INDULGE

I remember a commercial Cher had made a while back where the punch line was, “we take better care of our car than our own body” and resonated with me since.  We put ourselves through so much living in this rat race and often forget to reward ourselves with a little R&R.  We become so tightly wound that it is a small wonder we find ourselves snapping at every little thing.

The human body is not wired to get run down and be put through the daily maximization and overload.  A balanced body however, moves at a pace that is comfortable but fully functional and productive.  But who are we kidding?  In this fast paced technological world, everything is up to the minute, and instant.  Although I am a huge fan of technology, a geek at heart, like most people, regrouping is essential.

Disease is a direct result of a body that is in constant motion, the body is at the state of “dis” “ease”.  Shifting the body back to its normal comfortable state is crucial and very necessary.

I am not a big advocate of planning.  To me planning an outing is sort of stressful.  Knowing that there is an activity ahead makes my mind wander in all different directions. There are a lot of “what-ifs” involved.

So Scott and I decided last weekend to head down to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to enjoy one of these summer days.  My daughter, Tara, told me they were headed that way as well but to Monterey.  I thought, hmmm, it would be more fun to have more people to spend the day with so we drove the extra 20 minutes down to Monterey.  We did have a fun day of music, food, and yes… icecream!  Although there was some planning the night before, the later part of the day was very spontaneous!  Serendipity…. Happy accident.  Guess what?  I had the best week following the daycation.

I would like to share the day with you and the art created from that day.  I hope this will inspire you to let loose, be spontaneous and soak up the beauty that is around you because God created that painting for you to enjoy.  You even get to see how San Francisco’s famous Ghirardelli Chocolates makes their waffle bowls, hmmm….. I wish I could write about how it smells… wait! You know the scent of homemade waffles?  Well multiply that 100 times!

Check out the process of this artwork and how Ghirardelli makes handmade waffle cones and bowls!
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=Ibund83-j2s

Have a great day!!  Until my next rant…. LOVE ONE ANOTHER… ALWAYS!

GLUTEN-FREE TROPICAL MONKEY CHOCOLATE CHIP FACE CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
2 pureed very ripe bananas
2 (Filipino -smaller yellow) mangos pureed or 1/2 c. apple sauce
1/4 c. Splenda sugar blend
1 egg
3 tbsp. mini-chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp vanilla (I use Madagascar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda in a bowl.  Whisk to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, mix the bananas, sugar, and vanilla.   Mix on low until incorporated.  Alternate adding the dry mixture with the mango(or applesauce).  Do not overmix.

Fill 12 cupcake pan 2/3 full then sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 20-25 minutes.  Check for doneness with a toothpick.

97 Calories each OMG!!!

LOVE WHO YOU ARE

  

First thing’s first… you are unique!  There is no one else in this world like you.  If we are sincere about whom we are, not trying to be someone else, people notice.  Being comfortable in your own skin emanates to the outside world as the “stuff that makes you tick” which others marvel about. 

People who try to be someone else are often overlooked.  There could not be anything special about them because the original they are mimicking already exists.  These types of people are the ones who are lost if they are suddenly faced with a unique situation and if there is no situation to pattern with the original person the carbon copier feels lost.  Instead of looking within and digging deep to find the true and unique person that God has created them to be, efforts are not made because it’s too difficult or they are not in touch with their own person.   

God gave us all unique qualities to share with each other.  We are made in His image.  We are perfect in God’s eyes because He loves us and is merciful of our imperfections.  We may not be perfect in each other’s eyes, but each of us is God’s individual masterpiece.  It is up to us to make the most of what we got.  If we are sincere within ourselves, people feel compelled to admire us.  Real people are “cool” people.  They are honest.  They are not afraid to admit when they make a mistake.  They would rather tell the truth, than compromise their integrity.  They do not make obvious and phony excuses for such shortcomings.  Instead, when they admit their error, people tend to soften up much more to them, and they will be justified or at least be given a merciful response.

We were so appalled to hear Clinton say he did not inhale or did not have sexual relations with that woman, right?   He felt trapped so he had no choice but to pretend he was perfect.  But obviously, we didn’t buy it.  Regardless of his reasoning, people saw right through the lame excuse and he was criticized for it.  He could’ve used that situation to admit that he did smoke pot but warned young kids against smoking pot by citing himself as the example.  Most likely, he would have come across as not only honest, humble and brilliant but at the very least; his integrity would have stayed intact.

I believe that admitting we are wrong when we ARE wrong lends a better result than trying to fight and argue that we are right, with the latter being the most waste of time and energy.  Embrace your imperfections because it is what makes you human. 

Till my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER AND KEEP YOUR INTEGRITY INTACT. 

DRAWINGS FROM DRAWSOME GAME

I love this facebook game and thought I'd share some good ones for you.  Trust me, majority of the other drawings are stick figures, lol!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

See all of the exclamation points?   Every single one represents every male influence in my life I have valued over the years.  Let’s start with Henry DeVries.  He is the one on the left.  Henry was a father figure given to me in my life from God.  He is my wonderful step father.  He passed away in 1999.  It was the closest objective encounter to death I’ve ever experienced.  I was by his death bed on his last day.  In the midst of his dementia, he at one moment opened his eyes and called me by my name and really recognized me.  He slipped back away and started calling the names of his late mother and father saying he needed to open the door to go into the light.  In retrospect, I felt silly when I told him whatever you do, do not go to the light.  Who was I to negate God? *blush* embarrassed.  I remember and still miss the hours of talk we had, in his Dutch accent he would give me fatherly advise about life, money and sometimes dance around the room in his goofy ways to make me laugh.  He made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my Mom every morning and had coffee ready for her when she got up.  He loved his dog, Weirdo, a little peanut Pappillon who I must admit felt very safe with his retired Dutch police officer owner.  One time a pit bull tried to devour Weirdo and he punched the pit so hard it ran off with his tail between his legs!  LOL!! He loved my kids so much, played peek a boo with Tara and Jordan and bought groceries for me because he knew how hard it was for me as a single parent taking care of two kids.  He was protective and very generous.  He loaned me money to buy a car in cash but added a little interest on top of it to teach me to value credit.  He was an amazing man, someone I looked up to and still do to this day.  I love you Papa Henry and miss you terribly!

Next on the list is Earl Oscar Walker.  He is the one on the right.  He was my father-in-law, grandfather to my daughter, Tara.  He was a fantastic man, full of wisdom and love for all things alive.  He was the most organic person I know, taking every vitamin in the alphabet and a diet heavy on beans, fruit and veggies.  He lived in Piedmont, the nicer part of Oakland and the man walked everywhere.  Didn’t own a car, always took mass trans.  Everytime he sees me he flashes that awesome smile and says, “Hey Dovie!” That’s his nickname for me.  I get mail from him almost everyday with an article he clipped from a newspaper that almost always gave me something to mull about.  In times of need, which is often, he was always there to lend a helping hand, without so much as an unkind word as to why we struggled, you will never hear a cross word from him.  Everything that comes out of his mouth is positive.  We talked for hours and hours on end, no matter what part of the U.S. he was at as an Amtrak train employee.  My daughter Tara was the love of his life.  She was his gift from God.  He loved my little girl so much that I often sacrificed my time with her so that he could spend as much time with her and she with him.  Somehow I felt it necessary, and I wasn’t mistaken.  She turned out to be an awesome human being and took on most of her grandfather’s disposition.

Money doesn’t make us happy.  I was not fortunate enough to have a good relationship with my biological father for reasons he is aware, but God blessed me with male influences in my life who were from strong moral stock, whose influences in turn compelled me to nail my feet firmly to the ground.  Sadly though, my two earthly dads both passed away within 6 months of each other.  I was deeply devastated and teeter-tottered through life after that.  It’s as if God took them away to say, yes, it is my turn now.  Knowing how kind those fathers were to you, I am all you have now to do the same.  And He did.  As he guides me through life today, it makes me appreciate my two other fathers all the more.

I hope you have special fathers too.  Please share your story.  I would love to read about them.

SERENDIPITY CARDS

Serendipity cards are 3- 1/2 x 2-1/2 sized ATC cards, the smallest artwork to enjoy.  I made these cards with a message in the back such as my messages here on my blog to get another venue for spreading art and inspiration to all.  The video features the pan pastel media to make the card, the trip to Barnes and Noble and other cards randomly placed at public places.

COME WITH ME!

http://youtu.be/ow5hdKad3EE

APPRECIATION

Thank you, danke, domo arigato, salamat, grazie etc. etc.  Simple but universal.  As human beings, we enjoy simple pleasures of giving and receiving.  Appreciation is one of the moral values taught to us by our parents… well, at least my parents, in days of ole.

Somewhere along the way, the human race has slowly but surely became so self-sufficient and developed a sense of entitlement that appreciation is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

There’s nothing wrong with thanking someone who has given you something special.  It could be in the form of a favor, an advise, or something as little as opening the door for you.  Showing appreciation is letting that person know that however small or large the gift, they are giving much more, they are giving some of themselves as well.  That’s not an easy task in our present time.

We should go outside of ourselves and sow that seed of love that God graced us with as well.   Always thank God for every miracle, great or small.  Oftentimes when we ask God to grant us our prayer, after it is given to us, we forget to thank Him.  Let us not forget to extend the same to others, this is how seeds are planted.

When you are disappointed, it’s not easy, because life isn’t always fair.  When you go through a disappointment, instead of waiting for others to cheer you up, you need to dig deep and say, No! God did not take me this far to leave me, I’m not going to live my life depressed.  I’m will go out and be good to somebody else.  God is saying, when you meet other people’s needs, I will always meet your own needs.

In your time of need, instead of focusing on your own hurt, decide to go out and help other people who were hurting.  If you are hurt due to a loss of a loved one, comfort other people who have gone through the same, and be a friend to them, using your own hurt as a tool to encourage them by letting them know that like you, they will be able to get through it.  God wants to use your experience to help others, out of your pain can come your purpose.  This is the highest level of appreciation in my book.

Your new beginning is connected to your helping others.  Our attitude should be, I may have been through a disappointment but I’m not staying here.  As you refresh others, God will refresh you.  We need to be “seed” minded instead of “need” minded.  If a disappointment hits, instead of looking for something that will fill your need, you turn it around and give the encouragement you are seeking and give to someone else and plant that seed.  The way to get what you want is by giving away what you need.  When you give happiness, you receive happiness, what you give favor, you receive favor.

Always be appreciative, as that seed of appreciation will breed the same to others, and maybe someday it will make this world a better place to live in.

To you all, I say THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

Until my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER.