Showing posts with label see love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label see love. Show all posts
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Photo Essay - Spring Sprung
This time of year bees, butterflies, (chocking hazards on the bike - haha!) and beetles are buzzing around everywhere to announce the arrival of Spring. These two cities (Tours and Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire) are in full bloom right now. This photo essay represents the best I could do at capturing this seasonal beauty. The pictures come from my backyard, the flower market, and random walks and rides around town. Highlights include poppies growing out of stony roadside walls, a sunset behind the gym, and a twenty foot guard dog. Haha - Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Sunday, November 3, 2013
A Very Very Un-Scarey Halloween
Halloween came and went here without much excitement at all. Our practice was cancelled that night, so I went to the gym to workout and on my way back home I spotted one trick-or-treater who, from what I could gather, was being asked by a kind old lady to wait on the sidewalk while she searched in her house for a piece of candy. I just kept riding, laughing to myself a little, imagining her dumping out her purse on her kitchen table, turning wool sweater pockets inside out, eventually getting out a flashlight, and finding a year old candy bar in her basement. Poor kid.
The remaining bike ride home from the gym also produced one haunted house sighting. A neighbor decorated inside and out for what looked like a Halloween party with a mostly invisible attendance (but that could've just been my mind playing tricks on me). Haha! All in all, it was a most uneventful evening: no costumes, no gunshots, no stabbings, no drunk adults roaming the streets in ripped stockings, no zombies, no screaming until 3am, no sirens... Why is this list making me miss home??? :)
With Halloween grossly overlooked, I thought November would come equally quietly, but I was wrong. Overnight, the cemetery around the corner from where I live turned into a botanical garden of chrysanthemums. It was a Halloween miracle! I wish I could've taken before and after photos because it was such a beautiful thing to see almost every grave come to life with bright autumn hues - magenta, pink, yellow, orange, and purple - leaving this previously gray and gloomy plot of land just bursting with color.
After asking around and a little googling, I found out that in France Friday, November 1st is All Saints Day (Toussaint) and Saturday, November 2nd is the Day of the Dead (Jour des Morts). These holidays are marked by the distinct ritual of honoring the graves of deceased family members. Apparently on this day more than 22 million chrysanthemums (94% of total annual sales) are sold in France alone. What a beautiful tradition!
The remaining bike ride home from the gym also produced one haunted house sighting. A neighbor decorated inside and out for what looked like a Halloween party with a mostly invisible attendance (but that could've just been my mind playing tricks on me). Haha! All in all, it was a most uneventful evening: no costumes, no gunshots, no stabbings, no drunk adults roaming the streets in ripped stockings, no zombies, no screaming until 3am, no sirens... Why is this list making me miss home??? :)
With Halloween grossly overlooked, I thought November would come equally quietly, but I was wrong. Overnight, the cemetery around the corner from where I live turned into a botanical garden of chrysanthemums. It was a Halloween miracle! I wish I could've taken before and after photos because it was such a beautiful thing to see almost every grave come to life with bright autumn hues - magenta, pink, yellow, orange, and purple - leaving this previously gray and gloomy plot of land just bursting with color.
After asking around and a little googling, I found out that in France Friday, November 1st is All Saints Day (Toussaint) and Saturday, November 2nd is the Day of the Dead (Jour des Morts). These holidays are marked by the distinct ritual of honoring the graves of deceased family members. Apparently on this day more than 22 million chrysanthemums (94% of total annual sales) are sold in France alone. What a beautiful tradition!
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
What Does It Mean to Be Devoted?
Sitting here at 3am all packed up and ready to leave for SFO...
Volleyball has been what wakes me up in the morning (and what keeps me up at night) for a while now (mostly because of sore muscles - haha!), but lately, I've been contemplating what it means to really be devoted to something... I mean really, really devoted - to the point where you would sacrifice just about anything to get what you're after.
So, that is why I'm sharing the dictionary.com definition of devotion below:
*Check out superdevotion (awesome!) and "see love" at the end! Haha... :)
de·vo·tion
[dih-voh-shuhn]
noun
1.
profound dedication; consecration.
2.
earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc.
3.
an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc.: thedevotion of one's wealth and time to scientific advancement.
4.
Often, devotions. Ecclesiastical . religious observance orworship; a form of prayer or worship for special use.
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English devocioun (< Anglo-French ) < Late Latindēvōtiōn- (stem of dēvōtiō ), equivalent to Latin dēvōt ( us ) (seedevote) + -iōn- -ion
1150–1200; Middle English devocioun (< Anglo-French ) < Late Latindēvōtiōn- (stem of dēvōtiō ), equivalent to Latin dēvōt ( us ) (seedevote) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
pre·de·vo·tion, noun
su·per·de·vo·tion, noun
Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/devotion 07/30/13 9:54AM
Volleyball is why I strive to be a better person. When I decided to pursure my dream to play volleyball professionally *with devotion*, so many positive changes in my life were just waiting for me... As I'm writing this I'm realizing how cheesy this probably sounds to most of you, but I really believe this! Whatever that thing is for you, just decide today that you'll be devoted to that and see what positive changes are waiting for you!
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