Don’t ever let anyone tell you not to be excited about your birthday! It’s a day to celebrate and you have the right to do whatever you want with that day.

This year, I’m going to do a couple things for my Simplicity Embellished readers to celebrate.

1. First, I’m going to list 5 of my favorite posts I’ve written and published here on Simplicity Embellished. A question I often get in my letters is “What is your favorite post?” and now, I’m telling you! Let me know if any are your favorites too!

2. I am going to have a marathon letter-writing day on the morning of my birthday BUT there’s a catch! If you’d like an extra special letter from me written to you on my birthday, please leave your name and address in the comments. If you don’t want to leave your address down below, send me an email using the link on the left.

So, with that said, here are 5 of my favorite posts:

My Favorite Earrings

Diamine Ink in All Kinds of Colors

How to Hollow Out a Book

My Recipe for Sugar Plums

Why I Write Letters

And a bonus: Why You Sometimes Never Hear Back From a Pen Pal

What do I want for my birthday? Well, you can see some of the things I’m lusting after at my Amazon wishlist and my Jetpens wishlist. I *LOVE* to see people’s wishlists–if you have one, share it with me! It’s how I find new things I want! ;)

So with all that said, I hope to write some of you letters on my birthday!

Cheers!

I had to share this photo with you all as I know many of you are dog owners yourself.

Those darn fringes.

I’ve begun to see little opportunities, living in plain view, much more often recently. I attribute this to a natural progression through my life but also to my recent immersion in the practice of yoga.

A garden is about 100 opportunies just waiting for fabulous dinners, eh?

For me, yoga has brought those fringes in life into focus. They’re just not so blurry anymore. At least, it seems like it. Maybe I’m just living in a perpetual state of happiness now. ;)

I’d be willing to bet a lot of money on you, dear reader. I bet there’s a lot of opportunity just siting somewhere in your field of vision right now. What are you overlooking?

One thing I’ve kept in mind in considering this idea that opportunity is lying in wait for us, all of us, is that we only consider it an opportunity if it is, in some way, furthering one of our goals in some obvious way. An opportunity to be the CEO of a bank is only a great opportunity if you want to be the CEO of bank. It’s not much of anything if your goal is to work in landscaping; enjoying the weather and foliage each day.

I will say though, that sometimes, opportunities present themselves for things you might think you wouldn’t be interested in. That’s the unique thing about opportunity. You can find things you’re interested in that you otherwise might not have.

I suppose springtime puts me in the mood to reflect; to feel optimistic–to search for new opportunities now that life is bursting forth all around me.

I think you, dear reader, should stop a moment to search for new opportunities that might now be in focus.

Look to the edges!

Successful people are disciplined.

How can you argue with that? You can’t. It is an immutable truth.

And, people that feel successful are happier. In fact, they are the happiest of all.

Luckily, success is a possibility for everyone because everyone has a different definition of it.

So, if it really is this simple, why is it so hard sometimes? While I can’t extrapolate on that, I am pretty sure it has to do with self-discipline. The ability to continually check up on that big picture of your life you are working on.

Soon, these little heirloom tomato plants will produce lots of Mama Leone tomatoes. And to think just four weeks ago these plants were tiny seeds in a white envelope.

It’s so easy to be enveloped in a single day, isn’t it? Or a single week. Self-discipline allows you to realize life is more than a day or a week or a month. It keeps you on track for the long run. It’s only in the long run that success comes. Success takes time, especially the best kind. The kind that you define for yourself on your own terms.

I attribute my personal discipline to any goal or little thing that I’ve been able to feel proud of. For me, discipline is as simple as making a list and checking in on it frequently. It’s asking for help. It’s really fleshing out an idea before acting on it. It’s laying in bed at night thinking about something from every possible angle. It’s listening, really listening, to others and applying what they say to your own thoughts.

What is it you want to accomplish, dear reader? How are you going to get there?

Yesterday was one of those days.

During the summer, my husband and I tend to eat dinner really late. Like about 9 or 10 pm. The sun is long gone, it’s slightly chilled in the air and we can use the oven with the back door wide open. By the time we go to bed, usually about midnight, our tummies are full and the house is well-lived in.

My husband made spaghetti and meatballs with a side (just kidding, several sides) of Chianti. The kitchen window was open the whole time and the back door was too. Our dog Hairy laid on a very worn, and very plush dog bed in a corner of the kitchen the whole time. I tell you, it’s nice having a great puppy dog at the end of the kitchen napping while you cook.

I sat at our butcher block table/island with a legal pad and pen. This was my time to go through notes from the week and tie up a few loose ends. It’s also the time when I can catch my husband at one of his most creative times.

He’ll tell you that he hates when I ask him questions while he cooks. But I’ll tell you that this is prime time for that. See, while he’s cooking, he’s in one place. He can’t get distracted and leave the room. He focusing on one thing; the methodical methods of preparing a meal but yet part of his mind is available for creativity.

What have you come up with on that pricing strategy for the boutique? I’ll ask.

How do you think we should package these items? I question.

While our conversation may not interest you, dear reader, the point is that those late night dinners are not only productive for me, they are some of the most special times in my marriage that I treasure. They are, if you will, a time when I can really take advantage of all the little quirks I know about my husband. Quirks that only I know.

Late night dinners are fabulous.

Mark Twain said “When the end of world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it’s always twenty years behind the times.”

I think many Cincinnatians would agree with Twain. Our city struggles when it’s faced with the prospect of change. I think our dead, unfinished subway system is proof of that although I am pretty sure fear of change is not really what did it in.

We also don’t have the best reputation when it comes to crime and race relations. And, for that matter, I think our reputation is pretty hard to understand. Perhaps that explains our recent designation as the ‘Craziest City in the US.’ What a title.

All that aside, Cincinnati is great. I really love this city. I love the history, the quietness, the shopping, the food–the way everyone cares about what high school you went to.

Simplicity Embellished was born in this city, and so was I. It’s a reflection of this corner of midwestern America. A little reflection, I think, most people can identify with.

Simplicity Embellished is not the only blog in this city. I’m not the only twenty-something either. There’s lots to be had in the Queen City, and with that, I give you a cross-section of some of the cities finest bloggers.

Here is an ever-changing and expanding list of local blogs I admire most. Be sure to take a peek and leave a comment to let them know you visited, and enjoy your time spent with some of the very best people of my favorite city.

For my list of Cincinnati bloggers, click here!

My inlaws live about three hours away in West Virginia (we’re in Cincinnati, Ohio). I do always look forward to the drive with a bit of nostalgia and excitement. I’ve become so familiar with all kinds of landmarks along the way. I seek them out as our car curves along the mostly two-lane highway.
There’s the tobacco barn bursting with bunches of leaves for most of the year. The barn is large, weathered and all kinds of gray. The sloping land that immediately surrounds it is covered in a plucky swarth of green grass and the whole scene is framed by Midwestern forest.
There’s the mini-horse farm. I think that’s one of my husband’s absolute favorites. Five or six mini Shetland horses in shades of white, brown and tan nibble at the ground in their boxy fenced-in pen. Their manes and tails are well combed and are trimmed straight across. Two large, sloping hills jut up on either side behind them.
Oh, and I can not forget my factory. This is something I prefer to drive by at night. It’s actually an Ashland Oil refinery but the way this factory looks at night is breathtaking. Imagine a dozen silver cylinders wrapped in swirling steps capped by tall, blazing flames. Imagine silvery pipes twisting and turning all over, with a seeming lack of purpose, but dotted with yellowy incandescent-esque lights. These bubbles of light emit a golden glow in the form of halos. These golden halos reflect beautifully, nope-magnificently–against the silver background. White smoke tubes billow upward and outward in distinct, snaking spires. Magnificence, pure industrial magnificence.
And, after we’ve made the drive and made note of all the landmarks we pull into the driveway of a familiar house with a familiar bed inside, waiting for us. Familiar faces are inside, waiting for us to just open the front door and come in.

Driving to see our family is almost as wonderful as actually getting to see them.

I love these two little dogs as I’m sure you love your pets.

I love how, on sunny mornings, they follow sunspots around the house. The sun carries them between their early-morning nap and their mid-morning nap; both of which generally take place on the bed.

When I get real close to their little faces, I wonder what they are thinking about. They sit completely still, the sun fully shining on them, occasionally blinking. What are they pondering?

And then I catch a moment like this…..

…and I feel their happiness.

“She’s here!”

I ran down the steps, pulled myself together and opened my front door with a smile, “Hi Donetta!”

Donetta stood there with a smile. She has short blonde hair, some sparkly earrings and a canvas tote tucked under her arm.

“Come on in.”

—–

Donetta came in the house, got settled and we all went into the living room. The beagles were immediately all over her; Hairy was jumping up and down like a mad man, Ruby was furiously sniffing her pants. After they got their fill, they then began to sniff her purse, her coat, her shoes….anything she brought in.

Donetta had already worked with an abused horse that morning and a cat, she told us. The beagles were sniffing what they could from her earlier appointments. I sat on the floor and offered Donetta some tea, while trying to figure out what exactly one is supposed to say to initiate a pet communication story.

“No thank you,” Donetta said with a smile. She was sitting on the floor, pulling toys out of her canvas bag and packets of information for my husband and I.

—-

Donetta is a pet communicator; however many call her a pet psychic. She said she first noticed this gift when she was a child; and it put her (and her family) into awkward situations now and again when Donetta was confronted with abusive pet owners.

Donetta described how pet communication works like this:
+ She is near the animal; and will pet them now and then.
+ She’ll get little blips; images…..pictures. They are black and white. They are images from the animal as they see things.
+ Donetta then interprets those images as best she can.
+ She’s also able to visualize something and ’send’ it to the animal. This is how she’s able to ask questions…she asks in pictures.

—–

Now, I feel like I should mention that I gave her no information about my dogs beyond their names and gender. She does not know about this website or anything else I’m involved in so she could not have gleaned information from that.

—–

Donetta was chatting with Victor and I as we sat there and she said
“Hairy is happy-go-lucky……oh, and Ruby is the boss. She runs the house.”

Why yes, that is correct.

She then told us that Ruby tells Hairy what to do but sometimes he doesn’t listen because he chooses not to.

Yes, also correct. {An image popped into my head where Ruby is standing across the room from him–just staring at him. And he refuses to make eye contact with her. Usually, Ruby wants a toy he’s playing with, or a spot on a dog bed. It’s so funny watching him trying to ignore Ruby.}

‘Was Hairy a rescue? He seems like one,’ she said.

“Yes, sort of.” I said. She told us how with his first owners, he knew they didn’t want him and he felt like something bad was going to happen.

[Hairy's original owners got him as a pup for their kids. The father was then transferred to Japan just weeks after they got Hairy. The family tried to prevent the kids from getting attached to Hairy before the family moved....eventually giving Hairy to a family friend to try and find him a home. That family was a coworker of mine...hence, how we got him.]

Donetta told us he’s very happy here and just really happy about life in general.

Ruby then apparently let Donetta know that she thinks Victor and I don’t discipline Hairy enough.

This about blew me away, first, because it’s true. We do tend to let Hairy get away with more….partly  because he’s just so happy all the time he’s just so darn cute…even when he’s being bad. Second, because every time we yell at Hairy or tell him ‘bad,’ Ruby wags her tail and….seems to smile. It makes her happy when we yell at him.

{In the past, Victor has pointed at Hairy and said ‘bad’ when Hairy behaves poorly and we look over and Ruby is intently watching from across the room wagging just the very tip of her tail….she likes when he gets yelled at.}

Donetta told us that it seems Ruby thinks Hairy should be disciplined a lot more than maybe we think he should be….she reminded us that we’re the owners and so she needs to be OK with what we think is OK. She needs to understand that what we say, goes.

We tend to have a problem with Ruby ‘herding’ Hairy. She’ll force him pretty much wherever she wants him to go. She’ll nip at him. She’ll growl at him…if he’s doing something she doesn’t like. This doesn’t happen all the time, mind you, just when….well, I guess when she feels like it. It’s funny that Donetta said this because often enough, we are telling Ruby to cool it and back off….I guess what I’m trying to say is that we realized we often diffuse situations where Ruby wants Hairy to do something by picking her up and ‘resetting’ her. Does that make sense?

———–

Then, I asked, “Do the beagles have any pain anywere?”

Donetta looked over at the two beagles, who were about an arms length away, and put her right hand on Ruby’s lower back. She said “Ruby has back pain right about here sometimes…..it feels like she got jerked……oh, she says she fell down the steps.”

We took Ruby to the vet 4 months or so ago for her back pain. She wasn’t able to go up or down the steps. The vet said it was in the same spot Donetta had her hand.

And, about 2 years ago, Ruby fell down the steps from the second floor to the first floor—she was really excited to go outside. However, I thought her back pain was attributed to a time about 6 months ago where she was running figure 8’s around the house and she hit the side of an open door. (Ruby sometimes isn’t the best at making sharp turns…..she has a bit of a…weight problem…..)

————

Donetta continued to chat with us for a good hour. She answered our questions and told us stories about other animal sessions she’d had.

I have to say, it was a really neat experience and both my husband and I were surprised at the accuracy of what she said.

All in all, I think any pet owner just wants to know that:
+ their pet is happy
+ they are healthy
+ they feel loved

It’s, I suppose, peace of mind to have someone like Donetta come in. Even though I know my pooches are happy (can you tell from the photos?) I still am happy to hear it confirmed from an outside source.

————-

Here is Donetta’s contact information if any of you are in the Cincinnati area and are interested.

Donetta
513.541.2537
Animal Non-Verbal Communication

Donetta accepts donations only for her visits! We donated about $40 and reimbursed her for her gas money and travel time. I know most people give around $25—and Donetta will tell you, whatever you can give, if at all, will be put to good use.

The manatee is my favorite thing to illustrate.

Happy Thursday.

By the way, I use a fountain pen (Lamy AL-Star) to do my linework, and the color I used was diamine Damson. I like drawing with a fountain pen. ;)

Let’s all agree to grow something new this year.

Japanese custom on New Year’s Eve, monks in traditional costumes count the last seconds of the old year with an hourglass and welcome the new year by honouring fresh green leaves on a bush. Japan, [1932].

I don’t know about you, but I saw this picture and read the description and thought, you know what, this is what we need this year.

More outside time.

Less indoor time.

More time paying attention and appreciating things that work well.

Less time on things that don’t.

Join me?

I just love her.

Sunday is a day to relax. A day to ponder. A day to become inspired and excited for the week ahead.

Enjoy.

I think the photos of the rock is absolutely haunting. I love it.

One that is lit can instantly turn a dinner party classy, or a table for two into something romantic.

It can magnify the emotion in a room. For example, at a wake or a funeral, they signal that things are very sad.

Candles evoke emotion.

Candles are powerful.

I am Jewish. I celebrate Shabbat nearly every Friday, even if I’m by myself. While it’s traditionally a Jewish thing, there has been a movement recently where women come together on Fridays who are not Jewish to celebrate.

In fact, FridayLight.org is an organization dedicated to this. Here’s what they have to say about it:

For centuries, Jewish women have experienced a weekly moment of inner peace through the ancient practice of lighting Shabbat candles. By Lighting Up each and every Friday night, you will not only bask in a personal moment of inner peace, but also connect to a larger community of women everywhere who together hold the power to foster global peace.

With the flicker of millions of flames each and every Friday night, we can bring light into the darkest places on earth and usher in peace throughout the world.

I think you don’t have to be a woman to experience this; men certainly do to. Either way, it’s a beautiful thing.

Let me set the stage for you:
Picture yourself in your favorite room of your home. For me, it’s the kitchen. No TV is on. No Radio. No noise. The house is quiet. If you’ve got pets they, likely, follow you wherever you go and are at your feet. Your family is around you. Dinner is ready to be served.
Then, you light the candles. The light instantly warms the room the way only candles can.
You all sit around the table, eating and talking, until the candles burn out.

Now do this every week. What would this do for your family? For you?

I’m lighting my candles for you tonight!

Please say yes.

Yesterday, I was extremely busy. It was one of those days where ‘intensity’ was the word of choice. I think I was steadily focused on things for 16 hours yesterday. Man, my eyes were exhausted and going to sleep was a chore; I was so wound up.

So today, a day without any appointments and with a more than maneagable schedule, provides me with an inability to focus.

Here is what came out.

This was apparently my brains attempt at humor. I was supposed to be designing a set of icons for a manufacturing business. I don’t think manatees fit in there anywhere. Literally and figuratively.

It’s kind of cute to look at though, right?

These photos don’t need words.

Perfection? Inspiration? Or Both?

No one else but the two of us. Well, the beagles were there.

It was magical. There is something special about spending a major holiday with just your spouse. It was so relaxing; so calm. The food was ready when it was ready. I got dressed up. We stood on the back deck and clinked glasses under the stars a few times. We ate in our teeny little kitchen and used linens from my Grandmother and coasters I crocheted by hand.

Here was our table.

Plus, the leftovers were all ours!

I am grateful for the friends I’ve made through Simplicity Embellished and I am so glad so many of you enjoy the content posted here.

Have a wonderful day.

Turn off your computers.

Go outside and breathe deep.

Spend it with loved ones (furry loved ones included!)

Both beagles have been sprouting more and more hair inbetween their toes as they get older. And these hairs, they sop up drips and drops of anything on the floors, or outside.

Husband drizzled some olive oil on the floor by accident?
sop sop sop
Beagle toe-hair absorbs it.

Beagle trots through a questionable wet spot on the sidewalk?
sop sop sop
Beagle toe-hair absorbs the mysterious liquid. And doesn’t let go.

Here is the before. Hide your children before viewing.

And here is Ruby. She is the beagle with the hairy toe problem. She is embarrassed I am sharing this with the world.

And she does not enjoy toe grooming. Look:

One Pedi-Paw (it works!), a nail file made for acrylic nails and a pair of hair scissors later; her paws began to look like they were ready for Prom.

One paw down, three to go!

I give you Exhibit A. This is a bowl that I crocheted. Coins can fit inside. Maybe paperclips. Ok, and little perfume vials. But that’s about it.

What the heck am I going to do with this? Nobody wants this; not even me!