Here are 24 things to always remember…and one thing to never forget. By Collin McCarty

Your presence is a present to the world.

You’re unique and one of a kind.

Your life can be what you want it to be.

Take the days just one at a time.

Count your blessings, not your troubles.

You’ll make it through whatever comes along.

Within you are so many answers.

Understand, have courage, be strong.

Don’t put limits on yourself.

So many dreams are waiting to be realized.

Decisions are too important to leave to chance.

Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.

Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.

The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.

Don’t take things too seriously.

Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

Remember that a little love goes a long way.

Remember that a lot . . . goes forever.

Remember that friendship is a wise investment.

Life’s treasures are people . . . together.

Realize that it’s never too late.

Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.

Have health and hope and happiness.

Take the time to wish upon a star.

And don’t ever forget . . .

For even a day . . .

How very special you are.

I’ve been wanting to share this poem for quite some time.  Since life is busy, it seemed like it was the right time.

Have a blessed day!

“Pizza Even a Guy Can Throw Together” was a big hit, so I thought I’d share another wonderfully yummy and easy to make pizza.

Pita Pizza Primavera is the perfect light fare for the upcoming Summer months. However, we like it so much we make it year round no matter what the price of asparagus is! Now, if you don’t like asparagus, you can try broccoli or some yucky eggplant.  I am not a fan of eggplant so can’t imagine it tasting good.

I am not a vegetarian but veggie lovers will adore this pizza. The colorful asparagus, zucchini, purple onion and tomatoes are roasted to intensify their flavor and it really adds to the yumminess of this simple recipe.

Pita Pizza Primavera

Makes 4 servings

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 firm tomatoes, cut into ¾ inch chunks
1 zucchini, cut into ¾ inch chunks
1 red onion, cut into ¾ inch chunks
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
4 pita breads such as:
Signature Pita Bread Factory (found at Fred Meyer)
Alexis Original Greek Pita
Kronos Middle Eastern Pocket Wraps (found at Safeway)
Try different ones until you find a favorite.
¾ to 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh basil (I have sprinkled dried and it works okay)
1 ounce or so of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450. Spray a large baking sheet with olive-oil nonstick spray.

Combine the veggies, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss to coat.
Place this mixture of veggies in a single layer on the pan
Roast until tender about 10-12 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting prepare your pita bread. Place the pitas on a baking sheet or cutting board without sides. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and basil over the pitas.
When the veggies are done roasting, spread evenly over the pitas.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and carefully slide the pitas on to the oven rack.
Bake another 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
Again, carefully slide the pita pizzas onto the baking sheet or cutting board. Careful, don’t burn your fingers.

Slice with pizza wheel and ENJOY!

Life.

Are you truly living it?  Do you wake up each day with excitement thinking about what the day holds.  Or do the covers feel so cozy you don’t want to get up. I am like that someday.

Living each day with joy and purpose takes a concentrated effort, I do believe. Making sure we don’t get entangled in letting circumstances affect our day in a negative way should keep us on our toes. Being carefree and positive about what we face during our day can go along way to keep our mood upbeat and hopeful.

This is the fourth part of The Handbook for Life.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:

40. Please share this with everyone you care about, as I just did.

Number 33 is very intriguing to me. “Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or enjoyable.” I truly see the value in that and if I did it, I would really need to clean house!  It reminds me of something I heard Oprah Winfrey say about clothing.  I don’t remember her exact words but it was something like…..We should only wear what makes us feel beautiful.  I don’t think I can truly live that way unless I get selected for the TV program, “What Not To Wear” where they give you $5000 to go buy a whole new wardrobe in New York. lol

The other one I like is “No matter how bad or good a situation is, it will change.”

Things usually look different and ofter better the next day after getting a good nights sleep.  Or after being able to share with another person.  Many times in my 42 years of marriage, when something was troubling me, I would talk it out with my husband.  Invariably I would feel better.  It was almost as if I was transferring it to him.

Again I’ve chosen some quotes that support the message for today.

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” – Maya Angelou

“The time is always right to do what is right.” —Martin Luther King Jr.

Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Laugh. Play with abandon.
Practice wellness.
Continue to learn.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Lead or follow a leader.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is. ~Mary Anne Radmacher

Join me in this affirmation……

I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life. ~Louise Hay

Being healthy takes purpose and some planning. In our busy lives adding exercise and healthy eating habits sometimes falls by the wayside because we don’t find the time to pencil those things into our daily agenda.

In the previous posts talking about our Handbook for Life we covered Health and Personality.

The following list may be short, but it is power packed and so important!

Society:

25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

It’s all about building and maintaining relationships with family and friends.  We all know this takes time and effort or else time passes by and we have not spent the time with the people we care about.

I don’t know about you, but we purpose to gather with family a lot. Every Friday our two daughters and their children come to our house for breakfast.  I can sure say that I spend time with people under the age of 6, since my 4 grandsons are all under that age.  Little guys keep you on your toes with all the energy they have. I’ll have  to work on spending time with people over 70 though. (before I get there myself!)

My 3 sisters and I purpose to spend time together on our birthdays and also meet together on my mothers birthday in honor of her passing.  We have fun together at other times, but birthdays do not pass by without some sort of celebration.

In my honest opinion one of the most important points on the above list is #27 – Forgive everyone for everything.  If you have a forgiving spirit, it is then that you can easily fulfill all the other things like doing good to others, making people smile and maintaining loving relationships.

Since I am very fond of quotes, let me close this out with a few supportive ones.

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.
American Writer, William Arthur Ward

“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love.
In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness. –Robert Muller

Find the good — and praise it.  –Alex Haley

Please share any healthy habits that you place in your life.

Last week, talking about having a healthy life, the topic was about exercise, eating right  and doing those things that were good for our body.

This week we move on to:

Personality:

11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t overdo. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree….

It seem as if it is so important to know who we are,  and to allow others to be who they are.

Dream your own dream and don’t worry about what others are doing.  You have to live your life to the fullest, so don’t be concerned about how others are living their life.

You are the one in control of your life.  Don’t waste time fretting or worrying about the present or the future.  Live, enjoying each moment and try earnestly to smile and laugh more, learning all you can each day.

Life is short. Live it with gusto!

We all want a great life!  Often we know what to do….but do we follow through and really add those things to our daily regime? Often times, NO.

Recently I received an email entitled 2012 Handbook. It is profound! The funny thing is, I had run across it a couple of years ago and it was titled Handbook 2010. lol

The good thing about it, is that it is FULL of wisdom and common sense for our daily lives.

It has 4 portions to it, so I have decided to post in 4 portions, because each segment is so full of food for thought.

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2011
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

If we would just implement a few of these, it would really benefit our lives!  Possibly, your life is so busy, that you may think that you cannot fit these healthy things into your life.  I urge you to pick just one……and start there.

It is a common fact that many of our health issues can be resolved by drinking more water, exercising, eating right and purposing to do things that we bring a smile to our face.

It is amazing that doing these things can also add to the emotional aspect of our life.  Then, if we add reading great personal development books that cause us to sit in silence and reflect on how our life is playing out, we will add to our total well being.

Getting plenty of rest helps us to face each day……..with a smile.  Facing each day with a smile, a prayer and a positive attitude can add blessings to those people we come in contact with during the day.

Please share what you do on daily basis that adds positive energy to your life.  We all want to be encouraged to live a healthful life.

Next week, look forward to how we can add to our life by thinking, dreaming and making certain we are on the positive track to enjoying our life.

Have an awesome week!

Who doesn’t love Pizza?
Pizza is one of those all time favorite foods. We have a great Pizza Place in our small town, but I actually love my own version better!  It’s so easy, even my hubby makes it when I’m not around to do it for him.

Let’s call it “Pepperoni Pineapple Pita Pizza”

You will need:
~Pita Bread
Some suggested brands that I use and like are Signature Pita Bread Factory found at Fred Meyer (a bit of crunchy), Alexis Original Greek Pita found at several stores (softer) and Kronos Middle Eastern Pocket Wraps found at Safeway.
~Prepared pizza sauce
I find it near the cheese/lunchmeat section at Winco.
~Cheese of course
Any kind will work. Mozzarella, Italian blend, Mexican blend, parmesan…I like a blend of several.
~Pepperoni (bacon is good too)
~Olives
~Pineapple tidbits

Place pita bread on cookie sheet or cutting board to prepare.
Spread pizza sauce on your pita bread.
Sprinkle a little bit of cheese….not too much, maybe a tablespoon.
Place pepperoni on pita. My hubby likes his overlapping.  I prefer my just next to each other.
Sprinkle sliced olives, however many you want.
Place pineapple tidbits on top.
Sprinkle with cheese to your liking.
Carefully slide just your pizza on oven rack  at 400 for 5 minutes. (don’t bake on pizza or cookie pan)
Carefully slide pizza back on the cookie sheet or cutting board.
Slice and enjoy!
Yum!

“With quotes, I’ve had many “aha” moments where I’ve read it and thought, ‘Wow, that’s exactly how I feel!’  An idea that was once a “blur” can suddenly become crystal clear.” ~Mac Anderson

I feel just like Mac many times when I’ve read a quote.
That’s why I love quotes and share them everyday. Somebody else has captured an idea or thought perfectly and put it into a short, concise, often power packed sentence.  And I think others love quotes too, because everybody likes to be encouraged, inspired, to have that “aha” moment or to have a smile spread across their face.

Many quotes are lofty and inspire us to attain to be a better person.  We want to be a certain way, love a lot more and be a blessing. Often times in our busy lives we falter when it comes to living up to our own ideals. Consider these:

“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.” ~Mary Kay Ash
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” ~Princess Diana
“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

My favorite are the quotes that remind us to be grateful and appreciative of all that we have or for the people in our lives.

“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life.  Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary. ~Margaret Cousins
“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value in your life.” ~Christiane Northup
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~William Arthur Ward
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John F. Kennedy
“The healthiest of all attitudes is gratitude.” ~Zig Ziglar

Our thoughts can change our world.
“You are today where your thoughts brought you; You are tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” ~James L. Allen
“Every thought is a seed.  If you plant crab apples, don’t count on harvesting golden delicious.” ~Bill Meyer
“There is a thought in your mind right now.  The longer you hold on to it, the more you dwell upon it, the more life you give to that thought.  Give it enough life, and it will become real.  So make sure the thought is indeed a great one.” ~Ralph Martson
“Thoughts are energy and they are illusions.  If you want to create great things – Think great thoughts. ~unknown

And how about a positive attitude.

“Positivity is an inside job that makes the outside look a lot better.” ~John Maxwell
“Rain and sunshine are to flowers as praise and encouragement are to the human spirit.” ~Mario Fernandez
“Life is full of beauty.  Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces.  Smell the rain and feel the wind.  Live you life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” ~Ashley Smith
“You can’t be a smart cookie if you have a crummy attitude.” ~John Maxwell

I have many more quotes to share, but will have to save them for another blog post.  But let me leave you with a couple of my all time favorites.  I have many of them….

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~Dr Seuss
“No one can make you feel inferior with out your consent.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt.
“Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” ~Mark Twain
“As for worrying about what other people might think – forget it.  They aren’t concerned about you.  They’re too busy worrying about what you and other people think of them.” ~Michael K Boeuf

And last but not least – Maxwell’s Law.
“Nothing is as hard as it looks; everything is more rewarding than you expect; and if anything can go right it will and at the best possible moment.”

Please share your most favorite quotes. I would love to hear them.

Until next time…..

I got this bug to open a second Twitter account.

My account, “lynnjonesie” was progressing nicely, so I just figured it would be fun to build another one for more exposure. I know many Tweeters do it and even have multiple accounts.
At the time I thought it was a great idea, but now………..I am not so sure.

I carefully chose my name “sweet-sums”, a gravatar and a background that I thought looked very nice. I was pleased and excited to begin! So I loaded my Tweet Adder account with tweets and on January 17, I set everything in motion.

The next morning I log in to admire it  :) and do some tweeting.  But, there was that bar across the top with the words: “Your Twitter account has been suspended.”

What? My heart sunk. What did I do wrong? I felt sick. I’ve been rejected!
I sent in a ticket to ask why my account was suspended.  Of course, I got the standard Support ticket email back to review all the rules of Twitter.  If I felt I was not in violation of any rules, then I could respond back to them.

The only thing I could figure is that I followed too fast.  So I responded very sweetly and politely and assured them I would do everything I could to behave.  :) I mean, how could they pick on my sweet, cute little Twitter account?  I barely had any followers yet and only a handful of tweets.

After bothering them a couple times because I had not heard from them, I received this email  on Jan 27:

“Your account was suspended because it appears you may be managing a number of Twitter accounts. Creating serial or bulk accounts with overlapping uses is a violation of the Twitter Rules; as a result, all of the accounts created have been suspended pending more information being provided.
Please respond with the following information:
a) a list of the accounts that you have created and which of these you would like to have reinstated, and
b) your planned use for the accounts.
The Twitter Rules can be found here: http://support.twitter.com/articles/18311”

I responded with the necessary information, assuring them I was not guilty as charged, so would they give me my little Twitter account back, pretty please.

On Jan 30 they un-suspended my account.
On Jan 31 they suspended my account.

Oh my gosh!  What is going on….I wondered and even asked them that.  I am absolutely harmless and am not hurting anyone! In fact, I love posting encouraging, inspirational quotes along with business links interspersed in there every so often. I am a nice upstanding Twitterer!

My goodness, I see mass followers, mass tweeters, foul language, pornography, bad attitudes and the like on Twitter and they want to suspend me? I was dumb-founded to say the least! I had not even turned my Tweet Adder account on for fear of being suspended, so I knew that was not the problem here.

Of course I immediately sent in a support ticket. Having not heard from them for several days, I sent in another ticket on Feb 26 and I heard back from them with what I think was a form letter but I singled out this paragraph:

“While we strive to avoid mistakes, it’s also possible that your account was suspended in error. If after reviewing the Rules, you have no idea why your account was suspended, just reply to this email indicating as much, and we’ll take another look at your case. Our apologies if the error turns out to be ours.”
I agreed with them and assured them that it was INDEED a mistake on their part.

On Feb 29 my “sweet_sums” account was un-suspended.  I was very grateful!!!!
However, it was short lived.
On March 1, my account was suspended again.  This is #3.
By this time I have lost my sweetness. I want to know why they are playing with me!
I received this message from them after sending in my support ticket:

“Twitter has automated systems that find and remove multiple automated spam accounts in bulk. Unfortunately, it looks like your account got caught up in one of these spam groups by mistake.
I’ve restored your account; sorry for the inconvenience.”

Whoo hoo! I have my account back on March 1.

On March 4, I receive a a message that Twitter received a request to reset my password.  I am not sure what that is all about, but for the 3rd time I change my password.

I enjoy my new account, get a few followers, follow others, post a few tweets, retweet nice tweets every day but am being careful to not set Tweet Adder running. I do not want to take any chances of getting my account shut down again.  I will give it some time and then maybe set Tweet adder to work with “sweet_sums”, but not just yet.

The pleasure was short lived.

On March 7, my account is suspended again….for the 4th time.

This time when I sent in a support ticket, I speak in CAPITAL LETTERS because I feel like shouting! I am gratefully surprised I had it for more than 1 day, and I thank them for that.  lol
There is no more sweetness or love here anymore.
I think I’m done. If they un-suspend my account, that will be okay.
If not……….I am perfectly fine with that decision.
I don’t understand all the ins and outs of their reasoning and decisions, but I am weary trying to figure it out. Life is too short to have this mental strain in my life.
What I thought was a great idea……….well, I am beginning to think it was a bird-brained thinking after all.
I write this wondering if anyone else has had this problem or if the Twitter police are just cracking down lately. Any comments or experiences are welcome.

Happy tweeting everyone!

As I anxiously waited for the funeral service to begin, a little girl sitting behind me complained to her mother. “I can’t see!” she said with a bit of a whine. Her mother assured her, “there is nothing to see, sweetie.” This couldn’t have been farther from the truth. The funeral was for my daughter-in-law’s grandfather, a man that despite health challenges and other setbacks, had garnered respect and admiration throughout his life.

What was there to see? From my perspective, plenty! The rows were filled with friends, acquaintances and family members who wanted to pay their respects to a man who understood the joy of living. The French call it joie de vivre - the joy of living. The Italians say nienta sense gioia – nothing without joy. For the Greeks, it’s kefi – the spirit of joy, passion and enthusiasm. A lesson for us all-whatever you’re doing, enjoy the journey.

The popular quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “life is a journey, not a destination” can be found on posters, bumper stickers and the like and has been paraphrased and used to motivate a sales force. As is the case with any over used expression or phrase, we tend to overlook its significance and dismiss the message entirely.

Thank goodness for funerals then to remind us that life is a journey. It will throw you some curves and you’ll have some detours along the way but God intended for us to enjoy life to the fullest extent possible.

When I ponder my life and the consistent commitment to achieving my goals, I often felt like I was running a race rather than enjoying the ride. Reflecting on the funeral and how life can be fleeting, I am making a list of things to help me enjoy the balance of my journey. I would encourage you to do the same. Here are some ideas to consider:

• I will make sure to have fun. I will smile. I will laugh. I will tell jokes. I will go fishing more often. I will beat my family in tennis. I will take long walks on the beach with my wife. I will have more pie fights.

• I will continue to place a priority on spending time with family and friends, enjoying the activities that we can do together.

• I will enjoy God’s gifts of nature. A walk in the park, the birds chirping, the flowers blooming and the waves rolling along the shore. I will take at least 15 minutes a day to remind me to slow down and “smell the roses.”

• I will control my reactions and appreciate other people’s differences. I will let others win the battles that don’t matter. It’s just not worth getting worked up over things.

• I will recharge my batteries sooner and more often. As an entrepreneur it is easy to work 24/7. But I know that I should take time off, let my body relax and reward myself with breaks.

• I will be happy with where I am at any given time and give my all to the people I am with at the time but eagerly and optimistically anticipate the thrill of the next great adventure.

I hope my introspection gives you some ideas. Please take time out of your busy day to contemplate your journey and make it one enjoyable ride!  You only live once.

“Enjoy all that you have while pursuing all you want” Jim Rohn

About the Author: Todd Smith is a successful entrepreneur of 30 years and founder of Little Things Matter.

Todd Smith writes on some of my favorite topics.  I hope you enjoy his writings as much as I do.  I hope so, that is why I shared his wisdom and insight with you here.  What are some ways that you purpose to enjoy and celebrate your life’s journey?

Enjoy your day!