Yes, I DO have sucker written on my forehead

Thanks for noticing!

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Real-Life Story of The Notebook

Ninety-one year old Jack Potter reads 75 years of personal diaries to his wife on a daily basis.   His wife Phyllis, 93, has dementia  and was moved in 2007  to a nursing home near the home they shared for 5o years.   Jack has visited his wife every day and reads to her from the diaries he's been writing since he received his first one from his father for Christmas in1938.

"Phyllis means everything to Jack," Susan Oates, home manager at Copper Beeches, part of Four Seasons Health Care, told ABCNews.com. "He says there was no boss in their relationship, everything was equal."
Potter says his wife was aware that he kept detailed diaries throughout their marriage, but "didn't pay particular interest" to his habit. Now the diaries serve as a remaining tie between the pair.
"When Jack visits Phyllis he either talks to her about their long life together or remembers particular holidays with the help of the diaries," said Oates. "Phyllis still recognizes Jack despite the dementia. She pats his leg when he reads to her and often smiles."
"Phyllis is very affectionate toward Jack and reaches out her arms to hug him when he arrives and kisses his hand when he leaves," she said.

 Source

Born Again, Being Saved and the 10 Commandments

Recently I read a comment by a woman who considers herself "born again", in which she stared how hard it is to live with a spouse who isn't "saved".  This got me thinking.  What makes you "born again" is it getting baptized again?

Why do the "born again" consider themselves truer and more devoted than those who never faltered, the "always was" Christians? They preach their interpretation of the bible, a version that fits them better than the original. Not all, but a large portion of them argue that Catholics are not Christians. They also hate openly in the name of religion. They hate anyone who isn't like them. They hate other religions, the LGBT community, other nationalities, yet they swear, smoke, drink, take drugs, have affairs - while openly criticizing everyone else.

One such woman commented on a religious video, how she has tried for years to save her husband and hasn't been successful so far. This woman thanks God for giving her and her husband the chance to make their relationship right and keep them together after years of turmoil, yet she openly disrespects him for not being "born again: or as devoted to their religion as she is.

This got me thinking about being saved or born again. If you're in need of saving you must have broken at least one of the commandments. So I decided to double check the Ten Commandments and see what would qualify someone to need saving.

1.   You can't have any other God
2.   You can't make or idolize an image of anything in heaven, on earth, or in the waters. If you       do, God will punish you and your children for 4 generations. But if you obey this commandment,     God will love your family for 1,000 generations.
3. Don't use God's name in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath holy
5. Honour your father and mother
6. Don't murder
7. Don't commit adultery
8. Don't steal
9. Don't be a false witness against anyone
10. Do not covet anything that belongs to others

Clearly, even if someone isn't breaking any of these rules but doesn't go to church and doesn't push religion down everyone's throat, some religious zealots would consider this person in need of saving.

Bambi and Thumper

These photographs by Tanja Askami from Alberta, were sent to me in an email that is being forwarded around.  I think they're incredible and I wanted to share their beauty with everyone.

Mom's Old Clothesline

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: 

• You had to hang the socks by the toes... not the top. 
• You hung pants by the bottom or cuffs... not the waistbands. 
• You had to wash the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines. 
• You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first. 
• You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think? 
• Wash day was on a Monday! Never hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
• Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle ( to keep them out of sight from the perverts & neighbourhood busybodies) 
• It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... clothes would "freeze-dry."  but they would 'thaw' and then still be wet after we had them inside awhile)
• Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky"! 
• If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item. 
• Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed. 
• Ironed???!! Well, that's a whole OTHER subject! 

There is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty.

The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town.  From the beginning, dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family.  The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family.  In my young mind, he had a special niche.  My parents were complementary instructors:  Mom taught me good from evil and dad taught me to obey.  But the stranger, he was our storyteller.  he would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.


If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future.  He took my family to the first major league ball game.  he made me laugh, and he made me cry.  The stranger never stopped talking, but dad didn't seem to mind.  Sometimes, mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet.  I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honour them.  Profanity for example, was not allowed in our home - not from us, our friends or any visitors.  Our long time visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.

My dad didn't permit liberal use of alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis.  he made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished.  He talked much too freely about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger.  Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked, and never asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family.  He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first.  Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?  For short, we just call him T.V.  He has a wife now ... we call her, Computer.  They have two children.  The first born is named Cell Phone and their second child is iPod.  Just last year they had their first grandchild they named iPad.

Outrageous! Accused in Wilson Bullying Trial Fond Not Guilty

Briefly: A boy was taunted, harassed, beaten and terrorized by bullies. Charges were pressed but before it went to trial, the tormented child committed suicide. He couldn't testify.

Read the story and watch the video.

This is outrageous.

You may not be her first

You may not be her first, her last, or her only.

She loved before she may love again.

But if she loves you now, what else matters?

She's not perfect- you aren't either,

and the two of you may never be perfect together,

but if she can make you laugh;

cause you to think twice;

and admit to being human and making mistakes,

hold onto her and give her the most you can.

She may not be thinking about you every second of the day,

but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break - her heart.

So don't hurt her,

don't change her,

don't analyze and don't expect more than she can give.

Smile when she makes you happy,

let her know when she makes you mad,

and miss her when she's not there.

The Knots Prayer

Dear God,

Please untie the knots

that are in my mind,

my heart and my life.

Remove the have nots

the can nots and the do nots

that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots,

may nots,

might nots that may find

a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots,

would nots and

should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all,
Dear God,

I ask that you remove from my mind,

my heart and my life all of the ‘am nots’

that I have allowed to hold me back,

especially the thought

that I am not good enough.

Amen
- Author Known to God
(Liz Thompson)

Sharing Music: The Adele Effect

I heard Adele's "Rolling in the deep" while we were visiting Seattle... fell in love with the song. Fast forward a bunch of months and I heard more of her music. "I found a boy", "Someone like you", "Set fire to the rain" quickly became favourites and I bought them through iTunes. So far in less than a couple weeks, I have heard them 37 times through iTunes, probably at least that many times through my ipod and an equal number in the car.

I have an old friend who liked a mellow playlist I have, so I sent him the YouTube links to two of the songs and expressly told him not to read anything into the lyrics. Now I'm not even sure if I shoud've sent the links at all....

He has sent me links to songs and tells me if they have any sentimental meaning - usually they do, I sent him links to songs - mosty stuff I like that (mostly) have no relevance to our friendship. I sent him Saudis in Audis, a funny song.
I feel funny about these songs or rather how they may be interpreted. I think I may never share music with him again.

Someone like you http://youtu.be/qemWRToNYJY
I found a boy http://youtu.be/_yEVYJjpac8

Goodbye My Lover

"Goodbye My Lover"
~ James Blunt

Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.
You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when,
My heart was blinded by you.
I've kissed your lips and held your hand.
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.
I know you well, I know your smell.
I've been addicted to you.

[x2]
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

I am a dreamer and when I wake,
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.
And as you move on, remember me,
Remember us and all we used to be
I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.
I've watched you sleeping for a while.
I'd be the father of your child.
I'd spend a lifetime with you.
I know your fears and you know mine.
We've had our doubts but now we're fine,
And I love you, I swear that's true.
I cannot live without you.

[x2]
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

And I still hold your hand in mine.
In mine when I'm asleep.
And I will bare my soul in time,
When I'm kneeling at your feet.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.

Eleven Rules of Life

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: They called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. *This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. *Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Success in Business: An Observation

Hard work, excellent workmanship and attention to detail will make your business flourish

- unless you're a paying member in a networking group that will promote you even if you are a half-wit with nothing but a half assed idea and zero drive to succeed.

Gigi Gorilla

My friend Gigi gorilla, is a sweet quiet girl. She's always with me. Shares my happy days and consoles me when I'm sad.

Everyone told me she was mean and dangerous.
Everyone teased her. Poked at her. Made fun of her and were very mean to her.
For years they made her feel bad about herself and laughed at everything she said or did. This made her sad and she cried often.
This went on for years and years until one day, Gigi stood up, bared her teeth and let out an enormous roar. She had had enough of this abuse and lashed out at her abusers.

They ran away but her behaviour reinforced what they had said all along - that she is mean and dangerous.

The moral of this story is, if you abuse someone long enough, they will attack back and live up to what you made them out to be in the first place.
~ Author unknown





I can't remember where I found this.
If you are the writer or you know who is, please let me know so I can give proper credit.

Mother Teresa Quotes

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“I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.” 

“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.” 

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.” 

“Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” 

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” 

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 

“God doesn't require us to succeed, he only requires that you try.” 

“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.” 

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” 

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” 

“Peace begins with a smile..”

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”

“Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” 

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” 

“I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will not ask, 'How many good things have you done in your life?' rather he will ask, 'How much love did you put into what you did?” 

“Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” 

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” 

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” 

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” 

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” 

“Never travel faster than your guardian angel can fly.” 

“Live simply so others may simply live.” 

“Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.” 

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” 

“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.” 

“If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.” 

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” 

“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”

“A life not lived for others is not a life.” 

“Let us make one point, that we meet each other with a smile, when it is difficult to smile. Smile at each other, make time for each other in your family.”

“Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less.” 

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” 

“Life is a game, play it.” 





― Mother Teresa

Giving Away Furniture

Friend or Foe

Biggest Loser

I can't wait for this season to be over.
I think a lot of it isn't real and is set up -- I don't trust the scales and the way they make people vote off others, is just mean. If this was truly a contest to see who can be the biggest loser, they would automatically let the person with the lowest weight loss percentage, go home.

Also, last season they had a guy named Neil, who gained 11 pounds by drinking water. It was all a strategy so he would be one of the people up for elimination -- this way, the group would vote to get rid of the other guy. This made me angry! It's dirty, dishonest and physically dangerous and (in my opinion) impossible and unlikely. That's one of the reasons I don't trust the scale and think it could be rigged. Anyhow, this season there's a father - son team and the father is underhanded, sneaky and manipulative. He has said and did whatever he can to make sure his son in in the final four. Both of them ended up in the final four so the ending should be interesting.

I know who I'd like to see win but I'm betting it won't be that person....

Incidentally, I wonder how much a size 8 person weighs.
Also, I wonder what size a 161 pound person would be... curious because of something the biggest loser contestant, Helen, said.

Grow up already!

When acquaintances grow horns and cause trouble...

About two years ago, I met a couple that I can honestly say, I didn't like. She's touchy feely and becomes even more uninhibited and hands-on the more she drinks (and ingests etcetera's ...), and he's a short guy that suffers with masculinity issues.

Something about them bugged me right from the start.
Maybe it's the way she throws herself on all the men, touching, kissing, gyrating or maybe it's the way they are clingy and needy creatures that demand all your attention, like a couple of kids going through the terrible two's. Quite possibly it's their gossipy giggly need to spread rumors and destroy relationships for the sheer pleasure of watching the process of collapse in their friend's relationships, that bothers me the most.

I've had to tolerate them because they are friends of friends. I've had to watch and listen to them complain, brag, whine, have hissy fits, lie and snicker. All along grinding my teeth behind my fake smile. Realistically, I wouldn't normally put up with that for as long as I did, but I really felt like I was obligated to until, they decided to include me in their most recent fight with a friend.

The woman sent an email to the female half of the couple we are friends with. It was a nasty bit of email. She made accusations and waited for the sparks to fly. By the time it was over, I was receiving copies of all the correspondence between them because she said she was trying to "protect" my husband and I from our friends. None of what the emails contained were of any concern to us nor did any of it pertain to us; she simply wanted to forward email to start trouble.

This time her target was us and here's a little bit of the reason behind her jealous fit and outrage ...

Several weeks ago, we went away overnight with our friends (couple A) but the problem couple (we'll call them couple B), got all bent out of shape over it. They (couple B) don't like anyone getting close to their friends (couple A) even though we had been friends with couple A, about a year longer than couple B had been, we didn't want to cause trouble so we kept our distance. Cautiously optimistic that we can maintain our friendship with couple A, without ruffling feathers. At that time, we were being much more guarded because we knew couple B would attempt to cause trouble, all that remained to be seen was the how and when.

The when, apparently is now; the how, is by trying to destroy the credibility of couple A, and planting seeds of doubt about their loyalty.

When I received the emails, I read through them carefully for any reference to myself or my husband and sent a simple response and clarification to a statement she had made -- with that, I have heard no further from either the husband, nor his wife.


So, I no longer need to babysit and monitor their behavior or share my evenings out with them. I feel a sense of relief as though a heavy nagging weight has been lifted from my shoulders...
I say, goodbye, so long and good riddance.

That was yesterday ... and how was your day ?

Creating a new blog

Well here it is, my newest blog.
I can't believe I'm doing this again.