I’m sitting here on a Saturday morning, waiting for the weather to turn into something I love, watching Peggy Sue got Married. I love that movie, any movie or show or book where people travel through time gets my attention.
In case you haven’t seen it, the premise is Peggy Sue has a medical emergency and travels back to her teenage self. After she gets a handle on what happened to her, she seizes this opportunity to right all of her perceived wrongs. First off is not marrying her high school sweetheart. Next, and here’s the part I really love, she gets to know the people she shunned, not really shunned, they just weren’t in her circle.
She befriends the nerd, the one that will really make something of himself in the future, she gives him a heads up on what will happen in technology and women’s fashion. She first friends him to see if he can help her get back to her time, at first he thinks she is making fun of him, then realizes she is telling the truth. It is pleasant watching their friendship unfold.
Next she engages with the real social outcast, the James Dean type, the deep, poet spouting, motorcycle riding, too good-looking to be real guy. She simply has, hmm what is the word we use here, a tryst with him, he thinks it is something deeper. Wants her to come with him to Utah to live on a chicken farm with another woman. Because polygamy is legal in Utah (apparently in that time frame), the quick thinking Peggy Sue says she can’t because she is allergic to chickens.
She tries her best to change her future, she keeps breaking the heart of her boyfriend, breaking up with him. Accusing him of all the things he does in the future, which of course confuses him greatly because he hasn’t done those things yet.
Towards the end Peggy Sue comes to realize her children would not exist if she succeeds in changing things. When she comes to that realization she wakes up in her future self, things seemingly normal, like it was all a dream.
Then someone brings her a book the poet wrote, dedicated to her and she realizes it wasn’t a dream.
I think a lot about this, if I landed in my teenage body, what would I do, who would I want to befriend that I didn’t? knowing some of these people as adults, there are a few I would have liked to have known in jr high and high school.
I believe core personalities are formed in our childhoods, our pre-school days, take me for instance, I am caustic, sarcastic, funny, nerdish, geeky as all get out and engaging. I don’t say this for bragging rights, although I could, I say this because I have always had these core personality traits. They have not always won friends and influenced people.
So, seeing old school mates in the form they are in now, getting to know their core personalities here’s a list of a few of the people I wish I had taken the time to talk to:
Fred – he’s funny, sarcastic and speaks his mind. He does not mince words to save feelings. I like that.
Billy – once again, funny is the first word, also sweet and thoughtful.
Deanna – She is sweet, thoughtful and giving.
Carol – She is sweet and stands up for what she believes in.
Here’s one I don’t know on FB, but did know in HS, however, we were never really good friends as we traveled in very different circles.
Eldora, she was smart, like crazy smart, and when you did speak to her she was nice, and funny, I truly regret not getting to know her.
There are more, however it would take a long time to list them all, these are the ones that made the short list.
As to what I would change otherwise, nothing, because my life is well my life and while not perfect it is mine. I wouldn’t want different children, so nothing to change there, so everything else would remain intact. Oh I would talk to my parents more, and visited my grandma and great-aunt Effie more. Those are things I would change.
The Cult of Rustic Cuff
I was a single struggling mom once upon a time, there were situations where making a decision between paying the electric bill or buying food to feed my children were realities.
I am saying this as a preface to what I am about to vent, yes vent, rant, an old fashioned Angie Rant is in the works.
As I have written about before, I was introduced to the world of Rustic Cuff, it is a store in Tulsa that has become a phenomenon. The owner gives away a lot of bracelets and does great things in the community, the following is nothing on her.
I was introduced to a group on Facebook (of course) called Addicted 2 Cuffs, Jill Donovan Fan Club, kid you not, that is the name.
In this club I have seen some really good things, but the majority of things I have seen border on narcissistic, selfish, unkind and unfeeling behavior. They worship Jill like she is Jesus come to earth again. They say things like, in the spirit of Jill and what Jill would want and things of that nature. I am not going to lie; I have been truly bothered by some of the things I have seen.
First I am going to touch on the things I have seen that have inspired me, the woman who took her mother out this Christmas and they bought lunch for strangers. Took money and went to fast food places and paid for people’s meals that were in line at the drive-thru. That was inspiring, the woman who spoke of her friend whose husband lost his job, people donated gift cards so she could buy groceries and gas. Inspiring. Jill taking toy donations for the children’s ward at the local hospitals. Inspiring.
Then we see the ugly side of things, the woman whose 5-year-old son told her he needed money for the Santa shop at school, she asked what he was going to buy. He said he wanted to buy her a bracelet, because she wears them and he wanted to get her one because they make her happy. She told her son not to buy her any bracelet but Rustic Cuff. He said I guess I’ll buy you a necklace, because even a 5-year-old knows he can’t afford one of those bracelets. One could almost feel his defeat, as his mother cackled about this and women clicked like and made comments like, oh I don’t own anything but Rustic Cuff. This mother should be ashamed of herself, all her son knew was mommy wears pretty bracelets and loves them and he wanted to be included on her arm.
God help the person who sells one of these things they have bought with their own money, these women become vicious. Here’s the thing, once one buys something, it becomes theirs to do with what they want. If someone on eBay is willing to pay 4 times the original price, well good for that seller. They are living the American Dream, it is called supply and demand, it is called feeding your family.
To the woman who said her goal this year was to give away 52 of these things, I am truly flabbergasted. I did the math, even on the low-end, that is $1,200.00 to $1,500.00 in costume jewelry. I’m sorry, but if you saved that money all year and at the end of the year used that lump sum to truly help someone in need, that is in the spirit of Christ.
Let’s not kid ourselves, Jill is making money hand over fist, that is why she can give away trips to Disneyland and Iwatches and IPad and free bracelets. She is incredibly altruistic, but she is not Jesus! Women are forgetting that, once again, when I see in the spirit of Jill or let’s do what Jill would want I am a little horrified.
I wonder if this woman who started all of this reads some of these things and is just as horrified as I am, I wonder if she thinks how can I rein it in. I don’t know, I don’t know her, at all.
I do know she did a wonderfully nice thing for someone very close to me and I really appreciate it. But Jill is not Jesus. I did not praise her, I thanked God for His work in this woman’s life.
I am done buying bracelets, I have enough, after all, I only have two arms, I have the ones I want, ones that represent people and things very near and dear to me. My children, my home state and my Sooners, that is enough.
Oh, I also wear bracelets other than Rustic Cuff, gasp, I know, right! Imagine the horror!
I have seen pictures of some of the collections of these women and I have done the math, no one needs over $3,000.00 worth of costume jewelry, no matter the message of the owner of the company. You could have a really good piece of jewelry that you could hand down to your children for that amount of money.
I know I will take a lot of bashing for this, as those women are vicious when they feel that their cult has been belittled. However, living in Texas, I feel relatively safe.
Foy and Odela, the Story Continues
So, today, my parents are celebrating their 82nd wedding anniversary in heaven, I know without a doubt there will be coconut cake, as that was my dad’s favorite.
They were married January 13, 1934, during a time in America that was bleak and chances of success were seemingly nonexistent. They beat the odds, they worked together for a good life for themselves and their children. They didn’t attribute any of their success to luck, they attributed it to God and hard work.
I know on this day, in the past, I have told their courtship story and how they came to be a couple, but today I’d like to tell about their journey across the United States during the Great Depression to find work and keep their family together.
After they were married and after they had two children, Foy and Odela had a conversation about the future welfare of their growing family. There was no work in Oklahoma and it was the dust bowl of America at the time. Crops were not growing, there was no work, Foy knew there was work in California, so they packed their family up in the old Model T Ford and started their journey.
It wasn’t a straight shot, it didn’t take several days, it took months, as they worked their way across the nation towards a better life. You see when Foy and Odela started the journey, they had no money for gas or food, so they had to work their way towards the future.
They found farms along the way that needed migrant workers to help bring the crops in. Foy and Odela picked cotton, they picked tomatoes, they picked green beans, they picked anything they could to make the money for their next leg of the journey.
Their car broke down in New Mexico, there they were, on a dirt road, knowing no one, with a toddler and a baby. There were no cell phones in those days, not even phone booths on every corner, and it wasn’t a well-traveled road.
Foy flagged down the first car he saw, it was filled with other migrant workers, ones that did not speak English. But by hand gestures and the looks of panic on Foy and Odelas’ faces let the family in the other car know something was wrong. The man took a look at the engine and somehow conveyed he knew someone who could fix it, however, night was coming and it could not be fixed in the dark.
The other family gestured that Foy and Odela should ride with them to their house, the family was very literally dirt poor. Odela would later recount how the floor was dirt, but the house was somehow clean, the family shared what food they had with them and made sure they were comfortable for the night.
The next morning, true to his word, the man went to get the mechanic and they fixed the car, gave Foy and Odela some food from their meager supply and sent them on their way.
Odela later said it was the first time she had ever encountered people who were different from her and God taught her a valuable lesson. All people, everywhere, just want to provide for their family and make sure their children have better opportunities than they had. She would say that day she had been humbled in the presence of grace and generosity.
They finally made it to California where my dad worked in a gold mine, my parents painted houses, had another baby and then my dad landed the job at McDonald Douglas, which after a few years allowed him to transfer back to Oklahoma, where they landed in Owasso.
What I Wanted
I wanted to like Supergirl, no, scratch that, I wanted to love Supergirl. We haven’t had a real female superhero score her own television show since Wonder Woman in the 70’s. we were due, we were hopeful, the same person that gave us Arrow and The Flash, Greg Berlanti, was in charge. How could this go wrong?
Wrong it has gone, and I can’t figure out why, is it because it’s on CBS and not The CW? The CW has a reputation for being edgier than the big three. Supergirl is more like a chick flick than an action superhero show. Honestly the most fleshed out character is Cat Grant. A secondary character from Superman, I don’t understand.
Our heroine is unsure of herself, she has a crush on Jimmy Olsen, and yes I know, now he prefers to be called James, don’t care, I’m old school. Now granted, the actor that plays Jimmy Olsen is so good looking it makes my teeth hurt, but still.
She makes a lot of foolish mistakes based on that crush, and the love triangle they are trying to make out of that crush. Bringing in Lucy Lane, did they do this to give us a greater tie to Superman? After all Lucy is Lois Lane’s sister, so now we have two ties to the Metropolis, Superman world.
Did we need that? And all these people that know her secret, how many do we need? I love, love, love that Dean Cain plays her dad, oh and many times does Kara really need to correct people and say foster parents. Seriously, beat us over the head.
Her sister is great, she is an original character, not of the DC Universe, they made her up for the show. I like her, it does give Kara a tie to the DEO, I love that J’onn J’onzz Martian Hunter is her boss. I called that one, by the way.
I said from the beginning, he is the Martian, however, in this world, he doesn’t seem to know Superman, and he was part of the Justice League.
This Supergirl needs to get their act together, they will be losing hardcore fans if they don’t, I’m not even sad that it is not on next week.
I had such high hopes, we have been waiting patiently for a female superhero on the small screen.
The closest we have come since Wonder Woman is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, perhaps Greg Berlanti needs to contact Joss and get some advice on how to write a great female hero. Although, Felicity is beautifully done on Arrow, I don’t understand what’s happening.
Perhaps they are taking a break to get their writing team together to watch old episodes of BtVS, or even WW. She was awesome, empowering, yet kept her femininity.
I really want to like, no love Supergirl.
About Me
So, I saw this thing on Facebook the other day, I decided not to do it there, but to do it here. It’s kind of like a get to know you, and well almost everyone on there knows me. Not everyone here does, so here goes:
Three names I go by
1. Angie
2. Angela
3. Angel (only by certain cousins, no one else is allowed to call me that)
Three places I lived
1. Oklahoma City
2. Owasso
3. Plano
Three places I have worked
1. TG&Y
2. Printing companies
3. Large telecommunications corporation
Three things I love to watch
1. All Superhero shows and movies
2. Anything Joss Whedon
3. Anything with Star in the title, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate (any of them)
Three places I have been
1. The mountains in Colorado
2. The beaches in Florida
3. To see movie making magic in CA
Three things I love to eat
1. Mexican food
2. Chocolate
3. Popcorn
Three favorite drinks (not water)
1. Pomegranate juice
2. Coffee
3. Starbucks refreshers
Three things I am looking forward to:
1. Financial freedom
2. Starting my own business
3. The future
Also a little know fact about me, I hate sports, but love sports movies, I will sit and watch them all day long.
Sad Resolution or Commendable Goal?
I got sucked in. By a headline. It’s a sad day folks, I not only got sucked into a headline, it was one about one of the Kardashian crew. Yes, I’m sad, for me.
However, I couldn’t stop myself, it said that Kourtney’s New Years Resolutions were sad. I had to see what a sad New Years Resolution was.
I was sucked in. By a headline. For the secular world I can see why her goals for the coming year were sad. She actually expressed a desire to have a deeper relationship with Jesus, to continue with her fitness goals and be the best mother she could be. To work on her, not worry about how others perceive her.
Is there a higher goal for a Christian? To seek a deeper relationship with the one who gave His all for us? Why would anyone call that sad? I call that commendable, I was actually a little heartened to read it. I pray she can keep it up in the materialist world she lives in.
Of course this set me off to look at my goals for 2016, I have one specific goal, which I will not post at this time.
I am contemplating a change, a different path, for myself, I have shared it with a few people and they have told me they think it’s a great goal. I can’t wait to share it with you all.
Look for it at the end of January or beginning of February.
My New Years Eve evening will be quiet and fun, I am spending it in my home with Tess. One of the best ways I can think of to ring in the new year.
In case you’re wondering, the Irishman will be at work.
There is so much I am looking forward to in the new year, on so many fronts, personally, professionally, entertainment wise, it’s just going to be a great year.
I would love to see what goals you will be working on in the new year, please feel free to comment.
The In-between Week
Christmas has passed, and it was a good Christmas, filled with my beautiful children, Tess and the Irishman.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the overuse of superlatives in the American language, it has become ubiquitous. It’s ordinary now to see awesome, great, amazing or fantastic, when in fact what the person is talking about is good, ordinary or in some cases it really is extraordinary, however it is not amazingly awesome. I myself am guilty of this phenomenon, I must ask myself, when did this happen?
I don’t remember, in my younger years, using hyperbole so much, however in my middle years, I find myself doing it on, embarrassingly, an hourly basis.
Since this is the week of New Years, and a time when people typically make out lists of things they are going to give up, I thought I would start with my language.
So, here goes, my list of things I am going to work on in 2016:
1.) I shall give up the overuse of superlatives, only using them when they are warranted. Not callously tossed about, given without thought, without measure.
B.) I will only buy shoes I need, not have to have, will die without, I have a ton of shoes and refuse to buy things I don’t need. Elizabeth Anne, I need you to keep me on the straight and narrow on this one.
III.) I will learn to use Alexa efficiently, right now I am just bugging her to find Dean Cain for me. She is balking on that task, so, she and I will learn about each other and I will learn her ways.
A.) I will make more of an effort, that’s it, you can fill in the blank with this one.
That’s it, that’s my list, in a nutshell, I am not one to give up things I know I will not be able to. However, there are things I can change, and those I will work on.
I would love to hear what you are going to work on, try to change, or even give up.
It is time now to put away the Christmas decorations, get the house ready for New Years, I will be making my 15 bean soup with the leftover honey ham from Christmas. Also cornbread is on the menu. Jeffrey will not come over for that as he is allergic to beans and hates when I make that. I do fully expect to see Alex and Elizabeth Anne and maybe a few others.
Oh and I have one more, I will be going through my closet and getting rid of what I don’t wear. I seriously need to do that, it’s embarrassing.
My Thoughts on The Force Awakens
I am filled with emotion right now, good, bad, angry, sad, elated, all spectrums of the emotional range, I am.
I just saw then new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, I am overwhelmed. This will be a spoiler free post, just in case you were wondering.
First of all, seeing the familiar and hearing the familiar, from John Williams unforgettable score, to Chewbacca’s signature, well, I have no words to describe his language, it was just incredible.
You can tell this film was done by someone who loves the whole Star Wars realm, which kinda pisses me off. Because this is the same person who did the reboot of another much beloved realm, Star Trek.
The differences between the two are glaring, J. J. Abrams himself admitted he was not a fan of ST, however was a huge fan of SW. I cannot begin to tell you how I wish ST had been entrusted to someone who loved it.
I am not going to put down the ST movies, as I did enjoy them for what they were, they were not my beloved ST, they were different.
However, having seen how he treats something he loves vs. how he treats something he has no heart in, well it leaves me angry.
I will be seeing TFA again, and again, and yet again, because it is just that good, not good, great, awesome, amazing. Lovingly crafted by someone who has respect, knowledge and a fondness for detail. This was a film, ST was a movie, huge difference.
My hopes are high for the new ST coming out, however, having seen the trailer, I am not holding out hope. Even though Simon Pegg has rushed to assure true fans of ST that the movie is nothing like the trailer and he, himself was disappointed with it.
I am one of those people that love both, Star Trek and Star Wars, I am more passionate about Star Trek. I readily admit that, Star Trek introduced me to space travel, it took me to places I will never be able to visit outside of my imagination. It gave me hope for the future of earth, like nothing else does, as the realities of this earth are getting closer to a nuclear meltdown.
Star Wars took me to a galaxy far, far away, where none of the characters were from earth, therefore not bound by human rules. It was old fashioned good vs. evil, and you can easily tell the good guys from the bad.
I love them both. I just wish the same person had not done both in this generation.
Ignorance vs Stupidity
I would rather meet someone ignorant than stupid, ignorance can be corrected, stupidity cannot. The dictionary defines ignorant as lacking in knowledge or training, the definition for stupidity is foolish or unintelligent. So you see, by definition, ignorance can be cured.
The reason for this is of course a Facebook post, someone re-posted something someone else posted without research. Now I am guilty of this myself, however, when corrected or someone posts the research as a comment I quickly correct my post.
The person posted something about a major retailer, it didn’t sound true, so I researched it and posted the research under it and said hey this isn’t true.
Their response was does it matter. Does it matter? Let’s think about this, you posted something that was erroneous and potentially harmful to the retailer. As it was quite vicious in it’s accusations. Plus, let’s add on the fact that the person portrays themselves to be a Christian.
So now we’ve got a violation of do not bare false witness and thou shall not lie, so yes, Virginia, it does matter.
It matters for so many reasons, first you are showing that you are not ignorant as you cannot learn, you are showing that you are stupid or foolish. Next it matters due to the fact if, a big if I admit, many people believe the vitriol it could hurt the major retailers’ business. That would mean layoffs, people losing their jobs and not being able to provide for their families. I know that’s a big supposition, however, it could happen.
After that, we have your immortal soul, do you really want this to be the thing you have to explain to God when you die? Because, contrary to popular belief, God can see everything you do, yes, even on the internet.
People think they are invisible or they forget that that God is omniscient, He sees all, He knows all. I have to admit, there will be quite a few things I have to answer for when I die, however baring false witness will not be one of them.
Choose what you post carefully, I try, I am not always successful, but I do try and I feel that if I am ignorant on a subject I will educate myself.
In the words of Judge Judy, Beauty is skin deep, Stupid is forever. Ignorance can be cured, stupidity cannot, and with the advent of the internet we are seeing stupidity overtake ignorance in a big way.
This is my advise to everyone, read, read then read some more, if you have any doubt on anything you read, then read more. Education is the key to fighting ignorance and warding off stupidity.
My Review of the Rustic Cuff Business
I’m going to tell you something, something I don’t advertise or tell anyone that I do, to me it is a private thing and something that gives me great joy. Whenever I am in the drive-thru at Starbucks I pay for the person behind me. I know what you are thinking, what is the big deal, well I am telling you that because it parlays into what I am about to delve into.
I was raised to take Matthew 6:4 at it’s literal word, in case you have forgotten what it says: “Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” My mother was a pro at this, I didn’t know she made quilt tops for homeless veterans until I was 16 years old and caught her and my dad loading them into the car to deliver to the woman who would distribute them.
I am also a Mary Kay Consultant, something else that will come into play as you will soon see. In Mary Kay we are taught the Golden Rule, if you don’t know it when you become a Consultant, you learn it in lesson one. For those of you not familiar with it: Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Do unto others what you would have them do unto you. Pretty simple and clear cut. These are lessons we should all be learning as children, and they should not be a surprise to anyone as an adult.
Now, onto the heart of why I am telling you all this, there is a company in Tulsa called Rustic Cuff. The owner and creator of the business is a woman named Jill, her back story is well worth reading. It’s a great backstory, although, the majority of us in life have a great backstory. However, it takes a rare individual to take that story and make it a business, not only a business but a thriving one, especially one that is specialized.
You see the company makes and sells bracelets, and the owner is constantly giving them away. So now the women who buy them also give them away, they call it “gifting”. They imbue Jill with the attributes usually reserved for sainthood, I find it a little disconcerting.
Don’t get me wrong, what she has created is special and wonderful, she has taken a setback and created a business. She is adding to the economy of Tulsa, employing people and selling a much sought after item. But she is not in the league of a Mary Kay Ash or Ebby Halliday, yet, once she begins to employee more women and create more jobs without ceilings for them I will be more impressed.
You see in Mary Kay, we are taught about gifting, we give gifts with every purchase (the majority of us do), we also give a gift for having us in your homes. When we deliver product we have it wrapped prettily in a gift back with tissue. I have customers tell me that they look forward to my deliveries because even though they are paying for the product they feel like they are getting a gift.
Jill does give a lot of bracelets away, they have bracelets and cuffs, the followers call them all cuffs. They are not, they are bracelets, they buy them by the 100’s, from what I have seen. One woman posted that her husband (who is in the military and deployed) saw their bank account on line, called her and told her no more. She had spent roughly $400.00 on bracelets. Bracelets. The women then began commenting that she should spend more! I saw that and was floored, I thought can someone say divorce court.
I see women posting that they will have to feed their family fried bologna because they have spent too much on these things. They have to scrounge for rent or house payments, I just think to myself this is insane.
I have a few of these very attractive pieces, I will not be “gifting” any of them as I purchased ones that represent things in my life. I have also asked my children for one for Christmas, it is a true cuff and is a cutout of Oklahoma. Once again something that means something special to me.
I fully believe this woman is doing great things and is guided by the Golden Rule, from what I have seen she is very giving, very driven, high energy and family oriented. She is a rare breed of woman that God has blessed beyond measure and she is giving back. She gives back to the community at large, I have seen her do great things with this newfound fame she has garnered. I pray she continues and God continues to bless her, what I want to say to her followers, and they are followers, not mere customers, is that the near worship you have for her is a little scary. I have seen you post pictures of her children when they were out with their mother. I have seen you take pictures of Jill without her knowledge, with her in the background, some with her children in them. I have no words for that.
Please remember, this is a business, she is a business woman, with everything she is giving away, she is making a lot of money. This is not an altruistic business, it has a bottom line, however she seems to have her priorities in order, God, Family, Business. I pray she has continued success. I love seeing women succeed in business, but her premise is nothing new, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Angie World 