Thursday, September 29, 2011

Seriously, people........perspective.....

I just saw a photo that puts things in perspective - I won't share the actual photo  because honestly it is just so shocking, but it was a picture of some starving children somewhere in Africa, with a caption saying something about "how can you complain about famine and starvation when other children have to deal with all the layout changes of Facebook".  Seriously people - we have all griped and complained about the changes on Facebook, and other things that quite honestly are trivial compared to some of the real challenges that people face in this world - like getting enough to eat, medical care, war, etc. 
Many of us don't see these things going on in the world, only see fleeting images in the news and online, and it doesn't touch our lives on a daily basis.  I know life isn't perfect here in America, but most of us (at least the ones of you able to read this) have it pretty damn good compared to others in the world.  Most of us have plenty to eat, or have friends, family and other resources to be able to get food from.  Many of us have access to medical care, in some fashion, to at least handle our basic needs. 

We don't worry so much about an actual war taking place here in the US, although we have been attacked here before, and there is always the worry of our armed forces being sent into war zones in far away countries.

My whole point in this today is to just remind everyone that we have so much to be thankful for in our lives, I know I do.  I am thankful for having the resources to afford to feed my family, to have medical care for them, and to feel safe in my own home thanks to the 2nd amendment and some mad shootin' skills.  I worry about various things, I gripe about shit online, I am not happy that my husband is deploying in the next week, but I am thankful for so much. 

Just keep it in perspective........

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Damn, Hump Day already????

This last week with Brian here is flying by way too fast.  So much to do while he's home, and just not enough time to do it.

One thing we discovered on our weekend trip to Missouri - my car gets waaaaaaayyyy better gas mileage when you use the midgrade gas rather than the regular unleaded.  Only took a tank and a half each way - I think last time we went it took over 2 tanks each way.  Of course we had an extra person with us and a dog, had to stop 3 times as many times, and packed more things in the car.  I suppose all that could have made some of the difference. 

Another thing we learned after returning home - Dominion absolutely hates being boarded.  It was a first for him, and he apparently did not have a good time.  The vet tech said Dominion exhibited those signs that dogs do when they are distrusting of people, and where you just wonder if they're gonna rip your hand off at a moment's notice.  Not her words, but I knew that's what she meant.  Gabriel, on the other hand, appears to have weathered the experience with no ill effects.  He was happy to see me! 

They made me go back and get Dominion myself - he was barking viciously and growling, but the moment he saw me, his face softened and he didn't make another sound.  He was very well behaved for me, other than almost dragging me out on my ass (he needed to tinkle really really bad).  And he was extremely happy to see me!  I took them straight to the dog park and let them run around, but Dominion was ready to get home after a very short while.  He cuddled with me, in such a pitiful manner - it will be very hard to board him again if we go anywhere and can't take him with us!

I made the enchiladas last night that Brian loves so much.  I think we're gonna go out to eat the next few nights, at some of his favorite places, and we're having the family over on Saturday.  Gonna have a nice big meal Saturday afternoon - looking forward to some fresh collard greens!  Yummy!

And Sunday is the day we say our "goodbyes".  But, it's not really a good bye, more like a "ta ta for now", but dammit I am not looking forward to this.  I know I'll still be able to talk to him, and email him, and I know he's coming back home when this assignment is over, but this is going to be hard.  I've just got to suck it up and keep on keeping on. 

I have a few goals to accomplish while he is gone, and sitting around on my ass, moping around, isn't going to make them happen.  I've got to get busy with my plans and just get on them.  I'm not going to discuss the goals or plans here, for the most part, until later. 

Anyways, I have stuff to get done today, and sitting here blogging ain't getting it finished any faster.  I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday.  Until next time......

Friday, September 23, 2011

Military vs Civilian Friends

 CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Tell u not to do anything stupid when drunk
 MILITARY FRIENDS: Will post 360 security so u don't get caught

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Call ur parents Mr. and Mrs. ...
MILITARY FRIENDS: call ur parents mom and dad

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Hope the night of drinking goes smoothly, and nobody misses the late ride home
MILITARY FRIENDS: Know that shit will go down, set up rally points and an E & E route

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will bail u out of jail and tell u what u did wrong
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will be sitting next to u saying "damn... we fucked up.. but man that was fun!"

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Borrow stuff and return it within days
MILITARY FRIENDS: borrow ur shit so often, they don't remember who bought it in the first place

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will listen to ur relationship problems and hope it works out
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will listen to u over a long hard road march, and will help u straighten it out better than dr. phil

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Know a few things about u
MILITARY FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from u

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Might try and hit on ur girl from behind
MILITARY FRIENDS: Have spooned with u more often than ur girl has, and would never even think of doing that

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: will knock on ur door first
MILITARY FRIENDS: walks right in and says i'm home

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will wish that u had the money to go out that night, and r sorry u couldn't come
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will share their last dollar with u, drag u along, and work free drinks all night

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Want the money they loaned u back next week
MILITARY FRIENDS: Have looked out for u for so long, they can't even begin to remember who owes what

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will tell u they'll take a bullet for u
MILITARY FRIENDS: WILL take a bullet for u

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will ignore this
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will repost this

Thursday, September 22, 2011

In the Final Analysis

If you are successful, you will win som
false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway....
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and god;
it was never between you
and them anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway....
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
it was never between you
and them anyway.

                    Mother Teresa


Well, I was rummaging around on another website, saw a question someone got asked about going to page 56 in the nearest book, and looking at line 14, and found this blurb by Mother Teresa.  I find it quite interesting, and seemingly true.  My interpretation of it, is to live life as you see fit, and if others stand in your way, so be it. 

We are tested for many different reasons, by many different people and many different situations and circumstances.  We can let these "tests" bring us down, or we can keep on, keeping on, doing what we feel is the right thing to do, and living as we feel we are supposed to live.  This may not please others, but it's the way things have to be. 

There's an old saying someone told me when I first got promoted into a management type position a long time ago - you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of them all of the time.  How true that statement really is!  Decisions we make on a day to day basis can be pleasing to some, displeasing to others.  Decisions some of us make can affect others in our lives, and even sometimes others not directly in our lives.  But, we have to do the best that we can do, and make the decisions that seem right for our lives.

I know I've made bad decisions in my life, but I've also made some good ones.  I'm not going to sit here and cry over the bad decisions - no use in doing that, I just need to make sure that I've learned from the bad ones so that I won't repeat the same mistakes.  Too many people don't learn from their mistakes and keep repeating them.  That's one of the reasons why history is so important to learn - people, countries, governments, etc., that don't learn their history and the mistakes that were made, are doomed to repeat them.

I will rejoice and take comfort in the good decisions that I've made, and celebrate, especially when it's a decision I've made after learning something from past mistakes.  I will share my experiences with others, so that they may also learn from my mistakes and not make the same errors that I have.  No one is perfect, and everyone can stand to learn something to avoid making mistakes in their lives that aren't worth repeating. 

I hope that I can continue to learn from my mistakes.  I am sure that I will continue to make mistakes - I'm human and not perfect - but I pledge to learn from them and not repeat the same ones over and over.  Maybe if more people learned from their mistakes, the world would be a more peaceful place.....

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Forgiveness.....again......

Failure to forgive keeps you stuck in time that no longer exists.....Guru Singh

I saw that quote on a friend's profile on Facebook and it is so true.

I've forgiven those who have wronged me, regardless if they've asked for it or not. It doesn't mean I'm weak, or don't have a backbone, or that I will forget their actions. I don't ever forget one's actions - that always stays tucked away, in the far corners of my memory, but it's always there.

For those of you wondering - I'm not writing this in reference to any recent issues, I just saw the quotation, liked it, and decided to share.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

I got nothing......

Nothing going on tonight. A good workout at the gym in Power class, had a great interval workout last night. Got a new pair of workout pants for $3, and 2 new tank tops for $5 each, clearance at Walmart is awesome!

Have nicknamed Gabriel, the puppy - Shitbird. He's the poopingest puppy I've ever seen! He's getting very very good at letting me know when he wants to go outside, though - he goes to the door. I just have to make sure I'm always paying attention to him, and immediately drop whatever I'm doing to take him out, to avoid accidents.

I'm pleased that my weight has stayed stable the last couple of weeks, even with the hormonal changes - no PMS bloating! Yay me!!! Steven and I are working on finding a workout schedule that really fits into our week, and there are still a couple of classes I'm interested in trying out, mainly the Water Fit class at the McDonough location.

Alrighty folks, it's almost midnight, I'm tired and still need to shower so I can hit the hay. I hope everyone had a great Tuesday, and that you will all have an awesome Hump Day tomorrow!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

So much to do....so little time to do it.....

It's Sunday morning, just after 11am. My dad left at 6am this morning - headed to Florida to visit his brother and sister down there who aren't doing well. We had wanted to do breakfast, but I wasn't expecting a 6am wake-up call, plus I'd been up and down all night with tummy troubles. Seems Dairy Queen for dinner had some ill effects on both my dad and me. Steven has the iron stomach, so I don't think it bothered him.

At 6am, I not only still had the tummy troubles, but had a freaking sinus headache. Fall allergies have struck, I suppose, so it's time to start doping up on the benadryl, mucinex, etc., before this shit transitions into bronchitis. I stayed in bed, and Gabriel actually didn't make a peep when my dad left, and let me sleep til 10:30am! I was so stoked about getting to sleep in, you just can't imagine!

I still have a bunch of laundry to finish, and even more laundry to put away. Seems like we've been doing laundry over the past 2 weeks and haven't been putting it away, and my laundry room looks like it's going to explode with clothes and linens. At least I got some of it taken care of Friday and yesterday morning, but it's still a somewhat daunting task to finish today.

Steven is still asleep, on the couch (he gave up his bed for his Pap Pap). We need to be getting ready to head out for the FRG meet and greet. FRG = Family Readiness Group. As in the group that is there to provide support and friendship while our spouses are deployed. I'm not looking forward to the drive to the north side of Atlanta, but oh well, gotta go do this.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Sensitivity.....and apologies.....

Yep, some people takes things too personally. Or misinterpret them completely. And assume things about stuff that is said that is so far from the truth, that wasn't what was said, putting words in my mouth that were not there. Some people are always like that, and nothing will change about it, so there's no use in trying to explain it any further.

I will say this - in reference to the comment I made that started all this madness - I sincerely apologize for putting something out there that you took offense to. I honestly did not intend it to be taken and interpreted the way that all of you took it. My blog post last night was in response to the ugly things that were said about me - no, I shouldn't have posted it, but I would think you would understand why I did - I am sick to death of being harassed online, and am really tired of people always thinking things I say are about them, or mean something other than what I intended.

I would appreciate it, in the future, if I post something that you interpret that is negative and is directed at any of you, to please tell me directly, rather than posting nasty things about me online.

And in case you're wondering why I don't say any of this directly to you - you previously requested that I not contact you, so that's why I haven't contacted you directly. I post what I need to say to you here, because I know you read the blog and check out my other profiles and pages.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Wow, what a day.....

The day started off kinda shitty....literally.....seems Gabriel had an upset tummy and had a couple of accidents while he was unattended for a few minutes. That was just the straw that broke the camel's back for me - first I didn't get a good night's sleep because Gabriel wanted to whine for what seemed like all damn night, then I read an email from my mother and it contained info in it regarding one of those situations I mentioned in the last blog, where someone owes me an apology. Now, what she said wasn't really bad, but I'm a little sensitive right now, thanks to those lovely hormones, and it just made me mad. Then to find poop messes, not one, but two, that just set me over the edge.

I was yelling at Gabriel for him to come here (I was going to put him in the crate so he couldn't mess anywhere else in the house) and Steven thought I was yelling at him to get up. Poor thing!

Anyways, I got to work, posted on Facebook real quick about not having a brain-to-mouth filter today because of my mood, and told a quick story about an idiot customer, then just dove into my work. The day got better, for the most part, and by the time I left, I was in a much better state of mind. Until I got in the car. I started thinking about how to respond to Mom's email, and how to deal with that whole situation, and was just totally bummed out.

I got home, and Steven said I had some mail on my desk - it was my photo disc from our photo shoot last month! It was awesome to be able to see all the different pictures that were taken. Some of them are really, really good! Here's a few of them:

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

It's going to be hard to decide which pictures to enlarge for framing! I love Crystal's ideas on photography, and the artsy flair she puts into the shots. Check out the rest of the pictures here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2392813743278.263422.1338939435&l=4ac8b180fd&type=1

So it's hump day now - I hope you all have a great day - it's time for me to shower and hit the rack. Ta Ta for Now!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Forgiveness......

Forgiveness is so hard for some people to give, and even harder for some to ask for - as in offering an apology when they have wronged someone. There are so many people out there that owe an apology to others, for things that were said, things that were done.

I always try to apologize whenever I've made mistakes, or when I've wronged someone. There are times I don't want to, where I feel like I was right in offending someone else, just because they offended or wronged me first, but because I have also committed an offense, an apology is necessary.

I have a situation that I've discussed before, that started back in June. I'm still waiting for an apology. I made my apology already, made my feelings known about how the whole situation made me feel, how I perceived it, and all I got back were excuses for the bad behavior, as if that makes it okay. Not even a hint at an apology. And all I've gotten from family is "have you apologized yet?" or "have y'all made up yet?" to which I respond - "I already apologized" and "I've made the first move, it's up to him to respond and do what he needs to do to try to fix things".

Fuckin' A. I'm sick of repeating myself. I'm sick of explaining the same things over and over and over again about it. And apparently, or maybe I'm just assuming this, NO ONE IS ASKING HIM THE SAME QUESTIONS. It feels like everyone is putting this on me, from starting the problem, to trying to make me be the one to fix it. I'm not rehashing the details of the situation again, but dammit, this is getting old.

What's really sad though? When someone needs to apologize for their behavior, and everyone is telling them that they need to apologize, yet they are too stubborn, hard headed, blinded by a sense of self-righteousness or whatever, and they seem to think the other party actually owes them an apology. There's a different situation that occurred recently, that I was indirectly involved with, that this applies to.

To the person that owes a bunch of us an apology I want to say this - thank you for calling the law to the house for something you started. Thank you for bringing embarrassment to me, as everyone in the neighborhood saw the sheriff's department arrive, watched them hang around for over half an hour, and waited around until they left, continuing to wait for some kind of firewords to happen. Regardless of the reason for your disagreement with your sister, they were just words and she chose the high road, to leave and go across the street, to end the conflict as to not ruin the weekend for everyone. You chose to escalate the situation even further by involving law enforcement.

Whatever your disagreement was, it didn't make it okay for you to want to leave the premises with your 6yr old child and hitch hike up the interstate home, especially after another sister offered you the use of her truck to drive home, which you refused, after you called 911 from the house to ask if it was legal to hitch hike with the kid and the dispatcher told you it wasn't. So you walk to the store and call 911 and claim we have kidnapped your child or whatever BS story you told them. The officer that came to the back of the house specifically said "if she leaves the house again and wants to take the child, let her, then call 911 and report it, and we will arrest her for child endangerment when we catch her hitch hiking on the interstate."

I don't expect an apology out of you, as you seem to be convinced you are the one that has been wronged. So don't even bother. But you seriously owe the rest of your family an apology. A sincere apology that you actually mean - not a half-assed, because other people are telling me to do it one. But no one's gonna hold their breath waiting for it.

Anyways, I digressed into a situation there that I had said I wasn't going to talk about anymore, but it angers me to know that this person showed out and now expects everyone else to bow down to her. All because of past hurts and wrongs, of which I know little of, but are not relevant to the event that occurred last weekend.

I hope that all of you out there are mature enough and humble enough to apologize when necessary, and to offer forgiveness when someone apologizes to you for wronging you.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Randomness is Awesome!!!

Had a great weekend with Brian's family at Lake Blackshear! Caught some fish, got some sun, and got a lot of rest.

Doped the pups up for the ride home - they aren't bad passengers, other than they don't want to lay down and sleep. They're constantly vying for the spot on the console between the front seats, and when Dominion stands there, you can't see through him to the passenger side. Makes for dangerous driving!

Gabriel HATED the pool! He absolutely freaked out and panicked and made me worry that he wouldn't be able to dog paddle out of it. Dominion - now that's another story - he LOVED it this time. He got in, absolutely totally on his own, to chase a splashy football. He still won't just jump in, but he will walk down the steps and cautiously enter the water, and swim to get the ball. Both pups slept quite well after their day swimming.

Now for my randomness - when I put something up as a status on my Facebook profile, or any other place, it doesn't necessarily apply to any particular person or situation. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. I can't seem to find the saying I'm looking for, but it basically is something to the effect of - if you think it's YOU I'm talking about, you must be guilty of whatever it is that I'm talking about. However, it's not always about YOU.

For example - the status I put up this morning, about not arguing with an idiot, was not directed at the person who apparently thinks it was. It's directed at the various people that seem to think they know what's going on within a particular situation. I'm not going to say anything else about it, because I am not going to make those people and situation the center of any more of my attention than they've already gotten. This is the last of mentioning it (and no, I haven't talked about this particular situation here, nor will I - sorry nosy folks!)

Speaking of nosy folks - damn, that person in the Russian Republic is one nosy s.o.b. I know the person isn't located there as I've traced the IP address - it's spoofed somehow to show Russia, but it's in the US. Plus, I've turned on my profile visitor function on Myspace, so I can see your actual profile name and picture on it. Doesn't really matter who it is - not that I really care, but I just don't understand why they visit my blog multiple times per day, knowing I was out of town at the lake. Didn't take my computer, and sure as hell wasn't gonna blog from my phone, that would take too long. Just shows that I must really be on their mind - a LOT - for them to continue to stalk me like they always have. Glad to know I'm still so important to you!

I hope you all have a great Tuesday tomorrow!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Yay! It's Friday!!!!

And I'm off work today! I took the day off so that I'd have plenty of time to get us ready for our trip to the lake house with Brian's family. We are heading out later this afternoon, and Brian's family will be heading down tomorrow. We have some preparations to make and things to check at the other houses down there before they get there, and I think we're gonna get a head start on the fishing.

I think the pups are gonna have a great time - Dominion didn't care so much for swimming when we took him to the pool, but I think Gabriel will love it! In fact, I'm a little concerned that he may try jumping in the lake, and what worries me about that is that there is apparently an alligator down there. We will have to watch them both carefully.

I'm taking the pet carrier over to Meme's this morning. I think she's finally decided it's time to euthanize her cat, Yum Yum. I'm afraid I may be the one that ends up taking him today. If so, I will deal with it, but it will put a downer on my day for sure. But, it needs to be done, and I'd rather take care of him today than for him to linger on over the weekend and suffer. If I hadn't mentioned what's wrong with the kitty before - he has bladder cancer. He is 12yrs old, and so there's not much they can do at this point other than medicate him to keep him comfortable, and apparently that's not so effective anymore. Y'all pray for me, that if I have to do this, that I can stay strong for Meme and not let this dampen my spirits for the weekend.

Wow, I just wanna stay in bed today and go back to sleep! Brian had to go to work for a few hours this morning, but I've got to get up and get Steven to school, take that carrier to Meme's, and run a few other errands. Busy busy day - cause of course I need to clean out the car, pack our stuff, and run to the store. I may try to squeeze in a visit to the dog park to let the pups wear themselves out so that we'll have a peaceful ride down to the lake.

I think no matter what route we take, the traffic will be bad, since it's a holiday weekend. We can take the interstate, or go the backroads. The interstate will be busy with holiday travel traffic, and the backroads will be bad, at least for the first 20 or so miles, because of the races here in town (we live about 5miles from Atlanta Motor Speedway, where it's a 3 day race weekend - largest labor day party in the country!)

Anyways, I better get up and get ready to get my day going - I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, eat some great BBQ, get some fun in the sun, and enjoy being with your family and/or friends. We will be enjoying ourselves at the lake!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

This is for all the strong ladies, who have been through a lot in life and survived!!!!

I am strong because I know weakness, I am compassionate because I have experienced suffering, I am alive because I am a fighter, I am wise because I've been foolish, I can laugh because I have known sadness. I can love because I've known loss. Repost if you are a strong woman who has weathered the storm but still love to dance in the rain!!!

I saw that on Facebook this week, and saved it so I could write about it later. And now, it's later. It takes so much sometimes for us to learn about ourselves, and to grow from within, and it can sometimes take great adversity to spur the growth and understanding of ourselves.

We can learn a lot about ourselves from what we experience - I went from being a very weak, foolish person that experienced a lot of sadness and suffering. What I've been through in my life has certainly molded me into who I am today - in some ways I am much stronger, but in some ways, I feel like I am still weak.

It's a frequent battle within for me, to overcome some of my experiences. I reflect on my past, talk about it sometimes, bottle it up sometimes, and just try to get past it sometimes. Not sure what works best to get rid of it, but I suppose I will never completely get rid of it. I just have to keep on moving on from it.

Anyways, Not much more to elaborate on the quote, it pretty much says it all!