Here is a soft place to land; a place where we can exchange ideas about health, wealth and everything between. There will be ideas, products, encouragement and techniques to help people enhance their lives.
Not to be outdone by "Black Friday" the world of retail has come up with "Cyber Monday" and all those merchants are breathless, waiting for the orders to roll in.
Now I am all about people getting what they like and what they need. I am certainly pleased that special pricing makes for people living well within their means...pun intended.
What I have issues with are corporate GREED, materialism and consumerism.
The family who takes their vacation to park outside a big box electronics store for NINE DAYS before the store opens for Black Friday is monstrously stupid, in my humble opinion. Their children are getting a strange message, so far as I can tell.
The shopper who peruses the newspaper for coupons, takes those prices to the store in their neighborhood and then proceeds to check the cell phone to see where the same item is cheapersohe can confront the store manager to get an even lower price is probably smart...still, that sort of behavior is just plain unnerving to me.
It might be that I am jaded by my past. My parents were retailers. They prided themselves on customer service and fair prices ALL YEAR ROUND. They developed a good rapport with their customers by providing quality goods, complimentary delivery service, cheerful and friendly community participation. Their customers appreciated the way they were treated; hence, they were loyal. Sure, people might find items in the next town over that were priced lower, but they reasoned that driving to that town would be costly and they wanted to do business with people who appreciated their customers. People in that little town still remember and rave about the good, cheerful service they got from that mom 'n pop shop!
Only this morning I read about the dreadful and draconian return policies of some of the big guys. It's doubtful to me that those heartless corporate entities have the same caring attitude now as my parents did all those decades ago. It's this sort of thing that seems to cause PRICE to be the trump card.
And this is meant to perpetuate the Christmas spirit? No doubt I sound like a cranky old lady when I scoff and poo poo all this madness about price comparison, cyber shopping, and all the rest of it.
When the wise men brought their gifts to the newborn babe in that stable in Bethlehem I doubt they were worried about the best price for the gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post. Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated. Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline. Always do business with those you trust implicitly.
THIS, believe it or not, is an award winning blogger!
Who KNEW?
Here's who knew: The Bodacious Boomer! She has passed the baton to me by giving me the "Stylish Blogger" Award!
I know. I know...you are rolling your eyes and giggling over the impossibility of it all.So am I!
Here's the deal, just as The Boomer laid it out. I must do the following things:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave it to you.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pay it forward to 15 other recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award.
First, I want to thank you, O Bodacious One. I am honored, humbled and very surprised!
Second, here are 7 things about Mother Connie:
I love doing all things domestic-dishes, cooking, laundry, the whole schmeel.
I am "addicted" to the radio with talk shows being my faves.
If I were not dedicated to blogging I'd be watching HGTV and the Food Network 24/7
Reading is a favorite thing of mine but it's hard to fit it in between the radio, TV and blogging. Lucky for me we have no TV.
Shopping bores me to tears
I had a death experience and lived to tell about it.
UFOs are, in my humble opinion, for real.
Third on the list is to mention 15 great bloggers. Oh, my...so many bloggers; so little time. You should know that every blogger mentioned here is a winner, even prior to their receiving the "Stylish Award" Here is my list of some of my favorite reads:
Well, this brings us to #4, where I get to give all these bloggers the good news. I hope you enjoy meeting these folks. Each has his own gifts, message, slant on life and each blogger is very stylish in their own way!
We dearly hope this satisfies the requirements for this prestigious award! ARE WE HAVIN' FUN YET?
PS/There are a lot of links in this post but nobody makes even one shekel on any of them so there will be no disclaimer posted today! It's all about honoring people we admire and thanking bloggers for being STYLISH.
If you are a regular visitor here, you may recall the vitriolic rampage Mother Connie went on recently...it was a scathing indictment of soda pop with all its evils.
Well, pass the salt and pepper and tuck a napkin under Mother Connie's chin. She needs to eat a large helping of CROW.
Here's how it all came down.
Mother Connie and The Normanator would never EVER part with their hard earned cash to buy soda pop with all the toxicity and negative energy and health zapping ingredients. If it's not in the house, it's not going to be ingested.
Welllllll, here's what happened: We were invited to a symposium at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution. Yes, the state prison.
SIDEBAR: Who KNEW the center of our social live would revolve around the prison, of all places? END SIDEBAR.
The Native American Indian club invited a group of people from outside the prison walls-there were 15 of us-and the whole group of them were gracious, solicitous hosts.They sacrificed their evening meal to show us warm and generous hospitality. The repast that lay before us had come from the vending machines and included chips, pretzels, peanuts, sweet rolls and yes, SODA POP.
When I was a little girl my mother taught me that it was polite to take whatever a host offered the guests. Even if you did not like it or did not believe in it.
SIDEBAR: I am so grateful it was soda pop and not worms or some other weird thing. END SIDEBAR.
So, there I was, soda can in one hand and spicy chips in the other.I offer my sincere apologies to any reader who feels offended or betrayed.
But this symposium was NOT about the food. It was about Oneness, Unity, and Honor. It had to do with Respect, and Hospitality, and Graciousness. It was all about Gratitude and Goodwill; Listening with the heart and Love for every living thing.
Sometimes the drum is placed in the center of the gym. This time it was located in a corner. I inquired about that and I was told that the drummers did not want to take away from the dancers. At receiving this bulletin I felt deeply humbled and honored.
There was a Grand March to open the ceremony. Everyone was offered sage for purification and we danced around the Freedom Stick, which is sacred. There was a beautiful prayer offered which expressed thanks for so many things, so many people, all of 'Grandfather's' Creation. Throughout the evening different groups were honored: the elderly, those who had served in the armed forces, and guests. The energy in the circle, near the drum, at the podium, even around the buffet table was electric with the love of the Creator, the Grandfather.
Those incarcerated men who waited on us hand and foot, replenishing our food and drink, delivering napkins and making sure every need we had was met thanked us repeatedly for coming. They had never had so many people from the streets.
Some of those people used canes. But even they were invited to dance in the circle, and dance they did! The joy on the faces of the dancers defies description. This was a spiritual event. There is not language on this plane of existence to describe the absolute perfect joy we experienced in that hall!
Everything about the evening was perfect. Well, except for the guilt I felt over the soda pop! But the climax to this splendiforous event was the closing song: The Freedom Song.The drum was moved from the corner to the center of the hall. With one hand the drummers held the sizable Indian drum, suspended at the ends of their arms; with the other hand, they drummed the one-two rhythm and sang The Freedom Song from the bottoms of their very full and loving hearts.The sound of the drum was very different from when it sat on the floor. The reverberation of those drum beats sounded somewhat like thunder and matched the beat of one's heart! The most Senior member of the group held the Freedom Stick, which was an honor given to him for his station. The only dancer to wear regalia held the Dance Stick and honored every guest by holding the Eagle feather in the Dance Stick above the heads of the guests. Just to read this account does not convey the spiritual energy that filled the entire prison campus!
As we reluctantly made our way from this great event I could not help but wonder why on earth anybody thought the Indians needed a different mode of worship. Methinks somebody did not take the time to understand the beauty and significance of the Native American Indian's traditions and ceremonies.
Truly, we were transported to another plane of existence. I can scarcely WAIT for the next symposium. Here's hoping we'll be invited again.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some water to wash down that crow! Then I plan to wash out my mouth with soap!
The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post. Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated. Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline. Always do business with those you trust implicitly.
Could Mother Connie persuade you that it's not in your best interest to choose either of the above?
Here's the deal, kids: We have been programmed that soda pop is nearly sacred. Not that it is included on the food pyramid but it IS advertised in every grocery circular; it's available in every size on every corner in every town and every convenience store in America and every burger joint is only too happy to UP-size your favorite brand!
Regular soda is loaded with either corn syrup or white sugar. Neither of those has a lick of nutrition. Their very presence is bad news for good health. The fizz and your craving for it only indicates your body's need for more oxygen! You have no clue the source of the water used in creating soda pop; it could have toxicity with all its dire consequences! Drinking soda will ensure that your body is acidic...acidic bodies are ALWAYS sickly.
Let's suppose you select the diet variety for your beverage of choice. You have all the negatives mentioned above and then you have the "opportunity" to have seizures, muscular issues, complications of all sorts with vision, neurological difficulties and all manner of bad things. The studies about this have produced piles of data indicating full pages of "side effects" from drinking soda with artificial sweeteners. The problems range from mild hyperactivity and digestive troubles to mimicking Alzheimer's and Lou Gherig's Disease. There is a page long list in between. I'd list them here but neither of us has the time to read them all!
Did you know that the FDA Board of Inquiry voted UNANIMOUSLY AGAINST approval of aspartame for human consumption in 1980? Yes, that's true. Aspartame was developed in 1974. In 1980 it was learned that animals which were fed aspartame had developed seizures and brain tumors but these facts were hidden and data was falsified. STILL, approval of this dreadful product was firmly in place.
Methinks we should follow the money to see what's REALLY goin' on...
Here's another piece of information to curl your hair: When aspartame is heated to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for a week or longer, the aspartame breaks down and becomes FORMIC ACID, which is similar to formaldehyde. This can cause brain tumors. Do you recall that diet drinks were sent to the heat of the war zone for our troops? I think it was above 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the dessert and if our brave men and women who were serving there drank that stuff, they were susceptible to not only war wounds but the insult of toxic poison as well. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNCONSCIONABLE!
Okay. If you aren't sufficiently incensed, here is one more piece of information: You will now see the name aspartame fade into oblivion to make way for the NEW moniker: "AminoSweet" Doesn't that sound prettier, more innocuous, and healthier? It's the same thing that's been done with the toxic MSG. It has become hydrolized protein now.
Poison by any other name will still make you really sick and it could even lead to your demise.
So what's a body to DO? Well, for openers, you could stop buying soda of any type. If you don't drag it into the house it won't be there for you to drink. Then you could find out the great benefits of plain old water, maybe with a wedge of lemon.
SIDEBAR: Don't GET me started on water! It's a passion of mine and if I unloaded that info on you here, you would run and hide. I promise I won't do that to you! END SIDEBAR.
Those cute little packets that come in yellow, blue, pink and who knows what other colors are not something you need nor do you want people you love to use them. Not knowing the dangers is one thing. Now that you have this information, what will you do with it?
The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post. Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated. Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline. Always do business with those you trust implicitly.
Every so once in awhile Mother Connie needs her peeps-as in people.
Today was one of those days.
Some folks are motivated by critters; others like to work with numbers. There are people in this world who like to be alone or shun groups because they are shy or just not people oriented. Mother Connie, however, is people driven. While alone time is fine and necessary it is PEOPLE who light my fire! I want to know how they are REALLY and I crave knowing in what activities they are immersed. There is an underlying and sincere need to connect and talk and listen to other human beings. It floats my proverbial boat.
So it was our good fortune today to learn that our beloved Pastor Kathy would be in town for worship at the care center. She would be amenable to lunching with us and she could work her schedule so we could TALK. We women had things to discuss: books, dreams, family, clothes, food, faith, and the homework she challenged us from the pulpit.
Pastor Kathy's palette is not finicky; she seemed to happy with the carrot/pumpkin soup and salad of butter lettuce, sprouts and veggies. She liked that chia seeds were sprinkled on her turkey sammie and that the coffee flowed fresh and hot. She did not even object to the fact there was no dessert. The Normanator was not so easily sold on the idea of a meal sans dessert, however.
It was my great pleasure to share with Pastor Kathy the events of last night's Toastmaster meeting at the prison. She was particularly interested when I shared the story of the speech given by one of our newer members about a Toastmaster who was conspicuously absent from our club meeting.
The title of Aaron's speech was "Forgive Me. I'm a Little Clingy." He spoke about how life is similar to an ocean as he held up the visual aid called for in his speaker's manual. He mentioned how life has its ups and downs. He showed us a drawing of a boat, which had someone at one end who wanted to put his hands into the water; on the opposite end was a stick figure that indicated he was relaxed. The guy in the middle, another stick figure, was wound around the mast as if never to let go.
Aaron explained that he knew a fellow inmate who found spiritual strength in prison. He'd never known that before and he chose to cling to that as a new way of living and behaving. He stayed true to his new beliefs, even though prison life does not necessarily lend itself to walking a Godly path. Aaron's visual aid showed a stick figure with his arms wrapped around a cross.
Recently as Aaron and his friend strolled the prison yard, his dear friend was brutally attacked. He refused to fight back, declaring he would cling to his newly discovered, more spiritual way of life.
The recipient of the attacked was found to be guilty, irrespective of the facts; he was handcuffed and escorted to "the hole."
The gasp in the audience was audible at this point. Aaron went on to explain that the victim had since been taken out of his place of punishment and had been "promoted" to a new facility, where he is preparing to be released from prison.
With this update, the whole room erupted in cheers and applause! The right thing had finally happened for this man and we were so grateful he clung to his beliefs, his faith and experienced a favorable outcome.
Pastor Kathy and I did not discuss the fact that faith and spirituality is a powerful force with which to be reckoned. It was pretty much understood. As she drove away, I thought about the wonderful moments we had shared and how peaceful and full of joy my own life is.AND, I'd had my "Kathy Fix."
People fixes are easy/breezy. If one's life is joyless and full of woe, anxiety, fear and ugliness a simple people fix may not be the remedy. Energy Medicine, on the other hand, is just the ticket to infuse wellness, love, peace, joy and fun into a life that may be lagging.
Connie Baum The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post. Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated. Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline. Always do business with those you trust implicitly.
