How do you find joy and happiness?

Times are tough all over. People are struggling to make ends meet and are cutting their budgets to the bare bones.

Many of us, although we wouldn't necessarily admit it to anyone, are having difficult times. Sometimes it seems like all we think about is our budget and our bills. Our lives revolve around pay days and due dates. Tensions are high. The holidays are near. If you've got children, you're probably just beginning to stress out.

What do you try to do in your every day life to find joy and happiness?
With the holidays approaching, what are you going to add to your every day life to bring joy and happiness to yourself and those around you?

What are you doing? What is your significant other doing? What are you doing with your children?

Are there some things that you do with your family or with your significant other where you can spend time together, but not take a hit to the budget? What are your fun things to do?

Have you gotten more spiritual? Have the sacrifices that you have been making as a family or as a couple drawn you closer to your faith?

I think this is the perfect time to share our ideas before we get caught up in our holiday events.

I think it would be great if everyone would share their thoughts in a blog post and link back here so we can share it with everyone.

If we can offer some ideas that will help even one of us it will be more than worthwhile.

We are blog pallies. Together we are strong. Let's help each other out.

I'm not looking for a 2 sentence comment. I would like everyone to put some thought into this. I think it's definitely worth more than a few minutes of our time. Maybe it will help if we all consciously take the time to write a blog post about it sometime in the next week. Just be sure to remember to come back to this post to link up yours.

Please grab the code for the image HERE, include it in your blog post and be sure to come back to add the link to your Joy & Happiness Post to McLinky so we can all share our ideas.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

IF YOU SEE THAT MckLinky APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING, PLEASE POST A LINK TO YOUR "JOY AND HAPPINESS IDEAS" IN THE COMMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU!

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Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

If I Could Blog Back Time Thursday - Favorite TV Show As A Kid

Come join me for this week's edition. Post yours Thursday and comeback and sign up with MckLinky.

This Thursday's topic is: Favorite TV Show As A Kid -

What was your favorite Television Show when you were a kid? Describe it. Why did you like it?
Was there something about it that you related to, or something that you longed for?

For details on how you can submit a topic, and if used, earn 100 Entrecard Credits, click here.

My favorite show was Leave It To Beaver. It's probably a lot of 40/50-somethings favorite because they longed to have that 1950's classic family. I pretty much had that anyway. My Mother was a stay at home Mom, except for one failed attempt to try working when my Father was laid up with one of his back surgeries. (She worked one day at a nursing home and she cried the whole way home. The conditions were horrible and she just couldn't bear to go back.)

True, my Mom didn't wear pearls and high heals to do housework, but she was always home, keeping the house clean and making home cooked meals. She greeted us at the door when we got home from school and had a homemade snack. She always had a kind word and made our friends welcome, just like June did.

My Father didn't wear a suit to the office. He wore work pants and a short sleeve shirt. He worked in a factory. I think all of the dads in our neighborhood were either factory workers or retail managers. One was in the Army, an aircraft maintenance worker who worked at the airport. He wore green fatigues every day. I always kind of wanted my Father to be like Ward. To wear a suit and work in an office every day. That seemed like a really cool job.

I liked the lessons taught in each episode. I always wish my Father would have doled out discipline and advice the way Ward did. Ward was so perfect, so parental, so moral. He always had an answer, and it was always the right answer.

Of course real life isn't scripted. We don't know the problem, solution and conclusion in the beginning like in a script. I still enjoy the show. My kids enjoy it too, though I'm not sure they understand what the cultural significance was of this show that first aired October 4, 1957 and aired in reruns in the late 60's and continue today. Back when it first aired very few women were in the workforce. The economy was stable and 1 income households were the norm. I think today that's almost inconceivable.

Please post your "Favorite TV Show As A Kid." post on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

IF YOU SEE THAT MckLinky APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING, PLEASE POST A LINK TO YOUR "FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A KID" IN THE COMMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'IF I COULD BLOG BACK TIME THURSDAYS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.
ANY OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT PREJUDICE!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Liz shamelessly shilling MJ's movie

Who is paying Liz Taylor to promote MJ's movie? Who gave her a netbook while she's all juiced up on drugs from her heart surgery? Someone take away the laptop!
From A to Z you get Michael's input on every level. Michael's genius at work with the dancers. Mr. Ortega catches Michael in his every mood.less than 20 seconds ago from web

2. Kenny Ortega did a masterful job of directing the process that goes into making a complete show before hitting the stage.3 minutes ago from web
3. We cannot let his life be in vain / and always done with love. Remember that. Remember him and thank God for him and his genius.4 minutes ago from web
4. From "Black And White", "Man In The Mirror". The inspiration behind "We Are The World". We must take his words of responsibility seriously.6 minutes ago from web
5. I won't use words like preaching because that is off-putting, but listen. Listen to his messages.9 minutes ago from web
6. If you listen to his lyrics they are those of a modern day prophet and it beseeches us to listen to him and what he sang.11 minutes ago from web
7. I meant to repeat myself. I love you. I remember Michael loved you. He was totally up to now and the message of today in all his songs.14 minutes ago from web
8. I hope I don't sound condescending. I'm sure you already know what I'm talking about, but go to see it again and again.15 minutes ago from web
9. I loved genius in my lifetime. God was so good to me. I will love Michael forever and so will you, if you don't already.17 minutes ago from web
10. You owe it to yourselves and your loved ones to see this again and again. Memorize it and say to yourselves, "I saw genius in my lifetime"19 minutes ago from web
11. To say he was a genius seems so little. I wish my vocabulary encompassed what I feel.21 minutes ago from web
12. God blessed him and squandered nothing, but loved it all. Michael knew how to put together every tone, every nuance to make magic.22 minutes ago from web
13. And we have this piece of film to remind us forever and ever that once there was such a man. God kissed him.24 minutes ago from web
14. I wept from pure joy at his God given gift. There will never, ever be the likes of him again.26 minutes ago from web
15. To say the man is a genius is an understatement. He cradles each note, coaxes the music to depths beyond reality.28 minutes ago from web
16. It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity.29 minutes ago from web
17. I was honored with the great privilege of seeing "This Is It" last week. I was sworn to secrecy, but now I can let you know about it.32 minutes ago from web

Who's freakin' idea was it to modify Tweetdeck so that every tweet flashes in the upper right corner of your desktop, even though you x'd out of Tweetdeck. Liz is driving me crazy! Stop! Take away her netbook, please!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Remember yesterday's post where I critiqued the lesbian kiss on ABC's Flash Forward, Episode 105? After reading Lynne's comment:

*lynne* said...

I gave up on this show after the first episode :D

from the image of the kiss, what you describe as a stunt kiss I see a Susan Sarandon kiss (from that episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S., where she teaches Joey some trick of the soap opera trade): the objective is to cover as much of the other's face as possible, LoL!

I'm still not drawn to watch the show, despite your review and the questions raised. Instead, I'd probably pick up the book. Of course, I only have 200+ titles in my to read list, so it may take a while :p

October 24, 2009 10:48 AM

I'm totally convinced Agent Hawk's kiss was a stunt kiss.

Check this out, a woman bid $140,000 for a 20 second kiss with Charlize Theron at a benefit for OneXOne, a charity that provides food, water, healthcare and education to children in Ethiopia and Rwanda. For the whole story, check out AfterEllen.com - Charlize Theron Kisses A Woman For Charity by Sarah Warn.

Again with the hands!

Ok, I tried an experiment Friday night. I surprise planted 1 of those kisses on Anastasia. The first time she said it was enjoyable. Then a bit later, she planted one on me. Ok, enjoyable. Intense even. Then a little I planted another 1 of those kisses on her and she started laughing in the middle of the kiss. I get no respect...I tell ya!

So have you tried one of these kisses? What did you think?

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009