Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

Allow the telephone to ring three times before you reply, so that you can become aware of your breath and speak form a centered and calm space. 

Movies of Tim and Dolly

 The entire world felt the loss of Dolly Parton earlier this week.  While these things are inevitable, there was still no preparing for it.  She was an amazing artist and an even greater person.  And then the next day we lost Tim Curry.  He's a personal favorite of mine simply because of my obsession with Clue.  There have been many lists posted this week about Dolly and Tim, and it got me to thinking of the films that they made that I have not seen yet.  I will have to add these to my Friday Night Movie nights!

1. Passed Away 

2. Legend 

3. Three Men in a Boat

4. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas 

5. Ferngully; The Last Rainforest 

6. Unlikely Angel 

7. The Hunt for Red October 

8. Smoky Mountain Christmas 

9. Straight Talk 

10. Christmas On the Square

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

True meditation is constant awareness, constant pliability, and clear discernment. 

Recipe of the Week - Meatball Sub Casserole

 This is a recipe from Allrecipes.com. I was watching one of their YouTube videos on easy casseroles because you know I love a good casserole. This was one of them and so I thought I would try it.  And let me tell you it is good!!!  I have made it twice in the past few months and have thoroughly enjoyed it.  Those that I have shared it with also liked it so it's not just me LOL  It's easy and delicious.  I hope you will give it a try because I really think you'll like it!

Meatball Sub Casserole

1 loaf of frozen garlic bread, cooked and cubed

1 bag frozen Meatballs

2 jars marinara

1 chopped onion

Shredded Mozzarella

Grated Parmesan

Sauté onions.  Add meatballs and marinara and heat through.  Layer casserole dish with garlic bread.  Sprinkle both cheeses on top.  Distribute meatballs and sauce over bread.  Top with rest of cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

*I also like to add cooked mushrooms to mine.

** I have also used Texas toast in place of garlic bread and it works well, too.  I prefer the garlic bread but it's still good!

It's not enough

 Do you ever have those moments when you just stop and look around and think to yourself "This is no longer enough"?  And I don't mean enough like enough stuff.  I have enough stuff.  I'm talking more about the quality of what you have going on in your life.  Or is it just me?  I seem to be having those moments more and more lately.  While there are portions of my life that are being built up to a level that I am grateful for, there are many things that I have become disillusioned with.  I hate to say that, but it's true. 

Some days, getting up and getting ready for work is very hard.  Today is one of those days.  It's not because I don't enjoy my job.  It's because I believe I can do so much more.  Anyone can do what I do at work and at the end of the day if I was not there, it would not make a huge difference.  Now, I'm sure some of the people that I work with may disagree with that, but that's the feeling I keep getting.  And that's not a good way to spend the majority of my day.  

Today, I know that I am feeling this way because of the loss of a great icon who was one of the best humanitarians to grace this planet.  I think about the difference she made in so many lives.  Not that I could ever be on that level, but it would be nice to feel like I had a purpose. Not that I don't have a purpose, really, but I am ready to make more of a difference in life than I do.  I am not sure where these feelings will take me today, if anywhere.  What I do know is that if I do not do anything about these feelings, I will let them overtake my existence and that's not good.  I will begin to overcompensate and from experience I know that will end badly for me.  

I will figure it out.  I'm not sure what is in store, but I plan on taking these feelings and making something productive and constructive out of them.  I want to make a difference.  Not only for others but for myself.  That is all. 

Dolly

Yesterday, we lost one of the greatest artists and humanitarians that the world has ever known.  Dolly Parton passes away at the age of 80, leaving behind an incredible legacy of music, movies, and good deeds. I think that many of us will remember where we were when we heard the news.  She was just that important.  She was that constant of good in life that so many aspired to. 

Dolly has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  In the very early 80s, I remember watching her London concert on HBO. That's what got me hooked.  And I remember getting so upset that I could not go see 9 to 5 in the movie theater.  I was like 6 after all, so it was not appropriate, but I still threw a tantrum about it.  Years later, when I finally saw it, I understood why I should not have gone to the theater.  Still, it has become a favorite.  And the music.  Islands in the Stream, I Will Always Love You, Hard Candy Christmas and my favorite, Coat of Many Colors.  Her Christmas specials, especially the one with Kenny Rogers.  Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk.  Dollywood.  Her books for children program.  Everything she did touched so many lives.

I am glad that I lived during a time when Dolly was on earth.  She will be missed by many.  Irreplaceable and unforgettable.  Thank you, Dolly. 

Some days you just have to run the red light

 

I am a very cautious driver.  I always have been.  I have not gotten a speeding ticket yet in my life even though I do drive over the limit sometimes.  I have only been in one accident and that was not my fault.  I was driving a company car when someone pulled out and rammed into me.  That was fun years ago! I am also a huge stickler when it comes to traffic laws.  There are few things that irritate me more than when people just do not obey the traffic laws simply because they don't think the laws pertain to them.  I will lay on my horn whenever I see someone turning right at a "no right on red" stop.  Drives me crazy.  If I am on a two-lane road, I will make sure that I am over just far enough so that cars behind me cannot use the bike lane as a turning lane. If I am making a right turn off of a three-lane road, I will make it a wide right turn if I can tell that the car behind me is going to use the center lane to pass me on the left.  I have gotten the finger more than once from that one.  I just smile and keep going.

However, yesterday I did something I never dreamt I would ever do. I ran a red light.  I got so irritated at this light that would not turn I could not take it anymore.  I looked at the cross traffic, and no one was coming so I floored it through the intersection.  I was on my way to work and not about to be late because the light trigger was not working.  I was at an intersection that, during the day, is very busy.  At 6:45 on a Sunday morning, not so much. I was waiting at the red light.  There was no one coming in my opposite direction but there were cars on the intersecting street. I have sat at this light in the early morning before when the trigger does not work on my side, but the light will turn green if someone approaches the intersection coming towards me.  So, I sat and sat. Both left turn lights on the intersecting street went green twice while my light stayed red.  There were cars behind me, but our light would not turn at all.  

Finally, I said to myself "screw this" and I just went for it.  I made sure no one was coming and I blew across the intersection.  With my luck, there would have been a cop nearby but thank goodness there was not one.  And I made it to work with time to spare.  I don't do things like this in traffic, but I got so angry knowing that I was going to sit there for a long time.  I just couldn't take it anymore and I went for it.  I'm not ashamed and I would do it again if I needed to.  I do wonder, though, how long the cars behind me waited at that light.  Oh well.