I spent a little time on Twitter last night. I was sharing some things that caught my eye in other people's Etsy shops and talking about nothing...like I do! ^_^ And then the 'stream' seemed to get a little nasty and mean-spirited once the "Oscars" started!
I couldn't believe how judgmental people were! They talked about people's hair, their clothes, their relationships, their looks, etc... WOW! It immediately had me thinking about a poem. It took me...no kidding...about 5 minutes to write! I almost couldn't write it down fast enough!! LOL {It's below, by the way}
I think the reason all the not nice words struck me so bad was because I've been on the other end of people's judgmental words in my life. People who didn't know me. Didn't know what my challenges were. Didn't know what my past had been. Didn't know how much energy it was taking just to "APPEAR" normal!...Why don't people think about that kind of thing before they open their mouths in judgment toward someone?!
Anyway, these days I don't care what the THEYS of the world think about me. Really, I don't! That doesn't mean that I'm impatient with them, or that I say mean things right back at them...because I don't. Their opinion of me doesn't matter enough for me to do that! :-]
It took me a while to get there, but now I wish more people could feel what it feels to be confident in who YOU are! Maybe then they wouldn't spend so much time trying to find out what other people think of them or what they're doing! What "THEY" think is the best color for Spring...What THEY think is the best handbag for the Summer...What THEY think is the best make-up, hair cut, length of dress, shoe, nail polish, jewelry, or WHATEVER it is they think that THEY know better than them!!
Okay, rant over! ^_^ On to something nice! I want to show you what the un-opened gift was, the one in the header photo. It was one of the gifts I won just recently in the Giveaway on SnowflakeDreams1's blog!!!
It's the cutest Thank You card! :-)
I already filled up the empty space inside with some nice words for my friend that did the meatloaf and cottage pie recipes for me! :-)
There were some other gifts too!!
Cute little silver heart-shaped measuring spoons!
I never saw any like this before! So cute!...I even liked the cute little black and white gingham-type ribbon that was tied to the top of them! :-)
And then there was this little LOVE wall plaque!
With ribbons and a flower...
...and a cute little bead dangle!
But that wasn't all! There was also this...
...cute little clear beaded, double strand, necklace!
It was hard for me to take pictures of it because it was clear.
Thanks Velma!! I love everything!! :-)
I got one more piece of mail too. A card from a dear friend. I won't tell you any details. I just want to show it to you and say....friends know JUST what to say, don't they?!
God and True friends are the few of whom I care about what THEY think of me! ^_^
Be The Best You Can Be
I live my life every day,
trying to be the best I can,
so that I am not affected
by the degrading words of man.
If "I" know who I am,
then I don't care what others think;
I don't end up in some bar,
trying to hide my pain with drink.
Oh Yes! THEY have opinions
on what THEY think you should do,
on how you wear your hair,
where you should go, also with who!
I nod and give a grin,
respecting what they want to say;
but it's my own thoughts that count
at the end of the day.
It makes it so much easier
when I'm being the best I can;
Then I feel good about my choices;
I don't fear words from any man!
Oh! I had such big plans yesterday!! I finished my knitted Slouch hat on Friday, and for my Saturday it was gonna be me and the taxes....a date for the day!!...But, as depicted by this fabulous Take It Easy Drawing by animalgam, what actually happened was that I ended up acting like a slug yesterday.
What is a slug, you ask?!...I found two definitions online. (1.) A slimy mass of aggregated amoeboid cells from which the sporophore of a cellular slime mold develops...and (2.) an idle slothful person.
And what is a sloth?! ^_^ Any of various slow-moving, arboreal, edentate mammals of the family Bradypodidae of South and Central America, having long hooklike claws by which they hang upside down from tree branches and feeding on leaves, buds, and fruits.
Okay, my toenails aren't THAT long...yet! But if I stay in this state of inactivity it won't be long!! LOL Oh Yeah, I was definitely 'Slothful'!!...The point is...I got nothing productive done yesterday!! Me nor hubby!...So, what did we do?!
This print of an original mini painting by graysparrow tells the whole story...After a large breakfast of cheesy grits, sausage, a western omelet, toast and coffee, the day became a big blur of naps, reruns, and old black and white movies! It started with the rerun of "Parenthood" (the new NBC T.V. show depicting the way parents of all ages are parenting these days). {Have any of you watched this show?! I find it almost scary how many real life situations are depicted in this show! Real life situations that I've seen myself, in my real life!!}
Then the day moved on to Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night...
...Humphrey Bogart and The Maltese Falcon...
...just because I didn't remember what it was about...and it was on. LOL...
...And last, "Fanny" with Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, and Charles Boyer.
....and then it was time to get my 'fannie'...(the U.S. definiton, which is my 'Rear End')...up, and start planning what I was going to do for today.....because yesterday was G-O-N-E!!! ^_^
And yes, once again, I've got big plans!! NOT the taxes today though. Now that has to wait until later in the week. I've got a meeting today. And I have some things I need to list in my Etsy shop. These 4 beauties.
They've been made for a long time and I've just been dragging my feet about getting them listed. Well...today is the day!!!!.....Hopefully. :-/ *Note to self: DO NOT TURN THE T.V. ON!!!* ^_^
Weekend
It was weekend Folderol;Lollygagging, having fun;
It made working up to Fridayworth the paperwork you'd done.Your job, all week, came first,but now it's time for a little jaunt;or to lay around the houseand just do nothing, if you want!Weekend with some friends,or simply finding things to do;Because Monday will be backand you'll need something to look forward to!
YAY!! As you can see, I finished it!!...PHEW!! I was worried there for a while because I was really 'NOT feeling' this knitting thing!!! And I don't even want to tell you how many times I almost gave up!!
But I didn't! {Excuse the fat armed girl....Oh! That's my arm!! ^_^}
And as you can also see, it does have an opening for an actual head!! LOL I guess I haven't lost my knitting 'chops' all together!! :-)
Any of you that follow this blog know that I have two dummies I use to show off my crocheted items when they're done. Headless Tina shows off my scarves, gloves, and other things.
But when I want to show off a hat I let Shequita do it!
And she does a 'bang-up' job too!...Before I show you the rest of the Slouch hat shots though, let me remind you all that the Giveaway for the afghan/blanket I made...
...is going to be this upcoming Tuesday, March 1, 2011. So if you want to receive it, enter the Giveaway by first making sure you FOLLOW this blog. And then by commenting below. Up to one comment a day that you make will be considered as an entry in the Giveaway, unless you specify otherwise...Okay, back to Shequita. {Why don't you ever hear T.V. personalities say that?!..."Thanks for the update Bob. Now, back to Shequita!" LOL}
This is what it will look like from the front. And as you can see, Shequita's not wearing her hair today. So take that into consideration when you think about the fit...This is what it looks like from one side...
Now you can see why they call it a "Slouch" hat! It's got beautiful "floppiness" in the back! LOL
And this is what it looks like from the other side...
On my husband's route that he does every day for the bread and cupcake company he works for, he says he sees people wearing these Slouch hats all the time. It's in the city. And usually it's people who wear dreads (dread locks...a hair style). And while this hat can hold a lot of hair, it also will be good just to cover a cold head, or make a person look stylish!...Especially since I made it with purple suede yarn!!
What do you think?! Leave me some feedback below. And tell me...what are your plans for the weekend?!...Hubby and I are going to tackle the 'DREADED' T-A-X-E-S!!!! ^_^ I don't know why I say 'dreaded' taxes. Actually, I made a profit in my shop this year and might actually be considered a "Business" instead of just having a "Hobby". That's a good thing...tax-wise...right?! :-] Have a good weekend, whatever you're doing everybody!! :-)
Doing Taxes
Every year my mind gets taxed,
along with everything I own.
It's time to pay up 'Uncle Sam',
and see if I now need a loan!
It's time to tell the honest truth.
No time to 'fudge', deceive, or 'spin'.
It's now the time to 'pay the Piper'.
Grab bills and pills. TAX TIME AGAIN!!
I don't want to talk about the weather. Not one more word about it!!...But I can't help it. The header picture shows you what the local weather is doing around here today...UGH!...*sigh*...My bones are already arguing with me, my knitted Slouch Hat is screaming at me, and my nap is waiting for me...an all day nap if I give in to it!! ^_^ No! No! I've got to F-O-C-U-S!!!!
Focus on things I could be doing to help me get through the day, like....
...sitting in a tree, with a leaf over my head...Since in order to get to a tree I'd have to climb over 8 or 9 feet of solid packed snow covered with ice....this will be a NO!
...I could stare out the window, and look for some green blades of grass. Grass that will no doubt be coming up soon!...No! That won't be necessary, because the grass will no doubt be floating by at some point,...with little snow boats underneath them!!
...I could close my eyes and dream of tiny flowered trees and blue skies...Okay, this would really be a stretch today!!! ^_^
...I could sit quietly and visualize how beautiful the flowers are going to be after all of this rain!...I can do that! Flowers are easy to think about at any time!....But the fact that they'd have to fight their way up, and then swim for their lives, is gonna get in the way of that thought today...for sure!!
...I could just throw caution to the wind and dance in the rain!!......Who am I kidding?!....With these bones?! I'd be good to move my head to a dance beat today!! {Okay, maybe that's a slight over-exaggeration! I could probably manage enough mobility to move my feet and toes up and down too! LOL}
...Or I can just forget that there is such a thing as OUTSIDE, and put my head down and be determined to finish this knitted Slouch Hat!!
Can you see that when I fold the piece over it's actually starting to look like a hat?!!
Now I just have to figure how many inches wide I want the brim opening to be.
I can see it's not there yet!!...Any ideas what a good size would be?!
DING! DING! DING! I think we have a winner! I'm going to finish this hat today!!...I'm determined! I'm focused! I'm ready!!...
Uh Oh! I looked up!....*sigh*....Why isn't there a law against overly exuberant weather people, weather maps, and cutesy raindrop pictures?!
Happy Weather People
Weather people are so happy!
So excited with their maps!
Always smiling on the T.V.,
like there's sunshine in their laps.
They're a chitty-chatty bunch.
Talking radars and jet streams.
Strangely, when the weather turns,
their eyes glaze over, and face beams.
I don't know how they are so happy
when there's snow and rain and sleet;
When they do outdoors reporting,
smiling, while with soaking feet!
The places that they go
are where most folks are running from!
Are they brave, selfless informants,
or just really, really dumb?!
I cannot imagine
how they hold their heads up high,
when most folks can't stand their forecasts,
and they make folks want to cry.
They seem so proud and happy;
Fancy ties and great hair-dos!
Disgruntled comments bounce right off,
as do our frequent hiss and boos!!
The conclusion that I've reached
is that they have a 'Happy Gene'.
But, no doubt, they would just say
that they're reporting what they've seen.
Hey! They were not there
when wind and force moved things around!
But they're happy to be able
to now tell us where it's bound!
(Images in this post? The header photo is from WGGB.com; The owl and mushroom is Under The Weather print by arian; The blade of grass is from an unknown source; The Dogwood is by Montagyoo; The Tulips are from an unknown source; The ant Dancing in the rain, which is now sold, was by becmudd;)
No matter how good it looks,...trust me,...the "Looks" cannot do it justice as to the way it tastes!! It was SO GOOD!! :-) What is it, you ask?! It's Cottage Pie! I saw it a while back when I was looking at a blog post on the recipe blog Framed.
I told my girlfriend, who had already planned to make a meal for hubby and I yesterday, that I had a couple of recipes I was itching to try. One being this Cottage Pie. She said: "Let me make it!"...So I didn't fight with her!! LOL
I did make the deal with her though, that if she was making it, I would pay for the ingredients!...And she didn't fight with ME! LOL
Cut to some butter, onions, carrots, tomato paste, ground beef, thyme, pepper, dark beer, flour, russet potato, and some peas later....and wallah!!
It was absolutely delicious!!
Now, my girlfriend and I being who we are, couldn't be satisfied to just do ONE recipe! I mean, if you're gonna be doing all that grocery shopping, setting aside the time, and heating up the stove anyway, you might as well make it worth your while!! Might as well make enough food to keep you out of the kitchen for a few days, right?! :-)
And so....The Pioneer Woman Cooks! recipe for what she calls My Favorite Meatloaf 'to the rescue'!!
This became recipe number two!!...Ingredients?...Whole milk, bread, ground beef {Yes! we're on a ground beef kick!! LOL}, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, parsley, eggs, ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard, Tabasco, and my beloved bacon!!!...Yes!! Yes I did say bacon! :-))
Before you put this baby in the oven, you wrap it all up with bacon!...Now you know probably why it's the pioneer woman's favorite meatloaf recipe! ^_^ It's definitely got my vote now!!!
My own favorite meatloaf recipe....before this one...involved crackers and slabs of cheese in the middle of the meatloaf. But now that I've tasted this one....HANDS DOWN, this is now my favorite!!
And it's not only the bacon that did it for me...although frankly, it was a BIG part of it!...but it was the sauce you mix to put up on top!
That's what took it over the top for me!!...And to tell you how good it is, my girlfriend doesn't like anything that even has the hint of pepper or hot spicy taste. She never uses black pepper even! But this recipe, that she just wanted to 'Taste"...she loves!! And it has black pepper AND Tabasco sauce in the sauce part!!...That's how good it is! :-)
All in all, it was a good day to be in a kitchen!! ^_^ Even if I didn't get my Cheesecake out of the deal!
I wouldn't of had room for it in my belly anyway, after I got through "Tasting" everything!! LOL And Jehovah God knows I didn't need it!! ^_^ I think her sweetness about all of this was enough anyway!
She deserved a little present...so the next time we cook she can be comfortable. So, remember these?!
They now belong to her!!
She loves them. They were so comfortable that when she got ready to leave my house she almost forgot she was wearing them!! LOL They're good, but...Uh....they're not snow proof!! LOL (And yes...we do have tons of the white stuff outside! And a few storms due this week, carrying mostly rain.)...Moving on!
Hubby wants me to thank all of you for your concerned comments yesterday, and to let you know 'he heard you'!! He's going to try to be a good boy...this time! {Going light on the Meatloaf and Cottage Pie even!! LOL}
And just as an update....I'm still at it with the purple slouch hat! Here's where I am now...
I probably could have been a lot further along, but I get bored with it so easily and have to put it down a lot. I don't know what that's all about!! I can crochet non-stop for hours, but the knitting....that's a 'horse of another color', as my granny used to say! ^_^ I'll keep at it though...I'm considering making the finished hat my Giveaway gift for March 1st! :-) {By the way, don't forget to follow this blog and make comments below, in order to be eligible for the always running Giveaways! You can see what the current Giveaway gift is by looking on the right hand side bar and clicking the link.}
Lastly, a big Woot! Woot! to all of you, here on my blog and on Facebook, for all of your wonderful and supportive comments from yesterday's blog post. It's nice to know I can just 'say what I need to say' in blogland. :-) I already know that, unfortunately, my experiences aren't unique. And I'm also aware that they are things that can make some people who don't like to talk about such things in public, uncomfortable. But I am who I am, and I'm not one for hiding behind words that need to be said. I just try to do it with as much respect and dignity as I can. And I thank you all for understanding.
Okay, off to do some finishing touches on some reading, some studying for my meeting tonight, some tweeting, some shop checking, and yes...some knitting! :-) What are you doing today?! And do you have plans for the upcoming weekend?!
History Told In A Story
A history of life
held in the mind and heart,
released for all to see
through storytelling's captured art.
Some things pulled from the past
will make you shake your head;
But revelations told
will bring new life from the dead.
Children Oooo! and Awww!
Adults think hard and deep.
Oh! The knowledge now performed,
and the lessons we will keep!
