Labels: Blog Sites to See

Labels: My Writing

Reflections in the Mirror – Dawn’s going to beat me down. She is the one that should have gotten the bid since this was her second time requesting for space in my square. I owe you, Dawn! Her blog is chock-full of craft projects and family life. Her sidebars are very interesting and full of stuff. She has beautiful jewelry available for sale, also. She’s the internet’s Carol Duvall! (It’s okay; you don’t have to know who I’m talking about. I’m sure Dawn does.) Oh yeah, her banner section has clouds! I love clouds! Her clouds are pretty!

Stir Fry Kitty - Bianca Roland’s blog is simple, yet complete with a missing children’s link. That is unique. I’ve never seen this cause before and if Diva had not requested to be rented, I would have chosen this blog. I also am supporting the GI-diet. I’m glad she mentioned why she was doing it—she looks really thin—and you should check out why she is. I am sort of doing the same thing for the same reason.

Adventures in Parenting – Valerie’s blog is about motherhood and her daily life—the comings and goings of her, her husband, and her child. All I can say about Valerie’s blog is that it’s just adorable. I can hardly wait to see her anniversary present, and I’m concerned about her migraine. I hope that she didn’t have to go to the dentist with it! Yeesh! I adore her flickr.com pics of her family, too.

The fourth blogger that I requested to be rented from me is lost to me. I accidentally erased it from my computer. The only thing that I can find is that it’s called “Cool Adzines for…” and I want to say the last word is “bloggers” but I cannot be sure. If you see this blog anywhere, please shoot me a note on here so I can edit this post and include this blog. I didn’t get a chance to thoroughly look at it, but at first glance, I was intrigued.

Please consider clicking on these consolation prizes. Thanks again for bidding!

Labels: Blog Sites to See

Labels: Pics, Quotes

Labels: Humor, My Writing, Ten Things This Tuesday

Many people are committed to professions and personal endeavors they never consciously planned to pursue. They attribute the shape of their lives to circumstance, taking on roles they feel are tolerable. Each of us, however, has been blessed with a purpose. Your life's work is the assemblage of activities that allows you to express your intelligence and creativity, live in accordance with your values, and experience the profound joy of simply being yourself. Unlike traditional work, which may demand more of you than you are willing to give, life's work demands nothing but your intent and passion for that work. Yet no one is born with an understanding of the scope of their purpose. If you have drifted through life, you may feel directionless. Striving to discover your life's work can help you realize your true potential and live a more authentic, driven life.

To make this discovery, you must consider your interests in the present and the passions that moved you in the past. You may have felt attracted to a certain discipline or profession throughout your young life only to have steered away from your aspirations upon reaching adulthood. Or you may be harboring an interest as of yet unexplored. Consider what calls to you and then narrow it down. If you want to work with your hands, ask yourself what work will allow you to do so. You may be able to refine your life's work within the context of your current occupations. If you want to change the world, consider whether your skills and talents lend themselves to philanthropic work. Taking stock of your strengths, passions, beliefs, and values can help you refine your search for purpose if you don't know where to begin. Additionally, in your daily meditation, ask the universe to clarify your life's work by providing signs and be sure to pay attention.

Since life's journey is one of evolution, you may need to redefine your direction on multiple occasions throughout your lifetime. For instance, being an amazing parent can be your life's work strongly for 18 years, then perhaps you have different work to do. Your life's work may not be something you are recognized or financially compensated for, such as parenting, a beloved hobby, or a variety of other activities typically deemed inconsequential. Your love for a pursuit, however, gives it meaning. You'll know you have discovered your life's work when you wake eager to face each day and you feel good about not only what you do but also who you are.

Labels: Daily OM, Feel Goods

"The sweeter the apple, the blacker the core. Scratch a lover and find a foe!"
- Dorothy Rothschild Parker

"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped."
- Elbert Hubbard

It’s my first day of classes. Finally. I’ve been awake since 4am (just as I was stirring, my roommate had to go to the bathroom) and my bundle of nerves would not let me go to sleep.

I also heard something. My mama.

She told me that she loved me in her special way and that she was proud of me.

I’ve made the right decision. Now I must follow through.

In my cleaning out a junk room, I found a binder. Inside it, I found something that my mother had written. I started to read it a couple of weeks ago, but changed my mind. I packed the binder away along with my office supplies that I would need here (at school). I read it last night before I went to bed. I will post what she wrote another time. I realized that, between reading what she wrote and hearing her this morning (along with that day, August 25, 2006, when I had to work at that diner-style restaurant), I have not only made the right choice by returning to school; I also now know that I must follow through. I know that the school that I’m attending will be difficult. There are some very intelligent people here that refer to this school as such.

I simply cannot let that stop me. Nor can I not let “me” stop myself from completing the task at hand. I see it. I see the brass ring. I’m nowhere near touching it, but I see it. For that, I am grateful and determined. Not many people even get the chance to consider the acknowledgement of the brass ring and I saw it!

There are times in our lives when withdrawing from our social obligations and taking some time to be alone is necessary to rejuvenate our energy and renew our connection to ourselves. However, there are also times when withdrawal is a red flag, indicating an underlying sense of depression or some other problem. We may not even have consciously decided to isolate ourselves but wake up one day to find that we have been spending most of our time alone. Perhaps it's been a long time since friends who used to call have given up. Without anyone inviting us out, we sink deeper into alienation.

The longer our isolation lasts, the harder it becomes to reach out to people. It is as if we have failed to exercise a particular muscle, and now it is so weak we don't know how to use it. Yet, in order to return to a healthy, balanced state of being, that's exactly what we need to do. If you find yourself in this situation, call an understanding friend who will listen to you with compassion, not a defensive friend who may have taken your withdrawal personally. The last thing you need is to be chided; a negative response could intensity your isolation. If you don't have a kind friend you can rely on, call a spiritual counselor or therapist. They may be able to help you determine the underlying cause of your isolation and help you find your way out of it.

When you've been in a pattern of secluding yourself, it can begin to seem impossible that you could reenter the world of friendships, conversations, and group activities, but with time, you will. Most people will understand if you take the time to explain that you've fallen out of touch and would like to reconnect. Take your time and be gentle with yourself, starting with one person and building from there. Try to reach out to one new person every week. Before you know it, you will find yourself back in the company of friends.

Labels: Daily OM, Feel Goods

"You only live once,
but if you work it right,
once is enough."
- Joe E. Lewis

Labels: Pics, Quotes

I can't believe I did it. My 100th post on my three-month anniversary (and I didn't plan that) and I'm still blogging. I have to thank the person who kicked me into doing this, SunKingpoet. He helped set up the coding, made the first comment on my first post, and has helped me whenever I asked for it. Thanks Bub, I love ya. I also want to thank each and everyone of you (I'd list them out, but this post is going on 900 words as it is) for the clicks, and the emails, the comments the compliments when stuff was good, and the truth when it was not so good. You've been here through a tough summer with me. You've let me share my thoughts and have accepted me for them, supported me with them, and helped me stand by them.

Newcomers and regulars, (does one have regulars for three months? Let me know in comments!) from the bottom of my heart, thanks for being here for me.

And now for the 100th post.

Do you want to know how much I love you? Well, for my 100^th post, I love you so much that I’m going to use this post for telling y’all the story you’ve been waiting for. How I stopped a noisy, crowded restaurant cold in its tracks. Hey, I love you so much that if you hadn’t read the other three of my postings, here is the first post, the second post, and the third post regarding my family reunion in Memphis in July, 2006.

After I left the Peabody hotel, I went back to the hotel room where everyone was either mingling around in the halls or sitting in the room itself. As the day wore on, the people separated into different groups to do their own thing. I didn’t do much (yup, y’all know how broke I was—another story in the “Family Reunion” saga is how I got there in the first place) but hang around the hotel. Later, I had come to the room and looked in the fridge to see if there was anything to drink. I found some coolers that I had not tasted. I took one and started drinking. Now mind you, I have a sporadic alcoholic tolerance level. If I hadn’t had much to drink lately, my tolerance is low. On the other hand, if I’ve been drinking a lot, my tolerance was high.

Guess what? I had not had much to drink in a while, so the cooler had me “mellow.” I tried to find some way of having some fun with all of the other people in the room who were not doing anything, and, after failing, I went downstairs. I mulled around with the other people in the lobby then, after that thrill was gone, decided to go into the TGI Friday’s bar that was linked to the hotel. I found one of my cousins, her husband and an uncle of hers (which was probably a cousin of mine) at a table. I sat with them, all abuzz. I cajoled with their waitress and we talked. They obviously noticed that I had been drinking because my demeanor had changed from perky and upbeat throughout the day (they never noticed anything that happened between my father and me; not many people noticed) and my slightly slurred, relaxed disposition that was seated before them.

We talked for a long time as they waited for their food to arrive. Yes, I forgot their names, but the husband offered me some of his wings. I ate a couple and, between the food and the repartee between the waitress and me, the drunken scale went from tired to nervy (as in bold and lampshade-wearing, dancing-on-the-tables). I was happier. Life was what it was and I’m just a bed bug in it.

At this particular TGI Friday’s, when there is a birthday, the waitress that served them has to sing “Happy Birthday” alone, yet loud enough to be heard. The waitress that had served my cousins had to do this for a table that was about ten or fifteen feet away from our table. There were two couples, and many more around them in our own separate gatherings, who had to suffer this poor woman’s excuse of singing that song. She hit three or four keys in the singing of it and faltered at the end. Then the thought hit me. I can sing that waaaay better than she can.

So I did.

I went to the table with wrongdoing on my face. I distinctly remember hearing my female cousin make some verbal notion of an “uh oh” or an “oh boy” as I walked to the table.

“I saw that there was someone who had a birthday here and I just wanted to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to them. Who’s birthday is it?”

“Mine,” one of the women said.

“What is your name?” After she told me her name is Hope, I made a series of preparatory posturings: I cleared my throat, patted my chest, arched my shoulders erect, took a few deep, laborious breaths. After one inhalation, I sang “Happy Birthday.”

No big deal, right? Let me tell you something. The best way I can describe how I sing this is for you midlife people and maybe younger is the following: remember Edith Bunker from “All in the Family?” Remember how she sang the line, “and you know where you were then”? Okay. Picture Edith Bunker really drunk as she sung “Happy Birthday.”

I make her sound like Celine Dion.

I’ve had people run across parking lots, I’ve had people cringe, I’ve had people cower, and I’ve had people pale at my singing “Happy Birthday.” It takes only one time to hear how I sing it to understand why people shriek, “NOOOOOOO!!!” when I ask them if they want me to sing that celebratory song. And I sang it so loudly that the restaurant hushed. I mean I didn’t even hear the kitchen stirring. We’re talking about a restaurant that has to be a solid fifty feet long. After someone picked up the pin that dropped (everyone heard it, it was so quiet), I got a resounding ovation from the whole restaurant.

I told everyone to tip their waitresses as I returned to the table.

Labels: Humor, My Writing, Prose

Labels: Humor, My Writing, Ten Things This Tuesday

Labels: Blog Sites to See

- Simone Weil

Labels: Blog Sites to See

I'll probably post some more, but here is one that you gotta see...

This is a pic from the hotel room where the family reunion was located. Something about this piece was interesting to me. I'm still not sure why, but I like it. You can see that I got a view of the entrance to the minor-league park. I really like the blur of the car lights on the street. I think it's neato, but I'm no professional.

I've still got to tell y'all how I made a whole restaurant speechless! I haven't forgotten. I'll tell y'all, it was so much fun!

Labels: My Writing, Pics

My heart shed tears
clear yet warm
pure with no malice free and imprisoned
no need to reason
no need for reason
occurring so long ago
one
four
seven
ninety-one
the number so long now
tears need no reason
only a sense
only a sound
for the leak to begin
from deep within
the source forgotten
my darling, just once
don't look at me that way.

Labels: Poetry

- Buddha

Some of my family members from another offshoot stopped me. I tried to play it off because they thought I was tired. I didn't speak at first. Then my cousin looked at me more intensely and wanted me to talk to her (she happened to be one of the three wise women I told you about). I stopped her in her tracks, knowing that I needed to be alone. I walked out of the lobby and took a walk.

The tears that I had held back finally flowed. The anger... I could almost taste it on my tongue. After a few blocks one direction, I decided to turn around. I found myself in the Peabody upon returning to the hotel, which was right across the street. (I know that this may begin to sound like a short story that I am writing, but as I am trying to tell you what happened, I find that I need to paint a picture or something--as if that makes sense. So forgive me.) The Lobby Bar, which is this spacious area as you enter the hotel, had ritzy all over the place; various seating arrangements, intimate cozy spots mixed with sections of seating for gathering small groups of people, were all over. It was casually crowded, so nobody noticed my mood.

I finally found a seat away from everyone that was part of an arrangement of two chairs and two couches. I sat and began boiling with negative feelings; anger, sadness, emptiness, loss, and frustration seemed to have sat around in that arrangement to brood with me. I decided to myself, now this is a good time to write some poetry. After finding some pen and paper I did. I'll post it some time, just not now.

I had the poem written, I made a couple of minor changes, and was done when two couples along with five children invaded my space. I had stopped crying and was just clearing my head. I wanted to go back to the hotel so that nobody would be concerned about me. In retrospect, I felt the urge (that is for you non-spiritual people; for you who believe, God spoke in my ear) to let someone that has no idea who I am tell me if my writing was good. Who else would be better than a perfect stranger to tell me the unbiased truth?

I got the woman's attention that was neares me to ask her to read. Now, since this has gotten to be a long blog, I will just serve the steak of the conversation. She was concerned about the depth of sadness I had inside. With the poem, not only did she draw that what I was feeling was nearly embedded in me, but she also grasped that I had been feeling this sadness for a long time. That was true. I poured out my heart to this woman. I told her about my relationship with my father. She pretty much said that I needed to be around positive people and that if he is affecting me like this so much, that I need to release myself from it. She was concerned about my well being and I told her that I would be okay.

As I gave her a big bear of a hug, I told her that I was glad that she had it in her to speak what she said to me. (Yup, you non-spiritual people. Here's a warning. I felt like she was an angel in the flesh that came to me. I'm admittedly kind of deaf when it comes to hearing God.) That's when she told me that she was a clinical psychologist. I should have known; she kept asking me if I were going to do harm to myself.

Reassured, I went back to the hotel suite to speak to my father. To my recollection, he was not there.

Yeah, there's more including my hushing a completely packed restaurant, the three wise women, and the guy I met. That last one… well, I’ll just have to refer only part of it. The rest may be placed on the community blog, Original Man, because this is a family blog.

Curious? Don’t worry, it’ll be worth the wait. At least I think so.

Labels: My Writing

Labels: Humor, My Writing, Ten Things This Tuesday

Here is a thank you to the people who have accepted my bid. They currently have my thumbnail on their blog:

The Lost Girls have me on their blog for another day. Y'all know about those women world wanderers. They rented my space. Here's what I think about them! Amanda's latest post is about how she suddenly got hot. Check out this blog!

Winsome Gunning Art Walk - The Artist has me on her blog until Friday. She was a previous consolation-prize bidder and here is what I wrote about her. Her artwork is soooooo serene! Please click on her link!

Labels: Blog Sites to See

I thought that I would give a thank you for the previous landlords that have taken me into their blog. Here they are:

The Panic Blog

Hark, Imagination!

On a Happier Note

Void-Star.net

FutileSoul

Labels: Blog Sites to See

- Booker T. Washington

Maldita Bratinella has got to mean “Pretty Brat” in filipine. I don’t see much of the brat, but this smart 23-year old gives you plenty of things to play with on her blog. Among the 100 things about her, she does not like flying cockroaches, wants to be rich, and has a bad memory.

We could be related!

She has a spot for posting general comments and shout outs along with templates that she’s created. She also has poetry and postings. I adore her template.

Go peek at her! Tell her you came through me! Scoot! Click!

(Sorry, there were no consolation-prize blogs to post.)

Labels: Blog Sites to See

"A man never tells you anything until you contradict him."
- George Bernard Shaw

In my small town, people do an amazing oddity that is unheard of in cosmopolitan, fruity-flavored martini’d, overpriced shoe-wearing, urban places.

No. It’s not growing on me. I still don’t like it here, but I’m dealing. I take a shot of Grey Goose every morning and life seems more tolerable here.

It’s something that I’ve noticed over the last several months. I’ve abhorred it whenever I’ve visited, but like a lemming, I find myself doing the same thing. I cringed when I did it to an out-of-state person, knowing what they were thinking. “She doesn’t even know who I am. How dare she? Country people.”

I could see her scoffing.

What is this thing that I’m referring to? Waving.

I remember when I moved to this small town in the fifth grade. I was in a car ride with some other folks and I saw this aged man look straight at me and wave. I was shaken. Why would he do such a thing? What’s wrong with him? I mean he did not know me, yet he waved at me. How peculiar! Other people did it. Then they would add onto it by saying, “Haayyy.”

Now people, should you decide to ever visit me, I gotta give you the ground rules.

1. It’s not about you.
2. It’s a reflex.
3. People are being “inquisitive.” (Y’all know that is a euphemism for being nosy, right?)
4. You will get stared at.
5. It’s not about you.

So, people, when you come over, you will notice that the denizens will look at you as if you are walking naked and on fire. And that’s when you are driving by! Don’t pay any attention to it. You are new and they want to get as much of a look in that small span of time as they possibly can. So people will look at you long and hard.

Then after looking at you for an extended amount of time they will do the weirdest thing. They will wave as they turn their head away. I mean they don’t even care that you are waving back, because they can’t even see it. Besides, they have considered what they are doing—driving without looking at the road and there is no telling what’s in front of them for the thirty seconds that they’ve kept their eyes strayed and unfocused—and decide that they should actually look at the road.

Don’t get me wrong; there are people in my small town that have become wise and will not speak to strangers. However, there are those who don’t give a hoot. They are trying to see within a few moments who is driving, how many are in the car, are all people in the vehicle are wearing seat belts, what they are wearing on their heads, what type of car the person is driving, the vehicle’s condition and where they could be going. They will use this information in the myriad of gossip stations all over town to assimilate information to what is going on in your life.

Come on down to my small town and get waved!

Labels: Humor, My Writing, Prose

Labels: Pics, Quotes

"Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."
-Saint Augustine

"America is not only big and rich, it is mysterious; and its capacity for the humorous or ironical concealment of its interests matches that of the legendary inscrutable Chinese."
- David Riesman

"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important."
- George (Pen name of Mary Ann Evans) Eliot

Oh, I am in rare form this morning. With only a few hours sleep, I nearly jumped out of bed with this one:

Ten things I do not want to hear in the public bathroom stall next to me:

1. In Tony Little (the infomercial muscle-bound, ponytailed blonde who sold the Gazelle—google him if you don’t know who I mean) voice, “YOU CAN DO IT!!!!”

2. “I’m a little teapot, short and stout…”

3. “Just ten more pounds to go!”

4. “Wow. Maybe I had just a little too much red cabbage, but boy that is such a lovely color purple…”

5. “Ahoy, matey!”

6. “Gosh, I hope I don’t break this one.”

7. “And they said, ‘with Beano, there’ll be no gas.’ Yeah, right!”

8. “Oh, my goodness. My water just broke!”

9. Someone singing, War’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends”

10. Someone singing, R Kelly’s“I Believe I Can Fly”

Labels: Humor, My Writing, Ten Things This Tuesday

Labels: Poetry

Labels: My Writing

Labels: Humor, My Writing

"The most important thing in a relationship between a man and a woman is that one of them be good at taking orders."- Linda Fest

"Those disputing, contradicting, and confuting people are generally unfortunate in their affairs. They get victory, sometimes, but they never get good will, which would be of more use to them."- Benjamin Franklin

"Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others."- Oscar Wilde

"Humor is a prelude to faith and Laughter is the beginning of prayer."- Reinhold Niebuhr

"No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice man who wishes that she were not."- H. L. Mencken

"I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them."- James Rhinehart

"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."- Og Mandino

An outstretch of land I had to take a pic of.
Probably not a pro pic, but I like it.

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person,
but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly."
- Sam Keen

Another peek-a-boo pic.

Labels: My Writing, Pics

Labels: Blog Sites to See

Ah, yes. A previous contender, The Lost Girls blog was the one I absolutely had to choose. Three women leave the comfort and cushiness of their daily grind to conquer the world. It’s like… like… well, “Thelma and Louise” and… and… Viola!

Okay, so you will not see Jen, Amanda, and Holly driving over a cliff or taking advantage of a man foursome-style, (at least not that I’ve seen lately, and if they have, I’m thinking we won’t hear about it) but these New York women are cruising the world and are gorgeous doing it! (Okay, so there are a couple of pics on there where they are not looking fab, but hey, they are naturally cute!)

Even as they travel, their blog is packed with a plethora of stuff you can play with; you can email them, find where they are, find where they’ve been, and many other wonderful things!

Now of course, I’ve got to dare them to come to Mississippi and not feel lost. The back roads… Well, let me just say that I’m pretty sure that they could go from Memphis to Gulfport without going on any major highway!

Okay, enough of my blathering! Go look at them, tell them that you came through me—so they will know that someone besides me is clicking—and enjoy!

Go on! Scoot! I’ll be here when you get back. Promise. Click!

Labels: Blog Sites to See

- Benjamin Franklin

I think this is the first week that I’ve had three women blogs as consolation prizes. As if I’ve been doing this for several years. They bidded, so the least I can do is thank them in this manner.

Have a Great Rest of Your Day! – I didn’t find this woman’s name. I think she is too tired to remember it. This is what I’ve heard them called “a mommy blog.” I like it, though. She talks about her life with her family. It’s a public journal for us to nose into. Her Thursday Thirteen is hilarious and her book list is eclectic. I have one of the books that she’s reading now. Can you guess which one it is?

Voicing My Thoughts – Okay, Noi probably hates my guts for voicing my opinion about Oprah, but I had to do it! Her blog appears simple, but the input is not. She describes herself as “just a simple person with BIG dreams! Like the charcoal, hot pressure and extreme heat must be present in order to create a Diamond. I am in the exact same process.” You gotta love that.

Maldita, Bratinella – Jen is a cute, 24-year-old brat. I wish I were that cute when I was 24. She’s got an interesting mix of blogging, poetry, and templates that she’s created. She’s offering to do free templates, so if you are in need of one, help her relieve some of her stress by requesting one. I do adore the coloring of her blog; it’s so peaceful.

Thank you for bidding, ladies.

Labels: Blog Sites to See

Labels: Pics, Quotes