Substance of Living

There have been so many diet plans that promised us weight loss.  And that's great!  What was it about that particular diet that was healthy or unfortunately unhealthy?  Did we really keep the weight off or have we found the "lost" weight and some of its friends? Comments I've heard through the years about various diets (can you guess which ones I'm talking about?): "You can eat all the meat you want!" "There's no fat so I can eat as much as I want and not gain any weight!" "All the stars are doing it and look how great they look!" "I can eat anything I want within a certain color." "All my food is prepared for me." "I can eat one of anything and still lose weight." The list of comments can go on and on and on.  You get the point. Diets are fantabulous for businesses and marketers.  Not so much for us. Getting back to my question about gluten-free being a fad.  For those of us who ca

Black Pirate If you're over 21 years of age (that's the legal drinking age in the United States), this is a drink you'll enjoy during the cold weather.  It's also a nice drink over ice to stay cool in the summer heat. You may be aware of a drink called a Black Jamaican or My Maria that has Myer's Rum and Tia Maria.  This Black Pirate is our version. Can you see yourself serving up this nice drink at a fall or Halloween party?  The name alone makes me think of a movie screening party, pirate party, or a fun night of adult mischief including a scavenger hunt. Like most things, creation is born from necessity.  Well, it wasn't necessary that DH and I have a drink, but it does coincide with our game of choosing something new to try on a regular basis.  Anywhoo! We wanted to make a Black Jamaican but didn't have Myer's Rum and certainly didn't have Tia Maria.  I mean, do you?  But like many people, we did have some rum - which happened to

Monopoly Board Games used in WWII Starting in 1941, an increasing number of British Airmen found themselves as the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and the Crown was casting about for ways and means to facilitate their escape...Now obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and accurate map , one showing Not only where stuff was, but also showing the locations of 'safe houses' where a POW on-the-lam could go for food and shelter. Paper maps had some real drawbacks -- they make a lot of noise when you open and fold them, they wear out rapidly, and if they get wet, they turn into mush. Someone in MI-5 (similar to America's OSS) got the idea of printing escape maps on silk. It's durable, can be scrunched-up into tiny wads, and unfolded as many times as needed, and makes no noise whatsoever. At that time, there was only one manufacturer in Great Britain that had perfected the technology of printing on silk, and that was John Waddington,

Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil in Sold and Melted Forms After my first conversation with Michael at Skinny & Co., I was super excited to try their coconut oil.  I didn't have to wait but a couple days and my coconut oil arrived in the mail. My initial thought was, "Which recipe do I try or should I create something new?"  That thought was blown out of the water when I began reading about the benefits of using coconut oil raw. Did you know that you can use coconut oil as a makeup remover, as a lotion for skin rash or reducing wrinkles?  I didn't.  In fact, I wouldn't have thought to use coconut oil in any other capacity except cooking.  I do use raw coconut oil to make my vegan butter.  I thought it would be too expensive to "waste" using it any other way than ingesting. I have since changed my mind. I now use a teaspoon in my morning coffee, use it to make vegan butter, lotion for my dry hands and feet, moisturizer on my face, and have be

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. —Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces When I was chosen to review John Blackport’s latest novel, Misfits Revolt (A Talan Revolt #4), I was excited and a little nervous.   Excited to learn a new (to me) author’s style of writing but also a new genre – fantasy.   Nervous because this author trusted me to honestly review his book. I’m thankful to say that I thoroughly enjoyed both the author’s style of writing and his story.   His hero, Rick Rivoire, is what many would call “A Man’s Man” and yet he is gentle enough so that women are attracted to him. The hero, in this case, Rick Rivoire, must face three key phases in his journey.   These

In honor of Sundance Film Festival and to break up the January duldrums, we like to host our own Substance of Living Film Festival . Think of hosting a multi-day open house but the movie of the day is the main attraction. If you're not truly up to the task of a multi-day viewing then schedule a series of movies throughout one day and run it as a marathon.  Let's do this without breaking the bank! Invitations Make up a flyer with the date(s), times, and movie selections and be sure to invite a lot of people.  The more people, the more fun and milling around.  Most likely not everyone will be in your home at the same time unless you have one particular film EVERYONE wants to see. If you have more than one TV or DVD set ups, you might want to have two movies running. Another fun addition is to make ID badges for the guests or "Stars" to wear to ensure entrance into the festival.  We wouldn't want the riffraff coming in, right?! Films Groupings mi

Welcome to 2014! January is a time of newness.  We put away our holiday decorations and prepare ourselves for the future.  Many of us have resolutions, set annual goals or financial goals , create a visual board , or choose a word to help guide us through the new year. My word for last year was RELEASE .  I worked on letting go. Release my past.  Moving on and looking forward. Letting go of clothes that no longer belong in my closet whether they still have the price tag or not. Paired down my book collection. Released negativity. R elinquished control and allowed others to help. My word for this year is PASSION .  I want to wake every morning with a spring in my step and an eagerness to get out of bed and get my day started.  Doesn't that sound like a great goal - to be excited to greet every day?  I know we all have a passion in which our soul is trying to make us aware.  Are you living your passion? Each of us has a purpose and that purpose for this life may ch

Welcome to the new year!  I love the word "new".  It gives me hope and allows me to think of the future.  What image comes to mind when you hear or see the word "NEW"? January is such a busy month what with putting away all the holiday decorations, making preparations for the new year by creating Visual Boards , and setting goals so we'll go easy with this month's book club selection. These two books were both referred to me by neighbors who also are dear friends.  These are light reading but hopefully they will touch and speak volumes to you. When God Winks at You by SQuire Rushnell If you're looking for more books to read, take a gander at our previous Book Club selections. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron Don't you love it when simple things, such as a kitten, have HUGE impacts on our hearts?  What other books have you read that touched you deeply? Tweet this Post Please share me