A Week In Trials

So Friday or Saturday I had the brilliant idea to pray for specific traits that I would like to improve on - not that they were horribly lacking in any way... I prayed for opportunties to exercise this trait and to always remember why I prayed for these traits. One of these traits was patience. What I explained (hahaha...)to Heavenly Father in my prayers was something to the effect that I wanted to become more Christlike and, let's face it, I have room to improve, right?!

Sunday evening the pooky hit the fan.

A wonderful relative was found gossiping about me to another wonderful relavtive which started a wonderful (catching the sarcasm yet?) conversation with this second relative Monday morning.

Then another relative is annoyed (the only word that comes to mind) with me about some stupid, silly stuff on FB and de-friended me. Totally hurt my feelings and I am still completely confused and hurt about it. Thanks to my amazing little sister! She listened and encouraged me without stiring the pot of stinky viddles! She calmed me down and reassured me that all was well! Thanks You! I love you!

Christmas (all Holidays, rather) gets my down. So that on top of this has really kicked my booty and has me bummed out pretty good.



Had another brilliant idea - to pray and ask for understanding. That hasn't really come yet, so I asked for peace. I have teetered between hatred and a quiet calm... Ah, a test of my faith!

I hope I can let it be and those around me will...forgive or forget or whatever it takes to get our relationships (from whatever levels they had been) regain that ground and hopefully grow a bit, too.

A note, (a mom quote): "You can either be someone's burden or someone's blessing"
And a second note: "Be kind whenever possible. And it is always possible"

The Nutcraker

I am so excited! My dear baby sister drew my name for Christmas this year and decided (with an "ok" by me) to buy us tickets to go see The Nutcracker at the Julie Rogers Theatre!

I am too, too, too excited! I LOVE ballet (and often get make fun of because of it) and haven't been to a "real" (aka - professional) ballet since, like, elementary school.

Megz... I love you and cannot wait for this Saturday! Good seats and good company! I Love You!

da Vinci Codes?

Mona Lisa's Secrets: Hidden Animals
by: Christina Ng
Yahoo! News

Artist Ron Piccirillo claims he found the heads of a lion, an ape and a buffalo hovering in the air in the background of the Mona Lisa, after turning the painting on its side. (Photo Credit: Associated Press)

New York artist Ron Piccirillo is claiming to have unlocked the secrets behind one of the most mysterious faces in history - Mona Lisa.

Piccirillo argues that several animals can be seen hidden in the painting when it is set horizontally. The Rochester graphic designer and painter said a lion, ape and buffalo can be seen around Mona Lisa's head and a snake or crocodile is near her right shoulder.

The animals led Piccirillo to Leonardo da Vinci's journals and a few passages that mention the animals he sees.

"When I came across these answers, which I call the 'accidental discovery,' I wasn't seeking the information," Piccirillo told ABCNews.com. "I was just able to pull out a lot of puzzle pieces together that led me to the answers. It all came from Leonardo's writings."

One of the passages that references "her heart gnawed by a swelling serpent" also says, "Give her a leopard's skin, because this creature kills the lion out of envy and by deceit." Though the passage does not mention the "Mona Lisa" specifically, Piccirillo said he believes the references to the serpent and the lion lead back to the painting and back to the woman with the infamous smile.

Piccirillo said he believes that Mona Lisa was not an actual person, but, rather, symbolic of the human trait of envy. He also believes that his discovery will be important to an art community that has been puzzled by the painting for centuries.

"I was definitely aware of how big the impact would be in the art world," he said. "I knew it was going to be the biggest thing in 500 years."

Members of the art community do not necessarily agree with Piccirillo's sense of the importance of his discovery.

"I don't believe there's any reason to dwell on this particular theory," Brown University art history professor Evelyn Lincoln told ABCNews.com. "It doesn't help me understand the Mona Lisa to think of her as hiding iconographic symbols that are rather disconnected of envy."

Lincoln called the theory "problematic" and said that the interpretation may have more to do with the viewer than the painting itself. She pointed out that the image people are looking at is not the original painting and that even the original has been worn down by time, with crack and oil.

Lincoln also noted that da Vinci's journals themselves are fragmentary and were put back together after his death.

"The idea that we should be turning the painting upside down and around for an odd iconographic rendition of envy seems to be a personal obsession that this particular graphic artist seems to find in every painting he looks at," Lincoln said. "It's not my Mona Lisa."

Still, Piccirillo said he is confident in his assessment and his theory.

"I've been an artist all my life and always been aware of the mysteries of the Mona Lisa, but I was never that interested in it. I was more interested in the beauty of the art itself," he said. "But once you know what to look for, it's there."

>>>> What?! da Vinci painted animals in the Mona Lisa?! Holy Smokes! He's a madman!! Good gravy... cool article, though!

Finals Week

Ah...a bitter sweet time for all college attendees. NOT!!



Some are prepared and can't wait for it to be over with. Some are not prepared and can't wait for it to be over with. I'm a bit in the middle, hanging violently toward the prepared side. Thank goodness... I have no life and hardly anything to do, besides studying.

English 1301 - Took the Final today
History 1302 - Take it next Wendesday
Arts 1301 - Take it this Wednesday
Math 0330 - Take it next Wednesday

Makes for a semi-relaxing-time-to-fully-study-and-be-prepared for each test kinda next two weeks!

Let's get this party started!

Horse Folks

"I was drawn to horses as if they were magnets. It was in my blood. I must have inherited from my grandfather a genetic proclivity toward the equine species. Perhaps there's a quirk in the DNA that makes horse people different from everyone else, that instantly divides humanity into those who love horses and the others, who simply don't know.

"To be content, horse people need only a horse or, lacking that, someone else who loves horses with whom they can talk. It was always that way with my grandfather. He took me places just so we could see horses, be near them. We went to the circus and the rodeo at Madison Square Garden. We watched parades down Fifth Avenue. Finding a horse, real or imagined, was like finding a dab of magic potion that enlivened us both. Sometimes I'd tell my grandfather about all the horses in my elaborate dreams. He'd lean over, smile, and assure me that, one day, I'd have one for real. And if my grandfather, my Opa, told me something was going to come true, it always did."

By Dr. Allan J. Hamilton, in "Zen Mind, Zen Horse: The science and spirituality of working with horses" in America's Horse, December 2011 (AQHA publication).



The part that really sticks out to me is "Finding a horse, real or imagined, was like finding a dab of magic potion..."

Currently I have four horses and I'm 28 years old. I still try to break my neck, picking horse(s) from a herd of cows or being ridden on the side of the road.

Must be in my DNA...

"Its Time!"

(Just to quote from Twilight)

Saturday is the day I will take my dear nephew to see the movie!



Woo-Hoo for all of us!

Thanksgiving

I try not to linger too long on certain personal fads, just to catch myself from developing an unhealthy relationship with such truelly meaningless things. This one, I just cannot seem to let go of...



You may not be able to really tell, but this is Dr. House as a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon! How sweet is that?!


Yup...Seasonal! (Sorry! -But not really!)