Does No One Remember?

The news has been filled lately with certain candidates calling for a registry of all Muslims and even for American Muslims to be required to wear ID badges.  Does this not ring a bell with anyone? Really?  

While I give these candidates full credit for the passion of their rhetoric, they get zero points for originality.  These same things were used, in extreme efficiency, in the 1930's to not only seize billions of dollars in assets but also to murder millions of Jews, homosexuals, teachers, and "enemies of the state."  Ring a bell yet?

Registries were used by Adolph Hitler forcing Jews to register, including all assets, properties, and location.  This made it incredibly easy for Nazi Germany to not only seize the assets but locate the Jews for shipment to the concentration camps.  For those Jews allowed to remain in society in the short term, they were required to have an ID badge sewn on the outside of their clothes so they could be immediately identified.  

These are the same policies that are now being proposed for Muslims in the United States.  Have we learned nothing from history?  Even more importantly, how does this not terrify you?  Just the thought that candidates running for the highest office in this land are proposing using the policies of Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany in the present day United States chills my very soul.  

Yet, every day I see multiple news articles, postings on social media, and staunch supporters of these candidates expressing support and blind allegiance to these same candidates.  Does no one do their homework before supporting such a person?

I am a proud citizen of the United States of America.  A candidate who propounds a policy used by the Nazis will not now, nor ever shall have my support.

Jerri

Happy National Square Dance Day!

Leftover Day!

Be Safe Out There!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Wish for Tomorrow

To Friends and Family

Gratitude

Happy Go for a Ride day!!

Recipe for Self-Care

As we enter the holiday season, it is even more important to remember to take care of ourselves.  This is one small step in doing so.

1 heaping teaspoon of deep breaths.

1 full cup of self-forgiveness.

1 1/2 hour nap.

Unlimited hugs from friends.

30 minutes snuggling with pets.

10 gallons of love.

Take any and/or all as needed.

Love,
Jerri

Frugal Fit Friday

The holiday season is rapidly upon us!  Along with time spent with family and friends, comes those extra pounds from the celebrations.  Before you spend a fortune on a diet plan or pay monthly fees for a gym membership, check out a free, yes, totally FREE, site that offers not only diet plans, but workouts and healthy living tips, too!

Welcome to SparkPeople!!  A 100%, free website that offers diet plans, workouts, and healthy living tips.  The site is incredibly easy to join and takes less than three minutes.

The site offers the option of setting your own goals or allowing SparkPeople to set it for you based on the information you provide.  It includes fabulous recipes and exercises to perform.  In addition, you earn Spark points based on your activities.  

Although the site said I did not need to lose weight (I disagree!), it started me with an easily attainable goal of 10 minutes of exercise a day.  Even I can do 10 minutes!!  I also downloaded the app so I can take it with me on the go!

Check out SparkPeople and give it a shot!  When you do, add me to your team so we can support each other...you will find me as "jerrilynn62" and I can't wait for you to join me!

Love,

Jerri

The Thursday 10 -- Emotions

This week, we have another invisible Thursday 10.   These are 10 emotions we all feel.  But how much more fulfilled, happy, and peaceful would we be if we could, if not eliminate, just reduce the hold these emotions have on us?

Here are the 10 emotions we will work on eliminating this week:

1.  Loneliness  -- While being at peace when alone is a gift, human interaction is considered an actual need by science.  Never be afraid to reach out.  I guarantee someone, anyone, or even just one, will be there.

2.  Overwhelmed -- Particularly for women, this is common.  One of the ways to combat this emotion is to do just what these Thursday posts are for...simplify.

3.  Guilt -- Again a big one for women, we feel guilty that we cannot do it all.  The truth is, no one can.  Let go of the guilt and revel in the moment.

4.  Inadequacy -- This is one emotion I took great pleasure in eliminating.  The truth is that I do my best.  If my best is inadequate for you, you are quite welcome to leave my life the same way you entered.  This emotion is not welcome here.

5.  Anger -- Still working on this one!!  While my anger never lasts more than a quick minute, it rises just as fast.  

6.  Disappointment -- It has taken most of my life to deal with this emotion.  It is a hard realization that people will disappoint you, and frequently, take pleasure in doing so.  Let them, and the disappointment go.  You no longer have the room for it in this simpler life.

7.  Frustration -- For me, this is usually a self-targeted emotion.  I suffer from "Should have" syndrome and when I do not live up to my self-set expectations, frustration arises.  

8.  Hurt -- One of the hardest emotions to release.  I have found the only way to eliminate hurt is to add more love.  There are so many people who love you!  Focus your energy and attention on those people and watch hurt disappear.

9.  Discomfort -- There is actually discomfort in releasing some of these emotions.  They are familiar territory and releasing them opens a void.  Fill that void with love, peace, and joy.

10. Fear -- The big one.  I, personally, have a lot of fears.  From the fear of heights to the fear of something happening to one of my children...fear is a big one.  The truth of the matter?  Releasing the fear means recognizing that our control or sense of control is an illusion.  While we may be able to control some tiny day-to-day matters, the majority of life is beyond our control.  Acknowledging that is the first step to releasing the fear.

A tough Thursday 10 this week!  Obviously, these emotions cannot all be released in just a week. Print this list out, keep it handy, and remind yourself what you are accomplishing each day.

Love,

Jerri

No Time

As I was writing yesterday's post, I realized how incredibly full and blessed my heart and my life are right now.  This also reminded me that I have absolutely no time, energy, or room for those in my life who wish me ill, who look for opportunities to demean me, or who do not have by best interests at heart.

We all have those friends on social media who seem to lie in wait for an opportunity to argue, to defame, and to prove they are, not only always right, but the only one who is ever right.  Last week, on the Thursday 10, we worked on eliminating those people from our social media.  With the passing of my ex-husband, I was once again reminded that there are actually people who exist in this world to take advantage of someone's pain, who use such an event as an opportunity to attack, and who lack even the most basic of human decency.

I am extremely fortunate.  My world, my life, and my heart are full of friends and family who love me and whom I love and adore in return.  Experiencing that outpouring over the last couple of weeks has supported me and reminded me that there is only room for love.  I have no time for anything else.

To those who carry such hate and misery, I am so truly sorry.  I hope, with everything in me, that you find the peace you are seeking.  I pray you are able to move forward, before such negative emotions actually impact your health and well-being.  

For me, I choose to live in love.

Love,

Jerri

A Heartfelt Thank You

In the last four years, I have lived through a divorce, lost my step-father and my mother, survived a broken engagement, and dealt with the serious illness of a child.  I have started college and obtained my associate degree, moved from one state to another, moved again, and started a new job.  And now, I have also lost my ex-husband who remained my friend.

If you check this list against one of those heart attack risk lists, it is amazing that I am still standing.  I truly believe it is solely due to the love of my amazing family and friends.

To the friend who made the hardest phone call ever, thank you.

To the son who makes sure I eat, thank you.

To the friends who texted, messaged, and called offering love and support, thank you.

To the friend who pulled over to check on me as I was walking down the street, thank you.

To the friend who said, "My shoulder is here," thank you.

To the friends who said, "What can I do for you?", thank you.

To the friends who have travelled to see me, thank you.

I am so grateful to live a life that includes such amazing people.  Words cannot suffice to express my love, gratitude, and actual awe at the love I have received and continue to receive.  You truly fill my heart and my life with all that is good.

I love you all,

Jerri

No Words

Happy Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day!!

Bringing Summer into Fall

Strawberry Ice Cups

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen strawberries, thawed
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp local honey
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 cups crushed ice, divided

Directions:

Combine first five ingredients with two cups of the crushed ice in a blender, process until just chunky.  Add the last cup of ice and blend again until smooth.  Pour into a shallow baking pan, cover, and freeze for thirty minutes.  After freezing, scrape the ice with a fork until slushy.  Cover again and return to the freezer for 2 hours.  Divide into cups and serve.

Enjoy!!

Results

I have posted numerous times about the websites I use to earn extra spending money.  I thought I would show you what I purchased with my earnings last month to illustrate:  

1.  I actually do earn a nice amount of spending money.

2.  It pays off in actual items.

I needed to get a video game for a birthday gift and got myself a new set of sheets for my bed. Granted, these are not huge, earthshaking items.  They are items, however, that fulfill needs that are not accommodated in my budget.

As I said, regular items, but items that were paid for by the Amazon gift cards I earned.  What exactly does that mean?  It means a necessity did not have to be cut or rearranged in my budget to make room for the added expense.

Meander over to the Moneymakers tab and check it out!  They have proven results!

Love,

Jerri

The Thursday 10

This week's Thursday 10 is a virtual assignment.  It may be a bit difficult, but you can do it!!

Today, we rid our social media accounts of toxicity.  We all have those friends or relatives on our accounts and lists that we believe we "should" keep.  Why?  If someone on your friends' list brings nothing but moaning, groaning, and misery to your day, why do you want to see that?  If a relative has only criticism every time you interact online, why are you inviting that into your day?

For this week's Thursday 10, take a hard look at your lists.  Remove those people who either:

1.  Have no interaction with you whatsoever;

2.  A friend of a friend of a friend;

3.  Never have a nice thing to say;

4.  Put you down in every interaction; or

5.  Anger you with racism, bigotry, or hatred.

Remember, this is Thursday 10, not 100.  This is a way to begin simplifying your life in manageable steps.  It's just 10.

Love,

Jerri

Veterans' Day

Surviving

It has been a rough few weeks here at Jerri's Empty Nest.  While I do my best to practice gratitude, I reached a wall last week where I finally just said, "Enough!"  

I needed a break.  If life was not going to give me one, I had to make time for one myself.  I needed to rest, to reflect, to mourn, and to restore.  That break reminded me that I will survive this, yet again.

Thank you to all my lovely readers for accommodating me and letting me take a week off from blogging.  It was a much needed rest and I truly appreciate you!!

Love,

Jerri 

Why My Conscience Will Not Vote Republican

I rarely share my political opinions in a public forum.  This issue, however, affects my granddaughters and deserves public comment.

In this country, white women earn, on average, 78 cents to every dollar a man earns.  For black women, it is 68 cents and for Latina women, it drops all the way to 54 cents to the dollar. Republicans have blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act four times.  Four times, the Republican party has said, by their votes, that women are unequal to men and do not deserve to be paid the same.

Four times, the Republican party has said, by their votes, that a woman only has 3/4 the value of a man.  Four times, the Republican party has said, by their votes, that women are considered to be lesser then men and should be paid as such.  Four times, the Republican party has said, by their votes, that women do not deserve the same compensation as a man.  Four times, the Republican party has said, by their votes, that they do not respect women.

As parents and grandparents, we tell our daughters and granddaughters that they can grow up to be anything they want to be.  If you vote Republican, you need to tell your daughters and granddaughters that, yes, they can grow up to be anything they want to be but they need to be prepared to be paid less than a man because you voted to keep people in office who think that they are not as valuable as men.  You need to tell them that, because of your votes, they will be considered lesser and be paid less than men.  Tell them that you are a proud Republican and they'll just have to get over the fact that, because they are female, they will always be paid less.

I, on the other hand, will tell my granddaughters that I used my vote to speak for their future.  I will tell them that they deserve equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender.  I will tell them that I was proud to use my vote to speak for their future.

As we enter this election madness, take a long, hard look at your daughters and granddaughters.  It is their future you are voting to change.

Love,
Jerri

Happy Dunce Day!

Offline

Due to a death and a serious illness in the family, Jerri's Empty Nest will be offline this week.

Thank you for your understanding.

Love,
Jerri

Fall Back!!!