A Fresh Piece of Basil

I walked through the grocery store tonight, after a long day, just yearning to go home and crawl under the covers. It was cold outside and I hadn't slept much last night.  I was hungry but knew there was no way I was going to cook when I got home.  As always, I spend most of my time in the fruit and vegetable aisle. I was looking at all the colors displayed in the Wegmans produce section.  The bright oranges, the reds of the apples, the green celery, the blue berries.  I found myself yearning for spring and summer and all the special salads and fruit pies.  It feels so good to eat well.

I strolled through the aisle soaking it all in and remembering the delicious sweetango apples my friend grows in his farm in Kendall, NY.  I wait for them each year now. And those delicious donut peaches! Yum!

I bumped right into the tomatoes and saw one of my most favorite herbs - Basil!!!!!!!!  I love italian cooking and italian food and caprese salad is just heaven for me!  The basil plants were sitting there amongst the tomatoes and I just had to pick off a piece and start smelling that little basil leaf! 

I know some people don't appreciate the sensuousness (is that a word? lol!) of food but I sure do!  I took that little basil leaf and rubbed it and smelled it all through my trip to Wegmans.  I closed my eyes and thought about that caprese salad with fresh slices of the summers tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic dressing.  My mouth is watering as I write this.

So, a little bit of summer on a very, crisp, cold winter night! 

And what of the basil leaf?  Hahaha.  I ate it as I bumped into a dear friend in the fresh bread section! Nothing like a sandwich tomorrow with basil, mozzarella, proscuitto and tomatoes on fresh italian, crusty bread!  I am truly a food lover! 

Kimberley

A Random Act of Kindness, Taking in the Garbage Can

I am so touched by this that I had to share it with my blog readers.  Some of you know me on a very personal level, others not.  For those of you who do, you know that one of my least favorite things in life to do is take the garbage out and bring the can in from the street after they pick up the garbage.  Don't ask me why, its such a little thing actually - its just one of those things for me.  It's one of life's little things for me I guess, like changing light bulbs.

Two weeks ago, I drove into my driveway on a cold, Monday night after my workout at the gym to discover that someone had taken my garbage can in for me? I thought perhaps my neighbor had done it - sometimes in the summer he would do it after he cut my lawn. I made a mental note to thank him the next time I saw him outside.

This week, I discovered that it wasn't my neighbor - but a dear friend who was my "garbage can angel."  I was pulling out of my driveway, on my way to the gym and there he was, my dear friend who stopped on his way home from work to take my garbage can in for me.  He knew how much I hated this chore!

I was at the end of my driveway, knowing that if I stopped the car I would be late to meet my trainer.  I did anyway!  I got out of the car, walked up to my friend and gave him the biggest hug I could and said "thank you."  Because really, what else describes the gratitude I felt and how much my heart wanted to cry just knowing this person went out of their way for me, "just because."

The tears well up in my eyes as I write this because in this crazy world where people oftentimes do not remember that we are all still people - with the same heart, lungs, hands, feet as each other - we are no different than one another - just each on our own journeys.  We all need to be loved and to love no matter who we are or what our occupation in life is. 

I would encourage all of my readers to do some random act of kindness for someone, no matter how small - like taking in the garbage can.  You will have no idea how much you will have touched someones life!

With Gratitude and Love,

Kimberley

The Birthing of a Dream

Today, I took another step in my journey to share my first novel with the world.  I submitted the manuscript to Createspace and Amazon, who are sponsoring the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awared. This opportunity gives a writer a chance to win one of two $15,000 publishing contracts with Penguin USA and distribution of their novel on Amazon.com.

Writers had to submit a 300- word pitch for their entry. I was so excited about this opportunity and when I went to sign on this morning and submit my work, I discovered I was too late to submit for the general fiction category, 5000 entries had already gotten in.  However, I never, ever, ever give up and I submitted into the second category - Young Adult fiction and found a spot to write in a special request for consideration to Amazon.  So, who knows how this will all turn out, the Universe/God whatever you call the Higher Power that operates in the world, will take it from here, I did what I could. 

I thought I would share my pitch with my readers, here it is, let me know what you think:

Sometimes it takes nine months and sometimes it takes nine years. Sometimes, it is effortless  and sometimes it is a struggle.  But in the end, the birthing of a new creation, whether it is a brand new baby boy, a work of art like that of MichelAngelo, or a novel , it is all worth it!  I am mindful of something that  Steve Jobs says in an interview with he and Bill Gates:

                People say you have to have a lot of passion for what you’re doing, its totally true, and the reason is because its so hard that if you don’t any rational person would give up! It’s really hard , you have to do it over a sustained period of time, if you don’t love it and your not having fun doing it, your going to give up and that’s what happens to most people actually if you look at the ones that ended up being successful in the eyes of society..oftentimes the ones that are successful, love what they did so they would persevere when it got really tough and the ones that didn’t love it – Quit!, because they are sane right?

I began the journey of creating this novel in August of 2005 and finished the last sentence in July 2010.  Through unemployment, a mother diagnosed with breast cancer, a challenging new job, and a house fire, I never gave up.  This book became my solace during the storms of life.  I never stopped writing and I never stopped dreaming of a published work.

The Miracle of a Broken Heart, through a fictional character inspires women to be true to themselves and follow their dreams! “  Again,  I quote Steve Jobs as he cites lyrics in a Beatles song about his relationship with Bill Gates

“You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.”   

It is my sincere desire that I will say this about the relationship that was formed with CreateSpace, Amazon, Penguin Publishing and Kimberley Barker Nightingale.

Would love to know your thoughts,

Kimberley

Thoughts of Springtime...

I pulled out of the driveway on my way to the office yesterday morning and what did I see? ...






But the snowdrops peeking out of the ground!!!  I was sooooo excited, the first flowers of spring! That makes my heart sing!  I love the springtime!  It is such a time of hope and promise and a time for life to start anew!  The thaw of the ground brings to us the promise of daffodils and hyacinth and the yellows and pinks of the stately tulips!

Spring... a time for us to come out of our winter hybernation and stretch our arms and legs and wake up to the endless possibilities that life holds for us!

The garden and seed catalogs are arriving as did my Pottery Barn spring catalog!  Such a delight to sit down in my cozy overstuffed white chairs, look out the window at the barren trees, with the catalogs on my lap and dream of the beauty of this special time of awakening sipping my cup of coffee.

Love and Light to you my friends,

Kimberley

An Angel on the Other Line

There are days when you know, you just know that God's love is coming through to you despite the static noise that seems to surround you.

As I work through some difficult times in my life these last few weeks, a woman named Donna appeared to help me.  I have never met her in person, she is thousands of miles away, yet over the last week, I feel like we have grown to know each other. 

For all the negativity one woman had given me, Donna trumped all of it.  She took the time to understand what was going on, she took the time to chat even for just a little while.  She took the time to say "how can I help - not - it's just business." 

She took the time to say "I care."  I am not certain of the outcome with the issue that I am discussing with Donna, but what I do know is - she made me feel a little bit better. 

The next time someone needs your help - won't you think twice about your response and perhaps find a way to help them, no matter how small? 

Afterall, we all share this planet, we are all on our own life's journeys - realizing our dreams whatever they maybe.

You never know.  The next time, someone may think that YOU were their Angel on the Other Line!

The Stillness of a Winters Night

The snow blankets the earth.  The street lights illuminate the snow casting shadows on the ground. Barely a car on the road, nor a plane in the sky. Time for quietude.  Time to calm the spirit. Time for peace.  The house is still, just the sound of the dryer can be heard.  Even the cats are nestled amongst the blankets on the couch.

Wintertime. A season for slowing down.  A season for reflecting on all that is important to us.  A season for hibernating into ourselves, discovering who we truly are and what we might want to become.

The quiet invites us to relax, to savor, to feel the warmth of the fire and the embrace of our beloveds arms.

Peace, my friends. With Love,

Kimberley

Prayer

Prayer is sometimes the last thing we do when we feel we are at a crossroads in life. Why is that? Why isn't it the first thing we do? Because we think we can handle it on our own? Because we think we don't need the assistance of a Higher power?

Well.  There has been more times than I can count when I got down on my hands and needs and prayed for guidance, for answers, for help, for the healing of someone I loved, for the right decision to come to me.

Prayer is a very powerful tool.  It says "thank you!" It says "help me." It says "I surrender." It says "please God, please let them live." It says " bring me clarity." And sometimes it says " I don't know how to pray."

I believe God responds to all these prayers in his own way.  The answers can come from a small whisper, a stranger in the street, a phone call from someone you haven't heard from in ten years, but the answers do come.

Trust. Believe. Say Thank You even though you don't "see" what it is you want.  It will come! Perhaps even better than you ever dreamed!

Much love to all of you!

Kimberley