Missy Etiquette Q & A

Missy Etiquette answers gift and giving related questions as they are sent in via comment, email, or in person, as is the case with this question by a friend of mine.



How can I decline a gift?



The answer is that it depends on the reason why you wish to decline or refuse a gift.



If you consider the girft to be an inappropriate token, or it is inappropriate for the giver to have gifted you anything at all (perhaps an exlover while you are married etc), then you should rely on simple honesty.



"I'm sorry I can't accept this gift" would be a start. If questioned why, you need to follow up with any of the following as appropriate....



"because it is too extravagant and I am concerned for your finances/well being"



"because the gift is offensive to me" (perhaps something that offends your religion or dignity, is racist or immoral....)



"it is inappropriate for you to give me a gift"



"I am not comfortable receiving it".





That should cover the possible reasons you wish to decline a gift. Don't refuse a gift out of spite or grudge (for instance you don't like your sister in law who is the giver) and only stick to the basic truth.



I hope this helps.



Future Q's for Missy E are welcome.

Photos From Inner Child Day

photo of my toys, and photo of me with my childhood bestie, Hayley at her 21st Birthday.

What a fright! But who says spa days have to be dull and quiet, mine are a scream....

32 years old and no sign of inner child decay, yay, I am alive and well, are you?

Happy Inner Child Day

Disco Butterfly Card, to wish all my readers, family, and friends, a Happy Inner Child Day, I made this card yesterday to share with you.

And for therapy for your inner child you could easily make the same card or similar, here's how I did it.

I used silver metallic cardstock for the card itself, and traced a butterfly shape onto the left half of the card.

Using stainless adhesive glue (if you don't have this, please select a glue that is clear) I applied the head of the butterfly which was a hot pink flower shaped gem stone (purchased in a set of mixed colours at Cost Plus).

The body of the butterfly is pink sequins, and the upper wings are purple sequins, with gold stars for the lower wings.

I drew the antennae with gel ink pen, and glued tiny stars on the tips.

There is a transfer that reads 'celebrate your special day'.

This is so easy your inner child, and your actual children could easily do this, or make other designs, hearts and flowers are particularly easy, as are stars.

This is a very economic card to make, and would suit any occasion.

Tomorrow I will load my photos of my inner child celebrations, don't forget, I'd love to know what you did on the day too.

Join me Friday, Inner Child Day

Hey its not an official holiday yet, but it will be when I'm finished, if it takes me my whole adult life, I will ensure we cherish our inner child. This Friday 20th March is my first Inner Child Day.

and yes, if you are wondering, that is my childhood pixie photo, I was ever a blondie until I grew up.

Why do I think inner children are so important?

Because our inner youth is what keeps us happy, healthy, and young. We must be kind to ourselves, we must speak nicely to our inner self, be less judgemental. more tolerant, and exercise our instincts for fun and joy. We must play, we must work towards fulfilling our dreams, and we must start today!

What can I do for my inner child?

Be nice. Really, truly, kind to your self, don't yell or criticise your inner self.

Play.

Love.

Remember. Loving our memories, and remembering our childhood in positive ways help a lot. If you had an unhappy childhood, go back in your mind and find rays of hope, there must have been a day you played, a place you went, a friend you had... that is a seed of happiness in the past. If not, please, do not hesitate to be your own inner child's best friend and go in peace and kindness.

Recommended Inner Child Day Activities

First of all, do you have a sibling or are you still in touch with childhood friends, why not talk to them, or write a card or letter, even better, if you can reach them prior to this Friday you could encourage them to prepare for the day.

I would recommend preparing in advance an amount of time for you to concentrate on celebrating the day, be it ten minutes, twenty, or an hour, even an afternoon if you are lucky.

I plan to play with the My Little Ponies in my closet, chew bubble gum (I haven't in decades), blow bubbles, skip, sing, dance, hoola hoop, play dress ups, experiment with hair and make up, take photos, look at my childhood photos, and thank my friends for keeping me young at heart.

Try doing something you used to love and haven't done since you 'grew up'.

Try doing something you want to do and have never had the chance to try.

and to get you in the spirit here is one of my favourite quotes: Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies. Edna St Vincent Mallay.

Please, please, try to do something for the day, and please tell your loved ones and friends about this movement, and I would love to hear from you on Friday night to learn how you enjoyed the day,

xxx Starry

The Path To Love

My cousin sent me this email, alas we do not know the original author, but it is so terrific I had to share...

Installing Love on the Human Computer:

Tech Support: Yes, how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided toinstall Love. Can you guide me through the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running ?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However,you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell mehow?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have beencompletely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself beforeyou can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files.Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: Thank you, God.

God/Tech Support: You're welcome, anytime.

- Anon

The Lenny Fire Sale (free $tuff)

Here is the card I need to get rid of, I made it for Lenny, it is perfect for him, a fish and fishing fanatic, I lovingly made it a week before his birthday. First I scoured the internet for a fish related graphic or photo, and came up with this piranha. Then I cut gold metallic ribbon as a mount, topped with the striped cardstock mount, and finished with stickers and a fine print 'happy birthday' banner across the top. Inside the card there is also written transfer greeting and plenty of space for a personal greeting.



I can't bear to give the card to someone I know as I made it especially for Lenny, so here is the thing, if you want this card for someone that you know (I hadn't gotten around to writing in it so it is unused), then leave a comment asking for the card, and I will send it to you free within Australia.



I also have an aqua Julian and Friends brand phone lanyard that was given to me that must go, it is not in it's packaging but is in new condition, rrp $16.95 which I will send for free within Australia.



Its really too bad I can't send you the photos of Lenny too, so that I can't look at them anymore but I can't imagine anyone would have any interest in them, so they will stay for now.



Don't worry about me, this is a good thing, I feel ready to release the card and the lanyard I was given to replace mine that broke, I want them to not go to waste, I want to pass the positive energy on, it gives me more positive energy in return.



Let me know if you have someone special you would like to give the card or lanyard to, you would make my day.

xxx Starry.



"Every challenge we face can be solved by a dream", David Schwartz.

Bargain of the Week

I have just returned from the shops and I am happy to report a bargain was found and the opportunity taken..... these Hello Kitty (knock offs) were amongst other foam cutouts (of roosters, houses, rabbits, children, and mailboxes) on sale for 60 cents each or 3 for $1.50 at King Kong.

They are ideal for attaching to painted furniture or even the walls of your child's room and are excellent decorations how can you go wrong? There are also some excellent wallies (wall paper cutouts and decorating transfers) at Red Dot right now.

I know where I'd be if I was decorating a nursery or play room right now!