SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

FEAST OF ST PATRICK 2025 @ The Micks

big "Thank You!" to me family & friends.. Awesome group of human beings you are! -for co-creating another wonderful evening -fun in every way.. look at cha' in those irish pub fashions THE BEST!

In honor of St Patrick.. "slainte!" We LOVE you!

My notes from listening to Pres. Trumps address to joint session of congress (me!) sandra

(me!) -sandra, President Trumps favorite issue-based [not party based] USA voting citizen.

open by wondering/suggesting.. every party had to start somewhere, -write. well, i don't even want us to call ourselves a 'party'

we are (thinking of it..... ), i am here on my blog, this very moment suggesting a new population of voting USA citizens who will be called...

ISSUE-BASED AMERICANS. IBA's.. #issuebasedamericans and our color...

red is taken; blue is taken; green is taken.. even yellow is taken..

our color is GOLD! We do not like it when people place their party loyalty over the more important and consequential issues, policies, laws, ordinances, etc. that serve our entire nation.

So often party alliances result in peer pressure wins, over public safety wins.. or turn our government meetings into sporting events, with radical fans, who just want to win.. and want their opponent to lose.. or we see our government like a bad, traveling vaudeville show.. booing a villian, cheering a perceived super hero [ the villian/super hero being opposite for each side ].

****

that said, i'm a third of the way through LISTENING to President Trumps address to congress..

1) -just listened live as his speech unfolded...

2) -re-listened with remote in hand, taking notes along the way; lots of pause, rewind, play... for the entirety of his speech. and let me say, i heard A LOT MORE during this note-taking listen..

3) 3rd way i will LISTEN/UNDERSTAND, is to type bullet points from my hand-written notes..

****

for now, i just want to say, -DENSE! PACKED! speech... and i like the direction Trump is taking our country...

very glad to learn about GAS CARS being ok again! "Thank You!" -not mandatory; but we can choose.. electric, gas, hybrid... as a JEEP owner.. this is great news. And glad to learn about the efforts to return car manufacturing to America. /also noted.. not like Trump doubled-down on electric only w/elon musk on staff... to the contrary. -yes, to interest payments on car loans tax deductible if car is made in the USA..

-i've had conversations w/well educated people regarding how much energy, how rich with resources we are here, -if not for restrictions/regulations.. so, i am remembering those conversations, when i learn about Trumps 'drill baby drill'

thrilled with any/all efforts to be tough on crime; on criminals.. go to war w/cartels.. address the fentanyl crisis..

thrilled with take it down act; consequences for these criminals. caught & consequences..

getting repeat offenders off our streets.. grateful for death penalty if you murder police; and believe in the death penalty for rapists/murders

i did experience/witness/observe free speech slipping away.. and am grateful for any/all efforts to preserve and protect free speech..

grateful the brakes are being put on in a variety of areas.. by way of tariffs.. by removing federal funding. -money as creating incentives; disincentives.. this does appear to be the language many governments speak; their mother tongue if you will..

accountability for federal workers.. english as official language... only 2 genders... ban on men playing in womens sports... return of skill, competence, merit based hiring/promotions.. glad about banning schools from indoctrinating children w/transgender ideology -i believe parents should parent.. autonomy/authority/decisions belong to the parent of the child; -unless found legally unfit..

LOVE the creation of, DOGE.. and grateful for any/all identification and immediate halt of waste, fraud, misuse, scams, theft -with accountability; consequences.. [remember here our DATA DESERT.. where an audit revealed billions of dollars designated for homeless and our most vulnerable went missing.. was not tracked].

who does not want to see our inflation reduced; our national debt addressed.. who does not want to have their mortgage rates go down, have lower car payments, lower grocery bills, who does not want to protect our seniors? what American does not want to experience more money in their pocket; in their banks, savings.. that is the new American dream.. to go back to when the American Dream was achievable with hard work, dedication

lots of talk, incentives regarding manufacturing, production, jobs returning to the USA...

Yes to tax cuts! no tax on tips; no tax on overtime; no tax on social security benefits..

bringing shipping manufacturing back... reclaiming panama canal.. invitation to Greenland..

plant american flag on mars..

a dense, packed speech! and, my respect, love, gratitude, to each and every guest.. your bravery, -what you have endured.. some unnecessary and preventable pain and suffering and death..

it is my observation, experience, opinion that crime, criminal behavior, violence.. every negative thing has, in fact, been on the rise for several years

i am grateful the current administration has a 'tough on crime' agenda. -grateful for a revisit, a return to healthy values

****

it seemed to answer my question.. address my personal confusion: the rise in homeless.. how i watched it grow, not just in one or two cities.. but everywhere we turned..

places that for my entire life were free from homeless populations; suddenly with visible homeless colonizing creekways, shopping plazas, along freeways..

it seemed to be growing exponentially.. in number and scope.. everywhere...

i couldnt get 'covid' or 'job loss' or 'lack of affordable housing' to explain what i was witnessing..

something is happening on a larger scale.. felt a bit like a slow, strategic, invasion..

when President Trump talked about the massive amounts of migrants.. Bidens open border insanity..

this matches with what i've been witnessing -and then the temporary 9th circuit decision which tied law enforcements hands to do anything about it..

grateful that decision was rescinded!

i'll close here.. with love and condolences to the families who lost loved ones to violent crimes..

with love and gratitude to anyone/everyone preventing more victims..

with heart felt celebration and appreciation for our returned hostage.. for steel workers, for farmers.. and for DJ, our very brave, very strong, newest and noble secret agent... for all first responders..

****

and, for all my life.. i've witnessed party loyalty; peer pressure resulting from... a win/lose mentality where the win benefits a party; not the people of the united states..

all my life.. in the after of a president's speech, you can watch on tv, or hear on the radio.. such certainty about the president lying.. or such certainty he is not.. and flip back and forth, and depending on republican or democrat status.. you can have your ideas validated/confirmed..

comedians can make you laugh, tell jokes.. flip channels, the punchline is anti-republican; flip channels, the punchline is anti-democrat..

each side certain they are -write. each side with their own evidence, stats, graphs, stories; in polar opposite of each other..

that's why i started something brand new today: Issue Based Americans. Our color is gold..

i'm working on the rest...

The 'Independent' category already got all convoluted do you mean, unaffiliated with a party? or

no party preference?

ISSUE BASED AMERICANS is exactly that: We look at ISSUES; period. The pros, cons, of any given issue. And most importantly.. ONE ISSUE AT A TIME.. comprehensively

no sneaky legislation .. with these 1000 page documents that combine this good law... but only if this bad law also gets through... where a yes on one thing, also results in a yes on things you are a solid no on.. you know what i mean...

and no manipulating language... where a yes, actually means no..

ISSUE BASED AMERICANS demand CLEAR HONEST COMMUNICATION..

and we can vote in the primaries..

tbc. God Bless America! & Amen

UPSHOT from recent Garbage Police Visit, Part II by (me!) sandra

highly unlikely 'check locally' is going to get results.

i do want to (re-)report our new, updated recycling practices:

the addition of a 'store drop off' container

[adding to, our containers for:

aluminum; plastic; clear glass; green glass; brown glass; paper recycle & regular garbage

plus, our used printer cartridges which we return to staples... AND! with great consistency, we bring our own [safeway has best ones] reusable plastic bags with us when we grocery shop].

anyway, we now read every label.. and my granola bar wrappers now go in

store drop off only;.. and with my empty yogurt containers, i now, remove plastic label and place in garbage, wash out cup, and place in plastic recycle, per instructions on the yogurt cup.

i am fascinated by all the recycle icons.. instructions.. languages.. do's and don'ts

and i will always advocate for a color-coded system. universal language. no need for text translations. when i look at the recycle bin in the picture here -black landfill; blue recycle; green compost.. i think, "yes! you are half way there..." -but who wants to stand in front of a recycle bin and play match-your-item, with pictures.. not me. so, once all items have a color dot, AND those color dots match with the bins.. now, compliance will increase significantly. remember, humans are creatures of habit and convenience. amen & amen.

p.s. because i have other topics i want to write about. i'm skipping writing about the recent documentary i watched that included amazon's selling practices.. included a lady discussing how fraudulent, deceptive and misleading recycle icons are on packaging; -just a 'feel good' thing to help the manufacturers sell more products.. and a thing to help the consumer believe the manufacturer is doing good, and that they are too, by buying 'recyclable' products... and,

i was very moved by the comment toward the end.. a gentleman who said, if he 'could wave a magic wand' and have an impact, based on what he has learned..

all manufacturers would consider, factor in, the 'end life' of the products they make and sell in mass numbers across the globe.. cell phones among them

and the documentary shares how manufacturers purposely make products that don't last so that they can create a demand for more of the same product, sooner, by masses of people, because, of course.. that's how sales and profits work -write. you cant make money if you are not always selling...

always manufacturing; always selling...

and seen at scale; a global scale.. the result of all these products which become pollution...

also spoke about how manufacturers are intentionally making products which the consumer can no longer fix themselves, -so that they could last longer..

the new designs prevent any fixing.. and require the purchase of a new [given item].

*****

very enlightening this documentary.. thought provoking.. i'll relook up name and get back..

my commentary here is that much of what we do is short sighted.. make a product; innovate.. market.. sell.. profit.. make more.. -all of this is celebrated, encouraged; financially reinforced, without much thought at all to the 'end life' of given products

financial rewards are immediate; long term negative impacts take longer to reveal themselves..

[ clips of massive amounts of used cell phones (billions!).. tsunamis of discarded cell phones littering our planet]

but once the negative consequences do reveal themselves: responding to the gained knowledge and truth is paramount

[cigarettes and cancer are coming to mind here also... the tobacco industry].

documentary was dense with more information.. requires assessment, discernment, context, perspective.. but there is a big picture message which should not be ignored.

-i'm moving along to Pres Trump addressing congress..

amen & amen.

speaking of Joyce Meyer.. she put me way ahead! "Thank You!"

i was once upon a time, decades ago, a student of oprah's.. and watched many of her 'master class' and 'super soul sunday' programs; soaking up any/all wisdom, life advice i could

i recently revisited some of oprah's shows, listened again to her guests -and it is something special to watch her re-interview guests/authors/friends she first interviewed 30 years ago

people she has now had decades long relationships with

what i realized, for myself: i've been learning, from this one tv minister, joyce meyer, everything oprah and her guests, all combined, set out to teach.

over and over i realize the Bible already teaches...

especially, when i watched the famous 'let them' author -joyce already teaches everything she is sharing..

joyce meyer has already 'been there, learned and taught that' to me, and countless others.

but we do need many voices -generation after generation- they are all teaching the same thing really -one of them will resonate with YOU..

it only seems, every new batch of authors present their work as if they themselves discovered these truths for the first time in human history -people have been rediscovering, rediscovering... for as far back as teaching goes..

*****

it does seem, -reflecting here on a new earth book/author, which i already wrote thoroughly about, so will skip to this:

we are not born knowing..

it appears each generation, each person, needs to be taught:

you are not your thoughts. you can observe your thoughts. the 'observer' inside you, that enables you to recognize and assess your thoughts; that is you. your spirit essence. -this 'observer' allows you to observe and honor noble thoughts, or cast down counterproductive thoughts;

for Christians this practice is in collaboration with the holy spirit.

for every human being, it should become a daily habit; a lifetime practice: the ability to proactively replace a negative thought with a healthy, productive one. at master level it becomes as natural as breathing.

always remember: you can only be conscious of one thought at a time. make it a worthwhile one;

-at a time.

*****

hallelujah & amen also, worth repeating, 'ego' in secular terms, is same as 'flesh' in Christian terms,

we are flesh & spirit -rise above flesh.. secular: ego, and authentic/true self -you rise above ego!

-same lesson.

River Dance Bliss March 2025 yard art by (sexy! & topps!) #bliss

so much fun!! and public "Thank You!" again to our artist friend Jerry Heinrichs for the shamrock and Happy St. Patrick's Day art squares.. WE LOVE THEM! and you and sandy too, of course!

i'll be making some collages of the yard art process itself.. our 10ft tall irish dancer templates..

and how much fun to create this yard art, paper doll style.. painting the dancers bodies on the bricks, but then adding clothes/hair on top. -actually brings back wonderful creative memories..

how fun to change outfits on those paper dolls as a young girl.. loved it! and not just paper, but vinyl too.. and, felt.. -same process, different materials; all of it, fun with #fashion.

"slainte!"

conviction. a limerick for our friends at Total Wines & More, Pacific Commons, by (me!) sandra mickanen

LOVE this blouse on Joyce Meyer! me do! -sandra /your A+ student for life...

the rest of us: we don't so much layer, mix and match textures and colors and items and accessories; what we do is find singular items that are attractive all by themselves: i've been watching joyce meyer for decades -always a pretty blouse, coordinating necklace, earrings, nice pair of pants.. stylish shoes. hair, make-up, nails; always done nicely.

sometimes a singular pretty dress.. but, always very nicely and professionally put together; very attractive and flattering wardrobe. i particularly love the blouse in this picture on HER.. the color is gorgeous ON HER.. of course i'm going to love the asymmetrical neckline; and the paisley-ish style cut out design near the shoulders; the 3/4 length sleeve.. Joyce is a tv minister, yes.. first and foremost, but she is also a bit of a fashion icon for women.. You look amazing Joyce Meyer! with great consistency!

beauty for ashes... -write. Isaiah 6:13 Hallelujah & Amen

******

this also captures the way 90% women shop and dress nicely: you find a pretty blouse. do your hair, make-up, nails.. light accessories:

NO MORE WAITING 4+ HOURS, NO MORE GUESSING GAMES with open mics at city council meetings

we learned how hideous the practice is during NOTonNOBILE, and were recently, re-reminded, during another visit to san jose city council chambers

waiting a very unnecessary 4+ hours to speak for 60 seconds! council members [paid to be there; there as part of their job] drone on and on, with no limits whatsoever..

while people who have worked all day, commuted, skipped dinner, hired child care to be there, etc.

sit and wait and wait and wait and wait..

wait through repetitious BS! hour after hour guessing when they will get a chance, if ever, to speak.

speaking of repetitious, let me borrow from their tool box, and repeat here: the current culture at chambers is of the council, by the council, for the council

we have got to return to: of the people, by the people, for the people..

*****

lesson in this also: petitions are relatively quick and easy to create.. the WORK.. is getting people to sign.. -mass communicating its existence; getting people to visit and sign and forward..

so, if you are reading this: please sign and forward this petition

"Thank You!" it is very over due, the need for a set time for open mics -everyone who has ever waited to speak at city council chambers knows KNOWS, the current practice is WRONG, AWFUL, UNJUST.. none of us see city council members willing to proactively make this change..

they toy with people who wait to speak.. they work at it; making them wait... and wait.. hoping they will give up and leave; and some do have to give up and leave.. they have families waiting! they have children to care for, to help with homework.. they have work themselves..

they don't have the luxury of guessing how many more hours it will be...

i do pray for help getting this petition signed.. more than that.. getting the actual set time for open mics into law

amen.

#fashion #hisandhers -coordinating couples fashion fun for (us!) robert & sandra

this pix is a small sample of a larger collection of matching or coordinating t-shirts my husband and i like to wear..

we enjoy doing this with the sports teams we love, family/friend/businesses we support...

for holidays, special occasions,

as souvenirs from places we visit...

and t-shirts are the most fun, popular way to coordinate -there is also, shoes, socks, hairbands, pj's, jeans/pants/shorts.. hawaiian shirts.. you name it

-sometimes we just coordinate our colors, each wearing a casual outfit for the day.. [recent post],

or, like for new years eve, -his tie, coordinated/matched my dress..

this is the kind of thing best friends like to do..

****

and coordinating/matching in general, is also fun for family reunions, for summer camps, for protests, for mother/daughter; or different family connections.. for children and their dolls..

families with their pets..

there is just something about it -a 'togetherness' fun factor.. united we stand

JOY! hallelujah & amen!

#fashion #matching #hisandhers #coordinatingcouples

Long Live me Favorite Long Dress! -sandra, topps, writeousmom #fashion #longdress

as st patricks day nears.. and, as we are currently working on our st patricks day yard art

[3 10ft tall irish dancers..] i find myself using 'me' for fun when i talk about things..

it's such an irish thing...

increases feb and march; then subsides again until the next year. with that in mind..

long live me favorite long dress! slainte!

****

women know.. long dresses come and go, trend in and out, quicker than [interactive creative non-fiction crowd sourcing here];

and that is as true for summer as it is winter..

*****

for this reason, if i go look, to double check what i'm about to share is true..

yes! this is the one and only long dress in my closet. and, even though i have a number of dresses in my closet.. a number of cute, pretty, cocktail, formal, casual dresses..

this is my personal favorite of all my dresses, short or long. and the number one reason for that is this: look at that fabric! that silky-ish, flowy, soft, beautiful fabric with such a gorgeous flower pattern design! and i crazy love the color palette! the black background, with the tan, beige, silver; the detailed lining of the flowers.. it all blends into something so beautiful to me... there's something that works about the size of the flowers and design.. like, i'm only guessing, but i don't think if it had lots of large flowers, or medium flowers, that i would be as drawn to it..

and even though it has this darker color palette, because the fabric is thin and light.. i've worn it by day and by night. i've worn it for formal occasion and casual occasion..

it does come with a separate spaghetti strap black lining slip that sits underneath. love that also! use it as a slip for other dresses too

anyway, it is my current plan to keep this dress forever.. because i LOVE the fabric, and because long dresses trend out.. i have considered having lesa transform it into something else.. just a skirt? just a blouse.. and create 2 separate pieces...

but exactly because long dresses will without any doubt, trend back in..

and i love it as it is so very much. it will remain as is..

and, -as we love to do for many occasions -my husband and i enjoy color coordinating..

for that reason, the pix of us together at the top, is a treasure to me. xoxo

#magicofmacys

#fashion

#longdress

****

the vest was a hand-me-down from my best mom ever... love that too! "Thank You!"

****

hallelujah! thank you Jesus! -fashion designers, macys, mom -and amen

#fashion #fancynancy #someonepleasecontactafashionmagazineeditoralready! by (me!) sandra

as previously mentioned, i am going to overcompensate this 20th year for not having blogged much about fashion for 19 years..

and i cannot write about fashion without shining a brighter light on the most fashion-creative person i know.. have ever known!

these few... just these few pictures, demonstrate, but do not come close to capturing the 365 days of fancy nancy fashions each year..

the question i'd say she gets asked the most from us, her group of friends..

"is there any color you don't look great in?"

then, not so many questions really, just comments, compliments..

"you look beautiful!" "that is so pretty on you!" "i love that... and this... and how you put those together!"

it is also worth repeating what sets fancy nancy apart from... all the rest of us.

all the rest of us, -we can look fashionable.. we can wear a pretty top, or find a beautiful dress, or add some jewelry, embellishments, get our nails and hair done professionally..

what sets fancy nancy apart is that she so creatively LAYERS... tops, blouses, appliques, scarves, belts, skirts, tights, shoes/boots, short sleeve, long sleeve, textures, colors, fabrics, hair accessories, PLUS fancy nails.. jewelry, etc.

i really do, relate to her creative fashion combinations.. i see her as getting dressed in the morning, the same way i create something from my studio 213..

my studio has fabric paints, bows, empty bottles, ribbon, strings, paper punches, pens, paintbrushes, random found objects, bottle caps, stencils.. long list

but when i go to make a mixed media art piece.. with no pre-planning, i just grab this from over there, and that from over here.. and start creating..

the process is a joy! and i am usually, more often than not, very pleased with the result..

from our conversations, i have learned this is true for fancy nancy too: she doesn't necessarily pre-plan.. but when she gets ready, she already has acquired a variety of 'found objects' so to speak, and she grabs this blouse, and layers that with this.. and adds these tights, and uses this belt, and this hair accessory.. and then a vest...

and somehow, the magical, improv combination of clothes and accessories is its own masterpiece..

and looks amazing..

she will create with an occasion as the inspiration: halloween, st patricks.. and love how, for the most recent super bowl party, she wore the colors of both teams, -some red and green..

and the same joy i experience when -watching jackie bernardi, and seeing her creations on canvases..

the same joy! i experience when seeing the result of my own creative mixed media projects..

i experience that joy when i look at fancy nancy's mixed media fashion creations!

i'm just waiting for her to be recognized, celebrated by an official fashion magazine editor...

if anyone should be... -write.

and i do know zara is one of her favorite stores... so maybe, let's contact them, shall we..

*****

i love fancy nancy, her creative fashions, and the whole george family..

huge blessing in our lives! hallelujah, thank you Jesus & amen

#fancynancy

#fashion

SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

Sunday, March 09, 2025

FEAST OF ST PATRICK 2025 @ The Micks

Thursday, March 06, 2025

My notes from listening to Pres. Trumps address to joint session of congress (me!) sandra

UPSHOT from recent Garbage Police Visit, Part II by (me!) sandra

Monday, March 03, 2025

speaking of Joyce Meyer.. she put me way ahead! "Thank You!"

Friday, February 28, 2025

River Dance Bliss March 2025 yard art by (sexy! & topps!) #bliss

conviction. a limerick for our friends at Total Wines & More, Pacific Commons, by (me!) sandra mickanen

Thursday, February 27, 2025

LOVE this blouse on Joyce Meyer! me do! -sandra /your A+ student for life...

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

NO MORE WAITING 4+ HOURS, NO MORE GUESSING GAMES with open mics at city council meetings

#fashion #hisandhers -coordinating couples fashion fun for (us!) robert & sandra

Long Live me Favorite Long Dress! -sandra, topps, writeousmom #fashion #longdress

#fashion #fancynancy #someonepleasecontactafashionmagazineeditoralready! by (me!) sandra

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