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Friday, November 30, 2012

Shark Tank - Barbara Corcoran - Changed My Life!

I've had several epiphanies in my life - reading Barbara Corcoran's book - "If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons On Your Pigtails" instigated one of them.

I realized I could do anything I put my mind to and at that point I really needed a change in my life.  The book was later re-titled - "Use What You've Got..."  I liked the first title better because it sums life up pretty well.







Some call it "spin", some call it "marketing" - I call it "thinking out of the box" and I've had to do that often in my life.  So - if you need a boost and some motivation, this book worked for me - it might work for you too.  There's also an audio version of the book.  I was able to find both at my public library.

An excerpt from the book:

"A Lesson Learned About Using What You've Got - I didn't have a big chest, but I did have a nice personality, a great smile and the gift of gab.  All I needed was my mother's cue to begin using them to my advantage.  This was my first lesson in sales.

Although the apartment I advertised wasn't any bigger than the hundreds of others advertised that Sunday, my ad caught attention because it offered something extra - one more room.  My "1 BR + DEN" ad enabled the customer to focus on the perceived benefit of more space, and the overwhelming response to the ad gave me a lot more bang for my advertising buck.

Good salesmanship is nothing more than maximizing the positive and minimizing the negative.  Although your competition might offer something you can't match, that doesn't matter.  What matters is that you identify and play up what you've got."

The next chapter is titled - "Paint the rocks white & the whole yard will look lovely" - I can't recommend this book enough - it's a must read.  I truly believe it will add value to your life and help you realize the good you have to offer!

Thanks for visiting!  Reia

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Christmas Cookie Exchange - Please Help!

I'd like to introduce you to my Grandson, Landon.  He's 3 and has an incredible sense of humor.  Every year his amazing Family Daycare Provider has a Christmas Cookie Exchange for all of the families.  Grandparents are included.  (I said she was amazing!)



My dilemma - I live 10 hours away.  Determined to be active in Landon's life - I send my part of the party to my daughter (yep, Landon's mom).  Last year was my 1st year to participate.  I found a recipe on www.about.com that worked well.  Here's Ginger's blog write-up about my contribution last year (with the recipe).




So I think you get the idea.  My contribution has to look good, taste good and travel well.


I'd love some suggestions.  Thanks for visiting & especially for any help you can give me!  Reia  



Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Holiday Movie List - Movies Added to My List!

I have some more Holiday movies to add to my list.  Some are touching, some are cute and all are worth taking a break to enjoy.

As always the * means you can find it on Netflix Streaming.




*  Christmas Angel - what a good movie!

*  12 Dates of Christmas - thank you Pretty (Squared)http://prettysquared.blogspot.comfor telling me about this movie!  (Sorry about the picture - I can't find a picture anywhere so it has the "Play" button for Netflix.)


*  All I Want for Christmas (I love the ending.)

*  Christmas Puppy (I liked this.  I wasn't sure if I would but I did.)



If you have any suggestions, please send them my way.  Thanks for visiting!  Reia



Saturday, November 24, 2012

Bloggers and Their Amazing Blogs - Part 2

I've found more Amazing bloggers and their Blogs from all over the globe!  "Bloggers and Their Amazing Blogs - Part 1" can be found here.)

I try to keep up with each of you but find myself wondering if I've forgotten someone.  This is my handy, little "Lest I Forget" guide - Part 2.


So...here's my newest list...

Rustic ReDiscovered
Art is Beauty
Websters Chalk Paint Powder
Earning-my-Cape
Dashing Elements
HerPretty
The Beverly Hills Mom
Nanny to Mommy
ArahBella's
Jenn's Random Scraps
In the Kitchen With KP
Our Everyday Harvest
Henry's Mom





What you're writing and saying does matter.

I appreciate your recipes, stories about your families, your pictures, products you're trying, etc.

Please keep writing and sharing!



Until next time - thanks for visiting!

Reia

PS - I'll add more blogs as I get to them & if I forgot your blog or haven't discovered your blog yet, please let me know.  Thanks!








Friday, November 23, 2012

Cousins - 2012

I'm the firstborn (notice I didn't say "oldest") of 3 girls.  Lisa was soon after me and then Trisha came along when I was 6.  We're spread all over the South now.  I'm in Coastal Georgia, Lisa's in the Atlanta area and Trisha's in Northern Virginia.  Both of my girls are in Virginia also.




We all made it to Lisa's in May to celebrate her son's High School Graduation.  It was wonderful to gather our children & the first of the grandchildren (all mine at the moment) for this picture.



From left to right - Trisha's Brit, Lisa's Wesley, Lisa's Jamie, Jamie is holding my Traci's Jennifer, my Traci (holding her Samantha), my Ginger (holding her Landon), Trisha's Bobby and Trisha's Kiersten.

To those of you still raising your families and working out those family dynamics - don't give up, don't give in.  I can promise you that each and every book read, concert attended, ball game watched, science project turned in is SO worth it!

Thanks for visiting & letting me share my pride and joys with you!  Reia

Thursday, November 22, 2012

It's Been a Good Day of Thanksgiving!

Today - I've enjoyed reading your blogs, tweets, Facebook updates and seeing all of the pictures that have been posted.  Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives!

Our day started with me playing the 9AM Mass.  It's always a great way to begin Thanksgiving and while I was "working" it didn't feel like "work".

Afterwards we met friends for our Thanksgiving meal at one of the Fort Stewart, Georgia DFACs (aka "Mess Hall").  Below is a photo of one of the decorations the soldiers created for Thanksgiving.  I can't decide if they used M&Ms or Skittles.  The feathers looked like an amazing amount of fondant pieces.  Any ideas?



The little turkeys were Oreos, Candy Corn, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and a Malt Ball with icing for detail.  Now how cute is that? You know I'm going to remember them for next year!



Just wanted to say in closing that Bill & I hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving!


Thanks for visiting!  Reia

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A Little Bit of Thanksgiving Fun

Wanting some fun Word Searches for Piano Lessons this week, I found a wonderful website with FREE Printable Thanksgiving Plus Word Searches, Word Scrambles, Crafts, etc.


Thanksgiving Turkey by tengrrl, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License  by  tengrrl 






Hope you find it as helpful and fun as I have.  
Thanks for stopping by!  Reia



Sunday, November 18, 2012

More Christmas Movies and a Confession

Ok - I'm 'fessing up.  I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving Day to start my movie watching.


So far I've watched...

 "Christmas in Connecticut" 
and  
  "Christmas Town" 


Since I couldn't wait - and now that I have some open space on my Thanksgiving Day movie list - I'm adding 2 more movies.  The * means you can find it on Netflix Streaming. 

* "Holiday in Handcuffs" -     and "Christmas Child"



Hope you're enjoying your time getting ready for Thanksgiving.  Thanks for stopping by.  Reia



Thursday, November 15, 2012

"Thanksgiving Thursday" - 1 Week to Go - Movies

Well, here we are - 1 week from Thanksgiving.  I've heard from many of you that Thanksgiving is your favorite holiday also.  Whether you're traveling or staying put like we are, it should be a good day.

I promised this week would be about movies I want to watch after our meal's over.  So here are some of my favorite Christmas movies.  I'd love to hear of your favorites.  If we share favorites, I'd love to hear what you like about them.

The * means you can find it on Netflix Streaming.  ** = Amazon Prime Streaming


1st - *Christmas in Connecticut (1945 - B/W - Barbara Stanwyck)
I love the actor that plays "Uncle Felix".

2nd -  Miracle on 34th Street  (1947 - B/W or Colorized - Maureen O'Hara)
A "must see" for me on Thanksgiving Day.
 3rd - White Christmas (1954 - Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney)
Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye play war buddies turned entertainers who fall for two sisters.  The boys follow the girls to a resort owned by their former commanding officer, and he's in danger of losing the place.
4th - Christmas Town (2008 - Nicole de Boer, Patrick Muldoon)
"In a town totally consumed with the Christmas spirit Liz, her son Mason and her father Jack discover the magic and healing of the true Christmas spirit."
5th - The Holiday (2006 - Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, jack Black)
It's sweet, fun, a Christmas view from California and England.  I love the ending!

6th - Last - for my husband, Bill - his favorite... A Christmas Story (1983)
He loves it for so many reasons.  (smile)

Hope to hear from you with your favorites before Thanksgiving so I can add to my list.  Thanks for stopping by!  Reia










Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Few Short Thoughts...Quotes

It's been a busy, productive day.  I want to leave you with a couple of thoughts as this day ends and another begins.  I hope you enjoy them.


The following quotes are from one of my all time favorite Poetry & Quote books... Something to Live By


I'll tell you more about this amazing book in a future post.


"A good memory test; try to remember the things you worried about last week."

"So live that you wouldn't be afraid to sell the family parrot to the town gossip."

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

"A laugh is just like music,
It lingers in the heart,
And where its melody is heard,
The ills of life depart."


Hope today was a good day for you and that your tomorrow is filled with laughter.  Thanks for visiting!  Reia

Sunday, November 11, 2012

My Life of "Learning + Music = Fun"

"If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others."  Tryon Edwards


On reflection tonight as I get ready for tomorrow's lessons and recap what was done this weekend, I've reached the conclusion I consistently reach - it's all good!





As a music instructor and church musician, I don't have a normal 8-5 Monday thru Friday job.
I work a little bit every day.





If you're an instructor (which includes Moms, Dads, Grandparents, etc.), I think you know what I mean by the following...
  • I absolutely love - the smiles on the faces and light in the eyes of my students when they "get it".  You can just see them light up when they understand a concept, work through a tough section, or master a new skill.  "Yes!"
  • I absolutely love -  the pride I see in my students (younger & older) as they grow and learn.  Part of what I strive to do is help them realize how special they are and to be proud of their accomplishments.  We don't always have "ah ha" moments but we are proud of every step we take along the way.
  • I absolutely love -  how much fun it is to watch my students when they realize a song in a commercial or from a movie, etc. is really a piece by a famous composer.  One of my goals in life is to create an awareness of the music around all of us.  We hear amazing music all the time and might not be aware of the composer or time era it was written in.

Here  are my 3 favorite resources for helping children (and grown ups) have fun learning about music.  I hope you enjoy them!  Thanks for sharing my reflections at the end of this day.
Reia


A great resource!  www.makingmusicfun.net -  loads of free sheet music, games, bioeraphies, etc.  

From the Dallas Symphany Orchestra - for kids - www.dsokids.com  
The game - "Beethoven's Baseball" rocks!

From the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra - www.classicsforkids.com/games
Note Names is one of my favorites to play with my students!

Here's a link to one of the many Podcasts available at Classics for Kids.  This Podcast is about Johann Sebastian Bach and his 20 children.  (6 minutes long)  http://199.18.153.108/classicsforkids/podcasts/091011.mp3