Month: February 2018

You Can’t Fix Stupid: Advice for the Tide Pod Generation

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This is just unbelievable, folks. There are actually people eating Tide detergent pods and dying from it. When I first heard about this I was speechless. When I heard it happened to more than one person I wondered why people could be that stupid. When I was younger, I never looked at powdered detergent and thought, “Gee, I bet with an egg and some vanilla extract that would make some pretty awesome cookies!!!” Then I began to hear that some government officials wanted to make a law that these Tide Pods be made less attractive so people won’t eat them. Really???? Are you kidding me right now???? How stupid have our society and our leaders become?! So, here’s my advice for the Tide Pod Eaters who seem to love eating pretty things….eat something off my “Pretty Things That Are Actually Edible” list.

Pretty Things That Are Actually Edible:

Soda. It comes in such fun colors and has fizzy little bubbles for that extra sparkle.

Ice. Those clear little cubes of ice are so pretty to look at and if you add some food coloring you can make some amazing colors.

Jello. What can be prettier and more fun than colorful, jiggly, sweet stuff that you can also slurp!!!!

Lollipops. The fun color, the awesome flavors, the interesting shapes, and the fun formats (such as ring, pacifiers, and gum centers) make lollipops a way better option than Tide Pods.

Strawberries. I just love those cone-shaped, red beauties. They are also sweet alone or dipped in chocolate.

Whipped Cream. If you are a really crazy person, you can even spray this pretty stuff straight out of the can and into your mouth.

Fun-fetti Cake. Hey, Tide Pod kids….they make a cake that looks like there is colorful confetti inside AND they make a matching icing!!!

Minion Ice Cream Treats. Run after the ice cream truck one day and you will find a super pretty, minion-shaped, ice cream treat! The eyeball is even a piece of black bubble gum. It’s so fun to eat!

M & M Candies. Okay, there is NO excuse to eat a detergent pod when you can get absolutely any color you want in a pack of M & M candies.

Corn on the Cob. Who hasn’t marvelled at the beautiful rows of yellow corn kernels, all lined up on the cob and dripping with butter?! It’s such a beautiful sight and it tastes so sweet. You adventurous detergent-pod-eaters should love the extra thrill of ripping from the cob with your teeth!

I could literally go on all day naming beautiful AND edible things that you could put in your mouth. So the next time you feel tempted to eat a pretty detergent pod, refer to my list and be rescued! Why not grab your notebook and make a list of your own favorite, edible beauties!

Listfully yours,

Vicki

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Musical Wisdom: Lessons From Children’s Songs

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Everyone seeks out wisdom from many different sources during a lifetime. Sometimes we get wisdom from our parents, our teachers, our Bibles, our friends, a minister, a therapist, or even self help books. Over my past 30 years as a music teacher, I have gained a lot of wisdom from the sources listed in the previous sentence, but I’ve also learned a lot from children’s songs!  Here’s the list!

 

 

  • If You’re Happy and You Know It.  You’ve known this song since preschool, but do you really get the message?  It says, “If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.” Did you catch that? YOUR FACE WILL SURELY SHOW IT!!! People, please, please, please put a smile on your faces once in a while. I can’t tell you how tired I am of seeing grouchy people walking around. I know everyone is NOT miserable, but nobody is telling their face that they are happy! When I make eye contact with someone, I smile….. even when I feel grumpy. I know this sounds crazy, but I even pass people at church and work, who know me well, and they don’t make eye contact and they don’t smile. Let’s change that. If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.  SMILE!!!!

 

 

 

  • The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Everyone knows the Itsy Bitsy Spider. He’s the guy that was climbing up the waterspout and a poorly timed rain storm came through and washed him to the bottom.  Do you remember what he did after the storm? Yes! He went up the spout again!  The lesson? Life is going to bring you many rain storms that will set you back a mile. Don’t quit. When the storm is over, get up and get going up the spout again. That spider didn’t curse the storm. He didn’t blame the spout for his problems. He didn’t say, “I cam from a bad water spout environment and I can’t climb out.” He simply got up and got his eight little legs walking again. Have the perseverance of the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

 

 

  1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. That star sure looks like a diamond up there! How I wonder what you are! The message of this song is to slow down long enough to look up or to look around and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation around you. Check out the next full moon.  Teachers hate full moons because they make the students go crazy, but if you gaze up in the sky at one of those things, you will be in awe of how gorgeous the moon is and it is simply reflecting the sun’s light! It’s amazing! Look at your mountains. Look at your snow. Look at your sandy beaches. Be in awe of that massively strong ocean that throws its waves at the shore. Take time to admire the world around you. It will lift your spirits and help you feel more gratitude and joy!

 

 

  • I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.  The lady in this song is a maniac. She begins by swallowing a fly. Then she says, “Why did I eat that thing? Now I need to swallow a spider to get it.” But after the spider is swallowed, the lady has more regrets and swallows a bird to get it. It doesn’t end there, you know. She has to swallow a cat, a dog, a cow, and a horse….and then BOOM….she explodes and dies.  Wait, what?! That’s crazy. There’s a couple lessons her. Number one, don’t eat food until you explode. I can’t even imagine how many weight watchers points she consumed in that song. Food won’t fix your problems, so don’t eat until you explode. Lesson two, don’t bite off more than you can chew. When your life is busy and you are feeling frantic trying to keep up, make sure you are strong enough to say NO to people who come to pile jobs on your plate. Look out for yourself and your family. You don’t have to take on every volunteer opportunity that comes your way. You don’t have to be on every committee at work. You don’t have to fill every waking moment of your day with tasks. The Old Lady shows us that taking on too much will cause us to explode emotionally, mentally, or even physically.  Slow down and enjoy some quiet times.

 

 

 

  • The Farmer In the Dell. Do you remember singing about the old farmer? He is a very smart guy. He chose to take his wife in the song. Then, in turn, the wife took the nurse, the nurse chose the child, the child grabbed the dog, the dog wanted the cat and the cat chose the rat. At the end of this old song we find the cheese standing alone. (It must have been some kind of stinky cheese.) Are you wondering what gem we can learn from this song? Here it is….choose the people that you keep in your life carefully. Decide who you will keep close to you and decide who the stinky cheese people are in your life! I’ll go a step further. Keep those special people close to you and SPEND TIME WITH THEM. Those great people in your life are the ones that bring you joy and love doing life with you, so make time for them and keep them close. Be sure that you are aware of the stinky cheese people in your life, too. Keep their drama and their negativity at arms length. Know when to cut ties completely, too. I believe we are called to serve one another and to comfort and encourage one another, but we’ve all had extreme cases where a person was just too toxic to stay around. Be aware and be wise about it. Keeping loved ones close and “stinky cheeses” far, will keep you healthy and happy, just like the Farmer in the Dell.

 

 

There you have it. Wisdom from children’s songs and a 30 year veteran music teacher. I hope at least one of these songs made you stop and think today! If nothing else, I hope something made you laugh! Maybe I’ll even get to see a few more smiles out in public!

 

Listfully yours,

 

Vicki

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Romantic Gestures: Why My Husband is the Coolest

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Hello! Valentine’s Day is upon us and I just couldn’t resist taking this opportunity to make a fun list of some of the cool things that my husband does regularly to show his love! Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Oh, my, this lady is gonna brag about her husband. Big deal.”  But, read on!  Maybe you will find inspiration in these ideas! Maybe you will use a few of these things to surprise your own spouse. Maybe this will cause you to think about how awesome your spouse or significant other is! That’s the point! When we count our blessings, we automatically feel more joy in our lives. Read on, my friends!

  1. The “Vicki Playlist.”  My husband has a playlist on his iPod with my name on it. This list is full of all of my favorite songs and artists. When we ride in his truck, he pulls the Vicki Playlist up and we jam out to the music I love.  It’s such a thoughtful gesture and makes me feel special!

2. Mystery Dates. Every couple of months, my husband plans a mystery date. That means I have no ideas where we are eating and what we are doing. All he tells me is what type of clothing best suits the trip. For example, one time Scott told me to be ready for a 7:00 p.m. dinner, to wear warm-ish clothes because we’d be outside, and to bring my camera along.  We ended up eating at one of my favorite creekside diners and then visiting a local tourist spot after dark. It turns out that a traveling company was putting on a light show on the side of an aircraft carrier that is on display in Charleston’s Harbor. I love photography, so Scott figured that I’d love the light show and want to take pictures. It was a super fun night and not knowing what was going to happen was half of the fun.

3. Just Because Gifts.  My husband is super sneaky. He is good at keeping secrets which is one of the things at which I am most terrible. He listens to things I talk about, secretly shops on Amazon or local business, and then surprises me when I least expect it at random times throughout the year. I’ve received shoes, purses, watches, bracelets and many other things simply because he took the time to listen…and then be sneaky!

4. Cards on the Dash.  I get up for work at 5:00 a.m. I have to admit that I am usually grumpy in the mornings. I hate getting up alone when most people are sleeping. Since Scott leaves before I do, I don’t even have him to chat with as I get ready to improve my mood. So, again, on random occasions, I find little cards resting over my speedometer when I hop in the car to leave for work. Sometimes, there’s even a little chocolate to go with it!

5. Breakfast. While I normally do all the cooking in my house (and I use the term “Cooking” loosely,) on weekends and Wednesdays when my husband is off work, he is always careful to get up before I do and go make us breakfast! On work days it is such a blessing that I don’t have to cook for myself and I get a delicious breakfast. On weekends, it’s just plain thoughtful and fun! The extra effort that Scott puts into cooking and cleaning up puts a smile on my face and joy in my heart!

6. Support. One of the best romantic gestures of all is support. My husband is a great listener and gives terrific advice and then supports me. He’s supported my desire to start up a direct sales jewelry business. He’s cheered me on with my photography endeavors, too. He is totally understanding of my desire to retire from teaching and pursue another avenue of work.  This support means a lot to me. After all, who doesn’t love having someone in your corner?!

Now, there are so many other things that I could add to this list, but I’m pretty sure people wouldn’t keep on reading forever. So, in conclusion, I want to give you an assignment. Make a list of things your spouse or significant other does for you. Counting your blessings is a great way to lift your spirits!  Then make a list of things that you could do for someone else! I guarantee it will do your heart good! I hope you all have a very happy Valentine’s Day!

Listfully yours,

Vicki

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A Scent-sational Encounter: A Newbie’s List of Essential Oil Encounters

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I did it. I joined the rapidly growing number of people who use essential oils. I didn’t want to succumb to the peer pressure, but six months ago I caved right in and started my journey with Young Living. Don’t quit reading….this is NOT a plea to get you to join my team. I don’t want you to join anything. I just want you to hear from a skeptic on the subject and share in my limited number of successes so far!

When I started using oils I knew absolutely nothing about them. I had just heard some friends and co-workers talking about how awesome they are. One of my closest friends had actually joined Young Living ( https://www.youngliving.com/en_US)  and was raving about the benefits. She was generous enough to share some samples with me. Some worked and some didn’t. The ones that worked got me hooked and extremely interested. So, as a clumsy newbie to essential oils, here is a list of some oils with which I’ve had success.

  1. Stress Away. This is the one my friend first gave me in a roller bottle. I used to get so worked up over things that I felt like I had to throw up. I began rolling this on wrists and temples and within 10 minutes found myself calmer with no sick feeling. That’s an affordable victory.

 

  1. Purification.  I had a small cyst that kept appearing on my chin, staying a couple of weeks, and then disappearing. It would return about every other month and annoyed me to death. I applied a drop or two of Purification on that thing 3 times each day and in just four days it was gone and never came back. Success!

 

  1. Purification, again. I have two large stinky dogs in my house. They get bathed and groomed, but they still bring in that “outdoorsy” smell every time they play outside. This time, I diffused a few drops of Purification and the pet odors were totally gone! Wow! This is a must for pet owners!

 

  1. Homemade Poo-Pourri. Yes, I’ll say it. Poop stinks. We discovered the official Poo-Pourri product several years ago and that stuff is awesome. It comes with a pretty hefty price tag, so I set out looking for a recipe that I could make at home. Here’s the one that I found to be the best.
  • Get a 4-ounce glass spray bottle.
  • Pour 1/3 cup of witch hazel into it
  • Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable glycerin
  • Add 30 drops of essential oil (your choice of scents)
  • Shake well to mix
  • Spray 3 to 5 sprays on top of the toilet water before each visit!

5. R.C.  R.C. is an oil that is often used for respiratory issues, such as congestion, allergies, colds, and sinus pressure. I did not personally try this, but my 23-year-old son came home one day with severe congestion and definitely sounded as though a full-fledged common cold was taking over his head. I had no over the counter cold remedies in the house, so to avoid looking like the worst mom ever, I offered him some R.C. After mixing a few drops in a carrier oil, he rolled it over his face in the sinus areas and along the sides of his nose. Within 10 minutes, he returned to the kitchen to tell me that he was already feeling relief from the sinus pressure and congestion. The next day he took the roller bottle to work with him and continued applying it as needed. In 3 days he was no longer sick. I’d like to call this a win as well.

Now, I think this is a pretty good list in just the 3 months I’ve been trying essential oils. I have a great Pinterest board started with recipes that others have shared and I look forward to more and more successes. If you have any great tips, drop me a comment! I’d love to learn from your success!

Listfully yours,

Vicki