Oh, Miscellany Monday…

… how I look forward to you!

You give me permission to write without lines, without boxes, without categories.

The leaves on our trees finally turned colors, and then fell. This tree is grasping to only about a dozen leaves now, having let all the others fall around it in a beautiful yellow-ish carpet. And I swear that tree is just as beautiful bare as it is full of green or yellow leaves.

I was originally disappointed because the first few leaves to change on that tree turned red. I LOVE red trees! But then about a week later all the other leaves turned yellow. But you know what? The yellow took my breath away. Joyful and warm and calm. I’d step outside just to stare at it… (now if only I could find that picture I think I took…)

I love raking leaves. Eli wasn’t so much into the leaf pile, though… maybe next year.

Our church is having a Sevens game and Cupcake War soon. I had no idea what Sevens was until today, but apparently it is the most popular game nowadays. Apparently I’m not very in-the-know. Are you?

As a result of this announcement, my mind has been on cupcakes and how I can create them so that they fit into a “seven” theme all day.

My cat is still driving me crazy. He wanders and meows at night. My son sleeps through the night but I do not still because of the cat. Someone suggested a harness and leash so we could sit outside with him to satisfy his desire to be outside. So far, we’ve had two escape-artist-cat acts. I am starting to think about praying for cat-repelling snow.

Linking up to carissa graham at lowercase letters

So, I missed Miscellany Monday…

… but I am going to be miscellaneous anyway!

My beautiful been-through-so-much-together friend and heart-sister is married! I do not have an opposite-matching picture to go with this one yet… but will soon :)

We were away from Eli overnight for only the second time since he was born. I think I missed him more than he missed me. My mom and little sister stayed with him. We left during nap-time on Sunday and came home after he had gone to bed on Monday, so he woke up with us there in the morning on Tuesday. I’m not sure whether I am glad that he did so well or sad that he didn’t seem to be happier than normal to see me! Hmm…

Hair spray and I are not friends. Not friends at all.

Curling irons and my thick, long hair are also not friends. The curls stayed this time, thanks to my crunchier-than-autumn-leaves hair-sprayed hair… but my goodness it took forever – the hair stylist was actually trying to inlist her hair-styling neighbors to grab an extra curling iron and come help her curl.

Manicures and I? Not friends. I’m too fidgety. I think I have six layers of polish on my left thumb nail because I just couldn’t seem to go 5 minutes without messing it up.

Pedicures and I? Friends :)

Plus…

I love new socks.

I have new socks.

My feet are happy :)

effortless beauty

They said “there is no such thing as effortless beauty.”

But is there?

I see trees surrounding my home, birds weaving songs between the branches… wildflowers that don’t try to catch our eye. They don’t have to. Tiny bud to full bloom, our eye is caught by them and enraptured.

They did not create their own beauty. The do not try hard. They do not attempt to change their appearance. And The One that created them created you, too. From tiny human to grown-up you. Or growing-up you. Are you Artist or the art?

You are effortlessly beautiful.