My Daily Journal


I thoroughly enjoy writing about life, mine, in all its amazing and sometimes challenging experiences. I have long since discovered it to be rather therapeutic. This here is a random
sharing of my life [today] in all its beauty.


June 13, 2014

We have the entire weekend ALL to ourselves!!! Waking up this morning had it's own special sweetness to it beside my wonderful Husband. All day, any day we wake up beside each other is beautiful, don't get me wrong... This morning was a cool, Spring morning outside. 

I had already gotten up to let our dog-babies out, moving around quietly because I enjoy seeing my husband sleep in.  I crawled back into my cozy spot in bed beside him... It wasn't even a full minute, when his warm hands in their usual fashion reached for my waist to pull me back closer, nuzzled safely against his warm, sleeping body.  I curled in in that natural way that our bodies seem to fit like a hand in a glove.

A minute or so later he whispered that beautiful sentence that sets my heart aflame with joy:
"Good Morning Princess...I love you... Let's stay right here..."  I drifted back off to sleep with a smile.  There's nothing in this world that can compare to the loving, beautiful feelings I feel in these sweet and special moments with my Husband Curtis.

*A true relationship is a mosaic of adjustments, compromises, sacrifices, maturity, understanding, commitment, patience, tolerance and unconditional love. It is painted with tears, laughter, smiles and sprinkled with beautiful moments spent together. It is not all about happiness but also holding each other’s hands when sadness creeps in. It is all about two people who are madly in love with each other and have a strong determination to make their relationship work by enduring each other’s imperfections, overlooking flaws and cherishing the differences.*


June 9, 2014
Having one of them especially [romantic] nights together tonight with my Lover, my Husband Curt Sowell ♥  #HotBubbleBathFor2 #LoversMarriage


June 9, 2014
Awweee So I walked into our bedroom and my husband had lit our candles ... Think he's trying to tell me something. :))) #LoversMarriage #RomanticHusbands

 

May 29, 2014
Things have seemed much more like being back to "normal" for us; it feels good too! Ever since we made that mutual decision together to practice more of a concentrated focus on strengthening, and maintaining our necessary [boundaries] where anything or anyone outside the union of our marriage is concerned.  I say back to normal, meaning that our state of normalcy together is one of not being all bogged down with unnecessary [drama], stress or influences that may in anyway be relating to anything or anyone outside ourselves...if that makes any sense.  Works for us!

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." -William Shakespeare

"The course of true love never did run smooth." -William Shakespeare
 
 
                                                                May 28, 2014
                                Feeling wonderful and especially [proud] of US!!
                                In 4 words: "We're Back To Basics!"
                                #WhatMattersMost  #TeamSowell
 
 
 May 28, 2014
 
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.
 
Unity in marriage is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity.
Growth often demands a temporary or even permanent surrender of perceived security. 
 
It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, and [relationships] that are not altogether good for us as a unit...relationships that have lost their meaning.
It excites me to see our growth together <3 I love you and I am very proud of you <3
 
 "Therefore what God has joined together, let man not put asunder."


May 27, 2014

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement.
 
They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around.
 
You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all.
 
A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon.
 
You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.” -Bob Marley
 
 
 

"The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It's a choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again - and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife." -Barbara De Angelis

The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It's a choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again - and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/barbaradea148258.html#hMFIxxFCBISxPWcp.99

The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It's a choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again - and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/barbaradea148258.html#hMFIxxFCBISxPWcp.99




May 26, 2014

 
Another day has passed and I am quietly reminded that [endurance] represents it's own state of being.  I've been meditating on the meaning and grace of forgiveness.  As the days continue to pass I can see the layers of confusion falling away from me. Every day is a new day... a new chance at restoring and being restored.

I've also been meditating on the meaning and practice of forgiveness. To [forgive].           

To forgive those that have offended our hearts is a personal act of courage.  How courageous we are depends on each person, individually speaking.  What I am still not altogether clear on, or I am  kind of [stuck on] I should say is this: "Why doesn't it seem as easy to forgive one person you love, from the next person you love?"   Which brings me to the degrees of loving a person.

 

Loving my spouse seems to awaken naturally the ability and drive to forgive and move on. 

Maybe it is because he has not made it an actual practice of offending me. Sure, there are them occasional Slips, Trips and Falls... He's human, as I am.  Let's consider the context of [Intent] as it is used in the legal field.  Intent has everything to do with an offense.

 

Now the consideration of someone other than my spouse offending my heart and my ability or even willingness to forgive and move on with an open door... There's where I am stuck.  I love these people too.  But it's a different kind of love... A familial relationship type of love or regard.

 

Intent... What were their personal intentions?  I'm not stuck there. 
Their intentions have been obvious for quite some time.  However, out of some form of obligation you could say to the biblical or moral teachings about family ties,  I chose to keep on trying to turn the other cheek.   So where does that really leave the entire situation about forgiveness and moving forward with these people I find myself questioning...


Today- I have no answer yet .  I do know that my other cheek is no longer willing...

Maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, maybe next year... Maybe never again??? We all have our breaking points.  I will say that I am not as broken as I was days ago. 
 

 “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.”   -Orson F. Whitney


May 25, 2014

Took some time to myself today away at the lake.... Then I had a surprise guest drop in to sit with me... My Husband <3

 “Today I begin to understand what love must be, if it exists. When we are parted, we each feel the lack of the other half of ourselves. We are incomplete like a book in two volumes of which the first has been lost. That is what I imagine love to be: incompleteness in absence.”
-Edmond De Goncourt

 

Every Day Is A New Day Forward Together

May 21, 2014
 
I like the concept of planting seeds... Seeds of hope, strength, endurance and perseverance during the trying times that come along the Highways and Byways of Life. "Lean on me, as I need to lean on you during the difficult times..."
 
My dear, ever-growing Husband reiterated to me this evening as we continue to paddle our way together through a tough situation we are joined in overcoming together. I am especially proud of his courage and his determination to paddle alongside me the hardest I have ever seen him paddle here lately- figuratively speaking. I am always reminded of the concept of planting seeds of [faith] in life's most difficult of challenges- situations that are directly connected to the human, emotional heart.  When we plants seeds, it is on the faith that something good will sprout forward from the planting and watering.  Naturally the spouts will not happen overnight.
 
But if you are patient and keep tending to the watering of your planting, the potential for growth is indeed there.  And of course there's the [weeding] process. Weeding out the fruitless weeds-weeding out what is not beneficial to the harvesting of good roots.  To each gardener, his own choice- Are you planting for the purpose of producing a beautiful, colorful garden or crop? Or are you planting pointlessly, a field of weeds? I personally prefer flowering shrubs and a plentiful harvest that endures the changing seasons. 
 


May 20, 2014

People are SO Afraid To ACTUALLY Talk To Each Other- Heart To Heart.

Fear you think? Why Fear?? Fear of a difference of Opinion? Fear of Discord or Conflicting Perspectives or Insights?

The GREATEST & REALEST Relationships DO Make ROOM for Difference.  It grieves my heart that people will not be REAL with each other.


May 19, 2014

Have you ever sat back and wondered:
What Makes People Tick?
What Makes People The Vulnerable Beings They Can Sometimes Be?
What Makes People The Strong Beings That They Are?
What Makes People Loving or Sadly Hateful Beings?
What Makes People React To Certain Situations?
What Makes People Strive To Be Better Individuals?

Well, I've been journaling my personal Journey across my personal Life for as far back as I can remember. When I started it, it was more for my own therapeutic reasons....

Years later I discovered that the common bond in humanity is that we are ALL on our own Journeys through the Highs and Lows of Life.

Engaging in the interest of Encouraging and Uplifting the next human being, that and celebrating the joys and triumphs of the next human being, is in my opinion, that weaving grace that joins humanity together as God had intended the human race to be.

I used to protect my journal pages from pretty much everyone... Years later I discovered that opening up these pages had the very grand possibility of touching another human life in the areas of HOPE, COURAGE, ENDURANCE and SURVIVAL.

My Husband said to me inside these last 3 days: "Keep going Baby! Keep Journaling, Keep on Being YOU! Keep Inspiring Others...Because You Continue To Inspire Me on a REAL Level of Being."

 

 May 17, 2014

Sigh... I completely lost my temper last night and this morning with 2 people I really cared about and actually trusted my heart with once. After a beautiful heart to heart talk with my dear Husband over coffee this morning and crying too for my personal feelings of being disappointed in myself for how far outside my character I stepped in losing my temper, we've cancelled our plans for the races today so I can re-group my emotional heart today. All I can say is that it was a long time coming! However it doesn't make me feel good in anyway in the fact that I blew a major gasket with these people in such a Raw way :(  I am one of them people that will bend as far as I can, take all I can take- But I have limits too! Having my personal kindness repeatedly taken for a weakness is not something I appreciate. Being wrongly measured or in anyway disrespected where my marriage is concerned is also something I have no desire to tolerate. I am grateful for my Husband who didn't falter in catching my back .as I most definitely have his. Feeling very, very low in my Spirit right now. I need prayers ! I am not able to go into any details beyond this...  Feeling disappointed in myself for having blew my top as Raw as I did... But, like I said, it was a long time coming and well, sometimes you gotta show your fangs to show people that you are NOT a damn doormat.

In the days since my dear husband and I were flooded with expressed words, phone-calls, texts and social media posts of encouragement and support from literally all over the United States and Abroad.

To each of my dear friends who offered me such heartfelt comfort here- Your friendships are a real blessing!  After my post here I cried hard and then my husband had me lay down to rest my heart and mind. He tucked me in and asked me to try and put everything off my mind. He put our two Basset boys next to me and I drifted off to sleep. Later I woke up to find my husband cuddling me. I'm still trying to find the words to the whole situation. One thing I can say for myself and it's something people who really know me know about me. That is that I do not just fly off the handle as hard as I did without a whole lot of push. I value and sincerely care about how I speak to, engage with, and treat people. 

In hindsight I feel torn because I cannot remember the last time I went so hard on anyone, as I did last night and this morning. But then, I'm usually not in the situations that open up my being provoked to such the extent to do so. I pride myself in self-control and intelligent conflict resolution. Let's just say I've been trying that for over 3 years, nearly 4 years  straight in this matter.

Oftentimes I've been quietly fascinated that these people have a tendency to misinterpret my patience and kindness as maybe weakness, naivety or outright ignorance.  I have two degrees- 1 in Psychology the other in Criminal Justice. Naive, weak or ignorant I'm surely not!  Instead I'm one of them people who care to Choose my Battles Carefully. I'm open-minded to letting things sort themselves out-hoping for a good outcome.

All that said- I still feel horrible for how I finally blew my lid! I am ASHAMED of myself for having stepped so far outside of my personal character in my seething, pent up anger and hurt and frustration with one more than the other of these 2 persons. I lost all my composure! After talking to my husband today he reassured me from his own angle of perception that it probably needed to be done...

I bet my bottom dollar that I did hit the shock value to these 2 people I went off on. Pompous people are a real turn off to me. People who hide behind false pleasantries and fancy material settings. People who measure people unjustly... People who place more value on material possessions that on the heart and feelings of people they are supposedly claiming to care about. My marriage, my heart, my personal being is NOT FOR SALE. And I made that brutally clear! My Husband and I are off limits to people who have no greater depth than what exists inside a persons wallet is all I am going to say here. I really thank you all for your comfort... I was in bad shape this morning... I am still trying to shake my heart off... :( 

Then here in my dear Husband Curt's personal words he posted this for all the world to see:

"We are going to be o.k! We have each other is all that matters. It is now when you lean on me and I on you. People have to sit back and think" would I put up with this or just let it slide". We all have emotions, some stronger than others, but they can't judge how deep one can feel it. 
Or how far one will react to the displeasure of it! I love you baby, we will pull through!!



May 10, 2014

Crossing major milestones together is what really makes our marriage that much more exciting!
I love you and I especially love your courage and boldness where and when it comes to [standing] with and beside me as my Husband, where and when it comes to anything or anyone [outside] our marriage.  Feeling Rejuvenated <3 I Love You <3

"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or concieted. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offence and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes."


April 24, 2014

It's been a wonderful journey together these years together <3 I am still in awe about the life and love we share together Mr. Sowell.  I love you! I wouldn't change a thing about you...not one !!

“I finally understood what true love meant...love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be.”

“So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday,
but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me...everyday.”  -Nicholas Sparks

 

That Sweet Intimacy In Marriage:
By: Mina-Leann Sowell
January 12, 2014


Having my morning coffee this morning here in my office on a Sunday Morning, I am smiling in my heart reflecting on my morning with my beautiful Husband Curtis.  It's been a busy last 2 weeks into this New Year 2014.  Trying to balance schedules and the ever present demands of life's daily grind has its challenges and yet it has its rewards all the same.

Last night we called it a night very very early here at home.  It was one of them evenings where the simple task of making dinner for my husband and myself too, was not something he or I felt was an all out necessity.  Something to eat, yes naturally.  But it was more one of them evenings where we looked at each other with that wordless knowing that a full course meal was just not  what we were wanting; because it would delay what we wanted most- which was to just lay down close and turn our phones, bodies and minds off.   So our always simple alternative... Breakfast food!

My Husband loves breakfast food [anytime] as an alternative to a full course meal!  Me, a cup of hot tea, toast or a light sandwich works fine for me! 

We tucked our 3 furbabies into their warm beds in their doggy bedroom and then wasted no time to get ourselves into our big, cozy bed.  There.... that being one of our favorite places together just to cuddle up and whisper, pray and then let that sweet intimate space of sleep take us over. 

Sometime in the middle of the night, about 2 in the morning, I felt my dear Husband Curt's hand reach for mine and I recall noticing that both of our wedding rings were touching.  I laid there quietly as the soft spill of moonlight from outside our bedroom window fell upon the silhouette of his wonderfully masculine body; watching and listening to his breathing as he continued to sleep.  And the thought came to me: "What a sweet and beautiful man my Husband is to me."

I snuggled closer to him and whispered "Thank You God...For My Husband" and I fell asleep again.

Morning came softly and I was up before him.  I was having my coffee quietly in the kitchen and letting our 3 furbabies out for their morning potty, when I heard our bedroom door open quietly, then my Husband Curt's always soft and gentle voice say: "Good morning Princess..."  He comes up from behind me and gives me these always warm and wonderful hugs and plants a kiss on my neck.  Inside my heart I'm smiling!  He heads over to the coffee pot for his own cup.  It's all that simple:  That Sweet Intimacy that we share that truly completes me as a happy woman, the one so happily married to my Dear Husband Curtis

Feeling BLESSED!
 
                                November 20, 2013
                                My beautiful Husband and I  are making ourselves better again 
                                together after a shared bout of Bronchitis. I'm grateful for everything 
                                we to together to take care of each other. I love you my love♥
                                In Sickness & In Health.  

                                November 19, 2013
                               My hubby and I are both sick at home together today. So he was 
                               sweet enough to go to the pharmacy and the store to stock us up on 
                               soups, crackers and juices today.


                             November 18, 2013
                             I just love it when I get to chat for hours with my baby Sister- 
                             My Beautiful Sissy! Shared a long beautiful phone call with my baby 
                             sister today. #AcrossTheMiles

 October 20, 2013
This Scripture here has always moved my heart♥

Matthew 5*
New International Version (NIV)

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount:

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,

2 and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes:

Jesus said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


  October 19, 2013


What Is A Facebook Status Stalker???

"Someone who only reads your Facebook status updates, tweets...etc but doesn't actually reach out and talk to you. They also hit like and or comment on stuff [always] managing to avoid posts that are a clear representation of your [shared] happy life with your partner, spouse, and lover...your significant other.

 These are people who portray to be genuinely interested in being a friend to you BUT it may be your Man or Woman that they are primarily more interested in believe it or not. Seriously LOL!!!

The funny part is that they think you are not Hip to their game:-) My cure for these types of people is to give them a big dose of reality by rubbing your happy reality in their face with posts that are not only the BIG picture of what they are trying to find a way into, but what they are not ever going to be an active part of.

 Another example of a Facebook Status Stalker is someone who only peeks in to see what you're doing in your life but do so under the radar. Facebook creeping I call it.

 A Facebook Status Stalker...You know the types!!! I certainly do! BIG SMILE!!!



October 9, 2013

We had an amazing conversation today about a subject we stand very strong on together. The subject that relates to our mutual agreement of giving every individual *1 Shot* at revealing their real or fake intentions of wanting to be on the inside of the circle called "US". Eyes wide open peepers and creepers.  As a couple, we are definitely NOT at all shy about showing you the door either! Let's see what'chu got.  That's what I love about our marriage... We discuss and reach to agree upon [everything] that steps toward us in any given circumstance. Why do we focus intently on this area in our relationship some might ask... Because realistically, the world is full of human beings with their own human defects of character, masks, mentalities and agendas. In short [experience] has taught us both to be very selective of our personally shared and mutual associations with others. A marriage "Of One Accord", is a marital relationship geared toward harmony.



                                0ctober 8, 2013  
                                Cozy night at home. Dinner and a Red Box movie- 
                                "World War Z" the movie my sweet Husband has been anxious to see.
                                My romantic hubby Curt lit candles to set the mood.  He's so romantic! 
                                He definitely knows how to excite my heart, mind, body and soul.
 

 
Is it that time of year again?? My baby Curt last night putting up 
     the Spiderweb lights with lighted spiders and cob-webbing for 
our front entrance doorway.



 
A funny but sweet moment before my sweet husband Curt left for his last night of this 
        weekend graveyard shift: We were walking around the house together and we were looking 
       at our 1st Fall Pumpkin decor in our foyer... I was chatting about something as I was making 
       my way through our hallway when suddenly, He grabs me by my waist and pins me against 
      the wall in our hallway and gives me this electrifying kiss! The kind that I call the 
     "Goodbye Sailor Kiss" LOL!! Then he says: "Last night of this graveyard shift princess... 
      Hold that thought til I get home♥" I think I floated from the hallway to the kitchen with stars 
      in my eyes HA HA HA! Our Furbabies stood there watching and our bassets began to Howl 
      HA HA HA!! My Husband Curt's romantic spontaneity makes my heart flutter!!! 
      Never a dull moment♥ Loving the Journey! #LoversMarriage
 

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
~ Henry David Thoreau


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