n o w.

Can we be happy with how things are right now?

It seems super torturous to look at the other side. The grass is greener over there, you know.

When I breathe in and focus on the word n o w. I can actually feel gratitude (just for breath).When I ponder about how magical it all really is- my life. It’s weeping material.

Focus is everything! Enjoying the n o w. No matter how petite or grande- the ability to enjoy it is imperative.

Right n o w I am listening to Pandora classical while staring at a mini laminated faux Van Gogh.

Once I read that constant self assessments were important for a wonderful life. The writer urged people to ask themselves often, “Could I be any more content in this moment?” Worth a try for the n o w.

Q:   Could I be any more content in this moment?  

A:   My toes are nippy.

I edged my little twin ceramic space heater that sits dormant next to my desk closer to my piggies. Flipped the switch. Voila! I’m n o w sitting in perfection.

I love the question and the results. I am in control of my own happiness without wondering what the rest of the world thinks. Who cares if it’s near 2000 degrees outside this September West Texas day? I have a heater touching my toes facilitating more joy for me right n o w.

Right n o w, I’m happy.

I think I may need a self- assessment post- it note reminder.

What can I do right NOW to make this moment more fabulous?

Focus on NOW. Ask the question. Listen for the answers. Take responsibility. Act.

#betheword 

n o w W is for Walnut will be FREE until Sunday. love

 

b e it

j o y

In my quest to become super knowledgeable of words positive, I’ve happened upon a great find. 

Osho!

Osho authored a line of positive one word titles that expand and expound obtaining that word.

Awareness

Compassion

Courage

Creativity

Freedom

Intelligence

Intimacy

Intuition

Maturity

I’m reading Joy.

“Happiness is always a by-product. It is not the result of a direct pursuit. It happens when you are not even thinking of it.” –Osho

Love

#betheword

s w e e t

Last week I was ill. I feared that my debilitating web assisted self-diagnosed illness had returned. Then I received my email notification from mymonthlycycle.com that my period would arrive in three days. I began considering my mortality and my desires in the event of my unexpected expiration.

Extreme? Yes, but illness + p.m.s. = possible death.

First stop, the health food market, where I purchased herbal remedies and healing foods. I made a doctor’s appointment (they can’t see me for another month).

At some point post panic I realized that I had work – work to do, and word—work to do.

What would be the working word for the next few days? From the box, I drew integrity. As good as any, I posted it on facebook and set off for a day full of integrity.

Uh, illness+pms+morbid thoughts+ integrity = ?

We would see… I didn’t drive over the speed limit or scowl at the texting driver, and I made myself be at work on-time—that showed integrity – honoring your word and the contracts that you’ve entered. I worked super hard non-stop. Then, I proceeded to call folks (and myself) to the carpet all day in my warped version of unveiling truth and purity.

If there existed a right word to carry prior to the 'friend’s' visit, I’m thinking integrity isn’t the one. I’m sure there are another two hundred and forty other days that integrity would wear well. Before my head exploded into a million pieces from contemplating the different angles and attraction points of supporting undergarments and integrity or ended up in a screaming match with a superstore manager about supporting slave labor in third world countries for canned pineapple production.

I drew a new word.

The word—sweet. I thought, “Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, how shallow. How perfect!” Not world altering, but easy.

Sweet visions danced in my periphery replacing spots where integrity packed it’s boxes. My world turned syrupy.

My sweet sweet daughter and I started our Friday night movie, The Wedding Date. Sharing a blanket with Halima on the floor mattress in our living room became an instant mini sweet moment. That sweet and super hot escort, Dermott Mulroney reminded me of my Farmer Guy.

When my son burst through the front door at 9:40 instead of his usual O.D.D. one minute past his 10:00 curfew and joined us. The moment became sweeter.

Aside from a sappy movie induced occasional one-eyed tear stream, I had nearly forgotten about my friend’s pending visit .

So quick—so s w e e t, words.

Waking from sweet sleep, I decided to not draw a new word for the day. Technically, I hadn’t experienced twenty-four hours of sweetness. Besides I didn’t have time. I still needed to drive across the state of Texas to convene with my mother, my ex-husband, and about a thousand dance moms all while still expecting my period.

Awesome! The word stayed sweet.


Top ten sweeties that s w e e t brought me.



1. We made it to the farmer’s market- just in time for a sweet smooch.



2. I realized it was, what? – FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Sweet!



3. Found an awesome new sweet shop in San Angelo, Halfmann’s Cake Cottage. Lemon Bars!



4. Discovered an unopened CD bought from SXSW street saxophonist, Nicole Rachelle. Fabulous Jazz!



5. In Killeen we stumbled upon a sweet Cinco De Mayo street fair. I danced.



6. The concierge was a sweetie youngster all amped on Social Justice and assigned us the Presidential Sweet without a price hike. She promised to send a pictureless book to her incarcerated lifer pen-pal. Doesn’t get sweeter.



7. Saw a sweet tweet from @thebluedoor shouting out The I CAN Alphabet.



8. Our in-the-area super sweet family surprised us and we had an impromptu take over Starbucks party.



9. Met sweet Baby V sleeping and outfitted in his baptismal attire.



10. My daughter’s dance troupe won first and my son made me a co-pilot. SWEET


I couldn’t wipe the smirk from my face. I would tweet and share my sweets and the day kept sweetifying. I eventually picked a new word, and I posted it to fb, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was. For the moment 'my friend' and I will continue to live in the sweetness.

BTW, I think I’m healed- Sweeeeeeeeeettt! It was all probably a case of P. (lease) M. (ore) S. (weetness)!


Pick a word.



Pick another if that word doesn’t fit.



Watch for it! See how it appears in your world.



Capture the word- Write about it, make mental images, be present in it, draw it, photo it.



Share- Call a friend, text a photo, tweet or fb share.


#betheword

Diggin' the new Logo!

h a p p y?

Mamas - in - Love

Mamas are A w e s o m e!

Thank you R o s e Thompson and S u z y Blandford Parker for your recent c o n t r i b u t i o n s to pictureless books' K i c k s t a r t e r campaign. I love you.

Your support and words mean the world to us.

m a m a

Need Y O U R Votes for GOOD!

GOOD f r i e n d s!

Every single day I see evidence that a single word can change a lot! My word for today is magical!


As one campaign ends, another begins. pictureless is lucky enough to be considered by GOOD to compete for space on their platform.

We need votes from you, your family, your students and co-workers. There are only a few days left.

You have to follow the directions below. Once you sign up with GOOD and vote, you can immediately unsubscribe. You may not want too, because they distribute some really neat stuff going on around the planet.

This would allow us to give pictureless more visibility to another 200,000 positive people. Please, take a minute and let me know how I can return the favor.


v v v Voting Directions v v v


GOOD can give us more visibility!!!

Visit our project page at: http://goodfriends.maker.good.is/projects/goodwordrevolution

Click "Vote for this Idea" to vote for us!

Log in with your GOOD account. If you don't have a GOOD account, it's free to join. All you need is an email address or a Facebook account to register.

If you use an email address, you will be emailed a link that you need to click in order to verify your address.

Once you've voted, you'll get a notification at the top of the screen verifying that your vote has been counted.

Remember, you can only vote once during the entire voting period, so please let your friends know and spread the word!

I love the new video for this campaign!









thanks & love,

What is it?

People always ask, "What exactly is this w o r d thing?"

Here's the short answer (I think), "I want a word, any word, your word to make you feel fabulous!" I have seen it happen over and over again, and I want to share with e v e r y o n e. That's all for n o w.

l o v e

magnificent!!!

Marketing MANIA! With the miniscule overhead and the microscopic production cost of p i c t u r e l e s s, we can invest mega amounts of time and energy into our marketing and education! Plus! We get a fantastic margin with Amazon, Balboa and the iTunes store! What magic! Some of the current plans include greeting cards, postcards, flash cards, jewelry, temporary tattoos, Twitter madness, Facebook insanity, mugs, t-shirts, mousepads, screensavers, posters and last but not least, customized alphabet books—we already get multiple requests daily for these! Magnificent madness!

We will be @SXSW!!!

Stay tuned for details!  l o v e & y i p p e e!

I love these videos!

love

When we play with our abc’s we find beautiful, simple ways to expand our lives. In our dream to make feeling good simple and fun, we turned to the source of learning that we all have in common, no matter what culture, gender, age, creed. The abc’s unite us in ways that we have only begun to find. The possibilities are endless, and the fun, simple: infinite.

A is for A n g e l by Adrea L. Peters and Teffanie T. White | Make Your Own Book

Celebrate!

happy n e w year!

good word!

a d r e a ' s beautiful w e b s i t e

You make us h a p p y!

Helping people has been the primary intent of p i c t u r e l e s s books since Teffanie envisioned it years ago. We will donate part of our profits. We will give away books. We will give our time and energy to charities and people and organizations we believe in. We are partnering with others to create alphabets and projects that will further their causes and passions. Think about purchasing a pictureless product for you holiday shopping.  It is our hope that we help. And so we will.

we c h o o s e you

Desire. At p i c t u r e l e s s, we dive into our dreams. Could a word, just one word, change a day? Bring a little lift to the dreary? We don’t doubt that discovering delightful d words is a pretty darn quick way to fulfilling our greatest desire: bringing delectable dancing deep within our reader’s hearts and minds.

be the a n g e l

p a i n t it up!

Fabulous Month o' Pink

It's all pink again!


Last October, I don't remember.  


This year, each ribbon follows me and leaves pink traces behind my eyelids.  This year- the year of biopsies, the year of lumpectomy, the year my mother had a mastectomy.  
 
Adrea is in the habit of sending by post (that in itself is fabulous).  Sometimes the treats from my partner breathe through their packaging, forcing my children to rattle the contents.  That time they were pictureless word cards.  Each card presented one of the words we claim on post sized cards, business sized cards, or itty bitty cards.  They were gorgeous.  I traveled with them half across the state to share with my mother during the post chemo / pre surgery / pre radiation hospital moments. 
 
Mom twisted them around and palmed them.  I saw fear vanishing from her.  When the anesthesiologist entered, he began to share the process.  First, we will do this, then that, the important thing is to clear your mind.  
 
"We have words for that, Mom, from the 'nothing' series."
 
The doctor was intrigued.  I shared p i c t u r e l e s s with him- Clear Clouds, Memory Music, Invisible Icicles.  He deemed them appropriate and darling.  He modified my mother's instructions to a p i c t u r e l e s s place.  
 
In a childlike voice my mother asked for surgical tape.  When he returned she began praying and taping positive word cards on her body.  Then, my fear vanished.  This is l i f e and life is b e a u t i f u l.  
 
Each hospital employee, visitor, and friend that witnessed that moment became instantly radiant.  The words connected us, protected us, and let us breathe through those moments one moment at a time.


It's all pink again!

Filling Baskets With w o r d s!