Life Simple

October Issue

Rose Shackleford

“What Do You Think

Someone Else Thinks?”

October 2010

In This Issue:

Letter From B

30 Days to Organize &

Prioritize

Community News

Kielbasa Soup Recipe

How to Make a Fall

Wreath

Rose Shackleford

Photo of the Month

Submit your announcements to Life Simple by sending an email to

lsmagonline@yahoo.com.

October 1, 2010

Dear Life Simple Subscriber:

Yes! Life Simple is back and better than ever!!! I would like to thank everyone for your

kind words and patience as I worked to get a new computer. I named him (my computer)

“Ramon” . Special thanks to my hubby, Travis, who worked hard to buy me “Ramon” so that I

could get back to work. While Life Simple was on vacation, I was able to complete quite a few

projects. Check this out!!!

1. My first cd of poetry “Poetic Pearls” will release this month. For more info visit my

website at www.bmackwrites.com.

2. GO Ministries has established a new home in Albany, GA. We have settled in are doing

great!

3. GO Ministries is proud to announce the success of our latest stage play “When Good

Ain’t Good Enough. With two performances in Albany and Americus GA, a combined

total of 750 people in attendance and nearly 200 people coming to the altar for prayer

and deliverance.

In this month’s issue, you will find lots of interesting articles on ways you can improve

your quality of living spiritually, financially and mentally. I pray that Life Simple continues to

bless each and every reader and I am always open to thoughts, ideas or suggestions. If you have

an article, photo of the month or comment, please email them to me at

lsmagonline@yahoo.com.

Much Love and Many Blessings!

30 Days to Organize & Prioritize

Cleaning Supplies

Sharpie

Manila Folders

Storage Containers (Style, size and quantity depends on your budget)

Shredder (the safest way to discard documents that show personal

information)

Garbage bags (for your trash while purging)

Boxes (to hold items for you plan to donate)

Tip One: Just focus on cleaning your home as usual because cleaning a mess on top of a mess will only add unneeded stress!

Tip Two: Purge: Sort, Shred and File away your bills, mail, important documents, kid’s school papers.

Determining how long to keep documents depends on whether or not they are tax related. Go through

your checks each year and keep those related to your taxes, business expenses, home improvements

and mortgage payments.

• Tax Returns Seven Years

• Bank Statements From One Year to Permanently

• Paid Bills: One Year

• W-2 Forms Seven Years

• Paycheck Stubs: One Year

• Retirement Doc: From One Year to Permanently

• Investment Doc: From One Year to Permanently SOURCE: www.bankrate.com

Tip Three: How often should you mop, sweep and vacuum?

It would be wonderful to all of these daily but unless you have a housekeeper and nothing but time on

your hand’s it’s probably not likely. Getting organized developing a cleaning schedule can help alleviate

your fears of dirt build up.

Mop: Twice Weekly

Vacuum: Every other day

Sweep: Daily

OCTOBER 30 DAYS TO ORGANIZE AND PRIORITIZE!!!

TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO IT RIGHT! (F EE L FR EE TO ADJU ST T HE CAL E NDAR AS

NEED ED)

1 CLEAN

YOUR HOME USING

NORMAL CLEANING

ROUTINE

2 SPEND THE

WEEKEND CATCHING

UP ON LAUNDRY &

CLEANING

3 REST AND

ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH

GOD

4 KITCHEN DUTY JUNK DRAWER SCOUR OVEN TOP CLEAN OVEN

5 KITCHEN DUTY CLEAN CABINETS ORGANIZE DISHES, POTS, PANS AND UTENSILS

6 KITCHEN DUTY

CLEAN REFRIGERATOR MOP

7 LIVING ROOM VACUUM CARPET/CLEAN COUCH CUSHIONS, BLINDS, DUST

8 BATHROOMS

CLEAN, SCRUB,

SCOUR, MOP, ORGANIZE TOWELS,

TOILETRIES AND CABINETS

9 MAINTAIN A CLEAN HOME

10 REST AND

ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH

GOD

11

CLEAN CLOSET #1

PURGE

DONATE AS NEEDED

12

CLEAN CLOSET #2

PURGE

DONATE AS NEEDED

13

CLEAN CLOSET #3

PURGE

DONATE AS NEEDED

14 CLEAN CLOSET #4

PURGE

DONATE AS NEEDED

15 CLEAN CLOSET #5

PURGE

DONATE AS NEEDED

16 MAINTAIN A

CLEAN HOME

DROP OFF YOUR

DONATIONS

17 REST AND

ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH

GOD

18 PURGE AND

SORT HOUSEHOLD

BILLS AND DOCUMENTS

19

PURGE AND SORT

HOUSEHOLD BILLS AND

DOCUMENTS

20

TYPE AND LABEL FILE, STORAGE

BOXES AND FILING CABINETS

21

FILE BILLS,

IMPORTANT DOCS, MAIL,

SCHOOL PAPERS

22 FILE

BILLS, IMPORTANT DOCS, MAIL,

SCHOOL PAPERS

23 MAINTAIN A

CLEAN HOME

24 REST AND

ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH

GOD

25 CLEAN AREAS OVERLOOKED

LIGHT FIXTURES,

WALLS, DOOR HANDLES ETC

26 CLEAN YOUR

BASEBOARDS

27

HAVE YOUR CARPETS

PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED

28 CREATE A

CLEANING A SCHEDULE FOR

YOUR FAMILY

28 IMPLEMENT

NEW CLEANING

SYSTEM!

29 MAINTAIN A

CLEAN HOME

30 REST AND

ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH

GOD

B’s

Read

to

Recommend

This book has already been a tremendous blessing for so many women. I was

truly inspired by Stormie Omartia’s frank yet biblically sound words of wisdom. I

highly recommend this book to any woman who desires to be a strong woman

of virtue for herself, her husband and family.

Advertise Here!!!

When Good Ain’t Good Enough

Special thanks to everyone

who supported GO Ministries

as we ministered our stage

play “When Good Ain’t Good

Enough”.

It was a blessed

success!

Fall Craft Ideas I am constantly looking for ways to improve my home while staying in budget. I am exceptionally fragile

so paying $40 for a door wreath was out of the question. By purchasing my own supplies and using

coupons from Hobby Lobby, I was able to make an Autumn wreath at a fraction of the price. With the

help of my hubby and kids, this Saturday project was not only fun but it provided a warm invitation for

our guests!

I love Chadwicks. Check out some of their Fall Fashions!

Kid Creative

Color this page and mail to

Life Simple

P.O. Box 2424

Albany, GA 31702

To Receive a Prize!

Did YOU Know?

An adult with poor literacy skills earns

about $550 less per week than an adult

with excellent literacy skills. (Literacy in the

Labor Force: Results from the National

Adult Literacy Survey, National Center for

Education Statistics, U.S. Department of

Education, 1999

Word of the Month

per·spi·ca·cious

adj \ˌpər-spə-ˈkā-shəs\

Definition of PERSPICACIOUS: of

acute mental vision or discernment

: KEEN

— per·spi·ca·cious·ly adverb — per·spi·ca·cious·ness noun — per·spi·cac·i·ty\-ˈka-sə-tē\ noun

Origin of PERSPICACIOUS

Latin perspicac-, perspicax, from perspicere First Known Use: 1640

What do you think someone else thinks?

I love hearing Judge Judy chastise her litigates

on her show. “Don’t tell me what she thinks, that would

require you to have the operation of her mind!” How

many of us actually take heed to her statement? I would

probably say, not many.

As humans, and especially women, we can

fabricate the best stories ever about what someone else

thinks. It’s human nature. I do it, my kids do it, and

many of the women I hang out with do it in some form

or fashion. I’m trying to do better, and I have, but

sometimes life throws a curve ball that makes

everything you’re working toward fall short.

I just went through an emotional and burdensome three weeks speculating on what I

thought another woman thought of me. Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, I am

not able to divulge that information; however, I have a story that is just as good that

demonstrates how important it is not to speculate on what someone else thinks.

Kurt and Jesse have been married for eight years, and they have two children. He works

in the entertainment industry and she works in real estate. They hired a nanny, Yollie, also

known as Yo-yo, to take care of their children. Yo-yo bonded with the children immediately.

Over the months, she became part of the family. Then the economy caused a slowdown in Kurt’s

entertainment business and Jesse’s real estate sales which caused cut backs within Kurt and

Jesse’s household. Yo-yo’s hour were cut in half, as was her pay.

The problems began. Yo-yo wanted to enroll in college; her hours had been cut so she

now had the time. She also started working for another neighbor part-time. Kurt and Jesse

weren’t happy. They wanted her to be available whenever they needed her. I understood both

sides of the story.

Yo-yo lived with Kurt and Jesse. She was their employee. But Yo-yo needed money to

cover her bills. It was a tough situation for everyone involved. Soon enough, there was so much

conflict and animosity in the house that Yo-yo packed her stuff and left. She didn’t say goodbye

to anyone.

Jesse was crushed and furious. Yo-yo had been with the family for almost two years and

now, in the blink of an eye, she was gone. Their oldest son was devastated, confused, and missed

his Yo-yo. No explanation could be given.

Fast forward a year. I went to visit Kurt and Jesse for the weekend. Her frustration level

was still high. Her mind consumed with trying to figure out what happened; accusing Yo-yo of

being an insensitive person. Then Jesse started telling me how she thinks Yo-yo feels about all

that transpired. “She has got to feel so guilty. What she did has to be eating her alive. If I was

her, I wouldn’t want that on my mind. In ten years, if she hasn’t apologized, she is so going to

regret it. Yo-yo doesn’t know where we’ll be in ten years.” Jesse continues ranting and raving,

obviously still bitter over the incident. “The internet is vast. She’ll find you if she looks hard

enough,” I chime in nicely. “You never know, Yo-yo may feel just the opposite. Maybe in her

mind, you caused her to leave. Maybe she felt as though she had no choice but to leave; you

know, with everyone’s emotions in full swing.” All I could think about was how Judge Judy

would be tearing her apart. But I knew that just as Jesse had conjured up her side of the story,

Yo-yo was probably doing the same exact thing.

Jesse looked at me funny, almost a “how

dare you”. “It’s frustrating that she lives

right up the street with another family. To

see her with the baby irritates me because

she should still be here with us. And for her

not to take that first step and apologize ticks

me off,” Jesse continues on, as if all I had

said went in one ear and out the other. “Why

don’t you just call her or go see her?” I ask

point blank. “Are you crazy?” Jesse barked.

“I will not stop to see her. Besides I don’t

even know her new number!” Jesse

answered me as if I am really crazy.

I replied, “I just can’t understand why you

don’t want to be the bigger person. She may

feel as though she can’t come to you

because of the way she left. I don’t see what

the big deal is. This has been eating at you

for over a year now, but yet you don’t want

to do anything to move past the past.” We

continued chatting the night away. I felt as

though a lot of what I had said went in one

ear and out the other. Like all my positive

statements and recommendations were done

in vain. Three days later, Jesse called me.

“Rose, you are never going to believe what I

did!” she exclaimed.

“What?” I said with excitement. It had to be good because she sounded wound up. “I

was on my way back from the store when I saw Yo-yo getting the baby buckled into her car seat.

She didn’t see me when I passed by, but everything that you said came rushing at me. So I turned

my car around, got out, and said Hi. She looked terrified, but then I told her I was stopping by

just to see how she was doing. She said fine and then started spewing out apologies. She said she

didn’t think she could ever contact us again because of the way she left. Can you believe this?”

I sat there stunned and happy. The mind is so very powerful. These two women in their

own minds created conclusions of what the other one felt. Both were completely wrong and

without Jesse making contact with her, their minds would have probably endured negative

thoughts about the circumstances forever. She continued, “Yo-yo thought that I hated her. She

thought that I’d beat her up if she ever came to the house to see the kids. Isn’t that crazy? I never

wanted to beat her up!”

Jesse continues, feeling fantastic yet oblivious to how the mind operated negatively on

both of them. She’s coming by to see the kids later on. I’m so happy. This is so exciting. I just

want her to know that she will always be welcome to our house. The kids will always remember

Yo-yo. Oh, and I also want you to know that I thought you were crazy for even suggesting that I

go talk to her, but I’m glad you did. We have Yo-yo back in our lives!” We carried on in our

conversation for a couple more minutes, rejoicing about the outcome. Then we said our

goodbyes. Amazing story, isn’t it? That’s a living reality for many of us…me included for three

miserable weeks! When I met with my friend and spilled my feelings out, guess what, my

speculations were completely wrong. The weight was lifted instantaneously, and I was so glad I

approached this woman face-to-face and with love, despite my pain from my surmised beliefs.

Given this information, it is yours to do what you will.

1 Pkg Kielbasa Sausage

Hunts Diced Tomato

Yellow Onion

Green Onion

Potato (Diced)

Parsley

Salt/Pepper

Prepare Kielbasa sausage as directed on package and then slice into ½ inch

round slices and place in. Add potatoes and tomatoes to sausage and cook on

medium heat for 20 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook on medium heat.

Salt and Pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 10 minutes and serve!

Cheddar Bacon Cornbread

Jiffy Cornbread

Shredded Cheese

Bacon (Precooked and Crumbled)

Prepare Jiffy Cornbread as directed on the box. Add Cheese and bacon to the

mixture. Pour into muffin pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Know Your Food

According to Dr. Andrew Weil (www.drweil.com), reusing cooking oil can be

harmful to your health. Read Dr. Andrew’s statement from his website below:

I wouldn't recommend reusing cooking

oils or eating foods cooked in oils that

have been reheated, whether you're

dining at home or in restaurants. A

recent study found that a toxin called 4-

hydroxy-trans-2-nonenal (HNE) forms

when such oils as canola, corn, soybean

and sunflower oils are reheated.

Consumption of foods containing HNE

from cooking oils has been associated

with increased risks of cardiovascular

disease, stroke, Parkinson's disease,

Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's

disease, various liver disorders, and

cancer. Once absorbed in the body, HNE

reacts with DNA, RNA and proteins

affecting basic cellular processes.

We’ve Got To

Do Better!

Ladies, pu-lease stop

going out in public

wearing a head rag, flip

flops complimented with

ashy feet and a “supposed

to be white but not quite”

t-shirt. Furthermore stop

eyeing your man every

time a pretty lady passes

by. Sometimes your

insecurities are your own

fault!

Like What You’ve Seen So Far?

Join our Mailing List. Subscription

is Free!!!

Send an email to

lsmagonline@yahoo.com

Poetic Pearls Coming this November 13, 2010

Poetic Pearls is Bridgett Mack’s first

CD of poetry. Get your inspirational cd

today!

www.bmackwrites.com

I took this picture while flying to New York earlier this year. The

clouds were extremely beautiful and soothed my flight jitters.

(BMackWrites)

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I Don’t Strive to Be Rich.

~I Strive to Live Blessed~

A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

Psalms 31:16