Virginia | A Kiss Of Bliss

a tickle of words to create smiles

Posts tagged ‘Virginia’

Grateful for NASA’s Space Program (TY-27)

I have always been fascinated with astronomy, the moon, the stars, the planets, our solar system, our galaxy and the entire universe. The vastness of our universe and everything in it is remarkable. I am deeply grateful that our wonderful nation has such a phenomenal space program with NASA. Of course, I may be a bit biased because my wonderful father spent his entire career working (playing) there as a master electrical engineer (some called him a rocket scientist). He was responsible for the communication instruments used on Viking 1 and 2, which were hugely vital and very important to the mission. His work is on Mars! How many people can boast about that!

Last night at 8:15 p.m. EST (0115 GMT Wednesday), the Orbital Sciences-built Minotaur 1 rocket launched into space from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to begin the ORS-3 mission, which is run by the U.S. military’s Operationally Responsive Space Office. As you can see from the images, it was awesome. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility had a live webcam running during the launching. This launching brings back beautiful memories for me. When I was about 8 years old, I had the opportunity to see a huge rocket (Viking 2) launch from Cape Kennedy, which was destined for Mars in search for life!

The rocket used to carry Viking 2 was MASSIVE and during the pre-launch events, it was referred to as THE BEAST! THE BEAST shook the ground a mile or more away as it took off. I know this for a fact because I was there to witness it from a distance of about one mile away. I will never, ever forget this event. Ah, yes! I do deeply appreciate NASA and its phenomenal space program. May we never lose our pioneering, creative and engineering spirits!

NASA Launches Mission to Study Upper Atmosphere of Mars. (linkybird.com)
Minotaur rocket to lift off with satellite built by high school students (nbcnews.com)
NASA Wallops Launch Tonight (witn.com)
NASA’s Minotaur Rocket Launch May Light Up Sky Along East Coast Tonight (LIVESTREAM) (huffingtonpost.com)
29 satellites to launch tonight (cnn.com)
BLOG: Rocket Launching Tuesday Night (philadelphia.cbslocal.com)
Minotaur I Launch Updates and Viewing Options (parabolicarc.com)
Record-Setting Rocket Launch on Nov. 19: The 29 Satellites (space.com)

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Appreciation, Inspiration, Intention

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Grateful for my Community

I deeply appreciate my community. I live in a small city on the coast of Virginia and we just had our annual seafood festival. It is wonderful to see how wonderfully our community came together to put on such a fabulous festival filled with music, food and artisans. All of our community service groups had booths set up to raise funds for wonderful causes like the Friends of the Library (with which I am a member), the Kiwanis Club, and the Lions Club.

The weather was mostly ideal for it, too. It is a delight to see members of our community celebrate with neighboring communities who visited our seafood festival. I deeply appreciate how the organizers of the event made this year’s festival a success! As I worked in our booth, I could hear positive comments as people passed through, which warmed my heart. I had a great time even though I am drained of all my energy in a positive way.

I am grateful for our community. We know how to come together for events like the seafood festival, as well as, support each other during tragic events like after severe weather that often cause flooding and property damage. Community is so important. Rallying for each other, having fun together, helping each other and appreciating neighbors is all part of creating that community spirit. Expressing gratitude for where you live helps to build a strong community, for which am very grateful!

10 things we love about fall in Hampton Roads (wtkr.com)

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Appreciation, Inspiration, Intention, Joy, Life, Relationships

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Message of Christmas – Connection

I took over 2oo photos on Christmas Day as I walked (with my husband and my puppy-dog) on the Noland Trail, which is part of the Mariners Museum in Newport News, Virginia. Each photo captured a beautiful moment in nature that are often invisible to us. The squirrel feasting on his Christmas meal stole my heart when I discovered this sight. It was quite a distance away, but I could hear the squirrel munching away. With the lens of my camera to assist my eye, I was in awe. We are all so deeply connected…people, nature, the material and the spiritual world. Christmas is the time of year that magically opens our senses to really see it. Merry Christmas.

All Christmas Trees (akissofbliss.wordpress.com)

Category:

Appreciation, Inspiration, Nature

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The Importance of Connecting With Others

What are connections? A connection is when things are tied or linked together like wires, pipes, and roads. Connections can also be applied to people who are tied or linked together in various ways like social connections through sports clubs and church or family connections through kin and relations. Often people have connections at school or work, at service organizations and social clubs. Connections can be made at parties and other events in our lives.

I spent much of my weekend connecting, as I co-chaired a Friends-Of-the-Library charity event at the Poquoson Seafood Festival. I enjoyed interacting with other volunteers and with customers who browsed and/or bought items from our annual used paperback book sale. There was a great turnout at the Poquoson Seafood festival as we had great weather. The whole event was so much fun. And, I was delighted to see old friends and make new ones over the weekends. We exchanged hugs, encouragement and had an opportunity to catch up and/or learn about each other.

I even got to exchange a few words with one of candidates running for Senator representing Virginia in Congress. If he had an opportunity to spend more time with me, he might have swayed my vote his way; but, alas, he did not. It was interesting to see how he worked the crowd and how easily any candidate could feel a sense of support. Admirers gravitated to him, yearning for a handshake, an exchange of words and maybe a photograph.

Connections allow people to exchange positive energy with each other through love, compassion, kindness and support. As we progress through the 21st century, connections have become easier and easier to make. (There is some thought among a few is that we may even be over-connected, but that is fodder for another blog.) Looking at the positive side of connections, it is exciting to see how many ways one can connect with others, especially with other like-minded individuals.

There are so many social networking sites from the popular Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, as well as, professional networking sites like LinkedIn, ZoomInfo and Bright Fuse. And websites like Ning allow anyone to create very specific social networking sites designed for whatever the host would like, for example: artists, writers, educators, and so on.

Do you remember connecting the dots in dot-to-dot puzzle as a youngster? You would start with the first dot and create a picture by following a sequence of numbered dots. Connections among people can also be seen this way. Let us create beautiful pictures with our connections. And, let us remember why it is so important to speak and act with compassion and love when we connect with others.

The far-reaching connections are boundless. It is amazing who knows who because of you-know-who. Some may call it karma, but it truly is because we are all interconnected. How would you like to be connected to others? May it always be in a be in a positive way. (This is an edited re-post from February 6, 2012)

You: Show and Tell–Poquoson Seafood Festival (bdoutdoors.com)

Category:

Inspiration, Intention, Joy, Life, Relationships

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Praise

Why is it so hard at times to accept praise? It is odd that it is easier to give praise than to receive it. Why have we been taught to be so humble? Praise should be embraced and cherished! There is nothing more satisfying to the giver of praise than seeing animated appreciation and gratitude with a resounding, “oh! thank you so much!” as opposed to a humble and shy, “oh, you shouldn’t have” or “really? thank you”. When one takes time to really show their appreciation for being noticed; people are going to notice that person more because they get delight in the praise, too! Keep in mind that most people do not praise others unless they are genuine about it. Give them the satisfaction that you appreciate the praise and shower the giver with gratitude and then pay the praise forward. Oh, what fun that would be.

When we praise each other it lifts the spirit almost as much as does when we praise God. Praise is a joyful experience that should be shared and relished. Celebrate the praise and uplift others in praise. Make certain, however it is not false praise. The undertones of false praise is negative and the intention of false praise will not go unnoticed. Praise needs to be sincere and genuine. The positive energy with true praise is great. One can feel it. Praise is an outward expression of love and kindness. Each and every person is praiseworthy at least sometime in his or her life. All the more reason for people to celebrate the praise when it is showered upon them. True praise takes a person’s spirit to a higher level of energy.

On a personal note, I wish to acknowledge and shower appreciation to Tristan of The Alternate Economy and Lesley of Sustainableutopia for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award;
Ann of Channel Comfort for nominating me for the Kreativ Blogger Award; and Rose of Every Now and Then for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award. I am so tickled to be the recipient of these! I am relatively new to blogging and have only been posting since Dec. 27, 2011, which is only a little over 6 weeks. I have come across some phenomenal writers here on Word Press and will proudly nominate my current favorites according to the rules of each of these awards. If you’ve been a recipient in the past, please consider this nomination as validation of your continued awesomeness!

Rules of Acceptance of the Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Share 7 intimate details about myself
2. Nominate 15 other blogs for this award.

Rules of Acceptance of the Kreativ Blogger Award are:
1. Thank the blogger who presented you with the award.
2. Post a photo of the award.
3. Share ten things about yourself readers don’t know.
4. Choose six people to present this award to.
5. Let the six bloggers know they have been awarded.

Here are the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award.
1.Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2.Pass the award to other newly discovered blogs.
3.Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

7 details about myself and 10 things you do not know about me:
1. I love pizza and authentic Italian cuisine, especially lasagna.
2. I love art and crafting supplies; and, I try to utilize it all.
3. I adore puppies and love dogs…Sasha my 3-year-old pup is my inspiration and support.
4. I am married to a phenomenal man, Rick Orobko and our wedding took place in Canada.
5. I reside in the Commonwealth of Virginia and I have lived in Virginia for most of my life.
6. I am a first generation American; both my parents were born in different countries (Chile and Germany).
7. I have a phenomenal sister, Monique, she is my best friend and confidant.
8. I am a daydreamer and intuitive thinker; I now embrace and celebrate those characteristics.
9. I feel connected with everyone; and, with the dawning of the Internet, the connection feels even stronger.
10. I appreciate and value everyone! Each person has unique traits that need to be revered and celebrated!

My 15 nominations for the Versatile Blogger award are:

1. Andy Dooley