Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Attitude Shirts - Shirts with an Attitude

In my younger years, I will admit I wasn't yet a blonde. It was in my forties that I began to transition to a full-headed blonde as the gray hair started to come in and had pretty soon advanced to over 75%. At that point, my attitude was, "Hey! I might as well become a blonde."

And, fast forward to today. I am sincerely one of the blondes that DIY aka do-it-yourself! I'm divorced, got an attitude, and I am seriously doing it myself. In more ways than one. Might as well put my attitude on a t-shirt, blog and something that sells.

julieannbrady boots the cat licking window done yet


The Attitude Shirts : Shirts with a BIT of an Attitude! came around a bit later. I was just hitting my sixties and becoming a bit more open with my attitude(s) about things. When you work online, you encounter many others who might not be as soft-spoken as you. You learn to express yourself.

A sincere welcome to my Attitude Shirts on Zazzle: It's Shirts with a Bit of an Attitude. My Zazzle store was launched after more than a decade of selling online. While I might be a tad uncomfortable at using the title of an expert or pro seller, I do have the prerequisite experience. My line is a complement to my Squidoo lenses. These shirts initially sprouted from the many topics I discuss ... and then they blossomed into something else.

They epitomize the principle of keeping it simple, straightforward and topicable. These shirts don't beat around the bush, but get right to the heart of the matter. They are witty and bright and tell it like it is! They use simple type style, with black on white, and no special images, graphics, or designs to obscure the point > true transparency! Say it like it is.

Welcome to where we tell it like it is and then some!!! It can be a good emotional release to express yourself through shirts with a bit of an attitude! We love you folks! Hey Hey Hey! Isn't it a fabulous opportunity we have that there is a Zazzle site where we CAN express ourselves; have a little fun; be authentic and unique; make a little money too? I am honored that my items are showing up worldwide. Yeah, that's neat! Go ahead and picture your attitude to a "T" ... i.e., on a T-shirt!

Once upon a time, my line of Shirts with a Bit of an Attitude in my Zazzle shop was created as a "complement" to my Squidoo lenses. These shirts are a bit of a social commentary, if you will. Take a moment and browse the many expressions ... so have you been there and done that? There's probably a "T" that says it! Say IT. Go ahead, take a load off!

Check YOUR Attitude Here! Take a deep breathe and answer honestly please! Which would make you want to buy?
  • Let's pretend someone keeps spamming you ... daily!
  • Let's pretend someone sent you a malware application!
  • Let's pretend someone doesn't get you!
  • Let's pretend someone loves you!
  • Let's pretend you have absolutely no sense of humor!

My Attitude, Art and Photography are on Zazzle. I now have three different shops on that great site! Once upon a time, it started with attitude on t-shirts. Some were positive; some were persnickety; and all were real expressions which all of us have felt some of the time. Hopefully, not all of the time. Then that attitude spread over into my two additional shops - Yes! Lots of positivity and creativity there. I hope you will take some time to visit and enjoy the sights and perhaps make a purchase or two. Let me know you dropped by!
  1. Shirts with a Bit of an Attitude on Zazzle - You will find over 300 carefully written attitudes on t-shirts. Opt to keep the basic white tee that showcases the words or get jazzy with style and color. It is all up to you!
  2. Jaguar Julie Designs on Zazzle - This shop is a mix of art, decor, designs and photography on a variety of neat products. You may be surprised at all that you can find here.
  3. Jaguar Julie Flowers on Zazzle - Oh my, but I had a lot of fun creating the products in this shop. It all started with my sunflower garden that I grew from seed. Photographing over 100 plants, I hit upon some real beauties. There are plenty of other flowers from my Florida gardens. Come walk through my garden.

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. --Winston Churchill

Kick-Off -- The very FIRST Shirt. OMG, please please please "Stop the Insanity" already!

If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want. --Oscar Wilde

#2 -- Life Interrupted! Imagine how social media can interrupt your life?

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one. --Robert Cavett

#3 -- I've Lost My Mind! If I lost my mind -- you'd miss the real me!

Being in a good frame of mind helps keep one in the picture of health. --Author Unknown

#4 -- When Pigs Fly! Now wouldn't YOU want to know the story behind this one?

YOU -- woo hoo! When pigs fly my dear, look out below! --JaguarJulie

#5 -- I Am a Blonde! Pinch me -- because "I am a Blonde" -- I get a lot of those blonde jokes!

Being a sex symbol has to do with an attitude, not looks. Most men think it's looks, most women know otherwise. --Kathleen Turner

#6 -- Stuffed Cabbage Head! You are what you eat? I eat stuffed cabbage you know!

Heaven is under our feet, as well as over our heads. --Henry David Thoreau

#7 -- Trick or Treat! Don't you know that trick or treat is a social commentary of sorts?

Positive anything is better than negative thinking. --Elbert Hubbard

#8 -- Air Head Alert! Can JaguarJulie be self-deprecating?

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. --Buddha OH AND THIS ONE TOO: We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails. --Author Unknown

#9 -- The Usual Suspects! WOW! It mysteriously disappeared.

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. --Winston Churchill

#10 -- Too Hot to Handle! Sometimes that's hot and you're NOT and sometimes it's much too hot to handle!


A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. --Hugh Downs

#23 -- Size Does Matter! Well, you will just have to read the lens to figure THIS out!

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog. --Dwight Eisenhower and/or Mark Twain

Dance, Love, Sing, Live ... Go ahead and just do it! I've saved SO MUCH MONEY on that counselor after all.
Go ahead and Laugh! 'Laugh your head off whilst you still have it!' --JaguarJulie

Express Yourself Here and NOW! Go ahead -- get a load off your chest if you like. “A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” –Herm Albright could also be JaguarJulie!

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Yep, I can hear you now — biting your tongue? Oh come on — we both know that you’ve got IT in you. Been thumbing your nose at me have you? Oh oh oh, it’s NOT nice to fool with mother nature! Go ahead, I can take it — what does NOT kill me surely will make me a stronger person that you have to deal with!

Here are some books to help before you proceed! Can you hear me now?
  1. ATTITUDE 101 - I picked this book because I dig John Maxwell as an author. His team player and leadership books are worthy reads. They say, "Attitude can make or break you and the people you lead."
  2. Attitude Is Everything: Change Your Attitude... Change Your Life! - Oh gosh, haven't we heard that all our lives? You know that our attitudes are everything? This book is a self-help attitude book with 12 lessons.
  3. Attitude Reconstruction: A Blueprint for Building a Better Life- The premise of this book is that "reconstructing your attitude" can and will "actually change your life." Wouldn't you want to know more about that?
  4. Attitude is Everything Rev Ed: 10 Life-Changing Steps to Turning Attitude into Action - The buzz on this author says, "In the world of professional speakers, Keith Harrell is making a difference." I was interested in his take on attitude as one of his clients, IBM, was a former employer of mine. 

History: Zazzle Attitude Shirts : Shirts with a Bit of an Attitude was originally created by JaguarJulie on Squidoo on September 15, 2009. Highest lensrank ever achieved: #4,560 overall. Lens #493 in the quest for Giant Squid 500 Club.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Narcissus Poeticus - Lovely Daffodils

As I advance into my senior years ever so gracefully, I find I have a greater appreciation for flowers, especially daffodils! As a blonde that has planted many a do-it-yourself flower garden, I have yet to tackle the daffodil. So, I find that I get great enjoyment out of writing about them. So, here goes!

Thou art lovelier than a Daffodil. Thou art Narcissus Poeticus! And I do love thee oh my! Narcissus Poeticus is indeed a lovely Daffodil. Ah, but such a lovely Daffodil indeed. And, I can think of no other more beautiful name for a Daffodil than Narcissus Poeticus.

poets daffodil by magnio
Lovely Photo Credit: Poet's Daffodil by magnio. Ah, Narcissus Poeticus!

My grandparents grew Narcissus Poeticus in their Cleveland, Ohio flower garden. Although I was a youngster way back then, I knew them as Daffodils! Today, I know them poetically as Narcissus Poeticus! Are you a Daffodil lover? Had you heard of the Narcissus Poeticus ... tell the truth!

Thou art lovelier than a Daffodil. Thou art Narcissus Poeticus! And I do love thee oh my! Such lovely daffodils.

My Confession : I Truly Adore the Narcissus Poeticus. Such a lovely and artistic bloom of a daffodil.

"The beauty of the Narcissus Poeticus commands your attention. Such an artistic bloom is the Daffodil. I never saw a Daffodil that wasn't a thing of beauty. A gift of Mother Nature!" --The Brand Ambassador for Narcissus Poeticus: Lovely Daffodil, JaguarJulie!

Which is YOUR favorite name for Narcissus Poeticus?
  • Narcissus Poeticus
  • Poet's Daffodil
  • Pheasant's Eye
  • Pinkster Lily
  • Findern Flower
  • Nargis
  • Daffodil

"Daffodils" (1804) by William Wordsworth I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Narcissus Poeticus — from Missouri Plants. “This species is not nearly as common as its relative narcissus pseudonarcissus.”

Narcissus Poeticus — plant files from Dave’s Garden. “Family: Amaryllidaceae (am-uh-ril-id-AY-see-ee). Genus: Narcissus (nar-SIS-us). Species: poeticus (po-ET-ih-kus).”

Narcissus Poeticus — from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. “Poeticus var. recurvus – the true poeticus; pure white, strongle recurved petals and a pert yellow cup with a red rim, spicy fragrance, and one of the latest daffodils to bloom.”

WHERE the minnows trace A glinting web quick hid in the gloom of the brook,
When I think of the place
And remember the small lad lying intent to look
Through the shadowy face
At the little fish thread-threading the watery nook

It seems to me
The woman you are should be nixie, there is a pool
Where we ought to be.
You undine-clear and pearly, soullessly cool
And waterly
The pool for my limbs to fathom, my soul's last school.

Narcissus
Ventured so long ago in the deeps of reflection.
Illyssus
Broke the bounds and beyond!-Dim recollection
Of fishes
Soundlessly moving in heaven's other direction!

Be
Undine towards the waters, moving back;
For me
A pool! Put off the soul you've got, oh lack
Your human self immortal; take the watery track.

--Narcissus by D. H. Lawrence

Ah, Narcissus Poeticus -- does this not inspire you? Thou art lovely as a flower.

So do tell! Does not the name of "Narcissus Poeticus" make thy want to wax poetic? Or go on and on about the lovely qualities of this very Daffodil? Do tell thy truth!

From diminutive grassy-leaved gems with flowers no bigger than a child's fingertips to jaunty giants sporting flowers the size of an espresso cup and saucer, daffodils have always been a favorite sign of spring. This book covers in depth the 13 American Daffodil Society divisions, as well as detailed instructions on forcing daffodils inside.

About the Author: Clyde Phillip Wachsberger is an author and landscape designer. His previous book was Of Leaf and Flower, which he also illustrated. Theodore James, Jr., and Harry Haralambou, author and photographer, respectively, of Abrams' Seaside Gardening and Country Gardening, have 14 books and hundreds of magazine articles to their name.

From Publishers Weekly: In a joyous, enthusiastic spirit that reflects the nature of their subject, the Heaths, who operate the Daffodil Mart, a national supply house, offer a compendium of daffodils, which is the common name for the genus Narcissus.

Abundant photographs blend with clearly detailed information to demonstrate the great variety of this "carefree, pest-free, drought-tolerant, diverse and beautiful group of plants" and their suitability to growing zones ranging from Northwest Canada to the Southwest U.S.

Chapters move from "Daffodil Anatomy" through their culture, naturalizing, forcing and growing for exhibition, to miniatures and companion plantings. An extensive, alphabetical list of cultivars, each with a photo, wraps up this handsome reference/gift book.

History: Narcissus Poeticus : Lovely Daffodil was originally created on Squidoo by JaguarJulie on October 7, 2009. On March 17, 2012 the lens earned the Squidoo Purple Star Award for quality content. Highest lensrank ever achieved: #5,011 overall. Lens #506 in the quest for Giant Squid 600 Club.