5 Things We Learned This Week 14 of 2012 (animals, weight, exercise, brain, war)

 

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Lose Pounds Overnight

   My husband discovered that if he does something active after 6 p.m., he can lose 2-3 pounds overnight! He eats supper around 4:30 when he gets home and then has a light snack sometime during the evening. He doesn't know if this will work for everyone, but it works for him!

2. Alligator Snapping Turtle

   This is a short informative video from behind-the-scenes at the Cincinnati zoo with an alligator snapping turtle.  I didn't even know there was such a creature and now I also know it eats mice! The male stays in the water his whole life and the female only comes out to lay her eggs.


(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)


3. Exercise

   I came across an article in Women's Health that listed Ten Exercise Machines to Avoid with a suggested alternative exercise. I was surprised it had the leg extension machine listed because it was hard on the knees. It seems my knees hurt less when I keep up with doing that one. When I asked a friend about this who is going to get certified to be a personal trainer, I got this response:  

   Wow what a DUMB article! Why would they recommend doing sit-squats which keeps ALL of your weight free-floating on your knees rather than sitting on that machine that you LIKE-which is FAR more stable and isolating to the area you want to work on??!
   My easy answer- keep doing the machine that you like. It is a better machine for an area of your body that needs the help.
   I do suggest lowering the amount of weight you use by a plate or two and try turning your legs slightly inward and outward with your sets. This will use different quadricep muscles. Also, you can point your toes or "dorsiflex" your toes on the movements to change it up.
   Give it a try!
   That exercise they were recommending is VERY difficult and "advanced".
   No reason to switch or "confuse" your muscles if the seated leg curl is working for you. 

4. Brain Training

   When reading "How Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter" it said researches have come up with a brain training program called luminosity that you can participate in online.

5. War

   
   Until I read Home Front by Kristin Hannah, I never realized that some military personnel actually have the job of picking up blown off human body parts--ugh! This is a book both Gerard and I liked very much about a family of four that had a shaky marriage, two girls, and the wife gets deployed to Iraq. She is a helicopter pilot in the reserves. This is one of our favorite reads of this month!

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A Cool Treat For Abby

Gerard found a new treat he wanted to try for Abby when we went grocery shopping at Giant Eagle Saturday and wanted to get a video of her eating it for the first time. Of course, Abby wanted to share it on our blog so here it is:


I thought it was pretty funny when Manny (our cat) came over and Abby grabbed the whole junk and chomped on it like a bone to keep it away from him. I hope she didn't get a headache from eating it too fast since I'm sure it was still plenty cold. (None of us received anything for this endorsement.)

 (50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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The Hunger Games Movie Did Not Disappoint

source:  Amazon.com

We went to see "The Hunger Games" movie yesterday and enjoyed it very much.  It followed the book really closely and my favorite scenes in the book were all in the movie too.  It did cut out a bit of the beginning so the relationship between Katniss and Gale didn't seem as close as it was in the book.  Other than that, it moved along as I pictured it and was captivated throughout.  Gerard was on the edge of his seat and didn't get bored!

I couldn't imagine how the movie was going to capture the awesomeness of the fire costumes for District 12 but it did!  It really was fun to watch the book actually come to life.  I felt sorry for Peeta when he said he had no chance to win it. 

The actors and actresses were all excellent!  We absolutely LOVED watching this!  The biggest plus for the books I think over the movie is that in the movie, we don't really know Katniss's thoughts like we do in the book, but the movie is great!  If you want a peek, here is the link to the Official Hunger Games Movie Trailer.  We of course look forward to seeing the next movie of this series based on Catching Fire.

I don't know if it would be better to see the movie before reading the book or not.  I'd love to hear from someone's thoughts on the movie who hasn't read the book.  Please share your thoughts about the movie in the comments; we'd like to know what you thought about it

Our review of the book is at Grab a Book From Our Stack.

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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New Orleans Saints Screw Up Big Time!

When I first heard about the New Orleans Saints football team paid players $1,500 for knocking a player out of a game, and $1,000 for a "cart-off,'' or a player helped off the field I was shocked, angry and upset to say the least.  For playoff games, the incentive increased.

A team source familiar with the investigation told SI.com that Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma offered $10,000 to any defensive player that knocked Favre out of the 2009 NFC Championship Game.  (Source:  ESPN-NFL at New Orleans Saints Defense Had "Bounty" Fund

I think this is just terrible and it's apparently been going on for the last three seasons!  The Saints defense called it a "pay for performance" program but was actually a "bounty" pool that players contributed to. 

This is real life folks. not a book or movie.  Football is NOT war--it's a game!  It's bad enough when players get badly injured accidentally and that's the risk they are willing to take when the play; however, to have players intentionally inflict game-ending injuries is animalistic.  To play with a total disregard for the rules is inexcusable!  Where is the personal integrity?  Where is the human decency?  Where is the sportsmanship?  Where is respect in this?  Does greed and the love of money really become the motivation above all else? 

I think the coaches who implemented this practice and condoned it should lose their jobs and be kicked out of the league as well as the players who contributed to the "bounty" fund.  Furthermore, the players who intentionally hurt their opponents should pay all medical bills incurred.  Fortunately, the NFL commissioner is trying to clean up football by banning their coach Sean Petyon and their defensive coordinator is suspended indefinitely.  It is thought that some of the players will be suspended too to send the message that this practice is not going to be tolerated.    

I understand football is a contact sport and those who play expect to get hurt, but it should be within the confines and rules of the game.  To intentionally play to injure someone is just not right.  Those players who do that should switch to boxing or full metal jousting instead!  I think the Saints and the players who did this deserve everything they have coming to them. 

What are your thoughts on this?  Do you think the players are getting a bad rap and being made to look like thugs as the cornerback said?  I think they made themselves to look that way!

Read more: The Fallout of Saints Suspensions and New Orleans Saints Defense Had "Bounty" Fund

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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4 Things We Learned This Week 13 of 2012 (health, blogging, jobs, calendar)

 

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. My Waist Grew

   I found out my black jeans are too tight on me! I couldn't even get them zipped! YIKES! When I measured my waist, I was shocked to see it was five inches bigger than I expected!

2. Commenting

   I couldn't leave a comment at Should Be Reading for my weekly teaser this week--it said I had to sign in and it didn't work when I tried signing in using my Twitter account.

3. Skip Tracer

   
   From reading Deceit by Brandilyn Collins, I learned that a skip tracer is someone who finds people that are missing using all sorts of special ways on the computer. This was a good book about hypocrites and deceit. (Follow the link above to my review).

4. Calendar

   
   My plan to re-use my old 2006 Day-by-Day calendar with the cute cat pictures for my desk at home didn't work out so well. I just noticed yesterday that the dates are off because this year had 29 in February and in 2006 there were only 28 days in February. I'll have to go through my other years and see what matches up with the current date. I saved them to re-use because the pictures were so cute!

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.) Share this:

Commenting Gets Me Riled Up

 I frequently comment on others blogs which does take extra time to do as you know.  That is why I make it as easy as possible to comment on my blogs.

First off, I find the capcha word sign in very annoying.  Often it is difficult to even make out the words and I feel as though maybe I am a robot after all.  Then it used to be only one word and now it is two!  Being the persistent person I am and wanting to really leave a comment, I put up with it and haven't said a thing about it until now.

Secondly, I find the Disqus comment thing annoying.  It sometimes takes awhile for it to set to let me type in my comment and sometimes, if I'm in a rush like before work, I won't bother.  However, usually, I will put up with this too.

Finally, to my great disappointment, I am finding Wordpress blogs that require a "sign in" to comment using my Twitter or Facebook accounts.  Can we make commenting any harder?  Do these people really want comments.  I'm thinking that they get too many and want to weed some out.  I think this may be the case over at Should Be Reading where I participate in a weekly Tuesday Teaser.  Every week there are around 300 comments with people leaving their links to their teasers but this week there were 180.  When I went to leave mine this week, I was disappointed to find I couldn't.  I even jumped through the hoops and tried signing in using my Twitter account and it STILL did not work!  I am so frustrated by this!  Frankly, I don't want third parties having access to either of these accounts. 

Please, I beg you, if you are a blogger, make it easy to comment if you want comments!   Here is the comment I tried to leave about my Tuesday Teaser that I couldn't:

We have a historical fiction and a Christian fiction book this week:  http://www.ourstack.blogspot.com/2012/03/tuesday-teasers-crown-and-deceit.html

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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Got My Teeth Cleaned by Manny

I knew something was up Monday when Karen didn't give me any breakfast! Boy, was I hungry too because she put away my food at 6 p.m. the day before. I tried my hardest to get into the treat bag that is on the computer desk, but I couldn't get it open.   Spunky was hungry too because she didn't get her breakfast on time either.  Mom waited until I was in the carrier to feed Spunky so I wouldn't get any.

When my mom finally threw in one little kibble of food into the carrier, I walked right in after it and then heard the gate close behind me. Oh no! I was off to the vet! I get grumpy when they poke and prod and invade my privacy. Do not like the vet--I think Abby is nuts for wanting to go up there all the time. Fortunately, they put me to sleep and I had a nice long nap while they cleaned my teeth. They gave me a certificate of bravery just like Spunky Doodle has.

When was the last time your were brave?  Do you get your cat's teeth cleaned too?

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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Now Where's Spunky?

Peek . . . here I am!  You found me.

Our Spunky Doodle is such a spunkster!  When I'm at the computer, sometimes she'll go under the desk and get back behind it by all the cords which makes me nervous.  One day not too long ago, she went exploring back there and I didn't know where she was.  I heard some rattling and when I opened the door to where my CPU is, there she was perched on top of it.  I tried to get her to hop out the front, but no, she just turned around and went back down via the cords.  She cracks me up! 

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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5 Things We Learned This Week 12 of 2012 (worms, news, vitamin D, Browns, movie)

 

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Worms

   I knew worms come out when it rains but didn't know they come out at night. Last Friday, a friend was telling me about the worm picking job she did for a day on a golf course, gathering up worms in buckets that she had strapped to her legs, arms and back! Now, your job doesn't seem so bad, does it?

2. Made The News

   
   Our dog, Abby, was in our vet's newsletter this month. Her picture was right on the front page in the top right corner and a blurb about her being bit 15 times and recovering well directing people to check out the video on their Facebook page.

3. Browns

   The Browns lose Peyton Hillis to the Chiefs. I really don't care because he didn't do much last season anyhow and was hurt a lot.

4. Vitamin D

   I have a vitamin D deficiency so am always on the lookout for foods that contain it. I just found out this week that salmon and tuna are good sources of vitamin D. Maybe I should eat tuna again--I could add it to my salad that I usually have for supper.

5. Hugo

   
   My husband read The Invention of Hugo Cabret and is looking forward to seeing the movie, but after reading this review of it: Movie-Hugo by Cookies and Clogs, I don't think I care to go see it.

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.) Share this:

The Funniest Job I Ever Heard Of (Writer's Workshop)

When I was with some friends last week sharing some funny things that happened, one of the ladies shared about a job she had years ago through Manpower when she was in her 20s.

She said she was a worm picker! I didn't even know there was such a thing, but she went on to tell us that she did it at night on a golf course for one day.  She was given a light to wear on her forehead, and they strapped buckets to her arms, legs and back to throw the worms into. She only did it for one night and didn't even go back for her paycheck--one night was enough! 

She wished she had a picture of her doing that but didn't have one. It must have been quite a sight! I cracked up picturing her out there on the golf course at night picking up worms. What a job! 

What was the last thing that made you laugh really hard?  Did you have any unusual job?

This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: Write about the last time you laughed until it hurt…what happened? (50 cents per legitimate comment during

March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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I Signed The Petition, How About You?

A friend showed me an article in the March 2012 AFA Journal issue about about how degrading and smutty the Cosmopolitan magazine is.   According to the article, former fashion model, Nicole Weider, said that the magazine has become

a full-on pornographic 'how to' guide for teens and vulnerable young girls.  Every issue dares girls and encourages them to try new sex moves (including anal sex), engage in threesomes, experiment with lesbianism, have public sex, watch porn.

When I saw this it really disgusted me and riled me up enough to actually to to change.org to sign the petition Nicole started there to demand that Cosmopolitan only be sold in nontransparent bags--and only to adults.  I found another on that I even liked better that I signed to get the magazine removed from the checkout lanes in family friendly stores.  I can't even look at the cover of this magazine without getting sickened by it.

Here is the link to it if you would like to sign it too:  Tom Thumb-Remove Cosmopolitan Magazine From Check Out Lane For Families Petition.  (I sent some emails out that I thought had the direct link to where you sign the petition, but discovered it didn't so I apologize if you were a recipient of one of those.  The link here will take you directly to it.)

There are tons of petitions about a wide range of issues at www.change.org.  I really don't know how much difference it would make to sign a petition there regarding a cause, but I figure it can't hurt.  I was really surprised at how many petitions were there.

What do you think about this?  I hope you will at least consider signing it too! 

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.) Share this:

I'm so Strong by Spunky Doodle

The Monday after Manny's trip to the vet, something very strange happened.  She brought up my bed and put a blanket down for me because it's a little cooler upstairs at this time of year.

When I came back down, I couldn't get through because she had a big board blocking the stairway!  My mom decided to keep me upstairs all day while they were at work because she wanted to measure how much food Manny ate.  Of course, she knew if I was down there, I'd eat some of it.  She thought this would be better than the basement because there is not much sunlight down there.  Whew!  It could have been worse.  I was very lonely all day while they were at work though, not being able to lay around with Manny and Abby.  Finally, when Gerard got home, he let me out. 

The next morning, she did it again!  I plowed it over because no way was I going to be stuck up there all day again!  There I am, up on the table just after eating some of Manny's food to show her I am in charge around here!.  My mom was a bit stubborn though and determined to have her way.

  She got a heavier and slightly bigger chair to hold the board up. 

Just to make sure it was heavy enough, she set her two 5 lb. weights on the chair.  I just laughed and waited until she left.  Then . . .

See me by the kitchen doorway admiring my work?  

(This is what Gerard came home to last Tuesday)

BOOM!  Ha, ha, ha!  I am free again!!!  I do have to give Abby some credit for helping me out.  Because of her cone, Karen wanted to make sure she could get through to the bedroom without knocking the chair away so that's why Karen turned the chair sideways which did make it a bit easier to knock over me.  Thanks, Abby.  We pets stick together and look out for each other.

Finally, Karen surrendered and decided so what if I eat a bit of Manny's food.  I need to eat too and Manny still eats way more than I do.

Visit Pet Pride to find more pet posts or link up one of your own!

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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4 Things We Learned This Week 10 of 2012 (pets, corn, reading)

 

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

Yea, I get to eat more!

1. Vet Visit

   Had to take Manny, our cat, to the vet last Saturday and got some bad news. He's missing about half his teeth and has to go again in two weeks for x-rays to make sure roots are still not in his gums or teeth that broke off are in there, plus I have to clean his ears and feed him more because now he's underweight at 9.9 pounds. He should be around 11 or 12 pounds. Sigh.

2. Corn

   Over at Jodi's Journey I saw this video demonstrating how to get the green leaves off corn on the cob without leaving any of those strings. Looks easy enough:

3. Spunky Doodle

   This week I learned my little cat, Spunky Doodle is VERY strong AND determined. I tried setting up a barrier to keep her separated from Manny's food upstairs and she just knocked it over! I'll be doing a post about this early next week. She never ceases to amaze me!

4. Reading Speed

   At Living, Learning and Loving Life if found this cool test to tell me how fast I read. I knew I was a slow reader, but didn't think I was this slow: 192 wpm (23% slower than the national avg., about a 5th gr. level!) Gerard beat me with 195 wpm which surprised me--I thought he'd beat by more than that.
   
   Source: Staples eReader Department
(To find out things I learned from my Beth Moore Bible Study on James, check out this post: Wow, I Didn't Know That!

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.) Share this:

Wow, I Didn't Know That!

Last week I finished the Bible study by Beth Moore called James--Mercy Triumphs.  I really enjoyed this study and learned several things about James that I did not know.  I also enjoyed some insights that Beth and her daughter pointed out in the workbook.  Although this is a workbook, there wasn't a whole lot of blanks to fill in.  Most of it was Beth and her daughter, Melissa sharing the meaning of the words, putting it into context, sharing examples of how to put the teachings into practice in our lives.

Before this study, all I knew about James was the he was a half brother of Jesus.  This study challenged me to think about what it might have been like for James living with the Messiah and having Jesus for an older brother.  He would have been a tough act to follow!  I also learned that James became a pillar in the Christian community and was the leader of the church in Jerusalem where the followers of Christ were Jewish and many poverty stricken.   

All of the brothers came to believe in Jesus as the Christ by the time they met in the upper room in Acts 1:14.  Yet only one emerged as a leader and, far more impressively, one of three "pillars." p.31

It was very interesting that over and over in the book of James, he reiterates many of the things Jesus talked about but in his own words.

Some of the teachings in James that really stood out to me when going through this study are:

But ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord.  (Js. 1:6-7)

This is the verse that kept going through my mind when I was praying for our dog, Abby, when she was attacked and in critical shape.  I kept telling my husband he HAS to believe she will be okay. 

We who have are to open our hands in complete humility to those who don't.  p. 54

I didn't realize the command to Love your neighbor as yourself is mentioned so often.  (Lev. 19:18, Matthew 22:40, Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:13-14; James 2:8)  Loving God and loving others does not equal hating ourselves after all. p. 92

The wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favortism and hypocrisy.  James 3:17

Harsh people are never wise.  Gentleness goes along with wisdom and understanding. pg. 123


Beth Moore challenged us to memorize all five chapters of James and I decided, that with God's help, I would do it.  I have memorized the first two chapters and am working on chapter three right now.  I have to think really hard though about what comes next so it takes me twenty minutes to quote just the first to chapters.  I am going to work on increasing my speed.

Here's some of my favorite lines:

The Word of God, however, is meant to do more than penetrate.  It's meant to activate. p. 78

Because we know Jesus Christ as Savior, our practices manifest our devotion to Him.  p. 83

Faith and favortism don't mix.  p. 97


God will never call you to sacrifice your intimacy with Him on the altar of ministry.  p. 111  (This was confirmation for me that I did the right thing giving up my Sunday School class in order to participate in a Bible study with other women that I am learning so much from.)

The Devil is trying to steal from you and destroy you and make it look like it was all your idea.  So, Girlfriend, submit to God.  She listed 8 great reasons to submit to God on p. 143.  My favorite reason is his unconditional love for me and that I can trust Him for my future because he knows it already and will get me there.

People who walk in the Spirit judge "things."  Not people.  p. 147

There is so much more I gained from this study, but I think this is long enough so I just encourage you to study the book of James and recommend James--Mercy Triumphs by Beth Moore. 

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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It's A Mystery To Me

Some strange things have been happening around here that I can't explain and thought maybe you could shed some light on them for me.

First off, I had a callous on the bottom of my foot which I was able to scrape off but then I noticed a black circle about a quarter inch in diameter under the skin.  It didn't hurt at all and disappeared after a couple of weeks.  Hurray!

Second, last summer we had to take our lawn mower in for repair and put it in the back of our van.  When we brought it back home after being repaired, we couldn't get the back door of the van open and had to drag it through the van and out the side door.  All of a sudden, when driving along I heard something rattling that sounded like a door.  Sure enough, when I checked the back door, it wasn't closed all the way.  The latch in the handle is apparently malfunctioning but I was able to flip it open and then close it to get the tailgate open.  I was also able to close it all the way.  Now, how did that fix itself?

Third, my knee really whacked out on me last Saturday.  It was fine all morning, but when I got out of my van when visiting a friend, I got a real sharp pain in my knee.  It hurt when I walked and I rubbed it but it was still hurting.  When I got home, I took an Advil and after about half an hour or so, it finally was okay again.  This has happened before on occasion but not for such a long time.  I don't know what causes this, if it's just arthritis or something else.  I admit, I haven't been working out regularly and it's been quite some time since I've done strength training focusing on my legs.  I know when I did that regularly, I didn't have this problem as much.

So, those are my mysteries.  Any theories? Do you know what game that "It's a Mystery to Me" card is from?

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in The Race For Life.)

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Eating Salmon With Cats Is Not Easy!

I like to have a nice big piece of salmon for supper once a week and every time I do, my cats want some too! This is a sure way to get my cats to climb on me. It's a little hard to eat when they gang up on me like this. They are so cute though, I can't resist giving them some little bits at the end. A Word from Manny and Spunky Doodle: We are so happy our mommy is buying some real salmon now. We both like it and think she should give us more than just that tiny bit! Do you shared a meal with your pets?

(50 cents per legitimate comment during March goes to The American Cancer Society by sponsoring Mrs 4444 and Lucky Lady in the Race for Life.)

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6 Things We Learned This Week 9 of 2012 (food, news, books, birds, comments)

 

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Prunes

   Prunes can make you gassy. You shouldn't eat a lot at a time. You can find out more Side Effects of Prunes and the Medical Benefits of Prunes at Livestrong.com.



2. Fire, HELP!

   From Sparkle's post, Sebastian's Friends Need Help Too, I learned about Kathi and her cats who were in a terrible fire and really need help. Her oldest cat died in the fire, she escaped with just the clothes on her back and lost everything else except for her cat, CJ, who got out but was very badly burned so has some big vet bills on top of everything else. I felt so sorry for this lady that I put up her "Chip In" widget. There's a problem with it updating the total donated so far, but the PayPal process completed okay.





image source:  Wikipedia

3. Peregrine

   By reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, I learned that a Peregrine is a bird. Miss Peregrine could change into a Peregrine Falcon.

4. February Comments

   We received 210 comments in February so are donating $105 to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue. For March, we will donate 50 cents per legitimate comment to the American Cancer Society.  Two bloggers I visit regularly, Mrs 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time and Lucky Lady at Country Pictures are both participating in Relay for Life so we'll split our donation between them if it is still going on at the end of this month..

5. Bible Study

   
   I finished Beth Moore's Bible study on the book of James called James--Mercy Triumphs and will post my review of it Sunday on Grab A Book From Our Stack. I learned so much about James that I didn't know before and have memorized the Chapters 1 and 2. Some of the teachings really sunk in too. It was a very thought-provoking study that I enjoyed very much.

6. Postage

   When buying stamps this week, I learned that postage went up a penny to 45 cents for one stamp.

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My Short-Lived Hobby (Writer's Workshop)

My Surprise Crewel Picture

My mother was very good with crafty things, although wasn't one who did crafts constantly.  I always admired the afghans she made and especially her crewel projects.  I remember the surprise I got when I opened up the tree with all the cute animals around it.  I saw her working on it, but she made my sister one too and just let me think that it was for my sister.  I didn't know that she was secretly making one for me too!

My Crewel Project

This made me want to give it a try.  I was actually good at threading the needle but I couldn't relax while doing it.  I was so tense that I'd always get an ache in my neck and shoulders.  At least I had the sense to begin with something small.  My first and only crewel project I ever did was a little Panda Bear with some flowers. I think it's pretty cute and have it in my bedroom at the moment.  I will always treasure it because it was a huge accomplishment for me!  I like that you get to switch colors often and that there are varied types of stitches to help prevent boredom.  You should give it a try!

My mom though made another very big crewel tiger for me that is hanging in my living room.  It took her a long time to make and my dad made the fancy frame for it.  Isn't it strange that with two crafty parents, I am not into crafts much.  Perhaps when I'm older and have more patience, I will take on another crewel project.  Okay, I'm sure you want to see the tiger so here it is:

Grrrr, made by mom and the frame by dad

This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt:  "Tell the story of trying to learn a new talent or hobby that you only pursued briefly."

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