Authentic transformation occurs when we focus not on perfection but on putting the work in - giving it our all. When my girls were in middle/high school we told them we expected their 100% and if that ended with a C then we would be fine with that grade as long as we knew they had given it their all. See we could have said we expect - require even - A's but that's not realistic. Sometimes when we put 100% effort in we end up with a C and THAT'S OKAY. Why? Because perfection isn't the goal, transformation is and all that requires is effort.  I ran across an article about transformation and the necessity of it for our lives. We shouldn't stay the same - things need to change as we grow in understanding and experience life. But the cocoon we've been in is warm, cozy, and safe. Most of us would just as rather stay in it than break out and be exposed. But the beauty of transformation is when the cocoon breaks open and we are forced out - changed, a

Today I'm thinking about the islands. The breezes coming off the ocean, the warm sand between the toes, the cold drinks to counteract the sun warmed skin. So in honor of the islands let's toast with tropical margaritas! Try one of the following... Click here Click here Click here

sen·ti·men·tal /ˌsen(t)əˈmen(t)l/ adjective of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. The smell of toast - perfect or slightly charred - is what I'm thinking about today for #SentimentalSunday . I must have smelled toast just enough times during my growing up years at my Grandma and Grandpa Wells house that it became one of the memories for them. Without fail when I smell toast I am transported back in time to waking up in my grandparents house and the smell of toast in the air. I can close my eyes and see their kitchen, see the table with butter - strawberry and grape jellies - and bread on it with the toaster still warm. I can see the butter with toasted bread crumbs decorating it's edges. I can hear the scrape of the knife on the toast as it spreads the butter and jelly. It comforts me, makes me feel all warm and cozy and young again. So to toast sentimental sunday I'll be having...toast. *wink* * Next Sunday I introduce a new hashtag

Thanks to smartphones anyone can snap shots of life these days. And each of us are caught by different moments of life to capture. My eye gets caught by doors, ceilings, textures, and ground/floors among other things. Smartphones have also made it easier to capture quick moments of friends and family to share with those not near - I personally have really enjoyed that particular benefit. Today for #SaturdaySnapshot snap a pic or two of the life that catches your eye and share it with people near and far.

I remember the last episode of Friends - watching it live and hardly believing a decade had passed since it had entered into the culture with its wit and its stars and its Gen-X display of life.  It ended in 2004 and in 2014, when the show turned 20 it was revived in the media with interviews and flashbacks and memes and all things Friends. Netflix started streaming it in most markets and a whole new fan base was born.  To celebrate turning 20 there were numerous "top" quotes/episodes/etc from the show. Here are the top 20 most memorable quotes from the show show in the episode they aired in , thanks to the work of ABC. What is your favorite or most memorable quote from Friends?  [The final scene] [After the end]

What's the most memorable, in your opinion, sports moment ever? Maybe it was a game/match you attended so that's why it is memorable. Maybe it was your favorite team or player finally getting their moment. Maybe it was a huge upset. Or maybe you have your own reason why it is so memorable for you. My memorable sports moment is the Detroit Tigers 1984 World Series win. My family is from Michigan, down the road a bit from Detroit but close enough to consider it home. My Granny LOVED the Tigers. I remember her listening to the games on the radio or watching them on her little TV. So when the Tigers won in 1984 I knew she was over the moon and it was a big deal for all of us Tigers fans. It's the first sports moment I remember being a big deal.  What's yours? 

Part of my personality is a love of learning. I really wish I had understood that back in my school days...but let me not digress. I think that as adults we should all be learning - still. Whether we need to for our careers or just to keep our brains active or both. As we live our lives we should engage in continuing education. So today here's a few websites that encourage adult continuing education - give them a look and learn something new! Here's a website I got turned on to when listening to the Undisclosed Podcast. This site offers SO MUCH! Cooking classes, creative classes, brainy classes, etc. It's worth checking out. thegreatcourses.com The Great Courses costs money to learn and if you don't have the budget don't worry! There are plenty of learning sites out there that offer continuing education for free. 25 free online learning sites Here's the point - keep learning! Keep engaging your brain, don't stop! The cool thing a

I have unrealistic expectations about transformation. I want to do it once or for 1 minute and it PRESTO CHANGO is successful and my "work" is finished. Or when I put the time and work in I want it to stick forever with no maintenance required. Hey, I've already said they are unrealistic expectations - knowing is half the battle. *wink* The fact is transformation is many things - work, time consuming, intentional, and requires maintenance. It's a series of choices that you have to make over and over again. It's so tedious! But it's effective and it works. So today, on this #TransformationTuesday , I'm going to think about something that I keep dropping and pick it back up and press on for the transformation I want - and most likely need. 

Let's dish about savory margaritas today. Most of the time we drink margaritas that are sweeter but sometimes savory hits the spot. So today try a savory twist on the margarita - what do you think? Is savory the new sweet? 1.5 oz Milagro Reposado Tequila 1 oz Fresh red bell pepper juice 1 oz Fresh lime juice .75 oz Honey syrup (one part honey, one part water) 1 handful Fresh cilantro Garnish:  1 Lime wheel Glass: Rocks Add all the ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake, and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wheel. (source) Try this savory concoction The Blackberry & Rosemary Margarita 4 oz tequila 2 limes, juiced 4 oz blackberry simple syrup 1 egg white or 3 tbsp egg whites 2 springs rosemary, bruised and muddled coarse salt for rimming your glass blackberry simple syrup: 4 cups blackberries 2 cups sugar 2 cups water First make the simply syrup. Put all the ing

sen·ti·men·tal /ˌsen(t)əˈmen(t)l/ adjective of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. I tried to find an actual picture of the one my memory conjures about ice tea spoons but couldn't find one. Maybe it is so impressed in my memory that I have thought it must be an actual picture somewhere.  The picture is of my Grandpa Ashley and his glass of ice tea, always nearby and always with ice cubes in it and the spoon in it. The ice tea spoon. Long handle, teaspoon size - always present, at least in my memory. So present that I grew up with ice tea spoons in my childhood home and then had to have them in my home when I married. I never really thought about it or wondered about it until just recently. I was stirring sugar into a glass of ice tea with the ice tea spoon and the memory of my Grandpa and his always present spoon hit me. And I was flooded with nostalgia. I was transported back in time to the picture my memory holds.  Such a silly littl

So many small moments - words - actions - looks - lead to the moment you finally see captured by the lens. Sometimes you can see those moments captured, other times you have no idea what happened right before.  When my brother married his beloved my redheads were flower girls in the wedding. My youngest was 4. We missed naptime but she was hanging in there. As we were getting everyone ready for pictures she started crying. And no amount of pleading and asking and bribes was getting her to stop. Finally, as our last resort we pulled out the bag of fruit snacks and POOF the tears cleared up. She was hungry. OY VEY! If only we had tried the fruit snacks first or if only she had uttered she was needing a snack. So now we have wedding pictures of a blotchy faced flower girl with eyes still slightly damp. Not knowing the story behind the pictures of the cute blotchy faced flower girl might leave one to think she was pouting or throwing a fit for not getting her way or somethin

What is it about Friends? Why did it succeed then and is still a hot show today? Why did I watch it brand-new and have been watching it in syndication ever since and my now 19 year old daughter watches it too and we both love it the same? How is it possible that this show about Gen-Xers, for Gen-Xers, has outlasted the Gen-X era and has impacted the Millennials and so on? Well, there's a lot of thoughts out there about the endurance of Friends so I chose just one article to share. If you are a Friends lover what are your thoughts? Why do you think it has lasted so long?    [In the words of the cast themselves]

Let's talk about style. Not current fashion but those fashions we sported back in our younger days. You know those days - when we thought we looked G.O.O.D. *wink*  In the spirit of the day here's a few photos of my stellar fashion sense back in my day.  August 1983 - I LOVED this dress, I wore it a lot and I thought I was quite the cutie in it!  I'm not just outing my fashion sense today but my brother's as well - look at his shorts and socks! Hahaha! And then there's me. I remember this outfit very well - I put a lot of thought into it. I was definately going through a pink phase - you can't see it here obviously but my entire bedroom was pink walls - as in bubblegum pink - along with white wallpaper that had pink hearts on it. This was in July 1986.  Huh. I just noticed that with the posting of this picture and the two above there's a lot of pink. I must have liked it much more than I thought. To be fair this sweater I'm wear

Let's talk kids. Kids and websites. We all know kids - even if they don't belong to us. I've got my own kids - grown up now - but I also have a younger nephew and niece and lots of other littles in my life. And these days all the littles running around know more about computers and websites and apps than I do but I'll still give it shot today. *wink*  (Thanks Google.) 20 hand-picked free and fun educational websites for kids 20 Really Cool and Useful Websites for Kids

When I hear the word 'transformation' I usually think of it in the positive but there can be negative transformations. For example, like the following... Human to Vampire Human to Werewolf Human to Hulk (or Calm to Rage) Okay, I understand those examples are 1) unrealistic and 2) impossible BUT they prove the point I'm trying to make. Not all transformations are positive or healthy. And a lot of times the unhealthy changes we go through happen without us even realizing it. Some of them are extreme - like the above examples - others are subtle, so much so until one day you realize you are the hulk (filled with rage). So for today's #TransformationTuesday get real! Get real and get honest with yourself. Take a deep look - have you undergone an unhealthy transformation recently, perhaps without realizing it? If so what step can you take today to reverse it move toward a healthy place again?

You know a great way to celebrate #MargaritaMonday? With friends! Invite everyone over or invite yourself over and have everyone pitch in on a Margarita Bar. Heck, throw in some cupcakes while you are at it! Source INGREDIENTS TO SET OUT: -tequila, Cointreau, maybe mezcal if you’re cool -sparkling water -fresh berries like raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries -fresh squeezed juice like grapefruit, lime, mango, and orange -hot sauce or chili sauce -sliced limes -simple syrup (simmer equal parts water and sugar 2 minutes then cool) -kosher salt, Lucas salt, or chili salt on a plate for rimming glasses -ice TOOLS TO SET OUT -muddler -drink stirrers -jigger or measuring cups -glasses SUGGESTED RECIPES TO POST ON THE BAR (write these on cards or on butcher paper taped to the wall. You may need to simplify them to serve one drink): muddled fruit + 2 oz tequila + 1 oz Cointreau + 3 oz juice (or 2 oz juice and 1 oz sparkling water)

sen·ti·men·tal /ˌsen(t)əˈmen(t)l/ adjective of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. It's my Mama's book originally and starting with my one year old birthday party I grew up with cakes from this book. Not every year but enough that they are weaved into my memories.   For my first birthday party my Mama made not one but TWO of the cut out cakes to celebrate.  It's laying flat but if you look closely you can see it's an angel cake.  And once I got my hands on it I started making cakes from it for my own children and was inspired to try a few other cakes not featured in the book but certainly inspired by it. I also made a cake or two from the book for different baby showers.  My oldest daughter had a butterfly/spring themed 3rd birthday party. This cake from the book was perfect!  My youngest daughter is obsessed with kitties. For her 4th birthday I made her a kitty cake from the book. When my o