Leave the gun Take the cupcakes

Finished reading The Godfather by Mario Puzo. Read it in one day-couldn't put it down. Violent, yes...but AMAZING storytelling. My only disappointment: Nowhere in the book does he write this favorite quote:

What a Cupcake!- Audrey Part 2

So sweet! Hepburn plays Arienne, a young Parisian iguene whose father is a private investigator. She secretly reads his files and romantically fantasizes about his cases~specifically his most recent: following an American gigilo! This is a very simple, very sweet story: an innocent girl's version of Pretty Woman. Loved it!

What a Cupcake! Audrey: Part 1

Just a few words....Hepburn won an Academy Award in 1953 for

Best Actress-which she earned, she was amazing!- and Gregory

Peck is my new hot crush.

WATCH IT!! 'Nuff said.

A Cupcake Does Yoga

Today was Day 3 of Yoga Camp...I mean, Yoga Teacher Training! Parts of my body are singing the Halleujah Chorus, but it is so gratifying to be stretching those muscles.

In case it is hard to keep up, I switched from visiting Discovery Yoga in St. Augustine, Florida for my training to Porter's Neck Yoga & Spa a little closer to home (check me out in the orange! Ha!) The Major liked the idea of keeping me closer for the duration-and this is where I have been taking classes, so it seemed like a good fit!

There is a lot about yogic philosophy that I find curious~not all of it do I find agrees with my own views. But all of it I find interesting! My lovely and vivacious instructor, Kas, is making every moment full of newness and energy. Tomorrow we participate in a class called Yogalicious....can it get any more fun than that?!

33. Make 1000 Origami Cranes

I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world. ~Sadako Sasaki

The most common response people give me when they find out making 1000 origami cranes is on my Cupcake List is "WHY?" Intrestingly enough, I'm not entirely sure. When I first included it, I knew that I wanted to learn some origami, and that folding 1000 cranes had some special significance...and it would be a specific goal, as opposed to something like 'Learn origami'.

But to try to answer the WHY question a little more thoroughly for myself, I started digging around on the internet (in between folding cranes) to find out more about the subject. I found some interesting things.

First, there is limited explanation about the significance. A few websites provide some history about origami in general(ThinkQuest) and a few more give some words on the significance of the crane (Wikipedia, Lisa Shea) which stands for for honor and loyalty. As for the magic number of 1000, folklore says that the person who makes 1000 paper cranes will be granted one wish.

The most popular story along this line is a true one entitled Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr (which needs to go on my next reading list), in which the heroine, a young girl, contracted leukemia after the bombing of Hiroshima. On her deathbed she determined to make 1000 paper cranes with a wish to live. Sadly, she did not complete the cranes prior to her death-her family & friends finished them for her. Her story became a symbol of world peace. These days, 1000 paper cranes are made and placed in temples & shrines as a prayer for peace all around the world, as well as made and given to those who are sick as a symbol of home or as a wedding gift of luck and long life for the newly married.

So does this enlighten me as to why I wanted to make 1000 origami cranes? Not really~I probably have to stick with my original explanation, lame though it may be. However, the cranes as a symbol of peace really does speak to me. Who couldn't use a little more peace in their life? The one website that I discovered that affirmed this small notion was Sandy and the 1000 Paper Cranes. Her mission is to make 1000 paper cranes, add an encouraging word to each and 'release' them into the world (ie: leave them as many places as she can for others to find and be uplifted). Then she blogs about it. How great is that!? Not to mention a great way to use some of my cranes (much to the Major's relief).

In case you are curious, or possibly inspired, here is how I learned to make a crane: (I had to stop the video a few times to get it right...)

So my real question now is what am I going to do with all of my cranes? (72 as of this writing) A little help?! Suggestions? Anyone? Anyone?

16. Watch Gone With the Wind (start to finish!)

I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.

~Scarlett O'Hara

Finally...All four hours of it. Watched. You would have thought I was scheduling a root canal the way I kept putting it off!

I had seen parts of it before-the entire first half, I believe-one time in college. But never the entire film. The version that I rented was in color...definitely an improvement over the B&W. Really, when you consider that the film was made in 1939, the effects are impressive and the scenery, well- I'm a southern girl, so we'll just say it was lovely (at least until Sherman burned it all to a crisp).

What can I say...it was wonderful. Time-consuming, but worth it! Very like the novel, which meant that Scarlett alternately infuriated and impressed me. She is so spoiled and manipulative, but she is so strong and self-sufficient. And now I am going to be forced into reading the authorized sequel written by Alexandra Ripley in 1991, Scarlett, which my dear friend says is a great story (not quite up to the first, but what could you expect?!).

The Major even watched the entire film with me, for you doubters...and said it was worth his time (at least the once)! After all, it did win multiple Academy Awards in 1939: Vivian Leigh for Best Actress, Hattie McDaniel (Mammy) for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Screenplay AND Best Picture. And in 1989 it was voted Favorite All-Time Motion Picture at the People's Choice Awards (people's choice, hello?!). So apparently the "People" think it is a great movie. And so did I.

Should you need any further persuasion to add it to your Netflix queue, here is a preview:

Now go on...the next rainy day that comes around, grab a blankie and curl up to an amazing story of the Old South....

I promise it will be worth it!

38. Buy a cow (or goat, or sheep) for Christmas

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

A few years ago I received my first Heifer International catalog in the mail at Christmastime. The 65-year old organization solicits donations for the purchase of providing livestock and crops to people in areas of need, along with the appropriate training and education necessary for the recipients to use their gift successfully. The recipient is also charged with Passing on the Gift (one of the 12 Cornerstones of Heifer's philosophy) by donating in turn an offspring of their gift to another needy person.

I think what really touched me about this type of charity is that one of the primary goals is enabling needy people to become more self-sufficient. Giving is one of life's greatest joys-but giving with the knowledge that your gift will not only meet a need of the moment, but provide an individual with the opportunity to help themselves and their family for the future-that is an even GREATER gift. The old idea of 'Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.'

Now I know that there are a lot of folks around that would argue that these types of organizations are not really helping the people that are in need....animals are not a truly sustainable way of providing for the future and will eventually just be killed for food, etc., etc., etc. Or that the organization is not being run efficiently enough: too many dollars going to the cost of administration and solicitation and not enough to the actual charity. (I read stuff online, too, you know.)

To these arguments I say this: Valid points, all....And, 1. There is always a down side to every good idea (good ideas rarely being perfect), and 2. How many of us would give to an organization without those handy brochures and catalogs they send out? Now there are some that would. And Bravo to them! (No, really.) But most of us, myself at the top of the list, are just not that aware unless a colorful flyer crosses our path (preferably right under our nose) and gets us thinking about it. Painful truth, but true nonetheless.

So despite all the valid questions about this or that, I decided to just GIVE. I like the idea of helping people to help themselves (see above). And my goat, sheep and flock of baby chicks might just change someone's life somewhere. There is the literal, factual account of where all the pennies go, and then there is the prayer that goes with them of a better life for someone else in the world that has far less than I. Without ignoring the pennies, I put a lot of stock in the prayer portion of that equation: isn't that what giving this way is really about?

There are a thousand perfectly reasonable excuses NOT to give part of all that we have...the real challenge is to find our one reason to go ahead and give anyway.