Tonight I saw the movie, Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. I watched it outside on a big screen at the park under the stars. It was a fantastic setting for a wonderful movie.

It is a wonderful story.

We should all take a day and do things we have never done before.

What would you do?

I have been exploring a wide variety of possible "job" opportunities.

I have applied to colleges and universities to be an assistant. The qualifications have varied depending on the department and the school. It would be invigorating to be in an academic environment.

I have applied at various bookstores. Unfortunately, non are currently hiring. Being surrounded by books would be inspirational as I continue to pursue freelance writing opportunities.

I am applying at various hotels and resorts as well as local country clubs. I have over 15 years in the travel/hospitality industry and very much enjoy interaction with people. The jobs run the gamut from receptionist to concierge to sales to management. The diversity of people I would come in contact with would be stimulating.

I am even applying at a bakery today. I have been forewarned that it would be hard work with lots of standing but I think it must be a happy place. It would be fun to work in a place that provides people with a tasty escape from the stress and uncertainty that fills our days.

There are several teacher's aides positions I am following up on. Working with teachers and children has always been challenging and rewarding.

It is interesting to pursue "jobs" rather than career opportunities. It is a wholly different mindset.

I wonder what I'll be when I grow up?

Oh that is right, I already discovered that answer....

I am and will be Judy. I am not defined by what I do (smile).

Thousands of famous people have triumphed over inauspious beginnings, crushing rejections, defeats and other assorted challenges and speed bumps along life's highway.

Bill Cosby dropped out of high school and worked in a shoe repair shop and car muffler plant.

Jay Leno applied for job at Woolworth's but failed the employment test.

Elvis Presley's music teacher at L.C. Humes High School in Memphis, Tennessee, gave him a C and told him he couldn't sing.

Sylvester Stallone, thrown out of fourteen schools in eleven years, studied drama at the University of Miami, where professors discouraged him from pursuing a career in acting.

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard University in 1975.

Walt Disney's first cartoon production company. Laugh-O-Gram, went bankrupt.

If at first you don't succeed, welcome to the club!

Everyone encounters pot holes, stumbling blocks and detours. If you discover you are on the wrong road, get off at the next exit, don't be afraid to change direction and remember you can ask for help.

"I've tried everything and nothing works." Are these words you've said, you've thought?

Maybe that is exactly what you need when you are frustrated and have tried everything.... nothing.

Sometimes you must stop doing everything and start doing nothing. Do nothing and say nothing. No explaining, no defending, no setting things right, no pleading, no apologizing, no threatening, no worrying, no staying up nights thinking and planning and figuring out.

Do you get the idea?

Give yourself permission to do nothing and something might work (smile).

What does love mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year olds, What does love mean? The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love. Rebecca, age 8.

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth. Billy, age 4.

Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other. Cindy, age 8.

My Mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.
Clare, Age 6.

Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken. Elaine, age 6.

Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford. Chris, age 7.

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. Jessica, age 8.

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing", I just helped him cry.

Hope this will make your day just a little bit better and make it easier for you to spread your love around, too.

If we all think more like children do when it comes to Love...this world would be a much better place.

"Cinderella is not at the ball - she's at the ballgame with her family, and she's loving life. "Hey batter, batter, batter...swing!" she yells from right field. She's got a baseball glove on her hand and a tiara on her head. The fairy godmother split, and most days Prince Charming isn't, but with the King of the Universe helping her, she's doing just fine.

Sleeping Beauty is not sleeping - she's getting on with her life. At her desk, in her business suit she tells her assistant, "If a prince calls, take his number, and tell him I'll get back with him." She's got her pillow to support her back, not her illusions. She's no longer consumed by thoughts about earthly princes, because she has taken the hand of the Prince of Peace.

And Snow White is dressing down these days in jeans and a white tee-shirt. She's not pretending anymore, because she's given up on "perfect." She's still doing laundry for eight and wondering, "Sneezy? What is this on your shirt?" And these there's still a whistle with the work, because she's discovered Christ, along with Clorox, for life's toughest stains."

From "Keeping a Princess Heart" by Nicole Johnson.

Today I realized that I don't just enjoy hearing stories about other people's lives, I love it. To have them share their memories of events in their life and/or what is happening now makes me smile. It is a compliment that they share with me.

In this hectic, fast paced, never enough time world we live in, it is easy to feel detached from those you care about. They are busy and you don't want to be an intrusion in their lives. You know and understand that when you don't hear it isn't a reflection of their caring.

On those occasions when I am the audience as a friend or family member shares a memory, a story or circumstance with me it makes me feel flattered and it actually refreshes my heart.

I have discovered that, for me, listening is a genuine pleasure. Fortunately, I don't need to wait for a story telling festival, like the wonderful ones held in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Some of my favorite stories have been those that were part of a daily conversation or correspondence.

Today I heard stories of military adventures, not of war, but a fun sharing of people and personalities remembered. There was even a fun story that showed even a kind, generous person can have a moment where they are a little too full of themselves (smile).

Are you someone who enjoys telling stories? Do you prefer to listen? Prehaps you enjoy sharing your own personal stories and listening. Whichever the case, don't let time get away from you. Take a few minutes and share. You may refresh someone's heart.

Enjoy your day.

It is my soul that has been hungry not my stomach. I have been filling the wrong thing. What I was yearning for can't be found on any menu.

Quieting the constant chatter in your mind, it would be incredibly liberating to find the "off" button.

I was walking across the Friendship Trail Bridge, deep in thought, melting in the heat, when suddenly a loud booming voice said, "You are in a restricted area. You will need to leave immediately." The loudness and the words were startling enough but it was coming from a Coast Guard helicopter.

As I turned and looked at it coming closer and closer, I realized that they were addressing some fishermen who were anchored near the bridge supports fishing.

They immediately responded and left as instructed.

I smiled to myself as this incident triggered a memory of a time years and years ago.

My sons, Tom and Jim, and I were driving from Unicoi to Johnson City, Tennessee. We had just seen a helicopter flying overhead when suddenly the car began to shake, there was a loud thundering sound, the car was difficult to control. "Oh no, the helicopter has landed ontop of the car," I screamed in panic. I pulled the car onto the shoulder and stopped.

As I did, I saw the helicopter flying off into the horizon. I looked at the top of the car. No damage.
"How could that be?" Just then the boys discovered we had a flat tire.

Things aren't always what they seem (smile).

It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.

Professor Dumbledore to Harry in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," by J.K. Rowling

Each of us has the right and the responsibility to assess the roads which lie ahead, and those over which we have traveled, and if the future road looms ominous or unpromising, and the roads back uninviting, then we need to gather our resolve and, carrying only the necessary baggage, step off that road into another direction. If the new choice is also unpalatable, without embarrassment, we must be ready to change that as well.

I've added elastic sides to my comfort zone.

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. George Bernard Shaw

What is freedom for, if not to live where nobody can tell you who to be, and who not to be?

What is freedom for, if not the chance to define yourself, who you are?

You have to stop squeezing into a round hole if you are a square peg.

Some are sharp, some are pretty, bright and vibrant, some are dull and subtle, some have weird names, some are whole and others are worn down or broken, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box.