Plant Some Wildflower Seeds Today

Did you know that I am a Master Gardener?  Yep, I am.  Now, my husband is a Master Gardener and gets paid for it.  I am a Master Gardener and play in it!  I love to garden because it is a year round hobby.  

You know one of the best times to be thinking about wildflowers is now.  Even after there has been killing frost grounds, you can plant your wildflower seeds just as you would in the spring.

(Uh, that is if you don’t have a frozen snowy ground today.) The seeds will lie dormant during the winter but will bloom at least two weeks earlier than the same seeds you plant in the spring.

So if you want to be thinking of spring and its lush colorful beauty,  get some wildflower seeds today and sow away! 

Remember The Real History of Christmas

In the hustle and bustle of this month, we can get so busy we forget the historical and religious reasons for Christmas. 

Christmas celebrates Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. There were over 300 prophesies in the Old Testament that foretold the birth of Jesus and they were all fulfilled upon His birth.  His arrival changed everything! It was so significant the calendar changed for all of mankind.  And, we have a choice to be changed forever as Jesus’ purpose was to come to save us and die for our sins.

Please do not lose sight of Jesus’ significance and thank Him for your blessed life on Christmas Morn.

Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus

We all remember the story of a little girl writing to find out if there was, indeed, a Santa Claus. 

Yes, Virginia there will always be Santa Clauses everywhere for a long time to come.

To me, Santa Claus is a spirit of giving; a spirit of not whining about the weather; a spirit of loving animals who provide transportation; a spirit of being jolly; a spirit of stopping to enjoy some cookies and milk along the way; a spirit of leaving behind joy and excitement in the eyes of precious little children. 

Do you have the Santa Claus spirit today?  Smile, give, stop for a hearty ho, ho, ho with friends and enjoy these last few days before Christmas arrives.

National Chocolate Covered Anything Day

Finally a national day I can get into – National Chocolate Covered Anything Day!  Oh, there was

Congressional approval or a Presidential proclamation – it’s believed a confectioner started this day for the pure love of chocolate.

If I had my way, chocolate would be a food group.  Oh, I know nutritionists say that broccoli is the perfect food.  What?  You don’t think of reaching for broccoli when you’re down in the dumps.  You don’t think of hiding broccoli so someone else will not find in during your desperate time of need.  You don’t think of spreading broccoli on body parts.  Come on now nutritionists – look at it from my point of view.

Chocolate does have nutritional value!  It has antioxidants, it has natural fat (well, so do I but this is not the place to discuss that) and it contains magnesium, potassium and iron!  Don’t tell me that chocolate is not good for you. 

Nutritional charts do not show you is how chocolate can bring joy, comfort, ecstasy, security, a feeling of love, and a vivid, delicious smell full of wonderful memories. 

Chocolate is one of my best friends.  Celebrate National Chocolate Covered Anything Day with me!

I’m Tired of This Negative World

Have you ever been reading the newspaper or the looking at a news websites or television and read anything uplifting?  Happy?  Hopeful?  Nope, we live in a world that thrives on negativity and yearns for dirty details of others’ lives. 

I am not going to deal with negative television or web sites anymore.  I am tired of having my energy zapped by these news outlets that offer nothing but the worst in the news today. 

I am not going to deal with negative people anymore.  If you’re a negative person, please stay away from me.  I am tired of talking to you and wanting to rush off to take a shower to cleanse myself of the negative veil you have left behind.

I am not going to read anything negative anymore.  If I pay money for a book, or download a book, or go to the library to check out a book, I am getting one that is positive and has encouraging words. 

I have decided in the things where I have a choice – I chose positivity!

The Day The Music Died

Today is the 31^st anniversary of John Lennon’s death.  When I was 12, the Beatles hit the music scene and I was a huge screaming fan! I bought every album they released. (young people, these were really large CDs on vinyl – just visualize this, please) I knew the words to every song and I would pantomime their songs standing in front of the mirror in my bedroom. I had mad crushes on each of the Beatles. And, I still a fan of their music. Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote some wonderful lyrics and literally changed music for my generation.   And, let’s face it – Paul McCartney still has it going on… laughing all the way to the bank! 

I can remember exactly where I was when I heard John Lennon was dying.  I was at my dad’s bedside in a quiet hospital room watching him die as well.   December 8^th took on a whole new meaning for me.  As I looked at my precious Dad, the Beatles’ music didn’t seem so significant. Their fame meant little to me.

 My dad was the only celebrity I cared about at that moment when my dad sang his last song.

“Oh, I believe in yesterday.”

Women: You’re Killing Yourself Getting Ready for The Holidays

What is wrong with us, girls?  We drive ourselves crazy during the holidays rushing from mall to mall, from county to county, from web site to web site, from sale to sale, looking at hundreds of possible selections to try to find everyone the perrrrfect gift. 

Then we receive a gift in a pre-wrapped department store gift box that had no thought nor love nor even hard work in being picked. They hand the gift to us and say, “We never know what to get you.”  Really? We look at the gift and fain excitement when deep inside ourselves we are thinking, “Is this the best you could do for me in the 365 days since last Christmas?”

Women do me a favor this year.  Write down exactly what you want, the website address, the catalog number, or the name of the store, directions to the store and be sure to include the coupon to save 40%!

Give this information to the person picking out your gift and say, “This is what I want.  Do not get me anything else but this. Even you can do this since I have done all the work for you.  If you get me this, it will be the first Christmas that you have given me anything I remotely wanted.  Thank you.  I’ll see you on Christmas morning.”  How’s that for a runaway sentence… and the truth?

Girls, if you do not receive the gifts you want – it’s your fault.  Speak up and enjoy the holidays.

Can You Believe It Is December?

I don’t know about you but where did this year go?  I mean, it just seems like a few months ago I was writing you about a White Christmas at my house- oops that was in 2010! 

This is a most interesting time of year when people act like they all love each other juuust long enough to get a Christmas gift.  I am of the belief that God gave us families so we would have a place to call home.  God gave us friends so we can have a place to feel normal.  It’s simple!

Families are a working unit of adoration and appreciation; dysfunction and despair; longing and loving; tolerance and trials; and mercy and magnificence.  Families love us for the birth order in which we landed.

Friends are not units.  Friends are individuals who love and appreciate us for our special characteristics that our families never recognize.  Friends are vitally important as we discover our own individual path toward success.

We need both family and friends during the holidays to keep us balanced. I trust you are blessed with good friends and family.  Enjoy them this month!

National Magic Week!

This is National Magic Week!  It all started with a "Houdini Day" in the summer of 1927, less than one year from the death of Harry Houdini.  The week is designed to help people appreciate the art and entertainment of the fascinating craft of magic.

I am always ticked off when a magician can fool me with their tricks.  I mean, I am a smart woman and do not let much get past me.  But, these magicians kill me with their sleight of hand.

How do that do that?   

I want to send a shout out to two of my favorite magicians, Glenn Strange glenn@glennstrange.com  and Tim Dumas tim@timdumas.com  These two magicians have entirely different styles of delivery but are amazing entertainers and crowd pleasers.  If you are looking for a great entertainment for an upcoming event, please contact Glenn or Tim. 

And if you want to know more about National Magic Week, go to www.magicsam.com   

I like Jeff Dunham!

I like Jeff Dunham!  Oh, I know he is controversial but he is funny.  This talented ventriloquist

is so convincing that you never watch Jeff when he is doing his routines - you watch his dummies as if they truly are talking.  That’s how smooth he is in his delivery.

People say he is not PC.  I know!  That’s what makes him so funny.  He’s irreverent about everything.  All people are the topic of his remarks and you can’t help but laugh because they

are usually true, albeit a bit slanted.

Maybe we have become so PC in America that we can’t laugh like we used to.  We are so afraid of stepping on people’s toes, we no longer respond to the absurdities around us every day.  It’s as if we just expect weird and say nothing!  This makes us appear as drones just going through life and never having a personal opinion any more for fear of being seen as insensitive. 

I do not ever want to hurt feelings but I do think we should be free to say what we’re thinking- especially if it’s funny!

If you have never had the pleasure of watching Jeff Dunham, his new special is on the Comedy Channel!  Enjoy!

October Sky

Have you ever seen the movie, October Sky? Oh, you have to see it!  It is one of the best movies about having a dream as a child and living the dream as an adult.  The main character is Homer Hickam, Jr. who dreamed of being part of the space movement that swept America in the 50s. 

In the movie, based on his book, Rocket Boys, Homer shares his story of growing up in a small coal mining town in WV. When he and his friends watched the Soviet satellite, Sputnik, fly over their home town …their pre-destined lives of “you’ll work in the mines” were changed forever.  This led the boys to build homemade rockets and perfect their flight.  

Mr. Hickam lived his dream, as an employee with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Marshall Space Flight Center as an aerospace engineer. During his NASA career, he worked in spacecraft design and crew training. His specialties at NASA included training astronauts on science payloads, and extravehicular activities (EVA). He retired from NASA in 1988.

If you love a movie that is wholesome and victorious, October Sky is a must watch movie!

Old Sayings

Don’t ya love old sayings?  My grandmother had a saying for any occasion, season or illness.  As a child, I thought she was just a bit off her rocker but as an adult I have discovered these sayings have much truth to them.  Check out some of her sayings about the fall:

·         If the October moon comes without frost- expect no frost till the moon of November.

·         When cows are lying down in a field- rain is on its way.

·         If the squirrel’s tail is very bushy or they are collecting big stores of nuts in autumn- a

             severe winter in on the way.

·         If the Pyracantha is loaded with red berries- expect a long winter

·         Matthew 16:2-3 - When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather: for the sky is red.

So watch the environment and see if you notice these truths about weather’s harmony with nature!