I’m having turkey this Thanksgiving. I don’t always. I enjoy the ritual cooking of it but not the preparing of a whole bird. Turkey breast alone isn’t an option as I prefer dark meat. This year for the first time, I ordered a small turkey from Publix that I picked up this morning. I plan on making green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy. I always keep it low fat. I’ll steam the green beans along with some red pepper strips and serve them simply with sea salt, coarse ground black pepper and a lemon squeeze, Earth Balance and gomasio.    I’ll mash the potatoes with salt and pepper, a little almond milk and coconut powder and some Earth Balance spread. The gravy I’ll make using mushrooms and an organic brown gravy mix. The stuffing will be bread crumbs, roasted mushrooms, onion, celery, apple, diced dried apricot with fresh rosemary, sage and thyme. I may add eggplant and I may stuff it into red peppers. Neither the man nor I are dessert eaters, so no pies, but the sweet/sour element will be an cranberry orange and apricot chutney made with onion, bell pepper, allspice, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, apple cider vinegar and fresh shaved ginger.  I usually spend holidays working but Thursday, I’m just going to relax and bask in how thankful I am for this life I’ve been blessed with.

I drove to Melbourne this morning to deliver the December Horizons Magazine. Dropping it off before stores open, I don’t get a chance to say hi to friends but schedule-wise, it’s often the best time for me. I delivered half the stores and, an hour in, my lack of sleep began catching up with me. I decided to head home and deliver the rest of the mags the next day, after a final delivery to my friend Maria. It turns out she needed a ride to Palm Bay so it was perfect timing. By the time I dropped her off, I’d caught my second wind so I drove back to Melbourne to finish delivering the magazines. By then, businesses were open so I got to visit with Rev. Beth at Unity Church of Melbourne.  I’ve skipped church the past year, reclaiming personal time on Sundays, and I missed it – and her. It was good to reconnect. Afterwards, I stopped at K & C Oriental Market on Aurora Road and got tom yum paste, chili garlic oil, palm sugar, dried bonito flakes, rice noodles, then stopped at Pho Cali to bring home some fresh spring rolls and a Pho soup.  I’d just finished lunch when Maria called ready to return to Melbourne. Again, perfect timing. It always is.

Elizabeth Stamper

How can I return mercy
for lack of mercy
and kindness for what
appears to be unkind—
I must see this differently.

How can I think I am good
and you are guilty—as if
only I would know
what’s right and wrong—
I must see us differently.    Continue reading →

In tough times, it’s hard to remember that whatever situation I’m in, I’ve gotten there by being a vibrational match to it. It’s not always easy to see how that can be. The only way I can get out of it is to change my thoughts about what I’m living and what I’m seeing. You, too. Sometimes the best thing to do is cut the cord immediately, clear up past karma, pay anything owed and get outa Dodge.  A friend just messaged me she was in a living situation she needed to be free of but needed all available funds to pay for a new place. If she leaves her situation now owing money, she’ll have that dollar karma following her to any new place. If she pays it up, thankful her landlord trusted her enough to give her credit, the Universe will open all sorts of doorways to new opportunity to her.  If we drop the rock in our hand, the Universe will fill it with diamonds. As long as we have full faith and expect and believe it will.  And as long as we’ve paid for the rock…    Continue reading →

What am I not? I am not this body, I am not this personality, I am not my job nor my labels, nor my income, nor my credentials nor my history, nor my thoughts. So who am I without all that? in lucid moments, I know and that sustains me until the next lucid moment.

We went on a fun road trip yesterday morning. It was rainy and overcast as we left Melbourne but it was clear by the time we crossed the county line. It was beautifully sunny in Cassadaga.  Seeing the 32909 weather, I almost postponed the trip for a few days. I went out to the garage and cleaned out the car, then thought to check the weather for the destination.  I’m glad I did, I saw it was clear today but would be rainy the next two days.  That convinced me!  I grabbed the man and off we went.  He’s the best road trip partner, we always have a blast.  First, a stop at Starbucks for Venti Americano decaf topped with a splash of soy milk.  I always ask them to shake the carton before they pour it.  Correction, we ordered half caf, not decaf, so I knew we were in for a lively morning.     Continue reading →

A friend has left town owing money to an overly kind landlord and others. You want a new start in a new place where no one knows you?  That’s not how you leave negativity behind because where ever you go, there you are.  Remember your karma follows you everywhere and your point of attraction remains the same until you change it.  You always know what your vibrational point of attraction is because the evidence is showing up in front of you every minute of every day. You can change your point of attraction on any topic using these –> 13 Steps Back To Balance.  And there is always a way to leave a situation with integrity and kindness

A pal was being maligned on Facebook by someone caught in their own lies and she apologized to anyone getting private messages about it. I told her I consider it an honor when someone publicly uses me as the scapegoat to work out their own reflection. That tells me I’m in their life for soul growth. Knowing that, I deeply bow and appreciate the honor.  Plus karma is only a bitch if you are.

RELATED: Who decides who is the black sheep in the family?

My big brother Jerry was early on dubbed the black sheep, simply because he rebelled.  He saw injustice and he stood up for us kids but the patriarch had the power to banish him from the kingdom and no one dare speak his name foreverafter. I’m sure this placed our father in his own particular hell for many years later, although I have long forgiven him.  So who gets to decide who’s the black sheep?  I’m known as the sweet but misguided one who’s going to hell because of what I believe, and believe so publicly in Horizons Magazine.   Wise words from galpal Barbara Nowak:  “The family scapegoat serves an important purpose in a hurting family: it takes the spotlight off of the real issues and projects it all on to one individual who will do “bad” for them. If children can’t get attention for being positive, they will get it anyway they can, including being “bad.” Some get “locked into” the bad drama . . courts, drugs… violence, victimization, etc. But if the person steps out of the “bad” role, it’s amazing to watch the entire family try to squeeze him/her back into it so they don’t have to look within. Any family therapist will tell you that the scapegoat is often the “healthiest” member cuz they will tell the truth (actually, scream the truth) while others play games. Long live the Black Sheep!!”

RELATED: I consider it an honor when someone uses me as the scapegoat

I’ve watched the Real Housewives shows off and on the past couple of years and have had a couple of the housewives as clients. I like reality shows because I like to see how people act, react and relate during all kinds of conditions. Under stress is when we learn who someone really is, and under stress we learn who we are, too. RHOA cast member Kenya Moore is an easy villain to target. She knows she’s hot, she’s narcissistic, she openly flirts with friends’ husbands, she’s an instigator, she’s unapologetically arrogant and has a history of fabrication and exaggeration. She’s like a female version of Phaedra’s husband Apollo, and they both love the attention. A vibrational match. In last night’s show, Apollo admits he lied to his wife and everyone else about Kenya coming on to him. He literally dragged Kenya thru the mud all season and, well, we all believed it because, after all, look at her past actions. When he told his cast mates that it was all a lie he made up, they lit into him for letting them side with him for two years while they talked sh*t about Kenya in Apollo’s defense.   But who’s the real villain here? Kenya for baiting the hook, then being taken aback when she attracts a bigger fish than she bargained for? Or Apollo for getting caught in Kenya’s web and reacting as he did? Clearly neither of them were thinking about the consequences of their actions.  Continue reading →