Holding A Grudge Only Hurts You

It takes a lot to get me to that point; my attention span isn’t long enough for grudges. I realize people make mistakes, say things they shouldn’t or have opinions that don’t agree with my own. If people are just plain mean or rude all the time, I leave them alone not giving them another thought. I have better things to do. No reason to let someone live rent-free in my head.

I just avoid those who continue to say and do the same terrible things over and over again. I know they aren’t going to change so there is no need to waste my time and energy.

There are, however, friends and family in my life that do hold grudges. There’s no need to name names and most likely they won’t read this anyway since they are so pissed off they won’t speak to me anymore, but it is something that bothers me. Just because they choose to alienate me doesn’t mean I love them any less.

When people hold a grudge they are hoping to punish the other person with their absence and lack of communication. Sometimes it works that way but more times than not the target of your anger goes unnoticed. If you are the type who is continually a drama queen it might even be a relief to them to not have to put up with your hissy fits anymore. A person can only take so much, you know.

You alienating yourself isn’t going to make people change; they are who they are. They aren’t going to suddenly decide you are right and rewire their brain to your way of thinking unless you resort to some kind of blackmail and those things always have a way of backfiring so I don’t advice it. Even then it’s only a façade.

Staying angry with other people is like an ulcer that eats away at your insides little by little. It consumes your thoughts and doesn’t allow for anything else to happen in your life. Only you can release yourself from this prison you have created.

Time doesn’t always heal all wounds; sometimes they fester and become infected causing more pain and discomfort. Thinking mean thoughts makes angry wrinkles. You don’t want that.

You’ve heard the old saying, “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.” Disassociating yourself from the people you love can be like that. You don’t realize how much you need them until they aren’t there.

It also causes problems among other friends and family because they have to make extra accommodations to make sure the two of you don’t meet up or have to be in the same room together. Look at all the stress you are causing when you could just be mature about it. What difference does it make if the two of you don’t have the same beliefs, is it really worth losing a family member or friend over?

You believe you are right and I know I am so that about covers it. I have my beliefs and won’t change just because someone decides not to talk to me anymore. I can be stubborn like that.

Apologizing won't do any good because I still hold the same ideas.

I’m sorry my opinions upset you but I won’t stand down.

So enjoy your sulking, have a good life and remember I still love you even if you are a doodoo head. See I can be mature.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Carob Cookies With Buckwheat Flour

Preheat oven to 350 ° Fahrenheit.

1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups butter (softened)
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream first five ingredients in a mixing bowl then add:

1 ½ cups buckwheat flour
1 ¾ cups oats
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Mix together well and stir in carob chips and nuts if you are adding them.

1 cup carob chips
½ cup nuts chopped (optional)


Spray cookie sheets with non-stick baking spray or grease with shortening. Drop about a tablespoon size dollop onto the pan giving about an inch around for spreading when baked; flatten slightly.

Bake for about 10 – 12 minutes.

Cookies will be a grayish muddy color but taste awesome according to my kids.

Why I Say Happy Holidays

Some people have gotten upset because the media has switched to saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. I personally don’t have a problem with this because I realize there are many different religions and people in this world and it’s only right that we should acknowledge them all.

There are the Pagans celebrating winter solstice, Jewish people celebrating Hanukkah, some celebrate Kwanza and other holidays I don’t even know about. Those people have a right to be included in our well wishes and I wouldn’t want to exclude anyone by merely saying, “Merry Christmas.”

Just because we don’t say Christmas doesn’t mean we are excluding that holiday, we are just being nice and including everyone else as well. Everybody still gets their nativity and decorated trees; goodness knows the White House even has a huge pine showcased center stage, so nobody is forgetting the Christian religion when we extend greetings to others.

Funny thing is, most of Christmas tradition is taken from the Pagans. There is no Christmas tree in the bible; that is from the Pagans, Druids used trees for sacred ceremony.

Jesus wasn’t born in December; that comes from the feast of the son of Isis when gluttonous eating, drinking and gift giving were the tradition. We’re certainly not giving gifts to Jesus this time of year; we give them to each other.

In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating, drinking, and gift giving were traditions of this feast. Hmm, sounds very familiar. Don’t you think?

Caroling comes from the ancient Roman celebration of mummers who would dress in costume and go door to door singing, dancing and entertaining their neighbors to celebrate the God of Agriculture.

The Yule log was to celebrate the Sun God.

Kissing under the mistletoe is a fertility ritual.

So when people try to tell me saying, “Happy Holidays” is robbing them of Christmas it makes me wonder if they realize how hypocritical that statement sounds since most of Christmas is a direct robbery of the Pagan rites.

Whatever holiday you celebrate this month I want to wish you a wonderful holiday season.

Don't Trust Your Appliances

I’m not kidding; they’ll turn on you just like that. snap

I got a new dryer this past summer because my old one finally got so old it wasn’t worth repairing anymore. It was about 30 years old.

This new one is a “smart” appliance and does all sorts of things except sew on missing buttons and fold them like on the Jetson’s but it’s just a matter of time before they come out with that model. I’m not sure I want one now after what I went through today.

My dryer was working great until about three days a go when it started turning off too soon. At first I didn’t realize it and wondered why my clothes weren’t dry. I have a hard time hearing the little bird chirping sound it makes when the cycle is finished from the back of the house so I set my oven timer and stayed close by so I could hear it. I didn’t have to wait long because six minutes in the appliance just stopped, no bird chirping, no beeping or a warning that he’s tired of working for pocket lint. He just stopped.

So I tried other settings and found that the casual cycle and the wrinkle guard buttons were the problem.

I called the repair number and after being on hold and giving my phone number and address to four people (don’t they put this in the computer?) I finally got a repair tech. So she has me put my dryer on the phone. I’m not kidding. These new fangled appliances can talk on the phone and tell what’s bothering them. Kind of like a clothes dryer psychologist.

“What seems to be the trouble, Mr. Dryer?”

Anyway the stinking dryer lied. No, I am not kidding he made it sound like I had pushed the wrong buttons in the wrong sequence and it was all my fault. Can you believe that?

You can’t trust appliances these days; they’ll turn on you in a New York minute.

Before the woman on the phone talked to my back stabbing dryer she had mentioned unplugging it and plugging it back in to reset it because sometimes that works. Before getting off the phone I told her I’d try that and see if it helps and if not I’d call her back.

So I get off the phone and fuss at my dryer.

“I see how you are, trying to make me look like I don’t know how to dry clothes. I was drying clothes before you were ever invented. I KNOW HOW TO PUSH A DAMN BUTTON.”

After giving that chunk of white metal a piece of my mind I unplugged him. Which felt really good in a cynical kind of way.

I guess I showed him who is boss. He’s working properly again. Sometimes you just have to let them know who is in charge. Just because they can talk on the phone and look fancy don’t mean they can get all high and mighty and think they are smarter.

I’m just glad no one was here to see me talking to a dryer.

Anhidrosis- I Don't Sweat

Anhidrosis causes us to not sweat or hardly sweat and we are more prone to heat stroke than anyone else.

My whole life my internal heating and cooling system has never worked properly. When I get hot I never sweat, seriously. People around me will be melting, dripping with water and I have no perspiration whatsoever.

Now some women may think this is great, no perspiration stains on my clothing, no running make-up or wet clothes at the gym, but it’s not really a good thing.

I cannot go in a sauna; this would be suicide for me. I have tried them out and all that happens is that I start to pass out. Luckily, I have gotten out before actually reaching unconsciousness because that could be fatal. This was before I knew what was wrong (I still didn’t have a name for it) and that I wasn’t like most people. I now steer clear of saunas.

This is also part of why I’ve never been much of an outdoors person; this coupled with my Raynaud’s syndrome (yeah, I’m messed up at both ends of the spectrum) keeps me from extreme temperatures. If it’s really hot or really cold, I stay inside otherwise bad things happen.

I’ve never had to wear a sweatband, never needed a towel at the gym or had unsightly wet spots on my underarms. I do still wear antiperspirant because even though there is no moisture I do still have body odor if I get overheated. Not sure how that works but it does.

Some of my friends have been jealous when we are out in the heat because I appear to be cool as a cucumber but that isn’t the case. I’m just as hot, maybe more so, than everyone else it just doesn’t show on my body.

When I was a kid I was mostly an indoors type person. I could never play sports because if I got overheated I passed out. Kind of hard to win a game if one of your players keeps becoming unconscious. I’m not much of a sports fan anyway.

I can hike, if its not too hot and I am in the shade at least part of the time and I can exercise if it’s in an air-conditioned environment. My husband calls me lizard woman.

My family looks out for me. We live in the southwest where it can get very warm in the summer time. They’ll tell me it’s too hot for me to be outside. I have to have air conditioning in my car or I could pass out while driving. A couple of times we’ve had power outages in the summer due to storms or fires. When that happened I kept wet towels around my neck to stay cool until the power came back on. If it had lasted very long or been extremely hot I would have gone to a hotel.

There isn’t really any cure, you just have to deal with it and know your limitations. If you have anhidrosis or think you do take these precautions.

Don’t get overheated and pay attention to the weather; your meteorologist is your friend. Use water to stay cool; since you don’t sweat you can moisten your body with water. This does the same as perspiration does for everyone else. Even though you aren’t losing water through your pores you still need to drink plenty of water. Hydration is important for everyone, even lizard people.

I have no idea what causes it, I’m pretty sure I was born with it because I have always been sensitive to the heat and don’t ever remember sweating. I’ve read the list of reasons some people get it and I have none of them.

Gluten Free Walnut Pie Without Corn Syrup

This recipe is safe for the O blood type diet. Unlike most pecan and walnut pie recipes, this one does not have corn syrup.

I made up a new piecrust that doesn’t have wheat flour in it. I didn’t try rolling it out with a rolling pin so I’m not sure how well it will work. It holds together well after baking. I put the ball in the middle of the pie pan and worked it out to the edges with my fingers, crimping the edges at the end. It turns out a lovely grayish blue color from the buckwheat. I did a bit of research to find out just what buckwheat was and discovered it’s not a grain at all but a vegetable related to the rutabaga. Either way it’s fine for those who can’t have gluten or wheat.

You could substitute pecans and have a pecan pie. I used walnuts because it’s a beneficial food for O blood types but it would be delicious with pecans.

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.


Buckwheat and rice flour pie crust-

1 cup buckwheat flour
½ cup rice flour
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ cup Crisco
¼ cup ice water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Using pastry cutter, cut flours and sugar into shortening. Add water and lemon juice continuing to cut with pastry knife until blended well, don't over knead. Put ball into 9” pie pan and spread out with fingers working into a pie shell shape.


Pie Filling-

3 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup real maple syrup (Don’t use the fake stuff, it has corn in it.)
1 cup walnut halves
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix eggs well, add sugar, salt and melted butter. Blend well, add syrup and vanilla. Fold in walnuts.

Pour into unbaked pie shell. Put on a cookie sheet (I do this to make sure there aren’t any drips during baking.) Cover edges with foil or piecrust shield. This makes sure your edges don’t burn until your filling gets done.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes until center is set. It will be jiggly like gelatin and not liquid.

Let set for a bit to cool and serve.

Vegan Ranch Dressing with Soy Yogurt

I started this Eat Right For Your Type diet. I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm skinny enough. I'm on this diet for health reasons.

According to Peter D'Adamo we should eat different foods based on our blood type; mine is O.

I thought I would give it a try and see if my allergies improved as well as a few other symptoms. I've been on it a few weeks now and do see some benefits so I'll stick with it a while longer.

The tricky part is finding foods I can eat and substitutions aren't always out there so I made a few of my own. I can't have vinegar and even before reading this book realized it upsets my stomach. That might seem like a small thing until you read labels and realize most condiments have vinegar in them.

I like ranch dressing and created my own. I found a few online but they always had an ingredient on my bad list like safflower oil; another no-no on the O blood type list.

I realized after making this recipe that vegans could also use it so I added that in the name.


3/4 cup plain soy yogurt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice (this gives it the tang missing since we aren't using vinegar)
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix together and store covered in the refrigerator.


If you are going to eat out at a restaurant just ask for your salad dry. I was able to carry my own ranch dressing in a zipper sandwich bag that I double bagged with about three tablespoons of dressing with me in my purse. That may seem a bit weird but it worked and I don't think anyone even saw me do it.

Mayonnaise has vinegar in it too so I've used this on Ezekiel bread for sandwiches. If you like mustard, sprinkle a tiny bit of dry mustard over the bread after spreading this on. I've tried making a mustard spread but haven't had good luck so far. For some reason when dry mustard is added to soy yogurt it becomes watery after sitting in the refrigerator for a while. If you put a little on right before eating it doesn't have time to break it down. I'm still working on it though and if I come up with a better solution I'll post it.

Is Thanksgiving Good Or Bad?

I have mixed feelings about this holiday probably because of my mixed blood. I’ll give my pros and cons.

Pros

Turkey and good food, perhaps we should call it feast day.

Getting together with family although this could also go in the cons category depending on your relations and how well you like them.

Two extra days off from work, at least for most people.

Reflecting on our great country and what we have to be thankful for.


Cons

The reason for the season: The Europeans took America from my ancestors.

People overeat and gain weight.

We remember why we only see some of these people during the holidays. Are we really related to some of them by blood?



Hmm, almost even but I still celebrate Thanksgiving. I’ve boycotted Columbus Day for obvious reasons. My husband or I neither one work for the government so for us Columbus Day is just another day.

Perhaps during this Thanksgiving season we should read accurate, unbiased history (If you can find any.) about the first Thanksgiving and how our country came to be what we know today. Maybe thank a Native America for their sacrifice. Maybe apologize to them for their loss of ancestors and land.

When you eat your turkey this Thanksgiving remember the real reason behind the season.

Funerals Are For The Living

Once in a while when someone dies this lovely conversation comes up at our house. My husband went to a funeral recently complete with a yelling Baptist minister trying to save everyone’s souls and make as much money as he could off the deal. Guilt pays.

Don’t you just love it when a preacher lies about knowing a person and says how he just knows Joe would want you to repent and give your soul to Jesus so you can join him in heaven? The old coot didn’t even go to church and I'm pretty sure he's having a cocktail with the devil about now.

My husband wants me to make a decision about how I want my funeral and remains taken care of. Between that and the kill your wife shows he watches I get a little worried sometimes. Just kidding.

I'll tell you one thing for sure, if there's a yelling preacher within fifty yards of my dead body I'll rise up and haunt the people responsible for the atrocity.

My husband wants to be cremated and thinks I should too or at the very least let him know what my wishes are.

Here’s what I tell him every time. Funerals and burials are for the living. Whatever my kids or whomever is still around wants is okay by me. I don’t give a hoot what they do with my remains. I won’t be here so I don’t care. Whatever makes the people left here on earth happy is really okay; I don’t care.

Cremate me, bury me, donate me to science, taxidermy me and stand me in a corner dressed as Cher, I don’t care. I am okay with whatever anyone wants to do, just quit with the morbid talk. Seriously. I don’t want to make someone responsible for a heap of dirt in a cemetery or the guardian of my urn. I think the living should make those decisions.

I’m going to live until I’m a hundred so I’ve got a long ways to go before anyone gets to deal with my corpse.

The women in my family live a long time. My father’s mother’s mother lived to be in her 90’s and had a boyfriend who was 76 (She outlived him by the way.); she chewed tobacco, lived in her own home, mowed her own lawn and drove her own car. I figure since I don’t chew tobacco that ought to give me a few more years.

My father’s mother is eighty years old, healthy as a horse and takes care of my step grandfather.

What do you think? Do you think the dead person should decide what happens to their remains or do you think it’s up to the living?

Should You Sell Your Gold Jewelry?

With the price of gold so high we are seeing commercials with advertisements telling you to sell your gold jewelry for cash NOW, but should you?

First of all you should ask yourself a few questions.



Is it an heirloom?

Jewelry goes in cycles, what is in style right now will be considered out of date and not so hot in ten or fifteen years. That gaudy gold diamond ring your father wore may not look too attractive now but wait a few years and it will be hot again.

When my husband’s parents passed away I inherited a wide gold bracelet mostly because no one else wanted it. It was considered over the top at the time but I loved it. Now it’s back in style and everyone notices it. “Where did you get that?” “It’s a family heirloom.” If I’d had it melted down we wouldn’t have it now.

The design and look of a piece is often more valuable than the weight of the gold itself. Even if you aren’t into that particular look your kids may love it and it’s value will go up tremendously when it is back in vogue.

Do you need money so bad you want to lose a family memory?



What is it really worth?

Those people on the commercials and the ones giving home parties are not going to give you the full value; they are gold brokers or middlemen. They have to make a profit or it’s not worth it so you are losing money by turning your gold over to them.

If you have decided you really want to part with it and you need the money make sure you are getting the best deal. You need to check around for the best buyer before selling your gold jewelry. Have them weigh it and give you a price. Don't let anyone pressure you into a sell. That is a sure sign they are not giving you the full value.



Will you regret selling it?

If you are having second thoughts and not sure, don’t sell. Once you’ve sold it, it’s gone. They melt it down and there is no buying it back. It might be better to sell it to another family member who won’t have it melted down so at least it stays in the family.

Commenting Advice For Writers

First of all, I am writing this mostly as a reminder to myself. Unfortunately, if you are a writer or other person trying to keep on the good side of people for marketing purposes you have to overlook a heck of a lot of things that are on the Internet.


With that said, here’s my personal comprised list of things I/we need to remember.



Always be nice.

There’s an old saying where I come from, “If you can’t say something nice… Don’t say anything at all.”

This is the best mantra to follow. Put it up on your bulletin board, a post it note on your monitor or tattoo it to your forearm, whatever it takes. This is the number one golden rule.

People have long memories when it comes to rude remarks. They may forget what you blogged about yesterday or that article you put hours of research into but by golly they’ll remember a comment you made about someone.



If you don’t like a comment, move on.

There are a lot of radical folks out there and with the anonymity of the World Wide Web people can say all kinds of things about subjects you feel strongly about. Some people love to get others riled up; it just tickles them to death to piss people off. Maybe their mama didn’t love them enough or they didn’t get enough hugs. Who knows?



Don’t get involved in debates.

I have had to bite my tongue or in this case tie my hands behind my back to stay out of discussions I felt strongly about. I’m not always successful. What we type in forums, unless you are on Google+, is there for infinity and beyond. You don’t want someone to put in a search for your name only to find you in the middle of a heated argument over the importance of putting toilet paper on the holder properly.

We all have opinions and things we feel strongly about whether it’s religion, politics or what color to paint our toenails. It’s human nature but it’s better to not leave a comment we’ll regret later on.

What we type defines us as a writer. It’s not fair, we can’t give our honest to goodness views on anything but it’s how it is.

Sometimes it’s best to just stay out of forums if you are the type person who gets uptight and can’t keep from clicking away on those keys giving advice to unwed mothers or graffiti artists. More than likely you won’t change their mind anyway.



Using a fake name.

If you are careful and a great actor you can use an alias so you can be yourself in forums. I’m not good at faking it so I haven’t tried to do this, but some are good at creating many aliases around Cyber Land. People do it all the time, but be careful, you don’t want to be labeled as a Troll.

Jack White's Divorce Party

I don’t normally do blogs about celebrities because, well... the news covers enough of it to keep us all overly informed but sometimes something happens that just makes me go, “What?”

First of all let me say that I enjoy Jack White’s music but like many artists he’s an eccentric individual.

He and his wife are throwing a party to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary and amicable divorce. Yes, celebrate. They have two children. I don't know the reasons for divorce, the article I read didn't give any details.

While I’m glad they are leaving on good terms with an uncontested divorce and the kids won’t have to be caught in the middle, at least as it currently stands, I think this whole thing is really strange.

Filing for divorce is not a good thing or anything that should be celebrated. There was a time when we mourned the loss of a marital union and felt bad for the couple, we certainly didn’t throw a party and act like it was something great. Heck, where I come from folks walk quietly and act like there’s been a death and stew about which side of the field to root for now. Since Bob and Carol are no longer together, which one do we stay friends with?

I know I’m old fashioned but am I the only one who thinks this is weird?

Why Don't People Leave Comments On Blogs Anymore?

This was mentioned in a forum and I can give a few reasons why since I am just as guilty as the next person at not always giving feedback.

You can’t assume that because there are only a few or no reader responses that the blog isn’t getting any traffic. Mine gets hundreds of people reading every month but most don’t leave feedback.

Why?

If you have an “add comment blog,” meaning a blog with a box at the bottom for replies and you aren’t getting any comments it can be one or more of these reasons.


1) There are already dozens of comments and they feel theirs will just get lost in the rubble and probably won’t be read anyway.

2) They have to register or leave an email in order to comment and they don’t want to bother with all that. Wordpress has this feature, Wordpress does it to protect the author but it makes it difficult for the reader to reply. Blogger notifies us about new comments and we can always delete the inappropriate ones.

3) They are busy and just quickly reading before moving on to whatever task they have to do that day and don’t have time to leave a response. People are overwhelmed these days with so many blogs to read it’s hard to keep up.

4) Your reader agrees with everything that has been said and has nothing more to add. In fact, statistics show that if a person doesn’t disagree or feel strongly about your blog most won’t write anything.

5) And last but not least, it didn’t interest them. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t well written it just wasn’t something that particular reader was into. Not all blogging websites will appeal to every reader.


Everyone has their opinion of which ones are the best blog sites, I prefer Blogger for many reasons.

Back when I first started writing I used to worry about comments but after getting stat counter and a few other tools that show I am getting readers and the money started coming in I decided it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Check with your blog service and see what free options they have. Google Adsense, Amazon and other advertisers will give you a report of earnings.

Where College Fails

The first two years of college are called basics, it’s supposed to be knowledge you will need in everyday life and everyone should learn these things.

How many of you have ever had to use algebra in your everyday life? No? I didn’t think so, me neither. If you have a job as an engineer or other technical employment that has to do with math, then yes, you probably have used it but for the rest of us in the general public it never comes up… not once.

I’m all for teaching people basic skills the average person will need to function in society but I think a whole lot more would succeed if they didn’t have to learn things they will never use. Failing a class in college we don’t even use is devastating, expensive and time consuming.

Some of the smartest AND most successful people I know quit school because of failing college classes and some of the dumbest people I know have master’s degrees. I’m not saying people shouldn’t go to college, I’m simply saying that if people didn’t have to take worthless courses they might succeed.

Many students fail college due to having to take classes they are terrible at and will never need in the field of work they are training for. Engineers will never need to dissect a mouse and writers don’t need physics.



Knowing how to find information is the best skill anyone can be taught.

Once you know how to research and get an answer you can take on any problem.



Personally, I think it’s a way for colleges to get more money from students. Who would take those classes if not forced to? Granted, there are careers that need that knowledge but many of us can get through life without ever knowing much of it and in fact statistics show that people forget 70% of what they learned in college unless it’s something they use in their career on a day-to-day basis; most of it isn’t.



Here are a few things that need to be added to the curriculum. These are important skills most never pick up unless a parent helps them out.



Balancing a checkbook, budgeting and not getting into debt.

Many just look online to see how much money they have left in their account never disputing any calculations made by the clerks, who more than likely only has a high school diploma. Until recently there were no limits on bank service fees and with debit cards they can tack on more charges for overdrafts. It’s too easy to overspend these days.

Read the fine print and make sure you understand every fee and compare prices. There are banks with no banking fees and service charges, you usually have to keep a minimum amount in your account but it will save you lots of money.

The first thing college teaches students, is to acquire large amounts of debt in the form of student loans. Check around for rates and low interest student loans. Again, make sure you understand all the details.



Learn how to talk to people and socialize

This is another skill that is vital to human functioning. If you know how to approach others and ask for help or information you can go far in this world, further even then the most intelligent valedictorian. Being able to network is crucial in most careers.

In this texting world we live in, many don’t even know how to interact with their peers much less strangers.

Young people need to know how to deal with difficult people and improve conversation skills.



Common sense

Some people just seem to be born with this trait but I’m not so sure. I think somewhere in their history they learned it, maybe by being let down by other people they learn not to blindly trust.

Knowing that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Learning to check your surroundings and not assume you are always safe.



Relationship training

Learning how to get along with others whether it’s marriage or on the job. This could be lumped in with socializing but it goes a bit further. Once you’ve met a person or gotten that job you have to learn how to keep things running smoothly. Working closely with other people or living everyday with another individual takes a skill not everyone has.

Reading body language and facial features is important to understanding those we have to get along with.



Maybe, just maybe if colleges let people learn what they want to learn they might be more successful. Perhaps we should rethink what is thought of as “basic knowledge.”

First Day of Kindergarten

I remember my oldest son’s first day of school like it was yesterday. Well, okay, maybe not so vividly since he’s grown now but still pretty well.

He was five and my younger son was two at the time. Nicholas didn’t want to go if he couldn’t take me with him. He was under the impression at enrollment it was a group excursion, you know, him, brother and mom. After explaining it didn’t work that way because I was too old and Matthew was too young we finally got him on the bus with lots of tears and hugs.

Matthew kept trying to get me to let him go; surely they don’t mind a kid in diapers tagging along… his brother needed him.

Oddly, my younger son was always the adventurer of the two. He had no fear, would have set out to explore a new world without any worries but not his older brother. Nicholas was fine just staying at home with mom. Always apprehensive to leave, just bring the world to him in the form of a video and he’d be just fine, no need to go outside. He had everything he needed right here, mom, cookies and Sesame Street.

He finally decided he didn’t mind kindergarten and after a while he even kind of liked it. The playground was cool; he enjoyed story time and Mrs. Ryan was nice.

His first friend was a little Kickapoo boy who didn’t speak English. We live near a reservation and get some kids from there. He latched on to Nicholas probably because he was the only other dark headed brown-eyed boy in the class. Eventually, he learned some English and he’d tell Nicholas to “come here.” They played with the cars he brought in his backpack and made roads with rocks.

My memories of elementary school are a little fuzzy. Smells of paste, tempera paint and listening to books on tapes are my most vivid memories. If I twisted the cord on the tape player it made a crinkly sound. My teacher was a lady with black hair, probably dyed and horn-rimmed glasses.

It’s not easy to let the fledglings leave the nest but they all have to at some point.

Colonscopy

Yesterday my husband had a colonoscopy test done. He wasn’t having any issues but after you turn 50 they recommend you have one done to make sure you don’t have any polyps or other foreign growths in your lower intestine that could turn into tumors or cancer.

The day before, you have to do a colon cleansing by drinking a gallon jug of a salty mixture that gives you stomach cramps and diarrhea, not very pleasant.

I was the keeper of the jug and refilled his cup, making sure he drank the entire potion. I felt like Harry Potter in the Half Blood Prince when Professor Dumbledore had to drink the potion of despair. Those of you who have watched all of the Harry Potter movies or read the books will know what I’m talking about.

They disabled embedding of the video but if you want to see the scene just click on the link below.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

He was also allowed to have Jello, popsicles, broth and clear juice. Steak and potatoes were not on the menu.

You go to the out patient portion of the hospital and have an IV put in. They give you anesthesia that puts you almost under, but not all the way. Most people don’t remember what happens which is good because they run a long tube up your rectum into your colon to take a look around. If there are any growths they scrape them off and do a biopsy. Not something you want to remember or be awake for.

The test went well and he didn’t have any polyps or mushrooms growing in there, so all is well and he doesn’t have to do this again for another five years. His best friend passed away this summer with colon cancer so he was a bit concerned.

Modern medicine has come a long way in finding and curing ailments.

My husband thanks me for his healthy colon because of the healthy food I’ve fed him all these years, so be sure and eat your veggies, fiber and stay away from a high fat diet to keep your colon healthy.

Natural Pest Control

Many years a go I knew a Native American woman who lived out in the woods in a cute little cottage with a pond out back. She also had several great gardens and grew flowers, vegetables and various herbs.

One thing I remember most about her was that she had a pet lizard that ran freely through the house keeping her home insect free. It ate spiders, beetles and anything else that crept or flew around unwanted. A water bowl and tray of veggies and fruit was also laid out so her scaly friend had a well balanced diet. On occasion we’d see him peak around the furniture or skitter by but mostly he kept to himself.

Some of you might find this practice a bit odd but in some countries and Hawaii it’s quite common to keep a reptile in your home for pest control. In Thailand, hotels will release them in rooms to rid the units of unwanted creepy crawly guests.

If you have a cat or dog this might not be a good idea unless your furry pet is used to the lizard and you know they get along well. A frisky puppy or kitten could cause damage and even kill your gecko.

House lizards have suction cup feet and can climb walls and ceilings to reach spiders and even flying insects like flies or mosquitoes. They are mostly quiet but can make a chirping sound, usually when calling a mate so unless you have two or more you may never hear him.

Geckos are quite small and most people never see their tiny droppings. When you sweep or vacuum you will clean up any remains without knowing it.

There are larger lizards that will also eat mice so if you have a rodent problem you might consider one of these, only make sure they are omnivores. Some lizards are mostly vegetarians.

Be careful using cleaning products such as ammonia or bleach because they can kill your friend.

Lizards help get rid of bugs in our garden, but when we spray insecticides it poisons our friendly reptiles that help get rid of pests. Don’t release a pet store lizard into your yard unless it is one that is native to your area or it will die. Most of the ones we get at the store are from a tropical area and can’t survive in American yards unless you live in Hawaii, Florida or somewhere with that kind of climate.

You can make a toad abode for your garden by putting a flowerpot on its side partially buried in the dirt. The tray can be used for water. Every time you water you can refill their water dish.

The Difference Between Yankees And Okies

Quite a few outsiders decide to make Oklahoma their home for various reasons. I’ve met some of them and we get a kick out of comparing our accents and cultures.

I met a fellow from New York; he’s been here for forty years but still retained some of his accent and way of saying things. One big difference is diversity. They still keep all the races in separate little neighborhoods and no one dares intermingle outside of that. I find this rather odd.

The man I met, we’ll call him Ed, said he came here to go to college. Oklahoma University draws quite a few people. While here he met his wife and after dating her for a while took her back home to meet his mama. First words out of his mother’s mouth were, “what are you?”

Now down here in Oklahoma nobody cares what you are; most of us are mutts and don’t have a problem with that. If you ask us what we are you’ll get different answers such as, Okie, southern or maybe even American but nationality doesn’t really come up so much since most don’t have a full pedigree.

She told Ed's mama she was Heinz 57, German, English and Dutch.

Then Ed’s mama asked her what her favorite vegetable was and she told her okra. She about come unglued.

Well, Ed’s mama didn’t want him to marry her because, not only was she not Italian, she wasn’t full blood anything. And who eats okra?

They married anyway, I don’t know the particulars and didn’t ask if his mama ever warmed up to her. It’s not polite to ask private questions when you just meet someone.

Around here we’ll ask a person, “where’re you from?” but nationality isn’t important. We’re just making polite conversation.

Aside from the diversity issue, he mentioned how we say things different down here. He drinks coffee and apparently in New York people take it with milk and sugar. Here in Oklahoma most people drink it black. He ordered a coffee, regular, which where he comes from means with milk and sugar. The waitress brought him a black cup of coffee. They had a discussion and he soon found out that we don’t do it that way down here. If you want extra condiments in your coffee you’ll have to put it in yourself. Of course now days you can go to Starbucks and probably get it that way.

I told him I didn’t drink coffee and he said tea is different too. If you order tea in New York you get a cup of hot tea. In Oklahoma you get a glass of iced tea and if you are in eastern or southern Oklahoma you get sugar in it.

I told him I drink my tea hot and he asked me why? “That’s not southern.”

I have no idea.

Ed also learned that southern people are all about brands. If you have a sniffle you ask for a Kleenex. We call all soft drinks Coke and then we’ll ask, “What kind of Coke do you want?”

If two cars hit one another we say, “They had a wreck.”

After visiting with him and a woman from Illinois they determined that I am bilingual; I speak Okie but I write English.

I wonder if I can put that on my resume?

There, Their And They're: Proper Usage

It’s not that hard and yet even on major news websites and newspapers I see this written wrong. Are teachers not going over this in class? You would think if a person went to college to be an editor, writer or teacher they would know proper word usage.

Possibly too many are in a hurry, they are used to writing text speak where it’s not important, so they learn bad habits.

Even people who are supposedly going to college will write a comment on Facebook using the wrong word. Hopefully they don’t turn in their homework with these errors.

There

People seem to think this is a universal word to be used in any situation but it only works for “place.” If you are not talking about a point of time or position on a map this is the wrong word to use.

“Are we there yet?”

“Can you take it from there?”


Their

This one means possessive even though it is horribly overlooked and underused. Too many people use his brother up above. Don’t neglect the poor guy; he has a place in sentences. Their means more than one person owns something. If you are talking about one person you should say “his” or “her.”

“Their car is blue.”

“We took their advice.”


They’re

They’re is actually two words put together, which we call a contraction. Only in situations where the words “they are,” can be substituted is it appropriate. Again, lazy people will use the word “there” instead of this one.

“They’re going with us.”

“They’re up early today.”


They’re using the wrong word there and should work on their English so they get it right.

Chinese Products Are Not All Bad

Americans obviously don’t realize just how much of our merchandise is produced in China or they wouldn’t say rude things about their products.

If something goes wrong they’ll say, “Oh, it must be made in China.”

Yeah, probably because almost everything we own is made in China. Just because something comes from China doesn’t mean it is poorly made. There are a lot of great products made there as well as the inexpensive trinkets you can pick up at dollar stores.

I've heard some say they are boycotting everything made in China. Good luck with that.

Take a look at the labels on your clothing, even the designer items. Go ahead, I’ll wait…

You see even the great names like Blow Fish, Fossil, Dockers and Bisou Bisou to name just a few are made in China. There are thousands of products and brand names; so saying everything made there is inferior is just wrong.

I love to read and I read everything, including labels but I doubt the average American takes time to notice these things otherwise they wouldn’t think all things made in China are inferior.

Few Americans know where their possessions are made.

Those American cars you drive have components and parts made in China, so even items touting made in the USA aren’t completely manufactured here; ask any mechanic, he knows.

Many electronic parts are made in China so even though it may say made in Japan, or some other country, not all of it was.

A lot of fabric is produced in China so even if it says it's made in another country part of it came from China.

I realize China has been in the news concerning some inferior and hazardous products but you can’t blame the entire country just like you can’t blame all American farmers because some sold produce with ecoli.

Most of the time you get what you pay for. If you buy a toy that is really cheap and not produced by a reputable company like Fisher Price or Lego, you are taking a risk regardless of where it’s made. Bigger companies pay inspectors to make sure what we buy is safe for our children no matter where it's produced. Buying from an unknown source is taking a risk regardless of how much money you save.

Make sure what you are buying comes from a good company and in most cases you won’t have anything to worry about and land of origin won't be an issue.

Where Have All The Role Model Sitcoms Gone?

I can remember when all television shows portrayed families in more normal settings with parents that had morals and kids that had rules. Now days they seem to enjoy only showing dysfunctional homes glamorizing messed up people and making it seem okay, fun and something to laugh at.

The shows in the 60’s and 70’s may have been a bit over the top at times showing only perfect homes with great meals where everyone sat down together and ate but it gave us a standard to work towards and hopefully achieve on some level. Now days it seems everyone is too lazy and takes a blasé attitude towards family values and housekeeping.

Some disagree and feel the old shows made people feel inadequate and inferior with a father and mother in the home, everything in order and the children all getting along but I think it’s good to have these role models.

All In The Family was the start of a trend towards dysfunctional television. Many loved the show but I never cared for it, between Carroll O’Connor’s racism and condescending remarks and Jean Stapleton’s annoying voice I would rather turn the channel.

There is nothing wrong with having a happy medium. We don’t have to have an all white family living in a middle class home in suburbia but it is good to highlight families that are trying instead of dysfunctional homes where everything is in chaos and no one seems to care.

I recently watched a show called Raising Hope where a young man is trying to take care of a baby he suddenly finds himself responsible for because he had unprotected sex with a girl who is now in prison for murder. His parents are low class people with very few brains cells between them and the poor infant is lucky to survive an episode.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy comedy I just don’t think these sort of shows are giving the average Americans a good example. Yeah, I know people shouldn’t pattern their lives after television but unfortunately many do. We have a lot of impressionable citizens out there that get most of what they know from a screen, either through the media or Internet.

Look at copycat crimes, sure those nuts would have committed some sort of misdeed regardless of what they saw on television but the media gives them ideas they wouldn’t normally have thought of because, well, they aren’t too bright to begin with.

My point is, if we have shows showing great families with high standards it gives the rest of the nation something to work towards instead of feeling like sitting in front of a television with a frozen pizza and not knowing where their children are is good enough so don’t worry about it.

There are some who feel they are scarred for life because their own families didn’t live up to the expectations of sitcoms of old but I’m quite sure there will be those that are equally marked by the new shows glamorizing white trash and socially impaired parents.

Because of the old shows my family sits down together in the dining room eating meals together and talking to each other. You may laugh and think that’s weird but when their friends come to visit they think it’s really cool and wished their family did it too.

Raising Hope:

Death Causes Amnesia

Have you ever noticed how when a person passes away people tend to overlook or down right forget all the bad things they did? Suddenly they only recall the funny or amazing things about that individual even if they were real rascals.

I have a problem understanding this tradition.

Some have a superstition about saying anything negative about the dearly departed. I’m not sure what is supposed to happen to us, maybe the floor will swallow us up, we’ll burn in hell or they’ll come back and haunt us. I’m not sure, but my granny always said, “Don’t speak ill of the dead.”

I’ve always been one to question authority especially if it doesn’t make any sense. I’m not so rude as to highlight ol’ Elmer’s discretions but later on I’m not going to only mention the “good” things especially if he was mostly known for his tirades or misdeeds.

People want to only remember the good in others and have a tendency to talk about all the fun stuff and even laughing off the negative things like it was nothing.

“Ha-ha, you remember when cousin Larry used to get drunk and kick the dog? That was a hoot.”

No, it wasn’t a hoot it was awful and I personally can’t join in, in the fun of laughing off a tyrants errors just because the old coot is now dead.

Suddenly, because a person has passed on everything that used to drive us nuts or make us angry is now not such a big deal and even humorous.

I don’t think so.

Bad is bad whether the person is living or dead and I personally can’t overlook it. I don’t hold a grudge, I just don’t paint a different picture simply because a person is no longer living.

Call me cynical if you want, but that’s how I look at it. Oh and by the way, the floor hasn’t swallowed me up and I’ve yet to be haunted by anyone so it’s safe to say the truth; I’m living proof of it.

Games I Like To Play

These are a few games I like to play around my house. They only require one player but you can add people if you want to make it a whole party.

Hide and go seek:

This is when you put something in a safe place and forget where that secure location is. You can spend hours playing this one depending on how good your memory is and how good you are at hiding things from yourself. The older you get the more fun it is because it takes less time to forget the location of the treasure. It’s most exciting when you are trying to find your car keys and have an appointment.

Name that person:

You see a face and you are pretty sure you know them but can’t place who they are or from where you know them. This can kill many hours while you rack your brain trying to remember. What’s really fun is when you forget a few important items on your shopping list because you were trying to recall a name. Which brings us to our next game…

Re-track your steps:

In this game you go back to where you were earlier to retrieve the items you forgot. It could be a grocery item from the store, your mislaid cup or your cell phone from Penney’s dressing room way across town; always a lot of fun when you have time to kill.

Miss your exit:

This is especially fun if you are on a turnpike with limited exits because it could be miles before you are able to get off and you just never know where you might end up. Plus, and this is the bonus, it costs more to get back on and the people in those little huts don’t care that you missed your stop and look as if to say, “pay more attention next time.” What? And miss all this fun, I think not.

Kegel Exercises- How To And Why It's Important

Many women don’t like to hear the word “exercise” thinking it is too much work or trouble but Kegel exercises are not only easy, you can do them anywhere anytime while you are doing other things. It doesn’t require special clothing or devices. No one can even tell you are doing them and the benefits will make you glad you did.

Have you ever laughed, coughed or sneezed and accidently wet yourself? You need Kegel exercises. Do you have trouble having an orgasm? You need Kegel exercises. Are you peri-menopausal or post menopausal and having trouble with vaginal dryness? You need Kegel exercises.


What are Kegel exercises?

You must first find the muscles on the floor of your vagina. After you’ve emptied your bladder practice tightening the muscles that you use to hold your urine. Tighten and relax these muscles, breathing and holding for five-second intervals. Do these as often as you can throughout the day. It helps if you do them at the same time everyday so you get in the habit, such as driving to work or while waiting for the bus.


Benefits of Kegel exercises-

After a while you’ll notice you no longer lose urine when you sneeze. If you feel a sneeze coming, tighten the same muscles you use when exercising and you will have no accidents.

Women who have trouble having an orgasm and think they need a larger penis or dildo will find they are now able to experience pleasure with any size man. Muscles become lax and loose when they aren’t exercised properly.

Exercising the vaginal muscles will also help increase the moisture production. If you find later in life you are more dry and don’t produce your own lubrication, doing your Kegel exercises will help with this and in many cases you will no longer need to purchase KY or other lubricating solutions.

Whether you’ve had children or not your muscles need exercise to keep them toned. After childbirth some complain of being looser or having less muscle tone. Doing Kegel exercises will help tone your vagina and bring you back to pre-birth size and shape.



Ben Wa balls-

Ben Wa balls are an ancient oriental device used to tighten the muscles in the vagina. Originally they were made of ivory or jade. You can still find some jade Ben Wa balls but now they are also made of metal or plastic. Some have smaller balls or other movable pieces inside giving a vibration some women find pleasurable.

They will help with your exercises if you are not satisfied with just Kegels or if you want to tighten the muscles even further. Many women enjoy adding them to their exercise regimen. Make sure you buy small ones. The smaller the balls the more toned your muscles will become. Follow the directions and make sure you attach a string for easy removal.

Healing Yourself With Food

For thousands of years people have relied on herbs and various foods to cure what ails us. Over time with the invention of pharmaceuticals we’ve stopped looking to home remedies to cure our sickness. Keeping symptoms away in the first place is best.

“Your food shall be your medicine and your medicine shall be your food.”
Hippocrates

You’ve heard the old saying, you are what you eat; it’s very true. The foods we eat help determine the condition we are in. Much of it is genetic but some things can be improved if lifestyle and foods are changed, i.e. type II diabetes is caused by obesity. If a person eats healthier than her ancestors and exercises keeping her weight down, she won’t get the disease. Some heart disease can be forestalled as well.

It is much easier to stay thin than to lose fat; it’s much easier to stay healthy than to get better after our body is sick.



Garlic-

Garlic is a natural antibiotic that will not only help you get well, if eaten on a regular basis it can help keep you from getting an infection in the first place.

Bronchitis, ear infections, tonsillitis and sinus infections can all be prevented in many cases if fresh garlic is a regular addition to your diet.

It must be fresh garlic, powdered or garlic salt does not work. You can get fresh garlic year round in the produce section of your market.

It is also said to help lower or regulate blood pressure.

Some studies have shown it helps prevent prostate cancer.


Honey-

Honey that was made by bees in your area will help keep allergy symptoms from happening like itchy watery eyes, sneezing and runny nose due to flowers, grass or tree pollen. Bees gather the pollen from the offending plants and make honey with it. Eating this gives us immunity to the effects of these allergens.

It has to be locally produced. If you buy honey that comes from Wisconsin and you live in California it won’t work because the plants in the northeast are different than the ones on the west coast.

Most infections start with allergies. Keep these symptoms away and you'll reduce the chances of getting a sinus infection, ear infection or bronchitis.

Eat it in foods or take a tablespoon two or three times a day like you would liquid medication.


Soy or Tofu-

Soybean products are a natural producer of female hormones and will help combat menopausal symptoms. You can get this from soymilk or eating tofu or other soy products.

Some studies have shown it also helps prevent prostate cancer in men. Countries like Japan where tofu and other soy products are high on their diet have few cases of prostate cancer.

It can keep away menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and mood swings.


Sweet Potato-

This is another estrogen producer that is a good addition to a woman’s diet.


Ginger-

Ginger helps with digestion and can help with an upset stomach. If you feel nauseous drinking ginger tea can sooth your symptoms.

It is also an anti-inflammatory for those suffering from arthritis.


Peppermint-

Eating some after a meal can keep you from getting indigestion. Drinking the tea can also help with many stomach maladies.


Yogurt-

When eaten everyday can keep women from getting yeast infections. Add this as a daily part of your diet and you won’t have to worry about what clothes you wear, or worry about those annoying symptoms.

(Taking antibiotics kills the friendly bacteria and can bring on a yeast infections.)

The bacteria in yogurt has killed the lactose so most people who are lactose intolerant can eat yogurt.


Kimchi-

Also can help keep away yeast infections.


Cayenne Pepper-

Great for poor circulation.


Ginseng-

Increases immunity, helps circulation, low libido and erectile dysfunction.


Green Tea-

Keeps away gum disease when drank on a regular basis. It works as a diuretic and can help you lose weight. It is also thought to help build up a strong immune system and ward off some cancers.


Cranberries or Cranberry Juice-

These help keep away or cure a urinary tract infection. If you start having symptoms buy a gallon of cranberry juice and drink it until it is gone and you should be good as new. If not consult your physician but I’ve always been able to cure it myself. To avoid having any further bladder problems make sure you drink lots of water to flush out any bacteria, especially in the warm months.


Cherries-

Help with arthritis and gout.


Eat Less Sugar:

In the past decades food companies have added more and more sweetners to our food in the form of high fructose corn syrup and others that are not good for us. Our ancestors had very little sugar added to their diet and only had dessert and candy on special occasions or holidays; it was not a daily addition to their meals. This is why so many people suffer from obesity and diabetes. Eliminating most of the sweets and sugars from your food will make you healthier and the pounds will fall off.


Eat Less Refined Flour:

Carbohydrates aren’t bad; it’s the type we eat that isn’t good for us. Whole grain wheat, brown rice and other roughage are better for our digestion and have more vitamins.

Eat Less or No Dairy:

Many races of people are lactose intolerant. This is because we were never intended to eat food made for calves. Asian, Native American and African people have a harder time digesting these foods because they are newer to our diet. European people have been eating them for hundreds of years and are better able to digest them but still it is why so many have allergy symptoms and asthma. If you suffer from allergies or asthma eliminate dairy from your diet and see if in a few weeks your health is improved.


Books for further study:

Eating Well For Optimum Health by Andrew Weil, M.D.

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It by Karl Weber

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

http://hubpages.com/hub/Fibromyalgia-Taming-the-Dragon-Within

Food Matters:

It's My Party

I had one of those milestone birthdays that people like to celebrate in strange ways. I’ve never quite understood why anyone would want to make fun of a person because they reach a certain age, giving them ridiculous gifts of senior citizen ointments, canes and other items they can’t use. I personally find it rude and uncalled for. Luckily my family knows this and has never put one of these together in my honor knowing I’d more than likely have a hissy fit and leave.

Don’t get me wrong, I love parties, I just don’t want them to be about me. I don’t enjoy being the center of attention with everyone looking at me. I’m not an introvert, I like people and have no problem talking to anyone; I just don’t feel comfortable being the reason for a celebration.

I love to plan parties; you can ask anyone who knows me well. A few years a go I was well known for my annual Halloween parties. I love cooking and serving food, mixing drinks and decorating. It’s a lot of fun.

My husband and his family love birthday parties and being the center of attention, because of this I’ve planned a big one for all of his milestone birthdays, complete with a live band, food and drinks. I didn’t do the over the hill thing although friends and family showed up with “those” gifts anyway. Luckily, he gets a kick out of that sort of thing.

For me close family at a restaurant with no cake or staff singing to me is more my speed. I don’t really like cake anyway. I know y’all think I’m really weird now. My kids and husband give me presents but not in public. I know these are probably odd rules to some of y’all but it’s my day and I figure I should be able to celebrate it anyway I choose: without the geriatric salves and humiliation. That one still baffles me.

For those of you wondering, he got me jewelry. :o)

So… I’m not writing this to get well wishes or any attention because it’s no big deal; really, it’s just another day gone by in the good ol’ summer time. I just wanted to share another one of my idiosyncrasies.

Twitter Whores

Public relations is one thing but people that post every single minute to tell me what their cat wants (how the hell does anyone know what a cat wants?) or what they are going to eat for dinner or that they farted is just childish. They remind me of the little kid that’s constantly saying, “Look at me mommy, look what I can do, did you see that mommy?”

I’ve deleted two this week. They were taking up my entire page and I had to keep scrolling down to see “real” information people wrote. Give me a break people. I see you, yes you are cute but knock it off already. Geesh!

One of my favorite tweeters is Guy Kawasaki. He’s a great writer and finds all kinds of interesting stuff. He tweets a lot but it’s good information and something I want to read. Not dumb junk about cats. Sorry folks but I’m just not a cat person. I love my dog but I’m not going to fill my twitter account up with silly annotations about what my dog wants. He mostly wants food cause he’s a pig, for any of y’all that gives a hoot, but back to Guy’s website, here’s the link:

holykaw.alltop.com

If you are going to be a twitter whore at least have something interesting to say or great links people want to read. Nobody on God’s green earth gives a flying flip about your gastronomical urges except maybe your mama or your doctor. The rest of the world doesn’t care; trust me.

Spread out your tweets and make sure it’s something worth while to read or people lose interest. In this fast paced world we live in there’s too much to do and most won’t take the time to read unless it’s something they can use or find humor in.

Only Half Racist

I don’t agree when people say only white people can be racists. They come in all ethnicities and backgrounds.

Lately it has disturbed me that some people want to date or marry outside their race but can’t stand the opposite sex of that culture.

This is just an example and I’m not picking on anyone but it’s something people need to think about.

For instance if you are an Asian man and you find white women attractive but hate white men you better forget about Caucasian girls altogether because in case you haven’t noticed most of the time sons from those unions tend to look like white men.

Look at Apolo Anton Ohno; he doesn’t look Japanese. He’s a good-looking young man but more than likely took most of his genes from mom’s side of the family. It happens.

I’ve seen comments from black women that hate white women but they think white guys are handsome. Some mixed kids look totally Caucasian and you just might have daughters.

You also have to consider that person’s family. That white woman has a white father and that white man has a white mother.

You may tell yourself you will make exceptions for her family and a few are different and okay but the rest are all bad. Whether you realize it or not it will show through and as a few politicians have shown us in the news eventually something sneaks out and reveals your true opinion.

If you don’t accept the entire race you need to just walk away. Forget about dating until you can overcome your anger and hatred for the other side of the coin. It’s all or nothing, my friends.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Interracial-Relationships-Dos-and-Donts