THIS AND THAT AND NOT MUCH MORE

 

I had such good INTENTIONS of writing more on my blog....but you know how that goes!  I have been one busy gal lately.  Remind me that I am retired and I should not have any more BIG IDEAS.  Why?  Because I was put in CHARGE of my BIG IDEA, that’s why.  And has it ever been      B-I-G!

Our church has been through several transitions over the last few years and to make a long story short, our church needs a big, big cleanup and decluttering!  I talked to our chairman of the Deacons about it, then he asked me to speak at the Deacon’s monthly meeting and....WHAM!!!!  They told me to come up with a plan and they would be right behind me!!!!

Well, I have been working on this plan...and doing a lot of cleaning out all by myself...for about two months and the big CLEANUP DAY is Feb. 26.  I have thrown away, donated, decluttered, and organized until I’m one tired puppy!  BUT....I’m not complaining because I’m DOING IT FOR THE LORD:)  Hopefully I’ll have lots of help to finish up on the 26^th.  If not, I’m sending the devil after them!!!!

So what can I share with you that’s more interesting than dirt & clutter???  Well, here is something that made me do a happy dance.

I had been wanting some cute spice jars to put in my cabinet since I don’t have enough counter space for a spice rack.  I kept looking but didn’t want to pay the high prices.  Then I learned about AMAZON WAREHOUSE....am I the last to hear about this?  I checked it out not expecting much and would you believe one of the first things that popped up  was the exact jars (with printed labels) that I had wanted and the price....$13!!!!  I jumped on those cuties before I could blink.  I just love labels!!!

And before I go, how about a quick and easy meal...my husband loves it.  We have it on a Sat. or Sun. night when I don’t want to cook much.  And is it ever filling!!!!

To give it a little more oomph I bake a small chicken breast or two chicken tenders, chop them up, and add to the pot.

 

This last time we also enjoyed this with some yummy bread to dip in it.  This lovely Infused Sunflower Oil is produced in the next county and it was a gift from our son.  Really added some pizzazz to our simple meal.

 

I hope all of you are well and not dealing with Covid as many here are...good thing is few are going to the hospital and this strain is basically like a bad cold along with tiredness...I still don’t want it!

Hope those of you with snow are enjoying it...wish you’d send me a snowball or two!  In other words, I hope all is well in your world and that each day you count many blessings.

TOP 10 THINGS ONLY WOMEN UNDERSTAND

 

I wish I could take credit for writing this, but I can’t.  I don’t know the author but it definitely was a WOMAN:)

 

TOP 10 THINGS ONLY WOMEN UNDERSTAND

10...why it’s good to have 5 pairs of black shoes

 9...the difference between cream, ivory, & off-white

 8...crying can feel so good

 

7...FAT CLOTHES

 

 6...a salad, diet drink, and a hot fudge sundae make a balanced lunch

 

 5...discovering a designer dress on the clearance rack can be considered a peak life experience

 4...the inaccuracy of EVERY bathroom scale ever made

 

 3...a good man might be hard to find, but a good hairdresser is next to impossible

 

 2...why a phone call between two women never lasts under 10 minutes

 

 1...OTHER WOMEN

Love & Hugs to all the FABULOUS WOMEN who read my (occasionally written) blog!

 

WHAT A SOUTHERN GAL KNOWS...OR SHOULD KNOW!

I’m from the DEEP SOUTH...and proud of it.  TV and movies sometimes portray us Southern folk as unsophisticated rednecks or mountain hillbillies, yet some of the smartest, most talented, most interesting, and most notorious people in this U.S. of A. hail from the SOUTH...just take a gander at this website:  100 SOUTHERNERS

 

Us Southern ladies are often thought to be shallow and have a bigger chest size than the size of our brains.  But truth be told, Southern gals are some of the sweetest and politest women you will ever meet...cause our mamas would have nothing less and they knew where the best "switch bushes" were!  

We “sweet thangs” that live in the Dixieland know a few things that we have learned from our female ancestors through the generations that I thought I’d share with you.  Now you don’t have to agree with any or all of these, but I guarantee you that if you survey 100 of us you’ll find a very high percentage will say:  Yessireebob...they are the gospel truth!

 

THINGS SOUTHERN GIRLS KNOW:

 

*PEARLS should be a staple in every lady’s wardrobe.  It would be nice to have the “real thing”, but a nice, respectable string of fake ones is forgiveable.

*Other wardrobe “must haves” include a classic white shirt/blouse, something gingham, and a nice pair of white pants.  High quality will allow you to wear these classics for years, but if they can’t be afforded, thrift and consignment stores can be an option. (Note: many of us Southern fashionistas haven't yet bought into the idea of wearing white pants or shoes all year long...some habits are hard to break!)

 

*MONOGRAMS are considered a “Southern thang” and a few items (purse, handbag, suitcase) are definitely fun, BUT!!!!  Everything you own doesn’t have to have your initials splayed across the front...make that “shouldn’t have"!  (No matter what Southern gal Reese says.)

*Every Southern cook (and there are many of us good ones) must have a nice DEVILED EGG DISH.  You simply can’t have a decent picnic, family reunion, or church homecoming meal without deviled eggs...and displaying them in a sectioned egg dish just adds to their deliciousness.

*And speaking of a tea pitcher...ALL us Southerners know summertime means SWEET TEA (with real sugar)...or a tall glass of homemade lemonade can work if you don't have the tea.

               Note:  drinking either from a Mason Jar is just fine!

*An intelligent Southern lady knows that when you aren’t sure of exactly the right thing to say in any given situation, you simply say,
“Well, bless your heart.”  Who doesn’t want their hearts to be blessed???

*Any respectable Southern lady does NOT wear “white” to a wedding unless she is the BRIDE.  This is a definite NO-NO...and if you forget, believe me, you will figure it out when everyone is giving you the evil eye.

*A well-brought up Southern child, especially of the female persuasion, will have lovely manners.  "Yes mam, No mam, Yes sir, No sir, please and thank you" are some of the first words expected to be uttered by Southern infants.

*Southern folk love God, family, and country...in that order.  And when a Southerner is your true friend, you couldn’t be more blessed.

*And just one more (pet peeve here)...just because we are born in the SOUTH and might be of the Caucasian race, does NOT mean we feel privileged and does NOT mean we have no respect for anyone that is different.  (Some of my neighbors and dearest friends have different color skin from me, but I know we all bleed red!)

There’s lots more I could add, but I won’t go on and on...which we Southerners can do...oh, how we love to carry on a good conversation.  (In other words, a lot of us can talk the horns off a billy goat!)

Now for those of you who are from the North, please know that there are things just as special about y’all...but since I have never lived up North I can’t rightly attest to what they all are.  However, something I do know is that God made us all and that makes us all pretty special. 

 

And for those of you from the South, as I said earlier...you might not agree with everything I’ve said but you gotta admit some of these made you smile:)   Bless your hearts!

A WORD ABOUT WORDS

 

I love words!  I fell in love with them from the moment I learned to read, “Run, Dick, run!  Run, Jane, run.”  Oh, how I loved DICK AND JANE and my first grade teacher who taught me to read...Miss Roberta Champion.

I love to read words...I love to write words...I love to learn new and interesting words.  And one of my favorite parts of learning Language Arts in school was FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.  Remember:  hyperbole, similes, metaphor, and (the really weird one) onomatopoeia....and yes, I had to look up how to spell that one!!! 

 

Today, however, I learned a new one...I had never heard this word before...

PARAPROSDOKIAN

 

In case it’s new for you too, here is the definition:

 

figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected. 

 

They are often humorous and so are popular among comedians.  From what I’ve read, Winston Churchill was a huge fan and often came up with some of his own.

MAXINE is a great example...who doesn't love Maxine???

 

For your entertainment, I present just a few more...

 

*Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.

*I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.

*Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.       (so true!!)

*Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is not using one in a fruit salad. 

*I’m supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one.     (I’m beginning to understand this!!!) 

*If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.

 

 

Another figure of speech I have always liked are...

 

OXYMORONS

 

An oxymoron is a figure of speech which contains words that seem contradictory to one another. This incongruity can be accidental or deliberate, as in cases of humor.

 

* Of course I can keep secrets. It’s the people I tell them to that can’t keep them. - Anthony Haden-Guest

* You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap. - Dolly Parton

 

* I distinctly remember forgetting that. - Clara Barton   (I can definitely identify with this one!)

* I can resist everything but temptation. - Oscar Wilde

 

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS...oh how I love words.

In a TED presentation titled THE GIFT OF WORDS, Javed Akhtar talked about “words as magical tools that carry meaning.”  He also talked about how we seem to be losing our power to use words....often using “emojis” or abbreviations for words...

         IDK – I don’t know

         TYVM – Thank you very much

         OMG – Oh my goodness

Akhtar even suggested that we may lose some of our vocabulary altogether.

         “(Words) reflect your culture, your traditions, your inheritance, your cultural wealth accumulated over generations, all of that is carried forward with words. If you cut a man off from some words, you cut him off from a culture, a history. This is exactly what is happening with us today“.

 

I love to see words, I love to hear words, I love to write words...but sadly we are losing at least to some degree our ability to communicate.  How often have you been to a restaurant recently and watched as couples sat texting on their phones rather than talking with their spouse or date or whomever they were with?  Just so sad.

I pray I never lose my love of words and that all of us never forget the power of both the spoken and written word.

WORDS HAVE POWER.

THE RIGHT WORDS CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DON'T WORRY...BE HAPPY:)

 Remember that song?

Do you need more happiness in your life?  About a gazillion books, articles, podcasts, etc. have been written to give you advice about how to go about getting that.  This past year, I think, has taught us that our happiness can be snuffed out by things outside our control.  And if you listen to the news media much these days, it seems we hear more bad news than good...that the world (or at least our country) is spinning in the wrong direction.  Of course, if we dwell on that too much it can sap every ounce of happiness we can conjure up.  Many people have been in a state of depression and some still are due to all that has been happening around us.

I am trying to learn to find happiness in even the small things.  We don’t have to drown in stress and sadness...there are things we can do to turn our frowns upside down, big and little things that we can do to find the JOY in life that each of us needs. 

How about these little things?

*GET OUT IN NATURE

Take a walk...or a long hike if you are up to it.  Dig in the garden...and use those earthworms you find to go fishing.  Take your child, grandchild, or dog to the park or a playground...and play on the swings while you are there:)   Spending 30 minutes or more a week in green spaces can help lower blood pressure and depression, according to a 2016 study.

 

*FIND TIME TO BE WITH Y-O-U

Everybody needs some “me time.”  Take a bubble bath and lock the door!  Grab your favorite blanket, a good book, and your favorite candle...and dare anyone to bother you for the next 30 minutes (or more).  Go shopping...alone.  Cozy up with your favorite bowl of ice cream and watch a chick-flick.  (I suggest SWEET HOME ALABAMA or PRETTY WOMAN.)

*S-M-I-L-E

Simple...just turn that frown upside down.  Smiling causes our brain to release dopamine which makes us happier.  (Much cheaper than visiting the therapist!!)

 

*COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

Be grateful.  Studies have shown that being grateful actually has health benefits and leads to a feeling of hope and happiness.  We can be thankful for the BIG things...like our families, our homes, our successes.  But there are SOOOO many “little” things we can find to be grateful for:  wildflowers along the side of the road, a rainbow, a good cup of coffee (or a bowl of ice cream which would be my choice), finding a penny on the ground.  The more we look for positive things in our lives, the more we will see them.

 

*EMBRACE RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness)

Research has shown that performing RAKs can help us feel happier and more satisfied with our lives...have you ever wondered who comes up with ideas to research things like this (or who pays for them)???  Thank the cashier for her service, compliment a co-worker on his spiffy bowtie or her new dress, bake cookies for the mailperson (trying to be politically correct here) or the trash collector, or send a friend a gift card anonymously (of course, this could drive them nuts trying to figure out who sent it:) 

 

Most of us could use a little more JOY and a few more SMILES in our lives.  Try some of these ideas...you might like them!

 

Wishing you so much HAPPINESS you “bust” at the seams!

Don't worry, be happy

In every life we have some trouble

When you worry you make it double

Don't worry, be happy

Don't worry, be happy now!

WHAT'S THE PURPOSE?

Purpose is the reason for which anything is done, created, or exists...so I guess everything has a purpose (except maybe mosquitoes and gnats...

Have you ever stopped to wonder why God made those aggravating things?)  

But I think it’s fun to take something and use it for a purpose other than what it was intended.  Not only can it be fun, but it can also help our environment.  Remember the 3 R’s (no, not those 3 R’s...readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic)...   

Pinterest is filled with ideas for repurposing, but I thought I’d share a few of my own.  I’ve shared this one before, but it’s one of my absolute favorites...

My husband made it for me from an old frame by inserting something called hardware cloth (although I don’t understand why it’s called cloth when it’s some type of metal!)  It’s great for organizing some of my many earrings.  He also made this one for holding necklaces using S hooks...these have both saved me lots of time and aggravation!

Although I have a huge jewelry box (which is actually a repurposed wooden tool box with drawers gifted to me by my husband...and I love it), it just isn’t big enough to hold all my jewelry so I improvised with these 2 ideas...

I was cleaning out a cabinet one day and found this condiment holder and a silver tray that I never used.  LIGHT BULB MOMENT!!!  I store rings in the condiment thingie along with a few bracelets hanging in the middle, and the tray holds some of my too many bracelets.  (The tray looks tarnished in this picture but actually it's pretty & shiny:) 

I also use these pieces of glassware to hold makeup brushes and (more) jewelry in the bathroom.  The vase on the left actually belonged to my husband’s sweet-as-sugar grandmother.  The other two pieces were picked up at thrift stores.

I love to repurpose the clear 3-wick candle jars from Bath & Body Works.  They are so pretty and can be used for many different things...

Pinterest Photo

You can even turn an empty soup can into something lovely and useful...as well as pretty bottles (after you’ve enjoyed the wine:)...

Pinterest

Pinterest

I do have to say I’m not into things like using empty egg cartons to sort my jewelry or covering empty shoeboxes with paper to use for storage.  I like my "cuteness" factor!

Here are some other repurposed items from Pinterest (where else???)...

Old chairs can be repurposed into many different items for your home.

This is neat...a bar made from an old door and some shelving.

How cute is this...an ottoman made from an old tire.

These 2 are mine...

Old chair ($5.00 at auction) turned into a planter.

Teacher gift...clean paint cans can be purchased at places like Lowe’s or Home Depot.

PS:  Does anybody know what these are used for?  I found them among some old craft supplies at our church.  There were quite a few of them, and I would love to know their purpose. 

PSS:  Did you know the lid from a Parmesan Cheese shaker fits almost every Mason jar?  So many uses!!!  You are welcome.

Do you repurpose anything in particular?  Spill the beans!  I need new projects!!!

Blogger, why are you boxing in all my words in white???  Please leave me alone!!!