Random crazy thoughts of a joyful woman

I feel trapped.
Cold.
Hungry.
Lazy.

I should feel free.
Warm.
Full.
Creative.

I've been outside this morning and was contemplating building a snowman with the hubby, but now the snow is a crunchy tundra that I almost fell on.  Back inside I sit down still wearing my parka.  My body senses any gap of open skin and says "Cover me up!  Pull your socks up because they have fallen down.  Tuck your tank top back into your sweatpants.  Pull your sweater down.  Or maybe get a bigger longer sweater."  Those are my thoughts.  I answer them, too.  I make another cup of coffee with my Keurig's refillable cup.  I don't even measure the coffee anymore.  I just pour it in.  I'm crazy like that.  Hubs asks what I am doing and I tell him, reading my words to him.  He tells me it isn't that cold in the house.  I tell him I understand he's not cold but I am.  I also warn him that I might write about him......  that quiets him.

We are watching TV.  I am watching Modern Family for the 2nd time this morning because hubs was still sleeping the first time I watched it.  Now he is watching it.  I'm thinking, "Please don't doze off because I don't want to watch this a 3rd time!"

Now I contemplate life and feel I'm selfish.  I worry about families that are really cold with little or no heat, kids that might not have a hot meal to eat, Senior citizens that are lonely and need someone to talk to.  If I just think about it and don't have any actions, I'm not helping though.   So I'm making a plan,  I'm not going to just sit here...

May we all be more thankful for what we have.
Choose and find joy every day.
Be kind regardless of how our day is going or how we are treated.
Love more because that alone can make the difference.

The pain of Alzheimer's and Cancer

It has been an icy day with lots of emotions flooding my heart.  It started with me watching Tim McGraw singing Glen Campbell's song, "I'm not gonna miss you," from the Oscars.  The song had just started playing and I started crying, not just a few tears, but sobs.  Michael asked, "Do you just want me to fast forward through this?" I said, "No, I want to hear this."  I had watched the debilitating disease of Alzheimer's steal my mom from me and my family.  Then 2 years later in July of '09 my dad died.  He had cancer but had survived that and lived for 90 years.  It's acceptable to hate when you hate diseases.  These 2 diseases have impacted my family and friends more than I care to count and it hurts.

On Sunday I heard my cousin had passed away on her birthday.  She was 62 years old; that isn't very old.  She leaves behind her husband, 2 sons, a daughter, and several grandchildren.  Her father died from cancer when she was a child and her mother died of cancer over 15 years ago.  Her stepfather had Alzheimer's and passed away in 2013.  Two of my friends lost their aunt to cancer this morning.  A picture on Facebook on Sunday from a teacher friend had me in tears because she is currently watching Alzheimer's take her mom.  The picture was so incredibly touching though.  Her husband had managed to get some recordings of her dad singing 70 years ago on her phone.  Her mom recognized his voice!!  I cry for all of them because I know their pain is devastating.

Memories cannot be taken from us though.  I write to keep some memories closer because I don't want to forget nor do I want the beauty of them to fade.  Writing can be very therapeutic also.  I fully understand that my writing is rather simplistic.  I do it for me though and maybe some words I write will touch you or make you smile or laugh.   I'm planning on writing more so join me on my journey wherever it leads.

                                         
                                        choose joy            
                                                          love more
                                             be kind

Remembering my mom

It's hard to believe it has been 2 years since I blogged.  Even harder to believe that February 15th would have been my mom's 90th birthday and that she has been gone for 7 1/3 years.  Time passes but I don't forget.  I remember the good times, the laughter, the joy, and all that she taught me but I also remember the pain and the loss that Alzheimer's caused.  It really was horrible and I can't remember without tears even now.  For today and yesterday I kept my thoughts on what her very last words were and that made me smile and even laugh.  You see the TV was on in her room and it happened to be on her favorite show, "The Price is Right" and she always wanted her family to be on the show.  She hadn't said anything for days, maybe weeks. My niece Shelly got to hear her Nana, my mom, say her last words which were, "Bob Barker".  This goes to show you that even if you don't think someone is hearing what is being said they are.  So if you are ever in a situation when you aren't sure if someone can hear you, talk to them.  Tell them your thoughts, feelings, prayers because they hear them.  What you say can give them peace and help them pass peacefully from this Earth to their Heavenly home.

I would like to think I inherited certain qualities my mom possessed.  I love to laugh and to bring laughter.  I think people should be treated equally and fairly.  I believe in the golden rule and that you should think about what you say before you say it.  Life is short; we should count each day as a gift and live each day to the fullest.  Life can be simple, too.
                                         
                                choose joy
                                     love more
                                         be kind


Those last 6 simple words say it all.......

mY PiNteRest PrOjEcTs #5

I can hardly believe it's February 16 and I actually wrote this on Jan. 12, but never published it.  I love Pinterest and how it keeps my projects and ideas organized.  Perhaps my favorite part of it is trying many new recipes.  If you try any of the following recipes,  let me know what you think.  Just click on recipe title or link under each picture.  I'd love to hear from you.

Neiman Marcus Dip

Neiman Marcus Dip was so delicious and so simple to make.  I did use regular bacon not the bacon crumbles, mainly because of the extra preservatives in the packaged variety.

Hubby and I both loved this.  It would be great to take to a party.
***** Highly recommend.  Will be making this again.

Marlboro Man's favorite sandwich

 Marlboro Man's favorite sandwich

This is from the Ree Drummond's blog-The Pioneer Woman.  She has some great recipes and I also love to watch her cooking show on Food network.  This has become our favorite go to steak sandwich.  I do add sweet red peppers with the onions to her recipe which I think makes it even better.  We cannot get enough of this.  Did you know the secret of cooking steak is frying it in butter?  YuMmY!!! and oh so delicious!!  I actually had a good friend tell me he loved me after eating this meal.  It was greatness!!!

*****This is a tried and true recipe.  LOVE IT!

Corn, Cucumber, Tomato Salad

 Corn, Cucumber, Tomato Salad

I first had a salad like this at a TCU football game from The Big Purple Truck.  It was love at first bite and a taste explosion in my mouth.  I couldn't believe I had never tried anything like it before.  So shortly after the game I began an internet search and found this recipe.  I add red peppers, cilantro, pepper, and use rice vinegar and a little lemon juice in mine. 

*****DeLIGHTfully delicious, a favorite

Thanks to Debbie and Dakota at Just a Spoonful of...... for the Neiman Marcus dip recipe, Ree Drummond for Marlboro Man's Sandwich, and Molly Watson from about.com for the Corn, Cucumber, and Tomato Salad. You have made many meals for my family and friends better.  I think a perfect meal would be to have all 3 of these recipes. 

Happy New Year!! It's 2013!! Being Grateful!

It's hard to believe another year has come and gone.  Last year was a good one, but in retrospect I can't remember something about each day and that's a shame.  So this year I resolve to write down  what I am grateful for each day.  I did not come up with this idea on my own; I first read about gratitude jars on one of my favorite online fabric store blogs, Strawberry Patches.

Suzanne's Gratitude Jar

Here is a link to a gallery of different gratitude jars.  I haven't decided whether to do a jar or a little journal or even an app for my phone yet.  It's not so much how I do it though; the important thing is I do it.  I invite you to join me because.......