For those of you who may not know or remember, I had major spinal surgery in the summer of 2008. That was a harrowing experience to say the least. Then add a nearly one year long recovery...well you can see how fun that year was.
With that said. Thee only rehabilitation they wanted me to do was walking, yes, walking. For walking strengthens your core and what is your spinal column? Oh yeah, the core to your very being. And if you think you what your back/spinal cord does for you, then have back surgery. You will then realize that your back controls everything you do.
I have been pretty darned steadfast in my keeping up on my walking. I try to get out at lease five days a week and due to the fact that I have a pooch to keep healthy, it is a great symbiont relationship and it is a win win for the both of us.
But there is a group of us exercisers that work out in our own little neck of this neighborhood. That includes walkers (with and without dogs), bikers (and I am not referring to the Harley-Davidson type either) and runners. It seems to be an unwritten credo to just greet one another, whether it be a simple hello, a 'Hi, how are you?', or something to that effect, it usually gets said. But there are cars that pass us by on their way to work as well. With their windows rolled up, air conditioning cranking, there is no way to greet these folks. But alas...there is.
I grew up in a family that camped. We dragged our pull along pop-up camper behind a Volkswagen van and camped in there and we also used a tiny little two-sleeper tent. We loved it. But what I think I loved most about the camping experience was the friendliness of the fellow campers. They always had a kind word, or would offer their help when needed, and if passed when walking or biking, there was always a friendly wave...no words needed.
So I took up this practice in my walking routine. I wave to all vehicles that cross my path. Now I know that a majority of them are shaking their heads that some whacko lady is waving to a complete stranger. But I heard recently, that a stranger is just a friend we haven't met yet. Now I will grant you that I may not invite these people to my Thanksgiving dinner table, but I may just be planting a seed of kindness into their brains. And how knows, I could be cultivating a new breed of people who will soon be known as Waver's.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
I Will Be A Squirrel
I was in the kitchen last night with my daughter and husband as my daughter and I were putting the final touches on dinner before sitting down to eat, when my daughter breaks out into a story from work. For those of you who may not know, she has just gotten a job at a local supermarket as a bag girl. Being a minor she will still have to adhere to the specific hours until she turns sixteen.
She begins the story by saying that a senior man came through the line she was bagging for and he had quite a few bags of peanuts. My daughter being the very observant person and knowledgeable in the kitchen, she asked the gentleman if he was going to go home and make boiled peanuts. He looked to her and said, "No, I am taking these home for the squirrel in my yard."
My daughter, being a vegetarian and animal lover thought that was a sweet thing for him to do. But it did not stop there. He explained to her why he feeds this particular squirrel. You see, his wife died recently and as she was dying, she told her husband that she would come back as a squirrel. So on his first trip out of the house after she died, he was returning home from some errand, and there was a squirrel in his driveway. He knew in his heart that this was his wife letting him know that she was still with him.
Who's to say. No one has proof otherwise. So I say let him think what he wants if it helps him get through the day. If he wants to think she is a potato peeler, it is his prerogative.
I sat there listening to my daughter tell the story and my eyes welled up with teas, knowing that some day either me or my husband will be alone. And that thoughts scares the living crap out of me.
It's not that he or I could not function without one another, for we could. And yes, it would be an adjustment, but I cannot imagine the loneliness. I enjoy sitting with my husbands on the mornings we have together and sit and talk about current events...or not. Talk about the weather or what is a five letter word for fowl that begins with an "R". Those things are better shared with someone. I feel for people who have not found that special someone, for whatever reason. To live out your final years alone. To me that would the worst.
Kids grow up and make their own lives. It's not that you are no longer important, it's just they have made their own lives and have to do the same things you did years before.
I hope that this man is happy knowing that he is keeping his wife fed. Because in thee end, isn't it the thought that counts?
She begins the story by saying that a senior man came through the line she was bagging for and he had quite a few bags of peanuts. My daughter being the very observant person and knowledgeable in the kitchen, she asked the gentleman if he was going to go home and make boiled peanuts. He looked to her and said, "No, I am taking these home for the squirrel in my yard."
My daughter, being a vegetarian and animal lover thought that was a sweet thing for him to do. But it did not stop there. He explained to her why he feeds this particular squirrel. You see, his wife died recently and as she was dying, she told her husband that she would come back as a squirrel. So on his first trip out of the house after she died, he was returning home from some errand, and there was a squirrel in his driveway. He knew in his heart that this was his wife letting him know that she was still with him.
Who's to say. No one has proof otherwise. So I say let him think what he wants if it helps him get through the day. If he wants to think she is a potato peeler, it is his prerogative.
I sat there listening to my daughter tell the story and my eyes welled up with teas, knowing that some day either me or my husband will be alone. And that thoughts scares the living crap out of me.
It's not that he or I could not function without one another, for we could. And yes, it would be an adjustment, but I cannot imagine the loneliness. I enjoy sitting with my husbands on the mornings we have together and sit and talk about current events...or not. Talk about the weather or what is a five letter word for fowl that begins with an "R". Those things are better shared with someone. I feel for people who have not found that special someone, for whatever reason. To live out your final years alone. To me that would the worst.
Kids grow up and make their own lives. It's not that you are no longer important, it's just they have made their own lives and have to do the same things you did years before.
I hope that this man is happy knowing that he is keeping his wife fed. Because in thee end, isn't it the thought that counts?
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Excuses, Excuses
How many ways can you think of making an excuse for what you need to do in your life? Here, let me help you out on this one:
1) I'm too busy
2) I'm too old
3) I'm too fat
4) I'm too scared
5) I'm to scared it will take too long
6) It's going to be too difficult
That is just the tip of thee iceberg for many of us who procrastinate on doing things that either we want to do or need to do. I am guilty as the next person. I have been needing to organize my paper piles for weeks, but there they still sit. And yet I seem to find time to watch an hour of recorded TV. So where's my excuse? There isn't any. It is just my own laziness. And I have no problem admitting it. But for more of us then we carry to admit, we seem to find excuses. And 9 times out of 10 they all have a negative angle to them...imagine that.
What we need to do and not all at once, is find out what it is in our lives that we want to tackle first. Is that letter writing we want to get started. Fine, then write a list of who you want to write to and when that letter is gone, cross them off your list. There is nothing more rewarding that to see your to do list grow shorter and shorter.
Maybe it's start your new eating lifestyle. Well then, tackle one aspect of your eating habits that ticks you off and work on that one fault, the others will follow. Most people cannot jump right in with both feet. Find what works for you and take it one step at a time.
You want to add exercise to your daily routine, then do it. Walk to thee end of the block. Laugh if you will but that may be allot for many folks. Once that becomes easy then add more as your body tells you. Listen to yourself and your body, you are your own best advocate.
Thee excuses you see printed up in the beginning of the post were from Wayne Dyers new book and I found an interview in the Natural Awakenings magazine that I get from my local health food store. He tackles so many issues in just this tiny blurb that I am enticed to go to the library and check out the book.
I love anything that will guide me in a direction to better myself. And we all could use improvement, but are we willing to admit it?
1) I'm too busy
2) I'm too old
3) I'm too fat
4) I'm too scared
5) I'm to scared it will take too long
6) It's going to be too difficult
That is just the tip of thee iceberg for many of us who procrastinate on doing things that either we want to do or need to do. I am guilty as the next person. I have been needing to organize my paper piles for weeks, but there they still sit. And yet I seem to find time to watch an hour of recorded TV. So where's my excuse? There isn't any. It is just my own laziness. And I have no problem admitting it. But for more of us then we carry to admit, we seem to find excuses. And 9 times out of 10 they all have a negative angle to them...imagine that.
What we need to do and not all at once, is find out what it is in our lives that we want to tackle first. Is that letter writing we want to get started. Fine, then write a list of who you want to write to and when that letter is gone, cross them off your list. There is nothing more rewarding that to see your to do list grow shorter and shorter.
Maybe it's start your new eating lifestyle. Well then, tackle one aspect of your eating habits that ticks you off and work on that one fault, the others will follow. Most people cannot jump right in with both feet. Find what works for you and take it one step at a time.
You want to add exercise to your daily routine, then do it. Walk to thee end of the block. Laugh if you will but that may be allot for many folks. Once that becomes easy then add more as your body tells you. Listen to yourself and your body, you are your own best advocate.
Thee excuses you see printed up in the beginning of the post were from Wayne Dyers new book and I found an interview in the Natural Awakenings magazine that I get from my local health food store. He tackles so many issues in just this tiny blurb that I am enticed to go to the library and check out the book.
I love anything that will guide me in a direction to better myself. And we all could use improvement, but are we willing to admit it?
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Don't Get Involved
I had an experience years ago before I had children. So that puts it at 20 years plus.
My husband and I had our own business at the time and it was a mobile business...literally. We had a mobile dog grooming business. And we were on the road at the time this incident occurred and in the middle of morning traffic. Granted, we were not on a major highway or freeway, but it was still a crowded street all the same.
We were sitting in traffic, or possibly at a red light, but whatever the case, we were not moving. Then I heard someone, a female yelling for help. I turned in my seat and saw her running, like she was running from something. It turned out to be a someone. She kept yelling for help and no one would assist her. I turned and then saw who she was running from. It was a male figure. Most more than likely her significant other. Whether he had been a friend, lover, relative, he was after her and with a vengeance.
I then asked my husband to let us take her in our work van and get her to the nearest police station, our appointments be damned. But he said no without a moments hesitation. Right then and there my entire outlook toward my husband changed. A part of me died inside. How could he do that? Just swat this woman away who was evidently in need of help. And what if that had been me running from someone or something and he was not there to help me out and the entire world turned a deaf ear? How would he have felt then? He would have been pisssed off at the fact that no one took the time to help his wife when she needed someone the most.
My husband has done a 180 in his life since that time. But it still dwells inside of me and when I look back on it, I get all choked up inside and a knot forms in the pit of my stomach. How can anyone be so callous? And how have we gotten that way? What has changed us so much in the last century or so to make us look away, as if things were not happening under our noses.
Case in point, the case with the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard. It's not the kidnapping I ma here to talk about, it is those who probably knew something was amiss and did not follow their gut instincts. They chose not to get involved. That say by thinking if they were wrong and called the authorities, then made a mistake, how would that neighbor see them? But usually our gut instincts are correct, they are there for a reason. They are our alarm, our warning system, if you will.
I enjoy helping my fellowman, and possibly to a fault. And every now and then my husband falls back on his old way of thinking and says we need to look our for ourselves first. And I will not deny him that. If I had to do for my children over anyone else, my children will always win. But right after that I do not mind helping others as long as we are not taken advantage of, but that is a different post. I am under the guise that you will only get back what you give. And there are those who think it is all about financial help. That could not be further from the truth. There is much more to giving that just opening your wallet. Open your heart. Open your mind and see what you can do once you let yourself get involved with others. It does the body good.
My husband and I had our own business at the time and it was a mobile business...literally. We had a mobile dog grooming business. And we were on the road at the time this incident occurred and in the middle of morning traffic. Granted, we were not on a major highway or freeway, but it was still a crowded street all the same.
We were sitting in traffic, or possibly at a red light, but whatever the case, we were not moving. Then I heard someone, a female yelling for help. I turned in my seat and saw her running, like she was running from something. It turned out to be a someone. She kept yelling for help and no one would assist her. I turned and then saw who she was running from. It was a male figure. Most more than likely her significant other. Whether he had been a friend, lover, relative, he was after her and with a vengeance.
I then asked my husband to let us take her in our work van and get her to the nearest police station, our appointments be damned. But he said no without a moments hesitation. Right then and there my entire outlook toward my husband changed. A part of me died inside. How could he do that? Just swat this woman away who was evidently in need of help. And what if that had been me running from someone or something and he was not there to help me out and the entire world turned a deaf ear? How would he have felt then? He would have been pisssed off at the fact that no one took the time to help his wife when she needed someone the most.
My husband has done a 180 in his life since that time. But it still dwells inside of me and when I look back on it, I get all choked up inside and a knot forms in the pit of my stomach. How can anyone be so callous? And how have we gotten that way? What has changed us so much in the last century or so to make us look away, as if things were not happening under our noses.
Case in point, the case with the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard. It's not the kidnapping I ma here to talk about, it is those who probably knew something was amiss and did not follow their gut instincts. They chose not to get involved. That say by thinking if they were wrong and called the authorities, then made a mistake, how would that neighbor see them? But usually our gut instincts are correct, they are there for a reason. They are our alarm, our warning system, if you will.
I enjoy helping my fellowman, and possibly to a fault. And every now and then my husband falls back on his old way of thinking and says we need to look our for ourselves first. And I will not deny him that. If I had to do for my children over anyone else, my children will always win. But right after that I do not mind helping others as long as we are not taken advantage of, but that is a different post. I am under the guise that you will only get back what you give. And there are those who think it is all about financial help. That could not be further from the truth. There is much more to giving that just opening your wallet. Open your heart. Open your mind and see what you can do once you let yourself get involved with others. It does the body good.
Friday, August 14, 2009
You Could Hear A Pin Drop
So, for those of you who may not follow my cooking blog, I have re-entered the workforce after a year of recovery from my back surgery. I recently worked for a demonstration company, but thee amount of hours they were giving me was not what I had been promised. So much for a good ole hand shake. So I stayed with them until something more substantial came along, so I bided my time. Friends kept their ear to the ground in regards to any jobs out there.
A dear friend of mine had heard that the deli meat company Boars Head was hiring. So she got in touch with a friend of hers who was in upper management, but low and behold, eh was not hiring at present. I thanked her and told her just to keep her ear out for anything else.
Fast forward a few weeks and same dear friend called back to say that Mr. Boars Head was now hiring and to give him a call. I did and he said he would have a spot available mid-August and if I could hold on that long that I had a job. Oh yeah, I could wait.
Today was my first day and it was so much fun. I am a person who needs to deal with the public. Why? Because I was born to deal with people. I connect with them. I am the average Joe-ette and they like that connection. I am not some hoity-toity person who they cannot understand.
When my day was finished I had to go back to thee office to be shown how the paperwork is completed. So simple an earthworm could have figured it out. There was a few other employees in the office and we were just shooting the breeze, talking about nothing in particular. One of the ladies asked me if I had tried the new chicken I was demonstrating. I thought about it for a split second then I politely told them, "I don't eat meat, I am a vegetarian." You could hear a pin drop. The look on their faces was definitely a Kodak moment. I was tempted to play that entire moment all over again, just to see the look on their faces, it was grand.
The first thing I was asked was if I had issues working for a company that promotes meat. And I told them, if I did, I would not be working for them. Duh!
I did have a great time and it was good to be working in a wonderful atmosphere once again. So if you see a short lady with short red hair, that would be me.
A dear friend of mine had heard that the deli meat company Boars Head was hiring. So she got in touch with a friend of hers who was in upper management, but low and behold, eh was not hiring at present. I thanked her and told her just to keep her ear out for anything else.
Fast forward a few weeks and same dear friend called back to say that Mr. Boars Head was now hiring and to give him a call. I did and he said he would have a spot available mid-August and if I could hold on that long that I had a job. Oh yeah, I could wait.
Today was my first day and it was so much fun. I am a person who needs to deal with the public. Why? Because I was born to deal with people. I connect with them. I am the average Joe-ette and they like that connection. I am not some hoity-toity person who they cannot understand.
When my day was finished I had to go back to thee office to be shown how the paperwork is completed. So simple an earthworm could have figured it out. There was a few other employees in the office and we were just shooting the breeze, talking about nothing in particular. One of the ladies asked me if I had tried the new chicken I was demonstrating. I thought about it for a split second then I politely told them, "I don't eat meat, I am a vegetarian." You could hear a pin drop. The look on their faces was definitely a Kodak moment. I was tempted to play that entire moment all over again, just to see the look on their faces, it was grand.
The first thing I was asked was if I had issues working for a company that promotes meat. And I told them, if I did, I would not be working for them. Duh!
I did have a great time and it was good to be working in a wonderful atmosphere once again. So if you see a short lady with short red hair, that would be me.
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Most Unthinkable Act
I am not thee most forgiving person. I think people should be held accountable for their actions, no matter their age, sex, race or creed. I admit that I think the punishment should fit the crime. But there are somethings that you just can't erase with any penalty. The act I am speaking of is child pornography.
Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl. And here in Florida we seem to be surrounded by them. They are everywhere. In the world of sexual pleasures, I think whatever makes you feel good then do it. But not to children. There is a line that NO ONE should cross.
On thee Oprah show today, that had a task force investigating homes that had been downloading child pornography for a few weeks. The law enforcement agency believed that this was the main man. But it wasn't. It was the son, who was barely 18. And thee acts that could be described on television made my want to throw something at the television.
And what's worse is that the law enforcement has no clue where these children are. Are they children that have been kidnapped (this is my husbands theory) and kept just for this disgusting act? Who knows. Do these children ever escape? And if so are they able to lead normal lives? And were are they? Could they be at your next door neighbors home in the basement being filmed? Again the thought makes me sick.
I saw Judge Judy (TV Show) being interviewed by Larry King a while back. And the one thing that she and I agreed on is that sexual predators/molesters/child porn distributors or watchers or participators are not rehabilitatable(sp?). they are so sick that there is no coming back form where they are.
My thought is take them out back with the dog the way they use to back in the day and put them and the dog out of their misery.
Then here comes thee icing on the cake. When they get caught, they get representation, because that is our system. Get found guilty and get to sit in an air conditioned room for the rest of their lives. They get medical treatment, three meals a day and some poor schlep called a journalist has the nerve to call them Mister (insert name). Mister is handed out to those who have earned some respect. These folks should be wiped off the face of thee earth.
Call me harsh, call me cruel, but I have not empathy or sympathy for those who do what these people do to our children. Children deserve better, children deserve a voice.
Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl. And here in Florida we seem to be surrounded by them. They are everywhere. In the world of sexual pleasures, I think whatever makes you feel good then do it. But not to children. There is a line that NO ONE should cross.
On thee Oprah show today, that had a task force investigating homes that had been downloading child pornography for a few weeks. The law enforcement agency believed that this was the main man. But it wasn't. It was the son, who was barely 18. And thee acts that could be described on television made my want to throw something at the television.
And what's worse is that the law enforcement has no clue where these children are. Are they children that have been kidnapped (this is my husbands theory) and kept just for this disgusting act? Who knows. Do these children ever escape? And if so are they able to lead normal lives? And were are they? Could they be at your next door neighbors home in the basement being filmed? Again the thought makes me sick.
I saw Judge Judy (TV Show) being interviewed by Larry King a while back. And the one thing that she and I agreed on is that sexual predators/molesters/child porn distributors or watchers or participators are not rehabilitatable(sp?). they are so sick that there is no coming back form where they are.
My thought is take them out back with the dog the way they use to back in the day and put them and the dog out of their misery.
Then here comes thee icing on the cake. When they get caught, they get representation, because that is our system. Get found guilty and get to sit in an air conditioned room for the rest of their lives. They get medical treatment, three meals a day and some poor schlep called a journalist has the nerve to call them Mister (insert name). Mister is handed out to those who have earned some respect. These folks should be wiped off the face of thee earth.
Call me harsh, call me cruel, but I have not empathy or sympathy for those who do what these people do to our children. Children deserve better, children deserve a voice.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Is My Hair Spikey?
Out of the mouth of babes. Just when you think you have heard it all, a youngin' comes along and reminds you you ain't heard it all.
My daughter came to me with this story that someone had told her.
There was a young boy who was in his own home and come out of the bathroom. Upon exiting said bathroom, he found an older sibling and asked that sibling very matter-of-factly, "Is my hair spikey?"
Thee older sibling informed the younger brother that in fact his hair was not spikey and that it wouldn't be due to the fact that he had a buzz cut and there was no way he could get his hair to spike. The older sibling then wanted to know why he had asked such a question. Wait for it.
The younger sibling then told thee older one that, "Well, I pushed a little too hard when I was in the bathroom and my hair stood up on end so I thought I had spikey hair."
Oh what our bodies can do to us. And maybe this is only a story a mother can appreciate. And I thought that might be the case, except that every time my daughter tries to tell or hears of it being told, it still cracks her up.
My daughter came to me with this story that someone had told her.
There was a young boy who was in his own home and come out of the bathroom. Upon exiting said bathroom, he found an older sibling and asked that sibling very matter-of-factly, "Is my hair spikey?"
Thee older sibling informed the younger brother that in fact his hair was not spikey and that it wouldn't be due to the fact that he had a buzz cut and there was no way he could get his hair to spike. The older sibling then wanted to know why he had asked such a question. Wait for it.
The younger sibling then told thee older one that, "Well, I pushed a little too hard when I was in the bathroom and my hair stood up on end so I thought I had spikey hair."
Oh what our bodies can do to us. And maybe this is only a story a mother can appreciate. And I thought that might be the case, except that every time my daughter tries to tell or hears of it being told, it still cracks her up.
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