i moved!!!

ok, so i didn't actually move...as in moving house. i'm just moving webpages. for me, just as fun though! :-)

i've decided that i am going to continue blogging but feel that i need a new page, a new name and a new look. i enjoy writing and exploring my thoughts through my blog and hope you all continue to join me!

if you want to stay with me, please change your links, shortcuts or bookmarks to my new blog called "sans map".

you can find me here: www.sansmap.wordpress.com

and just as i like to mix french and english in life, my new blog name is just that. sans in french means without. and map, well, no explanation needed.

please bear with me as i move everything over...i still have to setup e-mail notifications, make some formatting changes, etc. as always, it's a work in progress.

see you over there!!!!

turning the pages

i bit the bullet and am officially going for it. i bought 3 books from amazon today as my first step.

these are 3 books that have been sitting in my amazon.com wishlist for too long.

for those of you with amazon.com wishlists, you know what i mean. you want the books, but maybe not right now.....need time to think about it, or just dreaming of having more books and click the little 'add to wishlist' button - forever saved in the list? (can you see me smiling from there? more books!!!)

are you dying to know what i got? can't stand the anticipation? (or are you just wishing that you knew the contents of my wishlist? hmmm....the curiosity!)

perhaps you are thinking that i got yet another book about the south of france or something in french, (my favorite topics), or a witty novel? a book about running, knitting or making soap? maybe even on gardening or something 'green'?

nope, nope and nope.

you know that one game, 'getting hotter'...'colder', 'getting warmer'.
well, you're very cold. freezing even.

i bought study guides. 3 of them. and i sure hope they help.

i am taking the GRE general test for admission into graduate school.

(now i know you can see me smiling from there...)

why should i only dream, hope or wait when i can do, accomplish and achieve?

i am turning the pages of my own story...a new chapter, perhaps a true beginning? stick with me to see what happens next...

......hmmmm, the curiosity...

go green ! !

you may be confused by this title, me being a spartan and all.

truth is, i don't even own anything anymore that even mentions michigan state. or the spartans. and i don't bleed green. (i think i heard your gasp from here...)

what i do want to talk about is about BEING green. not bleeding, or wearing or shouting green.

image by lisa wood, 2009

courtesy of www.associatedcontent.com

and i want to hear from you.

what do you do to help the environment? what part do you play in reducing, reusing and recycling?

share some pride about what you do to help mother earth by letting everyone know what you do, big or small. you may even give someone else a fabulous idea, or inspire them to do the same!!

leave your thoughts in the comments box by clicking on 'comments' below this post....be the first to start the discussion!

we can all make a difference!

reduce, reuse, recycle....
lower consumption, lower emissions, lower greenhouse gasses

i know i'm doing my part to help :-)

no map

inspiration comes in many forms. sometimes it may even literally be handed to you.

the new name of my blog came as inspiration, on my behalf, to my talented sister. she always has good advice....and is unrelentingly supportive, i thank you a million times over.

so as i turn a new page, a new chapter, i will think of her kind words:

"may the map you follow continue to be uncharted"

our lives aren't already mapped out for us....we must make our own.

no map.

in the eye of the beholder...

two full weeks have passed since i tearfully left the magnificent south of france. i almost had to be pushed onto the plane. dragging heels, frown and a pit in my stomach.

almost 6 months living, experiencing, taking in the wonderful life of the french; it's significant. perhaps life changing...

i truly do believe that there is beauty all around us, no matter where we go. i will make that beauty apparent, live it, breathe it...or chase it if it flutters too far away....

in my temporary suburban dwelling, this beauty i speak of is oftentimes clouded by life's many tragic distractions. i won't let that stop me though. perhaps i can even help others to see it too...

everything is in the eye of the beholder. you just have to look. if you don't see it at first, look again. i promise it's there.



in my first real attempt to actually grow something edible, renewable, to soothe my conscious, we started a pseudo-garden on the back deck. it's small, somewhat amateur, i admit.

we have delectable vine tomatoes, fragrant basil, thyme and rosemary. ohhh, the scents! i wait with child-like anticipation the day i can sink my teeth into a juicy tomato; the beginning lives of my tomatoes below....


i thank you all, loyal readers, for riding along with me thus far. i think i have gotten used to having you here, listening and reading.

it's like a gentle push forward, a reassuring nudge into the unknown. we are all always moving forward, and isn't it nice to have people come along?


beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

i know you see it too....

au revoir, for now.....

after 5 months in what i can only describe as paradise, tomorrow marks my last day. we fly out at noon...

in the midst of hundreds of workers scrambling to setup the stages, tents and advertising screens for the infamous cannes film festival....david and i took our last walk along the croisette...for now.

the daily habits, food, sights and sounds of this lovely place will be missed. ever-present in my mind, the experience of being here for such a time pushes me forward on to new and exciting things.

i can only say thank you, lovely south of france. thank you for all of your beauty.

merci infiniment.

au revoir, for now.....




stick with me, my friends, to see what happens next....what beauty i will find in my next location, wherever that may be.....

could be here or there...

can i merge here with there and not have to bother? best of both worlds?

wish things were that easy, right?

in my head, i tend to justify things accordingly. and it's not like i can change every little aspect of life. it keeps me moving forward and i'm happy about it.

for me, standing still is no way to live....but moving forward is. evolving, growing, learning, extending beyond my comfort zone....

like an old friend that sticks by my side no matter what, i have this inventory of memories and experiences that keep building up, over time - catching me when i fall, and lifting me up when i'm down.....

and for all of that i am thankful, grateful and consider myself one lucky gal.

it is said that cats have 9 lives. i think we can too.
(although let's hope far less dramatic than the old saying goes...)

i think it's okay to go where the wind takes you....
so far i like it's path,

could be here or there...