Where is the joy?

Where is the joy in a city that is flooded, in damage that is left behind?

Where is the joy in the lives that were lost, some due to carelessness?

Where is the joy in homes that are gone – swept away by the floods or so badly damaged that destroying what is left to rebuilt will be the only option?

Where is the joy in losing everything, to starting over again?

We are alive.  That is my joy.  We will grieve those who were lost, we will clean up, we will start over, we will rebuilt or repair, and we will gain more stuff.  And we will do it because that is who we are.  We are a state built on volunteering, helping, and facing more adversity than should be allowed, but we face it.  We invite it into our homes when it knocks at the door, fix it a glass of sweet tea, and face it with a smile on our faces, because that’s what we know. 

The next few months and years will be difficult, but that’s okay – this state can overcome it.  I am proud of my state.

Until next time,

Small Town, U.S.A.

suggested by Life in Eureka Springs


"If you could change one thing about the town you live in, what would it be?"

This prompt is easy, although I will apologize ahead of time if you find me standing precariously on a soapbox, balanced on one toe while stretching to see everyone between me and the horizon.  I want to make sure no ears miss my message.


Welcome to Macon County, Tennessee, estimated population 22,000 people. 




Home to friendly people, lots of livestock, farmland as far as the eye can see, and a lifestyle that is focused on family, friends, and hard-work, but this town is dying.


This county was once home to numerous companies who manufactured such things as clothing, automobile parts, and furniture.  Now, the ghosts of forgotten factories sit in the industrial park while the people who call Macon County home drive to places like Gallatin, Portland, or Lebanon for work.  More and more people are packing up each year to move closer to their jobs because they just can’t afford the gas or the time on the road.  Why?  Why has this county gotten to the point that the majority of it’s residents have to drive somewhere else for work?   So many have given up on finding work that is within an acceptable distance and they’ve turned to welfare to provide for their families.  Parents should not be put in the position of thinking welfare is an acceptable option.  County leaders – fix it!


We need industry in this county, and not just of the manufacturing variety.  Sure, we have Fleetwood and Nestle Waters and Walmart, but how often do you hear of them hiring anyone – at least anyone who doesn’t already know someone who works there?


Bring in new shopping options – clothes, video games, home decor.  Build a small shopping open-air shopping/dining center with stores like Claire’s, Kirkland’s, Old Navy, and Taco Bell.  The new shopping options will provide jobs.  The act of shopping will feed tax dollars into our economy.  With the other small towns around us, like Hartsville, Celina, Scottsville, and Holland, there’s no reason this area can’t carry a few larger stores successfully.  City leaders – take a few steps toward reviving this town before it’s too late to revive anything.  Just my two cents.


Until next time . . .

Spring is almost here!

Inspiration for this blog post comes from 

 

 

 

 

Prompt: 5.) Share some photos and stories as well as what you love about spring.
(inspired by Amanda from Welcome To My Life).

New growth on the trees . . .

Daffodils and tigerlilies . . .

Baby bunnies . . .

Happy fun days . . .

Flip-flops . . .

Playing in puddles – PLOP!!

 

Until next time,

Random Thoughts, part 7,429,321

I have a lot of random thoughts – too many of which get posted to Facebook and probably not enough of which get blogged about.  I really should discipline myself into occasionally taking a random thought and turning it into a well-developed blog post.  Occasionally means once every year or so, right? ;)

I find a lot of my problem is I just can’t seem to find the inspiration to sit down and write.  I’m really struggling with what to blog about or how to find reasons to blog more often.  I’ve recently started following a blog. . .

. . . that hosts a writer’s workshop, meant to offer inspiration in the form of a weekly post with five blog prompts.  I think I’ll try to tackle one of this week’s ideas later tonight or tomorrow. 

So this whole one-sided conversation begs the question, “Where do you get your inspiration?”   Do your blog ideas come to you in a dream, from something overheard, from a site like Mindbump?  If all of the above, which do you find to be your most fruitful source of inspiration? 

Until next time . . .

New Journey

My family started a new journey today and it's not one we would have chosen for ourselves.  My husband was diagnosed with diabetes.  He went in for a physical and his blood sugar was 242.  We did an A1C Home Test and the result was 11.4%.  Just before dinner, he tested at 221 and two hours later it was 347. 

This diagnosis is going to require a lot of dietary changes for our family but we will deal with it.  Our family has already been through so much together and this is just another hurdle for us to leap over.  In a way, it is kind of a relief to get this diagnosis because it explains several things that have been going on with him lately. It will definitely be a difficult journey, but we can do this. :)

Until next time . . .

Friday Fill-in

1. There are places I want to go!
2. Take a deep breath and blow those clouds away.
3. Standing in the middle of nowhere, wondering where to go from here.
4. I'm going to Vegas in March, oh boy!
5. He went out tiger hunting and got eaten. :)
6. I put duct tape on my head to keep my mind from wandering .
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hopefully NOT freezing to death, tomorrow my plans include more of that not freezing stuff and Sunday, I want to THAW OUT!

284

284 - That's a very depressing number and it's my weight.  When hubby and I started dating six and a half years ago, I was 160ish.  I had curves, but I was muscular and not overweight.  What a difference six and a half years can make.  I can blame medical issues (which I have) all I want, but when I know my eating habits and lack of exercise are a lot of why I am the size I am.  All I know is I'm sick and tired of being fat.  When I have problems typing my own shoes or walking up stairs, or even walking around the mall, it's definitely way past time for a change.  I don't know if I'll be able to do it on my own or if I'll have to join a program.  I do know that a doctor's visit is in line very soon.  I may be fooling myself, but I'm hoping that once my medical issues are under control, the weight will just fall off.  Maybe I'll be a curvy 160 again by Christmas.  Yeah right. ;)

Friday Fill-in

Courtesy of Friday Fill-Ins

1. Last night I fell asleep before the ball dropped.
2. I want to finally lose weight this year.
3. The funniest thing is when Callie Callie Fat Cat thinks she is being sweet by leaving us mice - in bed - while we're asleep.  Sometimes, they're dead.
4. It's a new year and a new decade, with a chance for new opportunities...so where do we go from here?
5. He said, "I want a new video game"; she said, "dream on, sucka!"
6. The evil fairy hid our never-ending pot of gold and riches and it's up to us to find it.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to lounging around in my jammies and read, tomorrow my plans include grocery shopping and Sunday, I want to lounge around some more!

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

My Teasers:

1. By the time we got to cruising altitude, I was totally heartbroken at my missed opportunity and put Fruit Stripes chewing gum in my own hair as some sort of six-year-old's version of self-flagellation.
2. His ability to let me live in a world of fanciful perceptions and my interpretations is exactly what I needed in a husband - a partner in life determined to not burst my bubble.

 Page 98

Lopsided: How Having Breast Cancer can be really distracting.  

A memoir by Meredith Norton.

The Penguin Group

Copyright 2008

ISBN 978-0-670-01928-1

213 pages

Trying to get back in the swing of things

I'm horrible about remembering to update my blog! My best friend has a fabulous blog that she remembers to updated on a regular basis and it just makes mine look horrible, especially since I've had mine for a lot longer and I believe hers now has more posts. :)

New Year's Resolution - post at least once a week!!  We'll see how long it lasts, although I suppose it doesn't matter much since I only have about a reader and a half.  Oh well.  All two and a half of us will know it's been updated!

I changed the layout of my blog tonight.  Partly because I still had up a Fourth of July theme - OOPS - and mostly in support of my friend, Kim.  She was just diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30.  I wish I could be in Miami to help her through this tough time, but since I can't, I'll just send her love here. :)

MySpace Migrated Blog #5

Originally posted to Myspace on February 06, 2008

This is a copy of an email I sent to everyone at work about being out on Wednesday. I'm too lazy to edit it, so here you go:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am going to be out all day on Wednesday, but I wanted to touch base and let everyone know that as of right now, everything is okay. I'm sure by the time some of you get this email, you'll have heard that tornadoes touched down in the area of my hometown in Macon County, TN. As of the time I am writing this email, no one in my family is injured, but we are still working on reaching a few of them. Cell phones and home phones are out in a lot of the county, so a couple of family members are out in their vehicles checking on the friends and family we've not been able to reach by phone.

It's all quite surreal to me right now. I know the natural gas plant that exploded very well. As a young child, it was so exciting to me to be riding down Hwy 141 and see that intricate silver building with all of the lights on it nestled back between the hills. It was quite possibly the most fascinating thing in the Macon County area in the mid-80s. I can't imagine it not being there. My mom lives about 12 miles from the gas plant and she can feel the heat and flames from the fire and hear the roar of the flames.

Lafayette is a different story. Power lines are down all over the place, entire houses are gone, and the last I heard, two police officers were missing. My sister's 17-year-old boyfriend was trying to get to his mother's house to check on her and could not make it down the road because of all of the downed trees and power lines. While trying to get to his mother's house, he came across a house that collapsed and trapped a woman underneath the rubble. He couldn't get her out. I can't imagine being 17, running across a scene like that, and not being able to help. We have not found out the condition of the woman, but we do know at least 15 people have had to be rescued and one is critical. As of now, there are no fatalities.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best for everyone I know. I will try to keep people updated through the next few days.

MySpace Migrated Blog #4

Originally posted to MySpace on April 18, 2007


I opened up the newschannel5.com website today and a headline made certain memories come flooding back: Shooting Reminiscent Of Paducah Incident.
As I clicked the link to open the story, one thought accompanied the tears that welled up in my eyes: "I miss this kid."

Kayce Steger was one of the most down-to-earth kids I knew. We rode the bus together when I attended Heath High School during the mid-90s and I thought the world of her - I still think the world of her. I remember her getting so excited when she talked about the Junior Deputy camps she attended and talked about becoming a police officer when she finished school. It's hard to believe it's been so long and I wish I had kept in touch after I left Paducah, but certain situations made that impossible. I'm sorry for that. Kayce, I love you, gal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kayce isn't the only one I am thinking of today. My little brother, Johnnie Ray, would have been 19 today. Wow. It's been almost six years since we lost both he and my other brother, Jedidiah, and not a day goes by that I don't think of them. I miss "The Boys". It's funny how I find myself thinking of them in relation to the most random things:
Would The Boys like my choice of a husband?
How would The Boys handle being uncles?
Who would The Boys have taken to Prom?
Where would The Boys have gone to college?
What would their voices sound like now? :)
There's nothing in the world like brothers. If you have them, I hope you know what I mean. If you don't, I hope you step back and take a few minutes to realize what you have. I love my little sister, Hope, dearly and would do anything for her, but there's definately something to be said about the security and humor involved with having brothers. I love you guys.

MySpace Migrated Blog #3

Originally posted to MySpace on February 22, 2007

I really should get better about posting these things, but I never can seem to get the inspiration. And even when I do get the inspiration, who says anyone will read what I type? :)

Today's Inspiration:
It drives me up the wall to see the behaviors of some children in today's world - and I blame the parents. What happened to parenting by setting rules and making your children follow them? With an alarmingly large number of parents, it is no longer the societal norm to "be a parent". Too many of today's parents spend their time trying to be their child's friend, trying to make sure their kids are having fun, and even worse, making sure their kids think they are cool. What these parents do not realize is they are setting their children up for failure, and it will be the fault of the parents.

Children need structure. Children need rules. Children need boundaries. Children need responsibilty. Children need repercussions.

I am thankful every day for my normal, well-adjusted, well-behaved, mannerful children who have great grades and attendance. I set rules for my children and both of them have a daily routine. They know when they are expected to get out of bed, eat meals, take showers, and go to bed. They know if they step out-of-bounds with their behavior, there will be consequences. My children know the only person they can blame for their behaviors and punishments is themselves and they do not blame others. Where are the rest of the children like mine.

Those of you who do no have contact with "today's children" on a daily basis probably do not have a complete understanding of what I am writing about, so I'll give a brief summary. ~I am a middle school secretary.~ On a daily basis, I see children come in to the office, in trouble, blaming everyone except themselves for their behavior: "That teacher doesn't like me. The teacher is picking on me. SuzyQ told me to do it. My mama ain't gonna do nothin'." Daily. I hear these daily. When the parents are called, do you know what a frighteningly large number of them say? "Stop picking on my child." Yes, that's right. Because we set rules and boundaries for their children and because we have consequences when those rules and boundaries are not followed, we are "picking" on their child. These are the same parents who don't repremand the children at home when they have been repremanded at schol. The same parents who let their children do whatever they want, whenever they want and do not pay attention to who their friends are or what they are involved in. Sadly, too many of these children end up in alternative schools or jail, end up on drugs, pregnant, or assaulted by a "friend".

Parents, stop being your child's friend and start being a parent. Your children have friends. They probably have more than you realize and perhaps they shouldn't have some of the ones they have. As a parent, you should know everything about your child. Give them their privacy, but know what they are doing, who they are with, and how they are behaving. SUPPORT the teachers and administrators who have been put in charge of your child's education and monitoring their behavior. If your child has gotten in trouble at school, SURPRISE, they were probably doing something they should not have been doing. You have to realize that children act differently at school and around their friends, than they do at home, around their parents. It's probably not the teacher's fault or the principal's fault when your child has gotten in trouble. And worse of all, don't question your child's repremand and argue about their punishment FRONT of your child. You are teaching your child that no matter what they do, you are going to take their side and you are going to bail them out of trouble. You're going to have a hard time doing that when your child is standing in front of a judge because of a behavior they carried out due to the fact they were never taught to take responsibility for ALL of their actions, not just the good ones.

For the sake of your child and your child's safety and future, STOP being their friend and start being their parent.

MySpace Migrated Blog #2

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MySpace Migrated Blog #1

Originally posted to MySpace on July 19, 2006

Do you ever get the feeling that no matter what you do, some people will just never be happy? You can kick yourself in the ass all you want and force yourself to make personal sacrifices left and right to please someone else, but there are just some people who can not be pleased.

Think about it - you work your butt off to make something you are sure someone else (or a group of someone elses) will just absolutely LOVE! You present it and wait for the oohs and aahs to start. What do you get? "Well that's nice, but I'd like it better if you did this." "How about this color instead." "Uh, thanks" or the worse - if you have made a change to something instead of creating something from scratch - "WHY DID YOU CHANGE IT?!?!" I think there are some people in the world who are so afraid of change of any type that they are missing out on a huge list of possibilities. How do you discover the sweet seduction of cherry cordial ice cream or the comfort in a bowl of homemade soup if you're stuck on "my parents always bought this kind" vanilla ice cream and Campbell's from a can?

What this world needs is more people who are not afraid of change, appreciate what they are given, and don't complain about every little thing.

I've dumped Myspace

I log in, read updates on friends, and never post anything new. Is there any real reason to keep it? I became bored with it a long time ago and have come to realize Facebook is much better for reconnecting with old friends. My staples have become Facebook, Plurk, and a bit of Twitter, so really, should I even both keeping it? What to do.... what to do... :)

I'll decide later, but as part of the "decision process", I'll be moving some of my old blog posts from there over here. The ones that aren't important ...... DELETE! :D

Once again. . .

A lily from my yard . . .




It appears I forgot to blog for a while. I started this blog as a way to share with friends, but I also try to use it as a way to clear my mind. I just keep forgetting I have it! :)

My belief in the internet has been reaffirmed this week by way of me reconnecting with an old friend. Jacki was my best friend for years, but as we hit high school, we grew apart, then I moved. Thanks to Facebook, we've rekindled that friendship ten-fold and I couldn't be happier. I think we sometimes get so caught up in life that we forget how vital friendships are to our happiness and development. Friends listen, talk, share, believe, inspire, etc etc... and I love mine.

For Jacki, Lacey, Donna... and the rest of you guys. Thank you for being you.

10 Stores that Offer Price Matching

With such a crappy economy, I think it's important to remember that we have options - ways to save money. For example, my husband and I are able to stick to a grocery budget of $200-$250 for two weeks by buying most of our items at Sam's Club (meats, produce, frozen fruit, milk, eggs, etc...) and the remainder at Save-a-lot. I know a lot of people think warehouse stores are a waste of money and time, but if you have the space to store the items and you shop by unit price, they can be an excellent place to pick up some of your items.

One thing I do not take advantage of (and I should) is price-matching. I don't know - I've always just felt weird going up to the counter and saying "ACME Discount Store has this item for $1 less. Can you make it be that price?" I guess I should give in - price match and demand the lower price. It would eliminate going to a couple of stores if I do it smartly. I'll think about it. . . but I digress. The whole point of this soliloquy is that thanks to SavvySugar.com, there is a recent list of 10 stores that offer price matching and price adjusting. Read, take notes, save... and convince me that price matching is worth my time! :)

Which way?

Taken on a road about ten minutes from my house, in the edge of Allen County, Kentucky, near the Tennessee line.

Too long

Wow. It's been a while - too long. I kind of lost track of my Blogger when we were without internet because it was too hard to blog by cell phone. We've had it back for a while, but I always forget to post updates. I started this blog as a way to share things I've found online - and maybe some original tidbits of my own, but I never got around to doing much with it. I tend to post more on Plurk than I post here. Today's resolution, only to be broken another day - to post more on my Blogger!

Good night all.