Month: April 2018

Have you ever heard of Virginia Dare?  She was the first child born to English colonists in the New World.  She was born on August 18, 1587, to Ananias Dare who was a clerk and Eleanor White who was a daughter of John White – Governor of the Virginia colony.

We don’t know a lot more about little Virginia.  Why you ask?  Because she was born in the Roanoke colony.  In the year Virginia was born, her grandfather the governor went back to England to get more supplies for the fledgling colony – and when he returned 3 years later, all of the colonists were gone.

Roanoke is now known as The Lost Colony.  When John White returned, there was no sign of a struggle or battle just the word “Croatoan” carved into the post of the fort.  The Governor had instructed the colonists to inscribe a Maltese cross into trees if anything happened to them – so the word Croatoan rather than the prearranged cross symbol started a mystery that endures to this day.

Want to learn more about the Lost Colony?  Check out these articles:

• Wikipedia – Roanoke Colony
• History.com – New Clues about Roanoke
• Smithsonian Magazine

Bet we all know how this little guy feels!

https://youtu.be/RfB5vKlznOc

Here’s a fun throwback – want to know what the top song in the U.S. was on the day you were born?  (Or really any date…)  Check out this website: Playback.FM

He’s So Fine by the Chiffons was the number one song on the day I was born – what was yours?

If you know me, you know that I’m a worrier.  When I was younger, worry lead to the nervous habit of chewing my nails.   Even now a good barometer of my stress level is to look at the sides of my thumbs – when I’m really stressed, I claw at my thumbs until I’m bleeding without even realizing I’m doing it.

Fortunately, I’ve recognized my problems with nerves/worry and have developed coping mechanisms like:

• Exercise.  Running was my first athletic way to release stress.  I don’t generally run more than a couple miles an outing and nobody will ever accuse me of running fast, but blasting music on my headphones and the repetition of the movement is really soothing.  Lately, I’ve upped the ante and started kickboxing.  Want to relieve stress?  There’s nothing better than hitting the heavy bag for me!
• Journal writing.  It’s really cathartic to write something down and get it out.  If it’s something you don’t want to share with anyone else, a journal is a great private release.
• Staying busy.  When I’m stressed, I clean.  You can definitely track my emotional ups and downs by the cleanliness of my house!  And when that doesn’t work, there’s always more crocheting or knitting.  Again for me, repetitive motions are always soothing.

What do you do to cope with nerves and worry?  I’d love to hear what works for you!

I don’t know about you, but I’m REALLY tired of the wintery weather – come on, it’s April 10th!  Yesterday’s Chicago Cubs home opener was cancelled because of snow.  It’s not right.

I would like to be out working in my yard.  Specifically, I’d like to be planting flowers.  I have a flower bed in my back yard and flower pots all over my deck.  And given we’re 1/3 of the way through April, is it too much to want some flowers?

So my to-do for you all today is to learn to make paper flowers.  If it’s too cold for flowers outside, let’s make our own!  This video will get you started – I’m off to get a glue stick and make some too!

Remember your first cell phone?  I think I got my first one in 1996 but I know it was one of those deals that looked like a walkie-talkie AND you could “personalize” it with a colored face plate.  Mine was red.  You couldn’t text with it – it didn’t do anything but let you send and receive calls.  But I loved it.

The cell phone world has changed a LOT since then.  I found this infographic about the relationship women have with their cell phone/tablets this morning and I thought I would share it.

I’m certainly guilty of an ongoing love affair with my phone and iPad but I don’t check my phone right away or within the first 5 minutes I’m awake in the morning.  And I’m definitely not in the 16% of women who say the phone is never off limits to them.  I do however, use my mobile devices as my cameras,  my navigator, my calendar, my cookbook and a whole lot more.

What is your favorite use for your phone – and do you really check it within 5 minutes of waking up?

I loved this little guy last year when he went viral – and he’s back again!  Happy Weekend!

It’s Throwback Thursday and I thought this might be a good day to talk about my latest reawakened obsession – jigsaw puzzles.

As a kid, my Mom and I did jigsaw puzzles on a card table in a corner of the living room all winter long.  I loved putting the puzzles together – the more pieces, the better.  We had a whole shelf in our toy closet that was nothing but jigsaw puzzles because we loved doing them so much!  But there were drawbacks – the card table that got in everyone’s way and lost pieces to name the worst things.  And the obsession passed after Mom passed away and I got older.

But recently I discovered a website called Jigsaw Planet – and I’m crazy about it!  It’s all the fun of solving the puzzles I remember – but no lost pieces and no need to store all those puzzle boxes either!   You can even create your own using photos on your computer or tablet.

Give it a try!  Here’s the link to the site:  www.jigsawplanet.com

Headaches are probably the most common ailment there is.  We’ve all had them – stress, poor eating habits, poor lighting/glare and allergies are just a few of the triggers.

According to an article I found, there are 17 types of headaches (relax – I’m not going to list them all!) with the most common type being a tension headache.  But as common as tension or stress headaches are, there is little known about what physically causes them.

Doctors and researchers agree the likely cause of tension headaches is probably related to the contraction and inflammation of muscles surrounding the skull.  The contractions and inflammation lead to spasms which translate into pain like a band around your head, a sore neck or pounding in your temples.

Your first reaction to a tension headache may be to reach for an aspirin or other over the counter pain reliever but there are other effective methods to quiet that pain.  Have you tried massage? A hot shower?  A cold pack?  Some people swear by essential oils for relief.  What works for you?  Let me know in the comments!

The biggest To-Do on my list right now?  My taxes.  I can’t believe I’ve procrastinated again!  I have all the paperwork together so it’s just a matter of sitting down and entering it all into my tax software.

The first income taxes in the U.S were imposed with the Revenue Act of 1861 to help pay for the Civil War.  That was a flat 3% tax on all incomes over $800 and was rescinded in 1872.

The 16th Amendment to the U.S Constitution was ratified in 1913 cleared the way to the federal tax system we know today.  The 16th Amendment states:

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

You can read a full history of taxation in the U.S. on Wikipedia – and now that we know the history of our income taxes, I better get to work!

Do you have your taxes filed or are you a procrastinator too?  Let me know in the comments!