FIGHTING THE GREAT FIGHT

It seem that every time I turn around I am hearing about another dear friend starting the Great Fight.

The Great Fight is the battle of Cancer.

I capitolize the word Cancer because it is a very serious illness and you have to respect the severity of it's effects.

I call it the Great Fight because it is the biggst battle a person can do on their own.  I say on their own loosely because I am not taking into consideration that Jesus is with us all the way in this fight and our care givers are invaluable saints.  But, you, yourself are conducting the biggest battle of your life and that is what you are fighting for, your life.

How do I know?  Well, since 2006 I have been fighting various cancers! Yup, more that one and none which were minor.I have lost organs, almost lost my life serveral times and lost more blood that any body could make. But, here I am, yet still fighting the Great Fight, still and respecting the C word with intense fear.

BUT, NEVER give up the Great Fight. Why, because we may be fighting but we are not fighting alone.  We must trust that Jesus is with us, fighting the fight with us and listening to all the prayers sent up to Him on our behalf.  WE must fight for THEM. Jesus, our friends and family and even strangers that are looking on and wondering why you are fighting so hard. 

Let His light shine through you onto those watching.  Let them know you can do all things with Jesus Christ beside you, holding you and lifting you up, loving you, healing you.

God Bless You All!

Color My World Emerald Coast Blue

Color My World Emerald Coast Blue

                                                                                                                   

Color plays such a quiet, strong  influence on us that sometimes we do not even realize that our surrounding’s color actually can alter our mood. 

Needless to say, when you buy a home, whether a beach area property, a suburban neighborhood or country home,  the colors that you use to paint the walls and decorate with will have an influence on not only the theme of the home but the moods that may result from the color theme of the room.

I did a quick survey of some of my friends about what color they liked best for their bedroom. Here are a few remarks I received:

“Mauve with white trim...very calming”                        

                                                          

“Soft green, its soothing”                                                  

“Gray....think fog, not battleship”

“I painted my master bedroom 'green', I wanted to just stay in my room - very calming, felt very peaceful. I have white trim and love it.”

“A beautiful blue "contemplation" from home depot - the color evokes serenity and peace - it has an under tone of green”

“Sage green, is on my walls now... supposed to have a calming effect”.

I found it interesting to see that some of the colors are cool and some warmer, such as mauve.  Now, the Mauve person lives in the North so maybe there is a desire to feel warmth in the northern bedroom!  But then again, another northern said blue with green it so, that kicks the warm theory.

Anyway, A paint quality specialist, Debbie Zimmer , www.paintquality.com, of Paint Quality Institute in Philadelphia  suggests the following :

Purple:  Reserve for a daughter’s room, purple evoking the ability to stimulate brain activity;

Blue:  Great for bedrooms because it is known to slow the pulse rate and lover the body temperature.

Green:  Known for its soothing effect, represents renewal, youth and vigor and is another good choice for bedrooms.

Yellow:  A great decorating color, it imparts happiness and optimism.

Orange:  Flamboyant, it is an attention getter and gives warmth and energy.(  I think it sounds like a good gym color!)

Red:  Makes the heart beat faster, associated with desire and passion, it is perfect for dining rooms and adult bedrooms!

Now that you have read a paint specialist’s opinion, let me introduce more information I dug up on the internet about color and its influence.

Red:  A color of love, war, determination, danger, strength and power.

Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice

Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.      
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

Orange:  combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.
Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.

Yellow:  is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

Dull (dingy yellow) represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.    
Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.               

Green:  the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.

Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional color of peace.

Blue:  is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.

Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness

Purple:   combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.

Light Purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.

Dark Purple causes gloom and sad feelings, sometimes frustration.

White:  is associated with cleanliness, purity, goodness.  Angels wear white.  White is used in hospitals.

Black: is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. However, is can denote strength and power along with giving a formal air.  Black is used in galleries to make the colors of art pieces pop.  Black may be mysterious but has a multitude of connotations.

Color used on homes plays a huge part in the sensation of an area, revealing the architect and attitude of the neighbor.

Along 30A of South Walton County and the beaches of Destin, the homes’ color palette varies tremendously.  There are wonderful vibrate pastels used on the homes in Seaside, FL that simply make you feel “ beachy”, frivolous and carefree.  More formal approaches are taken in the color schemes used in Destiny- by- the- Sea in Destin, using terra cottas and deep beige tones.  The soft beiges, whites and creams are popular in the Moorish influenced areas of Rosemary Beach and Seacrest Beach areas.  These quiet colors allow the intricate architect of the buildings and homes to stand out along the crystal, clear waters of the Emerald Coast.

Drive down Scenic 98 in Destin and along 30A in South Walton and feast your eyes on a color palette that will please all your senses.

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Fall Cleaning

Fall Cleaning

I know this is not a favorite subject for most of us but the reality of it is that Fall Cleaning is something we really need to do.

One way to approach the major chore of tackling the entire house, closets especially, is to sit down and figure out a “game” plan.  Shall you start in the closets?  Will you weed out the clothes you haven’t worn in a long while and maybe donate them to your local charity? Or maybe you wish to start in the kitchen and clean out the cupboards, eliminating dishes you do not use; toss the mugs from everywhere which have accumulated to way more than you need; or maybe just going through your canned goods to see what will be expiring soon and either use the product or donate it to your local food back.  The cupboards need cleaning themselves and that Murphy’s Soap is calling your name! UGH!

And don’t forget to put on your list…….

Ah yes, the windows?  Who’s volunteering to do the outside and who is volunteering to do the inside? Never a favorite of anyone’s.

The garage has become a collection point for odds and ends for a great deal of us.  Time to sift through the items and get rid of the unusable ones and hazardous chemicals that may be left over. This usually makes the end of the list, right next to the windows!

Raking leaves can be fun and pulling the straggling summer annual flowers to replace with the winter fare is a job for the list but at least it will keep you out in the fresh air. 

Whatever you need to do this fall, instead of fretting about the tasks, decide to have fun while doing them.  If music brings you pleasure, play your favorite tunes while working.  If you enjoy working with your children, get them involved and make a fun day of it, with rewards of pizza or ice cream at the end of the day. 

Fall cleaning really isn’t so bad. Have some fun with it and just think, you only have to do it once a year.  Oh yea, spring cleaning……but that isn’t until next year!