Limitless Pallet

Today is grocery shopping day. As a child I loved grocery shopping with my mom, because when you're a kid you don't worry about the cost of groceries. Grocery shopping was simply a chance to beg your parents to buy every bit of junk food that they would never think of buying normally. It was a chance to get out of the house and be amazed by all the pretty shiny products on the store shelves.

These days grocery shopping is not quite the same. While I still enjoy buying food, I have to put a lot more thought into price and nutrition. I am not one of those people who has the want or the means to buy all the food I want just to have half of it go bad before I eat it. It takes more work than I ever realized to plan meals and snacks two weeks out. How do I know what will sound good to eat in two weeks? If I buy something that never sounds good within its shelf life, then I have wasted that money. I can't afford to do that.

So maybe some of you out there are saying, "If the food is about to go bad, eat it whether you are in the mood for it or not, and then it won't go to waste." I could do that.........Actually, no, I can't. I have to be in the mood to eat something, otherwise it is close to torture to eat it. Is that being too picky? I don't think so considering I have heard of people who will eat nothing but French fries EVERY DAY. However, grocery shopping would be a whole lot easier if all I ate was French fries. Load up the cart with 20 bags of French fries and I am out the door in two minutes flat. Oh to have a limited pallet! Darn my wide-ranging tastes!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

I have been told on occasion that I can be somewhat pessimistic. I call it being realistic. Anyway, I thought I would write a post about some of my favorite things just to prove that I do know how to be positive. Without further ado, here they are in no particular order.

-Music: I like almost any creative endeavor and that certainly includes music. Unfortunately, I was not blessed with much musical talent. I can produce a few notes on the piano or the flute and I can read music if I count the notes from "middle C". Other than that.....well, nothing. But I am a pro at listening to music.

-Animals: Especially dogs and horses. When I was a kid I would always ask for horse riding lessons. I never got them. Maybe that's why I still crave horseback riding to this day. I did, however, have a dog and a guinea pig. I guess that makes up for the riding lessons.

-Color: We have already discussed this. Color is good.

-Rain: I really like thunderstorms. In fact, there was one this morning while I was at work and I was thrilled! There is just something so awe-inspiring to me about the thunder and rain.

-Nature: Speaking of awe-inspiring. Nature is just that. I like camping and hiking and all that "nature stuff".

-Traveling: I think it is the coolest thing ever to see how other cultures live. Don't ask me where I want to go because I want to go everywhere! I want to see it all as long as there are people nearby. It's the people that make the places interesting. Of course I did just say I like nature, but I am talking more about cities and civilizations when it comes to traveling.

-Puzzles: Don't ask why. They just make me feel like a can put a little organization into a crazy world. Also, they are good practice for when I am 90 and puzzles are all I am able to do.

-My family: I love all those wacky people. Even though my brothers and dad and I don't always see eye to eye, I wouldn't trade them for anything. What makes them different than other families is what makes them special to me.

-Food: Num num num num! Even when I am sick and throwing up, I still try to eat. That's how much I like food! I have a slight hording problem with recipes. Good thing they don't take up too much room. Now if I could just find that one recipe I have been looking for........

-Clothing: I know no straight guy can understand this one, and even I don't really understand it. How can little pieces of fabric bring so much joy? I don't know. All I know is that if I become a millionaire, I am building a house with one heck of a closet.

-All things creative: Crafting, drawing, painting, photography, scrapbooking, decorating, writing. Visual art is a way of expressing what can't be put into words. It is a way to see the world in a different light. It is beautiful. As for writing, there are ways of using language that can be just as beautiful and expressive as visual art.

So there you have more information about me than you ever wished for. Use it wisely.

Kid At Heart

I guess positive thinking really does work because I haven't gotten sick yet! I have been in close proximity to a fare amount of coughing, so either my immune system finally decided to do something or all that hand washing is paying off. Either way I couldn't be happier. Let's just hope it lasts. The weather has been kind of, well, SNOWY for Spring time. I hope that doesn't mean more sickness to go around.

So I was thinking about when I was a kid and I thought adults knew it all. I don't mean that I thought adults were perfect and never made mistakes or that they knew the answer to every single question I could ever think of.......but almost. I thought when you became an adult you would always know what to do or how to figure it out if you didn't know something. NOT TRUE. No adult that I have met is even close to having everything figured out. They do usually know a lot more than kids, but the longer I live the more adults I come across that are just like big kids. They still get scared like kids. They still want to have everything they want given to them. They still want someone to take care of them. They don't always know how to deal with bills, or stress, or problems.

The only real difference between adults and children is adults are held responsible much more than kids are. If a kid breaks a window on a neighbor's house, who gets held responsible? The parents. The parents may hold the child responsible by making the child earn money to pay for it. But what happens if the child won't pay for it? The parents have to, or else they might get sued or go to jail. I'm not saying we need to make kids more responsible. Obviously they have less life skills and general knowledge to be able to deal with situations. What I think we should do is go a little easier on adults. No matter how mature, or brave, or strong, or capable, or knowledgeable an adult is, I believe there is always a child inside of all of them who is sometimes unsure and scared. I think it would benefit everyone to treat adults with more compassion instead of saying something like,"You should have known better because you're an adult." We all need to be loved and forgiven and accepted and encouraged no matter how old we are.

The Power of Positive Thinking

I almost decided not to write today, because I feel slightly run down like I might (gulp) be getting sick. But I have decided to act like I am perfectly fine, and maybe the power of positive thinking will win this time. There is someone that I work with who is sick right now and still coming to work. As much as I hate working with someone who is sick, I can't blame her for coming to work. First of all, I went to work most of the time I was sick, and I hope people won't judge me for it. Second, a person has to make a living. As an adult, you are seriously not allowed to get sick......ever. If you do, not only do you loose your health, but also your ability to earn a living. All I can say is, you better have someone who will take care of you. But I am moving on to a new topic because I....AM.....NOT.....SICK.

Eating organic. That's something I really believe in. I wish I could do it more, but being the poor urchin that I am, organic food is just too expensive sometimes. Also, I LOVE food, and some non-organic food is soooo good that I can't resist it permanently. Still, I like the idea of more natural food. None of these pesticides, or growth hormones, or antibiotics. I don't want to eat something that is more like a science experiment than a vegetable. Who knows what all those chemicals and additives in processed food will do to you?

Organic food tastes so much better because it is not altered so that it grows faster or bigger. I think once you start messing with nature, you usually screw it up. Let it be. Be good to the environment and to yourself and eat organically.

Stuck In A War Film

My house is kind of close to a military base, and most of the time I don't mind it. But every once in a while, these creepy sirens will go off and on all day long and I feel like maybe the world is coming to an end. I'm sure it is just training drills or something like that, but it still feels ominous. Sometimes the sirens are followed by a voice on a loudspeaker. I can never tell what the voice is saying, but it sounds rather dictator-ish. Also, music will play sometimes, but it is not happy "let's go dance" kind of music. It's more like "anthem of civil war" type music. I can't make out the tune since it's as garbled as the dictator voice, but it's not pretty.

The only music I can hear for sure is "Reveille" at exactly 7:30 AM, and "Taps" at exactly 9:00 PM every day. Should I have put that in military time? Anyway, I may feel like I am stuck in an old war movie half the time, but at least I know when it is 7:30 in the morning or 9:00 at night. Thanks military!

Happy Green Day

I came across this song, and I like it because it helps me feel a tad bit better when I get to stressing (which happens way too often). Go ahead. Give it a listen. You'll feel better.

I am in the process of making a delicious corned beef dinner for St. Patrick's Day as I write this. I have many fond memories of having this dinner for the holiday, but the truth is, I don't know the true reason for St. Patrick's Day. I'm guessing Patrick was some sort of Saint who did something special. I could look it up on the internet, but I'm feeling kind of lazy, and I doubt the holiday will have much more meaning to me even if I know what it's all about.

I wish I could go back to when I was a kid and holidays didn't have to have a meaning. St. Patrick's day was just the day that everyone wore green and pretended to be Irish and ate corned beef and cabbage. I still enjoy the holiday somewhat, but I have a harder time accepting that people do all these silly things without knowing why. Oh what the heck, might as well enjoy it!

Animal Kindness

I know of several occurrences where people have abandoned their pets when they moved out of their home. I don't mean abandoned as in they let their pets go free or dropped them off at the animal shelter. I mean abandoned as in they LOCKED THEIR PETS INSIDE THE HOUSE AND LEFT THEM THERE TO STARVE TO DEATH. Who does that?! How is this behavior acceptable in any normal person's mind? How can someone totally ignore the fact that the animal you left behind will suffer and die a horrible death? I just can't wrap my mind around it.

Animal cruelty goes beyond pet abandonment. Many, many animals suffer from lack of food, water, shelter, or medical care, all because their owners just don't care enough. If you were starving to death, wouldn't you hope someone would care enough to feed you? Even though it is a fact of life that animals die in the wild all the time or are killed for food every day, it doesn't justify animal cruelty. Domestic animals don't know how to survive in the wild, and even if they did, many are locked up and not given a fighting chance. They are not used for food, yet they are being tortured and killed because of lack of human empathy. What does this say about the human race? That we torture and kill defenseless creatures out of pure laziness? If this attitude spreads, I am certain it will mean the destruction of our race, because animals are only a shot step away from people.

Decisions, Decisions

One thing that really annoys me.
This thing -



Yeah, it looks all nice and pretty, but once it opens its mouth, it's all over. This microwave is probably the most annoying noise-maker I have ever owned. It beeps every time you open the door. It beeps at least four times when it is finished cooking. It beeps when you plug it in. It beeps when you push a button. If you don't get your food out of it immediately when it is done, it beeps every minute or so. ENOUGH WITH THE BEEPING! I can't handle it anymore! I already know when I am putting a plug in or when my food is done! I don't need a beep every five seconds to remind me! If there was a way to silence it while still keeping the cooking function, I would be all over that.

I'm not saying I don't appreciate the microwave. It was given to Mike and I by friends, and I am thankful for their generosity. I am thankful to be able to cook something in a few seconds. However, I still have my old microwave, and there are times I seriously think about bringing it back just to get a break from all the beeping. The problem with the old microwave? It sounds like a very vocal whale while it is cooking. So is it whale or beeping? I haven't decided.

Simple Pleasures

Look at my beautiful bed -



I washed the sheets yesterday, just because sometimes it feels so good to sleep on fresh, clean sheets. My bed is my pride and joy, because it is the most expensive piece of furniture that I own, and it has almost everything I could want in a bed. It has the down comforter, the memory foam pad, and the beautiful red sheets. At the end of a long day, this bed is heaven on earth.

Notice I said my bed has "almost" everything I could want. That's because the only thing I would change about my bed is the height. I always thought I wanted a tall bed because then I could feel like I was on top of the world in some sort of kingdom that was all my own. That didn't happen. Instead, I found out it is very difficult to come down from the top of the world. When you first wake up in the morning and you are still groggy from sleep, the last thing you want to do is jump from the top of the world and hope that you land on your feet. With this bed, you don't so much get out of bed as you fall out of bed. If I'm sitting on the edge of my bed, my feet don't come anywhere near the floor. So, once you manage to get into this bed, it is a big deal. You are in it for the long haul, because getting out again takes much strategic planning.

I tried to get Mike to let me cut off the the legs of the bed, but that was a no-go. I guess he thought I wouldn't do it right and then we would be sleeping at a slant. He paid for the bed, so I suppose it is understandable that he wouldn't want me hacking away at it. But I still think I would do a good job. Humph!

Anyway, I still love my bed, despite it being height-challenged. It is one of the simple pleasures I enjoy in life, and you know what they say. Life's greatest treasures are life's simple pleasures.

A New Outlook

Last Saturday I listened to my first podcast from psychic Margaret Ruth, and I have to say I really liked it. I'm not a person who regularly takes advice from psychics just because they are psychics. I do, however, take advice that seems to be good advice, and Margaret Ruth seems to give pretty sound advice.

The podcast is called Leave Your Fear Behind. I highly recommend that you listen to it if you are interested, because I can't really do it justice with my incoherent ramblings. The basic gist of it is Margaret Ruth responding to a letter from a woman who has a lot of fear about bad things that might happen to her. She wants to enjoy life, and does enjoy it sometimes, but her fear is almost paralyzing at other times. She wanted Margaret Ruth to tell her, basically, that everything would be alright in her future.

I can really relate to this woman (as I think many people can) because we all have at least some fears about the future. Will I or a loved one become terminally ill? Will I be able to pay the bills? Will I get to where a want to be in life? Will someone close to me die? Margaret Ruth had a surprising answer to all this fear, because the answer really had nothing to do with being psychic. First, she recommended that the woman get checked by a medical doctor, just to make sure there was was nothing physically or psychologically wrong, like depression. Next, she said that when you have fear about the future, you have to overcome it little by little by telling yourself that you will be able to handle whatever comes your way. She said a lot of people fear the future because they don't think they will be able to handle what life throws at them. Overcoming that fear means learning to trust that you will be OK no matter what happens in your life. For me, this was profound advice.

As for the woman's question about whether or not everything would be alright for her in the future, Margaret Ruth said it really doesn't matter what happens to her. If she finds a way to trust herself to handle what comes along, she can be happy even if bad things happen to her. In other words, happy people don't always have easy lives, they just know how to be happy no matter what happens to them.

There was much more good advice in the podcast, and since this post is already getting long-winded, you should just listen to it. I'm really glad that I did, because now I have a new outlook on the bad things in life.

Good For The Soul

The winter seems to be at that point where everyone is just DONE with cold and gloom and ready for summer to be upon us. I think that is funny because the winter in the area where I live has been extraordinarily mild this year. There hasn't been much snow or cold at all. However, the overall dreariness of winter is still there and it does seem to take a toll on the mind after a while. Everyone seems to want to escape on vacation to somewhere warm.

Vacations can be very therapeutic if you do them right. They take you away from the monotony of everyday life. They are full of new and exciting sights and experiences. They give you time to rest and relax and play. BUT, vacations are not a possibility for many people. A lot of people can't afford to be away from work for any amount of time, and even if they could, they can't save up the money needed to take a vacation.

I have heard that Americans take less vacation days from work than people from any other country. People might think that means that Americans are hard workers. While I believe that Americans are hard workers for the most part, I don't believe that is why they don't take vacations. I think they don't take vacations because it's expensive to be an American. Americans have to work constantly to keep up with the bills. Utility bills. Mortgage or rent bills. School loans. Transportation expenses. Insurance of every kind. Medical bills. Then, if there's anything left, you MIGHT get to do or buy something fun.

I'm not saying that Americans have it bad. Certainly all the things that we have come with a price. What I'm saying is, we have put ourselves in this situation of making life too expensive and complicated. Believe it or not, we can be happy without having every single luxury that we have come to expect. How do we get out of the situation? I don't really know. But I think we could start by eliminating a lot of unnecessary stuff from our lives. Maybe walk somewhere instead of driving. Maybe turn off the t.v. for a day. Maybe don't buy that extra thing that you don't really need. Maybe use your cell phone less. Then maybe, just maybe, you might be able to go on a small vacation now and then and actually enjoy the gift that is your life.

Changes

It's a cliche that "children always grow up too fast". Well when I was a kid, it certainly didn't feel that way. It felt like I would be a kid forever and everyone I knew would always stay the same. I think that's because, when you're a child, you don't have much of a past to look back on. Your past is almost the same as the present. When you get older, you have more of a past and you can look back and see how much things have changed. Kids grow up and get married and get jobs. Styles change. Prices go up. Technology becomes more advanced. Wars begin and end. The economy changes. People are born and people die.

I'm not saying it is a bad thing that the world is always changing. That's life, and it would get pretty boring if everything stayed the same. But once in a while you look back and you get a little pang because you miss something and you know it will never be like it was in the past.

Now that I'm grown, I realize that children do grow up too fast. But you don't have to let the time slip by without appreciating it. Enjoy every second of the present, because it becomes the past all too soon.