Tag: pbs

Obsessive Compulsive Coffee Cream Disorder

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Ok, confessional: Who else is addicted to Coffee Cream??

I did not always like coffee. As a matter of fact I thought it was the most disgusting drink ever. That is until I discovered that coffee can actually taste good. It was back in 2010, and a sister of mine prepared me a cup of the most delicious coffee I’d ever tasted (which I admit isn’t saying too much since I didn’t really drink coffee before then but we don’t really have to bring up old stuff). I didn’t even notice the caffeine rush at first, it was just about the taste, the milky creaminess that pulled against the strings of my taste buds. If I could view my mouth under a microscope, I imagine little taste buds were dancing circles around my palate, slapping high fives with my tonsils and wondering where Coffee’s been all our life.

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Now granted I don’t think I qualify as a real coffee drinker, at least that’s what my husband tells me. He says I don’t really drink coffee (he silly lol). But he has somewhat of a point. That point being my obsession with coffee cream. I just can’t drink coffee without cream. Call it OCCCD (Obsessive Compulsive Coffee Cream Disorder), it means you’re addicted to coffee creamer. That is, even if you have milk and sugar you can’t drink coffee unless there is some kind of creamer involved. No joke, this is serious business. Even if there’s sugar and milk and all that extra stuff, no cream? No coffee for me. (Blame the sweet tooth). My favorite is the French Vanilla version of the famous International Delight. This creamy goodness intermingled with the strong dark roast of Folgers is delicious. And let’s not talk about those cool mornings, where the warmth of the coffee wraps its hands around your throat and send heat throughout your entire body. The low temperatures of outdoors against the warm liquid makes coffee a must have during the winter (aside from tea).

Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Intellect

Today’s Writer’s Quote Wednesday is from Anne Sexton:

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“Watch out for intellect, because it knows so much it knows nothing and leaves you hanging upside down… .”

We must not assume that prominence only comes from the intelligent of the world because it is not always about intellect as we may define it. Not always about the knowledgeable, the College graduate, the well-educated, or the well-spoken. Most of the people, who become great historical figures, entrepreneurs, etc., are actually those who are deemed least intelligent by the world status. They are people who have a much more simplicity of character than the general population of their peers. They may be the High School drop-out, the ill, the down trodden, the specially educated, or the lowly in spirit.

Take Anne Sexton for example. Born Ann Grey Harvey, Anne suffered from mental illness for most of her life, breaking down twice following the birth of her children per postpartum depression. As a result, her doctor encouraged her to write poetry which some say helped her to endure life for as long as she did. Her style of poetry has been attributed to Confessional Poetry, defined as:

“Confessional poetry or ‘Confessionalism’ is a style of poetry that emerged in the United States during the 1950s. It has been described as poetry “of the personal,” focusing on extreme moments of individual experience, the psyche, and personal trauma, including previously taboo matters such as mental illness, sexuality, and suicide, often set in relation to broader social themes. It is sometimes also classified as Postmodernism.” – (Internet)

“…mouthing knowledge as your heart falls out of your mouth.”

A man’s speech is always dictated by his heart. A man can proclaim to know all, yet his foolishness can be easily uncovered by the very words he speaks; by the very knowledge he tosses into the air.

In closing, Anne studied with Robert Lowell at Boston University alongside distinguished poets Sylvia Plath and George Starbuck.

Be sure to check out the link for your chance to drink of Silver Threadings Weekly cup of inspirations:

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http://silverthreading.com/2015/01/28/writers-quote-wednesday-theodore-roosevelt-2015-5/

Recipe Sunday – All Natural Homemade Deodorant

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Today’s Recipe Sunday comes from an ingredient given to me by a sister of mine. For the record she’s more into this kind of stuff than I am. I love natural hair, toothpaste, shampoo, soap and stuff like that, but I’m not so sure I’m on the whole natural deodorant bandwagon. I don’t particularly like to sweat though your naturally supposed to, and I’m not all that into the smell of my own DNA. However, this is a really nice ingredient for all you naturalist out there; smells good and very simple to make. You will need:

1/4 cup Baking Soda
(don’t you just love this stuff? It’s good in practically anything)
1/4 cup Arrowroot Flour OR Cornstarch / Potato Starch
6 tbsp. Coconut Oil
Essential Oil of choice

Step 1: If your Coconut Oil is solid, melt it slightly. Here’s how I do mine:

Take a piece of foil paper and a skillet. Line the skillet with the foil under a low flame. It will melt quickly, smoothly, and a lot less messy than the microwave.

Step 2: Mix the Baking Soda, Arrowroot Flour, and Coconut Oil together into a smooth paste. Make sure it’s nice and smooth. No lumps allowed.

Step 3: Add an essential oil of your choice for fragrance

Step 4: Store in your jar of choice in a nice cool place. If it gets too warm it will melt into a liquid. Do not store in the refrigerator or it will also melt into a liquid after it thaws. Just store it in a nice cool place. You can actually use this right away too.

Pros and Cons:

The positive about natural deodorant is that it lasts longer. After the initial shock of getting used to wearing it, you actually don’t have to use it every day and because sweat doesn’t make you smell, you won’t be musty. And while you will sweat, sweat is normal and good for you. It cools down the body, removes toxins, helps you to breathe better, improves circulation, and your metabolism accelerates.

The negative about natural deodorant, in my opinion, is that while it last longer, you will sweat and this can be the cause of an unpleasant smell and I just don’t play that. But, let me be fair: The sweat itself does not smell actually; the smell comes from the bacteria in your skin breaking down the sweat secretions released from the sweat glands. So it really depends on finding that happy medium of what works for you. While sweat itself does not smell, sweating more can make you smell even though it’s not the sweat that stinks but the bacteria that works with the sweat. Hope I didn’t confuse anyone there, but I think you so get it. 🙂

I want to be Your Friend

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“I want to be the friend you fall hopelessly in love with. The one you take into your arms and into your bed and into the private world you keep trapped in your head. I want to be that kind of friend. The one who will memorize the things you say as well as the shape of your lips when you say them. I want to know every curve, every freckle, every shiver of your body. I want to know where to touch you, I want to know how to touch you. I want to know how to convince you to design a smile just for me. Yes, I do want to be your friend. I want to be your best friend in the entire world.” ––Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Notebook Craze

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A sample of the notebook craze

I appreciate technology really; I’m just as addicted as you are. But when I say notebook craze, I’m not talking about the computer, I’m talking about actual notebooks. You know, those pieces of paper held together by glue and metal rings, yea, those. I want to take the time to thank the founders of Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Family Dollar for all the hard work you put into stocking your shelves with these babies. The $1 store itself has become a treasure of fresh inspiration for me, a living blueprint for whatever it is my mind feels like building up. Every new notebook is an opportunity to create something new. If I can spare it (which I somehow always can), I have to purchase a new notebook. Maybe it’s a small journal of a thing. Maybe it’s a 180 page 5 subject wide rule or 100 page composition book who knows. Perhaps I’ll get the same one as last time in a different color. I am after all looking to brighten things up a bit around here. How many? Two? Three? Four? “No, that’s obsessive, one step at a time EC. Just pick one you really like.”  One? “Yes, one. And don’t forget the dish washing liquid you actually came to get but somehow got distracted by the school supply aisle.” Oh yea, that.

Spiral Notebooks

But this is really only the beginning. I still have to take the notebook home, and that’s when the fun really starts! I still have to decide what kind of notebook this is. What will I carve on the front cover to illustrate this new beauty to the world? What kind of purpose will this new storage place hold for my thoughts? Maybe I’ll fill it with random fragments of sentences, little immature and underdeveloped thoughts. A preliminary of something great but that looks right now like a foreign language. Maybe I’ll jot down a scripture or two, or elaborate on full sentences and transform them into a poem or two, a short story or an entire manuscript. Or this could just be the “just in case” notebook. You know, the little notebook you carry around in your purse (or suitcase/backpack for the men) just in case something good happens.(Please tell me you have a just in case notebook). But then I have to get into the notebook, and let’s not even talk about the intoxicating aroma of fresh paper; the undiluted blank state of blue and red lines. So pure and inviting, let me just write my name real quick. There, now that’s art.

These are the kinds of thoughts that run through my head all because of notebooks. A simple mission turned writer’s paradise. Is it an addiction? You can call it what you want. I mean, technically I don’t really need another notebook, BUT it will soon be a question of how I ever lived without it. So I guess I need another one because I will eventually need it. Makes sense? No? Good. I still got it. 🙂