TUNES TUESDAY – (enjoy grooving on a Tuesday with some
music, especially an old favorite or something totally new!!)

Cledus T. Judd – She’s Got a Butt Bigger than the Beatles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQmLzIJoXKA

A corny cheesy song! I like the part where the hot buff guys are offering her healthy snacks and she pushes them away. And I love the part at the end where he says he loves his sweetie

Buttttttt….I’m kinda feeling like I have a butt as big as the beatles right about now. So time to get on the health horse and ride away!!!! Ba ba da ba ba da baaaa baaaa….there are lots of veges in my fridge now – get them to my mouth.

Exercise machine remove those piles of clothes we’re gonna get to know each other again!

Okay I realize I’m only 3 weeks late on my get healthy resolution people – shut up my cookie supply has finally dried up. Have a great Tuesday now pass me an apple (without pie crust around it). Mwah!

Black women don’t have the same body image problems as white women. They are proud of their bodies. Black men love big butts.  – Tyra Banks

Bethsheba

 

MARTINI MONDAY – (enjoy the first evening of the
week with a cool cocktail and a easy snack!)

You know the saying if you have lemons, make lemonade? Well how about if you have lemons, make Vodka Lemonade Cocktail Pie! Today brings another National Pie Day http://www.piecouncil.org/. So in honor of Martini Monday and National Pie Day, I think it calls for a tart boozy slice of lemony goodness.

Vodka Lemonade Cocktail Pie
8 servings

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
2 cups lemon sherbet, softened
1 container (6 oz) Yoplait® 99% Fat Free lemon cream pie
1 can (12 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate
1/4 cup vodka
Lemon slices, if desired

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 450°F. Place pie crust in ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Press crust firmly against side and bottom; flute. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Mix sherbet, yogurt, lemonade concentrate and vodka until blended. Spoon into crust. Freeze uncovered until firm, about 3 hours. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish each serving of pie with lemon.

I drink therefore I am. – W. C. Fields

Enjoy your pie! – Bethsheba

SO MUCH FUN SATURDAY –
(the greatest day of the week!)

What might a goddess like me be doing on a wintery evening such as this? Well drumming, of course! I met a very nice couple named Fiona and Jeff. Fiona hails from merry ole England and is she an interesting person!

Each month they host a group of people who join together, drink wine, eat a pot luck (I’m bringing Asiago cheese and spinach rice) and DRUM!!!! BOOM BOOM BOOMMMM!!! Last time I joined the little group we were about about 10 and this time we’re on tap for 25! Being a goddess who likes to belly dance once in a while, Fiona offered up her hip scarf and I was able to shimmy those chocolate chip cookies away!

What exactly is a drum circle you ask?

A drum circle is any group of people playing  drums in a circle – duh! They are distinct from a drumming group or troupe in that the drum circle is an end in itself rather than preparation for a performance. They can range in size from a handful of players to circles with thousands of participants. There is no music to read. One only bangs away with the rhythym of the rest of the player for an extended period of time. Typically one person starts a rhthym. The song varies in timing and loudness. And it can be soothing or invigorating!!! 

In 1991, during testimony before the US committee on Aging, drummer Micky Hart state:

 Typically, people gather to drum in drum “circles” with others from the surrounding community. The drum circle offers equality because there is no head or tail. It includes people of all ages. The main objective is to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves. To form a group consciousness. To entrain and resonate. By entrainment, I mean that a new voice, a collective voice, emerges from the group as they drum together.

“Without art, we’re just monkeys with car keys.” - Author Unknown

Enjoy your Saturday night – and maybe bang on a drum…

Bethsheba

No that isn’t Santa Claus

THINKING THURSDAY – (enjoy
learning something new!)

You can never start early enough when teaching the art of making snow angels!!

All eyes on on the sky anticipating the first large snow of the season. We had an incredible run baby just suck it up and get ready. Break out the :

• Shovel – one that feels good in your hands. Well it would feel better in someone else’s hands than mine but since I’m a single goddess, I guess it will be my hands eh?
• Pam spray – what am I planning on making flapjacks? – Nope! My ex taught me that if you put it on the blower and shovel (yeah he’s the one that used to shovel and snow plow, I will miss that), that it will just slide right off. Hmmm do you think that if I go out and spray the entire driveway rigth now the falling snow won’t stick to the driveway? I wish….
• The boots and snow pants – I bought myself some new boots with an adorable fur trim and black puffy snow pants that make a corduroy swishing sound while I walk. And yes they do make my butt look big, I don’t have to ask anyone about that!
• The hot cocoa – cause yes you can now get the car out and wore your cute new snow outfit, but it’s a law that there is a cup of hot deliciousness to help soothe yourself after all that work!

Since it’s a learning type of day, I got these snow tips from and article I found:

Snow Shoveling Safety Tips

The False Security of the Snow Thrower
Loathe to shovel their snow, many homeowners own a snow thrower. It may seem almost too easy, getting out there with a high-powered snow, while your neighbor labors and heaves with a manual shovel. According to the Center for Disease Control and United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, snow thrower-related injuries account for 4,000-6,000 emergency room visits each year. More than 1,000 of these injuries will result in maiming or amputations.

 Unfortunately, too many people take snow thrower safety for granted until injuries occur. Most recently, NHL center Joe Sakic broke three fingers and damaged tendons by reaching into the snow thrower. This is the most common snow thrower injury, as most people don’t realize, despite manufacturer warnings, that the augur blades can continue to rotate even after the machine has been shut off. Despite recent quotes from Avalanche VP Jean Martineau, who was defending Sakic’s use of a snow thrower despite a bad back, using a snow thrower involves a lot more than “just going for a walk.”

Alternatives to Snow Shovels and Snow Throwers
Obligated to keep their sidewalks clear, many homeowners may feel like they have few snow removal options, especially if their neighborhood doesn’t have the entrepreneurial teenager. While most people know professional snow removal services are out there, few realize that contacting these professionals can be as easy as a few mouse clicks. Internet users can easily find an online referral service that will match homeowners with local contactors. Ironically, the industry leader for online home improvement referrals, ServiceMagic, is actually headquartered in Lakewood, CO, some 9 miles from the Pepsi Center?home of Joe Sakic’s Colorado Avalanche.

Have a Snow Removal Plan
This is the silver bullet for safely removing snow from your property. From young residents who are trying to get down on expenses as much as possible to older homeowners who need a low-maintenance solution to their snow-covered sidewalks, devising a plan, long before the snow begins to fall, that will ensure your health and safety is critical to handling the winter season.

NOW GET SHOVELING! – Bethsheba

What else?  That deep dish pizza eaten in a fancy Asian looking building tastes just as good as if I was sitting on my couch. The moon tonight is still exceptional. In honor of the moon, I’d like to share a poem with you.

SOFT MOON SHINING

My beloved Divine Mother  
Dance with me
under the soft moon shining
in the wide open fields
far beyond the toil and trouble
of my busy mind

Dance with me
before the night grows old
while the winds of love
still bow the grasses
and the coyotes howl for you
to step their way

Dance with me my beloved
while the Mystery’s Edge
still flirts in the shadow
of your radiant light

From the book Soft Moon Shining:

http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Moon-Shining-Mother-Universe/dp/0972931724/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1326341620&sr=8-3-spell

God may be in the details, but the goddess is in the questions. Once we begin to ask them, there’s no turning back.  Gloria Steinem

Hope you enjoyed the the day and the poem.

Bethsheba

Experience a new day!

TUNES TUESDAY – (enjoy grooving on a Tuesday
with some music, especially an
old favorite or something totally new!!)

I’m feeling better about life so I’ve decided to get back into the game! I enjoyed a fun-filled summer, a fun-filled fall and now it’s time to get back into the swing. New experiences, better things are happening at work, and overall life is looking up.

To change ones life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. – William James  

Enjoy this sweet song – It’s a Beautiful Morning by the Rascals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyooCErXdMI

Bethsheba

I’m cutting up a watermelon to bring for a party tomorrow and thought hmmmm how am I gonna give it a goddess twist? Vodka? Marrying it to other fruit? Watermelon meet blueberry - I now pronounce you man and wife. 

How about an interesting salad?

Summer Watermelon Salad

• 3/4 cup halved, thinly sliced red onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 quarts seeded, cubed watermelon
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup pitted black olive halves
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the watermelon cubes, feta cheese, black olives, onions with the lime juice, and mint. Drizzle olive oil over it all, and toss to blend. Dig in and be prepared for a pleasant surprise!

Laugh, learn and liven up your taste buds!

Bethsheba
http://imacelebrationgoddess.com/index.html

Lillian in my vegetable garden

SUNDAY’s Sampler Platter – (imagine that).

Lately my life has been very VERY thorny. Perhaps you’ve guessed that that’s why I have not been blogging. I won’t drag you through the pointy details. But suffice it to say that I’m finding it hard to get by sometimes. I do tend to rely on my friends a lot for encouragement. And with the incredible amount of things that I must do and the additional things that I want to do, sometimes it’s hard to see the precious moments in the day.

I thought perhaps I’d blog about my rose. Because I was thinking about the precious moments I spent on her today. She’s called Auntie Lillian Pratt. A very close friend of mine moved away to Florida in October. I miss her a lot! Before she moved, she asked if I wanted Lillian. They dug her up, put her roots in a bucket of water for several days in the last terribly hot dry days of  summer last year. She was attached to the trellis and I got her to the yard and installed in her new home. She immediately decided to lose her leaves. Oh how dramatic she was!

So what’s with Miss Lillian? Why does she have a name? No it’s not the name of the plant that the breeder gave. She’s affectionately called Auntie Pratt. You see there was a real Lillian Pratt and she lived in Galesburg, IL. It was my friend’s neighbor.

This 7 sisters pink climbing rose travelled to Galesburg through Iowa on a covered wagon 100 years ago!!! I definitely find it amazing that I have a plant that is older than the house I live in (which is over 90 years old). Auntie Pratt gave them this plant and when my friend moved she could not bring herself to leave it to people who didn’t know her story. Being a gardener, she knew I’d appreciate and take care of Lillian.

Well I’m happy to say that not only did Lillian bloom last week, but she’s putting out lots of new branches for me to scratch myself on while I wind her around the trellis. She’s reminding me that with the bad comes the good. The thorns and scratches of my life are always there. But the beauty of things are there too.

Last year, I took a bunch of cuttings and stuck them in the ground under a cloche to root them. And when I visited my friend in Florida in May, I brought her a cutting of Lillian to put in her own garden. She was very surprised and happy. And she couldn’t wait to tell her folks that now Lillian has moved to another state. Only this time it wasn’t by covered wagon, it was by plane!

Today, I trimmed off her old dead wood, took more cuttings and put them under the cloche. I’m hoping to make enough cuttings to share with my garden club. Because I think Lillian would be happy to know that her plant is getting around!!!!

New cloche cuttings

“The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.”

Isn't she pretty?

TUNES TUESDAY – (enjoy grooving on a Tuesday with some
music, especially an old favorite or something totallynew!!)

Went to a baptism on Sunday for my friend Rachel. It was amazing. Here she is before and after the baptism. People all on the grass with their picnic baskets. Made me think of Ravinia without the booze. hee hee Old people and young people and ones in between all waiting patiently in line to be dunked in the lake and cleansed. Too bad I didn’t have a spare pair of clothes cause I woulda dunked too. I just love new life experiences.

Giving thanks and happy!

So this got me thinking about all things spiritual. God, angels, kindness, helpfulness, life and death. Since a friend of mine calls me angel and this song just played on the radio, this is the clip for today.

Steve Winwood’s Help me Angel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqFmzVbe_l8

MARTINI MONDAY – (enjoy the first evening of the
week with a cool cocktail and a easy snack!)

Let’s play a game! What was in my shopping cart? Grapes, 2% milk, unsweetened apple juice, skinless/boneless chicken, bananas, asparagus, kitty food and okay I admit it a bad bag of cheese popcorn that I opened in my car.

What did the guy behind me in line that weighed 400 pounds have in his shopping cart? Three gallons of ice cream, two bags of potato chips and 5 pizzas. I tried not to stare but he saw me peeking. Oops!

So since it would not be too exciting to have an unsweetened drink with some asparagus, tonight’s drinkie poo for the night has to be ice cream based. I’d say drink it as dessert but first order yourself a pizza!

Banana Split