Constructive Criticisms or Being Judgmental

A friend recently reposted a blog by a mutual friend. Her comments caught my attention since it started out with “Stupid, dumb, lazy, retarded…” (What’s that tell you about me? ) I continued to read which lead to reading the blog about people who criticize others for not using words like their, there, they’re in the proper context or using its and it’s incorrectly. These criticizers appear to also assume the writer is stupid or lazy or lacks education when, in fact, it’s a function of the way their brain works. They are dyslexics and I’m married to one. (Which may explain to many old friends why he married me!) read...

Did Your Chocolate Valentines Deliver What You Needed?

Is Valentine’s Day a necessity? Have you ever asked yourself that question? What if the greeting card companies had never created Valentine’s Day? Would you still believe you were loved? What does one day matter? Why do so many put so much stock into what happens, what they were given, where they went, and what they were surprised with? The majority of those are women. Why are the men not getting special  flowers or golf passes or special beers or taken out to dinner? If your mate is abusive the other 364 days a year but does everything right on Valentine’s day, is that good? Does that get them a pass for the next year of abuse? read...

De-humanizing with peeps?

  Peeps. That’s the shortened word for people. Are we dehumanizing our friends here using the word “peeps”? Isn’t that the word that was used to describe what the little chicks say when they are born and learning to walk around the farmyard? Or the word for the ubiquitous yellow candies we buy at Easter that are pretty much indestructible these days?  When you meet them in person, do they look like a peep? They might be a pip in personality! But a peep? Are peeps truly that different from our in person friends? Does everything have to be abbreviated? Do we really need to distinguish a difference between our online friends and in person friends? And does it change our perception of our friends in the internet web world every so slightly? When does a friend become a peep or vice versa? read...

It’s All about the Moon!

We headed out to the Ventura promenade the night before the super moon night to check out good photo positions. I know there are tons of photos of the moon over water in a stock gallery but I wanted one of my own! And I wanted one that was orange and big! We have many great photographers in Ventura.  I consider myself a wannabe! I’ve lived here for close to 32 years. I’ve been to the ocean, listened to the surf, photographed it in its’ many moods at many times of the day. Somehow I missed one thing. I’ve never been at the promenade near a full moon. Well, at least not at the rocky section of the promenade. I’ve known we have a lot of rocks and boulders in Ventura. Our house is on an ancient river bed and we can get some pretty massive boulders when we start digging in our yard. We found some massive ones when we began putting in a vegetable garden. read...

Need Mindfulness Training? Try cooking!

After much deliberation on what to cook for dinner one night, I finally made the decision to do Osso Buco Milanese. Now many would think that deliberating about what to cook is not that important! However, I’m a foodie and for foodies, it’s important.   It was raining and cold with some sleet. I was wanting some wonderful luscious warmth for dinner. I just needed one of my healthy recipes. While I began to prepare the dish, I realized that most of the time that I am cooking, I’m not having so much mind chatter. I’m concentrating on washing, cutting, measuring, browning, etc. And during all that, I may check the recipe if I happen to be using one and considering whether to alter anything in it. Yet my attention is on the dish I am cooking. It’s a peaceful time, restorative. read...

Summer Vacation or Future Preview?

I was 19 and on a  train for my first California trip. It would be one lovely summer  to care for my cousin’s small son and fix breakfasts on weekdays. Evenings and weekends were mine to do as I pleased and I had use of their car if needed. Whoopee! How could I refuse. It took 2 or 3 days of travel from Ohio. I don’t remember much of the railroad travel. I do remember my first meal in California  however! I was picked up at the LA Union station and taken to my cousin’s house in San Fernando Valley. There I found a dining room table set with a tablecloth, cloth napkins, wine glasses, and candles. I had never seen that in a home before! read...

Easy Healthy Recipe for Boneless Chicken Breasts

Ok, we are truly spoiled. We live in California with access to amazing organic fruits and organic vegetables year round. We cook our dinners using the freshest ingredients as much as possible. The abundance of choices we have is huge. So with all this, I find we get stuck doing the same dishes over and over. Some days we want something different. I found myself in that situation the other night. We had boneless organic chicken breasts. I didn’t want them broiled, or baked or done with rosemary, white wine and garlic. I didn’t want chicken piccata, all our standard fare. read...

Online Coaching for Social Networking is a Good Idea

What would you expect to get from a social networking class? Most likely how to effectively use various components of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, right? Maybe how to use Facebook for business in a more effective way. I did expect to learn how to increase twitter followers  athough I still wasn’t so sure I liked twitter. I also learned the importance of organic SEO where your postings are found organically. So the last thing I ever expected from a Social networking class was to find my voice , to gain confidence in my knowledge, and to learn how to share it more effectively. (Now I understand that my husband,family and friends would say I’ve always had a voice!) read...

Foodie Vacation – Always!

I’m a foodie.  Seems like I’ve been one forever so maybe I came out of the chute that way.   I know I bugged my working single mom to teach me to cook and soon I was making home cooked meals at age 11 or 12. I never stopped cooking. My love of food continued and grew. So it’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that any vacation is going to include great food, preferably gourmet food.  Luckily my husband loves food too.  He’d have to love food or I wouldn’t have married him.  I stopped dating a guy because he didn’t eat onions! read...