Five-Word Friday

Motivation is useless without direction.

Thursday's Thoughts

Today's Thought,

Where we have strong emotions, we're liable to fool
ourselves. -Carl Sagan, Blues for a Red Planet

And we often do. Doesn't it seem that the more passionate a person is about something, the more willing they are to overlook the reality of it. How often do we hear that love made someone blind? Or struggle to tell a friend that the venture they are fervently undergoing is not worth the risk? Some might say that this is the eternal curse of the optimist, but I think that it is not entirely bad to be able to fool yourself. Sometimes, when we have fooled ourselves into trudging on long after everyone around us could plainly see that what we wanted would never come true, we get what we wanted. And sometimes we find something better.

Although, don't confuse this with a "stay the course" mentality, I am fully aware that there are times that you have to cut your losses and pull out. I just think that occasionally we are able to not only fool ourselves, but also the world around us.

Help+the+Legion+Help+Recovering+Heroes

Help+the+Legion+Help+Recovering+Heroes

Palin

I can't wait to see this. Oprah promises full sentences, that make sense! Hot Damn!
I want to hear something from her that isn't some sort of accusation, argument, or redneck colloquialism. I had originally had hopes for her, until I heard her politics, and was disappointed after I did. Yikes.



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Khoda

Khoda from Reza Dolatabadi on Vimeo.

“Khoda” is a fantastic animated video made as student project by Reza Dolatabadi using 6000 paintings that were specifically created for the 5 minute film. Each time you pause the video you see a new painting.

via:

http://laughingsquid.com/khoda-an-animated-film-made-using-6000-paintings/

Five-Word Friday

You can try it too! -J



Jay- You can do better!

Art is Everywhere

Thursday's Thoughts

Today's Thought:

Keep thy religion to thyself. -George
Carlin

Last week Stacy had a discussion about religion and it sparked a conversation at work for me. Which lead me to think even harder on the topic. This problem goes far beyond people knocking on our door, or our facebook page as the case may be. These are the surface things that most people complain about. What really eats at me is the constant subtle things that intrude on mine and my families lives.

There are always the Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc. parties. I wouldn't mind so much if the school actually taught a religion class where they discussed the origins and meanings of various religious holidays. But what happens is that my children get given candy and time to play in the name of a holiday that isn't even truly understood by most of the followers of that religion. I just want my children to learn, not to be bribed into a belief system with sweets.

And why do we have to have a Chaplin pray before every change of command, every mission, every run? Just because there is a group of people together, we do not have to push our religions on other people. Furthermore, if you give me a nasty look for not bowing my head, than why wasn't yours bowed to notice mine up?

As gets proven over and over again, we would all be better off if everyone kept their religions in their houses and places of worship.

Five-Word Friday

Just five words each Friday!


"My husband is a nut!" -Stacy

Fort Hood Shooting

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I just found out about this, and the mind reels. My first thought was "Who do I know there?" And my mind is still blank. I can't think of who it is that I know is there, and that is making me ill in itself.
My second thought was that I needed to call Jay. I don't know why...He's here, safe, but the idea that he's not all that safe is enough to make me want to go get him! Somebody HAS to help these soldiers. There has to be an intelligent way to help them...Gee, end the deployments comes to mind....however, all of us army related people know that the last thing that the army will do is think before they act. A 30 something year old Major lost it and 12 people are dead today, 31 more injured. It could happen to any of us, and if that doesn't scare you, it damn well should.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Thursday's Thoughts

Today's Thought:

I do not believe that given due diligence that any life can be said to have
been easy.

This is a concept that we as humans have a big problem with. We are constantly saying things like, "that must be nice" or, "what a wonderful life that person has". This drive we humans have to show ourselves that we have it bad is counterproductive. Even people that don't subscribe to the "woe is me" attitude occasionally look to another person and lament how easy the other has it. While that may be true to a point, it is only one aspect of that person's life. Bill Gates has far more money than I do, and he would surely admit that that makes his life easier, but he also has a multi-billion dollar company to run, and that must be much harder than the job I go to daily. That is the easiest example of what I'm trying to say.

In order to truly analyze the toughness of a life, one must live it. No two people will ever view the same situation equally no matter how closely they observe it. Our view of the world is infinitely affected by our past, and our view of the world vastly effects how we react to it.

This said, I will admit that there are some lives that just seem exceptionally sucky or exceptionally lucky. There are some lives that do not equal up no matter how much sugar you coat the raw data in. A tough life, however prepares us for hard events, so there is still a plus. What I hope to focus you on, throughout this week is not on what someone has better than you, but how you excel. Focus on what you can do better, even if it may not be a life saving skill. You may well enjoy your week a little more.

Papprazzi

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks GaGa (Gag Gag as far as I'm concerned) is a joke. I don't know why, but this struck me as funny...

Sixteen years...

I know it's a rough picture, but it's one of the only ones I have of my dad. That's me asleep on his lap, my mom and brother in the seat next to us. We were at a political thing of some sort...help me out mom with that info?
It's been sixteen years since my dad died, and surprisingly, he still gets mentioned and thought about every day. "My Dad" comes out of my mouth way too much, according to some people, but he was the first man I ever loved. That is important, and he was. He shaped almost every thing I am, and I am grateful for the things I know and believe because of him. I didn't want today to pass without mentioning him. Butterscotch pie after dinner, if you want to stop by and say "Hi" dad.
I love you

Butterscotch Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 (9-inch) pie shell, baked
• 2 eggs, separated, egg yolks beaten
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preparation:

Beat egg yolks. Combine beaten egg yolks, brown sugar, salt, flour, milk and butter in a double boiler. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until it thickens. Cover and cook 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Cool, add vanilla, and pour into baked pie shell. Make a meringue with the remaining egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar. Cover pie with the meringue. Bake at 350° until browned.