30 Day Challenge of Change

My 30 Challenge of Change begins November 5, 2012

I must start by saying that I have unhappy for a while - actually a long time - about how things have been gong in "my world".  The past couple of days I have been thinking very hard on this - trying to decipher and "nail down" just where all the problems lie.  Last night a friend posted one of those inspiration quotes -

I "LIKED" the quote and moved on but my mind kept wondering back to it.  I knew what the quote meant in my life and could think of many times that I had "put up with something and ended up with that being the norm".  This morning it hit me that this in fact was the summary of all of my "problems" that had been bugging me.  Many, many of the facets of my life that bothered me - could be summed up with these very words and could be traced back to me.  And if my life was going tyo change I was going to have to change ME!

Now before someone screams "No - don't do it" I must stress that I mean a change in the things I do, how I do them, and to some extent how I approach them.  I took a long hard look at the things that bothered me, the things I saw as an albatross around my neck, and the things that I wanted out of life.

I found that I had:

1) A ton of projects not completed
2) A ton of projects not started
3) A garage full of boxes from one and two moves ago (and I am looking to move again!)
4) House chores that needed to be done
5) Work chores that needed to be done
6) A house full of stuff that I don't need or use
7) Talents not being used or enjoyed
8) Working, Working, Working - rushing home to stay there instead of going to do something fun but hoping someone will call for a fun night.
9) A life that was slipping by

Why am I allowing this to happen?  Because I am letting the burden of all those undone and unrealized things smother me into doing nothing and "what I put up with, I was ending up with".  I have a good friend that has started her own challenge, a challenge to get herself out of her comfort zone, and she is doing great!  She is an inspiration to me and I hope I do as well as she has.

So today I am issuing myself a 30 Day Challenge of Change.  Everday, for the next 30 Days I am going to:

1) Finish something
2) Start something
3) Unpack a box
4) Do a house chore
5) Do a work chore
6) Get RID of something (meaning give it away or sell it)
7) Throw something away
8) Clean something (this includes cleaning out drawers and cabinets)
9) Exercise a talent
10) Exercise me
11) Take 15 minutes for ME
12) One night a week I am going to get out of this house and go do something fun, rather than set here night after night waiting on something fun to happen.

Now my first rule is to do 1-12 everyday.............BUT my second rule is that I know I may falter (Thanksgiving is in this mix of 30 days) so I will just have to do 2X my list the day before!

I have made a chart, it is now posted on the fridge with a pen ready to start checking things off tomorrow!  Look out, 30 days is a LONG time, but we will see how things turn out then.

The Power, The Convenience, and The Pitfalls of Texting

The Power, The Convenience, and The Pitfalls of Texting..............Wow!  All that over a bunch of words, letters, and characters?  Well I believe all three are true.

Texting is fast becoming the number one form of communication for people under the age of 40, and the "older generation" (myself included) are falling in line.  According to the Pew Internet Research Center 73% of adult cell phone owners use the function at least occasionally.

I personally have been using texting for a number of years, in the beginning (and to some extent now) it was not my preference but an action born of necessity.  My eldest child was driving a truck in the oilfield and the area he was working in had "spotty at best" cell service.  We would try to talk on the phone and one phone call would turn into 5 or 6 calls with him trying to find another hill to get service from.  We often resorted to texting just to get an uninterrupted message across and save both of us a lot of frustration!  Spotty service combined with his working strange/odd hours made this our preferred means of communication.

I viewed this means of communication on two levels............If his phone was in his hand and he wasn't busy - we had a "conversation"; if he was busy or sleeping I "left him a note" that he could answer when he could.

Personally I view all texting in that fashion today.  Whether I am asking a question, reminding someone, sharing something that happened, or just want to say hi..............in my mind I am passing a note to be answered when the person is able to read it.

If they are able at the time they receive the text, we can have a conversation.  Otherwise I just wait.

What about when they DON'T answer?  Well I deal with that also, sometimes better than others..........my reaction depends on WHO I am texting, lol, and to some extent WHAT and WHEN I am texting.

If I text my daughter during the day and she doesn't answer I figure that she is working...........if I don't get an answer in 24 hours then I am not happy because I know, that as a norm, she lives with that phone in her hand and that she is just ignoring what I am saying.  My eldest son answers texts in his own sweet time, no matter WHO they are from while my youngest son will answer within minutes no matter what the question or message is!

Pitfalls in texting occur often.  We all shudder at the horror stories of "auto-correct" that have us stuttering and stammering after we hit SEND and realize what we have just typed.  Another pitfall is delay, my daughter has been bailed out more than once when we have compared phone screens to see either a "lack" of a message OR "times" - Honest to Pete - she sent me a message one time that took SIX hours to reach my phone and she was less than a mile away when she sent it!

Response or the lack of response is a major pitfall.........but do you respond to everything?  Sorry I don't have the answer for that, it is a judgement call on the part of part of the receiver.  Do I think you need to respond to every LOL or Smiley face?  Probably not, that puts you in the old trap of "you hang up first - no you hang up first"  Somebody has to hang up the "phone".  BUT you have to be sensitive enough to know that the other person would like some acknowledgement that their "note" has been read.

GOOD Communication requires several things to happen, whether it is Verbal or Non Verbal.  A sender sends out a message, the message is received - the receiver then has to send a message BACK to the original sender so that they know it has been received.

So unless "the teacher takes the note up" aka it is lost in cyberspace, open the note - read it and let the other person know that you got it.  You may never fully understand the importance of the note they left you but just remember they THOUGHT it was important enough to leave for you.

Avocado Chicken Tower

I hate doing two recipes in a row, but dang the past couple of weeks have been WILD to say the least...........add that to the fact that my cousin Kasey just screamed at me for this recipe and it took me forever to track it down.......I decided to SHARE it with ya'll.

Now I lay NO claim what so ever to this being an original of mine, in fact it is the detective work/trial and error of a friend, Prairie McChristian Burgess!  Her Blog is Prairie-Fire and it is a great Blog!  Prairie and I met in graduate school, she was a young whipper snapper fresh off her Bachelors and I was an ole fart knocking the rust off the gears in my brain.

She and her husband loved this particular dish at Saltgrass Steakhouse and she set out to replicate it.  I have never tried it at Saltgrass but I LOVE the recipe she came up with and I take every opportunity to make it!

Avocado Chicken Tower 

by Prairie McChristian Burgess

To make: Boil chicken 1-2 chicken breasts (depending on size) with 1 med onion, 2 peeled carrots, 2 large garlic cloves (cracked), 1/2 cup chicken broth, water to cover the chicken, 1 tablespoon cumin, salt & pepper. Once chicken is cooked through, set aside to cool. After cooled, shred the chicken and pack shredded chicken into the bottom of the container.

Pico: 1.5 cup diced, seeded tomatoes, 1/4 cup diced red onion, 1 tablespoon diced, seeded jalapeño, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, juice from 2 limes, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Mix ingredients together in a bowl to mesh flavours. Pack into the tower, putting as little juice in as possible.

Finally, chop 1-2 avocados (depending on size). I like big chunks. Sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice and pack into the tower to finish it off. Once everything is in the container, put the lid on and place it avocado side down in the fridge. I make  these the night before serving. To get a good tower to stand you need a fair amount of time in the "mold".  However, if you want to push it, lol, and if it is just for the house...........it will be fine, you are going to "bust" the tower pretty quick anyway!

NOTE:  Since I HATE cleaning the fridge, I put the upside down towers in a pan, I never had one leak BUT I would rather be safe than sorry!

ALSO - I doubled the recipe this time, the recipe above does ONE tower which is plenty for 2-3 people eating it as a meal.

For the "mold" I buy the tall containers, these are Food Club and I use them over and over again.  But the beauty of these are that if I take this treat somewhere and I don't want to be bothered with bringing it home, it is no big deal!

To serve: Undo the lid, place the serving plate on the tower and flip it. It should come out of the container in a standing position that you can then knock over after you have wow-ed your company. Serve with chips or crackers. 

Lazy Gal's Chicken and Jalapeno Dressing

Cleaning Out the Freezer - the adventures and new discoveries that it can bring!

I am on a mission to clean out my freezer, partly because I know there are things in there old enough to eat me (or at least hurt me) and partly because it needs to be defrosted badly! So for the last several days I have been making a point of eating all things frozen! For the record, southwest eggs rolls are just not good after two years no matter what the box says!

This morning I woke up with a craving for chicken and dressing, that quickly was amended with the thought of Jalapeño Dressing! Relax if you have never heard of it, I kinda think my mom made the recipe up by just adding jalapeños to her regular cornbread dressing. Since she came up with it, we eat dressing year round! Normally she bakes a chicken or a Cornish hen to go with it, unfortunately I wanted to eat this today and it takes a while to thaw a chicken so that you can bake it........BUT......Hallelujah! I remembered that I had chicken fajita meat in the freezer that was just going to ruin because I don't like chicken fajitas. You are probably asking yourself why in the heck does she have it then? Good reason, it was in one of those grocery store bonus packs, I got two helpings of beef and the helping of chicken for the price of the beef...........I had planned to give the chicken to my daughter who LIKES chicken fajitas, but I kept forgetting!

I always keep cornbread in the freezer, since I am usually cooking for just me a pan is WAY MORE than I will eat. Between cooking times I just get a slice or two out whenever I want cornbread and it's handy for making dressing. Let's just jump to everything being thawed...........

Put your meat in large pan, add water and seasoning, then boil..........it took mine about 15 minutes for me to be sure all of the chicken was done! Save chicken AND water/broth, you will use it all later!

The next step is to make your dressing. I crumbled my cornbread in the bag it was in, I have a food sealer that I LOVE but prior to that I used a large ziploc to store and crumble it in. You can use your hands or a rolling pin, which ever is easier for you. Pour it all in a large bowl, or if you are cooking it in a roaster pan you can do it there...........one note, if you are using the roaster spray it with cooking spray first.

Add your seasonings here, one note of caution I would hold off on the salt for right now. The chicken, the broth, and the cornbread are going to have salt already in them and it may be enough for you.

Sauté onions, celery, and jalapeños in the butter until the onions are clear. Add to the dry mix and STIR!

Next add your egg, I usually mix mine slightly before adding. Guess what? Time to STIR again. Then add your broth (hold off on the water at this point, you just want to get everything mixed well at this point).

Now it is time to taste! You may want to add more salt at this time, or if your more like me a LOT more Sage!

Now here is where you are going to have to judge, but believe me – you want a mixture that looks more like a soup because the cornbread mix is going to soak up a LOT of that liquid and cooked dry dressing is just not good! In fact I usually wait a few minutes and give it another stir before I decide to add more liquid or pop it into the oven!

Add your chicken, since I was using fajita meat I did chop it some because I didn't want big pieces of meat to deal with. This recipe fits a 9X13 pan, but since I forgot until time to pour it in the pan that my good glass one is on loan..........I used two dishes!

Now if the finished product looks a little “green” it is because I LOVE Sage and you can't really add it later, so what I made has a LOT more Sage in it then the recipe below.

Add some green beans, a hot roll ( I cheat and use the Sisters frozen hot rolls and heat 1 or 2 at a time for just me) and you have an awesome meal!

Hope you enjoy my Lazy Gal's Chicken and Jalapeño Dressing, all in all I think it turned out pretty good for an experiment and I did clear some space in the freezer. I would love to hear your comments!

Lazy Gal's Chicken and Jalapeño Dressing

Chicken

1 ½ lbs chicken fajita meat (mine had onions and peppers already in it)

1 tsp poultry seasoning

Just enough water to boil

Meat in pan, add water and seasoning, boil..........it took about 15 minutes for me to be sure all of the chicken was done! Save chicken AND water!

Dressing Mix

(note: I am not sure about subbing in stove top or some pre-made mix like that but heck if you want I guess you can try!)

2 cups of Cornbread – crumbled fine

1 cup of Dressing mix – I use the unseasoned that comes in a bag, simply because I think even the best cornbread dressing needs a little regular bread crumbs in it.

Medium onion – chopped

3-4 stalks of celery – chopped

3-4 jalapeños - chopped

½ stick of butter

1 tsp of poultry seasoning

2 tsp of sage – this is what I use when I am serving to others

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 raw eggs

4 cups of Chicken broth – I started with the broth water from boiling my chicken fajita meat, then went to canned but be sure to heat the canned before you put it in.

Water – depending on how much chicken flavor you like, you may want to add some water.

Strain your chicken but catch the broth in a cup. Sauté onions, celery, and jalapeños in the butter. While this is cooking mix the crumbled cornbread, dry dressing mix, and seasonings together. Pour the veggie and butter into the dry and mix, add egg (I usually beat the egg a little before I do this) – Mix well and quickly! Add saved broth, mix again. Then add your chicken and pour it into the pan.

Bake at 350 for about 30, minutes in a sprayed pan, or until slightly brown on top.............I also usually stir the mix about halfway through the cooking time.

Learning Curve and a Fried Brain

Over the past four years I have come a LONG way when it comes to learning about technological things and in particular my knowledge of computers and software/application usage.

I fondly remember going to the Tri-State Fair when I was in high school, one "booth" I visited every year was the one where they analysed your signature.  Your wrote your name on a card, paid a dollar, and they fed it through the computer.  In all truth, I did not care what the machine said about my personality, I just wanted to watch the machine shuffle through the cards and all the lights!  The machine no longer makes an appearance at the fair.........guess it doesn't fascinate people any more, or maybe they just can't buy parts for it.

34 years ago I trekked off to college at West Texas A&M University, bright eyed and filled with anticipation.  Until that time I have NEVER seen in person any type of computer besides the "card" one at the fair.  At college I met people talking about computers (still a pretty limited number) and I remember going the Kilgore building and seeing a room FULL of reel to reel machines that I was told were part of the University's computer system.

It has been just over 10 years ago that I got my first computer, and Boy have I come a LONG way!  Or at least I thought I had until these past few weeks!  After recently upgrading to a Linux system the race has been ON!  lol, I am not sure what Place I am in now but I know that I am miles from where I was six months ago!

Just a few weeks ago I started Blogging and I went from one Blog to FOUR!  Well heck, they all needed Facebook pages too.......but that was easy enough, Facebook I know - or so I thought.  Enter Ad Sense, hey it cost nothing, they post ads on your pages and IF someone buys from that ad, you get a fee........btw, I have made nothing yet but who knows.

In one of my rambling thoughtful moments I remembered that there were ways to make money as an "affiliate" for companies and posting their items on your pages...........BAM!  I became an Amazon Affiliate!  Oh, I needed a web page! (I did spend a little money, under $20, on this because I KNEW that building a web page was more than I wanted to tackle!).  Web page now up and running - Texas Treasures and Jewels , it is still a work in progress but I am learning more daily.  Did I mention I also signed up for a 30 day course on Marketing on the Internet?  More fried brain cells but dang I have learned a LOT!

I also added an Amazon aStore - Texas Treasures and Jewels, to my list!  It allows me to offer many, many more books and items than I can put on the website!

To date I have not made enough as an Amazon Associate to buy a hamburger but it is still EARLY, and remember it didn't cost me anything but time and a few brain cells.  Still working on getting to be an Abe Book and an Audible Associate but I might need a nap before I continue with that!

Remember when I said that I "knew" Facebook, lol, well I have learned a LOT more!  Just got it figured out how to link Facebook and Blog pages.........well almost figured out, I can't get this blog linked to my personal page but I am waiting for a "reply" on that problem.

The moral of this story is twofold............ 1) If I seem to stammer and stutter and appear confused, bear with me - remember the fried brain cells?

2)  Smoke signals and chiselling words in stone used to be more my style, and if I can do it - YOU CAN TOO!

Scary Thoughts......Shudder.......... Christmas is Coming!

NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are only 105 shopping days until Christmas!

(I linked a "shopping days" clock for you if you want to keep up with it) 

That's right folks, the clock is ticking!  How many present have you purchased and stashed away?  Going for the home made Christmas this year?  Just how many of those have you finished?  How many have you even started?

Well if your like me the answer at this time of the year is USUALLY - None, None, and more None!  **BIG sigh** There is not a self motivated bone in my body!  I am a TOTAL procrastinator!  As my mother says, I will probably be late to my OWN funeral!

That being said, I do USUALLY have a clue what I am going to buy for at least one person and occasionally I have an idea where I am going to get it!  This year I consider myself leaps and bounds ahead of the shopping game because I ACTUALLY have one present bought!  The only problem I will face down the road is remembering where I stashed it!  Hey, it's a family tradition!  My mom once stashed a present so well it was three YEARS before we came across it!

I also do a lot of home made gifts but they DO have to wait, I make millionaire candy and I promise nobody would want it if I made it now! lol, I do put it in the freezer but I prefer to make it closer to time so that I can be sure that the nuts are still good.

Right now I am sure you are ready to string me up for bringing thoughts of Christmas shopping to your head...............but I do have an excuse............I work part time in retail and last night I had a customer purchase SEVERAL sets of pj's and she wanted Gift Receipts so that they could exchange them if necessary..........................**banging head on keyboard**...............this is a PROBLEM for not only the gift recipient but also the store!  Christmas may be ONLY 105 days away but in that time one thing is almost certain to happen................................we are probably going to put THOSE pj's on clearance and in 105 days if we even have any left it is probably NOT going to be the size they want.

Now I TOTALLY understand the need and desire to shop early.............I too hate the crowds and with my budget I REALLY NEED to space my shopping out.  But if your need is to space out your purchases I STRONGLY suggest GIFT CARDS!

There are some that argue Gift Cards are an impersonal gift and I can see their point............BUT..............I also strongly believe that the CHOICE of an appropriate Gift Card can be a VERY PERSONAL gift!  How so?  Well if the gift giver really knows the person they know what they like, love, and want!

One of my FAVOURITE gifts last Christmas?  Well a Gift Card for Amazon! (yes you can click on it the link and get your gift cards now..............especially if I am on your gift list....hint...hint)

 Yeah Boy! My daughter-in-law made my day!  Can you say Kindle downloads?
If you order from Amazon you can get the cards as low as $10 (They have a ton of books for .99 and 1.99) or all the way up to $2,000!

If you are considering giving someone a Kindle this Christmas you can do that, but you might want to include a Gift Card.........there are lots of "extras" they might want and ones that they SHOULD have..........like a screen protector, a case, etc.

One thing to note, if you do choose to purchase Gift Cards..........be SURE of a few things:

1)  The gift recipient actually does use that store/product.  (I got a gift card once for Pet Smart..........only problem was that at that time I did NOT have a pet!)

2) Check on how long the card is valid and if they start charging any fees (deductions from the card) after a certain period of time. (I have had frustrated people at my register because after calling we found out they had far less money on their card due to these "time" fees)

3)  Be sure they have access to that particular store.  (I have a friend who got a very nice Gift Card to Macy's............only problem for her was that she lives FIVE hours away from the nearest Macy's!  Online shopping options do help with this but you need to be sure they have that option also!)

4)  If the Gift Card amount is NOT printed on the front, either include the receipt or be sure to write it on the card with a Sharpie.  (Nothing more embarrassing then having to ask "how much is it"!)

5) Refer to number 4!  I strongly suggest that you include the receipt!  Most places offer a gift receipt that you can use, if not HANG ON to your purchase receipt.  This is especially important if you purchase the Gift Card from a kiosk that has cards from many different company's.  (seriously folks, I purchased one a few years back for a gift and the checker FORGOT to activate it!  Thank goodness I still had the receipt or else I would have given the person a $25 piece of worthless plastic!..............well they could have made guitar pick out of it............but I don't think they play the guitar)

(The picture is pretty self explanatory but if you need a little more detail on these instructions you can visit femmefrugality )

Now I didn't mean to make this all about Amazon, but rather to illustrate a point.  If you are buying Christmas FOUR months in advance Gift Cards can be great and a personal option for you!  No need for a return and it always fits!...........................................and if they DO play the guitar..........they can always make pick out of the cards when they are done!

Bra Fitting..............Cont.

Back to the world of Bra Fitting and all of the surprises that it brings!

I promised you “highs” and I will deliver but note there is one that will have you shaking your head, lol, and another that will make you want to hurt someone!

Many, many times I do bra fittings on customers who have brought family or friends along to help...............sometimes that is a good thing.............and sometimes it is NOT! Sometimes it makes for a “funny” and other times I have just wanted to SLAP the “helper”!

FUNNY:

I looked up one evening as a woman and two men came into the department...........to make a long story short.............she was a waitress at the two men's favorite diner, she had worn nothing but a sports bra for thirty years and the two men (yes they were a couple) had convinced her it was time for her to get a REAL bra! The “expert helper” had done Drag Shows for many years so he had a LOT of advice on the style of bra that she needed and how it should fit...................we did agree somewhat on fit but style was a different matter! He was firmly convinced that because of her size that she needed a Wire Bra for support, I did agree but I kept arguing that she should go first with a Wire Free! My stance was that after 30 years in a Sports Bra she would feel like she had been encased in an Iron Maiden after an hour or two in a Wire Bra. Sadly he won the fight and the woman purchased TWO Wire Bras.............my money is on the fact that she is probably back in her “Comfy” Sports Bra now!

SLAP:

I had a 16 year old in with her Mom, I got the daughter measured and we began trying on bras. The young lady was choosing bras that were cute but ones that actually FIT and gave her SUPPORT! The Mom kept bringing in Demi and Push Up bras for her to try on. Finally she came in with another “batch” and the daughter (who looked like she was about to cry) said........................

“Mom, I don't like these, I feel like I am going to fall out of them..........I want something that actually holds me in”

The Mom grabbed her shoulders and literally YELLED in her face..................”YOU are NEVER going to get a man if you keep covering those up! You have NOTHING going for you and if you have any hope of finding a guy to take you your going to have to put those things out there so that they WANT THEM enough to put up with you!”

OMG...........sometimes I SO WISH it was legal to BEAT a customer! The poor young thing left with three “put them out there” bras and tears running down her face.

FEEL GOOD:

Many people, particularly men, may not believe it but there are bra fittings that can make you feel good about yourself and the very fact that you were there to do that job. The one I remember most happened several years ago, and I still get that “feel good” feeling every time I think about it!

I was working the evening shift and about 6pm I had an older lady come in to the department. She was in a wheelchair, shoulders slumped over and head down...........no trace in the world of any happiness on her face or body. With her were two women who seemed almost as sad as she was, I found out later one was her daughter and the other a granddaughter. They had come in to get her a new bra, I could tell quickly that SHE did NOT want to be there.

I talked to her, measured her, and we began the hunt! During the fitting I found out that the woman had had a mastectomy a year before and with the exception visits to the doctor (which was why they were in Amarillo that day) she had not left the house in the past year. Her self imposed seclusion was to such an extent that after they left the store they were going to a drive up to get food to go because she refused to go into a restaurant. Okay insert some tears here because I was wanting to cry at the time!

We tried just a few bras before I hit on the MAGIC one! It was the Playtex Cool Lace bra, and it even had a liner in it that she could insert her prostheses! WhooHoo! 

 I could go into more details, but instead I will end this tale with the facts –

When checking out – the sad, dejected, slumped over woman who had come in less than an hour before.........................................was setting up straight, smiling, and laughing! Her attitude was reflected back in her daughter and granddaughter, they were laughing and joking as well!

As I was sacking her purchases she turned to her daughter and said “do you really want to eat in the car? I would like to go in somewhere and eat!” The daughter quickly agreed and they turned to leave, discussing as they went what restaurant they would try............

They had gotten to the aisle when the daughter came back and gave me a HUG.........she whispered “Thank You, I believe you just gave me my mom back”........time to cry again! I often think of this woman, I hope she still has that smile on her face and that she is still getting out of the house.

Well I have been doing Bra Fittings for seven years now and OH the stories I could tell, lol, but I will save those for another day!

Women Writing About Texas!

Texas, it's a whole different country and it has some of the greatest women around! - okay I am from Texas, actually sixth generation Texan, so I am a little prejudiced! :)

Just heard the news that about a new book - Women and the Texas Revolution

"Historically, wars and revolutions have offered politically and socially disadvantaged people the opportunity to contribute to the nation (or cause) in exchange for future expanded rights. Although shorter than most conflicts, the Texas Revolution nonetheless profoundly affected not only the leaders and armies, but the survivors, especially women, who endured those tumultuous events and whose lives were altered by the accompanying political, social, and economic changes.
While there is wide scholarship on the Texas Revolution, there is no comparable volume on the role of women during that conflict. Most of the many works on the Texas Revolution include women briefly in the narrative, such as Emily Austin, Suzanna Dickinson, and Emily Morgan West (the Yellow Rose), but not as principal participants. Women and the Texas Revolution explores these women in much more depth, in addition to covering the women and children who fled Santa Anna’s troops in the Runaway Scrape, and examining the roles and issues facing Native American, black, and Hispanic women of the time."

Chapter 2 -  Tejanas: Hispanic Women on the Losing Side of the Texas Revolution, is written by Dr. Jean Stuntz, a professor at West Texas A&M University  

Jean teaches Texas history, U.S. women's history, Spanish Southwest, historical methods, U.S. history surveys, and world history. She is involved in professional history organizations like the Texas State Historical Association, the Southern Association for Women Historians, and West Texas Historical Association as a board member and the book review editor for their Year Book. She was President of H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online in 2010. She was Faculty Senate resident for 2009-2010.

She is actively involved in research and publication. She is author of Hers, His, and Theirs: Community Property Law in Spain and Early Texas, (2005), which won the La Presido Bahia and TOMFRA awards. She also authored a chapter on Minta Holmsley in Texas Women on the Cattle Trails, (2006), winner of the Liz Carpenter award, and her articles include "Women of the Texas Revolution" in the Social Studies Texan, (2007) and "Prairies to Progress: Women on the Texas Panhandle Frontier" also in the Social Studies Texan (2009). She also has articles in the West Texas Historical Association Year Book. She is currently working on a book about women pioneers of the Panhandle and would love to hear your stories.

Now before you judge Jean as been some stuffy ole History professor, you must realize she has a "lighter side", in fact she does have a work of Fiction that is in it's second or third (I can't keep up) printing!  It's called The Alamo and Zombies

I had to buy two copies, my youngest son STOLE mine and would not return it!

Bra Fitting – Horrors, Laughs, and Highs

Well I have been on a serious note of late, but after working last night I decided I had to share a part of my job that I have to laugh about.............sometimes it is really funny and other times I just have to laugh to keep from screaming!

I have been working part time at a national chain retail store for seven years now. It started when my daughter and I moved to Amarillo in 2005. We took a day to go shopping and it was in this store that she found the majority of clothes that she liked. I knew that the big department stores allowed their employees to purchase merchandise at a discount so I applied as Christmas help..............yes I know that was 7 years ago, but they keep putting me on the schedule so I keep showing up!

At my interview I was hired and the Women's manager said that she would like to put me in the Lingerie Department if that was okay.............I said fine, as long as I didn't have to model anything! I thought, bras and panties? Heck yeah, I have been a girl a long time – I got this! Little did I know!

Let me start with the fact that the company I work for has spent a TON of money to develop a perfect Bra Fit training/guide..........heck first rattle out of the box I had to do EIGHT hours of training! I also got really lucky to work with a wonderful lady – Nancy Bennett, who had been doing this for years! Heck she didn't even have to measure, she could look at a woman and tell her what size and style of bra she needed!

I cannot help but smile when I think of Nancy, a little short, white headed, feisty gal who LOVED football! I remember one night in the break room there was a game on the television, one of the kids hollered at a player for making a bad play............Nancy informed him that it was not a bad play, he was making the play he should have made. The innocent young man smarted off and said “and what makes YOU think that was a good play”? Oh man...........Nancy laid into to him with the EXACT reason the play was called, the duties of that player, and who actually screwed up the play. I had to laugh on both her lecture and the look of shock on the kids face! I walked over to him and said “Son, never mess with the daughter of a high school and college football coach and the mother of a college football player!” I so miss that little bantam rooster!

Now I have digressed (again)! Let's talk about bra fittings! As I said earlier, I had a LOT of training both official and from Nancy and with experience I have learned even more. This blog is about some of the EXPERT ADVICE I have gotten from customers and some of the HIGHS from a great bra fitting!

 

Let's begin with some REAL Bra Fitting Knowledge!

For a Bra to fit properly it MUST fit in THREE categories!

BAND – yep, that is the “number” part of the size: 32, 34, 36, 38, and so on...........NO we do not have bra bands in size 37 and if that is what you measure we are just going to have to try a 36 and a 38 band size to see which works BEST for your body type!

If the Band is too tight then it is going to be uncomfortable and in some cases actually rub blisters or rub you raw!

If the Band is too loose then one of two things is going to happen – Either the back will ride up and the front will “sag” - aka NO SUPPORT! OR your boobs will actually fall out of the bottom of the bra in front – again NO SUPPORT!

CUP – yep, that is the “letter” part of the size: A, B, C, D, and so on..........YES some companies do have ½ cup size but not very many and we do not carry them. And NO you are not weird or deformed if one of your breast is larger than the other one, 95% of women do NOT have two breasts that are the EXACT same size!

A little known fact, if you are Right Handed, the odds are that your right Breast will be larger! The fact is that the Breast is a Muscle!

Why does the cup need to fit? Well it needs to Support the breast AND the Breast needs to be in the cup! If the cup is to small then you end up looking like you have FOUR Breast because of the pillowing affect on the top.................if it is to large then your Breast is NOT supported!

STRAPS – no numbers - no letters, this is just something that you have to work with.............HINT there is a REASON they are adjustable, it is because women's breasts are ALL over their chest! True! Some women are high breasted, some are low breasted, and others are in the middle............ADJUST! And remember the fact that the LAST woman who tried it on may have done some adjusting of their own!

When adjusting you must find the right fit! If the straps are to tight they are going to hurt and rub.........if they are to loose then they are going to slip off your shoulders and/or your Breast are going to sag!

 

SOME of the EXPERT CUSTOMER ADVICE that I have received:

• ADVICE:  “It doesn't matter if the bra fits or not, or if it is comfortable or not as long as you change Styles and Sizes every six months your breast will stay firm and perky”
  # UH, WRONG! Wearing the wrong size/ill fitting bra is NOT going to help them stay Perky, it is just going to make you miserable! Changing styles has NO effect! You are a moron!
• ADVICE:  “A push up bra gives you better support” (advice from one 15 year old to another – sad part was the Mom was believing it!)
  #HINT MOM – A push up does give some added support, particularly if you are wearing a Wire Free bra...........otherwise it is just there to make the BOYS notice your boobs!
• ADVICE:  “If the cup of the bra only covers the BOTTOM part of your Breast you will get better support, if it covers the top it will push your Breast down!”
  # UH, WRONG – you might as well sling a rag under the bottom of your Breast and tie it around your neck! In order to support with the cup it really needs to cover at least ¾ of the Breasts.
• ADVICE:  “Wearing a wire bra will give you cancer because it places metal too close to your heart”
  #I really didn't have an answer for this one, nor did I want to give one after listening to her tales of the expert natural healer she was seeing............btw, she had four stones that she had to place in each bra before she tried them on.
• ADVICE:  “Wearing wire in a bra will help put iron in your system because the metal is close to your heart”
  #Thank goodness I didn't have these two women in the dressing room at the same time, there might have been a war! OH, and I don't really believe you can get added Iron from wearing a Wire bra.
• ADVICE:  “For firm support you should wear two bras at once”
  #UH, WRONG! Find a bra that REALLY fits and you don't need to wear two bras!
• ADVICE:  “A sports bra is better for young girls, it helps hold their Breasts in place so they stay firmer”
  #UH, WRONG! The Breast is a muscle, keeping it SMASHED against your chest is NOT going to make it firmer, it is just going to BREAK down the muscles! Case in point – women of my grandmothers age grew up basically “binding” their breast to their chest (JUST like a sports bra)............at 50 my Granny's breasts hung to her waist! We have a whole generation of young girls that are going to be Saggin and Draggin in just a few years!
• ADVICE:  “You only need one or two bras, when they wear out you buy new ones then”
  #UH, WRONG! Bra's are made with ELASTIC, and elastic needs time to “rest”, you should have SEVEN bras so that each one gets a few days without wear. If you wear the same bra day after day it is going to lose its stretch (and support) quickly!

TO BE CONTINUED.........

One - Does it REALLY Make a Difference?

The Power of ONE........................

I was standing in line at the grocery store this morning when a little boy asked his mom if he could have ONE piece of candy - his argument was that One piece didn't matter, that it would be okay.............her response was NO his sugar was high this morning so he could not have One.

WHOA - at the start of the "plea bargaining" I was swaying towards the side of the kid...............Mom slammed dunked the win with the blood sugar comeback!

In his case the Power of One could be a very drastic One and One that could potentially have physical harm.............in my case?  It's just another few ounces on the hips but nothing I can't lose if a few months or years.

While this may have started off with thinking about a candy bar it has gone a lot further with the thought of just what ONE can mean in our lives.

2012 is a major election year

(in case you missed it, we are going to either elect or re-elect a president this year - and if you missed it your probably not reading this because you are living under a rock, in a cave, in the mountains).

I am a voter, I ALWAYS vote - even in the Amendment "elections"!  Since 1977 I have missed ONE chance to vote and I regret that I did not make my voice heard on that One!

That being said I STRESS that I am not a "blind" voter - I do not vote straight ticket on purpose, just often it ends up that way.

I look at each candidate for each office and if I am unable to find out about a candidate and opponent I do NOT vote on that particular race ;

When I vote on amendments I search around until I find the "ole lady plain English version" and read what they really are saying!

Every election I hear people talking, saying their vote does not count/matter and every year I address it with YES IT DOES!  I can name you one county commissioner election that I voted in that the candidate that I wanted to win..............lost by ONE vote and I know two people who said they wanted to vote for him but didn't go vote because they thought he would win WITHOUT their help!  Guess what...........he didn't!

It is not just in elections, it is in life!  How many times have you heard of an event or a program that has been canceled because they could not find enough volunteers or sell enough tickets to be able to have it?  How many times has this happened with something that you thought was a great idea or a really special thing?

Boycott - it's a word thrown about a lot and it has been used with great effectiveness in many cases.  Most schools of thought would say that you have to have "great numbers" for the effect to be felt................but let's put it on the Power of One for this example:

I work part time at a major retail location, and like many businesses we have a daily sales plan or goal that we set for each day.  With that sales plan also comes the staffing plan, i.e. X amount of dollars projected so we have Y employees working that day.  Now the sales plan is reported in advance and we are judged by whether we make that plan - dollar amount, percentage, and made it/didn't make it.  The three are balanced but each is a category.  I can tell you that on two DIFFERENT days in the past few months we have MISSED the sales plan by LESS THAN $25!  It gave us a NEGATIVE in all three categories, true it was a very small amount dollar wise, a very small percentage but it was still a NEGATIVE.  What is $25? It is ONE customer and ONE pair of jeans.............imagine if 25 customers had gone to a DIFFERENT store to buy their jeans?  The dollar amount would get MUCH larger, and so would our percentage!  Back to the Power of ONE!

In most cases it is NOT the ONE that makes the difference, rather it is the SUM of the ONES that tip the scales for or against.  It is Kindergarten folks!  1+0 still equals One, BUT.................1+1=2! 2+1=3; 3+1=4; 4+1=5; and so on.....................

Flip it and 5-1 (that person that said their vote didn't mater so they didn't vote) = 4; 4-1 (well John didn't vote so why should I bother)=3; 3-1 (I don't want to get out, it's cold today) = 2; 2-1 (I am just so busy right now) =1; 1-1 (oh they will win without my vote) = ZERO!

Yes I still say that the Power is in the ONE, but there has to be the ONE.............and it is the SUM of all of those ONES that make the difference or the indifference in our world!

There are a lot of great books out there telling us how one person can make a difference and how to do this step by step.  A few that I have enjoyed are:

One Makes The Difference ; One Can Make The Difference: A collection of stories from authors including Paul McCartney ; The Tipping Point: How little things can make a big difference

Every great journey begins with ONE step, every great innovation begins with ONE person thinking that it might work, and every great change begins with ONE person believing that it is possible.

Forgive me if my memory fails the exact wording but I remember an old tale -
"A man was walking along the shore, the beach was littered with starfish that had been washed ashore in the recent storm.  Many of them were past the point where high tide would have taken them back to the water.  He saw a young boy picking up a starfish and throwing it back into the ocean. He asked the young man why he was bothering to do so because it would NOT make a difference, he could NOT save them all.  The little boy responded by picking up another starfish and throwing it into the ocean........he looked at the man and said "It made a difference to that one".

Use your POWER!  You are ONE!  And you are the most Powerful Force on this Planet!

Labor Day 2012 and lots of Experiments!

If I haven't mentioned yet, my kids all are out of the house so for most of the time it is just me and Ollie (my dog).  I love to cook but I really hate eating leftovers for a week so I am always excited when I have company coming!  I can try new things, have plenty of people to eat what I fix, and send food back to THEIR house!

We decided this year to do our Labor Day gathering on Sunday, partly because several of us had to work at some time during the day on Monday.  I spent Friday gathering new recipes (and picking a few favorites) and went to the store............course I also went BACK to the store twice Sunday morning and even had Mary stop by the store Sunday before she came over!  And yes, EACH time I prepared a list - and even managed to take the list with me!

For my menu I choose to have:

Rib Eye steaks
Baked onions
Iceberg Salad
Greek Salad (to snack on then eat with the meal)
Cucumber Salad
Deviled Eggs
Jalapeno Poppers
Crack Potato Casserole
"Red Lobster" Biscuits

Mom brought smoked Ketter's sausage (she buys it at her local United grocery, a melon mix and a pudding pie

Three of the dishes and the meat marinade I got off of Pinterest!  One of the main things I wanted to try for this event was a "Greek Salad".  Just a note in advance - it was AWESOME!

Sadly, although I could have SWORN I Pinned it.........I can't find it on more boards ANYWHERE!  Thank goodness I had printed it out!  But I DID have the title so I Googled it and found the original source - 5 Layer Greek Dip .  I did have to "improvise" a little and did make an addition to the recipe for the Hummus, I added 10 dashes of Tabasco sauce to it for a little spice.

Ignore the hot sauce bottle here, before I got to that point I remember that I DID have another bottle of Tabasco in the pantry.............also it wasn't until I started mixing that I realized I had gotten Onion Salt out instead of Garlic Powder!

The recipe called for tahini (sesame seed paste) - guess what?  My store doesn't carry it!  SOOOOOOOOOO, I had to find a recipe to make the stuff!  Also I must note that my little bitty, handy dandy, mini food processor is great for chopping but it really doesn't grind sesame seeds very well!

I finally got the paste made, got the beans pureed - but I had to mix the rest by hand.  I do believe this will work much better in a big processor and it will have a smoother texture but it worked okay for me.

All in all, it was worth the effort and totally awesome!  I could have made the entire meal just on this!

I used a new steak marinade (actually I NEVER use a steak marinade but I decided to try this one - The Best Steak Marinade in Existence!  Again, thank goodness I hit print because I FORGOT to pin the darn thing!

I mixed the marinade and since I do not have a "true" marinade pan and the the fact that I was doing 8 rib eyes, I used a 2 Gallon plastic zip bag.  I stood it on the end, poured a little marinade in the bottom, put a steak in, then more marinade on that steak - repeated until all the steaks were in and "zipped" it shut.

It took some "wiggling" but I got all the steaks laying flat, placed the bag on a small cutting board and put them in the fridge.   Then every hour I turned the bag to get a good even coating.

I didn't put any addition seasoning on the steak but they had a great flavor so I will certainly try this marinade again!

The rest of the meal was good but a couple of the recipes I used I am going to do some "tweaking" to before I try them again - nothing against the original recipes, just things that I think will make my family enjoy them more!

OH!  Least I forget - the Deviled Eggs!  No this was my old standard Deviled Egg recipe that I have used forever!  It was the EGGS that were different!  I had a dozen that I had bought at the store to use.

Growing up, and even in adulthood, I try to get Farm eggs whenever possible - they are just better!  The yolks are yellow, they have a better taste, and they are FRESH!  When you get farm eggs you get in the practice of breaking each egg in a glass because occasionally you find things you didn't want in them.  And once in a while you get a Bonus with a Double Yolk!  I have NEVER, and according to my mom who was setting in the kitchen neither has she!, gotten a Double Yolk egg from the store!

In this dozen eggs I got NOT ONE .............BUT.............TWO Double Yolk eggs!

I should have taken a picture of all four "halves" but I didn't think of it until I was almost through emptying the second one.  It may never happen again!

Well we had a great time, laughed a lot, ate a lot, and in general a great family day!  And I highly recommend these two recipes for your next family gathering! 

Let's Start Spreading "Good News"!

"Which do you want first?  The Good News OR The Bad News"?  How many times have you said or heard that very statement?  If your like me, more times than you can count for sure!

It seems more and more these days all we here is the Bad News.............personally I am getting tired of it all!  I cannot quote you the exact statistics but I believe the saying is that:

    "When a person has a bad experience they will tell 10 people and when they have a good experience they tell only two people!"

  Folks this formula needs to be reversed!

We need to take control and shout the Good News from the rooftops!  It's not just Good News, it's things we LIKE or LOVE!  We need to spread the word when we like something!   How many shows have you made your schedule around because you didn't want to miss and episode and then it gets canceled?  How many authors do you read a book or two then you can't find any new releases?  There are a LOT of factors to be considered but I believe one factor is that the Networks and Publishers didn't realize just how many people LIKED the "product" they were doing away with!

Many times we have thought that there was not a lot we could do to support a show or an author..............Enter inspiration!  I just read author Nancy J. Cohen's latest blog post on how to support your favorite authors with just a little bit of your time.  I have linked her blog for your but I am reposting what she had to say:

     "

How Can Readers Help Authors?

Posted by Nancy J. Cohen on August 31, 2012

If you’re an avid reader, no doubt you’d like to encourage your favorite authors to keep writing. What can you, as a consumer, do for the writer who bares her soul to you in each story? Beyond buying her latest title, is there more?
You betcha! Here are some things you can do on your end that will be appreciated.
Write customer reviews of author’s books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, Shelfari, and Library Thing.
Add author’s book to your Wish List on Amazon.                          
Search for author’s website, author name, and book titles periodically to raise their rank in search engines.
Bookmark or add to Favorites the author’s online sites.
Like author’s Facebook page; Share and comment on her Facebook posts.
Retweet author’s Twitter updates; Mention author and her books on Twitter.
Like and Tag author’s Amazon author page as well as each book title and edition.
Share author’s newsletter with your friends.
Recommend author’s books online on various reader forums.
Create a Listmania list on Amazon and add author’s books.
Look for good reviews of author’s book and click Yes to “Was this review helpful to you?”
Follow author’s blog tours and leave comments.
Repin author’s photos on Pinterest. Go to online bookseller and Pin author’s book covers into one of your albums.
Offer to hand out bookmarks for author.
Initiate a Street Team of fans to spread the word about author’s works.
If you live in the same region, suggest the author as a speaker to various groups.
Buy the author’s latest book or ask your librarian to order it and put your name on the wait list.
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Anything you can do will help, especially in this era of viral content. Word of mouth still has the most clout. So share your pleasure in the author’s writing and make her job easier so she can concentrate on writing the next book."

 WOW!  Can't think of a thing here that costs me anything but a little time and what a difference it could make to that author!  You can do the same thing to support your favorite TV show, movie, or even to some extent business or product!

Nancy's book's are available in lots of places including Amazon, and if you haven't read her Bad Hair Day series you are missing out! Permed to Death is the first in that series.

Another favorite author, and local to my area, lol, heck I even run into her at the grocery store is Jodi Thomas.  Jodi has a lot of GREAT books but I am particularly fond of her Harmony series!  She had me hook, line, and sinker with the first book Welcome to Harmony


So look up your favorite author, share the Good Word about their work, send them a "Way to Go" note!

It's time to flip that formula and when something GOOD happens, let's tell TEN people!  And if it is bad, stick to telling JUST that person or business!