It's a Beautiful Day!!

It’s a beautiful day!  There was a very heavy frost on the ground that clung as long as it possibly could this morning!!  The sun is shining and it is just such a pretty day out there.  I’m looking forward to hearing the birds singing as I sit outside on the patio with my coffee or hot tea this spring.  I also look forward to sitting on the porch swing and doing my early afternoon work online while sipping my sweet tea and listening to the neighborhood children as they ride their bikes and play outside.  Boy, I used to love riding my bike when I was a kid.  I remember how it felt … it felt like freedom.  That is the best way to describe it.  The breeze on my face and flowing through my hair as I pedaled as fast as I could.  I still ride a bike.  I got a new one, used at a pawn shop, last summer and I’m going to be riding it this year too!!  

I was talking about this earlier this week.  Do you ever catch yourself thinking about the past?  Life is full of the things we do and the things that happen to us … people who are good to us and people who are not … those who tear us down and those who lift us up … things we remember with fondness and things that we regret.

It can be comforting and even bring a smile to our face when we think about the past, our childhood, our grandparents, childhood friends, fun things that we got to do and such.  Always think about those things that bring you joy and make you smile.  Just don’t let yourself get wrapped up in the bad or unpleasant things of the past.

By being stuck in that cycle of thinking about things that were hurtful … remaining angry or hurt … this can allow the past to hold you hostage so that you can’t move forward even when you want to. Find something positive to think about and keep moving forward. There is nothing wrong with trying again. When you fall … get back up and go again. When you stumble … find your footing and keep going. Create a new path that leads to better you … a positive you … grateful for your blessings. Focus on your blessings … hold your head high … and smile. You’ve got this!!

At our house, one of our favorite things to do that brings us joy is to sit down and play some tunes together!  We’re working on new tunes all the time.  I’m really focusing on new tunes right now.  In fact, take a look at my fingers!!  I’ve been playing so much music that my fingers are really sore!!!  I think I blistered one too!  Well, that is just what can happen!!!  It isn’t the first time and I’m sure it won’t be the last!!! 

We love playing music together!!  Here’s our latest YouTube video and one of our favorite tunes!! 

We’ve had several snow days and had to cancel music lessons several days last week due to snow and school being out due to bad weather.  I am ready for a new week and getting to see all my students.  They are a bright spot in my day.  I always enjoy hearing their music and seeing their progress.  Everyone has been choosing songs that they would like to learn, and I have been really impressed with their choices.  I’m excited for them because I know how much fun it is to learn a song that you like an enjoy.  It is my pleasure to be an instrument in that experience for them.  They make me smile.

I’m preparing for the next 3-day challenge of some of my favorite Plexus products.  It’s such an easy way to try the products and see what I’m talking about.    If you would like to participate in a challenge with me just email me, it’s listed below, and I’ll see about getting you ready for the next one that is coming up. 

At session this week, our friend Dave got this picture of Doug and I playing our fiddles together!  We love playing with this group.  I usually take pictures of everyone but didn’t take any last time.  I’ll be sure to do that next time.

Our dryer went out … let’s see … about four months ago maybe … and we’ve been washing our clothes here at the house and then loading them up to dry them at the laundromat.  We got a dryer yesterday afternoon and hope to have it moved in and hooked up later today or tomorrow.  Yay!!!  I have missed the convenience of having a dryer!!!

I hope you all have a great day!!!  Every day is a new beginning!  Thanks for stopping by and come back often!  Please remember to be kind to those around you.  There is not enough kindness in this world.  And every bit of kindness ... no matter how big or small ... matters.

Love and Blessings my Friends!  I am so glad you stopped by!

Ava Jane

Additional Blogs:

Luna Delight ...  https://lundadelight.blogspot.com/

Music For You and Fun For Me ...  https://musicforyouandfunforme.blogspot.com/

The Curious Art Whip … https://thecuriousartwhip.blogspot.com/

For your PLEXUS Supplement needs email me at … ajplexus@gmail.com

What are your health goals?  Email me and let me know! 

Fiddle Time!!

It’s a beautiful day!  It’s raining here, but the bright side is that it is warm enough for rain!!!!  No sleet, ice or snow!!!!  Yes!!!! 

I was talking about this earlier this week.  Life is full of the things we do and the things that happen to us … people who are good to us and people who are not … those who tear us down and those who lift us up … things we remember with fondness and things that we regret.

Don’t let yourself get wrapped up in the past.

By being stuck in that cycle of thinking about it … remaining angry or hurt … this can allow the past to hold you hostage so that you can’t move forward even when you want to. Find something positive to think about and keep moving forward. There is nothing wrong with trying again. When you fall … get back up and go again. When you stumble … find your footing and keep going. Create a new path that leads to better you … a positive you … grateful for your blessings. Focus on your blessings … hold your head high … and smile. You’ve got this!!

One of our favorite things to do together is sit down and play some tunes!  Here’s our latest YouTube video and one of our favorite tunes!!

We’ve had several snow days and had to cancel music lessons several days last week due to snow and school being out due to bad weather.  I am ready for a new week and getting to see all my students.  They are a bright spot in my day.  I always enjoy hearing their music and seeing their progress.  Everyone has been choosing songs that they would like to learn, and I have been really impressed with their choices.  I’m excited for them because I know how much fun it is to learn a song that you like an enjoy.  It is my pleasure to be an instrument in that experience for them.  They make me smile.

I’m preparing for the next 3-day challenge of some of my favorite Plexus products.  It’s such an easy way to try the products and see what I’m talking about.    

I haven’t done any crochet lately and I have some pink crochet thread that I’m going to use to make a doily of some sort.  I haven’t picked out the pattern yet, but I will be looking to see what grabs me. 

Thanks for stopping by today!  Come back often!  Please remember to be kind to those around you. 

There is not enough kindness in this world.  And every bit of kindness ... no matter how big or small ... matters.

Enjoy this day in your life.  Love and Blessings my Friends! 

I am so glad you stopped by!

Ava Jane

Additional Blogs:

Luna Delight ...  https://lundadelight.blogspot.com/

Music For You and Fun For Me ...  https://musicforyouandfunforme.blogspot.com/

The Curious Art Whip … https://thecuriousartwhip.blogspot.com/

For your PLEXUS Supplement needs email me at … ajplexus@gmail.com

I have openings in our Triplex Group, our Slimdown Group and our Joyome Skin Care Group. 

What are your health goals?  Message me!  

Mandolin Practice

Hello!  What’s goin’ on????

I just had a very good mandolin practice.  I worked on a few new tunes and then went down my list of songs that I know from memory.  My fingers were flying!!  They’ve been a little sore, but didn’t bother me this time.  I play a few from that list every day so that they are fresh in my mind and I will know how the song starts if I am requested to play it.  There’s nothing more frustrating than to know a song … but can’t quite remember how it starts.  When that happens, I can sometimes play a bit of the end of the song and then go right into the beginning.  Other times I have to wait until I hear someone else start it and then I’m good to go!  On the rare occasion that no one remembers how it goes … time to move to the next song!  Thankfully that doesn’t happen very often.  

When I practice, I alternate between my instruments.  That way I can keep the fingering straight.  Sometimes it is hard to keep your fingering straight when you’re changing between instruments.  You also have to keep the strings straight.  When I put my fiddle down and switch to the tenor banjo it may take a moment for my fingers to make the switch.  When I put my tenor banjo down and switch to playing melody on the guitar … now … that can mess with your head.  Lol That’s why I practice switching from one to the other.  If I’m practicing later in the evening, I pick up the electric mandolin or the electric fiddle.  The reason being that if they are not plugged into an amp, they are relatively quiet and not going to bother anyone.  Those are also the ones that I grab if I am the first one up in the morning and feel the need to play.  You can’t always make your practice time convenient for everyone around you, no matter how hard you try.

Doug is redoing my counter tops for me.  I’m preparing to make some cooking videos.  We are just sprucing up a bit before I begin that project.  It’s going to be pretty.  I sure do appreciate all the things that he is able to do.  Thank you, honey!!

We have been cold here.  Been getting down to the negative digits at night.  Today the high is supposed to get up to 46 degrees!!!!  We’re going to think it’s summer!!!!  I can’t wait!!!!!  What have the temperatures been like where you are?  We have a music gig coming up on Wednesday that we are really looking forward to.  The last one got cancelled because of snow and ice.  We played here at home, but it just wasn’t the same!  Poor Doug had been working so hard on a new tune for that night and he was disappointed when he didn’t get to go play.  Two more days bud … two more days!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Come back often! 

And please remember to be kind to those around you. 

There is not enough kindness in this world. 

And every bit of kindness ... no matter how big or small ... matters.

Enjoy this day in your life. 

I am so glad you stopped by!

Ava Jane

Additional Blogs:

Luna Delight ...  https://lundadelight.blogspot.com/

Music For You and Fun For Me ...  https://musicforyouandfunforme.blogspot.com/

The Curious Art Whip … https://thecuriousartwhip.blogspot.com/

For your PLEXUS Supplement needs email me at ... ajplexus@gmail.com

I have openings in our Triplex Group, our Slimdown Group and our Joyome Skin Care Group. 

What are your health goals?  Message me! 

More Snow and a Paper Jam!!!!

Good day everyone!!!

It's been snowing here and was really cold this morning.  It was so beautiful coming down.  I didn’t have to get out in it this morning ... but Doug did.  When he got out there, his truck doors were frozen shut and he couldn’t get them open.  The camper hatch was frozen shut as well.  He finally got in … thank goodness.  Today is supposed to be a cold night for us here … -1 degrees!

I think I will slip on my long johns!!  Burr!!!

I’m behind on practicing my violin and banjo this week.  I’m going to buckle down this weekend and work on my new tunes I’m learning.  I have gotten several of them memorized!  Yes!  I have several more to learn.  I keep a list of 10 tunes and as I learn them and then memorize them, I mark them off the list and add a new song to learn.  This method seems to work just fine for me.  It keeps me motivated and learning a new tune all the time. 

Where did our imagination go?  Do you meet with yours very often?  Do you allow it to creep into part of your day or do you have it turned off?   I remember the days of playing with toys … your room becoming a totally different place that was full of adventure ... playing dress up and being whomever you wanted to be in that moment ... going out the back door into a magical place of imagination and adventures!  The sand box that became the dry and dangerous desert full of sand dunes for our vehicles to jump over or our backhoes to dig in and load the dump truck.  The gas tank that became the fastest horse in the west!!  The tall patch of grass where you became a mountain lion slinking toward your next victim.  The swimming pool where you became a diver exploring the bottom of the ocean or a mermaid or an Olympian diver.  The paths in the woods where you saw lots of squirrels, rabbits and birds.  Just picking a spot at the base of a tree to sit and listen to the sounds of the woods.  That "hairbrush" microphone and my bedroom becoming the stage to an admiring audience who appreciated every move I made and every note I sang … and in that scene my hair was always perfect and my wardrobe outstanding!   What about just daydreaming?  Life was sure better when imagination was part of every day.  When is the last time you laid down in the grass to watch the clouds?  Did you used to name the shapes you saw there?  I sure did!!  Who says we can’t use our imagination as adults?  I say we can!!!  We should! 

Focus on the positive!  Smile!  Because one smile can make the whole world a better place!  

And please remember to be kind to those around you. 

There is not enough kindness in this world. 

And every bit of kindness ... no matter how big or small ... matters.

Enjoy this day in your life. 

I am so glad you stopped by!

Ava Jane

Additional Blogs:

Luna Delight ...  https://lundadelight.blogspot.com/

Music For You and Fun For Me ...  https://musicforyouandfunforme.blogspot.com/

The Curious Art Whip … https://thecuriousartwhip.blogspot.com/

For your Plexus Supplement needs email me at ajplexus@gmail.com

I have openings in our Triplex Group and our Slimdown Group.  What are your health goals?

Fiddles and Snow

I’ve been spending a lot of time the last few weeks learning some new tunes.  When we’re are out playing music, I don’t carry any music with me so that means they are all up in my music part of the brain. 

I must smile at that thought because there are times when, no matter how hard you try to pry that beginning of a tune out of your mental library … it just won’t show up!!  That’s why I keep a list on my phone that has the first 3 notes of the tune.  It’s kind of like when something is just out of your reach, even though you’re standing on your tippy toes and have your entire body and arms outstretched just as far as you can, and you still can’t quite reach it.  You need a boost and that little boost, whether large or just tiny, is all you need to grab it!  That’s what those first three notes of a song are for me.  It works! 

Right now, I’m watching three fiddlers daily and finding it fun to see the tunes we have in common and hearing tunes that grab my attention and I want to learn.  The list is long … and I have to reign myself in with one tune at a time.  Wait … who am I kidding!!  I keep ten tunes to learn at a time and when I’ve got one learned I add the next one.  Are you able to only work on one tune at a time?  It seems like that has never worked for me!!!

Where oh where is spring?

I know, I know … embrace the glistening snow with its crystals that are infinitely different and unique.  Long for their freedom and grace as they float toward the ground or swirl in the breeze.  Embrace the beauty of the leafless trees as they hibernate until the warm sun of spring touches the tips of their branches.  Appreciate the distance that you can see through the leafless limbs … the view that is gone once the trees leaf out and are full and green.

Embrace the crunch of the ground as you walk through the yard.  The dried leaves on the ground … the crunch of the sleeping grass … gone is the green flowing lawn of summer.  Spring will come again and bring along with it all of the new life that blossoms in both plants and animals.

Embrace each day and welcome it in.

Be the best you that you can be.

Each day is a new beginning.  Grab it!!!

Thank you for stopping by the blog!!!

Until next time!

Ava

Additional Blogs:

Luna Delight ...  https://lundadelight.blogspot.com/

Music For You and Fun For Me ...  https://musicforyouandfunforme.blogspot.com/

For your Plexus Supplement needs email me at ajplexus@gmail.com

Getting Back In The Groove

We have snow!!!

We have 4 inches of snow right now.   It came down in great big flakes.  It was so pretty to watch as it fell to the ground.  School has been cancelled two days in a row so that means no music lessons either.  It's been a quiet two days around here.  It did give me more time to practice my instruments.

Guess what I did?  Oh my gosh!  I joined a writing group for women!!!  Yes!!  I am going to get back to my writing again and blogging. 

It's going to be an active and busy year for me.  I have a children's book ready to go to the illustrator!!  Get out!  Right????  I had stopped on my novel.  But ... I'm thinking about getting it back out and having another look or just starting over with a new one.  I don't know ... maybe just alter it. Time will tell. 

I'll be back to blogging again.  I have several.  One is for my moon photos and moon poetry.  I'm working on a coffee table book that includes my moon photos and poetry.  I had it all ready to go when a horrible thing happened, and it was lost.  Please be kind ... I learned from it and hopefully it will never happen again.  It was on a computer that got hit and everything was gone.  I was heartbroken.  This is the first I've spoken of it.  It still hurts, but I'm just going to have to move on and I have already begun again.  I will be going through all my camera cards to look at photos and choose the ones I'd like to use.  The poems, however, are gone other than any of my originals that I may have already put on the blog.  I haven't had the heart until now to even look. 

I have about 30 original songs that I have written and put to music.  I will be acting upon that in 2020 and getting my songs out there.  I haven't decided whether to try to sell them or re-record them myself.  Things to ponder.

I have my collection of original Native American Flute music that I will be recording, hopefully this year.  I need to invest in a couple more Flutes before I get started with recording.

I will be active on the YouTube channel again.  There will be some adventures ... I am going to do some cooking videos ... Doug and I will be making some music videos featuring our fiddles, banjos and mandolins.  And are you ready for this???  I am even going to start a game channel for my time spent at Red Dead Redemption!!!!!  Yes!!!!!  You didn't know that about me, did you????? 

I am using my Plexus products.  It's been three years for me now and what fantastic products!!!  When something changes your life for the good, you can't help but share with others the blessing you have been blessed with.  I am currently building my team and my business.  For anyone who is looking for weight loss ... getting rid of inflammation ... balancing blood sugars ... balancing their gut health ... looking for an easy two step skin care regimen in our Joyome Day and Night Serums ... looking for an effective Multi-Action Collagen Complex that you just mix with the drink of your choice (I like mine best in my coffee or hot tea) ... I've got you covered!!!!  Just comment or message me and I would be honored to talk to you about the products and groups that I have to offer.  Even if you're just tired or being sick and tired ... even if you just want to feel better ... let me know.

I am getting my groove back and I am so happy to be here!!!  

I am so happy that you are here!!!

Ava

Additional Blogs:
Luna Delight ... https://lundadelight.blogspot.com/
Music For You and Fun For Me ... https://musicforyouandfunforme.blogspot.com/