On Turning 38.

Last month, on December 17th I turned 38, and last week I got the invitation to my 20th High School Reunion. Not my 10 year y'all ...(please forgive the southern accent I have been reading Sweet Potato Queens book again and I just can't help myself) And To Clarify... I am not 38 going on 18, and 40's are not the new 20's. Sorry if I just bursted your little age defying bubble there. But These are all just things that we tell ourselves so that we don't have to hear or even think of THE word. You know the word I'm talking about... Don't act like you don't know THE word...

OLD!! I could say I feel 38 years young, but you know what? That simply isn't true. Now, that's not to say that I feel so Old all the time, and I have everything all figured out, oh no, no, no... I have A LOT of learning left to do! And I feel quite young and naive still to many ways of this world. But I will say, I'm grateful for the years I have underneath my lifetime belt. Each one has taught me something different. And as that number keeps going up one thing I have learned that I didn't know as well when I was only 18 is that LIFE is PRECIOUS. In fact IT IS A  GIFT. Now, granted I am not yet in the 40's club but believe you me, beloved when I get there in two years, Lord willing, I am going to shout it from the roof tops!! I'm 40 and I don't care who knows it!! (Picture Buddy the Elf coming into his dad's office at a very important meeting and shouting, "I'm in Love and I don't care who knows it!" Yep that will be me.)  This is what I would like to say; To the Whole Wide World or at least the World Wide Web Being or Getting Old is really OK. It's better than ok, it's a gift. And no I don't say that first thing in the morning when my body is achey and still tired after a full 8 hours of sleep, but once I have woken up and become aware of my surroundings that is exactly what I say. I thank God for each new day. Not to be cliche or a total cheese ball...  (okay well maybe a lil chedda is in this next statement) The present really is a gift. And for as long as I'm living I hope I will always have this heart of gratitude.
As I have gotten older I have realized the true gifts in this life are not ones that you can put a price tag on. They are not a certain brand name something or other. They are not a place you get to go. They are not a big fancy sparkling something.  They are YOU. They are ME. And they are This Moment.

 There were of course material gifts given for my birthday this year, but none, no not even one is more valuable to me than this. The realization that my life is but a breath, and my story thus far has been a good one, and as long as I have air left in my lungs I can make it a GREAT one!

Don't you know it's true beloved reader?

That as long as we have air left in our lungs we can make our story a GREAT one!

That would be my favorite gift this year, but don't cha know I am gonna share some of my other favorites with you because well... I'm a blogger. I blog. It's kinda what I like to do with my free time, have you noticed?

  Not only did I receive that dress up there from My Momma Nash, that dress that is so spectacular it needs it's own event to wear it IN  it's honor, but I was with some of the people I love and certainly with all of the people I love in Spirit or FB, or on Skype, maybe even by IG, or Twitter,  and certainly by phone. 

Thank God for technology. 

That is a Gift.

I received countless reminders of God's goodness and grace on my life by way of old friends notes and phone calls. I shared a glass of wine with My Mom, sister Gina, and brother Jeremy via Skype. I drank from the cup that is 

This Beautiful Life and I was filled to overflowing.

That is a Gift.

I had 4 healthy children in my house.

One of the things I miss most about having lils in my house, (by lils I mean ages 2-6) is the constant barrage of funny things that lils say, but every now and then one of my kids who are still young but on the tail end of childhood, they will say something really funny. 

So when

my boys set out to make a Gingerbread man they finished and Isaiah my youngest looked up at Solomon and said, "I'm going to eat this WHOLE thing so Don't Judge Me." 

Bah ha ha ... quotes from my 8 year old boy like 

THAT is a Gift.

Around my birthday I might not have had my own birthday party but in a sense this Elf party that we have been having the past two years has become my very own birthday party. Who else gets to have Olive Penguins at their birthday party I ask you? And not only that but my friend Tasha was here for a visit to help me make those cute little treats. And my friend Emily brought me salted caramel chocolate cookies that I'm telling you make my mouth water every time I think about them.

That is A Gift.

Oh and this. 

This is A Gift.

Oh my, my, my is this ever a gift. 

Wanna know why?

Well in the words of My Giants grandmother Louis, who used to call him a Shit Ass when he was naughty... this lil dog right here... she can be quite the little  Shit Ass sometimes. 

Sorry for the cuss but...

Truly, y'all  have no idea!

But when I bought this outfit I bought it for the express purpose of payback in good Doggy Owner fashion. Bella hates wearing clothes. Girlfriend,(there goes that accent again) just doesn't even know how cute she looks in clothes I guess?! So when she is put in any type of clothing she refuses to move. Seriously, she stands there frozen or will sit in any position I put her in. I can prop her up real nice for pictures and of course, this therefore frees me up from having to worry about if she is in the trash, toilet, kids backpacks, etc... 

Are you tracking what I'm laying down?

That picture and countless others are payback to me for all the things Bella girl puts me through all year long.

That is A Gift.

And then of course

Sushi

Comfy Slippers

Bowls that make my heart skip a beat

This and so much more evokes only one response

38 is Great and  This  Life Is  Beautiful. Thanks for sharing a part of it here with me.

Barley and Boo Scary

I have been saving this photo shoot with Barley for a funny post, but today I'm going to try and mix humor with serious and blend it all together, to see if I can come up with a point at the end.

Here is Barley ignoring me and the camera despite the fact that I am saying his name oh so sweetly. Oh Barley Bambino Boo... look over here sweet lil puppy PLEASE!!
This morning something really strange happened.  We were rudely awoken by Barley barking like a crazy, ferocious killer that he is NOT!! Then Emma who was already up came running into our room saying that someone very strange was coming to our door.
Mo got up and answered the door only to find a woman who was very clearly in a withdrawal stage of some addiction on the other side of our front door. She proceeded to say that she knew this was a strange request, but did we have any hard alcohol in our house and if we wouldn't mind sharing some with her?

Here is Barley still ignoring me, but now blatantly just being down right RUDE and sticking his tongue out at me!
Mo said we didn't, but decided to give her some money instead. Now, I'm not sure how I feel about it all frankly. Wait. Question...
Why do we say frankly when trying to be frank? I mean, poor Frank.  I have an Uncle Frank, and I wonder if he has ever wished that phrase was changed to use the name Sally? Why don't we ever say,  I'm not sure how I feel about it all sal-laley? Or, To be sally, I just don't like you!! Hmm... Sally Doesn't really work now does it?

Speaking of not WORKING ,Again Barley Bambino Boo not working with me here! Can you see this attitude? It's like he's saying, yeah, I know I'm cute and you want to capture my greatness but good luck with that.
Also,  I would like to point out that another friend has ruined the phrase, "I'm not sure how I feel about that." He said, I'm pretty sure you do know how you feel about that, you know EXACTLY how you feel. And ya know what he's right.
So to be Frank, or Sally, let me just tell you how I really feel about a stranger showing up on my front door asking for a drink just a few days before Christmas .... At first I felt alarmed, and if it weren't for Barley I think I would still be feeling a little scared. Then, I feel deeply saddened by the world we live in. Her addiction reminds me of one of my new favorite phrases that I heard Beth Moore say on her video, "There is NO high, like the MOST HIGH"  Beloved reader that is SO the TRUTH! And finally, I feel grateful. Grateful that My Giant decided to give instead of be cynical. Grateful that we are in a place to give something, anything of those that ask. Grateful that I, and many of my family members have been delivered by the Grace of God from addictions, And Grateful for this guy.

Random Saturday Night Letters

Dear Summer 2012,
I will miss you. You were relaxing, mellow, and warm just the way a summer should be. With 41 dry days recorded here in the Seattle area, you were record breaking and  I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Dear MY Giant, Could you please refrain from answering business calls when we are on a date. The world will go on if you don't answer, I promise. I love you and You're HOT!

Dear Bella,

Could you please remember to not get any cuter, and naughtier at the same time.

I really don't understand how this is possible, but somehow you have managed to dupe us all these past six years. Also is it really true that you need sunscreen while you are laying out like this?

Dear Blog Link Ups

I am sorry I have failed you.

I will try to stay more consistent in the future.

Please, don't quit me.

Dear Flowers that grow along the road side,

There are no words to describe to you

how grateful this native born desert girl is grateful

for you. You fill my heart with joy, my life with pleasure.

Dear Blackberries,

Do you even know how happy I am that I can walk outside my front door, on any given Saturday morning and put YOU in my pancakes.

Nom. Nom.

Dear Butterfly,

You landed on my hat the other day while I was just sitting there enjoying another beach day. 

You made me think of my favorite movie,

You've Got Mail.

Hat+Butterfly= Quote From My Favorite Movie.

Dear Fab 4, 

You are growing up way too fast.

Please stop that.

Thanks for still indulging your mother in silly games like "Who can blow the biggest bubble?"

And I LOVE YOU.

If I Were Rich

I would pay to have a maid.
I would not pay to have a nanny.

I would pay to have my car washed.
I would not pay for someone to drive my car.

I would pay for someone to go grocery store shopping.
I would not pay for someone to cook.

I would pay for someone to handle all the designs on my social media's
I would not pay for someone to write for me.

I would pay for a fancy camera.
I would not pay for a photographer.

I would pay for my dogs to be groomed.
I would not pay for them to be exercised.

Now, I wonder what about you?

What would you pay for if you were Rich?

What wouldn't you pay for?

A Quote

I'd Like to Be as Good as My Dog thinks I am.

I am convinced that in my dogs eyes I can do wrong. They all love me unconditionally because I feed them, walk them, play ball with them and pet them. That's all they need to think

SHE IS GOOD.


As Rich as my kids think I'm.

I remember when my mom would say, "Do you think the money grows on trees?" There was a time that I thought it did. There was a moment when the rising cost of gas, a loaf of bread, and a gallon of milk meant nothing to me. Gone are the days. Still in my children's eyes...

I AM RICH.



And be as beautiful as my mother thinks I am.

This week when I was at bible study the ladies where talking about mothers day and of course about their own mothers. There were a couple of women who mentioned that the first thing to come out of their moms mouths, after not seeing them in a while was the fact that they had gained weight or what they were wearing. I spoke up and said, my mom is the complete opposite. She is the ultimate encourager. I jokingly said that it's like "Good job breathing, Good job walking, Good Job being YOU!" Every single time I am with her, I walk away feeling like a million bucks, and that I could conquer the world if I wanted to. Don't worry, I don't want to conquer the world. Don't know what I do with the world if I did conquer it, but that's a good question for another day. All that to say that in MY mothers eyes...

I AM BEAUTIFUL.

My next link up party for "Letters To My Pets" will be June 1st and will run a month long. Be sure to grab a button. Start writing your letter to your pets for the month of June :) and join me right back here in precisely 14 days.






<center><a href="http://www.noelsbeautifulife.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5mHkTAXMno1WijxiQWbk3mRSxy4hUxYwZrN4AYc0lbMan9lo6xyIo6n6qZsEjmOK400WVgkHvtG_8qPp61Mfwb-oF2Ce5YSvJdfb0MXQRWpy7dSZn4DBhZ_qhRA3L5_D0rT6/s400/letters+to+pet+4.jpg" /></a></center>

Love/Hate

While I was sweeping the floor for the ba-zillionath time today I thought of some LOVE/HATES that I would like to share with you all now. If you have a few minutes of reading time you can find more Love/Hate posts here;LOVE/HATE.
This LOVE/HATE post is dedicated to ; Barley, Bella, and Briot. My beloved 4 leggeds.


LOVE my dogs.

HATE sweeping up their fur coats everyday.
LOVE this little dog named Bella.

HATE that she has to stay leashed up outside because she runs away, while the other dogs get to run around and play.
LOVE living in the trees.

HATE all the mud,dirt, branches, gunk, that gets tracked in on a regular basis.
LOVE that I have a creek right outside my door where my dogs can go take a dip, or drink from when they are thirsty from playing fetch.

HATE that wet paws track through my house everyday. Well, on a good day I might think those wet paw prints are cute, but not after I just mopped the floor.

What are some of your love/hates? I'm interested to know, really I am.

Pictures

Big and Little Levi's make me happy :)

This is what Bella looks like when I tell her she's not TOP DOG!

Me and My Giant in the city that I love.

Umm... This boy, right here, He is his father's son.

Is there anything better than a silly boy who likes to pose in pictures to make the rest of the world smile?

Ahh, Well... maybe a big Giant boy and a little tiny dog is better than a silly boy. No, maybe they are both great.

You know what else is pretty great? A tree of guitars. I mean really, don't you think that is so cool? IF you come visit me I will take you to the tree of guitars. Yes, that was a bribe. I promise I'm good for it.

Newest member of the Scofield clan. The black dog. His given name is Riot. We have adopted him. He is superb. Even his tongue is black. Weird, but cool. We call him Briot, or Bryan, or Darkness, or....

A Boy and His Dog

A boy, and his dog.
One of life's precious treasures.
They run and they play,
One learns to read the other to stay.

A boy, and his dog.
Nothing could be more real.
The love that is shared between them
Is beyond the ideal.

A boy, and his dog.
Dark cold winter days, go faster.
One is called Buddy,
the other is Master.

A boy, and his dog.
Reminds us of what is good.
To be kinder, laugh louder,
Do what you know you should.

A boy, and his dog.
Together they swiftly go.
Running, and Jumping
Competing toe to toe.

A boy, and his dog.
Know not of pain and sorrow.
Their only care is when they
start all over tomorrow.

Snow

On Saturday we experienced the first snow of the winter season here in Washington. It was reported that it was going to start snowing on Sunday, and well... it came a day early. The news media made it sound as though this would be the Snow to End all Snow, as another friend called it "The Snow Apocalypse". We probably got about 5 inches here in Redmond. There is supposed to be another storm today, but meanwhile I can't get out of my driveway, mostly because of the mud, not the snow. And so I sit here with you, and blog.

It started out weak and I laughed in it's face. It then got angry. Big flakes began to fall.
And now, here I sit with snow all around. Trapped inside. We live at the top of a hill. The cool thing about that is that everyone comes up here to go sledding. The not so cool thing about that is that cars like to go sledding too. Even as I am typing this there is a cute little Honda that bless it's owners heart keeps slipping and sliding down my street trying to make it's way to the top. "I think I can, I think I can, Whoa... Slide..."I maybe think I might, I really want to"

Needless to say, we have cabin fever. To entertain ourselves, the Fab 4 and I, we have made countless bowls of snow ice cream, and Solomon just decided to get a little fancy and add coffee to his snow... and we were like this is the greatest thing ever! "Do you think we could sell this?" says, my lil 10 year old inventor. Giggle. His sisters then got involved in this great invention and I think the last recipe involved maple syrup, coffee, and peppermint syrup. This ain't no poor kids snow ice cream! And not to worry I made sure the snow was being collected from the tops of tables, we do have 2 dogs after all! But this does go to show how bored we have become. Variations of Snow Ice Cream, who ever heard of such a thing?

We have made a total of 3 Snowmen, Countless snow balls for snow ball fights, And we are pondering building an igloo.
I told we were going crazy up in here!
We are running out of milk, creamer for my coffee, cereal, and butter. If the olives start getting low, I will be walking to the store. What would you be willing to walk to the grocery store for in a snow storm? I want to know.

Barley is out of control in the cold white stuff. The first time we let him out in it, he ran back and forth all over the property like he was a wild cheetah just let loose from it's pen at the zoo. Which, if you could see how big this doggy is now, in comparison to how small our lil cabin is... this could just be his normal behavior. Hmm.. maybe I just hadn't noticed ? Truly it was the greatest sight to behold. I only wish I had it on video because he was OUT OF CONTROL! So, now we know, Barley loves snow.

The Boy who won't be photographed, in the midst of all the excitement of the snow, has also lost another tooth. It can't be seen in the above photograph, but because he was so excited about his invention of coffee ice cream, I managed to capture it here.

Emma made these beauties. Peanut Butter Cookies. My favorite. Did I mention I have been off sugar? Well, I am off sugar. Except Stevia in my coffee. It wasn't a new years thing... it was a I hate exercise, I am grossly overweight, my pants are way too snug and I refuse to shop at the Lane Bryant store, kind of thing. In support of my decision, my family in the past few weeks has decided to make homemade cake pops, my favorite cookies, buy cake vodka, and well, I just can't get over how supportive they all are. No really, I am not bitter about my decision.

This is how Bella has been spending her snow days.

Curled up to her Teddy Bear Barley, or

Laying near the fire place, like a frog. Oh the life of a dog. I envy them.
And now for a little fun. Here is a game of where's Waldo, I mean Isaiah?