Welcome to My Blog Stop!, a freestyle home business and personal blog, curating advice, tips, and information for work at home professionals; and blogging about general subjects of interest, art, entertainment, views and opinions, society and culture, etc. This website complements and supplements multiple WAHM projects grouped together as Cmoneyspinner's Home Business Projects on Facebook. Thanks for visiting!
Alexander the Great, a historical figure that many people like to write or talk about. Name written in history or not, every human being is just an A-O-P (“another ordinary person.”) Most ordinary people and extraordinary people usually want the same thing. To be happy. Do you wonder sometimes if Alexander thought he great?
Here is what you see when you look up close at this son of a king.
He was a teenager when he started out on the path wherein he was determined to become a memorable military and political leader, whom generals even to this day study to improve their leadership skills and abilities.
Eh! Not really. His dad didn’t like him and wanted to get him out of his face, so he sent him away to fight! No matter who you are, if one or both of your parents don’t like you, that messes with your head!
He was dead by the time he reached his early 30s.
There are different stories about his death, but if you ask me, I say his mind and body just burned out!
When you look at him up close, you may be moved to think, ‘How awful!!’
There are different stories about how he died, but how he lived wasn’t really all that great either!
By contrast to my own life.
At age 16, I was just figuring out who I was and what I wanted to be. 1972 marked the year I graduated from high school and my first year at the University of Miami. Also, my beloved father passed away. He was taken away from me, but he never sent me away from him.
By the time I was in my 30s, I had been happily married to the man of my dreams, with kids, for about a decade. Seems to me like Alexander the Great had a sad life and didn’t do much living at all! After 15 years of nothing but fighting and killing, maybe he was thinking: ‘This is my life? What’s so great about it?’
Found this cool blog and simply must let others know about it. Here there are 10 random curiosities about one of the most delicious things in the world: chocolate!Beginning with the Aztecs ...
** This is such a cool blog, even though the posts archives stop in 2016. If you think the chocolate post is cool, you should read the one about The World's Most Expensive Ice Cream!
* *
It's the Easter season. That time of the year when ... the Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs are found in all the stores. I love those treats! ♥
Fascinating Facts Recorded in Food History: "With the rise of Christianity in Western Europe, the church adapted many pagan customs and the egg, as a symbol of new life, came to represent the Resurrection. Some Christians regarded the egg as a symbol for the stone being rolled from the sepulchre." (Source: How the Cadbury Easter Eggs Became a Tradition
Once stayed in a temporary residence when my family was being relocated from one state to another. We stayed in this house for a few months until we found our permanent home. What a memory! This house was right out a dream home magazine. My favorite room in this house was the office/library. Public libraries have always been one of my favorite places. But I had never lived in a house that was big enough to have my own personal library where I could retreat to and shut off the rest of the world.
If you had your personal library, what kinds of books would be on your bookshelves? Here are some of the books you might find in my library.
♦ Picture Books for Children (or for grown-ups who never grow up)
"The Eagles Are Back" : Jean Craighead George tells the story of how the American bald eagle was saved from extinction.
"Annie and the Old One" : Written by Miska Miles. It is an introduction to the customs and traditions of the Navajo people and touches upon a very sensitive subject for children: explaining the death of a loved one.
"The Emperor and the Kite": Jane Yolen tells the tale of a young child who saved a kingdom all because she knew how to fly a kite. So the next time someone says to you "Go fly a kite!", just imagine yourself on a secret mission saving an empire.
♦ Hot and exciting reads. Suspense Thrillers or Romance.
FC Etier Writes Political Thrillers : "The Tourist Killer" was FC Etier's first novel; followed up by "The Presidents Club". Two novels written for those who enjoy a web of conspiracy and intrigue with lots of political overtones.
Two Thrillers and One Romance : Just the titles of these books should tempt you. "Power Of Persuasion"; "Trusting Evil"; and "All the Beautiful Sinners". Which one do you think is the romance? :)
Irresistible Historical Romance Novels : “A Rose in Winter” and “Shanna” ~ Both books authored by the late Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, the lady who pioneered the historical romance genre and should be credited with it being one of the most popular book genres, based on book sales in the USA.
The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence : History and mystery set in the ancient Roman empire, written to encourage children to learn history but adults will equally be fascinated.
It’s official! My kids have decided that their mother has lost all the marbles in her head. Why? K-drama television series. Very pleased with the business decision by Netflix to add such programs into their database. Even more pleased that many of the programs are available for viewing online free at various websites. Can’t explain my reactions. Grew up on American television. My husband got me started watching foreign films. Once my kids began subscribing to Netflix and other similar video streaming services noticed that some of them were into binge-watching. One particularly boring day at home decided to binge-watch a BBC mystery because BBC television mysteries are my favorite. From that point, binge-watching became my way of treating myself to a healthy dose of doing … The Nothing! You know. Those days when you just decide you have earned your “Goof Off All Day” reward and no serious work will be done on that day!
However, even when indulging myself in binge-watching, never lost sleep over a TV show; and certainly never really thought any series was worth watching more than once. Might watch a few particular episodes a few times more. But never the whole series!
Did I say BBC mysteries “are” my favorite? Sorry. Meant to say “were”.
Huh?? Duh??!! That was how my children reacted. – (???) What could possibly make mom choose an alternative for the BBC? Answer. Those silly cute adorable Korean drama television series that have incredibly simple yet intricate, seemingly never-ending storylines with each episode, that leave with the thought”: ‘Gotta find out how this ends!!’
My first taste of K-drama was a movie called “Commitment”. It was intense!!
Then my husband found a more light-hearted TV series called “Tamra the Island” It’s a romantic dramedy (drama and comedy blend) that was “Inspired by the real story of a Dutch explorer, a young Englishman discovers Kdrama in the 17th century Joseon Era”. (Quote source: dramafever) One of the main characters was played by this tall handsome guy with the “skinny little body” whose name in the series was Park Gue, whose real name is Im Ju Hwan. I was impressed with him so search for more programs where he was playing a character.
My research indicated that Hwan (Park Gue) had made an appearance in this show. Started watching the program only looking for him. Got stuck on it!! Got so stuck one night and didn’t go to sleep until about 4:30 in the morning!! Hwan did make an extremely brief appearance, after about 20 episodes. Talk about an Easter egg hunt! Anyway … glad someone realized this young man’s acting abilities and gave him the lead role in “Tamra the Island”. Disappointed at only catching a tiny glimpse of Hwan in this TV show. However, my decision to view the entire series was filed under “Happy R&R Time Well Spent”. Took me a few days to finish all the episodes. Will say no more because people hate spoilers. But if you like romantic dramedy, you’ll like “Boys Over Flowers”. Wonderful love story. It’s so cute!!
I signed up for Medium over 5 years ago. My main reason for creating an account was because Medium is one of the few sites that allows republished content. YAHOO Voices used to allow it but they shut down. The difference between YAHOO Voices and Medium was that with YCN (YAHOO Contributors Network) you could earn $5 for every 1000 unique views. It was an income stream and then it wasn't!
However, even though Medium did not pay me for my content the fact that my other content from around the web could be republished made the platform worth its weight in gold. As time went by, the site owners set up a Partner Program, so that some of the contributors could earn income from their articles. Many writers have reported that earn good money for their content. I'm sorry but I don't have any bragging rights in that regard. But I'm OK with it. Because like I said the Medium platform offers a lot of other "extras" that are great for a struggling freelancer. One of those "extras" includes creating a Medium Publication. It's free to create your own publication. You can use it for your own articles and/or invite other writers to contribute. When I first started the publication it was just a way for me to organize all of my content. But now other writers are happy to contribute. I love publishing content by fellow writers. It a way of supporting them and it's a different "voice". I need a better way for readers to peruse my articles. My content dates back to 2014 and my profile shows over 300 articles. It's not so easy for a visitor to be scrolling and scrolling and scrolling down the profile page. But with a Medium Publication, the articles are neatly archived by Year. When you scroll down, at the bottom of the page for your Publication there is a link to the "Archive". Another plus, after you click on that link? The visitor will find the "Top Stories" published or rather the content that was the "Most Read" by visitors. Below are the Top 10 Stories published by Express Yourself! (publication started May 16, 2019) as of the beginning of March 2020. Feel free to peruse the yearly archives as well:
People are quick to read the Bible story and accuse Bathsheba of enticing King David to commit sin. However, reading the account one wonders why the woman is always to be blamed when it's about sex. This article presents a character study of Bathsheba.
Once upon a time, a blue bracelet from Bukan was born. Worst of all, it was baby blue. There were many others, and this was just another rubber baby blue bracelet from the batch. Well, maybe for you! But for me, a different story was about to unfold...
30 hours on an airplane with my four-year-old. I've recently achieved one of the greatest feats of my life. If there was an app that could track and rank "impossible human conquests" I'm sure this would be trending towards the top of the list.
How an ancient general saved Rome from complete devastation "Rome has grown since its humble beginnings that it is now overwhelmed by its own greatness." Rome has stood as an important city in the world for nearly 3000 years. The ancient city gave us multiple languages, ideas, history, arts, and beliefs that spread across the planet in some form or another.
p>Filling in the spaces The obituary my sister writes a year later would remind us that my father's last year was only one year within 73. His life stretched out in a jagged arc. She made it linear, if not a jumble of identity, way better than I can, so I show it intact, whole here.
"Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" (2016) is a Korean adaptation of a Chinese novel. Per quotes from Wikipedia: "Despite its ensemble cast, extensive publicity and US$13 million production budget, the series only averaged single-digit audience rating of 7.59% in South Korea, and was overshadowed by Love in the Moonlight (2016) .
I'm new to the adult world. It feels like I should still be in school, but suddenly I'm finding myself in the daily grind of a nine to five job just like everyone else. It was only a few short years...
Incredible! A light bulb just went off in my head. My husband at one time was studying psychology and I used to help him with his research. He took several courses but never completed his degree. (Personal reasons.)
Hello! How are you? My name is Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) and I am the editor of Express Yourself! I started contributing articles to Medium.com in 2014; republished and original content. This year, 2019, I made several bold moves. ✨ MOVE 1: I joined the Medium Partner Program .
So, I'm sure this makes me sound pretty flighty and just a touch crazy, but science is on my side here. Christina Hammond, MS, LMHC, from her article "What is decision fatigue?" put together an outline of this strange and 'made-up sounding' phenomenon.
In 1843, Texas political leaders and leaders of 10 Native American Indian nations signed a treaty of“peace, friendship, and commerce”, which allowed settlers to make their new homes in Grapevine, Texas. This city, which was named for its wild mustang grapes (Vitis Mustangensis), has been included on official lists published by CNN Money such as “America’s Best Places to Live” and “America’s Best Small Cities”. Probably the only two people who don’t think the City of Grapevine, Texas is a great place to visit or to live are the notorious bank-robbing duo known as Bonnie and Clyde. It’s where Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker breathed their last breath; May 23, 1934. They had it coming!
It survived both the Great Depression and the World Wars, as the oil business was the foundation of the town's economy. Corsicana is home to Collin Street Bakery and Wolf Brand Chili.
Moving forward, from 1956 to today, Corsicana has experienced steady growth. In 1985, Corsicana was designated as an official Texas Main Street City. The Texas Main Street Program is part of the Texas Historical Commission's Community Heritage Development Division. Current Mayor Chuck McClanahan, born and raised in Corsicana, is quoted as saying: "It's a New Day in Corsicana." He believes Corsicana offers the best of both worlds “ city-ease and country-style.
NOTE: This content was previously published at HUBPages.com; however my writer's profile was deleted. To view the archived copy of the article, click here.
Are you a newbie investor? Did you finally save up a little bit of money and you want to try to grow it? Did you think to yourself; 'If Warren buffet can do it, you can too!'? Investing in mutual funds is a good start to begin your investment journey, as opposed to investing in specific stocks.
DID YOU KNOW?
"More than 7,000 mutual funds trade in the United States alone, which is actually greater than the number of stocks traded domestically." (Quote Source)
"Many mutual funds are index funds (which are tied to a specific industry) so if you passionately believe in a certain sector of the market, there’s probably a mutual fund that’s made for you." (Quote Source)
In USA, you can start with a minimum initial investment of $500 and then build on that.
(NOTE: This is NOT professional financial advice. These re just notes I gathered because I am interested in learning more.)
Can
you buy mutual funds outside of the US? “Because
foreign jurisdictions are unable to regulate investment funds that
are not registered in their jurisdiction, most prohibit the sale of
foreign [including US] mutual funds to residents living in their
countries. ...” ~ More details: Financial & Investment Information | Washington, DC
Can
you invest in mutual funds of other countries? “Investing
in international mutual funds is the same as investing in any other
equity mutual fund. The money is invested in rupees and in return
units of the funds are allocated to investors. The fund manager takes
the money and invests them in the stocks of companies that are listed
on exchanges outside of India. ...” ~ More details: What Are International Mutual Funds, Its Types &
Advantages | ET Money
“Foreign
investors who want to buy mutual funds and have U.S. addresses, many
fund companies will require only that the investor also supply IRS
Form W-8BEN, which certifies the foreign status of the beneficial
owner of the mutual fund account. ...” ~ More details: Can Foreign Investors Buy U.S. Mutual Funds? | The MotleyFool
Hello! Welcome! It's another new year. Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. Perhaps you might want to know a little more about the blog publisher, so I'll share a few biofacts. I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and left my childhood home in 1986 because of a job opportunity and have never been back. The likelihood of me ever getting a chance to revisit my place of birth is slim and none! More none than slim. So I decided to take a trip down memory lane via Google images.
I tried to find my childhood home. Sadly, the house I grew up is was torn down and the land it stood on was turned into a parking lot. That house wasn’t exactly paradise. But I never dreamed it would become a parking lot.
Next, I searched for the school that I attended 5th grade to 8th grade (from 8 years old to 12 years old). I found a very clear picture of the church building which is right next to the school. It was a Catholic school and mass attendance was required. It was also the building was where my 8th-grade graduation ceremony took place.
Incredible! The building looks exactly the same. Proof of life! Proof of MY life.
Looking at the photograph gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.
( Image source: miamiarch.org - Holy Redeemer Catholic School, Miami, Florida )
"The Native Americans do not know for certain what happened with Sacajawea after her return to the Lemhi River Valley. ... Many of the Lemhi Shosone believe that Sacajawea died at age 24 in South Dakota. ... Many historians call Sacajawea the most important woman in American History. ..."
Sharing information about the people who were here first. Call them First Nations, Native Americans, American Indians, the red man … their contributions to America and the injustices and betrayals they suffered are a part of American history are often overlooked or ignored. Raised a “Negro”, but my ancestry is also Native American, Cherokee. As November is Native American Heritage Month in the USA, took the opportunity to create a Pinterest board to begin collecting information about my “other people”.
Determining the origin of or learning the meaning of a name has always been fascinating to me. My kids enjoy playing video games and lots of times I've noticed that the characters have names that sound very unusual to me. In addition, as I am a very active Tumblr blogger, the artists and gamers share interesting tidbits and illustrations about these characters. Came across a cute illustration by a Tumblr blogger of a character named Shirin. (See below.) It was a sketch done for “The Arcana”. Staying in the know about video games isn't at the top of my “To Do List”; but did have some extra time so did a little research on that name. These are my findings. My research is not extensive but it is enlightening and entertaining. 😊 Behind the Name: Meaning, origin, and history of the name Shirin ~ A Persian name whicn means “peace”. Mentioned in Persian and Turkish legend. ~ Follow @onomast on Twitter. Famous people named Shirin? Shirin Ebadi ~ Nobel Prize winner for peace.
Looking for a movie to watch on Friday night? Here's my pick. “The Truth About Charlie” (2002) is a movie which starred Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton. When the movie was being advertised in the media, I listened to an interview with Mark Wahlberg discussing his character. He played an American agent who was assigned to a post in Paris, France. He said to make his character more believable, he decided to wear a beret. He figured since he was an American agent performing “undercover” activities, wearing the beret might help him blend in and be less noticeable.
Hmmm? Interesting fashion tip! Come to think of it, I don’t often see American men wearing berets. But I guess the men in France wear a beret? Ya think? Here's the answer to that question.
It turns out that berets were adopted by the French military. In the 1920s, a beret became a popular fashion accessory for both men and women. However, according to Trip Advisor, these days it's mostly just tourists you will see wearing the felt berets. (LOL. Kind of like in The Bahamas. It's only the tourists who carry the straw handbags.)
In USA not many men wear berets but women often sport them to accessorize their outfits.
In America, we love to apply the word “icon” to people who sort of serve as symbols or are symbolic of something much larger than themselves, and are representative of an ideal that we, as individuals, hope to achieve in life. It's almost as if these people are idols. Almost.
A better way to explain our usage of this term would be by sharing my first time hearing it applied to a well-known figure. My first time hearing the word used was a report where people were speaking of Lee Iacocca. What did this man do to have people call him an “icon”? He's an American businessman, in the automobile industry, who (based on my recollection of events) brought the Chrysler Corporation back to life. Evidently, because of his prowess as a business warrior, he stepped up, took the helm as CEO of ailing and failing business entity, revived it and steered to success. For accomplishing this impossible feat, people showered praises on him as if he were a god of the American automotive industry.
Once read an article published at Listverse.com about Hollywood suicides. The full title of the article is “10 Iconic Actresses Who Tragically Ended Their Lives”. After reviewing the list of female celebrities, the facts presented about their deaths were indeed tragic, but describing the actresses as “iconic” kind of made me bristle. It didn't seem to jive with other people in the entertainment industry who were being described as “iconic”.
So! Decided to compile my own list of actresses who should be considered “iconic”. Nixed the requirement that that they had to have committed suicide.
Hmmm …? Now where would be the best place to start to find those sort of people very quickly? The iconicLife Magazine. Of course!
Here's my list of ten (10) female iconic celebrities (not all are actresses, but they are famous or recognizable). The parenthetical notes are my rationale or reasons why these women measure up to the criteria that sets them apart as icons.
43 rd POTUS, George Bush Jr. (2001 – 2009) Not being disrespectful but there are lines from a Disney animated film that sum up my thoughts about this administration. A young deer had received wise
advice from his mother, but she had to remind him of her instructions by
having him repeat what she had told him.
Momma Deer: “Now Thumper! What did I tell you?”
Young Deer named Thumper: (Heaves a huge sigh before speaking.) “If you can't nothing good … (Another huge sigh.) … don't say nothing at all.”
* * *
44 th POTUS, Barack Obama (2009 – Present) “Change has come to America.”
Indeed. That “change” will be leaving come January 2017. No doubt your
intentions were honorable and the custodians of American history will
likely make a special effort to ensure that the record accurately
reflects the highlights of your administration – the good, the bad and
the “questionable”. * * *
So that's it! Presidential DOTs on
my timeline from 1955 to 2016. Still proud to be an American; anchored
by the belief and knowledge that this country must be standing because
of the grace of God.
41st POTUS, George Bush Sr. (1989 – 1993) Was working for the federal
government in Washington, D.C., at the time. Bush Sr.'s years in office
as POTUS – 1989 through 1993 - coincided with a time of personal crisis
for my husband, my young children, and me. Because of our “present
distress”, didn't really focus much on what was happening in the world
of politics, except if it was a “Bush agenda item” that was in some way
work-related. Do remember that the campaigning FOR the presidency took
on a ruthless and vicious tone. Once elected, however, Bush Sr. said
something about being glad it was over and moving toward “a kinder and gentler America” .
You'll have to ask him directly where he was coming from with that
statement. Recollections of that time period in my life are very blurry. * * *
People say things got much better
for the general population during Clinton's years in the Oval Office.
Sadly, only thing that pops out of my memory box is a brew ha ha
about him getting a B.J. from a White House intern and cries for his
impeachment. And … uuummm … ??? Oh yeah! Lots of Saturday Night Live
comedy skits. Around about the same time, things
did start getting better for my family and life was becoming less
stressful and distressful. But the changes or improvements can not be
attributed to whoever the leader of the nation was. It's the leader of
the Fox family who gets full credit for turning things around. We
weathered the storm with my husband at the ship's helm and he steered us
through perilous and treacherous “waters”. We passed through and survived to meet and greet POTUS Number 43. Next!
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My original content first published via Persona Paper, Jan 18, 2016, "POTUS Dots on My Timeline: Bush Sr. and Clinton".