Wordless Wednesday - Laughing on Purpose

Add a little laughter to you day with Comedian Michael Jr.

YouTube Video Credit: Michael Jr.

YouTube Video Credit: Michael Jr.

Muffins with Mom - 7 Embarrassing moments and how to learn from them

Kids are not the only one’s who experience embarrassing moments. They’ve come my way in a grand fashion. Have you experienced them? Sure you have. There are some moments that we want to forget about and never mention again. Then there are others that we eventually laugh about, and move on.

No matter what type of embarrassing moment you experience there is a lesson to be learned. Below is a list of embarrassing moments that I’ve come across over the years.

1. While dancing (and driving) in your car, you look over and see the people in the car next to you laughing hysterically.

Lesson Learned:         Get tinted windows or laugh with the person who is laughing at you.

2. You display your biggest, brightest smile while talking to someone, only to realize later that you had a piece of broccoli from lunch still in your teeth.

Lesson Learned:          Flossing your teeth is important.

3. When my son was five month old a woman I hadn’t seen in a long time spotted me across a room. She waved excitedly and yelled, “When is the baby due?” I smiled and waved back at her as I said, “He’s five month old.” I started anew exercise regime the next day.

Lesson Learned:          Daily exercise is important.

4. While shopping, you wait a little too long before going to the restroom. When you finally rush off in search of a restroom, you get there and burst into the wrong one. When did they put urinals in the women’s restroom?

Lesson Learned:          Don’t wait until the last minute.

5. You’re the loudest one cheering on your child at a sporting event. It may sound something lie this – “That’s my baby; Come on hustle; Get that ball!” You’re not embarrassed, but your child may want you to stay home next time.

Lesson Learned:         Jump and cheer in silence, shake pom pons, anything except call your child’s name. Or…cheer loudly for the entire team so no one really knows who’s parent you are.

6. You’re so tired that during prayer at church, when you close your eyes, you fall asleep.

Lesson Learned:         Try to get a little extra sleep at night, even if it means something doesn’t get done.

7. Your umbrella blows inside out and you struggle to return it to normal as rain pounds down on you.

Lesson Learned:          Have a jacket with a hood as back up.

Grandma always said, “You can learn from other people’s mistakes.” I believe the same holds true for embarrassing moments.

What embarrassing situations have you experienced and learned from?    

Fun Friday – Fitness and Nutrition – Eating Healthy

“Don’t play with your food.” Have you ever said this statement to your child? Me too. Throw that thought out the door. I’m telling you to play with your food. Jazz up your nutrition plan, try different food combinations.

Now that I’ve told you what to do, I must live by my own words. Last week I tried Ezekiel bread. It’s not too bad toasted or untoasted with peanut butter. This week I tried Ezekiel cereal. I didn’t know there were so many products with this name. I chose both items because of their nutritional value (and because my nutrition coach mentioned the items).

I did not realize that both the bread and the cereal came with the scripture from Ezekiel 9. It reads, “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar to make bread for yourself.” Not only am I learning to eat healthy, but I’m learning Bible verses along the way.

As part of a fitness and nutrition challenge that I signed up for, our group took a Grocery Store Tour recently. We learned to read labels, how to manage our salt/sugar intake, and how to make healthier food choices. Hence my Ezekiel experiences.

Another new food item I introduced to my body was quinoa (keen-wah). Prior to the grocery store tour, I purchased a microwavable quinoa meal prepared in a buttery sauce. It was yummy. During the tour I whispered this to a group member. She smiled at me and said, “I don’t think you were supposed to have the butter sauce.”

I smiled back at her and said, “Baby steps.”

I encourage you on your fitness and nutrition journey to take baby steps. Just begin somewhere. Small gradual changes add up. Add a new item next time you grocery shop. Play with your food by trying new recipes.

Words of Wisdom - Happiness

Happiness is...exploring your silly side, even if it's in the middle of a store aisle

Happiness quotes for your day...

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness."  Charles Spurgeon

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude." Dale Carnegie

Find something that makes you happy today and do it.

Muffins with Mom – Going the extra mile

The sky was engulfed in darkness as I left the house to begin the six hour journey to visit my son. It was game four of his football season and I had not made it to a game yet. My car was packed with snacks, black and red pom pons and a stadium chair. Time to hit the road.

How often have you gone the extra mile for your child, for your job, or to help someone in need? At times it can make you feel exhausted. A recent quote I read said, “Excellence is going the extra mile.” Be encouraged and know that excellence pays off. Your good deeds do not go unrecognized. You may be rewarded in unexpected ways.

Enjoy the story below and be inspired.

The other side of the wall

There was a young woman who took great pride in the growth and care of the flowers in her flower garden. She had been raised by her grandmother who taught her to love and care for flowers as she herself had done. So, like her grandmother, her flower garden was second to none.

One day while looking through a flower catalogue she often ordered from, a picture of a plant immediately caught her eye. She had never seen blooms on a flower like that before. “I have to have it,” she said to herself, and she immediately ordered it.

When it arrived, she already had a place prepared to plant it. She planted it at the base of a stone wall at the back of her yard. It grew vigorously, with beautiful green leaves all over it, but there were no blooms. Day after day she continued to cultivate it, water it, feed it, and she even talked to it attempting to coax it to bloom. But, it was to no avail.

One morning weeks later, as she stood before the vine, she contemplated how disappointed she was that her plant had not bloomed. She was giving considerable thought to cutting it down and planting something else in its place.

It was at this point that her invalid neighbor, whose lot joined hers, called over to her. “Thank you so much! You can’t imagine how much I have enjoyed the blooms of that vine you planted.” The young woman walked through the gate into her neighbor’s yard, and sure enough, she saw that on the other side of the wall the vine was filled with blooms.

There were indeed the most beautiful blooms she had ever seen. The vine had crept through the crevices and it had not flowered on her side of the fence, it had flowered luxuriantly on the other side.

Just because you cannot see the good result of your labor does not mean that it bore no fruit.

Author: Randy Reynolds

What has been your experience with going the extra mile?

Fun Friday – Fitness and Nutrition

photo credit: eat this, not that

Did you know that fitness and nutrition go hand in hand? It’s like a marriage, they work better together. I have heard this often, but it has been a challenge to get the nutrition aspect together.

If you want to accomplish something bad enough, you have to make a change. A friend of mine always says, “Nothing changes, until something changes.” The time is now to focus on improving your health.

For fear of being called a hypocrite, I am taking my own advice. I have joined a group of women at the fitness gym, who are taking on a nutrition challenge. Our trainer has identified a meal plan for us to follow for the next eight weeks.

One of the items on our list of nutritional foods is Ezekiel bread. Several of the ladies raved over this item. When I first heard the name, I unclear as to what was being said, so I repeated it, “EZee Key-o?” No that wasn’t it. Then it finally clicked. Ezekiel.

I’m no proficient Bible scholar, but I make an effort to keep learning. I know Ezekiel was a prophet from the Bible. Anyway, I went to the grocery store in search of the bread named after the prophet. It didn’t take long for me to find it in the organic section.

As I looked at the price posted just below the bread, I had to readjust my glasses…$5.99? Is it me, or does it seem like it’s more expensive to eat healthy? Several odd questions popped in my head, as they sometimes do.

Does this bread cost more because it comes with a scripture? “Thou shalt eat healthy.”

Is Ezekiel bread like the fortune cookie of the Bible, with a message included?

Are Martha and Mary coming to my house to help serve this bread?

If you have decided to make fitness and nutrition a regular part of your life, start now. Have fun with it and don’t give up.

“The only way to fail is to give up.”  Susan Lieurance-The Morning Nudge

It may cost a little more to eat healthy, but the ultimate results are worth it. Make a change for self-improvement.

Words of Wisdom - Do Something Nice Day

Photo Credit: Pinterest

National Do Something Nice Day is celebrated on October 5th. Take a moment from your busy schedule to brighten someone's day, do something nice.

Here are three suggestions to get you started:

1.  Buy a cup of coffee for someone in line at your favorite coffee shop.

2.  Send someone flowers, just because.

3.  Share a kind word.

Photo Credit: idealistcareers.org