Friday Fun: The Culinary Efforts of Mediocre Cooks

There are some of us who are amazing in the kitchen. You know, those people who can just take various ingredients, add a little of this and a dash of that, and (with no recipe), produce some delicious, restaurant-quality concoction.

I am sooo not one of them!

I can make fairly basic meals - spaghetti (with jar sauce, of course) and (frozen) meatballs, chicken fajitas, roast beef that sits in a crock pot all day and cooks itself, Indian chicken Tikka and rice (again, with jar sauce), eggs and (microwaveable) bacon.....you get my drift.

If it's easy, there is a recipe, and many if not all of the ingredients are prepackaged, I'm all over it. And thankfully, Anna is too young to realize I'm not really talented in the culinary arts.

How NOT to Fail

I came across this piece on Forbes.com entitled "Ten Reasons Why We Fail." It's a must-read in my book. And one of the most interesting things I took away from this piece is that a common thread ran through many of the ten listed reasons that can explain a lack of success.

What is that thread?  It's our own limiting beliefs.

By using the term "limiting beliefs," I mean that we often are our own worst enemies because we don't believe that we can achieve what we want to do for various reasons. And our own mindset often becomes our reality.....which is why cultivating the right mindset can really be the key to our success.

Photo from www.gcsd.k12.nj.us

Photo of the Week: Happiness is Warm Laundry!

Some chores I try to do when Anna is at school or when she's asleep. Not so with laundry, though. Anna always accompanies me to the washer and dryer to help me load and unload clothes, and I'm grateful for her interest in helping. But her favorite part comes when the laundry comes out of the dryer. She hovers eagerly as I take the basket of clean clothes upstairs and dump it out on the bed or couch. Then - wham! She attacks the pile with gusto.

I have always loved putting on freshly laundered, warm clothes just out of the dryer. But that's not enough for Anna - she just jumps right onto the pile before I can fold anything. If she could actually fall asleep this way, I wouldn't mind putting off the folding!

Friday Fun: That Witch Is Wise

Happy Friday, all! For this week's end-of-week amusement, I will share this hilarious picture I saw on Facebook last week, which speaks for itself.

Not only do I love The Wizard of Oz, but you just can't argue with Glenda the Good Witch. Have an amazing weekend, everybody!

Tattoos: They're Not Just for Sailors and Convicts Anymore

Tattoo.  Just the word may conjure up all sorts of images in people's minds. In the past, many people for some reason associated tattoos with sailors or prison inmates or gang members.

Popeye! From free-extras.com

However, the art of tattoo is becoming more and more mainstream with time. Now, it could be that your doctors, your kids' teachers, and heck, even your lawyers (cough cough) have tattoos.

Why am I writing about this, you may ask? Well, for one thing, tattooing should be recognized as the art form it is, and the importance of self-expression to so many of us should be respected. But I also think (as with so many things) that dispelling myths is important. After all, not every tattooed person has visible ink. And, because more and more people are getting tattooed today, it's important to withhold judgment. You just never know who might have a tattoo.

Maybe this guy just saved your life. (Photo from thetattooedengineer.com)

Photo of the Week: The Joy of Carousels

So here we are in the middle of the week, chugging along sleepily...which makes this the perfect time for a very animated Photo of the Week. This was taken last Friday. After Anna was an amazingly good girl at a doctor's appointment, I took her on her favorite outing: lunch at the mall's food court chicken teriyaki restaurant and a carousel ride. It doesn't get much wilder or crazier than this!

Stay tuned for a post about tattoos and more in the coming days!

Doctor, Doctor

Every parent understands the stress of taking a child to the doctor. You may be worried about him if he's sick, or worried that she will have a terrible reaction to a shot. You wonder if your child will sit still long enough for the doctor to even listen to his or her heartbeat.

What you should not have to wonder, however, is whether your doctor will actually treat your child, and do it well.

Photo from www.sheknows.com

Friday Fun: The Alien Crab Invasion

Happy Friday! Hope you enjoy this latest foray into the amazing place that is the preschooler imagination.

Anna:    I had a dream about a crab.
Me:    What happened in your dream?
Anna:    The crab was taken away from its mom and dad.
Me:    Who took it? [This is the part where I expected to hear "seagulls".]
Anna:   Aliens. They took it in their spaceship because they wanted a curtain.

??? (from showerail.co.uk)