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!