Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Dreams for the New Year



"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become.  Your vision is the promise of what you shall at last unveil."
                                                                                                                          John Ruskin


This is my 400th post -- something I never dreamed of when I first began blogging!  So let's have a little giveaway here.  Leave a comment, telling me what your dreams are for the new year, and I'll draw one name, to receive an 8" X 10" copy of the photo above.  

Wishing you joy in the New Year!

Note: If you do not have a blog of your own, you may still enter.  Please leave your email address, so that I can contact you if you win.  :)


66 comments:

  1. Dear Mary
    Have a happy new year.
    Thanks for your ideas in the blog :-)
    ♥☼♥Barbara♥☼♥

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  2. Congratulations on your 400th post. I'm dreaming of losing some weight in the new year and reconnecting with my husband....we are in empty nest mode and I'd like to make the best of it.

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  3. 400 posts! That's wonderful Mary! Good for you :)

    I dream of having more energy and a small vacation with my family in the new year. We haven't taken a vacation in almost 6 years! I really need it!

    I hope 2009 is a very good to us all.

    Sharon

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  4. Mary, I found your blog accidently last fall when I googled "Desk Set". I was looking for information on the Tracy/Hepburn film by the same name as your posting on your desks! I also keep a desk of my own which is the headquarters for my life (I even eat my lunch there on Saturdays!). Your house is darling and your photography is lovely.

    I dream of finally learning to trust myself and to go deep within to find the answers I seek. I dream of listening to my own heart when I need to make a decision about my life. I hope to accomplish this by journaling agan so that I can hear my own voice in this world full of the cacaphony of others' thoughts and passions. I want to find my own voice that will at last guide my life.

    Donna,
    who has single parented a child from age 1 to 22, works in a cubicle farm, has an identical twin sister, and so desperately needs to hear herself think...

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  5. Mary,
    I wish you and your family a very Happy New Year as well.
    My dreams for the coming year are that we weather the economical storms ahead, that my boys achieve all they dream of and that my family stays healthy.

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  6. Well, having just come from Brin's My Messy Thrilling Life and the calendar debacle, I am sitting here dreaming how delightful a year with only 11 months might be, though I wouldn't get rid of July! Perhaps January. Nah, that's just ridiculous. I'd like to have a doable dream. All of mine are just flights of fancy.

    Beautiful photograph and congratulations on 400 posts!

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  7. Mary, congratulations on your 400th post. I've enjoyed your blog and your great pictures. My dream for 2009 is to get back to painting with watercolors. It's a hobby that I've "put aside" for years and I feel it calling me back. Peggy from PA

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  8. Congratulations, Mary. You are definitely one of my firsts visits of the day.

    I hope to have a happy and healthy new year for our family.

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  9. I don't remember how I found your blog, Mary, but I'm so glad I did. My dreams for the new year are simple. I just want my husband to get better and to not be so sad.

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  10. Hi Mary,
    Congratulations on your 400th post! You really have the ability to 'stick' with something.

    I dream of being a little thinner, and having a wonderful happy, healthy and productive 09!

    Happy New Year!
    Diane

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  11. Mary ~ Congrats on your 400th blog post. Thank you for sharing yourself through this blog; it has been my pleasure to be your reader.

    My wish for 2009 is to not worry so much and place my trust in Him.

    Hugs,

    Vanessa

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  12. Love your blog! 400 posts? That is a wonderful achievement, I hope you post 400 more!

    My wish for 2009 is an even closer walk with my Lord.

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  13. Congratulations! 400 posts...wow, you must be a professional ;-) I enjoy your blog very much. My dreams for 2009 -- to stay strong. Blessings to you!

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  14. Really, my biggest goal/dream for the new year is just getting back on our feet and hubby finding work. Happy new year and congratulations on 400 posts!

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  15. Just found your place yesterday - you have a lovely blog and the photos are stunning!

    Happy New Year to you and your whole fam.

    My dreams for 2009 - good health and be able to go on vacation....

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  16. Happy New Year!!! Best ishes for all the wonderous things you dream to come true!

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  17. Very pretty photo! Wish I was HALF that talented! Have a happy and safe new year!

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  18. Gorgeous photo! Happy new year and happy 400th post!

    My dreams/goals for the coming year are to take better care of ME (hard thing for us women isn't it?), to build our nest egg and for my little family to be healthy and happy.

    tina

    tinam61@yahoo.com

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  19. Congratulations Mary! I just had my 100th post and have to laugh, I wondered if I would run out of things to say after 5 posts! I would love to win the print, your photography is just so incredible. Have a blessed new year.

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  20. 400 posts...Wow! Love the photo, all your photography. I can't wait to see what the next 400 posts bring!

    I'm wishing for a healthy 2009.

    Here's wishing you have a wonderful, peaceful & prosperous New Year, Mary!

    Chris

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  21. Hello, Mary. I read your posts a lot, but don't comment often. I think you're probably about my age ( I am 53) and I think we have the same interests. My kids are grown and out (26-28), so my life has changed enormously in the past 5 years. I guess my one dream, one I may be able to really do, is to do the right thing in all circumstances.
    Happy New Year!

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  22. Hi Mary-
    I love your blog and check it often! I am dreaming and praying for my 5 year old son to continue to be cancer free in 2009. He is one year cancer free now. He is an amazing little boy! Happy New Year and enjoy that great camera, I really want an SLR camera myself!
    Take care- Krista

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  23. Happy New Year, Mary! Your photography is beautiful, as always. Wishing you only the best in 2009. Thanks for your lovely blog.

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  24. Congrats on your Blogiversary! I am looking forward to reading many many 100's more of your posts.

    All I am wishing for the New Year, is health and happiness, for everyone. With that, I am thinking we can withstand many troubles.

    Jen

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  25. Hello, and Happy New Year! My dream for 2009 is that this will be the year that my husband and I finally welcome home our baby! We are in the process of adopting and getting more and more excited by the day!

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  26. Congratulations on your 400th post! I'm dreaming of getting healthy in 2009 and making my new house a home:)

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  27. Hi Mary - happy New Year! My dream for the new year is to actively look for a new job where I feel fulfilled in helping others. I am currently working in an office where the work I do is meaningless and boring and I dread coming here most days. I don't want to live my life like that.

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  28. Congratulations on your 400th post. My dream is that my family remains safe, healthy, happy and has a relationship with God. Happy New Year to you and yours. Sally

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  29. Hi Mary,

    Congrats on 400! I am so glad that you are here :) I have a stockpile of needs (as do we all) and a ton more wants but my dream for the new year is to find satisfaction with the present. I've decided that I have spent too much time waiting for the perfect tomorrow and I don't want to squander these beautiful todays.

    Here's wishing you a stockpile of beautiful days in the new year!

    Hugs,
    Dena

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  30. Congrats Mary on your 400th post! I've been reading your blog for about a year now and try to visit every day. I love your writing and think your Photography is AMAZING; I would love to have one hanging in my home! My hope for the New Year is just to strive to be more Christ-like.
    Blessings to You..
    Bertie
    jpavlik3@verizon.net

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  31. i hope you have your dream(s) come true, mary! my dream is that we all live in the present, and continue to learn from our experiences and those of others, and that we have joy in our lives. and that there is always chocolate available. keep posting - you always brighten my day! happy '09 jkj

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  32. Congratulations Mary. Your photos are an inspiration for many, me included. I'm so looking forward to 2009. Although the challenges are facing us already. I wish for my husband to be well and free from pain, physical and emotional, so we can start to enjoy life again....and maybe, possibly, hopefully, on our very own farm.

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  33. Hi Mary,
    That's a beautiful photo; I've really enjoyed "looking around" your site. My husband and I will be starting Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover plan. For myself personally, I want to live my life more purposefully, and enjoy and appreciate what I already have.
    Happy New Year!

    rosie539@aol.com

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  34. Wow! 400 posts. That is truly awesome. Congratulations. The picture is just beautiful.

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  35. Hi Mary
    Congratulations on 400 posts. That's quite an accomplishment. Hope 2009 ia a year of good health, joy and happiness for you.
    Hugs, Rhondi

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  36. Congratulations on 400 posts! That's awesome. I wish you a blessed new year ahead. I would say that I want to be a better helpmate to my husband and be more encouraging of his work, and to grow closer to God and let him lead as only he can do.
    Happy 2009!
    ~Suzanne
    www.sugarloafcottage.blogspot.com

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  37. Happy New Year Mary~ You've made a wonderful little place to come and visit; to sit for a spell and let the other world catch up. Thank you for all 400 posts! Outstanding, beautiful, observant, humorous, reflective, each in its own way a new conversation.

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  38. Dee from Tennessee

    My dream echos Vanessa's...."My wish for 2009 is to not worry so much and place my trust in Him. " And to cultivate more thanksgiving in my life, day in and day out or more like hour by hour.

    Thankful for you blog...it is a treasure to me.

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  39. I'm dreaming of warmer weather, oh yea hanging that beautiful picture on my wall.



    sunnybulter@yahoo.com

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  40. Having gotten my dad through cancer surgery, and my husband through knee replacement surgery, back-to-back, I'm looking to take a nice, peaceful trip this year and a Maine Harbor Cruise sounds most appealing.

    pattie.tierney@gmail.com

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  41. My dream is to start living a very simple, healthy life.

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  42. Thank you Mary for visiting me in Arcadia! I have enjoyed both your blogs from afar and drool over your photography...my dream for this year is to improve my photo skills...maybe take a class somewhere....and the ultimate dream of world peace! Congrats on your 400th post...

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  43. Your lovely photograph is evocative of the quiet and peace and times of solitude I wish for this year. I dream of quiet peace and joy and heavenly protection for all of my loved ones this coming year.

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  44. Happy New Year to all ! Enjoy your blog so much...I would like to have lofty dreams like world peace,,,but I'm going to start in my own family. We need peace and harmony within our little family, so I'm going to try to obtain that goal for 2009.

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  45. Happy New Year and congratulations on your 400th post! I recently found out that I'm expecting a baby so my dream is for a healthy baby & a safe delivery.

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  46. Mary, I would love to win the print. It makes me calm looking at it. Thank you. Mona

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  47. I enjoy visiting your blog and love the tranquil vignettes you post of your home and surroundings. And Congratulations on your 400th post. I just did my 100th! My dream for the New Year is to be at peace and contented with where I'm at in my life. Thanks for sharing your 'stuff.'

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  48. I just want to wallpaper the hallway. That is all.

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  49. My dream for the New Year is to be able to finally move back to Jersey this year so I can be back with my girls....

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  50. Happy 2009 Mary! I wish you and your family good health, happiness and prosperity in the year ahead!

    Hugs, Pat

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  51. Congrats Mary - I dream of next summer, when my garden will be in bloom and our daughter will be back in the states - we will all be together again.

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  52. 400 POSTS! What an accomplishment, and they are all such beautiful posts! Congratulations. My new year's dream is for good health for all of our family and friends. laurie

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  53. Congratulations on your 400th post...awesome!!
    Since I have been so blessed of late to win several drawings, please don't add my name to your list...altho I would love the photo, I would rather others have the chance. Your giveaway is more than generous, Mary....so sweet.
    xo bj

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  54. Your 400th post. Wow. Today I uploaded my second post - http://firstadream.blogspot.com/.
    I'm starting a new chapter. I'm retired. My husband and I just built a house that will welcome company and encourage us to create. When I saw your quote (Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall at last unveil.)I felt like it was there just for me. I now have a loft just for being creative. I've put my create life on the back burner for a long time. It's time to unveil. Thanks for your inspiration!

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  55. Mary, truthfully, I REALLY am beginning to DREAM.
    I dream of the beginning of a wonderful change in our country. I dream of feeling like I did back in 1944 when I was SO proud of who we were and what we stood for. I dream of strides being made in spinal injury research and that one day my brother who was terribly injured in an auto accident and is a quad, being able to walk again...and use his hands to do his beautiful woodwork again. I dream of the same freedoms for ALL. No matter what their color, religion, sexual preferance, etc. I have such hope now.
    SUCH hope. That is my honest dream. I am getting old and I would love to see it happen.

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  56. How wonderful - your 400th post. I hope to find peace in the New Year and to accept my husband's sudden passing. More importantly, I hope with my heart and soul that my daugter's murderer is found.
    Sweetie

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  57. HI Mary and congratulations on 400 posts! I have always been a big dreamer and many of them have come true. Though simple to some, remarkable to me as a wish, a dream and a hope have sustained me through some dark times. Forever the optimist, I believe that we must live in each moment and savor it, cherish the people we love and let them know it. Things are just that, relationships and knowing we are loved and love others is the best wish I can have for everyone. Happy New Year! Bramble.

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  58. Hi Mary....congratulations on your 400th post...Please stop by my blog, I'm having a giveaway and Miss Sophie's 2009 calendar is posted....See a toddler's view of her favorite movies....hope you enjoy!! Sue.

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  59. I have dreams of fearlessness.
    It's my mantra for 2009.

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  60. 400 posts - wow! Congratulations. My dreams for the new year are to make the most of each and every day, no longer can I put off both the chores and the pleasureable activities for another day. Who knows what is around the corner. A copy of this print would be so inspiring, I'd love to win!

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  61. Beautiful photo!!! I would love to be added to the drawing if it isn't too late! I am mainly a lurker here, but I think I have commented a time or two - anyway - and I am glad to hear I am not the only one with Christmas decorations up yet! I have been working on getting them down all day, and sometimes it seems overwhelming! I have told myself - "no more ornaments!" but who knows if I will be able to keep that promise either?! Have a blessed New Year!

    Hugs from Michigan - Diane

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  62. I just came across you blog for the first time and my favorite display was the spoons. It reminded me of the set I have of my Great Grandmothers.
    She came to the US as a small child of 8 and she had very little in her possession when she arrived her. Among the few things she did have and that was passed down to me was a set of small spoons. I love and cherish having them.
    My dream for the new year is to continue the joyful reunions with my beautiful children and grandchildren. I can think of no greater joy than to be able to spend time with my family.
    Thank you for a lovely blog. I am a real fool for second hand stores. Have a wonderful new year yourself. Ginger Hulet

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. I love to hear what you have to say!