Italian fig cookies Cuccidati

 My aunt's Italian fig cookies aka Cuccidati

Keep in mind this recipe is for a large quantity. 

Also this recipe was written down the last time I made them with my aunt. 

I wrote the recipe down as she was translating it. 

Make these Cuccidati cookies

Recipe

Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients separate in large bowels.

FYI; sugar is considered wet ingredient since it melts into the mixture. 

Dry ingredients 

5 lbs. all purpose flour

12 tsp. baking powder

1 lb. Crisco 

Using your hands mix the Crisco in with the flour mixture. Crumbling it with your hands. You are looking for a pastry flour type of crumbling consistency. Mixing in all the fat completely. 

For the Crisco you may be able to use margarine but my aunt always used Crisco. If I made this personally I would try to use butter since it is healthier. 

Set aside 

Wet ingredients

5 cups sugar

12 eggs 

4 tbs. lemon juice

4 tbs. vanilla extract

4 tbs. orange juice

grated orange zest

Wisk together the wet ingredients. Add more vanilla, orange and lemon juice if you think it needs more flavor. 

Add it all together

Mix your wet ingredients in with your dry. Mixing well with your hands. Once it starts to stiffen up you can kneed a little on a board. Let sit, then you can shape your cookies. 

For the fig filling

Use a food processor and blend 2 lbs. of raw almonds, or walnuts into the consistency you desire for your filling.

Set aside

Then add 2 lbs. of dry figs into the processor and blend until smooth. 

Process the figs and nuts together along with 1 cup of honey and juice of 1 lemon. 

Blend until desired consistency.

Needs to be think but not too thick. 

You want to be able to spread it somewhat on your dough. 

Let me know how it turns out :)

From Joanne

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

 

Heritage Self Storage in Ceres CA

 Heritage Self Storage 2105 Fairview Dr Ceres CA 95307

Secure Storage with 24-Hour Access - Heritage Self Storage

Ya right! 

No security guard on duty regardless of the price increases!

Gate open 24/7 in a remote location

There is only someone in the office three days per week!

And apparently gets robbed all the time! 

SO NO, NOT SECURE! 

Our Stuff got ripped off and they don't give a damn!

THEY HAD ONE RESPONCIBLILTY 

Furnish the security camera footage to the police!

They couldn't even do that! 

Even though they said they know who did it!

I bet they do! 

Heritage Self Storage irresponsible, and negligent! 

Certainly not secure as advertised! 

And this is how they treat a long-time customer! 

I strongly recommend against Heritage Self Storage! 

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

Teenagers Not a Poem by me

Not a Poem by Joanne Utke 

I really don't know what this is lol! But I am writing it from my heart and my own mind based on my life experiences. I am not into poems or rhyming so I won't even try it here. Song writers impress me, but I am not among them :) So for whatever this is worth here is my not a poem about Teenagers. After all I was one and I have some. 

Teenagers

teenagers keep you on your feet

they challenge you

they make you worry

just don't hurry

for them to grow up

but when they do 

they may surprise you

remember to support them

listen to them

learn from them

love them

teenagers need lots of love

but not the huggy kissy kind 

they need the kind of love

that lets them know you are there

no matter what happens to them

tell them you love them and

watch their eyes roll back

just ignore that stuff

when they talk to you just listen

don't argue with them too much

listen to their words

don't focus on the words being used

try to figure out the meaning

behind the words

remember when you were a teenager

don't you ever forget that

you could relate to them once

you still could if you tried

above all

teenagers are capable

smart and funny

they are trying to figure out this crazy world

this world that makes little sense

be kind to them

lead them with example

treat them like

an equal

with respect

love and kindness

when they grow up

they will know

and hopefully 

take care of you

when you're old

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

New Year New Life!

 Greetings to however is going to read this :) 

Here is to a New Year, New Day and a New You! 

God bless you and your family! I really need and want to write more often. The truth is I often will get into a writing mood and do a lot more. It is where I need to do the work. Last year I started 15 minute a day writing challenge and got some good content in. Then I get lazy and stop doing it consistently. And sometimes I am not in the right mind set to write down anything lol! 

But I am starting it up the 15 minutes a day writing challenge and for this article I want to focus on a New Year and a New Life! About a year ago I created my new motto. This new one is a lot like my old one that I had since I was a teenager. That one is basically a daily mantra, "today I will be better than I was yesterday!" That is my motto :) 

Over the years I will admit that I failed on this motto at times. I have had some stressful times, personal freak outs, sadness, and times of extreme depression. I am not here to lie to you or sugar coat what I have been through. I have had to learn of tough lessons in my life and this was not without pain! I know you can relate. If not praise God! But let us also praise God for that pain because without it I would not know what I know now, and I would not be the persona that I am today. 

For many others as well as myself the 2020 plandemic fiasco was at times extremely stressful. I don't know about you, but it brought on some feelings of depression for me. This is not to say that other times in my life I have had the same problem. I am also very sorry for those who have lost loved ones I know how stressful that can be. 

But for me the last couple years was at times difficult for me in other ways. It was after all this that I created my new motto to help me and hopefully others to live their best life now. I decided that life is too short to spend any more time on sadness, depression, regret, self-loathing, fear and anger! And I know all of this very well I can admit. Oh, the time in my life that was wasted on all this negative attitude and emotions. 

I decided that I'm done, and I will LIVE MY BEST LIFE NOW! And a new motto was born, LIVING MY BEST LIFE RIGHT NOW! Not later, not tomorrow, not next New Year, but today, and right now! 

Best life now is not about the things we cannot change, but about the things we can change in our own everyday life. I have written a couple articles about this already and I will link them below for you. If we look back at our life, what would we want to change if we could? 

In the past I thought that was certain people in my life, but these thought only brought me more pain and sadness and did not make me a better person. I don't want to elaborate on that because that would not be productive to my message or my best life! Long after I'm gone these words may still be here for those to read as long as no one deletes my blogs. 

I learned a long time ago that regret is evil and only produces depression and sadness. In fact, the devil loves regret. When we regret our past no matter what mistakes we have made, we are saying that God doesn't have a plan for our life, that He doesn't have a purpose for our suffering. This of course if false and the devil loves it when we live by a lie. The devil is the father of lies (John 8:44) and every lie separates us from God.  

But to answer the question, when I look back honestly what I would want to change is my attitude, my thoughts and my feelings. And it just so happens that I, and you are in control of those things always! Never mind the past mistakes that have been made, we can't change that now. If you have hurt someone in the past go to them and apologize, do what you can now to make things better. But we cannot change what we have done in the past, but we can change what we do right now!

And that is where we need to spend our time, energy and efforts. I don't know about you but I waisted too much time in my life being upset about things either out of my control or upset about things that were in my control, but I did nothing to change it. Living our best life now is about empowering ourselves and knowing that our best life starts now! 

It starts with our thoughts, words, and actions! And that is something that we can control right now to give ourselves that gift. No more time wasted when we are living our best life now! 

Anyway, that is my 15 minutes plus much more spent on this. I hope that it was a blessing to you!

 Please let me know what you think. There is more to come! 

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

California Homeschool File Your PSA

  It's Time to File your PSA

  If you want to homeschool in California filed your Private School Affidavit is easy. When you file your PSA you are establishing your home as a private school for your children. This way you can teach what you want and the way you want. If you are like me you don't want the state raising your kids! And this last few years should have told you just how much they are out to get your children. If you know what I am talking about you are my people :)  

Filling a Private School Affidavit is the way to go when it comes to homeschooling in California. The main reason why I think so is because charter homeschool programs are immune to government take over of our children. A PSA offers you the privacy and freedom that you want in a homeschooling program. Unless privacy and freedom is not what you are looking for. 

If you are a concerned citizen then you should be homeschooling your kids taking your family into as much self sufficiency as possible. For me and my family we were with a public charter homeschool program for years. It was ok but I did not like the restrictiveness even though there was some choice. But in 2016 it started getting a little harry with mandatory vaccines laws in CA taking away a personal beliefs exemption. The school we were with did not enforce this will us and we remained on the PBE for some time. But as soon as my son started in high school age and then the plandemic of 2020 I decided it was time to go private. 

Filling Your PSA

The PSA needs to be filed by the 1st - 15th of the month of October every year that you are homeschooling. 

You do need to keep some records yourself such as; vaccination records or your personal beliefs exemption affidavit. In the state of California those who homeschool with a private school affidavit are exempt from laws mandating vaccines. The affidavit is just a note typed up by you stating the law and that your children are exempt from vaccines for school entry. 

You will also need to keep an attendance record for each child. This can be as basic as a printable year calendar which states that child attended every required school day. The state of California requires a minimum of 180 attended school days. 

You will also need to keep record of your CA form exempting your child to a medical example for school entry in the state. It is what the charter wanted so I keep it as well. Keep in mind that the state allows for any child to be exempt from medical examinations for school entry. 

Keep everything in a file the way any school has to do. Then all you need to do is teach from the required subject of math, reading/English, grammar, science, history/social studies, economics/government. Check your state! 

You may teach how you wish what you wish in these subjects. Again, see the California Homeschool Network for the best up to date information. 

For more information on the requirements go here. I recommend that you read and educate yourself on the process that way you are confident in what you are doing. And to file your PSA go here. 

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

In Time I will Leave The City For Now I Will Stay Alive

Leave The City

Twenty One Pilots 

 I'm tired of tending to this fire

I've used up all I've collected

I have singed my hands

It's glowing

Embers barely showing

Proof of life in the shadows

Dancing on my plans

They know that it's almost...

They know that it's almost over

They know that it's almost...

They know that it's almost over

The burning is so low it's concerning

'Cause they know that when it goes out

It's a glorious gone

It's only time before they show me

Why no one ever comes back with details from beyond

They know that it's almost...

They know that it's almost over

They know that it's almost...

They know that it's almost over

They know that it's almost over

They know that it's almost over

In time I will leave the city

For now, I will stay alive

In time I will leave the city

For now, I will stay alive

In time I will leave the city

For now, I will stay alive

In time I will leave the city

For now, I will stay alive

They know that it's almost...

They know that it's almost over

They know that it's almost...

They know that it's almost over

Last year, I needed change of pace

Couldn't take the pace of change

Moving hastily

But this year, though I'm far from home

In Trench, I'm not alone

These faces facing me

They know...

They know...

What I mean

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Tyler Joseph

Leave the City lyrics © Fueled By Music Inc., Tempo Tyler Joseph Pub

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

Best Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

This recipe is by far the best vegan banana bread recipe that I have found! 

If you are like me you eat a ton of bananas. I eat them daily. Bananas are the most versatile fruit out there. I like to use them in smoothies and oatmeal the best. 

Since we always have bananas on hand they can ripen and go bad quickly. This is when I like to make banana bread. It is an easy sweet treat that can be heathy if you make it that way. 

Banana bread is a quick bread that is easy to make. I prefer to make vegan recipes for my family when I find a recipe that works. 

Many vegan recipes just aren't good. I know because I've tried a bunch of them. But when I find one that works I hold on to it. This recipe is one of the good ones! 

It has a great texture and baked very well. 

These are the thing that I look for when baking. 

This recipe also tastes great too! 

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

To make the Best Vegan Banana Bread I used this recipe by Nora Cooks. 

I find many good recipes on this website. 

But this Banana Bread is one for the book. I made it the first time and made sure to print it out for my folder at home. That way I always have it anytime I feel the need to make Banana Bread. Next time I would like to make it using oat flour for a gluten free variety. I am not sure how that will turn out, but it is worth a try. 

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

Catholic Answers : Eucharistic miracle Mexico 2022

Catholic Answers : Eucharistic miracle Mexico 2022: Wow!  The latest Eucharistic miracle reported in Mexico on July 24 2022. There are many videos taken at the time of the event. The Eucharist...

Never Binge Again Review

 My Review of the book Never Binge Again

  I recently read a book called Never Binge Again; Reprogram yourself to think like a permanently thin person. I happen to find this book in the Kindle store when looking with my Kindle. It said $0, which is awesome for me so I got it. This book is written very well with a bit of humor. 

Right away I knew this book was something different. The phycology is spot on yet so simple. A simple mind set hack that could help anyone kick any addiction! The book is certainly geared towards mastering your cravings, Never Binging Again and achieving your ideal healthy weight but I see it as so much more. 

No, this is not a quick fix and does NOT take the place of the hard work that is needed to accomplish Never Binging again. This is a simple phycology hack that you can use to once and for all be in control of what you put into your mouth. 

The mind set hack in this book reminds me of The Wizard of OZ movie when Dorothy realizes that the power (to go home) was with her all along. This book will help you to realize that YOU AND ONLY YOU HOLD THE POWER TO NEVER BINGE AGAIN! Finally taking control over your disordered eating habits. The author Glenn Livingston reminds the reader that they are the ones who pick up that harmful food, and shove it into their mouth. 

So the concept behind this phycology hack is pretty simple and will help you if you do the work. It is about recognizing that, the part of you that binges, is not you. Not the real you that wants to be healthy and skinny. The part of you that is so primitive it can't help but shove whatever it is in front of you, no matter how damaging it may, into your mouth. This primitive part of our brain he calls the Lizard brain. Basically it is the part of you that wants only to eat, sleep, kill and mate.

You know, that part of you that ate that whole cheese pizza the other day! Or that thing inside of you that keeps eating candy by the bag full even thought you already spent five grand on fixing your teeth. How about the idiot who keeps eating junk food even though losing twenty pounds would be the best thing ever?! I think you know who I am talking about? I certainly do. 

In Never Binge Again you will learn that #1 that person who cares very little for health, and happiness is NOT YOU, but your destructive alter ego Lizard Brain. This is the part of every one of us that is literally trying to destroy itself. This Lizard does not care about health or the future. It only cares about momentary pleasure no matter what the cost. It is not the part of you that wants to be healthy and actually have a future! 

In this book Glen teaches us how to identify this part of us, call it out, and put it in its cage where a disgusting lizard belongs! Now this language may seem harsh but that is just it. You have to despise this part of you. Why? Because it hates you and wants to harm you. He/she does not want you to be healthy just fat, and blinded by how much you can actually control. 

This side of you cares nothing for your future just how much you can eat at your local fast food restaurant! In the book Glenn constantly reminds us that this thing inside of you that you hate is not you. So I need to emphasize that here. This is not about hating yourself. Just that part of you that you can't seem to get a hold of. It is the reason why you are addicted to the foods and substances that are literally killing you! 

I know my life will never be the same after reading this and implementing the technique. It is so simple and juvenile but exactly what I needed to here. I was just half way into the book when I wrote a letter to that horrible side of myself. I told him to stay away and that he was not welcome anymore. You can do this too. Just makes it a bit more real. I also followed Glenn's guidance on creating a food plan. I don't know why I didn't think of it but the food plan is a common sense masterpiece. 

Glenn does not tell you what to eat or anything like that. We are all grown ups and know what foods hurt us and which ones harm us. But he taught me how to lay out my food plan in a way that identifies my NEVER EATS, ALWAYS EATS, CONDITIONAL EATS, and UNRESTRICTED EATS. This is genius and I wonder why I never thought of it.  

I feel like this one thing alone, if you follow it can change your life for the better. A food plan like this takes out the guesswork no matter what the situation may be. In the book Glenn tells us to write it all out too. I wrote it out and place it in my pocket that way I always have it to reference if there is any doubt at any moment. Then I just go tot do the work and NEVER BINGE AGAIN. 

I love this book and Glenn Livingston's common sense, psychological hack that anyone can do. It really is genius and very well written book. It is also free on Amazon or on the Never Binge Again website along with other free resources to help you. Don't knock it down until you try it! Get the book, read it, implement it, do the work it takes and remember the best way to NEVER BINGE AGAIN, is to NEVER BINGE AGAIN!    

You just need the tools and the mind set that you need to cage that beast! 

I believe this book is just what you need to do just that. 

By Joanne UTke

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

Take Hold of The Flame Lyrics

Take Hold of The Flame and achieve your dreams because you deserve it!                    

A song dedication to ALL OF YOU GO GETTERS! 

This song is dedication to ALL OF YOU GO GETTERS! A reminder to take hold of that flame to be the light of this world while you achieve your dreams!

This song and band gets me energized every day I listen to them. Listen to this song while reading the lyrics. Very powerful song in my opinion.

Play it loud!

Feel it and believe it!

Interesting fact; the singer here Geoff Tate started out his career a young man who liked to hang out with his buddies that had formed a band.

One day their lead singer Got sick and couldn't make the gigs that they had lined up. Geoff was sitting there with his rocker friends listening to Rush, thinking about what they were going to do.

Geoff started singing casually. When the base player asked him if he "could sing this stuff?" Geoff said, "I don't know" and agreed to give it a try.

Turns out he's an excellent singer! In my opinion the absolute best in the progressive metal genre. Take a listen.

I absolutely love it!

The point is and the lesson to this story is that Geoff didn't even know he could sing, let alone be one of the best. But the opportunity was there and he gave it a try.

Then in the 1980's Geoff joined with four other guys and became Queensryche!  All together as a team these guys produced amazing songs that have stood the test of time. And in a lot of ways was ahead of their time.

Listen to these words and let his voice energize you as they do me.

Whatever it is you have set out to do. Just do it, start now, take the opportunity, learn along the way, run the race and take hold of that flame!

We are children of the light!

------------🔥-----------

Are you a fan?

Let me know in the comments 🔥

We are children of the light!

Queensryche live in Tokyo 1984.

                      

------------🔥------------

We see the light of those who find

A world has passed them by

To late to save a dream that's growing cold

We realize that fate must hide its face

From those who try

To see the distant signs of unforetold

Oh oh, take hold

From a haze came a rage of thunder

Distant signs of darkness on the way

Fading cries scream of pain and hunger

But in the night the light will guide your way

So take hold of the flame

Don't you see life's a game

So take hold of the flame

You've got nothing to lose,

but everything to gain

Ride, to a place beyond our time

Reach, for the edges of your mind, 

and your are there

See, that the light will find its way

Back to a place where it will stay, 

make it stay

Throw down the chains of oppression that bind you

With the air of freedom the flame grows bright

We are the strong, the youth united

We are one, we are children of the light

So take hold of the flame

Don't you see life's a game

So take hold of the flame

You've got nothing to lose, 

but everything to gain

Source: LyricFind

------------🔥------------

 Listen to this interview with Geoff Tate and how he got his start singing and with Queensryche. I enjoyed this interview very much!

I loved it and very interesting. I am a big fan of yours Geoff Tate! 

 

For information about Geoff Tate visit his site at GeoffTate.com 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

Amazon Links

HomeschoolWorks-20 links

When you use my link to buy I get a small commission and I greatly appreciate that!

 

Try Audible Plus

Try Audible Premium Plus and Get Up to Two Free Audiobooks

Kindle Unlimited Membership Plans

  

Amazon Direct Search Link

miscellaneous

health and household

grocery 

kitchen and dining 

kindle store

Best Vegan Bluberry Muffins

The Best Vegan Blueberry Muffins Recipe I have ever made! 

  I have made this recipe for my family. many times. This is the absolute best vegan baked goods recipe that I have found! My family is not vegan but I'm always looking for healthier vegan versions of the foods they like. If I can make something yummy without eggs, meat and dairy then that is what I want to do! 

I also believe making foods like this fresh from scratch at home is the best if you're going to eat it. That way I can control what is in it and what I am giving to my family. These have become my go to blueberry muffin recipe! Sorry the picture isn't too good/ I will replace it with a better one when I make these again. Taking imperfect action and getting this post done for you :)

  These muffins are easy to make and don't taste vegan at all. This is a recipe that everyone is sure to love. These are great for breakfast, or any occasion. For this recipe I didn't use the soy milk suggested in the recipe. I prefer to use other plant-based milks like almond milk and cashew milk. 

  My muffins turned out great using these nut milks instead. I stay away from soy and soy containing products if I can. This is another reason why you should always make stuff like this from scratch since most premade, packaged foods contain some kind of soy product in them. 

The recipe suggests using vegetable oil, which is actually soybean oil and another soy product that I try to never use. I used same mounts of softened coconut oil with good results. Coconut oil is much better oil to use, and it may have some health benefits that other oils do not. You can also use corn oil or a light olive oil if you don't like soy-based oils either.

  This recipe says to use fresh blueberries, but I have used the small size frozen blueberries right out of the freezer with good results. I usually have frozen blueberries on hand, so it was easy for me to use what I already had. 

  I want to try this recipe as a base for other variations. Instead of blueberries I want to try diced strawberry and maybe a shredded zucchini for another version of the best vegan muffins. I will let you know how that turns out. 

I also want to try using whole wheat pastry flour instead of the white flour another time too. Or even a good gluten free flour to make them gluten free. For now, give these vegan blueberry muffins a try using the recipe. I found this particular recipe at My Darling Vegan. You can print it out via the link.

I think you will love this recipe too! 

Let me know in the comments and as always God bless you wherever you are in your life! 

Thank you! 

check out my store for cool stuff

my amazon author page

What kind of person do you want to be?

 I have often asked myself this question. 

What kind of person do I want to be? At times in my life, I don't think I lived up to who I wanted to be. I went along with my friends, or I allowed the world to tell me what to think. As I grew older and started to investigate things for myself, I started to become more of who I wanted to be. I think we all go through this kind of journey. It is how we grow up and become who we are meant to be. As we grow, I think we change a little every ten years. 

  The experiences we have in life also can change us for the good or worst. It is our choice how we allow circumstances to change us. We can regret mistakes and close our self-off to learning more. We can learn from our mistakes and discover ways that it can make us better. I have done both lol! But I keep coming back to that same person that I always was just a little wiser every year. I just turned 42 and still have a long life ahead of me even though I might be halfway through it lol! I don't know exactly where life will take me, but I know that I will keep growing into the person that I want to be. I am not going to just wait for life to happen to me anymore. 

  I want to make life happen for me. Do the best that I can with what I have right now! And never stop improving on things and making my life better. Every day is an opportunity to change something about your life. I see a post today and the women said to make three goals for the day and do it. I think this is a good idea and can bring us closer to our bigger goals in life. 

  For me every day my three goals are the same and I do pretty well at accomplishing them. I am not perfect but every day that I practice being the person that I want to be. I get closer every day to my bigger goals. Just got to improve a little every day. 

  What kind of person do I want to be? I want to make my own choices, I want to create an income from home helping others, I want to achieve my health goals, and most important I want to be happy. In the past I spent too much time eating like crap and being unhappy. Not anymore! I had to nearly lose everything to get this. Sure, some days I get angry because I wish some things were different, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I had to learn, and I keep reminding myself of that. Then just do what I can and don't worry about the things I can't control.

  Anyway, that is my 15 minutes today and a short post. These are my thoughts for the day. I hope that it can be an encouragement for you. I know it is for me and a reminder to keep moving forward. Life is what we make it, so let's make it a good one!

By Joanne Utke

What do you think? 

Are you the person that you want to be? 

 Let me know in the comments.

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

Love and Hate

 Martin Luther King Jr

 I started writing this after I seen something about stopping the hate of a specific group. I was inspired to write something about that. St. Valentine's day, or Valentine's Day is coming up this week and love is in the air. Hate is the opposite of love so I'm calling this Love and hate, These are both strong emotions we are all familiar with as humans.

  There's not a day that goes by that we as intelligent sentient beings don't experience these two emotions. Depending on what your life experiences are you may feel more of one or the other. Sadly, for many the experience is all too often hate in their life. And no matter how loving you are, you have probably hated someone or something at some point in your life too. I know that I have loved as passionately as I have hated at times in my life. How about you? 

  Love is what we feel for those closest to us in life. We love our children because they are a part of us, we see ourselves in them. We are partly responsible for the people they become. Because of this we try to give them a loving and safe home. Writing this part makes me acknowledge that sadly many children don't grow up in a loving and safe home. 

I think why will be explained further in this article. My heart goes out to these people and children who desperately need love. 

  Hate is a very strong emotion that I unfortunately know too well! Not that I am a hateful person, because I'm not. I don't really hate anyone and I know we are all on a unique journey through this world. All of us for the most part are doing the best we can with what we have. This is why I am big on personal development, health and wellness. No matter who we are or where we are at in life we can get better and do better. 

  With hate comes anger and maybe it would be more accurate to say of myself that I have known anger all too well at times in my life. Hate breeds anger and we usually get angry when we feel that we have been done wrong in some way. These emotions exist in the natural world among all sentient beings and has a place. We can defend our self or our family when the need be. These emotions bring on adrenalin and this is useful in the natural world for self preservation. It is also useful in times that we find a need to protect our self and get out of a dangerous situation. 

  But it is a problem when it's used in everyday life for reasons that we should not. We should not hate others for race, or a belief system. In other words we shouldn't hate others for being human! Some would say that we should hate murderers or rapists. I think we should never hate a human being for being a broken human being. Instead we can hate the sin but we should love the sinner! No one who is broken is going to be better as long as they are hated. Love begets love and we are all broken on some level. Certainly some are extremely disturbed, and confused but hate is still not the answer. 

 I think hate in society happens when people don't want to acknowledge their own imperfections and brokenness. Instead of that reflection, and growth they turn on, what they believe is imperfections in others. The interesting thing is the hater only grows more imperfect and broken themselves. We cannot love others if we hate what is human about ourselves. I believe is has very little to do with race, religion or lifestyle choice and everything to do about one's own brokenness. People fear what they don't understand and what they hate about themselves. No one wants to admit their own imperfections or what they don't understand. So they point the finger, hoping that if they point out what they believe is wrong with others their own brokenness won' be found out. They may blame race but that is just a scapegoat. I think it is more about the hater, than the hatee. Whatever the reason hate has no place in a society that desires to be better today than they were yesterday.

 The answer to this I think is acknowledging that we are all in this world together. We are all the same as much as we are different at times. The energy spent on hate is a wasted energy that could be used in the form of love and compassion. We understand that we are all broken in some way and that personal development is what is needed. That way we can move past focusing on what is different and start leaning how to become better people in this world. 

  Now a little bit about love. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. probably says it best. "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend." That is a powerful thought! In Christianity there are examples of this. Jesus loves every one no matter what. He certainly did not support or condone their sin but He loved the sinner. We can look at the conversion of Paul (Acts 1) as an example of this. Paul was the worst sinner, killing Christians but Jesus loved Him enough to impart His love and mercy. And Paul turned into the greatest Saint and Martyr because of it.

  In conclusion I think most of us can agree that hate is useless unless it is a life saving anger. If we wish to create a world that we can be proud of there is no room for hate. For the last words I will leave you with the words of St. Paul the Apostle who was bought out of that darkness in his letter to the Corinthians. Timeless words that are just as true today! 

"If I speak in the tongues a of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 

(1 Corinthians 1-13)

By Joanne Utke

 I hope you have a happy Valentines day! 

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

Master your day to live your best life!

 Master your day to live your best life now! 

        I have found that it is often difficult to even master the day, let alone the week or month. This can be really discouraging but it is all a matter of planning and discipline. I touched on this a bit in the last post about living your best life. Having a plan is key to mastering your day so that you are ready to face the next one. Discipline is really the key here! A good plan is only has good as the discipline to carry it out. When it comes to discipline, practice makes perfect, 

First you got to believe that you are worth it! You deserve to be more in control of your day and your life. Every day when you wake up say "I deserve the changes that I am making" or "I deserve to live my best life."  What ever it is, being positive and saying empowering things to yourself is a great start. You can't wait around waiting for people to cheer you on. You need to be your own cheerleader! This is something that I have learned in my life, if you don't take yourself seriously, no one will. 

Focus on what you can control first hand! You have more control over your life than you think. When you wake up put on your shoes and get dressed. Don't go straight to your phone! Spend time having a morning routine to freshen up and set the stage for the day.  I know from experience on the days when I stayed in my pajamas and slippers, I was lazy most of the day. Likewise when I get up, get dressed, freshen up, and put on my shoes, I am ready for the day. Bottom line is you need a good morning routine that gets you ready for the day. 

I mentioned in my earlier post about having a plan that way there are no surprises. You take the guessing out and know exactly what you need to do. I do well when I get up, and get started. I usually have the most energy in the first part of the day. So that is when I do my food prep for the day if I need to. I like to plan what it is I am cooking for my family this evening. For me the morning is a great time to prepare my salad and my dressing that way my meal is done before any one else's is. I fast for the first part of the day. That helps me because my morning is not wasted on eating a meal. It allows me to have more time in the morning for a good morning routine. It is also part of my healing plan so a win, win! 

Then around 12 noon every day I make smoothies for myself and my husband. This is easy and my first meal of the day. This frees up a lot of my time and fruit makes an excellent first meal. The point is it's my plan and it takes out all of the guess work. As well as gives me lots of time to get other things done. Every day we take my son for a good walk, that is a priority, and part of the plan for the day. And I set aside some time to get on the computer and do my online stuff. My point is make a list of your must do's actives and DO THEM! Yes it is going to take some discipline but this is how you master your day. 

I am not saying that I am perfect at this but these are all ways that I have learned to master my day. I am sure you do all of this already every day. You at least know how things go when you don't lol! I have learned a lot from my failures as well as my successes. I have already covered my top three practical ways to live your best life now in the past post. I don't want this post to be too much like that one. But these are just simple things you can practice daily to master your day and live your best life now!

More practical ways of Living Your Best Life NOW! 

4. Use your time wisely

Both successful and unsuccessful people alike have only 24 hours in the day. The difference is the successful people use their 24 hours more wisely than the unsuccessful people. There is certainly nothing wrong with relaxing and doing nothing for awhile. We need that time too! But we need to learn how to manage time wisely. For example I can't stand to watch movies during the week. Just takes so much time that I could be using for writing for my blog or planning my next day. Use your time during the week in a way that fosters success and allows you to get everything done that you need. I personally like to save any entertainment for the end if the day when I'm ready to relax. Relaxation and entertainment makes a good rewards for a productive day. Getting healthy and staying that way is a full time job in it's self. And you have to work on your business, take care of your family, run arands and sleep at night. There's no time to aimlessly scroll down social media or watching hours of television. Ask yourself if there are any unhealthy habits and activities that you can cut out in the name of more time and a better life? Set a standard for yourself and follow through. That's discipline! 

5. Keep educating yourself

Read something on time management to enrich your knowledge on the subject. The more you know, the better choices you can make. Watch YouTube videos, follow people on LinkedIn that know what you want to know. Also the best way to learn is too teach! That is why I suggest starting a blog or write articles on LinkedIn. Choose topics that interest you. Study it, talk about it and write about it. You will become even more knowledgeable about the subject. 

6. Write it all down! 

I mentioned this before but keeping a journal can serve as an important tool of success. Everything from meal planning, task organization, daily journaling, favorite quotes, blog ideas, book titles, I could go on. You get my point! Writing it down is a great way to remind yourself of what needs to be done. It also is a tool that can help keep you on track. Or take a step back to see where you need improvement. Like keeping a food journal so you can step back and see where you need to be making changes. 

Anyway these are all things that I do. I am a big believer in getting better every day. Always improving on things. As long as we do this we can be at peace knowing we are on the right track that leads to personal greatness! 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read it. I pray this was a reminder to you and help along your life journey. 

By Joanne Utke

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

The token with a purpose ZELDA INU (ZLDA )

   Doing this post today just to spread the word about this crypto currency that is right now in its infancy but already making a big difference. 

I am all about self-help and doing things for yourself. And achieve the life you want. Investing is just one way we can do that. I thought this little token was worth telling you about. If for nothing but the information. Maybe you have no clue what a crypto coin or token is. 

I am just learning myself. I am not an expert, but I can blog about what I know as I learn it. Comment below and tell me what you think. What topics would you like to see me wright about? Is investing something that you want to learn more about? 

Invest in a Crypto that makes a difference! 

ZLDA INU (ZLDA) is a coin with a purpose to help pets in need! If you are an animal lover, you will want to pay attention to this. It's a MEME coin that is around 0.02 cents currently. It's a fully transparent token with a mission to help dogs in need by funding the rescuers that do the work. We're talking rescues, shelter, helping dogs who really need it. Donations have already made a huge difference the lives of many dogs. Donations totaling $26,000 and counting. And that's a great start! This is a crypto worth investing in! Go to zeldainu.com for videos, and more information. Invest your money into something that makes a difference. Learn how to get this token at zeldainu.com

Check it out at Coin Market Cap. I have included a screenshot. If you click the image, you will be able to view the whole chart at Coin Market Cap. This token has been at as much as .10 cents so far! And at 0.02 cents currently and has huge potential. We haven't seen the last of this decentralized crypto currency! Crypto being a digital currency. Some Crypto like this one ZLDA, was designed for a purpose with a purpose. With the potential to make a lot of money. Decentralized means it is not governed by any central authority. I suggest going to YouTube and watching a video that can explain it all to you. This particular one is in the MEME category. MEME coins are a crypto currency that is inspired by an internet MEME, started like a joke. But ZELDA INU is far from a joke. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping as man dogs as they can. 

Check it out and see for yourself. 

If you want to get started investing and help dogs, this is for you! Go to zeldainu.com to find out how to get it and where. You're going to want to read the site, learn all you can and get started! The sooner the better but it's never too late to start your investment portfolio. 

With just a $100 investment you can get about 5,000 coins at the 0.02 cent price point. If the price goes to 0.10 cents as it has before, your $100 will turn into about $500 That's a nice return for you and more dogs that can be helped. Now imagine if that 0.10 cents turned into $1.00! Are you starting to see the potential? 

DISCLAIMER; This post is for informational purposes. These are hypothetical figures based on the current price, I make no claims. Trading crypto can be risky as is any worthwhile that you can do in this world. You can lose money. As always do your research and don't invest money that you need for something important. 

Also don't fall for an imposter! For every opportunity out there, there is a scam to follow. Make sure that anything you do involving your personal information is done at a crypto trading platform. Use Coin Market Cap as a source for your information regarding the charging of this crypto. 

If this is something that you would like to invest in just go to the Zelda Inu official website and follow the instructions via the "how to buy" tap at the top of the page. There is definitely a learning curve when it comes to investing, especially crypto and MEME coins but it could prove to be worth the effort. Do your own due diligence and happy investing! 

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

Practical ways to live your best life now!

  YES, YOU CAN LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE NOW! 

       In my last two posts I talked about my new motto, BEST LIFE NOW! I talked about what it means to live your best life now! In this post I wanted to just give to you reading this and myself of practical ways we can go about that every day. Sure, a nice motivational saying is great! But how do we go about practicing it? We need practical ideas that we can do every day that allow us to live up to LIVING OUR BEST LIFE NOW! So, I thought that is what I will do in this post. 

1. Adjust your mind set! 

     I am placing mind set as number one because there are some bad habits in our thought process that we need to change. I talked about this in the last post about getting rid of the "I will start Monday" Complex. You need to think differently! You need to know that the important things in your life can't wait for Monday, you need to do it now, today! You also need to BELIEVE that you are worth changing for the better. You are worth eating healthy, you are worth making the necessary changes that will dramatically change your life for the better! No more time needs to be wasted on not being the best version of yourself. Also included in mind set is staying positive. No matter what, you can look for the good in everything. You can stay positive and remind yourself that this will pass. And it will pass whether you are positive or not, so you may as well stay positive. I don't think I have to tell you that being negative and stressed will not make the struggles any less difficult to deal with. In fact, it will make the struggles worst. 

2. Have a plan! 

No matter what it is that you have to accomplish today, and, in your life, you need a plan. A long-dated plan is not for me. But having a daily plan is a great way to make sure that you are living your best life one day at time. Don't worry about your ultimate goal. You know you will get there after you have mastered your day first. It is certainly important to have those long-term goals. But if you don't concur your day first, you will not get to the end of the month or year. You know what it is that you need to accomplish every day to be living your best life. Every night before you go to bed write out a plan for the day. This is where a journal comes in handy. Make a list of tasks from most important to least important. Start your day with your most important tasks and then move on to the others. Healthy meals like salads, veggies, dips and dressing can easily be prepped the night before or in the mornings. Will you be scheduling time for exercise, work and family? When you have a plan, you take the guess work out of it and can just move on with your day. At the end of the day, you will see how much you have accomplished to better your life and will feel accomplished. 

3. Make yourself a priority

 We need to make ourselves a priority in our own life! I have learned, so I tell people that if you don't prioritize yourself, no one will! If you don't take yourself, your life, your beliefs seriously don't expect anyone else too. You need to star in your own life and the necessary tasks that make your life, your best life. No one will do this for you, you have to do it! This is not saying to be selfish, but if you are not doing your best, you are not going to be good for anyone else! You need to prioritize your life so that you can be a good example to those you love. And be healthy so you can be there for them when you are needed. Schedule time in your day for others so that it doesn't interfere with the time you need for yourself. You only have 24 hours in the day. That's why having a plan and then prioritizing your important tasks in absolutely necessary. 

These are my big three practical ways that you can do to live your best life now! I had a couple more, but I lost my post this morning. I hope this was helpful to you in some way! When I am inspired with more insights, I will include them in a post. Yes, we already know this stuff but let it be a reminder to you and an encouragement in your life. In a lot of ways, I have learned these lessons the hard way. We are all a work in progress and it is never too late to change your life for the better, as always God bless and thank you for taking the time to read this! 

By Joanne Utke

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff

What does it mean to live your best life now?

     If you see this in LinkedIn or seen my first entry, in the 15 minute a day writing challenge, you know that my motto is LIVING MY BEST LIFE NOW, or BEST LIFE NOW! I created this to remind myself that life is too short for stress, anger, resentment and just being unhappy! In this post I wanted to explain what "BEST LIFE NOW" means to me. Maybe it can inspire you to live life more in the now rather than in the past, like so many of us seem to do. I've been heard saying "the past is gone, the future doesn't exist yet, all we have is right now!" 

     In the catholic tradition we have a prayer called The Hail Mary, which I love. This prayer has given me much comfort throughout my life. In this prayer we say, "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death." We say "NOW" because that is the first most important time of our lives. The choices and decisions we make now will affect our tomorrow! The only way to change the future is to make those necessary changes right now. We are reminded to ask God for that guidance, willfulness and diligence in making the right choices, now. We say "death" because that is the second most important time if our life when we look back on our life, judge our self and go on to our eternal reward or punishment. 

    But what do I mean by Living your best life NOW? I mean not waiting to make those necessary changes in your life. Often, we wait until you "feel" like it. It's about not waiting until tomorrow to make your life what you want. Have you ever fell into the Monday complex? I have for sure that's how I know about it. You know you got to lose weight or start eating healthy. Here's the scenario, it's Friday but you say, "I will start on Monday." And then on Wednesday you realize that you didn't eat as healthy as you know you should have. So, you tell yourself, "I'll start on Monday." Before you know it the month, or year is over, and you are no closer to your goals than you were on the first Monday you said you would change. 

    This is a never-ending cycle of what I call the Monday complex! We will do ourselves well to get out of that way of thinking. The important changes that we need to make life better are just too important to wait, we need to do it now! This doesn't mean that the results will happen instantly or that it won't take time to get where we want to be in life. It just means we start now, not tomorrow! We don't procrastinate on a better quality of life or making those business calls that you need to make. 

    This is a cycle that we could avoid if we just LIVED OUR BEST LIFE NOW! Sometimes on YouTube I listen to a lady entrepreneur names Mel Robbins and she is big on not waiting until you feel like it and just doing what you need to do now.  She says, "you're never going to feel like it!" This is true you will never feel like exercising or eating a salad instead of tacos. No one wants to do the work that it takes to have the best life possible. We just want it now without the work but that is not what I am talking about. Sure, it would be great if we could snap our fingers and the work is done. But not how it works in the real world. 

     Life is what we make it, no one else! We need to begin the work now; we need to make better choices now and not wait for Monday to feel like it. This is what I think about all the time, so I decided to dedicate this post to it. We don't even know if tomorrow will come so why not live our best life NOW? And live life to the fullest and have the best quality of life we can. We don't have time for stress, anger, resentment, and being unhappy. I always tell my kids that if you want to be happy, be happy! Happiness is a choice that we make right now no matter what life throws at us! If you think life has to be perfect until you can be happy, you will never be happy. I am not saying to be happy about the horrible things happening in your life or the world. I am saying to find peace and happiness in spite of that stuff.

    That is a choice I had to personally make for myself. I realized that I spent way too much of my life being unhappy and not seeing the good in what was happening in my life. I chose to be happy in spite of it and my life has been much better for it. I still have a lot to work on but these days I want to make my life my best life, and I don't want to wait for it. I touched on this in my previous challenge post. I am 42 this month and if I die at 82, I'm already halfway through my life, and most people don't get that much time so what am I waiting for? I want to make my next 40, 50, 60 years my best ones! I would never want any different for anyone else. Let's LIVE OUR BEST LIFE NOW! 

    Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you are taking the 15 minutes a day writing challenge. You can start a blog or just crab a pen and paper. Get your thoughts down, at the very least it will be something to leave the kids. Maybe it can help someone think a little differently. It can certainly help you stay gowned and on track with your goals. It is not good to keep it all inside. Comment below to tell me what you think. As always God bless! 

By Joanne Utke

 Want natural health information and a Step by Step plan to go plant based, lose weight and feel great? 

Thank you! 

check out my store for interesting stuff