The Moral of the Story

This week a friend sent me this little fable.  I thought it would give you all a chuckle.  And uplift all of our spirits with regard to growing older, wiser and more mature.

An old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch. The old German Shepherd thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep shit now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder, if there are any more around here?" Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!," says the panther, "That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!" Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes. The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther. The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!" Now, the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?," but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says...   "Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!"   Moral of this story...   Don't mess with the old dogs... Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! B.S. and brilliance only come with age and experience.   If you don't send this to five 'old' friends right away, there will be five fewer people laughing in the world.   Of course, I am in no way insinuating that you are old, just 'youthfully challenged'.   You did notice the size of the print, didn't you?

AFTER THE ASHES - BREAKIN' SPRING WEATHER

 

Hi Lent Sacrificers,

Now that the spring tease weather is breakin' does all this lovely atmosphere cause you grief in  keeping your lent vows or make it easier?   For some of us the cold makes us eat more.  For others the thought of removing our heavy winter clothing makes us eat less so that we can slim down. 

I know many of you have given up such things as meat, bread, soda, chocolate, coffee and sugary treats of all kinds. For me it's a struggle.  I surprised myself my eating only leafy green salads for lunch for the last three days. Frosty Fountain Pepsis seemed to be calling me everywhere I went last weekend.  But doggedly I added lime to ice water and I was surprisingly content.

So how about you?

Does this early spring weather help you or hurt you keep your lent vows? 

Please let me know.


Peace & Blessings!

AFTER THE ASHES

Last week on Ash Wednesday we shared our thoughts about what we were giving up for Lent.  I let you in on my decision to give up chocolate and caffeine for this season.

How's it going people?

While at an event yesterday they served chocolate chip cookies.  I noticed some of the little chips had fallen off on to the serving napkin.  So I ask you if we just eat the little chips and not the whole cookie does it still count as a violation?

Well I resisted and didn't munch on them.  But went through terrible withdrawal instead.

And this last week I noticed there was WATER   WATER   WATER   everywhere.  So I didn't succumb to Pepsi.  Because after all Water Is the Real Thing!

Some say I look like I have lost a little weight.  YIPPEE!!!

So  . . . HOW YOU DOIN'?

Let me know your lent story.

ASH WEDNESDAY

American Heritage Dictionary:  Lent

The 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday until Easter observed by Christians as a season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter.

It's that time of year again to humbly give up something we desire.    So this year what will it be?  For Lent 2012 I'm giving up my 2 deliciously dangerous addictions, the 2 Cs:  Chocolate & Caffeine!

Already today I'm dieing for a pack of Peanut Chews and later tonight around 9 pm (during prime time TV) I know I'll be climbing the walls for a Pepsi.

Who else is giving up something for lent?  Cigarettes . . . . rum punch . . . . a relationship with a sizzling man or woman?  Let me know.
Right now I'm craving a Mr. GoodBar!  But no... no... no I'll just eat my apple.

 Best wishes to us all for carrying out this endeavor.  We're here to support one another.  Your comments please.

Beyond Hearts and Flowers for Whitney Houston

Losing our beloved Whitney Houston then celebrating Valentine's Day all in one week was a little too much for many of us to cope with.

Still in the midst of our shock and grief of her passing we exchanged an array of brightly colored cards, balloons and flowers reminding us that we are in the splendor of life even after our loved ones have ascended.  We have been inspired because our lives have been touched and made fuller since they have walked amongst us.  Whitney's explosive voice reminded us that the greatest love of all is learning to love ourselves, thereby moving us to become more bountiful in our love of others.

Good Bye, Whitney Houston -- Jersey Girl, Mother, Daughter, Wife, Super Star, Vocalist Extraordinaire and ever so much more that you gave of yourself to us all.

Didn't we almost have it all with you in our lives?

 

In Celebration of Black History Month

The above video was recorded during the 1963 March On Washington after Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his memorable "I Have A Dream" speech.

"How We Got Over"

Hoping that these encouraging words sang by the immortal Mahalia Jackson will comfort and inspire those of us who are facing many of the pervasive difficulties of life today:  Unemployment, Foreclosure, Eviction, and Homelessness along with a whole host of other negative life conditions that may be trying our souls.

Never give up on life!  Always trust that there are better days ahead!

By believing you can overcome any of life's negative circumstances you've already won half the battle to "Makin' It Over".

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY PARTY

DON'T STRESS IT!

Keep It Simple!　

Have it catered! . . . Purchase prepackaged cold cut platters! . . . . Plan a pot luck!

But for those of us who insist upon showing off our cooking and hosting talents here are several recipes from Food and Wine sure to make your Super Bowl Party a smash!.

One-pot sticky chicken wings

                     
                                     Game-Day Pork & Black Bean Chili

                                                             Vegetable Chili

                                                Red Chili Burgers

Check out these sure shot winners or chose from the larger slide show selection of tasty recipes from Food and Wine by clicking below.　Chose from any of these delights and your party is sure to be a winner with your guests hoping to be invited back again next year.

So don't be surprised if you find me crashing your party at half time this Sunday should I catch a whiff of those enticing spicy cooking aromas emanating from your festivities.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/chili-recipes?xid=DISH012612ChiliSuperBowlSunday