Celebrate the Small Things: Yom Kippur

It's another day to Celebrate the Small Things, with Viklit, over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author .

This weekend is Yom Kippur for me. So I thought I would keep this short and post a very cool video that sums up what this holiday means for me.

I hope everyone has a chocolate filled weekend!

Hugs and chocolate!
Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Keeping It Short

Today, I'll keep this post short with little words. I'm still not feeling 100% and tomorrow is my last day on antibiotics. So did I get sick with a mega-sinus infection? Hope it doesn't kill me.

Nope! Not going to be a Debbie-Downer! Nope! Nope!

Here are my celebrations:

This post is one of many on behalf of VikLit's Celebrate the Small Things Bloghop. You can find her at, Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend! Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Stadium Scott

It's another Friday to Celebrate the Small Things.

                                   This post is part of VikLit's, blog hop. Click this link to join.

Toady is my baby brother's  birthday. So I'm celebrating it in my own little way. In six years, he'll be fifty. MwaMwaMwa-a-ha! I might be the first to reach it. But it's coming his way. SOON!

The next six years will fly like light years in space. (just letting you know, baby brother) Fifty will be knocking on his door in less than a blink of an eye. Forty came rather quickly and it left the same. As did the years between then and now.

Even though I'm reaching a geriatric state doesn't mean I've forgotten anything about my little brother. Like:

* His very first sentence. He was close to four before he began to speak in coherent sentences other than grunts and moans and pointing to various things he wanted. One night at the dinner table, he spoke, "How do you spell relief, R-O-L-A-I-D-S!" It was a miracle to say the least. And he hasn't shut up since.

* The day he decided to put Legos in his nose and he sucked back. There is still at least one stuck in his brain canal somewhere.

* How he would scream whenever saw the doctor or the barber.

*How mom made him wear a football helmet because of his head-banging tantrums.

* How neat he kept his bedroom and organized his Hot Wheels and Star Wars figures. He's very OCD unlike his sister here.

*  He sucked his thumb until he was 11. My boyfriend at the time thought it cool to drive around the block one day and tell the neighbors via a PA system. My brother met him at the door that day with his plastic ball bat.

* His first hickey. He stubbed his toe over it when I pointed it out to him.

* How he'd lick his index finger and checked to see which way the wind was blowing before stepping outside. He didn't want his perfectly parted and feathered hair blown into oblivion. He did his best to protect it, turning this way and that while he shielded it with his hands, dodging wind while he made his way to the car.

* And the time he laid on his bed crying when Mother Rose came to visit my sister. He was horrified at 11, that he would be next to receive a visit from her.

Since then, he's grown up and has made a special place for himself in a football stadium. The home of the Buccaneers. He's been a diehard fan forever. He's been to every game since 1992 (I don't understand because the team really sucks). But he has bought a pass every season despite it, every year. ***rolling my eyes***

 Picture by Tyler Bradford, my nephew.

Football has been his life. He played it in high school, coached his son's games, and has scheduled his life around every game. Seriously! Replicas of his favorite team members sit on a shrine in the form of bobble-heads in his family room. And no one touches it!

He's known as Stadium Scott. His seat is right below the pirate ship in section 147, row Y. He holds seats 17 and 18. These are his seats. No one else gets them.

My brother believes football is a great team sport. It teaches one to be a team player. If one player misses his assigned play it throws the whole game off.

One of his favorite things to do while at the games is to raz the opposition fans by making fun of their FAT CHEERLEADERS. In which he told me, didn't exist. So does that make them INVISIBLE OR IMAGINARY CHEERLEADERS? ***scratching my head***

As you can probably tell, I don't do football. Eating worms and bugs seems much more appealing to me than watching any football game. If I get the last fifteen minutes of any game, that's good enough for me. But I wanted to celebrate my brother, Stadium Scott's birthday. And if anyone visits the Tampa Bay Buccaneer games, say hi and wish him a happy birthday. Hey! Is there a game this weekend? ***shrugging****

I hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate, all!
Shelly









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Celebrate the Small Things: Strange Trumpet Sounds: Is God Warning Us?

Before I celebrate, I thought I'd share something with y'll that I found when researching for a writing project that I'm working on.

Warning: It is a little strange and has to do with an atmospheric noise that people heard all around the world from 2011 to 2012. It sounds a lot like a shofar.

In the Torah, the shofar was used to warn the people.  Seven different angels, in Revelation 8, are given and blow a shofar prior to opening the specific seals assigned to them to release whatever judgement they are to pour out onto planet earth.
 
So is God trying to get our attention about something? Possibly. The entire world is in crisis .right now.

"There will be no more delay; on the contrary, in the days of the sound from the seventh angel when he sounds his shofar, the hidden plan of God will be brought to completion, the Good News as he proclaimed it to his servants the prophets." Revelations 10:6b-7 (The Complete Jewish Bible)

Of course, there is a scientific explanation for this. When there is a great number of natural disasters and strange weather patterns, it causes an atmospheric noise. But then, the Big Bang theory is parallel to the Creation Story. It was a lot of energy the first few days. A good book to read on this is, The Science of God, by Gerald L. Schroeder.

I believe God can use whatever He wants to speak to us. Genesis 1: 14 God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night, let them be for signs, seasons, days, and years...et al. (The Complete Jewish Bible)

So here are three video clips of what I'm talking about.

This one was heard at a Ray's game. The sportscasters were bothered by it.

The next one is a clip made from news reports and people around the world hearing the same eerie noise.

This next one gives Biblical theory coupled with scientific explanations. The narrator also sounds off a shofar so you can here what it actually sounds like.

All three gave me chills. How about you?

Now for my celebration this week:

*No-No and Ya'akov, my daughter and son-in-law are staying safe. They both work in Tel Aviv and live in Bene Ayish, right between Ashkelon and Ashdod.

*The rest of my family is doing great. Sir Poops is still hanging out and is back in diapers. He's visited the Great White Watery Abyss of Torture a few times this week.

*And little by little, I've been getting back on track with my writing. Although, I've a got a really  strange problem with my MS. I had several chapter 35's with no ending. And today, I discovered more of the same chapter sprinkled through the last 10. Me eye-brains are crossing on this one.

*Also, we're still eating yummies from the garden.

This was posted on behalf of Viklit at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author .

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

PS My friend Emily McKeon wrote a book on domestic violence. She's looking for help to get the word out. GO HERE

Celebrate the Small Things: Make the World Stop!

Ever feel like you just wanted to stop the world and just get off the ride it's spinning you around on? I do. And I did.

I needed a break from the Israeli/Gaza conflict, the ISIS issue, the Ebola crisis, and America's border problems. There are so many things going on. All so interconnected. And all a danger to us.

So I went to my younger daughter's house and spent time with her and my new grandson this week.

No matter what evil is thrown at us, there is always something to celebrate.

This post was brought to you by VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Hope everyone has something good to celebrate despite what's happening on planet earth. Just know God is watching and is in control.

Have a happy weekend and a happy Shabbats, if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

For Now

I've been thinking and thinking. Since life keeps throwing me curve balls, and I really need to finish a few projects, Killer Stilettos and the extended version of Time on Her Side, I will only be posting for Celebrate the Small Things on Fridays.

I figure, too, since there's been a lot of negative in my life, I'll just take the time to focus on the positives. 

Sometimes we just need to reflect inwardly and make a few adjustments. That's my plan.

I'm also hoping to read more blogs that I follow and help critique some of Emily McKeon's stuff.

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things

It's another Friday to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

First, Happy Fourth! I celebrate our freedom to speech, thought, expression, and the written word.

Secondly, I want to thank everyone who visited my Monday post who left kind words. Many apologies though, I haven't had time to comment or visit anyone the last few days.

It looks as if Sir Poops will be spending his fourth in front of the sliding door, taking in the sights and sounds. While he's never enjoyed being outdoors, he loves to watch it all through a window. He hates the feel of any grass and doesn't care much for hot pavement.

Sweetman and I will make sure he gets what he loves before he leaves us. But not chocolate. Hopefully, God will give him a bowl full when he gets to heaven. I'm pretty sure it won't be poisonous to fur-peeps in heaven.

Have a lovely Fourth with your families, friends, and pets. Take time to rest, too. 

Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things

Wow! It's the first Friday in June already. Zoom-a-zoom-zoom. Time keeps ticking by. And it's another week to celebrate with VikLit, over at, Scribblings of an Aspiring Author .

I'm celebrating sweet potatoes today. There are 5 slips to plant. Pretty soon I'll stick them in my Smart Pot-an aeration pot. The air prunes the roots as they grow. A 120 days from planting, they should be ready for eating.

Last night, I made a stew with the majority of the squash and zucchini from my garden. There's enough in my freezer for several meals. It's a good thing to celebrate food and the One who allows us to have it.

So I'd also like to celebrate God's kindness, His patience, and His friendship. I'm thankful for His Word. It really is life to my body, soul, and spirit.

From sunset Wednesday to sunset Thursday, this week, it was Shavuot. It's the Jewish celebration when God gave Moses the Torah, and the Children of Israel agreed to follow it. It signifies a marriage covenant. 

Why didn't I understand this stuff 30 years ago? Life would've been so much easier. Oy vey! Anyway...

Have a happy weekend. And happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things

It is the last Friday in May to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit, at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author .

So this week I celebrate:

1. The Sweetman is home. Yay! But he must forge ahead to learn a new way of eating to prevent kidney stones and now to keep his blood sugar level.

I believe he can do it! I'm here to help him.

And thank you everyone for your prayers, positive thoughts, and well wishes. God is good and very real. 

2. Two Sundays ago, I spent a couple of hours at a water park with my grandson. He's getting so big.

3. My garden is doing great even though I've had to hand pollinate my squash and zucchini. I've even lost some.

We ate these for dinner the other night. The Swiss Chard has been mega plenty everyday. I've been using it in my daily smoothie.

One tomato plant died from some black fungus. But my other one survived and is lush and green. It's sprouting flowers.

My green pepper plant is doing outstanding. And I have jalapeños coming out the wazoo.

4. My crit partner got her computer back. Yay!

5. This week, I actually got 3 whole hours of writing time in on Killer Stilettos. Slowly but surely. Right?

6. I will also be participating in The Write Club. Click on the link to find out more.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things

It's another Friday to celebrate with VikLit, at Scribbles of an Aspiring Author .

Here are my small things to celebrate:

I've got a squash or two growing.

And a zuchinni or two.

We're already eating the Swiss Chard. I used some in a soup on Tuesday and sautéed some on Thursday with onions and sweet potatoes. It went well with fried eggs.

But my poor tomatoes have signs of early blight. And since it rained..,well it seems to be spreading. I may have to pull them up and bleach my pots...and try again. Oh well...

As for Killer Stilettos, I've rewritten four more chapters and got another idea for another novel. I must be crazy.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice!

I'm hoping to read blogs today and Saturday. The week has been too insane to keep up with all the blogs I follow! Apologies, everyone!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

April A to Z: The Letters 'V' and 'W' and Celebrate the Small Things

Happy Friday, everyone!

First, I'll Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit over at Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

So here I go.

1. I rewrote three more chapters to Killer Stilettos.

2. My squash and zucchini babies have taken off since I fertilized them with fish emulsion.

3. I finally transplanted my tomatoes, peppers, and kale. My garden to date is doing great.

Okay then. On with the Arlee Bird's April A to Z Blog Challenge.

This year I decided to post pictures of what you will find in the next book to Lila's Journey Series, Killer Stilettos.

The one with the most correct answers will win a copy of Secondhand Shoes or one for their Kindle.

This picture is for the letter 'V'.  The clue: he's a character in Killer Stilettos and was in Secondhand Shoes.

But 'W' got me so I posted an eighties music video. Everyone Wangchung tonight!

Have a great day and a fun weekend! And Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

April A to Z: Letters J and K and Celebrate the Small Things

Happy Friday, everyone. To date, I'm having issues yet again to stay connected to the internet. And when I finally get to Blogger, it crashes on me. So I'm writing right this minute from my iPhone.

I'm hoping I can get on the computer to download my clues for Arlee Bird's April A to Z Blog Challenge.

This year I planned to give picture clues as to what the next book would be about for the Lila's Journey series, Killer Stilettos.

The person with the most correct answers will receive either a copy of Secondhand Shoes or one for their Kindle.

But before I give any clues and while I wait for my computer to Refresh, I'll begin with VikLit's Celebrate the Small Things.

1: I'm pushing through the A to Z Blog Challenge, despite my computer, Blogger  being a Blooger, and Google Chrome crashing on me.

2: I've hand written changes to chapters 41, 42, 43, and 44 to Killer Stilettos this week.

3: I'm thankful for my one and only critique partner, Emily McKeon. I found her on CP. Originally, I had found 2. But the other peep fell off the bandwagon after I read through 2 of her manuscripts.

4: I've transplanted my squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. I need to get some more boxes before I plant my kale, tomatoes, and peppers.

And:

Two boxes of goodness coming.

Well, I'm still waiting for my PC to do its thing so I'm searching around my house for the next 2 clues. Which by the way, I'm posting K for today and J for tomorrow.

This is your K clue. And no. The answer is not a knife.

I'm still searching for your J clue.

Okay. What is the name of Lila's true love? Or so she believed in Secondhand Shoes.

This wraps up this weeks blog challenge. I'm hoping to get to as many blogs this weekend. 

Have a happy weekend and Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: # 5

I can't believe this is the last Friday in March. Can you?

Oh my goodness! And it's time to Celebrate the Small Things, too, hosted by VikLit, at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.

Today, I'm going to celebrate this little guy. My grand baby. We had a nice visit this past Tuesday.

Out of the blue before he did a strip tease and fell asleep, he said, "Love you, Hanny-Nanny. God bless you."

I could hardly believe my ears since he mostly speaks jibberish.

Also, daughter #5 and her significant other is expecting their first baby in August. Glowstick will have someone to play with. And I can't believe, it's another boy.

These are what I'm celebrating this week.

Anyone out there have grand babies to brag about and celebrate?

Have a lovely weekend. Happy Shabbats if you practice! See y'll on Monday when I begin my April A to Z Challenge.

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things:# 4 and A to Z Blogging Theme

This is my 4th Friday to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit, Scribblings of an Aspiring Author

I know. I know. I'm late to the celebration today. Had to get my quiet time and exercise in before anything else. Two more things I celebrate. Oh and the fever and chills I had yesterday are gone! Hooray! Hooray!

I'm also celebrating that when my focus is off to write my stories, I write chapter summaries. The last couple of days that's how I've been working on Killer Stilettos. Even though I feel like I'm not making progress, I am.

Lipstick is another thing I'm celebrating this week. For several years, I've been wearing Maybelline color 325, known as Cinnamon Stick. Well, they no longer make it. And this is what is left of my favorite color. A nub. That's it!

So I stepped out of the box and tried a color from Rimmel. But it was too orange and bled below my lip. Scary! It reminded me of the color my third grade teacher, Mrs. Bear Claw wore. Most of the time she had a smear of it across her yellow teeth

Then I tried a color from Cover Girl. But it was too red and orange. My lips looked like a neon sign!

The Sweetman came up with a solution. "I'll take you to the MAC store."

If you've followed this blog for a while then you all know I hate going shopping. 

So the Sweetman enticed me to come with a dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.  After, I sucked it up and found a color I liked at the MAC store.

It comes pretty close to my original fav. The color is Fresh Moroccan. It works. Just enough red and orange. This is something to celebrate!

Also, I wish to celebrate A to Z Theme. I'm limiting myself to posting a picture giving everyone a clue as to what is coming at you in Killer Stilettos, my next book from the Lila's Journey Series. I figured it would be the easiest thing for me to do since this is an insanely, crazy time.

Click here to sign up for the A to Z Challenge in April. 26 crazy days of blogging, reading, and commenting.

That's all for now folks. I've got to get ready for work. I'll be there until 9 tonight. So I will be around reading blogs in between heads of hair.

Have a great weekend and Happy Shabbats if you practice! See you all on Monday.

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: #3

Today is another post for VikLit's Bloghop over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author, Celebrate the Small Things.

I thought this week, I'd do a celebration for everyday of the week. 

Saturday: I celebrate writing the majority of my posts for the week. I even made a list of what I'll be blogging about for the April A to Z. 

Sunday: I got to read a few blogs and comment since it was slow at The Salon. And the sky was amazingly blue and the weather was perfect. No humidity. No freezing cold. It was a perfect 70ish kind of day, which explained why it was so slow at work.

When I got home that day, I didn't have to cook either. The Sweetman brought home Chinese. After, we took the fur-peeps for a walk. Longer days now mean sunshine in the early evenings. 

The cherry on the end of this day was writing for a couple of hours before watching another episode of The Walking  Dead. There are 3 more episodes to this season.

Monday:  I left for work ten minutes late. It saved me from a six car accident. God and one of his guardian angel must've been distracting me. 

The accident was bad enough to make the news. I won't go into detail. While I'm thankful I wasn't involved, I feel terrible for those who were.

Wednesday: I had off. A day off after 8 days straight calls for a big celebration. Plus, I wrote my little heart out.

Thursday: I had an afternoon with my grandbaby.

We played on the playground. Had a milkshake at Burger King. Shopped for animal cookies, Gold Fish crackers, socks, and a Transformer toy at Wal Mart. We had a blast!

That evening I fixed my computer issues. Happy dances and some chocolate, please. I took the evening to research how to fix what was going on. And I did it without crashing my computer. It's back on track!

Friday: Later today, I will be getting ready for Purim. It's a Jewish holiday celebrating Esther. 

Right now, I've got to get to The Salon.

Hope everyone has a happy weekend! Happy Shabbats and Purim to those who are preparing for their day of rest!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: # 2

I know I'm posting late. This past week I've been challenged by Google Chrome to get and stay on-line. So this morning I'm typing my post after many failed attempts to get on the web via my computer.

As you can see, I don't have the picture or VikLit's link. I haven't figured out how to download such into my posts from my iPhone yet. But I can at least say I'm totally thankful for it. Where would I be right now if I couldn't communicate with my blog followers and the blogging community.

In fact, I really love that I can do all sorts of things on and from my iPhone...other than talk. Besides, I never did enjoy talking over the phone. Still don't.

Also, I love that I can visit other blogs while at work. When I'm not slammed with a ton of haircuts, I read and comment. It's so handy.

The other feature I love is the NotePad app. If I get an idea or a scene in my head, I can type it into my phone and email myself.

So I'm celebrating all the things I can do from my iPhone today. I'd be really upset if I had no way to post my blogs.

Hope everyone has a great Friday! And Happy Shabbats to all who are preparing for God's day of rest!

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly