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Friday, October 6, 2006 ~ at 11:37 pm
Your husband sounds like he has a personality a lot like mine. Which is very good for my hot and cold personality, and the good news is that after 10 years of marriage some of it has actually rubbed off on me.
My husband and I started going to church together as friends. He is the one that introduced me to the Episcopal church. We went to church together even when I was dating someone else (who couldn’t stand the liturgy, should have told me something). It has always been so central to our life together so it seemed really natural when he began working at a church. He doesn’t now and for the first time in our marriage I am going to church on Sundays alone with our daughter because his job as a youth pastor at the boarding school requires him to be there on Sunday mornings. All that to say, I think that it is awesome that you two have the same thing in your marriage. It will make a big difference for Gabriel too.
Also do you still live in Brooklyn? I have never been to NYC. But two of my favorite music artists at the moment live in Brooklyn and I think that it must be a very cool place to live. On the other hand, people think that about where I live in Montana (near Glacier National Park).
Saturday, October 7, 2006 ~ at 1:14 am
Yes, I have come to believe that God is an essential part of a couple’s relationship and for a family. It’s that whole respect thing, too. I think that if you have respect for someone, as a person, you can put up with a lot. I intend on writing more about our spirituality, but recently I SO cannot concentrate on anything. I look at my post and I wish that I could have written it better, but trying to write and entertain Gabriel is not working.
My husband’s whole family are practicing Catholics and you can see it reflected in the children. I, on the other hand, come from a non-practicing Catholic family; so I can really see the difference in the up-bringing. Every single person in the family are just TOO nice! In the beginning, I was wondering if it was too good to be true, but to date, it’s been great. I miss them all as much as my husband does. I actually look for opportunities to visit. They are all out of state, as well. We are really alone here as far as childcare. DH’s mom is in her mid 80’s and my sister works during the day. Boy, times have changed.
We are now living in Elizabeth, NJ. I never really wanted to live in the city (NYC); and my husband’s job is in NJ, of course. He’s got too many years to just pick up and leave; though I think that he would love to live in Brooklyn or Manhattan. We won’t if I have my say. I just hate that whole urban scene for raising a kid. I love the country and, YES, living in MT must be great. Though I am sure that you might like a change of scenery, I think you might not go for it on a full time basis. Lot’s of crime, drugs, violence.. you name it. I grew up with not a lot of street smarts because I was always inside, but I did grow up with that NYC suspicious-like mentality and find it hard to trust people. That spills over when you don’t want it to.
Oh, I also have a hot and cold personality… though, it’s more like on, off; fast, slow… well maybe all of the above! When is your birthday? I am a gemini, born in June.
Monday, October 9, 2006 ~ at 11:39 pm
Oh I love Runaway Bunny. I also really like Guess how much I love? It has two rabbits in it actually hares. We still read these stories in our house. They are keepers. Sounds like you all had fun.
What you said on my post about TV is so true. We haven’t ever had cable until this year. Fun this should come up but my husband is doing a fast from TV this week. I on the other hand am not really feeling spiritually disciplined but there will likely be less TV for all. Which is a good thing in general. It didn’t hurt me.
Monday, October 9, 2006 ~ at 11:47 pm
I have been a lector and loved it. My favorite reading are ones from Isaiah that start with “Thus sayth the LORD…”
My husband’s grandmother knitted hats for babies in the hospital where she lived. Over time she knitted hundreds if not thousands of them. Our daughter wore her hats at the hospital and they stayed on so much better than the ones the hospital had. What a great ministry!
Saturday, October 21, 2006 ~ at 11:00 am
That’s mommy brain for you. Don’t worry about saving face, all mommies have at least one story like this. At least you won’t like get the hospitals mixed up again.
Saturday, October 21, 2006 ~ at 3:25 pm
I think that your point about seeing through the eyes of someone in need is really good. I think my personal experiences would say that very thing.
You seem to have a beautiful family. You have been truly blessed.
By the way, I am new to this whole blogging thing and I was wondering how in the world I could spruce up my page a little bit. It is really boring! Any recommendations on getting started?
Sunday, October 22, 2006 ~ at 11:47 am
Thanks for your comments, mateov. Yes, we have been truly blessed. After many years of thinking that I could never come close to any kind of decent family life of my own, God has given me so much more than I thought possible. It was worth the wait, though I do wish that I was young enough to actually try for another baby. We leave it in God’s hands.
Blogging is a great way to cast out your thoughts and see who they click with. I’ve always loved dragons, so I sort of created that kind of theme… yet I write about what is going on with me… far from the dragon imagery, but I manage to insert them here and there. That is “my” schick , so to speak. It took me a long time to get a theme that I like, but I still try all the new ones as they come out. I like the custom headers and this is a real dragon that showed up on my brother’s vacation. It takes a long time for a blog to take shape, so I would suggest to modify as you go along.
You know, I think I commented on your blog. Your name and picture look familiar. I will check my comments…. which really comes in handy when trying to keep track of the comments you make around the wordpress community.
Good luck with your blog!
Monday, October 23, 2006 ~ at 10:58 am
Very nice post; sounds nice sitting in a Starbucks knitting for a while and sipping on some warming brew or other. Some Starbucks have such comfy sitting areas, it must be a pleasant thing indeed.
Sucks someone stole your shawl, but perhaps some extra good fortune is heading your way to make up for the loss!
~firefly
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 ~ at 9:19 pm
Thanks, firefly8868. I just love hanging out in Starbucks or anywhere else where I can stay and do my thing. Usually, the coffee prevents me from getting to sleep when I get home, but I don’t care.
Yeah, I thought it was really low for someone to steal it; but then the bright side hit me…. I get to make another one for ME! I usually give them out as gifts because when I make something for me, I stick with that one thing because I love it to pieces. The only thing that I wish for is that whoever took it needs it more than I do.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 ~ at 7:10 am
Hey, you don’t think the rest of us wonder the same things? I don’t have stats because I can’t figure out how to put in on my blog, but I look to see how many viewed my profile, I actually write it down and then check to see how much it goes up (aah) why we do care so much if someone is reading? As much we say, it doesn’t matter what others think, deep inside, WE CARE! I’m writing mostly for the discipline of it and I guess, well, it is sort of like being published, isn’t it? Down ego, down! thanks for your blog, keep up the good work!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 ~ at 9:33 am
What a beautiful sequel to my blog post. Thank you! I love how you brought up simple acts of kindness and compassion as a response to your calling. So powerful. If more people practiced simple kindness, most of the world’s problems would be solved. It is a struggle to see how valuable our contributions really are. And what a difference we make for the world in how we parent.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 ~ at 1:56 pm
Thanks for your comment, Cindy! Yes, WE CARE! I am new to this blogging thing, let alone actually analyzing stats! For the longest time, my stats were zero, then a few trickles here and there. It’s very exciting to know that someone is actually reading. I am actually still trying to figure it out as the numbers don’t really mesh with what I know about the stats.
I agree, we ARE publishing our work…. and our egos are loving it. WordPress actually has blog stats incorporated into the system and I did not have to actually add it in, myself. There are many features here that attracted me and there is actually more details you can get from it, aside from total views.
I guess you could say that I am writing mainly to organize my thoughts and keep up the discipline of it. I strive to write as I would actually speak to someone in person. I am also working on my usage of sentence structure and using commas, semi-colons, etc…. FORGET about spelling!
Thanks, again!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 ~ at 9:52 pm
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 ~ at 10:27 pm
[...] Quotes Addicted to…………… Blog Stats! [...]
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 ~ at 10:31 pm
Thanks for your comment, Grace. Wow, I am impressed… 1000 hits! Yes, I feel the same way about people reading my blog.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 12:55 am
Being intentional about communication will make you a better parent.
On another note, you and your sister matured very early. That must have very disconcerting to your mother.
Isn’t it weird the things we remember and then all the other stuff that just didn’t stick in our heads?
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 1:04 am
Hey, you mentioned me. That’s so cool of you. Thanks so much. What truth you speak too. I’m tearing up really.
I love to read about how you see God working in your life and transforming you. It is very inspiring.
I have always loved that quote from Beuchner. I must admit that I often don’t feel like it is true, yet I believe it to be true if that makes any sense.
I never realized the challenges of someone who stuttered until I found out a daughter of a friend stuttered (she was in my husband’s youth group). Finding ways to cope with and work around stuttering is a great challenge. The interesting thing to me is that often this makes for better communication because the person is more deliberate about what they say.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 1:08 am
I knit in honor of my husband’s grandmother (knitting was not big as a craft in my own family) who my daughter is named after (as well my own great grandmother).
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 5:25 am
Yes, VERY weird! My sister was not actually matured yet, I was.
My mom always went through great pains to treat us equal. That, and the possibility that she just wanted to go through the hassle of telling the story one time, led her to tell us together. That was another thing she did that neither my sister, nor I, appreciated. Whatever they did for one, they did for the other… but very “the same”. One the one hand, we got treated equally; yet we, two very different kids, got lumped together in the same pot. My parent’s thinking was that they wanted to avoid giving more to one and less to another. The problem with that is that it was so very obvious to the both of us….. We learn.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 5:42 am
Hi Mommy…
Hey, this is like one big conversation going on… kinda cool.
Yeah, stuttering is pretty much buried in the past for me, but sometimes it still comes out when I get flustered or nervous. My brain and my mouth could not coordinate to get the thoughts out. My brain was ten million miles ahead of my mouth! I think the main problem was nervousness. I could not relax and my whole body was wound up so tight that I could not think out responses to a conversation in a timely manner. The conversation was moving along and by the time I could respond, it was irrelevant, which made for more frustration and awkwardness. I could not break into conversations properly and it appeared that I was interrupting (even this we have to learn). It seemed, too, that no one would ever give me a chance to speak. The stuttering just amplified the problem and my embarrassment.
This is something that I take with me and now I am very aware of people trying to be a part of a conversation…. and I let them. This falls into what I was talking about regarding pain becoming a blessing. You go through something and that is how you become aware of the issue; which then empowers you to actively do something about it.
Ah, the subtleties of life!
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 5:45 am
Yeah, I really messed up with my grandmother. We never got along, but it was mainly my fault. I was such the subborn smart aleck. One regret. Yeah, I sort of do knit to honor my grandmother, though. Thoughts of her accompany me while I knit…. sigh.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 7:52 am
Naturalhigh… I had to de-spam your comment. For some reason comments are being recognized as spam. If you notice this on your blog, you can de-spam by going into your dashboard, then manage, then akismet. Akismet blocks spam and displays all comments until you either delete them or de-spam them. Anyhow, thanks for your comment, though, belated.
Yes, sometimes it’s a struggle to see our contributions, but I believe that awareness opens up so many possibilities. I believe that the Lord doesn’t want us to be left with memories of pain, or whatever. He wants us to be proactive. It’s another reason why we experience pain. If we experience it, and let it lay, it stagnates. If we take it and use it for good, it is transformed into something beautiful and wonderful.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 8:55 am
Oh, man, kids and their rashes! My son is four now, but he gets this seasonal rash every time the weather gets cold – he gets this rough, dry skin on his wrists. I swear the preschool ladies probably think we tie him up or something! The good news is it mostly seems to bother us more than it does him.
Thanks for the kind comment on my blog! See you around.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 9:38 am
Hi, stumbled on your site and had a good chuckle over this post. When I started my blog 3 months ago I got into the habit of checking my stats ALL the time… and every 5 minute email is no exageration on my part. This is one of the myriad reasons I’m actually considering stopping this whole blogging bussinuiss (or at least using blogger who does not offer stats)… I’m freakin’ addicted to it!! I don’t sleep, I barely make my kids lunch, I hyperventilate (no kidding) because I’m thinking of the next post I HAVE to post or I’ll loose my readership. Anyway, I’m slowly weaning myself off blogging but do check out my post ‘Taking it Slow’ as this was the impetus for me deciding enough is enough you crazy girl!! I unfortunately seem to have an addictive personality – nothing in small measures. lol
Good luck with those stats!
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 1:19 pm
Hey dragon mommie, I finally got my stats installed. It was an eye opener because the blog I thought no-one was reading, is the one that has the most readers stopping by! So now I have to keep that one up to date. I loved aalize point. Now I’m thinking I may have too many blogs! thanks for stopping by to visit my “treasure” for the day blog. Hey I did I just increase your stats?
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 9:27 pm
Gabriel has very sensitive skin. Very fair and delicate (like his dad’s). One time he got an aweful mark by his neck from the CUSHION of the strap on the car seat…. so I’m not surprised if it’s a simply irritation. I’m just curious about that throat culture and waiting to hear the results, and/or if it affects the diagnosis of the rash.
Thanks for coming by!
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 9:38 pm
aalize: I definitely have a compulsive personality and I am hooked on the stats… and YES, Cindy, you increased my stats. I can’t believe how much they have shot up in the last few days. I am having a good time of it. When I feel that I need to step back, I shut down the whole computer and get out of here. I have another passion right now and that is knitting. I am dividing my time between the two during my ME time.
aalize, sometimes I lose sleep, but not about the stats. More like about writing an intended comment for someone or a post that I am thinking about. Like last night. I wanted to respond to someone, but I was stone tired and got myself to bed… only to get up at 5 am to write my comment. I am like that and I’ve done it for other things as well. The thing I am worried about is whether I can keep up with it, now. Before there was nothing and now I have several different sites to check for comments or possible new posts. I am learning a lot about where the readers are coming from… also, if you want to know, about how to attract hits. Is that insane, or what? I won’t, however, write something just to get hits or put terms in there just to attract them, either.
I am surprised that I seem to be getting lots of hits from my spiritual writing. I guess I never thought that people would be interested in my own personal thing (couldn’t think of a word). I should have known better, however, because I know that I, myself, love to read other religious posts; and it doesn’t matter what religion.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 11:18 pm
I remember the screeching. It is very jarring. Thankfully most outgrow it. The ones that still do it at four I most say are girls.
I have always thought that our little ones get very frustrated when they want to communicate and just don’t have words for it. What is really amazing is that there will be this intensely frustrating times than they will make the great leap forward in their ability to communicate. It is mind-blowing. Have you tried teaching Gabriel any sign language? It really helped us through this language gap time, the signs for more and all done were the best.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 ~ at 11:27 pm
You know, I was just thinking about that a little while ago… teaching him sign language. He is starting to communicate in other non-verbal ways, so I think it’s worth a try. Yes, I do think that they get very frustrated. When he does, he either throws something or gives up altogether.
Thanks for the tip!
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 9:14 am
Thanks for your kind comments! This is exactly what I was getting at with my post “My Affair”. I’m slowly getting to the point where I feel I can pay more attention to my husband, but I am still totally infatuated with my son! Your post has got me thinking about how I’m interacting with my husband differently, am I “mothering” my husband? I think maybe I am a little, which is totally unexpected for me. Thanks so much for a great post.
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 11:26 am
Hi Meridith…
I read that post last night, but had to go back because I just skimmed it because I was very tired and had to get to bed. I am not baby crazy, and like you, never was. I do also now understand the total absorption in babies.
I have never been more aware of how I interact with, both, my baby and my husband. When I am with my baby, I recognize that I have the same love and affection that I have for my husband. When I am with my husband, I realize the same thing, but with the additional thought that I may be mothering my him. BUT! I also see that my husband eats it up… so it’s okay.
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 1:43 pm
He is a beautiful soul; thank you for bringing his writings to my attention! I will have to spend some time savoring the websites.
I love people who have grown spiritually as a result of both the joy and sorrow in life.
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 1:49 pm
I really like checking the stats, too. I’m very new to WordPress and it is encouraging to know that people read what I put on my own little blog. I really liked finding out that people read me after googling my topics, too.
Some guy actually listed me in a directory of philosophers! Wow.
Dragonmommie, I really really love your spiritual writing! Please keep it coming!
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 1:55 pm
This is a powerful memory to deal with! I remember thinking that I was fat as a kid, too. My daughter, a muscular soccer player, used to want a pencil legs body, too. Only lately, at 13, is she beginning to appreciate her soft curviness.
I was at a meeting last Thursday and a man spoke about “living fully inside yourself.” That struck me deeply. If you can’t accept your body you really miss out on “living life fully”….(my blog name, for those who don’t know)
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 1:58 pm
You made me smile with warm memories! I love how you savor the moments with your precious boy.
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 2:32 pm
I guess my growth began with me in “survival” mode. It was either grow or die. So much pain had to find an outlet somewhere. I am just glad that it was for the light and not darkness. I look back and I could have so EASILY gone the other way by letting the resentment, frustration, anger take over. When I was a kid, I was wicked for awhile. Very vindicative and spiteful. I even swung a cat by the tail because of the pain of rejection because he was, well, just being a cat..
You are right….. painful memories.,… but I believe that you must come to know the pain intimately in order to be able to look back on it objectively with sort of a form of indifference… because we know that we can never truly be indifferent to really deep pain. It becomes a CHOICE to let it roll off your shoulder; but that doesn’t mean that the pain is totally gone.
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 2:39 pm
Yes, I guess I do savor them, Naturalhigh. I must keep aware of all his developments because they are monumentous for him–and me! I marvel at how, even the simpliest of tasks or responses must be learned and I can detect “when” he is learning them. I am so grateful…. and sometimes I can’t believe it. Every day when my husband comes home, I tell him to watch this or that when I know that Gabriel is about to do something because I don’t want him to miss out on it completely. Like the past couple of days the baby started to “smell” when I smell (like his diaper). Now I say, “smell” and he smells; and when I sniff at the air, he will smell, too! So cute. He is my first baby and might very well be my last, so I must get all I can in NOW. Present circumstances are dictating that I not work and I am so grateful for it. My husband thinks that I am being deprived of my adult life, and he may be right; but I am loving the time with my son. Hey, my husband is even pushing me out of the house at night to make up for it. Who am I to correct this situation???
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 2:40 pm
My neice is on the small side, now a petite young woman, with big boobies that I am sure she is happy that she has; AND that her little body is accentuating! I remember her fretting over her body, too. Funny, I haven’t heard it for a couple of years now!
Saturday, October 28, 2006 ~ at 2:42 pm
Thank you for your kind comments, Naturalhigh. I love reading your blog, too.
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 12:27 am
That is too funny! I was just thinking the same thing last week. Being a Tigers fan, I was watching the World Series and found myself getting annoyed with the female sports announcer! I have no idea why, but she just irritated me. Glad to know I’m not the only one who feels this way
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 1:15 am
Wow… I am so glad that you commented! I was thinking that I am the only one, too. Oddly, a Barry Manilow song comes to mind, “All the Time”.
“All the time I thought there’s only me
Crazy in a way that no one else could be
I can’t believe that you were somewhere, too
Thinking all the time there’s only you”
I am trying not to think about people surfing “sports” or “Amy Lawrence”!
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 9:32 am
Lovely post, Dragonmommie, and very wise. Until we can learn to embrace the totality of who we are, with Love and Acceptance, we are forever fragmented and at odds with ourselves. Freedom comes from embracing what we consider to be our ‘darkness’, understanding that any ‘dark’ we find is just an area that needs healing. Love conquers all.
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 9:54 am
“our greatest gift is our spirit, the memories we give our loved ones while we are still alive. ”
That really struck me. I had a conversation yesterday about being mindful that our family work days are pleasant experiences for everyone. It is ultimately more important to enjoy our time together than to get things done as fast as possible.
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 10:33 am
Can’t stop guiltily giggling over here.
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 2:37 pm
Yes, FREEDOM. I believe that the healing of the darkside takes place after we use it to heal someone else. We can love it because it has purpose. It can love itself because of that, too.
How often we see ugly, tragic figures in literature. In the end, they find their beauty… and peace. Beast of Beauty and the Beast is unfortunately the only one I can think of right now who triumphed. Oh, and lot’s of mutant monsters from the old black and white B movies… Frankenstein! He went crazy when he saw his ugliness… though it wasn’t a good ending!
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 2:41 pm
Thanks for you comments, Naturalhigh. I always find something in them for myself. I am hoping to write more on this subject because there is just so much depth to it…. AND because I can’t seem to find the time and quiet needed to contemplate all of it… AND without the book to remind me of points I want to make.
Still, God does work in ways we will never understand. Just yesterday at church, the sermon touched upon something that is worth exploring… Now, just need the time!
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 2:44 pm
Oh, I experienced your comment about quality time just yesterday. I was at church, helping to stuff the goodie bags for the Halloween party. I was looking forward to a nice time with friends, catching up with them while getting things done. The majority of the people who were there treated it as a race and the result was chaos, with a few struggling to maintain some kind of order. Well, you know how that goes. Chaos won over and we just had to make the best of it….
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 2:50 pm
Hi Jenny… thanks for stopping by and commenting. Since I wrote this last night, I can’t get over how I am looking at this story in a very different light than when I first fell in love with it.
Then, I found it such a sweet story about mother’s love of her child. She will go to the ends of the earth and beyond to find her little bunny…. to make sure that he was protected…(by her!)
Now, I am pondering a mother’s control over her child. He fights and fights to get away, then in the end, he give up. Somehow I don’t like the sound of that, but we need to be in control sometimes to protect them from that which they do not understand….yet.
It’s up to us now, to recognize when our little bunnies are ready for the world and we have to let go.
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 6:16 pm
LOL I LOVED this rant, DM! I couldn’t agree more. There’s something so – freakish – about a female sports announcer, you know? For one, women do even play pro football. So right there, she’s a bit of a ‘wanna be’. But I think you hit it on the head – is she trying to be ‘one of the boys’? WHY, for Godds sake? To me, that’s the ultimate in anti-feminism…when a woman tries to be like a man.
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 6:17 pm
Correction: Women DON’T even play pro ball
Monday, October 30, 2006 ~ at 9:43 pm
Thanks, Grace! My DH… ugh… he’s like, “oh right now female sports people are a novelty and in a few years they’ll be judged on their sportscasting abilities….” I feel like my point just blew right over his head! oh well… like I mentioned on your blog earlier, he’s pretty serious so you’ve GOT to love em!
Oh, to all the sports freaks out there… did you catch on that I have the wrong station for Amy Lawrence in my blog? My DH told me that it was an ESPN broadcast that we were listening to and not the FAN…. oh, yeah…. that was a test!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006 ~ at 10:33 am
Yes, I agree. I was saying that same thing shortly after the start of the season. Who wants to see women down there on the field, they look out of place. All I see is what they are wearing, and what jewlery they put on to go with the out fit. And do you think thats there natural hair color? It makes me crazy, I have no idea what they are event talking about, and dont care.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 ~ at 10:04 am
Thanks for your input, seandbe! I just can’t believe that I have gotten like-minded comments. I thought that I’d get a lot of hecklers who are in favor of woman sportscasters.
I am not as observant as you, seandbe. I guess that I am turned off so fast that I have to look away! To be fair, very few woman, anywhere, are sporting their own natural hair color.
The whole gender reminds me of another……
Weather Girls! Nothing wrong with them, just that they don’t present themselves as being normal. I feel sorry for them… trying to make the weather sexy, and all. Are they still projecting this image? I don’t know because I’ve not watched them for a couple of years.
Hope everyone had a great Halloweeny Day, yesterday.
Thursday, November 2, 2006 ~ at 4:00 pm
I was deeply moved by your post. It’s not fragmented at all… I am gonna do my nanowrimo and come back to this, dragonmommy. I have SO MUCH to say about what you are talking about here.
Just one thing before I leave (and come back) : there’s a very strong “sync” with my life here : last night I watched TV from someone else’s place – I never watch TV at home, I don’t have cable. And there was an unpretentious, low-budget, community-channel show about NDE. And it was suggested by a psychologist that MAYBE (a strong maybe here) the tunnel seen in NDE is where the goin’ back toward being child again process leads us. The tunnel would be goin’ back to our birth. Although I doubt that this is it, it makes much sense to me that we are indeed becoming progressively like children again from a certain age. We are learning emotional “relying” long before actual dependancy. And we do – inside – become like children again, in the very good and sound and wonderous sense of the word.
It’s like life is about learning to be strong, then learning to be soft again.
PS : You are a totally publishable writer!
I will be back.
THANK YOU!
Thursday, November 2, 2006 ~ at 4:31 pm
Boy do I have perspective on this! My mother-in-law moved in with us this summer, and we have a 4-year-old. So they both pull us in opposite directions with the NEEDS every night when we get home. But we think it’s so cool that they get to live together and enjoy each other so much.
Thursday, November 2, 2006 ~ at 5:16 pm
Both child and grandma are very lucky! thanks to you making this possible.
Thursday, November 2, 2006 ~ at 5:28 pm
Thanks for your comments, regardingchill and extrapolater!
There IS so much more to say on this subject and this is why I see my writing as fragmented. This subject can be such a beautiful thing, but I can’t find the thoughts to write. I have to see if I can find earlier writings of mine to reread.
For starters, this is the only country who does not venerate it’s elderly. We do not respect them, we do not take them into our homes with love… a lot of people come to resent their presence, as if they are actually violating their space. Other cultures value and appreciate their wisdom…. oh, so much more.
BUT as much as this tangent has to offer my subject, it’s only one facet, and not at the core, I feel. The only advice I have is to maybe recommend reading the book, “Our Greatest Gift”.
I also do not have the time to devot and will be back to comment further (if my fried brain allows)
Thursday, November 2, 2006 ~ at 5:53 pm
Dragonmommie,
You sure hit the nail on the head with so many things in this wonderful piece. It’s been an unfortunate turn of culture, especiall in the US, that YOUTH is glorified and idolized, while those amongst us who are aging are essentially pushed out of the way. It wasn’t all that long ago when several generations lived under the same room, and the gray hair of age was considered a crown of wisdom. I happen to love this saying: Youth is wasted on the young.
I am the MIDDLE generation. We are caring for our own children, and for our aging parents as well. NOT an easy feat, considering the lack of support shown to us by most employers, and occasionally the other adult in our own home.
My own mother’s worst fear is that we will leave her to die alone and forgotten in some nursing home. I’ve already sworn to her that as long as I have a roof over my head, she will have a home. And if her physical condition worsens to such that I cannot care for her myself…well…I’ll address that if it comes. But regardless, I will not leave her to die alone someplace.
Thanks for bringing this important topic to the front line.
Thursday, November 2, 2006 ~ at 9:32 pm
Believe it or not, I consider myself YOUNG, though I love my graying hair. I am actually in the middle generation, too, being 46 (I think).
You are right, Grace. This country is definitely NOT family friendly; so ironic given that the conservatives are supposed to be all for family values.
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 10:31 am
That’s a good one!
Best,
firefly
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 10:33 am
The moss stitch is one of my favorites. So simple, so pretty.
~firefly
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 2:52 pm
Thanks for a peek in my futur
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 4:31 pm
Oooooooooooooooohhh Dragonmommy I LOVE that picture. I will save it on my compute.
I am sorry to not have come back to your blog as I intended, yesterday. I went out with my mom and then when I came back I typed up my nanowrimo of the day, until 2am.
I used to have a great relationship with my paternal grandma, before one of her daughters decided that grandma’s appartment wasn’t very clean (WHATEVAH) and she was “forced” to move into… not a home but a medical parking space for the elderly. Far from my home, and closer to the daughter’s home. It was a very tragic time for me.
I had a very special relationship with her because I treated her as an adult. I listened to her. I had wild fun with her. I wasn’t condescending like her children. My grandma has Alzeihmer but it wasn’t problematic when I was with her. She was relaxed with me, and when she’s relaxed she has a good memory. She’s not confused. Now she hates where she lives and gets all bizarre about it apparently. Even aggressive.
She was apparently “agressive” when she was moved into her new, new “place” (a 10 feet by 8 feet room). Helloooo!!!!??? Wouldn’t you be ? How would you feel if someone took you out of your appartment, without a notice. They came in one day and said she would “go out for a little adventure” and she was to never return.
She was moved once and then once again – always into these “parking space” for the elderly. Always further and further from me.
Now she “lives” at 1h30 from me and I can’t drive there.
That’s a tough subject for me.
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 4:37 pm
Ho Draggonmommy, I was logged in as Grace cause I was helping out with something technical on her blog. Oh my God! The last post was by chill truly.
Can you fix that ? Before Grace comes in…?
Oooohhhh… you can see the IP adresses are wholy different LOL…
(now I will go shoot myself…)
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 4:39 pm
CUTE!
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 4:53 pm
Dragonmommy is that you on the right ? (on the picture).
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 5:02 pm
I made a film with my grandma one day. I never edited it. I used a really good camera from school. I made tons of closeup. My grandma’s angelic hair, her skin. I liked to touch her. I liked to sit next to her on her bed and press cheeks, my arm around her shoulders. I miss her.
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 5:03 pm
Hi Chill…
Sorry I can’t post a long reply to your comments. I’ve been surfing and just saw them.. but hubby wants the computer.
Sorry I can’t change the name on your first comment. Oh, and that is not me, but my sister in law who posed, but I wanted one just of Nanny and my son. Will check ya later.
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 5:10 pm
Can you delete the comments then…? I copied and pasted them on file, so I will post again.
tks
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 5:12 pm
Say, why do you call your boy The Drake ?
curious George here…
ps : he’s sooo handsome! But your grandma too, she’s so beautiful!
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 5:33 pm
LOL It’s ok Chill
Dragonmommie…Chill is my ‘techie’ and is teaching me all about HTML and such. I’m sure she spent hours in the GUD stuff, adjusting and correcting my practice.
Both Grandma AND the little DragonMaster are just lovely!
xoxox the “real” Grace
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 5:53 pm
Well actuallll-ly. This morning… HEUM… HEUM… HEUUUU…. Grace. I was correcting spelling mistakes in my… comments. That’s why I was logged in your account. LOL…
Thanks for your comprehension giirls!
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 8:19 pm
Hi Guys…
Good… Thanks, Grace. I really wouldn’t want to delete your post, chill.
I call my son Little Drake because I call my husband Drake, or Big Drake when I talk about them together. The reason I do that is because the word “drake” is the male term for “dragon”… get it? Ha! Queen word for the female animal.
When I started my blog, I wanted a sort of theme. The first blog I ever stumbled upon, on wordpress, was one that was all pirates. Sort of role playing, too. Plus, I notice that a lot of people, mommies mostly, use abbreviations or other words for the members of their families. I always loved dragons, I collect them, and it’s my real email address, “dragonmommie@gmail.com”. Don’t know if that is visible anywhere, but I know that I didn’t block it, so it must be okay to print it here.
Gotta run….. I am not techie at all… but I am learning! What is a GUD?
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 8:27 pm
Oh, that woman in the picture is my husband’s mom. She is 85 yrs. old and Gabriel (Little Drake) is her 15th grandchild.
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 9:06 pm
I took the liberty to copy your addy and put it in some safe place… in case it eventually disappears.
I am not an english speaker and I had heard the word “drake” before. I read it in a book. And I didn’t know what it meant. I liiike it. Senior Drake and junior Drake… Naaa, Big Drake and Little Drake. Now, that sounds really good! Will go nanowrimo…… I know I keep repeating myself but I really love that picture. See you later!
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 10:53 pm
Chill…
I am sure that your grandmother can still see you, and looks after you from wherever she is.
I have some pics of my grandmother, too. I have a lot of regrets concerning her because I was too young and stupid to really appreciate her. We did not get along most of the time, but I know that I did love her… but was always too thick headed to give in. She taught me everything I know about cooking, baking, crafting, knitting, crochet…
She also taught me a lot about really caring about your work and attending to details. What is that saying? The proof is in the details… or something like that. Well cared for details really can make or break the presentation of your efforts in any arena.
Friday, November 3, 2006 ~ at 10:53 pm
Good luck to you–I don’t have it in me to do NaNoWriMo–I agonize over the details too much, but I think it’s cool of all of you out there who are taking on this challenge…best of luck!! : )
http://maryjunebrown.wordpress.com
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 12:17 am
Your post is such an inspiration plus it brings back many fond memories of the time I shared with my grandmother before she passed. The wisdom can only be earned through living a full life, with both ups and downs. Thanks for sharing this poignant part of your life.
Great website!
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 12:56 am
Wooo Whooo! Way to go, Dragonmommie!!
This is my second year. Year 1, I only made it to 8000 words and crapped out after 2 weeks. But this year, with a good support system, we ALL can do it!
I’m a perfectionist by nature, so the one thing that really helps me this year (lessoned learn) is: do NOT edit myself! NaNo isn’t about producing a finished ‘book’. It’s about letting our Muse out for 50,000 words! The plot may twist and turn, go off in completely weird directions, whatever! Our only goal is to hit the word count in one cohesive body of work!
I’m here for you!! You can add me as a buddy on NaNo too, if you want. I’m JaneBond
Hugs and Break A Pen! (LOL)
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 12:57 am
P.S. I’m creating my book in a Word document – it’s not on line at all, so no ‘thiefery’ going on
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 12:57 am
P.S. I’m creating my book in a Word document – it’s not on line at all, so no worries about anyone heading out with the goods one night while I’m sleeping
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 4:09 am
What Grace says
Consolidating some of the posts you wrote during the last 2-3 days seems indeed like a good way to jumpstart your writing and get you up to speed (word-count-wise) really fast.
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 9:16 am
Hey Dragonmommie…GUD is, well GraceUpsideDown LOL
Heya, Gracie!
COOL website…love it that we share the same monikier…
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 10:14 am
[...] Kiwiqueen, Elisabeth, Jules, Joe, Lori, DragonMommie, Will, Heather, Shroom and Donavan! [...]
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 2:27 pm
I am gonna try to put the widget too, dragonMommy.
Check out my “test” blog LOL… for my success or failure.
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 3:10 pm
OOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN That is so cute! (not gross for me) I love pigs (I mean the animal).
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 3:17 pm
Gracie has such beautiful pictures of leaves. Love ‘em.
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 10:16 pm
Yeah, I thought this was a keeper!
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 10:23 pm
MaryJunebrown- I am finding that I am editing a lot, too. I am slowly loosening up and doing it only when I really need to, like when I need to make a word “intelligible”…. also, I am a really BAD speller by nature!
Grace= I think I’ve found my muse… or my characters… AND it’s in novel form, but I think I can also work in some of the text of my blog for 1st and 2nd… though I’ll be either rewriting or editing it to fit the story… I can’t wait to write more. I am now working on my DH’s Mac and I can’t stand that the curser is all over the place. We are going to the Apple place tomorrow and hopefully, they will be able to help me out so I don’t go crazy. It’s really annoying and cramping my writing flow! I love your “break a pen”…. really do… and I really break em all the time!
I am writing mine in Word, also, and I’ll be able to use the word counter in there, too. Hope it matches the site’s word counter.
Hey, Grumpy Old Matt… thanks for pinging me!
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 10:26 pm
Thanks, firefly…
Can’t wait to try it out, too. I am doing a log cabin blanket and the next stripe I make will be a solid color, using this pattern.
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 10:29 pm
Thanks, Gracie, for your comments. Yes, I saw the leaves and they are beautiful.. My son has a thing about leaves from the first time he saw them from our window. I know that he will miss them when they are gone and I wonder how to explain it to him… well, it won’t matter because he really won’t understand, will he? Now when we go out, he picks them from the floor…. it’s, well, so cute.
Yeah… I finally figured out what GUD is!
DUH
Saturday, November 4, 2006 ~ at 11:14 pm
GRACE…. How does the nanowrimo site count words? I know that different word counters do not normally match, but the discrepancy between mine and theirs is off by almost 2,000 words! UGH… discouraging to say the least.
Oh, my name over there is, what else, Dragonmommie!
Sunday, November 5, 2006 ~ at 12:35 am
Possessive Little Drake.
840 words ! that is GRAND. CONGRATULATION!!!
Me… I feel total-ly strange now. Wrote over 2000 words today and it was from the heart. I feel like emotions…. and…. words… are… spare… now and I may turn into a robot … everything is very… slow… and… gray… now
Sunday, November 5, 2006 ~ at 1:45 am
Dragonmommie… mmm… Me, in Word, I use the “Statistics” page in File | Properties. I use that number. I wrote the number myself on Nanowrimo. There’s a place on top of where you would normally upload your novel where you can write a number. Maybe I won’t be considered a real winner (if I win!) by doing it this way. I wonder how Grace does it!
Grace!!!
Sunday, November 5, 2006 ~ at 5:52 pm
Hiya, Girls
DM…when I want to count my words, I highlight the text (that I want to count), go up to the “Tools” and click “Word Count”. That will bring up a little screen with the exact number.
WOW on the discrepanies…hummmmm….when I have a minute, I’ll load up mine and see how close it is.
Maybe they don’t count certain things…like Chapter Headings or something???
Sunday, November 5, 2006 ~ at 7:50 pm
Grace…
The only difference was that I didn’t highlight the words because all the words applied, as it was my first tally. I was totally shocked and plan to use my word counter and manually put in the numbers. Something gets skewed when you convert to a text file, I’ll bet. I just wish that I knew how many characters they consider words…
On the downer side, I deleted a whole paragraph today and lost it forever… Now I have to try and get it back. I can’t believe how this is progressing. I actually have a nice story going, but it’s not really moving yet. Much of it is one character reflecting of a lot of things and that is sort of introducing other characters that have not actually shown up yet in the story, in person. I am really getting a kick out of it.
Sunday, November 5, 2006 ~ at 8:32 pm
Yep, that a mommy moment for sure. What I find so remarkable the daddy never suffices in this moments. Depending on the reason for my desire to be alone, my response has been less than “mommy” Good for you just enjoying the moment is much better.
Sunday, November 5, 2006 ~ at 8:58 pm
You sure you’re not channeling me here LOL ?? Sounds like my novel Dragonmommie. A character reflecting… and that character introducing characters who have not yet gotten involved with the main character in the “NOW” timeframe of the novel. Some who won’t even show up ever. Except one character, who did get involved in the present action, but he’s gonna die soon I think. It’s good reading!
(Seriously).
Sunday, November 5, 2006 ~ at 11:06 pm
((( DM ))) I’m so glad you decided to NaNo
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 7:05 am
The Einstein quote is stunning, thank you! And it coordinates so well with your quotes from the NT.
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 7:09 am
But….can you ever get 4 words out on the phone without someone tugging on your leg???
But someday way too soon we will be looking back on these moments and wonder where they went! Childhood is so fleeting.
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 7:10 am
Thanks, Naturalhigh. I got that Einstein quote from Grace’s page… though I forgot to link it, I’ll have to do that. It inspired my entry last night.
This is why I love blogging. I can feel free to let my thoughts go “wherever”… not like in real life where I have to (should) organize and edit BEFORE it comes out of my mouth!
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 7:19 am
Yep… I will treasure that moment and I don’t really mind missing old Barry’s interview. From what I could tell, he was plugging is new album anyway… but it was so good to just know that he is still out there, blast from the past and all that.
Naturalhigh… If I even look at the phone, he is right there, and screaming that he can’t have it. I gave him old, real phones and he doesn’t want them… he wants exactly, and nothing short of what I have.
The Mommy… I find that is true, too. MY presence is absolutely required! Though, daddy does try, he throws his hands up all too quickly for my taste! “He doesn’t want me, he wants you. What can I do?” Bah! Oh well. You are right, just enjoy the moments as they come. Daddy takes him out to the park a lot and when they come back, it’s like they’ve returned from a boy’s night out. I am bracing myself for the winter when they won’t be able to do it.
Chill… I don’t know if I can get anywhere near our goal of 50,000 words with my stupid computer deleting paragraphs and all. Ugh… Trials and tribulations of fingers crazily scampering along a keyboard…..
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 7:23 am
Chill… Yeah, my main character is channeling your’s, all right! It was the only way I could think of to set up my story, though I have no idea where it will go, I suspect it will be a showdown at the end, if I ever get there.
Grace… I am glad, too… though I will get nowhere near our goal of 50,000 words.
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 10:50 am
DM..I have only one question…
WHAT kind of phone do you have? LOL Picture was amazing!
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 11:37 am
Thank you, Grace… but… um… have you noticed that you have a gift, as well? Silly woman!
I have you on my blogroll. I think we all connect with each other’s blogs… maybe even wish that we could write like the others, or think of the same, inspiring topics. But, you know, if we were all the same, we would not be sparking each other’s imagination. We, mostly me, play off each other’s ideas and I think that is another great thing about these blogs. How else can we build upon our thoughts… to go forward with our thought processes?
The camera I took the pics with is my Razor, but don’t go out and buy one, I really hate it! The reasons are here: http://dragonmommie.wordpress.com/2006/09/26/first-talk/
and here:
http://dragonmommie.wordpress.com/2006/10/05/electronic-candy/
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 8:54 pm
Beautiful story.
I think that’s a perfect example of how the ripple effects work in everyday life. Thank you for sharing that gem.
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 10:41 pm
I confirm : It will be a showdown. It is ineviatable. I won’t let you down, anyway, that’s for sure LOL… I just saw your new count : 2904. At that rythm you’ll write a sequel as well. I am so glad you’re doing this.
I am keeping with it. Taking a short break now to change clothes, get some pyjama on, and make some tea. I ate too muh chocolate.
Monday, November 6, 2006 ~ at 10:45 pm
She’s a cracked pot, all right. ERRR… sorry I misread your title. LOL… now you’re making me drool on my keyboard with recipes. See you, Drake Woman.
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 ~ at 9:19 am
That is a great reminder. We choose what we pass on to others. We’ve all been both helped and ignored when we needed help.
What we pass along says who we are and what our lives are about.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 8:46 am
Thanks for the ping and for once again sharing your spiritual journey.
Your questions concerning death and salvation are very provocative. I’ve thought many things through the years and what has remained consistent is my faith that God will never desert me and I will never desert God.
I currently follow Matthew Fox’s Original Blessing theology, in which God’s words that creation is good precede in Genesis the fall and redemption story in Exodus. I don’t accept the tenant of Original Sin.
Since I cannot know what it means to die, my focus is on what it means to be fully alive. What are the possibilities of creating the world that God would intend for us here and now?
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 9:20 am
Thanks for your comment, NH. What state are you in, because NH is also New Hampshire. That would be really cool if it meant both, your blog and state.
Anyway, I get much of my thoughts on this subject from various beliefs, and one specific article I read about comparing the after life with the birth of a baby. I find it strikingly intriguing… I guess I mean to say that I really LIKE that idea. OH, one place I got this idea was from a child’s book I received when my son was born. It is called, “Angel in the Waters”, and about the fetus’ interaction with it’s guardian angel in the womb. It wonders about where he is going and is a bit afraid and the angel is reassuring him…(sorry about the change of pronouns, but to call a fetus “it” is very distasteful to me and I’m too lazy to go back and change it!) I forget where I read the other article that speaks more about the comparison.
You know, even though I am Catholic, I wonder at all the changes “man” has made to the bible, yes, the idea of Original Sin might just be manmade just to tether people securely in the fold by making them believe that they are doomed to hell if they do not depend on the “institution” of the church, thereby, securing the power of church officials.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 10:01 am
Good look, I am thinking of growing my hair out long again. But know I will have to keep it back some way. My Mother always said that a womam over 40 should not where long hair. Is that why I cut it short, or just dont like the maintance. Any way, I’m 7 years over the 40 mark and think I will try it long again.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 10:31 am
Hope you don’t mind, but I am emailing privately because I wanted to be sure that you read my response. I will also put this text on my comments page.
I am 46 yrs old, 47, in 2007. I came from the same “hair-hacking background”. My mother forced me to cut my hair before high school and it traumatized me; or at the very least, I was miserable. My family practically told me that I was immature and lazy because I wanted to keep long hair. To them it seemed as if I just didn’t want to bother with it.
I recommend the Long Hair Community site. They are a bunch of people, some men, who are dedicated to caring for long hair and growing long hair. They are so serious that it’s a bit of a process to just get registered on there, but it’s worth it if you are serious about growing and keeping healthy long hair. Some of them even color their long hair, though I personally have chosen to go natural, grays and all because I just love the look of natural “streaks” or “frosting”.
There are really a lot of ways to even put it up and lots of hair toys out there, that having long hair automatically justifies you getting involved with! That’s my favorite part, well almost. Being long-hair-oriented my whole life, caring for it comes naturally for me, but once you start, it will be second nature for you…. again, if you really love long hair; but then isn’t that the same for anything that you love?
Go for it!
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 10:43 am
Hiya Dragonmommie,
I am in NC, in the Blue Ridge mountains, so naturalhigh refers to my intense love of nature and living at a high elevation… I also kinda stole it from a tee shirt my daughter wears that has a hot air balloon on it (I hope the hope the hot air analogy doesn’t represent my writings…smile…)
The doctrine of Original Sin was created by Augustine. It is not original Christian doctrine. Original Blessing, now adopted by many churches (but probably few catholic churches) makes sense to me. As I walk daily with the Divine I am aware of a profoundly loving and life affirming presence. I am aware of Divine love, and Divine blessing. But, as in all things theological, there is no way to prove anyone’s theories, so all I can truthfully say is that it makes sense to me.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 10:52 am
Hi Chill…
Like my title, eh? You may have been the only one to catch on. I put it there to commemorate my obsession with getting a larger crock pot than I had. My first one, though cute, was way too small for my purposes; so my quest became to get a larger one, spurred on by my sister who JUST discovered what a great kitchen impliment they really are.
Disclaimer: Pleez ignor any mispells becaz dragonmommies need two focis on being wis and not grammaticly corect.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 11:07 am
Ah, put a “Y” between NC and you’ve got NYC, New York City, my birth place…. well, Brooklyn, to be exact, but it’s still considered NYC.
You crack me up! HOT AIR…. we all seem to have it in abundance here, but that is okay! Your hot air is, at least, pollution free!
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 1:43 pm
Hi D.M.
As a Christian with a twist myself, here’s the litmus test I now pass EVERY belief through:
What would LOVE do?
I cannot fathom, even in my miniscule understanding as a human parent EVER damning a child of mine to eternal damnation because they didn’t walk in all of the light that was available to them. Whenever we ’sin’, isn’t it simply something done through a lack of eternal perspective and understanding?
The Godd I believe in IS the energy of Love. I think we might all be surprised about what we’ll experience when we lay these bodies down.
Hug!
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 2:05 pm
Disclaim! LOL…
I love your titles. And I understand them
I’m sure others do too but they didn’t want to sound lippy. I may sound lippy on your blog, but really it’s because I catch on your humor and it puts me in a feasty mood.
NOW, let me see that NaNoWriMo count rise today!
That recipe sounds yummy. Anything cooking in brown sugar and apple cider ought to be amazing. Too bad I still don’t own my crock pot.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 4:30 pm
Grace– I just had to get this quote for you:
Matthew 18:6:
6″But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From your comment:
“Whenever we ’sin’, isn’t it simply something done through a lack of eternal perspective and understanding?”
Not necessarily for everyone. Sometimes people “know” what is right and wrong, yet choose to sin anyway. God gave us free will. I think THAT is when we actually sin… when we know better. If we do not know, then we cannot sin. Just like in the Garden of Eden… Adam and Eve presumably sinned AFTER they ate of the Tree of Knowledge.
Was the sin their nakedness? I really don’t know, but the passage says that after they took from the apple, they “saw that they were naked” and tried to hide themselves. So if that is meant to be taken literally or figuratively, I don’t know.
A child is the most innocent being that I can think of. As they grow, they acquire knowledge, but still, they need to be taught by someone if it’s good or not. As we gain more experience with this added learned knowledge, we can feel it on the inside. (only because I can’t spell conscious)
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 4:31 pm
Unless Original Sin is part of our DNA…. Anyone care to comment on that?
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 4:37 pm
I am so glad that you can decipher my titles! You can sound as lippy as you want.
Ah… NaNoWriMo…. I think I am burned out already. I am avoiding that file like crazy. I am getting the feeling that her ponderings are getting chaotic… as I did manage to fit in my posts through doing that thought thing.
I know that I must initiate some action here or she will gain a ton of weight because of her lack of motion (or flight?) I guess my next time for diving back in will be tonight if Gabriel gets to bed on time, but as it is, he is still napping and it’s 4:35pm already… he might have a temperature. We were supposed to go out tonight, but the weather is so bad, raining heavy all day, so it’s plenty dark as well.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 5:29 pm
Same weather here. Perfect for writing.
I hope that Little Drake will be ok. And that he will sleep soundly this evening.
The lack of motion in your character may speak of something, for you to explore, MAYBE
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 5:36 pm
A child is not innocent. I know better. The most cruelty I have experienced was from children, when I was myself a kid. Kids can be really cruel, and they know that they are cruel. The root of sin, if sin exists, is part of our DNA, yes. Although, evil-ness is always in the interaction, not in people per say. You know René Girard ? Good reading there. He’s a catholic guy (btw). I am out of here.
x0x
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 7:21 pm
Hi, DM!
I understand what you’re saying. We do have freewill and, yes, we do occasionally make decisions knowingly that are “Sinful”. The original transliteration of that word, sin, from the original language means “miss the mark”. We ALL miss the mark, knowingly and unknowingly. And it would seem to me that those times when we knowingly do something wrong – maybe even evil – are times when we are not thinking with our Christed mind – our RIGHT minds – but with our natural mind. A way of thinking that is subject to all the tweaks and twists and misinformation that our experiences, environment, culture and pre-deposition can render.
It seems to me that the choices we make have consequences, surely. But in the total evolution of an eternal spirit, I cannot fathom that a decision made – even purposely – from this darkened understanding in one lifetime would bring eternal damnation from a “loving” Creator. Sure, we will incure the effects – we will reap what we sow But I believe that each lifetime (and I do believe in reincarnation), we are given progressive opportunities to reach for choices from that Higher perspective.
As Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
I believe this is the case for every person who makes a wrong choice. They ‘know not what they do”, because their understanding isn’t illuminated.
I do not believe in original sin: The concept that we are born sinful. I believe we are born human, with divine natures infused with the quality of God. These divine natures come to experience the physical realm, in the context of time and space, through birth.
Life is a classroom – and I don’t believe the Teacher kicks us out of class permanently. I believe that Love always prevails.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 7:31 pm
Hey Chill…
Believe me when I tell you that I have experience the same cruelness from children when I was a kid. I was the victim all through grade school, at school and at home, on our block. I had a passive, shy, introverted personality; and kids can smell fear like animals can. They are made up of raw materials that are in the process of being moulded into who they are to become. They are influenced by a myriad of factors coming from family, mostly their parents. Remember parents set the example and kids pick up on everything. If a parent deals with anger by lashing out, so shall that child do the same thing with his peers. Sometimes a child is never taught how to share and becomes very selfish…. so many, so many things.
But the children I was talking about, are literally babies, who are blank slates when they come into this world. Sure, they have certain things encoded into their makeup; but those are only tendencies, like disposition and the foundation of their budding personality. These tendencies can either be indulged or, if trained right, the child can overcome those tendencies and learn positive behavior.
Children have an insatiable curiosity and need to learn and experience the world around them. How they are initiated into that world affects them for life.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 ~ at 8:06 pm
Oh, can I tell you that I didn’t let go of my hurt, anger and resentment until way after, in my thirties. When I got to talk to a guy that was in my class and he didn’t even REMEMBER what he had done to me as a kid. I mean, this was 8 long years of being in the same class with the same kids. I realized that they had just gone on with their merry lives; and their shananigans and cruelty did not even register 1/2 of a point in their brains. That was when I had to finally let it go because I let it affect me for my whole life and they weren’t affected at all. It still blows my mind when I think about it, but at least I am free from the negativity that was weighing me down.
Peace, pax, paz…..
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 1:42 am
[...] I just have to write about this. At the last dr’s visit that Little Drake had, the pediatrician sits me down and starts to say, “… usually if one or two of the parents have an above average head size, the child will also.” And your point? I don’t know, I just found it strange. I mean, my baby’s head literally saved his life. Yes, I’ll go into that. As you may know, I had what they call a late pregnancy… blah blah blah. Read all about it here or here. Yeah, one of those posts was supposed to be private, but I still can’t figure it out. [...]
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 2:32 am
My dad has a big head. He makes jokes about it, that he’s a hydroceph… (a really bad joke by the way, considering those that really suffer from that…) Anyway, he seemed to have had an intelligence way above average. Yet his emotional quotient isn’t all that high
I trust that your drake will have both. I doubt that head size has to do with intelligence, but just wanted to tell you what’s special about my own dad who really has a non-standard skull LOL… Headphones, hats… he has trouble with all those.
This picture is great, dragonmommie, and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to read your “private” posts.
Thank you so much for sharing it all. Lovely Little Drake. So handsome! I just melted when I saw him at 2-days-old, already so beautiful even if he was so small then.
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 8:02 am
[...] So for the pediatrician to take on a tone of reassurance about his head, was kind of moot, more, anti-climatic. I didn’t think to tell him then, but I will next time I talk to him. To be fair, he probably doesn’t know the whole story, at the very least, my s … Do you agree that post is interesting?Link to original article [...]
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 8:14 am
I wouldn’t have noticed his head size, and even after you pointed it out, it doesn’t look ill proportioned to me in the least. The whole concern for being standard or average in every possible way is a bit obsessive sometimes! Pediatricians can often relate to charts and graphs better than squirmy little kids with their sticky fingers and unabashed love.
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 1:46 pm
To me neither.
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 2:19 pm
What’s that, brownies ?
GOD!!!!!!!! Help me!
LOL
(( hugs to draggonmommie ))
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 4:50 pm
Thanks for your kind comments, guys. I really don’t see anything strange, either, and he IS pretty smart, but that’s his MOM talking!
Yep…. those be brownies… the brownie maker made them! Actually just finished them today.
Oh, something to add… Both myself and father have bigger than average heads (though the drake swears his is average).
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 5:34 pm
Thanks for the great comment, Grace.
I believe that if we knowingly do something wrong, it’s a sin, because we “know”… now, mind you, whatever a “sin” is. I could knowingly go through the rest of my life doing bad things or evil, because I am “missing the mark”. Now what happens to me when it’s time to be judged? Do I say that I was just missing the mark? “Missing the mark” sounds as if sinning is not so bad… or that we are not really responsible for our actions.
We were put here intentionally without our Christed mind, I think. It has to be for a reason. What do you think the reason is? I really don’t know. I am thinking to be tested… but putting us here fragmented like that is placing us at a disadvantage… a disadvantage very severe because we don’t remember with our Christed mind. The natural mind is always in control because something was taken away from us that made us celestial. Our bodies are made of dust, and until they return to that state, that is all we will know. Anything else, we are sort of insecure about because we really don’t know for sure… I’ll explain. Like, I feel like I “know” when I feel the Spirit coming upon me. From childhood, I’ve had a certain feeling that, now as an adult, I’ve some to know as being inspired by the Spirit. But I am so isolated, deprived of my natural, celestial state, deprived of communing with my brother and sister souls out there. I am left alone to decipher illusive feelings and thoughts without a point of reference. I come to realize that I really don’t know anything. I flounder for some scrap of “knowing for sure”. So, it’s my faith that keeps me floating with my head barely above water.
“It seems to me that the choices we make have consequences, surely. But in the total evolution of an eternal spirit, I cannot fathom that a decision made – even purposely – from this darkened understanding in one lifetime would bring eternal damnation from a “loving” Creator.”
I like this thought, Grace. Very beautifully expressed. Sometimes I wonder about reincarnation, too… if at the end of “this” time, we might be reincarnated into something else (by God, of course). The loophole in all this posturing is that we really do not know for sure what God’s plan is. That’s the most ironic thing, because reincarnation might surely be part of God’s plan. I’ve read some books on Hebrew mysticism and they believe in reincarnation of the soul. Of course it makes sense, too. We cannot possibly evolve into a being 100% worthy of entering into heaven or seeing the face of God in one lifetime. I am wondering how many generations of lifetimes are left to human kind to evolve into the perfect higher form worthy of heaven.
“They ‘know not what they do”, because their understanding isn’t illuminated.”
Even though I agree here, I am thinking of the fallen angels. They sinned, yet supposedly they had illuminated understanding. I do believe that there is the possibility of being kicked out of the classroom, but only at the end of all our chances to make it right. There IS the understanding that sooner or later there will be an end to the classroom phase of life and will have to either make the grade or flunk out.
Bookie Drake is sick today with a cold and cough. He’ll be okay, he’s just very needy right now.
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 6:11 pm
((( DM ))) One of the scariest things I did when I walked away from fundamentalist Christianity was give myself permission to investigate some things that just didn’t add up (to me, personally) in traditional Christian teaching. SCARY, DM, because I once believed just like you. In fact, I was a Bible teacher, headed up prayer and food ministries, and even directed the Women’s Ministry at the last church I was a member of.
Topics like: Reincarnation. Hell. Judgement. Fallen Angels. Sin……All of these topics have been under my personal investigation for several years now.
I believe the Bible to be a highly manipulated book now. There are reams and reams of material out there – texts written at the same time – that were left out. Translations have screwed things up. But maybe, even more importantly to me, it seems as if the Words given by the Prince of PEACE somehow were used to become a doctrine of fear and control.
I’m not saying I’m right
But I am proposing that there is more out there to understanding these relevant questions.
For example, there is the proposition of the existance of levels or dmensions of spiritual ‘domains’ – with the idea that demons and such are present in a lower level, but not an upper one.
Wonder, Dragonmommie, wonder if we are born KNOWING rather than not-knowing…and that life is a process of forgetting, then rediscovering our divine nature? Wonder if we are born with the Christmind…the pure Essence of Love and Light….and, through our experiences, environment, etc., things happen that begin blinding us to ourselves?
Ever hear a little child say something profoundly wise, or spiritually discerning? Perhaps they claim to see an angel, or that God spoke to them.
I believe they are telling the truth, these little ones. They haven’t YET been clouded. They still are connected. They haven’t forgotten Who They Are or Where They Came from…yet
Wonder if all the seperation was just an illusion?
xxOOxx
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 6:11 pm
Hope your baby feels better SOON!!!
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 6:53 pm
Outch! that was brutal. Please be softer in how you tell me the truth next time, k ? I thought you left one for me.
ps : truth to be told you are rrrrrreally smart, dragonnmommie. I am an expert on smarties and smart. Father’s head size is hard to gauge on a picture since he’s… well he’s… got… he has a … shiny… large forehead!
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 10:10 pm
Daddy is really smart, too; but in a simpler way… which is the best way, really. I mean, when I start I can go off in 2,000 different tangents. He spouts pearls of wisdom in, like, a sentence. Here’s one for ya: “That’s them”. There is so much said in those two words… ugh… kills me!
Sorry, Chill… yep, yours truly had the last one, but don’t fret, they were getting hard!
Thursday, November 9, 2006 ~ at 10:42 pm
Grace… You are amazing. I try to carry an open mind, even though I am a Catholic. I try to focus strictly on God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit… but I believe that possibilities abound for all of the topics you cite in your previous comment.
I know that there are things that don’t add up, I know that the bible is pretty much just an instrument for the people in power to keep their power. I know that you really don’t need the institution of the church to have a relationship with God and THAT is what they are trying to hide to keep their power. Why else would they decree it be illegal for a lay person to read the bible way back when (you probably know). Why else would they decree that the mass be said in Latin… pretty much a dead language… again you would know the time frame of that. Ugh, please… What about the dreaded “I” word, I-N-Q-U-I-S-I-T-I-O-N. I’ve read some of the Gnostic stuff and about Mary Magdalene… geez that could be true, as well. Please don’t get me started. I am trying to focus on me and God…. But I love these discussions! I have a feeling that I would like to know what you know, already. You are definitely on to something.
I went to catholic grade school and I can remember the religion class. Practically just read to us from the book. Nobody had intelligent answers to my questions. Nuns, priests, all pretty much brushed me off with a perfunctory answer, like, “Because the pope says.” This is why I did not form into a practicing catholic from a young age. Later on, I started reading about other religions and practices and there is a lot to be said for them. I did see a correlation between them and Jesus, so I stayed with what I knew. I don’t believe that if you are not catholic, you will go to hell. If I remember correctly, there are even writings that place Jesus in America, China, places all over the world around the time of his life; so who’s to say that He didn’t appear to other peoples?
“Wonder, Dragonmommie, wonder if we are born KNOWING rather than not-knowing…and that life is a process of forgetting, then rediscovering our divine nature? Wonder if we are born with the Christmind…the pure Essence of Love and Light….and, through our experiences, environment, etc., things happen that begin blinding us to ourselves?”
I REALLY like this concept, Grace. We are going backward…. But my question is “why” do we forget just to try and remember again? I do believe that babies are born with memories of their celestial life, their souls. I think it was something from the Kabbalah that said that everyone is supposed to have a certain goal for each life they live. Souls agree to help each other out during their journeys and are born, with everything predetermined and they actually plan it out or know about it before they are born, but they need to forget for it to play out. This might account for that feeling of de-ja-vu we sometimes have. Yes, I can believe that our experiences, environment, etc., contaminate us further and cause us to forget. Maybe Jesus was such an advanced soul on earth that he didn’t forget.
This reminds me of a book, “Angel in the Waters”. It’s a child’s book that talks about the fetus knowing his guardian angel in the womb…. But then, I think I’ve already wrote about it…
You, Grace, have lots to say and I hope to be reading more from you on this. Maybe you can write about these things on your blog… or have you already!
Gabriel is the same, runny nose, cough.
Friday, November 10, 2006 ~ at 4:19 pm
Darling Daughter’s head was “large” too. I went to a peds practice at the time that had multiple docs, one kinda flipped about it and made us come back in a month. Then we saw one of the other docs and he asked about family stuff. I told them that we had been home and compared pictures with members of my family and she had the same shaped head as them. So the dr. made a note and we never really talked about it again. In that same vein for most of her life her height and weight have been in the low percentiles. Once her height was barely on the chart, her weight had dropped off and her lovely head with in the 95th percentile, we just had to laugh. But now she is four and gets mistaken for two or early three all the time until she opens her mouth and says Well, actually blah, blah, and people realize she is older.
Interestingly, if you watch any children’s shows with animations or most animation in general, the heads are always bigger. It makes them look more “real” and friendly. My brothers think my daughter looks like an anime (Japanese) character with her “big” head and eyes.
Friday, November 10, 2006 ~ at 4:57 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Mommy. I love your blog!
Truth be told, I LOVE my kid’s head. I can’t help myself from touching it and running my hand all over it…. like “this is MY kid!”
It can’t help that he has little hair and it’s very light blonde. He was born with some hair, but people always thought he was bald…. same went for me, though I am dark brown now. Also, his hair is growing VERY slowly. I keep saying that his first hair cut will be somewhere around 5 or 6 because I want a really big chunk of it for his first one.
Saturday, November 11, 2006 ~ at 11:16 pm
[...] Quotes Rice Recipe [...]
Sunday, November 12, 2006 ~ at 1:09 am
Was looking for NaNo counters for the Blog and stumbled on your questions.
The “official” nano counter uses text files. So you have to save your word doc as a txt and then use the upload to get the count. That is only necessary at the very end. it must be a .txt file as it will miscount rtf or doc.
as for word it has a word counter built into the tools menu. Mine is off by at most 60 words.
Oh, when you save the file as txt it strip the format off so that chapter heading become part of the text.
Something to watch out for is the – - – or # # # that some people use for chapter or scene breaks. in a txt file they will be counted as words. In word they may not be counted at all.
Hope this helps.
Whyy
Sunday, November 12, 2006 ~ at 2:23 pm
Sounds really good. Myself and my two girls will spend the day at my sisters. That has become our tradition. The dinner has swiched house’s a couple of times. But the main place is now my sisters and her family. I always go over early and we start to cook together. That has become my favorite part. Cooking with my sister. The other family members drift in and out through out the procees, and lend a hand. It is almost like a dance to me. We weave in and out, talk, smile, laugh, pat each other for a job well done. A very unquie and rewarding holiday.
Sunday, November 12, 2006 ~ at 3:24 pm
Thanks for your comment, seandbe. That sounds beautiful. She must have a big kitchen! My sister’s kitchen is only walk in, so it’s hard, but I “have” been there to help make some side dishes when she had family occasions. Here, in my house, I like to be left alone, though people come in and out all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I like that, to talk to them; but I am so much at peace when I am cooking alone… especially on a holiday. I seem to dart from one thing to another, yet I am so much in sync with it all. Love it… Like you say, “a dance”.
I do, however, delegate, little things here and there, usually to keep me in the kitchen longer. Ha!
Monday, November 13, 2006 ~ at 12:21 pm
We moms give and give so much, it’s not surprising we find ourselves empty. It’s when I’m empty that I began to “roar.” You might like the book, “If mama goes south, we’re all going with her.” It’s from our overflow that we should give…and if there ain’t no overflow, watch out, everyone’s in trouble!
Monday, November 13, 2006 ~ at 12:29 pm
We moms give and give so much, it’s not surprising we find ourselves empty. It’s when I’m empty that I began to “roar.” You might like the book, “If mama goes south, we’re all going with her.” It’s from our overflow that we should give…and if there ain’t no overflow, watch out, everyone’s in trouble! I like writing about my own struggles with this issue. Some of my posts on the subject? “I am woman, have you heard me roar!” “If mama ain’t happy, well you know the rest,” and “Need a Rest?”
Monday, November 13, 2006 ~ at 2:22 pm
Yummmmm!
Monday, November 13, 2006 ~ at 2:34 pm
Sorry to hear that you are feeling so angry and frustrated. Life gets more constricted with small children and I had a similar experience when I had a toddler where my husband did not honor my need to some time just for me.
My solution was to form a mom’s group where my friend and I hired a babysitter for both our girls 2 hours a day twice a week. Then 1 day a week, I had both girls, and `1 day she had both girls for 2 hours. That gave us both two hours four days a week to do what we wanted for ourselves. We joined with other mom teams that were doing the same thing. On Fridays, we all got together with all of our kids. My daughter still feels very close to all the kids in that group and those women are still some of my best friends.
So, make sure that your own needs get met! If BD isn’t good at giving you time for yourself, make sure that you get it another way. it is very important. You are important!
Monday, November 13, 2006 ~ at 10:32 pm
Cindy- My DH and I got to talking about it tonight and we ARE working it out. I realize that, for me, it’s not so much feeling empty, as feeling powerless. This powerlessness eats at me until I lash out at my husband. The “emptyness”, I realize is when I lash out at my kid, which thank God, has not been a frequent thing. I get too empty to have patience witih, or give any more to my son because sometimes I am not allowed time to rejuvenate myself.
NaturalHigh- I really love your ideas on how to create the me time. One of my gripes is that my me time must depend on whether my DH will be home; whereas MEN are free enough to, say play hookie from work and we would never know, being home. Me, moreso, because I cannot get in touch with DH at work unless it’s an emergency. THAT is another story… to cut short: It used to bother me, now it doesn’t. Or, men can just up and go out if they want and, well, we can’t do that and leave kids home by themselves.
I really must say that I have been blessed with my DH. No matter what, he is always willing to work things out. He even didn’t go out tonight… even though I told him he could. We took inventory of the toys because he insisted that I bought most of them. In reality, most of them were handmedowns or gifts… mostly from his family… HAA!
Monday, November 13, 2006 ~ at 10:36 pm
You better believe it! Sad day. Could not find Jicama in Stop & Shop today… oh well, will have to try to see if the other 4 or 5 other major chains carry it. Too many stores around here!
Wednesday, November 15, 2006 ~ at 1:15 pm
Thank you for posting a comment on my page. It was quite insightful. I really couldn’t find the root meaning of the name “Lauria.” I just keep seeing information about it being a small city in southern Italy. I think that there is mention of a warrior – Roger of Lauria, but it doesn’t give me much more information than that. I have to keep hunting I guess.
Congratulations on having a little one. That has to be the greatest gift one can ever have. I’m still way too young, but I can certainly stand from afar and admire such a blessing as having a child.
Thursday, November 16, 2006 ~ at 12:11 pm
Union leaders are some dubious dudes. I suspect most of them are corrupt, and just lining their own pockets.
Thursday, November 16, 2006 ~ at 2:31 pm
Thanks for stopping by, experienceauri.
From the English perspective, there are quite a few foreign words that, if you look close, you can make out an english word or something close. That is what I do when looking at Spanish words. I am in the choir at our church that is mostly Hispanic and sing in spanish, as well. Taking Spanish in high school has really helped me out with pronounciation. Though I am learning words here and there by comparing the two languages, I still cannot converse in Spanish. One good thing is that recently after announcing a hymn in Spanish, which was written down for me, most of the congregation thought I spoke the language… oh boy!
Friday, November 17, 2006 ~ at 6:40 am
[...] Quotes More Food [...]
Friday, November 17, 2006 ~ at 7:21 pm
I’ve been drinking boring coffee lately- time to spice it up! I think that the nutmeg and orange extract sound great.
Friday, November 17, 2006 ~ at 9:12 pm
You will be hooked!
Saturday, November 18, 2006 ~ at 11:30 pm
[...] About a month ago, I wrote about my non-experience of an attempt to donate platelets. Here is the refresher for your memory. Well, then there was the follow up after my <ahem> little outburst, you can find it here. [...]
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 ~ at 7:38 pm
[...] Yep… I finally was able to donate yesterday at the RIGHT hospital. If you don’t know the story, check it out here…. Guess what? When I walked in there, however, the security guard told me that she didn’t have any notification that someone was donating last night. I almost hit the roof again, but I said there must have been a mistake. So she made a phone call and whoever was at the other end of the line informed here that they didn’t know anything about it either, then she just looked at me. I said, “Look, this is the second time that this has happened to me.” In a way, that was a little fib (check out why here); but I wasn’t leaving that hospital until I got in, so she sent me down to the lab and said that they would know there. [...]
Friday, November 24, 2006 ~ at 5:33 pm
Oh! What a beautiful page! I found it by accident while I was searching for something else. I cannot find an email address – would you mind writing me at the address above? I’d like to ask a favor of you….
Lee
Friday, November 24, 2006 ~ at 7:13 pm
Hi LeeAnn…
I can’t seem to write you as I can’t find the address. You can email me at dragonmommie@gmail.com if that is not to inconvenient. Sorry but I can’t click on your name and I don’t see an address for you here.
Debbie
Friday, November 24, 2006 ~ at 7:20 pm
LeeAnn…
Got your address and emailed you. Thank you for your comments. I don’t get much traffic here, but it’s home! Honestly, right now I could not handle more.
Debbie
Saturday, November 25, 2006 ~ at 1:49 pm
Wow, that is a lot of stress to go through just to celebrate Thanksgiving! I have to have clean hair, too. It just feels better.
I’ve gotten more used to the craziness of having a bunch of people over and just don’t expect a Norman Rockwell scene anymore. This has improved my holiday meals a lot!
I had 10 people and nothing went perfectly but we all enjoyed our day. The food turned out great! We had some really fabulous conversation.
Saturday, November 25, 2006 ~ at 3:35 pm
I’m glad your socks are working out. I am just taking up knitting, and findding it difficult not to add or drop a stick. Practice, Practice.
Saturday, November 25, 2006 ~ at 7:29 pm
Yep, I was so excited! I finished them both in one night… on the loom, that is. Much faster on the loom than actual knitting. You are so right, practice, practice, practice is the only way we will get anything. Once you become more comfortable knitting, you will find out that dropping a stitch is no big deal, you can pick them up with a crochet needle. I do it all the time!
Saturday, November 25, 2006 ~ at 7:34 pm
Yeah, but you know, I do it to myself all the time. I get crazy over stuff like this and it doesn’t really mean anything. I have a wonderful husband who takes everything in stride and we talked about what happened the next day. My anger flares (like a dragons, for real) but then it sputters out real fast… and it did. I am actually much better than I used to be. I thing I need to pound into my stubborn head is that my son is witness to this and he is watching and learning from my example… I need to provide a better example, but it’s hard to step back when I am in the throws of a flare up.
We had a great day, too. My dad stayed over for the night and we had a nice next day. Today, we checked out the train expo at Raritan Center in NJ. with some family… again, real nice day.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, November 26, 2006 ~ at 2:25 pm
Wow those look fabulous. I just love homemade socks. They are the best!
Sunday, November 26, 2006 ~ at 8:38 pm
Thank you, Blumoon…
They were fast and easy to make. Now I know that when I go back to the knitted ones, I’ll be able to understand better how the heel is made and what it’s supposed to look like.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 ~ at 12:57 am
haha. i love the quote your husband made about back in the day when people used to take baths once a week. ahh yes!! progress!! where would we be without progress.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 ~ at 11:11 am
Yeah… I think he is a throwback to a past generation, though he “is” 6 years older than I, which puts him in his 50’s… oops, you didn’t hear that from me!
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 ~ at 7:46 pm
I used to be a good writer of the German language (b/c of High School) and I could read it with ease. After a time frame of “way too long” I lost alot of my abilities with the language. I also had to take 2 years of mandatory Latin classes and that was tremendous for me. It gave it such an understanding of Romance languages. It’s my goal to get back to German though. I felt very accomplished with having a good handle on a second language. We’ll see how it goes.
P.S. You can write as much as you’d like on my page. I love comments.
Thursday, November 30, 2006 ~ at 7:59 am
Sweet! There is nothing like giving something I’ve made to someone I love.
Thursday, November 30, 2006 ~ at 9:24 am
Thanks, Naturalhigh…
I tried to put them on Gabriel but they are too small. I will try to stretch them out and if that doesn’t work, I will knit another pair on a larger loom and wash them many times! I have tons of yarn because I got it by recycling a shetland wool sweater I got from the thrift shop for $3 or $5… can’t remember.
Thursday, November 30, 2006 ~ at 1:42 pm
Awesome, DM
(And HI! btw! I’m back to blogging after a short spontaneous combustion 
…I’m starting over at gud2.wordpress.com!)
I picked up my crochetting a few weeks back…an afghan I started in (Ikidyounot) Winter of 99! LOLOL
ANYWAY, like my NaNo writing, I get a little more done each year. I find it so meditative and a wonderful way to spend time when I’m sitting with my guy (while he’s watching Monday Night Futball 
..) ~~~waves~~~~
Thursday, November 30, 2006 ~ at 9:50 pm
I loved The Red Tent- just finished it in Sept, and have read Mists of Avalon many times.
The key to understanding the Bible for me is to study the various translations; to become knowledgable of Hebrew and ancient Greek so that the context of what was written makes sense. I’ve also studied the 1st C and the historical Jesus as a way to fathom the minds of the Gospel writers.
Thursday, November 30, 2006 ~ at 10:03 pm
What is the “1st C”… Sorry, very ignorant here. Where do you get information on the historical Jesus?
Friday, December 1, 2006 ~ at 1:12 am
Love, love, love The Red Tent. Also read the Mists of Avalon.
Thanks also for your kind comments on my blog. I have had a rough month but it is getting better. I was just a little flat there for awhile.
Friday, December 1, 2006 ~ at 8:48 am
Lot to think about here.
“Sadly, I was not thinking of the safety of myself, or my family.” This is often a point for me. What does my family think. I get that a lot from them; “You shouldn’t do that you might get hurt.”
I did listen to that when my children were younger, but now that my kids are in college, I do take more chances, and also take precausions. But I also do not have a husband who would also be on my case not to take chances.
Its a hard line.
Friday, December 1, 2006 ~ at 12:15 pm
… and I really liked the comments on YouTube for that video
How’s it going Dragonmommie ?
Me = ok. Sore tooth, to lukewarn-to-cold and sugar, that will result in sore bank account just before Christmas but the good news is that the dentist will see me fast, that is on Monday (I just called). That’s the least they can do, right ? LOL…
I haven’t done my Christmas shopping yet. I guess I’ll skip that.
I think I am gonna go back to bed with 2 Tylenol extra strength.
Real men… I have other thoughts on the subject, besides knitting I mean. Real men cook. I love a guy who knows how to cook. For me that’s very masculine. And other things too make a man real man for moi… mmm… I could be with a half-real man too, I think I’d settle for that.
Later girl!
Friday, December 1, 2006 ~ at 1:19 pm
I can relate, seandbe. I used to be told by my family that I was setting myself up to be a doormat. I am glad that I followed my heart, then; and I try to follow it now, within imposed boundaries set by my changing life. Jesus said that when one chooses to follow him they must not look back, for if they do, then they were not meant to follow Christ. Those are not the exact words, but that is the gist. I feel that I am placing boudaries on myself where Jesus may not want me to. Everyone around me tells me that in this day and age, I must look out for my safety first. I may have been reckless in the past, but I always believed that God looked out for me and my safety.
Friday, December 1, 2006 ~ at 1:36 pm
Hey, Chill…
Sorry to hear that your tooth is bothering you. Good luck at the dentist. Something like this ALWAYS happens this time of year. My wisdom tooth is bothering me, too. It’s loose and annoying, but I am constantly pushing it with my tongue and that gives me a dull (something). I can’t say pain because I don’t feel that (yet). It’s been like this for a long time so I am going to try and make it through the holidays, then go to the dentist, myself. I do want the dentist to look at it, but probably won’t get an appointment until after the holidays anyway.
Sunday, December 3, 2006 ~ at 12:01 am
Thank you! Although I don’t have the same faith as you do now, and the idea of “God as third party” in a relationship would – well did, the first time I heard you saying… “sacramental marriage” – make me raise eyebrows, I do now have an excellent “feel” for it. I think I understand what you’re saying. And… myGod! (lol) it’s very special and particular for me. Now matter how much we can be different, when I read you I understand, and I could almost… become you. I can see myself in your skin, I… identify! And I become so much “richer” for it. You are a wonderful-ly interesting and lovable woman.
Sunday, December 3, 2006 ~ at 12:04 am
I now understand what that… is. I think I do. I also have a feel for it, not just on some intellectual level! You explain so well
Sunday, December 3, 2006 ~ at 12:18 am
Chill…
I can’t really get at the kernel of how I feel about this type of marriage. I can only say that I’ve had it both ways and this one just seem, well more holy than my other one. It was like the first one was just a farce, something to wear, sport on my sleeve sort of thing. My marriage now is more spiritual, more a part of my being… not something to wave around.
I will also say that all the while in my first marriage I felt as if I was in stasis, a state of “waiting”. I did not feel as if my life was moving forward, or backwards for that matter… just waiting. I had a really nice apartment and then a house, yet, I could not bring myself to decorate either of them. I didn’t feel as if they were “mine”. This place is so different. I must post pics of my kitchen which is my pride and joy. I painted it all myself, and though, I am not really into curtains, the walls are all me. I painted two other bedrooms myself, as well, all me.
It’s like once you are in sync spiritually with your LIFE partner, everything else falls into place. I’ve waited a long time for my loved one and I am not disappointed. I must also tell you that sometimes the love of your life is NOT your fantasy.
Monday, December 4, 2006 ~ at 8:58 am
You deserve to experience love and happiness to the fullest extent which was not possible in your first marriage. The Church can be of great comfort to many which seems to be the case in your life so I offer my congrats to you for finding your way out of the darkness.
Monday, December 4, 2006 ~ at 12:29 pm
Thanks, Gracie…
I think that the Church is something that I can lean on; but I think that is only because I was raised with it and know it the best. I really believe that all Gods (and Goddesses) are One. We all have our own traditions and ways of expression and Christianity is my vehicle. Having said that, I have a deep admiration and respect for the “Nature” religions… is it okay to refer to them in that way? I do believe that “all” life should be respected, and not just “human” life.
Maybe it’s this book I’m reading rubbing off on me; but I know that is not true. I’ve felt that way after I read “The Wiccian Warrior” by Kerr Cuhulian. I think that this is a link where you can learn a little about him: http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_article.html?a=cabc&id=5017
Tuesday, December 5, 2006 ~ at 2:21 pm
Thanks for the link, dragonmommie. Just to be clear, I’m still exploring and believe in many of the same traditions as you but am a bit more guarded if organized religion is involved. That’s a very long, complicated story that I’ll save for another time.
I grew up with fundamentalist grandparents plus my ex was Catholic so between the two, it’s been a real eye opener over the years. Right now I’m going thru a transitional stage trying to “find myself” , so to speak, if that makes any sense. I have great respect for you and all that you believe.
Thursday, December 7, 2006 ~ at 7:14 pm
Have a GREAT (but short, please) hiatus!
Sounds like you are busy busy busy!
Please take good care of yourself! (you’ll do FINE on the editing of your Church materials! It’s wonderful people like yourself that are used so beautifully by the Hand of God to minister to others.
Thursday, December 14, 2006 ~ at 11:27 am
This is Wendy from the American Red Cross. I ran across your blog today and enjoyed this post about the history of knitting and the Red Cross. Before today, I didn’t know about any of this!
In a shameless plug, I thought you and your readers might like to see the new “Our Boys Need Sox” Red Cross tee shirts.
https://www.redcrossstore.org
Thursday, December 14, 2006 ~ at 2:34 pm
Thanks for the link, Wendy, but I really don’t have too many readers. I do have some knitting blogs listed on the side, maybe you can visit some and leave the link. I know that there are some people out there knitting and crocheting for our men and women overseas.
Thursday, December 14, 2006 ~ at 3:56 pm
[...] If anyone is interested, our psalm was “Save Us O Lord” and that link is to the lyrics and that page has an audio of it. I have not tried out the sonic song site… if anyone has, please let me know how they like it and how to get started… Thanks! [...]
Friday, December 15, 2006 ~ at 3:47 pm
I wish that I could sing a solo! I am so moved by music.
Friday, December 15, 2006 ~ at 8:28 pm
All it is, is singing the short verse and then everyone sings the refrain… but it took me a LONG time to get somewhat comfortable to even think about doing it. Something I’ve always wanted to do, yet too shy and insecure with my abilities to actually do it.
The thing to remember that it is first and foremost my service to God and not a “performance”. When you think in terms of “performance”, then the ego gets in the way because you think that it’s coming from you. When you think in terms of “service”, it’s your gift to God and not the people; so whatever comes out of your mouth, whether quality or no, it’s your gift to God, with love, and He accepts. You cannot possibly go wrong. That thought is what gives me courage to face the congregation, even after I flub it sometimes!
Thank you for your comments, Naturalhigh. I look forward to them and to your own articles.
Friday, December 15, 2006 ~ at 8:31 pm
Oh, Naturalhigh, what I wanted to expand on is that it’s your gift to God, but it’s also the Holy Spirit moving inside me, inspiring me to sing, moving me to sing… yet it’s His voice, not mine… because I cannot sing without His guidance…. TRULY.
Friday, December 15, 2006 ~ at 8:32 pm
God gives me the voice!
Alleluia!
Saturday, December 16, 2006 ~ at 7:53 pm
Looks like you have been very busy at a labor of love!
Thanks for stopping my blog eariler today.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 ~ at 4:32 pm
Today I gave platelets for the first time and experienced the same “tingling” and “vibrating” sensations that you described. I hated it and was so tempted to ask them to stop the machine and let me off!! I actually eat 7 tums during the two hours it took to take my single unit. The crazy thing is, I signed up to do it again in 3 weeks. But, I’m going to eat a calcium-rich diet between now and then. However, the friend I went with had no problems at all with her donation and she gave two units in the amount of time it took for me to give one.
With all that said, I want to thank you for donating platelets, for I have a very personal reason to encourage people to donate any blood products. This past January my 19 year old son was diagnosed with leukemia. We lost track of how many bags of platelets, plasma, and packed red blood cells he used. He relapsed in June and had a bone marrow transplant in August. While waiting to recover from the transplant he had daily transfusions of all blood products, but mostly platelets. It grieves me to say that he died in September due to complications after the transplant.
And now it has taken me 3 months to get myself back to the same clinic where he was initially diagnosed and donate platelets. I am so grateful to people like you, who have given this life-saving gift and would encourage anyone else who reads this to please consider giving blood. The need is greater than you can ever imagine. Thank you for your gift.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 ~ at 11:46 pm
Thanks for your comments, Kelly. I am posting your comment right now, as a post, on my blog so that people will see it when they search and find my blog.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 ~ at 11:48 pm
[...] I wrote about my platelet donation back on Nov. 21st. and today I got a really nice and motivational comment that I want to share with you. I felt it was important because I wanted Kelly’s comment to be more accessible to someone doing a search on the subject and here it is: [...]
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 ~ at 4:36 pm
It is interesting how people find our blogs. We all love feedback.
Feedback is the breakfast of champions!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 ~ at 4:37 pm
Very nice!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 ~ at 5:34 pm
Kudos to you for doing such a fantastic job, Dragon mommie. I love both the poncho and quilt. There’s nothing nicer than receiving a special hand crafted gift that’s been made with love.
Nice job! I may be asking for your help next month as I start a new project.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 ~ at 7:45 pm
tobeme, I agree! I love feedback, too! Though I don’t get too many comments, I love the insight some of them gift me.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 ~ at 7:49 pm
Gracie… Thanks for the pat on the back. The looms make these items so easy to make… and fast. My next project will be a wrap/scarf. I am trying to pinpoint the yarn I will use right now… so much to choose from! I will be happy to help you with anything, if I can.
tobeme… Thanks again, for your comment and thanks for stopping by and taking the trouble to comment… as you say, “breakfast of champions!”
Friday, December 22, 2006 ~ at 2:42 pm
And to you. I really like your new picure. The dragon scared me a little.
Joy this holiday season, and into the new year.
Friday, December 22, 2006 ~ at 3:43 pm
seandbe..
Sorry the dragon scared you, but it was a part of my theme. Maybe I can find an image of a less intimidating dragon… but that is also part of me. I can be loveable and I can be fierce in the next minute. I have a gemini nature. If you are into that, you can see for yourself my personality… or my potential personality. I kept what I liked and left the rest.
Friday, December 22, 2006 ~ at 4:30 pm
Happy Holy days to you, too! I like the look!
Friday, December 22, 2006 ~ at 8:03 pm
I love this look! Very cool.
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Saturday, December 23, 2006 ~ at 12:01 am
Thanks for all the comments, you guys!
I love this look, too, but will have to change after the holidays…. if only there were more features! Or I can change my name to Santamommie. I believe that “Santa” is the female version of “Saint”, so there might be possibilities there.
Personally, I am surprised that I stayed with the other theme for so long. Gemini’s love variety and there are so many themes here to switch and change… Just wish that the features were standardized for all so that you don’t lose anything if you switch. At least my tag line finally shows.
Happy Holidays!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006 ~ at 2:06 pm
Please show a piture of it once you have finnished. It sounds beautiful.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006 ~ at 2:09 pm
It is a lift when someone does comment. I try to, as I read a lot more than I write.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006 ~ at 10:21 pm
Hey seandbe…
thanks for your comment. I will definitely show a pic of it… it will have to be put off, however, as I am making plans for attending a funeral. My sisterinlaw’s mother. Will be traveling with the baby and not sure if I will have time to knit… probably not. I WILL bring the materials to start (just in case)… I am turning into a…. Knitpicking Knitter!
BTW, have not found the pattern, but I can see by the picture that there are purls on the bottom and sides to keep it from curling. I know the dimensions, just need to determine how many rows for the bottom and how many stitches for the sides, and voila!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006 ~ at 10:24 pm
tobeme… Is your name Mark? For some reason when it comes to your blog, I cannot tell who you are…. anyway, I find it interesting as well; and I adore feedback… isn’t that why we are all writing on the internet and not in a private journal somewhere? We KNOW that someone will read it!
seandbe… As always, thanks for your comments! I find that I do more writing, sometimes, when I am commenting than when I am writing for my own blog!
Wednesday, December 27, 2006 ~ at 12:34 pm
very interesting post! I wish I could write like you…
mike
Saturday, December 30, 2006 ~ at 8:50 am
Good post. Funny how we look closer at the things we spend our money on when we have a personal interest involved. I am sure that for most products we are paying over and over again for mis-management, bad batches, trying to do more with less, etc.
Unless you have some stake in the company, you probably are very unaware of what you are paying for.
Saturday, December 30, 2006 ~ at 10:35 am
((( DM ))) I heard something not too long ago: The reason we feel angry is never the reason we first think.
Not having DH around is sure as much as you want is sure to be frustrating on so many levels…hang in there! There’s gratitude to be found in that he has a steady dependable job right now.
Saturday, December 30, 2006 ~ at 5:06 pm
I think your boy looks perfect. I was reading your story because they told me at my last ultrasound my baby head was weeks bigger then it was suppose to be. Thank you for sharing it made me feel better. I bet your a wonderful mommy.
Saturday, December 30, 2006 ~ at 10:34 pm
You made me smile and chuckle with this post, thank you! What I really so enjoy about reading your blog is how you are such a natural philosopher, always looking deeply into even the mundane subjects like the cost of hair color vs the quality!
Sunday, December 31, 2006 ~ at 4:17 am
Hi Shelly… Thanks for your comments. The drs go by the size of the head to determine the age of the baby for themselves, outside of the dates you give them about your last period. In my case, I gave them the right dates, but they were questioning it because the head and body sizes were not matching for the age. They must do what they must do and we, unfortunately must go along and be patient with the whole process. My son, Gabriel is doing fine and will be 2 years old in March. He is the light and joy of our lives.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sunday, December 31, 2006 ~ at 4:46 am
tobeme… yes, I noticed that, too. Before I met DH, I could never afford to even LOOK at L’Oreal products. Now I can get some for free with the credits he gets as an employee. I actually stopped coloring my hair, though, because I love these gray streaks, so I get the makeup and shampoos/conditioners for myself and spend the rest on family requests. Hubby comes home every day with stories that I can’t believe otherwise.
The executives there, and I guess everywhere, are valued over the factory workers, yet the workers know so much more about what process works and what doesn’t, yet they are forced to act as mindless robots, following instructions from above from people who do not know anything about cause and effect. They hire and fire people in such a way that hurts production… yet they get all the extra bucks because they are supposed to have more brains… sorry, for the spout off, but even my little brain can recognize stupidity.
Sunday, December 31, 2006 ~ at 4:56 am
Grace… You are right, I really “do” feel grateful that DH even has a job in this day and age. He has been at this job for 29 years and is really the only thing he knows. I keep thinking of companies getting rid of long time employees and hope that it doesn’t happen to him.
Naturalhigh…thank you for your kind thoughts. I never really thought of myself as a “philosopher”… though I fancied myself one… two different things maybe. I do try to look deeply into everything which is the bane of most of my family because when I start talking about things from the deeper side, they have no idea what I am talking about or where it’s coming from! HA! I laugh about it every time… then I have to explain to them what I am thinking to bring the “up to speed”! That is also part of my gemini nature… always thinking far ahead and I am almost never on the same page as the people I am talking to…always, like, 10 pages ahead. Thank goodness that I recognize the problem and take the time to explain myself.
Monday, January 1, 2007 ~ at 11:23 am
and you are wise to appreciate him! Happy new Year’s day.
Monday, January 1, 2007 ~ at 2:02 pm
Happy New Year! Yes, I am grateful for him in my life. Did you know that I was married before, for 8 years and never got pregnant? I think that God knew that man should not be the father of my children… I know that I certainly didn’t want it… yet, with DH, it seems so right and now we have Gabriel…. any more? Only God knows. If DH is a great Hubby, then he is also an excellent father.
Monday, January 1, 2007 ~ at 6:47 pm
Don’t sell yourself short, dragonmommie. My guess is you both compliment one another in different ways so don’t ever forget how special you are to the relationship.
Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year.
Monday, January 1, 2007 ~ at 6:51 pm
I LOVE it. It’s fantastic you found the yarn on sale too.
Monday, January 1, 2007 ~ at 8:53 pm
Thanks, Gracie… Though I knew that, it’s nice to hear and maybe I need to hear it, too. On the surface, people might not think that we are a couple because we ARE very different in some ways.
Though, he is a complicated person on the inside, he is also a simple one in how he runs his life, which is one of the things that I love about him and you know what they say– those things that you love about a person are bound to annoy you at some point!
I guess I take it for granted and think that he can just flip a switch and not be the thing that will annoy me… THEN I remember that it’s just him…. Like he says, “That’s them”.
Monday, January 1, 2007 ~ at 8:58 pm
I LOVE IT, TOO! It will be a while until I finish this, but I just got an idea for it. I want to see if I can actually drop every 3rd stitch at the very end of my project to assimilate real drop stitches. I am wondering if the thing will fall apart or it will be great. I will do a sample swatch, then actually drop the stitches, then bind it off. Just a thought. I have gotten into my second skein of Moonlight Mohair and this thing feels like it will be very warm and soft, so even if I am successful with the drop stitch thing, it will still be warm… plus it will probably finish off even wider than it is right now. I will definitely post a pic when I am done.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007 ~ at 7:28 am
Can I ask, what does Yucca Root taste like? I know of the Yucca plant (kinda trendy in Australia at the moment) but have never heard of people eating the root!
cheers from Australia..
http://goldcoaster.wordpress.com
Wednesday, January 3, 2007 ~ at 10:00 am
Hey… Goldocoaster from Australia! You may be my first international commenter.
There are many different varieties of yucca root, and some are not good to eat. It is much like potato, yet has a different consistancy, more creamy. It has a bland flavor and will take on the flavors you cook it with. We in the US, can find it at major food stores in the produce section, or in the frozen food case, already peeled and cut.
You can do a search for recipes using yucca. I like to use it in stews instead of potatoes and I love it. This is a link to some information:
http://www.anapsid.org/resources/yucca.html
Wednesday, January 3, 2007 ~ at 10:15 am
Mike…
Thank you for your comment… I try to write as if I were speaking to someone face to face.
Happy New Year!
Saturday, January 6, 2007 ~ at 3:26 pm
I haven’t heard “stray cat strut” for years. . . . . . ..
Your little Simba is very cute. . . . .
Saturday, January 6, 2007 ~ at 8:07 pm
Hi Joey…
Thanks for stopping by. Yeah, I forgot about that song, too, until today. I just wish that they literally dressed in more feline-ish outfits for that video. Simba is still my baby in many ways. I would have him back inside, but unfortunately, DH is allergic and once he was out, it was for good.
Saturday, January 6, 2007 ~ at 11:02 pm
Loved this! My cats are queens! They must be worshipped and pampered but they are so darn entertaining and fascinating that how can I not bow down???!!
I love the deep poools of both of my cats’ eyes. One is timid and searching, the other is fearless and deeply loving.
Saturday, January 6, 2007 ~ at 11:35 pm
[...] more at ~DragonâÂÂs Yen~ « BBK Perf-BBK Power-Plus Series Throttle Bodie for 1987-1996 FORD PICK UP FULL SIZE ALL [...]
Monday, January 8, 2007 ~ at 5:58 pm
Dragonmommie,
Thanks for the “stray cat strut”, made me smile!
Monday, January 8, 2007 ~ at 7:28 pm
My husband keeps telling me he is allergic to cats. We now have three.
I think he either is full of crap, or developed an immunity to them.
I couldn’t let my guys outside, they are too pampered and dotted on. . . .I’m not sure if they still have their ’street smarts’
I’ve never had an outdoor cat. . . .
Monday, January 8, 2007 ~ at 7:50 pm
tobeme… You’re welcome! I always loved that song and this is the first time that I saw the video. I always envisions them all dresses as sleek cats, I don’t know why.
Naturalhigh… I know what you mean… you just CAN’T help but bow down to them. They can act so indifferent, but you know that they really want a scratch behind the ears.
Joey… My DH lived with them for almost a year, then we put them out for defacating in the house from their territorial issues. He just never realized how much better it is for him without them inside… and get this: HE is the one who faithfully buys the food and feeds them every day. I never thought that my Simba would be a good outdoor cat. He is so passive… but my other one, Smokey, he is so aggressive when defending his turf! He even attacked a large dog to “protect” me. This was a stray dog that would not let me go inside the house… Gotta love em!
Monday, January 8, 2007 ~ at 11:56 pm
Having a mind seriously tethered to the 1980s, the Stray Cat Strut has never been far from my mind. Let’s not forget the ultimate cat song, LOVECATS. The video for it, par for the Cure course, is chockful of weirdness. It focussed on people dressed in full size cat costumes while they chase each other around a room lit by shadeless lamps. The camera juts in and out of focus, and Robert Smith is prancing around the room in circles. The song rocks out, in the way that most Cure songs do.
Of course, my mind also remembers the film CAT PEOPLE. That incredibly forgettable movie started Natashja Kinski, the actress who depth consisted of getting naked. It was an interesting concept, but not a blockbuster. I ended up watching it because, at the time, I had a thing for pouty lips….my cinematic standards were also not incredibly high as an eighth grader, either. The only other cat film I remember was SLEEPWALKERS. A bit on the gory side, but definitely a good (if not funky) film. Some of the special effects were a little cheesy, but the movie kept you creeped out.
The cat pictured reminds me of a younger version of something a roommate had. A nice orange and white cat who answered to “Ralph.” I remember having some fun with Ralph….like when I signed him up for getting more information about an electronics degree from a local community college. The school would call every few weeks, asking for Ralph. I kept them stringing them along saying that he was at a conference, or visiting his mother one weekend….I said he couldn’t take their call, but left out the part about not having opposable thumbs.
Those were the days…=)
thanks for the flashback!
-sj
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 ~ at 4:24 am
Hey there
Thanks for this great post it was just the missing info that i needed for my study
I have bookmarked your site in the hope that you will bring more of this great stuff to the table
Greets
Wilco Breens
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 ~ at 9:38 pm
Hi sj…
Forgot to respond last night…. Thanks for your comments. I do not like really gory movies so I can say that I will not try to find SLEEPWALKERS. I cried and covered my eyes when Bambi’s mother was killed… and that was OFF SCREEN.
Yes, I was disappointed with CAT PEOPLE, too, but because of the history story line of her people, I liked it. I was on the young side when it came out and so I had to see it a couple of times before I “got it.” You are right about Natashja Kinski. The only other thing I remember her for is that poster with the giant boa constrictor wrapped around her naked body.
I was not a heavy glam rock listener, but I loved some of the bands of that decade. I don’t know if Heart was considered glam, but I still love listening to their music.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 ~ at 9:40 pm
Hi Wilco…
You have me curious… what kind of study are you doing? I can’t imagine myself providing helpful info for any kind of research.
Thanks for stopping by!
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 ~ at 11:26 pm
I am male and I still remember in secondary school back in the late seventies/early eighties, knitting, sewing, cooking and typing.
Back then even typing was thought to be a female kinda thing to do but us boys had to do it just the same.
And, I am the main person that does the cooking in our household – my wife does some but I love it and usually do it. It get my 8yo son helping, he likes making little savoury pies and wontons/ spring rolls – things like that..
cheers from Australia.
http://goldcoaster.wordpress.com
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 ~ at 12:48 am
thanks for stopping by, goldcoaster!
My brother loves to cook as well. My mother taught him at an early age, and after, he was telling HER how to cook some dishes, which did not make her too happy. After that, my brother was cooking a lot of the meals.
My husband doesn’t cook, but he insists on doing his own laundry and that’s a PLUS, big time! I am also planning on getting my son involved in cooking and basic home ec stuff. It will hopefully help towards him being independent and won’t need a woman just to do that stuff for him.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 ~ at 9:44 pm
very nice blog!mary
Thursday, January 11, 2007 ~ at 12:08 pm
Very amazing site! I wish I could do something as nice as you did…
mary
Thursday, January 11, 2007 ~ at 12:55 pm
Thanks for visiting, Mary; and thank you so much for your generous comment.
Actually, I think some creativity comes from boredom! I was churning out these hats and got to the point where I HAD to do something different. You need to work with the medium first to learn what you can do, then the ideas start to come for different things. Lots of ideas on the internet, too. As you experiment, you will learn the qualities different stitches make. It can be a quick process, or it can be a slow on. One thing for sure is that looming will work up quicker than knitting unless you are experienced at it.
Thursday, January 11, 2007 ~ at 1:55 pm
WOWOW I just LOVE the colors and the texture of this yarn, DM!!! Anything you make of it will surely look like a dream!
Thursday, January 11, 2007 ~ at 3:42 pm
Thanks, Grace! I was really nervous about doing this to a finished project since both yarns are so fine (and expensive)… but now that I’ve done the swatch, I have a better idea of how and what I am going to do. If anything, I would not have done it and left it alone to still be a scarf/wrap thing; just now, it will be wider and prettier.
I love these colors, too. I love bright, true colors together and this does have a stained glass effect. Ironically, “another” trellis yarn is named “stained glass”, yet this one I used looks more like it.
I will definitely post a pic when completed. Thanks for the support!
Thursday, January 11, 2007 ~ at 7:21 pm
HEY! I would LOVE to have a scarf made out of that yarn!! How much to have you make me one and ship it to Cali??
Friday, January 12, 2007 ~ at 9:13 am
is the artist that sings the song Cindy Lauper??? That is ol’ school but good school.
this was another fun read. the bathroom antics and ranting about cleaning was certainly something that i think everyone can identify with. i’ll definitely have to see whats the rage with the Magic Reach.
Friday, January 12, 2007 ~ at 9:48 am
Thanks for sharing your experience with the Magic Reach. I am always looking for anything that will make cleaning a better experience.
Friday, January 12, 2007 ~ at 9:50 am
He is very beautiful! You are trully blessed! Loved how much joy you expressed in him saying “Ma Ma” for the first time.
Saturday, January 13, 2007 ~ at 3:09 pm
What a handsome little boy, dragonmommie! He will get it, never fear – and THEN you’ll be sorry, LOL!
Someone once told me many years ago “The days drag, but the years fly by.” So true. I can’t believe my two are both in college. Just yesterday they were putting together puzzles, like your Gabriel. Enjoy every precious day.
Here via Mark’s The Naked Soul
Saturday, January 13, 2007 ~ at 3:25 pm
I could use one of these! But will look for refills before I buy the kit. . . just in case
Thanks for the tip – and funny story!
Saturday, January 13, 2007 ~ at 11:25 pm
Thank you so much you guys! Of course, he is my BABY! His mother will always love his little, or big face! As an update, he’s not really said it after that few times, but that is okay.
Today, he switched to saying “doo-ra”, for “door”. He knows ALL the doors, and practices opening and closing, no, slamming them all day long! Of course, mommie cannot bear to yell at him over that, but I DO try to get him to stop. The only thing I can do, really, is to redirect his energies into something else to distract him from that. What is so cute is that he points to things and says something that sounds like he wants to know what it is… so that is what we do all day long, the name game, except he never repeats the name, he just smiles…. smileyboy.
Saturday, January 13, 2007 ~ at 11:28 pm
Sunfloweroptimisn… thanks for stopping by. Yes, I know that I will be the sorry one when he starts calling me all day long. As it is now, my DH will promptly tell the baby, “go to mommie, mommie wants you,” when I call the baby…. but DH is really very good with him… very patient.
Yes, I’ve heard that the years go by fast… now about those days…
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 1:54 am
*taps fingers on desk and wonders why nobody is postin*
\”Postin\” -Southern Verb, to post. lol
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 4:41 am
I was thinking, long before reading this, about writing my own piece of cleaning adventure with Magic Eraser. I love that product. If I ever find your Reach stuff we can switch products ? I use magic eraser to effortlessly clean my tub. I could not live without. The tub looks brand new and I am doing this effortlessly. Although it seems like a good idea to clean “up there”. Most of the times I am way down there, I am not even standing up, being in a wheel chair and my chair being too big to go inside the bathroom. So you can imagine that the tiles on the walls aren’t being cleaned that often, and never high up. I think I need Reach too. Never seen it though. Will look.
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 4:55 am
With that sonic widget on the side I cannot so easily surf your site. Oddly I can’t turn it off and with my slow-poke connection it takes me about 5 minutes to load the page, as it downloads the music as well. Even when I “stop” it, by pressing the stop button. I cannot even tell you if the music sounds good but my guess is that it sounds great for other people, me it pauses every second for 4-6 seconds. LOL…
Hhhhhhhhhhhhhaggggggggrrrrrrrr.
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 8:00 am
I absolutely love the music! And I’m glad to know that I’m not alone in still loving Chant!
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 8:02 am
He looks like Maccauley Culkin in early Home Alones.
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 9:19 am
Hi cat litter…
I really don’t get many comments on my blog to begin with, but I have a nice littler readership here. I would consider this a lot!
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 9:24 am
Hi chill…
I will have to try to Magic Eraser because I still cant get the Reach. I would suggest that before you get the kit, look to see if your store is still currently selling the refills. I know, I should be more concerned with “way down there”, instead of “way UP there”.
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 9:25 am
Sorry Chill… Have you had that problem with anyone else with Sonic?
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 9:28 am
I absolutely ADORE chant, Naturalhigh!
When we do something like chant in the choir, it vibrates my whole body and relaxes me. I had this Canon played at my wedding, when I made my “entrance”… I could not go with the traditional wedding march.
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 9:29 am
You are absolutely right! He does look like that Home Alone character in this pic… Only this guy’s not shaving yet!
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 3:41 pm
Dragonmommie . . . .I got the same totally random comment on my blog. . . .must be a bot. . . .
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 5:25 pm
Yes. I should not have complained though. I must be among the 0.01% of the Internet population to still have a dial-up connection and I think the sonic widget is a great addition. Les conons de Pachelbel… great music!!! I know that music.
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 5:31 pm
LOL… You know, you just might have revolutionized my life. It’s stuff like that which changes my life, for the very best. I have no one to help me clean or prepare my food, and I love it like that (there used to be a woman who was payed by the community who helped me, but I had to act as her personal psychological counsultant/therapist, she mostly talked when she came to see me). I can always benefit from tricks.
Yep I will check the availability of refills allright!
I will lean from your lesson…
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 5:34 pm
It’s promising.
I noticed that when “they” start having these expressions they usually keep these for the rest of their lives… I don’t mean permanently as in “face frozen” but as idiosyncratic facial expressions in certain situations.
What a cutie!
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 10:00 pm
Joey… I am such a putz. I thought it might be something like that, but if I was wrong, I didn’t want to insult the person.
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 10:03 pm
No prob, chill… No, it’s good to know that some people are having a problem, even though, I won’t get rid of it, for now. I love the sonic widget. Last night was my second attempt at getting it on my blog.. have no idea what I did wrong the first time. I think the spelling is “whiner”… better than being a “whino”!
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 10:08 pm
I know what you mean, chill… you go along at the same stuff for years, at the same pace, same routine… then Whamo, a revelation revolution!…. AND it’s always a small thing… love it! Yeah, people know who they can unload on… but it’s good to have people around who will listen. People need to talk.
I, for one, will be leaning AWAY from my own lesson… Don’t know what I will do as far as the Reach goes because I don’t want to buy another “kit”… but I do so love that long handle… oh well… oh, you can use the pads over and over, instead of throwing them out right away. My sister does it and I did it… and still doing it, apparantly.
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 10:10 pm
chill… I know exactly what you mean… there are others, too, that I’ve been taking note of. Like if he is examining something, he’ll look up at me and his eyebrows will go up, so very slightly, then he’ll look back at what he is doing right away. I know just how he tries to manipulate me with his cries and his smiles… he is SUCH the charmer!
Sunday, January 14, 2007 ~ at 11:47 pm
I re-use the Magic Eraser until it is about to desintegrate. So that you know you can re-use that too for a very long time. I use some good “antiseptic” soap (well nothing too powerful) with it.
Monday, January 15, 2007 ~ at 8:51 am
Oh WOWWWWWWW I just LOVE your new look!!! It’s so fresh and alive and “BAM!” Well done, DM!!!
Woo Haaaa!!!
Monday, January 15, 2007 ~ at 2:18 pm
I really like it. Love the music too. Great!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007 ~ at 2:53 pm
Dragonmommie,
Thanks for stopping by the blog. I’ve seen you post at Naked Soul. Really good stuff. The lyrics to the song, are so powerful and true and your connection with the fuse, really touched based.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007 ~ at 9:20 pm
Thanks for your comments, Justin. I am working on a post for The Pretender, which is the song that first got me into JB. The only thing with my posts is that I write anything that comes to my head, so I go off this way and that… but I like how reading the lyrics makes me think.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007 ~ at 10:21 pm
JB’s music has been a part of my life for many years so I share the connection you feel. This is a fantastic post – I especially love this line:
“Children have so much to teach, if only we’d take the time to see and listen to them. They “know” more, a lot more than we think they do. If only we could rub into ourselves a bit of the stuff that makes them so wise, yet so innocent.”
Now that my children are older, I can assure you this is true. It’s a delight discussing certain memories with them and hearing their perspective of events from the past.
Your site looks fantastic, as always.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 ~ at 8:11 am
Hi Gracie… Thanks for your compliment about the new look. Still a work in progress, always, I guess.
JB was one of my earliest influences. I love how his words flow together and he makes it seem so effortlessly done. It’s like he’s just talking to you, saying incredible things.
I cannot wait to have those conversations with my children when they are older. I’d love to hear their perspectives of memories past.
Thursday, January 18, 2007 ~ at 12:59 am
I finally got my personal/professional web site going, dragonmommie. Please submit a short story — you’ll see the non-contest on the front page if you click on my name. I am gonna sell some ebooks on it, one is already up for sale.
Guess what… how life is magical. You happen to be using THA Drupal theme… the Garland theme is the shipping theme of the Drupal package (Drupal is like WordPress, except it’s more powerful I guess…). Garland was ported to wordpress by some guy… so we both use the same “theme” but the underlying code is very, very different. I started working with drupal in November, with that theme, long before you picked it.
I lovve this post. Those are incredible lyrics you post, and it’s not boring at all… and there’s no doubt about it : the lyrics here speak about reincarnation AND ordinary life (like mine) which is about doing the same stuff over and over again, some sort of “éternel recommencement” and it’s all ohhh kayyyy… (I guess… mmm… not sure).
I don’t have a cell phone
— so I guess it’s not a necessity for me, yet.
Thursday, January 18, 2007 ~ at 11:14 am
The site looks great Debbie. And the music is a nice touch too. Now if I can just figure out how to put music on my site. One suggestion for your categories, I would try to condense them down. For example, have one called recipes instead of asparagus recipes, crock pot recipes, etc. Then you might have sub categories like vegan, non vegan, or breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Anyways, keep up the great work and thanks for the post on my site.
Thursday, January 18, 2007 ~ at 3:13 pm
Thanks for the input, AS. I was thinking the same thing about my categories. I need quiet time for that as I think that I’ll have to go back to redefine them.
Thursday, January 18, 2007 ~ at 11:45 pm
Hi, Dragonmommie. I am writing to you to tell you that the link here to Spending Time With Glenys no longer works as I had to delete my blog. I have a new one now called Musings Of A Christian Wife http://2bteachers.wordpress.com/tag/about-this-blog/
I will link you to my blog!
Y SinC
Glenys
Saturday, January 20, 2007 ~ at 10:28 am
Oh! OK…forget my email, I see now
BIG HUGS!!! You have alot on your plate, don’t you? Just a reminder, luv…much of what you wrote here are “What Ifs” – worry about potential problems in the future. So much is up in the air. Feel the fear, release it to God and allow yourself to be comforted, DM. In the Big Scheme of Things, we simple must believe that our lives unfold exactly as they were Planned. If I were you, I would begin to take steps to knock off some of those “What Ifs”. Get the appointments, Take the exams. Do a pregancy test. Whatever you can do.
Hey
Just a reminder that 50 is the new 30!! LOLOL Seriously!!! Once you’ve had one child, the risks of problems decreases. TRUST GOD!! Remember the story of a fine woman named SARAH!!
Saturday, January 20, 2007 ~ at 1:32 pm
Thanks again, Grace…
I called today to get results, but what do you know, they were closed today… so will try again on Monday. I know that I am letting my imagination get the best of me… AGAIN… but yes, I often think of the story of Sarah…. AND Elizabeth.
I guess I never really got over the fact that my placenta stopped working for Gabriel because of the gestational diabetes… even though, technically, the placenta comes from the baby… but it was my diabetes that made it mature too fast and die. I am sure that as a mother, you can see where i am going with this… it’s that my body could not nurture my baby. I had forgotten that as my son grew and thrived. Now, I am afraid that the horror of that possibility will come back to haunt me.
Saturday, January 20, 2007 ~ at 5:28 pm
Waiting for news of this magnitude must be causing enormous anxiety. It seems like women generally worry a great deal over possible pregnancies regardless of age. Each period in life accompanies different sorts of challenges so regardless, I believe everything you’re feeling is both healthy and normal.
Saturday, January 20, 2007 ~ at 7:52 pm
Thanks, Gracie… and everyone for your support. Just knowing that you are there is comforting.
Sunday, January 21, 2007 ~ at 3:51 am
Are you taking the pill now ?
Sunday, January 21, 2007 ~ at 3:56 am
That’s great! It works all the time because it is said with a sincere tone, and no matter where it’s taken from, or even if it sounds like a hallmark card, it works because it goes from A to B, or from Mr Matters to “me”, you, her.
Great post. I can relate to “falling” for this sort of thing. And it’s a good thing to fall… like that 
Sunday, January 21, 2007 ~ at 12:10 pm
Great picture. Dont care where where they learned the line, as long as they are saying it.
Sunday, January 21, 2007 ~ at 3:23 pm
Thanks very much for the link to One Kind Act.com…
Matthew
Sunday, January 21, 2007 ~ at 5:46 pm
Chill… No, not taking the pill… never did.
Sunday, January 21, 2007 ~ at 5:53 pm
Hi chill… thanks for commenting. I was afraid people would think that I was complaining. I marvel at the simplicity in DH’s life… and he really thrives with it. He is an affirmation for “Keepp it Simple”… it really works. So when he says or does anything you know automatically that there is nothing behind it, no agenda, no reading between the lines required.
Yes, it’s definitely a GOOD fall! And that is so because you know that you will not get hurt when you hit bottom. There is the pillow of love there to catch your heinie!
Sunday, January 21, 2007 ~ at 5:55 pm
Hi Matthew… I love your site. Looking forward to reading more.
Sunday, January 21, 2007 ~ at 6:06 pm
Hey seandbe… just had to despam your comment. Just wanted to let you know. I have no idea how they determine spam, but wanted you to know that it was done to your comment. Side Note: A sex site did get through, so go figure.
Thanks, had to grab that pic for my post and the whole scene was so tempting.
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 9:09 am
I wish that I could respond with an optimistic solution to this but I have none. Still, I watch and read the news and carry on as a social activist in the ways that I can. Justice is a process.
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 10:42 am
Yes, profiling has been going on for decades. We profiled the Japanese Americans and German Americans during the war. This is a horrible practice. It has nothing to do with protection, it has everything to do with exercising rampant mistrust and hatred to people who are of the same heritage that we are at war with. Profiling does not help to solve the problem, it makes it worse.
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 12:34 pm
naturalhigh… Sorry that this post was a downer for you. It’s a downer for me, too, aggravated by my lack of clearer words.
tobeme… Personally, I’ve been so sheltered and uninformed most of my life. It’s only just hit me that these historical tragedies are all the same crime. When you look at it, are we really that much different from Nazi Germany? The only difference is that we did not exterminate a whole ethnic group; but then again, I have no idea what actually went on in those camps. Man, look what we did to the American Indian!!! I can tell you that being of Italian decent, that I mourn for the passing of the true spirit of this land.
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 4:20 pm
DM(lol like your DH)
Been a few days. I’ve i’ve caught up with you now. WOW so much going on. I hope all work well with the blood and test and the possible impending diabetes. Life it still very durable. Interesting conflict about the birth control. I’m having issues on a related topic, but not in the same vein. Anywho, another baby.. could be the way.. how exciting. Also I read you post at NS, another great one. LOL
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 5:00 pm
Yes, they are in fact the same crime, of course if you view it as a crime depends on what side of the fence you are standing on at the time. As much as Americans love to think that we are above something as barbaric as things that went on in Hitler’s Germany and Saddam’s Iraq, we only have to dig a little bit into American history to realize that we have committed many of the same type of atrocites in our history and that we often turn a blind eye in the name of our most current cause.
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 10:19 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Justin. I agree with you about life being durable. It still can be, but it’s up to me. I forgot to mention that I’ve an appt with the dr on Friday to address the diabetes… Yes, another baby WOULD be exciting, and I am hoping for it; but I tend (because of past history) not to let myself get my hopes up “all the way”… hee hee… They are, who am I kidding?
UPDATE:
Sorry, Justin… thought I read that on your blog, but I remember now that it was someone else’s blog.
See, I’ve deleted that whole sentence. Thanks for bringing that to my attention… so glad, too, because I write long blogs!~ 1/22/07 11:59pm
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 10:37 pm
I hope that you get the results you are hoping for
Hang in there!
Thanks for stopping by, Jill… and thanks for the support!
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 11:46 pm
WHen did I say, I didn’t like Long post? I love your post..
Monday, January 22, 2007 ~ at 11:48 pm
Oh yeah, You’ve been officially Blogroll…
Oh Man i’ve been tagged too..
Thanks, Justin!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 ~ at 12:06 am
I”m sorta new too to this. I don’t think there’s a way to know. So I’m “pretending”, when a person reads the post, they are tagged…(virtually)
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 ~ at 1:54 pm
looks very interesting
i will give it a try soon
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 ~ at 6:03 pm
Dragonmommie,
Sounds like a great book! So glad that you re-discovered it because of this meme! Thank-you so much for playing and for sharing!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 ~ at 11:13 pm
Yeah… I read some of it tonight, just browsing and it’s really interesting… showing you how to chant. I can see why I got this book… I’ve always been interested in how sound vibrates within the body and how the body is affected by it.
The best thing of all is that it’s universally practiced in so many different cultures.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 ~ at 2:39 am
Catholics used to lay it on God a couple of generations ago, not since, in Canana at least. The pope being against birth control is ridiculous.
My father has had diabetis for a long time. I know you can control this and it’s not that hard, I agree with you. You just have to care about your health, as you do now — unlike your mother. Loosing a little weight does help, because science has shown that the fat tissues produce a hormone-like substance that makes the body be diabetic. Unfortunately, loosing weight, when you have diabetis is 2-3 times harder then when you don’t have it. Something else that we’re discovering : it’s harder for a woman to loose weight than it is for a man. Sheeshhh… But it can be done.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 ~ at 2:41 am
By the way, the fat tissues are not the ones responsible for diabetis, but they can make the difference between needing medication and not needing medication.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 ~ at 2:45 am
I think that you can trust God if you want another child, but make it your own decision — is my unsollicited advice here. As soon as it is clear to you that you want a child, then trust. But if you’re not sure if you want a child, then, in my opinion, it is better not to play dice.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 ~ at 6:41 am
I am so sorry that the lab lost that particular test. They did it to me with my lupus tests. Lost them- I waited weeks to find the results and then had to have more tests and wait for another 3 weeks. All the same if you were dying! I am praying that you get the answer you want. Blessings, Glenys
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 ~ at 11:37 am
Chill… thanks for your comments. I agree with you about not playing with fire if I’m not sure if I want a baby. In our religion, we try to place our trust in God in all situations, and I have… except now with the possibility of complications from diabetes, I have doubts about the wisdom of continuing unprotected sex.
We have a sacramental marriage and physical oneness is very much a part of that, and it would really go against my spirituality to deny my DH and myself, the willingness to give myself totally to the experience. Being open to all the possibilities resulting from the act is also part of it. In sacramental marriage you must be open to the possibility of having children. I don’t know if that sounds naive or not, but it’s just how I approach it. The giving of myself, completely to my DH and to our combined relationship with God. I cannot begin to explain to you that just the very act in my eyes is communion with my DH and God…. a feeling of total trust. Altering any part of that would seriously take a lot of that away.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 ~ at 11:41 am
Glenys… thank you for your support and prayers. Tomorrow I will be on the horn for these results, but if I don’t get them then, then Friday would be the day,,, I hate this… I was even talking about the pregnancy test with the phlebotomist… but then, this is my luck every time. God is trying to teach me patience…. it’s gotta be that.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 ~ at 10:06 pm
What a wonderful memory to find and share, DM!!
Not sure if you saw this over at my place, but If you log in at Songspot and click “Edit” on your song, you’ll see a bunch of options including size, layout, etc. Click the new ones you want then recopy the code back into your WordPress Widget!
Thursday, January 25, 2007 ~ at 6:41 am
Thanks, Grace… I had that picture, loose, in our apartment here and had to get it in a frame. As it was, I delayed for so long!
Yes, I did see that on your site and will get to it later on today… Thanks for the info.
Thursday, January 25, 2007 ~ at 12:22 pm
Dragonmommie,
Thanks for sharing your work of art and such a personal experience. The song is one of my favorites, it speaks to me!
Thursday, January 25, 2007 ~ at 11:06 pm
Thanks, Mark!
Yes, this song has always spoken to me, as well. It spoke of the hope that lies underneath the darkness. That hope being beautiful despite the many hurts the world has to offer.
Friday, January 26, 2007 ~ at 4:15 pm
Dragonmommie,
You are correct, everything happens for a reason. You are in my thoughts.
Saturday, January 27, 2007 ~ at 4:27 am
Dearest Dragonmommie, I understand your feelings and can only agree with you when you say that God knows best. I think you are a person of faith as well as your husband. As I read your blog, I rejoice that you have your miracle baby boy. It is often after the miracle that we see the Hand of the Almighty was always on us.
Blessings,
Glenys
Saturday, January 27, 2007 ~ at 8:33 am
Hi, D.M. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Please take good care of yourself!
Saturday, January 27, 2007 ~ at 12:13 pm
Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers and support. I want you to know that I am really okay… maybe just a little more introspective than normal… which keeps me away longer and moving deeper into my knitting stuff.
Glenys, you are so right when you say that it’s after a miracle that we realize that God has been with us all along.
tobeme… you are also very correct that everything happens for a reason. So often, I can see what that reason is… and sometimes I cannot. That is okay because as long as I know that there IS a reason, I am okay with whatever happens.
Monday, January 29, 2007 ~ at 2:50 pm
Looks like that was a lot of work. Beautiful!
Monday, January 29, 2007 ~ at 10:27 pm
Wow, looks pretty cool. I’d rock that, if I was a girl. LOL. I never understood, how people nitted. It still amazes me. It takes a skillful person to do such things.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 ~ at 10:48 am
Wow! Two men commenting on a wrap. Thanks a lot… Yes, it IS pretty cool, thanks Justin. I am going to see if I can get a pic taken outside in the sun… I think all the colors shine right through… but I must wait until I can get my DH “home” when the sun is shining… which isn’t easy since he works to 6pm now.
It was a lot of work only from the point of view that I really didn’t know what I was doing! I just tried out different things that I know how to do already… and experimenting with dropping the stitch as I did… and I don’t think that is really how you are supposed to do it.
Justin… Lots of men knit… It can be a form of meditation, as well… once you get into the knitting, you can let your mind go wherever you want. Here is the link for a post of mine that has a video for “Real Men Knit”:
http://dragonmommie.wordpress.com/2006/12/01/real-men-knit/
Also, did you know that merchant marines do it, sailors throughout history have done it… They’d knit sweaters with unique designs that actually would identify them if they were found drowned at sea…. a little morbid, but that is one fact that I can remember. There are loads of podcasts out there and one, that I know of, done by a MAN…
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 ~ at 11:27 am
I had no idea that you were struggling with health and wondering if you were pregnant or not! My heart and prayers go out to you.
Try as we might, we will never fully understand the Divine plan for our lives. Perhaps the best we can do is to focus on what we can bring to situations, and what we can contribute to the world around us. WHY we are given what we are given is a mystery. WHAT WE DO with what we are given is where we have the power to do God’s will.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 ~ at 11:46 am
Hi NH… It’s really on been recent, like this past week or so. I’ve been wondering since Nov if I was pregnant or not and finally got to the dr a couple of weeks ago… what showed up was NOT what I expected, to say the least… but as you say, what matters is how we deal with it… and to focus on turning a negative into a positive. I am going for a sonogram today to make sure that I am not pregnant (as the test came back negative) before the dr plans course of treatment… i.e. meds, insulin… whatever. If it turns out that we are pregnant, they will have to do the insulin thing.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately to get a better grasp of what I am up against… or what I have to work with. I am surprisingly calm and I attribute that to my anticipation of this development for years since my mother had it, and died from heart decease because of diabetes. The only factor that I never considered is pregnancy and that throws me a bit… though I had gestational diabetes for Gabriel… but then again with him, I didn’t even know I was pregnant until very late 6th month, so didn’t have a lot of time to worry about him then.
Thanks for your comments and support!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 ~ at 12:01 pm
Dragonmommie,
I think you mis understood me. I was saying, that I would ROCK that, aka WEAR that, if I wa a girl, that’s how nice it looked. That’s why I carefully choose the word “people” in my comment to include everyone and not to asign gender-specific hobbies to people. Anyone can can find enjoyment, in all things.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 ~ at 2:27 pm
Justin… Yes, I did understand your meaning about ROCK… It’s just me getting carried away promoting something that I am excited about!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 ~ at 2:31 pm
Oh… I guess it was because you mentioned that you never knew how people could knit… plus you don’t have to be very “skillful” to do it….. see I’m getting carried away again.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 ~ at 5:20 pm
LOL… AHHH whew..YAY
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 ~ at 4:32 pm
DM, Gosh you’re so mature about the diabetes, it’s good to know that you are on a mission to control this right from the start. Most people neglect their diet and only keep in check, when they start to feel bad. I’m sure that you will be able to conquer this.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 ~ at 4:59 pm
Dragonmommie,
Sounds like you are taking a good approach to all of this!
Stay positive!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 ~ at 6:25 pm
Thanks, Justin… but to be brutally honest, I don’t think I’m being mature, scared maybe; but not mature. My mother had diabetes and I was always a high risk to get it, if not for that, but also because I have been overweight to varying degrees my whole life.
tobeme… I just hope so! The truth is that I have no clue as to what to do, except to avoid sugar, white and refined stuff, and limit carbs. I guess that will be the basics to work with and I’ll learn more as I go along… sort of like building on a good foundation. There is just so much information to process and incorporate into my awareness and daily living. I still need to EXERCISE…. something that I’ve always had a hard time with… I have no discipline at all. I am thinking about taking my son to one of the malls around here a few times a week… or more until the weather gets warmer. Dr says I have to walk to burn off the sugar.
ugh… have not done it yet!
Thursday, February 1, 2007 ~ at 5:46 am
Last week, it was Big News in my neck of the wood concerning breast cancer and diabetes : there’s a drug, already marketed – and my dad is on it – that may stop breast cancer and it helps with diabetes as well : the drug is marketed under the names Avandia and Actos, by SmithKline Beecham and Eli Lilly, respectively.
Actos is what my dad is taking, along with Metformin and Gliburid (not sure about the spelling of the last two). He also takes insuline at bed time. He has a very high-carb diet, that’s probably why he’s taking all these meds now – and he’s obese too (he went from skiny to obese in about 10 years).
You’re not taking any drugs yet, are you ?
Atkins is great. I never did the initial phase though. I skipped that. I used Atkins at a point in my life where I wanted to show to my dad that it worked, and I had some pounds to loose to. It was easy for me because I don’t have diabetis and I am under 40 (35). Very easy, My tummy was flat in 2 weeks. I lost fat on my lower back too, near the hankles (these love handles…).
Here is how I did it (survived through it) :
- snack on my favorite nuts (pistachos… etc.)
- CHEESE please…!!!! (miam)
- cream and splenda in coffee
- 2 eggs per day, every day (yes m’am… proven that the cholesterol in eggs is healthy if you don’t cook your eggs to the point that the yellow gets hardy…)
- any vegetables
- only berries for fruits
- no fruit juice whatsoever, except cranberry (for my bladder, that’s really yuky when it’s not mixed with another juice).
- chicken gallore
- fish
- pasta twice a week (medium portion, yes that’s carbs but for me & my dad, it does not elevate sugar… don’t ask me why…)
- NO potatoes (in any shape or form)
- Brown rice or basmati (basmatti is Atkins-approved for the medium term).
- No bread except
- a bagel with cream cheese once a week as my “cheeting”
((( Draggonmommie ))) Have you ever considered adoption?
Thursday, February 1, 2007 ~ at 5:55 am
sorry, you’re not taking any drugs yet. I thought I had read that but was unsure. You did say that the doctor will decide with you in the future.
Thursday, February 1, 2007 ~ at 11:10 am
Hi Chill… Thanks for all the information! I will definitely print it out. Right now I am doing the Atkins induction, but I agree with you that it’s too severe for people with diabetes. I want to see what happens after about 3 days or so to see how I handle it. They say that after 3 days, the intense cravings go away, but I shall see.
I just found these Asian noodles online they are supposed to have hardly any carbs at all, called Shirataki… they are made from tofu. We have an Asian market in the area, so I will try there. I keep reading about how the Atkins is not good for diabetics but I just found this Atkins book that is specifically for diabetes. It was in a 4.99 bin at Pathmark supermarket right after I found out about the decease, so I grabbed it, having had a prior positive experience with Atkins.
I have to call the Dr tomorrow, on Friday and she will prescribe something to make me lose weight in my stomach area. I have no idea if she will give me anything else. The whole thing with this was that I needed to confirm that I was not pregnant…. In the beginning of our marriage we considered adoption, but concluded that we would not be able to adopt because of low income and that we are older. It’s a fact that they will deny older people because they do not want the higher risk of children being traumatized by possible earlier than normal death(s) of the parents. Besides this one right now is getting on my nerves so bad that I want to scream… gotta run!
Thursday, February 1, 2007 ~ at 2:11 pm
Dragonmommie,
Walking is great exercise and you can make it fun, like you said, you can walk the mall, when it get’s warmer, you can go on nature walks which help both from a physical standpoint as well as a spiritual standpoint.
If you have a dog, you could always take the dog for a walk.
I love walking in nature… I even know where the last virgin forest in NJ is located.
Thursday, February 1, 2007 ~ at 6:17 pm
Age as well as money are a definate factor in adoption. But you can knit! (Imagine using that as argument ! It would be so funny !) But you’ve got a handful now. LOL… and making friends with other mothers gives the little drake opportunities to be around kids. And soon enough he’ll be having his own “slice of life” on his own, at school… OH MY GOD! School! that is something for a child!
I tell you something about diet & diabetes. Here, in Canada, we’re starting to say that the American Association for diabetes recommendations are probably worth . The idea of having lots of carbs is just plain bad. Good fat + high protein IS good. Anyway, it’s funny : I am getting into this whole analysis again… same analysis I got myself into for my dad’s sake 5 years ago. Until I gave up on him. I love Atkins. I am not sure about the abduction phase (I know this is bad spelling, I could not help myself
. But in the long run (“Atkins for life” diet), I am all for it.
HA! Induction, Abduction… probably all the same!
Friday, February 2, 2007 ~ at 1:10 am
Maturity (psychological), a term used in psychology to indicate that a person responds to the circumstances or environment in an appropriate manner, often this implies a response that is reasoned or learned rather than impulsive.”
DM. I still stand by, what I said. You are being very mature about this. Most people, including several of my aunts. Every everything, they want, and just try to “watch” their sugar levels. You seems like you have the desire to learn. You don’t want this to get the best of you, You don’t want to “just get by”. Let me hold a mirror up for, because I guess you don’t see what I see.
“I can see that I really need to learn everything I can about carbs, fats (good/bad), and everything in between. As you can imagine, I am cramming like for an important test. Books, internet info, food plans, etc. These next two days are really important because these readings will probably guide my dr as to what course of action to take as far as meds or insulin goes.”
Not only do you seem like you want to learn, you have already, started implementing good practices. You’ve learned from you mother’s mistakes. Come on now, more people would have awaited till after the Dr’s report or after the 2 weeks daily readings to start eating better. You left the Dr’s with good intentions..
“I will be focusing on wrestling with this diabetes. I have decided to do it the Atkins way. As it is, my Dr is telling me to avoid carbs, white flour, and anything that is refined and that is basically what Atkins is. Yesterday I followed it pretty well, except at the very end.”
You are also willing to rearrange your life, around, and make compromising and make inconviennce. Which is normally, everyone’s excuse. I can’t eat good, because of this or that. Well I can’t cook just for me, I have a family.. etc.
“I will schedule my lunch so that I do my sugar after I put Gabriel down to his nap… which means lunch will be during the 12 o’clock hour.”
Mirror Mirror on the Wall, who’s the Strong Maturest One of them All… YOU ARE
Thanks for everything, Justin. You are a real sweetheart. I guess the reason that I am beating myself up is because I HAD the foresight. I KNEW that this was going to happen and I ignored it and went on my merry way. If I had done the smart thing, it never would have gotten to this point.
Otherwise, I know that you are right and that I am finally taking the bull by the horns. My next step towards combating denial is to post a full blown picture of myself- my before picture, if you will… and I am not going to go through pains of making myself look pretty, this will be a combat pic…HA. View at your own risk… I MEAN IT. There is only one picture of me displayed in the house and that is one of me and my son as an infant. I was euphoric…. is that a word?
Friday, February 2, 2007 ~ at 11:42 am
Dragonmommie,
Thanks for sharing your “vent” with us. There is nothing to gain in beating yourself up over the decisions that you made in your past. Time to forget about the past, time to stop comparing yourself to other people, such as your Mother. Time to live in the now, take one step at a time. Do now what you know is the correct thing to do.
You know that you have the power within you to make the changes that you need to make to beat this disease.
Remember, you are beautiful, you are loved and you will make the right decisions today and going forward. Remember, the past does not drive your future!
Ah, Yes, venting is something I do a lot around here… but I let myself because it’s better than keeping things bottled up… though you really have to be aware and pull yourself back. Otherwise, it turns into a negative… and you become negative. You better believe that this will be a “one step at a time” venture. It cannot be successful otherwise. Too many facets to keep track of.
I feel that “now” is my time to practice what I preach. I must believe in, and use the power I so often talk about. Thanks!
Friday, February 2, 2007 ~ at 12:33 pm
Hey,
Good luck in facing this very difficult health issue. I also battle weight constantly. My only real friend is exercise! So if the biking doesn’t work out, I hope you can find some movement that feels good and keeps you fit.
My heart goes out to you.
And I really like that definition of maturity, too.
NH… I am hoping to lose a good chunk of weight before attempting the cycling… because I really AM extremely obese. I saw myself in the TV!
Friday, February 2, 2007 ~ at 1:30 pm
Having a positive attitude in the face of such challenges is an awesome position to take, DM! I believe we can bring so much healing to our bodies by our own thoughts and emotions. Diet, exercise and a positive outlook are sure to help you win this fight! Don’t give up!
Yep Grace, time to practice for myself what I have believed in for years. The years go by and you sort of take it for granted without really tasting it. Now, I must really get in touch with my power and use it to get through this.
Friday, February 2, 2007 ~ at 4:39 pm
I see that you are a fan of Dragonriders of Pern. Have you read Eragon and Eldest? They are great dragon stories.
Hey Nicole, thanks for stopping by! I read almost all of the Dragonriders of Pern books. I can’t put them down once I start!
No, I’ve not read Eragon or Eldest… I did read that later this year, a third book is coming out. I saw the trailer for the Eragon movie, but have not seen it. I don’t know what I want to do… read it first or see the movie first. I love collecting dragons and I’ve sculpted one with outstretched wings, but sadly a picture was not taken. I am also wondering if a dragon figure is on the market from the movie.
Saturday, February 3, 2007 ~ at 10:41 am
Your article is very informative and helped me further.
Thanks, David
Sunday, February 4, 2007 ~ at 4:14 pm
DM,
Remember to love and value yourself as you face the task of losing weight. So many wonderful people full of love, rich in talent, seem to lose all sense of who they are when they are overweight. Our culture attaches so much baggage to weight! Who you truly are is the person that Gabriel sees! And the wise and witty and open words I read here almost every day.
NH… Thanks so much for your comment. You have it dead on when you say that something happens to us when we gain weight. We truly lose a sense of who we are and what we can do. I have been up and down the scale my whole life and have endured much because of my weight. My life was focused upon self pity. I was screaming inside just for someone to acknowledge the wrongs that were done to me. Then, thank God, I finally came to the point where I could let “that” go; but there is so much more that lurks underneath that I have no idea where to start looking. I’ve tried on numerous occasions to identify exactly why I can’t let myself lose the weight for myself…. maybe now I can do it for myself, but for my health as opposed to my mental well being. Or, maybe there is nothing where I think there is something and THAT is what it is… again, no clue….
To make things short, as you said, our CULTURE attaches so much baggage to weight.
Monday, February 5, 2007 ~ at 3:43 am
Love is name of endless bottom wealth
Love is the name of riches which grows only by giving
Love is another name of GOD!
Love is the very fabric this whole universe is made up of!
Love is the very reason i stumbled across this blog!
Lots of love
Thanks for stopping by, Suresh. I love your words and what is behind every word you wrote! Very profound, though I believe that this knowledge is inside each and every one of us and it’s just a matter of gaining access to that part of our consciousness.
Monday, February 5, 2007 ~ at 6:20 pm
Dragonmommie,
This is a beautiful, profound poem.
True, what we think about and what we give expands!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 ~ at 8:38 am
DM, I now join you as card-carrying, genuine *diabetic* I got the results yesterday and it has thrown me into a tail spin of depression and fear. I have always had a fear of anything that can affect my eyesight. And here it is, joining my other enemies of health- fibromyalgia, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and hypothyroidism. BUT I have to cling to the fact that I can do all things in Christ which strengthens me- and so can you! Let’s pray for one another, and spur each other on to victory.
Love in Christ,
Glenys
PS: the fight to regain our health has just begun! //
Yes, it has! Glenys… Diabetes is a terrible decease, but only if we LET it be. This is maybe the one decease that we have a lot of control over whether it gets worse or not…. it’s all up to us. It’s very manageable today with diet and exercise…. which is going to be MY challenge. Pick up books and magazines on diabetes. Do you have Walgreens pharmacy by you? They have a free publication that they put out in the magazine section, or you can ask the pharmacy. At mine I saw it in Spanish and had to ask if they had one in English! I will send you some links that I found.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 ~ at 2:24 pm
Wow. This is really a story about manifesting. What you thought about became reality. You didn’t question the how, it just came to you. You desired guitar lessons, you recieved them, you desired a guitar for $100.00, one was provided to you. Law of Attraction at full play!
So, what are you going to manifest next?
Mark… Yes, you are correct. Funny how different beliefs have their own spin on the same thing. I recognize that and find that my own belief is somehow enriched by the same aspect of other beliefs. I believe that God is watching over me; yet is supplemented by the concept, belief and hopefully practice of manifestation.
I read a book called “The Celestine Prophesy” and it was partly about manifestation in a very real sense. It spoke about synchronicities. I was enthralled by that book and went around looking for the coincidences in my life and tried to follow where they led. Yes, the guitar and lessons was a great example of many such incidences that have happened in my life and (bringing God into it) feel blessed that I have been allowed to recognize them.
The greatest gift of all is, and maybe not many people realize this, is that using this sensibility, we can go back into our past and go over our experiences to see just how it affected our present. Do you know what I mean? Maybe it’s just my own personal revelation, and therefore commonplace, but I am really excited about it. I think that being able to see exactly how our past, our choices, events have molded us into the people we are today. What an insight! What a tool to use for the future; which brings me to your question of what I am going to manifest next. I want to manifest at least 20-30 more years of life to see my son grow up and see what he will become.
Mark, thanks for your kind words about my comments. I feel that you, too, contribute so much insight and wise words to a conversation.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 ~ at 4:30 pm
Thanks so much!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 ~ at 8:39 pm
YaY,
I’m glad you got your guitar. You should do your lullibys on guitar for your son. LOL. God works in mysterious ways, doesn’t He.
Hey justin… Yes, it was a miracle, manifestation, coincidence… whatever you want to call it. God has provided me with many material necessities. I to know how to play Brahm’s Lullibye on the guitar! Ah getting back into it will be a challenge to see exactly what I remember and what I don’t… also to get those calluses grown again will be a painful proposition for a few days… this is one instance were pain is pleasure.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007 ~ at 2:03 am
We think a lot a like on this topic. I wrote a little about it today on my post as well. Thanks for stating it bluntly!
Hope you’ll visit my site, too.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I checked out your article and loved it so much, you are now on my blogroll, but more importantly, you are in my Friend Finder. I love finding jewels at the bottom of this vast sea of WP.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007 ~ at 5:35 pm
DM,
I think that I’m a young DH!!!
I to say I’ve been single all my life would a complete life to myself, but let’s go with 99.5% of my life. I’ve never really had a girlfriend. There was one, girl, Harlie, that had my heart, still does in a special way, but we don’t know if we dated for 2.5 years or for 2 months. It’s complicated but besides that, NO gf’s ever. Hard to believe, with my posts on women, right? (Mentally it’s ALL SOUND, just no action)
Most of that arrtibuted to my long history of shyness, and desirability issues, with being severely overweight. Not having a true social life in high school would have bolstered the later as well.
I can understand about DH, and him having a struggling with “ours”. It’s hard for me to let go of the independence. I know it sounds really selfish, but it’s hard and difficult to take into account, someone else’s, privilege of my time. Not that I have trust issues, but there’s a level of vulnerability and availably that until recently I wasn’t really ready to allow my self to experience. I’m so glad that you and DH are working on that.
Maybe and example would work here. I don’t like feeling pressured to hang out and spend time with someone. Not to say that I don’t want to spend time with that person, but having a take into account my time, is bothersome. I don’t WANT to feel like the other person is a burden on me. If you understand what I’m saying. Great, If you don’t, scratch that example, because it sucks. LOL.
Last try here. It’s had to find the balance between Separate VS Equal and Shared, in a relationship.(not talking about guys night out, or alone time etc) SO stressful, even to think about dealing with, that I don’t even want to bother with it. NO DATING
You said “Maybe it’s harder for people who have been single for a long time and place priority on their personal freedom. What is also a big issue sometimes is that now you must account to the other person”. It’s not losing personal freedom that scares me, its gaining the sense of responsibility to someone (partner), to something (the relationship).
As super single we often wrap ourselves up in “sponges” that soak up all our time. For me it was school. I used it as valid excuse, for not dating. SO much here, wow, this is starting to pour, out more than I expected. I think I’ll stop here; I have a NEW Post to write soon now. (THANKS)
Good news, is that after 23 years, I’m finally think I’m ready to date, ha-ha, so I won’t be 50 like DH. I think that dropping weight, gaining self-awareness, and stepping back for moment and seeing the world for what it is, has helped me a great deal in that area.
Justin… thanks so much for expressing your thoughts here. I’ve been PAINFULLY shy and overweight my whole life and it’s affected me so deeply that I’m still trying to unravel the mess (though making progress). I did not have a true social life until my late thirties, after my divorce, in a divorced people’s self help group. That is truly when my life started. With Eddie… oops he’s outed. I do understand about struggling with “ours”… well sort of. I struggle constantly because my whole life I’ve been comfortable and value all the time to myself. I really miss being able to just pick up at a moments notice and head on out the door, no matter what time of day or night. When I was single, I’d head out to the Jersey shore really late on a Sat. night and literally sleep on the beach. I used to go there, too, to watch the hurricanes roar in. There is no opportunity now to do anything even remotely like that because DH goes to bed at 9pm and of course, the baby is too young for any of that.
The problem with someone trying to work with your feelings of being pressured to hang out is that eventually she might feel like she is the perpetually in the background to something she may not understand. No matter how much we intellectually understand, we women are emotional creatures and will eventually crack under the pressure to feign indifference. All we know is that we want to spend time with the person we are interested in, and it seems to us that you men are drawing further and further away… again, I recommend the “Mars/Venus” books… so informative and very insightful into the male and female behavior. All I can say is that when you meet someone you really like and become intrigued with, you will want to spend more time with them too.
I admire that you saw the problem with the time and decided not to date at all…. and devoting your time to school is a worthy “excuse”! You have probably benefited from your decision as you had no distractions at school…. or at least no female distractions.
Last word… when you are in a relationship, it’s a partnership. Before you even get seriously involved, you’ve got to be willing to give as well as take. It’s good that you are guarding yourself now… but when the right girl comes along,, you will know and you will give her what she needs. You just seem to be that kind of person, Justin… it’s your nature… just follow your nature and be yourself. When paired with the right person, it can be glorious to willingly give your trust, expose your vulnorabilities. Justin… when you do this, it’s got to be to a woman you can completely trust… you are gifting her with your secrets, and ENTRUSTING her to hold them safe… and not abuse that sacred trust. So you can see the importance of not jumping into anything with the wrong person.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007 ~ at 6:37 pm
Wonderful post, DM. I haven’t thought about our marriage being part of God’s plan for the world- yet it is! On reflection, I know how is actually hurts to hear of friends whos’ marriage has failed. Divorce is a sad thing- something I have experienced myself unfortunately. Blessings. Glenys
Hi Glenys… Thanks for your comments. I’ve been divorced before, too. I still thank God for that experience as it put me on the road to discovery.
Thursday, February 8, 2007 ~ at 7:22 am
Is the Matrix stitch hard to do? I want to finish a shawl with that effect instead of a fringe.
Blessings,
Glenys
Thursday, February 8, 2007 ~ at 11:19 am
Dragonmommie,
Wow, yo covered a lot of ground. Well written and well said! Great job! You hit all the key points and then some! You and DH are very fortunate to have each other.
Thanks tobeme, I needed that! While writing it seemed that my mind was all over the place trying to get all this down, let alone in an intelligent, understandable (for others) way. I tried not to sound like I was on a soapbox, but that was unavoidable since I get emotional when I write sometimes. There is so very much to take into consideration, and I tried to keep it generalized but not sure if I succeeded.
As you can see, sometimes I write more than at other times. I get to go out by myself on Tuesday nights so I write then either at the library or Starbucks (yes!).
Thursday, February 8, 2007 ~ at 1:10 pm
Thank-you for referring us to “Dying Arts”. I loved her writing and the way she expressed the inner workings of her marriage.
You’re welcome… I love her writing, too.
Thursday, February 8, 2007 ~ at 1:58 pm
Marriage has become a personal arrangement more than a social institution. I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or bad thing but it works better for me. Marriage is what two people make it.
I was interviewed as part of a documentary on gay parents recently, because my daughter is friends with a girl whose parents are lesbian. They are great parents and their relationship appears very warm and supportive. They are Buddhists.
I’m not real keen on saying that what works for me in my personal life should work for others. If you are happy in your marriage, I’ll celebrate that with you, but I’ll celebrate the happy union and nuturing family units no matter what their formula for success is.
Thanks for your comments, NH. I guess I was speaking from my own perspective and I can get pretty emotional… but you are right when you say that any “happy union and nurturing family units no matter what their formula for success”, should be celebrated.
Thursday, February 8, 2007 ~ at 7:06 pm
Dragonmommie,
Good writing comes from passion! When you are passionate, that is when you write some of your best stuff. With passion comes less care on format and more on what is truly on your heart. You are a very good writer! I love your passion!
Thank you so much, TBM! You know, I simply can’t do anything unless I am inspired most of the time. That is part of the reason that I never did anything commercially with my art. I could not make money from a gift from God that was meant to share. Funny, when I write like this, it’s like shooting from the hip… pow pow pow!
Thursday, February 8, 2007 ~ at 7:18 pm
You know, my guitars were a huge part of my life, as was playing bands, writing songs, recording…Since dudelet’s birth, it all stopped, like someone hit an ‘off’ switch. But lately, I’ve been getting this kind of itch and things keep happening to nudge. The other week I was even bullied into giving a guitar lesson to a friends eight year old. Which was lovely – watching her discover what a real chord was on the new three-quarter size classical she’d got. Dig out that guitar and thrash it! (And maybe mix a little Neil Young in with all the above, Out of Blue off Rust Never Sleeps, perhaps…)
Thanks for stopping by, (un)relaxeddad… I appreciate your comments…. and stirring up my memory! I sure do remember Rust Never Sleeps… oh how about Blue on Black by Kenny Wayne Shepherd? Know what I’m talk’in about? I really dig that one! What happened with me was sort of the same thing. I looked back and it was like an off switch as far as I was concerned. Maybe it was because I was a bit afraid that I could not progress with my playing… that and the fact that there is no one around to play with. You learn so much from jamming with other people. I am glad that you got the chance to get with the guitar again… they are our souls in a way. I don’t know about thrashing it, but I will softly pick those strings and build up until it gets loud…. ok maybe a thrash here and there.
Friday, February 9, 2007 ~ at 1:05 am
You know, sometimes they really just don’t stop and think. In fact, a lot of the time. Anyway, here’s some proof of that statement from my site – http://dyingarts.wordpress.com/2007/02/08/fun-times-in-the-delivery-room/
Good luck with the big day – I can’t wait to hear!
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comments… Yes, I read your post last night but didn’t comment because it was late and I wanted to read more. That was so funny! At first, I thought, in your heightened state of awareness, that you were smelling the sandwich through the bag…. oh man! You know, I am not a person who has sharp reactions to things.. unless it’s a build up… but DH is such a “giving” person that I can’t understand his frugal-ness sometimes. I guess that is one of the differences between men and women. One thing I’ll tell you is that he gives me a night out during the week and gives me some $$. If timed well, it could last from 3pm-10pm, so that is a major diffuser for me.
Friday, February 9, 2007 ~ at 1:08 am
ahhh, you made me blush! Thanks so much!
It’s just fun to share isn’t it?
Let’s face it, this is just about as close to “getting out” as it comes for me these days! I realized at Kindergarten lunch the other day when the food tasted soooo good to me and I cleaned my plate, that I really did need to get out a little more
You are so right about this being the closest to getting out. When I write, it’s also late into the night, but I know that I really should go to bed with hubby (9pm). I’ll tell him that I should (graciously) stay up and let him sleep! And he promptly agrees!
As I mentioned in my other response to your other comment, I get a night out once a week, but sometimes I don’t get it when the sh*t hits the fan, or for scheduling reasons… usually DH will (un?)wittingly schedule something on that night and I’ll go off…. because I really need that time out and if I miss it, I get really stressed around here… though I only have one almost 2 year old boy. Hey, I’m still trying to adjust to this mommie thing. I loved your post about the ink… I showed the pics to DH and I said, “this is going to be us”… he is response was, “that’s not Gabriel…..” Duh!
Friday, February 9, 2007 ~ at 1:44 am
Good link and great post, Thanks for sharing!
Thank you… and thanks for commenting!
Saturday, February 10, 2007 ~ at 12:40 am
It will be very interesting to see what happens. Hope for your sake that it is not White Castle. All in all, sounds like you and DH have a wonderful life together.
Yeah, me too! Honestly, I can’t see this being a joke because I’ve only known him to be a very serious guy, like he’s so busy that the jokes fly right by him!
Sunday, February 11, 2007 ~ at 10:00 am
Dragonmommie,
The white castle thing baffles me a little bit too. Maybe he’s planning somewhere else, and that was just a decoy…
Just really came by to say hello and Happy Sunday morning, and to thank you so much for your kind comment on tobeme’s blog re: giving when it backfired…
I loved that man so much, and have no idea how to fix the pain I caused him by stepping in to help that hurt his pride…
Anyway, wishing you and your love DH much love this week.
Hi Loving Annie… thanks for stopping by… yeah, it baffles me too, yet, I am not surprised! He is not romantic in the traditional way, he does nothing in the “traditional” way… which makes for surprises and challenge in trying to guess what he is going to do. Regarding your “incident”, I am sorry that it worked out that way. You doing something out of love, and him taking it in the wrong way… but one thing to remember is that most men are vulnerable in the area of being able to provide, whether it’s for themselves or being the main provider for a family. Draw attention to a failure to be successful in this area will severely affect the man. But I have always been an advocate for getting things out in the open right away, by attempting constructive conversation. I never know how to start something like this in a “pretty” way, so I just come right out and blurt, “I want to talk to you”, and I get his attention and then I get out what want to say. However it comes out, it comes out and a dialog is started.
Monday, February 12, 2007 ~ at 3:39 pm
I think its really funny. If it was me, I would just shrug and bring my own meal. Because, I know I could not eat the food either. Looking forward to hearing what happens. I love your wedding story.
Thanks, seandbe… Yeah, I’d be laughing, too, if it wasn’t ME…. ha… just kidding. We will probably spend the night home since there is a big storm coming in tomorrow night. Perfect for me… I’ve already told him that I can make a nice dinner here. Gabriel is still sick, so we really shouldn’t take him out anyway.
Monday, February 12, 2007 ~ at 8:21 pm
DM,
Ahh the tales of DH.. What a guy. I bet he keeps you on your toes, with his near iconoclastic behaviors in regards to holidays and special events. Keeps is interesting I’m sure. I to await the update. I’m with Seanbe, take your own meal.. LOL
Hey Justin… I missed you around here. Hope you are relaxing those busy fingers. Yeah… the Drake keeps me on my toes. As I told seandbe, we will probably stay inside if the snow coming is really bad… I will definitely take my own food to WC and if asked why, I can’t vouch that what I’ll say will be Valentine’s Day material.
Monday, February 12, 2007 ~ at 11:02 pm
Just came by to visit again, Dragonmommie ! hope all is well with you.
Thanks, LA… I am doing well, thank you. This medication that I am on is affecting me, however, and yesterday was a doosy. It’s supposed to level out at around 2 weeks of being on it, so I am really looking forward to that. Usually, I do most of my writing on Tuesday nights as that is when I get my night outs…. but I am always floating around here when time permits so that I can keep up with reading other blogs and commenting.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007 ~ at 7:10 pm
DM,
Sorry I sparked you. HEHE Thanks for sharing, this story with us. I agree label do hurt sometimes, and they can cause us to carry scars for a long time. I’m glad your already do concerned with your son’s possible future problems.. AWW
Nope… you triggered memories and I am grateful that you did. Hopefully, someone will read it and they will either identify with the victim part, or it will cause a “teaser” to realize how they are affecting their “target”. That is my goal, and the whole point to my blog, WHENEVER I get this personal here.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ~ at 1:50 am
Oh Dragonmommie,
My heart goes out to you. How those wounds from childhood scar and hurt… How we long for love, (even in the form of friendship and acceptance from our classmates)and when we are rejected, we close down and our souls starve.
I too for years cried silent tears, thinking no-one would answer, not believing my aching heart would be heard.
How kind it is that you look now to make sure that your son knows you NOTICE what matters to him, and truly see what affects him.
Blessings to you.
Hi Loving Annie… Your words really touched me deep inside. You really know what I am talking about…. I felt exactly how you said it, “I too for years cried silent tears, thinking no-one would answer, not believing my aching heart would be heard.” So many nights I stared into the darkness and felt the despair that no child should ever know. It did seem as if nobody noticed or thought just how deeply affected I was. But those days are gone, and for real, nobody remembered so I had put it behind me, too. Now, if I am to transform my experience into a good thing, I need to take my experience into the future, and be that vigilant mother for my son. How I plan on reaching that goal, for starters, is to make myself accessible to my son by keeping lines of communication open, listen attentively, and being open to anything he’s got to say.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ~ at 2:37 pm
And in doing that as a vigilant mother for your son, you are also healing the part of you that was wounded, Dragonmommie !
Giving love often helps us heal ourselves a little bit, too…
Left you special blessings today on the upper right corner of my blog under the heart…
And added you as a link. You helped me when you ‘talked’ to me about what Mike may have been feeling when I paid his taxes… I needed that to understand…
Happy Valentine’s Day to you –
LA… thanks so much for your comments. I really appreciate hearing that something I said helped you. Yes, I believe that being able to apply my experiences to help someone else is very healing for both. Thanks so much for the special blessings… I will check it out!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ~ at 2:45 pm
(p.s. it was from Naked Soul’s Feb 10th post on helping….)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ~ at 3:06 pm
Dragonmommie,
It is sad how things happen to us, and how a group of people can so easily label us. I know that I was guilty of doing just that to people when I was younger. I wish I could take back some of the hurtful things I may have said to some people as I was growing up.
We have all been labeled in some negative way at one time or another and as you know, it is a hurtful, awful thing!
I am glad to hear that you did get past this time in your life and that you will pass on your lessons learned to your son.
Yes, it’s very sad.. I find that if I see some sort of meanness playing out on the street, my heart will cry out for the taunted child. I will say that I am glad that I wrote this and that you read it. I didn’t know you when you were younger, but I can tell you that NOW you are a very sensitive person. I like to think that your past had a part to play in the person you are today, whether or not if it was a “regrettable” past. So, you can be thankful for every part of your past because ALL of it formed the person you are today.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ~ at 3:06 pm
BTW – thank-you for the reference to my article.
BTW – thank you for commenting about your past. It really means a lot to me.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ~ at 3:15 pm
Hello,
Thanks for sharing such personal stuff. I think that is a common goal in the blogging world, that a reference to and remembrance of one’s own pain can help another avoid such pain. I hate labeling and my daughter is hitting all this in middle school right now. It’s an exhausting (mentally) job to help her through this time, so I empathize with you there, too.
I’m on pins and needles to hear the outcome of Valentines and the possible White Castle. Do tell!
Hey Houkhouse! Thank you for your comments. I really do believe that we can put our pain to service and turn it into a healing force for both the receiver and the giver. I really feel for your daugther… whatever those labels are, they are definitely not fun to wear… even if it seems trivial to us adults, it is a really big deal to these really sensitive, impressionable kids.
I am not so sure that I will have an interesting V-Day story as we are not really planning on going out (thank goodness)… the snow has put a damper on it since our baby is really just getting over being sick and I don’t want to take him out yet. DH did call in today because he doesn’t like to drive on icey roads to get to work. He is commuting at 5 am and his experience has been with ice that early in the morning. So far, we’ve had a really nice day… special, relaxing… as much as it can be with an “almost two-year old” running around. It’s been really great for me, because DH took over care giving for the first part of the day. Baby is napping now and we’ll see about what happens later. I will write soon with as many play by plays as I can muster that will not be offensive to family viewing!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ~ at 3:43 pm
((((DM)))) What a touching account and one that so many of us can relate to. All of us are still ‘children’ on the inside – at times – don’t you think??? Even though we have healed ourselves from such childhood wounds, when we touch the memory of them, they can still feel tender…like a bruise. At least, this has been true for me. I can recount a story and still feel choked up by it – although mentally I am aware of what happened and can take steps to make sure I don’t respond from that Wounded Child’s place any more.
Hi Grace… thanks for your comments. They really sum it all up. Yes, I find that a lot of people can relate to this kind of pain at one time or another in their lives. Yes, we ARE still children in the inside. It can be beautiful and it can be sad, however, I would not give up being a child on the inside for anything. Don’t respond from that Wounded Child’s place, but respond from that Childlike Innocence place.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 ~ at 11:26 pm
DM,
I’m glad that DH gave your a day off from DJ(Drake Junior). Also glad that you’ve found peace with DH and his “present”, (himself). I think you guys have something amazing, something that manay people spend their whole life times searching for. Me personally I’d take Shrimp, over White Castle anyday, but then again I’ve never been to a White Castle..hmmmm
How old are you, Justin? You might be able to squeeze some White Castle in before you hit 40, because after then, most certainly they will bomb your stomach and rip right outta you at light speed!…. Thanks so much for your comments. Yeah, our day just unfolded. BD works so much that he was happy to spend the day with LD. Later on, he said that it was a great day being spent exclusively with his family…and that felt kind of nice. Yes, we do have something amazing, but you know, you cannot see it on the surface. We have a pretty mundane life, over all, him working and I spending the days with LD… even on Saturdays and often Sundays, too; but we always go to church together unless LD is sick, like last week. But, we both DID spend our whole lives waiting for what we have now and it was worth the wait… This year, Big Drake will be 52 and I will be 46. We are married 3 yrs.
Thursday, February 15, 2007 ~ at 7:47 am
DM, it sounds like you put it in the loving perspective of wanting to be happy rather than being “right”. You made lemonade out of lemons !
Maybe staying home was his way of giving you a Valentine…
What happens if you tell him that it matters to you to have the holidays acknowledged ? That even if he is anti-commercial, you like getting the attention on those days ?
Truly, it does bring happiness when you can focus on the gratitude…
Glad DH babysat DJ, and that you had such a good dinner, and that you feel so loved with this man. A gentle, no-games man and good father who inspires you is a gift indeed…
Hey LA! Yeah, I think that was his valentine, too, but it seemed to “evolve” into the gift after I gave him mine. This was a pretty good situation because I think the “guilt” syndrome kicked in right after… though I was careful not to make him feel that way, myself. Usually, he DOES get me a card, so I think what happened was that he procrastinated and ended up with nothing. Or, maybe the laptop this Christmas was gift enough for the whole year! See, I can’t be so picky, now. Gratitude has been a big part of our relationship from the very beginning and it’s something I’ve never experienced before… it makes all the difference.
Thursday, February 15, 2007 ~ at 11:52 am
HellOOO Dragonmommie.
I have published your short story a little ahead of time… (hours before what was planned). I am running out of Internet time this week (shit). I think your short story rocks and I think you should promote it…. I think you should also add something in your “about me” that’s in your account on my web site… people will want to know who you are, they will be VERY curious. You can put there a link to your blog (in your “about me”). I have arranged things so that your about me will show beneath your short story… when people see the full view of it. Try it. No about me is showing now because that field is empty in your account. I am quite sick now (urinary tract infection, STILL). I won’t be visiting for days… not because I am sick but because I am running out of Internet time… (LOL, I am pathetic). I haven’t written anything myself. I have removed any deadline from the writing “event” so if anyone else is interested to tell us a story… it’s fascinating. I am sitting back and reading. Good stuff…
Thanks for the heads up, Chill. I will go over later and check it out and add my About Me section… This is exciting and was hoping it would be appropriate since it’s just something from my past. I was just thinking that it was about time to check back with your site. Hope you feel better soon.
Thursday, February 15, 2007 ~ at 12:17 pm
How old do you think I am.. LOL.. I’m at the old age of 23.
I knew you were young, Justin… I am a little bit of a drama queen at times! True about the belly bombs, though.
Thursday, February 15, 2007 ~ at 1:29 pm
HI, DM!!
I’m so proud of you, on behalf of all the Sistah-hood out there! LOL
You Go, GIRL! Listen, not keeping score and not being resentful when things don’t happen the way I ‘want’ them to is one of my BIG challenges. You have inspired me to look at my guy through (re)newed vision.
Thanks, Grace… I was a little hesitant writing about this because I didn’t want people to get a bad impression about my DH because he really has a generous nature… just a little steadfast in his idiosyncrasies. I get so much from him every day that I feel special already. Men are so strange sometimes, you really do need to look beyond the surface to see what is really happening with them. (((Sorry all you male readers out there!)))
Thursday, February 15, 2007 ~ at 5:54 pm
Every couple makes there own way with how to do romance. I’m assuming that you’ve already tried asking for a VD celebration before just giving up, and if so, making peace with how he is is really really wise.
I do wonder about his nonchalant answers, though. Maybe just a tad too disconnected from what you might want or feel. What do you think?
Hi NH… thanks for stopping by. DH is not very romantic. You are correct in that I did give him a replacement idea, instead of candy… but it was a no go. He does have a problem with memory… but still. I recognize that I do not “need” anything to feel special… but it would have been nice. I realized that when my sister was telling me about what SHE got for the day…. a really expensive diamond necklace. As she was talking, I realized that she needs that kind of stuff and I never really did. NH… I am telling you, the man can be very sensitive at times, then times like this, he just doesn’t get it. Still, we did have a nice day yesterday and there was nothing wrong with that.
I’ve been thinking about this. Society places such an importance on gifts…. and people get rated by the monetary value of the gifts they give. People are judged whether they love the person or not, by the gifts they give. I think that is totally preposterous…. and DH rebels against that and well, my foot is still a little in the mainstream.
Friday, February 16, 2007 ~ at 12:05 am
The wash and dryer eats socks.. I believe if I were to dismantle either, I would find a land of the socks.. Think about laundr-o-mats.. 100’s of socks.. I wonder how many washer/dryfer break because of something caused by the accumculation of socks..
I think it’s the accumulated lint that causes dryers to break down. If you think about it, the socks will just stay in the basin… but I guess you are right that it’s all in the long term. I can see a little sock getting caught up in the core of the agitator. Did you know that there is a whole world of people out there who make paper from laundry lint?
Friday, February 16, 2007 ~ at 8:29 am
Oh what little tykes can come up with! My papa would always pin his socks together with safety pins before putting them in the wash that way I suppose he would loose both instead of one! However, by doing so he and my Nanny never had the lost sock syndrome.
Hi Nicole… My mom didn’t do anything like that, she just got aggravated by the lost socks! I got the brainstorm, only recently, to wash the tiny socks in a lingerie bag. Worked out perfectly this morning… but with all those socks, I could not put all of them in there at once.
Friday, February 16, 2007 ~ at 8:52 am
Little rascal ! I bet those A.W.O.L. socks are all nice and clean and fresh-smelling now ! Hope you have a good Friday, Dragonmommie !
I enjoyed your Tonka story. How nice of you to have thought of a present like that – and it was cute how long it took to be found – and cool he enjoyed it alongside his big truck ! Things given with thought often make the best memories !
Yeah… like his dad, it’s hard to get mad at him… Sometimes I don’t know whether to get mad or get proud. So far, my Friday is going pretty well. Tomorrow I have a Pampered Chef party to go to and then Sunday, LD’s godmother and husband will come over for a visit… should be nice.
Yes, that was such a sparkily time for me… the tonka. The anticipation made every day sparkle with magic!
Friday, February 16, 2007 ~ at 9:50 am
So cute. Just love the picture.
Thanks, seandbe… I just couldn’t resist taking a pic of it, mainly to show dad!
Friday, February 16, 2007 ~ at 11:27 am
Dragonmommie, I added you to my links because I enjoy visiting here so much… Between the music and your writings, it is interesting and feels good.
You are welcome to come visit my blog if you would like ! It, like me, is a work in progress !
Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend,
Genuinely
Loving Annie
Hi Loving Annie… Yes, I’ve been to your site and think it’s very nice. I love the fancy letters at the beginning of paragraphs… gives it a real nice feel. Thanks for the special blessings the other day! I don’t usually comment unless it bursting out of me, right then and there.
Friday, February 16, 2007 ~ at 7:10 pm
Socks are one of the great mysteries of the universe!
I am sure some day we will find out where all the socks end up and we will say, hmmm, that makes no sense! Ha.
I think there is a Sock Underground where they escape to so they don’t have to sit on smelly feet!…. the kid’s got smelly feet!
Friday, February 16, 2007 ~ at 10:43 pm
The dryer eats them. I’m convinced.
Hi MotherPie… thanks for stopping by!
Uh Oh… it’s the dryer monster! Oh, hey… I found the Cleaner Plate Club through your blog… thanks a lot! I posted links to her site and Responsible Shopper.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 ~ at 9:01 am
Dragonmommie,
Glad you and your baby hadn’t eaten any of the bad peanut butter. The ConAgra Foods thing is appallling with all their flagrant violations. YUCK. They should be shut down.
The paper popcorn bag thing was enough to scare me off microwave porpcorn forever more.
(Thanks for the link to The Cleaner Plate blog – it is interesting !)
Hi LA… Yes, The Cleaner Plate blog is very interesting. I just wish I had more time right now to check it out further. This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one. I am just lucky that I have cut way down on processed foods, mostly because of the high sodium content… I don’t have a high tolerance for it… so the micro popcorn was never really in the picture… BUT I love peanut butter and lucky there as well because I never got sick. Purchased it a few months ago, maybe that is the reason.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 ~ at 3:33 pm
uhoh, my son is wearing yesterday’s socks…..is that bad??? ha ha
Hi pluckymama… Love your name! My son is always pulling off his socks. This morning he actually motioned for me to get the latest pair that is down there… but now that I know the secret, I will leave them there until it’s worth my while squeezing in there to retrieve socks. My OWN socks are still MIA, but I found one of them today in my son’s portacrib….. does that tell you something? hmmmm….
Saturday, February 17, 2007 ~ at 4:34 pm
There was also a salmonella warning on Dole cantalope from Costa Rica. I was very ill last night and today after eating some, even though the batch number was not one that is recognised as having been affected.
Our food supply is very compromised. I like to eat only organic but don’t always.
Hi NH… I am sorry to hear about your getting sick. Thanks for the heads up, we eat cantaloupe here and I will warn my DH not to get Dole from Costa Rica… or just not get any at all. I agree with you 100% about our food supply being compromised. For financial reasons, we don’t eat a lot of organic food, but I can see how it’s much better than what we do eat. I try to get healthy food… and there ARE certain products I insist on getting organic. There is so much out there, though… the supermarkets have really been working overtime lately to create whole organic sections in the isles and in the produce section.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 ~ at 3:53 pm
I went shopping today at Wal-mart and they had cleared off the PB off the shelf execpt for Jiff.. They had signs up and everything, explain why the PB was missing. Everyone looked to glim about the missing PB..
I’ve not been to Wal-mart lately but I can imagine the stir it must be having on the public.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 ~ at 7:57 am
Dragonmommie,
All that matters is what works for the two of you –
I agree… and thanks for your comments!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 ~ at 8:08 am
Good Tuesday morning Dragonmommie,
Very thought provoking post…. I also had a lot of hair growing up… I had electrolysis done on my face to remove my ’sideburns’ and ‘chin whiskers’ and ‘moustache’…
All I know is that it helped me feel less self-conscious, and begin to erase the stigma I felt inside about my looks…
I’ve also had laser hair removal done in my bikini area, and wax my legs once a month, even in my late 40’s…
I don’t regret doing it because it makes me feel more feminine, less ashamed or awkward… I need to do what will support me emotionally, and if I felt prettier, I felt better about myself.
I beat myself up enough over the years of school rejections — if this heals it to some degree, I am glad to finally claim a sense of comfort about how I look in the world and in my mirror….
Now I don’t think about it, almost like not having acne any more, because it isn’t there…
Hi LA…
I know that everyone has got to do what makes them comfortable. I am glad that you found what works for you. I always wore makeup because I like how my eyes look with it on… then after Gabriel came, I did not have the time for it anymore. I’ve only just recently been making it a point to put it on, and even then I only do it because I can do enough in 5 minutes or so. I also have a vanity streak concerning the hair on my head. I’ve always connected my femininity with it and have always kept it long, waist length… so I do share feminine concerns and I do take steps to “claim a sense of comfort”.
I am just saying that I wonder why we must resort to these things in the first place. Think about all the things we must do just to feel comfortable with ourselves… and what we are DOING is altering our appearance. I hate that we, ourselves, have been conditioned to an image that is not truly ourselves. Men certainly do not go half or even a quarter of what we do. Most men will groom their hair and shave their faces and that is it. Even after what I wrote, I STILL sometimes feel that I am ugly or old or that it’s a curse because of the hair. I even shaved my forearms a few times because I was tired of all the dark hair there… but when I think about all the time and energy spent when I could be doing something else.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 ~ at 11:36 am
DM,
It’ perfecly fine to feel the way you do about DH. Yes people will judge him and say that’s he not a “thoughtful” husband etc. They will say that your acceptance of the issue, is really just you lying to yourself. They wish they could be less materialistic, like yourself, and they can’t. They tell you how you should feel, because that’s how they would feel.
People wonder why 60% of marriages fail. Hmm maybe because of this thing we call “the norm” isn’t quite working well, don’t you think. Personally I think you and DH, have soemthing pretty special. So keep up the good work.
Thanks for your comments, Justin… You said a lot of what I could not put into words. They will say that your acceptance of the issue, is really just you lying to yourself. That is one of my thoughts of what people most certainly think… but if it’s one thing that I was NOT, coming into this marriage, was blind to his ways OR lying to myself. I so like to think that God is molding my life… and HE did that with this issue as well. I never got any of this special stuff, except from my dad, and so, I have come to know that this stuff really doesn’t matter by way of survival… meaning, “I had BETTER think this way if I am to survive emotionally!” Ha! Isn’t that the truth? But really, NOT having someone special for so long has taught me how to really appreciate and be grateful for what I do have now… and I must say, DH is a wonderful man…. well, I guess I’ve said that already. How could I possibly regret or have resentment against the life I had before when it brought me to who I am now and bring the wonders of my life into my scope of vision?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 ~ at 11:55 am
DM,
First, thanks for sharing such a personal part of your life.
You bring up several great points. Why is it that we condition ourselves to a certain image. It’s almost like we are programmed to to “dislike” the US. I think don’t think we are ever truly satisfied with ourselves. I think that the motive behinds some of this alter, is the fear of limitation. People fear, that if they aren’t thin enough, muscular enough, or have great skin, or etc etc, they will be limited, in the work place, with relationships, with society, with just about anything.
As far as shaving, I think they ladies to have it harder, but we’ll catching up.. The My generation of males are here. We’re a bunch of chest, butt, arm, back shaving guys now.. It’s scary.. I don’t how you all do it.. If i didn’t have an electric razor.. I’d never shave my face.
I think we ARE programed to dislike “US”… It’s like society wants us all to be perfect mannequins with no identity of our own.
Ha! Sometimes I use my hubby’s electric! Wow, I thought only body building competitors shaved their whole bodies… I can’t believe that people are doing this. What is so bad about hair? I mean, I can see shaving off everything to compete because muscle definition must be visible… but regular guys? Maybe they do it so that their women won’t get hair in their mouths? I should talk… dare i say that DH shaves the hair around his naval!…. Nah… not so often any more..
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 ~ at 6:11 pm
I am sure that the people who judge you should probably take a much closer look at their relationships. One day does not represent a relationship!
You and Drake are very fortunate to have each other.
tobme… You are so right… In my own family, I have the urge to “protect” DH because my first choice for a husband was a disaster for me and my whole family. That is a long story that just might make another post… long one! So, my family was “watching” us/me very closely… and sometimes I can still catch the motivation behind some of their questions… but every time, I stress that I am very happy with my drake.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 ~ at 5:32 pm
Dragonmommie,
Happy Ash Wednesday! This is somewhat of a bizzare ritual. I understand it very well and recognize it’s purpose, however I believe that most people go through the motions of Lent, without really achieving any greater connection to God as it is intended. The whole not eating meat is also very bizzare and has no real basis on ones faith as I can see it.
I am happy to hear that you are working on your ego and giving to charity, both great endeavors, both of which will help you to further connect with your source.
tobeme… HEY… it’s only, what, 39 more days till Easter? Ha, a joke… I don’t claim to understand everything, but I “get it”…. I like to think. I understand that a lot of people need outward signs and symbols of the Divine… they just cannot comprehend that all that stuff is not needed…. something that is probably propagated and nurtured by the institution to foster dependence upon itself. “Thou shall not make unto thee a graven image”. Images are necessary for some people, I learned that, but what of this commandment? Is God going to make any exceptions? The Hispanic community at our parish utilize such implements. Now that I am diabetic, I am sure that God will understand.
Oh, the reason for the no meat was to boost the fishing industry either in Medieval times or earlier… though the pope at the time did not SAY it was for that reason.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 ~ at 7:40 pm
DM… I really LOVED your self-description of being a Catholic. I don’t know alot about traditional Catholism, but you sound like a FANTASTIC Catholic to me! So fully of Spirit and Love and Positive Energy. Connecting to God via your HEART is what is really important, isn’t it??? HAPPY LENT!
Hi Grace…
I am certainly not a “fantastic” catholic… but trying my best to follow Christ. We strive to be “Christ-like”. I think that is the whole thing in a nutshell.
There is a Christian (or Catholic) version of reiki called “Centering Prayer”. I attended a day retreat and found it amazing. The effect I got was a little different from the reiki, but similar. Everything was done with the heart, meditation, prayer… or I guess, prayer as we know it.
I remember reading something that Jesus said. It was something like this: “If you sin with a woman in your thoughts (or heart), you have already sinned”…. even though the act was not committed. I took that “to heart” and believe it 1000% (not a typo). Jesus placed an immense importance on thoughts and what is in a person’s heart, maybe even more so than words and deeds.
See the correlation between this and other spiritual pursuits?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 ~ at 7:41 pm
By the way…I had to laugh. I took your Presidents Test yesterday with the 20something questions. I came out as Sadam Hussein!!! Today? With only 9 Questions? Look at me! LOL
What Famous Leader Are You?personality tests by similarminds.com
(hope that comes out on your end after I hit the “Reply Button”. If not..it’s GANDHI! LOLOL
No, it didn’t come out… it just went to the menu of all the tests that are available. I think that is a cool site! I love taking tests as long as there is no math involved!
Thursday, February 22, 2007 ~ at 6:15 pm
Excellent article! It is so important to remember to take care of each other each day, to look into each other eyes, to smile as you pass each other, to reach out a touch each other, it is the little things that make it all work!
Thank you, so much! I agree… I had to drastically alter, or more appropriate to say that I learned how the Drake likes his affection. I still follow my own style, but I now have more ways to show my affection. You know, in the beginning, I balked at it because I “like” my way… but I am just too physical to do it my way all the time. I think it overwhelms him, so I incorporated subtleties, like the “looks”, the light touches… and now it seems MORE erotic, less is more. It’s like a secret we both share… I think I can better understand the romance between men and women of bygone eras… that is how I feel we are. Not overt, not pawing each other all the time… but I feel the romance more now than I ever did…. and we really don’t get mushy or gushy or anything like that…. strange….. and wonderful.
Friday, February 23, 2007 ~ at 2:37 pm
A problem which you discuss on your site is very important for me. Thank you for your resume.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I am glad that I was able to help. What was your problem?
Friday, February 23, 2007 ~ at 3:07 pm
Dragonmommie,
Thank you for the very kind comment to me on Grace’s blog. That reassurance meant a lot to me.
Hope you and DH have a good weekend.
Annie
p.s. great article above… May it be true for me to remember and act upon one day soon…
Loving Annie… You are very welcome. She is right, you know. You are definitely NOT ALONE. Just relax and enjoy LIFE. Remember that your thoughts are powerful and they will manifest. Desires, hopes, dreams… but it will come about in it’s own time, not ours. My DH is more than I could have ever hoped for. Maybe that statement is a mirror of what my own self esteem was back then, not thinking that I was worthy of a man who is so good to me…. but SOMEBODY does think that I am worthy, so I do, too…. and YOU are, too. You will see.
Monday, February 26, 2007 ~ at 3:58 pm
I was not really preparing anything to give up for Lent. Then my daughter asked if I would go to church with her on Ash Wednesday, “of course” I said. And I realized just how much I need to do on my spiritual side. Lent often comes and gos with out too much though.
This year was different for me. I had to take a look at what Lent really is supposed to be about. I though, it is good to have the church remind us of what Jesus did for us.
Thanks for stopping by! Yeah, I wasn’t going to do anything for Lent, either… but then, listening to the sermon on Ash Wed., I got some really good ideas that I found appropriate for “me”. For me, Lent must be a time I strive to find ways of getting closer to God.
Monday, February 26, 2007 ~ at 11:36 pm
Ain’t love grand?
GrandSTANDING Grand!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 ~ at 11:55 pm
DM,
I love those comment-to-own-posts of yours. I do agree that acknowlement of pain, is vital for personal grows. It’ like a behavioral controller. Once we experience, pain, acknowledge it, then we can learn from it, grow from it, and do all we can to stay away from it. I think there’s a difference between pain and suffering. I see pain as the emotional or physical blow, but suffering is the duration and what you let it do to you..
Your connection to Jesus Christ, was absolutely brilliant. You’re right, Christ didn’t have to suffer, but he made that choice, for us. That is THE difference.
Hi Justin… I can’t help it! When I start writing comments to people, I write TOO MUCH! You are correct when you say that there is a difference between pain and suffering…. the difference is that pain is unavoidable… we do not have control over whether we experience it or not… BUT suffering is totally under our control and we choose to suffer or not.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 ~ at 9:51 am
Good Wednesday morning, Dragonmommie.
Very thought provoking post… So true that when I have suffered something and can truly understand, it lets the other person feel safe, and there is some genuine healing there…
It just seems like such a price tag to pay, all that grief and pain… Genuine compassion just ought to come from kindness and patience and empathy, without beibng accompanied by such anguish…
Makes me wish I didn’t undrstand the heartache so well. Sometimes it feels like it will never go away… I can’t see much transformation/a way into the light with it now…
But I admire your ability to have done so….
You said that suffering is optional… How do you make the ache go away, Dragonmommie ? It’s been 3 months for me now, and there is still part of every day when I cry. Not as long as before, but the tears are still there…
Sorry for such a blue comment…. I should try to be more cheerful. It comes and goes…
LA… Do not apologize for a blue comment… it’s okay. First I’ll say that, being Catholic, I now look back to Christ’s suffering and see my own as trivial as compared to his. Also, think that without the grief and pain, there is really no way to empathize with someone else’s pain. The anguish, the pain, just means that we are human and are capable of “feeling”. The transformation takes place “afterwards”. After we experience the pain and have gotten to the point where we can look at it and examine where exactly it’s coming from, on the inside. I can’t really explain that part better… but after we can understand, and I keep saying “after” because we need to get to the point where we can talk about it constructively, in a comparable light to someone else’s pain. We share our pain with someone who is hurting and hopefully, what we manage to say strikes a healing chord in that person. This is the transformation.. being able to USE our pain to heal someone else’s pain. That is the blessing…. well, at least through my eyes. The light warms us when we are able to look back on our pain with gratitude… then there is no more pain, just memories of it, but very real and clear ones.
All this takes time and it took about 30 years of mine to stop feeling sorry for myself; and maybe to an extent, this is me in survival mode. I mean, I really would have gone off the deep end if I had not begun to perceive my pain in this way. Whatever it is, it’s a blessing to me and gives me purpose and knowing that all that pain had a divine purpose, allows me to be grateful for it. I strongly recommend a book called, “Life of the Beloved”, by Henri J. Nouwen. I wrote a few posts mentioning his books, so if you do a search on my blog, you will find them all, but here is one that has the Henri J. Nouwen Society link on it.
Loving Annie… the tears will come. Let them come. One thing I did not mention was that I always allowed myself the time to suffer. The real trick is to not let that go on for too long. I usually gave myself a weekend, then on Monday, picked up the pieces to start anew.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 ~ at 3:31 pm
Thank you, Dragonmommie… Will go find the book you mentioned and get it on Amazon if I can…
Knowing it took you 30 years at least makes me stop beating up on myself so badly. I always assume everyone else heals so quickly, weeks or a month or two. And it is good to know that I don’t have to pretend I don’t hurt, that it ois truly okay to cry and to feel…
And that yes, eventually I will move through it, and not just survive, but thrive…
I need to become as compassionate to myself as I am to others… Maybe that is the purpose of that pain, and if that were to become a constant, I could even be grateful for what brought me to it…
I appreciate your giving to me this way. It really helps.
The endless circle continues, doesn’t it, with its unexpected loveliness…
Blessings to you and your family…
Genuinely,
Annie
Annie… knowing that I have eased your pain, if even a little, is truly a blessing upon me.
Friday, March 2, 2007 ~ at 4:21 am
When did you write to BlogDesk? I can’t find your mail in the support-forum or in my inbox.
I wrote the same night as I wrote in this forum… not last night, the night before. I registered myself and posted, or maybe commented, and maybe that wasn’t the best thing to do.
I am so sorry. I just tried to search for my post and it came up empty. I am getting that 403 error code. thank you for taking the time to get in touch. I will go over there to read up on the others’ with the same problem and see what I can do for myself.
Friday, March 2, 2007 ~ at 11:38 am
DM,
Sounds like you are very busy. I am sure the party will go great. FYI – Your posts are still way down on your page. When I pull up your site, it has a lot of blank space at the time, I had to search of your posts. Have a great weekend.
Yeah… very busy, yet just trying to bide my time until the LD gets put down for his nap so I can do stuff I don’t want him interfering with. I am not sure if I understand what you are saying when you say my post is all the way at the bottom because I just checked and everything seemed okay. Maybe it was when I was deleting the test post? Thanks for the heads up though. I have a feeling YOU are the one to be counted on to let me know that my mascara is running… which is a GOOD thing!
Friday, March 2, 2007 ~ at 11:40 am
You are a creative soul! Wonderful that you discoverd your talents so early on.
Love Barry Manilow and his songs, always can find one to fit my mood.
You are so right! Except when Copa Cabana came out, they played it to death and now it annoys me…. but I still “like” it.
What I learned early on what that Creativity is a healing thing… though I didn’t actually “realize” it then… I just gravitated to it in the extreme where I blocked everyone out.
Sunday, March 4, 2007 ~ at 9:16 pm
[...] a look around and I can say that I did not freak out. Not the norm for this turkey, especially if you can remember this post . I freaked out then because something went wrong. I am one of those people that doesn’t [...]
Monday, March 5, 2007 ~ at 11:45 am
Draggonmommie,
Sounds like you had a great day. The cake looks very yummy.
You are right, your outlook helped to create the day that you desired and YES you can relplicate this, anytime you choose to!
Monday, March 5, 2007 ~ at 5:52 pm
tobeme…Yes, I know that it is “possible” to replicate it, but I don’t even know what I did to acheive THIS. Maybe I am finally staying calm for just enough to think things through and manage to not react. I just thought that I will just use the bathroom sink to wash dishes.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ~ at 11:47 am
Dragonmommie,
Your passion on this subject is very clear. I agree, we do not want to make decisions which fuel the hate machines, like the KKK or other Neo-Nazi groups. Hate is a posion and it is amazing how for many it exists right under the surface of what appears to be upstanding people.
I will consider writing a article which will lend support to what you have written about today. I agree this is a good forum to help mitigate this issue.
Thank you, tobeme… I was sitting at the table this morning, not even having the urge to write about anything when this came on the radio. It was something that I never thought about before, let alone happening for real. When they drew the correlation between hate groups and immigration, something went off inside me. I simultaneously realized how my own view on the subject was connected. That said, there STILL is a problem with how this country’s government is handling the whole issue. Something needs to be done to the satisfaction of all.
Any contribution you can make is appreciated… but I don’t ask it of anyone who is not moved to do so.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ~ at 3:10 pm
Hmm
Did you know the KKK orginiated and started about 70 Miles from where I live.? Yes, here in NC, in Johnston County aka Home fo the KKK (I think they finally torn down the billboards a few years back).(Gosh I can feel entire post coming on ).. I do agree we should do all we can to surpress the rise of the neo-nazi/KKK groups. How do tbest attack this situation is perhaps every difficult. I know as a parent you fear a great deal for your son, in the coming future, there is no telling what my kids will face. I’d suggest preaching the counter verse. Preach diversity, understanding and accectance.
PS You changed your Song on the page.. LOL
What song is changed? I have actually been thinking about changing it, but haven’t had the time to check out other songs.
I like your suggestion about preaching diversity, understanding and acceptance. Example is the most effective way to teach anything. I can’t wait to read your next post! Geez, as a parent, I am scared silly (as you can tell by my post) that my son will somehow get dragged into this ugliness.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ~ at 3:12 pm
DM,
I’m glad that the party was a sucess.. The cake turned out great, by the looks of it.. made me hungry, just looking at it. LOL You’re a wise mother for breaking up the cleaning and perparations for the party. Love the stress-less cented candle.
Seapking of little grasping hands. Ahem Terrible Two’s.. Are you ready..:)
Justin… thanks for peeking in on our party! Yep, despite the diabetes, I had a small piece of cake, if you can believe that…. so, so good. What really happened was that I held out for that whole day, then that last piece in my refrigerator got poked at the next day. That candle, WAS stress-less… or at least the word, “stress” was on the candle, so I am assuming that the candle’s purpose is to relieve stress. I have it burning right now, but I am not “feeling” it yet.
Don’t think that I am so very wise… that is not my “norm”! But, it will be for now on… and THAT is the speck of wisdom that comes to me today.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ~ at 9:59 pm
Happy birthday to your little one! What a momentous occassion. I had to chuckle when you said you procrastinate and then freak out…THAT IS SO ME!!! I always tell people I have to plan a reason the have company over so I will clean the house
Hope all is well with you!
Thank you for your comments, Jill. I tell people the same thing! All is well with us, thank you… and we all had a blast at my modest house party. Today Gabriel got the house back to “normal”… and I have resolved to put up more gates… this will be a Gated Community!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ~ at 11:51 pm
DM,
I declare.. Another song was playing today, when I was on the site.. I’m not crazy.. I was going to post on the KKK and such, but Ms. Coluter got me worked up today.. That post will have to be well thought out.. Senestive stuff for some folks not me, but you know.
PS. If I send you some $$$ can you make me a Spice Cake..LOL.. Gosh I keep looking at the pic..Drools…
Ah, the secret is that it’s a store bought Duncan Hines Spice cake mix…. I just added extra cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, AND anise seeds. The frosting is store bought, too… no biggie cuz I don’t have the time to go all out and make from scratch. I can see that your stomach is going to be key with the women! Better make sure that the “one” knows how to cook! Send her to me and I’ll teach her the culinary arts… some of which can be applied, literally, in the bedroom… HEY, it’s after 12 midnight, which is the witching hour and late enough so that the kids will not see!…. Well now, THAT was a poor choice of words!
Yes, racism and such IS a very touchy subject. I agree with you that people have the strangest talent for making excuses for the faux pas they commit. Mine is not knowing how to spell that! I think that people should stand by what they say, no matter how much they trip over their tongue, because their first words are usually what they REALLY mean.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007 ~ at 10:58 am
Beautiful post, Drgonmommie. So very true from your heart, and honest…
Fears are a real thing that happen to all of us, if and when we admit it… You aren’t crazy at all. You’re human…
Being aware when they come up, and being able to cut off the darkside thoughts is a wise care-taking response for your self to do.
I am glad that you have your Drake, and may he be yours, and you his, always…
Blessings….
Hi LA…Thank you for your kindness. The fact is that it took me literally a life time to realize that I need to cut off these thoughts or be destroyed through them. Every time a thought like this pops into my head I wonder how many MORE times it needs to pop in for it to come true. tobeme was talking about focusing on thoughts and I wonder if I cut them off, right when they pop in, it they will not count towards manifesting them.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007 ~ at 11:04 am
Hate and violence cause most of the unnecessary pain and tragedy in the world… If only more people understood the value of compassion instead. Good post, Dragonmommie. It is a real cause for concern…
I agree, Loving Annie. This IS a real cause for concern. Since writing that, I have been thinking what I can actually DO to be more compassionate towards the immigrants that I come into contact with… and btw, my whole community is filled with Hispanic immigrants, so it should not be hard. I will write about it soon.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007 ~ at 1:33 pm
Dragonmommie,
You wrote, “Anything positive that is achieved by the rest of us, is nullified by those who perpetuate the negative.”
I do not believe this is true. This is a defeatus way of thinking. The truth is that positive energy always negates negative energy. Walk into a dark (negative energy) room and turn on a light (positive energy) and what happens, the darkeness is overcome and replaced by the light. Bring a can of darkness into a lighted room and guess what, you still have a lighted room!
I understand what you are saying about light and darkness. But then what about manifestation? If more people are focusing on hate and negative things, all those people are working to manifest darkness. If I apply what you are saying about darkness in a lighted room, I would have to say that if only just one person were manifesting good and everyone else is manifesting evil, then good will suppress evil. But in the world, it doesn’t seem as if that is happening.
Thursday, March 8, 2007 ~ at 9:25 am
Dragonmommie,
I have been thinking about your article for a few days now. It has been weighing heavy on my heart. It took a few days to really take hold, howeve this morning I was inspired by your writing to write an article on hate and hate groups. Please stop by and read when you have the time, I did inclue links to your article and site. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you, Mark. I am so sorry that this has been affecting you so deeply in this way. You inspire me with your comments as when I post things, I am not so sure how if they come across, as rants or well thought out writing. Sometimes I feel that I write about things without being informed enough. Thanks again for contributing your talents and superb intellect to this issue. I am sure that your part will go a long, long way to bring into the forefront of a wide area of social awareness… even though it’s presumeably noted our society already. I will definitely stop by today…. and thanks for the ping.
Thursday, March 8, 2007 ~ at 10:33 am
Good Thursday morning Dragonmommie,
The 9-1-1- center has it wired to have the specific address/location of every single caller from the phone number the call is made from.
I don’t know what they do with cell phones, but I know land-lines in homes/apartments/condos still apply to this…
Thanks for your comments, LA… Very informative!
Thursday, March 8, 2007 ~ at 10:59 am
Funny, never know what they will do! Good to know that 911 responded quickly!
Thursday, March 8, 2007 ~ at 2:12 pm
Awww. Little DH saves the day.. Almost.
Friday, March 9, 2007 ~ at 11:50 am
[...] Posts How Do YOU Want To Write History?911 in MarchI Can Feel How Much You Love MeHere Comes the Story of the HurricaneThe Cry of the [...]
Saturday, March 10, 2007 ~ at 9:01 am
Dragonmommie,
Beautiful writing and even more beautiful thoughts. Your ideas for helping out people in you church are wonderful. I hope that we are able to execute these ideas. They will bring more help and joy to people than you can even imagine. You are a very loving soul!
You have given some great tips on how easy it is to spread the love, to remove the hate from your life. By writing this arctile you have made the world a better place!
You are so blessed! My heart overflows for you!
Monday, March 12, 2007 ~ at 6:32 am
mmm.. nice design, I must say..
Monday, March 12, 2007 ~ at 11:00 pm
I LOVE freecycle. It’s been such a good experience for me! Aside from a few annoying no shows it’s been a great way to purge the things I don’t need and acquire the things I really do need. It’s been a major blessing to my life.
You SAID IT… I love it, too. I find it easier to use freecycle than actually throwing the stuff away. I’d rather know that someone will use it as opposed to it rotting in a junk yard somewhere.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 ~ at 7:45 am
tobeme… thanks for commenting… somehow I lost track of your post. Thank you so much for your kind words. I guess I needed a sounding board to test out my ideas before presenting them to the parish…. but even that will have to wait until this committee gets formed.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 ~ at 12:10 pm
Hey! Supermum is an addicted freecycler – you wouldn’t believe the stuff people will willingly take away (old bookcases, 500 empty CD jewel cases, 200 blank cassettes …we’re considerable distributors of aging technology). Excellent scheme, great to see it going transatlantic.
Hey (un)relaxeddad… thanks for stopping by. I am always looking around the house for stuff to post on freecycle! I’ve also gotten lots of things that we need/want, but I would never buy, or they being too expensive for our budget. I echo your sentiment about it going transatlantic… though from the other side of your perspective!
Thursday, March 15, 2007 ~ at 12:31 pm
I watched the sweet misery video and tried converting some people from diet drinks (mother in law) but she won’t have it.
Hi Kristy… thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I just watched it last night and, though I don’t use a lot of sweetener, I was converted on the spot. It’s so easy to use other things to sweeten stuff. One thing I do is still make tea, but just not as strong. I like to use ginger root and lemon, without sugar and that gives it a great refreshing taste. I do have stevia, but had forgotten all about it… will have to check to see if there is an expiration date though. I am a diabetic and I’d rather use honey (though I don’t).
Thursday, March 15, 2007 ~ at 2:12 pm
I’m so happy that you watched it and are a convert!! You have no idea the joy that it bring to me!! I didn’t think many people would want to watch such a long movie but it captivated me. Anyway, congrats on another step towards being healthy!!!
Hi pluckymama… thanks for stopping by! I never did get through the whole thing as it was pretty late for me last night, but I do intend on going back to it. The first 10 min is what really got me going…. then I was listening to it as I was writing this post… but then my computer went into hibernation without warning as I was draining the battery….. ha… so I just kept it off until today.
Thursday, March 15, 2007 ~ at 4:41 pm
DM,
I look forward to watching the video. Thanks for sharing!
Have a great day!
Agree, I hate when companies refer you to the web to fix your failed connection, ugh.
Thursday, March 15, 2007 ~ at 4:57 pm
I hope this is the right Debbie that left a post on my blog about putting a button link to the log cabin kal(I’m pretty sure it is, but when I hit your name it went to a blogger blog under construction so I went to the log cabin kal and looked for the name Debbie and went to this wordpress site.) Well, I’m not so sure I can help you like I could before because all the blogs have been changing so much. That’s one reason why I really don’t have buttons on my blog. But you could try this: when you save the picture of the log cabin kal to your pictures, then when you post pictures maybe you’ll get an option to get code that starts like this:
Thursday, March 15, 2007 ~ at 5:03 pm
Thursday, March 15, 2007 ~ at 6:02 pm
Hi Danielle… thanks for coming by. Yes, that was MY blog still under construction over on blogspot… but I think I am going to delete that one and start one here so that it will be easier for me to manage multiple blogs. I’d like to use the button as a link, but so far, I have no luck… though I know that I’m supposed to be able to do it here. No time tonight, but tomorrow I am going to give it another shot.
Friday, March 16, 2007 ~ at 2:03 pm
Dragonmommie,
You are all over the place. Sounds like your mind is in a whirlwind! Good stuff though.
Friday, March 16, 2007 ~ at 2:15 pm
Thanks tobeme… Today, I’ve got my dander up, alright! All this is just recent stuff and it all came out at once…. Ha. I should really just take each thing and make separate posts so that I will have more material to spread out overall.
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ~ at 9:52 am
Well said! So true that we depend far too much on major corporations/businesses. My husband opened up a small cafe about five years ago. The support for small start ups in this country is horrible! Now if he had opened up some business and needed a million dollars, he would have been able to get it! Isn’t that crazy? Great post
Sunday, March 18, 2007 ~ at 5:42 am
Thanks for coming by, Mentor Mom… and thanks for your comments. I wasn’t sure how I was saying it, but I felt it had to be said. I love those small cafe’s, though they are hard to find around here where you can linger a while to read or do computer work.
You are right, when you are talking that kind of money for “anything” you are talking crazy!
Sunday, March 18, 2007 ~ at 11:38 pm
Thanks Dragonmommie, you have chosen to use your pain to grow and benefit others as well. This is so much more beneficial than getting into a cycle of self-pity and victim-syndrome that many people find themselves in.
I’m also in a 12 step program and yes it is great the idea of getting help from other people who have been through the same thing. Right now I’m doing my psychology degree so I hope to be able to combine experience and knowledge for the benefit of others. Knowledge on its own does not seem to have the same healing power, it is easy to “know” that something is harmful for us yet go and do it anyways
Take care
Monday, March 19, 2007 ~ at 8:37 am
Thanks for commenting, Brian. You are correct in saying that knowledge, itself, is not effective as a healing power. How many times do we “know” what is good for us, yet we continue with our destructive habits… well, I speak for myself.
I believe that the very act of sharing something from our personal lives, sharing and putting our pain on display for the other person has a bigger impact than the “soapbox” approach. 12 step programs are a great support system. Every single person feels your pain… the pain of the particular addiction. I have been in OA but did not stick it out; but I have intimate experience through someone in my family and the bond between everyone is so strong, despite personal differences and lifestyles. You can be a stranger, yet you are family there.
I know that you do not follow any religion (I read some of your blog) but I’ve found that Jesus’ life and how he lived, is a great example for how to live life and an inspiring example of compassion in action.
Monday, March 19, 2007 ~ at 11:07 am
DM,
Good luck with the new blog. I’mm be sure to send people your way, if they are interesting in artsy and crafty stuff.
Monday, March 19, 2007 ~ at 3:20 pm
DragonMommie,
Thanks for dropping in my blog with those comments. =P Helps me out. Btw, nice kittens. =P
Cheers,
Dan “LynxLee”
Monday, March 19, 2007 ~ at 7:57 pm
Hi Dan… I am glad that I could help a little… A little here, a little there, all adds up. I love coming to your site. Music has helped to heal me of past hurts and still transports me into different… I don’t want to say “worlds”, but into a different state of mind for any mood… I let it carry me away.
Sometimes we put up a front so that nobody knows how we hurt on the inside, then it comes out. It happens to everyone, and as a matter of fact, I am not surprised when I read such a post from someone I never thought was hurting… that is because we all hurt in some way. It’s okay. What is important, however, is to forgive ourselves, just as tobeme has told you. We all make mistakes, we are human. I believe that God loves me, despite my failures and that is a key part of my faith. If God has already forgiven me, then I can certainly forgive myself.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 ~ at 9:01 am
((( DM ))) THANK YOU for joining 1Million Blogs for Peace! (and I love it that your post is ‘all over the place’ – this tells me that you are AWAKE!
You know, when I first started blogging, my intentions were totally different than they are now. I was going to write short, sweet (mostly! LOL) inspirational pieces …. you know, uplifting and all of that. Which I LOVE to do, btw. But over time, I find that where once I was just a small ‘voice’ in a small community of peace activists (anti-war), that ’small’ community is growing by leaps and bounds. Something IS horribly wrong with our present government and I now wonder if there will be anything left of the beautiful country I once believed in, for my children, you know? Maybe I’ll start another blog just for the peaceful, easy stuff, and let 13Gs morph into a Wage Peace tool. Anyway, I think energy flows DOWNWARD from the ‘leadership’ – be it of a family, a church, or a government. It’s no surprise that George and Dick are BIG BUSINESS men. Our entire way of life is being destroyed….our LIFES, in fact, when you think about the way they are murdering us through big Pharmas (anti-holistic and true healing), etc. Heck, Halliburton was just relocated to Dubai…hummmmmmmmm. 
Definitely stuff to think about!
Hey Grace… Yes, I know what you mean. I didn’t think that I’d be writing long posts, either; but once I start, it just keeps flowing…. Concerning the government, I always feel as if I am in the movie called, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”… you know, like you are the only one who notices that anything is wrong… and they are oblivious to the encroaching, smothering of our freedoms. There was a story today on the public radio today… Check this story out from the Brian Lehrer Show. Called “Consumption Taxes”
Tuesday, March 20, 2007….you can listen:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2007/03/20
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 ~ at 4:43 pm
Dragonmommie,
Thanks for the recommendation. I will have to check it out. Amazing how indoctrined we are in our captiolistic society that we have such a hard time seeing past the obvious.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 ~ at 12:26 am
DM,
I too love hot chocolate. I’m not much a a coffee drinker, but a nice warm cup of HC, is so very nice. Recently I’ve fallen in love with white HC, is so smooth, add a little coco powder(dark) and it’s perfect.
Let’s see for the name: Chocolade Heaven or Chocolate Heet
PS.. You guys have an A&P… wow… We had one in my hometown, but it went out business 15years ago, and became a Piggly Wiggly. Hadn’t seen one in ages.. SWEET
Ooops sorry, Justin… you lose points for the UNTHINKABLE…. you mispelled C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E Heaven
We have several A&P’s here. Guess they are alive and well in NJ. They have been upgrading a few of their stores around here since a complete new one was put in Clark, NJ. You’ve GOT to see this… sorry you can’t… unless if you want to jet up here like when you went to Florida! Lot’s of gourmet depts… the bakery has bread from all over the place, sourdough, real rye, French, Italian, Irish soda bread for SPD. They’ve got samples set out in every dept., you can even ask for one… hot food and coffee for shopping, humongous cheese dept, and seafood,… oh, and the BEST- a section of one isle devoted to kitchen GADGETS, special wooden shelves and everything. As you can see, I love going to this store, but the best yet is that an A&P that is closer to me is renovating itself to match the other one (it was inevitable).
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 ~ at 12:08 pm
I love chocolate, although I have to say it is second to my love for coffee/caffeine. Most sweet things are great. I walk down down the sweets section at the store and get all excited looking at everything.
I like weekends too when I can justify having sugar early in the day with pancakes/french toast and syrup. Good stuff.
Okay enough talking about sugar for me now…
Brian… Did you know that you can make a hot chocolate with coffee, but just using hot coffee instead of water or milk? You can use instant coffee and even use more than you would for a regular cup of coffee for that extra flavor. Two great flavors in one, oh, but double the caffeine.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 ~ at 12:33 pm
Dragonmommie,
It all sounds so decadent, so wonderful. I too, love a good hot chocolate. The idea of posting a weekly recipe is wonderful.
For me, I used to be a caffeine addict. I recently gave up my addiction and have not partaken in caffeine in quite a while, so therefore I will not be taking part in your Hot Chocolate mania.
Enjoy!
Sorry to hear that you won’t be participating, but I am happy and admire the fact that you could give up the caffeine. Sometimes, too, it’s better to just go cold turkey instead of trying to substitute something similar. It’s only going to remind you of what you gave up.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 ~ at 2:25 pm
NO didn’t mispelled Chocolate, Chocolade is Dutch for Chocolate and Heet is Dutch for Hot/Warm.. !!!
I was wondering if I made a mistake after I posted, but just let it go… but thought that it was a play on the word, “Lemonade”
Thursday, March 22, 2007 ~ at 12:25 pm
DM,
Very good post. I too was a supporter when we first went to Iraq after 9/11. I too got caught up in the emotion of the time. I was also a very different person when that happened. Now, I realize that we were very misguided and that we responded wrongly to this attack. We are now emmeshed in a never ending battle, which will only continue to cost lifes of our young people and the citizens of Iraq.
I believe the President lied to us on many fronts and is hell bent on completing his own personal agenda that has nothing to do with what is right for this country or Iraq.
Wow, tobeme… this is the most passionate that I’ve ever heard you be, it’s great to see. I believe the president lied to us, too. I don’t know how that guy can sleep at night.
Thursday, March 22, 2007 ~ at 7:28 pm
OKAY YOu changed you song this time.. RIGHT???
Yea… you’re the first one to comment that you notice! This is a beautiful ancient melody that is called Greensleeves, or more current, “What Child Is This?”… which is simply the new words put to the old melody and happens to be a Christmas Carol.
Thursday, March 22, 2007 ~ at 11:03 pm
[...] merits a Yahoo! Remember when I started it, way back in December? I started it somewhere between this post, and this post. In this pic, you can see that I am almost finished dropping all the stitches to [...]
Friday, March 23, 2007 ~ at 3:45 pm
Very nice! A well loved song.
Friday, March 23, 2007 ~ at 4:28 pm
You are so right, tobme… It’s got low moments and it’s got high moments and all of which compliment each other so nicely.
This spot is done more quickly than I like to play it.
Friday, March 23, 2007 ~ at 8:10 pm
DragonMommie…I found it interesting that you seemed almost relieved to speak your mind about wanting the U.S. to become “Isolationist” in nature. I wonder if that’s the term really describing what you mean (and forgive me for assuming). Perhaps we could refocus our efforts and take care of our own while doing humanitarian work outside of our own borders – rather than playing “Good Cop/Bad Cop” in the rest of the world’s business??? This would not be isolationist, I don’t think. It just means that we show good boundaries and good priorities???
Friday, March 23, 2007 ~ at 8:11 pm
Tobeme…..I just now read your reply and found we come from very similar places on this issue. Do you feel the sense of violation that I do, I wonder, upon supporting something and then later finding out it was all based on lies, deception, greed and personal agendas?? (I won’t even go into some of my 9/11 ‘conspiracy’ theories! LOL)
Friday, March 23, 2007 ~ at 8:39 pm
Grace… the last time I heard that term applied to the US was in a high school history class… but it stuck with me. I really just want this country to focus on the needs of it’s own people and stay out of the politics of the rest of the world. If I remember correctly, “isolationist” means a country that is literally isolated from the rest of the world. America, because of transportation limitations, WAS isolated. Now, with travel advanced as it is, the world has gotten a lot smaller. Maybe my usage of the word is not what I mean, but really, only in the strictest sense of the word.
Oh, GRACE I would love to hear some of your 9/11 conspiracies as I have some going on inside my head, too.
tobeme… I do also, think that GW has his own, personal, agenda… I heard the way he was talking to congress today about this new bill that’s come up for vote… He pretty much said that he was not going to adhere to a bill that gives him a timetable for the removal of troops. He is a rabid dog!
Friday, March 23, 2007 ~ at 10:12 pm
Grace… Had to go back and check out the definition:
i·so·la·tion·ism (ī’sə-lā’shə-nĭz’əm) Pronunciation Key
n. A national policy of abstaining from political or economic relations with other countries.
I am not 100% behind the economic aspect of this definition; but definitely on the political. Economically, I DO believe that we should cut back relations with other countries, but not so sure if we could do it. I am trying to think of what we would absolutely need from other countries and cannot think of anything. Prices here would definitely skyrocket.
I’ll close by saying that I’ve not thoroughly thought out this comment.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 ~ at 3:13 pm
Spring is in the air. It’s 85 here. WOO nice and warm and breezy. Are you going to post pic of the blanket. I think it’ll be cool.
Aww sorry to hear about Little Drake’s rashy rash. I have somewhat senestive skin too. Well I just don’t like lotions and oils really in general. I don’t like feel greasy and stuff. BLAH.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 ~ at 4:53 pm
Hey Justin… It seriously is teetering on 80 over here. Warm and breezy here, too… and I LOVE THAT!
I have a link to a pic of the blanket on my knitting blog. I will bold it for you as this theme does not really show links that well.
LD is doing fine… he’s out right now with his dad, they went to the park. You can get some of those lotions that will sink into your skin. I love unrefined shea butter and “Moisture Therapy” from Avon is really good, too. That one never feels greasy.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 ~ at 2:55 pm
Gosh, DM,
Didn’t know HC would be so COMPLEX to make. LOL I may attempt my 1st bacth of homemade HC this weeknd. I have none of those ingredients in my home., well maybe the honey. Swiss Miss + some addtional items.. HEHE
Justin…
Some recipes are more sophisticated than others. You are right, I probably should have gone with a simple one for the very first one, but I could not resist showing you guys the versatility of chocolate… PLUS, did you know that the ancient Mayans believed chocolate was connected to fertility? YEP!
Another “must have” ingredient is Arrowroot. You can find it with the spices. I just got one that is McCormick…. expensIVE, but worth it, especially if you do not want to use cream or milk. It’s a clear thickener and all you need is around 1/4 tsp. for a large mug.
If you use Swiss Miss, use TWO packs to get more of a chocolate flavor…. add in a Hershey’s bar. We American’s are the only ones to use these fake chocolate flavor packets (instant) to make HC…. ugh how unenlightened we all are!
Thursday, March 29, 2007 ~ at 6:07 pm
Dragonmommie,
Sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing. I am off caffiene, however I will share this with other HC lovers.
Thursday, March 29, 2007 ~ at 6:46 pm
Thanks, tobeme!
Friday, March 30, 2007 ~ at 8:51 pm
That sounds sooooo good, Dragonmommie ! I’m going to use Callebaut cocoa powder !
Hi Loving Annie… How are ya? I never heard of that brand of cocoa powder, but I just got an unsweetened bar that is 100% cacao… which is supposed to be good for you… the higher the percentage, the better… can’t get better than 100%, right?
Please let me know how you like it… it must be pretty spicy hot and my stomach can’t really take that any more… but I might try just a little bit.
Sunday, April 1, 2007 ~ at 8:14 pm
LOL. What a story. What an day. I checked the pictures. One you’re beautiful woman, and your should take more pictures. Interesting color, but it suits you thus far. I’ve always wanted to color my hair, but there aren’t to many colors available for me, without me looking extrememly crazy. Not to mention, my hair way to short for coloring. I’d grow it out in a month. I’ve typed everything very carefully and hopefully there aren’t any mistakes. I wish the comment box had spell check.
Sunday, April 1, 2007 ~ at 8:46 pm
Hey Justin… PLEASE do not get crazy about typos!… though the comment box DOES have a sort of spellchecker because while you type, if it’s a typo, it will underline in red…. SNAG!
Just kidding! Anyway, thanks for the compliments… and I am amazed that my pics ares still up because I just uploaded more to flickr and I was sure that the most recent come out in the widget.
I don’t know WHY I look decent in these pics!.. but I’ll admit that I liked how my pic came out and that is the only reason I posted them! Unbelievable, since all I did was hold the camera up in one hand and took random shots from the hip!
I can see you with orangey fringes on your head! HA… this is supposed to be temporary color because there is no ammonia in it.
Oh, I’ve used the spellchecker here at least three times!
Sunday, April 1, 2007 ~ at 11:25 pm
DM,
I don’t get the little red lines in the comment box. I get them when I type an entry though. LOL. Funny you should mention organes highlight, that’s the color I always pictured myself with.
Sunday, April 1, 2007 ~ at 11:57 pm
Sure… purple, red, green… nah… with your tones you need warm, hot and bright colors!
Monday, April 2, 2007 ~ at 10:10 am
Dragonmommie,
It is a wonderful time that you have with little Drake. His mind is like a sponge right now and will soak up everything, good or bad. You are very right to speak to him in correct English and to avoid baby talk. He is very lucky to have you home full time. Enjoy this time!
Today I feel as if your kind words are too kind for me… Gabriel and I are not hitting it off today… we are both being moody! The weather is cloudy, cold, damp and miserable. They keep saying on the radio that it’s supposed to turn into a great day and I just don’t see it right now. In any case, I’ve got to get us out for a ride in the car. That usually does both of us good and I’ve recently started putting him in those car-wagons at the store and he loves it… so off we will go to the grocery store for a special car ride for him.
I know, I keep reminding myself that he will soak up my bad habits as well as good ones…. just so much to keep watch for and broad coverage for his training just doesn’t seem possible. I try to pick up tips from the internet and newsletters that come to me from Pampers and Fisher Price every month as he turns a month older. They can be helpful, but just seems like a mountain of information to keep up on.
Monday, April 2, 2007 ~ at 12:30 pm
Don’t think buying organic will save you from E coli and salmonella. Organic just ensures the food is free of pesticides or that the products they use to keep off disease and bugs are natural. E coli and salmonella come from animal feces (and other things) that could be in the water supply that waters the organic crops!
Monday, April 2, 2007 ~ at 1:16 pm
Great List.. Please remember his first words.. I recently asked my mom, what were my first words, and she really couldn’t remember, and I started screaming bad Mother..LOL.. she came back with it was most likely ma-ma, and I said, yeah un huh sure, proceeded by bad-bad.
Keep him engaged.
Monday, April 2, 2007 ~ at 6:27 pm
Justin… Thanks… I am planning on saving everything I write for him to read later on…. so I will keep coming back to the list to add more and more.
da-da is usually easier for them to say than ma-ma… Today, he said, “ma” one time, then smacked a kiss into the air to me… Can I tell you that he is already trying to charm the mommie? Because this was after I yelled at him for something…. Still, I LOVE when he does that!
Monday, April 2, 2007 ~ at 6:29 pm
Hi Mimi… thanks for stopping by and thanks for the information.
I am wondering how E coli doesn’t show up more.
Monday, April 2, 2007 ~ at 9:43 pm
When my son JD was about 2, he used the “f” sound in place of “tr”. So tree became “fee” and truck became, well, you know. So of course when he’d see a dump truck he’d point and scream for all the world to hear “dum fuk, dum fuk, dum fuk!”. We have it on video that we’ll perhaps use on prom night or wedding reception someday. Enjoy! I love learning their language.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 ~ at 2:40 pm
yikes, little kids on the street freaks me out too.
Nice Christmas song!
I’m going to go get bubbles soon, you’ve inspired me.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 ~ at 9:09 pm
DM,
I always wanted to get a huge bubble wand. Ahh I remember the days of making my own bubble with dish washing liquid and water.. Never quite the same. Kids in the street. Never has been my favorite thing. Thankfully I never played in the street, we had enough arces for me to roam free.
It would have been cool to meet Sen. Clinton. cccccccccc ( i wish I had read lines to catch that mistake
)
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 ~ at 9:24 pm
I blew bubbles for Silas…he loved it. I wonder if you can find some that wouldn’t sting the eyes….
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 ~ at 10:04 pm
Hi Pluckymama… thanks for commenting… you could try making soap bubbles from No More Tears shampoo?
Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain… ugh but maybe we can do bubbles on the porch.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 ~ at 10:07 pm
Justin & pluckymama…
Kids do not belong on the streets, period. God forbid one of them gets hit by a car.
Oh, Justin… I don’t know what is going on, but in THIS BOX, right now, the word “pluckymama” is underlined in red TWO times. Those red lines are kind of tough to spot sometimes, especially early in the morning when my eyes are dry.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 ~ at 10:16 pm
pluckymama… So glad you like the Christmas song. Here is a link to some info about the melody, with links to lyrics:
What Child is This/Greensleeves
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 ~ at 3:15 pm
DM,
I’m still working on my first one.. LOL.. This seems a bit more doable though, not as many ingredients.. LOL and it’s a much smaller serving size.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 ~ at 3:17 pm
DM,
Keep it up. I don’t cook with any sugar(salt or other items). I think I’m still on my first box of Splenda, from when I had to make a cake for work. I do have a sweet tooth though, that’s the funny thing. I once took wheat bread, and sugar-free syrup and make French Toast..
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 ~ at 4:00 pm
Sounds yummy!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 ~ at 4:03 pm
Bubbles are always fun! Wow, you had a lot to say about a lot of things! Have a great day!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 ~ at 4:35 pm
Justin… It’s not to late… go out and get those bubbles or make some homemade ones… but if you buy them, you get the wand, too.
It’s never too late!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 ~ at 4:36 pm
thanks for stopping by, tobeme… bubbles are a great way to release stress, believe it or not.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 ~ at 4:39 pm
I am trying to stay totally sugarfree, but it’s hard…. and though I use it, Splenda is not supposed to be good for you.
I so love French Toast! For me, it’s the flavorful combination of 100% maple syrup and melted butter… I mean REAL butter. Recently, I’ve been getting imported Irish and Polish butter. You will NOT believe the taste. I am really beginning to hate mass produced food… I mean, what exactly are they doing to (or not doing) to our butter that degrades the taste so much in this country’s butter??????
Thursday, April 5, 2007 ~ at 12:25 am
That’s pretty cool..
Yes~ I love those pics…. It’s so amazing what the camera can capture.
Thursday, April 5, 2007 ~ at 8:45 am
I told the kids knit club at the local school about them & showed them pictures I’d found in one of my knit mags & the kids are talking about doing it the night before our big summer neighbourhood festival right through the centre of Wortley Village. They love the idea of tagging that isn’t vandalism, can be easily removed when it gets unsightly & is initially fun & attractive.
Hi elanknits….
Yes, I love that it’s not vandalism, too. I am seriously thinking of going solo one night, myself!
Thursday, April 5, 2007 ~ at 1:37 pm
this happened very frequently to me too… hence i moved to photobucket
Thursday, April 5, 2007 ~ at 1:40 pm
Very cool pics! There is so much going on that we do not see!
Thursday, April 5, 2007 ~ at 2:36 pm
Very cool, indeed, tobeme! So fortuitous for me to find them on my hot chocolate day!
Thursday, April 5, 2007 ~ at 4:13 pm
That is great!
Thursday, April 5, 2007 ~ at 4:21 pm
Wooo Whooo! Those were awesome!
I especially liked the ones that looked like a sunburst and a mushroom.
Thursday, April 5, 2007 ~ at 4:21 pm
By the way…I LOVE LOVE LOVE your hair!!!
Friday, April 6, 2007 ~ at 2:06 pm
HAHA.. the trials and journey of DM. If you want me too, i’ll copy your response over to blog comments. I’ll have to work on that equation. Sound like woman is over worked and very busy. I love it.. So witty and comical..
Friday, April 6, 2007 ~ at 2:09 pm
DM.. I just tried to post your comment myself and I couldn’t. Very Strange..
Very strange, INDEED!!!
Saturday, April 7, 2007 ~ at 12:52 pm
DM, as soon as I get to a scanner, I’ll upload the equations I drew out. I think you will get a kick out of them. I know I did..
Here’s a teaser: DH + LD + [no DM] = Cake for Dinner
Wouldn’t that be: DH + LD(- DM) = Cake for Dinner?
Love you teaser, Justin… can’t wait to see the rest of it. Makes me curious as to what the Final solution is. The bottom line.
Saturday, April 7, 2007 ~ at 2:39 pm
Hi Grace…
Glad you like the coffee and hair pics…. at least it’s not hair in my coffee pics!
So busy last couple of days, but things will calm down after Easter. Going to my brother’s for the day… but the travel there is a kick in the butt.
Saturday, April 7, 2007 ~ at 2:41 pm
tobeme…
Thanks for your comment and I agree… there is so much going on there in less than a blink of the eye… and it’s beautiful. I am reminded of the beauty of macro photography.
Saturday, April 7, 2007 ~ at 4:26 pm
Well it appears that I won’t be near a scanner again till I return t work. I’ll just type it out, instead of scanning the sheet.
DM + Busy = Dinner + Mass + Clean Up+ Cupcakes
Mass =DH + LD – DM
DH + LD + [No DM) = Cake for Dinner
[No DM] + Cake = DH + Internet + Baseball
.5Cake + Work = Sleep DH + No Clean Up
Cupcakes Cooling + Soda = DM + Blogging
Blogging = WP
Therefore: WP + DM =Strange
Justin… I loved your equation, but I’ll have to test it out to see if it works…. One thing for sure is that DM+WP(WP+DM)=Strange
Oh, your third line definitely works out to be true.
Here is another one for you:
DH + 10 hours Fantasy Baseball = LD – Food
Sunday, April 8, 2007 ~ at 10:18 am
My webstats show a lot of visitors to my site that came from your link…..thank you SO much! I am truly honored to be listed through your site.
Lee Begelfer
http://www.yarnoverlounge.com
Hi Lee…
I think it was your 3/26/07 entry… I Love that Sarong and it’s colors. I may also have you listed on my other blog, which is really my knitting blog, called “DragonKnits”. It was my second blog and I am having a problem when I comment… it doesn’t direct people to my knitting blog, only to my primary blog, which is this one.
I am new to the blogosphere and still have not figured that one out beyond just setting up a totally different account, but I really don’t want to do that.
Monday, April 9, 2007 ~ at 11:52 pm
Aww.. Look at Mr. Precious. This guy is going to be a stud. Watch Out World. The tie looks cute(good job DM) (ehh fast knitter i see). I’m gald Gabe had a good time with his Easter Eggs hunt. I remember those. I think they should have Adult Easter Egg Hunt, and have things like iPod Suffles and GC’s to store like the Gap, Target and Best Buy. Heck I’ll settle for candy too.
New Song (Yes I noticed)
How’s the hair?
Hi Justin! How was your weekend? My hair is good. Thanks for asking! It’s not as bright as it first was. Last Sunday my dad asked me if I served at mass with orange hair… of COURSE! Geez… he was just trying to be funny…. where is the key word there? “trying”!
Yeah, that tie was okay, but I had a hard time making the knot and that was because the darn thing was too wide. Eddie (DH) saw the problem right away (bless his heart) and so I struggled through. Finally got it to look presentable. Not sure which knot I do because my dad taught me and heck if I know; but I like it when it’s wide at the top and real small at the bottom… well, I just could not duplicate that. Plus, I think I’d need to do a different stitch… maybe just regular knitting… and I want to start working with colors… that means following a pattern [shutter] and making a little picture on it. Just didn’t have enough time to try that for the first time, this time. I do intend on making more of them and also for DH… so they can have matching ties! So Kewl!
Yeah, LD will be a looker…. oh man something I’ve got to watch there… all the girls hanging around our house like cats in heat! Ugh, see how the protective mommie gets? I know that we, as parents, need to teach him right…. our role is so important here because we need to instill the very values in him that society will work against when he becomes of age… AND EVEN BEFORE! I am more reassured than I would normally be, because DH is a good role model for him in how to regard women with respect…. and also he is modest… I am secretly hoping that this rubs off on our little baby…. whoa I feel a post coming on!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 ~ at 10:04 am
All things in moderation. Good idea about using unsweetened chocolate.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 ~ at 12:42 pm
I agree, time to get out of this war that we should have never been in. This has to one of the worst decisions this country has made.
Remember to live in the present and not get lost in what could be happening 16 years from now. I lot will change between now and then.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 ~ at 4:19 pm
tobeme…
Thanks for your response. I know what you say is the truth… but I can’t help it. While I do not worry all the time about the future, the past seems to be writing it and it gets worse as the years go by. Makes me wonder what the next imperialistic decision this “democratic” country will be making.
Thursday, April 12, 2007 ~ at 4:03 pm
My kids are 20 and 19, DM! You know how many times I’ve thought about the real chance that the InsaneInPower will reinstate the draft??
God help us all.
I KNOW… lol.. I am projecting too far ahead and there are so many out there who have more pressing worries.
Thursday, April 12, 2007 ~ at 9:27 pm
Isn’t it interesting no one “important” ’s kid has to go on the front line. Though apparently Prince Harry of England is going to Iraq. I wonder what they’ll make him do?
I wonder that, myself!
Thursday, April 12, 2007 ~ at 10:23 pm
I always wanted to know how to make Italian hot chocolate! Arrowroot!
Seems SO SIMPLE now, doesn’t it? I had a real hard time actually finding my arrowroot, but McCormick spices has it, the green labeled ones in glass jars.
Saturday, April 14, 2007 ~ at 5:12 am
I am so pleased you like the Sarong. It was actually designed on a whim and I have been surprised at the people that have purchased it, and my girlfriend who has recreated it now for the 3rd time. If you are interested in the pattern, please email me directly and I will send it to you at no charge for all of the traffic you have generated to my site!
You are not alone with these web issues….I have had nothing but major issues with my site for months. The web designer will fix something, then a week later the same problem occurs. That, and I am learning coding on my own so I can try and fix what he isn’t doing, and it is a nightmare!
Thanks for the pattern, Lee. After I get done with a couple of projects on the needles, I will be trying it out for sure… and will use my beloved sari silk! Never actually worked with it. I was sort of intimidated by the luxuriousness of it, but now that I have a definite project lined up, I will not hesitate. I just hope I have enough to work with, but without checking, I am pretty sure that I do. I will be writing you privately, as well… thanks for the email.
Sunday, April 15, 2007 ~ at 10:15 pm
Dear Dragon Mommie!
Greetings again!
Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your kind message!
I actuall had left a comment on your blog a few days again but it just disappeared!
This is waht I basically wrote:
“Dear Fellow Dragon!
Greetings from another Wyrm lying in the vicinity of an extinct volcano in a long island west of your lair!
Discovered your bower while hovering away in my dreams.
Hope our common magic will help this scroll reach you!
Looking forward to reading your grimoire again!”
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Monday, April 16, 2007 ~ at 3:36 am
Well, Dragonmommie, that is a rare present you have just made me!
I really appreciate and hope I will be up to expectations!
Now, could you please give me the names of the music and performer of this great music that welcomes you upon oepning the door to your lair?
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Hi Robert… Thanks for visiting… Just click on the Sonific icon where it says “Learn more about this music”. The artist and title (and cover art) are displayed. Glad you like!
Monday, April 16, 2007 ~ at 10:47 am
DM I meant to tell you about Robert’s site. He hit my blog the other day and I was going pass is on the Dragonmommie herself.
No Biggie as I DO try to follow YOUR blog… but “let’s keep up, okay?” LOL
Monday, April 16, 2007 ~ at 10:48 am
YAY.. Congrats DM.. A Wonderful milestone in deed. Keep it up.
I am doing a victory dance like those cutie football players… except my bootie shakes a LOT more!
Monday, April 16, 2007 ~ at 5:53 pm
Dragonmommie,
I think a great topic to write about for you son would be, what advice would you give him as he becomes an adult. What lessons do you want him to learn. Pretend as if you were not going to be there when turns 18, what would you want to teach him?
I am sure that you have many lessons that you would want to teach. Think how valued these lessons would be by him.
You have so much to give, let it flow.
Monday, April 16, 2007 ~ at 9:10 pm
Dear Justin and Debbie!
Thanks to you both!
Debbie, as you can see I’m no tech geek! I realised my boo boo later, but thought had better go to bed and rest my old brain (LOL).
Cheers, Robert-Gilles
No problem, Robert. As you may know, this dragon does not hoard her treasure trove of knowledge and loves to share it. I guess it’s the dragon in me that will correct Justin’s typos from time to time… but he has a good heart and let’s it roll off his shoulder. I’ve got to go easy on him though before he develops draconigenaphobia!……. Justin, you know I love ya!
Monday, April 16, 2007 ~ at 10:22 pm
Draconigenaphobia.. LOL good one DM. Yes I know how you love to correct my typos and such. It’s a DM past time favorite, right up next to HC
.
DM, Yes I know you love me.. Who can resist right?? LOL
Justin! I’ve been holding myself back…. like holding yourself back from scratching a healing tattoo! The effort is motivated by love.
Sorry, but HC has a golden pedestal of it’s own.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007 ~ at 10:14 pm
Dragonmommie will fall on me with her talons bared when I provide Justin V with a hidden weapon! LOL (Justin, check our LadyDragon’s use of “it’s”!)
I suppose I will have to introduce a new character in my stories, although I can imagine Dragonmommie in the person of Amrel, the Blue Dragon beating the hell out of us all mortals!
Talking of typos, I wonder what you Citizens of the Big Apple think of Microsoft’s dictature on the English language. I always end up with tons of red undermarks with my Queen’s English!
On another note, Debbie, don’t worry too much about the dolphins as tuna is usually caught with a line, not with a net which kills tuna instantly as they have to continually move, their gills being fixed like those of sharks. A dead tuna is not fit for sashimi or sushi as it has to be bleeded first before freezing or cutting.
Sorry for the gory details!
Have a good time reading you both!
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Tuesday, April 17, 2007 ~ at 10:34 pm
Yeah, I can see myself as an indigo-reddish-greenish dragon with iridescence all over my scales. My color would have to reflect my gemini spirit. I know I’m fried because I can’t see anything wrong with my usage of “it’s”, both times. Oh well, please kind sir, enlighten me!
spell checker is definitely behind the times as I find a lot of commonly used words are marked in red.
Thanks for the info about the tuna… I had no idea that they have fixed gills! Don’t worry about the graphic description, but if it were Bambi, I’d have to hide my eyes.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 12:28 am
Yes DM, makes her own rules. She can, cause she’s a Mommie..LOL.. Haiku’s cough cough
Someone can’t keep up..
OK on a real and serious note. Very well written. Thanks for sharing a bit of you for us. Interesting items. The reference to the nights by the sea. I just remember the pictures you had up, of you on the beach sitting there. Did you used to go there, and think and dream an escape all of the “realities” of the world?
Oh Yeah, btw, I have some Ricola for that mucous throat.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 12:35 am
DM, you used “it’s” in contraction form it means it is, thus making your sentence: Sorry, but HC has a golden pedestal of it’s own. read like so…
Sorry, but HC has a golden pedestal of it is own..
You should have used “its”
People make this common mistake.. It’s ok DM. Lets keep up ok
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 12:35 am
Right now I am taking Cold Ease.. but that has GOT to have sugar in it, but I don’t care because MY THROAT HURTS!
Thank you so much for your comment about my Haiku (have to look that up)… The only thing is that I don’t remember posting pics on the beach… but I did used to go there when I first went through my divorce. I’d go there in all kinds of weather and made it a point to go when the hurricanes came in. I remember that I used to go and sleep on the beach in my warmest blanket, look up at the sky’s stars and fall asleep. Somehow I managed to escape the notice of night patrols.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 12:36 am
High Five to Rob..
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 12:38 am
Ah… very good! Thank you so much, Robert and Justin for explaining it to this old dragons brain.
I know that I tagged Robert for a good reason.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 12:43 am
DM you can delete this.. I know you are own..
I was going to tag Rob, but I i was worried about messing up this Novel flow.. Maybe he will post it on another one of his blogs.. hope you feel better..
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 12:56 am
Oh… I didn’t think of his novel flow… Maybe he’ll incorporate it into his novel? Nah…
Nah, why would I delete you? Thanks, I am taking another cold ease… I did go out today to get that router… it was on sale.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 12:57 am
Justin… more comments the merrier!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 8:16 am
I guess it says something about me that the first thing I noticed about the post was the brownies. The second was that I looked at the father’s head and thought “Well, it seems normal to me, but maybe it’s not…”
It wasn’t until I read into the message that I had a clue. Granted, not an unusual state for me.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 ~ at 10:54 am
What? You didn’t notice the blue glass dish? Ah yes, the brownies would dominate the landscape 99.99999% of the time!
Yeah, you know I can’t figure out that about the head, but I can tell you that I have a larger head than normal, but only because I can’t get hats to fit me and not because it “looks” bigger. It’s the same for my DH because I knitted him a hat according to instructions for an adult hat, and it was tight. I think the thinner the body, the more pronounced the size of the head is.
BTW, loved that poem I read on your blog. I was just involved in a tag that tracked back to you and that is how I found you.
Thursday, April 19, 2007 ~ at 3:36 am
Sorry, Mates!
As Justin pointed out, the tagging (great fun actually) would be a bit difficult on the Dragonlife blog.
If it’s ok with you all (Dragonmommie, please belch your fire away and order everyone to fly to this scroll) I shall do it here.
1. Spent 5 years in the French Air Force, one of which in Africa. Saw dead people and met with loads of imbeciles.
2. Addicted daydreamer. All my dragon stories came out while walking, cycling, mowing the grass on the cricket ground or while working.
3. Love and read a lot of history. Save me the pun, but you can’t beat history when it cmes to a good story.
4. Am a lazy bugger most of the time. Always “hasta magnana!”. Will be passionate about hobbies and helplessly irresponsible when facing a dire situation.
5. Although a 100% straight male, I prefer women as friends than as lovers.
Tata!
Robert-Gilles
Sorry Robert… It never occurred to me that it would interrupt the flow of your novel…. I do appreciate your responding here, though. As seandbe says, it’s a good way to get to know people.
Thursday, April 19, 2007 ~ at 2:05 pm
Ok, Im on the task. Almost done will have it up shortly. Good stuff Robert. Good way to pick up info on people.
Thursday, April 19, 2007 ~ at 4:59 pm
Dragonmommie,
Good thoughts! I don’t think that the general popualce of America had any more empowerment 200 years ago then we have now. We must keep speaking up and being the change, this will help the cause to prevail. Trust in doing what your heart knows is right.
Thursday, April 19, 2007 ~ at 5:10 pm
Thanks for your support, tobeme, considering that some of that was incoherent. I had to make some changes to make some sense.
Friday, April 20, 2007 ~ at 8:21 am
No worrries, Debbie!
Seandbe! thanks for your comment above!
Justin, will fly to you scroll in a minute!
Dragonmommie! Your scroll is suffering from some bad magic! My last message on the next posting did not appear (Masters of War)
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Friday, April 20, 2007 ~ at 8:34 am
Dear Dragonmommie!
Greetings from a slightly intoxicated (Dwarf spirits?) Dragon!
In the 60’s and 70’s my soul cry was “masters of War” by Bob Dylan and still is!
It might sound completely unrelated, but did you know that overwhaling by the US in the 19th Century is the main cause of that mess in Iraq?
I have shocked so many of my American friends here with that information!
I will explain in my next comment!
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Friday, April 20, 2007 ~ at 9:09 am
Robert…
Retrieved your comment from the depths of Hades! I also found your first one, but it was so far down the list that I missed it…. so sorry you had to resubmit. I can’t believe how quickly these spams come in! I have no idea why your comments are regarded as spam. Maybe you can ask support what’s going on? I don’t see anything ’suggestive’ about your I.D. or your content.
I can hardly remember my own 60’s and 70’s, (a little calculation, please) though I should remember the latter of the two. I was into hard rock, as it was called at the time, but did not go deep like I try to now. The deepest I got back then was “The Hurricane” by Bob Dylan… and only now truly get it. Oh, I also had really gotten into a lot of the Eagles songs, particularly “The Last Resort”, “The Pretender”, “The Fuse” and other songs of the Pretender album by Jackson Browne.
Friday, April 20, 2007 ~ at 11:04 am
DM,
WOW, great post(i’m gonna digg ya too). I agree with you that aborting babies is wrong. I believe that you are killing life, regardless of the stage of the life..Anything after conception is life as far as I’m concerned.
thanks, Justin… I am afraid that when I write like this that I end up just rambling!
Friday, April 20, 2007 ~ at 3:17 pm
DM,
I agree this is a barbaric procedure. I do not understand why anyone would do this procedure. Your article is well written. I do believe in Choice, however I believe that option should be only during the first trimester.
Thanks, tobeme… I believe in free will, but not that this country or any country should offer this option to women. God did give us free will, and so in this day and age, as it is already established, women exercise their free will. In this day and age, with abortion already entrenched in our culture, I acknowledge that it’s not up to me to judge, but I can’t help crying out in pain for all those babies murdered… and I’ve SEEN the pictures. There is no doubt in my mind that this is murder, so it’s not just coming from my religious faith.
Friday, April 20, 2007 ~ at 7:34 pm
Debbi!
Good to hear I’m back on your Scroll!
It is not the first time that WordPress has classified me as spam. It happened with at least 3 more friends. They don’t like my kind of Dragons (LOL)! Might help them clean everything with a good fire!
Friday, April 20, 2007 ~ at 8:08 pm
Hi Robert…
I mean, they just dumped you into spam… not even put you in for moderation. If that had happened, at least I would see you right away and de-spam you!
Saturday, April 21, 2007 ~ at 1:56 am
Dragonmommie!
Greetings!
This Dragon is a convinced agnostic, but I have never made an issue of religion. It’s too private a thing to be judged.
I believe in contraception. After all it is necessary even inside a family or couple which the unfortune to include an HIV positive member.
Now, I believe that if you do not want to be faced with the suppression of life, do not have sex as you said. I’ve seen a lot of children rejected all their life for lack of love, and I think it is as bad as abortion.
In Japan abortion has become a form of contraception. It is recommended by doctors…
My personal opinion is to show responsibility in abstaining or assuming sex with all the consequences. This is not for religious reasons, but for ethical ones. A bit complicated, sorry!
Robert-Gilles
Robert… never worry about a complicated answer! I might be sounding a bit prudish in this post, but believe me, I’ve sown my wild oats! It saddens me that the Japanese are using abortion as contraception. But then isn’t there a history of them killing their girl babies?
I have experienced such a difference in the sex when it’s with a life partner. I can’t believe that at one time, I thought that I could have a casual attitude towards sex. For me, of course religion is involved, but I also simply just feel that it’s not worth it outside of marriage. I’ve experienced it for fun and I’ve experienced it with the possibility of creating life in my mind; and I’ve found it even more erotic that way than just for fun…. but that’s how I feel about it.
Sunday, April 22, 2007 ~ at 10:01 pm
Dear Debbie!
Greetings!
It seems I have solved that spam problem! Would you believe that my own replies on my own blogs have been classified as spams in two instances.
To come back to our topic, it is true that sex reaches different and higher levels with a life partner, or partners in my case as I’m going through my second marriage.
The simple reason for this is that you learn about each other’s needs and also learn how to satisfy them to move onto the next level.
In your case I would presume that the birth would be the apex of a shared sexual pleasure.
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Robert… I’d love to know what got you classified as spam… as here is your post again retrieved from my chamber of limbo… you were surrounded by tons of viagra and sex toy ads.
I am on my second marriage, as well, but I do view DH has my last one and only. I never thought I would say this, but I don’t think I could ever look for another partner should something happen to us… although, I do have my son to consider and a man would have to be really exceptional as a father figure for him for me to even consider getting married again.
I don’t want to seem/or be judgmental, but I really don’t think that the young people today truly know what they are playing with when they choose to have sex… and I am including in this the young people who get married, too. I do not believe that just because you are married that all of a sudden you know what the score is. This is part of my reasons for supporting abstaining from sex before marriage. For the same reasons, I believe that people should wait before they get hitched until they truly understand the commitment they are undertaking. The church does try to educate people through Pre-Cana classes and retreats, but the young do not take it seriously. They do not participate with open minds because come hell or high water, they are getting married, so their minds are closed… which, of course, defeats the purpose of the pre-cana. I can speak this because I was such one person with my first marriage. Both of us just went through the motions and knew what kind of answers to give, and gave them just to speed through the process.
I’ll step down now!
Sunday, April 22, 2007 ~ at 10:42 pm
Oh, I wanted to comment on your last thought, “In your case I would presume that the birth would be the apex of a shared sexual pleasure.”
This is a bit off. Because of some health and age issues, I hesitate at the thought of another pregnancy. I must place my trust in God that whatever will happen will be for our greater benefit. I know that might sound naive, but I guess that is what my faith is about… trusting in God to take care of us…. and He has.
Miracles do happen and my little boy is proof of that. We consider him our Miracle Baby. I have some stories at the beginning of my blog and I think some in my bio, but if you are interested, the version with all the facts in one place is here:
http://dragonmommie.wordpress.com/2006/10/12/gabriels-birth-story-private/
Monday, April 23, 2007 ~ at 9:20 am
Ah, I’ve reconsidered your thought… and yes, I guess a birth would be the apex of shared sexual pleasure. My thought process was not going along those lines at the time I read this last night. I was thinking that yes, that possibility would be the result, but not always the conscious goal!
Monday, April 23, 2007 ~ at 5:32 pm
Wonderful post, DM! I too am pro-life and find the practice of abortion to be a heinous crime against humanity! Not only is there the murder of an innocent, but often there is the untold emotional suffering for the women who choose that path. There is evidence that abortion hurts women- if not immediately then certainly afterwards, abd especially in her later years when deeds of the past come up to haunt her and cause regret. This is very commonly during menopause. Abortion not only kills a child, but kills basic human compassion in the “health” field workers who recommend it and/or do the procedure. I find it offensive and ironic that a “women’s health centre” is so named when in fact all that they offer there is death! I believe the worst regrets would be for the women who were co-oerced or misinformed about abortion and who then or in later years came to regret that choice, believing that they had killed their own child. For no amount of words can really disguise the fact that the cluster of cells is in fact a potential child. They must know it in their heart. After all, the very words “I am having a baby” says it all- have you ever heard anyone say “I am currently host to a clump of cells?” It is the fact that a baby is coming that causes a panic- natural intelligence knows that it is a child in the making. Given that there are only a few inches between being born and unborn, it is no small wonder that the assisting nurse has to ensure that a baby’s head doesn’t slip out of the birth canal during an abortion. It sickens and saddens me that the law is not enforced and that it does not decree that a person has been murdered even with the head as yet unborn. We live in a sick world and unfortunately abortion is always going to be prevalent. All we can do is stand up against it and be a voice for the innocents vicariously mutilated and then sucked out of the warmth of their mother’s wombs.
Sorry this is a long post, DM!
You have hit a raw nerve. I have never had or contemplated an abortion, and I hate it with a passion!
Blessings,
Glenys
Monday, April 23, 2007 ~ at 6:18 pm
[...] Musings Of A Christian Wife letters in the spirit of Titus 2 from an older Christian woman in Australia « What I Wish I Knew 30 Years Ago! A Sad Fact In A Sick World April 24th, 2007 My blogging friend, Dragonmommie has written a post on abortion. Her post is well-written and at her request, I have critiqued it and responded. If you would like to see her post and my comment click here. [...]
Monday, April 23, 2007 ~ at 7:57 pm
Glenys… Thanks so much for your response and critique. This one came out so fast and fluidly that I was unsure in the beginning if I made any sense. Don’t worry about the length of your post, I love long ones. I read your blog and aside from thinking that you would appreciate it, I thought that you could probably add a lot more to what I had written. Oh, and thanks for the ping. I will check out your article presently.
I’ve spent most of my life “disliking” the idea of abortion, but not feeling strongly about it, one way or the other. After being pregnant myself, seeing pictures of the embryo and fetus, I have suddenly become a passionate pro-life advocate. During my lifetime, I have known individuals who have had an abortion and I can tell you that not only are their minds traumatized, but their souls as well. These women were more broken, I think, from the abortion than from just getting pregnant. God gave us free will and boy, what an obstacle course He has put us onto in order for us to use it.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 ~ at 1:08 am
Hi again, dragonmommie. I’ve actually got a little blog time tonight.
Just an FYI for you on the chips. The cinnamon chips were made by Hershey’s (I think, or maybe Nestle) several years ago and were actual chocolate cinnamon chips like regular old choc. chips. I used some – they didn’t melt well and were a little odd. My suggestion would be a sprinkle of real cinnamon and some of the other fun varieties of choc chips they have out now (like choc/white choc swirl). Thanks for the recipe!
Hey houkhouse! Nice to see you back, even if it’s for just a little while… hope everything is going well with you and that you are acclimating to your new schedule. Thanks for the tip. FYI I am posting recipes for every Wednesday… my Hot Chocolate Day!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 ~ at 3:13 pm
Great post. I too am confused over the extra attention that just the sex act has. It has consequences in many arias. It should not be just for fun. You are dealing with lifes, a potental one and your own. Having a sexual ralationship is a bond, love, commeitment, and so much more. You have to really understand that before you do that with anyone. I just dont understand why our socity has made it so… easy.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 ~ at 10:19 pm
Thanks, seandbe… I agree with you about the attraction to the “act”. There is so much more to the physical act than what people assume. They make a dramatic point about how it’s “their” body and nobody has a right to tell them what to do. You know, people tend to get very defensive over this issue. People claiming their bodies for their own is all well and good, but it’s gotten to the point where they’ve LOST the point about what it’s all about.
In their zeal, people have gotten irresponsible. I find this more often with the young. Their bodies are just blooming and they have no idea how to cope with what is happening and what they are feeling. They want to feel grown up, want to pass themselves off to the world as adults, yet they are innocent children, getting lost in this crazy world. Inevitably, they get into “trouble”.
Oy, too much personal opinion here, I fear.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 ~ at 3:54 am
Hi, Dragonmommie
Your front page has changed! Any reasons?
Interestingly enough I have also read every book of Anne McCaffrey before her “retirement”!
Talk to you in the next scroll!
Old Wyrm
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 10:02 am
[...] to my blog. I will not go into the details now because I already did so in my previous post, “Who’s More Deeply Disturbed”. I will just post the link to a nurses’ description of what she saw. Keep in mind that [...]
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 12:14 pm
I did not go to the link, for I don’t desire to read about the gory details. I can understand why you are upset. This is a very emotional issue.
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 12:27 pm
Thanks, tobeme… I am really surprised at how strongly all this is affecting me; and I certainly would not label myself an activist. Though I am Catholic, I’ve always took the stance that I can’t control what anyone else does and had sort of an aura of acceptance of things I cannot control. I think after I had my son and experiencing, first hand the miracle and gift babies are to us, just makes me want to cry when I see stuff like this. The feeling of powerlessness is overpowering when I feel that something should be done.
I simply cannot abide the idea that the unborn are “items”, for a lack of better wording, that can just be flushed away, or removed from our bodies without a second thought or glance. The link I posted had no disturbing pictures, though there were links there to such pics. The description was brief and not exactly graphic, so I did not have a problem linking to it.
Babies can be perceived as a consequence or a blessing. I believe that all women/mothers can view them as a blessing, if only they look beyond themselves for just a minute. Sure, they are a responsibility, but so much is personally gained, so much joy that erases the burden of responsibility.
tobeme… I remember your response to my previous post. I do appreciate ANY comments you make to my writings.
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 12:42 pm
dragonmommie,
I read your earlier post about the partial birth abortion ban and now this one. I have always been pro-choice in the first trimester, but this procedure is just murder plain and simple, and it has gotten me thinking about where I stand on the whole issue. Partial birth abortion is gory and disgusting, but everyone should be shown the procedure on the national news. Maybe then the rhetoric about women’s bodies as islands unto themselves and the word avoidance when it comes to medical procedures would disappear on the feminist side. Great posts.
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 2:18 pm
Wow, mysteryofiniquity, that’s an honor coming from you and to have you comment on my blog! I have your blog on my blog surfer and you are an awesome writer. The last thing I read was last night, with that video of Mark Driscoll… ugh what a jerk! I usually get to reading things late, so I don’t really like to repeat what others have already said.
I do agree with you, this “medical procedure” should be aired on national news… prime time. Let people try to explain to their kids what this really is… or try to hide what it really is. I do believe that there are women out there getting this done to them, without full realization what is actually happening to them and their baby. While I do believe there are cold, callous women out there, not caring; I believe there are more ignorant young women out there, not knowing because their own doctors minimalize and hide the facts. It can’ be that these doctors are proud of what they are doing…(I could, of course, be wrong).
In general, I think it should be aired to educate the public. I think when it’s discussed by people in power, making the laws, it’s spoken about in abbreviated form and terms. When I hear discussion about it on the radio, it’s certainly the cleaned up version. People need to know the full, down and dirty version, the raw truth…. for if they can’t stand the truth, they have no business making this “okay” in the public eye.
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 3:51 pm
In regards to partial abortions, I think you’re right in that there are lot of uneducated, misguided people about there about it procedure. I really don’t some women, know exactly what they are doing. They just see abortion and understand, the bases. While I will also agree that this does need national attention. We can slap Anna Nicole on primte time for weeks, why can’t PA’s a 10 mins with Peter Jennings right. I clicked the link today, and read some of the nurses statments.. Powerful words indeed. I’m proud of you for standing strong and proud in something that you believe, and above all eduating people out there on the issue.
You adoptive-blogging son..Justin
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 5:35 pm
dragonmommie,
I’m honored that you like my site! Driscoll is a piece of work and needs to be exposed. I mean come on! Sex every night? I can’t even make dinner every night!
But seriously, it’s very hard to find any willing to stand up and say this procedure is just plain wrong. I’ve admitted to lacking the courage and I’m a feminist, just not a radical one!
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 6:55 pm
Hi, DM…I applaud you for standing up and voicing your opinion on this. Terminating a pregnancy – at any stage – is a highly charged, emotional issue. I respect your sincerity and passion on this very much.
I am a woman who believes in every woman’s right to reproductive choice. HOWEVER, I believe any and all choices should be made by NO LATER than the 5th WEEK. With today’s technology, a woman can find out if she’s pregnant within DAYS of conception. If she wasn’t able to prevent an unwanted pregnancy PRIOR to having sex, then there is no excuse for waiting any longer than just a few days afterwards to end it.
I am of the agreement that Partial Birth abortions are simply legalized murders in utero.
Thursday, May 3, 2007 ~ at 8:22 pm
Thank you, everybody for your support. Every so often I click on some the links that refer people to my blog. When I saw this issue all over again, I just thought to bring that page to more eyes. I mean, the slaughter houses are more humane to the animals they slaughter than our doctors are to human beings!
It’s not too difficult for me to speak out about this because it’s SO obvious to me that this is wrong. GRACE, I do agree that women can find out if they are pregnant within days and that there is no excuse for them to terminate an unwanted pregnancy then, however, my religious beliefs kick in here and I would not have an abortion at any stage. I do respect everyone’s opinion and would never judge anyone…. though, these PBA’s are just plain murder.
Mysteryofiniquity: I have to admit that sometimes I am intimidated by your blog and hesitate to comment fearing that I would be getting in over my head intellectually! I agree Driscoll is a disillusioned man. I mean, he is admitting that, what, 60% of “the ladies” are active in the church, yet he pushes them aside for the demographic of men least likely to go to church AT ALL. You are right, the place for him to preach IS the graveyard. Re PBA, you hit it on the head in your first comment, “avoidance”. People do not want to look at this issue because they KNOW how wrong it is, without even knowing the full gory details… they do NOT want to go there.
Justin: I agree… Anna Nichole Smith was all over the media! I don’t have any faith in the so called media to bring out this issue, or ANY issue of this magnitude. They do not want to rock the boat and that is how it’s been for ages…. Oh MAN, Justin… I am your new mommie! Remember, I am watching you!
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 12:41 pm
wow…that is really lovely, DM
Thank you so much for sharing. As one who writes poetry as well, I understand how…personal…a piece is and how vulnerable one feels when they show it to the world. (It’s much scarier that “blogging” LOL)
You know, my ex husband and I (we were both practicing Christians then) also (tried) abstaining during our courtship. Sometimes we were successful and sometimes we failed. However, either way, it was a very powerful experience.
Interestingly enough, he’s recently contacted me and would like to start ‘dating’ me again. We’ve been apart for almost 3 years although still in touch now and then. There is true unconditional love between us (I think I blogged on this before).
I’m actually considering it
However, I’m also considering keeping the sexual aspect out of it (for now) because it can be so very overwhelming that it can really cloud what is happening in the rest of the relationship. (This was true for us, anyway). I’ll keep you posted. I may be writing TONS of poetry in upcoming weeks! LOL
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 12:55 pm
Thanks, Grace…
Although we abstained, we did do it once or twice for reasons that my DH had and I was all too eager to agree to, but it was a good reason. After that, we abstained for the two years we courted… around two years. I am so hazy when it comes to keeping track of time. Truth be told, it was really DH that insisted on abstinance; but with hindsight, I think it was the best thing we could have done.
I would caution you before getting involved with your ex. You ARE vulnerable and it’s very temping to get back with someone you know already. After I got divorced, it was the same for me as we did also keep in touch. We almost did wind up in bed one day I went to the house, but that would have been a disaster and thank goodness I had the presence of mind to stop it. I do realize that I have no clue of your relationship with him, but I felt that I had issue a “caution” flag.
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 1:54 pm
Oh, believe me. RED CAUTION flags abound…..that if (IF) I decide to do this, we’ll go slowly.
I’ve already begun talking to my family (son) and friends about the possibility and it’s interesting to hear what they all have to say. One: Many of them have been praying for us to get reconciled. Two: ALL of them agree that – had we not been so bombarded with so many issues, so early on, and so unrelentlessly (internal, yes, but mostly external), we might still be together. We were that crazy in love with each other.
The most compelling conversation I’ve had was with my son – who, I would have thought – would have poo pooed the idea. Not only is he totally for it, but his logic was absolutely mature beyond his years (he just turned 21).
DM…It wasn’t until just 2 weeks ago that I even allowed myself to say that this would be a possibility. When we divorced, I hadn’t “loved” him for a number of years. We went to counselling, etc., and did our best but I never felt “love” for him. But when I told God several months ago (in the middle of one of those drama cycles with my exboyfriend), that my life was up for grabs and that I was willing to have it arranged however GOD saw fit, something began shifting in me…almost, well, not against my will certainly – but against what I thought was even possible.
I cannot forget that we stood before our friends and family and took Covenant together on the day we wed – Communion. I cannot forgot the innumerable hours I prayed (and, I’m sure eventually, he prayed) for the healing of our marriage.
We’ve been apart for over 3 years and – while I’ve had the opportunity to get back with him! – I’ve NEVER considered it before now. Can’t explain why I am now…
BUT, ‘dating’ is ok and I may even date him AND someone else.
WHY NOT? LOL
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 1:58 pm
Sounds really good if you can get back together. You’ve got to go with what you think the Universe/God is telling you. If it happens, I will be very happy for you… I will be praying for it.
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 4:34 pm
DM, same thing happen to me as well, a few days ago. It happen right after WP added the Tag Cloud widget.
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 5:19 pm
Dragonmommie,
Never be afraid to jump into the stream of conversation! I only act intellectual!
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 7:25 pm
Dear Dragonmommie!
Greetings!
I’m sorry I was right!
Anyway, everything’s seems to be alright!
Would you believe that WordPress classified my replies to your comments on my blog as spam again!
At least they are trying their best!
LOL
Old Wyrm
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 9:32 pm
Justin… What made it so strange was that I, myself, did not see any difference to my blog. Robert saw it, though… but as far as I know, he was the only one. Ironically, HIS comments are ALWAYS scooped up by the spam police… so weird.
Robert… It’s okay, at least I’ve got it fixed now… but again, YOU were the only one, I think to see that. No problem to rescue your comments.
Friday, May 4, 2007 ~ at 9:34 pm
Thanks Mysteryofiniquity! I think that I only act intellectual, as well. Sometimes I feel that I am, then I come across someone who soars HIGH above me and I get dizzy looking up.
Saturday, May 5, 2007 ~ at 8:41 pm
LOL! LOL!
Robert-Gilles
Saturday, May 5, 2007 ~ at 8:46 pm
You ARE enjoying this! Ah, it’s just a cool Saturday night here, quarter to nine pm.
Seriously, I am so lucky that the contents of all my widgets remained intact or I’d be up the creek. As it is, I cannot remember how they were layed out, but that’s okay because maybe I’ll do something better this time.
Sunday, May 6, 2007 ~ at 9:47 pm
They’re great as they are!
No need to change them!
BTW, thank you so much for helping me with the typos!
Thursday, May 10, 2007 ~ at 10:58 am
LOL.. I had a great comment yesterday, but you had comments locked.. I’ll have to channel my thoughts again..
Thursday, May 10, 2007 ~ at 12:21 pm
[...] Sorry about the inconvenience if some of you wanted to comment on my last post, “Alcohol In Celeb City“. Somehow the comments were turned off; and now, they are back one, so comment away if you so [...]
Thursday, May 10, 2007 ~ at 12:25 pm
Ah… pings & comments back online!
Thursday, May 10, 2007 ~ at 4:36 pm
These athletes and celeberties are a product of our society. Turn on MTV and see how excess is celebrated. It is small wonder that things like this happen.
Thursday, May 10, 2007 ~ at 8:30 pm
Justin…. Get that mojo working again!
tobeme… Thankfully, I do not get cable, though, recently I’ve been thinking we should get something so the little guy can get educational shows for kids.
Friday, May 11, 2007 ~ at 5:23 am
Interesting posting, Debbie!
As tobeme, these athletes are a product of a certain society.
In Europe cyclism has been through a lot of doping scandals.
But some sports are stricter and more consistent; e.g. cricket which has a zero tolerance for drugs and rugby where even in wine-drinking France professional players are not allowed to drink a drop of alcohol until the end of the season.
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Friday, May 11, 2007 ~ at 9:24 am
DM,
I used to ponder myself about the salaries of professional sport players. I understood how/why they made so much money. I didn’t see how a professional ball player who sat on the bench all season, had $$$ value than a surgeon, someone’s who’s actually making a difference. People always tell me that it’s abou ticket sales and merchandise. It all comes down to money, how much can they bring in, an the same can be applied to movie stars.
You’re right about celeb being victims of privilege. I guess when your life is under scrunity and camera all day, everyday, it begins to affect the brain. I think they have to work extra hard just to be normal. I don’t really feel sorry for them, it’s the price they have to pay for fame. But if we as a society, didn’t consume celeberity lifestyles so much, maybe things wouldn’t be as bad. If we didn’t desire to emulate everything they do from the clothes they wear and food they eat, maybe it wouldn’t be such call and demand for the attention from the media to uncover these things.
Personally I’m glad that Paris is going to jail. She to me is celeb trash, who purposely flaunts the money and runs amuck, that’s her claim to fame.
Friday, May 11, 2007 ~ at 10:58 am
Justin… I agree with you 100%; but I have to add that the media is a lot to blame, as well. If they didn’t report it, we wouldn’t know about it. It’s not like consumers write in to beg for more info on celebrities. The media presents it, whether it be on TV or newspaper, and the public gobbles it up. I really tend to like and respect those celebs that just stay out of the limelight. Some of them consume it.
What I am questioning here, as well, is the astronomical amount of excess $$$$$$$ that they get paid, if you could call that a salary. I call it robbing the bank! I question does it really take that exorbitant amount of money to maintain a comfortable lifestyle? I think not. It’s not like they have tribes of kids to support. I do agree that they need to secure a future for themselves should their careers fall to an injury, but really, THAT much?
You know they saying, “Money goes to money”. In the mean time, my family would never even consider going to a major league game, though we go to the minor leagues, specifically because we do not want to give them our money. (Did I tell you that DH will go out of his way not to support the main stream?) Plus, they squeeze as many people as they can get into the stadiums and the chairs are so uncomfortable it’s unbelievable. Oh, even if we DID want to go to a major league game, we simply could not afford it.
Friday, May 11, 2007 ~ at 11:07 am
DragonLife…
Your comment explains why cricket and rugby are not so popular here in the states! But at least, those sports have some sort of integrity. Sports here has become the drug of animals. There is not a major sport here that has not shed blood at one time or another and our children are poisoned by the pressure to follow in those footsteps. The pressure here for even little league teams to devour the opposite team is unbelievable. Violence at little league games is rampant, committed by the parents…. IN FRONT OF THEIR OWN CHILDREN! There are even instances where people have gotten killed at these games. I remember a story, but only came up with these references. If you do a search on “little league violence parent”, see all that pops up. Check this out:
http://www.tweak.com/staff/griffin/littleleague.html
http://shatteredpeace.com/violence_in_youth_sports.htm
Sunday, May 13, 2007 ~ at 3:05 am
Happy mother’s day to you!
Monday, May 14, 2007 ~ at 12:11 pm
D.M.
What a very beautiful and insightful article. Yes, I do understand why you did not get pregnant with your first husband. Amazing what the mind and body can do. I love that you do not encourage baby talk. This is a great service to your son. You have much value to offer your son and he is so very lucky to have you for a Mother, as you are lucky to have him!
Blessings and hugs! BTW – thanks for the link!
Monday, May 14, 2007 ~ at 8:21 pm
subarcticmama… Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Happy Belated Mother’s Day to you, too!
We had a great day, with beautiful weather.
Monday, May 14, 2007 ~ at 8:26 pm
tobeme…
Thank you for your thoughts. Yes, that was truly amazing… especially since I got pregnant relatively right away, only 6 months, after my second wedding day.
With my first husband, it was the more he talked about kids, about his future male children, I got more and more disgusted and scared. He said that if a son of his turned out to be homosexual, that he’d disown the kid. He said that if the boy didn’t like sports or baseball, that he’d do the same thing. That scared me because I knew that he was serious and capable of doing it. A real Neanderthal.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 ~ at 1:16 am
((( DM ))) Your son is so blessed to have you…as blessed as you are to have him
Motherhood is definitely not for sissys! It’s done more to help me grow as a person than any other thing. The depth of love for a child goes beyond anything else on this earth..except, maybe the love one has for a GRANDBABY! LOL 
Can you believe it???? I’m WAY too young to be a Grandma! haha 
THANKS for the well wishes!!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 ~ at 12:07 am
Thanks, Grace! Sorry I just caught your comment now. I’ve not been around here lately. I agree that being a mother has been the one single thing to help me grow.
Congrats on your pending grandmommiehoodom!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 ~ at 12:44 am
DM it’s been 10 days.. YOU OKAY…Just checking up on ya. Hope all is well.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 ~ at 7:30 am
Dear Debbie!
A belated but sincere congratulation on your being a Mother!
Interestingly enough we’ve been planting our own herbs on the balcony! As for oysters, I’ll make sure there are plenty left in spite of my eating many of them. Might be a good idea to choose another shell for your son! LOL
Robert-Gilles
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 ~ at 8:17 am
Hi Justin…
Thanks for asking. I’ve been laying low here, trying to get into more outside things for the exercise. Sedentary lifestyle and diabetes are very dangerous. It’s more rough than usual for me this year to get active and I don’t know why… Well, all winter I basically drove everywhere. Yesterday, I took a walk and my feet and back are literally killing me… but I know I have to suffer through it for awhile until my muscles get toned enough to ENJOY it! I am lucky that one of the ladies at church wants to walk, too, during the day so I really need to take advantage of that opportunity.
Ironically enough, I’ve not really writing any of the stuff I wanted to write for my son. I’m not getting into that frame of mind yet. A review will be coming up next month or so because I’m eligible for a new cell phone, YEA. I’ve mentally made the ultimate sacrifice because DH wants to get me an iPhone… my mouth is watering…. but we really can’t afford that… he is crazy. Besides, if there are bugs in that thing, I’ll be annoyed. We are also planning a trip for later on this year and we should really be financially focusing on that.
Anyway dear Justin, thanks for inquiring about me…. I’ve been trying to keep up with everyone, too… just not commenting as much, either. Oh, I’ve also been busy proofreading Roberts book on his Dragonlife blog… Alymndes. It’s been interesting, especially trying to figure out if the indigenous words have any meaning in our world! If you like to read fiction: http://dragonlife.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 ~ at 8:32 am
HA Robert! Yep, I’m a mother for over 2 years now. Believe it or not, he was a surprise… yeah. He is a blessing to us… AND he is the light of our church… well, not the only light, but everyone there knows HIM… I am known as Gabriel’s mother!
I love herbs… the only one I’ve not planted from my regular selection is basil… don’t know why because that is one of my favorites. I’ve got to get some. Maybe because I’ve been purchasing the plants from my grocer instead of a nursery. They have them in water with the roots intact; but you must check to be sure that they are not dried out, dead. I do not have much this year: rosemary, lavender, lemon tyme, oregano and mint. I am looking for chocolate mint… I love that one… very delicate plant with a niiice chocolate mint fragrance and taste. It’s not been surviving the winter, even in my house.
I’m not having any luck with plants lately in general. We had a few days of wet weather and mine had a white powdery substance on the leaves. I think it’s that white mildew… doesn’t really look like mites… I read that I can use baking soda and soap to spray on the leaves. I drastically had to cut down my beautiful crown of thorns. That plant never stopped blooming from last summer in the house. I mean, it was blooming like crazy, then even more when it got outside…then once out, it got that white stuff on it and I cut back 3 or four really long stems, effectively leaving just about maybe 3 short new shoots that were sprouting from the base. I hope I didn’t kill it. I want to re-pot it, but will wait for any shock it suffers to settle.
My oregano and mint had to be dumped but I snipped a few pieces without that stuff on them to plant. The only plants not to have that white stuff are the lavender (much surprised) and the lemon tyme.
Gotta run and check my plants as I do every morning to make sure that this stuff doesn’t come back. I am hoping that the weather stays dry for a while.
Thursday, May 24, 2007 ~ at 9:53 am
i totally agree with you on the whole abortion issue. it is sick and wrong. my sister became pregnant when she was 16, yet abortion was NEVER a thought. from the moment of conception, it is a LIFE. thank you for your blunt post!!
i would like to say though, that within a marriage, sex can and should be for pleasure, not just pro-creation. i don’t know what i would do if i thought that was all it was for. God made them man and woman, to pro-create as in Genesis, but also to enjoy each other thoroughly, as in Song of Solomon. within the bounds of marriage, there has to be freedom to enjoy and focus on the pleasure that the sexual act brings.
thanks for such a great post! it is refreshing to hear someone talk about abortion without apology! God bless you.
-jeanette
Thursday, May 24, 2007 ~ at 10:07 am
Hi Jeanette… Thanks for commenting.
First, I’d like to apologize if I come off as too prudish… I do believe that sex within marriage can and should be used for pleasure as well as procreation. If I only looked at it for pro-creation, I’d be one frustrated dragon! What we believe is that we simply must keep our minds open to the “possibility” of creating life and welcoming it into this world.
For us, sex has become is a very special form of communication and reaffirmation of the acceptance, love and trust we share. It’s a whole bunch of things and pleasure is certainly high on that list. The intimacy we share is indescribable and sometimes the only chance we get to really LAUGH. It’s not that we don’t, but we happen to have two very differently wired brains for humor.
Thanks again for commenting and come back again… I really enjoyed reading your comment.
Thursday, May 24, 2007 ~ at 11:01 am
okay…thanks for the clarification!!LOL! i just thought i would never make it if i only thought of it for making babies! HAHAHA!
yeah, it is definitely a connection that surpasses even words at times. i have 4 beautiful kiddos, and it is the one place i can feel like a woman, and not a snot-rag, diaper-changing, story-reading, one syllable word monster!! LOL
God bless! and thanks for visiting my site too!!
Thursday, May 24, 2007 ~ at 12:10 pm
I definitely know what you mean! As a matter of fact, in the beginning I thought that I could not have kids, so it was all for the pleasure then, even though I often fantasized about making a baby and what that would be like.
Yes, definitely the only place I can regularly feel like a woman! I don’t even have a chance to put on makeup any more… though recently, I’ve been working at that.
Monday, May 28, 2007 ~ at 4:26 pm
(((( DragonMommie!!! ))) THERE you are! LOL I’ve been checking your blog but hadn’t seen anything for awhile and I thought maybe you got all wrapped up in yarn and mommie stuff!!! BIG HUGS, sweet FRIEND! YES, I told you it was about intentions (that was so so sweet)….and if you still want to make it, WOO WHOO! I’ll be looking forward to watching it’s progress!!! I tried to see the pattern but I have to register to get in first (sorta like a secret handshake, huh? LOL)
Life here is fine. I’ve been feeling a little bit off…sort of blue…the last couple of days. Even broke out crying while on my walk this morning – which SO didn’t make sense! Well, now I know…I heard from my daughter an hour ago..she miscarried
and is feeling very low…. One thing about being a Mom, DM…. sometimes I think having to watch your kids go through painful times is even WORSE than going through them yourself!!!
Monday, May 28, 2007 ~ at 6:55 pm
Grace… I’m so sorry to hear about your daughter’s miscarriage. I think you are right about it being worse watching your children go through pain than going through yourself. I feel that way about Gabriel and my niece and nephew. I know that I believe that I am strong enough to go through hard times instead of someone I love. Of course, now I realize that it must be part of everyone’s life and learning process. Amazing how you knew something was wrong.
Thanks for telling me about not being able to view the picture. I will see if I can post it here. You are right, I’ve been trying to divide my time between yarn things, projects I want to do, getting out more for Gabriel (and myself)… just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in a day. Today, we got our really early and had breakfast at Country Buffet, then hit the bookstore, Verizon (again), Bob’s Stores, and Linen & Things. They (L&T) had a blowout clearance sale which included a tent in the parking lot. We bought pillows there and lots of things for .25 cents a piece.
At Verizon, I checked out the phones again, then attempted to upgrade to Cherry Chocolate… then was told that the extra $50. discount would be a rebate, so I left and did the whole thing online and they waive that. I get so excited about new cell phones… it’s shameful! …. but fun!
Monday, May 28, 2007 ~ at 9:42 pm
Wow…sounds like you had a fantastic day….shopping, family, food…all the GOOD stuff
Yeah, my baby’s pretty down
….I just reminded her that even though we might not understand WHY things happen the way they do, it’s usually for a higher purpose. She’s only 19 and has her whole life ahead of her…including having babies (please, God! LOL)
You are quite the Techi Girl
The only chocolate I get excited about is the one that goes straight to my hips when I eat it! (mmmm ! LOL)
I’ve had a nice quiet day here to myself…funny how I have so few of those days now. I actually got my paints out for the first time in months. I found this really cool little desk at a yard sale – $10! – that is the perfect size and shape and color for the corner by the window….I got myself all set up, turned up some nice music (sort of ambient stuff). And then I reminded myself: It’s not about perfection…just have fun! And I did! By the time I was done, I was feeling so much lighter…so when C. called to tell me the news, I was in a good frame to just love on her…
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 ~ at 8:52 am
AWW DM, I can only picture the amount of joy you experienced when LD said his first “ma ma”. My mom says is brings a moment of pure bliss to your heart. In 15 years you’d be wishing he never learned that word, as I’m sure it will be called several hundred thousand times. I’m glad you’re taking time to enjoy these moments with your son. Cherish them.
I have a great visual of LD using his crib as a trampoline-LOL.
J
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 ~ at 9:39 pm
Justin have you recovered from your own night of bliss-sters?
Ha… At first I was like, “did he just say what I think he said?” The Drake kept saying that he did, but I didn’t believe him until it got obvious with hand gestures and eye contact. Am I difficult or what? This coming weekend my sister will be watching him for about a full day and we’ll see if he forgets us again, amid the junk food and indulgences my sister seems to think he needs…. or doesn’t get enough from us.
Yeah, picture a kid with a grin on his face from ear to ear jumping up and down in his little onesies and bare feet. I will see if I can take a picture tomorrow morning of him doing it and post for you… or would that shatter the fantasy?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 ~ at 10:38 pm
Picture him if you like, but I have a nice visual already. I’m glad his auntie spoils him LOL.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 ~ at 2:12 pm
DM,
Oh how wonderful! In about a year, you will wonder why this was so exciting when little Drake talks non stop, ha. Enjoy the moment!
Sunday, June 3, 2007 ~ at 1:31 am
Dude,
If you like to skip through the woods whistling Barry Manilow tunes you’ll be alone for the rest of your life. Unless your gay of course — then good for you, pal. You’ll never be alone. Happy Hannukah!!!
Sunday, June 3, 2007 ~ at 3:03 pm
Ah, but it works out if you’re a dudette!
Merry Christmas!
Monday, June 4, 2007 ~ at 8:54 pm
Dragonmommie!
Just wrote a magical recipe for you and your Dragonet on my grimoire!
LOL,
Old Wyrm
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 ~ at 12:55 pm
[...] this just happens to be my Night Out Day. For those of you who do not know, I am a Platelet donor. They call it “Apheresis” and an account of my first donation is here. Today will be my second donation, but not because I haven’t tried. Because of my limited [...]
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 ~ at 3:41 pm
Happy Birthday! I wish you happiness, health and love always!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 ~ at 4:44 pm
Marianne Williamson, and it’s one of my FAVORITE quotes, DM!!! It’s often mistakening quoted as belonging to Nelson Mandela…he used it as part of his inaugural speech.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 ~ at 4:45 pm
Woooo WHoooooooo!!!
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuu
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuu
Happy Birthday, dear Debbieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuu
and
many
moreeeeeeeeeeee
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 ~ at 9:21 pm
WOW Grace, I have it as being Nelson Mandela, too! I have to confess that I never got around to reading the whole speech, but I am going to look up Marianne Williamson. I am so glad you revealed the true author.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 ~ at 9:38 pm
[...] correctly named the author of the quote in my last post, here, to be Marianne Williamson and I did a quick google, because I’m ALLOWED, and found out [...]
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 ~ at 9:38 pm
Crazymommy and Grace…
Thank you, both, so much! My DH brought me blueberry pie without “added” sugar and we had a nice little private celebration. You have to understand, he is a sort of “non” celebratory kind of person… but he’s got the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. He really doesn’t need a “birthday” to do something special for me… geez, remember the iphone incident? If you missed it, I little while back I had to actually talk him OUT of getting it for me. I sort of went on a rant here:
http://dragonmommie.wordpress.com/2007/05/27/immaterially-speaking-of-the-material/
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 ~ at 10:54 am
Of course its Grace. She knows every thing. LOL! No, I really think she knows a lot. She keep me thinking and reaching all the time. I read her first when I long on. You go Girl!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 ~ at 12:30 pm
Happy (late) birthday! I hope your day rocked!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 ~ at 2:43 pm
Happy Birthday!
Yes, as each year passes the celebration of my birthday becomes less of a big deal.
Thursday, June 14, 2007 ~ at 3:41 am
I said that before:
The past is my treasure
The present is my joy
The future is my expectation
I do believe it. I forgive but I do not forget. This is not a hard way of seeing things, but a way not to repeat the same mistakes…
Thursday, June 14, 2007 ~ at 3:42 am
Dear Debbie!
Happy Birthday and all that!
Robert-Gilles
Thursday, June 14, 2007 ~ at 3:45 am
What is white hair but hair without pigment!
A clever beautician should invest into wigs, as this will be the main fashion in richer countries very soon!
Thursday, June 14, 2007 ~ at 8:35 am
Robert…
Wise words… how did you get so wise? Yeah, I can forgive, but seldom forget. I don’t know if it’s “forgiveness” or just plain “tolerance”. It might be forgiveness because I can actually enjoy myself in the transgressors’ presence again.
Thursday, June 14, 2007 ~ at 8:38 am
Thank you, Robert! The worst BD was my 25th one. I had heard so much hype about that one making me “old”. Then the day came and went and I did not feel any different. After that, they all were a piece of cake!… and this year it was blueberry pie (no sugar added)
I am so glad I got past that birthday thing early on. It made for a pretty enjoyable life! Now if I can just get my glasses to fit right.
Thursday, June 14, 2007 ~ at 8:40 am
That seems like a great idea, except in the summer time. I would think that it would get tremendously hot underneath a wig. I would love a completely white really long haired wig… or a fiery RED one!
Thursday, June 14, 2007 ~ at 8:48 am
Thank you , tobeme…. Sorry I thought I commented previously. I guess I commented in my head and not here. I’ve noticed that some people view this with pity, feeling sorry for people who do not want to make a big deal. I guess they might think the nonchalance is fronting for feeling neglected. Really, though, I have a feeling for freedom, of not being dependent upon needing celebration. I prefer it to be a time of reflection.
I am so glad that it’s not a big deal for me. I see my sister and she still needs the big deal… though she makes it a point not to tell anyone in her family the date just to see if they remember..and they never do! Does she get mad? She used to, but I do not know about this year. So funny… I am talking about her kids here!
Sunday, June 17, 2007 ~ at 6:31 pm
Age 37 taught me the number of birthdays means nothing. That year saw the sudden onset of a rare, incurable degenerative disease that now, thirteen years later, has left me housebound for nearly three years and semi bedridden.
I’m very aware of how many people in their sixties, seventies, and sometimes eighties and beyond live much fuller lives than I have since age 37. Imo, gray hairs are NOTHING. One pain free minute – now that’s something. How you feel and function is infinitely more important than how you look – or, more often, how you happen to feel about how you look!
Thursday, June 21, 2007 ~ at 9:35 am
I think this poses some interesting questions that definitely aren’t talked about. I think as mothers we are expected to show our kids a certain amount of affection, nurture and love. This means hugging them, kissing them, cuddling them and so forth. As we enter partnerships with another adult, we assuming this is prior to kids, have love, affection and nurture the relationship as opposed to the person. We then have children and as mom’s go through a transition of being a partner and a mom. The affection we give to our kids and our partners while similar is though different. For me anyway. I hug, love and kiss all my kids no matter their age. I think that while the affection to the children and to the partner are similar, they are still identifiable different from another. Yes I think we tend to “mother” our partners and they like it. Of course thinking about this topic makes me wonder if the male partners and fathers perhaps similar thoughts about the affection they give their kids and partners. Hmmm.
Thursday, June 21, 2007 ~ at 10:59 am
Petra…
Thank you so much for your valuable comments and insight. I agree with what you say and I hope that the article and your comments will reach the eyes of someone who might be wrestling with this same question.
Friday, June 22, 2007 ~ at 10:10 am
Hi Paul Martin…
I am sorry that I am just getting to your comment. I’ve been preoccupied with outside things as of late and don’t get here as much. When I did comment a few days ago, it was rejected so I emailed you privately. Here is my comment:
I cannot possibly fully understand what you are going through. As close as I can come is that at a preteen age (I forget when), I had an accident at the park. I fell from a swing and seriously injured my lower back. The pain was so intense that I could not breath and if it were not for a friend who was a boy scout, I don’t know what would’ve happened. He calmed me down enough so that eventually, I did breath. But getting back… because we were not allowed to go to the park by ourselves, I kept the injury from my parents. For a long time, I was in excruciating pain. Even now.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I know what it is to life with chronic, pain. As I said, I cannot understand fully, but I understand that your life is nowhere near what you wish it to be. I understand that you need to figure out ways of managing day to day and that most people take for granted those things of every day life that you were made to give up or come very hard to you. I understand how it must be for you to have to manage your pain, while having to interact with people who will never understand; people who might even wonder why and judge you for the things you need to do just to manage to live some sort of, as normal a life as you can muster. You see, I must plan my every move to conserve, what I know to be the limits of my endurance, for a simple visit to the park with my husband and son. My husband understands, but he really doesn’t because he doesn’t know what it’s like. Sometimes I wonder how impatient he really gets, though he doesn’t show it. I hate holding him back from his own pace, but that is just the way it is. Again, I must tell you that my condition is nowhere near as serious as yours, so, I can only comment up to my own limits.
LOL… you are right gray hairs are the least of it, when you get to thinking about the indiscriminate brutality of life… but we must go on to live our lives, such as they are. For all the pain that you are in, you have gained “something” that nobody else has. Only you will know what that is. For the things I know that I have gained through my own life, I am very grateful for. I am grateful for whatever has made me a better person. When you think about it, the circumstances of your life have probably brought you further along spiritually than most people, including myself.
Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. I feel honored that you took the time to do so.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 ~ at 4:20 pm
Hey, you!!! I’ve been missing your!! How’s everything going? Hopefully you’re just having lots of fun doing something AWAY from the computer!!!
HUGS!
Grace
Monday, July 9, 2007 ~ at 9:29 am
DM,
Thanks for sharing this video with me. She has a lot of good points and it’s pretty funny too. I’m glad things are well with you. Hug Gab for me.
Later,
Justin
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 ~ at 11:20 am
Very cool video. What she said needs to heard by so many. We need to learn to be happy with ourselves, once that happens, so many doors open up!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 ~ at 9:06 pm
Justin- Just so busy this month… All is well… and Gabe is “officially” hugged!
tobeme… I agree with you. There are so many people out there who just don’t get what she is saying and insisting that people that are fat do not deserve respect because in his opinion, they don’t respect their own bodies. What a load of c–p! I asked him if he disrespects ALL the strangers he meets until he gets to know them… no answer and the worst part is that he says that he used to be fat and now he is not. You would think that he would have some sort of empathy for the discrimination these (us) people are subjected to… but no.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 ~ at 9:08 pm
Wow… I like the personal icons at left. I have to see what else is new here.
Friday, July 20, 2007 ~ at 1:39 pm
would like to know how to knit
(dragons)?
have to have 200 to 300 for classreunion in nov?
Friday, July 20, 2007 ~ at 4:09 pm
Hi… you need to have dragons?
Friday, July 20, 2007 ~ at 4:13 pm
Hi…
You need to have dragons? What are you looking to make exactly? Anything in mind? Like a pin or something like that, small for the kids? What age group?
If you just want to learn the basics there are lots of tutorials out there. Go into You Tube and do a search on “Knitting Tutorial” or “Knitting”, “Crochet”… there are lots of videos out there so that you can see it being done.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 ~ at 6:58 pm
I loved reading your comments. I often feel so alone in this world….. reading your blog “late term abortions” made my spirit smile and massaged my soul. THANK YOU!- I really needed that!
God bless!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 ~ at 10:25 pm
Brenda…
Thank you for your comments. That post was REALLY controversial for me, but I just let it FLY!
I am so glad that something I said helped you. If you need to talk, I am always here.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007 ~ at 6:20 am
Hi Debbie!
Good to hear all is fine and sound with you and all your dear ones!
Will come up with a recipe or two soon!
I shall go home for a few days in France end of this month. Will look around for recipes!
Cheers and all that!
Robert-Gilles
Saturday, September 8, 2007 ~ at 8:55 pm
Wow those are some BLUE eyes your little guys got there!!!!! And welcome to ravelry, even though you aren’t going to talk about it.
smilz,
kayt
Thursday, September 13, 2007 ~ at 7:37 pm
That is an adorable photo. Sounds like you certainly know how to keep yourself busy. Isn’t it great that we always have new things to learn? I love this music track too!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 ~ at 6:08 pm
Hi, It’s great to read about person’s same birthday !
My birth date and year 6/12/61
Great website! Your extremely talented! Love your fabulous
knit wear
I live in California
Have a great rest of the Year
Regina
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 ~ at 6:59 am
Hi Regina…
I love hearing about people who have my birthday, too. How are you handling being a gemini? Oh, I forgot… that comes natural to you! But really, can get crazy sometimes. I am in Elizabeth, NJ~ a whole continent away.
Have a great year!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 ~ at 10:55 am
Welcome back; glad to know you had a nice summer.
The baby items … and the baby especially … are adorable. Knitting and/or crocheting for babies is the best of all and the most inspiring, I believe.
Have a great day,
firefly
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 ~ at 2:16 pm
Glad that you are back and that you had a great break! Baby is beautiful!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 ~ at 9:27 pm
Thanks for not forgetting me!
Yes, creating baby items stirs up the creative juices. I love it! One thing with a newborn is you’ve GOT to work fast. Katelyn is already over 9 lbs and the dress I was going to make is already too small. I’m not sure how to alter a pattern for a bigger size, so I’ll be asking my crochet group sisters for some help.
Monday, November 12, 2007 ~ at 11:09 pm
Dear Dargomommie!
Good to hear you are back with us!
Looking forward to peering into your scrolls!
Rising Sun Dragon
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 ~ at 5:34 pm
Very interesting. Good to see that you are back.
Thursday, December 6, 2007 ~ at 12:02 am
Thanks, tobeme!
Friday, December 7, 2007 ~ at 2:02 am
[...] despite my time away, is still a sore spot with me, as evidenced by my last posts about it, here, and here. While I admire these people for choosing a lifestyle, I do not agree that if they become [...]
Thursday, January 17, 2008 ~ at 11:02 pm
I would guess people are just overly sensitive on the topic of abortion? I don’t know. I know some “childfree” folks and while it’s their decision to do whatever they want, don’t beat me over the head with it. I don’t say “hey, why don’t you have some kids?” to them every day.
Friday, January 18, 2008 ~ at 3:25 pm
I think they were upset because I didn’t read the hundreds of posts before mine, to get a “feel” for who they were, and I just didn’t have the time for that… plus I figured that it was a discussion group and I just dove right in, without testing the waters. It was not my first post in the group, but the first one in that thread.
I guess you are right about abortion being a sore subject. I just felt that (some of) those people didn’t hesitate to make stabbing comments about the negative aspects of children, in general. They were straightforward in their conversation, otherwise, so why get all jumpy about abortion? I mean, we’re all there to get out our ideas. Maybe it’s because in the real world, they would use abortion if they absolutely had to, in order to remain child-free. As far as this issue is concerned, I am guessing that the prevailing undercurrent is to avoid bringing that issue up to the surface. Well, it’s their group and I guess they can do what they want.
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting, Robin!
Saturday, January 19, 2008 ~ at 10:40 pm
DM,
YEAH I’ve missed you. Yea I think we sorta took a hiatus at the same time last year. It’s so go see that you are “here” as well. I hope that things are going well and you, DH, and the little prince. Thanks for stopping by and reading an old college boy who spits out nonsense.
Sunday, January 20, 2008 ~ at 12:50 am
Thanks for stopping by, Justin! I always enjoy reading your blog! I am STILL not into writing regularly, but I think you have the right idea of not putting pressure on yourself to put out every day.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 ~ at 10:57 am
Someone changed their profile pic.
Me Likes..
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 ~ at 12:23 pm
Thanks! Yeah, that’s the REAL me on the outside… the other one was the real me in the inside!
Saturday, January 26, 2008 ~ at 2:47 am
DM,
Well I haven’t watch the video, yet I’ll try. Anyway, I will comment on the RFID chips. They are real, very real. There’s a company out there called Verichip that is pushing hard to get their chips implanted into humans more or less. I actually learned about it last year. It was one to the 1st blogs I read, back when I started blogging. There was a big debate, about the Bible, mark of the beast, not being able to buy good, etc, and it was all centered around Verichip.
As far as the income taxes and the Government and money I’ve always never quite understood the system, esp now in the digital age of money, where even more money transfer are going wireless and online. I will get m income tax return back by direct disposit, and most likely spend it all with out ever seeing it. All because my bank account changed the numbers on the screen. Oh well..
Saturday, January 26, 2008 ~ at 8:31 am
I will definitely NOT take the chip in my body. This video doesn’t exactly talk about the bible, but everything it talks about is like it’s coming right from out of there… really scary. It mentions everything you said about what happens in Revelation.
Saturday, January 26, 2008 ~ at 7:39 pm
DM,
Check out today’s YAHOO Tech NEWS.. Odd how things some times all come together when they do..
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080126/ap_on_hi_te/chipping_america_iii;_ylt=Al3qCjc0ZHcX3wiTjWe.XxEjtBAF
Saturday, January 26, 2008 ~ at 10:57 pm
Justin… Thanks so much for the link… You said it. Things have a way of coming together when they do.
Sunday, January 27, 2008 ~ at 8:25 pm
DM,
Nut Case YOU….Nahhhh
I do think that privacy will become a big issue soon. What are people willing to give up in order to feel safe. I mean it’s a lose lose situation.
Sunday, January 27, 2008 ~ at 9:25 pm
Privacy is being compromised right now and people don’t realize it. Oh well, I’ll have to put a lid on it and stop beating a dead horse…. for now!
Sunday, January 27, 2008 ~ at 10:50 pm
Interesting site…it is different and that is a good thing.
I will have to come back when I have more time to explore.
Monday, January 28, 2008 ~ at 1:58 am
We all live in a “cut case” world! I suppose each of us have our percentage of nuttiness! lol!
Monday, January 28, 2008 ~ at 6:00 am
For the blanket, do you crochet the strips separtate? or attached to the rest?
If they are separtate do you just sew them together?
Thanks!
Monday, January 28, 2008 ~ at 4:29 pm
It does cause us to pause and think. Thanks for invoking our thoughts on this.
Monday, January 28, 2008 ~ at 4:44 pm
Thanks for stopping by, gypsy-heart! Hope you like what you see. Your input is always welcomed.
Monday, January 28, 2008 ~ at 5:09 pm
Sham… You are so right and knowing that, does give me a bit of comfort. I know it’s not a “bad” thing.
I drove by your blog at about 60 MPH. I liked what I saw and will come by soon, taking the scenic route.
Monday, January 28, 2008 ~ at 5:12 pm
tobeme… thanks for your comment. That is really what I want, just to provoke some thoughts… though it’s still scary for me to think about.
Monday, February 4, 2008 ~ at 12:05 am
Just looking and noticed you should check out my friend at
Insubordiknit if you like that sort of stuff. She is rad.
xx
Monday, February 4, 2008 ~ at 12:07 am
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Cole. I’ve heard of that blog, but I’ll have to stop by again to refresh my memory.
Thanks!
Monday, February 4, 2008 ~ at 12:20 am
DM,
Thanks for the shout out. LOL I think LD picked a great book. I completely agree with you on just being American and honestly you make a great point about having the same standard across the board.
Monday, February 4, 2008 ~ at 12:26 am
Hey Justin! I am so glad that you weren’t offended by my post. I have a natural gift for alienating people when I post on public boards…. won’t even mention the last time that happened to me… but it was not that long ago.
Sunday, February 10, 2008 ~ at 2:38 pm
Do as I will do…refuse to accept any form of national ID or chip.
Sunday, February 10, 2008 ~ at 2:51 pm
Looks like a great book with a wonderful lesson. I dislike labels very much, they are so limiting in so many ways. THanks for sharing.
Sunday, February 10, 2008 ~ at 8:57 pm
I’ve already decided that I will not….
Thanks so much for commenting and I am sure that many others will do the same.
Sunday, February 10, 2008 ~ at 8:59 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Mark. Children’s books can be so very wise. Tiny spots of refreshment in this disturbing world. Have you ever written about the innocence of children and the wisdom in that? I’ll have to check. I’d love to read your thoughts on such a subject.
Monday, February 11, 2008 ~ at 1:33 am
Spammers have done so much to damage discourse on the Net. You made a perfectly reasonable decision.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 ~ at 4:46 pm
Hello dragonmommie,
To answer your June 12, 2007 question,
the author is Stephan Grellet and a link is:
http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i_expect_to_pass_through_this_world_but_once-any/14817.html
I think he changed several words but pretty much the idea stays the same. Hope this helps!
I found your post due to my aphreresis problems, too low hemoglobin levels, plus forgetting that I had this problem once before…. got to start eating more iron-rich foods.
The closest donation site is not near and after having to pay tolls etc. I was extremely frustrated. But this is a good cause… though I am part of the AB population…
I haven’t had a platelet donation over a while … what helps? tums? calcium? no caffeine? thanks.
waiting several weeks before I try again – wish me luck.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 ~ at 5:12 pm
Hi Sydney…
Thank you so much for that link to Stephan Grellet! I’ll certainly check it out. I just love that quote and I don’t think the words are changed all that much, the message is still there.
Yes, I know all about the frustrations of getting to a donation site and what those frustrations do to your temperature and what happens when your temp is a little too high. They reject you…. ugh.. I hate that! One time I actually had to force myself on them because I was very sure that I was not sick and that it was the actual driving there that was what affected me. It had just happened to me one too many times where I was fine the whole day, then after driving to the hospital, I felt hot in the head…. in more ways than one!
I was just told to eat foods high in iron… especially red meat, a few days prior to donation. I also make sure I take vitamins with iron in them… I even take iron supplements, but not too often because it can constipate you. You’ve got to drink tons of water to keep hydrated, too, which is something you should be doing anyway. Also, do not take aspirin or anything that can thin the blood before donating. I think it’s 48 hours prior… but not 100% certain on that… you can easily check by asking whoever calls you to make appointments. Those people should know.. AND advise you of that every time they make an appointment with you. I do not abstain from caffeine… but I do go easy on it the day before and the day of my donation.
My favorite iron-rich foods are the red meat, fresh spinach, fresh broccli rabe,… oh, just found this link. It’s a list of iron-rich foods… yes, and remember that iron from raw food is absorbed better. Check it out:
http://www.loveyourbaby.com/iron-rich-food-list.html
GOOD LUCK!!!!
Thursday, March 6, 2008 ~ at 3:24 am
Excellent post. I wish everybody would just drop this whole label thing…but there’s something in the human psyche that seems to need to define and create boundaries of all kinds. Perhaps we will get over that slowly now that boundaries are starting to come down at the Presidential candidate level?
Thursday, March 6, 2008 ~ at 10:04 am
Hi Sonja…
Thanks so much for checking out my blog and your generous comment, though, I’ve not written much lately. I really enjoyed what I read of yours, as well.
I am hoping that boundaries do come down, but I imagine that it will take too much time. There is always something going on to bring people back down to the “them against us” mentality. When will people realize that, at the core, we are all the same?
Thursday, March 27, 2008 ~ at 2:16 pm
Hi Regina:
Your link to the iron-rich food website helped a lot… I really loaded on those foods…along with iron pills. I got rejected twice already before going the iron pill route. It worked!
They said yesterday I had a lot of platelets waiting to be donated … it didn’t hurt and overall the wait was not that bad.
Took 2 hours for the whole process and I didn’t have any complications… had the tingling in the lips but that went away fast and an ipod helps with the waiting… The hardest was not drinking coffee in the morning. I’m scheduled for the whole month of April… and the best birthday gift I could get (April 21st) for finally being able to donate platelets!
Thanks!
Thursday, March 27, 2008 ~ at 2:39 pm
Hi Sydney… I’m not sure if you’re commenting on the correct blog because my name is Debbie, but I do see that we shared some experiences with donating platelets.
I’m so glad that you had such a good experience. I also have a lot of platelets and have been giving triple donations that take me just 90 minutes or so.
Scheduled for the whole month of April?…. You GO SYDNEY!
Friday, March 28, 2008 ~ at 10:28 am
Hi Debbie:
and always spell check. They opened up the platelet site back in my old hometown, persistence pays off (this was 2 years of asking them to reopen the site – last time I donated platelets was back in 2000). Now I don’t have to go to the next county to donate platelets. I didn’t mind but the constant rejection due to iron count was frustrating! Eating the right foods does help too. The whole process may take more than 1 hour (it was 2 for me) and they may be slow getting started so plan for stuff like that. Catching up on missed platelet donations 
You’re right – I WAS in a hurry, picked up the wrong blog and should have known better…
Your shawls are so wonderful to look at, I wish I had your talent as I am still trying to figure out how to knit as well.
Friday, May 2, 2008 ~ at 2:07 pm
Im not christian, but I dont like the veratags, I grew up with the religion, and as paranoia goes, I can get pretty bad. After I deconverted, I realized that whoever was putting “tags” into everything, was just furthering an agenda, to make the christians believe whatever THEY want them to. I plan to fight back in my own way, and it will be nasty.
Friday, May 2, 2008 ~ at 2:10 pm
I was hoping to see some dragon pics. Lovely kids btw, ive got one of my own. His name is Arthur.
Friday, May 23, 2008 ~ at 10:34 am
Loved checking your blogs…the myspace videos and the potato soup recipe, which I will try over the weekend. You are so busy! How do you do it and with kids? My friend says she never has enough time, she’s always doing stuff for her kids.
BTW, your tips led to 4 great platelet donations since April/May and many more to come. Any plans for your birthday next month?
Friday, May 23, 2008 ~ at 2:51 pm
Hey Sydney! I’m so glad to hear that you’ve had good experiences with platelet donations.
Ha… what time? As you can see, I’ve been MIA for awhile here. I can’t even remember my last post…. though I just happen to be working on one for my knitting blog and hopefully, it will be uploaded tonight. I’ve been really busy with the fiber art and that takes up a LOT of my spare time, almost all of it.
My last donation was about a month ago, but I had a little problem and have been hesitating doing another one for awhile. At my last donation, the pressure on the return trip for my blood got too high and, though they did lower that, I experienced a weird pressure-related symptom afterwards. Nothing to worry about, but at the time, I thought that my vein was going to blow! Wow, that’s pretty strong wording, but I can get paranoid quite quickly! I’m okay now and maybe I will see about doing another birthday donation.
Thanks so much for stopping by and I think I’ll write about my last experience for this blog pretty soon…. I have to tear myself away from my fiber!
Monday, July 21, 2008 ~ at 2:02 pm
i know this blog post is old, but i donated platelets for the first time this past saturday (07/19/2008).
i gave one unit and i was in the chair for 45 minutes. i plan on going every two weeks, but would go once a week if they let me.
-dan
Monday, July 21, 2008 ~ at 2:10 pm
Dan… thanks for writing your comments. The time and amount you give will probably fluctuate each time you go. They test your blood in the beginning and they put those results into the machine and it does all the calculations and will say how much you can donate and how fast it will be for each unit you’re able to give.
Thanks so much for becoming a platelet donor!
Monday, July 28, 2008 ~ at 3:22 pm
Hello again, glad you are keeping up this post about platelets… I love being a platelet donor, although it hasn’t worked for me for the last several weeks…low iron count plus a breakup of a 2 and 1/2 year relationship equals stress and stress causes low iron count…. I will keep on trying. This is a good cause everyone! Don’t let setbacks get you down.
Thanks. And your advice helped too.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 ~ at 12:33 pm
[...] of writing and avoided coming back here like the plague. But, I do want to take those commenters on Platelet Donation Update… You have kept me coming back here now and again and I thank you for that. You’ve kept [...]
Saturday, September 13, 2008 ~ at 10:47 pm
WOW.. has it really been that long. I mean it just seems like last year you were celebrating his 1st b day.. I’m getting old.. fast.
I’m sure LD, is doing just fine at school… The bigger question is how is DM doing, with LD in school.
Sunday, September 14, 2008 ~ at 8:27 am
Thanks for stopping by, Justin! I’m doing okay… I am loving the time to myself… and as you can imagine, the time goes by very fast. If Gabe is okay, I’m okay. First two days were okay, but first day, I cried after I left. Next day was okay, but the third day, he did not want to go and it took me a while to get out and it was heart wrenching to see him looking after me like “Don’t abandon me!”
He is doing okay now and actually looks forward to school! On Friday, they had a fire drill and he got all excited about that… We’ll see what happens next week. He is in a bilignual program and tomorrow, he goes to the other room, the English part… which should be good for him because he’s an English speaker, but it will be different teacher and assistant than he is used to. I do believe, however, that they have interacted already, maybe in the playground. I think both parts of that class in the program take their recess together in the playground…. and they have the four adults out there with them. Gotta get going… DH just came in with groceries and I can tell that he is a HUNgry man!
Saturday, September 27, 2008 ~ at 5:31 pm
how did you grow your hair long! mine is just shoulder length.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 ~ at 10:24 am
I donated platelets for the 2nd time. The experience was the same as the first (tingly lips, the TUMs, etc.) but this time, my platelets worked too good and I clotted at the needle in the “drawing arm”. They had to stop after 1 hour instead of the normal 2 hour time period. I managed to make 1 unit, so it was fine … the donation was not wasted. At our donation center (in St. Paul Minnesota), they have a cabinet full of movie DVD’s. They put a portable DVD player on your lap with headphones.
This type of donation is very important, and I recommend anyone that can donate platelets, to do so. The whole procedure can actually take 3 hours of your time … half hour to do the question thing at the beginning, the prep time, 2 hour machine time, and the post-donation time, including the pampering you get at the end – juice, cookies, etc.
The usually offer some incentives, like cool t-shirts, $5 gas cards, pins, gift certificates, etc. But knowing that the donation is used for special life-threatening events and operations, makes me feel sort of special to be a part of it.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 ~ at 1:27 pm
Max… Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Last time I donated, the pressure on the return increased to the point of setting off the alarm. It scared me a little, but the nurse quickly accommodated it by setting the machine to work slower. It increased the time I had to sit there, but that was nothing. I’m always so glad to do something on my own; and when I donate, I set aside as much time as I need. Now that my son is in school, I’m going to start making appointments again because my availability has changed for the better.
Friday, December 5, 2008 ~ at 11:19 pm
Thank you
) nuff said
Thursday, December 11, 2008 ~ at 11:55 am
Hello again! I have had some success in donating platelets, but it’s usually the iron count that has been causing me problems…. I almost always need a pressure cuff, and I only donate on the left arm because the right arm always had clotting issues. Back in 1990 they used to to do the two-armed platelet donation process. The NY Blood Center has a platelet donation program and since they opened a center back in the area which I lived I have been trying to go regularly. They are great there and always made me feel welcome since I don’t like needles.
By the way, I got engaged December 5, 2008!
Thursday, December 11, 2008 ~ at 2:58 pm
Hey Sydney… Congrats on your engagement. Is your betrothed a blood donor? I always liked the fact that my DH was a blood donor before we got together… he got a certificate for being a Two Gallon Blood Donor! It was one of the things we’d do together on a date! Ha… cheap one and free juice and cookies. What I really meant to say is that another donor has a deeper appreciation and understanding when it comes to donating blood or platelets or whatever. Before my son started school, it was tough getting an appointment without making sure that hubby was staying home to be with him. Now that he’s working, it’s still a little difficult getting appointments, but not because of MY schedule. They are so booked up that I can’t get in until Jan. If I want to travel, it can be easier, but that defeats my purpose because if I have to commute a long way, my temperature goes up and I get rejected. I’m not traveling like that just to get rejected…. my temp would REALLY skyrocket if that should happen.
Oh, try eating more raisins! Great for iron levels… Last time DH gave blood, his count was a 14… pretty good. I asked him about it and he says it’s the raisins… get this… he’s not really a meat eater! Tuna fish once a week… he’s not really a vegetable eater, except for canned stuff… >bleah< Go figure!
Sunday, December 21, 2008 ~ at 12:14 am
[...] not really! I just wanted to take the time to write a little update on one of my recent posts, “I’m on the Lam”. First [...]
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 ~ at 10:24 pm
Well thanks for the info on plasma donation. I was looking it up because I am a triple donor and they keep begging me to come back. I am so tired and miserable I considered quitting. Now I understand what that actually means and also that you had the same experience of just crawling into bed afterwards. Well, I guess I will just keep pushing on.
Thanks again!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 ~ at 10:43 pm
Hi Michelle… Thanks for writing. On my end, I have a hard time getting an appointment because they’re only at my hospital one day a week. But, if you are feeling miserable and tired, may I suggest just going when you feel up to it; anything so that you don’t quit altogether. Another option is giving double or single donations in between the triples so that maybe donating will take less out of you. Just tell them that you are not up to a triple. They’re usually asking me all through the process how I’m feeling and if I want to go on. I am glad that you wrote here because you have motivated me to give it another try making an appointment, though right now I have a cold.
Thursday, February 26, 2009 ~ at 4:17 pm
Hi, sorry I haven’t written awhile…my fiance is a blood donor also. We haven’t donated together yet but hope to in the future. My iron levels just haven’t been up to par – doing the raisin and iron pill routine. I have been told to check with a doctor first about the iron pills. I think it is due to stress and the fact the wedding will be June 27, 2009 (4 months away!) and this hasn’t sunk it yet. We’ve been running around just trying to plan everything. Some places may do plasma donations at certain times only. Based on my levels, I have been allowed only to do double donations and sometimes only single (that’s when I didn’t space out my donations)…. wish me luck for the next couple months!
Thursday, February 26, 2009 ~ at 8:44 pm
Hi Sydney… First off, I want to comment about this: “Based on my levels, I have been allowed only to do double donations and sometimes only single (that’s when I didn’t space out my donations)….” Don’t think that you MUST produce triple donations every time. A double is great… and so are the single donations. The impression I got was that you were disappointed about not being allowed to donate as much as you wanted. Even if one person can get your platelets, it’s a wonderful thing. Please also remember that you simply cannot control, and have no way of knowing how much you can give until they do their “magic” and run it through the machine. Also, be aware that there are other factors that go into the size of your donation… one of which, I believe, is your weight. Next time you go, ask the tech some questions about that. Stress about your upcoming wedding can definitely be a factor, as well. Again, you can’t control that.
edited to add: I’ve edited the content of the paragraph above. When I first read the quoted text, the word “allowed” escaped me and my impression was that you were feeling down and disappointed with yourself. I read it a second time and see what a difference missing that word as made on my perception of your comment.
Ha… I had the same visions of donating with my spouse, like on a date or something! The reality now is that someone has to watch our son while the other donates, so bonding while we both have our blood leached from us is not in the cards right now. Congrats on your wedding. Having something like this in common is a great thing for both of you… also great because you each can have that ingrained understanding about the other when it comes to donating blood. No obligatory explanations about why you do it, and no wondering if the other person is going to be annoyed at having to share you.
Good Luck and thanks for being a concerned and loyal platelet donor!
Friday, July 24, 2009 ~ at 10:57 am
Hi Debbie:
Have a great summer everyone! We’re off to the local Renaissance Fair in NY on August 1.
Thanks for all your kind comments…first of all I wanted to wish you a belated Happy Birthday! the last several months flew by quickly… try planning a wedding in less than 6 months…but we did it! Kept missing the local blood drives…and my iron levels were low. I’ve learned to take it easy and not stress myself regarding the donations – it’s a good cause and it’s totally worth the effort! The local area is asking for blood/platelet donations because of the summer shortage so my hubby & I are going to do apheresis tomorrow
Sunday, March 22, 2009 ~ at 3:52 pm
Thank you this has been very helpful
Honey is mentioned in God’s word the bible a few times:
Proverbs 24:13 My son, eat honey, for it is good; and let sweet comb honey be upon your palate. 14 In the same way, do know wisdom for your soul. If you have found [it], then there exists a future, and your own hope will not be cut off.
It also says:
Proverbs 25:27 The eating of too much honey is not good; and for people to search out their own glory, is it glory?
28 As a city broken through, without a wall, is the man that has no restraint for his spirit.
Sunday, August 23, 2009 ~ at 8:04 pm
thanks rosa :] i switched from eating sugar to eating honey around a month ago n just today found these verses thanks to you :] thank you very very much
Sunday, March 22, 2009 ~ at 5:34 pm
Thank you very much, Rosa…. and thank YOU for the bible quotes. I will go back and read them.
Friday, April 10, 2009 ~ at 4:05 pm
I donated whole blood for about 30 years and just started platelets about June of 2008. I had the extra time, ’cause I’m unemployed
So, I live in Tampa and under Florida Blood Services rules you can donate platelets every two weeks. I’m blessed with abundant platelets, so they get a ‘triple’ from me every two weeks. The only issue I ever have is the tingling – oh, and getting cold during donation – but they have blankets for that
I encourage everyone to donate blood one way or another. It’s about as selfless an act as you can manage.
Steve
Friday, April 10, 2009 ~ at 4:20 pm
When I became unemployed, was the exact time I started giving platelets. I also give triple donations, but my only problem is with scheduling in my area. I have to travel under pressure and it makes my temperature go up, then they don’t want to take me. They think that I’m sick. One time I managed to convince them that I was not sick, and they took me… otherwise, I was rejected, then I had to go home disappointed and a bit annoyed. By “under pressure”, I mean traveling in rush hour traffic with feeling the pressure of needing to get there on time as I did have to wait for DH to get home so that I could leave. They are only at a given location, one, maybe two days a week. Most times I can’t even get a reasonable appointment date without it being less than a month away. Anyway, we work with what we’ve got, right?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 ~ at 8:35 pm
This iron problem must be contagious. What’s Sydney’s raisin and iron routine? Anyone know? I need to try that. I called the blood center to see exactly what was being measured so that I could try to address it. They said hemoglobin. I understand the hemoglobin carries iron, but I’m not sure if increasing iron would affect low hemoglobin. I probably am just not understanding the mechanism. Anyway, I also was not sure what would be the best way to address it. Most of the time, you see iron included in a multi-vitamin. But I am already taking calcium. I don’t want to overload anything.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 ~ at 9:09 pm
Thanks for writing, Michelle… All that I’ve been going by is trying to do what they tell me… and that is to get iron. I don’t try to rely on supplements. They have told me to get my iron from red meat… steak being the best choice…. lol… I’ve got no problem with that. Also, a few days before, I start eating veggies with high iron content such as fresh spinach. I love it raw, in salad, and when I cook it, only steam it enough to go limp, but still bright green. I also love asparagus, but not sure if that has iron…. Nope, just checked- no iron to speak of, but it’s still good for ya and I love it!
Friday, July 24, 2009 ~ at 11:33 am
Sydney…. Thanks for the birthday wishes! It was quiet this year, but that was nice, too. We did go out for breakfast, and I LOVE eating breakfast out. Try veggies with high iron content… like spinach! I love it raw, and only steam it as much as I have to… I stop at it’s brightest green. Also, I’ve been experimenting with a spinach salad, adding different ingredients. I like to mix baby spinach greens with arugula, shredded carrots, red cabbage, mandarin orange slices, nuts, whatever. I like drizzling raspberry vinaigrette dressing on it, low cal, of course…. HA. I’ve got to write this recipe down and post it… so good.
Don’t fret over missing blood drives. There will always be blood drives. So glad you managed planning your wedding. We did planned ours in under six month, too. Unbelievable stress, so you might not have been able donate anyway. Some reading would have been off and it’s likely that you could have been rejected anyway… and I hate that. YEAH! Get your hubby involved. It’s great to be able to do something so worthwhile together.
Friday, July 24, 2009 ~ at 11:36 am
I just fall below the hemoglobin level required to donate… I eat lots of raisins, red meat (steak), spinach, brocoli, prunes, figs and apricots at least several days before donating to raise my hemoglobin levels. You should check with your doctor before taking any extra supplements, such as calcium or iron, because you do not want to overload on anything. Also getting enough sleep and relaxing does help! Even when doing all this, it depends on nature as well – sometimes I just have to come back another time to donate!
Saturday, July 25, 2009 ~ at 11:22 pm
Well, whatever I did this week worked…my hemoglobin level was high enough to donate…yay! Ate enough raisin and figs…the steak also helped. I’m going to try your spinach recipe because it sounds so good…but I read somewhere that even though spinach is recommended for iron, it is also an iron absorption inhibitor. I have a nice black and blue mark because they could NOT find the vein and had to move the needle around…This isn’t usually the case in most people (I am one of the few who have “rolling veins” which seem to run away when they put the needle in my arm. Successful donation has made my weekend great so far! How’s your husband and son doing? Wish you success on your future donations!
Thursday, May 7, 2009 ~ at 7:54 pm
“Just checked and this hymn is in sharps” … you mean the 3 sharps at the start of each line? That’s just the key signature. 3 sharps is A. If you go up or down in pitch, the tune stays the same — like if you put a capo on a guitar, you can move a tune up or down in pitch without changing the tune (it’s called transposing). If you went up 3 semitones it would be C; no sharps or flats at all. But it would still have the same sort of tug or hauntingness… whatever the word would be.
I think it might be down to the minor chords used.
You’re right, it’s a great song
God bless
Thursday, May 7, 2009 ~ at 9:49 pm
Thank you for your input, Frank! I like how you put it: “tug or hauntingness”… that’s the feel of it for me. Yes, I’ve used a capo before to change the pitch of a song without changing the tune… I actually like using a capo and liked to play songs as high as I could… like a Ukulele. Recently, I did take my guitar out for my son, but ran to put it back because all he wanted to do was bang on it…. he likes drums!
I am still musically challenged, and have since quit the choir… believe it or not, for spiritual reasons. What I like to do now is sit in with the congregation as a sort of “spotter”. I’ll sing with the choir and marvel at how the people around me will start singing…. hence calling myself a Spotter.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 ~ at 11:24 am
Nice article, thanks for sharing! Do you know of other spices that go well in coffee, though? When I was in East Africa, there were two ways to get coffee– bitter, which was basically black and strong, and “sweet”– which was actually kind of spicy and flavored either with ginger or cinnamon.
I will try the nutmeg, but I’m trying to develop a nice menu of options for myself in terms of spices. I never learned exactly how the Kenyans prepared the “sweet” coffee, but I miss being able to order it that way. Will let you know if I ever figure out how to replicate it!
Sunday, July 5, 2009 ~ at 1:46 pm
Hi Carol… Thanks for commenting. Yes! Please let me know how that works out. Recently, I’ve been cutting back on caffeine so I don’t drink as much coffee, but I still love to experiment with it. I am thinking that freshly ground anise might add something nice to coffee. I used it yesterday in a cake and it’s pretty refreshing. I have not used it in coffee lately, but I’ll let you know how I like it. I’ve also just discovered the nectar of the Blue Agave plant. It’s of a honey consistency and very sweet, but I read that it does not spike your blood sugar levels; which would be of interest to diabetics. One level tsp. per cup is plenty. Once I learn more of it, and experimented with it, I’ll probably write a post as it’d be pretty important news to many.
The best way to discover new spices (without breaking the bank) is to get one or two new ones per paycheck and just try them out. Another way to discover new spices is to read the ingredients of foods you like to eat, then check out some of the individual ones found there. Check out an herb book from the library and read up on their properties before purchasing. I am dying to try out Saffron. Very expensive for such a little bit, but from what I’ve heard, it’s worth it. One of these days I’m going to take the plunge.
Friday, July 24, 2009 ~ at 10:25 am
Hey Debbie:
How have you and your family been? Great blogs!!!
Going tomorrow to a new apheresis donation site….this time my hubby is coming with me!!! He’s O-negative so they love him (I’m going to try to get him to donate)… I am doing an apheresis donation tomorrow at 8 AM so I’ve been loading up on the iron this week… and this time I won’t get lost finding the place – I mapquested it. Eating a lot of figs, prunes, apricots, red meat, etc. Hope this works…I haven’t done this in a while due to all the wedding stresses…we got married 6/27/09 and went to Vegas for the honeymoon…it was great! We had fun.
I did get the tingling sensations you mentioned but that went away after a while. I think I goggled that and it said something about calcium intake… overall the apheresis process takes me about 2 hours at least. Thanks.
Friday, July 24, 2009 ~ at 10:45 am
have to keep this short as i cut my hand this morning… but congrats on your marriage! they give you tums for the tingling… it has to do with the calcium in it, i’m pretty sure. my dad is O-, but he refuses to donate…grrrrr. thanks for donating!
Saturday, July 25, 2009 ~ at 11:35 pm
Sorry to hear you cut your hand…I always do that when I am rushing in the morning making lunch… Thank you for the nice wishes….we had a great ceremony at the church and reception…it didn’t rain on the one day that mattered the most to us…should have seen the rain the date before! My hubby is O- but he hasn’t donated in awhile. He was very nice to take me to the donation center today…and waited for me while I donated. I’m the universal receipient….and they love me for giving platelets. If you would like to see the wedding pics, email me your address
Thanks.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 ~ at 4:33 am
As a man i fear about hair loss, i have almost waist length hair, and i fear cause hair loss is genetic problem at men.
(but fortunately in my family i don’t know anybody with heavy hair loss)
As boy long hair was not admited in my family, so i only started to grow it in the spring of 2005.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 ~ at 10:10 am
I really love long hair on a man. My husband had long hair in his twenties, until it started falling out. Funny how I only knew him with very short hair…. When I first saw a picture of him with long, blonde hair, I almost lost what was in my mouth! Since then, I’ve hinted for him to try growing it again, but that will never happen.
OH…almost forgot to say that in the last year or so I’ve been suffering massive shedding which caused me to cut off my hair just a couple of months ago. I’m sad, but thank goodness I’m not freaking out. It was more traumatic to watch it fall out in massive clumps than to cut it…. Everything must pass, I guess.
Thanks for writing.
Friday, October 16, 2009 ~ at 11:38 am
Hi there, your shawl looks very much like something that I would like to do only that I’m a beginner knitter. Can you please explain the Matrix stitch or give a pointer to any site. Thanks!!
Friday, October 16, 2009 ~ at 12:07 pm
Hi Lisa… I think the “matrix” effect is the column of knit stitches between the dropped stitches. Funny, I never heard that reference again after this project.
If you’d like to try this, it’s pretty simple. Though I have looked for this pattern to link it here, I could not find it. Just decide how long and how wide you want this scarf/wrap to be. Then cast on your stitches in multiples of three. Two sts will be knit, one st will be dropped right before you cast off. Keep in mind that at the very end, you will not drop that last stitch, so either make the last group of stitches, three knit sts, or do not cast on the last st.
You will knit this whole piece in stockinette stitch. When you get to the length you want, start casting off LOOSELY like this: Cast off first two stitches, then drop the next one… just slip it entirely OFF the left needle. Cast off next two, then drop the next, third, st. When you get to the end, cast off all three, or the last two (depending on how you cast one). You will continue dropping those sts you slipped off the left needle, down to the bottom of the scarf. I like to finish casting off, then go back to drop the stitches…. this is the fun part.
Hope this helps…. Debbie
Friday, November 13, 2009 ~ at 3:18 am
I donate fairly regularly (about 6-8 times per year). I started donating blood a few months after 9/11, and started with platelet donations almost 2 years ago now.
Platelet levels vary wildly between people, some folks have high enough levels to donate 3 units, others can only do one or two. The time it takes to do a donation is also affected by platelet levels, the higher the level the faster it will go. And like you saw, sometimes they can’t set the machine to push fluid as fast as usual. My longest session has been about 110 minutes for two units (not including the prep time).
One thing I didn’t see you talk about is making sure that you’re hydrated properly before donating. If you’re dehydrated, it’s harder to stick the vein. My most difficult donations have been ones where I did not drink water the morning of the donation.
My understanding is that it can also lead to feelings of nausea (when I was naseous once, the nurse boosted me a with a bit of saline into the IV line to make it go away). So drink an extra glass of water morning and night on the day before a donation.
I’d love to donate more often, but I almost always bruise on one arm or the other. So I have to wait an extra week or two between donations for it to go away.
Friday, November 13, 2009 ~ at 10:22 am
Thanks for the comment, Wuphon’s Reach! I never made that connection between donating platelets and being properly hydrated. Don’t know why because it makes a lot of sense. Our bodies need water for almost everything to work right. I am really kicking myself now because I’m always making sure I get enough water and, let me tell you, it’s a pain in the neck sometimes. Every single time I don’t get enough water some bodily system or another goes out of whack. We always hear about making sure to drink enough water after, but not before… or at least, it got past me.
Thanks again!
Sunday, November 15, 2009 ~ at 4:26 am
Generally,I find blogs annoying. This is the first blog post that I have seen with real valuable information.
Sunday, November 15, 2009 ~ at 4:15 pm
Thank you, Blanche! I’ve not been writing for a good long while now due to too many commitments in my life, but I’m so glad that something I wrote is still being seen out there AND that there are people out there who find it helpful.
Sunday, November 22, 2009 ~ at 11:48 pm
I’ve been included in taxes for lengthier then I care to admit, both on the personal side (all my working life!!) and from a legal viewpoint since passing the bar and following up on tax law. I’ve furnished a lot of advice and righted a lot of wrongs, and I must say that what you’ve put up makes utter sense. Please carry on the good work – the more individuals know the better they’ll be equipped to deal with the tax man, and that’s what it’s all about.