Juicy Dreaming Diva

The way I feel tonight!

Solitude...friend or foe?

She sat there, next to us at the oilcloth covered table, alone.  I studied her carefully.  By appearance, she almost blended into the Diner's decor.  Her hair was peppered with grey and black strands that lay flatly, in the shape of a closely cropped bob.  She wore tiny diamond stud earrings and a crisply ironed pastel shirt, over the top of a grey t-shirt, that read "Mystic, Connecticut".   Her eyebrows were dark and overgrown a bit and she looked as though make-up was of little interest to her.   I figured that she must be in well into her 60's and wondered if maybe she was waiting on someone to join her.  A husband, a friend, a daughter or son?   But after a few minutes, I could see that she was very much alone and there would be no one coming.   

My table was identical to hers in its design, but very different in that it was filled by my husband, our one year old son, and myself.   The sounds of his baby babble, more than filled the air, in short vibrant bursts that I was completely unable to control.  Embarrassed by the contrast of his voice and the quietness of the Diner, I repeatedly look up at the woman to see if perhaps the noise was irritating her.   It wasn't.   A few times she actually shot a brief and shy smile in the direction of the baby.   But for the most part, she simply looked uncomfortable by her own solitude.   

I watched as she stared off into the distance. At times, she shifted in her seat, and refocused on the coffee cup that rested between her hands.   At other times, she seemed to be reading the black and white advertisements that were printed on the paper placemat in front of her.  In an apparent effort to avoid the lack of conversation available to her, she pulled open her purse and seemed to dig through it for nothing in particular.   When the waitress arrived at her table carrying her order, the woman rapidly tossed the contents back, deep into the purse.  She seemed relieved by the sudden distraction.   

There it was...in the Photo...a Valentine from God!

What you're about to read and see is so strange that we could barely believe it ourselves.  Strange, yes.  But completely true!

The day before Valentine's Day, our area was hit with a nice chunk of a snow and ice storm.   My husband was home from work to avoid the slick commuting conditions and was busy with the baby in our livingroom, while I wrote THIS Valentine's post called, "Feeling the love baby, feeling the Love".   As I came out of the office, I was talking about the happy feeling that I had regarding the love notes that would come my way on Valentine's Day.   And rather mid-conversation, I happened to look out the window behind my husband and I saw this:


I stopped talking and turned my head.  Which caught my husbands attention and he turned to look out the window too.  We both stood there for a few seconds in silence.   And I said, "Honey, did someone put a heart in our trash can?"   He only replied, "What?"  And then moved in closer.

"Honey, look inside the overturned trash can...does that look like a heart?"

He stared at it too for a moment and then said..."What IS that?"  We tilted our heads a bit and kept staring, in a state of bewildered amusement.

How did it get there?  What was it exactly?  Who would put a heart in our trash can?  How did they get it on the white snow inside the can without leaving any footprints around the can?  It was aimed right toward the window.  Was it left by a friend?   Impossible!

Suddenly, I shot a glance back at my husband and said rather loudly, "Honey, I think we just got a Valentine from God!"  To which he paused, smiled broadly and said..."You know, you might be right."

And a feeling I can not explain flooded through my entire body.

So I ran into the office, grabbed the telephone lens and got closer...











Its is clearly a heart.   One precious heart.







and then closer still...

Now here's the thing.   When the storm hit our area, this can was standing up straight and my husband had tossed a Tide Detergent container into the can....and somewhere in the storm, it tipped over right toward our house.  But the snow stayed on the container, just as it had landed.   Think about that for a moment.   We all know how slick plastic is.  As the can landed on its side, the snow should have slid right off the container, but it didn't.  Tell me, how a perfect heart remained like this.  It was right there, like a focal point waiting to be seen...a Valentine waiting just for us.

My husband and I are Christians and we believe in Jesus Christ and His amazing gift of life!  And we believe that believing in Him, doesn't mean we are supposed to live in a "holy-haze" aka boring and artifical life (as my good friend Kim said recently to a crowd).  It says in the Bible that Jesus came so that we could live an Abundant life!  We believe that God has an amazing sense of humor...that He must laugh a whole lot.  And I think He loves us enough to send us surprises like beautiful Valentine hearts...just to remind us, "I love you so much kid!".   Today I tell you this story because we got a Valentine from God.   And there isn't anyone I would rather have a love note from anywhere!   

So there you have it.   Our crazy story...from our Fabulous Father God!

(feeling amazed and so grateful to know this FUN God and Father in heaven!)

Who else wants to start a fire on Valentine's day?

Darlings, darlings, darlings,

I am wishing you all a wonderfully happy Valentine's Day!  In honor of every juicy woman alive today, I am about to bring you a whole lot of JUICE for your passionate hearts...   

All the way from...Canada... let's hear it for Michael...Buble!  (Eh hm, um...hello...this is where you push play babycakes!  Come on...get your juicy self all fired up...start that fever..)

Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S.  COMING SOON:  Wait till you see the photos in the next blog post!  OH MY WORD its crazy.  Crazy I tell ya! You'll never believe this. 

(Feeling giddy with excitement...ITS VALENTINE's Day!  I LOVE Valentine's Day!)

Feelin the love baby...feelin the love!

Valentine's...Valentine's...how I just love Valentine's! My happy love fest with Valentine's day goes all the way back to first grade.

I remember the special Valentine's Day mailbox that my teacher, Mrs. T, made us.  It was delicately covered with pretty lacy doilies and paper hearts made from the sheerest paper pieces in shades of red and pink.  There was only one opening at the top.  It was a small rectangular slit, made just the right size for pocket-sized Valentine's day cards.   

The week before Valentine's day, the mailbox was placed in its place of honor - the heart of the room. Immediately there was a buzz and a whirlwind of activity.  The mailbox was open for business!

Every day, some little girl or boy, including myself, dropped no less than a fist full of enchanting cards and notes inside.  And as every generous bit of affection in writing *swooshed* its way through the slit and tumbled into the other cards, it felt as if there were sprinkles of magic released in the air! 

"Ohhh, I wonder if that one was for me?"   was the question that consumed me for days.

And for some reason, it always gave me a little extra pleasure to see the love notes that were actually tucked into little white envelops.  White envelopes felt so official - so very grown up!  Afterall, how many first graders receive real letters in envelopes? 

On Valentine's day, Mrs. T walked to the box and carefully opened it in front of the class.   It was so full that when the lid was removed, the cards burst onto the table like fireworks!   My heart skipped four beats and I could barely sit in my chair.  Carefully, Mrs. T spent the next few minutes doing something that resembled torture to my brain.   She sorted.   For over 20 students, Mrs. T sorted the cards into piles.  A pile for James, a pile for Ann, a pile for Beth and so on. 

And then she was ready.  (Drum roll please)

I watched as she picked up the first stack of cards and read the name out loud.  It wasn't for me.  My heart tumbled.  She read again.  Nope, not for me either.  My shoulders slumped.   Then suddenly, just when it seemed that everyone but me had a luscious stack of cards in his or her possession...she said calmly,  "And this one is for Jennifer." 

You would have thought that I was up for an Oscar award, as I lept out of my chair and plunged forward.  It was not at all like a graceful dancer...but more like a bear ravaged with hunger, who has just stumbled on a campers stash of food.   I was only able to focus on the little pile of goodness in Mrs. T's hands...nothing else mattered..nothing at all!

As I grasped the pile of precious Valentine's, I instantly felt like a queen.   I ripped open every card with delight and began feeling very warm inside.   I had received charming little notes that said, "I love you!"  and "Be Mine"  and "Happy Valentine's Day" and even one that read, "You are my best friend!, with love Naomi".    I knew I was loved...it was right there in red and pink card paper! 

I wish it was that way still for everyone!  As adults, it is easy to be cynical about love notes in a way that children can not be.   Adults have been hurt by love and crushed by the lack of loving words given to them.   The scars can cover up that old desire we had when we were young, that made us JUMP up and grab a fist full of love notes.   But it is still in there!  We all want Valentine's if we're being completely honest.  Don't you?

Last night, I received an Valentine's email, from Posh Mama!  (She has one HOT website! And has created a network for women that makes your head swim with possibilities!  Posh, posh, posh!  I absolutely love being a part of her JUICY creation).   When I opened her email, I had no idea what it was exactly... because she didn't tell me.  Don'tcha just love surprises!?   But when I opened it up, this is what I found:

Instantly, I was flung back to first grade!  Look at this - I got a Valentine!  A lovely, scrumptious Valentine from Posh Mama!   Right now, I am not an adult...I am a just a first grader, excited and full of anticipation  about the little words of love coming my way! 

I'll bet you feel it too!   So can I be the first to write you a love note and send you this?

Happy Valentine's Day to you my Juicy friends...(even if you are lurking and refuse to leave a comment ever) - you are indeed loved!

(simply feeling the loooooove baby! feelin the love!)

Living in the Red

I adore the "perfect shade of Red".   Yes, I know, hard to believe as you move around my blog, right?  Red in and on everything, makes me feel full of joy inside and sends goosebumps down my spine on the outside.   Red handbags, red toenail polish, red plates, red cups, red blankets, red lampshades...oh its all so delicious that even as I write this, I can hardly contain myself!

But I didn't always feel this way.  In fact, I was color-less for far too many years of my life.    Yes, truly.   I would walk into another person's space, of someone who shared their own love stories with all sorts of bright defiant colors and I would admire these colorful people thoughtfully.  Still, I remained without a color that spoke my name.  So I stayed color-less, for years.

One day, as I was in the heat of working my way out of a very painful divorce, I thought to myself, if I make it through this...I will do something BOLD.   I will do it loudly.   And, as if a thought bubble was shot smack into the center of my brain, it came to me.

 I will boldly wear something in the perfect shade of red.   

Why it was this thought, I truly have no idea.   But when I made it through, as most people eventually do, I sent myself out to shop.      

Afraid that I would make a fool of myself by wearing something so very vibrant, in public, I shopped nervously through store after store.   But it began to settle in that I loved a particular shade of red with a heart-pounding intensity.    It was a velvety deep red that reminded me of luxury and charm.   It wasn't too orange.   It wasn't too blue.   It was perfectly rich with a deep boldness that was far too ideal for me to overlook.   Just staring at the deep crimson, somehow made me feel a tingle from my head to my toes.   Armed with this frisky bit of knowledge, I purchased and bagged up a flouncy new red blouse and the sweetest, flirty little red shoes I'd ever seen.

Walking to my car, I found myself profoundly happy.   The feeling pulsated through my entire body and lit up my face in a way that I had never experienced before.   It was thrilling!  It was magical.  And it was red.

When I arrived home, I rushed to put on the little blouse, a pair of sliming black capris...and then slid into the new itty-bitty red Mary Janes.    I stood there in the mirror, turning to the left, then the right.  Then I returned to the center.  Gazing at the reflection, I realized, red excited me!   It enraptured me in a new and deeply authentic way.   I was daring with my smart new red shoes.  I was living out loud!   

Without warning, this inspired me with desires to change my hair and to hunt down an exceptional lipstick in the perfect shade of red.   So I spoiled myself with a plucky new haircut and scoured my town for that perfect shade of lipstick.   The feeling was palpable.  I was incredibly free.  And it occurred to me that I was a new girl.   I had become color-full.   Who knew that a color would have such a measurable affect on a person?   

My love affair with the perfect shade of red has only intensified from that time forward.  I no longer fear shopping for red.  Instead, I crave it, like a child craves the taste of homemade strawberry ice cream on a hot August day.    I view the textures and shades of red, as if they are new parts of myself yet undiscovered.   And generously, I fling my arms open to enclose them, sort them and seek new finds.   

My home is splashed with shades of rich vibrant red.   And I am inspired.  Red seems to cover me and warms my soul.   Everyday,  it encouragingly shouts,

    "Here I am.   I am alive!  And I am living out loud!"
 
And with me giggling on Red's arm,  I share in its revelry.  
I will not out grow this passion I have come to find.   I will only share it!  And I will say to all those I know - I have lived color-less and I have lived color-rich.  Don't wait too long.  Take the color wheel of your life.   Spin it.   And let  your pulse tell you where to go.   Make a choice to live in color.  You may never be the same again.

(feeling full of passion...full of color...fully alive!)