Category: FOOD FOR THOUGHT

MUSTARD MAYBE, Q-TIPS NEVER, TECHNOLOGY BITES ME IN THE BUTT, SERVICE DOGS & ENTITLEMENT ATTITUDE ~ BLOG 355.245B

I originally began this meme back in 2008 and this particular post was 12 years ago on this day in 2012. It came up in my Facebook memories this morning and as I read through it, I realized just how true it STILL is today on all levels (for me especially now that it’s been 5 MORE surgeries since then) so I decided to update the post and rerun it for fun!

It must be the blue moon (2012) this month, but everywhere I look, people are grumpier, ruder and downright ignorant, everyone but my dogs!
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But damn if people aren’t trying their damnedest to push all my buttons this month! One woman in particular parked her cart sideways in the middle of the already too narrow aisle and proceeded to walk up and down the aisle selecting multiple items to bring back to her cart and DAMN if she wasn’t the loudest and most obnoxious woman I’ve ever met when I scooted her cart to the side so I and several others could get by her. Another man was cutting all the corners on the aisles and ending up head on with all the shoppers who were acting as if people were going in 2 directions.

Then, there’s the woman with 3 chihuahuas in a zippered stroller who claims they are service dogs and allowed into the grocery store. She was neither blind, deaf or disabled. The dogs by her own account are just so “cute” and couldn’t be left in the hot car while she grocery shopped.  HELLO?  Why not just leave them home?

Then there was the clerk at Best Buy who did his best to make me look like a fool and called me a liar when I asked for a specific part when my car alarm remote took a dump. He continually argued that what I was trying to explain to him had never been available and that I didn’t know what I was talking about. No wonder Best Buy is in so much financial trouble. He said the only way to fix it was put in a new alarm and that it wasn’t possible to get a new remote for an existing alarm – what an idiot. I did speak with the general manager, but then took my business to the mom and pop business further down the street.

Last month I bought Q-tips at Target, house brand that were on sale for an incredible price. Now I know why. Very little cotton on the ends and the sticks break easily. Items like this really are better brand name while mustard according to hubby is fine house brand.

And once again what’s up with checkers at Walmart who would ONLY speak Spanish? HELLO? We are in America, I’m paying with American money and expect to be spoken to in English. And don’t even get me started on “entitlement attitude” of teenagers in particular, but others too.

Now that rant aside, I am beginning to feel like a real human being again. 2 major surgeries and treatments (ovarian cancer and stomach reconstruction) in less than a year and a half has taken a serious toll on my energy and strength. This last surgery in particular has messed with my favorite foods. So, I’m really happy to be able to cook again even if hubby is the only one who gets the spicy flavorful parts.  I promise to get back to serious blogging soon!

 ORIGINALLY POST SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

2022 LIST update

I’ve been participating with Jean over at Chit Chat with Jean to do an accomplishment list for 2022 and a word for the year. This is my 2nd quarterly update – mid year. I wondered if I would be successful? I’d say I’m doing pretty good so far.

My list for 2022 is:

  • Do a Happy Homemaker Monday post each and every week. This keeps me more on track and organized about my home life. Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week. DONE
  • Do 1-2 devotionals every day. DONE, but slacking as I’m working my way through 100 Days of Grace & Gratitude – A Devotional Journal
  • Follow a nightly skincare regime – DONE
  • Complete 4 quilts – at least 1 for each quarter. 1 Christmas quilt wall hanging done almost done, 2 batik table runners in opposing colors are done and but I’m still working on one more quilt.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my Food blog, Savory Kitchen Table. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my Life blog, Chasing MY Life. When I merged my old blogspot blogs into this single blog it duplicated many things and added an “ALL” category that I am having to eliminate one by one so it’s taking a LONG time. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year.
  • Make a better effort to reach out and connect with friends and family more regularly. This is a work in progress.
  • Learn YOGA or Pilates or both! This is a work in progress.
  • Take at least a 2 mile walk daily. DONE most days
  • Continue to downsize and declutter EVERYTHING. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year.
  • Clean out photo files that date back 13 years! I’m working on it, but it’s really hard. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year.
  • Create Shutterfly photo albums for 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. Yet to do 😀
  • Go through scrap recipe tote and eliminate all the recipes I will never try – they’re just not worth saving. DONE
  • Do more drawing and painting – at least one per month. I’m still working on most of these, but did complete these first 5, one of which was for a Ukranian fund raiser. And hubby and I are doing one tomorrow for a date night outing. We’ll go to the afternoon class then dinner out 😀
  • Focus on rewriting more recipes to work for only 2 with no leftovers. This is a work in progress, but doing REALLY well so far. It has been seriously complicated by the increase in grocery prices 🙁
  • Volunteer at least once a month for a community project. DONE TO DATE
  • Do a date weekend once a month – exploring a new place we’ve never been before. I’d like to say we’ve been really good about this, but it’s only happened 3 times so far this year 🙁 1) RICOTTA class at a local winery 2) BURGERS & BEER at a local brewery that opened a new BURGER BOMB food truck 3) Romantic dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant. 4) We spent 2 days at a resort near Lassen National Park hiking and exploring 5) We spent 2 more days at Mt. Shasta also hiking and exploring 6) hubby and I are doing one tomorrow. We’ll go to an afternoon paint class then dinner out 😀 7) We are also putting together a trip not to far from home for our anniversary in August.
  • Clean out old files and recycle or destroy old papers. This is still an ongoing work in progress, but I’ve made seriously good progress.
  • Clean out craft cabinets and donate craft parts no longer needed. DONE
  • Eat at least 1 piece of fruit daily. DONE
  • Do at least 1 random act of kindness every time I leave the house. DONE
  • Read 36 books. Was hoping for double, but this was a realistic goal. Since I’m already there and only halfway through the year so have high hopes of making that double number. 44 so far 1) State of Grace by Marie Force, 2) Swamp Sweets by Jana DeLeon, 3) Beside Golden Irish Fields by Ava Miles, 4) What Child Is This by Rhys Bowen, 5) Women and Children First by Gill Paul, 6) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel, 7) The Cape May Garden by Claudia Vance, 8) South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber, 9) A Home for Unloved Orphans by Rachel Wesson and 10) All My Loving by Marie Force 11) Wild Widows by Marie Force 12) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel 13) In Name Only by Jennifer Peel 14) Flame & Fortune by Jana DeLeon 15) The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley 16) Here, There & Everywhere by Marie Force 17) Someone Like You by Marie Force 18) Beach House Romance by Cora Seton 19) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel 20) In Name Only by Jennifer Peel 21) Silent Partner by Jennifer Peel 22) The Wedding Charm by Susan Hatler 23) The Girl From the Channel Islands 24) Breakfast at the Honey Creek Cafe by Jodi Thomas 25) The Book of Sorrel by Jennifer Peel 26) Written in the Stars by Noelle Fox 27) The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley 28) Secrets Hidden in the Glass by Cate Beauman 29) Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger 30) The Woman with the Blue Star by Pan Jenoff 31) The Lost Girls by Pam Jenoff 32) The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin 33) The Resistance Girl by Mandy Robotham 34) The Stationmaster’s Cottage, #1 Rivers End by Phillipa Nefri Clark 35) Accidentally Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #1 36) Finally Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #2 37) Hopefully Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #3 38) A Fire Sparkling by Juliane Maclean 39) The Resistance Girl by Mandy Robotham 40) Jasmine Sea, #2 in the Rivers End series by Phillipa Nefri Clark 41) Palmerston House, #3 in the Rivers End series by Phillipa Nefri Clark 42) Last Known Contact by Phillipa Nefri Clark 43) The Honey Bus by Meredith May 44) Deadly Falls #1 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark

2022 LIST update

I’ve been participating with Jean over at Chit Chat with Jean to do an accomplishment list for the year and a word for the year. This is my first quarterly update. I wondered if I would be successful? I’d say I’m doing pretty fair so far.

My list for 2022 is:

  • Do a Happy Homemaker Monday post each and every week. This keeps me more on track and organized about my home life. Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week. DONE
  • Do 1-2 devotionals every day. DONE I’m working my way through 100 Days of Grace & Gratitude – A Devotional Journal
  • Follow a nightly skincare regime – DONE
  • Complete 4 quilts – at least 1 for each quarter. 1 Christmas quilt wall hanging done almost done, 2 batik table runners in opposing colors are done and but I’m still working on one more quilt.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my Food blog, Savory Kitchen Table. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my Life blog, Chasing MY Life. When I merged my old blogspot blogs into this single blog it duplicated many things and added an “ALL” category that I am having to eliminate one by one so it’s taking a LONG time. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year.
  • Make a better effort to reach out and connect with friends and family more regularly. This is a work in progress.
  • Learn YOGA or Pilates or both! This is a work in progress.
  • Take at least a 2 mile walk daily. DONE most days
  • Continue to downsize and declutter EVERYTHING. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year.
  • Clean out photo files that date back 13 years! I’m working on it, but it’s really hard.
  • Create shutterfly photo albums for 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. Yet to do 😀
  • Go through scrap recipe tote and eliminate all the recipes I will never try – they’re just not worth saving. DONE
  • Do more drawing and painting – at least one per month. I’m taking this bike and sunflower class this week and the others are a few I’m trying to replicate now.
  • Focus on rewriting more recipes to work for only 2 with no leftovers. This is a work in progress, but doing well so far.
  • Volunteer at least once a month for a community project. DONE TO DATE
  • Do a date weekend once a month – exploring a new place we’ve never been before. I’d like to say we’ve been really good about this, but it’s only happened once so far this year 🙁
  • Clean out old files and recycle or destroy old papers. This is an ongoing work in progress, but I’ve made good progress.
  • Clean out craft cabinets and donate craft parts no longer needed. DONE
  • Eat at least 1 piece of fruit daily. DONE
  • Do at least 1 random act of kindness every time I leave the house. DONE
  • Read 36 books. Hopefully it will be more, like double more, but I think this is a realistic goal since I’m halfway there. 18 so far 1) State of Grace by Marie Force, 2) Swamp Sweets by Jana DeLeon, 3) Beside Golden Irish Fields by Ava Miles, 4) What Child Is This by Rhys Bowen, 5) Women and Children First by Gill Paul, 6) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel, 7) The Cape May Garden by Claudia Vance, 8) South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber, 9) A Home for Unloved Orphans by Rachel Wesson and 10) All My Loving by Marie Force 11) Wild Widows by Marie Force 12) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel 13) In Name Only by Jennifer Peel 14) Flame & Fortune by Jana DeLeon 15) The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley 16) Here, There & Everywhere by Marie Force 17) Someone Like You by Marie Force 18) Beach House Romance by Cora Seton

WORDS & LISTS for 2022

Jean over at Chit Chat with Jean is doing a word for the year and also a list of “22” things to accomplish in 2022. I like the way she thinks and realize that 2022 items would be unreasonable and using the last 2 numbers to do 22 items is completely acceptable, reasonable and even doable. Since this is my first time I don’t have any ‘leftovers” from last year and that makes me smile and approach this as even more possible.

After giving this serious thought I decided to join in. Will I be as successful? I’m not sure, but I’m seriously willing to give it a try. I’ll do quarterly updates until the end of the year and then decide about 2023 😀

I took a DaySpring quiz to help me determine my word for the year. A couple of words I considered were Renewal and Restoration before finally deciding.
My word for the year is – DEVOTION – love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause. I intend to find devotion in ALL people and ALL things in my life. If I can’t find devotion for someone or something, then it shouldn’t be in my life to begin with.

My list for 2022 is:

  • Do a Happy Homemaker Monday post each and every week. This keeps me more on track and organized about my home life. Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week.
  • Do 1-2 devotionals every day.
  • Follow a nightly skincare regime – I borrowed this from Jean, but because it lined up with the new Clinique regime hubby bought me for Christmas. I have used this in the past, but have been choosing not to spend the money on myself. Fortunately for me hubby didn’t agree. 😀
  • Complete 4 quilts – at least 1 for each quarter.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my food blog, Savory Kitchen Table.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my Life blog, Chasing MY Life. When I merged my old blogspot blogs into this single blog it duplicated many things and added an “ALL” category that I am having to eliminate one by one so it’s taking a LONG time.
  • Make a better effort to reach out and connect with friends and family more regularly.
  • Learn YOGA or Pilates or both!
  • Take at least a 2 mile walk daily.
  • Continue to downsize and declutter EVERYTHING.
  • Clean out photo files that date back 13 years!
  • Create shutterfly photo albums for 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016.
  • Go through scrap recipe tote and eliminate all the recipes I will never try – they’re just not worth saving.
  • Do more drawing and painting – at least one per month.
  • Focus on rewriting more recipes to work for only 2 with no leftovers.
  • Volunteer at least once a month for a community project.
  • Do a date weekend once a month – exploring a new place we’ve never been before.
  • Clean out old files and recycle or destroy old papers.
  • Clean out craft cabinets and donate craft parts no longer needed.
  • Eat at least 1 piece of fruit daily.
  • Do at least 1 random act of kindness every time I leave the house.
  • Read 36 books. Hopefully it will be more, but I think this is a realistic goal.

What you think? Do you want to join in also?

Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one!

A FOOD FOR THOUGHT EMAIL…
 
A friend of mine opened his wife’s underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:
 
‘This, – he said – isn’t any ordinary package.’
 
He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.
 
‘She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion.
 
Well, I guess this is it. He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.
 
He turned to me and said: ‘Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion’.
 
I still think those words changed my life. Now I read more and clean less. I sit on the porch without worrying about anything. I spend more time with my family, and less at work. I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.
 
I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day… I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it. I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.
 
The words ‘Someday….’ and ‘ One Day…’ are fading away from my dictionary. If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now….
 
I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell…
 
I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I’d like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food.
 
It’s these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come..
 
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one!