Puppy Photos

For those of you who wanted to follow my “puppy progress”, I have this photo showing her the first day she opened her eyes, and at 6 months exactly.
This is my Rottie at 15 days old and on her 6th month birthday.:
She has been a lot of work as I am constantly training with her to be a gentles soul who can be trusted, and also a great friend and watchdog.
We kind of spoil her with love – but she has to earn her way by learning and since she goes in the 4 runner with me everywhere she has to be able to be trusted. She also lives in the house much of the time and she is doing great! So she gets spoiled a bit. I love these two photos.
The first is Dakota just sitting on her pillow. A bit of a chill in the room so I threw her blanket over her.
This next one is my favorite. A pampered puppy watching a dog show on our 61 ” television. Cute, eh?

FYI Addendum to last post PLUS a NEW holiday!

Regarding ANYONE – shoppers, gays, lesbians, other cultures, black, white, purple – I AM NO ONE’S JUDGE! I believe we were born to worship God and love one another.

I wanted to be clear on that point. I just wanted to be clear, also, on the fact each of us has the right to keep what we know to be true, unblemished by bending to what “society” deems acceptable.

I will not change who I am, or what I believe, because pressure by peers and media expects me to do so. HOWEVER, that being said, no matter what anyone else believes, I would help another fellow human in need if I were able.

Shakespeare said, “This above all, to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night – the day – thou canst not then be false to any man.”

We are the best of each of us if we honor our own beliefs…but that doesn’t mean we should hate or war with others who don’t share our beliefs.

On the judging point: I have erred too much in my life to be anyone’s judge.

Just heard there is a new “tradition” (hhhahahhahahahha) in the making:
We now have “CYBER MONDAY: one of the biggest internet buying days”
or so says the media. Just another way to plant the buy-buy-buy seed in our heads.

Also heard a blurb that said “people are getting tired of being thrifty and are starting to buy”. Another seed planted to get people to spend what little money they have.

I guess someone doesn’t really realize for the working poor – the times are worse, not better! Oh well…….be happy. It’s the only choice.
This too shall pass.

The Shopping Season and Other BS

Good grief. I find it difficult to believe that consumers are so blind that they buy into the media advertising “Black Friday” as a tradition! It’s created to trick people into a buying frenzy.

The origin of black Friday :” Black Friday as a term has been used in multiple contexts, going back to the nineteenth century, where it was associated with a financial crisis in 1869. Originally, September 24, 1869 was deemed Black Friday; a day of stock market catastrophe.”

“The history of the day after Thanksgiving being the official start of the holiday shopping season may be linked together with the idea of Santa Claus parades. Parades celebrating Thanksgiving often include an appearance by Santa at the end of the parade, with the idea that ‘Santa has arrived’ or ‘Santa is just around the corner’.”

“In the late 19th century and early 20th century, many Santa parades or Thanksgiving Day parades were sponsored by department
stores. ” (referenced from Wikipedia).

Do we really need a buying frenzy in these difficult times? I think not.
This is a time to teach the children the value of love and kindness and family times as gifts. This is the time to teach them about using savvy economic thinking.

There is still nothing like a hand made Christmas card or gift – at least in my mind.
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I tried to find out what the cost of Obama’s state dinner was, but the government doesn’t disclose that fact (if you know, share it!). I read it could be as much as half a million dollars. What happened to transparency?

Another pisser (excuse me but this is the proper word for this thought), is the fact forty three million Americans go hungry daily. Did you know the cost of sending one-thousand men to war is one billion dollars? What’s wrong with these statements? Everything!
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Another gripe I have today, I am releasing them so the negativity will be shaken off the day, is that if you or I crashed a state dinner, we would be in jail right now. However, since it was a socialite couple that breached security, it will probably will be forgotten with a slap on the hand.

Did you know they are trying out for a reality show, and that they brought their own camera crew? How did they manage that!
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Lastly, regarding Adam Lambert kissing a dude on the American Music Awards show…he said that paren’t should be there to monitor what kids are watching. What the hell good would that have been – it would have just happened in front of the parents and the children.

Each to his own. I have my own opinion. Personally, I think he is a flaming gay blade that can’t even sing. He screams. Just because the media reports heavily on the gay and lesbian population and concerns, doesn’t mean it’s right. I don’t have to change my beliefs because Hollyweird shoves it in my face.

These events won’t change my life, but my concerns for the children are grave. Unless people speak up (it’s always the minorities that voice an opinion) our children and grandchildren will grow up not knowing what the hell to believe. It makes me sick.

There. It is released and I feel better. Have a great day and use your intellect. Don’t let big brother keep controlling your life!

Today was a lovely day.

My husband and I spoke on the phone in the morning and at noon. He’s working out of town and we talk on the phone and use the internet to stay close. It was as if we hadn’t been together for 21 years. It was new and exciting because we are expressing life together.

I played with our “puppy”. She’s just six months and already she’s sixty-eight pounds. I sat in the grass and when I arose my bottom was soaking wet! It was great. It cooled my system right down in the fast approach of the winter season, day by day.

Dakota was bouncing off the walls; kind of like myself most of the time. She nuzzled my face and almost sat in my lap. She fell off and rolled over with her legs sticking straight up and started to snore. That’s the puppy!

I left all the worries I can’t resolve inside, aside for a bit. I enjoyed
living today.

When I hand watered some plants I stepped into the sun and could immediately visualize my entire body warming all at once, instead of increments.

I realized again, I didn’t have to be poured into anybody’s mold but my own – no matter what the circumstances.

Green leaves, geese using the roadway, a different and unique person at every corner. I took a breath and swept, and then took the trashcans out to the front. I just may call my husband to tell him I love him.

Look closely. Look around you. You are free to love and laugh and survive happily. For each wound in life you have strengthened in character, your Spirit, and your capacity to love, and even free to be happy in the hardest of times.

Don’t forget this. Life will squeeze in on you. Take a breath and expand your life with joy. I am working on doing the very same thing EACH DAY I am privileged to wake up in the morning!

A “Mini Break”

Stop for a moment and sit back in your chair. Take one of those deep breaths in through the nose, and exhale from the mouth. Do it a few times. Remember: when stress enters we slow our breathing down – almost stop when we are angry! As you breathe think “I am relaxing myself, slowing my heart rate, lowering my blood pressure, maintaining optimum oxygen so I can think better, and giving myself and the only place I have to live (my body) – a few moments of regeneration!”

Believe me – it will do all those things for you. After a few breaths, stretch your arms up in the air, blink your eyes several times, wiggle your toes and if you need to take a bathroom break – don’t put it off! Do it now. The walk will do you good anyway and get that oxygen moving through the body again.

NO STRESS is worth your life! It will all work out somehow. Don’t add to your problems by stressssssssssing out!

If you need some daily help managing stress check out my website: http://www.stressmanagementmagic.com

What about this?

I vacuumed the floor for the second time today. It was necessary. It won’t turn mankind around the other way, but my floor will be clean for the next moment of my life.

My dreams of loving all mankind and making something better for some are not dashed to the ground. Perhaps in some distant moment to come some one will remember a kindness done for them, or a genuine pleasure to meet them greeting, or just a smile sincere.

The time is so brief and the challenge so immense. How can one live up to the desire God has for us to love Him? His is conditional love. The kind of conditions only God could bestow upon us.

The conditions are:
1. Love your God with all your heart and soul and mind,
2. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Seems simple at first. To me, loving God is easy.

But one has to sacrifice self. The bounty returns even better than that which was given. But that isn’t the point.

Remembering to love YOU is also part of the deal If you don’t love yourself, you cannot fully love someone else.

Think

You have done nothing wrong if you have love and are able to forgive.

With hands to my heart I, in the depth of my being,
I still love, and how can I not forgive, having done so much to be forgiven for in this life.

Pain is not an enemy. It is a warning system in the making of this fine tapestry of human majesty and beauty. Lessons are to be learned. You know when those times are coming on and you the intensify building..

Use innate compounds of human anatomy to prepare and strengthen response. You feel it coming. You know you will be struck soon or you will be in this moment. I was. It will happen. Be forewarned to prepare for the ultimate test in Spirit tenacity.

Pain. Breath. Pain. Pray. Pain. Dissolve that which is past.
Pain. Open your chest to breathe and your heart to accept what is to come.

Sometimes in life you will be forced to let go of everything you know in order to move on – let go and move on.

Everyone is headed somewhere. Accept the challenge. Enjoy the voyage. The expedition is the point.

Does not life feel as if it is the pages in a book you read long ago? Memories stir from within; memories of another time and place.

Lift your heart, lift your eyes, lift your spirit, lift your love and compassion. Stay soft in your deep rivers of life. Work hard not to scatter who you are to lesser expectations.

Be kind. Be at ease. If you don’t know further than a moment – you join the ranks of us all.

There is just nothing you can do about all the rest. Choose your life wisely. Love.

Knowledge is power: H1N1 information

IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOUR FAMILY. My eldest son and his wife and four children have it.
The baby is less than two and they are quite worried. It is sneaky and just when you seem a bit better, it comes back. Please protect your family and share any information here you may not have heard.
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This information is taken from the CDC website. I thought it important enough to post as many of us just don’t take the time to check these things out.
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What are “emergency warning signs” that should signal anyone to seek medical care urgently?
In children:
• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Fever with a rash
In adults:
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting

Contamination & Cleaning

How long can influenza virus remain viable on objects (such as books and doorknobs)?
Studies have shown that influenza virus can survive on environmental surfaces and can infect a person for 2 to 8 hours after being deposited on the surface.

What kills influenza virus?
Influenza virus is destroyed by heat (167-212°F [75-100°C]). In addition, several chemical germicides, including chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, detergents (soap), iodophors (iodine-based antiseptics), and alcohols are effective against human influenza viruses if used in proper concentration for a sufficient length of time.

*What if soap and water are not available and alcohol-based products are not allowed in my facility?
If soap and water are not available and alcohol-based products are not allowed, other hand sanitizers that do not contain alcohol may be useful.

What surfaces are most likely to be sources of contamination?
Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. Germs can be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk, for example, and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.

How should waste disposal be handled to prevent the spread of influenza virus?
To prevent the spread of influenza virus, it is recommended that tissues and other disposable items used by an infected person be thrown in the trash. Additionally, persons should wash their hands with soap and water after touching used tissues and similar waste.

What household cleaning should be done to prevent the spread of influenza virus?
To prevent the spread of influenza virus it is important to keep surfaces (especially bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, kitchen counters and toys for children) clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant according to directions on the product label.

How should linens, eating utensils and dishes of persons infected with influenza virus be handled?
Linens, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are sick do not need to be cleaned separately, but importantly these items should not be shared without washing thoroughly first.

Linens (such as bed sheets and towels) should be washed by using household laundry soap and tumbled dry on a hot setting. Individuals should avoid “hugging” laundry prior to washing it to prevent contaminating themselves. Individuals should wash their hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub immediately after handling dirty laundry.

Eating utensils should be washed either in a dishwasher or by hand with water and soap.

DON’T PANIC: Just be prepared and do things to prevent it from happening!

Waste time?

Certainly. I know people who are “killing time” before they die. I hate wasting time.
Time is precious. LIfe is precious.

You my God, can it be happening? I read the signs and feel the poison in the air.

It is too intense. The sun lays directly on the horizon. I have forgotten to think.
I am scattered upon the earth trying to absorb the rays that penetrate me and throngs of the human kind, as long as change is time reverberates sandy nights, wind pushing my hair behind my cheeks and when the wind subsides, falling gently upon my shoulders and back. The wind filling my lungs with oxygen and need I say more. . I love you.
I love you Creator and Sacrificing Son who willing to face defilement for no other reason than love….

I will not question why. I will submit to love. How easy is this that is all that is asked?

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H1N1

My son and his wife and four children have H1N1 virus. If you believe in a power beyod yourself and this planet – please pray for them – as well as all those on this planet with a heart and love.

This virus lets 99% off with only a serious bout of the flu, but for some, it is life-threatening. It is more than serious. I won’t have the vaccine, but I believe infants through young adults should.