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Perspective: Are things what we see them to be?

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 01:08:30 GMT

Is it you or others result in how you view things?

Perspective. This word has various meanings. The angle or direction in which a person looks at an object-perspective. Perspective can also mean the ability to understand what is important and what isn't. I was watching a movie the other day and it involved a dog being left on the side of the road. The movie perspective was to portray to see the dog was scared, lonely and hurt. Movies have a way of making your mind, heart and eyes see and feel for the character and when something such as being abandoned occurs, you feel pain, sadness, and empathy for the character. I literally shook my head and realized it is a movie, this dog is well cared for by its owners and was employed to portray this part in the movie. The perspective was to make you feel the emotions of the scene and compassion for the dog as well as the situation at hand.

We can apply this in our everyday life as well. We may have our own perspective of people, situations and circumstances based on what we are led to believe. In order to truly understand the perspective of others or situations, we must look deep within ourselves and do some honest soul searching. Some develop a perspective of a situation or person truly based on just what they "see or hear". When someone steps outside of themselves and keeps an open mind to take it all in, one is able to no longer see others perspective but have their eyes opened to a clearer picture. When one has a true perspective of their world, relationships, etc. and when others are trying to blur that view, the one blurring the view isn't comfortable with you seeing it for what it truly is. Why? Who knows? Maybe because being able to have your own perspective threatens their agenda and makes them uncomfortable with them being seen for what they are and not for what they wanted your perspective of them to be?! It makes them vulnerable and feel loss of control, maybe?!

Relationships have been torn apart, trust broken, feelings hurt, mental/emotional/physical abuse has occurred for hundreds of years based on following other's perspectives. One's perspective can make one feel the world is against them, that their circumstances are at the fault of others not of their own. Until one wipes out other's perspective and truly looks within as well as within others, the view becomes clearer.

A clear view of your circumstances helps to clear the view ahead as well as understand those rearview mirror images. It will help with building relationships, trust and bonds with others. Becoming an adult is part of learning to not just look at a picture from one angle or from the lenses of someone else's glasses. Maturing involves seeing those pictures, reading the signals as well as getting behind the camera lens to develop a more educated view.

I have been guilty of having my own perspective blurred by others perception of a person and/or situation. Well, what I thought was my own perspective. Since thinking on this and how the movie forced a perspective of the scene, I started thinking on my perspective of others and situations. I hope I am able to get a true perspective of people and situations rather than take others view through the lens.

----"Life is about perspective and how you look at something...ultimately, you have to zoom out."-----Whitney Wolfe Herd-----

Procrastination or Part of the Journey?

site-W0kibQ — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 18:49:52 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Yes, it has been 9 months since my last post, and I apologize for that. As I was writing this blog entry, the word procrastination sprang to me. As a result, the title of this post. Sometimes life throws you a curve ball, and with experience, you can make the perfect contact and blast it out of the park.

This blog was something I put off and procrastinated on updating. I will do better next time. But it does provide a good theory on which to base this post. Many of us have plans, goals, aspirations, and dreams that we aspire to attain at some time in our lives. Some of us base it on a timeframe or deadline to complete it by. I've had multiple deadlines come and go, and I didn't meet the target I set for myself at the start. What I did achieve was knowledge, experience, a few headaches, and a few chuckles. Overall, the biggest takeaway from this procrastination, or what some may regard as failure, I regard as lessons learned. Life is never a flat road bordered with gorgeous and majestic trees like the one defined in picture above. Life is full of potholes and speed bumps that can cause you to slow down. It might be traffic jams that cause you to be late, detours that take you on an unknown road, or the Autobahn, where everything is moving so fast that you can't keep up or are speeding right beside it.

Taking the time to do this could be seen by others as procrastinating i dentifying one's mishaps along the way, yet procrasti nation is not negative word. Not in this sense. Sometimes we need to procrastinate to collect ourselves in order to be a better YOU for others but most importantly YOU.

Hustle and Bustle

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:34:07 GMT

2023-Year of Hustle and Bustle.......thats the plan!

In true Amanda fashion, I started this hot and heavy and here it is almost three months with not one blog post! Did you expect anything less?! In all seriousness, the hustle and bustle of holidays, family gatherings, work, school, and all in between was hectic and now I have been able to slow down and focus... some!

Over the last few weeks, I have actually stuck to one goal, keeping house keeping up to date. Instead of pushing everything off to my days off, I have learned to tackle chores daily here and there which made my days off less consumed of housework and laundry! Somewhat. Trying to adjust to less kids in the house and one with the foot out the door is difficult when one is all consumed in their lives and try to provide for them as well and it comes to a sudden halt! Adjusting to cooking for two instead of five has been helped by use of EveryPlate meal prep/service weekly. The older girls are living their lives, learning the world and spreading their wings whilst the youngest continues to remain at home and keeps me hopping.

I miss the days of them being little and the housework was piled up because of a serious game of Skip Bo! I find I will learn to adjust with ever changing things to come this year, some will be stressful, some will be a joy and some maybe heartbreaking. But in all the chaos of the hustle and bustle of life in general and the changes that come, it is a lesson to be learned. Hustling and bustling requires the ability to never give up, never look back, as well as keeping an open mind to the lesson to be taught or received. I do hope to hustle and bustle more of my jams/jellies. My husband gifted me a jelly maker to add to my operation and I'd Be Jammed I am ready for it to start.

Soon this ice and cold weather this week will give way to warmer and sunnier days which are my type days! I hope you all continue to hustle and bustle and learn or teach a lesson or two. But just remember these days are fleeting and enjoy each day to its fullest, make each day matter!

Let's Get Jamming

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 16:57:23 GMT

Jamming Journey

So, let's get to the reason for starting this blog to begin with. We all seen the movie "Julie and Julia". Long story short, Julie starts a blog documenting her journey of cooking through a Julia Child Cookbook. I thought this was so interesting. After my mother passed, I inherited her recipe box which includes recipes from aunts, grandparents, cousins, etc. Some of these recipes were dishes I never had heard of, and thought be interesting to do a cooking journey blog. Time got away from me and I started making jams and jellies on a whim this past summer. And that's when I found a joy in making these sweet concoctions and decided to start a blog. This blog will not be fully just jam/jelly making but also a documented journey for your enjoyment or boredom which ever, hopefully enjoyment.

I got online and ordered the Balls Canning Book. This is the holy grail of canning; from all the research I did. I ventured to our local Tractor Supply and purchased jars, and a pressure cooker and utensil kit. I immediately started with easy to make jelly of grape and apple jelly and strawberry jam. I was intimidated at first, let's face it we all have hard the pressure cooker horror stories. I found the new generation of pressure cookers are a lot safer and easier to use.

Since this summer of 2022, I have broadened my jelly/jam scope. To date I have canned over 80 jars of grape, apple, pepper, candy apple jellies and strawberry, apple, Christmas jams. I offered a few of my jellies at our local market and did well. I received great feedback on them and encouraged me to continue.

We now have an upcoming Christmas Market and I have prepared a variety of jellies/jams for the event. I continue to review potential jam/jelly roads in my Ball canning book. I believe I will continue on this journey but expand to components, preserves, marmalades and pie fillings.

So, with my busy schedule how do I factor in the time to make these sweet spreads? I make time basically or incorporate it into my weekend duties around the house. There has been occasions I have come home from work and started a batch. The ceremony of preparing the fruit, cooking, preparing jars and pouring the hot sticky liquid into the sanitized jars is satisfactory. The hot water canning method is simple and easy. I have yet to venture to full blown pressure canning yet. But the sound of hearing those lids "POP" is my seal of approval that all is well and done right. This process is worth being able to enjoy the goodness I made and share with others.

Make the time to find something you enjoy doing for YOU! Even if you are the only one who enjoys it and enjoys the fruits of your labor, do it for YOU! This has become a way to escape and a relaxing activity for me. I know starting something new or trying something new can be intimidating but after preparing through reading, research, and trial/error you will feel prepared to start on a YOUR enjoyment activity. It maybe canning, and I'd be Jammed its good for your soul!

Quick Drip Coffee or Sabbatical

Sat, 26 Nov 2022 18:55:13 GMT

Percolate or Not?

A daddy's girl I will always be! There isn't anything I wouldn't do for my daddy. Yes, at 41 years of age, I still call him daddy.

Earlier this week I was looking forward to a four-day weekend of relaxing around the house prior to a postponed Thanksgiving dinner to end the weekend with our girls (who are the girls? refer to first post).

My daddy called wanting to take a trip to San Antonio to visit his grandson Addison after completing one of the many trainings for the Navy. Unfortanelty, his cabin in the hills of the Ozarks needed sitting and his three Brittney Spaniels needed tending to. He asked if I minded to do this for him. I didn't hesitate with an answer and said yes. After few minutes after agreeing my mind reeling of "oh wait", I have to do this, or that, or we planned this or that. All that this and that well it just wasn't going to happen.

My husband wasn't too keen on the idea because meant breaking plans for a concert we planned for months as well as delaying an already post poned Thanksgiving dinner with our girls. But after a moment he understood and feel he thought I needed the break more than I wanted to admit.

I left after work on Wednesday and arrived at dark to the tucked away cabin my daddy built several years ago in the middle of the land; he bought edging the National Forest. The three dogs met me with excitement at the gate. I was schooled quickly on the work of tending to solar panels that batteries are not getting enough juice on these cloudy fall days we been having as well as coffee making.

As I entered the cabin, smell of pine and cedar fill my senses and noticed...wait where is the coffee maker? I was already looking forward to a morning cup of coffee while sitting on back porch overlooking the changing of colors of the leaves. Those who know me know I am an avid coffee drinker and starts my day every morning with a good hot and sweet cup of Joe. Who wouldn't? So, I see a silver percolator pot sitting on the gas stove. Something that I only recall seeing when I stayed at my Memaw Bonnies house and remember my Grandpa Clarence always believed in coffee! I open the lid to find it has already been set up with coffee grounds and fresh water. Okay now what? Google? Okay the internet/cellular service was so slow I could have run to town picked up a coffee from a local coffee shop and back before the instructions on Google would have loaded. So, a little thinking, questions and patience I figured it out. To say it was nostalgic is an understatement and I respect this way of making coffee but let's be honest, my Keurig has me a cup in five minutes and perked to perfection.... with added sugar and French vanilla creamer of course. But maybe that was the lesson I was sent to learn, not everything has to be so fast, so automatic!

Over the last few days, I have enjoyed watching The Waltons reruns, doing my puzzles and just taking in the peace and quiet this cabin offers me. I also have been reminded of the many times with my sweet momma and hunting with my daddy. My girls also experienced this as well and I feel they at times long for those days that we know we can't get back but know we must continue on and give tribute to the memories and lessons learned here.

This may have not how wanted to spend the long weekend to start but it was a sabbatical that was much needed and grateful for. It has helped me to remember the good and that the little things are the most important. This cabin was made by the hands of my daddy as well as made a home away from home with the love and laughter provided by us all. My momma always wished for a cabin in the woods, daddy made that dream reality. Thankfully she was able to enjoy it for several years prior to her passing and this was her happy place.

A sabbatical, yes but also a reminder of slowing down, take the long way around to appreciate what you do have that is the short cut. But to remember the old, long way can always bring you back to where you need to reset....and sip coffee...no matter how it is made!

It Started with One

sites@tailorbrands.com — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 10:32:19 GMT

It says this is my first blog post......I hope I am doing this right!

Well, I finally bit the bullet and decided on creating website and blog. I have thought about blogging for quite some time. Yet seems by the mountain of vinyl, Cricut tools, acrylic paints, and other hobbies getting started is hard. I am hoping with my new hobby of blogging, I can actually finish something. So, the first step is always the hardest they say so hear it goes. Trying to decide on what to blog about is the one thing that kept me from starting. Politics, motherhood, being a daughter, raised in Arkansas, started hobby farming, learning new cooking methods, recipes and life hacks are all things one can say I could blog about that, but we all know a lot of those turn into heated debates in which I hope to avoid.

I was born and raised in Arkansas to two parents who loved each other through it all. I was the first granddaughter to my paternal side of the family and being raised around boys made me tough. Although at the time I felt I was a target or blunt of my brother, our cousins and neighbors' mischievous adventures, as time went on, they have had a great deal in shaping me to who I am today. Tough, but soft hearted, free speaking, yet respectful, and now I have the best protectors anyone can ask for. I instilled some of the things I went through into my own daughters. As time went on, my husband (who was raised by sisters) I realized the tough lessons, tricks and shenanigans weren't just experienced by myself but him too.

My girls! Oh, how proud I am of all three. My momma (God rest her soul), referred to them often as "my girls" or "the girls". Ages 22, 20, 16 have all grown to be smart, hardworking and respectful young ladies with no consideration of the gray hairs that have come on in my hair (which my husband says he doesn't even know my true natural color.... he never will). Daughters/sons, raising kids causes those gray hairs, wrinkles, and the laugh lines we wear proud. Over the years, I have learned how not to make things so hard raising kids, learned to cook from family and on my own as well as set example for them.

Since my eldest two daughters have moved out, I am left with a lot of time at home (minus the travel softball with my youngest). One thing that always intrigued me but haunted me was jelly and jam making. I remember savoring every bit of homemade strawberry jelly made from the harvest of our fingers picking in a strawberry field outside of town. I do remember the process and old pressure cookers that I can still hear the rattling of the weight and jars during processing. Since I have time on my hands and did some research, this intimidating process has come a long way since I was a child standing in a chair overlooking the kitchen counter, watching every pour, stir, and sealing my mom did preparing that sweet spreadable fruit I was caught eating by spoonful frequently. This past summer of 2022 I decided to give it a try. In the last few months, I have processed over 60 jars of variety of sweet and savory flavors. Now I'd be jammed this maybe something I can do!

So, starting anything is a process and hard to take that first step but this first blog post was that first step and you made to the end.... or I at least finished that first step.