The essence of life is finding something you really love and then making the daily experience worthwhile.
~Denis Waitley
Last week on Favorite Quote Friday, I talked about living out of your imagination, and paid some last respects to motivational speaker Stephen Covey. This week’s quote, from another motivational speaker and self-help author, Denis Waitley, is all about finding your passion and using it in your daily life. (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 27, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/find-your-passion-and-fall-in-love-with-your-life/
Right now, thanks to this post’s headline, you probably have Dean Martin’s voice stuck in your head, don’t you? And at some point during the day you will randomly burst into song.
Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you’ll sing, “Vita Bella”
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella
That’s the first song that always goes through my head when I think of love. It could be because I live in St. Louis’ Little Italy (“The Hill”) and I hear that song a lot at restaurants around here. I could think of dozens of other classic songs about love that people sing in the shower or in random moments at the office…but I’m not going to do that today. No. Today I am going to bring to you 6 not-so-typical songs about love. And when I say “not-so-typical” I mean they aren’t the first songs people think about when it comes to love.
Are any of your favorites on the list? (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 23, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/thats-amore-6-not-so-typical-songs-about-love/
Six months ago today, I quit smoking cold turkey. I just woke up one morning and decided to lay down a 22 year, two-pack-a-day habit for good, and I haven’t looked back. (Feel free to applaud at any time.)
I’d love to say I feel great, but I really don’t. Yes, I can breathe better, and I have my sense of smell and taste back, but I’ve been constantly sick with something ever since I quit smoking. But hey, I can walk up a flight of stairs without wheezing now, and I actually know what my tofu scramble tastes like when I eat breakfast in the morning. (It’s delish. :D) If those two things aren’t incentive to stay away from cigarettes, then the fact that every time I smell cigarette smoke I gag is. My God, those things smell like burning rubbish!
Unfortunately, like many people who quit smoking, I have replaced cigarettes with food. I have eaten my way to a fat backside, people. I seriously have gone up three sizes in six months. At first I tried to blame my gall stone pancreatitis, which causes swelling, but it isn’t that. It’s that I made upwards of FIFTY trips to the fridge and pantry a day. OH. EM. GEE. I was out of control, and could no longer fit into my clothes.
When I realized how fat I had become (it just comes on all of a sudden!), I joined a gym. It’s been great fun. I’ve taken up Tai Chi, Yoga, and Zumba classes, and am losing weight. Woo hoo!
A cross trainer similar to the one that tried to kill me last week. (Photo credit: DanieVDM)
Last week I decided to try this cross trainer machine that promises a full body workout. Everyone at the gym gave it rave reviews, so I thought, “What the heck? I’m going to get on it.” (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 22, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/help-i-cant-move-my-arms-how-to-work-out-the-wrong-way/
Live out of your imagination, not your history
Stephen Covey was a best-selling author and motivational speaker who died earlier this week from complications after a fall he took back in April. He was a Mormon, and held a lot of views that I didn’t agree with (his stance against gay marriage was one of them), but his line “live out of your imagination, not your history” really struck a chord with me.
Imagination (Photo credit: four12)
We often base most things we do on past experiences. For instance, if we try a dish from a certain type of cuisine, and we don’t like it, we automatically assume that everything that falls under that group is inedible. Do we really know that we are going to dislike everything that’s on the menu if we haven’t bothered trying it? No, of course not. And if you think you do, then you are kidding yourself. You never know unless you try. (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 20, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/are-you-living-out-of-your-imagination/
Is the blank page of death staring you down? (Photo credit: Freidwall)
I want to begin this post by saying “thank you” to fellow blogger Kelly St. Claire for inspiring this post. She wrote a post about feeling uninspired that I could really relate to.
This week in blogging has been a real drag for me—I simply do not want to do it. Actually, the past two weeks have been a real drag for me, but this week has been especially hideous. I started off the week with the idea of making it all about lists in my Monday-Thursday posts because I like lists, and they’re easy for me to whip together in 30 minutes or less.
Meh…
I haven’t really liked any of my posts this week, and by the looks of my stats, my readers aren’t really too enthused with what I’ve written either. Haha! Sorry, my babies, I will try to get back to writing quality stuff on Friday and Saturday. I really enjoy writing the posts for Favorite Quotes Friday and Silent Star Saturday. And I have some great posts coming up for those days thanks to Google search queries that lead people to my blog. Stay tuned! (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 19, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/feeling-uninspired-youre-not-alone/
This morning is unfortunately a typical morning for me this week. My noisy neighbors woke me up out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night with loud screaming, loud music, and the smell of dope and booze. I suppose they are on holiday this week because they normally reserve the obnoxious house parties for the weekend.
I called them and told them to calm it the heck down (I was actually a lot more profane than that…) and the dude who answered was all like, “Oh, is it disturbing you?”
😐
The only thing my phone call did was get the loudmouth drunks to stop screaming and singing along to the music. I suppose that is a slight improvement, but my walls are still shaking and I still cannot sleep. At least they inspired me to get up and get a new post written for my blog!
So, crazy drug induced neighbors, these 6 songs that will help keep you up all night are dedicated to you! (bloody jerks…) (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 18, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/6-songs-that-will-help-keep-you-up-all-night/
Thanks very much to Nubia Mejia Willes over at Brighter Horizons for giving me the fabulous blog ribbon (her blog is equally fabulous so please go check it out if you aren’t familiar with it.) 😀 I appreciate it very much. I was totally unaware until now that my blog was anywhere close to being fabulous! Now I have to start living up to my rep Ha ha ha… (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 17, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/its-official-the-daily-hottentots-is-fabulous/
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the opening scenes of their 1939 RKO picture The Flying Deuces. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Everybody knows that I am a huge fan of Laurel and Hardy. I have seen most of their pictures 10 times over (probably more in some cases) and have them committed to memory from beginning to end. They are the greatest comedy team to ever grace the silver screen.
If you don’t believe me, just ask anyone who is a member of the worldwide Laurel and Hardy fan club, the Sons of the Desert. Stan Laurel gave his blessing for the club, and today the Sons of the Desert has thousands of members worldwide in tents named after L&H films. The tent here in St. Louis, for example, takes its name from Babes in Toyland.
The moment you start watching any of their pictures, it becomes obvious why generation after generation falls head over heels for them. Even their worst stuff is watchable and funnier than the rubbish that passes for comedy these days. (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 16, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/5-laurel-and-hardy-films-that-comedy-fans-must-see/
This is going to be a fun week for me. I am making it all about lists. I love lists—I love making them and I love reading them. Lists are awesome. Don’t you agree?
Words (Photo credit: Southernpixel Alby.us)
I am going to start off my week with a top 5 list of words that I find completely revolting. I never use them unless I absolutely have to—like now, on this blog post. Just typing them makes me uncomfortable. (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 15, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/the-top-5-words-that-should-disappear-from-the-english-language/
Olive Thomas at the New Amsterdam Theatre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse” perfectly describes actress and model, Olive Thomas. She did all three.
She was born Oliva R. Duffy in the tiny Pittsburgh-area borough of Charleroi, Pennsylvania on October 20, 1894. At just 16 years old, she left her widowed mother’s home and married a man named Bernard Krugh Thomas. The marriage didn’t last long. Olive and Bernard divorced just two years later in 1913, and she left Pennsylvania to for New York City to stay with an aunt.
And New York City is where her legend began…. (more…)
Posted by Angie Hottentots-Laurel on July 14, 2012
https://dailyhottentots.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/silent-star-saturday-the-original-flapper-olive-thomas/
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