Kaleidoscope

kaleidoscope

[kəˈlaɪdəˌskəʊp]

[from Greek kalos beautiful + eidos form + -scope]

beautiful + form 

Almost like math, with a lean toward poetry.  That is the precise reason I've skipped to the definition I like best: 

3. a complicated set of circumstances

"Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility. Effective leaders are able to."
~Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Powerful.  I came across this quote and had to use it here.  I think I'll be "using" it for quite some time.  I'm working diligently these days, preparing my application for Mizzou's Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis doctoral program.  Ms. Kanter's assertion that effective leaders are able to entice new possibilities is exactly what I want others to see when they look through my kaleidoscope.  A complex set of circumstances?  Those words fall somewhere under the definition of "i.am.sanders".  What can I say?  I'm bringing a sense of adventure to this ride."Illusion is the first of all pleasures."  ~Oscar Wilde

And one more thing on a completely unrelated note (although honestly, nothing that comes out of my head or my heart is every really completely unrelated)... I mentioned somewhere previously on My Happilist that I like seeing my name in print.  I won't repost that sentiment, but I'll show you what I mean.  Here's the result of a new, hand-lettered stamp, made just for moi!

  

My Happilist

i.am.sanders

 

Gratitude is the heart's memory. ~French proverb

Nos. 498 ~ 580

• hope 
• a new pair of running shoes 
• warm towels just out of the dryer 
• the sight of Missouri State Highway Patrol hats in my closet ~ Dad's first...and his last 
• old iron beds 
• military haircuts 
• a ride through Astoria, Queens with Gus the Greek 
• Colby Jack cheese 
• Pepper Jack cheese! 
• sand castles 
• bubble baths 
• Dr. Phil 
• education ~ formal or informal...just learning something 
• Food Network 
• The History Channel 
• the photography of National Geographic 
• iPhones 
• the Pledge of Allegiance 
• frozen yogurt with fresh berries and granola 
• Paul Mitchell Skinny 
• a cool breeze
• communion 
• log cabins
• picking apples from a tree 
• 4.0 
• jumping into leaf piles 
• Tip ~ my own first grade reading book 
• baby toes 
• Adirondack chairs  
• tire swings 
• neighborhood walks  
• the END of a migraine 
• Mennonite buggies 
• Weeping Willow trees 
• farms  
• farmhouses
• tractors in a field 
• old barns 
• red barns 
• Wompanoag studies 
• silos ~ I'm a Midwest girl! 
• sunsets ~ fading like subordinate clauses, from dusk to dark 
• skipping stones 
• blue skies 
• green grass 
• the smell of a BBQ grill 
• treehouse views 
• Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
• drink umbrellas 
• fortune cookies 
• cobblestone streets 
• relaxation at the Lake 
• Pink's Funhouse CD 
• manicures 
• Yankee Candles 
• sage advice 
• geraniums on my porch 
• a purpose 
• validation 
• roasted marshmallows ~ lightly browned 
• The Ballad of Curtis Loew
• memories of affordable gasoline 
• Cajun trail mix 
• the smell of Play-Doh 
• genealogical research 
• family heirlooms and the stories that accompany them
• Alice Springs Chicken at the Outback 
• butterfly kisses 
• orange slice candy ~ Grandpa's favorite
• the courtesy of a reply 
• Hershey's milk chocolate 
• old screen doors 
• the study of history ~ because you want to  
• white chocolate 
• a trip to the pumpkin patch 
• Katie Scarlett O'Hara ~ the familiarity 
• a mercantile 
• Oscar Wilde 
• my lifetime membership at the Miller Country Historical Society ~ a partnership that matters to me 
• cell phone calls from a former student, age 7, to discuss A) the several (!) chapter books she's reading simultaneously and B) her thoughts on writing topics for Writer's Workshop as she begins 2nd grade...Wow! 
• a "Jenny and Oliver" kind of love 
• my first memories, age 2 
• old home movies circa the early 1970s...I remember when.