This is what you should tell her.
I love you, Mom. I know you did your best for me, and I'll do my best for you to show that your love and guidance helped me become a good person.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Happy Mother's Day to all who have loved a child and did her best to raise a compassionate, intelligent, unselfish adult who sows seeds of kindenss wherever he or she may go.
In watching a video about environmental health concerns, I mentioned it to my daughter. She asked, "Did they mention Jet Dry?"
I didn't know there was a controversy about Jet Dry and other dishwasher rinse aids. I immediately went to Google and was surprised by what I found.
CONTROVERSIAL INGREDIENTS
"The main controversy surrounding Jet Dry revolves around the possibility of residue remaining on dishes and the health implications of some of its ingredients."
Well, I've smelled Jet Dry on dishes which of course suggests that it's not completely rinsed away.
The other concerns are about the safety of ingredients like alcohol ethoxylate and glycol ether which are listed as possible components of Jet Dry's surfactants. Yes, possible, since the exact ingredients are top secret I guess.
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Now, Proctor and Gamble have stated that alcohol ethoxylate is safe, "some sources suggest that glycol ether, another potential surfactant, can be harmful, including causing birth defects."
Just as ingredients in foods are vague, i.e., "natural flavors," so are ingredients in popular cleaning products. How are we to make an intelligent decision on what we use if we don't know the possible ramifications of ingredients?
The debate about the safety of these products continues, but I decided to take the safer route and eliminate them from my dishwasher.
At this time, there are only 2 real options to using rinse aids.
1. Stop using them and see if you can live with possibly "spotty" glasses and plates.
2. Instead of using rinse aids, fill the dishwasher dispenser with ordinary white vinegar which will be dispensed as if it were rinse aid.
I chose to try the white vinegar alternative. So far, I haven't had a problem with the end result.
WHY THIS MATTERS
We take things for granted. We live in a chemical world, consuming food and beverages with ingredients that can have devastating effects on our health and using cleaning products that may have the potential to harm humans.
Is it any surprise that cancer and auto-immune diseases are rampant in our country?
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Let's question more and make smarter decisions about everything we put in our bodies, on our bodies, and in our environments.
The film is streaming free for subscribers on Amazon Prime, Roku, MGM, and YouTube Premium. You can also rent it on Amazon, Apple, and probably a few other places too.
To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed by the movie. It had some good parts, some unique ways to kill people, and some elements that made you wonder if it was inspired by the previous President's son's cocaine escapade in the White House.
In any event, here are my thoughts on this action movie starring Jason Statham, an actor known for high concept thrilling action movies. You'll also see Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bobby Naderi Minnie Driver, Jeremy Irons, Jemma Redgrave, and Phylicia Rashad along with many others in the cast.
So far, I don't believe he's outdone the first Transporter movie which had unqiue fight sequences and, dare I say, comedy? Each of his films seems to get more violent than the previous one. I guess it's Art imitating our increasingly violent times.
In The Beekeeper, the premise is an emotional one that's a hot button issue in our contemporary world: senior citizens victimized by online thieves intent on lining their own pockets—corporations with huge call centers—and stealing everything the elderly may have saved.
Every good action film needs an emotional reason for the violence. Right? That way we can root for the guy visiting justice on the evil-doers. In this movie, it's another "cut off the head of the snake" story where all who created the asset-stealing crooks must pay the piper.
That's all I need to say about the film because I don't want to give spoilers about the set pieces and how The Beekeeper goes about getting justice. In this case, Statham teaches all involved that "Crime does not pay." Especially if someone he loves is the victim in that scheme.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I won't say this is a feel good movie, but if you like high-octane action flicks with an emotionally resonant reason for the violence, you'll probably enjoy The Beekeeper. With the sequel on the horizon, this first flick will tell you if you'd like the second.
If you're like me and have Subscriptions to dozens of YouTube channels, do you still start YouTube with the Home Page opening?
That takes time, doesn't it?
There's an easier way to get going with YouTube by going straight to your Subscriptions page, and it's easy to do.
CHANGE HOME PAGE TO YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS PAGE
1. When you click on YouTube, it opens automatically at the Home Page. Go to the link displayed in the browser, which will be https://www.youtube.com and add this bit of code to that link:
/feed/subscriptions
which results in this URL:
https://www.youtube.com/feed/subscriptions
Now, with that URL displaying, bookmark it. Next time you go to YouTube, go to your bookmarks, click the one you made for YouTube, and the website will open on your Subscriptions page.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
A minute saved is a minute earned—or something to that effect. Have a great Monday!
Even when people are in bad situations, they cling to the status quo rather than change.
Socrates—yes, that ancient Greek—said, "The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new."
Yes, change is often inevitable. Would we better off not fighting it? Perhaps we'd be better to analyze the impending change to ascertain whether it will be bad or good before we start fighting against it.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I guess it's like the Serenity Prayer of bygone days. "God grant me the ability to accept the things that cannot be changed, the courage to change the things that can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference."
I'm afraid I lost track of some things I should have done in April—like sending my newsletter to subscribers and blogging each day.
I hope to get my April newsletter out to subscribers by Sunday. (I'll mark that task as "Better late than never.")
I'm trying to get ahead of the curve on the writing, and the blogging will take care of itself.
May is going to be a frantic month. We have a couple of high school graduations and 2 out of town trips. Then there are the painting, landscaping, and a few other projects to wrap up.
I'm afraid some of these things will carry over into June, and new projects will be added to the list. But let's get to the 99¢ sale.
THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE went on sale yesterday, and this book is also on Kindle Unlimited for you subscribers.
Please leave a review. The competition grows fiercer every day. Authors need a lot of good reviews to make it in today's world.
Susannah Quinn is a by-the-book Texas deputy who's about to have her life turned upside down! When the tall, dark, and too-darn-yummy FBI Special Agent D.E. Hogan strolls into the Sheriff's office, battle lines are drawn. To her consternation, she finds herself in a steamy battle of the sexes—and a battle of wills—that's hotter than a bowl of Texas chili!
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I'm looking forward to the weekend, and you probably are too. Here's wishing you good weather—none of that scary stuff involving storms—and relaxation. Get a fun book and your weekend will be complete.
Of course, I mean learning how to do something from a YouTube video. My Darling Hubby has repaired more mechanical things than I thought possible just by watching videos on how to do it.
So far, he's replaced sprinkler heads, repaired a sprinkler valve, figured out what was wrong with his pickup's engine fan that 4 trips to the dealer—cost about $1K—didn't properly diagnose it, replaced the blade on the riding lawn mower, and on and on.
I don't know how much he's saved us in repair bills, but I do know the cost of parts he ordered were a fraction of what a repair service wanted.
Me? I mostly watch videos for research, graphic design, using AI for graphics, and other information probably used mostly by authors.
I do find I go back to videos I watched for research to find a specific part of the video to make notes, and it takes time if you have to scroll from the beginning because many videos do not have time or subject matter stamps on them.
1. Go to a specific part of a video by adding a bit of code at the end of the URL.
There are 3 simple ways to do this. When you open the video, go to the URL in the address bar (must be the actual URL and not one from a playlist. At the end of the URL, type the & sign followed by t (for time) then the = sign and the time you want the video to start. For instance, to start at the 1 minute 5 second mark, you'd type: 1m1s then copy that URL
When you paste it into a address bar, the video will start at that time stamp. Example: Here's the URL for one of my videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay8ZSIW3aBI
To start it at the 27 second mark, I added: &t=27s to the end of the URL which made it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay8ZSIW3aBI&t=27s and then I copied that URL and saved it. I can now paste that URL into the address bar—without opening YouTube etc.—and the video will open at that time stamp.
Another example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y415Y-EqcUg&t=1m18s
The second way is even easier, but by reading the first way you'll understand what bit of code is added to make this happen.
This way is simply typing in the time and letting the YouTube feature add the code.
When playing a video and you reach the spot where you want to return to it again, pause it, go below the video to SHARE.
In the pop-up box, there's a little square that says START. Put a check mark in the box, and a time designation appears. If that's exactly the point to return to in the future, click copy, and the link with that time stamp as the start is saved to your clipboard. Paste it anywhere you want.
If you want to start a few seconds before or after that or whenever, simply change the time stamp YouTube popped up to what you want and then copy, etc.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I hope this helps. If you like YouTube tricks, keep visiting on Monday. I've learned a bunch that saves a lot of time. I intend to add these to my Monday feature. That's a wrap for Monday. Have a great week.
Most people cook either white potatoes or sweet potatoes, but not both together.
However, it's perfectly okay to roast them together. In fact, it can be quite delicious to have a side dish of two kinds of roasted potatoes.
Serve with a grilled steak or roasted pork or ham, and you'll be convinced.
This uses Idaho potatoes, commonly called baking potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Here's how you do it.
OVEN ROASTED DUET OF POTATOES
Ingredients
1 pound white potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed thoroughly, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 pound sweet potatoes, also unpeeled, scrubbed clean with any bad spots cut off, cut into 2-inch chunks
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dry thyme
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F (235°C).
While oven heats, pour oil onto a foil-covered baking sheet.
Add both types of potato chunks and coat with oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and thyme on the potatoes.
Place pan in oven. Every 15 minutes, turn potatoes so all surfaces get brown. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until tender.
Remove from oven, adjust the seasoning if needed, then sprinkle with the parsley to serve.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
With summer coming on, we cook out a lot. I love easy side dishes to accompany barbeque chicken or grilled steaks.
SUNFLOWERS FOR HER is Book 4 of Wildflowers of Texas series
KARA, WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR SUNFLOWERS FOR HER?
My husband and I always go on a trip for our anniversary. I went hunting for our next getaway – I wanted a small town with antique shops – and I found Jefferson, Texas.
This small town sits in the northeast corner of Texas, just a hop and a skip away from Louisiana.
When I discovered all the historic houses in this town, I flipped with excitement. I can’t even begin to tell you how many gorgeous homes have been turned into B&Bs. We ended up just strolling the streets to see them all.
This caused Jefferson, once a very booming city, to become almost a ghost town. In an instant, people’s lives were changed.
And that got me to thinking…
What would a town do if their city was threatened with extinction?
Enter Millie Stewart, the heroine of SUNFLOWERS FOR HER. A young lady who isn’t used to carrying heavy burdens and discovers that an entire town is depending on her to get things right. And because she loves her neighbors, she’s going to do everything she can to be what they need.
Read more about Jefferson, Texas, here: https://visitjeffersontexas.com/history .
BLURBING THE BOOK
Buckshot, Texas, 1885
After a horrific storm rips through her hometown, Millie Stewart finds that her neighbors are in dire need of help. She sets out to do everything she can, but when her brother leaves her high and dry, she has to operate Stewart Mercantile on her own. The town is depending on her.
John Fletcher—smart, reserved, and mysterious—comes to town, sets up shop, and brings with him the knowledge needed to clear the log jam on the river, giving everyone a chance at survival.
John is a tad scary in Millie’s opinion. Never mind that he’s handsome. Never mind that he’s generous. He makes her feel things. He makes her heart skip a beat, and suddenly, with barely a warning, she’s in love. Only he doesn’t seem to return the sentiment.
Her brother returns, but only to rob her blind. A little too mad and a whole lot tougher, Millie sets out to find him and give him what-for. Little does she know, someone is chasing her.
John won’t let Millie go to battle alone, especially since she’s the reason his heart is beating again. Can he get to Millie in time? Or will her ne’er-do-well brother’s villainy take everything John holds dear?
Kara O’Neal is an award-winning author of over thirty historical romances. Humor, family, love, and romance take center stage in her novels, and her characters have been touted as “real, complex, and down-to-earth”. Her books are available in print and ebook.
When not writing, she’s a teacher, but she’s always a mother to three talented children, and the wife of a man quite worthy of being called “hero”.
Telling stories is her passion, and she does so with memorable characters and unique plots certain to keep you reading late into the night!
Visit Kara at these popular websites:
Website: www.karaoneal.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/KaraONeal84/
X: https://twitter.com/KaraONealAuthor
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kara-o-neal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveandletters7/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7278350.Kara_O_Neal
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
The weekend is here, and SUNFLOWERS FOR HER sounds like a great weekend escape. It's available in ebook and print at most ebook retailers. Why not get a copy today?
Oh, for you "Amazon only" readers, just click here for SUNFLOWERS FOR HER.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I'll keep you posted about these wide-leg pants. I think they'll be on sale for a while so maybe I'm ahead of the trendy sale for once.
Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.
Although based on true events with scriptwriter Vojin Gjaja drawing on his own experiences, Heart of Champions is largely fictional.
The story follows the usual pattern of underdog sports team composed of disparate members carting around a ton of emotional baggage which prevents their coming together as a team and winning.
When hard-as-nails Coach Murphy, a tough Army vet played by Shannon, is hired to turn the rowing team into winners, he manages to whip them into shape with his hard-edged "No man is an island" philosophy.
As is usual, the coach's methods offend the college's well-heeled donor (David James Elliott) who demands his son captain the team.
The water scenes are beautiful. I believe it was filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The setting is supposed to be the fictional Belston University—no geographic location is actually named. Belston is supposed to be a top Ivy League school.
If this were a novel, the target audience would probably be Young Adult/New Adult/College/high school because that would be the generation with the story's growing pains, angst of young love, and kids who have too much versus kids who come from nothing.
It's supposed to be a feel-good movie, and there are scenes that create that feeling. However, the ending which one expects to be of winning the title because of lessons learned and hard work paying off isn't really shown.
I found it to be an okay flick but a little disappointing at the end. Of course, I'm not a newly-minted adult so my expectations for story are probably higher. Don't let my ho-hum review deter you from watching it.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If you're a member of the target audience for this kind of story, you'll probably like this film because it will speak to you on a more personal level than it did for me. If you do watch it, leave a comment and tell me what you thought.
Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.
I think that's true. Life tests us. Some of us get tested more than others.
The thing I've noticed as I've gone through life is that people who have easy lives with few problems eventually get something awful that happens to them.
Those who have had it easy often crumple in the face of disaster. I've seen it happen. There are no shortcuts to get through heartbreak and bad times.
The only way to survive is to toughen up and go straight through, hoping to reach the other side where acceptance—if not peace—may be found.
You have to fight to survive when you fail, when your heart breaks, and when you lose someone precious and dear to you.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If you survive, it's because you toughened as you fought to endure. In the end, you'll be stronger than before. You may not think you possess bravery, but you may find you're tougher than you ever thought.
Doodle is a free app—a scheduling tool—that can make it much less frustrating, and it's easy to use.
It simplifies organizing meetings and events by allowing users to create polls to find the best time for everyone involved.
You create a poll with date and time options and share the poll link with those who want to participate.
QUICK GUIDE TO USING DOODLE
1. Dying Easter eggs the day before Easter Sunday.
2. Decorating Easter baskets with pink or green celephane "straw" and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup "eggs" and Peeps and jelly beans.
3. Going to church wearing my new Easter dress, white shoes, white lace socks, and a frilly white hat. In the South, that's what little girls wore.
4. Singing more songs than usual in church.
5. Greeting everyone after services then rushing home to help put Easter dinner on the table.
6. Easter dinner: baked ham covered with pineapple rings and a brown sugar glaze that makes my mouth water as I write this.
7. Baked sweet potatoes, green beans, salad, and potato salad too. No desserts because we were allowed to eat our Easter candy as dessert.
8. Running around the backyard in an Easter egg hunt. We had to be quick or the dog would get to the eggs before we found them.
9. Eating so much Easter candy that we were nearly sick and didn't want any candy for many weeks thereafter.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I loved everything about Easter—Sunday School, church service, happy days full of laughter and fun. Oh, to be six again and carefree.
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I've been trying to create a "cup" recipe that offers the flavorings of a Cinnamon Roll since my Darling Hubby loves those.
I want it to be easy to make, like my Chocolate Cake in a Cup, so there wouldn't be a dozen of the delicious buns around to tempt me.
Also, I want to make it in a cup, in the microwave, like my Chocolate Cake in a Cup.
Today, I offer the end result of my experiment. I have an idea for another treat in a cup, but that's for another time. I must first perfect the recipe. This one has the tasty cinnamon-pecans-raisin combination. I also made a glaze that I poured on top which adds to the gooey goodness.
Darling Hubby loved it. I hope you will too.
JOAN'S CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE IN A CUP
Ingredients
8 tablespoons self-rising flour
3 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons raisins + a few extra
2 tablespoons chopped pecans + a few extra
1 egg
3 tablespoons cooking oil or melted butter
4-5 tablespoons milk
4 coffee cups or mugs that are microwave safe - if you want larger cakes, use only 2 cups
Directions
In a large measuring cup, mix all dry ingredients including the 2 tablespoons each of raisins and nuts.
In a smaller cup or bowl, beat the egg, add the oil and sugar, mix well.
Combine the liquid mixture with the dry ingredients. Blend well.
Pour equal amounts of the batter into the 4 cups. The extra raisins and nuts? Poke them into the batter. The ones you added in the mixture probably will sink to the bottom as the cakes cook. Adding a few to the top gives a taste of them with every bite.
Place in microwave and bake for 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes (Depends power of your microwave.) The top shouldn't be sticky when you lightly touch it with a fingertip.
Remove from microwave. Serve as is, or piece the tops with a toothpick in several places and add one of the following: simple powdered sugar glaze, 1 pat of butter, 1 tablespoon heavy cream, a dusting of powdered sugar, or butter cream frosting piled as high as you like. *G*
I place the cup on its saucer and serve it that way. Serve warm or cold.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I hope you try this recipe. If you do, give me some feedback in a Comment. Did it give a cinnamon coffee cake taste experience? How do you think it could be better?
