Maybe She is Crazy

I attended a wonderful brunch yesterday that a dear friend hosted.  Had a lovely time and ate waaaaaaay too much, but c’est la vie. 🙂

When I left her house and walked outside I noticed these clouds in the sky over the Catalina mountains.  Now I’m no weather or cloud formation expert, but I found them to be something that I’ve only seen once before.  I’m not sure that the image (taken with my phone) even does them justice.  Seeing them with my own eyes was one of those moments that takes your breath away.

People think I’m crazy when I express that I think we have visitors from space.  So if that’s what YOU think, hey, that’s fine with me.  I just happen to personally believe that we are not alone in this beautiful universe and that our little blue planet is not the only one with life.  I don’t believe in aliens (the kind that Hollywood depicts as being malicious).  But I do believe that our star brothers and sisters exist and that they are benevolent in nature.  Namaste’

Without Words (Almost)

It’s hard for me publish a post with just a few words, but this morning’s sunrise over the Catalina Mountains kind of left me speechless.  As you probably know, I’m a huge fan of desert sunsets but a sunrise is completely different.

It marks the beginning of a brand new day.  A chance to start over … fresh with no baggage from the day before unless we bring it with us.  This morning I chose not to.  I watched the sun start to illuminate the mountains and realized that I am right where I need to be – in the moment of NOW.

Fortunately I had my cell phone outside but before I checked anything in the digital world, I snapped this photo.  Namaste’

Steel Stallion

I love horses and wish I had the room to have several (the living, breathing kind).  But I don’t, so I’ll just have to settle for this kind for now.

The sculptor of this life-size piece has a gallery in Tubac, AZ, which my daughter and I visited while she was here at Christmas.  It’s a wonderful, magical place, full of art of all kinds.  I could literally spend days there going from shop to shop.

I call this image Steel Stallion.  Namaste’

• Regina (Gina) Arnold is the co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, photo blogger and “flunked retirement” entrepreneur.

Mug Shots

A lovely surprise came in the mail for me a while back from our friend, Anne, who lives in the City by the Bay.  She knows how much I love shooting pictures so she sent me this wonderful mug, which I absolutely love drinking coffee from.  So thanks again, Anne!

Yes, I’m a bona fide coffee drinker and no, I will never, ever change in that respect.  I do like tea, but in the morning it’s a good cup of Joe for me.  This morning I had to do some fasting blood tests, so I filled up this mug, took it with me, and as soon as the vampires took my blood and I was back in my car, I drank that glorious brown liquid.  Ha!

If any of my photographer friends want one of these, I believe these or similar ones can be found at Photojojo.  Namaste’

New Beginnings

So much is said about a new year … out with the old; in with the new; resolutions (that hardly anyone keeps, including me); new thinking; new solutions; new questions, etc.  That’s all good because it gives people hope to start anew.

My hope is that we ask more questions, that we cultivate new friendships while renewing our current ones, that we become more sincere, kinder, more compassionate, more connected with each other.

My hope is that we finally “get it” that we are all one, part of a larger picture than what we see on our electronic devices.  It concerns me that people spend so much time in front of a television set or YouTube watching reality shows that really have nothing to do with reality.  Are we that unhappy with our own lives that we have to pin ourselves to others’ crazy crap?

We are the creators of our own lives and that I know for sure.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that our thoughts lead to feelings … so please choose the good ones.  Good feelings naturally attract more good stuff in our lives.  It’s as simple as having a negative thought and replacing it with a question “What if everything worked out for the highest good?”  Try that one on for size!  It works for me and it can work for all of us.

As for 2014, I plan to cultivate some new friendships.  Just something I want to do.

And speaking of that, this photo is of my Funky Monkey (the pink one) and Socks (my friend Bonnie’s monkey).  Socks came to visit us with Bonnie and her hubby, who had been on a two-month road trip across the U.S.  Socks had his photo taken in some amazing places, including the Alamo.  What fun he had!  I heard that he even tasted some gumbo while in New Orleans 🙂

Be well, my friends.  Make it an amazing 2014.  You deserve it.  Namaste’