Hi, my name is Laurie and I’m a complainer. Well, they say the first step in recovery is to admit you have a problem, right? But then again, who are “they”?
Tonight’s Bible study, led by Charles, was about complainers. Did you know that 65% of people are living unhappy lives? An average person complains 15-30 times a day. That’s a lot of complaints. I know I complain even though I’ve been trying not to. At least I’m not as bad as some people I know. Some I think would die if they couldn’t complain about everything happening in their life.
Kids complain about parents, parents about kids. We complain about our spouses, jobs, finances, politics, and even our churches. I know that I tend to complain about small things, things that really won’t matter in the long run.
What can we do to stop complaining?
- Pray. Ask God to help you eliminate the urge to complain.
- Except responsibility. If you are unhappy, it’s because of you. As Steve Pavlina writes, “Complaining is the denial of responsibility. And blame is just another way of excusing yourself from being responsible.”
- Think and say positive things. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
- Remember the old saying, “if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all.”
- Distance yourself from those you know are complainers.
- Realize that you can’t control everything in life. Complaining cannot better the situation but it can make it worse.
- Take time and learn to de-stress and relax.
Old habits are hard to break and unfortunately you won’t be able to stop complaining overnight. But with a little time and effort you can be a happier person that people enjoy being around.
Do you complain more than you want too? What are your biggest complaints? What are going to do about your complaining? Please, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, I won’t complain.
22/365 – Portrait of Two Hotdogs
“Aye, yii, yii, yiiii, I am dee Frito Bandito. I like Frito’s Corn Chips. I love them, I do. I want Frito’s corn chips. I’ll take them, from you.”
Bandit came into our lives late in 2007 and we originally named him Odie. Within a week, his name changed to Bandit because he would steal my slippers and go running off with them at full speed. He is full of life and has brought joy to ours just by watching him bouncing after squirrels, protecting his hot dog or his tenacious fascination with “red dot” (a laser pointer).
Posted in 365, Critters, Images
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Tagged bandit
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{20/365} “Come wipe my butt!”
Oops, looks like the honey bear “had hisself a little ol’ accident,” as Evelle would say in Raising Arizona.
What did the Pink Panther say when he stepped on an ant? Dead ant, dead ant … dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead aaaant (to the tune of the Pink Panther). Sorry, I know bad joke. My bad.
Well, so far, there’s only been like one or two ants since Don sprayed Amdro around the house and in the window sills yesterday. We’ve been plagued with the creepy crawlies getting into the kitchen window and into the bathroom for the past six months. We were using Terro which seemed to work from time to time but they always ended up coming back. I think the ants became immune to the stuff and this past week …. well lets just say that I hope God’s commandment, “Thy Shall Not Kill,” does not apply to killing ants because I’ve been a murdering fool this week.
Posted in 365, Family, Images, In the Kitchen
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Tagged amdro, ants, bear, high, honey, junior, sean, terro
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19/365 – Cardinal’s Mexican Train (TM) Dominoes
Mexican Train Dominoes – Double Twelve Rules
1. Turn the pieces face down onto the playing surface. Shuffle the pieces by moving them around. Place the “train station” in the center of play.
2. Each player draws the required number of pieces (depending on number of players).
- 2-8 players, draw 15 each
- 5-6 players, draw 12 each
- 7-8 players, draw 11 each
Remaining pieces are set to one side in the “boneyard”.
3. Each player looks to see if they have the double twelve. If no one does, each player takes one piece at a time, in a clockwise fashion, from the boneyard until the double twelve is found. Place the double twelve in the hub of the train station.
4. Play starts with the person who found the double twelve and moves clockwise. On the first turn, each players piece needs to match the hub. One player can also play a “mule” train that anyone can play from. Every player can either add to their own train or the mule train. If a player can not move the player draws one from the “boneyard”. If the the new piece can not be played the player places a marker (train, penny or token) on the hub and any other player can play on that train until you can play on your own train and remove your token. If you play a double anytime during the round you must play on that double if you can. If you can not then you must draw one* from the boneyard.
The round is over when a player uses up all their dominoes. The remaining players then count the dots on their remaining pieces and the scorekeeper notes the total on a score card. The double zero piece counts as 50.
*Exceptions to the double requirement:
- The double played is the last domino of that number.
- You played a double to remove the token from your train
- The domino is the last piece for a player
The next round then begins with the next lower double. Warning: a double twelve game will take a while to play all the way down to the double one round! After completing the number of desired rounds the person with the lowest score wins.
