Spiritual & Inspirational Sunday June 7, 2009

Welcome to my Spiritual & Inspirational Sunday post.  For over twenty-five years I have collected quotes. The nature of these quotes tend to be spiritual, religious, business, relationship, and sports related. My hope is that by reading this post it will cause you to pause and reflect. Perhaps you will share it with a friend who just so happens to be in need of reading this very quote.

Today I want to share a few quotes with you that are related to success. Success is defined in my Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary as a favorable or desired outcome also as the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence. I challenge you to think of the areas in your everyday life where the word success would apply. Examples of where one would feel successful in their everyday life include: calling a company to discuss being overcharged and ending up with an apology and refund (favorable outcome), saying no to a certain food that is not healthy for you (desired outcome), getting X Y & Z done before you had to leave the house (desired outcome), being on time for an appointment (desired outcome), stopping yourself from repeating a particular pattern that always seems to end up with negative results (desired outcome), learning a particular tune on the piano or other musical instrument (desired outcome), finishing a bike race (desired outcome), mastering a new recipe (desired outcome), getting an appointment for a job interview (desired outcome), closing a business deal (wealth), being named to a particular board or committee (eminence), and being told you are loved by your child (the best outcome!).

Some things take repeated mistakes to master, repeated effort to reach the desired result, or even complete failure which in turn makes you find a different approach which leads to your success.  The fact that you are taking action is a success in itself because you have overcome the fear of failure, overcome the fear of rejection, or overcome the fear of change.  

Why not start a Successful Journal to record the many successes you achieve each day.

Wishing you many successes.  …susan

If you first succeed, try something harder.

If you first succeed, try to hide your astonishment

If you are not failing now and again, then you are playing it too safe.

The more difficult the obstacle, the stronger one becomes after hurdling it.

Success requires heart and soul effort and you can only put your soul into something you truly desire.

You may not get what you want in life, but you get what you expect

I heard all of these quotes in the early 1980’s from John DeFoore.  I do not know if these were his or if he borrowed them from someone.

Paper Towel Holder Options

An essential item found in almost all kitchens is the paper towel. For years the paper towel holder was mounted up under the upper kitchen cabinet or on the inside of a lower cabinet door, often on the door located under the kitchen sink. Some were mounted vertically along the side of an upper kitchen cabinet next to the kitchen sink. Others were mounted on the wall directly in front of the kitchen sink as shown in the photo below.

Thinking outside of the box, someone came up with the idea to design a decorative paper towel holder that would stand vertically on a kitchen counter. These came in many finishes and styles and are still quite popular today.

In recent years, I have seen several more approaches to paper towel holders. One friend of mine has hers mounted in a drawer on her island. She told me when she built her dream home she knew she did not want to be able to see the roll of paper towel. Another friend had a cubby hole in her island for the paper towel holder. On the Neiman Marcus website which is listed below, I saw a decorative paper towel holder that stands on a kitchen counter and the paper towel is mounted horizontally between two roosters.

Which of these options shown below would you choose in your dream kitchen? Do you have another option you have used or seen that you would like to share? Please leave me a comment.

^A clever way to hide the paper towel yet make it easily accessible is to  mount the paper towel holder in a cubby hole under the kitchen counter. Visit Misti’s Studio M Design post to see another photo of a paper towel holder located under the kitchen counter.  Click here.

(Please contact me if you know the source of this photo and I will list it.)

^Above and below is a photo of my friend’s solution to storing the paper towel in her kitchen. It is a great solution for hiding the paper towel, however, I often reach for paper towel when my hands are wet or have food on them which means when I open the drawer to reach for the paper towel, the drawer front and hardware would get wet or dirty.

^In the kitchen shown above, the paper towel holder is mounted on the wall above the sink for all to see.

Photo above from 301 Stylish Storage Ideas by Better Homes and Gardens

^The typical under the cabinet mount is shown above.

Photo above from the Kitchen Idea Book by Joanne Kellar Bouknight

^The above decorative paper towel holder is part of the Jan Barboglio Collection, which can be found in many fine decorative accessory stores as well as on the Neiman Marcus website.  Jan lives part time in Mexico where she designs her line and the other part of her time in Dallas where her corporate office and warehouse is located. I have know Jan for over twenty years. Years ago I sent her a sketch of a paper towel design for her to consider in her line. I had not realized she had used my suggestion until I received a box in the mail with the paper towel holder shown above inside and a thank you note. It comes in the original Jan Barboglio rustic finish shown above or in the new stainless steel finish shown on the Neiman Marcus website which you can view by clicking here.  If you go to the website and click on the Jan Barboglio Collection paper towel holder shown, other options for paper towel holders sold online by Neiman Marcus will pop up. For bunny lovers, there is a vertical decorative holder with bunnies. Arthur Court has one and you can also see the one with roosters that I mentioned above.  Blessings.  …susan