*it's a beautiful life!!..

Last Monday I received a phone call from the employment agency I am working with to find a job. I am working with their perm and temp departments to find something permanent, while doing a few temporary jobs here and there. The call was for a temporary 3 day job (Monday-Wednesday) to cover for a receptionist at an Advertising/PR firm in Newport Beach. I was very excited to get back into working and the company and all of the people are very great!

On my last day (Wednesday) they asked me if I could stay a little longer, the woman I was covering for's husband was very ill, and has been for the past few months. So I am now working here until the end of this week. (My 3 day project turned into a 2 week project) She came in on Friday and looked very sad. Someone I worked with mentioned that she looked like she had lost a lot of weight in her face. Someone asked her how she was doing and she responded, "My husband is dying." It broke my heart! I can't even imagine how that must feel. They took him off all of his meds and put him on morphine and they were pretty much just waiting.. I received a call this morning from her family saying her husband had passed away this morning. My prayers are with this sweet lady and her family at this time.

Sitting here at her desk I noticed a little quote she has posted up:

Practice noticing the beauty in your life. Start now. Wherever you are, look around and make a mental note of what you find beautiful in this very moment. Do this 3 times a day until it becomes a habit.

Last Tuesday, my second day on the job, I woke a little early just to be safe and I had a little extra time, so I found out what time the sun rises and went the patio on the roof of my house and watched the sunrise. I took a picture to send to my mom and dad. I can't even remember the last time I did that. It's been way to long. But I loved that little quote she has sitting here. I look around sometime and am amazed by the beautiful things that God has given us. Some we see and some we don't. I have challenged myself to follow that quote and 3 times a day find the beauty in the world around me until it's a habit. We are so lucky and so blessed to live in such a beautiful world.

I hope everyone has a good week, and god bless the Astarabadi family at this time.

The rest of the pictures are all ones I have taken on my phone over the past few months of living in California..

It is definitely very easy to find beauty here!