Category: General

I have amazing news, I learned from Wanda that Mary Kay Corporate heard about our group, our efforts to keep our group together after the loss of our leader and were moved by our story. They contacted Wanda and asked if they could send a speaker to our next luncheon. Of course she said yes. So, this Sunday we will not only be lunching we will be hearing from a guest speaker from Mary Kay Corporate. I cannot help but think that Sandi is looking down at us and is pleased with our efforts to keep things going.
This has been a crazy week, a very busy, action packed week. On Wednesday our local CWA 6215 marched on the steps of the state capitol of Texas in Austin. We were not the only ones there, many unions were represented. We do not have a firm head count as of yet, but we do know there were over two thousand people there. It was amazing to be part of something larger than myself, to fight for our right to bargain, for better education for our children, better care for our disabled and elderly, I hope that Rick Perry takes not. I hope they all take note, we are a voice that will not be denied, we will be heard, we do have voting rights and we are not afraid to use them.
My anger is still in full force, however, I have decided to give it a rest for now, I am sure in the very near future someone will post something on facebook that will set me off again. But for now my soapbox and high horse are back in the closet, the hall closet, easily accessible.
Happy Friday everyone, it is going to be a great day, filled with great Texas weather and good friends, amazing conversations and well just the fact it is Friday makes it pretty cool.

I’m still angry, angry at women who continue to believe they cannot live without a man so they settle for any old man who comes along. Who cares if he berates you, beats you physically, emotionally or mentally, isn’t faithful, who cares? Who cares indeed, well you should care. You should care a great deal about how you are treated; the bible places your worth above rubies, so I don’t understand why you are setting your price so low?
When I read on facebook a status update written by a mother of two, an infant and a toddler about how she wants to snuggle with someone. Well, you have two children; shouldn’t they be your focus? Not your own physical, and might I add fleeting, needs? Quit posting you are bored and want to go out and party, you are an embarrassment to motherhood. Focus on those two children who did not choose to be here, you chose to bring them into this world, now it is your responsibility to woman up. Be a mom, if God chooses to bring a man into your life, well I hope you wait for that one instead of going with the first one who shows any sort of attention.
And for the record if you are the woman who is belittling your significant other, shame on you. I seriously do not understand the co-dependency that is running rampant. I know what I am worth, I know what I deserve, and I am very good at communicating those facts. I have no issues cutting people off who do not treat me the way I want and deserve to be treated. I know that these are harsh words, I feel as if now is the time to be brutally honest. And tell all of you I do not understand my own genders willingness to be abused. The one thing I am really proud of is the way I raised my daughter, she stands on her own two feet, she is strong and opinionated and vocal. No one treats her like dirt and gets away with it. Elizabeth Anne I am proud to be your mother, you make me proud on a daily basis.
I leave you with this:
Proverbs 31:10-31 (King James Version)
10Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

I have up until now refrained from speaking on the train wreck that is Chris Brown, however, with two women celebrities coming out as staunch supporters of his I find that I can no longer keep silent. Rosie O’Donnell said that if you don’t like Chris Brown you are racist, Sherrie Shepherd says that he is amazing and how can you not like him and forgive him. She went on and on about his performance on Dancing with the Stars, what she failed to mention is that Tom Bergeron refused to interview him, in fact said do not bring him over here to talk to me, Cheryl Burke refused to be backstage with him, she is a victim of domestic violence and from what I have read several other stars refused to acknowledge his presence.
I would like to address the racist part of this first, does anyone remember Tracy Lawrence? He was a rising country star in the mid to late 1990’s, he was up there with Tim McGraw and Toby Keith, I am not a fan of country music and I loved him. As a matter of fact went to several of his concerts, had his CD’s, loved his videos. They were innovative, unusual country videos; he was ahead of his time. Then he got married, to a beautiful girl, she was from Dallas, they went to Las Vegas, and he beat her in their hotel room. Now you know why you don’t know who Tracy Lawrence is, the country community never forgave him; if you hear his music on the radio it is rare. Videos? Gone. Did I mention he is white?
You have two artists, who did the same thing, beat a woman, not just any women, the women they were supposed to love. One artist in the hip hop community one in the country community. The country community shunned their artist who was amazingly talented. What I want to know is why are two women coming out in support of a woman beater? This is the horrifying part to me, forgiveness is one thing, but embracing him? I am saying this right now, Sherrie Shepherd you should be ashamed of yourself for supporting this woman beater, what message are you sending your son? Oh honey, it’s ok to beat a woman as long as you are talented. Is that the message? And Rosie O’Donnell, well, we all know you are crazy as a loon, but you have a son as well. Is this the message you want him to learn?
I do not care who you are, white, black, purple, red, multicolored, gay, straight, or transgender, it is never ok to beat the people we love. I don’t care how talented you are, if you are doing this, stop, get help, and to the people that are being abused, leave, go to a shelter, go to a friend’s house or your local church. We will support you, unlike these two women in the public eye; we will support you and help you onto your feet. Oh and if you are the one being beaten please do not release a song saying how much whips and chains excite you. Pure craziness. The whole situation. I am appalled at how women stay with men who abuse them, or go running back to them when they say oh I’m sorry. Whether it is physical or mental or emotional, no one deserves that and if this is happening to you, LEAVE and do not go back. Women if you are out there abusing your significant other, you need to stop as well; it is not only men abusing women it goes both ways. We see it on MTV’s Teen Mom. I am appalled at how this violence seems to be entertainment these days, are we turning into Caligula’s Rome? Where any kind of behavior is acceptable? I hope not, I have the utmost faith in the human spirit and will continue to believe that we shall rise above and realize Gene Roddenberry’s future of equality.

I have lost my fearlessness. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I came to that realization recently. It was when I drove into a near empty parking lot and thought, wouldn’t this be perfect for doing donuts in. then it hit me that there was no way I was going to do that. I had a modicum of fear. When I was younger I would not have hesitated, does anyone remember the parking lot at the Safeway and TG&Y in Owasso? That parking lot was perfect for doing donuts in, especially in the winter when it was snowy. I remember it so well, the out of control feeling, the pure freedom from conventional society. That you were somehow doing something that was forbidden. I don’t even know, is that illegal?
When did I become scared of something so simple? I have always been afraid of two things, one a healthy fear of water, lake water to be exact, I am convinced there are water moccasins in every lake as well as alligators. Yes I believe there are alligators in the lakes in Oklahoma, you know people bought them as pets then flushed them down the toilet. They are everywhere! Along with snakes, I refuse to go into any lake.
The other thing is heights, I love going skiing but I hate going on the ski lift, I scream mommy all the way up, then when I get to the top I refuse to go back down. It is inevitable that the ski patrol is coming to get me. Then I go down the mountain riding behind a really cute boy on a snowmobile and I get hot chocolate at the end of the ride. Really not a bad deal at all.
Those things I have always been fearful of, nothing else, until recently, when did I lose my bravado? Is it only a youthful happening? This fearlessness? I miss it, I don’t know when it left me, but I find I miss it. I see a parking lot that would be perfect for donuts and I miss my fearlessness. Oh don’t get me wrong, I am still not afraid of almost anything, the only things I seem to fear now are the things that could physically harm me. I still like to drive fast, I dread the day I lose that joy, and it does give me joy, to open the throttle on the highway, let loose and just drive. My dream is to travel to Germany and drive on the autobahn, I could finally go as fast as I wanted with no fear of speeding tickets. I hope I get to do it before all of my fearlessness leaves me.

Well, Career Conference has come and gone, it was a bittersweet experience. We found that a lot of people did not know that Sandi has passed away, since she had been in Mary Kay for over 20 years there were a lot of people asking where she was. Wanda is our official spokeswoman so she is the one that had to tell them over and over. That was the bitter part; the sweet part was bonding with Wanda and Louise. We had the best time, talking, learning and just being together. Realizing that you have so much in common with women that you have known for years is just priceless. We had a great learning experience from Mary Kay, we were able to tell Sandi stories and not feel no one wanted to really hear them, we all had such a different relationship with her, we also talked about everything under the sun. So much fun, I cannot stress that enough. I cannot wait for our luncheon this coming Sunday!
Today the weather is very much a Dark Shadows kind of day, it is amazing, it makes me want to stay home and read. I have a new book that I have not been able to lose myself in due to outside forces, however, I foresee myself reading away on Saturday. And sleeping, till at least 7:00 A.M., so excited about that! I find myself in desperate need of Starbucks today, however, with the rain and lightening, it is doubtful I will leave the building until it is time to go home. As I sit here I can hear the rain hitting the window, I love that sound. For some reason it comforts me, calms me and gives me hope. Growing up in a farm oriented family you learn a lot about rain and how it renews the earth and enables the plants to grow and provide food for not only us but the animals. Rain is cleansing, purifying, quenching, life affirming and simply amazing. I hope everyone enjoys the rain as much as I do. I also hope everyone is careful out there, the roads are slick and, as with ice, people cannot drive on it.

I believe that the DMV lady made a huge mistake telling me that at the time I come to work the Plano police are doing a shift change, to me that said, oh go as fast as you want with no consequences. Of course I typically do that anyway. I cannot seem to help myself. I love to drive fast, the faster the better; there is nothing I love more than an open stretch of road, no on in sight for miles. You can just open up the carburetor and go, really test your cars limit. My dream is to one day drive on the autobahn in Germany so I can finally go as fast as I want, or drive a formula 1 car. Can you imagine? It seems to be genetic, that need to drive fast, my dad had it, I have it, my sister has it, and my children seemed to have inherited it. Of course they got a double dose as their dad is the same way.
I have to admit, I rarely get tickets, I can talk my way out of just about anything, it is an art that typically Southern women posses. You smile, you speak with a southern accent, which I have a really good Southern accent, and bat your eyes a little; you can get away with just about anything. I don’t understand how my daughter did not inherit this; she cannot get out of a ticket to save her life. And she is about one thousand times prettier than I am. All of my children are drop dead gorgeous, it is like God took the best genetic material from me and their dad and swirled it around and came up with those three. The boys could be in boy bands, they are that pretty, and Elizabeth, well Elizabeth could rule the world. If I had looked like her at her age I would be empress of the whole earth!
Getting out of a ticket is not that hard, I remember specifically one time I was pulled over for an expired tag; the officer approaches the car and asks why. Just why. Well, I guess this would be a good time to mention it was fall, which means boot and sweater weather, which means I have a whole different attitude, as wearing boots makes me a different person. So I tell him that I honestly had not noticed, and that is the truth, he then asks for my drivers license and proof of insurance, so I hand him my license, make him promise not to look at the hideous picture and inform him I have to find my proof of insurance in my glove compartment. He says fine, that he will run my information while I hunt for that. And hunt I did, he comes back and says well; I say well, I have good news and bad news, which do you want first. He says how bout both. So I inform him that while I cannot find my proof of insurance I could find my long lost OU phone cover. Of course this is all said with a smile and a southern accent, trust me when I tell you I am very good at the southern accent. Southern, not hick, think Scarlett, he bursts out laughing and says well it is your lucky day; I am an A&M fan. Then he tells me to get that taken care of and he trusts me that I have insurance, which I do, hands me my license back and tells me to have a good day.
So the lesson I learned is if you are going to get pulled over wear boots and have a good flirty attitude.

I fee an inordinate amount of stress lately, stress beyond my control. I am one of those people that firmly believe if you don’t like where you life is, then change it. That easy, snap your fingers and change your life. I am finding it is not that easy, what has me so stressed you ask. Well the main thing is my work environment. The environment, not the actual job itself, I really like what I do, I like helping people, I like solving problems. I’m good at it, that is not bragging, that is fact, I am good at my job, I know how to do it, I am constantly learning, I get to talk to interesting people, who for the most part are nice and want my help. That part is not stressful, it is the other part, the pressure to make sure the customers know not to call back in for 24 hours; however, they are not the ones we have to worry about. It is our internal offices that code our accounts that give us what is called a repeat. We have no control over them, yet we are held accountable for them. Managers are going in and repeating us, yet we pay the price for that.
I feel such stress, my manager sits next to me all day, I feel like an animal in the zoo, not even a nice zoo, the ones that are full of Plexiglas and concrete floors. I feel trapped with no way out, I feel watched constantly, I need a way out, yet there is none. There is no where to go in a company that was once ripe with opportunity, that was known for the different avenues open to its employees. Now, when you land somewhere you are stuck and there is no help.
There are times my mind goes numb, my chest feels tight and it is hard to breathe, I have a hard time staying positive in such instances. It is a daily thing these days, I hide it as best I can, I know no one wants to hear it, so I say nothing. I know one day I will end up either in a fetal position on the floor under my desk or carried off to the loony bin in a straight jacket.

I had the best weekend that I have had in a long time, first on the agenda, going to the St Baldricks event where the Irishman gave up his red beard and hair to raise funds for cancer research to defeat the disease in children. If you cannot ascertain from how much I have talked about it, I will say it plainly, I am incredibly proud of him for putting himself out there like this and participating and raising funds for this worthy cause.
Jess showed up, so double the fun and afterwards we decided to go to the movies. We went to see The Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew McConaughey; it is like he saved all of his acting chops for this role. Nothing short of amazing, I would highly recommend this movie to all adults out there. I read the book years ago and they stayed pretty true to the book, an enjoyable way to while away the afternoon.
Then on Sunday, I got to spend time not only with Elizabeth but Jeffrey and his family as well. Now that was a treat. No one tells you how much you miss your children when they grow up, I miss spending time with Jeffrey and Elizabeth, they have grown up to be incredible adults, and no I am not just saying that because I am their mother. I am saying that because it is true, I don’t know why I was chosen to be their mom, I am just happy I was chosen to be their mother.
I do not believe it is luck having good kids, I believe good kids are made, it is how you raise them and it is hard work. You cannot have children and ignore their religious upbringing and expect them to know who God and Jesus are instinctually, you raise them in church and teach them about religion, the bible and give them a good moral foundation. Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6, hmmm that bible, one can learn a lot from it.
So my weekend was good, I hope everyone else had a good weekend as well.

Tomorrow is the big day, the Irishman will be shaved for charity, http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/participantid/414763 is where you can go to read more about it and donate if you can. It is a very worthwhile charity and I am very proud of him for participating.
So today is Friday and I have a lot to do after work, I will be running an errand before getting the girls from school, then dragging them with me for more errands! Hopefully I can throw a fun thing in there for them so they don’t get too bored. I am way excited; my copy of Tangled has been shipped! I should get it before the release date of the 29th. That is the great thing about belonging to the Disney Movie Club; you get all kinds of perks. And yes, I ordered the movie for me; I am not ashamed to say I love Disney movies. Animated and live action, doesn’t matter, Disney does it right. With one exception, G-Force, worst movie EVER, I seriously did not think Disney could make a bad movie. However, they proved me wrong with G-Force. I literally wanted to poke my eyes out in the movie theater so I would not have to watch anymore, and this was after about 5 minutes. I can’t even imagine anyone liking it.
I don’t think I have had enough coffee this morning, perhaps an IV is in order today, I slept really good last night; don’t understand why I am so tired. Maybe because I haven’t taken vitamins in a while, I should do that, I don’t know why I ever stop, I like the Flintstones vitamins, I think I shall add that to my list of errands for today. Vitamins. Check.
Alright going now, perhaps to do some jumping jacks to wake up!

We are on the downhill slide my friends, Friday is tomorrow and I am looking forward to it! Last night I got a phone call from Elizabeth Anne: Me “Hello” Elizabeth “The student has surpassed the master grasshopper!” and yes she said it like the Kung Fu character. She then went on to tell me that she had played a 71 point word in words with friends. That girl cracks me up, she is hysterical. And yes indeed she is now beating me, in this game. I still have time to rally and win, so watch out Elizabeth!
I love playing that game, especially with my children, I am now playing with both Jeffrey and Elizabeth, Jeffrey is new to the game so he is still learning the nuances, plus I don’t think he is as competitive as we are. Elizabeth and I are both highly competitive and want to win!
So I am now on my cleansing, cottage cheese and coffee for breakfast, turkey breast for lunch and I don’t know what for dinner yet. I am looking forward to not feeling all full and bloated and no more heartburn. It is the craziest thing, I believe it is stress that causes it, I have been extremely stressed lately. I am hoping that is ending now. My cleansing is perfectly healthy; I actually got this from a doctor and nutritionist. You can’t do it indefinitely, I do it for two weeks, just to get my body off of sugar and all of the starches, that I love so much. Once that is completed, I add fresh fruit and vegetables and go from there. I will be adding exercise soon, I promise. I do better with exercise once the cleansing portion is over.
Yesterday I wore my new Jessica Simpson shoes, they totally rock, they are 5 inches tall and I love them. A lot of people ask me how I walk in my heels, well, it is simple, I put one foot in front of the other, and I have discovered the secret of wearing heels. Dr Sholls inserts for women, they make them specifically for heels and strappy sandals. No one knows that you have them in your shoes, they have changed my life. As we get older we lose the padding in the balls of our feet and heels become increasingly uncomfortable, however, Dr Sholls has changed all of that. If you love heels and have noticed a difference run out and purchase these things, they are roughly $10.00 for a pair, and worth every penny. Now you all know how I walk in my heels!