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Recipe Review-Strawberry Spinach Salad

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I came across a photo of a strawberry spinach salad on Pinterest. After looking at the beautiful salad, I decided to make my own to enjoy. I wanted to modify the existing recipe, so I searched for a strawberry spinach chicken salad recipe on Google to see what I could find.  I decided to take a look at several recipes to see the salad ingredients to decide how I wanted to make my very good salad. I looked at the star rating of each salad, and if it ranked four or five out of five, I would read the recipe. First off, you will need baby spinach. I like to get fresh spinach that is bagged and usually pre-washed. Next, I decided to use a red onion. Several different kinds of cheese were mentioned in the recipe. Feta cheese, goat cheese, and blue cheese were mentioned as options. You have several chicken options. I am going to go with the feta cheese. You can use leftover chicken, bake chicken just for this recipe using chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins or, as in my case, use rotisseri
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Journal Prompt-Do Your Believe in Karma

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 Journal Prompt Do You Believe In Karma? First off, what is karma? I found this definition of karma in an online dictionary. Karma is "destiny or fate, following as effect from cause. " Another meaning in the  Cambridge Dictionary is "a situation in which things happen to someone as a result of their previous actions, or the force that makes this happen." Here is another quote ...Hindus believe in karma, meaning they will answer for their actions - if not in this life, then in the next. Here is how I feel about karma... As a child, I may have believed in some form of karma. I knew that there were consequences to all actions, and thus, there must be consequences for wrongdoing. I thought negative karma should be the outcome for all wrongdoers and that all "good" people should have a life with only positive karma. After living for over 60 years, I have found that unrealistic and untrue as much as I wished the opposite. I think, in some ways, people receive p
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Stress Relief-Flowers and Stress Relief. Feeling Stressed? Enjoy the Flowers

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 I do love flowers. I have spent much time at Garden Centers and Parks taking photos of flowers. I find it very relaxing to immerse myself in the environment of the flower gardens. I think I found peace among the beautiful plants, and in that, some of the stress in my life was relieved.  I found this quote on Stress To Strength that says-  "A major study at Harvard University indicates that flowers are a natural stress reliever." Here is another statement about flowers and stress relief that I found on Ellison Chair .  Having flowers around the home and office greatly improves people's moods and reduces the likelihood of stress-related depression. Flowers and ornamental plants increase positive energy levels and help people feel secure and relaxed. How can we incorporate flowers into our lives?   Visit Local Gardens: One place I loved to take flower photos was Duke Gardens in Durham, NC. There is nothing nicer than taking a stroll through the lovely and well-landscaped g
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Travel North Carolina-Why Are There Christmas Trees All Over the Beach?

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 A couple of weeks ago, I found myself at the beach.  It was a nice cool day as I walked along the shoreline. The water was beautiful, and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day.  I did have one question, though.  What are all these Christmas trees doing on the beach? Mixed in with the white sand were Christmas trees partially covered by the sand.   They have been putting recycled Christmas Trees on the beaches of North Carolina for more than 70 years, according to an article on wbtw news.  There is a great reason for this...it is a great way to combat beach erosion.  Here is what a local park ranger said about this process... “The sand starts collecting around the trees, it slowly starts to build up. Once that happens, other kinds of plants that normally stabilize the dune start to fill in things like sea oats and things like that,” park ranger Benjamin Fleming said. “Once that happens, it kind of helps build the beach up further and further out, protecting the beach as a whole.”
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Monthly Motivation-What is in Your Hope Chest

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Interestingly, there are times in our lives when we have it all figured out. We know what we need and are confident that our hopes are the right ones and in line with God's will for our lives. As far as we can see at the moment, these self-proclaimed hopes will never change. But guess what?  They can change. Our situations, experiences, joys, and pains may lead us to other hopes and dreams.  A  A dear friend of mine had a hope chest. We were teens, and I remember her chest filled with sheets, towels, tablecloths, and other household items leading up to her envisioned and hoped-for marriage. Her hopes sounded perfect to me. I now wanted a hope chest because I dreamed of marriage, a lovely home, happy kids, and endless friends.  What would I have put in my hope chest in my teen years? I would have put things in the chest for my home. I also had non-physical hopes, such as the hope of a loving husband who would love me forever, children that would fill the house with joy and laughter,
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Want to have fun in North Carolina this March? Here are a few events that are coming up.

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  I am always looking for fun things to do in the area.  I thought I would take it a bit further and see what events are occurring in North Carolina in a specific month.  Let's take a look a just a few things happening in March in, NC that you may enjoy. I live in the Raleigh/Durham area, so I looked for exciting events to attend in March that are easily within driving distance.  I would love to attend them all! Things to do in March  in the Triangle Area The Links to Each Event... (Be sure and verify event times and locations before attending.   You may need a ticket depending on the event) Top Chef 5-Course Dinner and Cocktail  Pairings  March 7 in Raleigh, NC Art in Bloom March 15-19 in Raleigh NC Jurassic Encounter is March 15-19 in Raleigh NC Paddy of the Green St Patricks Day Festival  March 18th in Raleigh Wine Down Wednesday , March 15th, in Apex, NC A Few Things to do In NC that are not so local to the Triangle Area. The Viking Experience March 25-26 in Stem NC Low Tide
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  Here are a few books that caught my eye that will be released in February 2023. Here is my YouTube version...   1-Someone Elses Shoes Fiction, Romance, Adult by JoJo Moyes Release Date Feb 2, 2023 Good Reads gave it 4.16 stars Overview From GoodReads Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes? Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope--she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in. That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag--she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that th
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