Thursday, January 2, 2014
Do I mind being called handicapped?
Do I mind being called handicapped? Do you mind being called ugly? Actually, I prefer my given name of Tammy. See how pretty it is...
Handicapped just sounds awful, doesn't it? Not really. I don't mind it. That's why I call myself "The Happy Handicap". I beat you to the punch! Wanna know what word I really hate? CRIPPLED! I would rather be called a witch with a b over crippled. The fact is yes, I am handicapped and may even be the epitome of the word crippled but please don't remind me, OK?
Of course...I can remind myself...because I live with the fact and these feet! My impairment may never be forgotten now, silly me wrote a book about it. My story is a fun tale, not at first but it gets better near the middle and very exciting at the end. Isn't that the way every good book reads? My complete story hasn't been written I'm still typing it as you are reading but I've got my first 44 years in print. Don't worry the book is not that long! It's an easy read with a gripping story or at least that's what I've been told.
For the New Year, it's available here for just $3.14 Kindle version and $9.14 paperback including shipping! There are some fabulous reviews on my "Shop" page and Amazon! You can watch a pretty sweet video about the book here. Help me out and buy yourself a copy and please don't share it with your friends! Well share the fact they should buy the book and read it but don't share your copy of the book with them. They'll be happier with their own copy!
And, if you find me interesting after you read my story, I do speaking engagements for basically whoever will listen! My contact info is here.
Waiting to hear from you,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Of course...I can remind myself...because I live with the fact and these feet! My impairment may never be forgotten now, silly me wrote a book about it. My story is a fun tale, not at first but it gets better near the middle and very exciting at the end. Isn't that the way every good book reads? My complete story hasn't been written I'm still typing it as you are reading but I've got my first 44 years in print. Don't worry the book is not that long! It's an easy read with a gripping story or at least that's what I've been told.
For the New Year, it's available here for just $3.14 Kindle version and $9.14 paperback including shipping! There are some fabulous reviews on my "Shop" page and Amazon! You can watch a pretty sweet video about the book here. Help me out and buy yourself a copy and please don't share it with your friends! Well share the fact they should buy the book and read it but don't share your copy of the book with them. They'll be happier with their own copy!
And, if you find me interesting after you read my story, I do speaking engagements for basically whoever will listen! My contact info is here.
Waiting to hear from you,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
The Most Important Item on the Bucket List in 2014
I love a parade! Do you? Did you watch the Rose Parade 2014? This picture was taken of a float in an annual New Year's Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. The Rose Parade was an item on my bucket list that is now in the "done" column. The flowers were breathtaking! I definitely recommend seeing the parade in person. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City is also in the "done" column of my bucket list. I also saw the St. Patrick's Day Parade in NYC. I've seen all the parades in Disney World. I just love a good parade.
I remember the parades but I don't remember the year I saw them. The dates really don't matter. I know I saw the parades. I have the memories of the days, the great feelings of seeing the parades and I even have some pictures. So the dates don't matter. I don't remember the date I accepted Jesus as my Savior either. Do you? The date doesn't matter. I have the memories of the day and the overwhelming feeling of the Holy Spirit every day. I KNOW it happened!
John 19:30 says "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." He died for our forgiveness. Accepting Christ is the most important item on the bucket list in 2014. Check it off! Please! Seek him and he will answer. Make two.zero.one.four the year to open the door to Jesus. If you can move this to the "done" column, you can joyously say "It is finished". I guarantee, salvation is an experience to remember...HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!
Leave me a comment with a few of your bucket items for 2014. The only one I have is to find a successful work from home job so my husband can retire! Got any ideas?
Kicking the bucket,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Monday, December 30, 2013
13 Things I Learned about Blogging in 2013
1. Health-related posts are the most popular subject on my blog.
2. Pin it! Pinterest is my #1 traffic referrer.
3. I need a class on SEO.
4. People like honest reviews about Pinterest Pins. Reviews save readers time & money.
5. My home decorating posts were not popular. Nevertheless I'm posting my 2013 kitchen remodel shortly.
6. Few people are searching for spiritual encouragement. My Wednesday posts are always spiritual.
7. Folks love recipes for pretty food.
8. It is challenging to engage people and keep them coming back.
9. Extremely difficult to make any extra money blogging.
10. Social media is a must! Don't discriminate networks; join them all.
11. Post every day! (I got serious this year and saw my page views go up from 200 per month to over 5000 views in September 2013 alone)
12. Consistency and knowing what your readers like are king!
13. More people than you might think don't like Elf on the Shelf including me!
Leave me a comment with some things you can add to 13 Things I Learned about Blogging in 2013.
A bit more educated,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Saturday, December 28, 2013
10 Tips to a Successful New Year's Eve Purge
Can't wait for the new year? Got your heels dug into the pavement trying to avoid the New Year? I'm in the latter category thinking about all the expectations and potential disappointment that I'll suffer at the hands of my own insufficiency. 2014 I'm trying things a bit differently.
I had the idea of a New Year's Eve Purge in the think tank (my shower) the other morning. I've gotten so excited about it I had to share it. A New Year's Eve Purge is the next best thing to sprinkling a supplement on your food to lose weight. The Purge is designed to reduce the stress you're building up trying to resolve to reduce your stress for the new year (say that 3 times fast)! I think it will work. So, please, give 10 Tips to a Successful New Year's Eve Purge a try!
1. Purge resolutions. Don't even think about a resolution! A resolution, broken down, is a "re"-solution meaning...you guessed it, you never get it resolved! Purge all your resolution thoughts before you have them and opt instead to set goals. Goals are measurable and attainable. You can meet 50% of a goal but you can't half-resolve anything. Things are either resolved or they're not!
2. Purge BILLS! Need I say more? Purge or pay as many as you can before the end of the year especially if they are health care charges, property taxes or anything that is a 2013 tax deduction. A couple of options to purge bills might be burning your mailbox, training your dog to keep the mailman away from your mailbox or the Joel Osteen method.
3. Purge a Dream. Book your dream trip now before the end of 2013. I know this works because I did it in 2011. Crazy yet effective. I booked a dream trip to London & Paris with a minimum deposit of $300, saved money for the next 18 months and took my dream trip in July 2013 debt-free and with spending cash! Go Ahead Tours offers perks for group coordinators. Become a group coordinator and travel free. Be sure to tell them Tammy Stafford sent ya!
4. Purge your mouth. Say mean things! RIGHT NOW! Your niceness is exhausted from all the family holiday dinners, your grumpy significant other, the cooking, planning and decorating you've done and you deserve it now more than ever! Tell everyone you see you've got a virus so you can VOMIT, SPEW and SPIT chunks of mean, vile, rude, crude, ugliness everywhere. GET IT ALL OUT! Feel better? Ready to be nice for the new year? I thought so....
5. Purge your DVR. Sit down and watch all those old recordings you've avoided all year. Oh...don't have enough hours in this year to watch all of them? Use the D.E.L.E.T.E. button. Don't laugh, your remote does have one.
6. Purge your closet. It's embarrassing but it MUST be addressed. Forget the "turning your hangers backward" trick. You know what you wear and what you don't. The answer to your question is "NO!" Your question is "I might wear that?" Not gonna happen. Donate it. Just so you know, this is not my closet!
7. Purge your contacts list. We've all got them...people on our contacts list that we have no idea who they are, never heard of them much less contacted them. Don't be afraid to send your unknown contacts to the tomb of no retrieval. If you suddenly remember the contact you deleted is your friend's aunt's boyfriend's cousin who is personal friends with your cardiologist, don't worry 911 is a free call.
8. Purge your pill drawer. Here's to a great attitude and better health in 2014. Trust your body! Throw away those bottles that expired in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996...you get the picture. I'm not sure of the proper way to dispose of pills. Don't flush them! You never know when all a sewer monster needs is an aspirin.
9. Purge your linen closet. Are your washcloths and towels wholly and I don't mean like Sweet Baby Jesus. We've had some of our linens since we got married in 1985 and they are threadbare and wholly! Some of them look more like bibs than something to wash your ribs!
10. Purge your refrigerator. I've saved the best for last not because we could legit eat everything in the fridge, no! Because it always reminds me of one of the 10 sexiest food scenes in a movie. I can't think of a better way to empty the fridge than by having my "Mickey Rourke" spoon feed me or drizzle me with honey. Can you?
Leave me a comment with your favorite New Year's Eve purge or if you must....your resolution for 2014!
Excited to get started,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
I had the idea of a New Year's Eve Purge in the think tank (my shower) the other morning. I've gotten so excited about it I had to share it. A New Year's Eve Purge is the next best thing to sprinkling a supplement on your food to lose weight. The Purge is designed to reduce the stress you're building up trying to resolve to reduce your stress for the new year (say that 3 times fast)! I think it will work. So, please, give 10 Tips to a Successful New Year's Eve Purge a try!
1. Purge resolutions. Don't even think about a resolution! A resolution, broken down, is a "re"-solution meaning...you guessed it, you never get it resolved! Purge all your resolution thoughts before you have them and opt instead to set goals. Goals are measurable and attainable. You can meet 50% of a goal but you can't half-resolve anything. Things are either resolved or they're not!
2. Purge BILLS! Need I say more? Purge or pay as many as you can before the end of the year especially if they are health care charges, property taxes or anything that is a 2013 tax deduction. A couple of options to purge bills might be burning your mailbox, training your dog to keep the mailman away from your mailbox or the Joel Osteen method.
3. Purge a Dream. Book your dream trip now before the end of 2013. I know this works because I did it in 2011. Crazy yet effective. I booked a dream trip to London & Paris with a minimum deposit of $300, saved money for the next 18 months and took my dream trip in July 2013 debt-free and with spending cash! Go Ahead Tours offers perks for group coordinators. Become a group coordinator and travel free. Be sure to tell them Tammy Stafford sent ya!
5. Purge your DVR. Sit down and watch all those old recordings you've avoided all year. Oh...don't have enough hours in this year to watch all of them? Use the D.E.L.E.T.E. button. Don't laugh, your remote does have one.
6. Purge your closet. It's embarrassing but it MUST be addressed. Forget the "turning your hangers backward" trick. You know what you wear and what you don't. The answer to your question is "NO!" Your question is "I might wear that?" Not gonna happen. Donate it. Just so you know, this is not my closet!
7. Purge your contacts list. We've all got them...people on our contacts list that we have no idea who they are, never heard of them much less contacted them. Don't be afraid to send your unknown contacts to the tomb of no retrieval. If you suddenly remember the contact you deleted is your friend's aunt's boyfriend's cousin who is personal friends with your cardiologist, don't worry 911 is a free call.
8. Purge your pill drawer. Here's to a great attitude and better health in 2014. Trust your body! Throw away those bottles that expired in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996...you get the picture. I'm not sure of the proper way to dispose of pills. Don't flush them! You never know when all a sewer monster needs is an aspirin.
9. Purge your linen closet. Are your washcloths and towels wholly and I don't mean like Sweet Baby Jesus. We've had some of our linens since we got married in 1985 and they are threadbare and wholly! Some of them look more like bibs than something to wash your ribs!
10. Purge your refrigerator. I've saved the best for last not because we could legit eat everything in the fridge, no! Because it always reminds me of one of the 10 sexiest food scenes in a movie. I can't think of a better way to empty the fridge than by having my "Mickey Rourke" spoon feed me or drizzle me with honey. Can you?
Leave me a comment with your favorite New Year's Eve purge or if you must....your resolution for 2014!
Excited to get started,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
3 Joys of an Empty Tree
The Joys of an Empty Tree
My family didn't do Christmas. We didn't do Christmas the traditional way. Three years ago, we whittled our gift giving down to $5 presents each. We did this along with giving to other families. This year 2013, we resolved to not buy any gifts for ourselves. We bought for three families instead. Here are the joys we received from an empty tree.
1) We were Secret Santa for 3 brothers. When the gifts were delivered, the coordinator cried because she had difficulty getting someone to "adopt" these kids. An empty tree brought tears of joy!
2) A mom messaged me about finding a bicycle for her daughter. I felt God directed her to me and asked if we could get the bike. I found a used bike (just like new). The seller of the bike called me later to tell me how buying the bike had helped her family who was stretched for Christmas with only one income. She said "You didn't even know it but ya'll helped two families at once!" An empty tree doubled our joy!
3) We gave a grocery gift card to a single mom with 5 kids. An empty tree brought inner joy!
Your family may have been giving to others for years and we're just slow to the plate. If not, I encourage you to try it. You can start small like we did or just take the plunge! This has been the best Christmas ever living what the truth of Jesus has told us. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Overjoyed,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
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