I hope that you all have enjoyed this beautiful Easter Sunday. He is risen! I wanted to end the month of March in sharing a few of my favorite photos from the month. Celebrated my favorite grandsons birthday. Conner is 18 now! Our beautiful Mallory Grace all decked out for the prom. The youngest grands (sisters) were flower girls in their uncle's wedding. The oldest one was in her element of dress up. The younger one, not so much. THAT HAIR BAND ITCHED HER HEAD she said! I purchased a new pair of wedges that I love. I am always skeptical about ordering shoes or clothing but read the reviews on Amazon and went for it. Love the color and the style. The youngest grand loves to take selfies and play with the filters. Marty colored Easter eggs. He always colors at least a dozen every year. He always says he's doing it for the grands but I know he does it because of the inner child in him! LOL! I went with the little ones to Disney on Ice and we had the best time. I think I enjo
We celebrated my youngest daughter's birthday with a homemade chocolate cake, chocolate icing and of course some vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce and all the trimmings.
She had a wonderful birthday celebration at the beach with her little family and then a family celebration with extended family. In case you haven't noticed, it doesn't take much for us to throw down a party of some kind and celebrate. LOL! But, there is nothing any better than celebrating special occasions with those you love the most.
I am going to attach the links at the bottom of the post for cake, icing and hot fudge sauce should anyone be interested.
NOW...I want you to tell me because curious minds want to know.
Do you find it hard or easy to control your facial expressions?
I was asked this question recently...Did I find it hard to hide my facial expressions and my answer is YES! My facial expressions will give me away EVERY time and especially the one that pretty much says, "I think that is the most stupid thing I've ever heard". What I have found funny about us as humans is that facial expressions that express sadness, or fear, happy, or excitement are well accepted. But, let that facial expression show dislike, non-agreement, and etc. then it's almost like we may have well said what we felt to start off because we just said it with our face.
I read an article about this and found this part to be interesting:
How to Hide Your Emotions with your Facial Expressions:
- Take a deep breath.
- Don't move your eyebrows.
- Don't put up a fake smile.
- Relax your face.
- Don't support your head.
- Stop fidgeting and refrain from constantly adjusting yourself.
- Pause, think, and speak in a balanced tone.
- Disassociate yourself from the situation.
- Speak to yourself in your mind.
One last "You tell me".
Do you have a tendency to say YES instead of saying NO to others? Parties, showers, weddings, outings, and etc. Before COVID it was quite easy to get caught up in saying YES to so many things but since COVID all the above has slowed down at a high pace. Years ago I found myself run ragged from saying YES to way more than I needed to say YES too. Being a member of one church, a women's bible study teacher and a church secretary to another church I can assure you that what was expected of me could sometimes be overwhelming to say the least. A myriad of things had to happen before I came to the conclusion that I could not DO IT ALL nor would I continue too. For my health, my sanity, my family, and more importantly for Jesus. I found that when I said YES to everything then the things that He desired of me was being put on the back burner and some of those things were never being accomplished. I could write a book on this one ladies.
In her book, The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst she made a statement and one worth reading.
“We must not confuse the command to love with the disease to please.”
“A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often
ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.” “Not making a decision
is actually a decision.
Even though COVID has surely put a dent in the hoopdala's we get caught up in the need to PLEASE others can surely be a disease itself.
I hope that you all have a great week and you know.... if truth be told we are all striving to please someone....May the one that we strive to please the most be the ONE that laid down His life for us.
Recipe links:
Chocolate Icing:
Hot Fudge Sauce:
Happy Birthday to your youngest daughter!! I know you all had a great time celebrating her! The cake looks amazing, Cindy! Yes, I have a hard time hiding my facial expression (eye rolling included!!). I have learned to not say yes to everything. We do need to please THE ONE that laid down HIS life for us. 🙏🏻💙🙏🏻
ReplyDeleteShe had a great birthday Kitty. Oh my facial expressions is something I sure need to work on. LOL!
DeleteI am very animated...a Southern thing I guess! Even with a mask on, I think people can tell my expression! I'm a happy person! Happy Birthday to your daughter!
ReplyDeleteYes I know all about how we Southerners do! LOL! I might need to wear my mask more often......
DeleteI probably roll my eyes more than normal folks do, LOLOL...Then again, I have never been good at hiding my expressions. My husband, "Folks know what they are going to get from you, Linda. No sense in trying too hard to hide it." Whatever does that mean, dear? LOLOL
ReplyDeleteLOL!!!
DeleteI wonder if those points you posted would help me. I blush so easily and I really hate it.
ReplyDeleteI don't find it hard to say no because I know if I don't do it right away it's so hard to go back later and say I can't do that after all.
GM, at least blushing doesn't get you into trouble. LOL!
DeleteIs that a gravy boat filled with hot fudge sauce? 😄Now that's my idea of a party! Happy belated Birthday to your daughter. Do I have troubles with my facial expressions...apparently, as my family laughs at me a lot. 😏
ReplyDeleteA gravy boat full of chocolate sauce is surely an added goody to any party isn't it?
DeleteHappy Birthday to your beautiful daughter! That cake and ice cream, hot fudge..yes!! It looked so good! That's one good thing about face masks, we can hide our expressions!
ReplyDeleteThe sad part is though that those dang mask hide our smiles too! The cake and chocolate sauce was no doubt a hit.
DeleteWhat a wonderful looking cake and all those great trimmings for the ice cream! What fun! We just celebrated our son's birthday too, but didn't have quite that much to choose from. Devils's food cake with cream cheese/buttercream frosting that my daughter in love makes, and fudge ripple ice cream (Breyers). That was enough chocolate/sweet overload for me! LOL. As far as facial expressions go...I know I have a hard to time hiding my feelings. Nowadays it is also hard to hide our feelings on social media. There is a tendency to speak before thinking sometimes, and then we get into trouble. So I am working on that and learning to 'walk away". The part about saying YES too much...I did that as a Pastor's wife and learned the hard way about what I really could and should be doing. I am more careful now. There are many things I'd love to do, but I am finding that my energy levels don't quite keep up with my desires to do. So I have to pray and ask God to lead me. Good practice no matter what. Great post, thank you!
ReplyDeleteCream cheese buttercream sounds yummy. I can only imagine some of the feelings you have experienced from being a pastor's wife. Girl, I bet you could write a book. And I agree about the energy level.....Whoa!
DeleteYou and yours do enjoy celebrating. I think that's great! I know your daughter felt so celebrated. My facial expression is a dead giveaway and I doubt that ever changes. Have a great week filled with "splashes of joy."
ReplyDeleteLOL! Marty said I will never be able to hide my facial expressions cause even my eyes are dead giveaway!
DeleteThe chocolate cake looks AMAZING! When I have a hot fudge sundae, I eat the ice cream first and save the hot fudge for the end.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a poker face either. At my first full-time job (~ 20 years ago!), I learned how to code "facial actions" (e.g., eyebrow raise, jaw drop) for a research study.
On social media, I saw someone tweet, "No is complete sentence."
I had to take a class many many years ago on body language. I learned so much and more so about myself. I don't have a good poker face either
DeleteY’all do know how to celebrate! I hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday...the cake looks delicious. I have always had a hard time saying no, but I have done better over the past few years. Happy September, Cindy!
ReplyDeleteHappy September to you dear Pam.
DeleteHappy Birthday to your youngest daughter!! What a delicious looking cake! Thank you for the recipes, love new ones. Cindy, my facial expressions tell it all! The whole story too!! LOL...Yes and eye rolling for sure! I don't have the energy to say yes to everything anymore! Happy September!
ReplyDeleteThank you Nancy. I love this simple hot fudge sauce recipe. Maybe it's too simple and I need something harder so I won't be tempted to make it often! LOL!
DeleteHappy Birthday to your sweet youngest daughter. That cake is amazing!!! I agree that saying no is probably the hardest thing for me to say. I am getting a little better with it but it is a hard obstacle for me. Have a great start to the new week.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Kris
Thanks Kris. Girl....I totally get it about it being hard to say no. But Lord have mercy I surely did have to make some changes in my lifestyle. Happy September to you.
DeleteYes, I am/was a YES person and sometimes I wondered what were you thinking? Those 'yesses' can throw you into some overtime, mental stress and severe tiredness. I'm better now, I think. lol hmmm...that cake looks delicious, that right there calls for a party. I love parties.
ReplyDeleteParties are always fun, especially when shared with loved ones aren't they?
DeleteHappy birthday to your beautiful daughter! I bet she LOVED that cake with all the fixings! I have a hard time hiding my emotions most of the time, my face gives me away more times than I’d like. You are so right about saying “Yes” too often. I agreed to be a district director for a state organization I’m in back in the winter. It’s been one headache after another. When I’ve finished this responsibility my new words will be NO THANK YOU! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThank you lady! I sure have learned the hard way about YES and NO. Getting lots better with NO. Let your yes be yes and your no be no....right?
DeleteThanks Laurie. The cake was a winner. It has surely been enjoyed. I carried a slice to a friend and she said she ate all the icing off the cake first and then the cake! LOL!
ReplyDeleteOh, that chocolate sounds amazing about right now! You can never go wrong with chocolate. I hope your dear girl had her best birthday ever!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cheryl. She did indeed have a wonderful birthday. Can't go wrong with chocolate can we?
DeleteI really enjoyed this post! I think right now with all the mask wearing, facial expressions are hidden, whether we want them to be or not. And I do think that it's a disease to want to please. Needing the approval of everyone can be an exhausting and dangerous thing, and can prevent us from being willing to follow Christ in every area of our lives. I notice that there's so much pressure on social media to conform to the commands of the loudest.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you stopped by to visit. Always sweet to hear from you.
DeleteHi Cindy! Hope your daughter's birthday was awesome! Kinda sounds as if it had to be! A beach with family and then your amazing sweets homemade with all your love baked right in it?? YUM!!!
ReplyDeleteI made a homemade chocolate cake with my favorite homemade fluff frosting for my 19 year-old niece who had emergency surgery last week. Nothing like comfort food, huh?
I agree about saying yes - my old boss used to call it "helium hand" meaning one would always raise one's hand to volunteer or do the tasks no one else wanted to do or always say yes to everyone every single time. It's funny, I am a middle child and have always been the peace keeping yes person in my family. And about 10 years ago I stopped saying yes to everything - did some self help reading and lots of praying and just needed to trim all the excesses out of my life. And woah - what a difference it has made.
I say yes when I truly mean YES. It is a game and life changer to be sure. Though, truth be told, my facial expression probably shows my inner conflict and remorse as the no escapes my lips, haha. Laugh lines - a sure sign, haha.
HUGS!!!!
I bet your niece was thrilled with her chocolate cake and fluff frosting. Hope she is doing well Michele.
DeleteCindy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! First of all, Happy Birthday to your daughter!! I too got caught up in saying YES to everything...I found that when you run one successful Fund Raiser for your church, you automatically become the "Go to Person"...When our priest was transferred several years ago and a new priest was assigned to our parish, i dropped out of chairing events and even working at them as I was still working full time and my knee was getting really painful....Since then I have learned to say no and my health is so much better for it. And Yes, even though I have managed to keep my mouth shut, my face will betray me each and every time!! LOL!! Especially when I was still working!!!
I hope you and your beautiful family have a lovely Labor Day Holiday!!!
Joe is not tech literate at all and had fought tooth and nail to maintain that but he is realizing that that was a mistake..
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and for letting me know that you did by leaving a comment!! Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
Hugs,
Debbie
Happy Labor Day to you too. Hoping my Labor Day will be low key.
DeleteJust one question, Girlfriend: how do you maintain your svelte figure when you bake such irresistible cakes for your family celebrations?!!!! Do you take one bite and call it done while you watch everybody else eat? That's my best guess.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips on how to not show my feelings on my face. I can use those tips.
As for saying "no", I'm much better at that than I was in my younger years. And the guilt is not there, either (most of the time).
Blessings to you, and have a good holiday weekend!
LOL! Well, you are not going to believe this...but I am actually not a huge sweet eater at all! Now when it comes to fried chicken? Pizza? Tater chips? Oh LAWD help me! LOL!
DeleteI want cake now. Happy Sunday.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
LOL!
Delete