Latest News: Top 10 Blog Posts for 2021

Featured


(April 2021)

Top Ten 2021 Blog Posts With the Most Views (Culled only from 2021 blog posts)

1. Pride Month 2021 – I Support You and I Am With You 

2. Asking for Help is the Hardest Part

3. Get to Know Me: What Weird or Useless Talent Do You Have?

4. Why Writing is Important to Me – An Interview with Clare Rhoden

5. Throwback Post: It Was A Crummy Day

6. Exciting News – Lillian’s Imaginarium is Open and Get to Know Me – How Handy Are You When It Comes to Fixing Things?

7. Get to Know Me: What is Your Favorite Season and Why

8. Dear Anyone Who Feels Like They Don’t Matter

9. The 51st Birthday Celebration – Camilla Downs and Throwback Post: Compassion Has Replaced Judgments

10. Get to Know Me: What Do You Do On the Weekends? and Get to Know Me: Choose Anything for a Day

Top Ten 2021 Blog Posts With the Most Views (Culled from all blog posts)

1. Recipe: No Powdered Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

2. Pride Month 2021 – I Support You and I Am With You

3. Asking for Help is the Hardest Part

4. Olive Oil as Facial Cleanser and Moisturizer – Oil Cleansing Method

5. Trees Preach the Ancient Laws of Life

6. Get to Know Me: What Weird or Useless Talent Do You Have?

7. 17 Easy and Free Ideas on How to Rejuvenate Yourself

8. Why Writing is Important to Me – An Interview with Clare Rhoden

9. Happy Birthday to Me – Reuniting With Someone Special

10. Throwback Post: It Was A Crummy Day

Top 10 Blog Posts of All Time With the Most Views

1. Olive Oil as Facial Cleanser and Moisturizer – Oil Cleansing Method

2. Recipe: No Powdered Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

3. Recipe: Almond Flour Cookies

4. Help Team TLC With A Christmas Miracle

5. 17 Easy and Free Ideas on How to Rejuvenate Yourself

6. Oil Cleansing Method – Update

7. Taste the Wind

8. A Moment of Defeat

9. I Wish I Wasn’t An 18p- Girl: Moment of Defeat – Take Two

10. Lillian and Being Different Presentation

Top 3 Countries With Most Views for 2021

Top 3 Countries with Most Views for All Time

Blessings,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

“Words of Alchemy”, published December 2019, is a free-verse poetry memoir covering the last 6 years of my life. The poetry of nature, the poetry of healing, the poetry of appreciation, the poetry of love, in one beautiful book.

Amazing news! My 20 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” was published January 2018. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 16 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

Throwback Post: Bedtime Rituals with Lillian

**THROWBACK POST**

October 1 2013:

Just about every night when I tuck Lillian into bed she wants to hear a “Life Story” from me. I share little nuggets about whatever comes to mind from my childhood.

Tonight I shared how my best friend from Oaklawn Jr High, Lillie Powell Salsberry, and I would sometimes go to the mall and hang out all day. We’d make a schedule of all the shops we wanted to visit.

Including the arcade, the card shop (Hallmark), lunch, maybe a movie, and the music store. Explained how we would look at all the new records and albums. Oh wait! What are those? HA! Had to describe them and what a record player is.

She says, “Oh, I’ve heard of those.” Hahaha!!! Lillie’s spitfire of a Mama absolutely hated us doing this! We were in Jr High though and we knew what the heck we were doing! HA! I loved thinking about this memory tonight!

Thank you Lillian for not letting me get away with skipping the “Life Story” ritual … I’m remembering things I haven’t thought about in years … and it’s fun …. xoxoxo

The Goodness of Laughter

March 2 2024

The Goodness of Laughter

Who wants to meet for coffee?

Laughing til our faces hurt
Laughing til we can’t breathe
Laughing til our stomach muscles hurt
Laughing til the laughter spreads to the people next to us
Laughing til the laughter
Sprouts wings
Fluttering down the lane
Infecting all in its path
Taking to the skies
Bringing laughter to the clouds
The sun, the stars, the moon

When the wave of laughter subsides
We take a deep breath, sip our coffee
And think how good this felt
There is nothing that compares to this type of joy shared together.

 

Dive Into Your Ocean – Sexy Grown Folks Poetry Event

March 2 2024

Fun one written for Sexy Grown Folks Poetry event on February 24 2024. Mixture of my own words and song lyrics.

Dive Into Your Ocean

I’m coming out
I want the world to know
Got to let it show

There’s a new me coming out
I am gonna do it
Like you never knew

I’m spreading love
There is no need to fear

Let me talk to em
With them apple bottom jeans
Boots with the fur

Shake your booty
You can, you can
Do it very well

I know a place we can go
I just wanna be with you

Sail into the mystic
Smell the sea
Feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit
Fly into the mystic

I want you to rock my gypsy soul
Together we’ll float into the mystic

I want to dive into your ocean
talk to me like lovers do
I want to kiss like lovers do
So baby
kiss me like lovers do

Sweep me off my feet
Kiss every inch of my body
Stroke me
Kiss me more
Kiss me more
Kiss me more
Then let me wrap myself around you

Let’s get it on
We’re all sensitive people
With so much to give

Hey you, over there
On the chaise longue
In your underwear
What are you doing sitting down
You should be horizontal now

I want to feel your lips on mine
Feel your tongue in my mouth
Look into your eyes

I want to feel your breath, your lips
On my neck, on my, ahhhhhh ….

Tastes like strawberries
On a summer evenin’
Breathe me in
Breathe me out
Let’s get high on each other

Say my name

Love is gonna rise up
It sounds like a whisper
Talkin’ about passion

Mississippi Queen
Way down around Vicksburg,
around Louisiana way
You know she was a dancer

Baby hold on to me
I want to do it til the sun comes up
I want to do it til I can’t get enough

Be my mirror,
reflect what I am,
Lips like sugar,
sugar kisses
Oh,
babe,
I wanna taste your lips,
I wanna be your fantasy
Walk this way,
Talk this way,
Just give me a kiss
I want a little sugar in my bowl
I want a little sweetness down in my soul
I could stand some lovin’
Oh so bad

I want a little steam on my clothes
Maybe I can fix things so they’ll go

What’s the matter daddy
Come on save my soul
I need some sugar in my bowl

Let’s have the time of our life
Saturday night and the lights are low

Free your mind
And the rest will follow
Freedom’s just another word
for nothing left to lose.
Camilla Downs 2024

Monday Night Poetry – Mermaids of the Sea – Camilla’s Birthday

February 27 2024

My poetry friends sang me Happy Birthday last night, and treated me like a Queen. ❤️❤️❤️ Full house last night, with wonderful poetry shared.

Lillian wrote a poem for me; which I shared. It was a hit! (Lillian is my 22 year old special needs daughter) She totally understood the assignment. 😁

The mermaids of the sea bow down
To the queen of the oceans
Bravely dancing

In the seas of love and the heart of kindness
Dances the braveness of the mermaid
Of my heart of friendliness

Swimming into the dancing sea of stars
The mermaid dances to the song
Of life bravely and free
To the mermaids of sea
Lillian Darnell – 2024

I wrote a poem titled, “Me”. I’ll share that one in a separate post.

Fun Find – The Manning Family Renunion

**THROWBACK POST**

September 29 2013:

Another cool find in the GREAT EMAIL PURGE of 2013!! This one’s from a year or two ago.

A newspaper clipping from the 1974 Manning Family Reunion! These people didn’t mess around. They ran these family reunions like a business. I was at this one but was only 4 years old so don’t remember it. My Mammaw is the 3rd one from the left in the back with glasses on: Estelle Mann. She is cousins with Archie Manning.

Here We Come Netherlands

February 26 2024

Not only is it my birthday 🎉🎉🎉, but Thomas received the acceptance email from Breda University this morning (50-60% acceptance rate). 🎉🎉🎉 I turned in my passport application last Thursday. Let’s go! I am over the moon excited for and proud of Thomas! ❤️❤️❤️