I remember hearing a story about a young family. It was Christmas morning and Mom and Dad had spent hundreds of dollars on presents for the child. The child eagerly jumped in to open and exclaim over all of the presents from Santa. After opening a bunch of packages the child looked around and said, "Mommy and Daddy, did you not get me a present?"
I can not even imagine the chagrin those young parents must have felt. They had worked so hard and spent so much money and in the end, all of the credit went to Santa. A fact that would probably have been fine except the child thought Mommy and Daddy had not bothered.
Ever since I heard this story, I have thought that every parent should save the very best present--the one that the child has been salivating over--and don't have that one be from Santa. Take the number one gift and write out the tag to say it is from Mommy or Daddy or whatever your child calls you. I know the point of Christmas presents is to make your child happy but why does that mean you can't get some of the credit and the joy yourself? You worked hard. Go ahead and put your name on it.
Why should Santa get all of the credit? Why shouldn't your child get a gift that they know came from you?
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Things Every Goddess Should Know. . . On Sale US and UK
Things Every Goddess Should Know and We Are All Goddesses is on sale in the US and UK for a limited time.
For the next 2 days, 99 cents will get you the e-book in the US (67% off) and then it will be available for $1.99 for 4 days.
It is also on sale in the UK for the next 5 days, it is 99 at Amazon UK then it goes back to full price.
You can also order the paperback as a gift and get a free copy of the e-book for yourself.
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00HJEAWLM in the US
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HJEAWLM in the UK
You can also order the paperback as a gift and get a free copy of the e-book for yourself.
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00HJEAWLM in the US
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HJEAWLM in the UK
Saturday, November 1, 2014
National Novel Writing Month-November
Today is November 1st. Today marks the official start of the annual National Novel Writing Month; affectionately known as nanowrimo. Every November thousands of people set out to write a novel in one month.
You have from November 1st through November 30th to write a novel of at least 50,000 words. The novel must be an entire story with a beginning, middle and an ending. If you reach 50,000 words and your hero is till half way through the big battle, you are not done.
I have done the challenge 5 times. I have completed 3 of them.
The point is not to write the best thing you have ever written. The point is to write. Period. Sit down and start writing and see where the story and the characters take you. Tell that little voice in your head to shut up; you know your grammar was off there and you know that is not the best name for that character. You can fix those things on the second draft. This is all about getting the first draft down.
Ever wanted to write a novel or just like challenges? Give it a try. Visit www.nanowrimo.org for more information and to sign up. It is free. It is mind boggling and when it is done, you get bragging rights.
50,000 words comes down to about 1,667 words per day. If you fall behind one day, you can make it up the next. If you are ahead, keep going anyways as you may find mid month you need the word count help.
Don't worry about having a plot laid out or characters. Take some small spark of an idea and just sit down and write. Half the fun is seeing where your brain takes you.
You have from November 1st through November 30th to write a novel of at least 50,000 words. The novel must be an entire story with a beginning, middle and an ending. If you reach 50,000 words and your hero is till half way through the big battle, you are not done.
I have done the challenge 5 times. I have completed 3 of them.
The point is not to write the best thing you have ever written. The point is to write. Period. Sit down and start writing and see where the story and the characters take you. Tell that little voice in your head to shut up; you know your grammar was off there and you know that is not the best name for that character. You can fix those things on the second draft. This is all about getting the first draft down.
Ever wanted to write a novel or just like challenges? Give it a try. Visit www.nanowrimo.org for more information and to sign up. It is free. It is mind boggling and when it is done, you get bragging rights.
50,000 words comes down to about 1,667 words per day. If you fall behind one day, you can make it up the next. If you are ahead, keep going anyways as you may find mid month you need the word count help.
Don't worry about having a plot laid out or characters. Take some small spark of an idea and just sit down and write. Half the fun is seeing where your brain takes you.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Ridiculously Easy Slow Cooker Recipes
Using a slow cooker is a good way to spend a few minutes throwing together a meal that you can then ignore until dinner time. Sometimes, though, the recipes for slow cooker meals get so complicated that you spend as much time prepping as if you just cooked a meal yourself!
In that spirit, here are some ridiculously easy things I make in my slow cooker.
Spare Ribs
Take a package of thawed spare ribs and throw them in your slow cooker. Dump a bottle of bbq sauce on top and leave it on low for 8 hours. (My husband loves this one.)
Pulled Pork
Put a thawed pork shoulder in your slow cooker. Dump a bottle of bbq sauce on it. Put it on low for 8 hours. When it is done, use two forks to shred the pork into ragged pieces. Put them on a roll or hamburger bun and you have pulled pork sandwiches. You can also substitute a bottle of root beer for the bbq sauce to give it a sweeter flavor.
Shredded Chicken
Do the same as above but substitute thawed, boneless chicken breasts for the pork shoulder.
Salsa Chicken
Put thawed skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Dump a bottle of salsa on it. Let cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Shred with 2 forks and serve on a tortilla shell.
Slightly More Complicated
Pot Roast
I wash and chop a few potatoes and large carrots. (Some people include onions as well.) I put them on the bottom of the slow cooker and put a thawed pot roast on top. (As you are slow cooking it, you can use a cheap cut of meat and still have it come out well.) I sprinkle it with a package of onion soup mix and pour one cup of water or beef broth on top. I like to let this one cook for hours and hours. It will be done after 8 but it just gets more tender as you leave it.
In that spirit, here are some ridiculously easy things I make in my slow cooker.
Spare Ribs
Take a package of thawed spare ribs and throw them in your slow cooker. Dump a bottle of bbq sauce on top and leave it on low for 8 hours. (My husband loves this one.)
Pulled Pork
Put a thawed pork shoulder in your slow cooker. Dump a bottle of bbq sauce on it. Put it on low for 8 hours. When it is done, use two forks to shred the pork into ragged pieces. Put them on a roll or hamburger bun and you have pulled pork sandwiches. You can also substitute a bottle of root beer for the bbq sauce to give it a sweeter flavor.
Shredded Chicken
Do the same as above but substitute thawed, boneless chicken breasts for the pork shoulder.
Salsa Chicken
Put thawed skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Dump a bottle of salsa on it. Let cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Shred with 2 forks and serve on a tortilla shell.
Slightly More Complicated
Pot Roast
I wash and chop a few potatoes and large carrots. (Some people include onions as well.) I put them on the bottom of the slow cooker and put a thawed pot roast on top. (As you are slow cooking it, you can use a cheap cut of meat and still have it come out well.) I sprinkle it with a package of onion soup mix and pour one cup of water or beef broth on top. I like to let this one cook for hours and hours. It will be done after 8 but it just gets more tender as you leave it.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
I Refuse To Be Ashamed Of Good Financial Sense
A recently had a situation where I needed to say to multiple people that before I could commit to spending $150 on an outing, I needed to talk to my husband. I casually mentioned that it was over the $100 limit that I could spend without talking to him about it first.
I received an assortment of reactions. One looked at me with what could only be called pity and said, "You need your husband's permission?" One got very indignant on my behalf and told me that I should not have to ask permission to spend my own money. He would never put up with that. The third looked confused and asked, "Why would you need to do that?"
Overwhelmingly, their responses suggested that I should feel ashamed by the idea that I could not just write a check for $150.
Except this is not a rule that my husband instituted or that only applies to me. I was an active participant in making of the family rule that neither of us can spend over $100 on something without discussing it with the other.
We each have our own jobs; each make our own money. We have a joint account that we have regular amounts transferred in to pay bills and the remains belong to each of us individually. This money is ours to do with as we please. The regular transfers account for monthly bills plus extra for savings and the maintenance fund. If something extreme happens, we may need to transfer some additional funds but otherwise this is our own money.
That does not mean that we should spend it wildly. It does not mean that we should be absolved of all reason or spend it like it is just extra money. The $100 rule means that if either of us starts spending large sums of money, the other is aware of it. It keeps us from having any hidden vices that may surprise the other. We do not want to treat our money like it is Monopoly money.
Every one needs their own money that they can spend on silly things or things that are only important to them. It is important as an adult to feel like you can make your own financial choices. But we are still part of a couple and money is still an important part of our future and we make the major decisions together. Even if it occasionally means that I have to explain the rule.
I received an assortment of reactions. One looked at me with what could only be called pity and said, "You need your husband's permission?" One got very indignant on my behalf and told me that I should not have to ask permission to spend my own money. He would never put up with that. The third looked confused and asked, "Why would you need to do that?"
Overwhelmingly, their responses suggested that I should feel ashamed by the idea that I could not just write a check for $150.
Except this is not a rule that my husband instituted or that only applies to me. I was an active participant in making of the family rule that neither of us can spend over $100 on something without discussing it with the other.
We each have our own jobs; each make our own money. We have a joint account that we have regular amounts transferred in to pay bills and the remains belong to each of us individually. This money is ours to do with as we please. The regular transfers account for monthly bills plus extra for savings and the maintenance fund. If something extreme happens, we may need to transfer some additional funds but otherwise this is our own money.
That does not mean that we should spend it wildly. It does not mean that we should be absolved of all reason or spend it like it is just extra money. The $100 rule means that if either of us starts spending large sums of money, the other is aware of it. It keeps us from having any hidden vices that may surprise the other. We do not want to treat our money like it is Monopoly money.
Every one needs their own money that they can spend on silly things or things that are only important to them. It is important as an adult to feel like you can make your own financial choices. But we are still part of a couple and money is still an important part of our future and we make the major decisions together. Even if it occasionally means that I have to explain the rule.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Follow Your Curiosity
I like to follow the chain of my curiosity.
I was listening to Blink by Malcolm Gladwell on audio book last week and he mentioned a study done by Dr. Gottman. Dr. Gottman had couples come in and asked them to discuss a tense issue in their marriage. He had them talk for 15 minutes and filmed it. He later went back and went over the footage frame by frame. He was able to predict with 94% accuracy which couples would end up divorced. This was after only 15 minutes of observing them.
Well that sounded fascinating so off I went to the library and requested, Why Marriages Fail and How Yours Can Succeed by Dr. John Gottman.
This got me thinking about how often I find myself reading books or reading articles online or listening to audio books because I ended up there from somewhere else.
I think it is a common enough practice online. You are on Facebook and someone has posted an Upworthy article. You click on the link and read that article. Off to the side, there are several more articles. Next thing you know you are looking at slam poetry videos on Youtube and wondering how you got there.
While I sometimes end up in places I do not want to be or viewing or reading things that annoy me, I have to say overall, I think this is a good thing.
It is important to exercise your brain; to follow your curiosity. Go ahead and check out that next topic; that next video.
Curiosity may have killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back.
I was listening to Blink by Malcolm Gladwell on audio book last week and he mentioned a study done by Dr. Gottman. Dr. Gottman had couples come in and asked them to discuss a tense issue in their marriage. He had them talk for 15 minutes and filmed it. He later went back and went over the footage frame by frame. He was able to predict with 94% accuracy which couples would end up divorced. This was after only 15 minutes of observing them.
Well that sounded fascinating so off I went to the library and requested, Why Marriages Fail and How Yours Can Succeed by Dr. John Gottman.
This got me thinking about how often I find myself reading books or reading articles online or listening to audio books because I ended up there from somewhere else.
I think it is a common enough practice online. You are on Facebook and someone has posted an Upworthy article. You click on the link and read that article. Off to the side, there are several more articles. Next thing you know you are looking at slam poetry videos on Youtube and wondering how you got there.
While I sometimes end up in places I do not want to be or viewing or reading things that annoy me, I have to say overall, I think this is a good thing.
It is important to exercise your brain; to follow your curiosity. Go ahead and check out that next topic; that next video.
Curiosity may have killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Why Did They Feel The Need To Cheat On Their Own Test?
A few years back, I took the Pepsi Challenge at a music festival. Pepsi was not handling it themselves but rather had hired a marketing firm to do it for them. The challenge, if you have not heard of it, is to blind taste test Pepsi vs Coke.
It was a hot summer day; probably in the 90s. I got in line for the challenge simply because I wanted a cold drink and the drink lines were long.
When I got to the front, the man went to a little fridge plugged into a long extension cord and pulled out a frosty can. The label was covered but the can was obviously cold. He then turned around and pulled another can out of a cardboard box sitting in the heat. This label, too, was covered.
He poured me a little sip size cup of each. I knew right away the first one was Pepsi for two reasons.
1) Pepsi has a burst of citrus-like taste to it when you first sip it.
and
2) It was frosty cold while the second one was beyond warm. This was, after all, the Pepsi Challenge.
The second cup contained the overly warm and therefore, not at all appetizing, Coke.
In those circumstances, I had to say, "Yes, I preferred the first one." and low and behold, he took the sleeve off the can and it was revealed as Pepsi.
I did not walk away from that thinking, "Wow, I should switch to Pepsi." I walked away thinking, "They had to cheat to beat Coke." Now as I said, this was not Pepsi themselves, but rather an outside firm. I'm sure they simply wanted to give their customer data that made them look good but to me it was a cheat.
I am reminded of this now because I am reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and in it, he talks about how Coke did their own blind taste test and found it was true. Based on just one sip, people preferred Pepsi. It is when drinking a full can or bottle that people tend to prefer Coke. Pepsi, Gladwell says, is sweeter and therefore, people prefer it when drinking small amounts but tend to prefer Coke when drinking large amounts.
So Pepsi tended to win the sip challenge and yet this company still felt the need to cheat. I guess they did not have a lot of faith in their own test. It's too bad. If nothing else, we should be able to have faith in our own plans. Plus the thought that they had cheated just left a bad taste in my mouth.
It was a hot summer day; probably in the 90s. I got in line for the challenge simply because I wanted a cold drink and the drink lines were long.
When I got to the front, the man went to a little fridge plugged into a long extension cord and pulled out a frosty can. The label was covered but the can was obviously cold. He then turned around and pulled another can out of a cardboard box sitting in the heat. This label, too, was covered.
He poured me a little sip size cup of each. I knew right away the first one was Pepsi for two reasons.
1) Pepsi has a burst of citrus-like taste to it when you first sip it.
and
2) It was frosty cold while the second one was beyond warm. This was, after all, the Pepsi Challenge.
The second cup contained the overly warm and therefore, not at all appetizing, Coke.
In those circumstances, I had to say, "Yes, I preferred the first one." and low and behold, he took the sleeve off the can and it was revealed as Pepsi.
I did not walk away from that thinking, "Wow, I should switch to Pepsi." I walked away thinking, "They had to cheat to beat Coke." Now as I said, this was not Pepsi themselves, but rather an outside firm. I'm sure they simply wanted to give their customer data that made them look good but to me it was a cheat.
I am reminded of this now because I am reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and in it, he talks about how Coke did their own blind taste test and found it was true. Based on just one sip, people preferred Pepsi. It is when drinking a full can or bottle that people tend to prefer Coke. Pepsi, Gladwell says, is sweeter and therefore, people prefer it when drinking small amounts but tend to prefer Coke when drinking large amounts.
So Pepsi tended to win the sip challenge and yet this company still felt the need to cheat. I guess they did not have a lot of faith in their own test. It's too bad. If nothing else, we should be able to have faith in our own plans. Plus the thought that they had cheated just left a bad taste in my mouth.
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