Seven Success Secrets ~ SecFimp!

All fairy stories are based on magic.  A fairy's wand turns a pumpkin into a coach and Cinderella gets to go to the ball.  A white car, Puss N' Boots, brings his young master luck.  A sacred charm, a wonderful lamp, an enchanted carpet. . .all these are more than fairy tales.  They are the stuff of human dreams, centuries old.  For always men and women have sought the secrets for important living. . .the way to happiness.

You'll never find an electronic machine to solve this one.  You remember the stories of how the brownies, Robin Goodfellow and company would arrive when the family was asleep to patch the cobbler's shoes and leave all in the house spic and span with a whisk of a broom and an elfin laugh?  Well, here's the good news. . .the exciting news. . .there are seven little success helpers like friendly elves to help you stir the magic recipe. . .a winning personality!

These seven secrets are called:  Sincerity, Enthusiasm, Courtesy, Friendliness, Initiative, Memory, and Persistence.  You can abbreviate it to SecFimp.  If you use them wisely, they will serve you as well as any wonderful lamp or magic charm.

Maybe you're quite grown-up. . .but there's a little room for believing yet.  You have to have faith in this magic recipe to put it to work.

There is splendid supernatural power to help you. . .the same power that leads birds over thousands of miles of sea. . .that sets the stars in the sky. . .that brings Spring each year.  You can tune in to this power!

Over the next seven Tuesdays we will discuss each one of these secrets in detail. . .stay tuned.

Feed the Birds!

Why can't I bring myself to throw these away?  There are 8 of them there. We are going to go broke feeding the birds.  

There has to be something I could do with them!

Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad

I have never been a fan of RAW cauliflower and broccoli.  Love it cooked.  Until now! You have got to try this. You can't stop eating it. Very easy.

Here's your "immigrants" as some hillbilly I know calls them.

Chop up into small pieces

Throw everything in a bowl, and add dressing to taste.

NOM NOM NOM

A Really Big Auction Item!!!

This passed weekend Ethel and I went to another auction.  It still amazes us what they sell at these things.  A while back there was a prosthetic leg... Yes a leg!  When they put that on the block we just looked at each other. And of course being our immature selves, busted out laughing.  We know we can be idiots at times, and when we laugh at things we probably shouldn't be laughing at, we do ask for the Lord's forgiveness.  But come on... a leg... at an auction!  Now that's funny.  Well this past weekend, and I don't know how this can ever be topped, there was......

Drum roll please.....

The Great John

When we walked into the barn, 

the auction was at the fair grounds, 

we just stood there... speechless....I mean what words are there for something like this.  We never knew they made them this "Great" 

After we got over the initial shock, words started to form. The only thing that came out was "Oh MY" And then thinking of all of you out there in blogger world, out comes the camera.  We knew you'd want to see this.  It was taped off  with yellow caution tape.  It is being sold next week. I jumped the tape and had Ethel snap a picture.  We haven't mastered the craft of super imposing photos yet, we are novices to the graphic world, so for now I'll just have to be 

Sponge Bob's Mimi.

Of course I had to sit on it! 

Not to fret, it was brand new.

If I would have sat back where you normally would, my feet would have been sticking straight out. It's like an over sized recliner.  Look at the size of that lid, it came up to my neck. Put a pad on that and you have your self a head rest.  We drew quite a crowd.  Everyone was loosing it!  Including us, we never laughed so hard in our lives.  Leave it to us, to find humor at the benefit of others short comings.  Once again, Please forgive us Lord!  We can't wait to go back this Saturday and see what it goes for. We decided if it goes for $2.50,  it's ours.  We do need a new one for the cabin!  We may need to knock out a wall though.  What a conversation piece!  But I am afraid if my husband ever used it, he would fall in love.  It's like your sitting on your couch.  Then again, not be a bad idea, he'd go to the cabin to do his business. He may never come back in the house!  Can you picture it in the back of the truck on the ride home?  Do you think it would draw some stares?  To be honest, I don't know if the shocks would hold up.  We did a little research on it and it says it can support up to 2000 lbs.  

Again no words!

Don't really know if we should have posted this next picture, and we don't mean to offend anyone,  but we couldn't help ourselves.   Remember we are immature.  And from the blissful look on the two in the ad, we figured what the heck, their happy, we're happy. 

How would you like to be the sales rep for this product?

  

Again, OH MY!    

A Peek At Mables Sewing Room

I know I've posted this before, but I've done a little rearranging.  I got a couple of new pieces to add to my room. I think I need to straighten out the fabric a bit.... why bother the second I start a new project it gets messed up again.  Do you see the dress form on the right.  That's new, picked up that lovely lady, we'll call her Callie, last night.  One of our quilt shops is going out of business..  Sad :(  It is full of costume jewelry.  I have a thing for them.  Got them all at Goodwill and of course the auction. 

This little gem was also at the quilt shop. Antique dresser turned cutting table. Ethel and I hauled it up stairs, glued and banged it back together. What would I do without her.  It's perfect, I love the doors. and the color works well enough with the room.  

If you noticed there were no knobs. I tried to make monkey knots with super balls.  Ever make one. You need 16 fingers. So as you can see I gave up on that idea.  I used the super balls alone. Screwed from inside just like a regular knob. 

 I like them.  Hunter is my hand model.

 

See The framed pink wreath in the upper left.  My daughter and I took a trip to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Those are petals and different plants I plucked along the way, and pressed in my Bible.  I couldn't believe they kept their color.  That was a trip of a life time. Absolutely Wonderful.

I want to go back!!!!

Sewing Central

       

Isn't Callie beautiful with all her pins on. I'm always on the look out for them.

I finished organizing about 10:00pm Gracie, 

(my grand-dog) 

and I lied on the bed and just admired everything, and thought,

Is this Heaven!

What Do You Really Want (part 2) ~ Make Happiness a Habit!

Recognize the part habit plays in conditioning your mental state.  You don't have to be a wretched Mr. Scrooge taking the Christmas joy out of everything.  Nor need you be a Pollyanna who is always conspicuously doing good!

But you can be a happier, brighter self.  The way to develop a habit pattern is to start in the right direction now.  The happiness habit can be yours! Start today accenting the positive.  Do not repeat any idle gossip or rumor of a negative or depressing quality.  Do not dwell on any ache or pain you may think you have.  Be absolutely realistic for once.

Ask yourself:  "Am I doing all in my power to remedy any situation which may be making me or someone else unhappy?"

This attitude is wholesome constructive self-interest...and it is a pole away from the egotistical selfishness which causes unhappiness.  You should be interested in yourself.  How can you be interested in others if you are not first interested in yourself and your own highest welfare?  Do repeat pleasant things.  Do say something nice about somebody.  Do take a moment to enjoy a sunset or a poem or a quiet walk.

Put a reminder where you can see it...keep up this pattern everyday.  Soon the happiness habit will be yours to keep.  You won't recognize the other doleful self you've left far behind.  What about "awful" routine?  Routine in itself is not evil.  The repetition of humble daily tasks may have a sustaining quality about it.

A successful writer gave up her home in the country...her daily washing and ironing and gardening...and discovered she could not write any more for it was when she was performing these simple tasks that her inspirations came.

Would you actually like to be released from all routine?  There's something about the daily tasks often done which makes them easier.  The satisfaction of doing them well gives comfort and peace which is a haven from the storm...a sure refuge in time of trouble.

Prima donnas, big artists, top executives often find themselves completely without moorings...without any routine.  What do they do?  They try to find an answer in sports, gambling races, cards...in winter or summer reports.  Sometimes they do find an answer.  An sometimes they do not.  For the problem of happiness is seldom solved at the wheel of fortune!

Routine, the repetitious doing of simple tasks again as they have been done before...washing dishes, sorting papers and so forth...need not be monotonous.  The one saving ingredient is rhythm.  Rhythm is simply routine with music and an accent to it.  The stars and the sun, the moon and the tide, are regulated by a universal majestic rhythm.  Try putting rhythm into your routine and watch the monotony change to interest.  Sing while you wash dishes...whistle while you work in the in garden!

If your old habit-thought patterns have been unpleasant...junk them!  Start a new habit pattern.

You can...YES!  You actually can condition thoughts for happiness.

Start today and the happiness habit can be yours in bright tomorrows!

Put rhythm into your life!  Whistle while you work...walk as if to music...and you'll find suddenly there's music in your heart!  Away with any unpleasant ways of thought!  On with the new...let yourself go with cheerfulness and smiles...and you'll find the happiness habit is yours!

Start now for a real and bright tomorrow!  You can do it if you try!



What Do You Really Want? (part 1)

"What do you Really Want?"  The small girl's voice rang out over the clear morning air as she called across the way to a playmate.  All the people waiting for the bus seemed to wake up and listen.

What do you really want?  Can there ever be a more momentous question to you that this one voiced so simply by the little girl?  What is it you want?  Mink coats, diamonds, rubies?  Thieves have risked all for a mess of pottage, a few pieces of gold or silver. . .only to find at the end it was not what they really wanted.

What do you really want, then?  To be an actress. . .president of your women's club?  To be a leader among the men in your group?  Perhaps to be an executive in the corporation?  To make speeches so that people will want to hear you?  Is this what you really want?  Are your sure?

"But," you protest, "you are placing so many mirrors before me I am confused.  I can't really be sure what it is I want.  How do I find out? 

This first thing to do is to set up a scale of values for yourself.  Take your time!  Don't jump to conclusions. Think now of what it is that has made you happy.  Maybe it was new coat or maybe it was the time you bought Junior some balloons and popcorn. . .and the whole family went to ride on the merry-go-round! Maybe it was the time you surprised him with his favorite steak dinner. . .or maybe it was the time you sent her roses and a favorite record.

Happiness, you see, is a very elusive quality.  The story goes that once a king, finding himself unhappy. . .decided he'd change shoes with the first happy man he could find.  That supposedly would make him happy too.  But alas, the happy man was found idly fishing on a flowery bank. . .and not wearing any shoes!

Are you sure you'd like to write a book which would bring in millions of dollars? Are you sure that would make you happy?  Are you sure you'd come whistling to work if you were sitting in the boss's big chair. . .responsible for all the welfare and workings of everybody else?  Maybe you would come out on top in those situations.  But if you did, it wouldn't be the money or the power. . .it would be the self mastery, the inner serenity, the sense of values that see you through.

No matter how rich you got to be you couldn't consume more than about three meals a day with good results.  There are definite human limitations!

The only way to start the happiness chain working for you again is to start giving of your goods and services again.  That's why people often take jobs when they don't have to work.  They've discovered they like to be of service.  There's a satisfaction in feeling that you are needed. . .befriended. . .wanted. . .that all the money in the world can't buy!

If you've solved most of your own problems. . .why not try helping someone else with theirs. . .in an unobtrusive way, of course.  There are plenty of problems still.  Boys and girls who need an education and have no way of getting it alone and unaided.  People in hospitals who need gifts or a friend.  The aged who need a bit of sunshine because they're lonesome.  There are an endless number of people like these.  By helping the, you help yourself.

If you've never tried spreading happiness to others this way. . .you're in store for a treat.  Because, oddly enough, this is the surest way to find happiness for yourself!

As we mentioned before. . .material success doesn't mean happiness. Even if you could afford villas in Florida and castles in Spain. . .you couldn't live in but one of them at the same time.  Now's the time to discover that money doesn't bring happiness.

Happiness once found can become a habit.  Habits become patterns for good or bad.  Self-centeredness, misery, unhappiness, chronic complaints can become vicious little habits which actually do sap your strength and vitality. . .your love for life.  A devitalized life is not a happy one.

The Key To Your Problem

Well let me first state that the key to our problem is that we don't post faithfully enough, but that is going to change in 2012, we promise.  So now I would like to welcome you back to Vintage Tidbit Tuesday.  This is where we feature a little bit of wisdom from the 1954 book we purchased at auction titled "How to Develop A More Successful Personality For a Winning & Magnetic You!" by Joe Bonomo.   It's amazing how much from this book still rings true today.  So onto today's topic........The Key To Your Problem.

So you've got a problem. . .everyone has problems! One executive who was noted for his go-getting ability declared that he like problems. . .that his whole idea of business was finding more problems to solve.  Solving them equals success.  And in the business of life. . .problems can really be blessings.

Stop, look and listen.  Analyze your own problems now.  Is it the same problem you had ten years ago or twenty?  Why certainly not.  If you ever kept a childish diary you will be amazed to re-read some of the problems that loomed big in pigtail days.  You can smile to yourself over these big little problems now.  Time has a way of showing you the solutions. 

What about those problems now?  Is it something you cannot have?  Someone who will not do as you wish he would?  Or is your problem simply yourself. . .your shyness, your fear, or anxiety?  Or some handicap which you feel is holding you back?  Whatever it is. . .there is a key for that problem.  Finding that key will make you a happier, more carefree person.

So it's important to you to know what to do about a problem.  You won't want to beat around the bus and go out of your way to avoid deciding what it really is.  You won't want to blame it on somebody else when it's really your problem.  You must decide just what your problem is.

Most problems are in the nature of daydreams.  They may be real problems to be sure. . .but they are still what we might call daydream problems. 

Take worry, for instance.  Just being busy and active has a way of banishing worry.  Worry belongs to that shadowland of "perhaps" and "maybe".  Half the time what you worry about never happens. . .or like the speech you have trouble with. . .it would go off much better without much worry.

Fear belongs to that same shadowland. . .that fantasy world that paints things bigger than they are.  Such fantasy concocted by you in your own mind can actually be your own undoing. . .because you'll try convincing yourself it's real. . .not just fantasy.

So our first job is sorting daydreams.  Some daydreams can be good. . .they can be very good.  The prophet said that "Without vision, a people will perish. . ."  Daydreams and visions are the stuff poets and dreamers are made of.

All great men and women have daydreamed their success first.  The daydream was to the success as the architect's blueprints are to the finished house.

So you have an important task right here and now to sort those daydreams. . .to discover for yourself the miracle of plan and action which is like the good soil in which to plant your daydream.  A lotus seed buried in an Egyptian tomb for two thousand years didn't grow because it wasn't properly planted.  Found later and planted in correct soil, it grew up and blossomed!  You don't want to postpone the fulfillment of your highest hope for two thousand years.  That isn't at all necessary.  You can start today making that daydream come true for you!

Every June-time, you read about some young man or woman who has become a doctor or a lawyer or a nurse.  Maybe they did have to wait on tables and earn part of the way. . .but they started with a daydream.  That gave them the plan for action.  In every Sunday supplement. . .you'll read accounts of men or women who have launched out on a shoestring and succeeded in starting a business or a school or some other worthwhile enterprise.  Actual real life cases of people who took a daydream and turned it into a tangible success.

But maybe they had more to start with than I have, you wonder.  Maybe, and then again?  If you once start reading biographies in your library, you'll be amazed at the handicaps great people overcame.  Often the person with the handicap goes further than the person without.  Why?  Because he tries just a little bit harder.  He knows he's go to win. . .and it's just this extra effort which carries him to success!

Too often, the hale and healthy and hearty are unwilling to give the little extra effort.  How often have you seen a diffident young man or woman who thinks he'll do "just enough".  It doesn't work that way!  There isn't any such thing as "just enough".  The individual who really achieves what he wants out of life is the one who always does the best he can.  A baker's dozen is always good measure.

It's up to you to select your right daydream. . .plant it carefully in soil where it will be nurtured.  Give it all the encouragement you can.  Do everything you can to make it come true.

This doesn't mean just today. . .but tomorrow and next day too. . .next year even!  Here's where patience comes in.  After you've outlined a program for yourself and have done your best and all that you possibly can do to make that dream come true. . .it's up to you to relax and believe!

And just as surely as the combination of the nourishing soil. . .the gentle stirring of the wind and rain. . .bring the lotus to bloom. . .so, too, will your daydream cease to be a dream.  It will be a reality.  YOUR SUCCESS!

We Had Another Bat!!!

It was December 30th, a cold blizzary night.  My son was leaving the next day after being home for Christmas.  We all went out to eat and getting to the restaurant at different times, we had 5 cars there.  Leaving, I jump in my car and tell everyone I'll meet you at home.  Being the first to arrive, I get the pleasure of releasing the kennel of dogs we have.  My two Yorkies, April and May, Gracie, my daughter's dog, and Hank my son's.  We go outside to do our job and come back in for a treat.  

They are barking like idiots, and I start to yell at them to knock it off.  All of a sudden Hank, the hound lab mix, is jumping up and down like he wants to play.  To big for the house, I tell him to stop.  We are in the living room by now, and I'm afraid he's going to break something.  I turn and the bat swoops by me. Ahhhh that's what all the commotion is about.

 I'm still home alone.  I run out to get the net.  Start making calls to find out where everyone is.  No answers!  Of course!  The girls are locked up in the back room.....Barking!!!  It's Hank and I.  He is having a ball jumping and wagging his tail every time it flies by. 

 I notice the bat is a little lethargic, not as fast as the summer time bats.  I don't know what woke him up from his hibernation, but it was obvious from his flight he wasn't up to par.  This is going to be a piece of cake, I thought. 

 All of a sudden he is no where to be found.  I looked everywhere.  Worried my husband is going to pull in and see me with the net, (remember he is deathly afraid of them) I hurry out to the garage to put it away.  Figured it will make an appearance eventually. 

 My son finally pulls in and I get him up to date on the situation.  We cannot find it!!!  So we agree not to tell dad, or he will not let us go to sleep until we do. 

 Ray comes home, routine sets in.  He plants himself in the recliner and starts to read the paper, my son is on the other end of the couch.  I come to give kisses good night.  

As I'm walking toward my son, he has this BIG smile on his face, I can tell by the look on his face the bat has reappeared.  It is flying behind me. 

 Ray doesn't see it yet, he has the paper up blocking his view.  I sit next to my son and we can't wait for Ray to react.  I know that's evil, but we have a sick sense of humor.  

He glances over at us, he knows something is up, because we both can't stop smiling. 

 All of a sudden it swoops by him.  We are laughing so hard watching him swing the paper back and forth, kicking and screaming.

"A *#@^ bat, It's winter" that's all he kept saying.  

He can't get out of the recliner to run.  So Jay and I get up to catch it before he has a heart attack.  

We close him and the dogs in the back room.  Have our net, and it disappears again. 

 I know I'm not going to get any sleep.  

Jay goes up to get his suitcase and comes down the stairs.  

As I walk in the foyer, I spot it.  It's is hanging on the moulding, upside down.  You would think the blood would rush to their little heads like it did to Ethel when she was stuck on her brothers inversion machine. 

 There Jay is holding his suitcase with 2 hands, I have the net and slap it to the floor, I stomp on it,

(sorry animal activist this sucker is going to die, yes they eat mosquito's and yes they are good for the environment, blah blah blah,

 but my husband is going to have a heart attack some day because of these buggers).

Jay just watches never letting go of his suitcase to help.  Like father, like son.  

As I step on it, it gets out and starts to crawl toward Jay.  

His feet start going up and down but he's not going anywhere.  He just keeps saying OH..OH..OH..OH.  

I throw a rug on it and give it one last stomp.  

There!! 

 I have to take the carcass to show Ray, he never believes we caught it if we don't show him.  Now I can go to bed.....

Mi Nina

This is my adopted daughter, Hazel. She was so excited about becoming part of the "Familia" I gave her this beautiful sombrero for Christmas. It belonged to her famous bull fighter Bisabuelo. Isn't she adorable.  He would be so proud of her. 

She has a love for Churrrrrros.  We will be making them very soon.  The more I get to know her, the more I believe she was taken from me at birth. She found out I made breakfast burritos for my children before they went to school, and is still waiting for her "mother" to produce one for her. Let's get on that Ethel!!!!


Here are some of the Sombreros her Bisabuelo had collected. They may all be hers someday.

R.I.P. #85

Well it was a sad day last week when we learned that our normal Friday Night Auction would be no more. We had a lot of fun each and every Friday night that we would go.  Our number was always #85 and our favorite amount to spend on an item was $2.50!  When we went last Friday night we did not know that it would be our last time going, but once we found out we were certainly glad we went.  The cold weather almost kept us away.  The auctioneer has decided to dedicate his time to running for a political office so we are left with nothing to do tonight.

We were new to the world of auctions when we started going about nine months ago, but after that first night we were hooked.  Here was our most exciting purchase that first night.....for only $5.00!

We have some grand ideas for this piece, we just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.  We have a storage unit full of items like this just waiting for our attention (but we have found we kind of have ADD and keep changing what we are interested in doing monthly).  This piece will however, hold a special place in our hearts as our first big auction purchase as #85.

One of our last purchases last Friday night is Mabel's new shelf in her sewing room.  It's an old spice rack.

Mabel wanted a little more storage on it so she cleverly added two additional shelves to it.  They look like they have been on the piece all along.  You can see below.  She lit a candle last night as a vigil to her #85 auction purchases in her sewing room.  She really needed a computer keyboard tray and wouldn't you know last month the auction gods smiled down on us and gave her a new one in the box!!

Here is the shelf up close, you can't even tell she added to it.  But she has forever marked it #85!

So think of us tonight when we are in mourning that we don't have our usual hangout to go to.  I'm sure we will eventually come up with something to do or some place to go to get our auction addiction fix on a Friday night, but it won't be the same.  We will miss the usual friends we used to see and the many laughs that we have had being known as #85, the $2.50 girls!

Extra Note:

I should probably show you an item that Mabel wanted to buy for the two of us one Friday night, but thankfully didn't because they went for a much higher price than our limit.

Nice Big CLOWN SHOES.......wouldn't they have looked spiffy on us!!

Here's another picture I'm going to add, only because I know it will make Mabel laugh.

It's a magnifying glass we got in a box lot that her grandson is trying out.  I taught him how to use it!!

HANK

He thinks hes a Yorkie, at least he's trying to fit in my little girls bed. 

He circled it 5 times trying to figure out how to fit. 

My sons dog came home to visit for Christmas!

New Year

New Year and the first day back at work, it's 19 degrees out and all I want to do is go back home and go to my sewing room. Funny how when I'm at work I have all this energy to sew, when I get home, unless I'm engrossed in a project, it's hard to get motivated. Getting started on the next project is the hardest, but once I've decided on one, it's total chaos in the room. Organized chaos, that is......