...Beautiful hidden things...

So... turns out that in my house we have new flowers!!
Flowers I had never seen before and are very beautiful.
I think my dad brought them from somewhere and planted them in my garden and now we get to see how beautiful they are without ever moving a finger to help them be there... I guess that when I think about that I wonder if I should try gardening one of these days.
My boss told me the other day that along with her husband they had planted some flowers in their garden and had come to the conclusion that that was not their thing, which is understandable, but my dad... my dad is something else.
We have this cute budgerigar at home and my father has taught him to sing some things... I think they don't normally do that, but he does.

My dad talks to him on a daily basis and there are some tunes that he can repeat, it's hilarious to listen to him trying to play "la cucaracha" next to my dad, My dad always takes him out to the garden under a chayote plant we have there and talks to him and he... seems to talk back.



Anyway...
The first flower we saw is called Epiphyllum oxypetalum... not to worry... it also has a normal name, it's called The queen of the night and it looks something like this:
It's beautiful and smells great! It has this salmon-colored petals close to the bud and they open first; what makes the queen of the night interesting is that it only opens for one night and then it doesn't do it anymore, it dies.
I had no idea about this plant so I actually didn't get a chance to take a good picture of it in my actual yard. I just took a couple of pictures in the morning, when it was closing (still kicking myself) but I took a short and not that great video....

The second flower we have... I don't really know its name, but it looks like a red queen of the night, can that be?
At the beginning I thought it was a Disocactus x jenkinsonii but I learned that that one is more of a cactus and this one si different and found out that it is called Disocactus ackermannii (no normal name for these) but the point is that it's also very beautiful and this time I decided to take a picture even if it was very dark and then realized that in the morning it was still beautiful but I liked the picture anyway.
The first one was not that good, it was very dark.

The second one was better... it really is a beautiful flower.

I sometimes think that there are many beautiful hidden things in my life, my dad may be one of them (complex story), just like these flowers and many other things.

Lesson Learned:

All of us have beautiful hidden things in our lives, it's always nice to discover them.

...What is the ONE thing you want most every morning? ...

Is it a bath?...How about a cup of coffee?

Because I know many people around who want a cup of coffee more than the bath, more than many other things... even better if it's right next to the newspaper and a nice breakfast.

What is it really?... and how long does it last?
Many times I believe we always want one thing when we wake up... in my case, a call... or a message, those things make my heart smile, many times when I wake up I want to see a smile in everyone I see, from my mom to the people I say bye to when I leave home who by the way... I don't even know (long story, I'll tell you about it one day).

I constantly ask myself what is the purpose of life, and so far, the one I like the most is "to be happy"... I know it may sound ephemeral, but it's way better to have something that will actually last for a really long time than something that will rust in a couple of years.
So, every morning... that ONE thing you want, what will make you happy can be provided by someone you love or by yourself, how? well simple... every single thought in your mind is way more powerful than many things.
It is a true thing that you are who you choose to be, therefore, if you want to be happy, you just have to be.

I guess that for human beings, that ONE thing we want can sometimes be predictable, it's not like I've heard that the first thing people want when they wake up is to bungee jump, so in a way, they can sort of be predicted...
I sometimes consider that maybe we want big things, all the time... many people just won't settle for a smile, a hug or... how about... a scratch?
Take my dogs for example, the first thing they want when they see me is... a good scratch, fair huh?

They'd do anything for a scratch, they don't care if they're wet, dirty or clean, all they do is wag their tail and come to me, and if they could speak, I have no idea the things they'd say... they'll even stop being nice to each other for a good scratch... what has happened to this world? ...

... just kidding...

So, think about it... have you even noticed what is that ONE thing you want when you wake up?... I know my dogs do!

Meet Daisy...

"Ohhhhh yeah!... a little to the left... that's right... riiiiight there, under the ear..."

"Heaven...!"

Meet Beanie...

"My kingdom for a scratch! "... ehmmm... don't tell anybody I told you that..."

"ehmmm.. you won't tell anybody.... will you?"

and last but not least meet Chispa...

...There you go... that's what we're talking about...
This is the same expression you'll get when you're giving her a good scratch...
You don't believe me?...

...She makes me smile a lot...

Have you ever thought about what really makes you happy?

My point is... do I even have a point? you know... sometimes it's ok not to have one...


Lesson Learned:

That ONE thing we want the most should always be what will make us happy, even if it is a smile... or a good scratch

...I want to be the person my dog thinks I am...

When I first got my dog, he would always sleep in my bed and constantly be with me.... he is a chihuahua... you know, chihuahua dogs always want to be around, they're faithful and well... not for everybody, I'd say... it's not like everyone finds chihuahuas cute, especially when they make faces like this...





That's him... Beanie... when he was around one year old, playing "let's bite each other, but you don't get to bite me" game with our other dog, when she had just come to the house... that's right... he's just playing, no one got injured... XD







So having a new dog around, one that is so fragile and is always cold is a nice experience when you're a teen, as I was... I got to take care of him and snuggle him, but then, he grew... and after the 10 pairs of shoes he ate, all the times he peed everything around him, he ate things I thought no dog would ever eat, we just started calling him cochito... n_n ...


The only thing was, my mom would never allow my cochito to sleep in my bed anymore, he was a grown dog now, he could handle it... and at the beginning, I was the one who couldn't handle it, not him. But we all grew....
Five years later... he still goes to the front door to say hi, he wags his tail and smiles at me... he seems to think many great things of me.... and even though I am aware that that's not how things work, what I do know, is that he's really faithful and seems to love me no matter what.


A couple of nights ago, it was a very cold night, for a change, since it's been really hot lately, and he came to my door and cried a little.... he wanted to come inside, to sleep in my nice warm bed (and I don't know if there were any hidden intentions) So, very seriously, I had to talk to him, and I said:


"Beanie... you can sleep in my bed on ONE condition... you can not move one inch... no moving, running around, scratching my pillow to make holes in it, nothing... you hear me? " and he looked at me and seemed to smile...














...and turns out...the next morning, he was in the exact same spot I had left him, with all his gray hair because he's getting old and the same look in his eyes he had 5 years ago.


Lesson Learned:

Second chances don't only apply for big things... you can learn a lot from second chances...

...Sad, Chara and my world...

Most of the times... I find myself reading blogs of other people and not remembering how I got there in the first place... and then I have to stop and if I really want to... make an effort and then sometimes I remember how I got there...






Today it happened that I was reading a post in i am baker, one that mentioned another site I read all the time, but more than that, it mentioned, almost at the bottom an update on a cookie donation and then, when reading some of the comments sent, i found this one:

From Shannon:
The first person that came to my mind was Chad. I can't think of anyone that needs a smile added to his day more than he does. I don't know him at all, but his blog is: http://sadandchara.blogspot.com Just to warn you it is a heartbreaking story, but so awesome reading about Chad's faith in God seeing him through this difficult time.

So... as I normally do when I find something interesting, I went on and accessed his blog...and I was blown away by everything I read there....

Many times I wonder how many blogs there are out there... overall... wow... I can't even imagine and I haven't really researched to find out, but I know that there are many... doing that exactly is how I started reading Attack of the Redneck Mommy , after I read her amazing story. I don't even remember how I found hers, but one thing I do know...
Reading about other people's joyful and sometimes not so joyful times makes me analyze and think a lot about what I have and what I don't have, what I need and what I'm missing out... and as an article I read the other day said: "be thankful for the things that haven't happened to me... and for the things that have, because they could've been much worse"
Losing a close family member, a good friend... is something I know, and it still hurts, but realizing that my world is not small anymore is one of the greatest things that happened to me.

Lesson Learned:

Making your world bigger by realizing that you're not the only person in it will make you happy. For sure.

I always feel like baking...

I always feel like doing something that will make me smile and happy...

Whether it is drawing, baking, clowning or teaching...






Yesterday I had one of the best classes I've ever taught, one in which you notice how students want to learn something new, that one thing that will lead them to success and will make them different people.
From the start, knowing students from course 1 has always been one of my favorite things, because when you see them, months later, you realize how much they've progressed and learned, and how many of them are already going away to Tokyo, the States and many other places to study.
The joy of enjoying whatever you do is what makes the difference.
as I always say... "you may be the best god damn gardener I've ever known, but you'll be the best at it, because then, when you succeed you'll see that that's where you belonged in the first place, that you were made to succeed and that you can be whatever you want to be.


Lesson Learned:

Doing what you love, makes the difference.

Third Old Letter...

...Hay muchas cosas que hay que cambiar para poder aprender algo nuevo... cosas que a veces odio de mi, que me niego a cambiar porque simplemente soy terca tal vez... como el hecho de escribir tanto... y también el hecho de escribir lo que debería decir; simplemente quisiera que se me diera eso de decir las cosas con la facilidad con la que las escribo, pero no es asi... tal vez tengo que aprender a aceptarlo y punto...








Lesson Learned:
Change comes from within... if you don't want to change things, they won't change by themselves...
Acceptance is ok... as long as in the long run you don't change your mind, or if you do, deal with the fact that your choice is always the best choice, for one reason or another.