Handbook for 2011

I sat and starred at my computer, totally brain dead and wondering what I'm going to write about.  Been working hard all week and I just knew that Friday would sneak up on me.  And here I am, facing a blank screen.  Then I remembered this cool email I got and thought I would share it.  I considered editing some parts, and I know that someone shared some similar things earlier, but it's always a nice reminder that we need to take care of ourselves.  And in taking care of ourselves, we can help others and that's what life is all about.  

Health: 
1.       Drink plenty of water. 
2.      Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar. 
3.      Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4.      Live with the 3 E's ― Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy 
5.      Make time to pray. 
6.      Play more games 
7.      Read more books than you did in 2010. 
8.      Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9.      Sleep for 7 hours. 
10.    Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily, and while you walk, smile.  ;~))

Personality: 
11.     Do not compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 
12.    Do not have negative thoughts over things you cannot control.  Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. 
13.    Do not over do. Keep your limits. 
14.    Do not take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 
15.    Do not waste your precious energy on gossip. 
16.    Dream more while you are awake 
17.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 
18.    Forget issues of the past.  Do not remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past.  That will ruin your present happiness. 
19.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.  Do not hate others. 
20.    Make peace with your past so it will not spoil the present. 
21.    No one is in charge of your happiness except you. 
22.    Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.  Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class-but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime. 

23.    Smile and laugh more. 

24.    You do not have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

Society:
25.    Call your family often.
26.    Each day give something good to others.
27.    Forgive everyone for everything.
28.    Spend more time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29.    Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30.    What other people think of you is none of your business.
31.    Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will.  Stay in touch.

Life:
32.    Do the right thing!
33.    Get rid of anything that is not useful, beautiful, or joyful.
34     GOD heals everything.
35.    However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
37.    The best is yet to come.
38.    When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39.    Your Inner Most is always happy. So ... be happy.

Last but not the least:
40.    Please "share" this with everyone you care about.

There you have it!  A handbook for 2011.  

How many things can we accomplish?

Happy Friday Everyone!!!  

Smile, be happy, do a good deed, 

and catch ya on the flip side

Duude (aka Julie)

Etsy shops just starting out.

Howdy ho,
We used to do this all the time ~  look for shops with little or no sales and help them out by creating treasuries around them or even purchasing an item to help make their day and offer a bit of encouragement.
There's some great new artists appearing most every day and here are some I found just recently... 

Beautiful tiles from Ammielou

http://www.etsy.com/listing/64151507/statue-of-bearded-man-on-travertine-tile

 Awesome photography by JennDiggs 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66309051/locked-in-fine-art-photography-bogo-sale?ref=v1_other_2

Check this out ~ recycled garbage bags! This one made with Dollar General bags from Pickleme

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66309378/recycled-shopping-bag 

Knotcards which are new to me, but really fun! This one is my favorite for some reason...by bysharonmarie

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66093740/knotcards-im-a-little-gassy 

You could spend hours looking and it never ceases to amaze me what people come up with and the talent that is abundant in our world!

Sending everyone all that is good,

Peggy ~ Goodgosh ~GG

paintings

When I was in my early 20s, my dad took me to an art show. I don’t remember what the reason was at the time why we went to this particular show, but what I do remember was looking at one painting for the longest time.

It was a miniature painting done in oils and it was just beautiful! The detail was amazing and it could easily fit into my hand.

by TheNightjar

Both my father and I were in awe of this little painting.

Now you have to understand that my father was a very talented artist in his own right, so for him to be as fascinated with this little painting as much as I was, said a lot.

 by vakadi

                

                               

I did a search for miniature paintings and these are a few from some very talented people. They show different mediums and totally different styles.

by BlueTrike 

by LUIZAVIZOLI

One nice thing about miniatures is that you can always find a place to display them.  And you could have a large collection of them that would take up as much space as one larger painting would.  I suppose one drawback would be if you were sitting across the room from your paintings it wouldn’t be as easy to just look and enjoy them. You might have to actually get a little bit closer to them.

by CWGFF

by GiselesGallery

                                         

by LittleShepherd

by tomsoucek

                 

                                            

Whether you like large or small paintings it really doesn’t matter, as long as you enjoy the artwork.

(jj)

Jigsaw Anyone?

Are people still facinated with jigsaw puzzles? You betcha! There are even organizations dedicate to the avid jigsaw puzzle fan. There are people that search the world for the oldest, most unusual, or devote their collections to specific catagories.

We've been enjoying jigsaw puzzles since 1760. Well, maybe saying that we've been enjoying them is stretching it a bit since the first puzzles were designed to teach British children their geography. In fact puzzles are still a good educational tool for children today.

The first puzzles were made of maps mounted on a sheet of hardwood until plywood came to be used. On some of the older puzzles that had illustrations glued or painted on the front of the wood, the pencil tracings can still be found. I'd love to see some of these! In the late 1800's cardboard was introduced, and today we have both cardboard and wood puzzles.

The jigsaw puzzle became extremely popular during the depression because for a little bit of money, a family could be entertained for several hours, then dismantle the puzzle and start all over again.

Here are a few examples I've found of jigsaw puzzles, some old, some new, some for children, and some for adults. You can find maps of states and countries, animals, inventions, fine art, movies, famous people, and about anything else you can imagine. My family enjoys doing puzzles and my father has just introduced my little granddaughter to jigsaw puzzles and she is so fascinated that we bought her several for Christmas. So another generation joins the fan club!


http://www.etsy.com/listing/65605594/vintage-1942-cardeno-poker-keno-jigsaw


http://www.etsy.com/listing/66073386/vintage-captain-kangaroo-puzzle-1973

Here is a link for American Jigsaw Puzzle Society. Tons of information.
http://www.jigsaw-puzzle.org/jigsaw-puzzle-history.html

pepper

I Have A Confession to Make!

I am addicted....to reading!  One of my earliest memories is sitting in church at the age of 3, holding an open hymnal in my hands while the congregation sang and wishing I could READ the words....by 10 years old I had pretty much read every book I thought was interesting in our local library...

I do have some favorite authors whose latest books I always read...let me share some of them with you....

J.D.Robb, a pseudonym for Nora Roberts, writes futuristic mysteries about a woman homicide cop named Eve Dallas...I love this series and have read every one so far....here is a link to the J.D.Robb website where you can learn more about this heroine with a darkness in her past....

http://www.jdrobb.com/about/how.html


Another author on my list is Clive Cussler...whose Dirk Pitt and NUMA series books are always fast paced mysteries set on and under the oceans of the world.  You will hear some great underwater sounds when you visit his website!

http://www.clive-cussler-books.com/


Catherine Coulter is a prolific writer (frequent new books are very important to me), my favorites are her FBI and Contemporary thrillers...this is the next one I have waiting to be read...sounds super exciting!

She also has a romance series if murder mysteries are not your preference :)
http://www.catherinecoulter.com/


My very favorite author is Dean Koontz...while I may wait for the books of other authors to come out in a paperback version,
I always purchase a first edition hardback of each Dean Koontz book as soon as it is available at my local bookstore...his scary, scary, novels are frequently set in Southern California locations that I am familiar with....makes them even scarier for me...LOL!

My favorite book of his is...

but a close 2nd would be Watchers, which was the first Dean Koontz book I read, and I was hooked from the 1st page!

http://www.deankoontz.com/

I have other authors and/or series of books that I also love, the"Left Behind" series for example, but I think I have taken up enough of your time for today :)  Happy Reading!

VE

Game Day

Blog Games

Squishing Across America!

Yep, I've squished across America and I'm proud of it!

 

Whether you call them squished, pressed or elongated coins, they are fun to collect.  Something to do with your kids or grand kids that is fairly inexpensive, shows places you have been and easy to store.

 

You want to start with the books to store the coins:  PennyCollector.com - The official website for elongated pennies, penny books and penny machines Here are a few of mine:

         

You can collect by themes, if you prefer.  I like Pez and pigs so I make sure I get those whenever I can.

       

And Burma Shave plus Route 66:

You can use machine locators to find machines nearby you or where you are going to visit:  PennyCollector.com - The official website for elongated pennies, penny books and penny machines or you can even shop online:  The World's Largest Elongated Coin Store! Elongated Coins from Around the globe. plus eBay is a huge source for them.

 

You never know what you might find. 

I was lucky enough to find one from the 1939 World's Fair. 

    And it's not limited to pennies.  Nightmare Before Christmas set pressed on quarters.   

 Another favorite of mine are holiday coins.  Whatever theme you want, I'm sure you can find something to collect in these coins!  And if you want, you can even own a machine of your own! 

Press-A-Penny

RWS