Today would have been my Mom's birthday.
Remembering you, Momma, on this special day.
Love you.
Miss you.
Always have.
Always will.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I guess one never gets over losing a mother or father.
Review - Get Human on the Phone
A few years ago I blogged about this app. Today I decided to see if it was still operational.
Luckily, GetHuman is alive and well.
The reason I say luckily is because this is an amazing resource if you need to call a big company and avoid the circular trap that is now AI-generated.
Like it says on the GetHuman landing page: "Fix Your Customer Service Issues Faster. Get a rep on the phone faster & get better help."
Yes, this resource gives actual phone numbers for big companies.
On the landing page you'll see: "All-time Most Popular Phone Numbers" as well as how to present your problem when your call is answered.
In the case of a company like Google which will never be answered by a real human, it tells you how to get to a human even though it may take time and effort.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I was thrilled to see this app still existed because I've been trying for a while to get a Gooogle problem solved. If I'm successful, I'll let you know what process worked for me.
Mom, the First Female Super Hero I Met
And a funny quote too.
"If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way mom told you to in the beginning."
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Tell Mom you love her and thank her for everything she's done for you. She's probably the first female super hero you ever met.
Saturday Share Recipe - Black-Eyed Pea Jambalaya
My Mom's friend Nell is the source of this recipe which comes from her family's cookbook.
It's easy to make and delicious to eat with either crusty garlic bread, French bread, or even cornbread.
Like most legumes, black-eyed peas are a good source of complex carbohydrates with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They are nutrition power houses. Just 1 cup (165 grams), gives you tremedous benefits.
NUTRITION STATS FOR BLACK-EYED PEAS
160 calories, 0.6 g fat, 33.5 g carbs, 5.2 g protein, 8.3 g fiber, 5.3 g of sugar and the Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) of these minerals:10% of iron
15% of potassium
15% of potassium
15% of zinc
20% of magnesium
24% of copper
41% of manganese
and the MDR of these vitamins:
37% of vitamin K
44% of vitamin A
52% of folate.
44% of vitamin A
52% of folate.
BLACK-EYED PEA JAMBALAYA
Ingredients
1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper (charred to remove the membrane)
1 bunch chopped green onions
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 can beef broth
1 pound sliced smoked sausage
1 1/2 cup washed rice, drained
1-2 teaspoons or to taste of Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning
2 cans Trappey's Black-Eyed Peas (Yes, you can use another brand. I always use Trappey's because when I was a kid, we lived near the Trappey's cannery, and my Mom thought they were the best next to home-cooked black-eyed peas. You can also use the peas with Jalapeño added.)
Instructions
1. Slice the sausage and set aside.
2. Wash the rice and drain well.
3. Dice the onion, the charred bell pepper, and green onions.
4. In a Dutch oven or similar pot, add the oil and chopped vegetables. Saute until translucent.
5. Add the drained rice to the vegetables in the hot Dutch oven, stirring while you let it saute about 3-5 minutes.
6. Add the broth, peas, and sliced sausage.
7. Sprinkle in the Creole Seasoning to taste.
8. Stir well to blend everything together then let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the rice is done and the flavors have meded together.
9. Before serving, stir in 3-5 drops, or more to your taste, of McIhenny's Tabasco or just set the bottle on the table for your guests to spice it up the way they like.
1. There is no salt added to this jambalaya because the peas, broth, Tony's, and sausage have salt.
2. If you're concerned about salt intake, look for low-sodium broth, Tony's, and sausage.
3. If you have leftover rice, omit the raw rice when you make the jambalaya and serve the hot "stew" over the already cooked (and warmed in the microwave) rice.
4. You can also cook black-eyed peas from scratch and use that in the recipe instead of canned peas.
5. If you like your food really spicy, add sliced jalapeño peppers and/or the peas with the peppers added. Also, use spicy hot smoked sausage rather than regular smoked sausage—and lots of Tabasco.
4. Don't forget the Tabasco.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
When I make any kind of jambalaya, I think of my Mom and remember watching her in the kitchen as she cooked jambalaya or gumbo or any of the other mouth-watering dishes she prepared. I miss her so much.
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Fun Facts About Mother's Day
This Sunday in the U.S.A. is Mother's Day. We all have a mother. Most of us who are mothers realize the balancing act Mom had to do as a mother, a wife, and a homemaker—probably while juggling a job too.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and let me tell you some things about Mother's Day that you may not know.
1. Mother's Day is a global celebration with 168 countries participating. Most often, this holiday is celebrated in March or May with over half of the countries honoring Mom on the second Sunday of May.
2. Traditionally, in many Christian churches on Mother's Day Sunday, people wore a red carnation if their mothers were still living, but a white one if she had passed.
3. The word Mom or Mum is thought to have been invented by babies because the first sound a baby makes is ma or muh. Check out many different languages, and you'll find that the word for Mom begins with that M sound, for example, in French, mother is Mère. In German, it's Mutter. In Italian and Spanish, it's Madre. Even in Hindi, it's Maa.
4. More phone calls are made on Mother's Day than any other day of the year.
5. Mother's Day is the busiest restaurant dining day of the year. (That's probably no surprise.)
7. Mother's Day in the U.S. was made official on May 9, 1914.
8. Mother's Day is the third most attended church service (after Christmas and Easter).
9. According to Pantone, the color specialist, Mother's Day is signified by:
Green which represents a mother's protective nature,
Yellow for a Mom's optimistic outlook towards life and her children,
Pink for her compassionate and nurturing soul, and
Red for a mother's passion and empowerment.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If you're lucky enough to still have your Mom with you, be sure you let her know on how very much you love her and do that every day of your life, not just on Mother's Day
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Interviewed by Marcia James
Fortunately, we didn't flood, but so many others did. If you'd like to make a monetary donation, do so by donating to any of the organizations that are providing food and shelter to flood victims.
Click Support Houston Flood Victims to learn more.
MARCIA JAMES and PETS
Marcia writes "Hot, Humorous Romances" and also writes a blog with a monthly pet feature.
For May, Marcia interviewed me about the dogs that have appeared in my books.
For the interview, I ftold her about Tiger, the golden retriever in Second Chance Bride, named after a real-life Tiger who became my daughter's companion after the surgery that changed her life.
Tiger was a wonderful dog who found a place in all of our hearts. Dogs are like that. They give unconditional love. Dogs are more than just pets. They're companions, best friends, and members of the family. They give us unconditional love because that's the only kind of love they know.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If you love dogs, check out Marcia's blog. It's delightful and will make you smile.
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The Right Stuff for Success
Do you have the Right Stuff for success?
Success takes more than writing a good book—or a life-changing widget or whatever.
You can write the best book in the world or design the most stunning video game, but if no one knows your creation exists, you won't sell any quantity beyond the ones your family buys.
What's an author—or any kind of entrepreneur—to do? How can he or she hope to make a living writing books or computer apps or whatever may be your jam?
THE RIGHT STUFF
At the beginning of the space age, men who wanted to be astronauts had to have the "right stuff" if they had a chance of being selected for the space program. What is the right stuff? It's mental, emotional, and physical toughness.
Being successful as an author—or as anything in business—also requires the right stuff.
1. Mental toughness is not just intelligence. It's also rational thinking, common sense, maintaining focus, perseverance in the face of adversity, making good decisions, and the ability to manage difficult situations without panicking.
2. Emotional toughness is the ability to manage your moods and feelings and not yield to stress, anger, sadness, or negativity. It's also the ability to create and maintain healthy relationships.
3. Physical toughness is a healthy and strong body created and maintained by eating foods for health, avoiding foods and substances that harm your body, and making physical movement part of your daily habit.
Do you possess these above attributes?
If you do, then learn the other skills you need for your chosen career and don't bemoan the time it takes to acquire those skills.
If you don't, then get started on developing those characteristics and acquiring the skills for your career field.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Decide. Go all in. Act now.
Decide. Go all in. Act now.
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Review - The Holdovers on Prime
I chose that movie because it starred Paul Giamatti, one of my favorite actors.
The Holdovers, 2023 American comedy-drama film, set in 1970 at Christmas, was directed by Alexander Payne and written by David Hemingson.Starring the amazing Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham, a classics teacher at a New England boarding school, hated by his students and faculty, who is forced to chaperone the students who have nowhere to go on Christmas break.
A heartbreaking yet triumphant performance by Da'Vine Joy Randolph, the school's cafeteria manager, Mary, is as compelling as Giamatti's realistic portrayal.
Dominic Sessa plays Angus, the obnoxious student also hated by his peers and teachers, who's forced to stay on the campus while his mother and wealthy stepfather vacation together.
MOVIE BLURB
Paul Hunham is a cranky, obnoxious instructor at a New England prep school who lives a narrow existence with no home other than the school, no friends, no family, and apparently no relationships. He appears to have lost any joy he may have found in teaching although he retains his love of subject matter he teaches.
Cast as the adult forced to be responsible for those who remain on campus during Christmas break, he begins to understand that Angus, the smart but obnoxious troublemaker left in his care, is more like him than he'd ever have guessed.
MY 2¢ REVIEW
The movie won 2 awards at the Golden Globe Awards (Giamatti for Best Actor and Randolph for Best Supporting Actress). Also nominated for the same at the British Academy Film Awards where Randolph also won.
The film plumbs emotional depths in each character and believably shows each character rising above their respective devastating baggage to move on with their lives. The film delivers final scenes that are empowering and uplifting.
In fact, I found myself wanting to see what happens to these characters as they move forward in life. I want to know if Hunham and Angus meet again ten years down the road. If their interaction during that Christmas break allowed each to overcome their patterned behavior and find emotional fulfillment in life.
MOVIE DETAILS
Filmed in a snowy Massachusetts winter, The Holdovers premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2023 and was released in the U. S. in October of that year.
Filmed in a snowy Massachusetts winter, The Holdovers premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2023 and was released in the U. S. in October of that year.
Reviews were as positive as this one I'm writing, and this "small" film with a $13M budget grossed over $44M worldwide. In fact, the move was listed as 1 of the top 10 films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.
The movie captured 5 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor for Giamatti, and Best Supporting Actress for Randolph who went on to win. She totally deserved the award, but I think Giamatti also should have won the Oscar.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If you're looking for a movie with "real" people dealing with real-world problems, not movies with super heroes and unbelievable action flicks, watch The Holdovers. It's funny, emotional, thought-provoking, and uplifting.
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Saturday Share: Recipe - Bacardi Rum Cake
One particular cake didn't suit my taste buds when I was a kid. When I was older, I guess my taste buds had matured because I found I really liked the Bacardi Rum Cake she made.
That's today's Saturday Share Recipe which I have made easier by using a boxed yellow cake mix. I hope you enjoy this treat.
MOM'S BACARDI RUM CAKE
Ingredients
1 boxed yellow cake mix
1 4-ounce box Jello Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil (not olive oil or corn oil)
1/2 cup Bacardi Dark Rum (or a less expensive brand)
(1) Prepare a bundt cake pan with baking spray. Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly in the bottom of the pan.
(2) Preheat the oven at 325° Fahrenheit (163° Celsius).
(3) Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and rum in a large mixing bowl. Blend well on slow speed then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
(4) Spread the batter evenly over the pecans in the bundt pan.
(5) Bake for 60 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. While it's cooling, make the Glaze—recipe follows.
Glaze Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cut water
1/4 cup Bacardi Rum
(1) In a saucepan, place the sugar, butter, and water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
(2) Remove from heat and stir in the 1/4 cup Bacardi Rum.
(3) Return the saucepan to the stove and bring to a boil again for 2 minutes.
(4) Remove the glaze and spoon it over the warm cake.
(5) Sift powdered sugar lightly over the cake.
Serve warm or cooled with a cup of fresh-brewed coffee or espresso.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
This sophisticated rum cake is a great dessert aafter a special meal. By the way, if you don't care for the taste of rum, simply reduce it to a couple of tablespoons in the glaze.
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6 Ways to Build a New Habit
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| Image by 1114467 from Pixabay |
In case you aren't acquainted with Dr. Huberman's channel, he's currently under attack by an interesting consortium of critics.
Some say he's merely the latest sacrifice chosen for his belief that one should be self-autonomous regarding one's health. Others say he fakes science and manipulates women, asking how many he's slept with? Ugh.
When I'm interested in the subject matter, I fact-check research cited by so-called health experts on YouTube before I take their word for it. I've not found his information specious. Anything you hear or see online that you want to adopt should always be checked for truth.
ALL THAT ASIDE
What I'm posting about today is not about the controversy brewing around him but about one of his videos I watched quite some time ago about how to "make" yourself do the healthy things you know are good for you—like working out every day.
We all have that goal, but too often you find yourself at bedtime feeling like a loser because you didn't shoehorn that into your busy day.
The answer to the problem is to develop the daily habit of working out. Yes. Another simple thing that isn't easy. I'll try to distill the information in his long video and how I used it to build a daily habit.
DEVELOPING A HABIT
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| Image by Homegrounds from Pixabay |
Some habits are context dependent, i.e., brushing your teeth every morning. Most of us have done that every day of our lives since we were children because our parents taught us to do it.
It's embedded in automatic. Or, in neuroscientist lingo, it's an action of AUTOMATICITY.
(3) Frame the event you want to turn into a habit which is called Task Bracketing.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
"Automaticity is the ability to do things without occupying the mind with the low-level details required, allowing it to become an automatic response pattern or habit. It is usually the result of learning, repetition, and practice."
Our parents made sure we learned to brush our teeth after meals, that we repeated that action every day, and that practice made us good at it and embedded it into our daily routine.
So think about all the things you do on a daily basic that require no thinking or self-discipline on your part. If working out isn't one of those, it's because you must overcome a lot of FRICTION—I call it INERTIA—to overcome in order to do it.
It's simply easier to not do it than to force yourself to do it. What you need to do is get into automaticity—make working out a habit.
(2) Use the neuroplasticity of the brain—that's how the brain learns to make a habit—by drawing upon your Procedural Memory and Episodic Memory to invest a skill with automaticity.
Procedural Memory is the process of retrieving information necessary to perform a learned skill which may be movement based, i.e., tying your shoesa shoe.
Episodic Memory involves the ability to learn, store, and retrieve information about one's personal experiences that occur in daily life. This kind of memory usually includes information about the time and place of an event and detailed information about the event itself, i.e., your thoughts and feelings about the event.
Every action you think about is deemed essential or negotiable by Task Bracketing so think through the steps needed to take a particular action to get from zero to actually doing it.
This means you think about the event before you do it, while you're doing it, and after you complete it and all of the good things that will come to you because of it.
Visualize it and all the steps necessary to go from sitting in front of the TV to going for a walk or working out with weights or whatever you want to make a daily habit.
(4) Thinking about accomplishment of something sets in motion the neurons necessary to do the action.
So the first step is every day at the time you want the habit to occur, think about it. Visualize yourself doing it, how you will feel, what emotions will fill you as you undertake it and when you complete it.
Break it down into steps. First, you set out the shoes and socks you'll wear while working out. Second, you'll dress in the right clothes for the activity. What's the third step and the fourt, etc.?
(5) After days of Task Bracketing, just do it.
It may not take you days, but it it does, so be it. Think about it. Go through the steps in your imagination, then do it. Put those shoes and active wear on and go for it. As you undertake the task, think about it. How do you feel? Do you have a sense of accomplishment for finally doing it? When you finish, is there a sense of satisfaction and achievement? Glory in that. Give yourself a gold start.
(6) After taking action, immediately set the stage to do the same for tomorrow. (My idea!)
Set out your shoes, socks, work out clothes, and as you do so, recall that satisfying sense of accomplishment. Revel in it.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I hope I did justice to the information in the video about neuroplasticity and the brain's ability to learn. Let me know if you try these techniques. I know it worked for me so I hope it works for you too.
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Review - Momentum on Prime
We found Momentum starring Olga Kurylenko, James Purefoy, Morgan Freeman, Lee-Anne Summers, Penny Fuller, Hlomla Dandala, and Adam Marcus who headlined the cast.
Released in 2015 in the U.S., the film was directed by Stephen Campanelli and distributed by GoDigital.
According to what I read, the $20 million dollar film grossed only $789,406 at the box office. I have no idea how much it was earned as a digital release on all of the different streaming services.
STORYLINE
An assassin (James Purefoy) and his team pursue a professional thief (Olga Kurylenko) in Cape Town, South Africa which was primarily where it was filmed. The thief is actually an infiltration expert who is unmasked during a heist which puts her in the middle of a deadly conspiracy. Morgan Freeman is cast as the devious politician.
My 2¢
Overall, this was a fast-paced thriller with plenty of action sequences—hand to hand combat, shootouts, etc. The story wasn't anything new, but It held our interest. Kurylenko is believable as the gutsy heroine, and Purefoy is the suitably amoral hit man.
Momentum is currently streaming free on Amazon Prime. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't also pop up on Plex and/or Tubi.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
It's worth adding Momentum to your viewing list. In fact, it's better than some newer, bigger budgeted movies I've seen advertised.
May Pole Memories
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| Image by Goemedien, Pixabay |
When I was in 7th grade, someone at my elementary school decided getting a bunch of us girls to "dance" around a May Pole in a spring festival.
Two of my friends and I were "volunteered" for this event. Unlike a European May Day festival, there was no tree decorated with ribbons around which we were to dance.
One of the teachers stuck a white-painted, tall pole in the middle of the playground and attached long pink ribbon streamers to it.
Our moms were commissioned to make pink dresses with pink tulle overskirts for us.
Instead of enjoying recess each day for the weeks leading up to May 1, we had to practice going around the May Pole, weaving in and out in a serpentine manner, which was supposed to braid the ribbon streamers on the pole. We all thought it was ridiculous, but we didn't have any say in the matter.
On the big day, we did as we'd rehearsed, but a few girls didn't weave in and out. Instead of braided streamers, the May Pole ended up looking like someone had wadded a tangle of ribbons around the pole. By the time we finished our May Pole dance, we were giggling so much we could hardly stand up.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I'm pretty sure a May Pole event in a European country is vastly different than the one my friends and I remember. 😂 😂 😂
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