No, this isn’t going to be about gardening. It’s not about flowers or springtime. But since we are in the season of “Spring”, this seemed a good time to bring this up. Spring is about renewal, the snow melting, the sun shining, flowers blooming, green grass and song birds returning with their chipper trills. There is also, within each of us a renewal & for everyone it’s different. Some welcome the opportunity to get outside without the worry of the cold or having to shovel and some look forward to the thrill of getting their hands in dirt and preparing their various gardens. For many others, it’s a time for a fresh start, a renewal of the heart, the soul, their outlook on life. Whatever type of person you are, SPRING brings a time to BLOOM and that is what this is about!
I’ve always loved this saying! I love to garden, so the idea of blooms being scattered everywhere was an appealing thought. The reality of this saying isn’t about actual ‘blooms’, but rather, about our personality, character, & attitude and their effect on those around us. “Bloom” means producing something beautiful. So, the first word—bloom—is a directive, something you do. Often we have the attitude that we’d be better, if only our circumstances were different. (A different job, a better house, a more-understanding mate, better behaved children, enough money, better health—just better our circumstances & solve our problems, & then we can bloom. “Put me in better soil and then I’ll bloom!” Life isn’t always that simple and placing conditions isn’t always helpful. Sometimes we are placed in situations that may be less than ideal, generally for a purpose. You could be the ‘one’ to change the atmosphere with a happy, positive outlook/attitude & bring sunshine to a previously negative/dreary existence.
I hope you “Bloom Where You Are Planted” and that those around you are also encouraged to follow your example. For in doing so, love and kindness will take ‘root’.
Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb on the third day, after his crucifixion. Easter is the fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah who would be persecuted, die for our sins, and rise on the third day. (Isaiah 53).
Remembering the resurrection of Jesus is a way
to renew daily hope for victory over sin.
We don’t know exactly when, but the Easter Bunny is first mentioned in German writings from the 1600’s. The Germans converted the rabbit image into ‘Oschter Haws’, a rabbit that was believed to lay a nest of colored eggs as gifts for good children. As Christianity spread, it was common for missionaries to practice good salesmanship by placing pagan ideas and rituals within the context of the Christian faith and turning pagan festivals into Christian holidays (e.g. Christmas). The ‘Eostre Festival’ occurred around the same time as the Christians’ celebration of Christ’s resurrection, so the two celebrations became one, and with the kind of blending that was going on among the cultures, it would seem only natural that the pagans would bring the hare and egg images with them into their new faith (the hare later became the more common rabbit).
Regardless how you celebrate Easter,
I sincerely wish you God’s Blessings
& a very Happy Easter!!
I came across this poem recently, it really has nothing to do with “Easter”, but if you celebrate Easter as a ‘blessing’, then I hope you see this poem as I do.
What a very different place this world would be if we practiced this each day.
Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on our lives & acknowledge what we’ve been blessed with. What are YOU thankful for??? I’m thankful for :
Family
Friends
My Fur Baby
My Home
Income/Job
Vehicles
Of course I am thankful for many more things than are pictured above. I’m grateful for my freedom, for the medical profession, my neighbors (some of the time) :-), our armed services, and I guess this list could go on and on. What we need to recognize is that the things & people in our lives and our experiences are what make us who we are. There is more to us than just ‘ourselves’, it truly is NOT all about us, but rather all that has contributed to our lives, molding us into who we are. Those are the things we need to be thankful for. Those are our blessings – Be Thankful in ALL Things! I wish YOU the most blessed Thanksgiving!
Left to Right – Top to Bottom: Deviled Egg, Paper Doll, Nerd Minnie Mouse, Fork in the Road, Mary Poppins Rosie the Riveter, Oh Deer / Holy Cow, “Ceiling” Fan.
SAFETY FIRST – ESPECIALLY ON HALLOWEEN
Uncanny costumes, eerie amounts of sugar and an entire spooky neighborhood full of trick-or-treating potential — Halloween is the best day of the year to be a kid. But it also means being on high alert as a parent. If you are driving – SLOW DOWN!!! Children are TWICE as likely to be struck by a vehicle on Halloween than on any other day of the year.
From the American Academy of Pediatrics:
A responsible adult should accompany young children on the neighborhood rounds
If your older children are going alone, plan & review a route acceptable to you
Agree on a specific time children should return home
Teach your children to NEVER enter a stranger’s home or car
Instruct children to travel only in familiar, well-lit areas and stick with their friends
Tell your children not to eat any treats until they return home
All costumes, wigs and accessories should be fire-resistant
Avoid masks, which can obstruct vision
If children are allowed out after dark, fasten reflective tape to their costumes and bags, or give them glow sticks
When buying Halloween makeup, make sure it is nontoxic and always test it in a small area first
Remove all makeup before children go to bed to prevent skin and eye irritation
Wishing you all a wonderful 2017 filled with family, friends, health, prosperity, success, and more love & happiness than you know what to do with.
With 2016 over and done with, we found it was another year to learn from our mistakes, survive the pain of losing loved ones, & celebrate new births. Collectively this is called: LIFE. Above all of the wonderful things (mentioned above), I wish you MORE life. Life which shapes us, validates us & makes us who we are with each passing day, week, month and year. I also wish for you:
grace, temperance, faith & love to survive ….LIFE.
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in Canada and the United States. It was originally celebrated as a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest. Each year on the fourth Thursday in November, Americans gather for a day of feasting, football and family.
Thanksgiving celebrations differ from person to person & family to family. Many still enjoy the traditional meal of Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Cranberries, Sweet Potatoes (or Yams), Corn and of course Pumpkin Pie. I’ll touch on those traditions & talk about a few newer ones, some I only just learned of myself… so sit back with a hot cup of coffee & enjoy! 🙂
Starting with the name of the Holiday: Thanksgiving Day, Turkey Day, T-Day, Harvest Day and then there’s – “Yanksgiving”! (Canadians came up with this to distinguish between the US & Canadian Thanksgiving Holidays). I found this clever & funny, being a ‘yankee’ myself it seems fitting! 🙂
Turkey Pardon: Every year, the president frees one lucky turkey while millions of its brethren are consigned to the dinner table. Though turkey farmers have been sending presidents the choicest birds since the 1800s, President John F. Kennedy was the first one on record to spare a turkey. In 1963, he sent back a turkey mailed by the National Turkey Federation, saying, “We’ll just let this one grow.” President Richard Nixon sent turkeys to a Washington, D.C., petting farm but didn’t officially pardon them, according to the White House Blog. President George H.W. Bush gave the first official pardon to a turkey in 1989. The survivor lived out its days at a Virginia petting zoo called Frying Pan Park.
President George H.W. Bush giving the first official Turkey Pardon. 1989
Macy’s parade: Many Americans sit down to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. This annual tradition didn’t get started until 1924, when Macy’s employees held a Christmas parade filled with knights, clowns and jugglers. The 6-mile long parade attracted a crowd of 250,000 viewers, so the department store decided to hold it every year. The first balloon, Felix the Cat, floated above the parade in 1927. Felix was filled with everyday air, not helium, and stood upright just off the ground — it didn’t float high above. Mickey Mouse didn’t make his appearance until 1934.
Felix the Cat – 1927 the first Macy’s balloon.
{Click the link below for interesting history on the Macy’s Parade}
New twist on foods: One twist I’ve learned about is called: Turducken. Turducken is: a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. It’s becoming more popular at Thanksgiving & originated in Louisiana. A Turducken is a de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken. The cavity of the chicken and the rest of the gaps are filled with, at the very least, a highly seasoned breadcrumb mixture (although some versions have a different stuffing for each bird). I’ve read about this and I would caution you to read a lot about this prior to attempting this dish. Poultry is one of the hardest meats to cook thoroughly enough to kill the bacteria and ensure the safety of eating it.. This is very difficult to achieve in Turducken because of the layers, the duck skin, and getting all of them to the proper temperature without over cooking or undercooking them. No one wants to be poisoned by dinner. Here is a link for you to check out to find out how best to prepare this meal. TURDUCKEN
Turducken
Personally, my family will be sticking to a traditional meal and we’ll all be together. We are minus some loved ones and have a few new lives to celebrate. My niece informed me today that she has been found cancer free after an extensive & alternative year long battle with breast cancer at the age of 28 (with 4 small children all under 7) and having been given only a 3% chance to survive. Still not out of the woods yet but this was a day we all hoped and prayed for. Our year has had it’s ups and down, peaks and valleys, but we’re here and we have a lot to be sincerely thankful for. I am thankful for my family, my puppy (who believes he’s human), my life, friends, health and you.
There is much debate on who we should be thankful to. Not everything needs to be a debate, just simply BE thankful for your blessings, all of them, big, little and ginormous. By definition being Thankful is: to be appreciative, filled with gratitude, relieved. Be appreciative of those around you, your friends, co workers, family. Be thankful for your job, home, children, spouse, health. By definition a Blessing is: something that helps you or brings happiness. That said, I guess it wouldn’t hurt any of us to become a blessing and to bring happiness into the lives of others, not only on Thanksgiving Day, but every single day of the year. You looking for a New Years Resolution? There it is – resolve yourself to bring happiness into someones life every single day. Consider this a challenge: No need to even wait for the new year, start today. (you can renew it for the new year). Do something that makes someone happy, leave a comment here letting us know what you did, how it made you feel and what the result was.
I wish each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving! Whether you celebrate the Holiday or not – you DO have something to be thankful for. BE THANKFUL!!
Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts.
There are some cute costumes out there for babies through adults – I’ve decided to feature some of them here for “Halloween” …. Enjoy!!!
Ok, for starters, I’ve come to find that everyone has their own special idea of how this should be done. As for me, I choose to take the no fuss – no muss route!
I am not a huge DIY person, but there are a few DIY projects I do. For me it’s all about the ease of the project or I just won’t bother with it.
For $1.oo I purchased a 10 oz pear scented liquid soap – at Target, and my DIY trial began. What I found is this: my $1.00 purchase made 3 bottles of the foam soap that I paid $5 – $9 per bottle for. It still smelled great & cleaned as well as the more expensive soap.
This is how: 3 no fuss – no muss steps:
STEP ONE: You will need dispenser bottles.
You can purchase empty foaming dispensers in an array of sizes & styles, online & at stores like Wal-Mart, Target, & dollar shops near you:
I used my empties from previous purchases:
Mango Mandarin from Bath & Body Works!
STEP TWO: You’ll need transparent liquid soap.
Choose any scent you like. Many of the shops mentioned above, offer a variety of scents & sizes for around $1.00 (give or take).
** NOTE: You can use any liquid soap, shower gels & dish soap, but the soap itself must be transparent! Cream soaps will NOT work!! Shower gels are typically a bit thicker, so use less gel when mixing.
STEP THREE: You’ll need hot tap water.
No Fuss – No Muss…REALLY!!! Whatever the size of the bottle you are using for the foaming soap, you will use 1/3 liquid soap & 2/3 water. Remember to leave room at the top of the bottle as the pump will take up some space. I use hot tap water because it mixes better (do not boil the water). Add the water SLOWLY so suds don’t build up in bottle. After you’ve added the liquid soap & water, place & tighten the pump. Gently tip the bottle back & forth until it’s well mixed, making sure no unmixed liquid soap rests on the bottom. That’s important as it will clog the pump. Once it’s well mixed, prime the pump by compressing it, after a few presses it should be a perfect foam!
Foamy soap!
If you’re a die hard Bath & Body Works shopper (or not), keep an eye out for their sales on your favorite scents, liquid hand soaps, & shower gels. They discontinue many scents often, & their sales are really pretty discounted. More so if you hold out till the end, but keep in mind, the scent choices will be more limited as well. Cheaper – but less choice.
I’ve always loved this saying! I love to garden, so the idea of blooms being scattered everywhere was an appealing thought. The reality of this saying isn’t about actual ‘blooms’, but rather, about our personality, character, & attitude and their effect on those around us. “Bloom” means producing something beautiful. So, the first word—bloom—is a directive, something you do. Often we have the attitude that we’d be better, if only our circumstances were different. (A different job, a better house, a more-understanding mate, better behaved children, enough money, better health—just better our circumstances & solve our problems, & then we can bloom. “Put me in better soil and then I’ll bloom!” Life isn’t always that simple and placing conditions isn’t always helpful. Sometimes we are placed in situations that may be less than ideal, generally for a purpose. You could be the ‘one’ to change the atmosphere with a happy, positive outlook/attitude & bring sunshine to a previously negative/dreary existence. 
Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on our lives & acknowledge what we’ve been blessed with. What are YOU thankful for???
vinville.wordpress.com 