Burnt Cookies are Sweet Reminders

This weekend was a big to do at our house. Saturday we took the family to the local zoo. I had planned everything out to make it a painless adventure. I knew the tight budget delegated I would have to pack snacks, so I made popcorn and cookies that morning. I packed up a bag with extra clothes (in case of a potty emergency), my camera and accessories, and even my friendship making kit to do on the ride there (Thank you to hubby for driving!). The kids had a blast.

 

We spent about four hours at the zoo, and also stopped on the way home to do an errand. We were gone for a total of six hours, about..... Relieved to be home, I stepped over the threshold, dropping the items in my arms. The room smelled a very awkward smell, and my eyes watered. Immediately my stomach knotted, as I looked at my husband  who already bound his way to action and turned the oven off.. 

 

Here's the thing. I'm not laughing about this. I could have burnt the entire place down. I'm surprised the neighbors didn't hear the smoke detectors go off and smell the smoke. I feel incredibly guilty, and upset. I also feel as though I've been given a bit of grace. The only thing I'm left with is a lingering burnt cookie smell and guilt.

 I know that sharing this with you puts me open to be criticized and judged by many (and, yes, I am not looking forward to that). Still, I wanted to share this, specifically because I feel as though we often forget to share with each other that we are human. We're not perfect. Even with our best intentions at heart, we can still do wrong.

Please remember that you human, and you are lovable. That is why I'm sharing this with you.....because I believe that we need to remember to forgive ourselves....(and perhaps, to double check the oven before we leave).

 

Working for Satan:

A few days ago, someone accused me of working for Satan. It doesn't matter what the sub-context is, because in essence, this person is accusing me of doing evil. I would like to state that I whole heartily respect Christianity (This person is a Christian) ; and the good is what I try to focus on. I will even go as far to say that there is no 'bad' in Christianity; but there is 'bad' in humanity, and it often leaks into many things (including but not limited to Christianity) and masks itself with those names. I do not count myself as Christian, and we won't go into my beliefs in this post, but I wanted to throw a few thoughts out there about this.

I have it in my mind that most people on this earth have at one time or another been accused of working for Satan or any respective evil persona, regardless of whether they know it or not. Regardless of what kind of a person they are. The individuals who concern themselves with defining who is and isn't working for God or Satan, need to know something: You are not making the judgements, or the rules. Actually, I'd like to clarify; you're not even invited to the hearing.

I would prefer to focus on being a good person, rather than concern myself with who works for Satan, or for that matter who thinks I work for him.  When we start labeling each other, we divide ourselves. When we start calling each other out for our 'evil' actions, we are not growing our numbers in a force for good. Think about it, would you join someone in a good cause you have in common after they said your approach is evil? Would you be willing to tolerate working with someone who accuses you of working with Satan?

So many people I know claim the end of times is near. They see how much evil has taken over the world and Satan is winning. Hence I ask; do you want him to win? Or do you want to grow God's army? You certainly aren't going to be successful by separating yourself from others who are trying to do the same thing in a different way.

Now what I am suggesting is NOT that you start bending your values on what you will or won't support. I am not suggesting that you start supporting questionable paths of causes. What I am suggesting is that we start trying to understand each other and find common goals. Find compromises to achieve those goals. We need to stop shaming people, companies, and organizations, and start building rapport with them. No more hating. No more separating. No more labeling.

While we may not like that someone volunteers for an organization that we don't like, that doesn't mean that we should shame them for it. When someone stands on the opposite side of you position, please, don't start pointing your pitch fork at them. Ask them why. Understand why they feel it's good. And don't challenge it. Instead, show them (don't tell them) why your motives behind your side are good. Then walk together and find a common goal. It might mean making compromises on the way, but they only way we are growing God's army is by banding together, and then praying to God that we do good together.

Maybe we need to start leaving the rule making, and the judgements to God. Maybe we need to start using a different strategy...... Working together in a godly way. At least... That's what I believe.

The Kindness Project

The Kindness Project

No doubt most blog readers have heard about random acts of kindness. It’s when the blogger takes it upon themselves to spread a little kindness in unexpected places. Suggestions float around everywhere from little to big things you can do. Giving your time, gifts, and service. I love surprising my friends and people I've come into with little acts of kindness. It's just, nothing has ever made me want to blog about it.

Just a little over a month ago, I saw a woman at the grocery store. She had balanced her carry basket on the footrests of her scooter. When she turned the corner, her basket hit a table, and soup cans scattered like tiny mice looking for the nearest hole in the wall. I jumped to her aide, ushering her groceries back into basket, and set it back on her footrests. She was too proud to say thank-you, but it didn’t jar me. 

Recently, while returning my cart at a local grocery store, a man, stopped in his tracks to let me push the cart into the return cage. He gave a genuine dashing smile, and motioned he open hands towards the return area. “Please” He provoked, in a good will, appreciative manner. I thanked him, and we parted.

Chances are if the little old lady or the man ever cross my path again, I won't know it. It is enough to get me thinking. Spontaneous acts of kindness from strangers gets me more excited than planning random acts of kindness. It makes our unknown community friendly, and a great place to live.  How great would it be if people did this more often?

 
Then it hit me last week while watching the Ellen DeGeneres Show, what would prompt me to write about it. The show has a segment called "Cash for Kindness". It's a courageous little endeavour where Ellen sends out one of her reporters, puts them in an awkward situation, and see who spontaneously comes to help. In the end, the person who shows kindness toward the 'undercover' person in need is rewarded with cash. The last segment made me so surprised how very little amount of people came to help. I wanted to do something, even though I knew it was a ruse... Finally I received my inspiration! What if, instead of performing acts of kindness....we provoke and reward them? What if we started encouraging kindness, everywhere!!!

I’ll be going out into my community trying to catch people in the act, or provoke people to be kind--and reward them for it. I realize that I'll probably never be able to reward them like they do on Ellen, but my hope would be that we'd encourage kindness just by returning it. I am super excited to let you know, that you will be included on this too! You’ll have chances to write in, win prizes, and grow in a kinder community, because;

I believe we could all use a little more kindness.

Yours Kindly,

Whimsical Mai

The Gradtitude Effect

"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year." (J.K. Rowling, The Sorcerer's Stone)

My first thought of a spoiled child, resorts to a chubby, young boy whom had the pleasure of getting everything on his birthday and Christmas list. Despite Dudley's boasting beginnings, in the end of the seven book series, Dudley still has a moment of gratitude on the last day he should ever see Harry Potter, his cousin who saved his soul from a dementor (an evil happiness sucking creature).

"Don't these people realize what you've been though? What dangers you are in? The unique position you hold in the heart of the anti-Voldemort movement?"

"Er-no, they don't," said Harry. "They think I'm a waste of space, actually, but I'm used to--"

"I don't think you're a waste of space."

If Harry had not seen Dudley's lips move, he might not have believed it. 

___

"S-so sweet, Dudders...." She sobbed into his massive chest. "S-such a lovely b-boy...s-saying thank you..."

"But he hasn't said thank you at all!" said Heatis indignantly. "He only said he didn't think Harry was a waster of space!"

"Yeah, but coming from Dudley, that's like "I love you,'" said Harry, torn between annoyance and a desire to laugh as Aunt Petunia contined to clutch at Dudley as if he had just saved  Harry from a burning building. (J.K. Rowling, The Deathly Hallows)


Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It promotes people coming together in spite of the differences, and thriving because of it. Overlooking the hardness of life to recognize that life itself, is a gift. Even with Dudleys inability to properly express gratitude, there is promise. Thanksgiving is a continuation of that promise.

Each day this month, I reflected on one thing to be thankful for. As for this day, with turkey and sweet rolls filling my house with fragrances, and filling chairs with family and friends, an overwhelming peace settles on me.

This morning, my mother ruined the deviled eggs. Some how, her train of thought lead her to believe she was making egg salad, and she smashed the eggs white and yolks together, while we chatted away.  We didn't notice until a hour later, that a mistake was made. We made egg salad instead, luckily we had all the ingredients. Grateful that it was not the turkey we mistaked on, our thanksgiving still continues. Had it been the turkey, I still have plenty of chicken breast in the freezer.

Happiness has never been about things going perfectly.  Happiness is the aftermath of gratitude , and gratitude is a conscience decision. I posted my thankful thoughts each on facebook. Each time I did I had to consciencely decide what to be thankful for. Gratitude is an art, and all art takes practice. Thanksgiving is a time to practice your art, so you will improve your ability to have gratitude.

In a sense, you can say Thanksgiving is not about gratitude at all... it's about learning to be happy. With that I would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving; whether you get everything on your Christmas list, or someone saves your soul, or even, if your deviled eggs wind up as egg salad.

Cleaner Hatters: He's not Bae!

The long awaited moment arrived last sunday, and what was quite amusing is everyone anticipating my anticipation. The opening episode is fantastic, and much to the enjoyable torment of the ONCE fandom, we find a stranger in the opening scene which caused many of us to panic thinking we were watching the wrong show. This is the new 'Dr. Whale' (whose true identity will be revealed this month!), the mysterious man (as ONCE casted him, played by Michael Raymoond-James) yet to be identified.

You know I have a theory....but I'm gonna tease you a bit first.

The writers have revealed that this season they will introduce Henry's father. They have also promised a reunion of Baelfire with his father Rumplestiltskin (Mr. Gold). It's completely natural to jump to the conclusion that this man is one of those two. .... or both. While I still fantasize about Bae being Henry's father, much to the distaste of some in the ONCE fandom, if you depend on the ONLY true predictability of the writer's true nature, you know that they like to be unpredictable. Which is why I insist it is not Bae.

Now I'm going to blow your mind. The opening mysterious man is The White Rabbit.

In the sneak peek for Season 2 Episode 2 "We are Both", we see Jefferson talking to Prince Charming (David) that is a portal jumper, and his hat was his only portal. Which leaves me to question: Are there other portal jumpers? Of course there has to be!

In the end of the episode Hat Trick, His fairy tale history finds him trapped in Wonderland, and by the end of season one, we still have no idea how (or if he even did for that matter) return to fairytale land. We know, from the classic story, the Jefferson was present in Wonderland when Alice came through. Her appearance, outed to Jefferson that there is a portal jumper in wonderland when Alice reveals she followed The White Rabbit.

It is just my theory that this mysterious man, the white rabbit, is, infact a portal jumper (and I have the inclination his portal may be a pocket watch). He helps Jefferson escape to back to fairytale land before the curse takes place, which is how he ended up in strybrooke cursed. But it's also my theory that Jefferson and the White Rabbit had many meetings between his return to fairytale land and the curse taking effect- and hence The White Rabbit and Jefferson co-hearse a plan to help return to fairytale land after the savior breaks the curse (Because when the curse took place, Regina still had Jefferson's only portal--the hat).

I know what you're thinking...... "you're crazy! There is no proof of that!"...But anyone following the show knows that the writers LOVE to drop you all kinds of hints.....Are you ready for them?

Clue one: Opening Song. It's very unusual for the show to deviate from show's score. For some reason this stranger is accompanied by the song "Charlie's girl" by Lou Reed. Perhaps to subtle to make the connection; but Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is Written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka, Lewis Carroll.

Clue two: He travels underground (the subway). Now I know it's a stretch, but I also know that going into a hole is not a first for a rabbit, and we know the most famous hole the white rabbit went through in Carroll's book. Why not travel by holes in the ground?

Clue three: The sign in the apartment."Cleaner and Hatters".... I'm not even going to go into immense detail here, but I speculate that the sign has some association to his relationship with Jefferson.

Clue four: The Red Hand and the Heart pictures. At first sight, some speculate that the red picture (above) depicted red riding hood, but upon further inspection, I believe it is a red hand with fingers enlaced with scrollwork. It's not detailed enough to depict what the scroll says, but I just have the feeling that it has to do the the queen of hearts with leads me to the second picture near his window; a drawing/sketch of a human heart (below, near the fan by his shoulder).

Clue five: the apartment contents. clocks (duh), cameras record player, and everything in that apartment seems so outdated, it really doesn't make sense that a man is in a trendy updated suit, with an ipod (or iphone) would live here. Some fans have stated it looks 1970ish, but I think it's further than that: 1950s. Rotary phones, non-ditigal clocks, and leather cased cameras all come from the 1950s...and why is that crucial? Well.....this is ABC afterall...Disney property and all that........ And Disney's animated film Alice in Wonderland, came out in 1951.

In my theory, The white rabbit, who has not visited our world for a very long period of time since the 1950s, came to our world about the time Emma is to break the curse to help everyone return to fairytale land. Once the curse was broken, Jefferson, sent a postcard to Mr. Rabbit (see what I did there...) so he would know where they are.

Now I know that, for certain, I could be dead wrong. I could be seeing what I am believing, and not believing what I'm actually seeing (but if we find out I'm right about Dr.Whale being Frankenstien, you are going to have to deflate my head a bit). Regardless, Once will take turns and twist that will surprize us along the way, which is why we watch it in the first place. Whether he turns out to be the Rabbit, or Bae, or Henry's father, the theories are not important; They are just part of the fun!

These Are The Best Days.

An OCD person would have an epic fit in our house right now. Paper covers the dinning area. The Kitchen counters are full of dishes, shoes are thrown about, and the hallway is cluttered with laundry. You would think I took the day off. In all honesty, I really have not cared about the mess. My hair is wacky from bits of hairspray still trying to hold onto some strands up for dear life. I small like a barn. I'm not planning on taking a shower either........

It's one of those days we took a break from life, and a huge leap with the three monsters we call children for a family outing. We chanced the germs, the heartburn, and the potty accidents (YES--we took the two youngest in underwear.). I chanced the terror of fighting Haley's sensory issues with noise, light, and sound. We chanced the Interstate Fair.

The animals really looked happy to see us....er...the kids were happy to see the animals. I didn't see any-- I know I was around them...despite smelling like one, I have the evidence on my camera. Not that I am in any of the pictures--- but no one touches my camera but Rusty and I.

After the animals, we ate ridiculously expensive pizza, pretzels and corn dogs for the price of a family five meal at a sit down restaurant. If you have ever read First Comes Love, Then Come Money... I'm an security seeker and saver (the most uptight money personality there is!). By now my ears were burning from hearing the prices and calculating how much we had already spent.

We headed over to the produce and 4-H area, I told the kids to follow me to see the vegetables. At this point my oldest; a first grader, says (rather loudly I might add) "What are vegetables?".........Mortified, I replied with ample force "THE THINGS YOU REFUSE TO EAT AT DINNER!"

About noon we made it to the 4-H photo booth, Tyler (my youngest) starts his grumpy phase (it's nap time). That's where everything he does is with a frown, slumped shoulders, and head low. You'd think we told him Christmas isn't coming this year. In my attempts to take each kid's photo in the booth, I came out with some pretty priceless photos.......

YEP, Priceless. You know I'm showing this to his future girlfriends.

I am most impressed with how Haley did. She had no break downs. She tried new things. She sat for the entire lunch. She rode a horse.......twice. She tried honey. She rode a rollercoaster AND DID NOT FREAK OUT (Her older sister did, however.)! Probably the most precious part is her reaction to the goats eating out of her hand. She couldn't stop giggling and laughing!

I, on the other hand, lost my son's jacket, and had a strained neck by the end of the day. We came home, and aside from putting Haley in bath (I had to! She was covered in half melted cotton candy!), I did no cleaning what so ever. Then I went all Paula Deen on Rusty and made Apple Bake (I have to brag for a second..It is the best one I have made! Who knew that following a recipe could do that?!).....but I didn't put any of the dishes in the sink, or put the ingredients away(Nah---I'm joking...I put the butter away.).

I'm exhausted, and a little worse for wear in the wallet. The house is a disater. But it doesn't matter.  Years from now, I won't remember how much it cost, what the house looked like, or even how exhausted I am. These are the best days..The days when you create memories.

How to do the facebook Networking Ladder

Normally, I don't do business related posts, but I needed a way to visually explain how to do this for an upcoming local-based ladder I am hosting on my facebook page. I also want to take this opportunity to explain what it is, and how to work it.

What it is

A Facebook networking ladder is a tool for those who have facebook pages. Essentially it's a like per like exchange. We are all business people, and know how hard it can be to build a following. Exchanging like per like is a fast way to grow your fan count...but that's not all you are doing.

It is the first step in building a network referral engine for your company or organization. Connecting! From there you can build relationships. Then you can start exchanging referrals with each other to build your business!

How to do it

My first hosted ladder will be on my page "Whimsical Mai' but for example purposes, I used another page in my possession: all about playgroups.

Step One

Find the host page.

Go to the host page, and be sure to like it, so you can participate in the ladder.

Step Two

Find the Ladder, and share it.

Find the actual Ladder. It will be a post by the host (All About Playgroups, in this case) on their timeline. It will be titled, and list the rules/steps to participate.

Now here's a few notes.: Most ladders require you to network from your personal profile- this is the place facebook takes you when you are first signed in, and there are good reasons why.. see FAQs.

Also, most networking ladders ask that you share the ladder some insist your share it on your personal profile, while others insist you share it on your fanpage wall. I forgot to include this on the rules for the example.. but in all honesty, I don't care which one you share it on. But for arguments sake, if you are participating in the networking ladder on July 25th, please share it on whichever has more local spokane people on it. Why? Because we are trying to reach local business owners to continue growing our network. The fact is, you may not realize how many of your friends or fans have a fanpage of their own. I still find myself finding out this friend or that friend of mine has their own side business. Others have a non-profit or a cause with a fanpage.You just never know who could benefit from networking.

To share it via your facebook fan page through your personal profile. Click 'share'. A pop up box will appear. In the upper left corner, there will be a drop box "On your timeline" or "On your wall". Click on the box for the drop down menu, and you should find "On your page". Then it will prompt you to select your page, if you have more than one. Do so by typing in the name of your page, and then share! Thank you for helping our ladder grow! :0)

Step Three

Tag Your Business

Just as you would tag a friend, tag your business at the bottom of the ladder post, where you can comment. This can be accomplished by typing an @ symbol and then your page's name. A pop up box should appear and you can click on the page you are tagging. The link should highlight in blue.

It is helpful, when you tag your page, to write you number of fans beside your tag. This way you can see how many new fans you gained in 24 hours.

Step Four

Like the other pages listed on the comment thread.

It's really easy, but if you miss this tip, it will take forever to like all the pages.

Simply hover your cursor over each blue link. A pop up box will appear. If you have already liked the page it will say "Liked" in the bottom right corner. If you haven't liked the page yet, it will say "like". Click on it, and then move on to the next one.

Step Five

Come back tomorrow

After 24 hours, no more comments will be accepted. but our work is not done yet! we still have to come back and finish liking the pages that came after us-- it's only fair...they liked you! :0)

You're done!

Well, you're done with the ladder, but now the real work begins! Start networking. Comment on other business fanpage posts. REALLY be interested their business, and be sincere. This will get the attention returned, and hopefully; referrals!

Still have questions? Here is come FAQ

Why do I have to use my personal profile to network?

There are a couple of reasons. The main reason is we want you to see the number of your fanpage increase. If everyone liked you in their fanpage mode, they would not show up in your fan count. So this way it's easy for you to see, and us to monitor. Another reason is it gives you a double connection. We are not always in our fanpage mode, so we might miss posts from our network businesses if we didn't have a second connection. Other businesses might not see your posts, as well.

Can I do this on my smartphone?

Sadly, facebook has not granted fanpage tagging capabilities from smartphones yet. Also, the pop up boxes will not appear, and some smartphones do not allow you to share statuses. However, you can still participate, just kindly ask admin to tag your page. Then go to each link one by one, like the page, and then go back. It takes much longer this way, but it's your prerogative to do so.

I only gained "X" likes!! There were many people participating, shouldn't I have more?

Several things could be happening here. First, if it has not been 24 hours, the people at the top of the thread may not have come back to finish liking the latecomers. So please give it 24 hours. Second, it may be that many of these participants were already 'fans'. This is something that commonly happens when a ladder is routine, or you are a strong networker already. I will do my best to make sure everyone is being honest and returning the likes, but for the most part, that usually isn't the problem.

Do I really have to like all the pages?

Please do. Remember this is about networking, not 'likeability'. I do understand that there are some pages that you absolutely cannot follow for personal reasons, so I've asked that each participant like 99% of the other pages. We want this to be fair for you, and everyone else.



If you are a local Spokane area business. THANK YOU. Thank you for reading this, thank you for participating, and thank you for your support. Please share the event with businesses owners you know so we can be even more successful. Looking forward to networking with you!