I did it!!

I posted all 30 days of the month of November….I’m so happy I completed the challenge. It may seem like a small feat but to me it’s pretty big. First of all, I need improvement in the area of finishing the things I start. And second, I am brand new to blogging, so to come up with ideas and actually put sentences together hasn’t been simple. Writing use to come easy for me. Now it’s work.

So it feels good on a personal level to know I accomplished what I set out to do.

Congratulations to all who participated in NaBloPoMo.

On celebrating

Well no sooner than the dishes have been cleared from the thanksgiving table, and Christmas instantly appears everywhere. It’s a bit unnerving and totally maddening, if you ask me.

Why can’t we just give the one day Holiday it’s justice, and celebrate Thanksgiving the whole 24 hours instead of, oh I don’t know, getting the entire day done in like 5 hours??

I don’t mean to be grumpy and whiny about this – but it all seems a bit hyperactive and chaotic. Why can’t we just do Turkey Day that day, and that’s it? Why must Christmas be mixed in too?? Afterall, there’s usually one full month leading up to the Grand Daddy of All Holidays.

As a child, Christmas was the highlight of my year/life and I was blessed to come from a family that made this holiday a big deal. But now as an adult, it has become somewhat of a turn-off. Too much commercialism, and not enough heart at the center of it all.

Call me Mr. Scrooge (spelling?) but I’ve got a bit of a bah-humbug in me when it gets to be this time of year. Yes, in a sense Christmas is beautiful and magical, but in so many other ways it’s Disney on crack.

We celebrate the birth of Christ how? By baking cookies, sending out cards, spending lots of money on gifts, and drinking and eating until we need a gym membership come New Years from all the partying we’ve done.

Yes I know I’m painting a pessimistic picture but I don’t think I’m that far off base.

I will have to see when the “Christmas spirit” strikes this year. Right now, my eyes are rolling.

(No) Turkey Day

Have a very Blessed Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Hope you get to spend this day in gratitude with family and friends.

God bless you :0)

Oops

At 12:06 a.m. last night, I realized I had completely forgotten to post on my Blog….my bad. I took a 30 day challenge to post everyday – I want to keep that commitment.

Even with this faux pas, I am still going to keep hope alive that I will win an IPad!!!!!! I had dinner with a friend last night who owns an IPad and I have to say it would be awfully nice to own one too. :0)

I don’t own a computer – my IPhone is literally my computer-so I’m praying to win an IPad for participating in NaBloPoMo. Call me crazy, but this is what I want.

Wish me luck, yo !!!! :o)

American Music Awards

I don’t own a TV – on purpose. But while I’ve been home in NY, I’ve watched a little bit of TV and tonight was the AMA’s.
Two words…Oy Vey!! I should say I suffered through it, I didn’t just watch.
The AMA’s were fairly disappointing – just the usual garbage that passes for entertainment. The only performance I loved was Rihanna’s. That was perfect in my book, and I loved the way she danced while she sang – it seemed like she was paying homage to her motherland – or at least – not following the stripper style of dancing that is all the rage for selling one’s music.
Go ahead, call me a prude! I dare you to. For the record, I am not a prude – but I have strong opinions about how women present themselves to get attention/approval/or to be “sexy.”
Look at the performance by Kesha, back-up dancers, and Pitbull…that was ridiculous in my opinion. JLo – I get it – she was paying homage to Celia Cruz. Lady Gaga – was imitating Marilyn Monroe. But, Marilyn Monroe had way more class than any of the wannabes tonight (I’m not including Rihanna at all – she is in a class by herself). Miley Cyrus-again, two words, puh- lease! She looked downright icky. I guess she didn’t learn a thing from her last public appearance at the VMA’s. Taylor Swift – omg! So, so thin. Is being emaciated really sexy?
Oh my gosh, what on earth are we women doing to ourselves to look attractive? It’s pretty sad.
So yeah, I’m happy I don’t own a TV…I am not missing a thing – except for how we often accept total junk as entertainment. And we seem to be eating it up as if it’s exciting, inspiring, or fun. Well …in my book, it’s not.
Call me crazy, but music and the people who create & perform it can change our world – in a really good way. But the means by which it seems to be done now – is like teeny bopper music machine gone mad – young kids selling out for their 15 minutes of fame.
I grew up listening to LEGENDS. Tonight’s show seems like gumball machine trinkets in comparison to musicians of the past.
Just my opinionated opinion.

Disappointment

Ever feel like when you need someone the most – they crap out on you? That has been my experience so many times that I think I decided (although I don’t think it was a conscious decision) way back when – the only person I can rely on is myself…and you know what??? Even I crap out on me too!! Double whammy.

I read an article about a woman who describes herself as a “deep feeler” – I know what she means because I am that way too. Deep feelers need to get with people who can and will be there when the storms of life come – and they will not get scared and run away. We need people who will stay, and have the ability to listen, and show compassion. For most people – the feelings you have are the same exact feelings they avoid in themselves – so the tendency is for others to want to flee, because you are bringing up something they don’t want to look at / think about / deal with / or experience.

So what to do? One good thing-find a therapist/counselor/Pastor – they get paid to listen and to heal. Find your tribe – those people who really get you – and more importantly, will not put you down or embarrass you for having feelings.

By the way, feelings are never wrong. And your feelings are not negotiable. But they are completely YOURS. You are responsible for everything you feel. Which means when you have a particular feeling – you can’t put the blame on someone else. You gave that feeling to yourself!

Disappointment is a very hard feeling for me to have. It makes me feel sad and it makes me feel alone. I want to know I have someone who is solid – someone who will stick with me – support me – especially when I’m going through something challenging.

Ruth 2:12

Ruth left the comfort of her home to follow her mother-in-law Naomi, back to a foreign land. God gave Ruth a full reward, she was given protection and ensured she was well provided for through Boaz.

As you trust God with what you have, He is setting you up for more blessings because He loves you!

What are you expecting? What are you believing? In whom do you place your faith?

I am beyond blessed and I am expecting my future to be bigger and better than anything I can ask, think, or imagine. God will restore all the lost years and will abundantly bless me – not because I deserve it. Oh heck no. He will bless me because THAT’S how much He loves me, and that’s HOW GREAT God is.

In this time of Thanksgiving, look deeply into all the ways you have been blessed, and let your heart overflow with gratitude. Being alive is a gift! That’s why it is called the present ;0)

Go out and bless someone today!!!

Nursing Home Life

My Mother is blessed and cursed at the same time. Blessed to be in a nice, luxury style nursing home, but cursed because a serious car accident lead her to this current living situation.

And here she at the end of her life, literally bruised and battered, with a broken body and spirit. It is so hard to witness someone you love in pain, depressed, and bewildered and not have any power to change the situation. Everything is falling apart and I can’t prevent it or do anything about it. I have to breathe in the pain. Breathe in the sadness. Breathe in my inability to stop her life force from coming to an end. We come into this world alone, and we leave it on our own.

This is the season we are in.

Just like how it is right now in New York, Autumn is ending and Winter is about to begin, there is a harsh cold reality coming upon my Mother and my family. Now is the winter of our discontent. There is life and there is death. And I can’t help but feel this downward pull. We are all headed to that finish line.

We believers live in faith that we have eternal life in Christ. We believe this world is our temporary home, it is not our eternal home.

And even though I have faith God will heal my mother’s body, I still see how difficult it is to be elderly and need others to do for you what you once so easily did for yourself. I feel the pain of what it is like to be helpless, feeble, weak, tired, broken, and sunk in despair.

Going Home

Making my way to the Motherland…New York.

I am excited to be going home, but traveling is tough. I had to get up @ 4:00, and woke up at least five times throughout the night, because I had anxiety that I was going to oversleep.

The line to pass through security was the longest I had ever seen but I was able to make my flight on time.

It is very cold outside, and I am not dressed for it. My winter sweaters and coats are waiting for me on Long Island. I can’t wait to see my Mother.

I will be posting more about my visit in the land I love.

A particular Airline

There is an airline I use when I travel simply because it goes to an airport that is the most convenient for me to use. And only this Airline flies to that airport.

But it is the Airline’s antiquated system around seating, that doesn’t serve the passengers at all. In fact, I believe it is used to benefit the Airline and the manner in which they sell out planes. Instead of assigning the passenger a seat when you purchase a ticket – they provide you with a confirmation number. With that number, you can go online 24 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart to receive a boarding pass. This boarding pass assigns you a number. That number is used at the Airport when they begin boarding passengers on the plane. The passengers line up in numerical order, and once inside the aircraft, there is open seating and you are free to sit wherever you can find an empty seat. But that doesn’t mean there will be an empty overhead bin nearby for you to place your bag – the people who boarded before you, will get to that overhead bin first!!
This open seating breeds greed and panic in passengers and if you ever want to witness “it’s all about ME” behavior/mentality here you will find it in spades. Like “move out of the way Grandma with a cane” I’ve got to find a seat before I die of stress. It stresses everyone out and makes us all hunter/gatherers in an age where being at the Airport is no longer the glamorous position it use to be – to be traveling to another location by airplane now, is similar to being cattle being shipped to a farm.
Being at the Airport nowadays, going through security, finding your gate (especially when you’re late) finding something to eat, can be an unfriendly (rude) awakening to the lack of kindness we people show each other.
I am going to be the change I want to see in this world. Even though the system is set-up where “number 1” is all that matters, I am going to be courteous, helpful, generous, and show some teeth (in a good way!).
Let’s take back Humanity, humans. Let’s treat each other the way we want to be treated. Let’s not go along with a system that is designed to divide us. Let’s come together as a whole.
After all, this is the season of Thanksgiving and gratitude. Let’s let our HEARTS shine.
Peace out !