(I may try to figure out some kind of bi-weekly blogging schedule, so I don't get burned out so quickly, but let's just wait and see, shall we?)

In the mean time, it's time to celebrate our FREAKING AWESOME lives!

Before I do my list, volume 8, I want to give a quick shout out to some of the girls who've been LWL-ing, while I was on bloggy hiatus:

Mandy! She's pretty much the LWL cheerleader of the universe... here are some of her recent list additions.

Jordan! Jordan is so awesome, I LOVE her. She's got a few new installments too.

Rachel! So sweet, so lovely! Please check out her recent additions!!

Lindsay! Probably my biggest current blog crush... She's been adventuring this summer!!

Thank you, ladies, for your participation... ESPECIALLY while I was otherwise occupied. :) 

If you've been writing your own LWL lists, well, let me know! Geesh! 

If you write it out all pretty, I'll even feature it here. Just email me. kelsey @ kelseytoney dot com. :)

Without further adieu, my own LWL list, Volume 8! 

When I was in my... errrrr, second year of teaching, a very sweet student wrote an essay to the local TV station that was organizing a giveaway of 12 cars to area teachers. It was pirate dress up day - AKA, best day of the year, and I was fully decked out. 

At some point, my principal called and said he needed to speak to me, brought me down stairs, and SURPRISE, here's a CAR!!

It was distinctly awesome. 

It was a 2007 PT cruiser. Not too many people can say they've won a car. Not too shabby. 

 

Daron and I went to Mexico a few years back, and we got to SNUBA! Snuba is Snorkeling+Scuba, which basically means that instead of strapping the airtank to your back, they set it on a raft, and run a really long tube down to you under the water. It actually seems a little ghetto when I say it like that, but it was honestly really cool. I got to experience the best parts of scuba without getting certified. It was really, exceptionally cool, and I highly recommend it. :)

Okay, that might be a bit misleading... I didn't win the medal because I was fast, I won a medal cause it was halloween, and I had the most awesome costume! (Robin Hood)... Actually, to be fair, I didn't win first, I won second place because a BABY was dressed as a dragon. I mean, who could compete with a dragon baby?

I recently subscribed to a couple of inspirational/daily meditation/reflection emails. These daily notes are non-religious, but are about the spirit and light, that I believe is inside of all people. Sometimes they're just daily quotes meant to make you think about some element of our humanity... or spirituality, whichever facet you choose to apply it to. 

Yesterday's quote was attributed to "Erin Majors" and a few google searches yielded no further information about who she might be, or what context this applied to, but I'm grateful for her words. 

Hmmm. 

What is it about us that makes us erroneously believe that pointing out the wonderful in others leeches the wonderful from ourselves?

Have you ever seen a friend or acquaintance come into the office, looking particularly fresh faced and having a fabulous hair day on a morning that held spilled espresso, a broken hairdryer, and missing dry cleaning for you?

Hot Stuff, meet Hot Mess.

Did you have the nerve to tell her how lovely she looked? (Let me point out that your inclusion or exclusion of a compliment isn't going to do a thing for that back-of-the-closet ensemble, so why hold it back?)

I mean, let's keep it real, dear readers... here is the heart of the matter: 

We are not BOWLS of love. We do not ladle up our hopes and dreams, and dish them out to our friends, slowly dwindling our supply and leaving shallows in the wake. 

We are FLAMES of love! We have the opportunity to give brightness to those around us who've been rained on. Those around us who've succumbed to the wind. Those around us who've run out of fuel. Those around us who've let someone snuff them to darkness. Those around us who've been hasty and frivolous with their glow, letting it be whispered away. 

And when your flame joins my flame, and we continue to put those sparks of light together...

We have the opportunity to create a roaring, blazing inferno of support for each other. 

I want people around me to KNOW that they can count on me to lift them up. 

I want to be the type of person who freely shares her flame. 

I hope to be instrumental in helping those around me shine. 

I want to glow.