Author Archives: explorenewness

NEW thoughts on being a “Pollyanna”

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pollyanna

OK…do NOT laugh at me, but I just recently finished reading the book ‘Pollyanna’ for the first time in my life!  Yikes!  What took me so long?  Actually, I never really had the desire to read it  before.  It seemed to me, to be a very old-fashioned book which I thought I already knew the plot…(an overly optimistic girl who constantly looked at life through rose-colored glasses).  At least that is the stereo-typed synopsis of the book!  Well, I think I’ve mentioned before that I really DO NOT appreciate stereotypes, so I’m soooo GLAD I finally read the book so I can debunk that general view of this story!

I figured this book was a classic and since it is referenced quite often, I  wanted to read it for myself.  I really liked it!  Pollyanna was a very optimistic little girl, but there is nothing in the book to describe her as being ‘blindly’ optimistic , or excessively so.  There were quite a few instances in the story where Pollyanna was sad, disappointed or discouraged; but she simply had developed the skills to see the positives in life.  I think more people should develop such a skill!  Although the counseling profession would most likely suffer a bit :o)

I think the next time I hear someone derogatorily refer to someone as being a “Pollyanna”, I’ll ask them if they’ve even read the book.  (Probably not, right?)

Have a great day!  Do or Learn OR READ something NEW!  Even if it’s a 100-year-old book that you thought you already knew the plot!

NEW photo of my week #37

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ornament2

Yup…Just one NEW photo of my week.  Terrible! :o)  It snowed ALL day yesterday and I wasn’t feelin’ like shooting in the snow. (Yes, I’m a whimpy photographer).  It is what it is.  Hopefully I can get out more next week.

Have a great day!  Do or learn something NEW!

I’ll link to Song-ography’s Silver Bell Edition (The nativity ornament IS silver….hope it’s not too much of a stretch).   BTW…I LOVE that site!  I have a smile on my face after I read her posts!…Every.Single.Time!

NEW tips for decorating sugar cookies

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sugarcookies

Happy Saturday everyone!  For the last year or so, I’ve wanted to be able to decorate cookies like: Haniela, or Callie @ SugarBelle, or Marian @ Sweetopia! BUT, I’m far, faR, FAR from their level of expertise! However, I’ve enjoyed learning from them.  Now if I can just find make the time to practice what I’ve learned….maybe I can improve my efforts. 🙂

Last night I made these Christmas tree cookies because I wanted to try something NEW!  I tried Haniela’s “Walmart Disposable Sandwich Bag” method. {check it out HERE}  I don’t really think that is her official title for the method, but I thought it looked brilliant!  Disposable is always good for clean up! Right?  Check out my prior post on how to make cookies without any mess too! {HERE}.

And now, a couple of NEW tips of my own:

When you’re practicing NEW techniques for the first time…(trust me, they won’t usually turn out like the experts).   BUT if you practice the NEW technique and afterword cover up your “experiment” with sprinkles, the cookie will still look lovely AND edible!  No one is the wiser! 🙂

I also learned recently that it is much easier to mix in food coloring gel with a knife rather than a spoon!  (Because you can drag off the excess or non-incorporated frosting more easily with a knife than you can with a spoon.)

So…try a NEW technique or learn or do something else NEW today!

a NEW recipe….sliders or snackers?

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hamswiss

I tried this NEW recipe a few months ago, and my boys really like these sandwiches!  I call them sliders…but one of my sons insist they are ‘snackers’.  I, of course, am right 🙂

I first wanted to try this recipe from this post at Purple Chocolat Home….but I’ve seen various versions on Pinterest etc. They are REALLY easy to put  together and good to  have in the refrigerator as a back up for when there’s not much else to eat…..I know you know what I’m talking about!

Try a NEW recipe today…or do or learn something else NEW!

NEW stuff i gotta share

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brainscience

Happy Wednesday everyone!  As you know, I LOVE learning NEW stuff.  Yet, I frequently wonder….am I really learning this NEW stuff for the first time?…or have I just forgotten about it and then re-learnt it, as if it were NEW?  That feeling reminds me of this funny-ism:

oldandsenile

Nevertheless, I’d like to share NEW stuff I’ve learned about this week:

Brain Training  (Because I’m a certified brain science junkie too!)

NEW Culinary Terms….I recently made a NEW recipe that asked me to make a roux, so I was curious of what other culinary terms I didn’t know and researched some NEW ones.  However, you’ll notice that ‘roux’ isn’t listed!  So FYI: Roux:  A cooked mixture of butter of other fat and flour used to thicken sauces, soups, etc.

And lastly, I learned that I WANT (badly) a set of lens extensions…cuz macro lenses are too darn expensive!  I learned more about lens extensions HERE.

Have a great day!  Learn (or re-learn) something NEW today!

{photo source: dogwood_springs_photography}