simply rich...

Well, let's be honest, my focus has been everywhere BUT here this past month! I have been remiss in keeping my blog up-to-date. Life has been full, and rich, and full, and... well... full! :-) A couple of exciting developments to share:

I am now the proud owner of a new DSLR camera! I'd been saving for a while and decided it was time. I purchased a Canon Rebel XSi in early June and haven't really taken it out to play yet. But I will, oh, I certainly will!

The other MOST exciting news is from this past weekend... I had the pleasure of standing by my sister as she said her "I do" to her Love. It was a wonderful day starting off with a morning ceremony, followed by a luncheon then a house party later that night! I felt surrounded by Love, and Joy, and Friendship, and Laughter, and Beauty the entire day. So lovely!! CONGRATS Sis - you deserve every happiness...

sis & bro-in-law: photo by jag

jag & hubby: photo by sean zio

jag & sis: photo by sean zio

simply jag
xox

commitment...

"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life."

(seen on a Starbucks coffee cup: The Way I See It #76 - A. Morriss, Customer)

This past weekend, these two men inspired me to renew my commitment to running. Reinforced by the wisdom from an unlikely source (a disposable coffee cup?!), I've decided to register for a 15K race this coming August. Eeek! This is a huge leap for me and I'm still not sure I can do this... but then again, that's probably just the voice of fear parading around as rational hesitation. :-)

Special kudos & proud sentiments go out to Hubby who ran his marathon in 3:18:12, thereby qualifying him to run the Boston Marathon in 2010! If I feel like giving up, I can turn to him for inspiration - and a healthy dose of insanity...


simply jag
xox

beautiful tree...

I came home today to find Hubby - the marathon man - following along with a Rodney Yee yoga DVD. As I watched him do a tree pose, I was struck with how beautiful the scene was. Thanks to Picnik, I was able to salvage an otherwise technically poor shot.

simply jag xox

a simple realization...

"When we open our hearts to each other we allow grace to enter. It is as simple as that."

- Kathleen A. Brehony

Hubby's Aunt Gert turns 90 today. What grace! It occured to me that, should I live to be 90, this means I have not yet lived half of my life. I truly have a lifetime ahead of me!

This simple realization is both exciting and terrifying. :-) All I can hope is that I may be surrounded by family & friends, the way Aunt Gert was at her party this past weekend...

simply jag xox

a simple sunbeam...

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."
- Jane Howard

A late afternoon sunbeam bounced into my office on Friday and drew my attention to these two photos sitting by my desk. In an instant, I stopped what I was doing, looked at these photos, and smiled. My husband. My sister. The two most important people in my Life. My family.

I have a fairly large extended family spread out over several provinces. Whenever we get together for some kind of gathering, I'm always reminded of how much Love there is. Amidst all the dysfunction, always Love.

And these two are extra special to me. The husband I've picked twice. The sister I've loved since the day she was born. I'm grateful to this simple sunbeam for directing my focus - albeit just for a moment - to this family I love.

simply jag xox