Home Is My Happy Spot

Reasons People Join Facebook Why did you originally join Facebook? Theoretically, Facebook provides a platform to remain in contact with friends and family both far and near. You always know what your besties are doing. You keep up-to-date on family news. You watch where life takes your old classmates. You stay connected to co-workers, even if you change jobs. If you move away from your hometown, you can still stay in touch with the people you've known all your life. When you share your own news, you have a large support network to cheer you on. In reality, Facebook is the Diet Coke of social engagement.  You can have 3,000 friends but remain completely isolated.  People might comment on your posts, but most forget all about you once they hit like .  In this sense, Facebook is really unsocial media. You have a core group of friends and family who use Facebook to stay close to you, but they are a small percentage of your total friend count.  The ones who truly care a...

State Departments of Education Drafting Fall Protocols for Schools When school resumes in the Fall, do you want your kids wearing masks all day in class? If you answered "yes," this post is not for you.  Move on.  This post is for patriots who understand the mandating of masks is a tyrannical move that violates our freedom. Many state departments of education are in the process of drafting return-to-school protocols, where mandatory mask-wearing will be required for teachers, faculty, and students.  Since nothing is written in stone, especially as we wait to see how re-opening the country will unfold, now is the time to speak up in protest. This is so wrong!  (Getty Images) Here's How You Can Take Action Against Mandatory Student Mask-Wearing There are a few things you can do to make your voice heard: Local districts may be granted flexibility from your state, so contact your superintendents and school board members .  Simply Google "(Name o...

Some Parents Are Idiots The days are warmer, and everyone is spending more time outdoors.  That includes the neighbor kids, who may have developed the bad habit of extending their boundaries into your yard and personal space. The real culprits here are the parents.  Common sense should guide parents to remind their kids where the invisible boundaries are between houses, but this overly narcissistic generation shows little regard for anyone but themselves. If you try to be pleasant and cordial with your neighbors for the sake of getting along, this may be misconstrued as a welcome invitation to invade your personal space at will. A "kid person" loves interacting with the neighborhood children and doesn't regard them dotting the lawn as an invasive species. Others are only "kid people" with their own kids and don't appreciate uninvited company. Thoughtless parents with no respect of your privacy or personal property put you in a pickle.  They ...

Americans are a busy people.  We have places to go, things to do, and people to see. The Coronavirus has brought all of that to a screeching halt. We can dwell on what we're missing out on, or we can seek a silver lining. The Bible says in Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. That's good news!  Even when bad things happen, God can make something good come out of it! While we shouldn't minimize the brevity of a global pandemic and its fallout--sickness, economic hardship, finding childcare with schools closed, and foraging for toilet paper--we can find creative ways to make the best of a bad situation. People Get a Taste of What Socialism is Like Grocery lists are now wish lists. Items we take for granted to always be on the shelves are missing.  Bread, canned fruit, rice, beans, eggs, meat--all of the necessary staples--are gone or in minimal quantit...

Birthday Parties Were Once Rare When did it become the new normal for parents to plan big birthday bashes for their kids, costing hundreds of dollars each year? Growing up in the 1980's, it was a rare thing for someone to have a birthday party.  For those lucky few who did, it was a casually thrown-together affair at their homes, consisting of chips and cake.  Seldom was anything epic like pizza served.  Guests brought small token gifts, never exceeding five dollars.  Extravagant parents hosted parties at McDonald's, long before play equipment was even installed. We didn't realize how rough we had it--because we didn't. Birthday Parties Are Now Entitlements Today, parents shower their kids with birthday parties on a yearly basis, starting at age one when the parties won't even be remembered. Is it about celebrating their children or competing with other parents? It certainly seems like parents are trying to out-do each other, as if their...

Few people crave soup during the summer months, but a steaming bowl in winter is comforting and warms you from head to toe. It can be a challenge to find a delicious soup recipe that isn't complicated, requires simple ingredients, and can come together in a snap.  Here are four you will want to try. 1.  Chicken Noodle Soup There have been countless spins on this homemade classic, but it's a soup that tastes best when you take a "less is more" approach.  You won't find any fancy ingredients or spices in this one, and its simplicity is what makes it traditional and delicious! Image:  Mine Ingredients  Servings: 6 3-4 chicken thighs, boiled, separated from bone, and shredded 3 medium carrots, sliced 1 stick celery, diced 1 small onion, diced 3 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth 1 teaspoon chicken base 1 teaspoon parsley 8 oz. uncooked egg noodles Directions Place chicken thighs in soup pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  C...