Hot Girls Read and Other Boutique Lessons

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Hot Girls Read

If it’s printed on a pencil case it has to be true.

Hot Girls Read!

On a recent trip with my BFF, I found this awesome pencil case. I also discovered some positive lessons from the boutiques and gift shops we visited.

  1. Hot Girls Read…I am a girl and I read, THEREFORE I am hot. (Because you read, you are hot too.) Seriously, if it’s on a pencil case, it HAS to be true.
  2. Everything has the potential to be “darling” or “gorgeous,” if you are in a shop with cute little, old ladies or a very excited, boutique sales clerk.
  3. People will put anything on a sign and sell it. One of the signs I read said, “I HATE stupid signs.” (I kind of wanted that sign.)
  4. Potpourri and scented oil stuff is EVERYWHERE! (My nose hurt after visiting all those shops) The positive here is that some of those scents have hilarious names. Poo Pourri had some of my favorite.
  5. Sometimes it’s nice to hear you are “darling” or “gorgeous” from little, old ladies and excited sales clerks. We all want to be “gorgeous” sometimes.
  6. “Darling” and “gorgeous” can be really expensive, but it feels great to find a sale and pick up a little “gorgeous” for yourself.
  7. People-watching is the best in small spaces. Seeing people try to check out prices on the sly or hold up something they would NEVER wear (but trying to do it with out anyone looking) makes for some great entertainment.
  8. I can always find something that makes my BFF cringe. The gift shops provide a tremendous selection of items she finds repulsive or obnoxious. (Love ya, BFF!) I am positive we make for some pretty funny people-watching ourselves.
  9. Daily Sign

    One of my all-time favorite birthday gifts from my BFF

    They are called “gift shops” for a reason. You can find the BEST presents in the little shops and boutiques. In fact one of my all-time favorite birthday gifts came from the Yankee Peddler, one of the shops we visited.

  10. Small businesses really do appreciate your business. As we made our way through the area, many of the shops we have visited in the past were now closed. Small businesses are the heart and soul of those that run them and their communities. The service and courtesy shown in the shops we did visit was so nice. The clerks and owners were genuinely interested in what we were looking for and sincere in their thanks when we purchased something. Support small businesses. It can make a big difference.

Continue reading “Hot Girls Read and Other Boutique Lessons” →

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Don’t Keep All Summer in a Day

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All Summer in a Day.jpg

Ray Bradbury’s short story “All Summer in a Day” takes place on Venus and at a school where the children eagerly await the one day that summer will occur. On Venus summer comes once every seven years for just a matter of hours. The rest of the time the weather is stormy, windy, and overcast. This day is especially important to young Margot. Margot’s family moved from Earth and are considering the costly and arduous process of returning to the third planet from the sun for fear of losing their daughter to heartbreak. Margot is small, pale, and all too lonely. ‘She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitenedaway, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost.” The school children tease and ostracize her for her homesickness and taunt her about the only artwork she creates, pictures of life back on Earth. (The other children have no memories of what life is like on Earth.)

As the time nears to go outside and enjoy the rare sunshine, plants, and warmth, the children think it funny to lock Margot in the closet. They do not intend to leave her there but forget the grief-stricken girl as soon as the first rays of sun appear. Continue reading “Don’t Keep All Summer in a Day” →

Humor Wins Every Time – Wise Words Wednesday

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Humor Wins Every Time

The ability to laugh is so simple yet so powerful. “Every time you are able to find humor in a difficult situation, you win.”

Sunday I found myself battling a terrible stomach ache at the end of a fun day at the parish picnic. As we drove home, I advised my husband to take the county road home; I was not feeling well. Per my prediction, we did not make it home before I got sick. We had to stop twice in a very short stretch of the road so I could get out to puke.

Upon entering the car the second time, my youngest son was crying. “Does your tummy hurt?” my husband asked him.

“No, I didn’t get to see mommy throw up.” was his angry and pitiful reply.

All I could do was laugh.

My laughter seemed to calm him and led to giggles from my husband and other two kiddos. We rode silently home the rest of the way, except when my husband checked to see if I was okay.

My tummy definitely didn’t win that day, but humor did. In being able to laugh, I showed my kiddos I would be okay and that we don’t need to get upset about little things (like mommy puking). 🙂

While I don’t encourage laughing at sick people, I do encourage you to find the humor in the rough spots of your day. Who knows the laughter you bring to a tough situation may be the catalyst for change. Your joy may be the one thing that was needed to get past a sticky situation or a downward slide. Humor wins every time.

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. The picnic didn’t make me sick. It was just a virus.

 

 

For Love of the Game (and yourself), Turn Off the Volume

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turn off the volume 1via Daily Prompt: Volume

When my dad watches baseball, basketball, or football, he turns off the volume. It drives my mom crazy. My husband finds it odd. My kids make up for the lack of noise.

Dad really enjoys watching sports. Other than John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies, sports (and the weather) are all he watches. People will often ask him why there is no sound on the game. Dad’s usual reply has to do with the absurdity of the commentary announcers, but I know that Dad really just doesn’t need the volume to understand the game.

turn off the volume 2He loves the game for the strategy and the athleticism. He just wants to see how the players solve defensive problems or convert teamwork into points. He doesn’t want to hear about how the guy on defense bought his girlfriend a dog and it ate his playbook or who the announcers think is a better prospect for a trade. Dad simply wants to watch the game.

I think there is escape in turning off the volume too. When there are no play-by-play commentaries coming at the viewer, it is necessary to really pay attention to what is happening in the game and everything else is turned off. The focus is solely on the field or court and not on the craziness outside the game.

Continue reading “For Love of the Game (and yourself), Turn Off the Volume” →

goodreads.com – My Newest Obsession

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Goodreads.com is a home for book reviews, book recommendations, book lists, book clubs, and author bios and I am now obsessed with it.

If you already enjoy Goodreads, you might find humor in my newness or appreciation for the joy the site has brought to me. Please comment about any features you like or dislike on Goodreads. I had read about Goodreads from a number of other bloggers’ sites, but until our local librarian recommended it to me recently, I had not given it much consideration.

I checked out the site on Thursday and Friday created my account. Now I can’t stop reading reviews, searching for books that I have read or want to read, and am so enthralled by the give-aways, book clubs, and Goodreads blog that I am having trouble concentrating on what I wanted to type here.

goodreads addiction 6There are  many features to this site that I find beneficial. I love how the genres are organized. The search options are everywhere. I can even automatically search for the books I get from Amazon.

Good Read Addiction 2One of the best features for me is the ability to make a “Book Shelf.” I created a Book Shelf for the book club I sponsor at my kids’ school. I was able to find all of the book on the Mark Twain Reading list and add them. This will allow me to rate and review the books as soon as I read them. I can refer students and parents to this list and the sharing grows from there. Now I just have to get my hands on all those books. 🙂

I had the local library’s website open in split screen yesterday so I could start requesting some of the books that intrigued me from the Goodreads site. There is a way to find your local libraries and their catalogs through Goodreads and request your books. (I may wear out that Request button.) I still have to set the library request feature up on my account; searching for books and authors has prevented me from dedicating enough time to it. 

Goodreads is on Twitter (of course) and I have really enjoyed the prompt posts they have published and found some very positive reviewers and followers in the Goodreads’ throngs. Continue reading “goodreads.com – My Newest Obsession” →

Slimy Sensation

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Slimey Sensation 1

All the cool kids are making slime (this according to my kids). Why do the “cool” things have to be disgusting?

So as to avoid social disgrace for my children, I decided we would make slime this summer. When searching my go-to source Pinterest, I found like 10,000 results (this may be an exaggeration) for “make slime.” That’s A LOT of slime.

After a failed attempt at purchasing the right contact solution, I purchased the correct

Slimey Sensation 2

These are the ingredients for the solution that worked.

solution and we were off to the slimy races.

Because I refused to put much more money into slime creation, Dollar Tree was my source for white glue. They have two bottles for $1.00. (I bought 4 bottles.)

For fear of failing again, I memorized the four-ingredient recipe and laid out our slime supplies. It took my kids longer to fight over what color slime each would make than it did to create the concoction. Slimey Sensation 4

Step 1: I let each child pour 1/2 bottle of glue into a bowl. (recipe called for a full bottle)

Step 2: Mix 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda into the glue. (My kids love leveling off the baking soda under the lid of the box.)

Step 3: Add and mix in desired food coloring (If you are me, this is where you add food coloring to your grocery list.) Continue reading “Slimy Sensation” →

Freedom in the form of Forgetfulness – Wise Words Wednesday

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Freedom of Forgetfulness

There are so many things I wish I could forget and even more I wish I didn’t.

As my 20th high school reunion looms, there are words, experiences, and embarrassments I wish I could forget. If I could just forget them, I would be free to worry about what I am going to wear, who is going to watch my kids, or how much older I look than I did in 1997.

However, the teenage angst I imposed on myself and the nature of teenagers made high school tough. So tough, in fact, that I purposefully kept distance from most everything I related to those four hallowed years. Those ugly emotions and insecurities held me captive for two decades. Sometimes I still have butterflies in my stomach, when I run into people from high school.

In the planning of our class reunion, Amanda (class president) hunted me down on Facebook and became my “friend.” I have always admired Amanda’s calm demeanor and terrific sense of humor, so I was like, “Cool. Amanda and I are friends again.” After I became Amanda’s “friend,” Amber, Angie, and Jennifer found me and we became friends again. Then I found Casey and Tamara, and we became “friends” again. I think you can see where this is going. Continue reading “Freedom in the form of Forgetfulness – Wise Words Wednesday” →

Abandoning Time

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Abandonded time

Time is tough to abandon but it sure is nice to let it go sometimes.

Playing in the creek is one of our favorite summer pastimes. Throwing rocks, building bridges, hunting crawdads and tadpoles, fishing, and picking wild flowers are the best ways to forget that there is a life too full of demands waiting beyond those creek banks.

I think my favorite thing about the creek is that it provides us with “rush free” fun. We are able to abandon our watches and phones. We are able to abandon the worries of dishes, laundry, and bill paying. We are able to abandon the stresses of schedules and calendars. We are trying to abandon time.

Rarely does a day pass when my kiddos fail to ask if we can go to the creek. They understand and appreciate the fact that when we are at the creek, they are free to play, work, and dream right along with those currents. The fact that the water, animals, and plants are all there naturally makes it the perfect place for us to play and grow. The fact that the creek never reminds us that we have to be somewhere else is magic.

On our last trip to the creek, my son caught some amazing crawdads. (They were huge!) He put them in a bucket and dutifully added rocks and fresh water to the bucket to make the crawdads happy. When it was time to leave, he cried. Oh, how he cried! He did not want to release the crawdads.  Continue reading “Abandoning Time” →

Surviving a Stampede for Daisies

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Daisy stampede (3)1

Are daisies worth dying for? My children thought I was willing to risk my life for these precious wild flowers.

Saturday a storm was rolling in, winds were billowing, the cattle needed care. Hubby and I were going to drop off a mineral tub and do a quick check of the cows we had just moved to new pasture. The kiddos were in the back seat of the truck taking in every moment.

As we parked at the top of the pasture, I noticed a thick patch of daisies. We had friends coming over for a BBQ later that night and I thought some daisies in a vase would be nice. While hubby unloaded the mineral tub, I hopped out to pick a fist full of flowers. As I was picking, the cows start to make their way to us.

Coming closer the herd picked up speed. They could smell the grain on the back of the truck and were excited about the mineral bucket.

Where I crouched picking daisies, I could tell the cows weren’t coming near me. From where my children sat, I looked like a sitting duck for the stampede. Continue reading “Surviving a Stampede for Daisies” →