Wednesday, February 16, 2022

My Top Ten Favorite Desserts

Hiya peeps! I'm going to start doing a few different themed posts, one is going to be #WednesdayTopTen. Basically, on Wednesdays, I'll post a random list of Top 10 of something, and hopefully you'll all share yours also! 


This week, I'm doing desserts, because they're everywhere right now from the Valentine's day surge in all things sweet. Anyone else enjoy the post-holiday sales?

Okay, here are my top 10 desserts, in no particular order:

♥ Cheesecake (Especially Turtle) ♥

♥ Double Dark Chocolate Cake ♥

♥ Cherry Pie ♥

♥ Lemon Meringue ♥

♥ Root Beer Float ♥

♥ Chocolate Chip Cookies ♥

♥ No Bake Cookies ♥

♥ Molasses Cookies ♥

♥ Ice Cream (Caramel Swirl, Chocolate, Vanilla, or Mint Chocolate Chip) ♥

♥ Fruit Bowl with Yogurt or Fruit Dip ♥

What are your favorite desserts? Do you like any of the ones on my list? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for visiting!

Monday, February 14, 2022

Is Valentine's Day Worth the Hype?

 Hiya peeps. I want to talk about Valentine's Day, and my thoughts on it. Touted as "the day of love and romance" by many in the modern world, it's a day that is stereotypical for women being spoiled by their partners, proposed to, and basically a day men are socially obligated to be romantic.

Where did this random "holiday" begin, though? Knowing the roots of something is important for actually understanding what it is we are doing, and why. Did you know it's likely based on a Catholic saint? The History Channel website did a fantastic article on it, and while you can read the whole thing here, I'm going to sum it up real quick.

"The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Still others insist that it was Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, who was the true namesake of the holiday. He, too, was beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome."

So, maybe it was a Catholic bishop that we remember for his sacrifice and dedication to love. Or, maybe it is yet another pagan tradition the Catholic Church cross-washed and adapted. The theory on that is slightly morbid, so if you're squeamish about blood, you may want to skip the next couple of paragraphs.

"While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial—which probably occurred around A.D. 270—others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”—at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance. The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine’s Day as a day of romantic celebration in his 1375 poem “Parliament of Foules,” writing, ““For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.”"

 

Whichever is the true root of Valentine's day, it is clear the traditions are steeped in love and fertility. Being at the beginning of spring, it's a natural time for warming up and getting cozy with a loved one. Thanks to the juggernaut that is American commercialization and marketing, it's far more about men spoiling their women with gifts, flowers, chocolates, and favors to prove their devotion and love. If a man doesn't submit to this cultural expectation, he is often seen as unloving, and as time goes on, more and more women are being expected to reciprocate. For many, it is an important day in expressing feelings, and they take it very seriously.

Has this day become so superficial that it's lost the original intent of honoring true love? There is an argument to be said about it allowing couples to be lazy about their relationship. Gifts are given at Christmas, and many complain that they get no attention until the middle of February when it's "time" for romance and love. Shouldn't we be celebrating our love all year round? 

On the other hand, isn't it wonderful there is a day dedicated to nothing but love? It's simplified the desire to show the one you love that you do, and often material items can be given easier than at other times of the year. Having a day just for love gives couples a wonderful addition to their personal days of celebration, which for many can end up being helpful during cold months in the northern hemisphere. 

On the other other hand, it can be ridiculously depressing for people fresh off a breakup, recently widowed/widowered, or perpetually single to see so much love everywhere. The suicide rates in areas with large celebrations this time of year goes up quite a bit, as well as ER visits and mental hospital patients checking in. When you're dealing with pain associated with love, it can be difficult to see so much happiness, and make it more difficult than normal to heal and move on. Many become hermits for weeks in the beginning of February and trudge through the days waiting for it to be over.

Whichever side you stand on the Valentine's celebration, chances are it has shifted with time and likely will again. With this day of love and romance, remember you're blessed if you have someone to celebrate with, and it isn't about the gifts. Love is the reason, always be grateful. If you're hurting, please hang in there, it *does* get better. Reach out if you need comfort, and don't let the pain get to be too much. Love isn't just romance, and someone out there cares about you. 

Wishing anyone who reads this a Happy Valentine's Day, and lots of love. No matter who you are, Jesus loves you.

Thank you for reading! How are you spending Valentine's day? Comment below with your thoughts or traditions!


Saturday, January 4, 2020

Hiya

Wowza. I didn't write any blog posts here in 2019. Not one.

Last year was so busy, I just spaced this blog completely. I thought about it on and off, but didn't make the time for it. Kinda miss this blog tbh.

See, I've spent so much time with the pet shop, any spare time I get I spend writing books. Blogging got pushed to the back-burner and hasn't really been pulled forward again.

I don't know if it will this year. I'd like to say it will, because in this moment as I write this, I have the desire to revive this blog and get back into it. I find therapy in writing and while writing books is awesome for that, it would be cool to write my personal stuff again too.

This post is mainly me remembering what it felt like to write for no other reason that for me. Feels really good.

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Off Days Suck

Off days suck, they really do. I don't mean days off - those can be great. I mean days where everything is just...off. You feel half a step (or a full step) out of sync with everything, and feel as though you keep tripping over your day. You want a re-start, so you can wake up in step with the day to come, and not feel beat up just for existing.


I had an off day yesterday, and it was awful. The little things like random stuff breaking, falling, actually tripping, and losing things that were right in front of me, tend to build up. They build up because I'm off inside. I'm unbalanced, and so my world becomes unbalanced.


The most difficult part, for me, about having a day like this, is stopping everything, and realizing it's me that's the issue. It's easy and tempting to blame everything else, especially when there are bigger things that end up being off as a result. That doesn't actually fix anything though, because the things happening around me when I'm unbalanced are simply side effects of the real issue, and fixing them won't make me balanced.


I tend to want to fix those little issues, and when I can't (because they aren't actually the issue) it becomes taxing. So, last night, after a full day of letting myself get beat up because I was unbalanced, I finally stopped, and refocused. I prayed, cleared out all the internal muck, and actually slept decently for the first time this week.


Today I can tell things want to be off balance, because the residual energy from me yesterday is still lingering around. I'm more balanced today though, and have a completely different energy, and it's fixing things around me. While I adore being able to fix me, and have that end up as a positive result around me, I still hate off days. It takes far longer to re-balance myself after having a funky day like yesterday, than it took to get in the funk in the first place.


What are some things you do in order to get re-balanced, and fix a funky off day? I'm always curious to hear how others handle things like that, so drop a comment and let me know! Maybe I can keep the funk from returning any time soon.




Sunday, September 2, 2018

Okay, Let's ReFocus, Shall We?

Hiya dudes! Happy September!!


Omg, I'm soooo thrilled it's finally September. I'm one of those weirdos who doesn't like Summer, at all. I hate being hot, I hate sweating, I burn super easily on my stupidly-sensitive uber-fair skin, and it sucks. I'll be lobster-red after 5 minutes in the sun, and if I don't freckle after I burn, it's amazing.


Seriously, blech. 

I'm a Winter girl, and Autumn is akin to Spring for me. Everything is finally cooling down, there are more clouds to protect me from the sun, and more rain which I absolutely adore. I can wear jackets and jeans again, have my hair down without passing out, and wear my super cute boots. So basically, September hits, and my mood skyrockets automatically.


This past Summer has been particularly difficult, and it's my own stupid fault. Since I was cooped up inside (hiding from the sun) with no working laptop for most of the Summer (thanks to technologies' hatred for me), and too much pain to sit at my pc for very long (thanks endo), I often had my phone to entertain me. What did I do? I joined a bunch of groups on FB. 


My logic: I'd love to connect with more people, and since this dinky little town has very few hobby groups I'm interested in, maybe I'll spend this Summer branching out more online, and try getting used to being social on social media! I mean, that's what it's for, right? Right??


Those smarter than me are either laughing, shaking their heads, or both.


Long story short, that's an epic failure of an experiment, I learned my lesson, and I'm pretty much done. Most groups are high school cliques at best, and people are shallow & irritating.


So, there we go. I'm going into September in a better mood because of the season change, and changing my mental outlook. I'm fixing my laptop, getting back to blogging and writing, and giving up a bit on being as active on "social" media.


I can't wait for the cooler weather, so I can kick my hobbies back into gear. I basically hibernate during the Summer instead of Winter, and now it's coming up on my time to be active and have fun. God's been leading me to do quite a bit lately, and I'm anxious to get started.


Is it too soon to play Christmas music? Maybe? Nah, of course not. ;)





Sunday, July 22, 2018

July Update!

Hiya peeps! Wanted to share an update, since it's now coming up on the end of July. 


Where does time go? Only bad thing about being this busy, is losing time. I need to get an old school organizer to keep me on track with all my different projects.


But! I plan (hope, dream, wish, want) to keep up with this blog more, because I really do love having this outlet. I wanted to share some exciting news with you guys! 


So, PetCo was having a 50% off sale on all their reptiles this weekend, and we couldn't resist. While we don't normally buy pets from them if we can help it, sometimes we just can't pass it up. We are addicted.


Meet my newest leopard geckos! They are both girls, and so darn cute!


This one has a perfect circle on her back, and it's just perfect! So darn cute.


We also picked up some panther chameleons, however chams tend to get stressed when they are first moved, so we are giving them a week or so before we bombard them with cameras and fuss over them too much. Pictures of them to come later, so stay tuned!


Other than that, we are keeping super busy, as I mentioned. God is blessing us so much, in many different areas, and I'm just thrilled to see where He's taking our lives. 


It's been a hot Summer so far, and our house is in the 80s usually, as swamp coolers usually cool the area down about 20 degrees from outside, and it's been in the 100s. It's hot. Very, very hot.


We've been getting a bunch done though, and still kicking butt!

What have you been up do this Summer? Drop a comment and let me know!


Also, do you enjoy seeing posts about my pets? I'd love to do a series showing them all, but only if you guys want to see them. Let me know in the comments! :D


Thanks a bunch for visiting! Have a fantastic day, be nice to someone for no reason, and kick some butt this week!

Ciao for now,

~Rose



Saturday, May 19, 2018

Hello, Happy May!

Hiya dudes! How's your May going? Mine so far, is hot. Very, very hot.


So, if you haven't noticed, I took a couple weeks off from blogging. The posts in April zapped my brain, and I've loved recharging over the last few weeks. That, and my animal rescues and biz/store are going nuts.


For those who don't know, I run a guinea pig rescue/cavie family growth program, Rosie's Guinea Pig Oasis, as well as a small-pets rescue. I've taken in quite a few furry little critters lately, and I love it! I also co-run Desert Rat Exotics, where we rescue reptiles and exotic pets, in conjunction with Rosie's Guinea Pig Oasis. It's a lot of work, but it's awesome.


We're growing everything up and getting our spaces more organized, so caring for the animals doesn't take up quite so much of our time. That's my biggest priority at the moment though, aside from writing and my blogs.


I've also started up another project I don't quite have the guts to share yet, and am in the process of starting up another one. Good grief, when I type it all out, I'm busy a.f.! haha


Anywho, I hope you lovely people are having a fantastic May, and the end of school/start of Summer stuff is going smoothly.


Much love to you all! Thanks for visiting! =D


Ciao for now,

~Rose