Call the dogs!!!

25 Jan

So many times we look for something amazing to do, a passion, a way to give back. I found mine in a pup named apple. She was my foster dog and now in a forever home. She changed the way I looked at pets, their story, their life.

On May 26th I will help host a benefit. I will update the page Appelez les Chein on here and on Facebook

The benefit will have games, space walk, food, silent auction, raffle, and more! If you in the blog world would like to donate your art/creations please email me. If you want to donate gift certificates, unique gifts, etc, email me. You will be heavily advertised in all programs and banners and on social media. Not to mention, you are helping save the life of a fur-friend!

Most importantly, we hope to see you there. Remember to be the paper rainbow to a furry friend, adopt!

Lifetimes of paper rainbows…W

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Conquering the Tight Rope

22 Jan

Here we are a little bit more than halfway done with January 2012.  I mentioned last week that I wrote out my manifesto.  Part of my manifesto was to walk the tight rope.  Let me explain. 

My friends opened a boot camp gym.  The trainer Justin put this rope across it.  I was intrigued.  He informed me that balancing on it works your core and balance.  It takes a lot of balance and core strength to start walking.  It also as I quickly learned takes a lot of mental strength.  I find myself repeating in my head over and over as I try to stand, “You are a balanced person. You are a balanced person.”  This of course isn’t the case nine times out of ten, but none the less, for those minutes I can feel what it is like to attempt balance. This is the month 1 video.  I intend on recording my attempts to see how far I have come.  As you can see in the last frame…I stood for about 5 seconds. Oh-my-awesomeness

 

Tips:

I find it is easier barefoot.  Others say with shoes.  I say this means I need a pair of Vibrams.

Keep your chest up.  DO NOT lean forward.

Find a focal point. Focus.

Music helps.  I like to put on the Jason Mraz Pandora station…it is the perfect tight rope combo: calm, fun, balanced.

Use your entire body to balance. 

Start with pushing the rope down and keeping it still and unwavering, then try to pick your other leg up.

Alternate legs.  Don’t want one being stronger than the other.

Now go forth and be balanced.

lifetimes of paper rainbows…W

 

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creating a manifesto

17 Jan

I recently was turned on to the Creating Clever blog.  It was a site that made me happy and kinda reminded me what I set out to do with my ramblings in the first place.  I got really interested in the Do Good Project that was happening with it.  So much so that it inspired me to do something crazy awesome, but that is announcements in the coming weeks, stay tuned…really tuned that is going down in May and a lot will be revealed in the coming weeks…hint : it involves my foster banana.  Last week or so Creating Clever issued a challenge to write a manifesto for the coming year.  I really liked this idea, so challenge accepted. I will let my short simple “will’s of the heart” speak for themselves. 

If nothing else in 2012, remember to find the paper rainbows…

…lifetimes of them.  W

UPDATE: I am becoming a master tight roper…watch out world!

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365.25 days

31 Dec

New Year’s Eve pops in and out of our lives each year. It comes as a time to remind us of where we were and were we resolve to be. I, myself, have never really been a fan of this day. I suppose maybe the day comes with fear that there are drunks on the road and crazies in the night…that would be a respectable reason if it was true. I suppose if I am being honest, it is a fear that once again the calendar is changing, and with that it forces me to evaluate things I could start again, improve upon, and do again. In short it is a time of resolution.

Maybe it is my past experience, but I find myself finding huge flaws in year long resolutions, but I believe in setting goals. One day at a time seems much more honest than 365 days at a time…who knows, by this time next year you could very well have 365 days. However, if for some reason you don’t, by giving yourself permission to start a new day each day, you could have 156 days of achieved goals, or 362, or 202, or 45. Maybe it is just me, but it seems as if 362, 202, 156, or even, 45 days of success is better than a goal given up. With that, I share my daily resolutions, and their back story (condensed):

1. Today I resolve to settle for nothing less than the “Sean Wine Guy Effect” in any of my relationships: friends, family, significant others, etc. (disclaimer: this story when read may sting a very special friend. I am so regretful of my action, but so grateful for the outcome. You are my favorite, and the universe has bigger plans for us.)

Years ago, I sat on steps waiting for my best to get home. I had just gotten in from back home, and he was stuck in traffic. I had a bottle of wine and called him to see when he would be back. As I was having this conversation, a handsome bloke walked up the stairs. I said in what I thought was a whisper, “Jim, you didn’t tell me you had a hot neighbor.” the bloke looked down at me and smiled. I then panicked just knowing he heard me. In utter humiliation, hung up and with all the courage I had, walked up the 4 stairs, knocked on the door he walked in and asked for wine opener. He invited me in and asked if I needed a glass. “Pft, I’m from Louisiana, the bottle will do, but if you’d like some, grab a glass.” He laughed and walked to the stairs, we opened my wine and parted. He left me with a glass just in case. I didn’t know his name, and he didn’t know mine, but I knew he was from Tempe, coached football, and had the most gorgeous crooked smile. Jim walked up soon after and we planned our night while I stared and giggled at a wine glass. I had to return it. I did…with a note, “thanks for the glass. Whit. 985-640-4048″ (not my current number: don’t harass whomever’s it is) I left it with some guy at his place that wasn’t him and left it alone as my boyfriend called. I was reminded of my best friend on the other end, a guy that got me, but I kept replaying Tempe’s crooked smile. I got a text hours later. I remember that text vividly, “Louisiana lady, you are welcome. Enjoy your night. Sean” the rest was a week of back and forth. And then we faded. A month or two later, the phone dinged. It was him. We flirted. We planned. On July 15, 2007, after talking for 3 hours we ended the convo by grabbing a burger. We planned a date 3 days later. It was that night at a bar in Houston over a pitcher of firemen’s 4 he grabbed my head and kissed me. It was in that kiss I knew one thing: the course of my life changed. In one night I was with a person that made me want to be a better person. A person that looked at me and saw something greater than anything I saw in myself. It was that feeling that I deemed as the “Sean Wine Guy” effect.

Today, I resolve to be surround myself with people who make me feel that way.

2. Today, I resolve to be the person my dog(s) see me as.

I had the pleasure of fostering the sweetest pup the past couple months. She taught me a lot. Little lessons like, never underestimate the power of a paw and a pup that wants a belly rub. She looked at me with eyes of hope, gratitude, and excitement. I’m quite positive she thought I was a super hero that rescued her from a burning building. All because I showed her love. How much more we/I could enrich lives by merely showing love and kindness. It is something that I do not do enough, and I’m quite positive there are some of you nodding in agreement reading this. If you are one of those, “I love you more than fountain cokes, more than chocolate cupcakes, more than the color gray. I love you. I cherish you. I like you.”

Today I resolve to tell you how much you mean to me.

That’s it, two simple things I will to throw in my routine today. I think 2012 will be full of love, laughs, and, of course, box wine. Till next time…happy new year and…

Lifetimes of paper rainbows….W

I am thankful

27 Nov

In the past year I have lost this blog. I knew I never wanted to share all aspects of my life on here and then life got a little overwhelming. The creating stopped. The google reader stopped. The things I had to talk about were heavy and deep, just like the life that was happening around me. So I didn’t share, because let’s face it…it was personal to me and the people that were going through it.

From this time last year, there was heartbreak and medical dramas. There was broken down cars and broken down spirits. There were nights that I was quite certain would never turn into day. In that there was something that spectacular that happened. I rediscovered friendships, passions, careers, myself… in that spirit I am thankful for so many things in 2011.

Now I realize that the year is not over, and I am not in anyway rushing it. I am so excited to finish out the year- if for nothing else to make a killer pot of gumbo, LSU in Atlanta (and God willing playing for a national championship), Christmas parties and outfits, soup dinners, and a laughter that can only come from the holiday spirit. Plus December will answer the question on everyone’s mind: Will there be a rematch for LSU and Bama? Bama has made their case. I am one gal that is all for it…this is a discussion for another day.

I suppose I am, most thankful that thanksgiving came once again. It is that holiday that stays humble, as it is often overlooked. We find ourselves planning Halloween costumes and then jumping into christmas lists. If you are reading this and find yourself a football fan in the south, another holiday was snuck in there – LSU at Bama, and a case could be made in the heart of Cajun country that UL home games became mini holidays in themselves, as they deserved to be. Still in all the crazy that is November, thanksgiving made its appearance. Reminding us that he existed and more than that, he came bearing food, family, and fun. How blessed we are that he did.

Thank you my friends for visiting my musings each and every time. I hope this Christmas season treats you with love and sparkles.

lifetimes of paper rainbows…W

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happiness on a plate: breakfast

27 Sep

So in all honesty, I rarely eat breakfast at breakfast time.  My breakfast is made up of a delightful protein shake.  Don’t be jealous.  With that being said, breakfast food is my favorite food of all the foods.    

There is my all time favorite: FRENCH TOAST! In all honesty my favorite French toast is my own. If it is not mine, I like the buttery perfectly cooked kind with powdered sugar placed perfectly on top.

It wasn’t too long ago I hopped on over to Dwyer’s in downtown Lafayette to grab a bite one Sunday after a long Friday night.  I have to say, I was quite impressed.  Still prefer mine, but theirs was not half bad.  My judge of perfect french toast is the less syrup it needs dumped on top, the better it is.  I only put a smidgen.  So in my book, that makes Dwyer,s a suitable choice for my French toast cravings.

Okay so when I was back at home, I can remember my mom busting up a can of biscuits, cutting them up in quarters, and dropping them in the grease.  Then we’d shake them around in powdered sugar.  Oh-My-Awesomeness.  Biscuit Begneits.  Imagine my excitement when I met some friends at Another Broken Egg and found them.  Theirs were delightful as they were served with this perfect orange infused honey-ish sauce. There is something to be said for nostalgia.  My only complaint about my visit to Another Broken Egg was the 7 dollar mimosa…I mean really, I see you using 2 dollar Andre…pull it together.  No need for that. 

 There is the occasion when I want a perfect lil’ muffin around 10 ish.  Then I start thinking about all the crud I shove in my body and I start to feel all guilty.  I start thinking about all the carbs I deep fry, soak in butter, and/or top with powdered sugar.  That was until I found BiBi’s Patissere.  BiBi’s is a gluten-free and sugar-free bakery and this little gem to your right is a southern pecan muffin!  It was amazing.  I could not have been happier and I was a little bit nervous about my goods that I got there.  Definitely worth checking out.  They had all sorts of treats, brownies, cupcakes, cookies…etc.  Go love them and eat!

Okay so I did save my favorite little dish for last.  Not too long ago my dearest mom came in town.  Before she left she, my brother, and I stopped in a French Press. We waited about 45 minutes for a table and then a good hour for the food…If I am really being honest, I was quite frustrated, but then this little number came.  This my friends is a Cajun Benedict.  Biscuit, boudin, egg, and chicken-n-sausage gumbo in one delightful bowl.  It was so good.  So so good.  It had mind erasing powers and I didn’t even remember that I waited so long to eat.  I have an annual gumbo cooking day.  I can’t wait to try this with my awesome pot of goodness.  So moral of this story, go get this dish, but make sure you got time.  Lil’ lagniappe: the meatloaf sammich is delightful as well.  I have heard great things about their entire menu, but I have yet to get through it all.  In time…I will. 

With that I will wrap up the breakfast edition of this little adventure.  Go forth and eat my friends. 

If you haven’t clicked here to register for this month’s giveaway, do it.  It will be full of all things awesome, like: custom recipe cards, Covington Brew’s, local spices, etc.  Most importantly, share with your friends.  Till tomorrow, go forth and crEATe grEATness!

lifetimes of paper rainbows…W

 

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happiness may come on a plate: bar food

26 Sep

I don’t think I have ever made any secret of the fact that I love food.  I love all the forms food comes in.  I have the awesome pleasure to live in a city that was voted “best of the road – for food” by Randy McNally in 2011 and also live in a city that has more restaurants per capita than any other place in the world.  Not to mention the great No Reservations that I finally got the chance to watch (here’s the recap for you).  Welcome to Lafayette Whitney. 

I originally intended this post to recap all my recent grEATness adventures, but alas I found it was becoming quite the post.  So this week, there will be 5 installments: Bar Food, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Dessert.  I know you are climbing on the edge of your seat!  Monday – Friday people, get ready!

 Fat Pat’s - 626 Verot School Road  Lafayette, LA 70508 - If I want chili, hot dogs, cheese, etc, etc…I’m going.  Preferably on a Sunday when the hot dogs are 3 dollars.  I have an unhealthy obsession with chili dogs, this one is by far my favorite.  Plus they have 2 for 1 beer, all day everyday.  What can I say, it gets and A in my book.

My favorite Fat Pat’s trip was with the great Cam, my brother.  We made our way over there and got a booth.  All the booths have T.V. so this made it great.  While others watch ESPN, we watched the How I Met Your Mother season finale.  It made my little heart dance.  That night I got the pounded pork sandwich, which comes on the most delightful bun I have ever eaten.  

 While we are on the topic of bar food…on Thursday nights, I play kickball…which means my dinner is the same thing every Thursday, Legends.  Best Hawaiian burger, but this clean plate was my other fave – the Shrimp Quesadillia.  I know it would probably be best to take a picture of the whole thing, but I was really hungry.  It was a long, muddy night of kickball that week. Also totally worth it to get a bag of these sweet onion chips…it is like sugary onion goodness in a bag.  My mouth is watering thinking about it.  I am typing this about 2 miles from one location…and it is not 2am yet….I could go get some, but alas, work in the morning. Conundrum.

Now I know…for being a city that is so rich in flavor both culturally and literally it seems ridiculous that I would talk to you about chili dogs, burgers, chips, bar food in general, but I am starting small people.  Still up on my list of grEATness is ”Cajun Benedict,” ”Smoked Chicken + Collard Green Slaw,” “Smoked Shrimp Burritos,” and “New Orleans BBQ Shrimp,” to name a few.  So I am starting out small, trust me on this one.  Plus at the end of it, for one lucky reader, I have a gift and trust me, it is totally worth it.  It will include a bit of each post.  So think drinks and food!

This week kicks off a revamp of all things to come. I promised myself when I got a certain number of hits a day I would step up my internet participation.  I am re-launching myself in the world.  So in order to win, you must share my site.  There will be regular giveaways including letterpress greetings, art, and soon sponsorships.  Some will be geared specifically for Lafayette and the surrounding areas, but most will be anywhere.  This is something I have worked really hard on and had up my sleeve for some time.  I just finally got the guts to do it. So thanks for the support guys 

This weeks giveaway requires a simple sign up here. What happens when you sign up?  When there is a giveaway, you will find out.  Plus in this format it allows me to see where my readers are coming from geographically and therefore gear my creations, writings, and business towards you!  Thanks so much for your support

lifetimes of paper rainbows…W

Lagniappe: If you are facebooking, I got a page see the right column, like.  If you are tweeting you can follow me. Again, see the right column, follow. 

 

 

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Namesake

20 Sep

I was inspired today. It’s true! I want to leave a bit of mystery behind the final end point, but tonight I want to know about your namesakes!

Maybe it’s your child’s namesake. Maybe your company’s. Maybe it’s your kickball team (or football, trivia, etc). Maybe it’s your twitter handle. Point is I want your story!

Leave me a comment and let me know. This is a call out to you world! Share! Leave as many stories as you want. I want to hear from you!

Lifetimes of paper rainbows…W

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letters published: part 1

18 Sep

I have asked myself many a times why I continue to write here.  Is it some ploy for the slightest bit of attention? Is it to work of emotions, be it happy, stressed, upset, elated?  Is it that somehow I feel connected to a whole world from a small town in Louisiana when I write here? I suppose all have a yes that comes along with it – if I am being honest. 

There is one thing in 350 blogs that I have missed in all this and last weekend opened my eyes.  I was sitting listening to the Avett Brothers, Bob Schneider, and some David Gray and while having this great conversation and the topic of the southern narrative came up.  Most of us in Louisiana or anywhere have experienced the moment when we are completely engulfed in our grandfather’s story. Words seemed to roll off his tongue.  His inflection raised ever so slightly as he got closer to the climax of his story.  You hung on every word as he spoke of the sugar he got from that pretty girl way back when.  The idea that in combination with the morning feedings of the catfish, my Nana’s perfect cinnamon rolls waiting for us after, and the way he left me with a sense of home each time I left seems to be, well, quite amazing. 

It has been a little over 5 years since my Nana passed and just under 5 since my Papaw joined Jonny, June, and Nana.  With me they left their narrative or at least the narrative they created with me.  In 350 blogs, with this one 351, the one thing I missed was that in some small way, I am writing my narrative. 

Something is lost when I tell my story verbally as I do not talk slowly and words have never just rolled off my tongue.  I have always been better at writing it down.  I suppose in that sense I am my father’s daughter.  My father was journalist.  He never told me one story in person.  I imagine had he it wouldn’t have the same effect.  I imagine he spoke fast and tripped over the right words to say, but he wrote beautifully.  He left, leaving a story in my hand, unintentionally, but he left it. 

I remember reading this article about him written long after he was gone and Mr. Hilburn told the story of his charm and then he shared my fathers creative writing story of him working the lumber yard.  My dad spoke of this gentleman with arms bigger than the logs they were cutting and they shared a common lunch of vienna sausage.  How when the work day ended with a bell he simply looked at his new friend and said, “It’s Miller Time.”  I suppose in that one article I summed up the story of my father.  His logging story became his narrative, his bed time story, his letter, to his daughter.  Written words.   It is the power that came from his written words that  give me confidence when I am told to slow down when talking, or when I am fussed at for saying “like” 50 times in a 100 word presentation, or when I am told I talk in circles.  I may never be one that can tell you my story or any story verbally, but just like my dad, I can write it down and so I do.  Sometimes I hit publish.

I am not going to be so grand as to say my intention all along has been to share something that would describe ever so perfectly who I was, but unintentionally I was writing my narrative.  It has become my time line of 3 years.  My narrative has evolved because I have.  It is an awesome experience when Whitney circa 2008 speaks to Whitney circa 2011 because I chose to write it down.  Because I had a story to tell, be it ever so unimportant then or now.  It is an amazing thing to know where my confidence lied, as I am sharing my creative process, my thoughts, my narrative in a very public forum. It is enlightening to read my letters I wrote to the world wide web…letters never sent, but published. Letters that tell the story my journey to my summit.

To be continued. 

lifetimes of paper rainbows…W

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finding your truth

11 Sep

{so this says 17 days, because it is from the 3 week series from almost 2 years ago.  You can check out that day here–humbling to go back 2 years}

I am sure we have all faced a point where we wonder, “What exactly am I setting out to do. What is my passion, my truth?”  I have a hard time believing that any of us set out to be mediocre.  We all have a passion for something and it usually happens that our passion for one thing allows us to fall short somewhere else.  Thursday night set out to start a 72 hour period that would once again force me to self reflect. 

In my life there is that vice, that idea, that intangible force that holds on to me in a way that I can’t explain.  It has taken on many forms in my life, but none so present as hope and fear.  I have only experienced the two in a synergistic presence at one point in my life and it was an interesting experience of self-reliance and co-dependence.  It was on Thursday that the reality of these two emotions showing up in my life in a tangible way became a possible reality.  I felt my heart suddenly get trapped in a vice.  I felt my breath shorten.  It was until about Friday around 3am that I realized that I had to stop and breathe.  I had nothing to fear.  I had a truth about myself that couldn’t be shaken. Best friend Whitney started telling frantic Whitney to calm down and write it down. So I did…

My truth:  This is my life and I was living it, in ways that I loved.   My truth was that I had the best friends and family who love me and 90 percent of the time like me too.  More than that, I like me.  My truth: I am many things. I don’t think in this world I will ever be just one.  I doodle on myself to inspire myself on Sunday evenings. I paint windows with words that I love.  I am a lover of words, the way they roll or your tongue when used in the perfect sentence. I love lyrics and how when it hits the beat of music and sung with the perfect inflection you can imagine your movie, your life flashing before your eyes. I dream of writing a book.  My own tales of invisible people.  I am human and dream of redemption found in a good glass of wine, the perfect handwritten letter, and a hug.  I believe in taking some sort of chance in this life.  Sometimes its taking a chance that I will be able to walk an 8 hour day in 4″ heels.  Then there are those times that I took the chance on hope and fear and left all behind.  Each chance unique and ultimately worth every second and moment My truth is unwavering, but it does expand.  It expands into truths of others, truths of my dog, truths of my heart that remind me daily it can beat to a different tune.  My truth was something I had to fall in love with, something I had to like, for it is the core of my life…of who I am, of what I sometimes lost. 

So at about 9 am the next morning when I had written the bullet point list of “my truth,”  I found myself breathing a tiny bit slower and freaking out a little less.  This after all is my life.  I have to stop expecting it to look like something it’s not, and start living it. 

What’s your truth?

lifetimes of paper rainbows…W

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