A Dream Dinner Party For 8 Guests At Your Home, Who’s Invited?

August 23, 2015August 31, 2015 / Donna George / 5 Comments

The dinner table

A dream dinner party for 8 guests at your home, who’s invited? Let me set this up… You can invite 8 guests of your choice, to your home for dinner – sound fun? Play along and let your imagination loose. You might learn something new about yourself. Your guests must be alive and living today to be invited. No fictional Disney characters or dead poets are invited to this party, save them for your next gathering.

Creating my list was easy until I started thinking about how different each guest is from one another and the possible awkwardness it might present. I thought about how the guests would converse with each other, and if the evening would have fluidity? And how I could possibly make it interesting for everyone.

I thought about where I would seat each guest with precision. And where I would place myself… So I wouldn’t miss a whisper from a single guest. Who would I sit next to me? ~~(Maybe I could cut a hole in the center of the table and sit where the candles would be???)~~ As silly as it may seem, for a hot moment, the thought did pop up in my head. Moving on!

There are many details to sort out like which tabletop flowers, what plates to use and what to serve. I mean, the dinner is the important thing, after all, it is a gathering for dinner, to eat. All I wanted to think about was the list of questions I had for each guest.

Your list might be all the same kind of people (people who have much in common) or very different interest, like my list. Either way, it’s your party, your list and you get to orchestrate the whole event exactly as you want.

For some of you, the list will require some thought as you struggle to decide who you find most exciting or who has been a life long influence for you. Six on my guest list were easy… While the other two I debated over. Here are the 8 guests invited to my party.

Stephen King, Writer

Stephen King

Nicholas Sparks, Writer

Nicholas Sparks

Stevie Nicks, Musician, Fleetwood Mac Band

Stevie Nicks

Stephen Tyler, Musician, Aerosmith

Stephen Tyler

Donald Trump, Entrepreneur

Donald Trump

Sarah Palin, Writer & politics

Sarah Palin

Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse

Franklin Graham

Beth Moore, Writer & Christian Bible Teacher

Beth Moore

Do you find this to be an interesting list or an impossible mix of extreme liberal and conservative people? Could they learn something from each other? Would they?

My reasons are plentiful for each guest. An appetite for inspiration, curiosity and motivation just for starters!

King has inspired my imagination beyond limits, yet I continued to reach for his novels. If I had to pick a favorite writer, he definitely gets my vote. In my opinion, King is the best writer alive today, on the planet. I’ve read almost all his work and have never been disappointed. If you are not a fan of the King’s style of horror, I highly recommend his books on writing, “Top 20 Rules For Writers” and “On Writing and A Memoir of the Craft”. I promise you will learn something useful with takeaway value.

Nicholas Sparks, a North Carolina writer and once the professor at Carolina who has risen to fame with simple love stories like “The Notebook”, “Message in a Bottle”, “Safe Haven” and dozens more. His books are transformed into blockbuster movies and usually filmed here locally, in North Carolina. A male writer, gifted with a compelling point of view combined with a knack for developing slow unfolding love stories. Sparks brings a unique storytelling style that leaves a large female audience yearning for more. Bestseller list, after bestseller list – seems to happen easy for him.

Stevie Nicks belongs in a class of her own, unlike any other female performer. Stevie performs solo and is the lead singer for the British band, Fleetwood Mac. A self-made megawatt legend, who had a dream, pursued it with great passion.

Stephen Tyler, a likable musician who rocked stages around the world with the band Aerosmith and continues to perform solo recently breaking into country music. Aerosmith was America’s rock band with mega hits like “Dream on” and “Walk This Way” that leave jingles forever in our heads. His book “Noise Inside My Head” was surprisingly a good read with a candid, picturesque inside view of life as America’s top rock band. He is soulful, mischievous and bubbling over with the joys of life.

Donald Trump is a famous and outspoken businessman, who is a well branded name that has developed a hugely successful empire. As his rising political popularity soars, so does his charisma, determination and tenacity. Support him or not – he is vivacious, and an interesting personality.

Sarah Palin is a conservative, brave woman. She is a trailblazer in US politics. Anyone who hasn’t heard of Sarah Palin is living under a rock, considering her popularity and fame. I love her Facebook page! Her posts are opinionated, interactive, courageous and brutally honest. Despite her constant criticism Sarah presses through every battle (and there have been many) with great stamina and big patriotism, unmatched by any other female politicians to date. No, she is not perfect, but she is Sarah Palin and she doesn’t have to be. She is real.

Franklin Graham is a Humanitarian and Evangelist, son of America’s Pastor Billy Graham. Franklin founded Samaritans Purse, one of the largest evangelical relief aid organizations in the world, helping over 240 countries in catastrophic events. Often times, Samaritans Purse is the first on the scene to help.The Graham’s family faithfulness and devotion to Jesus Christ have astounded me my entire life. I stand in total awe of this family! I could spend months conversing with Franklin about spiritual topics and humanitarian subjects.

Beth Moore is America’s favorite Bible teacher. She is a brilliant, a witty writer and speaker who can bring the old and new testament scriptures alive with an applicable and simplicity message. A powerful, dynamic Proverbs 31 woman in every way. Beth is an extraordinary role model for millions of women of the Christian faith around the world.

There were a few favorites I had to leave off the guest list, 8 chairs was the limit. I did discover a couple of things about my own list that surprised me. I spent thirty years in the fashion industry and not a single designer made the cut. I love photography, but there was no one I was willing to remove from the 8 selected.

How about you? Who would you invite and why? It never hurts to dream. Do you still believe in miracles?

Happy Trails,
Donna George

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“Day dreaming and night thinking”

Calling All Lefties – It’s Our Day to Celebrate

August 15, 2015 / Donna George / 2 Comments

Calling All Lefties – It’s Our Day to Celebrate.

How To Turn A 1000 Piece Puzzle Into A Masterpiece

August 14, 2015August 15, 2015 / Donna George / 34 Comments

3/5/15 Puzzle Pieces

A fun and healthy hobby I enjoy with my family is putting together puzzles 1000 plus pieces. In this post, I will share some simple tips to help you puzzle faster and easier. I created photo journals during the process on some of my favorite puzzles, from the beginning process to the end.

This is what you will need:

Chose a puzzle that you love
1 piece of large poster cardboard, any color
1 bottle of Elmer’s puzzle glue
1 sponge or large paint brush
1 frame, puzzle measurements
A big dose of determination

Let’s start with this puzzle photo of an Indian Chief in completion, to get you motivated. Isn’t it gorgeous?

3/5/15, Indian Chief, Headshot Puzzle

Here is a list of things to do to organize 1000 tiny puzzle pieces.

If you are newbie to larger puzzling, I would search for puzzles with many colors and objects to keep it easy and interesting. I get bored working with the same color.
Great lighting is mandatory or you will die, not really, but you will struggle visually with the pieces. I use 3 bright lamps, LED lamps and place around the puzzle.
Place the puzzle pieces on a flat uncluttered surface.
Make sure no pieces are left in the plastic wrap.
Stand the empty box up in your work area for visual reference.
Start by turning all the pieces right side up, separate by grouping of color initially.

Puzzle Pieces Grouped By Colors

Obviously, there will be many shades of every color, group light to dark within groups.

Now you are ready to work on the frame. All frame pieces will have a straight side, pull the frame pieces together and create the puzzle border. Below is a picture of the puzzle I am working on now. A border example is easier to see in this puzzle photo.

Puzzle Border

Easy, right? Now you are ready to start developing the puzzle. Here are photos of the Indian Chief puzzle in progress.

After you finish the puzzle, it’s time to slide a piece of large poster cardboard (available almost everywhere) under the puzzle to prepare for preserving. Be careful with this maneuver, you don’t want it crashing to the floor.
Now it’s time to cover the puzzle with puzzle glue. Elmer’s puzzle glue is the best. Usually one coat will secure the pieces into place, occasionally it takes two coats. Put the puzzle away and wait 24 hours for it to dry.
Hopefully you will want to frame your masterpiece. Frames for puzzles are not easy to find. I would recommend checking local craft stores, but you might have to buy online, especially if your puzzle is an odd shape or size. And be sure to save the puzzle box, it has the puzzle measurements on the side.

One thing I learned the hard way – check the floor each time you leave your puzzle area for any pieces that may have fallen off the table. My dogs have eaten several puzzle pieces over the past years. Luckily, my husband is crafty at making missing puzzle pieces. He constructs them out of cardboard boxes, and then matches the paint with the puzzle. Once we worked on a 2000 piece puzzle all summer, yes… it seemed like an eternity and 1,999 pieces later, a piece was gone. Panic attack, but lesson learned – don’t lose pieces.

I hope you find these tips helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Do you enjoy puzzling? I would love to hear your tips and shortcuts or see photos of your masterpieces. After puzzling for years, I have accumulated a lot of puzzles, but my favorite one is the “Wizard of Oz”. It has bright colors, characters galore and Dorthy’s red sparkly shoes. Do you have a brand puzzle you favored?

This week I’m working on a sweet “cupcake puzzle”, how about you?

Happy trails,
Donna George

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The Road Less Traveled

August 2, 2015August 2, 2015 / Donna George / 3 Comments

Thinking you might be off the beaten path, lost, or wasting time?

Take the road less traveled

Don’t turn around, keep going. Chances are, you may be feeling uncomfortable, confused or anxious about taking the scenic route when you knew the old way was a sure thing. Sit tight – these feelings are temporary and will pass.

“Life is a journey, not a destination”

Only travelers who have an appetite for adventure will benefit from the this kind of road. Others you might pass on this route are probably dreamers and risk takers. They are not in a hurry nor fearful of what lies ahead. Their radios are blaring and the windows are rolled down. The patrons of these roads are not deceived by the familiar patterns of life that disguises itself as a false sense of security robbing them from the true panoramic view. Instead, these roads less traveled are pathways of opportunity to be embraced, dreams to be realized, and spirits to be awakened.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things”.

The popular, busy, heavy traveled road is frequented by the most. I wouldn’t call it a “happy trail” since most of the drivers are rushing and multi-tasking. How could it have expectations of an interesting journey when it’s referred to as the “beaten path”. Even when overhead flashing lights are blinking for caution and attention, the need to keep up with the pack is the only unction realized. So we stay with the pack, bumper to bumper, fearful of losing our place or God forbid – someone jumps in ahead of us. These drivers are all about following the traffic and conforming to the mundane meaningless trips. Sometimes even ignoring the rules, trapped in the comfort zones and blocked in on every side. Ignoring the danger signs all around them and insensitive to all the open exits available.

Highways choices

Occasionally it’s the detours that force us to the roads less traveled. Other times, it’s the crossroads that changes up the familiar route and provides a much larger view. A view that stirs up a tapestry of images that awakens the soul. Suddenly, in sight is “hope street” that leads to “dream avenue” and merges with “freedom lane”. The views are intoxicating and the everyday mundane becomes a distant memory blinded by a blue sky so big it conjures up heavenly thoughts. Simple scenes like horses grazing in a field become images burned in our memories. Oceans and rivers absorb our beings with curiosity of where they begin and end. The smell of the salty sea absorbs our senses and releases memories of past vacations and childhood days of building sand castles.

Scenic lavender field

It really doesn’t matter what road you are traveling. What really matters is if you are inspired by your daily view. Are you having fun? At the end of the day when you reflect back on your day – did it contribute to your life or take away. Consider these thoughts;

Be open to take an occasional side road
Be mindful of crossroads
Be aware of the intersections

Use road at own risk

The road less traveled takes courage to explore and – know this – most travelers never return to the mundane highways, but instead, become addicted to the lure of the journey on the road less traveled,

Happy trails

Scenic Route plate blue (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I Believe In Miracles, Do You?

July 26, 2015July 26, 2015 / Donna George / 9 Comments

thegoodvibe.Co

Do you believe in Miracles? Wikipedia describes a miracle as an event not explicable by natural or scientific laws. Such an event may be attributed to a supernatural being, God or Gods, a miracle worker, a saint, or a religious leader. Does this define a miracle for you?

For starters, The Hebrew word for miracle is Nes.

The term “Miracle” is often loosely used in our language. We hear of miracle drugs, miracle weight-loss, miracle products and on and on the phononem grows. I would define a miracle as a welcoming, highly extraordinary event that is believed to be caused by the power of divine intervention (God), into human affairs. This would be an outstanding example of something mysterious, with favor from God.

Most people believe miracles are answers to prayers.

Miracles

There are miracles that go unrecognized, thought of as ordinary life events.

Possible or Impossible?

Miracle ahead

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein

I choose to encounter miracles, to wait for them, expect them and embrace them. How about you? What kinds of miracles have you experienced? What kinds are you hoping for?

Miracle Expectancy

Happy trails,
Donna George

Reflection of My Soul : Unplugged

July 21, 2015 / Donna George / 1 Comment

This is my my dear friend and gifted poet, Himali Shah, Decoding Happiness Blog. Check out her blog after you read this post, I wouldn’t want you to miss anything! She is wonderful!
Enjoy
Donna

Decoding Happyness

As I wrote this quote last evening, my eyes were welled with unshed tears. Though I love quotes a lot, I never thought that something would ever, move me so deeply; that I’d write one myself one day. Perhaps, that’s the beauty of life. It presents you with bounteous surprises.

The things that stuck me to the core yesterday were :

1. It happens for a reason
2. Far or near, everyone you meet, becomes a part of you in some ways.

Let me share how these two things are beautifully intertwined. My friend Donna shared a post of a 1000 piece puzzle. It amazed me entirely as to how can a human mind solve such a massive and complex puzzle with such intricacies. Till date I had this question looming over my mind. (This bit of information might appear something out of the blue right now, but read till…

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America Mourns The Killing Of 4 Marines And A Sailor In Chattanooga

July 19, 2015July 19, 2015 / Donna George / 4 Comments

With heavy hearts, the world sees terror unleashed on America’s finest, ending the young lives of 4 Marines and a Sailor, tragically ambushed in Chattanooga while on active duty at a military recruiting center.

Fathers, Sons, Husbands, Marines, Soldiers, Patriots, Friends and Heroes…

American Soldiers

U S Marines

Carson Holmquist – Grantsburg, Wisconsin
David Wyatt – Russellville, Arkansas
Skip Wells – Marietta, Ga.
Thomas Sullivan – Springfield, Mass.

U S Sailor

Randal Smith – Paulding, Ohio

We honor our military and their families with the highest regard. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.

http://wate.com/2015/07/17/chattanooga-marines-shooting-abdulazeez-victim-killed/

In honor of Heroes,
Donna George

She’s A Wild Child

July 11, 2015July 11, 2015 / Donna George / 5 Comments

My new favorite summer song, Wild Child, by Kenny Chesney. It’s perfect… Enjoy!

What’s not love about this song, video, beach, jeep, horses, and the ocean… Need I say more? Do you have a favorite?

Happy trails
Donna George

25 Reminders: The Best Things In Life Are… Free?

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 / Donna George / 18 Comments

Do you believe the best things in life are free? Up for a few reminders??

Contrary to what you might think, the happiest people in the world are not the millionaires, billionaires and Trumps of the world. It’s the ordinary, average people, like you and I, who are the happiest. Finding joy in the small things life has to offer, and finding happiness in the day-to-day simple living. A concept that is becoming non-existent in our culture as the stress of distracting noise becomes louder and louder inside our heads, and the quest to be entertained by the newest tech gadgets grows. I was there, totally caught up in all, for a long time. The thought of being stuck on a flight with a dead battery on my iPad was next to tragic. I craved the constant stimulus from devices never realizing it, until one day, my life became simpler. With simplicity comes clarity, and I learned a few things about myself that I had forgotten long ago.

There is no denying the relevance of money and the influence it has on our lives. It’s an important part of our survival, and brings many comforts. After all we need things, we want things and we want them now, for heaven’s sake! Only in retrospect, can I personally judge, this pleasure dependence on money, with the unnecessary things it can buy. How many red leather pairs of pumps can make a closet complete? How many purses in shades of pink was enough? There was always one more I thought I had to have…

Well, enough of my confessions, let’s get to the free stuff, the best stuff… And here are 25 reminders on my list:

1. The people in your life you love, and love you back.

2. Friends, especially close ones.
3. Laughter, belly laughs.
4. Animals that bring joy into your life.

5. Hugs, all kinds and sizes.
6. Prayers
7. Kind people.
8. Beach days

Ocean

9. Snow Days
10. Every new day is a gift.
11. A hot shower.
12. Clean Sheets on the bed.

13. A good night’s sleep.

14. Reading!!!

15. Listening to Music
16. Star gazing and enjoying the great outdoors.
17. Teaching yourself something new.
18. A clean house.
19. Smiling :)).

download
20. Honesty.
21. Having people in your life who encourages you.
22. Believing in yourself.
23. Wildflowers.

24. The 5 Senses, touch, smell, sound, sight, and taste
25. Hope (Hebrew 11:1) the hope of assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

I would enjoy reading your list. How do you describe the best of times?

Happy trails
Donna George