F = Viktor Frankl

Viktor Frankl MD, PhD survived three years in a Nazi concentration camp moving on to write 39 books and inspire people around the world. The Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist worked in the camps to help other inmates overcome their shock and grief to live through the experience.

Dr. Frankl was originally detained with his parents and wife, none of whom survived. Of his immediate family only his sister who had immigrated to Australia survived World War II. After his liberation from the camp in 1945, he went on to publish the best-selling book: From Concentration Camp to Existentialism in 1946; later the book would be titled: Man’s Search for Meaning.

Watch an interview with Viktor Frankl explaining the power of choice:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EIxGrIc_6g 

What to do with a broken heart

When you’re broken, you pick up the pieces you can find and move on. There really isn’t anything else that can be done. Putting things back together doesn’t work out, it’s never really fixed. With time, a scar grows where your heart broke and you do the best you can with what you’re given, but the heart is never really whole again.

I discovered my heart was truly broken in the emergency room of a hospital. I was eighteen and beside myself with grief. Within minutes of devastating news, my symptoms included shortness of breath, dizziness, heart racing and chest pain. Of course, I panicked, which is another symptom.

The doctors were entirely nonchalant while the nurses hooked up monitors and discovered my heart was broken, I had a mitral value prolapse. They were a bit concerned because while the condition often has no symptoms, I seemed to be having them all.

On the home front, I had just discovered a) I was pregnant and b) my new husband of about four months was having an affair. I suppose I was a bit stressed out.

After several days they released me from the hospital. They were unable to determine physically why the symptoms appeared. I was instructed to modify my activity and life based on the severity of the symptoms.

Since that day I've followed the doctor's advice modifying life to manage unexpected situations. Now, doctors and nurses just love to listen to this classic mitral value prolapse which requires no treatment.

Ode to An Understanding Husband

Where oh where are you going to be?
Depends on the time she said to he

From seven til eight we get ready to go
Eight til nine we go with the flow

Organize, Interview, Imagine, Produce
Correct, Revise, Emend, Reduce

Defend, Allow, Yield, and Bend
Critique, Rebuff, and Do It Again

Go the store it’s food that we need
Then back for the kids: three of your seed

Drop off the laundry, Drop off the mail
Pick up the dog, wagging his tail

Wave to the neighbors, Smile at the cop
I just ran a light! I’m too rushed to stop

On to a meeting, then off for dessert
With clients, then friends, my feet start to hurt

Rush through the door, I’m late once again
Notes flying around as I slump at the end

In my chair with cup of the hottest cocoa
New stories spring forth and thoughts start to grow

Oh he said kindly, I’ll see you tonight
I know how it is when you’re wanting to write

I’ll get the groceries, the kids and the dog
You sit and create because that’s your job.

Laugh At The Absurd

Alice in Wonderland leaves her home by following the rabbit down the rabbit hole. She finds herself in Wonderland where all things seem contrary-wise but ultimately there is definition between the wise and the absurd.

Alice finds that her inner self, with kindness and good humor, is able to navigate through the nonsense and find her true self. Much to the chagrin of the anonymous antagonist, she becomes Alice in real life too.

The lesson for Alice remains ‘to thine own self be true.’

Caught Smiling

It happened again today, I was caught smiling.

I was talking with a woman with whom I'm acquainted. She commented, "You're smiling."

"Am I?"I asked.

"Yes," she said, "and you're talking about your 3 teenagers."

I thought a moment, "Oh, well, that's because I like them."

Thankful for Toddler Days

Toddlers are wonderful wow little people. There are few things as delightful, or tiring as a day with an energetic toddler.

Toddler To-Do List:

Chasing a ball
Blowing bubbles
Running with the dogs
Playing at the park
Going to the zoo
Drawing with sidewalk chalk
Digging in the dirt
Walking a nature trail
Running in the yard
Batting
Pulling a wagon
Climbing up the slide
Sliding down the slide
Running through the sprinklers
Swinging
Riding the merry-go-round
Jumping in a puddle
Pushing the stroller
Climbing the jungle-gym
Singing and marching to “We’ve off to see the Wizard.”
Drumming
Walking in the museum
Running to feed the ducks

This is only a partial list of a typical toddler day. What wonderful things are on your toddler to-do list?

My toddlers were capable of going, and going, and going, then falling asleep in an instant, >snap<, then awake for more! I had thought I was going to fall over exhausted when they were 1, 3 & 5. We all made it. Now, when I see toddlers I think of all the fun energy of running, running, running.

Conscious Parenting

“You’re so calm,” she accused.

“Sometimes,” I answered.

“But you have three teenagers,” she studied my face.

“Yes,” I smiled, “they’re really fun to be around. I like them.”

“How did you do that?” she exclaimed.

“It’s a long story.” I said.

When we decided to have children, I made a statement that seemed innocent enough at the time but it was a pivotal moment in my life: “I want to raise them.” I hadn’t realized, we were stepping onto the path of conscious parenting. The philosophy demands a good deal of soul searching and choosing to expand the parent’s (my & my partner's) consciousness for the benefit of the children.

Contrary to the standard, we made parenting decisions based on desired outcome. Our goal was to form a family with intelligent, healthy, compassionate children. All decisions included the consideration ‘what’s best for the individual as they are a member of this family.’ Once you think about it, it really is a simple way of going about life, especially if you’re a parent.

Babies cry. They cry for a reason. It’s the parent’s job to find the reason and fix it. The check list is short: Is baby hungry? Is baby messy? Is baby hurt? Is baby lonely? Is baby tired? Contrary to expert advice, ignoring a crying baby is not okay. Besides, a crying baby is irritating, I prefer the cooing, cuddly kind. I discovered that when a child’s needs are met, they rarely cry.

I was known as an over-packer, even for short trips. A fully stocked diaper-bag, snacks, Sippy cups, a small cooler, extra change of clothes, blankets, toys, books and a first-aid kit. Why? Because when you have kids, things happen. My kids were happy campers because mom was mostly prepared.

The toddler years: I love the toddler years. It’s a really fun time because the entire world is WOW! Everything is new for the young ones. The parent’s job is simple. Toddlers want to explore. Parents need to ensure a safe environment. We decided to forgo the coffee table because rolling, crawling, walking, summersaults, building, and dancing, are just too important to be impaired by living room furniture.

One day, another toddler mom commented on my lack of trips to the emergency room. I never liked going to the emergency room. The anxiety and related indigestion that comes with hospital visits never really appealed to me. So I avoided the whole issue with a liberal use of “NO.” I observed that most “accidents” happened when parents were inattentive. So I watched them and stop them from doing things that would inevitably cause injury. Kids don't need to get injured to learn a lesson.

Elementary years: Many people were watching how this conscious parenting thing was going to go once the kids were in school. We reviewed our own school experiences; we reviewed current data about schools today. The evidence was overwhelming, arbitrary institutional rules prevented children from a variety of behaviours we felt stronly about encouraging in our children. The list included: No being allowed to attend to bodily functions in a timely manner, not being allowed to eat when hungry, segregation encouraged ageism, and there were limits placed on compassionate interactions. All these issues were counterproductive to our goal. There is no useful purpose to being publicly humiliated or slammed into a row of lockers. Large or small, every former school student has unnecessary scars. So we opted otherwise.

Teen years: Clearly, I wasn’t thinking when they were babies because when they were 1, 3 & 5, it didn’t occur to me that someday it would be 16,18 & 20. Of course, I could go on & on about all the things I love about them, the fun things they do; the interesting things they learn and share with me and each other. They make me laugh every day. That’s our experience with teen years.

But the question: “How did you do that?” is best answered by saying that raising kids, like living my life is one small decision after another.

http://www.consciouslyparenting.com/

http://www.namastepublishing.com/products/book/conscious-parent-book-shefali-tsabary/9781897238455

Restaurant Tweets

Attracting customers to a new restaurant takes more than just good food. Everything counts: food, service, location, parking, atmosphere and marketing. Marketing is more important than ever. If people don’t know about a restaurant, how can they get there?

The savvy restauranteur or manager knows that marketing is increasingly more important. The more people talk (or tweet) about the restaurant, the more will walk through the door. Word of mouth is very important to keep patrons coming back but how does a restaurant start to get the word out?

New restaurants have an added challenge of getting all their information to their perspective clientele. If the restaurant is new, how do the restaurant owner and manager get reviewed, develop excitement and create the thriving business? The answer is branding.

Branding experts work to increase the number of “views” on websites and advertisements. Increasing the number of times a restaurant is mentioned directly effects the number of customers. Including good reviews in a marketing campaign or on websites for restaurants is more important than ever. People do take the time to scroll through reviews to find out about the food and the service.

Three simple steps will increase business.

Step One: Get people to notice the restaurant
Step Two: Create excitement for the dining experience
Step Three: Provide such an excellent experience that customers consider it an event!

Consider all online branding to be the 21st century equivalent to signs and balloons of the last century.

Thank customers by giving them something extra. Thank your branding expert for increasing your exposure. And thank yourself for understanding it takes a team to create an excellent dining experience.

GMC Died for Me

From time to time, life gives us curve balls. In my case, the curve was on a mountain road and the ball was a Jeep sliding out of control across the center divider and into the front end of my truck.

I could tell you the story of the ride to the hospital. I could tell you the story of the real cost of uninsured motorists. But I choose to tell you the story of the truck.

Selecting the GMC truck off the lot was an exciting day. The detail guys just finished vacuuming the carpet; the truck would never again be quite as pristine. The commitment to the payment was a biggy, even though this story pre-dates the early 21st century Depression-era.

The GMC transported my family, got me to work, and toted the groceries, dogs & supplies. Gas milage was as expected and the overall cost of maintenance was within budget. Of course, the price gas was in the $1.50 - $2.00 range. The CPA and I agreed, this was a good purchase. With a stroke of luck and lots of hard work, the truck fell into the asset column.

Until that fateful day, I hadn’t given much thought to the safety features. Until that day, I hadn’t thought about what a downward moving Jeep could do to my Sierra pick-up. Until that day, I hadn’t thought about the auto designers & engineers. Until that day, I hadn’t thought of how government safety regulations might save my life. I had only thought I drove a pretty truck.

My pretty GMC truck gave its life that day to save mine. I’m grateful.

English Tea Quilt

My latest quilt is complete. I call it “English Tea.”

After selecting the material, cutting the fabric was one day. Sewing the quilt top was one day. Selecting the boarder fabric and adding was one day. Quilting was one day. Binding was one day. It was a total of five days work for this beautiful quilt.

The combining of fabrics to create a quilt is fabric art, an American women’s tradition. Privileged I’ve been to share a bit of my quilting experience with the next generation of girls who are interested in learning about the art, and the skills required. As with all women’s work, this too is undervalued and teaching a dying art brings nothing but smiles on the faces of the girls who conquer the skill and create their own fabric art.

You Say It's Your Birthday

Kinderfeste or Kid’s Party celebrated birthdays of children, not just nobility, beginning in the 19th Century. The tradition spread throughout the world and was particularly embraced with the 1893 musical composition, “Happy Birthday to You.”

Societal acknowledgement that every child is special lead to the thoughts that children and childhood should be preserved as a time for education and play rather than reduced cost labor or child labor of the earlier eras. The progressive thoughts were championed at the turn of the twentieth century with protesters marching with signs “Abolish Child Slavery” in New York City parades.

In more affluent counties, children grown into adults continue to celebrate the yearly anniversary of their birth. This move to annual celebrations supports the retail culture in the desirability, if not requirement to either celebrate with co-workers & friends at a local eatery/bar or host a party complete with dinner, dessert and gifts.

While I celebrate a special birthday today, not mine. Our celebration is subdued in remembrance of the young military people (just out of their kinder years) away from home today.

The NEW Customer Service

Your business is important to us, please hold. Currently, your wait time will be 2 minutes. Your business is important to us, please hold. All of our relationship managers are busy, please hold. Your business is important to us, please hold. All of our customer service representatives are busy, please hold. Your business is important to us, please hold. Press zero to speak with an operator. Your business is important to us, please hold. Press one for English, press two for Spanish, press three for Chinese. Your business is important to us, please hold. A customer service representative will be with you in 7 minutes. Your business is important to us, please hold. Press one to review your account. Your business is important to us, please hold. If you would like to pay your bill, press three. Your business is important to us, please hold. All representatives are busy, please go to www dot we couldn’t care less about our customers dot com. Your business is important to us, please hold. Your wait time is now 3 minutes. Your business is important to us, please hold. If you would like to return an item, please hold. Our relations specialists will be with you in a moment. Your business is important to us, please hold. If you would like to place an order, please go to our store location or visit our website. Your business is important to us, please hold. Our customer care managers will be right with you. Your business is important to us, please hold. If you would like to know more about your account, please visit our web site. If you would like to discuss an error on your bill, please hold. Your business is important to us, please hold. You are next in the service queue; a service associate will be with you shortly. We are sorry but you have exceeded the wait time, please call back when a customer service representative is available.

A Precious Little Boy

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was very precocious. Rarely, did he sit still, he was very curious indeed. He loved to learn new things. He laughed at the way the water bounced on the sidewalk. He danced with the butterflies and bees. He talked to his dog about the beautiful sky. And sometimes, he brought flowers home to his grandmamma.

At the age of three, he started writing. He learned to write his name. He wrote his name everywhere, even on the wall which wasn’t a good thing, but he did spell it correctly. He read everything with words: junk mail, signs and cereal boxes.

One day he discovered there was a place where he could learn more. He could learn about math and writing and the wonders of the world. He was very excited about this new place of wonder. It was a place called school.

Finally, the day came, the little boy was very excited about learning even more things about the world; he was excited to go to school.

When he arrived, he was told to sit in a chair and not to move until the bell rang. Luckily, he sat near a window so he looked out to the world. When the teacher noticed he was gazing out the window, the little boy was given a note for his parents that said he wasn’t paying attention.

The next day, he was given a new seat away from the window near the hamster cages. He watched the hamster run on the wheel and he talked to the hamster about how much he liked running. When the teacher noticed he was talking to the hamster, he was given a note that he was disruptive.

The next day, he was given a new seat in the middle of the class. By now the other children noticed he was a problem child, so they teased him and pushed him and pulled on his hair. He yelled at the mean kids and hit them back. When the teacher noticed, he was given a note that said he didn’t know how to get along with others.

The next day, he thought he would bring flowers to his teacher. He didn’t understand why he was the only child given a note each day, but he sensed it wasn’t good. As he walked to school he saw a variety of flowers, so he gathered one of each kind. There was a daisy and an iris, a lily and a rose.

He waited by the door for the teacher to show him to his seat, it had changed so many times he wasn’t sure where to sit. When the teacher approached, he held out the flowers. The teacher took them and placed the flowers on her desk. The teacher placed him in a chair in the corner facing the wall.

That afternoon, the teacher gave her a note that said he destroyed property and was not welcome at school until he learned how to behave.

That night, the little boy’s mother and father discussed what they should do with their little boy. They decided perhaps he wasn’t ready to behave like the other children. They liked him better laughing at the water bouncing, dancing with the butterflies and bringing flowers to his grandmamma.

Re-discovering Home Birth

At the turn of the 20th Century, 95% of US women birthed at home, attended by a doctor or a midwife. By mid-1950s approximately 1% of women birthed at home. During the 1970s a home birth revival movement began with women realizing that births, in fact, most births don’t require hospitalization.

In the second decade of the 21st Century, a growing number of women are staying home to birth their babies. So many that the movement has reached main stream media. One news source recently reported a 20% increase in home birth.

As any woman who have had a baby in the hospital will tell you, the experience is turned into a medical procedure with clinicians coming & going, medical intervention (and increased insurance billing) just moments away regardless of the situation.

Women are questioning the medical involvement in birth and many are choosing to forgo the unnecessary procedures for a natural birth. The best way to insure the least amount of medical intervention is to skip the trip to the hospital.

Certainly this is not a promotion for risky behavior. If there are complications involved, by all means get the help needed. But be aware of the statistics.

C-sections are more likely to happen in the hospital. Depending on the particular hospital c-sections are 30 – 60% of births. Home-births with complications requiring transport and c-section are 3% of births.

Attendance in a hospital is often the floor nurse and the on-call physician unless you keep a appointment with a scheduled birth. You’re likely not to know anyone in the room behind the many masks that come and go.

With a home-birth the midwife attends the mother until & through the birth. In most cases, unless there an another birth, the midwife stays for a while after the baby arrives to insure a good start for mother and baby.

Cost for homebirth is a $3,000 - $4,000 for a midwife including all the pre-natal and post-natal visits. OB-GYN attended hospital births start at $10,000 and only go up.

As for this author:

Three of my four children were born at home. I believe each woman needs to educate herself to decide how she wishes to birth her babies.

I had a horrible and completely unnecessary c-section experience in 1981 at age 18. When I found I was pregnant in 1991 at age 28, I did my homework & decided to have my baby at home. It was difficult to find a midwife who would help with a VBAC but well worth the research and interviewing. There was no comparison between the two experiences. So it was easy to decide to have my subsequent children in the comfort of my own home.

Resources:

Feminist Breeder
http://thefeministbreeder.com/
Home Birth Kits
http://homebirthkits.com/
WIC
http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/breastfeeding/mainpage.HTM
La Leche League
http://www.llli.org/

Dog First-Aid Kit 'Cuz Ya Never Know

Well-meaning intensions aside, procrastination can be profoundly revealed when a pet is injured. My story is simple: my pets never get injured, so why have a first aid kit? Because never can turn into rarely in a blink of an eye.

My little dog has a small head. She can poke her head through the fence to gaze at the neighbor’s beautifully manicured and dog-free yard. The rest of Tippy, the little dog is too wide to make it through the fence. My neighbor, an older lady actually likes to talk with Tippy. So I figured no harm, no foul.

Until one day when Tippy’s ear got caught on the fence as she pulled her head back through. It is amazing how much blood is in a dog ear. There was blood all over the yard, blood all over Tippy, and when I went to help, blood all over me.

I won’t keep you in suspense. It was a flesh wound, no stitches required but it was a mess.

Had I had a dog first aid kit, things might have been less messy. Instead, I was yelling at child one and child two to look in the various household cupboards for gaze, for tape, for antiseptic.

End result: I’ve made a list for the dog first-aid kit and will keep it readily available for the potential future occurrence. Now that I’m prepared I do hope we’ll just return to the “my dog never gets hurt” status.

Dog First Aid Kit

Muzzle (even when they love you, they nip when you make their ouch worse)
Roll of Gauze
Gauze Squares
Non-stick Pads
First-aid tape
Vet-wrap/bandage roll
Sterile Saline Solution
Tube of Antiseptic
Scissors
Tweezers
Cotton Balls
Cotton Swabs
Gloves
Pet Carrier
Leash
Cold Paks
Heat Paks
Syringe
Pliers
Thermometer
Pedialyte
Bitter Apple Product (to discourage licking)
Vet’s phone number

For humans
Band-aids
Sterile Saline
Antiseptic cream
Doctor’s phone number


Diane Harrison of Wild Side Kerry Blues sent this message.

"Great article! Things to add to your dog first aid kit: Benedryl (for bug bites, stings, hot spots and any allergic reactions. and very good to use to calm your dog down), Tagamet,(great for large breed dogs that can or get, gastric torsion aka: Bloat) Tums, Aspirin, Clavamox (a very good antibiotic that you could get from your Veterinarian. Any good Vet will sell this to you if you tell him/her it's for your dog first aid kit) Pedialyte is great, but so you won't have to worry about it going bad, get an Electrolyte powder. Gold bond powder, Kwik Stop Powder, Super Glue, And a Bulb syringe. Just my 2 cents worth! :-)

For more information about Kerry Blue Terriers:
http://www.wildsidekerryblues.com/contact.html

A Good Omen: Ladybug

When a good omen visits, it’s nice to tell nature or the world thank you for sending the message of balance this day.

Ladybugs are good omens. Since the Middle Ages, ladybugs have been connected with saving crops from being overrun by other insects.

Depending on your local history, Ladybugs may be responsible for predicting how much money you’ll have, how many children you’ll have, a cure for tooth aches or improvement of your overall health. But no matter where you live, it’s considered bad luck to kill a ladybug.

Some of the amazing fact about ladybugs includes: Ladybugs are beetles. There are at least 400 different kinds of ladybugs in North America and nearly 5,000 different varieties around the world.

Without the ladybug we’d be overrun with aphids. Aphids are a favorite food of the ladybug. Contrary-wise, Ladybugs are not a favorite food to any predator. They release a chemical so they don’t taste very good.

Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home
Your house is on fire,
Your children are gone.

Book Review: Life and Spirit in the Quantum Field

Title: Life and Spirit in the Quantum Field: spirit is real, feelings rule and other adventures in quantum life
Author: Doug Bennett
Publisher: Take Charge Books Brevard, North Carolina
ISBN: 978-0-9815818-1-1
357Pages, Soft Cover
Price: $19.99
Kindle: $8.99
http://dougbennettsquantumlife.com/

Life and spirit in the Quantum field begins with basic Newtonian philosophy the foundation of our current science structure then builds into Quantum mechanics. From quantum mechanic explanation and the workings of the quantum field Doug Bennett launches into scientific explanation of the unseen world usually the territory of the parapsychologists or religious clerics.

The building blocks of science concepts provide the equations to support the hologram which was an entirely new concept less than a century ago. Holograms are everywhere. How a hologram is and isn’t in time and space lends the mechanism to leap to the quantum field understanding.

The promise of a scientific revolution presents new possibilities for the remedy to the centuries old philosophic schism between the seen and unseen world. Measurable experiments show that light and life are intertwined. The ultra violet rays help the seed sprout. Without light the seed remains inert. Life as a quantum process explains how energy moves into the unseen world to spout the seed in the seen world.

In very scientific language, the practices of faith healing or intuitive experience are explained in quantum energy terminology which potentially can move the open-minded skeptic from their comfort zone into the provable yet scientifically denied realities.

Inner work or psychotherapy coupled with spiritual practice can heal the subconscious to align the conscious analytical mind with the emotional intuitive self.

Putting together the two parts of self in a logical process the science minded can be brought to understanding other spiritual concepts such as the soul, ghosts, heaven, hell and the after life.

Bringing the subject full circle through the final link to religion and the spiritual practices of the ages, the mysteries of unseen world can be explained through scientific methodology. Eastern thought accepts the positive and negative of energy. We have the ability to direct thought to particular ends. Documentation of experiments explain what yogi Masters have known for millennia.

The Life and Spirit in the Quantum Field brings science and philosophy into harmony with both disciplines explaining life from different perception perspectives. The exciting part is that there is no longer the taboo that each field must stay on one side opposed to the other discipline. The promise is the wholeness of understanding life, seen and unseen.

Doug Bennett does an excellent job explaining otherwise difficult concepts for the layperson to understand. Clearly, the scientific audience will be able to move to a whole perspective by following the argument from cover to cover. People familiar with healing energy work will learn about the laboratory language that describes the truth in their daily work.

Has It Really Been a Year?

Some call it reflection, others call it inventory: I think it’s just a part of moving forward in life: Review.

Periodically, my mind reviews a particular segment of life: Work, Relationships, Location, Health and Inner Stuff. When I started this process in earnest more than 25 years ago, I followed direction to put it on paper. Through the years the need to put things to paper decreases as the problem to solution or goal to fruition methodology has become ingrained within my neuro-net. So ingrained is this that it would better be described as a continuing stock inventory system rather than a yearly goal setting session.

So it was not surprising when there is a “problem” my brain goes into hyper-drive to find a solution. This trait, call it Type-A personality or liken it to the Rabbit character in Winnie-the-Pooh, is helpful at minimizing situations so that they never become real problems.

The demarcation for this particular inventory came quickly in that it’s been a year since my last cross country move. Logical to look at the state of things/life, as the dust has settled and scramble has turned to routine.

Work ~ this year has marked more regular writing work than ever. With more than 50 ghosted articles sold and a regular technical writing gig, I’m pleased with the quality and the level of output. The downside is the ridiculously low pay. My son said yesterday, “That’s great money for 1856!” and he’s correct.

Relationships ~ really the key to a happy life are the people around. It may be old age creeping up on me hopefully, just wisdom probably a bit of both. But honestly, if it’s difficult, I’m really not interested. Relationships are so much better when they’re easy. Things are easy if everyone is polite.

I’ve noticed there are two kinds of people, probably more but for this example there are two: the kind of person that accepts an apology and the kind of person that continues to tell you how awful you are after you apologize.

Disrespect just leads to hard feelings, or in tough places, mortal peril. Personally, I choose to be polite for social cohesion. It’s easier to navigate situations if everyone cooperates and is forthright. I know, some would say I’m trying to live on Cloud Nine. And I would reply: If Cloud Nine requires manners then, yes. I require good behavior from myself when I make a mistake, I apologize and so expect the same from others.

Then of course, there are the people with whom I have no business being around. Take my ex, please! Seriously, we are ex, we don’t talk, we aren’t friends. If people ask me why? He's my ex, duh... Those who knew us should attest that the world is a happier place for the distance between us. After a number of years, I had a dream where I discovered he was doing really well. I woke really hoping the dream was true that he was doing well. I don’t know if he is or isn’t. It’s none of my business, that’s the ex-part. I consider this segment complete.

I learned a long time ago a relationship takes two people with a similar vision for the relationship for both people to be happy. I remind myself of that periodically as I continue life’s construction.

Location ~ Location, Location, Location… it’s true. Wishing to be somewhere and being somewhere are two entirely different things. Make a decision. Be there.

Health ~ As an issue health has come to the fore in the news as the overweight people outnumber the physically fit. The percentages coincide with the level of poverty and unhappiness, though not by simple equation. A simple way to live is healthfully: Eat right, sleep enough, avoid anger, and love daily.

Health is one of my favorite topics. I’ve been published on this subject more than any other in the last 20 years, probably because I love eating. I love good food. The flavors, spices, and textures of good food made into a fabulous dish is one of the things that make life enjoyable.

Memorable food moments this year: avocado off a tree, orange juice from personally picked oranges, Churro @ Olvera St, Soup in a Bread Bowl @ New Orleans Square, my daughter’s potato soup, ripe jalapeños, my neighbor’s lentil soup, my husband’s veggie burgers, my son’s quesadilla, my son’s rice & beans… I just discovered, the way to make my list of favorite people is to cook a tasty dish.

Inner Stuff (old & new) ~ I have these things called thoughts and feelings. Sometimes they’re old, sometimes their new, sometimes useful, sometimes just clutter… I decided to de-clutter the old and useless, just let it go, don’t beat the dead horse. Life got lighter, calmer, happier.

I liken the inner stuff to a closet. When I started my Fibber McGee closet was full. If I opened the door stuff would tumble out with a crash. Life went from one crash to another. It also made seeing today in reality difficult, if not impossible. Reality is where it’s at baby. Reality is today!

At a moment of clarity I realized I didn’t like the way a bunch of the old stuff felt when it crashed and I set about throwing out the stuff I didn’t want anymore. Some of closet junk I gave back to others, it wasn’t mine to keep. Some of the junk was mine and I had to face it, deal with it and move on. Some of the stuff was useful, some stuff was pleasant so I tidied up and placed those items in a mental file: Things Worth Remembering.

Things Worth Remembering:
Like the Kitty: Allergic to Kitty: Don’t pet Kitty.
Kids, like vegetables, spoil if you put them on a shelf & forget about them.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Share good things, it makes the world a better place.

Banana Bread in the Morning

One of life’s pleasures on a cool winter morning is the smell of banana baking in the oven. Sad to find many people have never experienced this simple pleasure. The process is easy.

Special equipment:
Masher or a fork to mash the bananas
Bread pans 9x5
Crisco
Toothpicks
Wire rack

Special ingredients:
Very ripe bananas
Some of the sweetest bananas for banana bread have nearly black peels. I would never eat the “over-ripe” mushy bananas but they are absolutely perfect for banana bread.

Banana Bread

6-7 large ripe bananas
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

The process:

Mash the bananas in a bowl.

In a larger mixing bowl blend together the butter and sugar.

Mix in the bananas.

Mix in eggs and vanilla.

Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl.

Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Set aside.

Prepare the two bread pans with a thin layer of Crisco rubbed all over the inside of the pan.

Pour half the batter in each pan.

Bake at 350F, depending on your oven the bread maybe done in 35 - 60 minutes.

The first time you bake you’ll have to check it more often. Check by poking the bread in the center with a toothpick. Poke the bread at 35 minutes then every five minutes until it’s done. The toothpick will pull out clean when the bread is done.

Take the bread out of the oven. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes.

Flip the bread out of the pan onto a wire rack for the final cooling.

Leonardo: A Vegetarian

We understand that Leonardo Da Vinci loved animals. He understood they are sentient beings, they have feelings. He understood that it was not required to kill to have a healthy body. He knew this to be true and lived without eating animals in the 15th Century.

"As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other." -Leonardo Da Vinci 1452-1519

It is interesting that the act of killing any sentient being is brought together in this note as if he expects that one act leads to another. The act of killing, whatever it does within the soul makes the killer. There is no division in Leonardo’s mind.

“Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds theirs. We live by the death of others” (Leonardo Da Vinci 1452-1519)

He lived in a tumultuous time. The government was involved in several wars for control of resources. The brutality of war may have prompted this statement. We do know that war interfered with some of the project on which he worked.

Of course, he was a genius or perhaps because of his conviction he became a genius. Regardless, he had hope for the future and that ethical men will look upon killing as killing without distinction of species.

"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men." -Leonardo Da Vinci 1452-1519

Vegetarianism is a legitimate lifestyle choice. It doesn’t mean that you’re conservative or liberal but it does mean that the temple of your soul (your body) is maintained in optimum health. Some of the health conditions prevented or improved are:

Obesity
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Vitamin deficiency
Diminished Cognitive abilities
Heart Disease
Liver Disease
Gallbladder Disease
Sleep apnea
Osteoarthritis
Diabetes
Cancer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarian