Cyber-HotFlash

"Hero" by Abandon with Lyrics

2012-04-05T12:26:00.001-04:00

This is My Hero!

He saved me from myself and to think that years ago He sacrificed HImself for my sins...because hHe did this for me...I will take the mess I have made and serve HIm by helping others.

"The Hell that you have gone through was to make you who you are so you could reach others that are where you have been. Here's a reminder, Whatever the devil took from your life and made a mess, God cleans up and makes it your message. God never puts more on you than he has put in you!" Kimberly Jones-Pothier

On Maunday Thursday and the next several days, may we all understand the sacrifice and miracle of this time of year!

(video is graphic)

The Final Rose that Just Won't Die!

2012-03-20T22:21:00.002-04:00

Just when I thought I had seen the last of Courtney Robertson from The Bachelor, she shows up in my mail promising me deals at Stein Mart!

Courtney Robertson in recent Stein Mart Ad

This arrival of postal paper garbage only affirms my theory that her appearance on the show was primarily promotion, to get her on magazine covers and lots of visibility for her modeling career!

But please...after Omarosa Of Celebrity Apprentice fame...Courtney may be the most hated reality star contestant since and like Omarosa, she is a horrible gift that keeps on giving!

Will this gal ever go away?!

I mean few people were convinced she was genuine during the show...Viewers tweeted and Face-booked about how Ben should give her the boot every week and then...sure as shootin' Courtney got a rose and then gloatted off camera. "Winning!"

Here is my theory...hypothetical...of course!

Courtney was picked for the show in the first place because...

her "agency" told her that this would be great for her career...she might even get some tabloid presence, which is a great boost for an unknown...so, she was placed and told to be the "Evil Mole"...create discontent and drama amongst the girls and they'll (The Bachelor producers) would choose the best of the video of her doing this...it would be great reality television...Especially, when they set it up for Courtney to surprise Ben and take him skinny dipping! Nothing like letting the Viewer in on the secret and keeping all the unknowing contestants in the dark. The producer could promote the heck out of that skinny dipping scene....more ratings!

Oh, the drama of it all!!

Now, Ben has a winery in Cali somewhere, the name escapes me...and the rest of his partners don't want or can't be on "The Bachelor". So, they get Ben to join "The Bachelorette". How could it hurt? Free publicity for the winery...Ben might get to kiss a girl AND travel. WIN...WIN for all!

People liked Ben when he was on "The Bachelorette" with Ashley and then at the end, when Ben turned quickly against Ashley with his cutting last comment...more drama and GOOD TV! Let's have Ben back as "The Bachelor!

Ben Flanjik

Ben was not the typical bachelor but this will be MORE great publicity for Ben's winery...RIGHT?!

(Producers to Ben): "Oh, and by the way...there is a model named Courtney that is amongst the girls...you need to pick her every show, cuz she is there to stir up drama amongst the girls and we want to keep the ratings up. People love to hate the evil chick and they will tune in every week to see if you boot her off...which you won't because she is stirring the other girl's pot, keeping the ratings up.

Oh....and if you keep Courtney down to the end and EVEN propose to her, you won't need to follow through on the proposal because the girl is not in it to get married, just to boost her modeling career. At least that is what we plan...but if you could fall for her and do, we could drag this thing out through the Final Rose...and IF you two hit it off maybe even a wedding!"

The Proposal

I was suspicious of Courtney's agenda starting from the first show and especially after Ben Flajnik sent protective, tell-ya-like-she-sees-it Emily away for repeatedly telling him that Courtney was the devil's spawn. (Emily: Ben knew all along, but didn't know how well Courtney was playing the part)

I mean, Emily's non-verbals when she spoke to Ben about Courtney was not only frustrated but was totally confused at how this guy didn't see or know that he was having the wool pulled over on him. Em...he wasn't thinking with his head, at least not the one on his shoulders, if you get my drift!

...and THEN we have sweet and perfect for Ben, Kacey B who wouldn't lie to anyone cause that is the way her parents raised her.

(Thanks Dad for helping Kacey B dodge that bullet! You did great job in scaring the b-jeezers outta that Cali boy)

Kacey B tells Ben the same thing as Emily...EVEN returns to the show to warn him YET AGAIN about Courtney! She repeats how mean Courtney has been to the girls and that he shouldn't fall for Courtney's innocent/play it dumb act.

Ben is confused and worried...he should be!

Throughout this season various gals are warning him, while Ben coolly sits there looking straight at them not registering what is being said or telling them he needs to give her the benefit of the doubt( he was following direction)...He is still blinded by the week he and Courtney went skinny-dipping....What young buck wouldn't be?!

These gals might as well have been saying "Blah...Blah...Blah...Blah!!"

The women tell all...

The clincher is this...none of the women fell for her game and neither did the audience.

Each week everyone wanted Courtney gone and we all knew why we wanted her outta there! No one was going to let Courtney off the hook, not even at the "The Women Tell All" show...they weren't buying one word of Courtney's "boo-hoo, poor me...I'm sorry I did wrong speech!"

The Bachelor producers hung Courtney out to dry with those ladies, not thinking or remembering that "hell has no fury then a woman scorned"...or being catty!!

Even Ben turned his back on her when the going got tough...which showed HIS true colors in the end.

For a second I felt sorry for Courtney...but nope! This gal made her bed and she needed to lie in it...even if it was for the sake of her modeling career.

Finally, I believe it is time to give "The Bachelor" a rest...let it die a silent death or fade in to Bachelor heaven or hell, which is more like this last seasons show...it was pure torture and the Evil Queen got the last rose! That is not the way the fairy tale should end, despite what those stupid producers think...they got it wrong!!

Post Script: Final Theory-After The Rose:

(Producers to Ben and Courtney) Come on the show and be all apologetic, Courtney. Throw Ben under the bus by telling the world that he broke up with you when the going got rough...but then Chris will have the engagement ring and pose the question if he(Ben) wants to give it back to you...BEN...you will give the ring back to her as the audience melts in a puddle of Oooo's and Ahhhhs! Don't worry you don't have to go through with it. Keep the ring and look like a couple trying for about 2-3 weeks and then we will announce a final break-up and the two of you can go your separate ways.
If we can't get the audience to buy it (we didn't)...we will get Ashley and P.J.(the guy who took the other gal from ya, Ben) to come on and tell us all their happy wedding plans!!

It will be a great show don't worry!!

Are ya game?!!!

Seasons of Our Life: Spring and Motherhood

2012-03-17T13:11:00.000-04:00

Picture from Esteem Yourself Facebook Page

I want and need this welcome mat!! I would not be embarrassed about putting this outside my door...at least those who enter are forewarned!!

I used to have poem posted by my front door that was titled "Excuse this House" which pointed out to those entering that I chose to play with my children, enjoy my life with my family and husband instead of being worried about making sure my house looked like something out of "Martha Stewart" or ready for an "Architectural Digest" shoot.

I have five children and at the time they were all young and
still learning how to take care of their possessions. When they were young it was a season of messiness and sometimes not so clean home. In fact, my oldest was very embarrassed about our house because of all the toys and clutter...but it was clean...tidy maybe not.

Martha Stewarts NEW Housekeeping Handbook

I chose then, after having several Martha Stewart hangovers and breakdowns, that I would no longer be held to that measure.

Who was I kidding?

Martha was not raising five children...taking care of two Golden Retrievers and dealing with a husband who was on six month deployments and work-ups. Martha has/had a team...tons of money and had several homes.

Reality made it clear I would never be a Martha Stewart Super-Mom!

Now that my children are older, we are a bit more clean...the clutter still prevails...but there is hope one day that I might be able to have that magazine shoot here....

...BUT my mother-in-law tells me that this only happens after all of the children are gone and the house has become quiet and sometimes loneliness and silence fills the gaps and spaces where the dirt and clutter once lived. She has told me not to worry about it and enjoy the time that they are here with us...a clean house comes later in the winter season of your life...when you can remember all the wonderful times of previous seasons spent with your children and family.

So, put out your Welcome Mat to a home not quite ready for Prime Time or a glitzy magazine photographer...sit down and play with your children...watch a movie with your teens...take a walk with your college aged son or daughter...before you know it they will be gone and you will be filling the quiet with memories...choose to fill it with memories of happiness and fun with them...not days of cleaning and laundry.

This is your Season to be a Mother!!!

I must thank my Facebook friend...as I believe I just wrote most of today's blog post at her profile page...THANKS Gwen!!

Jason Gray - Remind Me Who I Am (Official Music Video)

2012-03-14T15:28:00.001-04:00

Drop the negative labels and replace them with positive affirmations of how God sees YOU!!

Forgive yourself above all things...Let go!

...and allow God to do GREAT WORKS IN YOU!

Let me remind you...

You are beautiful and wonderfully made!

You are precious in His eyes.

God loves you and so do I!

Parking Lot Random Act of Kindness

2011-11-16T09:52:00.001-05:00

To the Lovely Woman with the Kate+8 haircut and the Hairy Eyeball:

Thank you for walking my Bloom grocery cart all the way to cart corral, while giving me the stink eye and then dramatically slamming the cart into the others as you vigorously strode back to your car.

I am truly grateful, as my daughter was standing alone up at the high school in the dark waiting for me to pick her up.

You did me a great favor. I hope you understood me when I mouthed "Thank You" as you stomped to your car.

Believe me, I wanted to mouth something else...even use some sign language...but decided your random act of kindness should not go unnoticed.

So...Thank you!

BTW: I believe you may have been so caught up in your random act of kindness that you didn't notice the cart corral was much farther away then the front of the store. You could have taken less stomps to the front of the store then to the corral...but then maybe you needed the exercise.

Bonus for you, I guess! :-)

Sincerely,

A Grateful (Menopausal) Bloom Shopper

Do you have any stories like this...Stories where the Random Act of Kindness came from you by NOT reacting negatively...but positively...then turning or making the other person think about their own reaction to YOUR action?

I would love to hear them.

Can you "Catch more flies with honey then vinegar"?

Dr.Oz Gives Voice to the Mid-Life Silent Scream

2011-11-04T18:58:00.000-04:00

Dr. Mehmet Oz of The Dr. OZ Show finally gave the mid-life silent scream a voice and a label...Periomenopausal Rage.

PMR, in my opinion, is the root or the first place every women who suspects that they are going through mid-life transition or crisis should investigate to deal with the physical and emotional upheaval that can come at this time in her life.

Dr. Mehmet Oz of The Dr. OZ Show

For the past several years at this blog and my forum called Women in MLC, I have addressed PMR or Periomenopausal Rage...the language that I used may have been different, as I didn't label it as PMR, but purely as hormone imbalance that may be attributed to the hormone changes that are occurring prior to menopause.

As teenage girls we are prepared and educated for the emotional and physical changes that occur when "our time of the month" begins...

BUT...no one prepares OR educates us for the the multitude of changes that occur within our body as it prepares to stop our monthly visits by "our"little friend".

So, when we suffer from fatigue, confusion, memory loss. lack of patience, irritability...even split second rages...then falling back in to equilibrium or calm; we have no clue as to what may be causing it or what is happening.

In fact, when we do go to the doctor and our hormones are checked the results, in many cases I have heard of come back in "normal" ranges.

WHAT THE HECK IS "NORMAL"?...for me...for my neighbor...for YOU!!

The elephant in the room concerning PMR is many women are in denial about it...refuse to get help OR they are misdiagnosed as bi-polar or severely depressed.

In many cases that I have seen at the forum, PMR is either ignored until the spirit of the marriage and family and the woman are damaged or destroyed. Soon it becomes more then just imbalance, but a crisis of the mind, body and spirit.

Proper treatment with testing, medications/diet, along with a therapist familiar with PMR/MLC, while teaching and replenishing coping and life skills is imperative to stop what Dr. Oz mentioned in the show. The bad behavioral habits that can develop to rationalize and justify the rage concerned Oz...and rightly so, as I have found that the rational-lies and just-if-cations will feed the rages.

It is a what we call at my Forum...The Perfect Storm.

I also suffered from PMR...until I finally got to the bottom of all the problems that were happening due to my hormone imbalance. There is much more to investigate then your hormones...having a sleep study done(sleep deprivation), allergy testing(food/environmental allergies)...these ALL trigger the same symptoms...PLUS what Dr. Oz advised the during the show.

Symptoms to look for are:

Perfect Storm: Source unknown

Irritability/Rages
Panic/Anxiety Attacks

Fatigue/ Sleep deprivation/Restless sleep
Heart Palpitations
Foggy Brain/Confusion/ Memory loss
Achiness, Joint pain
Hyper-activity, Manic behavior or lack of
Increase of Obsessive/Compulsive behaviors
Depression
Changes in diet, cravings

When left unchecked or ignored PMR becomes a crisis of the mind, body and spirit....a storm that can leave devastation in its wake.

There is much more to this story and it needs to be told...marriages, families...children are suffering, along with the women who finally figure it all out and are left with burnt bridges and shattered lives.

Thank you Dr. Oz for finally giving PMR a voice...yet PMR is just

the tip of the iceberg...We need to reveal what is hiding

underneath also AND address openly how devastating the results

of untreated PMR can get!!

Watch both videos at Dr. Oz's website:

Part 1 Part 2

Please take the time to check out my bookstore at Amazon Bookstore where I have read and selected some of the BEST resources/books for those dealing with PMR and MLC.

Mother's Message

2011-11-03T17:02:00.000-04:00

Daughter Facebook Status: “I really wish I didn't care so much about some things. I care too much about too much.”

Mother Facebook Comment: I had this problem too when I was your age...

You just have to figure out what/who EXPIRES you and what/who INSPIRES you...

ELIMINATE those who EXPIRE and grab on to those who INSPIRE you...

INSPIREES are the one's who have forward motion and they help you reach for the stars!!

Those who expire you will suck you dry of your energy, enthusiasm and ability to succeed...they are just using you! Run as fast as you can from them.

Affirmation Message:

“Today, I declare blessing over you — that you are strong and courageous. You are full of talent, creativity, and wisdom. You can accomplish your God-given dreams. You walk in divine health. You have favor with every person you meet. Everything you touch is going to prosper and succeed. Those seeds of greatness on the inside of you are growing stronger and stronger. That hidden treasure is about to burst forth and you’re going to come in to new seasons of increase.” Kimberly Jones

Tune in for another Mother's Message next week with the new weekly blog post: Monday Mother's Message"

Remember, I Love You!

Numbers 6: 24-26

:-) ♥

Reality of Human Trafficking Hits the Bookshelf with "Deliver Me From Evil"

2011-10-22T00:12:00.000-04:00

As hard as we might try to ignore the reality that sexual human trafficking occurs...it is even harder to wrap our brains around the fact that it happens in our own US cities and hometowns.

In "Deliver Me from Evil", author Kathi Macias weaves a story of how the paths of those that have their lives stolen from them with those who are totally unaware that it has happened. Many of the characters are caught unaware...off guard as fate delivers them to the lives of either being the abused or being tested in the face of an evil that rarely enters their quiet and clean-cut Christian lives. It is a wake up call even for the reader!

I do not want to give away any of the details of this gripping and timely novel. Ms Macias has brought to life the ugliness and struggle that occurs in the world of sexual human trafficking, while delivering the message to the reader that this is no longer something that they can ignore, turn their backs on...in fact, it can happen even within our own families, in our own towns and cities...it no longer happens over seas in foreign countries!

The Christian perspective is subtle (yet powerful) enough that even the secular reader will not be put off by the urgency of the message that is given throughout the book. As the mother of five children ( four girls and one boy), the story reached in to my brain and grabbed at my own fears of their safety, then broke my heart, while being shaken with the sharp reality of a child going out of sight for just a few minutes and how it could be the last time!! It truly made me think and even speak to my children who are of the ages of the children and teens portrayed in this book.

Ms Macias has done a wonderful work with her first book in her Freedom Series. I look forward to reading the next novel and hoping that the stories of the characters established in the first continue.

Deliver Me From Evil will shake and wake you up to a societal problem that is slowly but surely creeping in to our own neighborhoods, is no longer just in the news or happening to another family...sexual human trafficking can no longer be ignored.

If you would like to read this novel, I will be randomly selecting someone from those who comment on this article. The drawing will occur on November 1st, 2011 and I will notify the winner via e-mail and here in the comment section.

If you would like to read more about the Kathi Macias and watch the book trailer...Please click Read more below:

Author Kathi Macias

How did you come up with the idea for Deliver Me From Evil and the Freedom series?

It actually came out of a phone conversation with Andrea Mullins, the publisher at New Hope. We were discussing the Extreme Devotion series (about the persecuted Church), which I was still working on at the time, and we began to consider topics for a second series. Andrea was the one who suggested human trafficking, and it really struck a chord with me. The more I researched it and worked on the proposal, the more excited I became about joining forces with others working to abolish modern-day slavery, which is exactly what human trafficking is.

What was your favorite scene to write in Deliver Me From Evil?

This book/series has been the most difficult I’ve ever written, simply because the subject matter is so dark and heavy. More than once I had to walk away and clear my thoughts before moving on from one scene to another. But interspersed between the heartache and tragedy are several lighter scenes (written and incorporated into the book out of necessity), dealing with a pastor’s family and their Bible college-bound son who inadvertently discovers the human trafficking ring and becomes involved in the heroic and dramatic rescue attempt. Any scenes revolving around the absolutely functional and loving life of the Flannery family are my favorites.

What was the most difficult scene, and why?

There were many difficult scenes in this book due to the subject matter, but the hardest had to be when the main character, 18-year-old Mara, realizes that one of the younger girls is being tortured and killed in an effort to extract information and punish her. Though the actual violence is done offstage, Mara experiences each blow and muffled scream, as does the reader.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? If not, how did you catch the writing bug?

Oh yes, I never wanted to be anything else. From the time I discovered the power and allure of words, I was hooked! I was an avid reader before I started kindergarten. A short story I wrote in the third grade was turned into a play for the entire PTA, and I won all sorts of awards for poetry in high school. I even told my then boyfriend (now husband) Al when we were in our early teens that I was going to be a writer one day.

How do you go about writing your fiction books? Which comes first for you, plot, characters, and/or theme?

I usually get what I call “a niggling in my soul,” which eventually emerges into the very basic theme of the book. I hate outlining and writing proposals because I do NOT develop plots or even characters ahead of time. I start with a couple of main characters, a starting and ending point for my story, and just let the rest unfold as I go. I know. We’re not supposed to do it that way, but it works for me, and I so enjoy the surprises as the story develops and my characters take over. So much fun! So long as they don’t try to lead me away from my pre-determined ending. Then I have to reign them back in a bit.

How do you get your ideas for your books?

I have ideas coming out of my ears! I am a seriously addictive idea person. You want ideas? You can have my overflow! My challenge is to figure out which ones are worth pursuing. Not every cute or fun or even meaningful idea that pops into our head is meant to be a book. I pray, think, study, bounce them off people, etc., before committing to moving ahead with one of them. For the most part, however, nearly all my book ideas are, to one degree or another, born out of some moral or social issue that I care about.

How can we find out more about you, The Freedom Series, and other books you are writing?

Please visit my website at KathiMacias.com.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speakers Services (ChristianSpeakersServices.com).

A Farewell to Can't

2011-09-24T13:27:00.002-04:00

No longer be bound to certain words that tend to limit, tie-up and suppress your abilities to create, move forward and allow you to release those gifts and talents that God placed within your mind, body and spirit.

It is time...a time to declare...to proclaim:

A Farewell to Can't

This good-bye doesn't make me sad.

I will not miss you.

I have discovered what it feels like to do the unthinkable.

The hard.

The Long.

The challenging.

You have no business here anymore.

From now on, difficult will seem doable.

I will see the impossible as simply not yet conquered.

Farewell, Can't!!

You will haunt me never again.

Hello, Can!

Welcome to my world!

(Outward Bound.org)

Social Media Leader, Trey Pennington Remembered

2011-09-06T21:39:00.003-04:00

Social Media Leader Remembered - Video - WYFF Greenville

This story is just so incredibly sad...please read/watch(video link above) Trey Pennington's story...there are lessons to be learned...his passing should not be in vain.

When I read some of the details of the possiblity of why he committed suicide Sunday morning, I wonder if our little group of support at Women in MLC (Mid-Life Crisis) could have given him a place to go and receive support from other men who are struggling with difficult divorces....and then in a split second I wonder IF one of the men that are there with an alias WAS Trey seeking help, comfort and support. Preventing suicide, helping with depression is one of the many reasons why I created the forum. WINMLC (forum) is to help the husbands dealing with a wife who no longer wants to be in a marriage, may be going through severe mid-life changes...it can take many men to the edge of the abyss. I have held many hands (figuratively) mostly through chat, e-mail and SKYPE...talking some men away from the edge of suicide. Many men are in shock, lost and totally taken off guard...many can't let go...many give up not only on the marriage...but on the family and themselves. Could we have helped Trey step away from the abyss? Maybe or maybe not...All I know is that deep down this man was hurting, lost and at his wits end feeling he had no reason to live any longer...and IF for one moment his script was the one we hear at our forum all the time...Oh, How I wish that we could have reached out a hand to him.

I am not privy to the exact reason why Trey Pennington took his life, but as small details start coming out, I start seeing the same script that I read every day at my forum from many of the men AND the women that come there seeking help and advice about how to handle the breaking up of their marriage, while trying to deal with the CHANGE that occurs at mid-life. Please pray for the Pennington family and friends...on-line and off-line.

MercyMe - Beautiful

2011-07-08T00:26:00.000-04:00

Doris Day -- Sentimental Journey

2011-07-06T11:56:00.005-04:00

When I was growing up one of my favorite actresses was Doris Day. I loved her movies, her TV show and her clean cut, down to earth, American Girl ways! She was the epitome of who I wanted to be and she stunningly beautiful to boot!!

My first taste of Doris Day was seeing her in the movie "Calamity Jane",a rough a tumble country cow-gal, who finally finds her inner and outer beauty when she falls in love with the man of her dreams. A cowgirl version of ugly duckling that turns into the swan. I watched that movie over and over again...I could relate to the movie premise when I was a gawky pre-teen.

Then my father introduced me to her real roots...singing in Les Brown's Band with Doris Day as his lead singer. "Sentimental Journey" was her biggest hit with this Big Band Hit maker.

Doris Day has not always led the life that is portrayed in her many movies. Her real story was revealed in her autobiography "Doris Day: Her Own Story" (book is out of print but you can find it used)...This is a woman who has been rich, lost it all and come back from nothing. Doris Day is a survivor!

Many folks only connect Doris Day to her leading men...Rock Hudson, James Garner, Brain Keith, Gordan McRae , Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stewertand my favorite Cary Grant. Here is a list of her movies and some of my favorites:

But my favorite of all was her TV show...The Doris Day Show! It was on for five seasons and you will learn from her autobiography that it was her hit TV series that brought her back from the brink of financial collapse after her husband, Marty Melcher, lost all of her fortune from her success in her early career. Her show, along with a few movies and TV specials brought her back from financial ruin. It was cute little show with a "That Girl" California style flair.

If you would like to learn more about Doris Day...past and present...look no further then here at her website with everything Doris Day - Legendary Actress!

Thank you Doris...for all the love and memories!!

Who was your favorite actress or actor and Why?!!

Treasures from My Father

2011-04-26T15:28:00.004-04:00

My sister Gail brought a treasure trove of pictures, slides letters, diplomas and writings that were my mother's...but mostly my father's writing and musings.

Edward S Onody

Edward S Onody was a character...one that you rarely see any more in this world. He was a Renaissance man of sorts. He was definitely a product of his Hungarian Immigrant parents; a generation who toiled and learned how to live with little and being blessed with much. Until I started reading my father's younger musings, when he was young and in love, starting a family, being sent off to war and dealing with family and life issues...I didn't realize until now that it was my father who was the romantic one of my parents. It was my father who openly struggled and grappled with life’s growing pains, but all the while leaning on an ever present faith in God.

Here is the one of many Treasures my father left behind. I found this list written on a bank deposit slip, front and back...he never wasted anything and always used bank deposit lists for his lists and notes. This one, I believe, tells you a lot about a man that at the time that he wrote it, which was at my mother's and his final home at Loughberry Park in Saratoga...that he was a man who was looking over his life and jotting down his thoughts. To me, this list is what is missing in the men today...it is the foundation of what makes a Noble Man.

I am Just Old Enough to Have remembered when…

Edward S Onody
Former Superintendent of Oneonta Schools

You (get excited) run outside and tried to see the airplane whose engine you just heard approaching.
To have seen Charles Lindbergh in a parade in Buffalo and have him wave at me. (my father)
To have seen the Graf Zeppelin and The Shenandoah Zeppelins.
To have sat at night with my father as he worked his crystal set to get the first radio station WKDK.
To have seen a total eclipse of the sun.
To remember a telephone you had to crank to get the operator
When during a parade people put their hand over their heart and ALL men took off their hats
When men took off their hats when eating in a restaurant.
When Ladies first was a rule.
When men gave his seat to women and old folks on a street car or buses.

The list ends here...and I wonder what other wonderful thoughts he had on things. My father was an amazing man...I have more to share from his Treasure Trove. It has been almost 17 years since his passing, but his spirit is as strong today as when he was living. This is man who quietly left a life legacy.

I miss you Dad!! More Treasures to come...

The List

All Of Creation - Mercyme

2011-04-23T11:36:00.001-04:00

Prepare your hearts...open your mind and arms and welcome your salvation!!

Prepare for the celebration of Easter Sunday....HE IS RISEN!!

I Can Only Imagine ~ MercyMe w/ London Symphony Orchestra

2011-04-22T22:30:00.000-04:00

An Easter Gift of Music

Letter to our Congress

2011-04-08T22:45:00.002-04:00

Dear Congress:

Last year I mismanaged my funds, procrastinated and allowed others to distract me with stupid issues without merit, along with reading the new healthcare plan AND this year I cannot decide on a budget, financial plan and strategy or donate all my money to NPR or Planned Parenthood.

Until I have come to a unified decision that fits ALL of my needs and interests, I will have to shut down my checkbook and will no longer be able to pay my taxes. I'm sure you'll can relate and understand.

Thank you very much for setting an example we can all follow.

If you need to contact me I will be at home on furlough, golfing or meeting with Al Sharpton in NYC.

Sincerely,

Amy L Harden

Navy Veteran and Military Wife

Ultimate Blog Challenge - Day 8

Vision Boards - The Basics (Part 2)

2011-04-08T11:21:00.003-04:00

This is a direct how to guide on creating a successful and powerful vision board that will help you to center yourself and channel your positive energy into the board, making the effect much stronger on your life involving you goal or dream for yourself in life. To find out what a vision board is and how to create one,

My Vision Board for 2005. Created right before I turned 50 years old.

You begin by being honest with yourself about what your ultimate goal or dream is. We all have dreams that may seem impossible, but they can actually be accomplished with some, determination, powerful positivity and a good solid vision board. After you have made your decision to create your own powerful vision board, start by keeping an eye out for pictures, colors and images that grab your eye. Some you will see and they will grab you with a definite "yes", whereas others you may feel attracted to with a "buzzing" feeling in the pit of your stomach. Not every image that you collect will end up on your board, but until you get them all together to make the vision board you will not know for sure.

You can make your vision board from a piece of poster board, Foam board, a small canvas or anything else of a similar fashion. Along the way you may have noticed that certain colors will have attracted your eye, so include them on the board. You may want to paint your board first in a color that has affected you, or you may want to keep it plain. If you have chosen to paint, wait until the paint dries, and then start placing the images onto the board. Move them around into different areas until you are happy with the final overall image. You may want to add inspirational words or "power words", as they are also known, which reflect your ultimate goal or dream and have meaning to you. These words can further be used in a "mantra" which you say to yourself as you meditate or visualize your goal.

The Process

When everything is exactly how you want it, glue it all down to keep it in place. You may want to put a clear coat of glue over the whole board, to prevent any of the images from becoming loose. The choice is up to you, depending on where you intend to place it.

Your vision board is now complete. Making a vision board is only a key part in the whole process of using the law of attraction to fulfill your dreams and desires. Having determination, belief and patience are also exceptionally important key parts, as without them, the vision board would just be a collage. Regular visualization, meditation, affirmations and positive thinking are also very important. Each of these needs to be used every day, in conjunction with the actual vision board, to enable your success.

Vision boards of late can also be created using software programs which help you to create the right vision board for you, as well as make copies of the finished product so that you can carry it with you wherever you go. Download it to small electronic gadgets or keep a copy on your laptop to use when you're away from home.

If you would like more information about Vision Boards and an Opportunity to "Come and learn how incredible life can be when you are working with a team of like-minded, driven entrepreneurs that are dedicated to giving you the Vision. Inspiration. Strategy & Support you need to succeed." Learn how to have your own Vision Board Party or help businesses and organizations support and create powerful teams through Vision Boards.

Join the V.I.S.S. International Team!!

Vision Boards

2011-04-06T23:09:00.001-04:00

April 2011 Vision Board

I have been working on this Vision Board for several days and I finally completed it tonight, after procrastinating and then putting one together without gluing it...which the dogs came in and knocked the pictures all over the place. I had to start over.

I have always created Vision Boards but back when I started they were called collage and IF you put a clear paste like medium over it...they were called decoupage. In any case I loved doing it and after every collage I always felt a sense of emptying, a creative intensity...a release of of ideas, thoughts and emotions on to the page. They started out with more pictures then words and not that I have been writing more...I seem to create or collage with words instead. I LOVE collage/Vision Boards...as they tell a story or show where my head was at that time in my life

If you have ever taken a Vision Board class...tell you to break up the field in to four spaces with a center that place your most prominent picture, thoughts, words, phrases. Simply, each section can represent certain parts of your life, like: Love, Family, Work, Play or Health, Happiness and Wealth.

The Vision Board you see above have several sections that align with what I learning and using a The Ultimate Game of Life Challenge.

In the next few days, I will be looking further in to the power of Vision Boards and how everyone needs to do at least one in their life. If you would like to learn more about Vision Boards, the BEST resources are John Assaraf's - The Complete Vision Board Kit and Joyce Schwartz - The Vision Board.

Learn how to direct your story, affirm your life and work...focus on where you want to go!

Life Legacy Stories: Taking the Time to Listen

2011-04-05T21:39:00.004-04:00

A dear Facebook friend, Becky Shaw Mantooth, recently wrote an inspiring article at her blog Becky's Daily Thoughts about her "dream job"...how she would like to travel the country... even the world and just listen to all the many life stories that people , religions, cultures and countries. She actually got me to thinking about an encounter I had a few years ago.

These stories of those who are NOT famous, rich and brilliant can be just as amazing...aren't they? Your blog post brought to mind the most wonderful encounter I had with an older woman in a Walgreen's Drug Store a few years ago. She was there shopping with a few of her Assisted Living Friends and trying to get around the store with a basket and a walker. I saw her struggling to get things down off of shelves and carry the basket...so I asked her if I could help her shop. In the most distinct Brooklyn accent she told me: "Hon, you must be an angel sent straight from God...Yes!"...and for the next hour this delightful curmudgeon kept me enraptured with stories of her family, children and her youth in NYC before, during WWII and after.

She told me of how she had kissed Frank Sinatra after a 1940’s concert and that a picture that was printed in LIFE magazine of him had her in it also…gazing up in to his face along with several other girls at the foot of the concert stage. She told me: “He was what you kids would call a “hunk”…I just thought he was dreamy!!”…as she let out a teenage sigh from long ago. I marveled at how I could see the youthful sparkle in her eyes as she told the story again...I am sure those a the Nursing Home, her friends and family had heard the story far too many times for their liking and had become bored with it...I counted myself as so lucky, because I was someone who heard the story with fresh ears and interest.

Frank Sinatra performing in a benefit concert for Italian relief at
Manhattan Center in 1945.

As I walked around shopping with her...hanging on to every up close and personal account of the war, her distant family she had lost in the Holocaust...her brother being wounded at Pearl Harbor; her husband dropping dead of a heart attack and leaving her to raise four children; her son who ran to Canada to avoid the Viet Nam War draft and her Great Grandson who was serving in the Marines in Iraq...along with many little stories of happiness and importance for her. I never saw her again, but for that short time I spent with her, taking the time to listen to her Life Legacy stories was wonderful. I was honored that she would share them with me. I may have helped her shop that day, but in truth she opened my eyes to the fact that there are probably so many hidden, insignificant stories (but not to the person it happened) that need to be told...it is a history that may be lost. This woman led me to realize that I need to tell my story also.

I wondered how many people like her go to their rest without being able to tell their story from their little unnoticed corner of the world. I always thought I would love to record these stories of Life Legacy...Hmmm????

Yes, this would be a wonderful job…Maybe we have something here, Becky... Recording and telling Life Legacy stories.

Take the time to listen to the stories your elders have to tell...there is wisdom...history and culture held within them...I assure you...you will be blessed by them...AND make sure you pass on YOUR stories to your young ones too. It is yet another way to pay it forward or pass it on!

Join the FREE Ultimate Blog Challenge. Become part of our blogging community!http://bit.ly/blogchall #blogboost

Music Monday: Win Francesca Battistelli - This Is the Stuff

2011-04-04T21:48:00.002-04:00

This is the Stuff that can make or break a Monday...maybe even a week. I love this little song or ditty by Francesca Battistelli!

On Monday's when life can get away from you or out of hand...with losing the keys, getting stopped by the cops because you are going too fast...running late again...This is the Stuff!

How about the forgotten gas bill that didn't get paid? Suddenly you remember or figure out you have forgotten, as you are standing in the shower with a full head of suds in your hair and the water has suddenly turned quite cold....This is the Stuff!

God has a sense of humor...He loves to take every day annoyances or small mistakes and teach lessons of gratitude or even bless us.

...What is the Stuff that gets in the way of your day...BUT...in the end God uses to show you how fortunate you are...in the end, He uses to blesses you every day?

Please share your This is the Stuff God Blesses stories here with me. I will randomly select one story as a winner. The winner will receive a download of the Hundred More Years MP3 and will be reposted as a guest blogger on Music Monday, along with another favorite selection from this album.

The next time your day seems to take a turn for the worse...play this little ditty and you will soon see that This is the Stu ff that God uses to show us how blessed we truly are.

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Join me in the FREE Ultimate Blog Challenge & receive daily blogging ideas http://bit.ly/blogchall#blogboost

Sunday's are for Gratitude

2011-04-03T23:32:00.002-04:00

Thank you!!!! To all the people in my life who have guided , taught and loved me along my faith journey...those who are here and those who have passed on. There are some that I wish I had had the chance to tell them, while others I believe knew anyways. I dedicate this song on the First Sunday of April to you (Rose, Helen, Linda, Joan, Deb, Wayne, Paul, Dave, Dad, Nana and many more) and for all of those who daily sacrifice...give of themselves....You are God's angel's here on earth.

Start your week by thanking someone who has gone out of their way to help you, give you a step up... Pay it forward for someone else....tell them Thank you and if you can't tell them...DO what they did for you for someone else!!

April's Word of the Month: Inheritance

2011-04-02T22:56:00.002-04:00

I am blessed 100%!!

I am Loved 100%!!

I am blessed 100%!!

I am loved 100%!!

I am grateful for those here who Bless me 100%!!

I was thirsty...and now I am quenched...

I was hungry...and now I am fed...

I was tired...and I am rested...

I was weak...and now I am strong...

I was alone...and now I am NEVER alone!!

I am loved 100%!

I am blessed 100%!

I am humbly grateful 100%!

*This was supposed to post on April 1st to begin the The Ultimate Blog Challenge, but something must have gone haywire...internet gremlins or my technical glitch...any- hoo!! I pray that this video blesses you as much as it did me. Prepare your heart for the Resurrection by knowing that He loved you so much that He laid sown His life for you!

What Does The Ultimate Game of Life have to Do with April Fool's Day?

2011-04-02T21:58:00.000-04:00

Another stupid holiday Come and Gone: Bah-Humbug…April Fools Day!!

Please tell me why this day is all so important to people?

I have always disliked…no HATED…April Fools Day!!

Wait a minute…Since my recent participation in The Ultimate Game of Life; I am not supposed to use “absolutes” as there is no such thing as “always”.

Let me restate the above: Since I was young trusting (gullible) child, I have not joined in to the game of tricking or fooling others on this day.

No matter how I have tried to join in or put a smile on my face when someone tries to pull a joke…I don’t quite get the fun of it. In most cases I believe it makes people look stupid, sets them up to display their weaknesses, doubts or fallibilities. I am always told to lighten up and find the humor in it.

Bah-humbug!!

Since I have gone through the change there are not too many holidays that I jump in to with enthusiasm… but then I never really quite did as my old fashioned, proper mother with English blood running through her veins was not a great celebrator of holidays; especially those that were drummed up by the card or candy companies. Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, Traditional Easter…Mum’s and Dad’s Day…you betcha…she would drum up some enthusiasm for the festivities, but… those holidays would include Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and the commercial side of Easter and St. Patrick’s Day, they were a waste of her time and money.

In her mind, April Fool’s Day was just a stupid day set aside for those folks who loved to pull pranks on others, which she didn’t find humorous at all. (All said with bluster and high brow…give the royal wave at the end)

Oh, heaven forbid…I think I am turning in to my mother!!

…but wait, the saving grace IS the realization that these are beliefs that we can change or eliminate especially if they are holding us back from living the BEST or ULTIMATE Life.

Jim Bunch

During my recent participation in Jim Bunch/Dean Kosage’s 90-Day Ultimate Life Challenge, they addressed how our BELIEFS create PERCEPTIONS and FEELINGS which can build our MOTIVATION causing us to TAKE ACTION…ultimately bringing RESULTS.*

Can you think of beliefs that are subconsciously running over and over again through your mind 24/7…365 days of year ever since they were implanted there?

Are these beliefs causing you to procrastinate, lose motivation, and feel out of balance…stop you from being the BEST you possible could be?

Have you been looking for a life program that will teach, guide, keep you accountable AND cause you to live and perform at your best…peak performance?

In five years I have tried and wasted my money on numerous types of these programs…NONE…and I mean NONE…touches The Ultimate Game of Life system that Jim Bunch and Dean Kosage’s has created.

Dean Kosage

I have learned within the first 60 days the 90-day Challenge life changing techniques, methods and approaches that I have for searching years for without success. The results and changes that occurred within me are UNBELIEVEABLE…and I am a tough nut to crack!! This old dog has inherited her mother’s stubborn streak too…but no more…that belief is gone too!

The Ultimate Game of Life is ALL encompassing program that will teach how to eliminate those things that EXPIRE you, while fine tuning skills, people, things and stuff that INSPIRE. It is Life Conditioning program that every person needs to take! It should be taught in every college and then repeated at mid-life for a re-charge….which brings me back around to the realization that I am turning in to my mother and how I dislike April Fool’s Day…

In the Game of Life mother was right about some things and I MUST agree with her about April’s Fools Day…Bah-Humbug…while all the other gobbledy-gook she believed and I have picked up as my own beliefs is now being eliminated from my life as they EXPIRE me! I prefer to create beliefs with positive perceptions and feelings that will motivate me in to taking action, which will bring GREAT results…The Ultimate Game of Life is doing this for me!!

…and that is no joke!!!

Note to Self: Never Under-estimate the Power of TWITTER and Robin Roberts

2011-03-21T12:10:00.007-04:00

First of all, before we go ahead with this rebuttal to my “cyber-hot flashing” Twitter comment of the early morning to GMA’s Twitter feed on Robin Robert’s joining the Twitter-nation:

I LOVE ROBIN ROBERTS!! I am one of her biggest fans…I have read her books and followed her at GMA from way back. In no way was I trying to take a swipe at the most elegant and wonderful Ms Robert’s. I prayed for her unceasingly during her cancer scare and praised God when she made it through. I have been in broadcasting myself and she is among the few women in broadcasting that I truly admire. So, with that said and understood, let’s get back to the reason for this blog post…NEVER under-estimate the Power of Twitter!

I awoke this morning to check my Twitter feed to find the preliminary build-up to Robin’s FIRST Tweet:

”Are you watching? ...Robin Robert’s Joins TWITTER!...TWITTER celebrates 5 years/Robins Roberts Celebrates by Joining” Tweet after Tweet PLUS I am watching GMA as they painfully build-up to her inaugural Tweet and I am thinking:

“A week ago today, the people of Japan were looking for their loved ones who were washed away from the tsunami or killed by the earthquake…hundreds, if not thousands were/are dead, missing…a country is in destruction PLUS a nuclear power plant is on the verge of a catastrophic disaster that could effect Tokyo, possibly the world! Qaddafi may be killing innocent people…we may be asked to go to war there…the Middle East is going crazy…Gas prices are going up…people are still unemployed…the economy is still in the dumper… the ABC News Team reported from there with great concern….AND now GMA is creating a BUZZ about Robin Roberts joining Twitter like it is the Second Coming!”

I tweeted after reading almost 8-10 Tweets about the upcoming inaugural event: “ “@GMA @Sam Champion on @Robin Roberts joining @Twitter!” R U Kidding?! This is lame, stupid fluff!

To which Sam Champion responded:

“@shepherdess56 WOW WRONG SIDE OF THE BED?

…which then started a flood of direct “@” responses to me from the Twitter-nation about how I should lighten up, get a life and how I was a “Hater”…only one person went to my profile and read my write-up and realized that my comment might have been a “cyber-hot flash”…a menopause moment, which at this time of the morning is highly possible since the estrogen level is VERY low, if there is any at all!

Needless to say…I felt horrible as my comment was a swipe at the GMA show creators NOT at Robin…AND in comparison to last weeks news round-up and coming off of watching James Malinchak’s appearance on The Secret Millionaire last night….making a big deal about Robin finally caving to joining Twitter was…well, “…lame, stupid fluff!”

Was my comment not the TRUTH when looked at in this perspective?

My heart breaks whenever I see pictures coming out of

Japan

. I have a deep connection to these people, since I lived there for three years in the 80’s. The Middle East is in an up-roar. I am concerned over the state of our nation and the world as we slowly give way to a secular society that allows anything and everything…no boundaries…no deal-breakers. I have been watching “The Secret Millionaire” series (an ABC-TV offering) and amazed at what NEED there is right in our own country. I work on a daily basis with men and women whose families are breaking apart…families destroyed by divorce, separations and financial distress; women who are escaping in to affairs and struggling with life when the “change” gets to be too much. And then…I wake up to back-to-back-to back Twitter feed from GMA and various other GMA peeps of (drum –roll please) Robin Roberts FIRST Tweet!!

Please tell me that I not crazy and that my response (though a knee-jerk one) was not right on the money when put in the perspective or context of the GRANDER picture of things?

In response to the negative direct @ I received…

I immediately Tweeted @samchampion @RobinRoberts and begged forgiveness for my “grumpy” response…welcoming Robin to the Twitter-nation with deserved pomp and circumstance. I am now being ignored by all that jumped all over me, except for @samchampion, replied: “it’s ok Trust I have a lot of those AMs” and then to my telling him I didn’t realize the Power of Twitter…he said: “hahahahahaha I kno I kno…!!!”

Sam Champion: you are a good egg in my book, always have been, always will be!

Robin Roberts: I admire you more than you know…you are the best in broadcast TV!

(I am following you at Twitter)

GMA: I get that you want to make it light…but in light of recent news…this was too much fluff in my book. But you did prove to me the power of ONE Tweet!!

Twitter: Happy 5^th Anniversary!!

I guess you have proven how far you have come through this mornings demonstration that with one off handed comment about one news anchor first tweeting…well, a Twitter-fest can be created over nothing!!

If you would like to follow one Cyber-hot flashing demon named shepherdess56, please click on the previous link. Thank you...Tweet amongst yourselves!!

Paying Attention to Detail...

2011-03-07T23:31:00.004-05:00

Paying Attention to Detail…..

I had an AHA Moment after The Ultimate Game of Life (TUG) Laser Coaching call the other night, as it related to how I had "anchored" my thoughts around the Accountability Partner and playing the game. I realized that long ago in Boot camp training I had failed an important Inspection just because I had inserted a towel incorrectly in to my locker...until that day I had done things to perfection, followed the rules by the letter...but in a moment of not paying attention to detail, the Drill Instructor anchored a thought in to my mind...she yelled at me that I MUST be aware of the circumstances and the detail of even minor things as the towel could be a parachute...folded correctly, but inserted in to the pack incorrectly could be the difference between it being a life or death situation. Paying Attention to Detail was/IS key in the military and is a way of functioning...it is life or death! Thursday night while Jim Bunch was working with Karen, my frustration over my own dealing with my AP grew and my frustration with what Jim was saying grew...but then while discussing this with Karen afterward I realized that this training while in the Navy worked...it didn't apply in ALL situations in my life any longer. The following the rules or playing by the rules though important, could be flexible AND it was not a life or death situation.

I let time pass while allowing this thought kick around in my mind. I knew that this frustration over the rules and the directions of the game truly frustrated me and my newly acquired partner in TUG crime. We come from a generation of rule followers…in fact, that was the number one rule of sportsmen–like conduct….follow the rules, NEVER cheat and this a how to be a graceful Winner and Loser PLUS…most importantly, this is what you do first and foremost in being a Team player.

Being told over and over at the beginning “This is how you play…This is how you WIN…This is what you need to do to help your partner and be a Team that will WIN” and then proceed to be told not to be frustrated with our Accountability Partners over their lack of participation or following the TUG guidance/rules was quite perplexing and frustrating to two Boomer Generation women. It just didn’t compute then…it still doesn’t really….BUT …with that said, I did begin to see that I was wasting a lot of energy on this point. In fact, it may be habit that has been holding me back all along. Using old training as a way to get the goal and reach my dreams may be holding me back more than helping move forward. I have seen how the connection between the Navy inspection anchor and TUG relates to my frustration with the my assigned accountability partner, how the game is played and the scorecard.

This is how it relates:

The Inspection was an overall Squad inspection and we were told that if one person failed …we all failed the inspection, no matter if our individual locker passed. So, when my stupid mistake of not paying attention to detail cost my whole team the inspection, I felt horrible. Our whole squad got punished for my simple mistake, but also it was punctuated by what the Inspecting Chief yelled at me from not more than a half an inch away from my face: “Recruit that simple mistake JUST killed a man that our government spent millions of dollars training and preparing for a mission to protect your family! Pay attention to detail!!!…next time it just might be a case of life or death!”

Boom…she anchored this in my mind heart and spirit…I ALWAYS was beyond perfection, paying attention to every detail throughout my 12 year Navy career. This anchor carried over in to my life as a Stay-at-Home Mom, my hobbies and relationships. Perfection and detail became a burden and emptied me of any energy, momentum or success I could have…nothing was good enough, so why even try…so I didn’t or I would only do enough till I was empty and then leave it unfinished or I just wouldn’t ever start or stall. I was defeated before I began as no one was going to die if I didn’t finish my novel or that painting…project, class. There was no Team or someone to be accountable to except myself and I was fine…until recently when I did feel like I would die if I didn’t finish writing my books, clearing my life of clutter and expiring people and things.

Could it be that the one lesson I had learned while in the Navy was harming me, holding back, and down…blocking my way to success?

Could this lesson be the detail in the frustration over how the TUG game was or was not being played?

Is this a belief that no longer serves me well and one I need to rework or toss?

I may not understand now why this part of the TUG has caused me frustration, yet I am willing to let it go as it has wasted emotion/energy...when I could pour it in to something else in the challenge...which I am doing. THIS IS POWERFUL for me as I believe it is a negative anchor for other things also.

WoW…The Ultimate Game of Life is changing my life in ways that I never expected...I know it will raise me up and bring me to the level of success that I have want and need…the level I have been told that I am capable of all of my life. It is a WIN!!!

If you are interested in joining the NEXT 90-day Challenge of The Ultimate Game of Life, click the link and sign up...you will be glad that you did!!