Just Some More Thoughts 8/1/13

For those of you who don't know or realize it, I have a Pinterest page with almost 10,500 images. All "eye candy" you would love to see. I post often there. Go visit it. I really don't like tooting my own horn but I will here: In just 6 short months, there are over 6,800 followers there, so you know the images are beautiful. Your choice. But if I were you, I wouldn't miss them. ;-)
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Reading the news lately on the internet as we have no television to reference, I've wondered just how low, degrading our society can go. We are warned of this in scriptures but we don't take heed?? Hubs and I have decided to read scriptures more in the evening. It's easy to get out of the habit. For us, that's when we notice our lives get disruptive or out of sync. Then it'll hit us upside the head and we have to do a 180 to get back in sync. But we've noticed certainly from when we were kids, younger adults and middle-aged parents how bad it is getting.

The singer Justin Bieber should have his bottom whipped by his parents. What a brat. I know he's a teenager but surely his parents could step in. What's wrong with them? Are they blinded by the money he probably makes. Personally, I've never heard him "sing" or whatever it is he does. But he certainly is "trashy" as my parents would have said. He's certainly a poster boy for birth control if there ever was one! Bratty, degrading, stupid, malicious. And, no, I'm not serious about the birth control remark.
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How can the politicians who get caught doing degrading, immoral things say they're sorry AFTER getting caught?! That's not sorry for the act. That's sorry for getting caught. I'm very familiar with this as I'm a parent! Seeking 2 weeks of therapy as the San Diego (a city I've lived in and love) mayor has said just doesn't cut it. They all say they're going in for therapy after their behavior becomes public; why didn't they do it before that? Resign or throw the idiot out. He's had 5 women come forth with accusations against him and won't quit. His words: "My failure to respect women is unacceptable." But this was only after he got caught. And it's on video what he's done. He's a pervert plain and simple. And the other idiot "sexting" to women? What is the man thinking? How humiliating for his wife, especially after getting caught twice. My heart goes out to her especially. This is for either political party. Morality is having good morals, not a political party.
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Unwed mothers. I pity them, really feel sorry for them because our daughter was a single mom quite young after divorcing her hubby. It isn't an easy road for them or their children. I'd love to see them married with fathers in the home. It makes all the difference in the world to the kids to have a loving family, a father who loves, respects and cares for their mother. I've even seen articles where living together with a man and the woman calls him her fiancé and that's after years of living together. Honey, if he hasn't married you before now, he ain't ever gonna!

This discussion came up before hubs and I got married. While a man will say, "I love you; let's have sex/live together and get to know each other." My answer to the man would be, "If you love me, you wouldn't even ask." Stops them dead in their tracks right there.
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Why in the world would some races kill their unborn? That was Margaret Sanger's reason for birth control. It certainly looks like it's working but how sad at the cost of a beautiful race of society and gorgeous children. There will be a price to pay in the next life, trust me on this one. It saddens me to see any child wretched from its mother's womb. Sad for the baby certainly, but it does to take its toll on the mother's psyche. (Personal experience with a loved one confirms this.) I pray for goodness to overtake evil on a regular basis. But evil is winning at this moment in time. But I have faith that it won't win the final battle. In fact, I know it won't win in the end.
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Another story out of New Zealand tells of a man, a chef still working, being deported because of his weight. He immigrated there 6 years ago and, although he has lost 66 pounds, he is still overweight, so at the beginning of May they told him they're throwing him and his wife out of their home and the country because the national health service says he's too "costly" to have on their health care system. He was told his weight is not acceptable. So what do they do with the citizens who live there who become overweight? Boggles the mind.
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Okay, I'm off my ranting for today. Sorry, if anyone is offended, but it is my blog to rant sometimes if I want, which is rare.
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Yes, I love this living room. It's very original and colorful.

I just don't get the "falling apart walls" syndrome going around. Tacky, in my opinion.

You just can't have too many roses.

Love this lampshade also. If only I could paint.

Cute way to display items.

This is a swing that can be hung by ropes on a porch, put legs on it or can be a dog bed. I don't think I'd give a dog this though.

A cute assortment of teacups, pots and bottles on a pink and gold table.

Yes, I'd take this chair in a heart beat also.

Lovely! Look at the lampshade. Adorable.

And, of course, you can't have too many chandeliers in your home.

Sighing with delight. What a place off the dining room.

Another darling cabinet to store things in.

Loving this chair with all the different fabrics.

I think this blue kitchen is one of the prettiest I've ever seen.

This looks suspiciously like a Charles Faudree sun room design. I absolutely love his work.

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Tidbits: 

More good news from nature: Flies spend 10% of their time vomiting.

One acre of peanuts produces enough peanut butter for 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
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Linking up with Pink Saturday.

Just A Few Thoughts Today

Has anyone noticed that for the past several years that cakes are becoming a fashion statement? I see the most elaborate cakes all over the internet. Some look like they've taken days or even weeks to assemble. And the cost has got to be prohibitive for the average person. But they are gorgeous and works of art!
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I'll never be beautiful. I've accepted that and it's really okay. I have a beautiful spirit though. I've been told I am but I'm definitely a realist. At most I'm attractive, meaning I attract attention. Even at 70 I get looks from men. But truly, I'm not gorgeous or beautiful. BUT I feel beautiful and that's a start. If you're so down on yourself that you have to have surgery then you don't have the confidence that you are beautiful. I truly believe everyone has a beautiful spirit and if you think you're beautiful, pretty or striking, you will be. And I've got a smile that can dazzle them. I'm always smiling. Maybe they wonder why I've always got a smile on my face. I don't know, but the moment someone starts talking to me I smile bigger. Always have.
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The other night hubby came around the corner while I was in the kitchen and we hugged. I looked up at him, smooched him and asked him how he could love an old, fat, nagging, wrinkly woman. He said, "You're not wrinkly." I said, "Yes, I am." He repeated his statement. I felt better. :-)
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Our house is rather open, meaning the kitchen, dining area and living room are in close proximity that smells cover all three areas. Our cathedral ceiling allows the cooking smells to waft over the wall in the kitchen, which doesn't go all the way to the ceiling. It's one thing I don't like about our house but this is our last house and I deal with it. But if I know someone might be coming over, I don't cook fish, beans, hot dogs or sauerkraut. Nothing smells as bad as those foods to me. If someone drops in, I quickly spray the house with Scentsy if I catch them coming up the walk. I love those foods...well, the sauerkraut not so much but hubby does... but they sure smell the house up horribly. If someone drops by when I've had fried potatoes with onions or a roast, I don't worry because I'm always greeted with "Gee, it smells so good in here" when cooking those 2 foods. And they're right!
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This is another room I like, especially the curtains.

Another darling vignette with brightly colored tins, plates and cups.

Romantic flower vignette.

Wouldn't small matchboxes be cute covered in this paper?

Stepping through these doors could be a bit hazardous.

I love rain. I love hearing it, seeing it and feeling it.

Geraniums always remind me of California. We had many when we lived there.

This is a room I'd feel right at home in, but the walls would be pink.

Pretty linens are always nice to have.

Why not put netting around a table for a party?!

A little girl's room that a mummy decided to make froufrou and gorgeous.

Love this shade of lavender.

More pretty linens.

A pretty kitchen. I like the blue counter top, too.

A breakfast of croissants, fruit and juice in Paris.

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Tidbits:
George Washington was the only president to have been unanimously elected.
John F. Kennedy was the first president born in the 20th century.
Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital.
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Social Media...Again!

Okay, another great grandma brag here. (Remember, it's my blog and I can do this any time I want!) ;-) This is Miss Juliette as of just a few days ago. She's now a few months old. Her sister just loves her a lot. When she went to her daycare to visit with her friends, she called out, "Everybody, this is my Juliette!" She's a very proud and loving big sister. Juliette loves to be held and is a very sweet baby, sleeping through the night already. She's also a very happy little girl.

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The kids are after me again to...well, let me tell you—upgrade my cell phone. If you know me or have read my blog for any amount of time, you know my feelings on social media; I hate it. I have a Facebook account under an fictitious name to see my grandkids and great grandkids. I don't twitter, although, I tried it for a couple of days and then deleted it. Why would anyone want to know what I'm cooking that day or if I'm in the bathroom on the toilet? Boggles my mind. Even at the continuous nagging by my kids, I don't text. Gasp!!! I want to hear their voices and emotions and I'm just horrible at "two-thumbing" talking. I also hate, hate, hate with a passion people in line at the store talking about their very private lives while the rest of us are appalled at them. In restaurants, I've been watching the folks around us and a couple or a family will all pull out their cell phones and are talking on the cell phone or playing games. Where's the family sociality there? No wonder families are in danger! They don't talk to each other; they text each other. I know this to be true with some families we know. I make Love Bunny turn his off before we go into the restaurant. Mine is rarely on except if I'm shopping and need to ask hubs something we might need. I just don't use it much at all. My granddaughter is the same way and she works for Microsoft. She just got one these past few months when pregnant with her 2nd child and her hubby couldn't find her and thought she'd gone into labor. He had a fit so we gave her an old one of ours we never threw away and put her on our plan for ten dollars more a month. NO data plan, no fancy apps, just a phone she can let someone know if she's in trouble. She and I think so much alike, it's as if she's my daughter and not my granddaughter.

And we don't have a television, which brings up my newest rant.

Why do I have to go out to a restaurant with televisions spread all over the place blaring out sports events while my hubs and I are trying our best to talk? I love Applebee's best of all but I'm getting sick of the loud noise. Olive Garden or other restaurants at which we dine don't have the televisions blaring. Actually, Olive Garden has a separate room on the other side of the dining area at our local one here in town. I truly appreciate that. But while dining we should be chatting with the person or couple, not trying to talk above a blaring sports event. Okay, I'll slither back into my hole now and calm down. :-)
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This is a gorgeous room I think. Love the striped curtains.

Just eye candy roses and lilacs.

I have no clue where this building is but it is stunning with its architecture.

Radishes even make a gorgeous flower arrangement.

Fairies? If they say so, it must be true. Can you spot them?

Gorgeous wallpaper.

Gorgeous balcony and french doors.

A small little private area in a big city.

I think Claudia would like this island. ;-)

Gorgeous, stunning fuchsia chairs and curtains.

Pretty pillow cases with embroidered lace edges.

Eye candy tag for you.

My kind of license plate!

Yummy cookies!

Another place for your pretties, hanging in the windows overlooking an ocean.

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Tidbit:
It is illegal in the U.S. to sell raw almonds. They must be pasteurized before sale.
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Ballerina's Toes

Having been a high heel wearer in my younger years and loving the way they made my feet and legs look, I now try to warn the young women today at church how they'll suffer for wearing the highest heels imaginable in their youth. I loved and still love moderately high heels. I had some absolutely stunning heels that friends wanted to buy if I would sell them. Unfortunately, my feet were bigger than theirs—size 8 1/2 and they wouldn't fit them when I no longer wore them. I sold some on eBay and some I just cannot part with. So I truly know how you younger women feel. But I've had to have surgery on both feet to correct what those heels did. (I fully anticipate any young woman reading this will "pooh-pooh" what I'm telling you by rationalizing that it could never happen to them. I laugh but feel sorry for them because that's exactly what is going to happen to them in a few decades, especially with the ridiculously high heels now that have women almost standing on their toes.

I saw some article the other day that sent me to another article that talked about ballerina's feet. Our niece was a ballet dancer and auditioned for the NYC Ballet. I cannot remember if she danced for them but she was a professional ballerina for a short period until she met her hubby and got married. She is a beautiful long-legged young woman with 2 boys almost grown. But when I think about her and what she gave up, I'm certainly glad she did.

Ballerina's suffer immeasurably from being on pointe most of their lives. The feet you are about to see are some of the worst cases I've seen, and they will never be normal again.

So if you're the mother of a little girl wanting to be a ballet dancer, think twice about what her later life will be like. The younger years will definitely determine how much pain she'll endure down the line.

This is what some of the ballerina's feet end up looking like. The legs are also distorted with most of them.

Never to be able to be repaired.

Ruined toes and feet.

Pain and wrecked toes.

Deformed.

This is the worst case I've seen.

Twisted and painful.

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Now, let's look at some eye candy and beautiful photos.

Sigh. Yeah, the first photo is one of a darling pair of shoes. Sorry about that. But they are cute.

A quaint, sweet home in Europe somewhere.

And another pretty home.

I would never have thought of painting my kitchen cabinets in stripes but I love these.

Look at all the windows. They all have the same curtains so this must be just one person's house above a business. Absolutely adorable.

Some of my favorite things to show—beautiful fabrics.

A charming office for a woman.

Isn't this cute? I don't think I'd want to live beneath a waterfall though.

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Tidbit:
The world's largest eatery: the Damascus Gate restaurant, in Syria. It seats 6,014 persons.