Mari's Book Signing!!!

Last night I had the honor of hosting a book signing for Mari Rose.  We met in Amy Ayoub's amazing speech class -www.thezenspeaker.com - and when Mari said her book was coming out the beginning of September I had to have a party!!  The friends, family and fellow alumni of Amy's class made for a very interesting and diverse group.  With few exceptions we hadn't met before last night, but the bond we experienced was undeniable. That bond gave us trust to explore feelings and thoughts, which helped us learn a great deal.

 The title of Mari's book is Change Your Layers, Change Your Life (for sale on Amazon)

I am forever fascinated about how people think, and Mari offers a challenge to reach inside of ourselves and face the obstacles that keep us from peace and happiness.  And then she suggests tools to help us get there!!

I am also fascinated by the fact so many of our beliefs are strikingly similar.  I believe so strongly in light, energy and intuition, and those were just some of the things Mari talked about.  I can add her thoughts to the beliefs I already have to bring new nuances to my thinking.  I had lots of things to ponder which always makes me happy!!

A question I have is, "Why do we dismiss anothers thoughts and beliefs, when we can so easily learn from them?" 

How foolish to lose out on an opportunity to learn and get to know people simply because their beliefs are different.  I listened to everything she said last night and incorporated a lot into what I already believe.  What I learned didn't diminish my testimony of Jesus Christ.  I found such joy in listening to her as she told of her journey, study and work.  She is a gentle soul, with a comforting voice that exuded peace.  The acceptance we felt for each other was reflected in the laughter and hugs throughout the entire night.  You cannot counterfeit the peace we experienced last night.

Washington take a lesson.....

I am a football fan, I come by it naturally being from Texas - my memories of Thanksgiving dinner were scheduled around the Texas - Texas A&M game.  (They always played on Thanksgiving day).  There was my grandmother's beautifully set table, crystal, linens, and of course her silver, and the pressure to make sure all the food came out at half time.  In Texas your team is chosen for you at birth, you are either a Longhorn, an Aggie, a Bear, a Mustang, a Cougar, or a Red Raider.  You are never a sooner or a razorback.....ever.   I have been a Longhorn my whole life.

When I had children I taught them about football the same way it had been taught to me.  I tried to teach them humility in winning and respect in losing, because that is what life is.  When you win you enjoy the heck out of it, but always remember someone on the other side has worked every bit as hard....lost.  And when you lose you give it up for the victors, go back to the drawing board and live another day.   Note to self, avoid social media on big game days, and maybe even church.  Some people think it is funny to mock an opponent, but I know that a football game is just like life, we are all one injury away from disaster....never mock.  And if you do, be prepared for attrition.

My husband played football in high school, so he was a fan...not quite as rabid as me ( although he is rabid about cooking ) One Saturday I realized we had different priorities when he was watching Julia Childs and I was watching my beloved Longhorns.  My son said when we were young granddaddy  gave me a football and dad got an easy bake oven.

My daughter went to USC just as Pete Carroll took over as head coach.  She worked in the football office and was involved in the equipment room and recruiting.  Once my high school son was struggling through the Crucible in English class and I overheard him ask Ashleigh, "Do you know the most boring play?" She responded immediately, "Right up the middle?"   Football....


And then there is what I like to call, "Order of YAC".  Initials for yards after catch.  It's not just catching the ball, and that's hard enough, it's what you do after the catch is made.  How far can you run? Are you satisfied with just catching the ball or are you prepared to run like you are on fire with that ball?

I love the concept of YAC it reminds me to magnify every opportunity I get.  You never know where even the smallest opportunities will lead or who you will meet.  Life is just that interesting.......

So...

What will you do after you catch the ball?

I am a football fan, I come by it naturally being from Texas - my memories of Thanksgiving dinner were scheduled around the Texas - Texas A&M game.  (They always played on Thanksgiving day).  There was my grandmother's beautifully set table, crystal, linens, and of course her silver, and the pressure to make sure all the food came out at half time.  In Texas your team is chosen for you at birth, you are either a Longhorn, an Aggie, a Bear, a Mustang, a Cougar, or a Red Raider.  You are never a sooner or a razorback.....ever.   I have been a Longhorn my whole life.

When I had children I taught them about football the same way it had been taught to me.  I tried to teach them humility in winning and respect in losing, because that is what life is.  When you win you enjoy the heck out of it, but always remember someone on the other side has worked every bit as hard....lost.  And when you lose you give it up for the victors, go back to the drawing board and live another day.   Note to self, avoid social media on big game days, and maybe even church.  Some people think it is funny to mock an opponent, but I know that a football game is just like life, we are all one injury away from disaster....never mock.  And if you do, be prepared for attrition.

My husband played football in high school, so he was a fan...not quite as rabid as me ( although he is rabid about cooking ) One Saturday I realized we had different priorities when he was watching Julia Childs and I was watching my beloved Longhorns.  My son said when we were young granddaddy  gave me a football and dad got an easy bake oven.

My daughter went to USC just as Pete Carroll took over as head coach.  She worked in the football office and was involved in the equipment room and recruiting.  Once my high school son was struggling through the Crucible in English class and I overheard him ask Ashleigh, "Do you know the most boring play?" She responded immediately, "Right up the middle?"   Football....


And then there is what I like to call, "Order of YAC".  Initials for yards after catch.  It's not just catching the ball, and that's hard enough, it's what you do after the catch is made.  How far can you run? Are you satisfied with just catching the ball or are you prepared to run like you are on fire with that ball?

I love the concept of YAC it reminds me to magnify every opportunity I get.  You never know where even the smallest opportunities will lead or who you will meet.  Life is just that interesting.......

So...

What will you do after you catch the ball?

Trade in the Beta Version for a 2.0!!

I admit it, I have had some trepidation about turning 60.




The thought has been like an unpleasant medical procedure.  Like those tests we have to have, say a colonoscopy.  We don't want to do it, but we do.  Then after all the details are accounted for you are required to sign a paper that no one is responsible if something goes horribly wrong.




(See Joan Rivers on this)




What?




No flies on the medical community but they are on to something.  What a great contract for life.  Sign here, no option for litigation because no one is responsible if something goes horribly wrong.




Life...what could go wrong? 


How about.....anything?




Our lives can turn on a dime.  Spend just a little time reading blogs and you will find folks who have their lives turned upside down and inside out.  Many of their blogs come from a place within that the writers didn't even know they had.  They start writing to make sense of it all, only to discover lots of other people rowing the same boat.   Through their writing they are looking for a way to make their lives better.  Libraries and book stores are filled with self help books, we are inundated with life coaches and daily affirmations. We are just trying to improve our beta versions.




Definition of: Beta Version




A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to try under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing inhouse and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as a result.

Beta testing is imperative when writing software because developers are too close to their products, and fresh eyes are essential. In addition, for Windows developers especially, it is impossible to duplicate the myriad configurations of PC hardware/software that exist, and beta versions test for potential conflicts as much as usability. In more closed environments such as the Mac and mobile phone platforms, beta testing is less about coexistence with other software and more about functionality and ease of use, the latter a long-standing joke in this industry 

Don't read the definition like a scientist would, read like it is your life.  

The most successful of us have started walking on a path, stopped, and then assessed the path.  Then they turn their findings over to fresh eyes who suggest changes.  The changes are implemented and a 2.0 model of themselves is created.  Failure is never considered, problems  are nothing more than a challenge to make their lives better. Once changes are  assessed a 2.0 version is made.

Definition of 2.0?  

After reading approximately 10 definitions of 2.0, I decided none worked.  So my definition goes like this,  "We used the Beta version to discover problems with the software.  We expected to find problems and we were helped by a community of people who used it and critiqued it.  Those problems were fixed and we came out with 2.0...."

Sheldon would shudder at my definition.

I just read an article on Jerry Jones written by Don Van Natta Jr. for ESPN the magazine.  It was brilliantly written and included one of Jones favorite life lessons.  It came from his football coach at the University of Arkansas, Frank Broyles.  He said Broyles always raised his four fingers on the football field as a reminder for his players to try to preserve their energy for the games most critical time--the fourth quarter.  

This is my fourth quarter.  No drama it just is.

From the time I turned 59 I wanted to make big changes in my life to cushion the shock of turning 60.  But life had other plans.  I tore the meniscus in my knee and found myself unable to walk for a few months and I am only now coming to what may or may not be a total recovery.  The universe tapped me on the shoulder reminding me I am not in charge.  

My beta version was all about control.  My 2.0 version will have that button removed and a dimmer switch installed for those times control becomes an issue.

My beta version included anxiety, a sense of humor, anger, regret, a sense of style, a green thumb, a tendency to focus on problems rather than solutions, no appetite control, honesty, loyalty, a good teacher and speaker, tendency to settle for good when great is is attainable.

Sound familiar?  I don't want to throw out all the aspects of my beta version, just improve them.  

I understand that a 2.0 version is only a second upgrade, when in fact I am closer to WD40 or Formula 409.  But not WD39 or Formula 408

I took artistic license, I can do that it's my birthday.

The Last Five Pounds..

I just read an article about losing that pesky last 5 pounds.  They included all kinds of great tips on how to finally cross the finish line.  I did what I always do when faced with these articles, got depressed.  And then it hit me!  I have been doing this all wrong, I have been trying to lose the first 5 pounds.  How crazy!!

I am convinced I must change my strategy to "start" with the last 5 pounds.

Because I am a professional dieter...I know we are supposed to lose weight in increments.  We shouldn't think about the whole number, but set manageable goals.

So isn't this a brilliant goal?  Starting with the last 5 pounds, which seems to be such a burden and the hardest.

I know, right?

I am totally on to something, and I can form a kind of a solidarity with all my successful dieter friends.  I no longer have to simply chat about diets with my heavier friends.  I can commiserate with my thin friends about the burden of trying to lose the last 5 pounds.  The influence of being a part of the successful loser groups as opposed to the struggling loser groups is mentally
fulfilling.  I usually start a diet thinking I won't win.  This way I begin as a winner...I am only 5 pounds away from my goal!!  I love it!!

 

Evidently you can lose weight in pounds or kg's
how much is a kg?

It's 2 weeks until my birthday and as a gift to me I am going to lose those last 5 pesky, pounds.

Yeah Me!!!

 Then I will lose the last 10 pounds.....

 Then the last 15 pounds!!

I can't find one for the last 20, or 30, or 40.....I will just wing it from there.

Snickerdoodles could be the new currency!!

It is as simple as this, Snickerdoodles are medicinal, and they could be the new currency.

No need to argue, it's true.  I have science on my side....incredible soft, moist, Cinnamon encrusted Snickerdoodles are good for the soul.

I am very concerned about the lack of peace in the world today so I am going to do something I never do, share my sure fire, always successful recipe for Snickerdoodles.  I may get the Nobel Prize for Peace because of these cookies.  I will put a box or 2 in John Kerry's briefcase for future negotiations.

Need a cookie for a bake sale?  Angry neighbor?  Depressed child?  Last minute dessert that will bring friends to their knees?  Only one word...

Snickerdoodles

Go ahead say the name without smiling, impossible.  And if you can say the name without smiling I rescind permission for you making this cookie.  This cookie is a powerful weapon, a clever tool....I can only say it in hushed tones..... the vaunted Snickerdoodle.

My son would give up every secret he has for a snickerdoodle....I am not particularly interested in his secrets, but maybe you are trying to crack the code of someone near and dear, and you do need secrets revealed.  One word.....

Snickerdoodles

This recipe can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled...Just follow Aunt Donna's instructions and you will have a great cookie.  The ingredients to other Snickerdoodles may be similar, but technique is the key...so gather round, listen up and enjoy!

Aunt Donna's Snickerdoodles
2 3/4 Cups of Flour
2 teaspoons of Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 Cup of Butter  (room temperature)
1 1/2 Cups of Sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)

2 Tablespoons of Sugar
2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon

I use the kitchen aid to cream the sugar, butter and eggs
then add cream of tartar and baking soda
and slowly add the flour
I use a cookie scoop for uniformity.  Take the dough from your scoop, roll it into a ball with your hands and then roll it in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  They will spread so only put 12 on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes...if they aren't done enough for you cook one more minute, however, they must come out of the oven looking a bit under cooked.  If you cook them too long they will be hard and you will not be happy.  Snickerdoodles are best when they are soft.  Trust me.

The smell of Snickerdoodles cooking is incredible.....I promise.

Go forward grasshopper.....you have one of the great treasures of the world...a fabulous Snickerdoodle recipe just in time for fall!

"You is kind, You is Smart, You is important"

Things I am good at this week........piling up papers, procrastinating, walking past unfinished projects, sitting on the couch watching TV, basically accomplishing nothing.

Things I am not good at this week.....having patience while my husband finds the right rim for my daughters jeep, creating a solution to an enormous Planning Commission problem that was complicated by a personal problem with a colleague, waiting for the dishwasher to be repaired, getting bids out, doing my knee exercises and the website for my business went down.

I have created chaos for myself.

I hate it, it is frustrating and when I get frustrated chaos wins.

But the story has a happy ending.  As I was lying in bed this morning thinking of all the things I hadn't done well this week (who needs Hallmark when you have my brain like mine?)  I started to pray.....I started to pray to be better, to do better....when I heard this..

"You is kind, You is smart, You is important"

Thank you Aibileen, thank you Kathryn Stockett for marking my soul with that line, and thank you God for putting it in my head this morning.

We all have stretches of chaos. I had a lot to do that wasn't fun or particularly easy, it is easy to get sucked in by it all.  

And then Robin Williams died.

I spent time this week watching him on old Mork and Mindy shows and bits from Johnny Carson.  I remember how he made me laugh when I needed to laugh, and how incredible I thought his mind was......how I never knew which way we were going because I knew he didn't either!  And it was fun.....just plain ole fun.  I listened to people who had loved working with him, and to people who decided they knew why he died.  None of that mattered, because their experience wasn't mine.  I never met him, I never even saw him perform in person....but for me he was Mork, and he was Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting, he was the Genie in Aladdin, he was Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning Vietnam.....and he was a true favorite.

As I processed this loss I realized I get to grieve and I didn't have to be related to him Or even personally know him to feel a real loss.

He made us all laugh and we will miss that a lot.

So the swirling chaos I found myself in was partly finding solutions for a problem, dealing with people, doing things I don't like to do and being sad.

I am so grateful those words came to me this morning.....

"You is kind, You is smart, You is important"

I hope you all remember that too,  it can be said about all of us.

Lonesome dove at the OK4U Corral and pictures from Monument Valley

Donna is still out of the blog-house today.

Emboldened by not having been caught at what he’s doing, Mark (the photographer friend) guest-writes once again from Las Vegas.

"So many things in life can be understood when compared with what you see in nature. This morning for example, I was headed up the lane from the bunkhouse barnyard. As I approached the gate, I saw a female Mojave mourning dove balanced on the top of the fence, rocking back and forth from her left foot to her right, and looking flustered, but she didn’t fly away as I would have expected. And on the ground a few feet further was her mate, limping along with his two wings half-folded at mismatched angles like he had just hit a windshield with his noggin. He turned from me and made a pathetic effort of hobbling away like Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein. ‘Walk this way . . .’

Being the outdoorsy guy I am, I had already recognized the fake wounded bird tactic employed to draw predators away from their young. So I quickly looked along a line from his tail back towards the place he had just left. In a minute, I saw junior, trying to look invisible in the rocks. He was old enough to fly off from the nest, but not yet ready to make it on his own.

Kind of like a teenager, right? Long on impulse and short on judgment, and trying to act chill like the grownups. And there was mom, fretting and worrying and all upset, hovering around her baby who was trying to leave the nest and head off for college while mom was not ready to cope with the syndrome. And dad of course, gamely trying to take on the big bad human – not quite sure how – but faking it the best way he could. Hey. When you’re a dove, you just come to the game with whatever ya got.

I checked back at the end of the day. Junior was now chillin’ in the tree (“Coo-oool . . . see? I can do this!”). Mom and dad were gone; probably went out for supper. The nest was empty.

Here are some images from a spring trip to Monument Valley in the Navajo nation. I was there with a couple close friends for a few days of camping and photography. If there ever was an iconic symbol of the American west, this has to be the most recognizable. Uncounted movies of the John Wayne and Henry Fonda era of Western filmmaking have included images of this place, seen by countless millions of people around the world.

This sunrise event was one of those surreal experiences that couldn't have been planned. I was camped just off the valley road that is used by every tourist and every resident Navajo who goes into the back country. I mean just about 10 feet off the roadway where the asphalt ends. I woke up in the morning before the sun rose and from my bedroll I saw color in the sky. Not having to dress (I slept in yesterday's clothes), I simply rolled over, grabbed my trusty camera and tripod, rose and walked less than fifty paces to the edge of an overlook. I put the rig together and focused, checked a test shot to set a light level, and in that moment, the sun broke the horizon. For the next 5 minutes, I steadily made a dozen more exposures and then stood with a friend while we witnessed this glorious event, feeling reverence for the God who created it.

Above - I'm always impressed when I stand in the footsteps of the unknown persons who create gorgeous images like this, hundreds - maybe a thousand - years before me. Is he there in spirit checking to see if his design endures while I make the image with my 21st century magic lantern?

 A free spirit if there ever was one; a Navajo pony pauses on a hill.

Above - Sunset on the mittens at Monument valley. Below - an image that captures the isolation and delicate balance of nature. Like so many things in life, erosion is proceeding ever so subtly right before our eyes. And one day - without warning - an unexpected disastrous event will lay this spire on its side in a few brief seconds. The dust will settle, disturbed plants will recover and eventually a rain storm will soften the harsh rock edges until at last the sandstone blocks once again become a soft dune in the desert.

Your guest writer, Mark Andrews, is an Emmy-award winning landscape photographer based in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the middle of the Mojave desert. His recent works can be found here. Rebuttals, corrections and hastily formed opinions may be directed to: Mailroom at the OK4U Corral. 

Scoundrel of the western desert.