The last time I was there a huge woodpecker came to the window. I thought to myself today… what a magical window! How precious those moments are.

I wondered… is the bird hearing our song? Has she come to sing along?

And that’s when I felt this rapturous unity of everything. It was just a split second… but long enough that I noticed it. Aaaah. It felt so quenching for the thirst inside of me.

I am looking forward to singing my song… and inviting you to sing along… and to hearing your song…and singing along.

Here’s what hummingbird brings… funny that I just blogged about beauty yesterday… ah, how perfect.

The hummingbird brings us the gift of beauty. The ruby throated hummingbird is one of the most common species in North America. This energetic little bird migrates 1800 miles from the Eastern US to spend winter in Central America.  This distance alone indicates the hummingbirds stamina and perseverance.  They can show us how to go the distance without becoming depleted.

When hummingbirds mate, the male claims a territory and attracts a female to it. When she appears, he does a courtship dance, flying back and forth in a perfect arc. The arc symbolizes a luminous bridge connecting one life to another. Male hummingbirds start the process of procreation and the female completes it.  The arc then becomes a circle, a cycle of completion.  When the hummingbird flies into our lives it can indicate a need within ourselves to complete a specific lesson that we have been avoiding.  Once the mating act is done the males go to look for other females.  The mother lays and incubates the eggs for the required 16 days and then raises the young by herself.  The number 16  is important for those with this medicine.  It represents change within a 16 day period.

Hummingbirds flap their wings at the fantastic rate of 90 beats per second during normal flight and up to 200 beats per second during courtship, giving them their humming sound.  They have excellent maneuverability in flight.  They can hover in the air, fly backward, forward and sideways.  The hummingbird flies everywhere because it cannot walk well.  Hummingbirds have the advantage of seeing things from all angles and can show us how to expand our perceptions.

Hummingbirds are small but expend so much energy flying that they require large amounts of sugar rich flower nectar to stay alive, having to eat twice their body weight a day.  Because of its small size and its high degree of activity, it loses body heat quickly, so it must digest food quickly.  Those with this totem need to watch their own sugar levels and take care of their digestive system.

The hummingbird serves to remind us of the beauty  and wonder of the world.  While their speed and sound may sometimes startle us, they help pull our attention out of the mundane so that we can acknowledge and appreciate the beauty of Creation.

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About 12 years ago, I met my friend Stephanie. She was a marketing director at a large accounting firm in Reno, Nevada. I was a marketing director at a large accounting firm in Dallas, Texas.

She called one day and we chatted about marketing, but soon grew to be fast friends.

Nine years later, she was my maid of honor, seven years later, I was her matron of honor, along the way…we had Chance, she and her husband, Troy, had Samantha.

We have only physically seen each other six or seven times. But, still the connection today is as strong as it ever was.

I thought about her briefly last night before falling to sleep. This morning she emailed me to tell me about her writing adventures. Ah, still living parallel lives… and in addition to Stephanie, I have many, many other parallel sisters!

We all do… sisters and brothers… all living with us.

Isn’t it divine?

P.S. She just emailed me back and is ALSO playing the Queen… Queen Mommy complete with princess outfit!

THIS dress is amazing… totally queeny!

I just lost a week of my life! I have not been this ‘busy’ in a very LONG time – mostly by choice. Last week taught me WHY I unplugged from everything. WHY I made choices to uphold what is important to me.

WOW.

I lost a week of my life… where WAS I? I realize I was present with my clients. With Chance. With Mark, mostly. But, where was my time? GONE! *Poof* In an instant… shazam! Dissolved into thin air.

When Friday came I was gone… literally and figuratively. I was empty. I had nothing left. I even rescheduled a beloved client because I literally did not feel like I was at my best.

Am I kicking myself? No. But you better believe that I made changes for this week! And, that really is how contrast works. We get an experience and we say, “Nope… this is NOT what I want.” then we create something new from that moment.

This week, I have clients, writing to attend to. THIS BLOG that went into my hyper vortex last week! And…yes… me. I have a very important appointment with myself. As well as Chance, Mark and clients I love.

I know, without a doubt, that for me to be optimal I MUST have time to process. I require more than most people, I’m sure. I had a friend who used to take three to four days per month to go be by himself. We all know what it is for us. For me, I need big, juicy chunks. Two hours is best. One will do. Less than that and I’ll vacate my body and go into the ethers to ‘make space’ for myself. Not the best for living in the world. Truly.

My family amazes me with how loving they are about this requirement knowing that when I take care of me they get the best of me.What’s your optimal? Play with it and see … you can have what you ask for.

Once upon a time I lived in a house with a woman who was CRAZY about art and creating lively, cool things.

She made the MOST WONDERFUL Halloween costumes (surely the reason why Halloween is one of my MOST FAVORITE holidays – and it IS a holiday – of the year). Her costumes were elaborate and full of imagination.

She made wild, crazy art in her 30s, and into her 40s. THEN, (insert tire screeching sound), in her 50s, she decided ‘enough’ with this stuff I LOVE to create. I’m going to follow the money train.

Soon, this artistic woman’s body began to break down. Her heart lost its vibrancy. She couldn’t sleep. And bears (yes, bears…like the big grizzly bear kind) started coming to her right before she would close her eyes to go to sleep each night.

Bear energy is all about the inner dreamland. Bear comes when we need to go inside again.

Night after night she would blink her eyes praying that big ol’ bear head would GO AWAY! AAAAaaaaaah! She would pull the covers up over her head and then peek outside and there it was – still hanging over her looking at her.

One night she said, “What do you want?”

And the bear said, “I want to invite you to dream again.”

That’s when the artist began dreaming again, and she began to play again with her art and she danced with the ideas in her head and made many wonderful creations that touched the lives of the people she met.

What’s the moral of the story?

Follow your art… not the money. The money follows your art and your art comes from your heart.

P.S. This is based on a very TRUE story. Bear and all…

Some of my favorite heavenly artists…HEAVENLY!

http://www.inspired-art.com/inspiredartworks/home.html

http://www.nanoel.com/

Is this a sanctuary or what? Nancy’s use of light makes my heart smile.

I wrote about guitars last week. Wow, what a difference a week makes.

I took ACTION and FOUND a sweet PATIENT guitar teacher who lives TWO minutes from my house. Coincidence? You decide.

Yesterday was my first lesson. I SO ENJOYED it! I was so present…so attentive, so ALIVE!

What a happy birthday present to me!

The hour FLEW by! I really feel like I CAN do this! It feels FUN. It feels ENERGIZED.

I’m so happy…in my heart.

What’s your heart asking you to do?

Mary sent this to me! She is an amazing designer and creator of super crafty, wonderfully artsy things.

Isn’t it sooo cute?

Can you read what it says? Open Your Gifts…time with you via email or phone or in person is my gift.

Thank you!

Oh wow… look at that. Another year has gone by. Lots of years have passed since I first sprang into this world – 41, in fact.

I find that I really don’t think much about age until someone brings it up, or until I talk to someone who doesn’t know much about the 80s (when we get to ‘explain’ the jokes or how funny things were back then).

The older I get the more I realize life really is all about love. And we all have our special brand of it.

It’s perfect, really.

You are perfect, really.

So am I.

Let’s celebrate together!

Chance drew this for me…I love his drawings! I would have never thought to have balloons coming OUT of a mouth… so CREATIVE! And these words… crazy…yummy…party…love you…yay!

So sweet!

Wow, where DID the last few days go? I’ve been M-I-A! It has been busy with new coaching clients, new business consulting clients, well… lots of new clients, including our Small Business, Big Success program (I added my Practice Builder for the last six months of the year to really TURBO CHARGE the rest of 2009).

Yes, I’ve been busy, but I LOVE to write to all of you. I feel like it is my way to connect one-to-one (yes, I can feel you) even though it is me shooting off stuff into the void.

To all of you who have emailed – I want you to know that I read each one of your emails and I ALWAYS pray for you and ask for God’s messengers to assist you on your path. Thank you for sharing your world with me – I feel grateful to walk with you.

In less than a week, it is amazing how many insights a person can have, and I want to share ALL of them with you. I am constantly humbled by how elegant and how phenomenal our world and universe is. There truly is order in the cosmos.

Be sure to work with your heavenly team to enrich your own life and the life of others.

Okay, so I can’t resist cute, sweet graphics. had to share this Firefly Frenzy sale circular – it is so cute!

I went to Jo-Ann’s last Saturday to get some candles (remember my anniversary post where I decided to get candles here instead of trekking halfway across Texas to get my favs?) Anyway, I love Jo-Ann’s for many reasons, but two come to mind: Number ONE – $1 aisle of all things yummy and glittery and papery, and Number TWO – coupons and sales! If you sign-up for Jo-Ann’s email coupons (and sometimes you can get the circular in the store too), you will get 40% off and 50% off coupons each week for one regularly priced item – SA-WEET!

For those of you who don’t know, Jo-Ann’s is a hobby/craft/fabric store with everything glittery, shimmery and scrumptious for making wonderful things!

Oh, and I love buying craft books by my FAVORITE artists, people like Kelly Rae Roberts – LOVE HER, and you can use the coupons for books, too. Last week, they moved the books so not sure if they are still carrying as many, but they still have the Stampington & Company magazines, and such.

Today is our NINTH anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us! Mark and I celebrated yesterday while Chance had a play date at his cousins’ house.

Here’s how our celebration went.

We left Mark’s brother’s house. We drove down the road. We talked about all the movies out right now, considered the 95 degree heat, decided that the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that we were hungry so we filtered through what sounded good to eat. Settled on Corner Bakery. Ate a delicious, yummy lunch that was pure heaven. I had a chicken salad sandwich that tasted so good. Mark had a turkey sandwich that tasted like a chef went in and whipped it up himself. Thank you Corner Bakery!

We talked about going to a shop over in Arlington (between Dallas and Ft. Worth for those of you outside Dallas) to get these candles I absolutely LOVE, but after considering gas prices and conservation, opted against it. I’ll drop by when I’m over there visiting friends.

We then started talking about what we wanted to feel… cooler (remember, it is 95 degrees outside and sunny), comfortable (yesterday, that meant intimate and not around a lot of people), and present (enjoying each other one-to-one).

We decided we would run a quick errand, and then head home to spend time together. It was bliss…six hours of just doing whatever we wanted to do, in the way we wanted to do it, with joy and love.

It was one of the best anniversaries ever.

Chance and I were in my office yesterday working on his homework, and I started to erase one of his answers that he had somewhat erased and somewhat didn’t. All of a sudden this brand new pencil’s eraser flew off, and I exclaimed, “What is that all about?”

Chance calmly said, “Well, you know it is because those are just too unstable.”

I cracked up laughing so hard that I had tears rolling down my face. He loves to make Mark and me laugh, though he often doesn’t know exactly what made us laugh to begin with. Chance usually joins in and laughs right along with us, and today… unstable… coming from an 8 year old cracked me up to the point of instability!

When I think of laughing, I think of Mark because he has a way of making both Chance and me laugh so hard that we can’t stop laughing. A few days ago, Mark told us stories about people he used to train when he was a fitness trainer, and we were laughing so hard that two little girls sitting near us joined in with the contagious laughter.

And speaking of that… it reminds me of another time a few days before we left for vacation when Mark and I were sitting at Spoons in McKinney, Texas having lunch and he made me laugh so hard, everyone in the place seemed to be smiling at us.

There’s something so healing about laughing. Is it time to laugh out loud?

Looking for a Dream Life:

• live your dream laugh out loud

A few days ago, Mark and I took my sleigh in for a check-up. I noticed this very slight vibration in the steering wheel and had no idea what it could be.

As we stood there at Sears, a young couple caught my attention. They had three children of their own, and one of the youngsters looked to be at least 12, so I knew they couldn’t be that young. I kept looking over at them, almost like I was glued energetically to them. All of a sudden, in my mind I saw them as little kids in adult clothes.

I know I fell into their energy, and I could feel their fear… money, tight, car repairs, *gulp*…and kids need shoes, clothes, sports, summer camp.

It made me think about a time about a year ago when everywhere I went all I saw were children – the inner child of every person was all I could see. It was quite unnerving, and I just wanted it to stop. And it finally did.

So here I am, standing in the auto bay at Sears experiencing this again, and I am wondering what I need to know. Why are you here?

This is what I learned…

We are all children. We are loved just like these children are loved by their parents, and the children’s children are loved, and on and on it goes in an infinite loop of love.

When we go into fear it is because we feel we need to know the answer – that we must need to have the answer. When we try to know this with our little finite minds, it will never work. It will never feel good. We will feel limited because we are using that part of us that is limited. When we open up to the greater part of who we are – that which is infinite – then we will experience infinite everything – infinite love, infinite resources, infinite support.

And, when we begin to be the children of God that we truly are, we will be like children again…trusting, loving, playing…infinitely provided for in all that we are.

I love you… no matter where you are, no matter what you have done, no matter how you feel about yourself… I love you. Pass the love on…