Nuts to you!

Today is National Kindergarten Day - May the Heavens shine brightly on ALL teachers!
Also of importance to all those nutty chocolate lovers, it is also National Chocolate Covered Cashew day!

These little gems do NOT last long around Casey's mama!
The cashew is actually a tree from the tree family, "Anacardiaceae".  It's English name actually comes from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the tree "caju".  This tree is originally natural to Brazil but now it is widely grown in tropical climates for it's cashew fruit.

Cashews are often eaten lightly salted, sugared, or covered in - you guessed it - chocolate.  (The more cocoa content the better I say!)

Please be advised, the shell of the cashew nut is toxic, which is why you only see shelled cashews.  If you go island hopping and come upon a cashew tree, please don't eat the shell!

There you have it!
Be kind to each other!
Laura

Bibles and Bunnies

We did some research for you, and took this tidbit from Matt Soniac of Mental_Floss:

There is no mention of the Easter Bunny in the bible, but if you go way back the Easter Bunny starts to make a little sense. Spring is the season of rebirth and renewal.  Plants return to life after winter dormancy and many animals mate and procreate.  Many pagan cultures held spring festivals to celebrate the renewal of life and promote fertility.  One of these festivals was in honor of Eostre or Eastre, the goddess of dawn, spring and fertility near and dear to the hearts of the pagans in Northern Europe. Eostre was closely linked to the hare and the egg, both symbols of fertility.

As Christianity spread, it was common for missionaries to practice some good salesmanship by placing pagan ideas in rituals within the context of the Christian faith and turning pagan festivals into Christian holidays (e.g.Christmas). The Eostre festival occurred around the same time as the Christian's celebration of Christ's resurrection, so the two celebrations became one, and with the kind of blending that was going on among the cultures, it would seem only natural that the pagans would bring the hare and egg images with them into their new faith (the hare later became the more common rabbit).

There you have it!

Be kind to each other,
Laura

Young and Old

Found this first thing this morning, a good way to start the day.
 - Even if I didn't get to post it until noon!- Never too late!

Older, Wiser, and Very, Very Tired

I thought as I got older I would be wiser.  In many cases, I am, and I wish the person I am now could go back and redo what the younger me messed up!

I'm a Microsoft Office gal through and through.  Word, Excel, PowerPoint, - I've GOT those, really I do!  I can write a Excel formula that will blow you away!

My phone? My computer? - Well, that's another story! It seems I'm falling behind daily.  I feel like I fell out of my little boat and my ankle is caught in the anchor rope. I'm treading water as fast as I can to keep my head above water.  Every time I make it to the surface for a breath of air, I sink under the surface again, only to thrash and kick my way back up for a brief second before a wave pushes me back down.
My book has required me to learn some really cool programs, stuff I'm so glad the computer can do!  The tough part is me telling the computer to do it!

I'm sending a huge heartfelt THANK YOU to every single person who has ever posted a You Tube video, or commented on a post, or answered a question online.  You've been a life preserver in this raging storm, and trust me, I'm clinging on for dear life!  Hopefully I'll get the hang of this soon, the waves will calm down and I can swim to shore and plant my feet on solid ground -at least until they come out with the next new and improved version.  I hear a storm rolling in from the distance already!

Take a look at the updated website, and PLEASE send your comments. I started it at 8am and finished it at 4am.   Going to bed now!  Wait, first I think I need to eat something, or pee, or brush my teeth..ZZZZZZZZ

Background magic!

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Let's start over, from the Beginning

Guess I was doing this blogging thing all wrong!  It's hard to keep up with all this social media/technology so what did I know?

At a writer's conference this weekend in Blue Ridge, Ga I was instructed to blog so you could get to know me, my values, etc.  So, in following direction, I'm starting with WHY I'm blogging.  This will give you an good idea of where I am at 53 years old.  I'll  post a bit every week.  You may find my posts entertaining, or that I'm a complete wack-a-do (my favorite word of the day).  Hopefully the former, but thanks for sticking around long enough to figure it out!

You can read about Casey and my book in the "About Me" section over to the right, but here's the back story.

I was donating more of a percentage of sales than my book sales were actually bringing in, so I felt the need to ramp up exposure to my book.  In all honestly, I was working really hard at a job I hated, and I figured if I could work as hard on my book as I do on my job, something is bound to happen.  So, I left my job (paycheck- YIKES!) and I'm just taking some time out of the workforce to follow what is becoming a strong, and time consuming passion of mine.

I'm supposed to write how I feel about this - To begin with, I'm working MUCH harder than I ever did at any job, and much longer hours.  No such thing as a lunch hour here!  No clock watching either, I'm on this dang computer day and night.  FB does so much, LinkedIn does so much, it's tough to learn all the ins and outs, I'm just getting the hang of email! Am I scared, no, I'm doing this by FAITH.  Something GREAT will come of this either for my book, or I the path I'm on will end up at the perfect career that I enjoy.  I do get hungry from time to time, I'm open for breakfast, lunch. or dinner, just let me know where to be and when :).

Getting back to blogging - My goal in blogging is to connect with those touched by cancer, so I can help in any way I can.  I hope this opens the door to communication, and brings exposure to the book.  Basically, I hope this is a way for you to help me, help  you.

Thanks for listening, be safe out there.

Why Oh WHY?

Inquiring Mama's want to know...

Why did God create fleas?

Why do little dogs carry their food onto my carpet before they eat it?

Why do dogs take so long to find the perfect spot to poop?  Why is it, the colder it is outside or the later at night the longer they take?

Why does my little Casey, with a bladder the size of a peanut, have to pee on every single twig, pole, post, & tree he finds when we are on an hour walk?

Why does my 10 pound  poodle think he's entitled to take up 1/2 the width of a king size bed?

Why does my little dog bark at everyone walking past the house, but when someone comes through the door he ignores them?

Oh, well, no matter who, what, where, why, or when, we still love them!