Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

Not First Thing In the Morning, Please!

Posted: May 13, 2013 in Employment, Food, friendship, life, management, personnel characteristics, words, work
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quiet_pleaseI’ve never been much of a morning person and I am sure I never will be.

Having said that, despite working flexi time and not actually having to be in until 10am, I’m usually at work sometime between 8.30 and 9.15. Even so, I still like a bit a quietness then…at least until I’ve had my first coffee of the morning!

It’s funny how some of us like to get up early in the morning and just get on with things right away, while others of us like to have a long lie and like to slowly get into things. I definitely fall into that second category, how about you?

Just because I’m not a morning person and like to slowly move into my day, doesn’t mean I don’t get much done, it simply means I probably finish things a bit later. e.g. In a work sense, I’m often one of the last to leave the office at night.

So please, for those of you who are morning people, please remember some of us are not morning people and we like a quiet peaceful start to our mornings, thank you.

Another Farewell

Posted: April 11, 2013 in bereavement, blogging, children, church, death, dementia, family, Food, friendship, Glasgow, Glasgow, Health, heaven, life, love, religion, Rutherglen, Salvation Army, stroke
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It’s been another sad day today, as just 5 weeks after saying our final farewells to my Dad, we said a final farewell to my Aunt Mae, Mary Waddell Gilchrist (23/10/1922 – 03/04/2013).

Aunt Mae (Aug 2011)

My intention again today, just at it had been on the day of my Dad’s funeral (see the blog post Farewell), was to write a tribute to my Aunt Mae, but I’m afraid again it’s just too soon for me to be able to write anything that would do her justice. At some point in the coming weeks I hope to write tributes to both Dad and Aunt Mae, but for today I simply want to say thank you.

Thank you to so many of you who have offered words of comfort and solace to me, Mum and Sandy over these last few weeks as first we lost my Dad, and then my Aunt Mae. I really can’t express strongly enough just how much your support in person, by phone and/or card, has meant to us all.

To those of you who have helped us get everything sorted out for today, I’d like to say a huge thank you to you.

To the many of you who shared with us today at Rutherglen Salvation Army for the service of thanksgiving, then at Rutherglen cemetery, and then afterwards back at Rutherglen Salvation Army for refreshments, thank you for taking the time to support us on this most difficult of days, as I’m sure it was very much appreciated by all my family. I’m sure my Aunt Mae would have been embarrassed by all that has been said about her today, but as far as I’m concerned, it simply shows the huge impact and influence Aunt Mae had on the many people she met during her lifetime.

I’ll miss you Aunt Mae, and just as I said about my Dad a few weeks ago, I will never ever forget you.

Rest in peace Aunt Mae xxx

What Did You Say? #2

Posted: April 4, 2013 in Food, friendship, Health, language, life, religion, Scotland, words
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Today it’s time for another lesson in Scottish words and/or phrases. I wonder how many you’ll understand, never mind know!

  1. Face like a wet weekend
  2. We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns!
  3. Drookit
  4. Shoogle
  5. Stour
  6. Peely-walley
  7. Tattie
  8. Feerty (not sure about spelling!)
  9. Hoose
  10. Reekin

Any ideas what any of the above means, or are they all a foreign language to you?

Here’s the meaning of each of the above:

  1. Looking unhappy or annoyed
  2. We’re all God’s children, nobody is better than anybody else – we’re all equal
  3. Soaking Wet
  4. Shake or jiggle
  5. Dust
  6. Pale or wan
  7. Potato
  8. Scared or frightened
  9. House
  10. Stinking or smelly

So how did you get on? Confused or feeling quite pleased with yourself for knowing them all?

Managing Grief #3

Posted: March 7, 2013 in bereavement, blogging, death, depression, family, Food, friendship, Health, language, life, love, music
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As I’ve mentioned in several previous blog posts (Managing Grief #1 and #2), I’m doing a series of blog posts on how to manage grief following the loss of a loved one.

Today, it’s all about you!

finger-pointing

One of the most important things to do following a bereavement is to make sure you look after yourself physically. We can so often be caught up organising the funeral and taking care of all the practical things that need done following the death of a loved one, that we forget to look after our own health.

If there has been a period of hospital visiting prior to your loved one passing away, it’s likely that you have been rushing around doing all your normal daily tasks plus visiting them in hospital every day, and that can have a detrimental affect on your health, never mind coping with their death!

So take care of yourself physically, because you will be no use to anyone if you are ill, and your grieving process will be even harder if you don’t feel well.

I came across the following acronym and found it useful, so please try to remember this and follow its instructions:

DEER

  • Drink
  • Eat
  • Exercise
  • Rest

Almost

Posted: February 15, 2013 in bereavement, death, family, Food, Health, homeless, life, love
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I recently came across the following, and it touched me, so I wanted to share it will you all:

Mary is loved and thought of by everyone…

Just today her daughter thought about taking her to the doctor, her old friend thought about taking her shopping, her granddaughter almost stopped by for a visit, and her neighbour almost took her dinner.

Mary almost got that much needed doctor’s visit…she almost got some much needed groceries…she almost had the first visitor in months…and she almost had a hot meal.

Mary almost knew how much everyone loved and thought about her before she passed away…alone.

Make sure you don’t “almost” do thing…because it may be “almost too late”.

Things That Make Me Happy #2

Posted: January 26, 2013 in blogging, clothing, comedy, family, Food, friendship, language, life, love, music, Shopping, weather
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We all have particular things/events that make us happy – What makes you happy?

Here’s a few things that make me happy (in no particular order):happy people

  1. Listening to one of my favourite pieces of music
  2. Getting positive feedback about my blog
  3. Watching a good comedy
  4. Waking up thinking it’s time to get up, but finding there’s another few hours before the alarm will go off
  5. Finding something I thought I’d lost
  6. Making something (food) I’ve never made before and finding it’s delicious
  7. An ice-cold drink on a hot day
  8. Looking out on a snowy day knowing I don’t need to go out in it
  9. Getting a bargain in the sales (this doesn’t happen to me very often)
  10. Being told presents I’ve bought others are “just what they needed”

Have any of these things made you smile or think of a similar situation that you were in?

If your answer is Yes, I’ve done my job and made you happy, just by talking about my “happy things“.

Keep thinking happy thoughts!

No Hope

Posted: January 16, 2013 in bible, Christmas, clothing, family, finance, Food, holiday, life, music, news, politics, poverty, religion, television, UK
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There are many people in this world who feels as if their life has no hope. I personally find that very sad and am challenged to do something about that. Surely as Christians we must work together in Christ to let these people know that there is hope and that Christ can provide them with all they need.

I found myself getting very upset while watching various adverts that restarted on TV over the Christmas period, and are still continuing now – I’m sure if you’re in the UK you’ll have seen them too – various charities asking us to donate money to help them provide assistance and aid to adults, children and animals in third world countries and in our own country…boy do they pull at our heart-strings, don’t they!

I’ve now got to the stage where I have to go out the room now when these adverts are on as I just get too upset otherwise. What really gets me in these adverts is that they talk about the children and adults in these countries having “no hope”. Saying they have no hope suggests that no matter what any of us try to do for these folks, it will be futile. I however believe, as I’m sure many of you will too, that as long as there is God, there is hope.

Psalm 62:4-5 (NLT)

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.

Never give up hope, because God is still here!

You Can’t Do That!

Posted: January 11, 2013 in clothing, Crime, family, Food, friendship, Health, homeless, language, life, love, news, politics, poverty, pray, religion
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You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.~  Abraham Lincoln or Rev. William J. H. Boetcker.

As the above words say, these are not the ways in which to improve situations and try to make this world a better place, but that doesn’t mean we should simply give up trying. In fact, instead of giving up we should try harder to do what God wants us to do, because He has a plan for our lives and He alone can help us achieve those goals. By achieving our goals God will ensure we help others in their Christian journey.

Philippians 2:1-4 (The Message)

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favour: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

My Aims 2012 – Review of the Year

Posted: December 31, 2012 in arthritis, bible, blogging, clothing, dementia, depression, family, Food, friendship, Health, heart, holiday, hospital, housework, life, love, motivation, music, pray, prayer, religion, Scotland, tennis, Travel, weight
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At the start of this year (2012), I shared with you my aims for this year (in Welcome to 2012). These were not my new year resolutions, but what I hoped to achieve this year as far as some lifestyle changes were concerned and some changes in my spiritual relationship with God.

At the end of each month since then I’ve given you an update on how I’m getting on with my aims. So now we’re on the last day of 2012, here’s my last update for this year, which will give you my honest opinions on whether I achieved, or failed, to reach my goals for this year…

  • Eat healthier
    • Over all, I would definitely say I have succeeded with this aim as I have definitely been eating much healthier when I’ve been at work, and have done ok when at home.
    • Yes there’s still room for improvement, as I have given in to my desire for chocolate on a few occasions.
    • Done ok with this ones I’m managing to continue to eat reasonably healthily while I’ve been at work, and not too bad when at home.
  • Lose some weight
    • Well I had my last weigh-in earlier today, and the news is that over the course of this year I’ve managed to lose 10 lbs.
    • I’m delighted with that as I have definitely not been on a diet, but have just been trying to eat a bit healthier and get a bit more active.
    • Hopefully if I continue doing the same things next year I’ll manage to lose a few more pounds.
  • Spend more time reading my bible
    • Some months this year I managed to spend a lot more time reading my bible than I had previously, however there were still a number of occasions when I didn’t even open my bible.
    • Overall though I’d say I’ve managed to spend more time reading my bible this year than last, though there’s definitely still plenty of room for improvement.
  • Don’t let pain rule my life
    • As many of you will know, I’ve had some health issues for a few years now, which I had hoped would have been resolved by 2 major operations. Unfortunately, despite the doctors being happy with the success of these operations, I have still been experiencing severe pain of the same nature I was getting prior to the initial diagnosis.
    • Therefore it has been an on-going struggle again this year to cope with my pain levels. Having said that though, due to all the other situations I’ve had to deal with this year, I’ve often just had to get on with things no matter how severe my pain has been.
    • On the whole I don’t think I’ve actually given in to my pain completely any more than maybe a 3 or 4 times this year, which looking back now, I find quite incredible.
  • Get back to playing tennis as stopped playing in 2003 when I first wasn’t well
    • I have failed miserably at this one!
    • There were a few times during the year when I was all set to go to the tennis club at the weekend when my friends would be there, but typically the Scottish weather put an end to those plans, and on following weeks other things would happen or we had other plans, so it just never happened.
  • Put aside a minimum of 5 minutes each day to spend some quiet-time with God
    • As with my aim to spend more time reading my bible, over the year, this has been a bit up and down – Some months I spent more than 5 minutes each day with God, others none at all.
    • Also depending on what’s been going on in my life at the time, and how I’ve been coping, some of these times with God have not exactly been quiet ones, as I’ve spent much of the time crying! They may not have been “quiet” times with God, but they were at least “times” with God where even although I couldn’t vocalise my prayers, I know God still knew what was in my heart.
  • Get back to playing the piano regularly as it’s been a while
    • I’ve failed at this one!
    • However I did get a brand new keyboard for my Christmas, therefore I will definitely make progress with in the coming weeks.
  • Go on holiday – we’ve not been away anywhere since 2002
    • Due to on-going health issues/concerns with various family members, this has not been possible.
  • Keep on top of the housework (especially the ironing mountain!)
    • I’ve said it before during some of my monthly updates, but I really do hate doing housework, and ironing is definitely my least favourite chore.
    • It’s should therefore be no surprise that I have failed miserably with this.
  • More patience and understanding of others
    • To me, I have managed to be a little bit more patient with other…though you may disagree!
    • I do find this incredibly difficult, particularly with certain people (who shall remain anonymous)
    • I continue to pray for patience daily.
  • Stop procrastinating
    • I’d say I’ve been successful with this aim, as I feel that, on the whole, I’ve managed to just get on with things.

So that’s my honest answers to how I got on this year with the aims/goals I set myself at the start of the 2012. Looking back now, I think my aims/goals have probably been too ambitious and too vague, as if I’m honest, there was probably no way I was ever going to achieve all these goals in one year. I also think my judgement on how successful I’ve been has been very subjective, so I should probably have made my goals more measurable. i.e. by measuring actual status at the start of the year and comparing with actual measurements at the end of the year.

In conclusion, I’m reasonably happy with what I’ve achieved this year. While I may not have been able to say I fully achieved very many of my goals I have made progress with a number of them which I’m definitely happy about.

How about you, how did you get on with your aims for 2012?

Whatever your aims were for this year, and regardless of whether you achieve any or all of them, I pray you managed to make progress, and that you have at least achieved all God had planned for you this year!

Christmas Love

Posted: December 22, 2012 in bible, Christmas, family, Food, friendship, holiday, life, love, religion
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Paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

reason for the seasonIf I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of LOVE will endure.

Author Unknown

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