Libations Friday! 31 July 2009

Featured today: Cold coffee recipe, funny birthday quotes, original poem about how to conquer abuse in your life.

From Denny: Yesterday was my birthday so I thought I'd mellow out on the early AM posting today... :) (lame, I know!) Basically, I took yesterday off and am up early putting together today's post which usually takes some time just to load it into the online editor.

Anyway, at our house we celebrate birthdays all week long with more than gifts, flowers or chocolates. We celebrate with birthday jokes, quotes, or stories. We like to annoy the birthday person to the point they will never forget their birthday this year or any year! It also goes a long way to making a person feel loved and special to be reminded more than once we are glad they are sharing the planet with us.

Here are 9 birthday quotes which we find amusing. If you like to make your own greeting cards for birthdays some of these would be a great idea to include for a friend or loved one to make them smile!

Image by Kapil Karekar via Flickr

9 Funny Birthday Quotes

Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician. ~ Anonymous

The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything: the young know everything.” - Oscar Wilde

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened. ~ Jennifer Yane

Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself. ~ Tom Wilson

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age. - Robert Frost

I never forget my wife's birthday. It's usually the day after she reminds me about it. – Anonymous

Age is a number and mine is unlisted. - Anonymous

Last week the candle factory burned down. Everyone just stood around and sang, 'Happy Birthday.' - Steven Wright

People ask me what I'd most appreciate getting for my eighty-seventh birthday. I tell them, a paternity suit. - George Burns



Photo by nyki_m @ flickr

Creamy Espresso Coffee Ice Cream Cooler

Serves: 4

Birthdays in late July can be a bit*h! It's hot, steamy and people can get grumpy crowded together. Why not make everyone happy by cooling them down with this ice cream coffee cooler? Watch the birthday gifts roll in! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup half and half

1 1/2 cups hot water

1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee (or leftover strong coffee)

4 standard scoops coffee ice cream

Directions:

Combine the chocolate chips, cream and half and half in the jar of a blender. Cover and puree until the mixture is smooth, about 2 - 3 minutes.

In a small bowl stir the espresso into the hot water until dissolved. (Or skip this step if you have leftover strong coffee or just want to make fresh expresso.) Add the espresso to the chocolate mixture and mix until well blended, about 2 - 3 minutes.

Put covered blender jar in the refrigerator and chill until cold, about 1 hour.

At serving time blend the mixture for a short while, until frothy. Fill 4 glasses 3/4 full with coffee mixture and top with 1 scoop of coffee ice cream. Serve immediately.

Don't forget to laugh a lot and enjoy yourselves!



From Denny: Speaking of birthdays, I wrote a new birthday poem this week. Do you find around your birthday that there is all this good energy in the air? Mine feels so positive and peaceful. This time of year I always try to write some poetry, sometimes more. Well, this week something unexpected that reminded me of the past popped into my world.

Whenever I get a new follower signed on from Blogger (look in the sidebar) I check to see if they have a blog and I make sure I follow theirs too. You never know when you might learn something new from someone else and I sure don't want to miss anything. That, and I like to support my friends!

A new follower, a talented poetess by the name of Am I Dead, Yet? (her blog is the same) is the new follower. She is also a friend on HubPages. So, I read through several of her posts and landed on one on her birthday. She was wishing herself a happy birthday because she knew the abusers in her life sure wouldn't.

Actually, this act is a great idea to boost your self-esteem when in a negative situation. If you have to reaffirm yourself to your self, then do it. It's the right call to keep your spark alive in this world and to keep from getting completely burned out. Little by little this woman is discovering the smallest things you can do to survive and later thrive out of this bad environment.

I was struck by how much our childhoods had been so similiar: terrible abuse. She is still struggling with reconciling the garbage. Well, I did my time in hell, figured it out, healed myself and pushed forward into the light of a much happier life.

So, I thought I'd write a poem for her - to laud her as a person and a talent. Poets often write each other poems. Artists often paint each other paintings. Writers often riff off each other in answer. Maybe in your writing you could do the same for someone in your life.

This poem is also useful for others who have been abused and are struggling with their identity and to free themselves from a negative environment. People who have not experienced abuse and are struggling to understand what is going on inside the heads and hearts of friends and loved ones who have been abused, this poem is informative. You really can heal yourself; you really can dare to dream for a better life!

You Are Worthy Every Day!



Photo by soylentgreen23 @ flickr


Happy Birthday to a quiet beautiful soul
Who knows how to shout in the darkness
Wade through surging waters and come out dry
Huddles by her heart’s warm fire to revive
Carefully stepping out onto a new path
While nobody’s looking…



Photo by Rampant Gian @ flickr


Happy Birthday to a touchingly beautiful soul
Who knows not to be forced silent any more
Pushing back the mean-spirited into the abyss
She just climbed out of today, never return, ever
Swimming upstream against bullying naysayers
While everybody’s looking…



Photo by left-hand @ flickr


Happy Birthday to a growing lovely soul
Who knows she is in transition away from abuse
Casting off ugly words, crafting instead beautiful words
Building a creative foundation of new life
Unwinding, putting to the fire the mean parent tape
While the abusers shrink back in new found fear…



Photo by John-Morgan @ flickr

Happy Birthday to you as you win each day
Walking farther away each step from where you were
Hugging close the dream unfolding into new reality
Living the Love each new moment you create
The shackles of your mind unlock and fall down
While the world embraces one willing to be loved and love…



Photo by mark sebastian @ flickr


Happy Birthday to a sensitive poetess
Who can employ the past to be her servant
Swaying and dancing with exquisite words
Protecting her new path as fearsome weapons
To stun and confuse fools who no longer can stop her rise
Creation unveils “I am,” traveling moment to moment into infinite Beauty...



Denny Lyon
Copyright 27 July 2009
All Rights Reserved

For more information about how I experienced abuse and figured out how to heal from it - as well as people's reactions to the poem, go here on HubPages: Push Abuse Out of Your Life and Out of Your Head

Coffee Photo by once and future @ flickr



Photo by 1happysnapper Hugs to All @ flickr

Thanks for visiting, everyone! Have a great weekend and have some fun!

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