Coffee Chat: Late Nights (The Sequel To Early Mornings)

I admit, I'm getting older and don't stay up as late as in my younger years. But late nights in summer are so relaxing. They can be the best part of the whole day.

There is absolutely nothing like sitting out on the back deck, winding down from a long day. The smell of the warm summer breeze and the feeling of it wafting over your skin is so relaxing. I love listening to the crickets play their music while the frogs throw in their harmony from the banks of the creek. Every once in a while and owl makes itself known from afar.

Just like in the Early Mornings, the world seems at peace except for the faint sound of a passing truck or car. The glow of the street lights reveals a sleepy little town where it almost seems like they have rolled up the streets after dark. The kids are asleep. Finally, there is a chance to take a deep breath and ponder the happenings of the day or plan the next.

If you have an outdoor fireplace or a fire pit, the gentle sounds of crackling can be heard. The smell of the burnt wood blows past you as it catches a ride on the breeze. Lone embers float up to the sky and burn themselves out as you watch while sipping a cool beverage.

Mmmm, Sun Tea! Slow brewed all day long.

I love summer nights in my gliding rocker on the deck. Start the mornings on the deck waking up with the sun and end the nights on the deck winding down from the day. Now that is the good life.

Detoxify Yourself From Media

Day after day it seems there is nothing but death, destruction, bitterness, and unhappiness flooding in on us from every direction. It is hard not to get discouraged. It is time for a wind down from the news of the day. To find away to relax and enjoy life.

To Follow Or Unfollow

One of the things that I did on Facebook was Unfollow. I Unfollowed news organizations, news papers, and even some of my friends. I know this sounds harsh, especially the friend part. Keep in mind that Unfollowing is not the same as Unfriending. Unfollowing only shuts down the feed that comes from them to your page. You still can be friends with them. You just don't have to see what they are talking about or posting all the time. If you change your mind and decide that you wish to see them on your feed you can always follow them again. It isn't permanent. I love my Facebook family and friends.

Why did I Unfollow these organizations and people? There are many organizations, especially the news, that nearly always only put negative things on their pages. If I am going to have a continuous feed on Facebook, it had better be the good and the bad. There are positive things that happen all of the time but they rarely make the news. I know I would like to hear or read them, wouldn't you?

As far as Unfollowing actual  friends or even family, the reason is clear. We all have those friends or family members that are never happy, it seems. Whether it is negative political talk or the constant posts of profanity, hate talk, dirty talk, or just plain constant talk about how the world is against them. Sometimes, if they have extreme views on things, it is an easy solution to keep in touch with them and preserve the relationship rather than removing them from your friends list.

Sometimes It Is Good Just To Detoxify Yourself From All Media 

Another thing that I do on a regular basis is avoid the news for a few days at a time. There is nothing on there that I won't see in a few days. Not turning on the TV during news hours so that I can detoxify myself. Trust me when I tell you that it is nearly impossible to avoid the news completely because word of mouth, books, magazines, social media, and television are all around us. So unless we barricade ourselves in a cave somewhere away from everyone, which sounds nice at times, we will hear about it.

No, I don't bury my head in the sand. As a matter of fact, I like to keep informed and before I talk about something I like to research it to make sure that the information is correct. Eventually, I catch up on everything I have missed. But it is important not to let the negativity of the world take you down with it. Find a place and a way to recharge from it all.

The Book I Will Be Reading For A Year!

The current book that I am reading, I will be reading for a year. Seems like a long time to be reading one book right?

The book is The Intellectual Devotional: American History.  I chose history because I like history. However, there are several other subjects in this line of books as you will see by the link above. These are New York Times Bestsellers. Written by David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim. Obviously, there are several types of devotionals but this is the one I chose. I do have faith based ones as well.

It is a great book so far and keeps my mind sharp. There are times when I can't seem to remember anything, sometimes even simple words. My brain goes dumb on me and I feel like my mind is slipping. I have found that the best way to cure this for me is to actually read a book. It doesn't have to be long or even informative really. Even a romance novel, which I call 'no brain activity', ironically enough, because you know how they all end, will do. Reading a book stimulates my brain to wake it up. This combined with being active and getting fresh air are a great combination to keep things working right.

Not the book I'm reading but a very good alternative.

I have tried E-Readers, which are great, mind you. But for me, I need the stimulation of the senses as well. In other words, I need to hold the actual book in my hands, turn the pages, and feel the texture of them at my fingertips. I am also one of those strange people that likes the smell of books. I can't get that with and E-Reader. By engaging most of my senses, my mind is stimulated more and I tend to remember more of what I read. A daily devotional kind of book offers the opportunity to do this on a daily basis and a smaller scale, while learning a bit about history.

  

10K Viewers!

Thank you everyone for helping me to reach 10,000 views on PastelPriceless.blog spot.com. I appreciate every one of you! Here is to 10,000 more!! 

Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad

Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad

1 16-20 oz Package of Elbow Macaroni

1 Cup of Salad Dressing (Miracle Whip)

1 Tablespoon of Yellow Mustard (French's)

1/2 Cup of Milk

1 Medium Minced Pickle (sweet or dill, or relish)

2 Tablespoons of Sugar

1 Teaspoon Dill Weed

1 Cup Finely Diced  Deli Ham, Turkey Ham, Turkey, or Chicken 

3/4 Cup Diced or Shredded American, Cheddar, or Colby Jack Cheese

1 Small Minced Sweet Vidalia Onion (optional)

Directions:

Cook pasta till al dente. Run under cold water to cool and stop the cooking process then set aside. 

In a bowl mix Salad Dressing, Yellow Mustard, Milk. Add Sugar, Dill Weed and mix thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients to the mixture. When thoroughly incorporated together add to pasta mixing throughout and refrigerate for at least a 1/2 hour before eating. Refrigerate leftovers. Kid approved.

Coffee Chat: What Inspires You?

Basically, there are three things that inspire me or motivate me. God, my family, and nature are the forces that inspire me to take a step forward in life and to make life worth every breath. These are probably average, but for me they all have a different way of inspiring me.

God, first and foremost, inspires me to want to be a better person. He inspires me to want to give to others of myself, my resources, and my heart. He inspires me to live in service to others.This isn't about what religion I am, although that has huge impact on my life. It is about wanting to please Him, wanting to be closer to Him, and wanting to walk with Him.

My family are also a huge contributor to the inspiration and motivation factor. I want to do whatever I can for them and would be nothing without them. Though my siblings and I, there are six of us, may argue from time to time, I know they are always there for me. Having lost both of my parents who were the stability that made us close and taught us what it means to be a family, I am so glad to have brothers and sisters that I can count on. This being said, my motivation to make sure that they can count on me is very important. There will inevitably be hard times in which I will be present for support, love, encouragement, and just a listening ear. 

My children are a very large factor in my inspiration and motivation. Teaching children to be the best people they can be, to love God and hold Him close, and to learn to be there for each other is so important these days. There are so many bad things going on in the world and I want them to know that not only do they have me but they have each other to lean on. From the youngest to the oldest they should know that their support to each other will be one of the most important and dear things they will need to get through life. Never forget your family.

 There may be a lot of bad things going on in the world but there are magnificent things all around us. Beauty, peace, diversity, power, harmony, melody, and inspiration are all around us on a daily basis if we look outside of the "rat race", look to nature. Fantastic views of life and renewal of life fill the senses. I love nature, from the worst part of it to the best. There is beauty in even the most horrifying looking storm. Unfortunately, their can be destruction and loss of life which always pains me. It hurts my heart to see any living being suffer, including our planet. Those that have no respect for the beautiful world around us and it's diversity more than likely have little respect for anything. Those that hurt animals for sport or just plain entertainment likely have no respect for life in general. Nature inspires me to want to protect it and revel in it and to pass it on with respect to the next generation so that they may be inspired by it to. Pollution, deforestation, littering, and the destruction or killing of the wildlife hurts us all. Just because it isn't standing in front of you or you can't see it does not mean that it isn't happening. We all have a responsibility to be proactive in protecting and securing our future and I am not talking about money. Money has little use when you can't breath, eat, drink, and live.

What inspires you? Take time to think of the inspirations in your life and what they mean to you. Rediscover yourself and the meaning of the people and things around you.

Never Take Your Health For Granted

Every day that we walk around healthy is a gift but as we do this we tend to take for granted that we will always feel this way. Sometimes we even feel that others must be doing things wrong if they are not healthy. During my recent illness I began to appreciate those days when I felt great and everything in my life was normal. I had to do nothing wrong in order for my health to start slipping away.

In just nine weeks time, I was pale, began to feel weak and tired all the time. I desperately missed the days that I could stay awake all day long, walk up and downstairs without being exhausted, walk anywhere without feeling exhausted. I felt horrible that I couldn't spend time with my son. Hours felt like they were wasting away.

I learned how to stop the weakness eventually but not without taking a huge amount, or what I think is huge compared to normal, of Iron, Vitamin C, B Vitamin Complex, hormones, and drinking Powerade like it was going out of style to replenish the large amount of blood I was losing. Even with those efforts I could feel myself not being able to keep up with life.  I was diagnosed with Endometrial Hyperplasia with heavy bleeding and later found that there were noncancerous tumors in my uterus along with cysts on my ovaries.

Needless to say, when my doctor said full hysterectomy after nine weeks of what felt like torture, I was more than ready to get it done with. A day after the surgery and I was home recovering which brings it's own frustrations. Not being able to sleep on my right side, I'm a side sleeper. Not being able to do anything outside for fear of falling. I was and am on a ten pound weight restriction which doesn't sound bad until you want to mow, move furniture because it was spring cleanup week, carry in groceries (one bag at a time), or hold my son. Anything that required bending over, like cleaning or the dropsies (because I seem to have that issue at times) was a no go because of the feeling that my skin was ripping open.

Yes, it was a robotic surgery and yes, the recovery is a lot less than regular surgery but it is still surgery and there is still recovery time. The recovery just takes a lot less out of you and you don't have some massive wound to recover from. Just four small incisions with deep rooted stitches that feel like they pull.

Fortunately, I am recovering to the point where I can get things done like cleaning, picking things up (light things) and taking care of my son. I'm not hurting, actually after the first day home I required no pain medication at all. I can go for walks and haven't really felt weak since after the second week of recovery. I am still not allowed to mow or lift heavy things, though on occasion I have lifted some things, carefully and with assistance.

One thing is for sure, I no longer take my health for granted. After weeks of feeling like I was falling apart, there was no way my health was gonna be taken for granted. My son and I have great things planned for this summer some of which I plan to blog about. 

A happy healthy life is nothing to sniff at. Don't take it for granted. Get regular checkups. Do self exams. Be proactive in your life. Don't put things off until your life is affected and you are in massive pain or are too weak to maintain your life. After all it is the only one you have and there are others counting on you to stick around. Do it for yourself, your family, and friends!