Randy makes the best Salsa!

Hi Anita, This is how I make salsa:6 tomatoes1 sweet onion (Vidalia, Walla Walla, or whatever they have in the expensive onion bin.) 6-12 jalapenos, 4-6 cloves garlic, fresh cilantro (I use about a third of the bunch, let the rest rot in the fridge, and then throw it away.) Garlic salt, Juice from about half of a lime, Beer.
Open a beer first and taste it but don't put any in the salsa. With a freshly sharpened knife, cut the rest of the ingredients into the tiniest pieces that your patience will allow. Sometimes I add a teensy bit of V8 juice or pureed canned tomato, but I like it just as well without. That's all.
Have fun, Randy

How To become an expert.

I had a teacher who taught me this. and I forgot all about it. You can't do something effortlessly (or appear to be effortless) until you've spent hours even years becoming familiar with the ins and outs of every aspect of music. It was really hard work, and even if music came easy to a person, hard work was still involved because of the dedication to becoming better or more knowledgeable. People who have a knack for something tend to give up when it gets hard, and it does get hard at some point. People go through life thinking that other people are more talented and more gifted than they are and they shouldn't do something because it isn't easy for them like other people. When really hard work was what everyone put in, even if they didn't think it was hard work, practicing a lot is time spent. I remember practicing for hours and the hours didn't seem to be all that long because I didn't notice the practice as being hard. It was fun for me. Others may think it was effortless, but it was hard work in retrospect thinking of all the injury to my shoulders and neck. :-)


Sharon Sarmiento wrote about it on her blog esoup. The article is:
How To become an expert at something you know nothing about.

Give up goals!

I read something about Goals, don't have goals (yay, I hate goals), just pursue 3 things you can do within a defined time frame, those things can be goals too, but they don't have to be I'm going to be a wealthy person type goal. Just something you can get done within a focused time frame. i.e. do what it takes to be with the person you love who lives in another state.
I like this idea.

Things that make you happy

I'm sure you all have heard of this but it's http://www.43things.com/. It is for people who love to make lists! I used to love list making. Then i would be down on myself for not doing the things on the list. I do lists at work. that's all. I do like one of the lists I saw there that I am going to start and thought we could do it as a group or create a list ourselves. Identify 100 things that make me happy.

I loved reading some of the entries people made, some were like little bits of found poetry.

the first things i can think of that make me happy at this very moment in my life are:
1. my daughter
2. a cup of tea
3. a good book
4. a good night's sleep
5. feeling/being healthy (have a chest cold now for a week, but my tooth ache went away)
6.new shoes
7. a blank notebook
8. pretty note cards
9. Beautiful Art work.
10. finishing work on my desk.

Maybe this is another version of listing what one is grateful for.. the oprah thing??

My 100 things list

I've only gotten to #46


Fall madly in love
learn French
Go to Burning Man
Go to-France & go on a river cruise on the Seine.
Ireland
England- stonehenge specifically
Greece
Italy-Venice Carnival
India
Tibet Nepal
Learn to fence-done
Learn to do yoga-done
learn to Irish dance
Hike all the local trails-done
Go to a synagogue service
Visit Auschwitz
Learn how to do pottery on a wheel
Learn to paint-done
Play in folk music group
Learn calligraphy-done
Learn to drum
Learn to play cello
Chinese painting
Psanky eggs
make jewelry-done
collect beads-done
learn to make mosaics
learn how to tile
be a career counselor
teach spirituality
write a book
write a collection of folk tales/ghost stories local
learn to do balloon sculptures/
DJ a wedding
stay at a lakehouse
go to 10,000 waves
learn to be an excellent cook
learn to do portraits
have leia's portrait done professionally
make a short film/documentary
visit a haunted house/haunted tour
study the human condition-

Things to do before

you go on to the next adventure.

http://www.2dobeforeidie.com/

Irena's Story

She saved thousands of children from death by the nazis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVw1PANUcdg

From Wafur on being gratful.

I met an elderly person who lived alone and had many physical problems and financial challenges, yet he was highly upbeat and happy. I wondered how he was able to experience such positive emotions despite the difficulties he faced. I asked him about his life experiences and the most important lessons he had learned about life that I could share with others.
A key point that he shared with me was, "When something goes well for you, be grateful for it for the rest of your life. I had a happy childhood. My childhood was happy no matter what else happened to me later on. For my entire life I can be grateful for the many things I enjoyed when I was growing up. I can be grateful for all the positive memories my late wife gave me. I can be grateful for the good things that people did for me throughout my life. Some of the people I am grateful towards are no longer alive. But my feelings of gratitude towards them remain."
"But isn't it difficult to keep on feeling grateful for what is no longer here?" I asked him.
"No. Once this becomes your habitual way of thinking, it's automatic. It's not hard at all. I've met people who are angry and resentful towards people who are no longer alive. It makes a lot more sense to keep up the positive quality of being grateful."