It's All How You Read It

I'm nothing

I'll never feel that

I'm important

I have value and that

I matter

I wholeheartedly believe that

I'm worthless

I'm a loser and that

I'll never amount to anything

You can't ever say

I'm special

(Now read again, this time from the bottom upwards.)

Homemade Popping Chocolate - Recipe Repertoire

1) Melt 16-24 oz of milk or dark chocolate chips in a double boiler.

2) Remove the chocolate from heat, and mix in 1 cup of mini M & M candies, and 4 individual packages of Pop Rocks. Add in any additional toppings you would like (gummies or pretzels, perhaps?).

3) Spread the candy into your mold of choice. (Shown here is a 13 x 9 pan, lined with Aluminum Foil, and slightly greased for easy removal.)

4) Place in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours until hardened.

5) Break into pieces as big or small as you would like, and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Keeps for at least 2 weeks...of you don't eat it all before then!

Enjoy!

How Not To Be A Parent: Part I

I've always believed that you can learn some of life's greatest lessons through mistakes.  Usually they are your own mistakes, but sometimes you just witness that certain level of stupidity or ignorance, and learn from someone else's.  Lately, I have noticed a lot of perfect examples of how NOT to be a parent.  Here are my latest take aways I'd like to share.

What I have seen, and learned NOT to do:

-Leave your children unattended at a store. Especially when there is a lot of things for then to make a mess with, or people who could kidnap them...although, the latter could potentially be a goal of some bad parents...

-Give your toddler your phone to keep them quiet. First of all, it is not healthy for a young child to be glued to a device, unless your intention is for them to be attention deficit. Two, they should learn to entertain themselves without expecting instant gratification 24/7. Patience is a virtue. 

-Allow the television or computer to be their babysitter, instead of you spending time with them.

-Allow them to scream at the top of their lungs in public. For no reason. Like, seriously. Ear-splitting pitches, and they are NOT being murdered or kidnapped. Because being tuned out to your child's blood-curdling screech is such a good idea...

-Allow them to run around, unsupervised in public. Literally run around. So they can bump into someone and get hurt and hurt someone else. And if they can scream on the top of their lungs while running, all the better.

-Encourage them to pretend to be taller when trying to get on a ride, in hopes that they can trick the workers into letting them on, even though they are too short for their own safety. Because those height requirements are not for my kids!

Seriously. You need a license to catch a fish, but not have or raise a child. What us wrong with that picture?

Thankfulness Journal

Sometimes, we focus too much on the negatives. Too much on the stupid hateful people in the world, instead of on all of the wonderful people. 

Think about the news. It's mostly bad. Planes crashing, people killing each other, houses burning down. What about the good things that happen? So many more planes land safely, than crash. More people help one another, than kill. More houses are renovated or bought, than burn. Sometimes, we like the bad news (as long as it is not happening to us), than we do the good news.

I challenge you, to focus on the positives. Get a journal, and try to take a minute before you go to bed, to jot down one good thing that happened during the day; one thing you are thankful for. Every day, there is at least one thing to be happy about: health, food, shelter, job, family, friends, etcetera. If you do this for a few days, you'll find it easier to find the good in the day, and step away from dwelling on the negatives. And when you do have a horrible day (even that day has something to be grateful for...maybe that it is over?), reading through the other day's entries might make you feel better. 

What's Your Favorite Shape?

Someone asked me once, what my favorite shape was.  Now, that may seem like a weird question, but I think you should always be able to answer a good question, so I thought about it, and came up with this.

My favorite shape is a (five pointed) star.

Why a star?

Stars are impossibly far away from us.  They are so far away, that we don't even know if the ones we are seeing still exist (because of how long it takes for the light to travel to us).  Stars put in perspective of how you are not the center of the universe.

But they also symbolize hope.  Just because you are small, does not mean that you cannot achieve your dreams, help other people, and make a difference in your world.  You can figuratively touch the stars if you try hard enough.

Stars represent dreams.  I am a firm believer in dreams and having goals to strive for.  And of course, one of my favorite quotes: 

"Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." -Anonymous 

So.  What is your favorite shape?