Women and Strength Thoughts by Kelly Corrigan

I love it when we as women share with one another those thoughts that remind us of who we are and the might that is inside us. Emotional Yes...ok Tissues needed...you are forwarned...ENJOY!

How Strong Is A Woman

...And a favorite quote of mine ;)

“A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.

 

Thoughts on Life and Labor

Here in my little corner of the world we are celebrating Labor Day, a national holiday born out of the desire to honor the working man and woman. Ok theres a lot more to it but  you can learn about those details, better told here.


Looking back on where we each get our work ethic I can credit my family...my mother and my dear great Aunt Louise probably have had the most influence on me personally. The reason I am writing this today though is because of my mother...It is her birthday today. She didn't live a long life but she definately packed alot of living in to a life.


Mom was born in 1932 during the Great Depression as our nation was in the most difficult of financial times. Her early family life was spent in the thros of World War 2. Moms frugal nature (OK sisters, don't yell CHEAP all at once LOL) made us crazy and it also helped us to know how to stretch our dollars. History and her family life shaped and defined her as it also has shaped me. So much of what I am today comes from the things my Mother and Great Aunt taught me...sometimes those things were examples in life I chose not to emulate but mostly a great joy and love of family, passion for kindness and desire to have something meaningful to "work" at. Nanas favorite phrases always started with "You go to work and...."

My mother always talked of retirement but her life was tied to work. I was never confident she would actually retire. Oddly even in the weeks preceeding her death her days were filled with her work BUT she loved to take time for parties and celebrations. Holidays were spent at the lake, at the beach, sometimes having a BBQ or Potluck. She taught us how to work AND how to play. If she were alive I am guessing she would have been having a pool party with her favorite friends, family and of course her beer. In honor of you MOM...Happy Birthday and for everyone else enjoy a happy and safe Labor Day.

Caribbean Adventures

We look forward to getting away with all our Xango friends each year to far away places with warm beaches, exquisite accomodations and exciting places to explore.
This year was the breathtaking Fairmont Mayakoba, Riviera Maya resort. It sits on an amazing 45-acres alongside the Caribbean Sea in the heart of the Riviera Maya...This beautiful area is not to be confused with Cancun, close but the experience is not at all the same. It is just 15 minutes from Playa del Carmen, a charming town with lots of shopping of many and varied tastes.

While there we also were offered fun excursions like the Xcaret wildlife and nature reserve,Tulum Mayan ruins, Cozumel  and the famous Mayan pyramids of Chichén-Itzá to explore. 








As we explored the resort we experienced five different ecosystems... mangrove, tropical forest, lagoons, water canals and coastal dunes. Much of the property is navigable by lagoon and we took advantage of them several times.  We enjoyed riding in the  'lanchas', as our captain shared some great info about the history of the land as well as the creatures that live there. 

Bicycles, golf carts and trams transported us to the playa, the pools and any place we prefered to ride to.

The beach was crystal clear and the sand was one of the most beautiful I have walked on...it was truely magical.

 

Look! Tom picked a coconut!! Ha-Ha!

There was so-oooo much more but I'm guessing you can tell, we had a blast.

Yummy Ooooh-ahhhh!

Cleaning off my desktop today I found myself clicking through on links I had saved to investigate at a later date.  It's getting to that time of day...you know how it has been said don't go shopping hungry...well I'm not sure if it applies to looking at blogs with tantalizing recipes but I can tell you this site had me drooling, LOL! I was in search of strawberry grainola and I found this site. Aren't you just salivating over the Strawberry Tofu Icecream?

What happened to the Strawberry Grainola? I have no idea but I did find what I was looking for at this fabulous site.








I can't wait to try this grainola recipe.
Thinking of strawberries reminds me of an old Stampin Up stamp set I have with a cute basket, several fruits and a clever saying too. I have made a wonderful card from that set once upon a time...where oh where is that sample card I saved? Ok so here it is...Yummy Ooooh-ahhhh! It's strawberry season!!!

The strawberries have Crystal Effects on them for added dimension. The inside of the card is fairly simple. Wouldn't this design be cute on recipe cards. Hmmmm maybe we should do a recipe card swap :)

Challenges

Life has been full of challenges but ...hey what I really wanted to talk about though is a a specific challenge, a creative challenge. I found it here and  it inspired me to head down to my craft room. At Diva Coffee Break Designs Julie Semones posted a sketch to inspire us.

I came up with a playful card I named Calvin's Psychedelic Dream for its bright colors, Calvin character and floral design.

Thanks to Diva Coffe Break Designs for the fun challenge.

Create A Bloggger Header with My Digital Studio

My Dear friend Melanie D asked how she could use My Digital Studio to Personalize her Blog and I came acros a tutorial telling how to personalize the header so I wanted to share it. Thanks to Stephanie for this tutorial!


Find more videos like this on My Digital Studio

My Digital Studio Tutorial "Fluffy Clouds & Landscape"

Find more videos like this on My Digital Studio