Painting Rainbows

I always marvel at the way some people manage to smile and keep a pleasant disposition inspite of the daily challenges they encounter. They are the ones whose smiles extend to the twinkle in their eyes. Their greetings always run true. Their interest in you always genuine. Surely they are gifted!

As babies, I imagined them being fed honey by their smiling moms while they soaked up the warm rays of the morning sun. Their fathers must have taken them to Walt Disney movies every single Saturday while they were growing up. Tragedy never visited their homes nor hearts. Could this be it?

So in my quest to find the answer, I went ahead and asked these gifted persons the reason for their "good naturedness". I found out that some grew up in happy homes and some in sad homes. I found out that some were loved dearly by their mothers and fathers and some were orphans or never knew a kind word from their parents. All have not been spared from moments of despair and loneliness. All have at one time or another had their share of sadness-- in varying degrees. Simply put, their lives have been less than perfect.

But there is one thing that sets them apart from most of us.

Attitude. "The paintbrush of the mind" as one author calls it. These happy people have willed themselves to be what they want to be; to feel what they want to feel; to say what they want to say. They chose to paint rainbows, sunny days at the beach or cartoon characters. They chose not to put their "paintbrush" in the hands of an angry customer or a nasty sales person. They chose not to hand over their "paintbrush" to their doctors, their bosses, their significant partners or their friends or even the weather. They chose to be pleasant and thus, they harvest the gains. No hyperacidity, no hyperventilation. As their personalities glow, so do their skin. And as their popularity grow, so do their number of friends they keep.

And most importantly, I found that these people have chosen to put their lives in the hands of God. They trust that God in His infinite wisdom will always paint the loveliest rainbows for them. Indeed, they have every reason to be happy.

Who's painting your mind today?



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Want to paint rainbow days for your kids or favorite gangmates? I tried this recipe two weeks ago and got four thumbs up from my kids. I now have their unconditional loyalty.

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce (adopted from Dawn Carter's submitted recipe on Allrecipes)

1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 3/4 c)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (500 grms) pack spaghetti or fettuccine noodle (follow cooking directions on package)

Directions

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

Notes:
1. Bring cream cheese to room temperature and cut into cubes so that it will combine with the melted butter quicker.
2. You may use fresh garlic and add other spices like nutmeg or herbs like basil.
3. You could cut the fat content by using reduced fat milk products.
4. You can use the pre-grated Parmesan cheese -cheaper.
5. You can add steamed flowerets of broccoli, cauliflower and diced carrots to add color.
6. For kid-friendly dish, add bacon bits or diced ham.
7. Left over sauce may be stored in the fridge for at least a week.
8. Do not pour all of the sauce onto the pasta. Do it a portion at a time so that you can stop at the point you think that the sauce has coated all of the noodles evening. Remember this is a very rich sauce.
9. If you feel that the creamed noodles look dry, add a little of the hot liquid used to cook the noodles in. Adjust seasoning.