Wellness Friday

credit: @BethFratesMD

Happy Friday!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!!! On Fridays, I discuss the stuff of life that makes it fun to live. Today’s favorite is for those of you out there, who sadly, like my husband, are down with a nasty cold. Did you know that Starbucks makes a “Medicine Ball” drink, sometimes shown on the menu as “Honey Citrus Mint Tea”? However, if you order a “medicine ball” the baristas will know what you are talking about. It’s a popular drink at Starbucks, particularly in the winter months. If you prefer not to get spendy on trendy drinks, you can make this delicious, soothing, comforting drink at home using these ingredients:

  • Jade Citrus Mint Tea
  • Peach Tranquility Tea
  • Steamed Lemonade
  • Hot Water
  • Honey

I’ve made a couple of variations at home myself, using creative substitutions of kombucha, real lemon and different flavors of tea. Stirred with love and care, you and your loved ones will be on your way to feeling better in no time!

Get well! Stay well! Be well! See you tomorrow!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

1775. Who do you feel is your kindred spirit?

Sweet, Sweet Friday

Credit: @contradiction70, X

Happy Friday!! Happy National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend!! (it’s a real thing – look it up) Happy Favorite Things Friday!! On Fridays, I try to shut my brain off, and stay with enjoying the sensuous stuff in life. Life is meant to be experienced, right? Nowhere ever is it said that life is meant to be overthought. Today’s favorite of mine is a food. I realize that my Friday favorites have mostly been good things to eat lately. This is because this is what happens when you tell yourself that you should finally get serious about losing a few pounds. The Universe says, “Ha!! Have you tried this amazing delicacy?”

My wonderful aunt and uncle gave us a tin of the absolute best chocolate covered peanuts that I have eaten in my life. (and I have eaten A LOT of chocolate covered peanuts in my lifetime. Just call me “Mrs. Goodbar”) Hubs (Hubbard Peanut Company) offers these delectables and now, unfortunately, I have a new addiction. I have not tried any of their other offerings (yet), but I promise you, if you purchase their chocolate covered peanuts, the enormous tin won’t last you a week. Here is their website:

https://www.hubspeanuts.com/

Have a delicious weekend, friends. Savor it. Savor your life. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

2078. Do you like hot or cold food better?

Dragon It, It’s Friday

Good morning! Happy Friday!! Happy Year of the Dragon!! Today is a New Moon. Today is one of the first new moons of the new year. New Moons are a great time to think about what you want in the new year. I saw this quote this week and I think it is an excellent reminder: “When writing the story of your life, don’t let someone else hold the pen.” – Harley Davidson Use your own pen to write your own story. Today is your fresh new start.

Fridays are for my favorites! Favorite things are what makes life sing. I was visiting with dear family members earlier this week and I was treated to the most fabulous oranges which I have eaten in a long time. I was told that the oranges come from a wonderful farm in Florida, who ship their citrus all over the country. When I was devouring these oranges, I had one of those moments when you say to yourself, “Oh yes, this is what oranges are really supposed to taste like.” You can order many different Florida citrus offerings from Countryside Family Farms here: www.countrysidecitrus.com

Speaking of delicious food, yesterday morning when I got my coffee, and I glanced at my calendar, I saw a reminder that I had a reservation for lunch at a local high school’s Culinary Academy restaurant. I had made the reservation several months ago, as these reservations are limited and hard to get, and it was the last reservation available for the entire school year. (Yes, I went by my lonesome.) I admit that I wasn’t thrilled at first, when I saw the appointment on my calendar. I have a million things on my plate this week, and so truthfully, I even considered bailing. But my curiosity and my conscience got to the best of me, and so, I went. And it was fabulous! My three course meal was a great deal better than a lot of restaurant meals which I have had lately. Seniors in high school, who plan on pursuing careers in the culinary arts, and who run the whole show, from hostessing, to serving, to cooking, to setting up seating and creating ambience, and finally do all of the clean up, were so obviously passionate and excited and proud about what they do. I was wildly impressed. It was a great reminder to me, of all of the talent that exists right in your own neck of the woods, coming from people of all different ages. Local high schools put on wonderful drama and musical productions. They have amazing art exhibits, marching band events, robotics/science demonstrations, and of course, every sports game imaginable to watch. Put something on your calendar this year which supports the different “goings on” at your local schools. You will be amazed with what you experience. You will be impressed. You will be rejuvenated. You will feel good supporting the kids in your community, and you will feel a whole lot better about the future. (You’ll take a little notch out of your cranky, getting older, “the world is going to hell in a handbasket” point of view.) At least that’s what I got out of yesterday, besides an incredible, delicious lunch for only $15.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

970. Do desperate times call for desperate measures?

Friday Again

Happy Friday!! Happy Early Spring Prediction!! Thank you, Punxsutawney Phil!! Welcome to the day on the blog devoted to “stuff”! On Favorite Things Friday, I share my favorite things which make life more fun, interesting, delicious, sensuous, harmonious, eye-catching, etc.!!

My favorite for today is my new quick and easy lunch. I’m not saying that it’s incredibly nutritious (it’s not), but it is delicious and at 480 calories, it will keep you full until dinnertime. El Monterey Microwaveable Cheese Enchiladas with Cilantro Lime Rice, is surprisingly scrumptious for a frozen meal. It is also a good compromise for Mexican take-out, which probably has double the calories. Keep a couple of these stocked in your freezer for the days that you just don’t feel like cheffin’ it up.

Have a great weekend!!!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

2108. Are you a drama king or queen?

All Around Friday

Good morning!! Happy Friday!!! Happy Best Day of the Week!!! I saw this posted on X and I decided that our dogs, Ralph, Josie and Trip will definitely want to send a snail mail Valentine card to these adorable children. I know that I have some fellow “snail mail” lovers who read the blog. Will you join me? Don’t our precious children need to know that “Love Makes the World Go Round“?

I got pretty deep on the blog this week, but on Fridays, I don’t go deep. On Fridays, I go fun. Maybe life is really just one big giant amusement park, right? There is so much good stuff out there to experience, enjoy, utilize . . . .So today’s “favorite thing” on Favorite Things Friday are these hilarious, over-the-top, “I really shouldn’t be laughing at this, but these are so damn funny, I’m almost peeing my pants” cocktail napkins. I stood in front of the DRINKS ON ME display in a local gift boutique, making a fool of myself cry-laughing at their snarky, colorful napkins, coasters and cards. If you want to start your weekend off with some belly laughs, go to their website, stat!

https://drinksonme.com/

Here is one of their tamer coasters:

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

1523. Describe your “poker face.”

Dragon It, It’s Friday!

credit: Dragon Eternity

I have a thing for dragons. (But after Game of Thrones, don’t we all?) Happy Friday! Happy Best Day of the Week! Friday is such an easy day to feel carefree and excited and fun, isn’t it? My favorite for today for Favorite Things Friday, on the blog, involves dragons. I honestly have become even more entranced with dragons when Ancestry.com recently sent me my enhanced DNA results and it turns out that I have a large percentage of Welsh in my heritage. The Welsh Dragon is the symbol of Wales and it is a beautiful, ferocious red (my favorite color). This is also the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Dragon. And so of course, there are a myriad of dragon products available to buy, from everywhere, already. My favorite dragon purchase so far this year, is this wonderful salad bowl from Sur La Table. At $30, I think that it is a steal (and a treasure)! Here is the link:

https://www.surlatable.com/pro-8053696-bwl-srv-dragon-peony-11/PRO-8053696.html

They also sell some fabulous red dragon kitchen towels that I snapped up, as well. Here is my bowl and my favorite coffee cup:

Have a fun weekend, friends! Let your inner dragon fly!!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

1659. What does your “happy dance” look like?

Pre-flight Friday

Credit: Gregorio Catarino, X

Good morning. Happy Friday!! Happy Favorite Things Friday! It’s Christmas Eve/Eve/Eve! I am (like all of you I’m sure) a little pressed for time, so I’ll cut right to the chase and get to my favorite for today. My daughter was reunited with some of her best friends from high school the other night, and her friend got them each a personalized acrylic picture “plaque”, with their group picture on it. It has a scannable Spotify connection to a song that they all jammed to, all senior year long. At around $10 a pop, it’s a lovely, thoughtful gift that won’t break the bank. There are a lot of different versions of these available on Amazon. Do this search: custom picture/photo acrylic glass art music frame I noticed that the reviews on these aren’t amazing, but having seen one in person, I am impressed and my daughter loves it.

Wishing you all of the best on these countdown days! See you tomorrow!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

The Question For Friday

Credit: Rex Masters, X

Happy Friday!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!!

“Are you all set for Christmas?” – everyone’s most hated question to answer during the holiday season, and yet the question seems to drop out of my mouth almost like a nervous tic, to everyone I come across, as much as I abhor getting asked this question myself. I always immediately apologize after asking “the most hated question”, as I observe the groans, and the eye-rolls, and the signs of blood pressure rising, in anyone who gets asked that question, 99% of the time. Every once in a while, an outlier will express total enthusiasm, nodding an emphatic “Yes!” with their eyes all aglow, and then they will start listing all of the gifts, baking, decorations, wrapping, cards and plans which they have already successfully and enthusiastically completed. These are typically the people who get asked “the most hated question” immediately after Thanksgiving.

If you aren’t one of those outliers, and you still need an idea for some stocking stuffers, here’s today’s favorite: Trader Joe’s Shampoo Bar Peppermint and Tea Tree. My husband likes simple, quality, environmentally friendly products, and this one fits the bill. It is shampoo that is free of any toxins and it comes in the form of a soap bar, so it is not contained in a plastic bottle. It also has coconut, olive and jojoba oils in it and the scent of the shampoo is refreshing but light. At $4 a pop, maybe you can stuff two of these gems in a stocking.

Before you ask “the most hated question of the holiday season”, ask yourself this:

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Friday Fire

On Thanksgiving evening, a few friends and I were texting and it turns out that we were all doing the same thing in different places, from all of the way up in Massachusetts, down to Virginia, and finally all the way down to here in Florida. We were all outside, sitting around fires with our families and we sent each other pictures of our families, with everyone’s faces glowing in the beautiful, flickering firelight. I love beautiful, intriguing fires. I am a Sagittarius, which is a fire sign. My husband is a fire sign. Five out of six of our immediate family members are fire signs. (Yes, things can get really loud and bold and igniting at our house, really quick. I do sometimes feel sorry for our poor little less combustible Cancer son, who does his best to put the fires out.)

So with firelight in mind, my two favorites for Favorite Things Friday on the blog, involve fire. My husband reads the paper version of the Wall Street Journal every day, so he decided he would make use of the paper, by making newspaper briquettes to burn in fires. So every once in a while he sits with a pile of newspapers and a bucket of water and he uses his heavy steel newspaper briquette maker/newspaper log maker, to make bricks/logs to help fuel our mini-bonfires. You can find different models of these ” newspaper brick makers” on Amazon. Ours is made by a company called “Bits and Pieces.” To get the fire started, I like to use Maxwell’s Mystic Matches. These matches are admittedly a bit of a splurge. They are wide, thick sticks of Palo Santo wood that when struck, make an enormous, immediate flame. I love the smell of the Palo Santo as it burns. To start the fire with flames from these matches, makes the fire seem extra special and almost “sacred” in a way.

I hope that you enjoy a warm, passionate weekend, with the homefires burning! Happy Friday! Have a great weekend! See you tomorrow, fireflies!!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Trunks Up Friday

Female elephants continuously protect each other from predators in the wild, providing one another a sense of security. A study conducted by scientists in the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, revealed that stress in an adult female elephant decreased with the number of female elephants in their herd.” – Wildlife SOS

In the wild, female elephants are known as fierce protectors. And when one of their sisters is suffering, they circle up around her. They close in tight, watch guard, and even kick dust around her to mask her vulnerable scent from predators. And yet, we are the same. This is who we are, and who we are meant to be for each other. Sometimes we’re the ones in the middle. Sometimes we’re the ones kicking up dust with fierce, fierce love.

But the circle remains.” – Festive Farm Co.

I’ve shared this information about elephants on the blog before. (Age breeds repetitiveness.) My closest friends from college and I have taken this information about elephants to heart, and we own the same elephant charms which we wear often to remind ourselves that we are there for each other, and that we have each other’s backs. I’ve also shared my love for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which is an organization in Africa that cares for orphaned baby elephants until they are ready to be released into the wild again. Whenever I feel stressed or I feel a need to escape from all of the devastating news from around the world, I spend some time on the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust‘s website and I revel in the uplifting, courageous stories of their orphaned animals and their keepers, stemming from a beautiful, distant land.

I am bringing all of this up again, because my favorite for today is the Field Notes from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust which is a monthly newsletter emailed to me at the first of every month. It is beautifully written by Angela Sheldrick whose mother founded the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and today’s offering was particularly poignant and beautiful. Angela entitled it “The Power of Love” and she talks about what makes for an excellent “keeper” of baby elephants. Here are some excerpts:

“In this month’s Field Notes, I wanted to delve into the ‘secret ingredient’ that it takes to successfully raise these extraordinary, complicated little creatures. . . .  Daphne (founder) realised that infant orphaned elephants didn’t just need the essentials. Shelter, sustenance, veterinary care — all these things were vital, but their psychological well-being hinged on much deeper, more nuanced care. . . . . As a steady succession of new rescues came into our care, it also became clear that raising infant orphaned elephants wasn’t a one-person job.  It was critical that orphans didn’t become overly dependent on any single individual — and equally, the task was too great for one person to shoulder alone. As our orphan herd grew, the role of Keepers became increasingly important. Today, we have more than 50 Keepers working across our five orphan units. . . . .    Instead of recruiting Keepers from one specific tribe or locality, we hire from across Kenya. Our logic is that each person, with their diverse background, opens a whole new dimension to the role. This strategy has the added bonus of fostering conservation awareness across the country. Keepers become vital ambassadors within their own communities. Over the years, many orphans have been saved by ordinary people who developed empathy for elephants through a Keeper who is a father, uncle, friend, or neighbour. . . . .

Elephants have a way of distilling a person to their purest form. Our orphans are quick to identify the ‘X factor’ that makes an excellent Keeper, which is why we ultimately put recruitment in their capable hands. New candidates join the orphan herd on a trial basis, and if they are embraced by the elephants, they are hired as a full-time Keeper. 

We call it the ‘X factor’, but to assign an all-encompassing human trait, it would be empathy. People who succeed with orphaned elephants are pure of heart, graced with a quiet confidence and unfaltering dedication.  . . . .People who possess these qualities are one in a million — yet, miraculously, they continue to find their way into our orbit . . . .”

Please read more about the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust at their website:

https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

I highly recommend signing up for Angela’s field notes. I’m always excited to see them in my email’s inbox. Further, isn’t this a wonderful time of year to reflect on your own herd(s). Who are those strong females in your own life who have kicked up the dirt around you when you were feeling vulnerable? How about your keepers? Who in your life has that “X-factor” that helps distill you back to your own purest form (simply, love)? Who in your life has shown pureness of heart, quiet confidence, and unfaltering dedication to you? Who are your “one-in-your-millions”? Are you one of these precious keepers for others in your life, and also, importantly, for yourself?

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.