by Sharon | Mar 2, 2022
Yesterday I Did A Major Facelift To This Website
I love this website. It has been part of me since 2014, but I had it hosted elsewhere before moving it — and losing the content. My point is that I’ve had this website or domain name for a number of years — It has gone through changes . . . as have I . . . some good, others not so much . . . no regrets — it’s all part of the journey. Where we end up hopefully is worth it.
I’m not necessarily a “joiner” . . . yet for the past 8 years I’ve been involved with an internet marketing group. I’ve been a Premium Member of that group for all that time. Last year or so they did a major upgrade and offered a Premium Plus Membership at twice plus the cost . . . I passed. At the time I didn’t feel the added services would benefit me. Then there was this 36 hour March Madness Sale cutting the price down to what I was paying for the Premium Membership. Of course this internet community was talking about how this was a “no-brainer” opportunity. I didn’t act right then. I slept on it. I woke up at 4 AM went to the website and upgraded to Premium Plus.
Why am I sharing this? It’s about timing. I was revamping this website. I needed a change . . . I had even thought of building a new website — even letting this one go . . . I was thinking of how this one has become just like another website I have. My other websites were created from this one more or less . . . I love Halloween, ghost stories, the paranormal . . . all that creepy stuff . . . but also paper crafts and whatever else interests me at the moment . . . But I digress . . .
How Serious Does One Have To Be To Be Taken Seriously?
You didn’t see that coming did you? Neither did I, actually.
I spent a lot of time yesterday seeing what my theme company had available for me to use in order to revamp this website.
It gave me inspiration . . .
Also some doubts about the direction I was going . . . or if I could make this work. Tough stuff!!
It was basically a wake up call telling me to stop messing around and get serious. Yes, I’m a senior citizen . . . all the more reason for me to have my act together and stop playing around. I can enjoy what I’m doing, but I do need to get serious about it.
That was the reason for the upgrade . . . And my reason for sharing this here. There are times we have to get out of our comfort zone. Try new things. Learn new things. Discover new things. There are plenty of opportunities available to us . . . if we would only acknowledge them . . .
Recognizing opportunities and acknowledging them . . . knowing our limitations and doing something about it. Life is fluid . . . ever changing whether we’re ready for it or not. And changes that may not be something we want . . . so it’s important to get out in front and turn the tide in the direction that works best for us. I suppose it’s about being pro-active rather than re-active.
Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment to let me know what you think of this post and the revamping of this website.
Until next time!
Sharon
by Sharon | Nov 12, 2016
There is always a degree of apprehension and anxiety when faced with change . . . along with disappointment, discouragement . . . which leads to challenges and looking for the positive . . .
For some, there may be a pay off to being unhappy, angry, disappointed . . . 
For others, in spite of disappointments, we look for the positive . . . the challenges within ourselves that we must face to accept not getting what we want to something not being what we thought it would be.
I was all into the concept of die cuts and how wonderful it would be to have a plain template . . . but then, having something ready-made seemed to appeal to me more . . . Allowing me to see where I was going . . .
And changing something to my liking from a ready-made printable seemed the easier way to go.
But, in truth, it all comes down to your personal comfort level.
Initially, I was overwhelmed by the pieces, as above, that didn’t seem to have a purpose . . . because I never put it together before . . . and it didn’t look like anything . . . But there are more possibilities for creativity and individuality with the die cut pieces than the ready-to-print-out-and-assembly Gingerbread House.
It does go together nicely and it does have all the icing and embellishments in place . . . The first one will look the same as the second . . . fifth . . . tenth . . . fiftieth . . .
There is no surprise there . . . unless I decide to alter it in some way . . . but such alterations may be much more work than if I started with a die cut template.
Yes, if I want, I could make the die cut elements above into a gingerbread house. I can add a wreath on the front door . . . I could make a fence of gingerbread children . . . I can cut out white window frames . . . and add some white “frosting” to the roof tiles . . . And candy canes . . .
Now look back at the first image . . . The die cut . . .
You have a decision to make . . . What color card stock to do want for the body of the house . . . and for the roof of the house . . .
With the die, I had to decide at that point the colors and cutting the card stock and place it over the appropriate places . . . and later learned how I should have taped it down so it wouldn’t slip . . .
Yes, I was initially overwhelmed and a bit disappointed . . . But, it was all a matter of getting out of my way that I realized there was a learning curve for me . . . I didn’t like it . . . but if I wanted to create something different each time I made this Tim Holtz Sizzix Village Dwelling, I’d have some decisions to make . . . and it started with the first one . . . an experiment . . . and maybe several experiments until I got it right . . .
I had to learn the die . . . and the Sizzix Big Shot . . . then assemble the pieces . . . and decide what else I wanted to do with it . . . add a different roof pattern . . . add a siding pattern . . . It takes a bit of trial and error . . . and some disappointment that it didn’t turn out as initially imagined . . . but it was all about learning . . . and facing each challenge head-on.
I was watching a movie yesterday about this mathematical genius . . . who really didn’t fit in with others . . . not understanding the dynamics of relationships . . . except those associated with numbers . . . He did learn how he missed out on things . . . and found he wasn’t “all that” . . . especially when it came to his relationship with his mother . . . And, in the end, after waiting for her son to respond to her . . . they learned how to communicate . . .
This gets me to a YouTube video I watched of an interview with an adult who had a famous mother . . . and the relationship they had . . . which wasn’t so much love . . . as respect . . . an admiration of her mother’s talents and abilities . . . It struck me a bit strange . . . Yet, many famous people may be incapable of love or conveying it to their children . . . It is all about them . . . their career . . . their life . . .
It’s all a matter of perspective . . . and how we deal with it . . .
Life isn’t easy . . . we are faced with challenges . . . disappointments . . . successes . . . 
The same applies with crafts. The whole concept is to have fun . . . to make something . . . So you get all the tools and paper . . . and find it isn’t as easy as it looks when watching someone else.
You can always throw in the towel and give up or pout and throw the whole thing in the trash . . . or realize it is a bit of a challenge and the first effort may not work out . . . or even the second . . . third . . . oh my gosh! fourth . . . But, each time, you get a bit closer to achieving your goal. Just know that there may be another failure after a success . . . There are no guarantees.
There’s no guarantee that the more you work at it, that you will succeed . . . It depends upon your perspective of success . . . and respecting the tools for what they are . . . and recognizing their limitations . . . as well as your own . . . but having a determination to figure it out . . .
There are always these wise people who have these wise sayings . . . but we can never bring them to mind when we need them . . . So, we need to rely on ourselves . . . depend upon ourselves . . . be gentle with ourselves . . . accept that we’re not perfect and things aren’t always easy . . . and alternatively, things aren’t always difficult . . . We may have cycles of success . . . and cycles of failure . . . but it’s just a cycle . . . and we have to go through it until the tide changes . . .
We control our thought, our actions, our feelings . . . there are some things we can’t change . . . nor control . . . but we can focus our perspective . . . we can look for the positive . . . strive to find something funny or different or interesting or unusual each day . . . Surprisingly, you’ll find it . . . because you’re looking for it . . .
So, what we may be unable to do one day . . . we may be able to do the next . . .
This applies to all things in life . . . I know I throw a lot of concepts at you all at once . . . You may be wondering what I’m thinking . . . But, if you’ve ever had a conversation using Two Cans On A String . . . you miss some stuff and have to fill in the blanks . . . And, drawing the string of what connects life, movies, interviews and crafts together . . . is your challenge of filling in the blanks to make sense out of it for you . . .
Thanks for stopping by!
Sharon
Oh! I almost forgot!! Click the image of the Gingerbread House on the left to be taken to a PDF you can print out, cut out and assemble. It’s a great treat/gift box.
by Sharon | May 9, 2016
Yes, I was out and about early this morning.
Has some errands to run and wanted to get an early start.
There is something nice about getting up early and getting out in the fresh air and sunshine to brighten your perspective.
This was my trash pick up day . . . but I got my barrels out last night and found I had plenty of energy to do some sweeping up of the debris left from our recent rain. I also noticed the barrels had been emptied . . . so, it was time for me to bring them back in . . . but there were broken limbs from a tree I had to pick up and cut down a bit to fit in the barrel . . .
I was pleased to clean things up before most of my neighbors realized their barrels were emptied.
After all that, I left for my errands.
It does feel good to get things accomplished before noon . . . then you have the reminder of the day to write blogs and tidy the house and do crafts and just relax.
Many times I linger in the mornings . . . watching the power walkers . . .
But, I’m beginning to think they have the right idea . . . get up early and get moving . . .
I do feel good . . . invigorated . . . happy and very pleased . . .
It’s good from time to time to vary your schedule and get a new perspective . . . possibly an attitude adjustment . . . I don’t know any proper phrase that would describe it . . . but you may have already filled in the blanks . . .
I do hope you get outdoors daily . . . it does bring something wonderful . . . It’s not necessary to power walk for a mile or more, but to just get out and stroll around your yard would be enough . . . unless you want to take a long walk or bike ride . . .
Exercise is good, no matter how strenuous you want to make it . . . there is something about just walking around or pulling weeds or sweeping or raking . . . small tasks are excellent . . .
I find I spend much too much time in front of the computer . . . or sitting reading or doing crafts . . . we do need to move . . . not just to the kitchen for a snack . . .
And do more than the household chores . . .
I thought it was important to exercise the mind . . . to keep it sharp . . .
And physical exercise is essential, too . . . but I’m not into getting worn out and sweaty . . . not a pretty sight nor feeling . . .
I don’t know if you need to get all red in the face from exercise to be meaningful or helpful . . . I don’t believe getting overheated is a good thing either . . . but I’m no expert on the subject.
Consulting a medical doctor would be good . . . and also listening to your body . . . sometimes we have to take it easy before going on a 10K run . . . it takes baby steps . . . in my case it does, but for many of you it may not be a big deal . . .
I take the weather conditions into consideration . . . I don’t go out in the rain for a walk . . . unless I’m dressed appropriately and have an umbrella . . . I like to keep as dry as possible and not get a chill . . . getting sick is not on my “to do” list.
I also don’t go out when the weather is in the high 90’s or gets into the 100’s. I do keep hydrated with water . . . some people go for the special waters that give more nutrients . . . but I’m not doing strenuous labor-type tasks in the heat of the day . . .
It’s important to follow doctor’s orders and to use some common sense . . .
Spring seems to be turning to summer here in Southern California
Today is forecast to be a bit warmer than previous days . . .
I hope we get more rain . . . that cools us down and gives us more spring . . . and helps with our drought conditions.
I know I feel better when the weather is cold, cool and fair . . . I’m not fond of hot temperatures . . .
We may be getting our normal June Gloom . . . but we’ve had this in April and May thus far . . . and I’m enjoying it . . . it can continue throughout the summer . . . and I’ll be welcoming fall way before it is due . . . I do love fall . . .
I’m already working on Halloween stuff . . . and maybe will get into the Christmas in July thing many crafters do . . . a head start on any holiday crafting is always a good idea . . .
Some people work on what pleases them throughout the year . . . depending upon their favorite holiday or what they feel like doing . . . I know from looking at Pinterest, some people are still into Easter . . . others have been pinning about Halloween since last Halloween . . . and, of course, Christmas is always popular . . . and there are those who love cooking and have their favorite recipes . . . plus variations of S’Mores . . . it is a year round treat for many . . . just as hot chocolate . . .
We don’t necessarily have to divide our attention with food and decorating and crafts to go along with the appropriate holiday season . . . we can enjoy what we enjoy throughout the year . . . People go to warmer climates during the winter and cooler climates during the summer . . .
We may all to some degree be fair weather lovers . . . to be comfortable indoors and outdoors . . .
Thank you for stopping by!
Until next time,
Sharon
by Sharon | Apr 11, 2016
We all seem to have a favorite holiday or holiday season.
The most popular are Halloween and Christmas in that order.
I do have a website of haunted stuff with ghost stories. I love them, as many do. I also have one of Christmas. Then, there’s this one that allows me to celebrate the holidays as they come. And, you may have noticed how I really do get into Halloween . . . it is my favorite season.
I’m not into the real creepy stuff with the violent make-up and gross food. It’s interesting how make-up can be applied to scare the living daylights out of you . . . I admire it, but it’s not something I would do.
If Halloween is for children, I’d go for the more mild fun stuff . . . but to each his/her own.
Yes, there is definitely humor in being scared . . . and children running around at night in costumes gathering sweet treats is all about the fun . . . yet, the idea of being out at night . . . the lit pumpkins with scary faces . . . the decorations of tomb stones . . . and witches, ghosts, skeletons and other scary stuff heightens the imagination.
Also going to the doors of stranger’s houses is a scary activity.
For me, it is about the children and their enthusiasm of getting all dressed up and going door to door collecting candy. And, if they scare each other along the way, it’s all in fun.
I love that parents are with their children. Some dress up in costume, too. Or, they’re with older siblings. Times have, unfortunately, changed and we need to make sure children have a safe Halloween experience.
Many people opt to have parties in their homes rather than allowing the kids to go out . . . this works out well. It is fun to gather friends together and have fun and games and maybe watch a Halloween DVD . . . and, of course, have some delicious food . . . it may look a little odd, but the taste is wonderful.
I haven’t noticed as many Christmas Carolers.
I’d love to hear them sing . . . going door to door.
One neighborhood church would have young and old alike singing carols throughout the neighborhood. You could join them, if you wanted to. It would turn into a rather large group.
Then, we’d have an impromptu pot luck dinner. We’d all contribute and share the news of the families. It was a nice way of getting caught up on marriages and births, graduations and jobs . . . we seemed to keep up with the sorrow of death . . . but it was a time of letting neighbors know we do care . . .
I enjoyed listening to the stories of different families . . . some could trace their ancestry way back . . . This was good for everyone to hear and there were history lessons involved, too. You had to understand the times, to understand the hardships and the joys . . . how how certain traditions developed and are practiced today.
Each and every one of us has a history . . . a story to tell . . . maybe about our ancestry . . . and our own story . . . from humble beginnings . . . and the opportunities we were given . . . and the decisions we’ve made . . . all shaping the life we now live.
Whatever, holiday or holiday season you enjoy . . . it’s wonderful to be with family and friends . . . and to share what you can about life and aspirations.
We all have a life and aspirations . . . it’s interesting to see how things work out.
Until next time,
Sharon
by Sharon | Apr 8, 2016
Too Often Our Thoughts Aren’t For Our Benefit
I’ve had days when I’d rather stay home than run errands.
I was sitting and thinking about all the things I needed to do. Then, I suddenly got up, walked out the door, into my car and drove off. It seemed as though my thoughts were leading me in the direction I needed to go in order to get the various tasks accomplished.
I had a good morning, taking care of things I’d put off . . . just because my thoughts weren’t working with me.
Yes, it was cloudy and wet . . . but, quite honestly, I didn’t notice it. I was on a mission.
Sometimes we do need to let go of our imagined fears and move past them.
I found this great site where you can make an envelope and fill it with Best Thoughts. There are some you can print out and there are some that are blank so you can write out your own Best Thoughts.
They could be favorite quotes or Bible Verses. They could even be affirmations you find uplifting. It’s about allowing your mind to get you out of a rut . . . of deciding to not let troubles and sorrows get you down. This may allow you to think on the more positive side . . . your troubles and sorrows won’t disappear over night . . . but how you perceive them may . . . maybe not overnight, but with persistence . . . soon.
Some may believe this is magical thinking. In a way, I suppose it is. We dwell on things . . . some good and others . . .
Our thoughts help us make decisions . . . getting down to the basics of the situation, rather than all the extras that are there complicating it.
I was watching a movie about a woman who reached a cross roads . . . she was given an opportunity to teach at a prestigious college and have her book published. When this opportunity was presented to her, she also received a proposal of marriage from her long-term boyfriend.
She met him for dinner. She was bursting with news . . . and he was concentrating on his proposal and the life they would share together.
Well, in the movies there is conflict, otherwise there wouldn’t be a story. And in the story, it was all figuring out what to do . . .
There are ways of approaching such a situation . . . and there are many movies with this theme . . . either the man or the woman is given an opportunity of a lifetime . . .
These cards may allow you to think through your priorities without hurting anyone or yourself in the process.
There are many lessons to learn in life . . . many opportunities lost . . . many taken, leading to others . . . or to heartbreak . . .
Life is full of those ups and downs.
It may be worthwhile to sit quietly each day with Best Thoughts to help you either through those downs or assist you in preventing unnecessary ones.
It’s worth a try . . . just click here and you can print out the envelop and the cards . . . and print out plenty of the blank ones to write out your own best thoughts . . .
I find those to be more meaningful to me.
And these may be helpful to a friend . . . it wouldn’t hurt to share this with them.
Until next time,
Sharon
