My highlight for #SuperstarSaturday is Valerie Sagun aka Big Gal Yoga . This chick is AMAZING! And so very inspiring. When I first saw her I think my jaw dropped open and my eyes popped out of my head. Incredible. She was doing something that I kept telling myself it was impossible considering my size, lack of coordination, and my general love for my recliner. Then I saw Valerie and thought, "Well, there goes all and any excuses I could come up with." I'm really grateful that Valerie is sharing herself with us, it's encouraging and inspiring. She's 100% a superstar! 

My mouth is watering today because for #FoodieFriday I thought we could talk about compound butters. Oh me, oh my.  First of all I love butter. Everyone always gives Paula Deen grief for all the butter she uses, I cheer her on. And let me clarify - butter not margarine. People, margarine is fake, it's not butter. It's awful for you - AWFUL. Life is too short, eat real butter.     Butter is wonderful. And then it can be taken to the next level by creating a compound butter. Compound butters can be made at home or purchased commercially. A compound butter can be made by whipping additional elements, such as herbs, spices or aromatic liquids, into butter. The butter is then reformed, usually in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and chilled until it is firm enough to be sliced. These butters can be melted on top of meats and vegetables, used as a spread or used to finish various sauces. ( source ) And they can be savory or sweet.  The amazing thing about

If you are thinking #ThumbsUpThursday is a bit cheesy then you are right! It is and that's the point. Too many of us are too serious and have forgotten to stay light. #ThumbsUpThursday is to let people know they are seen and valued and to put a little fun into the day.  I'm a fan of clever and witty phrases. I'm also envious of the people who can think them up - I would love to have that talent but I digress.  So today why not pass out some thumbs up through clever and wit?  I found these really fun compliments and the best part about them? They are free! You just need to download them - I've included the link below the pictures.  Compliments Print-n-Post just enter your email address and you will get the PDF immediately Fun Print-n-Post just enter your email address and will get the PDF immediately If you are curious about what other fun - cheesy - great downloads this site has for free you can see them all by clicking here . 

Our #WinningWednesday topic is taking responsibility for your own actions. We win at life when we own ourselves - the good and the bad. Except it's not so hard to own our good is it? I mean, we like to own our good - and some of us really like to own it by making sure everyone hears about our good from us all.the.time. (That's obnoxious and crosses the line of owning our good.) But owning our bad. Oh, we don't like that. At all. But I promise we win at life when we own the stuff that makes us look bad. Oh, it's not easy but it's better. There can be consequences when we don't take responsibility for our actions but  there can also be rewards when we do.    And honestly? The rewards of owning ourselves is worth it, even when it's hard. But why is it so hard to own up to our mistakes? Because our brains generate cognitive blind spots that can make it difficult for us to honestly assess our actions and determine our responsibility for those actions and

Today's #TreasureTuesday topic is kindness.   Kindness is in short supply these days. And the more extinct it becomes the rarer of a treasure it is. It's almost like it has become a buried treasure. Today I say we dig it out, brush it off, and start to share it more.  True treasure is priceless - it's value far exceeds any amount of money we could fathom. Monetary treasure eventually spends itself and runs out, even when gaining interest. Emotional treasure can spend itself throughout generations and gain an interest we never imagined. The awesome thing about the treasure of kindness is it costs nothing, it is free. Yippee!  The great thing about kindness is, while there may be a shortage of practicing it, there is no shortages of ways to extend it and people to extend it to.    So go out there and practice kindness, you won't regret it. 

Sometimes I feel like I have to piece together my Monday. Like I have several to-do lists that I need to somehow merge together to make one, picking one item off of each list to create a new one.                       Can anyone else relate? I don't know why Monday seems to have the longest and perhaps most tedious to-do list but it does. So if today your monday is feeling like it needs to be pieced together step one is this: breathe. deep, deep breaths. Then gather your list(s) and make a new one of only the musts. Don't let this monday make you manic - make it listen to you instead.

A sip is a small amount, just a taste. Today's #SundaySip is from Cole Sako. She's someone I followed on Facebook and Instagram (she's vanished from social media recently). She consistently provides this great *sips* of thoughts about faith. This is one she wrote the end of April 2017 and I come back to it often. It was such a great thought, such a powerful visual. I hope this *sip* is perhaps the taste you are looking for, even if you didn't know it!  Our Daily Bread. We found a new local bakery and are in love. The bread is fresh and the service is good and at the end of the evening they'll give you a large baguette for free. Do you know why? Because by the next morning the baguette is hard as a rock. Seriously - I'm talking about a weaponized carbohydrate. It's darn pretty to look at but no longer edible.                                                                 I've said the Lord's Prayer for years. It's au

Brené Brown is my superstar this saturday. I had heard her name here and there but introduced myself to her when I read her book, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are . I was blown away. The second I finished the last word I started the book over. Blown. Away. I then started reading anything I could get my hands, eyes, and heart on by Brené.  If you haven't yet taken in any of Brown's wisdom I encourage you to do so. I don't think you will regret it. At all. In fact, you can hear her talk about one of her top topics, vulnerability. Click here to hear her very popular TED talk.  

I think some of the fun of cooking is the gadgets! And I am pretty sure I am not the only foodie who loves the kitchen gadgets too. I am a kitchen gadget freak. It may or may not be a problem. *wink*  There's no way I could pick *a* favorite gadget but here are a few that I constantly use: garlic press, zester, Kitchen Aid, Crock Pot, my good set of knives, my Pampered Chef pots and pans set, Pyrex measuring cups, cookie scoops that I use for so much more than the perfect sized cookie...well I could add a few more to the list but that's sufficient. So what are the essentials? Each of us will have ones that are essential to us but here's a list of the ones everyone needs . Because of my slight obsession with kitchen gadgets going into stores such as Williams Sonoma  or Bed Bath & Beyond , or hanging around too many Pampered Chef parties is a wee bit dangerous for me. I can ALWAYS find some gadget I *need.* So how about you? What do you use to coo

#ThumbsUpThursday is all about giving people just a wee bit of "way to go." Someone may behave like they don't need a thumbs up but it's not true - every person needs a thumbs up, needs affirmation, they just may need it in a different way than most. So if you've tuned in to someone who doesn't seem to need a thumbs up your mission is to discover what qualifies as a thumbs up to them. In the meantime...for the people that you know love getting a thumbs up here's an idea for today. Sneak something like these postcards on to people's desks or mailboxes or lockers or wherever they are sure to find their thumbs up.