Tag Inspire

Gummi Bears… Haribo is everywhere!

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Lately, the Haribo gummi bears keep coming in my path. Why?

When I was in Munich in December, I saw the store. Then I was downtown Chicago standing in the check out line and I saw the Haribo bear display. Such a great marketing idea.

My daughter really likes the Happy Cola sour gummies. They are hard to find, so when we were in Germany and happened to walk by the store, of course, we went in. They didn’t have the sour ones. However, a friend was in Copenhagen, he found the sour ones and brought them back to Chicago. A good man!

Finally, I was at the Goodman Theatre to see a show, we walked out at Intermission and what do we see… HARIBO gummies again. At the theatre??

I haven’t eaten Haribo gummies in years.

What SIGN is this???

P.S. I should have used Canva to make illustration look fancy. Still learning, PIC COLLAGE was faster…

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

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Happy St Patrick’s Day! I’m prepared. Recently, I was at Notre Dame University and picked up this shirt. Go Irish! Got to wear some green this weekend.

Then in yearly tradition, the Chicago Plumbers Union will dye the Chicago River green on Saturday. I always think of the “The Wizard of Oz” and their Emerald City when I see how green the river gets. It’s BEAUTIFUL!

We really get excited to see them dye the river. YouTube has some videos, you can see the process. There are a lot of Irish folks in Chicago, so it’s a lot of fun. I can’t say that corned beef and cabbage is my favorite meal, but once a year, OK. Lots of Irish beer. Don’t forget to wear some green.

My daughter lived in Ireland for six years. She said that St Patrick’s Day is their biggest holiday.

It’s time to watch “The Quiet Man.” Love that movie.

Have a great weekend. Happy St Patrick’s Day! ☘️

Dreams… What do you remember?

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Do you remember your dreams? They say we all dream, but I “rarely” remember anything. Although, every once in a while, I wake up humming / singing a song. So, I must have dreamt something, right.

This AM, I woke up singing Johnny Cash’s song, “Ring of Fire.” NOW, what was that about? I have been in a country music mood lately. I guess it’s time to listen to his music. My Dad used to blast “A Girl Named Sue” when he was in the Johnny Cash mood.

Well… I was going to share these two songs with you, but today YouTube and WP are not cooperating. When I do a paste for the song, I get a “not supported” message from WP. Trying to sort that out…

If you haven’t listened to Johnny Cash, visit his videos on YouTube.

This might make you chuckle. A few months ago, I woke up singing, “Santa Lucia.” Now, who knows what my mind was thinking THAT night!!

Paintings… sisters…

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Recently, I saw these two paintings. I wasn’t looking for paintings, but they caught my attention, because I have two daughters. I thought they depicted their personalities.

The elephants when they are stressed. The giraffes when they are trying to decide what to do.

I find life amusing.

At any given moment in life, we can see, hear, smell something and a vision comes to us or we are transported back in time. For example, recently, I smelled some lilacs and I was brought back to my childhood when they were in bloom.

Have you had a recent memory come to you after seeing “something?”

Pop-Tarts Inventor… William “Bill” Post, passes at 96

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Did you know that Pop-Tarts were created in 1963? They were originally called, “Fruit Scones.” This name didn’t seem to fit, so they were renamed, “Pop-Tarts” after the Pop culture at the time. However, I had a funny thought, “POP-out-of-the-toaster” might have played into the name too.

William “Bill” Post, who invented Pop-Tarts 60 years ago, passed away at 96 in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 10, 2024. Here’s where it gets tricky. News articles say that Post invented Pop-Tarts, but when I went to the Pop-Tarts website, it doesn’t mention his name at all. That’s sad, right.

Well, Netflix is coming out with a film on May 3rd, “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story” directed by and starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld. This has to be good with Seinfeld. I look forward to the film to better understand “who” invented the Pop-Tart!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Love can be found. I saw this telephone booth in Nashville. Yes, you can try to find a cowboy! I didn’t try to call the number. I wonder if it worked. I’m sure they’d say something amusing, right.

A lady was dressed all in pink. She was with her husband, I saw her by the booth. I asked if she wanted a picture with her husband. She said, “YES,” it was her birthday. So, I took the picture. THEN she pulled me aside. She whispered, “You take picture of me alone, no husband.” 

Laughing, “Ok,” I said.

She was hamming it up for the camera. This pose, that pose. She must have been in her 50s. As I was taking photos, I told her it would be fun if she pretended she was making a phone call. She picked up the phone, more poses. It was fun being the photographer.

Whether you have someone or not, you can still have a heartfelt day! 💕

Wishing you ALL a HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Netflix – A show called, “FISK.”

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I was looking for a show to watch on Netflix. I felt like a little kid, so many choices, but everything seemed BORING. Until I clicked on this show called, “FISK.” It’s an Australia comedy TV show. The show takes place in a small solicitors office focused on probate law.

Remember The Office? FISK has similar humor in an office setting. However, this show is focused on clients and their wills. The show has great characters, amusing story lines, and lovely Australian accents. It’s a bit slower paced, which might have you yawning from time to time. Still, the chuckles over the clients are worth sticking it out. They really do come up with some comical skits. I don’t want to give it away…

Right now, there are two seasons, hoping for a third.

Have you watched the show? Would love to hear what YOU thought about it.

Who is DATING out there? GREAT idea for you…

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Look what’s been coming to my Junk folder lately. A lot of these dating messages. Obviously, some spammer has my email. Without even opening the messages, I smiled. So, THIS is how it’s done.

Like writing a job resume, crafting an online dating message takes skill. I admit, I don’t have it. Years ago, I tried online dating. I’d last for about 2.5 weeks, realizing there were a lot of strange people out there and I had just wasted 3 months of money!!

The issue was with the profile. First, you need that GREAT photo. Even if it doesn’t look like you, it has to be great. When I say, “even if it doesn’t look like you,” I mean that it sometimes takes zillions of photos to get ONE winner. That winning photo, might not represent who you are on a daily basis; however, it doesn’t matter. For purposes of the profile, it’s a glamour shot. DONE!

Next the profile message. I was never good at this. That’s why I smiled at the dating emails coming to my Junk folder. My message to attract someone was boring. Basically, imagine fishing without any bait. That’s how my dating message was. If you fish without bait, it means you don’t really want a fish.

Now, if you REALLY want to catch the fish, you need good bait. These messages in my Junk folder made me smile. Such fake love messages, but they work! I admit, I was drawn to them. Take the one that says, “Are you ready for some magic and romance mixed together?” Who would say, “NO?”

So, I’m sharing this idea. If you are still dating and having trouble writing your profile. Draw writing inspiration from dating emails you find in your Junk folder.

Guaranteed — You’ll increase your online match results!! 

Marketing is marketing, even in the dating world.

Canada (Whitehorse, Yukon) – Hair Freezing Contest

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Have you heard of the Eclipse Hot Springs Hair Freezing Contest in Yukon? It’s been taking place yearly since 2011. They have different categories you can win, ie best female, best male, most creative, best group, etc. Each winning category receives $2,000, not bad for sitting in warm water, dunking your head, pulling head out, sculpting hair and having photo taken. Done!

Visit the site and you’ll see so many fabulous frozen hair styles. Don’t worry, as soon as you dunk your head back into the water, the freezing hair melts. So your hair does not break into a million tiny pieces.

The site doesn’t have details on timing for this. However, I was reading in past articles that photo taking takes place in February. Last year they said with warming temperatures, it was becoming hard to find the right cold days for hair to set. Maybe that’s why the website doesn’t have contest dates.

Well, right now, Chicago has been having freezing temps. We could certainly do a Freezing Hair day here.

So… Are you in? Do something FUN, win $2,000!

Winter has arrived… Time for knitting!

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What do you do when your weather hits -1 degrees? The weatherman says if we are out for more than 10 minutes, we can get frost bitten. We don’t believe him/her. So, we bundle up (just in case, they’re right) and head outside. We don’t last more than five minutes and we are back in the house.

As I was house bound, I wondered what to do. Ok, read a book, watch TV, call a friend, clean the house, writer extra blog posts (LOL)… you get the idea. I needed something different. The light bulb went off.

Where was all my extra yarn? 

I found it after a good search. I decided I’d make a lap blanket. So, I’ve been happily knitting in the evenings. Inside a knitter’s mind.

Knit, knit, knit…REPEAT.                                         Next row.                                                  Knit, knit, knit… REPEAT. 

It’s like we are in a trance. I’m using an Alpaca yarn, it’s very lush and warm. Perfect for cold weather.

While I’ve been knitting, I started listening to The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown. The movie is out now, but usually the book is better. Isn’t the recommendation to always read the book first? 

Has anyone seen the movie yet? Would love to hear your review.

Start here…