The Smiley Lady Blog

I’ve written frequently about sticking your neck out and taking a chance. You know, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Really what’s the worst that can happen? Even when it all goes south, it’s rarely as bad as the way you imagined it might be. Last night I was thinking about what often holds us back. I think it’s […]

A couple days ago I blogged about having once misspelled thorough on a spelling test. That little error has stayed with me ever since and I have never, not once, gotten it wrong again. Thinking about thorough got me thinking about other little errors in life that end up being carried with us ’til we […]

PART 4 PART 5 12 Days that Changed My Life and the Lives of 100 families. A friend, recently back from an Operation Smile mission, shared with me a story I can’t retell without getting goose bumps, a story that when heard touches the listener. People have cried, have hugged me, have asked where they can […]

PART 3                  PART 5 PART 4 12 Days that Changed My Life and the Lives of 100 families. I am here to say that play, in and of itself, is enough. The two American teenagers who accompany every Operation Smile mission are included to provide health education for the […]

PART 2           PART 4 PART 3 12 Days that Changed My Life and the Lives of 100 families. When you go into another culture, you really don’t know what you will discover, what things will strike a cord because they were not what you expected. One of the things that most struck […]

PART 1       PART 3 PART 2 12 Days that Changed My Life and the Lives of 100 families. Surgeries begin today. Another day filled with big adventures-lots to learn and people to meet. As a first timer, even though I really did pay attention and take notes during training, I go into this situation […]

PART 2 PART 1 12 Days that Changed My Life and the Lives of 100 families. The first day at the hospital on our mission to Paraguay with Operation Smile, was amazing. So amazing. I hardly know where to start. The hospital is part of a military base which we entered through a gate guarded by […]

I love the idea that we are all just being ourselves 24/7. I’ll hear someone complaining or voicing irritation or incredulity about somebody else. I think, they’re just being themselves 24/7. You either like this person or not and if you like them, you like them. Period. The traits that might be labeled as negative, […]

Funny! Creepy! OMG! LOL! My first attempt at morphing software. I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts! HA! I’ve never looked better! The morphing animation is below! LOL, it looks like the picture is breathing.