Fun Friday – 3 Signs it’s time to change your routine

Photo Credit: The Daily Quotes

Sitting in bed nestled under a blanket, I fell asleep with a book on my chest. After a short time, I popped one eye open and glanced at the clock – 11:00pm was displayed in red letters. It was past my bedtime.

A routine provides comfort, stability, and eases stress. You may not even realize how easily you slip into a routine. There are subtle signs that you have established a routine. Those signs may even alert you that it’s time to change your routine.

1.      Favorite coffee shop visit – I’m a coffee drinker and I have a favorite spot I frequent to write and enjoy my cup of java. My son was talking to a friend one day and sometime during the conversation, the friend said, “I know your mom…small coffee, double cream, double sweetener.”  The cashier knew me by my favorite beverage.

2.      Writing checks – I like to read. When a new book was released by one of my favorite authors, I dashed off to the bookstore to purchase a copy. At the checkout register, I pulled out my checkbook to pay. The cashier said, “Oh, you’re writing a check? Not many people write checks any more, but your checks are pretty.” Was my method of payment archaic?

3.      On the job – If you do things the same way day in and day out, but expect different results…it’s time to change something.



I’ve learned that is ok to deviate your routine, break the norm…or begin a new routine. What is one thing that you do routinely?

Word(less) Wednesday - 5 Ways to celebrate National Pink Day

Photo Credit: Askideas.com

Celebrate June 23 as National Pink Day! Here are 5 ways you can join the celebration.

1. Wear pink

2.  Make cupcakes and add pink frosting or sprinkles...or make other parts of your meal pink. How about a pink milkshark, cookies, etc.

3.  Write a poem or short story using the word pink.

4.  Send someone pink flowers

5.  Watch a Pink Panther movie

Muffins with Mom – Some Kinda Sin – A work of fiction



Photo Credit: Blue Maize

Step out of reality and into Tamara’s world. At 30 something, Tamara is a bright business woman and God fearing Christian. She is a natural born leader in her professional life, but when it comes to matters of the heart, her morals and Christian values take a vacation.

Below is an excerpt from my work of fiction. All characters are made up and in no way resemble people I know.

Some Kinda Sin

Chapter One

Tamara sipped from a steaming cup of coffee as she watched the door of Café Latte open and close too many times to count. Sitting and waiting wasn’t her cup of tea or coffee.

“Can I get you another chocolate mocha?” the waitress in black nylon pants asked.

“No, I’m waiting on him now,” Tamara replied.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, you meant the coffee. No thanks, I’m waiting for someone.”

Tamera looked at the young woman’s plastic name tag just before she turned to walk away.

“Oh Mandy, I will have a glass of water.”

“Coming right up.”

As Tamara was talking to the waitress, she didn’t notice Carlton Braxton approaching the table.

“Oh I didn’t see you walk up.” If that man knew what I was thinking.

Carlton was simply dressed in a pair of designer jeans and a button up collared shirt, but he still looked like he had just stepped out of GQ magazine.

“Maybe I didn’t want you to see me coming up.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

“So what’s our plan for today?” She asked gazing into his eyes.

“Whatever your heart desires.” He leaned across the table and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

Tamara was wrapped up in her thoughts. This man is too good to be true. This has got to be some kinda sin.

Tamara pushed her chair back and walked around to Carlton’s side of the table. Leaning over his shoulder.

“You know what would be even better?”

“What?”

Carlton stood up and gave her a deep kiss that made her whole body warm.

As Tamara and Carlton embraced, a loud explosion threw Carlton on top of Tamara. She hit her head on the wooden floor as Carlton passed out. The glass storefront window exploded sending sharp slivers all over the café. Some of the glass spiked all over the back of Carlton’s head, sending a stream of blood down the nape of his neck.

“Aaaarg” The waitress screamed when she realized what just happened. The few customers who were sitting at tables in the café were now on the floor, some covered in blood.

Tamara moans and slowly sits up. Carlton lay lifeless as she began to rock back and forth as his head lay on her lap.

Mandy rushed around the cafe’ to assess the damage of the explosion. A couple of people had scrapes, but nothing critical. Then she saw Tamara and Carlton and ran over to them.

“Is he breathing?” she asked.

“I don’t know?” Tamara’s entire body trembled as she spoke between sobs.

Mandy checked for a pulse as she assured Tamara that she knew what she was doing.

“It’s ok, I know CPR.” Placing two fingers on Carlton’s neck, she found a light pulse. “Call 9-1-1 while I look at his wound.”

Mandy grabbed a cloth napkin that was dangling from an overturned table nearby and applied it to Carlton’s forehead.

It wasn’t long before the paramedics arrived, but to Tamara it seemed a lifetime.

“How many people are hurt? Are there people in any other areas? One of the paramedics rattled off.

“There’s a man in the corner with his wife, bleeding from the forehead area. And there’s a cook in the kitchen, pinned under a shelf,” Mandy explained.

##########################################################################

Sirens blared as ambulance after ambulance pulled into Blissfield General Hospital. There was one paramedic in the back of the ambulance keeping Carlton as comfortable as possible. Tamara wanted to ride in the ambulance, but she knew she shouldn’t be seen with Carlton. It would be too difficult to explain, to his wife and her husband.

Being the other woman to a married man was not her dream life, but it was just the way things happened.

Would you like to learn more about what happens in the lives of Tamara and Carlton?

Father's Day

Photo Credit:YouTube

Photo Credit: Pinterest

Words of Wisdom - Courage

Courage

Dusting is not my favorite household task. My opinion changed when I uncovered a treasure, sitting on a shelf at the back of my curio cabinet. I pulled it from the cabinet and let it dangle from the blue ribbon on my fingertip. I shook it gently and watched the sparkles dance around inside.

A miniature snow globe, with the word courage inscribed inside along with a quote. “When we face challenges or things go wrong…it builds our courage and helps us be strong.”

Photo Credit: Pinterest

Photo Credit: Pinterest

The small act of dusting, led me to a large shot of courage.

Do you know anyone who could use a little dose of courage?

Muffins with Mom – Avoid the pitfalls of being outsmarted by a teen

When a teen gives you that look
photo credit: Pinterest

Graduation season does not end with graduation day. A parent is thrown into the next steps…open house, awards banquets and packing for college. Let’s not forget about the other things called everyday life.

Everyday life reared it’s head in the midst of my planning for my son’s open house celebration. It appeared in the form of an early morning workshop I needed to attend, then an evening dinner dance, just for fun. My son also had a Rugby game scheduled in a city two hours away.

After getting everything organized, I left my teen son with a few chores to be completed before he left the house. When it was time for him to leave for his game, my son sent me the following text.

My son thought he was going to tug at my heart strings. I told him, while I admired his creativity, he was not off the hook. I came up with a poem of my own…

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue,

You still need college tuition,

And I love you too.

My son thought he had outsmarted me, but he only delayed completing his tasks. How can you avoid the pitfalls of being outsmarted by a teen? Here are 3 tips for avoiding those pitfalls.

1.      Set expectations and have consequences when expectations are not met.

2.      Be firm, yet loving – there may be times when your teen needs coaching. He may need you to explain why a particular expectation/rule is set.

3.      Acknowledge your teen’s point of view – listening to your teen shows that you value their opinion, but it doesn’t mean she can do anything she wants.

We know that teens will try our patience at times, but at the end of the day, they still want a parents love and approval. If you are ever faced with a teen who thinks he/she can outsmart you, listen to their point of view and respond with love.

Have you ever had a teen try to outsmart you? The next time a teen tries to look at you with puppy dog eyes to get his way…give them right back at him.

photo credit: Attack of the cute

Wordless Wednesday - National Chocolate Ice Cream Day

National Chocolate Ice Cream Day is celebrated June 7th

Photo Credit: Business Insider

Photo Credit: Pralines Ice Cream



Photo Credit: theCHIVE

Muffins with Mom – The new normal- 5 Tips to ease the transition

The morning of his high school graduation, I snapped a picture of my sleeping son. It was the beginning and end of a journey. The day flew by with preparations for the soon to be graduate. A yard sign was staked in a corner of our front lawn – 2017 graduate lives here. A banner was draped above our garage, announcing congratulations to the graduate.

Inside the house, my son secured the graduation cap on top of his hairstyle of braided dreadlocks. The blue and white tassel dangled from the side of cap. Four years of high school athletic events, parent-teacher conferences and homework hurdles. And that’s just the parenting side.

Changes occur in our lives, causing us to readjust…to a new normal. The things that were once routine have changed, the people in our lives may have changed, job loss may have occurred or your children move away. My son graduated from high school and will attend college away from home. Both of us will experience a new normal.

My new normal will be that of an empty nester. My son’s new normal will involve adjusting to life away from home. When you move into a new state of normal, embrace it, consider it a change in seasons. Below are five tips to help ease your transition into a new normal.

1.      Start a new hobby

2.      Surround yourself with friends and family

3.      Volunteer

4.      Schedule a date with yourself every month-go out for an ice cream sundae; take an art class; change your hairstyle

5.      Do something that you’ve always wanted to do, but never made time for it

Have you experienced a New Normal? When it happens will you be prepared? Life happens, embrace it.



 

Feel Good Friday – Miracles

How do you know when you have experienced a miracle? My nephew discovered the answer to this question one wintry day. It was mid-day as he drove along the I-94 highway, snow was blowing and drifting. It was typical Michigan weather, cars drove at the posted speed, some more cautious than others.

Before he reached his destination, a truck slid into his car and pushed him into another vehicle. My nephew attempted to control his car, but swerved once, twice, then end up on the median facing the opposite direction of traffic. He emerged from the car shaken and with a few bruises, but he was able to walk away to retell his story. A miracle.

A miracle is defined by Merriam-Webster as an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. There are Biblical definitions of a miracle as well, but let’s focus on this one for now. The term divine intervention stands out to me. There are situations we experience in life where we look back and say, I don’t know how I made it through that. Divine intervention. A miracle.

Miracles, divine intervention, faith all fit together like pieces of a puzzle. You discover that ah-ha moment when something happens to you or someone close to you. I was reminded of this when I received a group text message that said, please pray for Sis J, she was in a car accident with an 18 wheeler. I was sitting at my desk working as I read the message. I let out a gasp… that’s my friend.

As my friend drove home from work along the dark highway, the last thing she remembered before her accident, was driving side by side next to a semi-truck. In an instant, she heard a boom. She pressed her foot on the brake, but nothing happened. Her car was somehow hooked onto the rear of the truck. Her car skidded back and forth across the highway.

The window on the driver’s side shattered in small pieces like grains of sand. The car came to a stop on the shoulder of the road, only after the semi-truck stopped. The car began to smoke, my friend was strapped in her seat belt. Adrenaline pumping, my friend’s first instinct was to escape from the vehicle. She had to crawl to the passenger side.

My friend was taken to the hospital and treated for cuts and bruises. One thing that did not need to be treated was her faith. A miracle? Divine intervention? Grace.

Have you ever experienced a situation that you felt involved divine intervention?