What are we thinking?

Or, are we thinking at all?  That is the question that is weighing heavily on my mind lately.

I want to talk about something that I see going on more and more around us that constantly has me questioning, what are they thinking?

I am referring to the growing surge of apathy in our society.  I have discussed this with several friends and family who are also seeing this in many different ways from others in thier own circles. 

 Most recently, the judge in Maryland who overturned the conviction of those protesters who picket military funerals shouting obscenities based on their religious beliefs.  I just cannot wrap my head around how this can be allowed under the freedom of speech.  Isn't there a law somewhere that allows someone to be convicted of slander or defamation of character?  Surely, as a Christian this is not the character of Jesus that I know!  Obviously it was also an attack on the character of the soldier they picketed too, even though it was a backhanded approach.  Why couldn't this judge find it reasonable and in good judgement to find a law that would apply to this case to stop this madness?  Or was he only able to hand down the judgement on whatever specific charges were filed?  I cannot help but wonder was there much thought given to this case at all by those involved or was it just another example of our ever increasing issue of apathy in this world.

It seems to me more and more we are living in times where the more outrageous or popular the behavior the greater the voice it is given.  Why?  Have the rest of us lost our voices?  Are we all just too busy minding our own business to pay any attention to another?  Are we so afraid of getting caught up in the drama of any given situation that we often avoid it at all costs?  It sure seems that way to me! 

I am not just thinking of the situation with the judge and these protesters here. I am thinking of our society as a whole lately.

  I recently was sent an invitation on FB to join in on an event called RED FRIDAYS.  It is basically a group of people who are choosing to wear red on Fridays in order to show their support for our troops.  There were many comments on this group ranging from, "I am in!!!" to "Don't believe it, this is an old group that has been circulating since 2005 starting in Canada!".  I quickly scanned the comments and decided, why not?  Would it kill me to wear red this Friday?

Obviously it did not, as this was the photo I posted on my FB page last Friday.

I took the time to also post why I was dressed this way with a link to RED FRIDAYS.   I only received a handful of comments about this picture.  I wasn't surprised by that either.  Continuously,  I am seeing a growing trend towards people who are only connecting with people only when it's beneficial to them or deemed positive.  

  I believe our advances in technology and the changes in society as a whole may be to blame for this.  Don't get me wrong know one wants to be around a Debbie downer all the time, but sometimes people need to be heard during difficult times in order to be lifted.  Have we all accepted it's okay to trade in compassion for apathy?

Did we learn nothing from these ladies on the Stepford Wives?  It would seem more people are seriously trying to live this way in a strange robotic world void of real emotion.

Love means looking beyond differences and working together instead of tearing each other down. If we don’t strive for this, all our social circles will begin to look frighteningly like the strange town of Stepford. --Michael Ray

On FB there are hundreds of those copy and post status's to join in, groups, events, causes, etc. There are often so many that one can easily become apathetic towards them and ignore them along with everything else. 

 But what I keep wondering is, are we letting everything in our lives become that way?  Are we choosing to ignore things which we should be addressing?  Are we doing anything to help anyone other then that which makes ourselves feel good?  You may not choose to support the same things as me but are you supporting anything?  Or are you more comfortable just not getting involved or not responding? 

In our ever growing world of technology it is amazing and frightening to me the amount of people who choose to continue to take an apathetic approach and hide behind technology.  Here's what I am talking about.  Have you ever had an email or invitation ignored?  A phone call left unanswered?  Perhaps you are on the other end and just do not have the desire to speak to so and so right now, no matter that she may actually need to speak with you. 

  This ever increasing trend of avoidance and apathy is staggering.  Trying googling it if your not convinced by me.  I am not the first person to write about this.  Why should we have to bothered when we can simply ignore, erase, delete, and move on to that which is more pleasant or enticing, right?  I've done it and I know you have too! 

 The question is when will all this apathy catch up with us?  Where will we be when our world is full of those who espouse hate and there is no one to champion them or to answer thier calls of grief or anguish.  My heart goes out to the family who had to endure these protestors at their sons funeral!  It is horrible what they had to endure!   Do we really believe this world would be a better place if everyone would just be quiet and mind their own business? 

What about you?  Have you noticed a growing trend towards apathy?  Have you even given this any thought before?

I would love to know!  What are you thinking? Thanks for stopping by!

Mary

Craving Color

This table scape is a prelude to St. Patty's Day with an extra splash of color.  As if I don't have enough going on this week, I just had to stop and make time to play with the dishes.  Why?  Because I thrive better under stress, good stress that is!  But mostly, because I have been craving color in my kitchen.  I like my kitchen chairs painted black. I am also enjoying the black desk that I stacked my salad plates on too.   But, I think all the black with my black place mats are really starting to get to me, that, and these grey skies too!

Sooo, I started with adding green, by pulling in a few things I used for my St. Patty's day scape I'll show you next week.  Then some blue, then some red rose colors!  Finally, some color!

I love how this turned out!

 

These embossed wheat plates I got from a church rummage sale last year.  The back says they are from Portugal.  They are not the green color shown here in this picture above but more the green shown in the photo below.  I always have the worst time photographing this plates color accurately.  I don't know why!

The periwinkle blue Ivy salad plate was a thrift store find.  It is from Pfaltzgraff.

Another thrift store find are the small bread plates from Cracker Barrel.  If you look closely you can see they actually have the names of apples on them.

So, I thought it appropriate to top them off with an apple, green apples for me of course!

I have had these napkins for ever and day.  I also have a matching tablecloth to these somewhere, at least I think I still do.  Hope so!

Green glasses were a Walmart, Better homes and Gardens, clearance purchase.

 

The Salt and Peppers are from my everyday pattern, Gibson fruit.  I've had this basket for sometime too and used to keep sugar packets in it but now just keep the salt and pepper in here.

This was a garage sale score last year!  I just love it!  I think I may keep it here on the table everyday now to add the color I have been missing.

This green votive candle holder was a summer purchase from the Old Time Pottery store.

The little green leprechaun I've had for years now!  You will see him and the green hydrangeas again next week if you come back for that setting.  I did my St. Patty's table scape weeks ago because I was so excited and inspired.  LOL!

I like how much color I am seeing from this angle.

Much better, but these black chairs...IDK!!!!

Thanks for joining me for Tablescape Thursday!

I really appreciate your visit and would love to hear from you too.

Have a great day!

Mary

Thumbs Up OR Thumbs Down?

This post is not for the faint of heart and comes with a warning!  Please be kind when you respond as I am not posting this to encourage crudeness but in hopes that perhaps you can offer your own advice or experiences that may help me and others along the way.  That is what Wellness Wednesday is all about!  Sharing wellness tips and advice.

I still need to find just the right image for my Wellness Wednesday posts, don't worry I'll get to it! 

First things first!  Let me tell about some new shoes I picked up yesterday.  I really have been wanting to get some of those tone and trim tennis shoes that are out everywhere.  These are just a few that I have had my eye on for awhile now.

 The only problem was, I was not sure I would like them.  Most of these seemed so tall to me and reminded me of those platform shoes that were a fad for a bit when I was young.  LOL!  Additonally, you ladies know I am a bargain shopper, and these shoes are not cheap!  I just cannot see spending over $50.00 for shoes I may not like and cannot return.  It just won't happen with me!  Huh-uhh!  But when I found some at TJ Maxx yesterday for only $29.99 it was worth the chance!  Here's the shoes I ended up buying.

Okay, so they are all white and kinda remind me of the Nikes that were so popular back in the day, but I like them!  Because they are all leather I am hoping the toes will not wear out as quickly as the pair of Sauconys I bought last year did.  If these shoes work out for me I may consider getting a better quality later.

These are New Balance rock and tones.  They are designed to help tone your thighs and buttocks while you walk.  They are not as tall as some of the other brands I have seen but I can tell you they really do work.  I tried them out yesterday on my way home from shopping.  I was crossing over the dam and decided to stop and walk it.  It's a 4 mile total trek and they felt great!  I also could tell a slight tightness in the front of my thighs but not so much in the buttocks.   Hopefully that will come later after using them more!

I was pretty excited to have found them but when I told the Mr., he said there was a report on the news they were not good for you.  I told him I asked the girls at the check out had anyone told them whether they really work or not and they said they didn't know about these in particular but several of them had some of the different brands.  They all said they really do work but you should watch the CD that comes with them first.  They checked, but mine did not come with a CD (no surprise) but said basically you are supposed to only use them for about 45 minutes at a time.  They said, they are not meant for walking around in all the time.  Perhaps that is where people have run into trouble.  IDK!  My walks are usually 45 to 1 hour so I think I will be okay.  I can't wait to get out there and try them out again!

Okay now for the part of my post I warned you about.  You all know I have been trying to eat better, right?   Well, when I finally decided to buy this cereal I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was.

It is sooo delicious and I am almost finished with the  whole box!  Thank goodness!

It's basically a high fiber cereal that is supposed to be good for you.  It has cane sugar as opposed to regular sugar and  tastes very sweet.  It also has soy protein. 

Unfortunately for me, as good as it is, I cannot continue to eat this cereal.  Why? 

Because it produces the most prolonged amount of gas I have ever experienced.  I also have some bloating with this but not as much as the first day I ate it.  Unfortunately the gas is continous all day long!  It's quite embarrassing and I first thought it was something else I ate the first day I tried this.  After a week of experimenting eating this cereal I can verify it is difinitely the cereal that is causing me gas.  What a bummer because it is sooo good!

I am not sure what the ingredient is that is causing this and if it will eventually go away but I just can't live with that much gas.  I kid you not!  I first thought maybe it was just me but then I "googled" and guess what I found?  Report after report of people having the same symptoms as me from this product.  The odd thing is, not everyones system reacts the same as mine, but enough people did to post about it.

  Last night I was laughing so hard I was crying after reading some of the reports some people wrote about the gas they got from Kashi Go Lean Crunch.  It was seriously, too funny and I could  so relate!  Let me just say men have a wonderful way of discussing this subject that can make you laugh out loud!   We women are a bit more cautious with our descriptions.   I hope you won't be offended but I have to tell you several people said they should rename the cereal, Kashi Go Fart!  LOL!  Sooo true!  That's how powerful the reaction can be!

  There is a page that I found that had the most hilarious stories ever.  You can access that here.  But be warned!  Some of the comments may be offensive but if you have ever experienced what I have with this cereal you will find most of these posts extremely hilarious and feel relieved at the same time that you are not alone. 

If you are still following me after reading this, please don't stop now!  I promise you this is as crude as I get.  I really wanted to share this info with you only as a word of caution about trying this product. Like I said, it doesn't happen to everyone as each of our systems are different, but it could!

Whew!  That was tough!

 I would love to know if these unpleasant side effects will subside because I really think the cereal tastes that good.  Please let me know if you have tried it and experienced this too or not.  I would love to hear your stories, tastefully told that is, as I know most of you will!  LOL!

Have a great day!

Mary

It's Take A LOOK Tuesday!

What exactly does take a look Tuesday mean?  Well, in short...lots of photos!  LOL!  I have been very busy around the house spiffying it up for my first "launch" party and want to give you a preview of what my guests will see.

First, I cleaned off the porch outside because it was dirrrrrty! Take a look at it now!

Much better!  I still have some tweaking to do to the right of the front door but let's see what I've done so far.

Nothing new really, I just added my faux yellow daffodils for a pop of color.

I'm thinking this little ivy pot needs a bow instead of Mr. Roo.

Wow!  My old spring wreath really looks great now, on the "black" door.  This was new for me!

Not a bad start, huh?

Then, I got to looking at my pots around the front entry.

I pulled out all the dead stuff and decided they looked just too bare like this. 

Soooo....I made a little trip to the local greenhouse and...

This is what I came up with.  Again, much better!

I chose mostly succulents for these pots this year.

I liked the colorings of the leaves and hope they will do well in our hot sunny summers.  I spotted a few spring flowers in the yard and thought you might like to see them too.

Very pretty! My Iris's haven't started to bloom yet, but I bet it won't be long.

I filled these pots with Geraniums and have two more for the back porch.  I had to bring them inside last night because it got so cold again and I didn't want to take any chances.  LOL!

Much better right?

Inside my mantle has a bit of green and spring!

I had to switch the chairs here by the fireplace again and put my club chairs back.  I could not rest my laptop comfortably on the arms of my other chairs that I had here.  Oh, the joys of blogging!

I ended up moving them over here where I had put my butterfly bamboo chairs.  Those went back upstairs but they may end up in the dining room again later by the mirror where I used to have them last year.  What goes around comes around right?

 

Right now I have the end chairs to the table here to make room at the party.  I just love having moved this mirror and marble table back to where I had it.  It looks so much better in this spot and the china cabinet fits better then I had thought it would on the side wall.

This is what I have been preparing for.  I am quite nervous!  Please say a prayer things will turn out well if you are so inclined, I could really use it!  I found this fabric I have been saving to make something with and realized it was the perfect size for a tablecloth.

I finally finished redoing the tray that was the duck tray.  I repainted it and added burlap to the bottom. 

I even gave it a nice warn finish.  I really like how soft my display looks.  What do you think?

Now I am off to finish spiffying up everything you didn't get to see.  Shew!  Thanks for stopping by and

taking a look!

I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Mary