Welcome to Mexico...and all that can go wrong!

If you have ever traveled to a foreign country, you soon learn you never know what to expect...and you learn to just deal with it...it's part of the adventure. This was the sixth year of our annual "Sister's Vacation". Five to Mexico and once we went to Punta Cana in the Dominique Republic. Each trip is unique and some are almost perfect, like last year when we stayed at Dreams Resort (5 gold apples) in Cancun. We were greeted with glasses of champagne when we checked in and a free upgrade to a nice, big ocean front room...but that's another blog for another day. Then there are trips like this one where all just seems to go sideways...so much that it caused my sister Jane and myself to fall into fits of uncontrollable laughter several times a day.... Welcome to Mexico!

 

It started as soon as we arrived at our resort (4 red apples) in Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel is an island just off the coast of Mexico and every year we would talk about taking the ferry over and spending a day on the island, but we never did. This year we had the chance to stay there for an entire week. It's a little more expensive than the mainland because everything has to be shipped over, but we figured it would be worth it for the experience. As we were getting checked in, I was watching a flat screen TV on the wall behind the check in counter advertising: "You are now in Paradise", I wondered about that as I noticed the paint peeling above the TV. Then the bellhop took us and our luggage to our room. The room wound around the resort to the back part and I wondered if we would be able to find our way out. Our room was to have a garden/jungle view. Well, we did have a balcony and if you stood on the end of the balcony and leaned out to the left you could see some palm trees and flowers. Other than that, we had a view of the wall of the room next to us and a view of their front door and a huge red fire extinguisher. This was an older resort with no smoke alarms. Probably no law about that in Mexico. We were also suppose to have a coffeemaker and a minibar. Neither was in this tiny room. After two calls to the front desk and we also mentioned it to our Apple Representative, we did get the coffee maker....never did see the mini bar. They did provide two small waste baskets in our room which was a good thing because the air conditioner which was over the door to the bathroom leaked a lot, so we used one to catch the water. It made a puddle in the floor that I stepped in the first night at 2am when I got up to use the bathroom. It was raining outside so I really thought the roof was leaking!! Oh, by the way, it rained every afternoon for the first 3 days we were there. Next was the shower. It came blasting out like a high pressure wash. It must have had some sort of water saver on it and no way to adjust it. Only our backs and heads were able to tolerate it. You just had to sort of splash yourself with it and the temperature constantly changed from cold to hot and back again the whole time.  Welcome to Mexico.

 

Then there was the TV in our room. It got about 10 channels and only a few in English and by the end of the week most of those had stopped working or just faded in and out. A couple on the beach one day ask if our TV was working because theirs wasn't. I said "Welcome to Mexico".

Then their was the night we had some sort of a reptile/lizard in the room. We watched it as it darted around the wall and ended up behind the headboard of my bed. It was fast. We were pretty sure it was harmless, but I didn't want to wake up with it's little suction cup feet on my face, so we called the front desk for help. It took three calls, but they finally sent a guy in with a rag and broom. He took down the headboard, caught it in the rag and took it outside and shook it in the bushes. I hope it didn't end up in someone else's room.

Now of course, our Apple Representative ask us everyday if everything was alright. We could have complained and maybe gotten a better room, but we figured for the price they were probably all about the same unless you were in the exclusive part of the resort, but then we wouldn't have had anything to provoke fits of laughter.

 

Then we decide one day to go snorkeling. My sister gets her flippers and mask on and takes off and I am in waist deep water with my flippers and struggling to get my mask on when the strap broke. Jane comes swimming back into help me and we finally get me all prepared to go. I am snorkeling along looking at the ocean floor when water started seeping into my mask. Since I was only in chest deep water I decide to flip myself around and stand up to fix my mask. When I did my hand hit some coral which is really sharp and poked a now bleeding hole in my finger. A piece of coral lodged under my finger nail I just got it out today...a week later. We finally decide to end snorkeling for the day.  We decided to try it again a few days later and all went well with the snorkeling. We saw lots of fish and a lobster under a rock. The problem came when we went back to the pool and Jane's towel was gone. When you check into these resorts some give you a towel card that is used to get a beach towel. Most people use the towel to lay claim to a chair and leave their things. In all of the years no one has ever bothered anything when we were gone. She went over to the area where you get clean towels and tried to get another towel, but they told her she couldn't have another one without a card. She explained that someone took her towel while we were snorkeling, but it did no good. Now I could understand it if this place was crowded and they didn't have enough towels or if the towels were made of gold. We figured someone ask for two towels and couldn't get them so when we left, decided to take one of ours. My sister went to the front desk and let them know what happened and to try to get another towel card...they informed her she was suppose to take her towel with her and keep it with her...really?....into the ocean while snorkeling?? The little Mexican woman working behind the desk didn't find this amusing and refused to give her another towel card. Jane spent the last couple of days using a towel from the room....more fits of laughter.

 

Toward the end of the week I broke out in small bumps and realized I had sun poisoning. I figured the next day was a good day to stay in the shade and nap. Jane decided while I was napping she would scuba dive with a group off the pier. An hour or so later she is back, limping over to my chair. She had struggled getting out to the deeper waters. The instructor had to keep adding weights to keep her down with her air tank and then coming out she cut her foot on the sharp coral. We decide to go see the medic at the resort and get some antiseptic on it. He didn't speak English very well, but I did see a degree for something in Spanish on the wall. He put something on her foot that looked like green alcohol and covered it with a bandage. When we ask him if he saw a lot of this he replied that he mostly treated diarrhea and vomiting....just what we wanted to hear...so far on all of our trips we have never had any food problems, well, except for a trip to a coffee plantation in the Dominique Republic where we sampled the coffee...after that the food ran through us for days!!....another blog for another day. In the meantime, during my nap in the shade, my ankles got bitten several times by mosquitoes and so she was limping back to the room and I was bent over scratching...no wonder people looked at us weird.

 

Then there was Thanksgiving. Every place we have ever stayed always has something for this American holiday... probably because there are always more of us at these places than anyone. There was a sign up in front of one of the restaurants advertising a nice Thanksgiving dinner with a picture of Abraham Lincoln and the story of how he made it into a national holiday. To help celebrate the occasion the resort brought in two live turkeys, a male and female and had them in a make shift pen in the open lobby near the pool. Each had one leg tied to a part of the pen with a long string...I guess they thought they would fly away. They were well fed and taken care of, but they were always getting their strings tangled up with each other and the male would hiss at us when we walked by. For several days out by the pool, all we heard above the Latin music was gobble, gobble, gobble!! ...which invoked fits of laughter! The dinner itself is their version of ours . The turkey was good and no they didn't serve the two in the pen. The pumpkin pie was not as sweet as what we are used to but I like it. I'm not real sure what the rest of it was, but it was all good. Welcome to Mexico.

 

The resort really didn't have anything to do in the evenings except a few sad shows that didn't start unit 9pm. We went to a couple of them and saw maybe ten people in the whole theater. Unlike Cancun, we couldn't walk downtown. The only city in the island, San Miguel de Cozumel population of 77,236, was about 14k away and so that meant renting a car, scooter or getting a taxi. We decide to go there  and do a little shopping at the shops and back street flee markets.  We opted for the taxi and only went once since it cost us $13.00 each way not including the tip. The trip was really uneventful and not much to see other than the cruise ship port and some really big cruise ships. We found one place with really good prices. We bought some gifts and we each got new beach bags...both for $10.00.

 

This resort had two swimming pools one was in the center of the resort surrounded by all the places to eat, the lobby and the outdoor stage. We chose that one. Mostly because it was close the food. The other pool was around on the side close our room . It had a swim up bar and topless was optional. We had to pass this pool every day to and from our room. There were always several thirty something women who chose this option.... ;)

 

Not all was to keep us in fits of laughter... some just a nice experience...like the day we rented a scooter and explored the island ourselves...wonderful!! There is only one main road which takes you around the island. The traffic was all but non existent other than in the city of San Miguel and it really wasn't bad. Although once, we did find ourselves going the wrong way down a one way street. I love motorcycle riding so this was such a freeing experience and the coast of the island is breathtaking! It is dotted with the usual beach shacks and people selling their wares, offering free shots of tequila and even a Brahma bull ride...we couldn't resist that one, although the ride was really just sitting on this huge animal. We shopped and stopped for water and just walked on the beach, enjoying the beauty of the place.

 

Back at the resort, as usual with every place we have stayed, the food was wonderful! This resort wasn't crowded, (can't image why) so getting a table outside everyday over looking the beach for breakfast and lunch was not a problem. I had some of the best salads and seafood I have ever eaten. We had dinner in an Italian restaurant one evening and the food was great there also!! The staff are very friendly and attentive... well, except for the towel card lady. 

One interesting thing about the snack grill by the pool- we ate lunch there a few times, ordered the same thing each time...it was delicious but never prepared the same way...Welcome to Mexico!

 

Well, my suntan is fading and there are places where my skin is peeling, my sun poisoning is gone but my mosquito bites are still itching....I am back in the cold weather and it is snowing....I am already looking forward to next year and to see what that brings....

 

Today I would give anything to be back there in the heat with my sister, in our view less room, having fits of laughter about all the things 'wrong' with our vacation in this beautiful place. Welcome to Mexico!

 

P.S. I forgot to mention how my sister jarred my insides and my butt was sore the day we rented a jet ski and I rode with her...could she have hit the waves any harder?! ...and the phone in the room didn't work correctly. Not only was it hard to hear, we could call out but no one could call in. When my husband did get through to the front desk and ask for the room they always put him through to the wrong room...he finally gave up....and the resort seemed to be having some kind of sewer problem. There was always a bad smell in certain places on the winding walk back to our room...except in the late afternoon when the smell of baking bread from one of the restaurants overcame out the sewer smell. It was always nice to be there at the right time!

...And coming home at our connection in Charlotte some crazy woman employed at the airport argued with my sister for 10 minutes that her carry-on was not a carry- on and the she did not have that on any plane coming from Mexico...unbelievable!! She insisted that she check it. We finally just walked away because we were going to miss our plane. She yelled after us and said she would be at our gate and would take that carry-on away from Jane and check it on. We got to the gate just in time to catch our flight to Pittsburgh. She never showed up. We were sure we would see her on the tarmac flagging down the plane to get that piece of luggage like a scene from Seinfeld....the plane lifted off the ground with fits of laughter!

Welcome to Mexico...and all that can go wrong!

 

If you have ever traveled to a foreign country, you soon learn you never know what to expect...and you learn to just deal with it...it's part of the adventure. This was the sixth year of our annual "Sister's Vacation". Five to Mexico and once we went to Punta Cana in the Dominique Republic. Each trip is unique and some are almost perfect, like last year when we stayed at Dreams Resort (5 gold apples) in Cancun. We were greeted with glasses of champagne when we checked in and upgraded to a nice, big ocean front room...but that's another blog for another day. Then there are trips like this one where all just seems to go sideways...so much that it caused my sister Jane and myself to fall into fits of uncontrollable laughter several times a day. Welcome to Mexico!

 

It started as soon as we arrived at our resort (4 red apples) in Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel is an island just off the coast of Mexico and every year we would talk about taking the ferry over and spending a day on the island, but we never did. This year we had the chance to stay there for an entire week. It's a little more expensive than the mainland because everything has to be shipped over, but we figured it would be worth it for the experience. As we were getting checked in, I was watching a flat screen TV on the wall behind the check in counter advertising: "You are now in Paradise", I wondered about that as I noticed the paint peeling above the TV. Then the bellhop took us and our luggage to our room. The room wound around the resort to the back part and I wondered if we would be able to find our way out. Our room was to have a garden/jungle view. Well, we did have a balcony and if you stood on the end of the balcony and leaned out to the left you could see some palm trees and flowers. Other than that, we had a view of the wall of the room next to us and a view of their front door and a huge red fire extinguisher. This was an older resort with no smoke alarms. Probably no law about that in Mexico. We were also suppose to have a coffeemaker and a minibar. Neither was in this tiny room. After two calls to the front desk and we also mentioned it to our Apple Representative, we did get the coffee maker....never did see the mini bar. They did provide two small waste baskets in our room which was a good thing because the air conditioner which was over the door to the bathroom leaked a lot, so we used one to catch the water. It made a puddle in the floor that I stepped in the first night at 2am when I got up to use the bathroom. It was raining outside so I really thought the roof was leaking!! Oh, by the way, it rained every afternoon for the first 3 days we were there. Next was the shower. It came blasting out like a high pressure wash. It must have had some sort of water saver on it and no way to adjust it. Only our backs and heads were able to tolerate it. You just had to sort of splash yourself with it and the temperature constantly changed from cold to hot the whole time we showered.  Welcome to Mexico.

 

Then there was the TV in our room. It got about 10 channels and only a few in English and by the end of the week most of those had stopped working or just faded in and out. A couple on the beach one day ask if our TV was working because theirs wasn't. I said "Welcome to Mexico".

Then their was the night we had some sort of a reptile/lizard in the room. We watched it as it darted around the wall and ended up behind the headboard of my bed. It was fast. We were pretty sure it was harmless, but I didn't want to wake up with it's little suction cup feet on my face, so we called the front desk for help. It took three calls, but they finally sent a guy in with a rag and broom. He took down the headboard, caught it in the rag and took it outside and shook it in the bushes. I hope it didn't end up in someone else's room.

Now of course, our Apple Representative ask us everyday if everything was alright. We could have complained and maybe gotten a better room, but we figured for the price they were probably all about the same unless you were in the exclusive part of the resort, but then we wouldn't have had anything to provoke fits of laughter.

 

Then we decide one day to go snorkeling. My sister gets her flippers and mask on and takes off and I am in waist deep water with my flippers and struggling to get my mask on when the strap broke. Jane comes swimming back into help me and we finally get me all prepared to go. I am snorkeling along looking at the ocean floor when water started seeping into my mask. Since I was only in chest deep water I decide to flip myself around and stand up to fix my mask. When I did my hand hit some coral which is really sharp and poked a now bleeding hole in my finger. A piece of coral lodged under my finger nail I just got it out today...a week later. We finally decide to end snorkeling for the day.  We decided to try it again a few days later and all went well with the snorkeling. We saw lots of fish and a lobster under a rock. The problem came when we went back to the pool and Jane's towel was gone. When you check into these resorts some give you a towel card that is used to get a beach towel. Most people use the towel to lay claim to a chair and leave their things. In all of the years no one has ever bothered anything when we were gone. She went over to the area where you get clean towels and tried to get another towel, but they told her she couldn't have another one without a card. She explained that someone took her towel while we were snorkeling, but it did no good. Now I could understand it if this place was crowded and they didn't have enough towels or if the towels were made of gold. We figured someone ask for two towels and couldn't get them so when we left, decided to take one of ours. My sister went to the front desk and let them know what happened and to try to get another towel card...they informed her she was suppose to take her towel with her and keep it with her...really?....into the ocean while snorkeling?? The little Mexican woman working behind the desk didn't find this amusing and refused to give her another towel card. Jane spent the last couple of days using a towel from the room....more fits of laughter.

 

Toward the end of the week I broke out in small bumps and realized I had sun poisoning. I figured the next day was a good day to stay in the shade and nap. Jane decided while I was napping she would scuba dive with a group off the pier. An hour or so later she is back, limping over to my chair. She had struggled getting out to the deeper waters. The instructor had to keep adding weights to keep her down with her air tank and then coming out she cut her foot on the sharp coral. We decide to go see the medic at the resort and get some antiseptic on it. He didn't speak English very well, but I did see a degree for something in Spanish on the wall. He put something on her foot that looked like green alcohol and covered it with a bandage. When we ask him if he saw a lot of this he replied that he mostly treated diarrhea and vomiting....just what we wanted to hear...so far on all of our trips we have never had any food problems, well, except for a trip to a coffee plantation in the Dominique Republic where we sampled the coffee...after that the food ran through us for days!!....another blog for another day. In the meantime, during my nap in the shade, my ankles got bitten several times by mosquitoes and so she was limping back to the room and I was bent over scratching...no wonder people looked at us weird.

 

Then there was Thanksgiving. Every place we have ever stayed always has something for this American holiday... probably because there are always more of us at these places than anyone. There was a sign up in front of one of the restaurants advertising a nice Thanksgiving dinner with a picture of Abraham Lincoln and the story of how he made it into a national holiday. To help celebrate the occasion the resort brought in two live turkeys, a male and female and had them in a make shift pen in the open lobby near the pool. Each had one leg tied to a part of the pen with a long string...I guess they thought they would fly away. They were well fed and taken care of, but they were always getting their strings tangled up with each other and the male would hiss at us when we walked by. For several days out by the pool, all we heard above the Latin music was gobble, gobble, gobble!! ...which invoked fits of laughter! The dinner itself is their version of ours . The turkey was good and no they didn't serve the two in the pen. The pumpkin pie was not as sweet as what we are used to but I like it. I'm not real sure what the rest of it was, but it was all good. Welcome to Mexico.

 

The resort really didn't have anything to do in the evenings except a few sad shows that didn't start unit 9pm. We went to a couple of them and saw maybe ten people in the whole theater. Unlike Cancun, we couldn't walk downtown. The only city in the island, San Miguel de Cozumel population of 77,236, was about 14k away and so that meant renting a car, scooter or getting a taxi. We decide to go there  and do a little shopping at the shops and back street flee markets.  We opted for the taxi and only went once since it cost us $13.00 each way not including the tip. The trip was really uneventful and not much to see other than the cruise ship port and some really big cruise ships. We found one place with really good prices. We bought some gifts and we each got new beach bags...both for $10.00.

 

This resort had two swimming pools one was in the center of the resort surrounded by all the places to eat, the lobby and the outdoor stage. We chose that one. Mostly because it was close the food. The other pool was around on the side close our room . It had a swim up bar and topless was optional. We had to pass this pool every day to and from our room. There were always several thirty something women who chose this option.... ;)

 

Not all was to keep us in fits of laughter... some just a nice experience...like the day we rented a scooter and explored the island ourselves...wonderful!! There is only one main road which takes you around the island. The traffic was all but non existent other than in the city of San Minguel and it really wasn't bad. Although once, we did find ourselves going the wrong way down a one way street. I love motorcycle riding so this was such a freeing experience and the coast of the island is breathtaking! It is dotted with the usual beach shacks and people selling their wares, offering free shots of tequila and even a Brahma bull ride...we couldn't resist that one, although the ride was really just sitting on this huge animal. We shopped and stopped for water and just walked on the beach, enjoying the beauty of the place.

 

Back at the resort, as usual with every place we have stayed, the food was wonderful! This resort wasn't crowded, (can't image why) so getting a table outside everyday over looking the beach for breakfast and lunch was not a problem. I had some of the best salads and seafood I have ever eaten. We had dinner in an Italian restaurant one evening and the food was great there also!! The staff are very friendly and attentive... well, except for the towel card lady. 

One interesting thing about the snack grill by the pool- we ate lunch there a few times, ordered the same thing each time...it was delicious but never prepared the same way...Welcome to Mexico!

 

Well, my suntan is fading and there are places where my skin is peeling, my sun poisoning is gone but my mosquito bites are still itching....I am back in the cold weather and it is snowing....I am already looking forward to next year and to see what that brings....

 

Today I would give anything to be back there in the heat with my sister, in our view less room, having fits of laughter about all the things 'wrong' with our vacation in this beautiful place. Welcome to Mexico!

The Best Mother's Day Ever!!!

 

The best Mother's Day I ever had was last year, May 2010 and that is saying something since I am not a mother, well not physically anyway. My sister's three year old grandaughter, Kirsten was staying with us that weekend. She is a delightful little girl we all love and I always have a good time with her. We were on the couch watching cartoons and Kirsten was laying with her head in my lap eating her Dora fruit snacks. After a few minutes and for no apparent reason, she looked up at me tenderly with those big blues, gently touched my cheek with her little sticky fingers and said, "I love you". My heart melted.  I replied "I love you too"  blinking back tears. That had never happened to me before...ever. She went back to watching cartoons while I savoured this wonderful moment. I didn't do anything special for her to say that to me, she just wanted to. It was the best Mother's Day gift I ever got.

I love this little girl so very much and I cherish our relationship. I thought about our Heavenly Father and how He must delight in our "I love you" for no apparent reason. When we, His children, reach up toward heaven with our little sicky fingers, sticky from the world, from sin or whatever we have been into and touch the face of God and say I love you, I think His heart melts. I think He delights in us far more than we realize. I think He longs for a deeper relationship with us. I think He longs to hear more 'I love you' s for no apparent reason other than we just want to tell Him. I want to tell Him more often...because now I know how it must make Him feel. 

Feeding the Fed

 

I feel like we do so much of this - feeding the already fed. Some have asked me if I am going to our local District Ladies Conference. Probably not. I have several reasons why:

 

1.  I have been going to these for 30 years and not much has changed. It's basically the same message in different packages. I feel like most of us already weigh about 500 pounds- spiritually. We waddle in, get fed again and waddle back out the door and settle back into our comfortable lives. There has to be more....I am so totally burnt out with this that I really could scream.  I have felt this way for several years, although I did attend the conferences up until now, because it's what we do, but I really can't do it any more. I want to feed the lost and hurting souls outside of the four walls of the church. We say we are all about soul winning...really??? How many times do we need to hear about it before we take it out to the street? Now if our conferences included doing something out in the community....

 

2.  I notice this years theme of the conference was something about Generation to Generation. I guess that's fine if you and your entire family have been in the church since great, great grandma.  Mine has not.  And it seems a lot of it is good if your husband is a minister. Mine is not. My husband doesn't even serve God and neither does anyone else in my family. I am the lone Christian here. It seems most of the time the conferences are geared toward these things, although a few years ago I did get to speak for 5 minutes on praying for your unsaved husband.

 

 3.  I feel like when I do attend I have to be someone I am not. I am a motorcycle rider and I am very much burdened for Hollywood. I have been involved with The Hollywood Prayer Network for 4 years and every year I always ask if I could set up a display at the conference with material on this mission field. Every year I get the same answer: "It would probably cause problems for the church because Hollywood is seen as sin and we we don't get involved with sin. " You've got to be kidding!  I can't even wrap my mind around  that....What did Jesus get involved in if wasn't sin and sinners?? Hollywood - "the world's most influential mission field" and no one gets it.  Don't get me wrong, my Pastor and his wife support what I am doing but many of the ladies coming to the conference would not. So, when will be the time I can present it at the Conference? In 5 years, 10 years?? Other churches and denominations are involved with this and have been for many years. Why are we always behind the times?? So, I don't talk about this burden to feed the lost and hurting that we see on TV everyday. I just try to stay as connected as I can to those in Hollywood with the same passion as myself.

"The movies, the people who make them, and the people who see them are important. The absence of God's people from the movies has been tragic. Millions of people are being misled and corrupted because the salt has been absent and because the lambs have not roared. A reentry for Christians presents very formidable challenges, but God is able if His people are obedient.The movies can be both an important mission field and and an important vehicle for the gospel."   from the book: Roaring Lambs, The Movies: Box Office Closed  by  Bob Briner

 

 4. This really has nothing to do with the Ladies Conference, but I thought I would throw it in, since I am talking on this subject. I am an AzusaStreetRider. As far as I know I am  the only biker from my church that joined this group. We are not a motorcycle club, but a motorcycle ministry. Really?? I am our website quite a bit and the only thing I see we do is ride from one church rally to the next. We all wear back patches with our logo and Acts 2:38. We wear those not only so people will know we belong to this group, but also so others outside the church will ask about it....it's a soul winning tool. The thing is though, you actually have to go some place other than our own saved church folks for it to be effective - like our Moutainfest Motorcycle Rally. What a field ripe for the harvest. Last year there were 80,000 registered bikers. I go every year.  We have several other AzusaStreetRider members in our area.  I am the only AzusaStreetRider who attends. I also thought maybe this ministry would get somewhere with our own Biker Sunday we have had for the last three years, but now, even that has been cancelled.

 

I'm sure there are those who will misunderstand, condemn and criticize what I have said. But that's ok. I am not bashing the Ladies Conference. There is just noting there for me and I am simply stating the reasons I don't want to go. If you enjoy the Ladies Conference, that's wonderful. I'm sure there will be some good things there for you. I just can't do it anymore.

 

I am really trying to be a "roaring lamb" and make a difference in our world, but I can't do it alone. But then again, I keep saying that, but the truth is, I have been doing it alone for several years. And I can't do it by constantly being fed and never doing anything with what I have already eaten - spiritually, that is. 

 

Like I have been saying for a long time now, "I feel like a root bound potted plant.  I am going to have to be planted so I can branch out and grow, be all that I am suppose to be, do all that I am suppose to do, or I will eventually die." 

American Idol and Perfect Pia

 

American Idol. A show I never watched until the last couple of years when my husband Mark began watching it. He really likes those kind of shows. I didn't, but after watching for awhile, I must admit it's fun to get all caught up in it. This season is no exception. It's really different from the previous seasons...different judges and a more exciting atmosphere. We get a kick out of new judge Steven Tyler and some of the things he says. He has been known to say some outrageous and shocking  things, but for the most part, he has calmed down some for the show. Mark and I refer to his witty comments as "Stevenisms".  Such as the other night when Scotty, who changed his usual country style and did a fabulous job with an Elvis song, Steven loved it and commented, "I thought you were all hat no cattle"!

But last night brought the biggest shock of all when Pia was voted off. In the very beginning of the season I was sure if she wasn't the one to become the next American Idol she would be the one  standing next to the winner. And we still have a long way to go before we get to the winner. Last night she was in the bottom three and standing next to Stefano, who is good, but has barely squeaked by in this season. I was sure he was the one leaving....I was wrong and shocked. So was everyone else including the other Idol contestants. The audience was upset and booing. Others were in tears. The judges looked stunned and when ask about the vote their comments were: "I have no idea what happened here. I'm shocked. I'm angry," said judge Jennifer Lopez. Steven said viewers were wrong, adding, "She's beautiful. When she sings, she's a bird." Randy said,"I'm never upset on this show, and I'm never really mad, but this, like, this makes me mad. What is going on?"

I wondered myself what is going on and why would she of all people, not get enough votes. Everyone on that show is excellent, but Pia....well, Pia is perfect. First of all she is stunning. Long dark hair, perfect figure, perfect smile. She could be a model/cover girl for anything and from what I have seen on the show she has a wonderful personality and of course she can sing. She can really sing. She can sing perfectly. So why wasn't there enough votes cast to keep her in? Maybe because she seems so perfect. Perfect is hard to relate to. Not many of us feel perfect. We tend to root for the underdog or maybe the ones who seem to struggle. Although I'm sure Pia has struggled and worked hard to get this far.  It seems that way in life - we look at those who seem to have it all and wonder why everything just falls in place for them. No work, no struggle, life just seems to give them everything. But I am sure if we could look into their lives we would see all the pain and brokenness they have had to endure. We sometimes do tend to "judge a book by it's cover". I have been guilty of that myself, wondering why someone elses life seems so perfect and mine is such a mess. We tend to compare our lives with others, which Jesus warned is not wise. We all have our own lives to live. Our own callings. Our own path to follow. We are each born with a different Destiny and God knows best how to get us where we are suppose to be.  My heart went out to Pia. She held it together until the show was over. As she was being consoled by the other contestants you could hear her sobbing. I prayed for her last night.  I thought of how broken hearted that "perfect" girl was right now. We never know what is going on in the lives others. I'm so glad for a Savior that knows us inside and out. He knows our heartaches and struggles and He's our healer and our strength. He truly is the only perfect one. I'm glad He loves ALL of us...because not one of us is really perfect.

It is what it is......

 

"We all have to start with ourselves. It is time to walk the talk. Take the journey of making very difficult decisions. Start removing things from your life that are not filling your cup and adding things that bring joy in to your life."

~Lisa Hammon

 

"It is what it is......"

I never understood that saying until a few weeks ago. Mark says it all the time. I always thought it was so annoying...until lately... and it just to came to light. It was an "aha" moment. When everything becomes clear and all you thought you knew just disappears and you're left with the thought that all the thinking, discussing and analyzing is not going to change some things that you've know all along. It's taken me a very long time to see things and people as they really are. Wow, it really is like a clear day....I wish I would have known years ago what I know now, but then again... I guess I did. I wouldn't have accepted it before. I was just wishing for something better....this is the something better.

 

A friend ask me the other day if I was still blogging. I told her yes, but I just hadn't posted anything for awhile...about March 14 to be exact. And that was something I had written back in February. I just couldn't think past all that has happened this last month. It's been interesting and enlightening ....strange and beautiful....... I'm still not sure what it all means. I'm just following answers to prayers. Some of the fog is lifting. It's that clear day I've been searching for....It's not what I thought at all....time to move on...time for change... I suppose .....bittersweet...but- it is what it is.... I feel like maybe for the first time I have landed on planet earth! Looking around and seeing where I am in this life. This is probably one of those blogs that is not going to make since unless this has happened to you. But maybe since I am writing my thoughts, such as they are, something new will come into my head to write about.  
  

So many good sayings and quotes fell in my lap during the last month. I love good quotes. Some I used as my status on facebook...I wanted to share them in here also. They sum up better than anything all that happened to me this last month:

 

"Your happiness and peace results from uncovering what is true for you and what truly works and nobody can uncover those things for you. You alone must assume the risks, dive in, and take your chances. A life well lived is a life of taking chances and hanging out with people who help you grow."

Dick Warn

 

"You can pray but sometimes God just wants you to take care of it yourself.  You can sit and listen to the music but sometimes you must get up and dance. You can complain but sometimes you need to do whatever it takes to correct something. You can believe but sometimes you must take action, make a plan, change your ways, add to,take from, build up, tear down, walk away, come back, climb, fall, get up, lie down, move ahead or move on."

- Bob Perks

 

"Oh my cup is full, it’s come full circle. "

~ And Furthermore

Judi Dench

Girl's Day Out...

 

Girl's Day Out.... I loved girl's day out. A time for fun and fellowship, shopping, eating, laughing, getting into deep discussions...all the elements of everything female! Discussions of hair and weight, clothes, shoes, purses, getting older, wrinkles, children, grandchildren, husbands, life, the Bible ...etc. I loved it all!! 

 

.....but we don't do that anymore....

 

I miss our girl's day outings. It used to be a priority. Everyone was busy but we made time in our hectic schedules.  We worked and went home to families, responsibilities and church. But somehow we always found time to do lunch or go out for a cup of coffee or something and then we had the one grand event every year of a one or two night girl's get away!! It was wonderful!!

 

I was thinking the other night once again how much I missed the fellowship with women from my own church. Oh don't get me wrong, I still have girl's day out and all nighters -just not with those from my church. My friend Fran and I went to Cass last summer and stayed two nights. We rode the train and then stopped on the way home at what became one of my favorite places - Helevtia and we had lunch at The Hutte. We get together every chance we get and have for many years. We love to shop downtown Morgantown and eat at The Mother of India. 

My friend Donna and I go out all the time - shopping, eating and sharing the goodness of God. I introduced her to Helvetia and now we go there every time we get a chance. We stayed for a couple of nights at The Beekeeper Bed and Breakfast.

My sister and I spend a lot of time together and try to vacation every year in Mexico...not to mention the holidays, cookouts and time in her swimming pool we have together.  I also have an assortment of other friends I get together with when we can. It's not that I don't have fellowship, I do. I love my family and friends and all the wonderful things we do together, but I miss the connection with my church family.

I miss the bonding  and the feeling of belonging that goes with that. Some always have that because their families are all in the church. Mine are not. I am the only one. I'm sure they don't feel that disconnect once they leave the church. Fellowship outside the church is really, really important to me, but no one has time anymore. Our last outing was summer of 2009. I tried for a while to have a girl's day out, but it was unsuccessful. No one was really interested....it's not a priority anymore, everyone is too busy, too involved with other things and other people.  I really missed spending time outside the church with these women. I really missed our girl's day out.....

Questionable Treasures

 

"You have a place with Him - None were more shunned by their culture than the blind, the lame, the lepers, and the deaf. They had no place. No name. No value. Canker sores on the culture. Excess baggage on the side of the road. But those whom the people called trash, Jesus called treasures." ~Max Lucado Daily: Everyday Blessings

 

I used to be one of "those" kinds of Christians. You know the kind. We went to church every service. We attended every church function and conference. We invited our family and friends and those in our circle. We did fund raisers and kept everything moving inside the church. We didn't get too far outside of the church's four walls. It's a dirty, sinful world out there.

I thought about this as I was out running errands today and I drove past a local bar. I remembered many years ago passing that same bar on my way home from church on a Sunday night. As I was going past, a woman came stumbling out the door. She was so drunk she could hardly walk out to the street. I was so disgusted. After all it was Sunday night.... I wish now I would have had more compassion. 

That was along time ago...... 

 

I think God sometimes calls us to be like the people we see at rummage sales, searching for a treasure. I think we need to look past all the wear and tear of life and see the breaking hearts of people that others might have thrown away. They are everywhere. They are right where you live. They are like buried treasure covered by the trials and heartbreak life has thrown on them.  With Spring around the corner I was thinking about the motorcycle rallies we attend. How I find myself right in the middle of the crude and the lude.  How sometimes I just look out over that crowd of tattooed, pierced, inebriated, hurting and wounded folks and pray. I wonder how many of them have no idea of a Savior that loves them unconditionally. I try to talk to new faces, ask about their lives. Sometimes they open up.  I look around at the treasures God has placed right before our eyes. Buried treasure. If we are going to dig for priceless treasure, we are going to get dirty... I do better these days, but I still have a long way to go.....

 

"I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle of Our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how He lived His life here on Earth. His kindness, His tolerance. Listen, here's what I think.... I think that we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create and who we include."

 

Pere Henri

from the movie: Chocolat

Motorcycles and Movie Stars - part 2

 

You know the saying, "when the student is ready the teacher will appear"? When I first felt impressed to begin praying for celebrities in Hollywood, I really didn't want to nor did I feel qualified. But the Lord let me know He was just looking for someone willing to step out of the ordinary. I didn't know of anyone who might be doing this and I really felt a little silly. We are so used to praying for our friends and families and their needs and sometimes taking prayer request of strangers. But this was more...I felt the weight of making a commitment to do this ...not just a one time prayer, but to take them on like family. Time and again I felt God leading me to just pray for them. I would wake in the middle of the night with certain Hollywood folk on my heart and I would begin to pray. I prayed during the day when they came to mind. I prayed whenever I felt moved to do so, but it was several weeks later and lots of daily devotionals assuring me God certainly was trying to use me in this area.  Here is just part of one example from a devotional:

"God purposely chooses those who are the most unlikely candidates for the job. By doing so, He has a wide open door to show His grace, mercy, and power to change human lives. When God uses someone like me or many others He is using, we realize that our source is not in ourselves but in Him alone".

Then comes the teacher...I opened up a devotional one morning to read about a celebrity, I don't remember who it was or the exact contents of the article but it was something on the order of all their latest antics and being in the tabloids and how disgusting it all is and how we just get so tired of the whole thing....etc. Then it ask the question...Do you ever think about praying for them?  and included the link for The Hollywood Prayer Network.  I checked it out. I couldn't believe there was an organization just to pray for those in the entertainment business. I not only checked it out, but became a member, started a chapter here and have become an intercessor for three people in the business!! When one dear friend was getting married, I was invited to the wedding and went. This trip also became a mission trip to Hollywood. That's a long and wonderful adventure in itself....another blog for another day! 

 

You just never know where God will lead if you let Him and just how rewarding it can be. I have heard so many great testimonies from those living and working in Hollywood and how grateful they are for those that will stand in the gap for them. They live in glass houses. Everything they say and do gets splashed across the tabloids and so many times it's not true. I can't imagine living like that....no matter how glamorous, rich and famous you are. These only compound the problem. They need our prayers. They influence our world whether we like it or not. Just imagine if more of them turned to God because they knew they had someone to turn to. If they understood a merciful God who deeply loves them. If they knew someone is praying for them...what a difference they could make.

 

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty

power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more

than we might ask or think."

 

- Ephesians 3:20

"The world’s most influential mission field"
Web: www.hollywoodprayernetwork.org

Motorcycles and Movie Stars

 

I am always amazed and delighted at how God does things. If anyone would have told me 6 years ago I would be involved with motorcycles and movie stars, I would have said they were crazy. But it has been a wonderful and fascinating journey! I had been praying for my husband and I to be closer and have more in common. Life can be very difficult and empty when you are serving God alone. I assumed God would move on my husband and he would begin to like some of the things I enjoyed, such as traveling and seeing the world. God is always full of surprises!!

 

One summer day back in 2005 my husband and I went for a long ride on an old Honda V65 Magna. He had purchased this bike the year before, just to see if he still liked to ride....like when he was younger.  I had gone a few times with him ...on very short rides and only on back rodes and only under 50 MPH... I was really afraid!! But on this day and with new tires we went for a nice long ride up through Aurora WV.  It's absolutely breathtaking and until that day I never understood the freedom and feeling behind motorcycle riding. It was a perfect afternoon in June - 85 degrees, blue skies and few fluffy clouds and the wind in my face...I had never felt anything like that before...I was hooked!! That day I fell head over heels, passionately in love with motorcycle riding. I couldn't get enough!! A couple weeks later we were in the local Harley shop looking at a bike we both loved...and bought ...and lived on for the next 4 years!! We still have that beautiful, teal '01 Soft Tail Deuce and in '09 bought a new red and gold Electric Glide Ultra Classic touring bike. We wanted to be able to ride longer and further and we have vacationed on it the last two years and plan on it again this summer.

 

My whole family (and some church members) were in shock and awe when this biker thing came over me!! My sister couldn't believe the change in me and the happiness she saw on my face. She also got a big kick out of this because several years earlier SHE had bought a Harley and I thought she was nuts...what did she need with that???  My grown nephews loved me in the biker gear and I noticed not only with them, but others as well, how much more open they were to talk to me about the Lord. My husband and I are a lot closer these last few years. We spend nearly all our free time riding together when the weather allows. In the winter we find ourselves browsing the clothes and accessories in the Harley shop and talking about riding and where we will go as soon as Spring appears!!

We had our first Biker Sunday 3 years ago when I approached my Pastor with the idea and he said YES.  I don't know what all God has in mind for this Motorcycle Ministry, but whatever it is, I am sure I will be surprised and delighted!!.....and oh the movie stars, that's part 2!!

Chocolat- SBNR

I spent this cold February afternoon watching one of my favorite movies, Chocolat, which I still think should be required viewing for all who call themselves Christians and are serious about reaching out to the lost and hurting. I watch this movie every year, several times, usually in the Spring since the story takes place during the six weeks of lent before Easter. I'm not sure all the reasons I love this film. Maybe it's because it takes place in a little village, as bleak as this one is, I like little villages. Or maybe it's because it takes place in the Spring...new beginnings and a chance to start again, as happens in this town. Or maybe it's because I can relate to Vianne and the gypsies, that feeling of never really belonging anywhere because your ideas and convictions are different from everyone else. Or maybe it's because that one woman changed the entire town by standing by her convictions. There are more reasons than I can count as to why I love this movie. Although this is not a Christian movie and was never marketed as such and has a PG-13 rating, it is one of the most profound films I have ever seen. It's not a new release. It was made back in 2000. I only discovered it about 4 years ago. There are many avenues you could take as far as teaching from it's themes and characters. My favorite line is at very end of the movie and is said by the young Priest Pere Henri. It sums it up nicely: 

"I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle of Our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how He lived His life here on Earth. His kindness, His tolerance. Listen, here's what I think.... I think that we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create and who we include."

 

 Last year Rubel Shelly summed up the entire movie in his weekly devotional. I love what he says about it. If you decide you want to view it, don't forget to have plenty of your favorite chocolate on hand...you'll be craving it and see me if you want to know how to make Mayan Hot Chocolate from a 2000 year old recipe..I have it!! Here's what he said:

Spiritual But Not Religious

            Some people have dismissed it as a "trendy phrase," but I take it very seriously. The notion that people can be authentically spiritual without being caught up in all the trappings of religion makes perfectly good sense to me.

            To be "spiritual but not religious" - a notion so commonplace these days that it has its own acronym (SBNR) - typically translates to this: "I believe in God and need divine guidance for my life, but I don't trust 'organized religion' and won't let some church or religious zealot sit in judgment on me and tell me how to live my life by his list of rules."

            Ever see the movie Chocolat? It is a cinematic parable about the gray, barren landscape of life under the thumb of a zealot or an authoritarian church. The conflicted mayor and an intimidated young priest are quick to judge, exclude, and bully people into conformity with their expectations. Life is harsh and bleak.

            Into that town comes a woman who is conspicuously disinterested in church and is unbowed by attempts to make her conform. What she brings with her is a remarkable sense of empathy that enables her to value its outcasts and to effect a number of reconciliations among the browbeaten citizens. She is clearly spiritual (i.e., compassionate and loving) but unwilling to be bullied by oppressive people and institutions. She is clearly the SBNR heroine of the story.

            Chocolat lays bare the historic failure of religion. It can degenerate into rigidity and power struggles. Its message of faith, hope, and love can collapse into struggles over power, ego, and money. And how dare anyone try, with a straight face, to deny this has happened repeatedly over the centuries!

            Old Testament prophets railed against priests who abused their power or worshippers who substituted their prayers for actual kindness to the poor. Jesus was angry enough at the abuses of organized religion that he drove animal-hawkers and currency-changers out of the Temple. So there must be something to the idea that deeply spiritually people can be turned off by religion!

            Unlike Vianne, the fictional heroine of Chocolat, the solution for SBNRs is not found simply in flouting the rules and defying the authorities. What is at stake is more complex and serious than playing the rebel. A restudy of Jesus from the Gospels would be a great point of beginning. He seems to have found a way to honor his Father, live under Scripture's authority, and build healthy community - while neither playing nor cowering to the power games of organized religion.

            If you have been turned off by religion, you are in good company. Just be careful not to throw out the Bethlehem Baby with the nasty old bath water!

 

 

 

Real Personal Relationship

"Abram did not value God's vague promises because they paled in the light of what he truly wanted: a son. He felt close enough to God to actually argue with him. Note that God responded. Our relationship with God needs to be so intimate that, when we encounter a promise in Scripture that does not seem true for us, we can talk to God about our feelings. We have a God who does respond, perhaps with an even greater promise, as he does with Abram. Talk to God about everything, even your doubts and arguments."
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

I love that quote. There have been so many times in my walk with God that I have been angry and frustrated with Him. I feel our relationship is close enough that I can be real and be myself, even it is my upset self. I have voiced my concerns to Him over the years with hot tears of frustration streaming down my face.  I have heard we should never be angry or upset with God.  But I say how can you be in a real, personal, intimate, loving relationship and never have a disagreement or upset??  I have a real, personal, intimate, loving relationship with my husband and we certainly, over the years, have had our share of disagreements and upsets. It didn't cause us to love each other less. If anything it probably made us love each other more. We learned and gained an understanding of each other.

My sister's granddaughter, Kirsten, visits often. I love her.... more than she realizes. I have hopes and dreams for her. I see the potential in her waiting to happen. Many times she has become so angry and frustrated with me when I wouldn't let her eat more candy or go outside alone and countless other things. She doesn't see that I  am protecting her from potential harm.  She doesn't understand that. She is three years old.  I understand that she doesn't understand. Not only that, I see it from her perspective. She only sees the here and now and her needs are not being met at the moment. I try to comfort her. I know she will understand it one day, but until then she is going to be upset.

I tend to do the same thing with God.  I know He loves me, knows what is best for me and is keeping me from potential danger. I can't see it. My needs are not being met. The promises have not come. I have done all I know to do and things still are not working the way they should be. I become angry and frustrated and I talk to Him about that.  He sees it from my perspective. I am his child and heir to all He has. He wants only what is best for me.  He loves me. We have a real, personal relationship.

"When we're confused or disappointed, wondering about who God is and what God is doing, we can ask. God isn’t offended by our questions or doubts. When we ask, we might not get the answer we're expecting. Often the answer comes by watching where God is at work, not by a booming voice from the clouds....expect the unexpected, and keep your eyes open for his work."

Questions for Jesus

Amy Julia Becker

Tribute to a dear friend

His funeral is today. I just can't bring myself to go. I wanted to honor him today by sharing this with you. He was always so full of life and energy. We were such good friends all through junior high and high school. Sometimes best friends. Ah....such sweet school day memories! We sat together on the bus most of all those six years. We shared our hopes and dreams for the future. We shared joy and heartache. We laughed and joked and pulled pranks on the bus and no one ever found out it was us! We shared homeroom and some classes together. We shared our experiences and talked about our dates, our going steadies and the break ups.  He loved to tease me about that "long haired hippie freak" that I dated the last three years of high school - the man I married and have been married to for the last thirty plus years.

So many memories of our friendship came flooding in when I heard he had died. We lost touch after graduation. You know how that goes. He didn't show up at any of our class reunions and  more than twenty years went by before I saw him again.... We ran into each other one autumn day and spent the next two hours catching up. He confided in me that he now had chosen a gay lifestyle and the reasons why. He thought I may not want to remain his friend. Others had done that.  I assured him that our years of friendship were not damaged by his choice - he had been my dear friend since seventh grade.  I will never forget the tears in his eyes as he threw his arms around me and hugged me, thanking me for unconditional friendship. We saw each other every now and then after that through the years. He got cancer. It was bad. He got through it. A while back he told me it was back and it didn't look good. He seemed so sad and defeated. I promised him as before I  would be praying for him and not to give up. We hugged and held on a few moments longer, both teary eyed. It ended with "see you later"....that was the last time I saw him.

He has been in my thoughts all day long with tears and a million memories...his smile and laughter...so full of life...that's what I want to remember. His funeral is today. I just can't bring myself to go.

Single Chocolate Rose

 

 

A single chocolate rose. You know the kind . You see them in Wal-Mart and Rite-Aid. That's what I got for Valentine's Day.....again. I was hoping for flowers. A beautiful bouquet of colorful flowers, different textures and fragances to brighten up dreary winter days. But I got another chocolate rose.....I got one last year. Did I show even a hint of disappointment. No I did not. Why? Because I love my husband. I hugged him and kissed him and thanked him for the gift. You see, over the years we have had lot of wonderful Valentine's Days. We have gone out to dinner. Sometimes just an ordinary dinner to something really fancy depending on the resturant we were in the mood for. Many times over the years I have received flowers. Sometimes roses, red, yellow or varieties of pink. Sometimes the bouquet would be accompanied with balloons and stuffed animals. Sometimes he bought me candy. Chocolates in beautiful red boxes.  Sometimes the candy would also be accompanied with balloons and stuffed animals. I have a room upstairs filled with enough stuffed animals from Valentine's Day and other occasions to delight any child! And the beautiful cards from over the years...I have kept every one. They have come in all shapes and sizes. I even have one that is about three feet tall!! Sometimes funny, but usually beautiful sentiments that convey what my husband can't always put into words. This year was no exception. He always gets me a beautiful card. This one said things like how "he is a better man because of me and my support. How I have made all the difference in his life and he couldn't have married a more wonderful woman".  Wow....he loves me and I love him.

My husband works really long hours on his job during the week and has had to work the last two Saturdays. We knew we would not be going out to dinner or doing much for Valentine's Day. But that's ok. We have had so many wonderful Valentine's Days. He got home late last night and went back out to get "something for work". I knew he was probably getting something for me. He was tired. He put in long hours last week. He came back with the card and a single chocolate rose...I cherish it.

Thoughts on Blogging

 

"Beautiful thoughts just crowd into your mind at times."... She said that everything had colour in her thought; the months of the year ran through all the tints of the spectrum, the days of the week were arrayed as Solomon in his glory, morning was golden, noon orange, evening crystal blue, and night violet. Every idea came to her mind robed in its own especial hue. Perhaps that was why her voice and words had such a charm, conveying to the listeners' perception such fine shadings of meaning and tint and music." - The Golden Road by Lucy Maud Montgomery

 

Beautiful thoughts. I wish that was all I ever had.  I wish my life was such that everything and every thought was always a beautiful hue, but it is not.  Although, I love this quote. Our thoughts take us to many different places and I think that is why people write blogs.  I thought my first blog I post should be, well, about blogging. I finally decided to try blogging after being inspired by my friend and former co-worker Debra. She started a blog the first of the year titled "Sit Down, Shut up & Listen" and I so enjoyed her thoughts and opinions. I felt I wanted to do something like this for a long time.  I found a lot of great quotes while doing some research on thoughts and blogging. I have sprinkled a few of them in here. My favorite was the one I chose to put under the title on this blog page. I have written four blogs so far and this one makes the fifth. My husband read them. I wanted to get his opinion....he says a couple of them are too "christian", (well duh!).....("Meditative … like the chirping of a solitary little bird" —Eudora Welty ), another he said would cause a big stir, ("Thoughts … whirling around on themselves, like the apocryphal snake seizing its own tail and then devouring itself "—Stanley Elkin) ...but I don't think so. The other one is me'up on my soap box', my own opinion and not necessarily the opinion of others, ("Thoughts … flowing in unison, like a mountain-stream and a lake-stream meeting, but not yet merging, in a single river" —George Santayana) ...anyway isn't that whole point of blogging? ...putting it all out there and getting feed back? Which is what I am hoping folks will do.

  Anyway, the writing of my thoughts, feelings and opinions was not the hard part. The setting up a blog page was the real challenge. Once I decide on something, like a template design, then changed my mind, (imagine that), I couldn't  figure out how to change it. Then it ask for a title for this Blog page. I couldn't come up with anything. I spent days and days trying to figure out what to call it. ( "Heavy on my mind, like a lump of soggy yeast dough, expanding, suffocating, blotting out all other thoughts" —Mignon F. Ballard ) Everything that came to mind just didn't seem to cover everything as a whole, until I finally decided on the title I have now: Clear Day. Then there is the problem of trying to get it to link so my facebook  friends can read it. I think maybe I have that one solved......let me know if you are reading this...("Thoughts … untidily stacked like dishes slanting (in) a full sink "—Lincoln Kirstein ) ...if not I may have to fix the slant....