Category: Thursday Thoughts

Office Update-July

I have made significant progress in my office reclamation/redo project. I completely cleared out the area in the hall where the printer and all the old RWRs sat.

Next, I tackled one of two bookcases belonging to my husband that reside in my space.

The book case hid behind the door, and was literally crammed to the ceiling.

Cleaning it off took an entire Saturday.  And yes, the shelves are warped. Replacing the bookcase isn’t in the budget right now.

The bookcase now resides in the hall where the old magazines and printer once took up space.  It took the good chunk of a Sunday afternoon to move all the books.

As the bookcase is not only taller, but more solid than the printer stand, it seems as if there is less room in hall, but that’s an optical illusion. The bookcase is actually narrower than the printer stand. It just takes some getting used, especially when coming out of our bedroom.

But it’s done!

Thursday Thought: A Weird Moment

A couple of years ago, my husband and I (and maybe a chromo or two) were heading downstate.  We stopped for lunch at a major fast-food franchise. Nothing unusual.

We were sitting in a booth by a window, keeping an eye on our vehicle. What I saw next astounded me.

A big truck pulled into the parking lot. It was a cattle truck. The cows were mooing.

“Is that a cattle truck?” I asked my husband.

“At least we know the beef is fresh,” he replied.

Which is weird because I’ve always heard the burgers weren’t made from real meat.

 

Thursday Thought-Things I Don’t Get: Food Art

Social Media brings some interesting things into our lives. Take food as art for example.

I’ve seen stunning creations. Like a peacock wedding cake. Or this face. Or this cake. Or this truly awesome Halloween concoction?

I understand that presentation is important. But when presentation becomes the thing instead of flavor, I’m gone. Who wants to destroy something that must have taken hours to create? I respect the artistry. But food is made to eat.

BOOK REVIEW-LINDA HOWARD: TO DIE FOR

Image credit: tieury / 123RF Stock Photo

To Die For is the first book in a two-part series Linda Howard wrote in first person. The heroine. Blair Mallory, is a ditzy but savvy former cheerleader who now owns her own health club.  A murder at the health club returns her to the attention of a former NFL star-turned homicide detective she once dated three times before he vanished from her life without a word.

We get to tumble around in Blair’s highly disorganized mind. I found I had a lot in common with the health nut Blair. Scary. The laugh-out-loud moments in the book are constant.

Remember the TV show, Heroes, where the tagline was “save the cheerleader, save the world”? That was in 2006. Linda Howard’s (former) cheerleader saved herself in 2005.  Kind of made me wish I’d tried harder to be a cheerleader. (Not really.)

Five stars.

Thursday Thought-Self Help: Discover Your Genius

Several years ago, I spent a year doing a self-awareness/improvement project, using a book called Make Your Creative Dreams Real by SARK as a guide.  She had quite a reading list in the book, and I read every single title that was available from my local public library. I ended up purchasing at least three of the ones I read. The book I reviewed last month, Orbiting the Giant Hairball, was one. Today’s review is another: Discover Your Genius by Michael J. Gelb. The subtitle is “How to Think Like History’s Ten Most Revolutionary Minds.

Gelb himself admits his choice of subjects was arbitrary, but he presents good reasons for picking the ten people he did:

  • Plato (Deepening Your Love of Wisdom)
  • Brunelleschi (Expanding Your Perspective)
  • Columbus (Going Perpendicular: Strengthening Your Optimism, Vision, and Courage)
  • Copernicus (Revolutionizing Your Worldview)
  • Elizabeth I (Wielding Your Power with Balance and Effectiveness)
  • Shakespeare (Cultivating Your Emotional Intelligence)
  • Jefferson (Celebrating Your Freedom in the Pursuit of Happiness)
  • Darwin (Developing Your Power of Observation and Opening Your Mind)
  • Gandhi (Applying the Principles of Spiritual Genius to Harmonize Spirit, Mind, and Body)
  • Einstein (Unleashing Your Imagination and Combinatory Play)

The book includes biographical and historical information. He examines the commonalities and the unique aspects of each of his subjects. There are little quizzes. Suggestions of simple things to incorporate into your own life. In short, there was so much good in this book that I found trying to copy it all was a waste of time when I could simple purchase the book for myself. So I did.

I know there is only one woman included, but many genius women are lost to us simply because they were female.

I know both Christopher Columbus and Thomas Jefferson are politically incorrect these days. No excuses.

I still like the book a lot.