Thanksgiving Memories

Yesterday was one of my favorite Thanksgivings,  we got to hang out at the hubbys house and visit with family.   We played board games for hours!    I felt like any moment the ghost of Norman Rockwell was going to appear painting us!    This was seriously a top 5 Thanksgiving moment.

Another one was the year we were making dinner and the pan I used was not deep enough to hold the turkey  We tried to pull out the Turkey and some of the Juice fell out in the oven and instantly flames shot up everywhere.  My mother-in-law grabbed a fire extinguisher but we yelled "NO SAVE THE TURKEY" which, in hindsight sacrificing the house and not the turkey was not the smartest thing to do.  Well during this commotion my husband calmly walked over and threw flour on the fire...  there was puddles of gravy everywhere.  It was awesome and we still laugh about it every year!

So there you have it folks... my recipe for oven gravy!  thats a freebie.   I hope everyone enjoyed there thanksgiving too!

Being an entrepreneur is fantastic.   For me it is the ultimate in creativity, multi-tasking, and control (or lack there of).   In my experience the road has been great/terrible/diverse.   I would recommend it to anybody.  One of my hobbies though is creating and deciphering business/marketing plans I don't know why and I am not sure I can explain it.  The artist in me cringes at that idea, however when I see an idea or a spreadsheet I get all warm inside with anticipation...  its weird I know.

Which sort of leads me to what I have dying to blog about all day.  Today I saw 2 great examples of entrepreneurship, one was a couple of kids who were in front of there house selling koolaid for .25.  There were in there cutest little "I'm an awesome kid" clothes.  Now my favorite was when I pulled over to buy some, not because I was thirsty or even like super sweet koolaid but because if these kids were outside not playing video games or on a cell phone, I am going to support it.   I bought 2 for me and my kiddo and as I was paying for them they looked at me grinning and said "do you have anybody else you would like to buy for, we're saving up for christmas"   now regardless if I believe that it was true or not, that was just good marketing.   I could learn from this...  

See a need or tug a heartstring, know your customer and fill the need.  They saw me, a mom, who pulled over on a busy road to buy a 2.oz sized cup of koolaid for a quarter.  Of course I will, anything else do you have a tip jar.    LOL

Now my other favorite thing is business names. Yes they should be creative, or funny but they should at least be pertinent...   Now what I mean is if you name your business Jane Doe LTD.   Thats great but what do you do are you a cleaner, seller, artist, what do you do.   Your business name doesn't tell me that.   Now if your name is   "Buzzkill Pest Control"   I am going to literally LOL   When I saw this I thought seriously at the notion of switching purely because of the name, because how awesome is that.  Here this person used a word typically used in a completely different setting and transformed it to a business name that is both creative and pertinent.   Now anytime I hear/read the word "buzzkill"  I will only think of this pest guy and the great story of today...  Thanks Buzzkill guy your awesome!

tap tap tap.... is the blogger still here?

Well yes... and no.   I have been on hiatus so to speak, concentrating on my illness and treatments, and wondering why my hands are starting to make new shapes and fingers going in new directions!  Learning how to write with my left hand since holding a pen and typing takes forever and hurts!  

I gotta tell you learning, how to write is incredibly difficult, I have a whole new appreciation for children.  Which is basically what I am doing.  It is difficult to start over with anything I feel even less competent sometimes.  I think the key is not giving up and try not to project my own insecurities on other people.  And to not let other people's judgements define me.

Anyhoo... my apologies for dropping off the map, both on the blog and in life in general.  Which brings me to today.

Christmas, Ass, and books... wait what?!

Is it too early to talk Christmas... well its hot so any vision of coolness makes okay right?!  So today I was reading my daily group of blogs, and one by Jon Acuff  had cracked me up a little specifically a reader comment by the name of Jennifer:

Jennifer June 21, 2011 at 11:57 am #

I’m so glad someone finally made fun of this.
“I felt like there were two possible reasons to call your wife your bride. The first is that it’s biblical. Isn’t the church called “the bride of Christ?” It’s not called the “wife of Christ.” So using “bride” could be a throwback to the Bible. So maybe saying “bride” is like answering the question, “What Would Jesus Do?” He’d say bride. OK, I get that.”
The Bible also calls donkeys “asses,” but when I tell someone about the cute donkeys I pass every morning on the way to work (Yes, in Brentwood, TN) I don’t say, “Hey, make sure the next time you’re driving down Cloverland you check out the asses.”
It’s just not right.

 I couldn't help but to think of Christmas time, when they put up the lyrics on the Church wall and you see a line like this:  “Where ox and ass are feeding”  I still giggle thinking about it.  Luckily I am not alone, there are many children who giggle with me as well.  Any who, I wanted to share one of my favorite blogs, and  a particularly funny response to it.

John Acuff is a writer, his most recent book is Quitter.  I really enjoyed this book.  While I waited what seemed like forever (I pre-ordered it) for the release date.   Somehow I had it in my head that it was going to be a step by step mechanized book on how to start your dream and quit your job.  You know Chapter 1, Day 1  open book, close your eyes, realize dream.... 

But really it was a realistic view at not only finding your dream but also how to get there without sabotaging your life, which consequently not only ruins your dream, but also your day job.   So I recommend that you read this book, it helps shine a light on your path... kind of like a flashlight, hey maybe it should be titled the flashlight book!

Documentary: Forgiving Dr. Mengele

Forgiving Dr. Mengele is a documentary that is an interesting show about the holocaust survivors who were twins that were experimented on.  It is a mixed feeling between the groups, most don't believe they can forgive on behalf of those who have died.  They don't want to forgive, because they believe in order to forgive you have to forget.  Eva who is the main subject of this doesn't believe that you must forget what happened.  She says that to forgive them means not allowing the pain of the situation rule your life.  She opened a museum, she does tours, she also travels and does speaking engagements about the holocaust, and her personal experiences.

For me and my personal issues with forgiveness, I feel I am on this track as well.  I will not/can not forget, but I can however decide to not let it be a part of my everyday life.  It was a little by little process for me, to realize you can't change the past, you can't change people they must change themselves, and you can't forget things.   However I can take my anger and pain, turn it around. 

Community News

I found a nifty little community project to get involved in.   I like projects that I can work on a little at a time, that are not really time sensitive.  I have learned over the passed couple of years to work around this disability and do what I can.   This is specific for Visalia.... but if you are in another area, check your local newspaper.

Project Linus is in need of volunteer blanketeers that would like to make blankets for children in the local area. Blankets are given to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. Handmade blankets can be quilted, made of fleece or knitted/crocheted. If you would like more information or would like to get involved, please call 661-589-1854 or email quilts4kidz@sbcglobal.net. Blankets can be delivered to Synchrony of Visalia, 4031 N. Demaree, Visalia.

So if it takes a day or a year to make one, this would be a great place to take it.  

apologies

My apologies for being gone... we had death in the family, that took us all by surprise.   He was the kind of guy who you just expected to be around forever.  A great man!   We love you and miss you Ray.

Pepsi Refresh Grant voting!

Its voting time again!  I am in the running for a $5000 grant for art supplies and training from the Pepsi Refresh Project. You can find me at http://www.refresheverything.com/art-for-survivors-of-domestic-violence#, and see some information about it. 

Ways to vote!

While you are visiting me at the site,  you can vote by signing up for a pepsi refresh account.  

You can also vote with your mobile phone: Text* 105676 to Pepsi (73774) to vote from your mobile. *Standard text messaging rates apply.  

Drink pepsi, save your bottle caps!  some of them are worth 100 power votes!

You can find updates via facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Visalia-CA/Auwbrey-Huff/117733214912297

or on twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/visaliaartnews

Thanks everyone, I AM SO EXCITED.  Please feel free to share with everyone on your mailing list, to get as many votes as possible

http://www.refresheverything.com/art-for-survivors-of-domestic-violence#

www.shelleyhuff.com

My Blog:

http://thirtyzone.blogspot.com/

Happy Fishing season! <º))))><

P Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to

A new Class

I picked up a new class, it is another free one.  I will be doing expressive art classes at one of the local teen foster homes.  I am very excited about this, and am looking forward to having some fun art time with the girls.

and now a word from spam...

So this morning I get the following email:

 A Valentine's Day Offer for:

SHELLEY HUFF.

A special Valentine's Day starts with HomeTown Buffet.

For any guests who've been married more than 50 years, 

we're offering this sweet deal.

Purchase two adult meals at lunch or dinner on February 14th and you'll receive TWO FREE "BE OUR GUEST" MEAL PASSES, 

valid any time through March 16th. 

Just be sure to bring your marriage certificate and photo IDs!

So if you have been married for more than 50 years, you have to buy two meals in order to get two free meals!  I mean really... in this day and age, you should give it to them!  A congratulations for sticking it out that long, for beating the odds, for not holding a grudge at each other's imperfections... I can't imagine there are a whole lot of people who make it that long with death and divorce around.   How about  a real present.

That is a