Today is Granny Dee’s birthday, she has been on my mind a lot lately. I really miss her, she always seemed to know when I needed her to call me.
It’s an odd thing in today’s world to actually like your mother in law, it’s odder still to like your ex-mother-in-law, but I did, she was always good to me and my children I have no complaints at all about her.
There were times she could infuriate me, like anyone else, but, if I were honest, it was times she was right and I was wrong. No one likes being wrong, especially me.
But today, on her birthday, I would like to remember the great love she had for her grandchildren, the way she gave unconditionally of herself. She loved them all beyond anything, I understand that love after having been given the gift of Tessa, she never judged them, she would listen to all of their problems and didn’t tell them that their problems were of their own making.
She was gentle and patient with them, showing them a world where they could be themselves and tell her anything and she would still be their grandmother. Giving them time and attention, there were a lot of years I feel like she lost out due to physical distance, being in California while my children were here in Texas.
I wish they had gotten to have her for a longer period of time and I wish she had lived closer to them, that is my regret, the physical distance.
I feel like so much was lost during that time, I know why she felt she needed to be in California and I don’t begrudge her that time there.
Ok, let’s be honest, I wish I had more time with her, she was a great mother-in-law and a great friend and I still miss her every day. So today I say Happy Birthday Granny Dee, I know you are in heaven with your own mother and father and Michael having a great celebration!
WoooHoooo Friday!!!
What day is it you ask? Well, it’s Friday! Not only Friday but Tessa day as well! Yes, I am taking off early and picking her up from school, she has no school tomorrow on the actual Friday so she is spending the night with her Gigi!! Oh, that’s me by the way.
We have had a visitor for the past week, Russ has been here visiting, for those of you who don’t know, Russ is Jeffrey’s dog. Stormie loves having canine company, it socializes her and gets her used to being around 4 legged friends. Russ will be going home tomorrow, I do believe he misses his dad. for the past few nights he has slept practically on top of me. He is incredibly sweet.
Lately there have been so many health issues with people in my life, I don’t really think I am at the liberty to list them, however say prayers for the health of your loved ones.
We take it for granted, or at least I do, I am disgustingly healthy, so when people around me become ill or come down with a physical ailment I find it shocking. Several of the health issues have to do with growing older, some are mysterious headaches, others have to do with internal workings. Praying to the Great Physician to heal all of the people in my life.
I am still trying to figure out what the rest of my life should be about, amend that, I know parts of it, giving thanks to God for all of the awesome things in my life. I do have many, I have three of the most awesome children in the universe, I have a granddaughter who is nothing short of amazing, I have a fiance’ that loves me and encourages me to utilize the talents God has given me.
The friends that have been brought into my life, well, I don’t know what I did to deserve them, I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating, I am just glad I did something. Because more than a few of them make me want to be a better person.
I hope you all have a fantastic day and yes, I do realize today is Thursday and not Friday.
Shameless Plug
How do you behave when you think God can’t see you? Provocative question. It is one that should make you think. Even question your own behavior.
If you really want to know what I think on this topic head over to http://www.convosate.com. You can hear Shanon Jay and myself discuss this topic.
Too many times, and I, myself, am guilty of not always behaving like I should. As my grandmother would say “you’re doing something you ought not be doin'”. She was a very colorful speaker.
I am here to tell you that no matter where you are God sees all, He knows all. I see it far too much in the world. People forget that when they let the world know that they have accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts as their Lord and Savior they are then being watched. By everyone. Some want you to be successful in your walk with Christ others cannot wait to see you stumble and fall.
Here’s the thing, if you tell someone you are a Christian and they look you in the eye and say I would never have guessed that. Your behavior does not reflect what you want people to see about you.
To hear about this head over to wee.convosate.com.
Giving Up
There have been several things I have given up in the past year, diet coke, I have not had one since before Easter of 2013, microwave popcorn, I have not had this since January of last year. Thank you Elizabeth Anne for that one, the Whirly Pop is awesome. Artificial sweeteners, I gave those up in 2012, one would think this would cause me to lose weight. No, not me, fat loves me, wants to stick around, sad is what it is.
I now have my coffee at home, except for Fridays, and have water with lemon in it the rest of the day. A real lemon by the way, not lemon flavoring, no sugar, just water and lemon.
I find myself craving it now; your body starts wanting the water and the vitamin C. I highly recommend it.
I know I need to exercise, I am hoping to start this Friday, my friend Gladys belongs to place that has Zumba at 7:30 in the evenings. While I cannot do it during the week, I can do it on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That is three days more than I am doing anything at the moment.
I am going to go this Friday, pray for me, I know it will kill me, like, literally kill me. I seriously hate exercise, I know I have said it before, I never get the endorphins people talk about, the love never comes. However, Zumba feels like dancing and that I can do. I know I will look like a zombie on crack doing it, but do it I shall.
Off to work I go, to have the fun, talk to the people, fix the Internet, because that’s my superhero power.
Monday Rant
There are things in this world I truly despise, loath really. The first being peppers, all peppers, I don’t discriminate in my dislike. Liver, have real issues with this particular food item, and skinny people who talk about obesity.
Loath and despise are really too strong for what I feel for them. Disdain is a better word.
I am not talking about people who have battled the weight issue and conquered it. I am talking about the naturally skinny people who maybe gain 5 or 10 pounds now believe they are qualified to weigh in on the battle against obesity.
Seriously! Until you truly know what it is to be fat, to be ridiculed because you have weight issue do not talk about the national obesity rate. Good grief, I am beyond insulted when this happens.
I want to yell YOU’RE SKINNY at the top of my lungs. I want to tell these people you have no idea what my struggle has been.
I am floored by it, once again, just addressing people who have never known true obesity.
I’m done now.
Medical Mask Needed
I don’t know what is happening here at work, people around me literally have the bubonic plague, it is medieval, meds people, meds!
I don’t even know how to properly explain it, but all at once, today, everyone started hacking, sneezing and making strange noises. I wanted to run to a drug store, buy a mask, cough drops and cough syrup to pass out. Do not give this to me people!
I refuse to get sick, I have a healthy metabolism, I will overcome all of the germs in my office environment.
On a happier note, or should I say healthier note, I am doing well with staying on the wagon. Today I incorporated a Starbucks treat within my point range, very happy about that. It is a once a week treat and I am ok with that, as long as I just don’t just slide back into old habits.
The thing is, I know what to do, and when I do it, I do it well, it is just the backsliding that trips me up. A decadent chocolate creation, sitting, teasing, waiting for me to indulge, what is one bite I say. One bite is everything.
I cannot do it, I cannot stray from my goal this time. I will be thin, I will be pretty, I will be attractive.
I heard this thing on the radio, it was asking women to name one part of themselves they liked. Physical, not mental or emotional, it stumped women, that simple questions. So I thought to myself, what do I like about myself physically, the word nothing immediately came to mind. I pushed it back down, I thought some more, I decided I like my mouth. I like the way it is shaped. I don’t have thin lips, they are not giant lips, they are perfect for my face.
I would love to hear what you like about yourself physically.
The Story of Foy and Odela
It’s that time again, yes, my parents anniversary, it always makes me smile, to think of them in their youth, just starting out, so much in love with the whole world at their feet.
My mom loved to tell their story, it is such a great story, so I am going to tell everyone here, I have a selfish motive, I want their story to live on forever, and it is such a great love story.
Odela was 5 years old when she opened the door to see a 7 year old Foy standing there, he said saw some boys come in here yesterday I know they live here can they come out and play? Five year old Odela stood and stared, she knew in that instant this was going to be the boy she would marry one day. It seemed like an eternity until she could find her voice; she finally stuttered “they’re here.” Her brothers came running to play with the twins Foy and Roy.
Odela and her best friend Joyce immediately fell for the twins, however, they had a big decision to make, who would get whom. Odela waited with baited breath to see who Joyce would choose, she chose Roy. Odela was relieved; she could still be friends with Joyce.
The years went by, Odela never revealed her feelings for Foy, once when she was 7; she was sitting in a tree singing, to the tune of Bring Back My Bonnie to Me, Bring Back My Foy to me. She heard a noise, looked down, and to her horror, there were her brothers and Foy. She kept very quiet so they wouldn’t see her. She just knew that they had heard her; she didn’t want to go home to face the ridicule of her older brothers. They never said a word, she was in the clear, no one had heard her.
When she was still in school, Foy left, he hopped a freight train to California to find work, as many young men were doing during the depression. Her brother told her she needed to move on, Foy wasn’t coming back, and she needed to find a husband. She stared at him, how did he know she asked, he said everyone knew.
She moved on, she started dating a local boy, she became engaged to him, her heart wasn’t there, she really didn’t want to, however she needed to move on. One evening, after they had been on a date, he drove down to the local pond and parked. He began to put the moves on her, as they say. She asked what he thought he was doing; he told her his mother said that if Odela loved him she would do certain things. She said she was not that kind of girl and he said well a man expects things, she said Foy wouldn’t. He said well Foy isn’t here, she said take me home and gave him back his ring.
Her brother said, he isn’t coming back, you need to find someone, you can’t be a spinster. She began dating another boy, one nicer, then it happened, her brother ran into house saying Foy was back. It was a Wednesday and they were all going to church that evening. Odela went into her bedroom sat on her bed and didn’t come out. Her brother came into the room and said come on, we’re going to church, she said she didn’t feel good and didn’t want to go. He said I know what’s wrong with you, get dressed let’s go.
So, she did the only thing she could, she got dressed and went to church, all during the service she was sandwiched between the boy she was dating and Foy. She began to pray, Lord, just take me now, open the floor, open the ceiling, whatever You need to do, just take me. He did not, He had other plans. Her boyfriend took her home; at the door she said I can’t see you anymore. He said I figured as much, I hope it all works out.
The next morning Foy came to the door, Odela answered, she said I’ll get my brother, he said, I came for you. The words she had been waiting to hear since she was 5 years old, she thought she had misheard, what, she said. He said it again, I came for you, I don’t think I like you going with any other boys, she said ok, well who should I go with.
He said me, she said well ok then.
They were married shortly after that, within a few weeks, on a Friday the 13th and they did live very happily ever after.
Romeo and Juliette was not a love story, Bonnie and Clyde was not a love story, Cleopatra and Marc Antony was not a love story. Foy and Odela, now there is a love story for the ages.
Mickey
We have lost another family member, this time Mickey has gone home, I do believe I have covered this before, I believe pets go to heaven. There is no one alive that can tell me that my animals will not be waiting for me in heaven. Mickey and Arthur were brothers and now they are together again.
While Arthur was the calm, king of the jungle type of cat, Mickey was a true predator, he knew when there was food, and he would stalk you and pounce when you least expected it. Stealing french fries from ones mouth or snitching chicken from your fingers, it was all fair game to him.
He started out a family cat and ended up being Elizabeth Anne’s best friend, her companion in all things, he was her confidante, keeping her secrets and being the best listener in the world. He never revealed one of her secrets to me, at all, he was good like that.
Mickey has spent his last years, like Arthur, with Elizabeth Anne at the farm, being her alarm clark in the wee hours of the morning, letting her know that he was ever present and like a true ruler of the roost needed his food, immediately.
I know she feels his loss more keenly than the rest of us do, he was more than a cat to her, he was her friend, he will be missed immensely.
He now rests with his brother and with Nocona, soon Chewie will join them, as I will be taking his ashes out there to be buried with his friends.
I have tried waiting for a good snow in order to take him out in the weather he loved, however that does not seem like it is going to happen Texas any time soon.
I’ll miss seeing you when I travel to the farm Mickey, I’ll miss hearing your plaintive meow and then your purr when I reach down to pet you. Then your look of disdain when you realize I don’t have a treat with me. I look forward to seeing you again my friend.
Late Start
I feel like I am starting all over again, on this stupid weight loss thing, I hate it, I wish I were like my BFF Tammi and naturally skinny. It’s seriously not fair, I have been battling this demon since I was born.
I read a lot of Maria Kang, the no excuses mom who takes a lot of flak in the media, she is right on the money though. Find your excuse and do away with it. Today she posted photos of her post baby and every month after on her way to being fit. I will not be posting the photos, but I am going to take one a month and track my progress via photos. They will be for my eyes only and hopefully they will give me encouragement.
yesterday was a good day food wise, I am thinking today will be as well.
Enough on that front, it is very windy here today, I am hoping that means the cold front that the Northerners are getting will come this way. One can only pray, it seems like I spend a lot of time praying for snow. I know what you are thinking, my prayers could be used in a different way. World peace, for the sick to be healed, the blind to see, however, I believe we pray for what is important to us.
Snow is important to me, it is my belief it is God’s way of communicating with me, telling me all is right in the world and my world will be ok. I do not count ice as that, I only count snow. I am seriously praying for snow on my birthday this year, as it is a milestone year I am hopeful God will acknowledge it in that way.
I am off to take down the Christmas tree and put away all evidence of holiday goodness until next year. I hope everyone has a great day, remember, whatever mistakes you make today you can correct them tomorrow. Or correct today what you did yesterday, it is never too late to start over in any area of your life.
A Milestone Year
Here we are, 2014, so far it feels a lot like 2013 and 2012 and so on and so on. I hear a lot about a new year, a new beginning, but is it really? What are we really going to change in 2014? Will we, as a nation, become more tolerant of different views on life happenings? Will we remember, as a nation, which claims to be Christian in nature and creation, that love is the greatest commandment of all? 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Will we remember, as one, to not judge? Matthew 7:1-3 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2) For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3) Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
I readily admit I am as guilty as anyone else of passing judgment, of forgetting that love is the greatest commandment Jesus left us with.
I don’t believe in resolutions, those are too easily forgotten and left by the wayside. I do believe in change, we are creatures of change; it is human nature to go forth, explore, change our environment to meet our needs. So this year, I vow to change, I vow to judge less, love more and accept the differences that we all exhibit.
That does not mean I believe sin is ok and live and let live, it means that I will love in spite of sin in others as God loves me in spite of my own sin.
This year is going to be momentous in a personal way, I hit a milestone in my life, it is not a pleasant one. It is one where I must face my own mortality. When we are young we tend to think that we are invincible, that we are going to live forever. At least I did, the aging process within my own family was showing me that longevity was a given.
Then my grandmother died, it was then I realized I would one day as well, and while I know this sounds silly, I really hadn’t thought about it before. In my mind I was invincible, I would live forever, I would see the world change around me and be part of it. Her dying showed me that everything ends, and I would not be on this earth forever. It was life changing, that realization, it was devastating.
Now, as I quickly approach the half-century mark, I must face my aging process, my body no longer responds like it did when I was 20 or even 30. My mind is still sharp, but I have to wonder how long that will last, will I begin to lose my memory, will thoughts escape me. The thought is daunting; it overwhelms me at times, the thought of losing my mind.
All I know it that I can’t control what happens in the future, I can control my reactions, my preparations. I can gain control of my eating habits and begin mental exercises as well.
As I go through this life change, hitting a mark that makes me officially old, I refuse to become depressed, I will, instead celebrate it. I have survived these past 50 years, no matter what life threw at me, I endured, I persevered and at times I won. Now I look forward to the next 70 years, oh, did I not mention I am going to live until I am 120 years old?
I look forward to seeing what advances are made, I look forward to seeing my children continue to grow into the adults I am proud of. I look forward to seeing Tessa grow into her own and go through those difficult teenage years.
I look forward to see what adventures I will have with the Irishman and our “daughter” Stormie. I look forward to seeing the great things that will happen in the lives of my friends. I know God is going to do great things in their lives.
I look forward to seeing where I go in the media that I love so much, writing and my new love the radio.
Yes, this will be an interesting year indeed.
Angie World 