39 pieces of my puzzle.

As i turned 39 a few weeks ago, i am inspired to write 39 things down. Totally random. Just to infuse myself with inspiration (and maybe you too) and to love on my blog again!

1. My dad always says that we are not super intelligent but are blessed with lots of common sense. I claim that for myself.
2. I love being a parent. and I love parenting my girls. As my kids grow older I see many people around me who are only parents. but are not parenting. Part of parenting is saying "no". And keeping your word. No in our house don't mean maybe.
3. Still on the parenting topic: We have 3 rules in our house: one. be kind to one another. two. Look out for one another. three. finish the job.
4. Last night i looked at Jaco and my knees went all wobbly. He still does that to me. even after 20 years.
5. I love to cook with wine. I even sometimes put it in the food.
6. I drink bottles of Evian water.
7. I just finished reading eat.pray.love. even though i don't have the same view about God than the author, i loved the wisdom of the ages that was found unexpectedly among the pages. I loved that i took a pen to that book and underlined scores of paragraphs that i would read to Jaco and debate about it. It made me long for silence and ignited a flame in me to seek after God like a deer longs for water. i loved that i marveled at life again though her eyes.
8. i love reading. i love reading on a chair on the beach. that's my ultimate idea of holiday.
9. If i have one word to describe my life aim it will be peace. But i have learned in my 39 years that peace does not come by itself. You have to pursue it. And i will keep on pursuing it for the rest of my life. By pursuing peace i mean decluttering your life physically, spiritually and emotionally. And continuously doing so.
10. I love the Word. The entrance of His words give life. And I know that by one act of obedience by Jesus, i was made right before God. I am in favor and innocent in His sight. Deep sigh. Huge heart of gratefulness.
11. I love my blog. I have to make a plan to give it life again. watch this space.
12. I realized that I am not much of a photographer. This whole month on holiday I took out my Nikon twice and took really crappy pictures. I love my sony cybershot point and shoot. I roll better like that especially on holiday. and it's ok.
13. I am praying for a game changer for me. In my scrapbooking and creative work specifically.
14. I hate hate hate clutter. hate.
15. the thing i still have to learn most is to be flexible in life. Jaco always tells me: Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.
16. He also often tells me: engage with brain before accelerate with tongue.
17. My favorite book so far of all time is Three cups of tea.
18. Jaco and I love the Mentalist lately. we rent episodes on our apple TV and watch  till the early hours of the morning. while drinking rooibos tea. with honey. in some pretty cups.
19. I love to sleep. with soft pillows.
20. Mac, our dog, is such a big love in our house. My favorite thing that he does is walk around with a leg of lamb bone looking for a place to bury the bone. He would make little frustrating noises and walk into every room in the house looking for a safe place to hide his bone. Adorable.
21. i love being alone.
22.Coffee in the morning is a must for me. I need caffeine to wake up. I tried to break the habit once and almost died. not really. but i wanted to.
23. I have a love/hate relationship with facebook. it varies from hour to hour.
24. if it rains i am most productive. i want to see how many days in a row it can rain before i get totally sick of it. it's never happened to me yet.
25. my favorite sporting event to watch is the Tour de France. Since we came to Canada i have been watching it everyday in July. That's part of my summer ritual. even though watching tv during the day really feels wrong to me.
26. My husband loves chocolate more than I do.
27. I can play a little piano. I had piano lessons till i graduated from high school. I wish i can play better.
28. on top of my need to/ want to/ have to have list right now is an iPad.
29. I read cnn.com everyday multiple times. That's the thing i miss most when we are on holiday.
30. i love my kids ages now. I wish i can freeze time right now. I love how they are developing their own sense of humor and how many laughs we share on a daily basis.
31. I embarrass them with the drillbit taylor part of the wing... and the three of them under it. It's the funniest part of the movie btw.
32. currently i am at the stage of my life where i daily have to convince my mind to be kinder to my body. it's frustrating but i know i have to be patient with the progress.
33. having friends over for dinner is one of my favorite things in the whole world.
34. I want to have a rose garden someday. So that i can pick my own flowers for my house.
35. my favorite quote: be kind to the people you meet. you dont always know the battles they are fighting.
36. another favorite thing: giving gifts. love, love, love.
37. I dont like a telephone. i think i am like my dad there.
38. i have learned to appreciate life to the second. I often think that it all can change in a moment. To live with absolutely no regrets is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.
39. the most beautiful song in the world is amazing grace.

talk soon