Life's Duties

What we need is not new light, but new sight;

  not new paths, but new strength to walk in the old ones;
not new duties but new wisdom from on High to 
fulfill those that are plain before us.

I found the above quote in a daily desk calendar of quotes that I have sitting next to my coffee pot. If you know me well it's not surprising that I have a desk calendar of quotes next to my coffee pot, because I LOVE QUOTES. This quote, it doesn't have a person that I can give credit to for saying it, so that kind of sucks, but it's still a great quote none the less don't cha think?
Now of course if you are a Nacho Libre fan the first word in this quote that stood out to you is "duties." "Lunch making duties" "Dead guy duties" But, if you have no idea what I'm talking about then, hurry quick go watch Nacho Libre already, and then second let's move on to the real point of this post.

 That quote up there reminds me of one of my favorite words Tenacious or Tenacity.  So if you want to skip the rest of this long post then take this tip and go on your merry way;   "There are things in this life that sometimes need a tenacious attitude. Like marriage, exercise, gardens, careers, and raising children. But if you work hard and long enough the end result will be a beautiful garden of life." Noël ~  That quote belongs to me.  Don't go claiming it for yourself. 
But if you want to know more about why Tenacity is a favorite word, then here ya go;
 I first fell in love with the word tenacious when My Uncle Frank gave me some of the best marital advice that has ever been given. Before My Giant and I got married my Uncle Gene went around video taping different family and friends to ask what they wanted to say about marriage or just what they wanted to say to Moses and I before we tied the big knot. Btw- This is quite entertaining to revisit many years later, but that's besides the point.  So, My Uncle Frank on this tape said in a very East Coast Bostonian accent,  "What you need to have for a good marriage is T-e-n-a-c-i-t-y. " Say that word with an East Coast accent if you can, it won't disappoint you. Really exaggerate on the a-c-i-t-y part ;) for the full affect. Now, I have to say this pearl of wisdom from good Ol' Uncle Frank has really stuck with me all these years, and it was the beginning of my love for the word Tenacious.  Yes, I am in love with the word Tenacious. I really do love all things Tenacious. Tenacious children are a challenge. Tenacious weeds are a mountain to be conquered. And well, Tenacious D how can you not love music+ Jack Black? The guy is just one big ball of fun.

Another reason I love the word tenacious is for it's definition. Webster's defines tenacious as ; A- not easily pulled apart B-tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance C-persistent in maintaining, adhering to or seeking something valued or desired. I really want to point out the words in there that are key to my point here that I am going to make I promise. Words like cling, adhere, and maintain are so important in this life. My sister Jen once said, "Life is about maintenance" and I gotta tell ya in the exercise department no truer words have been spoken. Can I get a witness? But in the marriage and relationship department this is true also. Every day we make choices about what we will give our heart and soul to. Whether it's our jobs, our kids, our pets, our hobbies we give our time and attention to what we love.  We maintain what we love. We cling to what we love. We value what we love.
So whatever the reason you might need this word today or that above quote let me leave you with this;
stick with it hang on don't give up be tenacious  love the one your with stand by your man be patient good things come to those who wait and Don't forget your duties ; )

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>

Dolly Parton

“Find out who you are, then do it on purpose”~Dolly Parton

I am not a huge Dolly Parton fan. It's not that I have anything against her or anything. I loved the movie 9 to 5 when I was kid, and listening to her sing with Kenny Rogers, and her speaking voice is just so cute. But if I am being honest I always kind of watch her with an open mouth gapping in wonder of... well... her... don't make me spell it out for you. Moving ON!

I saw this quote a while back though, and I thought right on! No, it was more like, RIGHT ON DOLLY!

Because say what you will about the woman that above quote is so good. Really I would venture to say it's a big part of what this life is all about.
Finding our unique gifts and talents and then "doing it" on purpose.

As I am inching closer and closer to my 40's I can really identify with this quote because I have stopped trying to be anyone else but myself. I remember talking to an older mom in church one morning a long time ago and she was saying she never cussed as much in her life until she hit her 40's. It was at that moment I knew my 40's would be my favorite! And, it was also at that moment that I longed for what she had. A good sense of self. I'm not there yet, but as I'm getting closer it's kind of exciting. I realized recently upon moving here, that there are things that I would have changed about myself because it would have made someone else feel better, or more comfortable, or honestly I would have felt better. I'm not changing those things, and I don't care to. Does that make any sense? If yes then you are probably "doing it on purpose". If not then you are still are probably "finding out who you are."


Now I know there are some of you right now, that are either boys, or you were raised by boys(ahem.. Shontelly, or you have been married to a boy and he has taken over your brain and you find that you can't move on from her bosom to get to what came out of her mouth. And you read the above quote like this... Ya da Ya da Ya DA , DO IT on purpose!!

Ok I'm sorry. That wasn't nice to poke fun of my male readers, or readers that were raised by males. Shoot! I stumped you again by saying Poke!

Dag nab it! I better just stop while I'm ahead and try to make some kind of point here.

Ahh.. Hell Forget It! See what you did now you made me cuss!

Sorry Dolly, I tried to do right by you, but ya know you make it kind of hard.
Also Dolly, if you are reading this, I want you to know finding a picture of you that wasn't so disturbing in the upper chest area was very difficult to do. Frankly, after looking upon many images to represent you well my own chest began to hurt.

I really did just want to repeat that quote.

Ok carry on.