(43-211) The Forward

I know that email forwards are frowned upon by many; and  truth be told, I often delete them without even reading them.  However, every once and a while I feel compelled to read a forward; and I have to admit that I have come across some that I find provocative, others that are funny,  and those that put a big ole smile on my face.  C'mon, who can resist those People of Wal-mart photos?  You know the ones.  The forward always includes the dregs of society, (decked out in outfits that sane people wouldn't be caught dead in;) as they peruse the Wal-mart aisles.  If you've never seen one of these forwards; let me know, and the next time that I receive one, I'll be happy to share it with you.

Well the other day, one of my co-workers sent me a forward and it said:

Give this heart to everyone you DON'T want to lose in '2011 including me if you care. Try to collect 4, it's not easy!   

Now I absolutely abhor those forwards that tell you that if you don't pass something on; something terrible will happen to you.  I mean talk about a contradiction in terms.  Here friend, here's this well intentioned email, full of good thoughts and good cheer; but if you don't send it to umteen people; in the next umteen minutes; you'll have bad luck for eternity OR the exact opposite of what you're wished in this email will happen.  YUCK!  Talk about hypocrisy.  So, if you ever receive one of those forwards; EVEN if it tells you that you're guaranteed to receive $5 million dollars or a lifetime of health and happiness; please don't send it my way.  But I digress... let's make this U-turn.

What appealed to me about the forward that my co-worker sent me (you knew I was going somewhere with that; right?)  Was not necessarily the "send it to people you don't want to lose" instruction; but what was in the contents of the forward.  So, since I certainly don't want to lose any of you; and I really believe that these sentiments can contribute to your (say it with me,) "Greater good;"  I'm going to share the forward with you.  Of course there were all kinds a cutesy photos included in the email; but I think that you can live without those; since it's truly just the messages that are important. Oh, OK; and maybe one cute little pic...  

'Be kinder than necessary because everyone you

meet is fighting some kind of battle.'

'A sharp tongue can cut your own throat.'

'If you want your dreams to come true, you mustn't oversleep.'

'Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.'

'The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.'

'The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.'

'The heaviest thing you can carry is a grudge.'

'One thing you can give and still keep....is your word.'

'You lie the loudest when you lie to yourself.'

'If you lack the courage to start, you have already finished.'

'One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.'

'Ideas won't work unless ' You' do.'

'Your mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.'

'The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.'

'The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!

'It is never too late to become what you might have been.'

'Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.'

'Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back.
Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.
Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.
Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means until it is too late.'

Now was that chock full of conceptions or what?  I know that not all of those suppositions may suit you; so take from that what works for you; and if you'd like to forward it; ONLY good things will happen to you for you my friend are now looking out for someone else's greater good.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-141) No Fail Pot Roast Recipe

Granted; my schedule is usually PRETTY busy; but today was one for the record books; at least mine.  Having two daughters with birthday's this time of year, in addition to the holiday parties at school, and the holidays themselves; makes for quite a lot to do; so I thought I would take a couple of hours off from work today, to try and accomplish some of the many errands that I had on my to do list.

I worked from 5am to 7am and then again from 8 to 10.  I went to Payless, Old Navy, Target AND Super Wal-mart, all within an hour and a half.  One of the items that I needed was on sale at Target, but it wasn't in stock at the location that I went to; so I headed to Wal-mart since they price match.  I was able to get what I needed for the price that I wanted; as well as cookies for Nicky's class, donut holes for Lyndzi's and cookies for Saturday, for Lyndzi's soccer team; however, the Wal-mart item that I needed, wasn't available at the store I was at.  I was off to the mall, because I needed to go to the Disney store and Claire's, but Mari called and she had to meet up with me to give me some fabric that she had cut for the girls craft project; so we went for a quick bite.

I left Mari, then stopped at my house to pick up the cupcakes that I needed to bring to Lyndzi's class to celebrate her birthday (which is not until Saturday.)  I had a few minutes to spare, so I returned a call to the man that I'd been trying to coordinate our end of season, soccer tournament with.  I headed out the door, cupcakes in hand; and arrived at Lyndzi's class, exactly as scheduled.  After saying goodbye, I went back home, and resumed my soccer tournament negotiations.

I picked the kids up from school at 3, and took Lyndzi to the Orthodontist.  I called Luis and asked him if he could put up the pot roast that I'd defrosted; if I gave him directions.  Luis agreed, and so I talked him through my no fail pot roast recipe.

Disclaimer:  You can find this EXACT recipe IN the Reynold's oven bag box; but for the sake of (say it with me;) "The greater good;" I wanted to bring it to your intention in case you weren't aware of it.

You'll need: Reynold's large oven bags, 13x9x2 inch or larger baking pan, at least two inches deep.  3 to 3 1/2lb boneless beef chuck roast, Lipton onion soup mix, 1/4 cup flour, 2/3 cup water, potatoes, onion, carrots, mushrooms, celery and parsnips are all OPTIONAL; but highly recommended (by me;) except maybe the celery.

Preheat the oven to 325

Shake the flour into the bag, and then add the water and soup mix to the bag.  Squeeze the bag to blend the flour.  Add the roast to the bag.  Turn the bag to coat the roast with sauce.  Place any veggies in bag, around the roast.

Close oven bag with the nylon tie that's provided.  Cut six 1/2 inch slits in top.  Tuck end of bag under roast in pan.

Bake 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the roast is tender; and I promise you that this will be absolutely perfect.

Immediately after Lyndzi's Orthodontist appointment, I ran home and exchanged Lyndzi for Nicky as WE had some errands to run.  I took Nicky to Quick Trip to get a gift card for the Student Council advisor that he'd drawn for their secret Santa.  Went to Kohl's to pay my bill, and the dollar store to buy elf hats for the kids spirit week at school; as well as a white elephant gift that Nicky could bring to class.  I was driving in the direction of the Super Wal-mart near my house; (as opposed to the one that I'd been to earlier,) but decided that I didn't really have time to go in, because I had to make it home and feed the kids before my 7pm soccer board meeting.

I stopped at Wendy's and picked up three baked potatoes for the kids; to accompany the No fail pot roast that Luis was cooking.  The roast had about 40 minutes to go, so I prepared Nicky's white elephant gift, wrote out cards for all three of the kids teachers and the secret Santa recipient.  I fed the kids and managed to take a couple of bites of Pot roast myself; before my friend Jenny arrived to go to our meeting.

I attended our soccer board meeting for about an hour or so, and once I arrived home, I FINALLY got to sit down for a few minutes, before writing my blog.  Now don't get me wrong; I am NOT complaining.  As crazy busy as I am right now; I am so grateful for the reasons that I'm busy and I'd gladly do all of this and more; for those that I love.  It is my pleasure to make things special for them in every way that I can.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING