Sincerity is Heartfelt

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Between the ice cream, chocolate, your well wishes and prayers, I made it through the day.


So did my husband. He is peacefully snoring the roof off in the other room.

Albert Schweitzer said,

At times our own light
goes out and is rekindled
by a spark
from another person.
Each of us has cause
to think
with deep gratitude
of those who have lighted
the flame within us.

Thank you for your heartfelt wishes that buoyed my spirit today. I truly appreciate your comments.

While we are on the subject of being heartfelt, have you ever looked that word up in the dictionary? I did. Yeah, I know you are not surprised. Once a nerd, always a nerd! Just be thankful I'm not teaching you Calculus.

heartfelt: deeply or sincerely felt; earnest (a considerable or impressive degree or amount). Adjectives of this word: sincere, deep, earnest, warm, genuine, profound, honest, ardent, devout, hearty, fervent, cordial, wholehearted

Isn't that just a lovely word?

With an abundance of gratefulness, I wish to thank my bloggie friend Lisa from All That and a Box of Rocks for giving me the Heartfelt Blogger Award.



Like Lisa, I don't really dig following the rules, so I am glad she didn't post any for this award! In appreciation of your heartfelt kindnesses today, I want to pass this award to you.

Blue Cotton Memory She also asked me a question and I posted the answer here:

Personal Journal Blogroll

The Fifty Factor
Zesty Nachos
Marlie and Me
Keep In Touch With Mommakin
The Professional Family Manager
Maman & Gourmand
Abundant Living
Away We Go
Coupon Clippin' Mommy
Unknown Mami
The Sporadic Cook

Thank you all very much!

Check out the short posts on my other blogs.
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Being Blue with Yellow Roses

I'm not really the "bring me flowers" or "buy me diamonds" kind of girl. I usually enjoy chocolate, ice cream, books, a camera or a new computer program more. If you haven't noticed, I changed my template a little bit. I created double columns to the right which enabled me to reduce the size of the footer. I also added a textured background image while the postings will be set against a white background. I found a couple widgets that list the "Top Commentors" and counts the number of postings and comments made on the entire blog. Everything is just a little more streamlined. Needless to say, I was really excited about the changes. It feels like moving the furniture in a room, vacuuming and discovering that the room feels larger.

My blog alacrity doesn't really transcend to my husband and daughter. They support me and often read my postings, but I can't really call their reactions enthusiastic. Imagine my surprise when my husband walks in with a billion roses and declares that it is in honor of my new blog template.

At first I thought an alien had abducted the real Tom and then I thought he was just being sarcastic. Neither was true. He really did buy me "flowers" to celebrate changing my "blog's template" - Hell is probably going to freeze over tonight.

Click on the images to see them BIG and DETAILED

I am definitely feeling special. I guess he doesn't realize that the few changes I made to this blog do not even come close to the creation of the other seven blogs. Maybe he is actually apologizing (in a man's way) for harassing me so terribly when I was creating the other blogs. It doesn't really matter at this point because I am not giving up the flowers. I do hope, however, that Tom now realizes that blogging is more than sitting down and typing. I've made friends, won contests, laughed, cried and feel a little bit of the woman named Sherry coming back to life again.

It is so easy to get lost in between being a mother, wife, sister, aunt, daughter, employee, and church member, paying the bills, cooking, vacuuming, sewing, grocery shopping, washing dishes, laundry, scrubbing floors, cleaning bathrooms, polishing furniture, scrubbing baseboards, and driving hither and tither.

My life is rather chaotic right now.

• Tomorrow Tom has surgery on his back and it is a good time to do it because
• he lost his job last week due to downsizing
• The possibility of Tom not getting another job soon is terrifying
• I have a giant bookcase that I am fixing for Alyssa standing in the middle of my living room
• I don't feel the holiday spirit and everywhere is starting to look and sound like Christmas
• I have another birthday in less than two months...ick
• I miss my best friend, my little pooch, Evette, desperately (she passed away September 2008 and she had the same metamorphosis as the Velveteen Rabbit - she became real...human almost)
• And lastly, my daughter is growing up too fast

Today, I am just basically a mess. So I'm going to smell my yellow flowers and eat a bowl of pecan sprinkled vanilla bean ice cream slathered with chocolate syrup . Isn't that how you are supposed to drown your misery?

"Without ice cream
life and fame are meaningless."

Check out the short posts on my other blogs.
You might find something helpful.

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Crystal Clear
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To Blog or Not To Blog
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Honesty In Business
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The Purse, A Girl's Best Friend

I had someone pull a gun and point it at me while I was driving down the road. It is a memory I won't ever forget. I'll tell you about that in a minute.

The other night on the news I saw that women were being targeted at the gas pump. Not every woman, just women who drive vehicles that are taller than they are...basically SUV's.

The way that it works is:

• an unsuspecting woman SUV driver pulls up to the pump.
• she unlocks her doors, gets out and begins pumping her gas.
• the criminal drives up in the pump next to her,
• gets out of his car,
• stoops low,
• opens the victim's front passenger side door,
• takes the purse that is sitting boldly in the front seat,
• gets back into his car and drives off.
• The victim finishes pumping her gas,
• and upon re-entering her SUV, discovers that her purse has been stolen.
  

According to the Seattle Police Department, the first and most important defense strategy to avoid becoming a victim or having your purse stolen is to "Safely Carry Valuables." The top tips in this category are:

• Handbags should be closed, carried in front of the body with an arm held loosely across it. A bag dangling by your side is much easier for a thief to grab on the run.
• If wearing a handbag with a strap over the head, choose a thin strap, and wear it under your coat. This makes it harder for the robber to grab the strap. A hard yank on a strap may cause a fall and an injury.
• Many women find they don't need to carry a handbag all the time. Place essentials (keys, small amount of cash, I.D.) in a pocket.
• Avoid carrying house keys in your handbag. Instead, carry keys in a pocket. Chances are your address is on a document in the bag. If the thief has your keys and address he/she has easy entry to your home.
• Consider reducing the items of personal or sentimental value that you routinely carry. Losing family photos, address books, and important papers is usually more traumatic to victims than financial loss.
• If you must carry a large amount of cash or valuable items, do not carry them in your handbag or wallet. Carry valuables in an inside pocket.

This is the road where someone pulled a gun on me and the gas station where I called the police on the payphone twenty years ago.


I was minding my own business driving in the right lane. I noticed that the car on my left kept getting closer as I approached the intersection, so I glanced over. I was unprepared to see a man pointing a revolver at me through his passenger side window. I immediately slammed on the brakes and pulled into the gas station. I was shaking so badly that I couldn't hardly dial the phone.

I don't know who he or if he was caught, but I do remember the terror I felt. Don't take your safety for granted, because other people do and your life holds no value to them.

Check out the short posts on my other blogs.
You might find something helpful.

Cheff-ess
Crystal Clear
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To Blog or Not To Blog
Recipe: Old Fashioned Taffy
Honesty In Business
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I Spy Something Yellow

Yellow evokes thoughts of the sunshine warming not only the skin, but filling the soul with optimistic happiness. All hues and shades of yellow can help to cheer the mood with perky brightness.


What do we have here on this happy yellow blog? Ahhh, the Busy Momma Bee gave The Redhead Riter the Best Blog Award. Thank you so much! She is a new blogger that needs some of your smiling faces in her Google Follower widget located in the footer. Hint, hint!



I would like to pass the award on to six blogs that you will find on my blog, the Crafting & Selling Blogroll which is featuring them at the top of all the other blogs on the right and in the left bar. These blogs are full of the greatest craft ideas and even if you don't want to make anything, it is fun to see their talents in action. Several of them sell their craft too so you might find something you want to buy.


Just Something I Made
Mod Podge Rocks
Tizzalicious Crafts and Cuteness
Diary of a Crafty Chica
World of Whimsy
Shiny Little Things

Take a few minutes and visit their blogs. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. You may not always find something "yellow" in color, but you will always find something uplifting and bright.

We all live with
the objective of
being happy;
our lives are
all different
and yet the same.
~Anne Frank~

Check out the short posts on my other blogs.
You might find something helpful.

Cheff-ess
Crystal Clear
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To Blog or Not To Blog
Recipe: Old Fashioned Taffy
Honesty In Business
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The Unlit Lamp

"Perhaps it will seem to you
that the sunshine is brighter
and that everything has a new charm.



At least,
I believe this is always
the result of a deep love,
and it is a beautiful thing.



And I believe people
who think love prevents one
from thinking clearly are wrong;
for then one thinks very clearly
and is more active than before.



And love is something eternal--
the aspect may change,
but not the essence.



There is the same difference in a person
before and after he is in love
as there is in an unlighted lamp
and one that is burning.



The lamp was there and it was a good lamp,
but now it is shedding light too,
and that is its real function.



And love makes one calmer
about many things,
and in that way,
one is more fit for one's work."






~Vincent van Gogh~
(Dutch Painter, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, 1853-1890)

I think I appreciate Vincent van Gogh a little more now.

Check out the short posts on my other blogs.
You might find something helpful.

Cheff-ess
Crystal Clear
Twitter...Tweet, Tweet, Tweet
To Blog or Not To Blog
Recipe: Old Fashioned Taffy
Honesty In Business
#2 Laws of Advertising

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Thankful in Color

As we express our gratitude,
we must never forget that
the highest appreciation
is not to utter words,
but to live by them.

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy~

Cheff-ess
Crystal Clear
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Recipe: Old Fashioned Taffy
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