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Cruiser</category><category>random stuff</category><category>poetry</category><category>the speaker</category><category>failure</category><category>progress</category><category>I Love You Dave</category><category>Sarah Palin</category><category>money</category><title>Here and Now  ~*~ 4 Angel~*~</title><description>Poetry and thoughts on my journey toward healing and unlocking the silence within. Words are magic. Words have the power to heal, so find your voice, and fly!</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>933</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/HereAndNow4Angel" /><feedburner:info xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" uri="hereandnow4angel" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-3360598011552157807</guid><pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-26T04:41:45.000-06:00</atom:updated><title>Barriers</title><description>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Recovery involves being visible. Ending isolation and coming out from behind a barrier that blocks you from life itself."~Joanne Poppink&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This quote really resonates with me because I've always thought of my eating disorder as a way to hide, disappearing from the world, and not only from the world, but from myself. The emergence has been slow, but here I am, in a place I've never really been before. I've always lived inside of my head. I was a quiet, anxious child, even before being raped, and although as I grew older the shyness improved, I was still wary of life and easily overwhelmed. This week I'm hurting, and when I hurt, I want to run far away, withdrawing from everyone. Teenagers are difficult to raise, and both my husband and I are stressed and worried. His reaction is anger, and mine is to close myself off. This does not make for good team work. Sunday night, instead of exploding, he decided to get away to cool off, but he did not tell me that he was leaving the house, and was gone for hours without contacting me. I was hurt, and felt abandoned. My mind goes off in many direction and I become irrational in my thinking. My feeling were disregarded, and left me feeling unimportant. We talked about it last night, but right now I feel unable to let it go. My fear of being left has my stomach tied in knots. Dave wants a couples session, and at least he cares enough to ask for one, although I feel as if I'm failing at everything right now. Parenting...my marriage, and even therapy. My main therapist, whom&amp;nbsp;I feel a strong connection with, wants me to see my trauma therapist more often and that makes me also feel abandoned by her. I know that she only wants me to get the best care, and I also know that it is my way of avoiding talking about it. I'm not feeling very trusting of people in general right now. I think in my mind that when people love you, they don't hurt you, and I know that is unrealistic. I hurt people..&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I have some issues to work on. I'm famous for distraction techniques, and I've been falling into those. I do know my weaknesses, so that is a positive. If only I can let go of the hurt.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-3360598011552157807?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2012/01/barriers.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><thr:total>8</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-8978257104146469760</guid><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:39:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-18T07:39:56.024-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">dissociation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">body memories</category><title>The Body Remembers</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rIdU44V4W6M/TxIZRbQjTJI/AAAAAAAAAkk/nJsoPJ2AUUQ/s1600/body%2Bmemory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rIdU44V4W6M/TxIZRbQjTJI/AAAAAAAAAkk/nJsoPJ2AUUQ/s320/body%2Bmemory.jpg" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Art by Margareta Jungerth Boo&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I don't know if I talked here much about body memories, but I have them, and they are even difficult for me to understand. Researchers have noted that a trauma is stored in somatic memory and expressed as changes in the biological stress response. This means that sexual abuse is a traumatic experience and that the memory of it can be stored in your physical body. I experience body memories with pelvic pain, and painful jaws from oral intercourse. I will often awaken from a nightmare physically feeling as if the abuse has just occured. This comes out everyday with jaw clenching, chewing the insides of my mouth, and uncontrolled tightening of my pelvic muscles, as if I'm waiting for the assault. It took me a long time to talk about this. I felt as if I was crazy, but when I brought it up to my trauma therapist, he was so understanding, and he explained that the pain is real. This has been one of the most difficult parts of my recovery. On top of the flashbacks, I could actually feel the rape of my body as if it was happening all over again. Body memories are an important piece of the healing work. The body can say a lot about the incidents of abuse, and it really is impossible to re-create a body memory when there was no memory in the first place. Because of that, body memories are often helpful in breaking through the denial layers of dissociation. The body may remember moments of the abuse that were too emotionally difficult for the survivors to manage, but by truly listening to their bodies, survivors can learn a great deal about their histories. As I move through this process, acknowledging the truth of what happened to me, I can learn to comfort myself without blame or shame.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-8978257104146469760?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2012/01/body-remembers.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rIdU44V4W6M/TxIZRbQjTJI/AAAAAAAAAkk/nJsoPJ2AUUQ/s72-c/body%2Bmemory.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>4</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-7183723483275959945</guid><pubDate>Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-14T16:59:20.991-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">poetry</category><title>Swimming Home</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UMUKjO5PFf4/TxFmjeDGoPI/AAAAAAAAAkY/dsHjriGje_E/s1600/drowning-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UMUKjO5PFf4/TxFmjeDGoPI/AAAAAAAAAkY/dsHjriGje_E/s320/drowning-1.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Swimming Home&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;It was as if suddenly I felt your love&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;and so I came swimming home &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;muddy water dripping from my hands&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the key slipping into the unlocked door&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Crawling beneath your skin&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;drawing your breath into my lungs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;there is comfort in the familiar&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;our pasts intertwined&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Within these silences&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;meant to keep you away&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;always protecting you from my pain&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;drowning in a pool of darkness&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Swimming alone&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;In my dreams &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I can hear her cries&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the ghost of a girl calling me&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Looking into my own eyes&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I can finally see&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;and reaching out to save myself&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I find my way back to you&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Angela Minard 2012©&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-7183723483275959945?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2012/01/swimming-home.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UMUKjO5PFf4/TxFmjeDGoPI/AAAAAAAAAkY/dsHjriGje_E/s72-c/drowning-1.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-2262309933918857442</guid><pubDate>Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-13T19:27:57.347-06:00</atom:updated><title>No More Walls</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U3xoL9UHpbE/TxDZ4GDt6mI/AAAAAAAAAkM/aIGXe9lWjgA/s1600/sea%2Bbirds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="219" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U3xoL9UHpbE/TxDZ4GDt6mI/AAAAAAAAAkM/aIGXe9lWjgA/s320/sea%2Bbirds.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger than reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into marvelous, I let go. Reality does not impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls." ~Anais Nin&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Oh, yes to all of this!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-2262309933918857442?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2012/01/no-more-walls.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U3xoL9UHpbE/TxDZ4GDt6mI/AAAAAAAAAkM/aIGXe9lWjgA/s72-c/sea%2Bbirds.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-5256699682991668525</guid><pubDate>Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:38:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-10T07:38:20.930-06:00</atom:updated><title>The Hero In Your Soul</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RMNDCIwz2VI/Twtz6RvNgRI/AAAAAAAAAkA/j25afsV-rDo/s1600/Beautiful_Destiny_by_Gemini_Soul_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RMNDCIwz2VI/Twtz6RvNgRI/AAAAAAAAAkA/j25afsV-rDo/s320/Beautiful_Destiny_by_Gemini_Soul_large.jpg" width="266" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours." ~ Ayn Rand&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I think we need to recognize that we are all heroes, although we don't often realize it. It takes courage to change, to know that we can make a difference, and the impact we have on the lives of others. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This weekend a friends daughter was almost hospitalized for depression and suicidal thoughts. I went over to talk to her because she was refusing to see a therapist, and resistant to medication. After talking with her, and telling her my story, I think she agreed to seeing my therapist. It felt so good to help, and it was a very powerful feeling. I haven't always felt like I mattered much or was worth anything. We all need to feel we have a purpose in this world. If we believe that we can't achieve our dreams, then all hope of fulfilling our destiny is lost. Something good has come out of the nature of my battle, and that helps me to see that all things are possible.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-5256699682991668525?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2012/01/hero-in-your-soul.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RMNDCIwz2VI/Twtz6RvNgRI/AAAAAAAAAkA/j25afsV-rDo/s72-c/Beautiful_Destiny_by_Gemini_Soul_large.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>3</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-5861904136282128202</guid><pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-09T12:03:22.112-06:00</atom:updated><title>I Can Hear</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTYdl8GrMAU/Twj3yHNSfHI/AAAAAAAAAjo/B7c4JTTcfO8/s1600/fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="318" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTYdl8GrMAU/Twj3yHNSfHI/AAAAAAAAAjo/B7c4JTTcfO8/s320/fire.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I Can Hear&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The heat is like ice searing my skin&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;white hot, blue fire &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;reaching out to touch &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;already singed, I back away&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;returning&amp;nbsp;for more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The flames flicker in your eyes&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;mesmerized,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I know I cannot turn away&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;It doesn't hurt&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'm immune&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Let the needle pierce my vein&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;We play this game&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;You will say I'm the leader&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;but the truth is...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I follow, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;always...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Let me follow&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'm waiting&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Call my name again&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;out loud&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Only I can hear you&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Only I can hear...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Angela Minard 2012©&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-5861904136282128202?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-can-hear.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTYdl8GrMAU/Twj3yHNSfHI/AAAAAAAAAjo/B7c4JTTcfO8/s72-c/fire.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>3</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-4815750242951577106</guid><pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-06T13:16:06.051-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">poetry</category><title>I Am</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rN4NfIjIig/TwSfxHeT3NI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/3lT5OeIoN5o/s1600/horizon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rN4NfIjIig/TwSfxHeT3NI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/3lT5OeIoN5o/s320/horizon.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I Am&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I felt the sand, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the dust from the sea obscuring my vision, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the flapping wings overhead, the dizzying view&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Time is the movement of sky, a final inhalation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;before sinking below &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I am the pull, the tug of darkness as you breathe me in&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the rest of the world slipping away. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I am the harbor in which you cling, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;paralyzed with fear,&amp;nbsp;and you are&amp;nbsp;afraid to let me go&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I will not cry out or beg&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I am not a choice to be made&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I am the horizon in the distance&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;your solace in the storm of confusion&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;if only you could see what I see&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Angela Minard 2012©&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-4815750242951577106?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-am.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rN4NfIjIig/TwSfxHeT3NI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/3lT5OeIoN5o/s72-c/horizon.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>3</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-1522674455567031507</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-02T15:40:39.103-06:00</atom:updated><title>2012 Is Here</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Oe4KZXPj4Y/TwCEr2CUn1I/AAAAAAAAAi4/PpCtKX3YikU/s1600/pre-birthday%2Bparty%2B002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Oe4KZXPj4Y/TwCEr2CUn1I/AAAAAAAAAi4/PpCtKX3YikU/s320/pre-birthday%2Bparty%2B002.JPG" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Happy New Year!!! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'm not making any resolutions for the year. Everyday is a day to set new intentions, and make a fresh start. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I can't believe this blog is almost five years old. These are the words of my first post on June 13th, 2007~ &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"I'm so tired right now. Tired of hiding from myself. I want peace. I want to take back what was mine. My body. My soul. My life...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I remember that time as if it was yesterday, and yet it also feels so far away. I am taking back my life, and it feels good! I wish you all peace, joy, and acceptance for this new year. Sending all my love...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-1522674455567031507?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-is-here.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Oe4KZXPj4Y/TwCEr2CUn1I/AAAAAAAAAi4/PpCtKX3YikU/s72-c/pre-birthday%2Bparty%2B002.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>4</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-1558178651692526697</guid><pubDate>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-30T07:39:19.240-06:00</atom:updated><title>Life Is A Good Enough Reason</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNqFyLe1n6o/Tvzi_YW0tII/AAAAAAAAAig/8gowzp3hKW0/s1600/birds_by_lora8-d4kl7hk_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="130" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNqFyLe1n6o/Tvzi_YW0tII/AAAAAAAAAig/8gowzp3hKW0/s320/birds_by_lora8-d4kl7hk_large.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I need to eat something, and so the fight within my mind begins. The first argument is usually that I'm not hungry. I'm so accustomed to living with the symptoms, that I don't recognize the most obvious body signals. Still, my mind tells me that I need to have a reason or an excuse to eat. Everyday I talk myself into it. I have to. I want to live, so I eat, but the fighting is madness, and it is tiring. The opening and closing of cupboards and refrigerator doors, sitting at the kitchen table with my head in my hands, the mindless eating over the sink, it is all so old, so familiar, so boring. My inability to just disappear at times pisses me off. &lt;em&gt;"Don't see me,"&lt;/em&gt; I want to shout! My belief that I was strong enough to starve myself made me feel untouchable. &lt;em&gt;You can't take what you don't see...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The struggle is what tells me I'm alive. The passionate anger I feel toward this eating disorder is what makes me believe that I will win. Hell, I AM winning!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-1558178651692526697?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/life-is-good-enough-reason.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNqFyLe1n6o/Tvzi_YW0tII/AAAAAAAAAig/8gowzp3hKW0/s72-c/birds_by_lora8-d4kl7hk_large.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>3</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-5194439433194986692</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:52:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-26T08:52:25.527-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">poetry</category><title>Play Me</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMpJ5LZZ5BA/TveWSCKst5I/AAAAAAAAAh8/kZKhS1wBtG8/s1600/piano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMpJ5LZZ5BA/TveWSCKst5I/AAAAAAAAAh8/kZKhS1wBtG8/s320/piano.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Play Me&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The dissonant chords spill down my spine&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the ominous sound of winter wind&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;as the metronome ticks back and forth&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;You are all at once darkness and light&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the sin of silence &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;as your hands pound against my keys&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Did I feel you touch me? &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I can smell the salt of your skin&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;on my fingertips to remind me&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Fasten&amp;nbsp;my dress &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;and drive me through winding roads&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;tell me your dreams&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;as I trace your palm &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the lines that intersect with mine...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Angela Minard 2011©&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-5194439433194986692?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/play-me.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMpJ5LZZ5BA/TveWSCKst5I/AAAAAAAAAh8/kZKhS1wBtG8/s72-c/piano.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-1161632592640286986</guid><pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2011 13:01:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-25T07:01:14.167-06:00</atom:updated><title>Happy Holidays</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mgi0y5wTsNA/TvceO9s9PgI/AAAAAAAAAhw/gKb8d0_AjfQ/s1600/kansas_city_plaza_lights_under_full_moon_postcard-p239879741647044975z8iat_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mgi0y5wTsNA/TvceO9s9PgI/AAAAAAAAAhw/gKb8d0_AjfQ/s320/kansas_city_plaza_lights_under_full_moon_postcard-p239879741647044975z8iat_400.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;This is a photograph of the Kansas City Plaza lights.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Merry Christmas! I'm the first one awake as usual. Even when the boys were little, I would have to turn on the Christmas music and stomp around the house to wake them all up. The anticipation of the day gets me every time, even now that the boys are older. Last night I cooked a big turkey dinner, which they all devoured. I can't believe we barely have any turkey left! Today we will go over to the in-laws for brunch and exchange gifts. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'm really enjoying my time off work. I've done lots of yoga, and knitting. Shopping for Christmas isn't too big of a deal. We only buy for the kids in the family, so it is pretty easy. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I miss baking with my mom, and seeing my side of the family. I hate that they are so far away, especially during the holidays. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I will keep this short because hopefully my boys will be up soon, but I wanted to wish you all a wonderful holiday! Sending all my love:)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-1161632592640286986?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/happy-holidays.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mgi0y5wTsNA/TvceO9s9PgI/AAAAAAAAAhw/gKb8d0_AjfQ/s72-c/kansas_city_plaza_lights_under_full_moon_postcard-p239879741647044975z8iat_400.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-4888882854394292447</guid><pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-21T07:32:01.004-06:00</atom:updated><title>Red Fades To Black</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bUBzJCLTrpI/TvHfGdOUQlI/AAAAAAAAAhk/9HkeUqa6phs/s1600/hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="197" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bUBzJCLTrpI/TvHfGdOUQlI/AAAAAAAAAhk/9HkeUqa6phs/s320/hands.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I look down at my hands, unrecognizable as my own, gazing around surroundings all at once familiar and strange, searching my mind for my last conscious memory. In a flash of rememberance, the room begins to spin, and I shut my eyes tightly, until the red fades to black and I can once again breathe. &lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
New memories take me by surprise. It is a smell, a look, a touch, or something they said to me and I'm gone. I want to stay, but somehow my mind goes on automatic pilot, protecting the child that I was. I think that I'm doing so much better until I have another episode, and then I feel like I'm back at square one. Why can't these memories stay buried like so many others? It seems unfair to have to be brought back to the past time and again. Do I do this to myself, and why? It is a constant battle to stay in the present, and I work so hard. As I sit here, I realize that I'm blaming myself for the memories, as if I want to torture myself, and that is not true. I have therapy today, and I need answers or explainations...a way not to blame myself.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-4888882854394292447?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/red-fades-to-black.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bUBzJCLTrpI/TvHfGdOUQlI/AAAAAAAAAhk/9HkeUqa6phs/s72-c/hands.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-4638497661672402123</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-16T07:50:25.983-06:00</atom:updated><title>Marching Forward</title><description>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Marching is not forgetting what is behind you and walking away. Marching is KNOWING what is behind you and purposefully, and methodically moving in the other direction." &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This is a quote from my dear friend Eve, and I thought it was brilliant and wanted to share. It took a long time to know and acknowledge the past and what happened to me. I tried to forget, but eventually the truth caught up with me. I think sometimes people who haven't been through any kind of trauma expect you to forget about it and move on. I've had comments from people on this blog that felt that way. Knowing what happened to you and choosing to move forward is essential to healing. I will never forget, but the pain does lessen with time. There is peace in the truth of knowing. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-4638497661672402123?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/marching-forward.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-1658774480690308493</guid><pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:45:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-15T17:03:22.439-06:00</atom:updated><title>Words</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mOBL2PcnklY/TultMn5DLAI/AAAAAAAAAhY/G0IjfJ9kW2I/s1600/lost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mOBL2PcnklY/TultMn5DLAI/AAAAAAAAAhY/G0IjfJ9kW2I/s320/lost.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I have all of these words and feelings that bubble and rise to the surface. I feel like a volcanoe on the verge of erupting, and yet I don't even know what that means, or what it would look like. I've always had trouble naming the feelings, although I feel them all so intensly. It is major work to keep them bottled inside, and yet that is what I've always done. I try to ignore them and push them away. Everyday I go through a myriad of emotions that pass through me like electric currents without an outlet, and today I feel worn out by them. My sleep is frenzied, as if I'm running with no place to go, a longing to find what is missing. Today I read a blog post by a young girl who was brutally raped and my heart aches for her. I want to reach out, but what words of comfort can I give? The rapist was caught and pleaded guilty. She made the choice to face him in court, and I realize that I have so much unleashed anger, with no one to direct it at, although I don't know that I would be brave enough to do what she is doing. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;My mind is skipping, and I want to tell you how grey this week has been. I'm both frustrated and challenged at work as I try to figure out four kids with autism that I'm just getting to know, and trying to train paras who have never worked with children with autism. There are moments of inadequecy and triumph depending on what strategies work or don't work. Any progress made will most likely regress with winter break, and when they come back we will have to begin again. I need this break, a pajama day, and a cookie baking day with Christmas music blaring. Two more days, and it will be mine! I know this post sounds a bit down, and really I'm not, but I needed so much to write these words. I suppose I should talk to actual people more! You know on the outside I'm always doing "fine." Most of the time I'm better than fine, and that feels fabulous! I'm ending this on a positive note, but of course, as always I will return with more words.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-1658774480690308493?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?i=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?i=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=fANGSeJW-wE:kAfKTr5pDeY:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/words.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mOBL2PcnklY/TultMn5DLAI/AAAAAAAAAhY/G0IjfJ9kW2I/s72-c/lost.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>6</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-3225005574329168283</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:45:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-13T07:02:49.498-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">poetry</category><title>Dancing Alone</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-soWEwO2QERQ/TuPjNIiUMXI/AAAAAAAAAg0/7RDx5zhfsGU/s1600/dancing%2Balone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-soWEwO2QERQ/TuPjNIiUMXI/AAAAAAAAAg0/7RDx5zhfsGU/s320/dancing%2Balone.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Dancing Alone&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;...so I daydream into this night&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;fighting sleep like a child&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;though my eyes grow heavy&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The thoughts are fluid&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;moving in slow motion &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;as your face fades in and out &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the&amp;nbsp;memories&amp;nbsp;bittersweet&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;and though I try to hang onto them&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;they slip from my grasp&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;You play like a broken record through my mind&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;and I'm lost in the music&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Dancing alone...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Angela Minard 2011©&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-3225005574329168283?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/dancing-alone.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-soWEwO2QERQ/TuPjNIiUMXI/AAAAAAAAAg0/7RDx5zhfsGU/s72-c/dancing%2Balone.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-3221886097669271659</guid><pubDate>Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:39:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-10T13:39:46.949-06:00</atom:updated><title>A Beautiful Journey</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XdjQ9sok_hA/TuO1I7ea-JI/AAAAAAAAAgc/qc6XST-plLs/s1600/inner%2Bbeauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="186" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XdjQ9sok_hA/TuO1I7ea-JI/AAAAAAAAAgc/qc6XST-plLs/s320/inner%2Bbeauty.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." ~Anna Quindlen&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When you are trying so hard to be the person that you think everyone wants you to be, it is difficult to separate that from who you really are. It is a lot of work to become yourself, and the discovery can be both exciting, and rather frightening. I spent so much of my life wearing a smiling mask, being the good girl, the quiet and complacent girl who would never make waves. That is still part of who I am at times, but I can use my voice. I'm no longer drowning in the fear. I'm not as afraid to ask for what I want, and can acknowledge that I have needs. I don't beat up on myself near as much as I used to, and I find myself challenging the negative self talk more often than not. The beliefs about ourselves that we form when we are young are so often what we carry with us into adulthood, and it is difficult to let go of those beliefs. I internalized everything, blaming myself for things that I never had any control over in the first place. The thoughts of a child are so simple, and I wanted everyone around me to be happy, and I thought if I could be good and perfect, I could make that happen. I'm realizing that I'm not responsible for the happiness of others. I'm only responsible for my own. My job is to be the best me that I can be. We all have gifts and strengths, but those often get buried in self doubt, and we focus on our weaknesses. I'm trying to embrace my soul and the truth of who I am, accepting my flaws, changing and learning everyday. Life is a beautiful journey if we choose to look at it that way.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-3221886097669271659?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/beautiful-journey.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XdjQ9sok_hA/TuO1I7ea-JI/AAAAAAAAAgc/qc6XST-plLs/s72-c/inner%2Bbeauty.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-2545903585753571802</guid><pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:56:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-09T19:34:28.754-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">eating disorder recovery</category><title>The Comfort Zone</title><description>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I saw my nutritionist last night for the first time in three weeks. I really don't feel the need to see her as often, but there are still issues that I have. Right now I eat on the run a lot. I still can't make myself eat lunch in the teachers lounge, so I eat in my car. It's always protein bars or yogurt, which feel safe. I rarely sit down for dinner with my family because I go to yoga every night. I can't eat before I go, because yoga on a full stomach is not wise, so I have to wait until I get home, and by then my family has already had dinner. I'm not really eating with people much, but I'm eating! We talked about how I seem to need to be doing something to distract myself while I eat so that I'm not as focused on the fact that I'm actually eating. Dinner is often standing up in the kitchen while I pace around. I'm not restricting, so whatever works is good for me at the moment. I will try to work on some of this during my Christmas break. I will try to sit down more often and be present. I'm in a comfort zone right now with how I'm eating, and thinking of changing anything makes me a bit nervous, but I will try! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-2545903585753571802?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/comfort-zone.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-6660612249292488132</guid><pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-07T21:19:18.691-06:00</atom:updated><title>Now Is All There Is</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i8g3AoBHAxI/TuAsaO_Pa5I/AAAAAAAAAf4/SlfWN44KwSc/s1600/now1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i8g3AoBHAxI/TuAsaO_Pa5I/AAAAAAAAAf4/SlfWN44KwSc/s320/now1.jpg" width="238" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The final pose during a yoga practice is called "savasana" which in Sanskrit translates to "corpse pose." Sounds easy, right? Really all that you have to do is lie on your back, but the difficult part for me is that you are also supposed to empty your mind and clear out all thoughts and worries. It is a part of my practice that I'm struggling with, and I know that if I could master a calm mind, even for ten minutes of my practice, it would help so much, especially when my thoughts tend to run wild and I need to slow them down. I'm sure that it takes practice, like everything else, but I have no idea how to get there. It seems the more that I try to stop the thoughts the more out of control they become. My mind is like a runaway train, going nowhere. It's not like I'm trying to solve the problems of the world or anything! I envy some of the others in the class who can lie still and peaceful, while I resist every urge to fidget, and can't wait for savasana to be over. Damn the woman snoring next to me! How does she do it?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I work so hard to stay in the present, but always my mind drifts backward and forward in time. I do have the most wonderful daydreams sometimes though. I do wish you all peaceful dreams, and the mindfulness to stay in the now, for now is all there is...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-6660612249292488132?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/now-is-all-there-is.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i8g3AoBHAxI/TuAsaO_Pa5I/AAAAAAAAAf4/SlfWN44KwSc/s72-c/now1.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-7553458497952342224</guid><pubDate>Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-06T07:43:12.648-06:00</atom:updated><title>Learning To Let Go</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S_VckdOOFS4/TtqObPBtY0I/AAAAAAAAAfU/NycWiSMvOGo/s1600/cant-have-rainbow-without-rain_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="202" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S_VckdOOFS4/TtqObPBtY0I/AAAAAAAAAfU/NycWiSMvOGo/s320/cant-have-rainbow-without-rain_large.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I loved drifting in and out of sleep to the sound of the rain this morning. Sometimes we forget the simple joys of life, but I'm choosing to acknowledge them as much every day as I can. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There were moments of hurt this week, glimpses of the pain that can feel overwhelming at times. I'm often accused of taking everything too much to heart. I do, but I guess I never thought that was a bad thing. It is only a bad thing when the person that accuses you of this has hurt your feelings. Again, I can choose to let it go, or dwell in the hurt, and I chose to let it go. I can't always make sense of how others see things, I can't always make them see my point of view, but I can state my case now without fear that the person will stop loving me or think badly of me. I tend to take things personally, and can sometimes twist the words to mean something that the other person did not even mean in the first place. In this case, I'm referring to my post about Stockholm Syndrome, and the boy "liking" the abuse. When they said that, I took it to mean that they also thought I enjoyed being raped, when in fact they admitted that what they said was thoughtless, and didn't think that I would take it that way. I'm sensitive to the subject matter, and passionate about how sexual abuse can be misunderstood by so many people. I want to educate, and that is what we try to do at the blog that was started by myself and three other friends who have also suffered from trauma. It is a place for all survivors of trauma to speak out about their experiences. If you would like to participate, go to &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://cycleofhealing.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cycle Of Healing.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-7553458497952342224?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/learning-to-let-go.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S_VckdOOFS4/TtqObPBtY0I/AAAAAAAAAfU/NycWiSMvOGo/s72-c/cant-have-rainbow-without-rain_large.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-1447440316018432412</guid><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:16:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-01T10:16:44.553-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Stockholm Syndrome</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">rape</category><title>Stockholm Syndrome</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J5VWJWX7VDU/TtenwrjAMzI/AAAAAAAAAew/SbMWajI91H4/s1600/I%2Bam%2Bnot%2Bto%2Bblame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J5VWJWX7VDU/TtenwrjAMzI/AAAAAAAAAew/SbMWajI91H4/s320/I%2Bam%2Bnot%2Bto%2Bblame.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'm writing this post because so many people do not understand the effects of long term abuse, and how and why sexual abuse can occur for long periods of time without the victim coming forward.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Someone said to me today about a boy in the newspaper who was sexually abused by a coach from the time he was ten until his late teens that the boy must have "liked it" for the abuse to have happened for such a long period of time without the boy coming forward. The abuser had threatened to kill the boys family if he told. I was outraged by the comment, and it is why I'm here writing this post. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Emotionally bonding with an abuser is actually a strategy for survival for victims of abuse and intimidation. This is often called "Stockholm Syndrome."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Stockholm Syndrome comes into play when a victim cannot escape and is isolated and threatened with death, but is shown token acts of kindness by the abuser. It typically takes about three or four days for the psychological shift to take hold. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;A strategy of trying to keep your abuser happy in order to stay alive becomes an obsessive identification with the likes and dislikes of the abuser which has the result of warping your own psyche in such a way that you come to sympathize with your tormenter! &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The syndrome explains what happens in hostage-taking situations, but can also be used to understand the behavior of battered spouses, members of religious cults, Holocaust victims, and long term sexual abuse survivors.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;In order for Stockholm syndrome to occur in any given situation, at least three traits must be present:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;•A severely uneven power relationship in which the abuser dictates what the victim can and cannot do&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;•The threat of death or physical injury to the victim or their families&amp;nbsp;at the hands of the abuser&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;•A self-preservation instinct on the part of the victim&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;­­Included in these traits are the victims belief (correct or incorrect, it doesn't matter) that he or she cannot escape, which means that survival must occur within the rules set by the all-powerful abuser.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-1447440316018432412?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/12/stockholm-syndrome.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J5VWJWX7VDU/TtenwrjAMzI/AAAAAAAAAew/SbMWajI91H4/s72-c/I%2Bam%2Bnot%2Bto%2Bblame.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>8</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-2876439381155584204</guid><pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:16:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-30T13:53:45.807-06:00</atom:updated><title>With One More Look At You</title><description>&lt;iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Isu4s-u_1hg?rel=0" width="420"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I've always been a huge Barbra Streisand fan, playing her records as a kid, until I absolutely drove my family mad. This is one of my favorite songs from A Star Is Born.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;With One More Look At You&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;With one more look at you&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I could learn to tame the clouds&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;And let the sun shine through&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Leave a troubled past and I might start anew&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'll solve the mysteries if you're the prize&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Refresh these tired eyes&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;With one more look at you&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I might overcome the anger&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;That I learned to know&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Find a piece of mind I lost so long ago&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your gentle touch has made me strong again&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;And I belong again&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;For when you look at me&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'm everything and more that I had dreamed I'd be&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;My spirit feels a promise&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I won't be alone&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;We'll love and live more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Love and live forever&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;With one more look at you&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'd learn to change the stars&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;And change our fortunes too&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'd have the constellations, paint your portrait too&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;So all the world might share this wonderous sight&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The world could end each night&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;With one more look at you&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;With one more look at you&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I want one more look at you&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-2876439381155584204?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/11/with-one-more-look-at-you.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/Isu4s-u_1hg/default.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-5132168581247527406</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 04:32:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-30T08:25:07.587-06:00</atom:updated><title>Light And Love</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wsVx-ZyYIQA/TtRgO27JvnI/AAAAAAAAAdo/7OJenWexLG0/s1600/quotes%252Cenjoy%252Clife%252Cquote%252Csimple%252Chappiness-e7f8349761e98d3a1bc614633ae67bbe_h_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wsVx-ZyYIQA/TtRgO27JvnI/AAAAAAAAAdo/7OJenWexLG0/s320/quotes%252Cenjoy%252Clife%252Cquote%252Csimple%252Chappiness-e7f8349761e98d3a1bc614633ae67bbe_h_large.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;For so long, only the silence knew&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the hidden darkness that swallowed my soul&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I was lost in the lonely solitude of my heart,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;but there is light and love&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'm shining a little bit brighter each day.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Angela Minard 2011©&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It has been a beautiful day, and work went well at the new school I was placed in. I feel like I accomplished a lot, and that always makes me happy. I came home from work, wrote a paper on visual supports for individuals with autism, which is so important by the way, and then rushed off to yoga. I do so much better when I'm busy and engaged in life. I've spent so many years isolating myself from the world because the pain was overwhelming. I didn't even realize that all of the time that I thought I was dead inside, nothing could choke out the fire that I kept hidden. I'm feeling stronger than I believed I ever could be. It helps that I've been taking care of my body. I never really connected how much the body and mind work together, and how much I was starving my mind... &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;and now for my third list of random things I love...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Things I Love Part 3&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The golden crescent moon&amp;nbsp;outside my window.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;My new leg warmers...so&amp;nbsp;80's, but&amp;nbsp;warm and cozy.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coconut oil because it reminds me of summer. I slather it on, and maybe that is too much information;-)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The pink lining of my winter coat.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Boys, which goes without saying.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The sparkling frost that covers the ground this time of year.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Christmas lights.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Incense.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutella, which is a hazelnut/chocolate spread, like peanut butter...so yummy.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Okay...that is all for now, but&amp;nbsp;here&amp;nbsp;are&amp;nbsp;the links for one and two&amp;nbsp;:-)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2010/06/little-things-i-love.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2010/06/little-things-i-love.html&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/04/things-i-love-part-ii.html"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/04/things-i-love-part-ii.html&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/11/light-and-love.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wsVx-ZyYIQA/TtRgO27JvnI/AAAAAAAAAdo/7OJenWexLG0/s72-c/quotes%252Cenjoy%252Clife%252Cquote%252Csimple%252Chappiness-e7f8349761e98d3a1bc614633ae67bbe_h_large.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-737530587124375628</guid><pubDate>Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-02T12:21:42.034-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">eating disorder recovery</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">friends</category><title>Jackie's Hat</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w3Mu6Nk69NU/TtI5NP88oSI/AAAAAAAAAdU/yiZRZTCL_gs/s1600/jackies%2Bhat%2B002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w3Mu6Nk69NU/TtI5NP88oSI/AAAAAAAAAdU/yiZRZTCL_gs/s320/jackies%2Bhat%2B002.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;In this picture, I'm wearing a hat that my friend &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://jaclynheyen.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jackie Heyen&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; crocheted for me. She is starting to sell some of her work, so please go check out her website. Besides being crafty, she is also a talented singer/songwriter, and has a music cd that she recorded about her recovery from anorexia called &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://journeytoworthy.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Journey To Worthy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. I actually met Jackie on myspace almost 5 years ago. She was promoting her cd, and I got in touch with her because I was desperate to talk with someone who had completely recovered. She has been one of my biggest cheerleaders ever since. When I went into treatment she came and visited me, and a few summers ago she drove her motorcycle here from Florida to stay for a few days. She is so inspiring, and helped me believe that there could be full recovery from an eating disorder. I've been so blessed to have her friendship in my life. It is always amazing to me how people come into our lives exactly when we need them.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-737530587124375628?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?i=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?i=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?a=NIAq97CQzeY:0MGtyc0cWOQ:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/HereAndNow4Angel?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/11/jackies-hat.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w3Mu6Nk69NU/TtI5NP88oSI/AAAAAAAAAdU/yiZRZTCL_gs/s72-c/jackies%2Bhat%2B002.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>3</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-8005315237965071101</guid><pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:34:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-23T02:35:46.523-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">boys</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Thanksgiving</category><title>Boys</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-90QvXMK_ei8/TsyqWniHtYI/AAAAAAAAAc8/qZT3pecvnnY/s1600/boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="194" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-90QvXMK_ei8/TsyqWniHtYI/AAAAAAAAAc8/qZT3pecvnnY/s320/boys.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I found this picture, and because it is a time to give thanks, I thought I would honor my four boys, Christian, Logan, Justice, and Roman...who have taught me so much. I think that mostly they have made me realize how large is my capacity and overwhelming ability to love unconditionally. It feels like yesterday that I held them in my arms, and although at times I miss their baby years, it is amazing to have grown young men surrounding me. There is not a day that goes by that they don't manage to bring a smile to my face. As I write this at 2:00 a.m., my 21 year old walks through the door and sits at the kitchen table&amp;nbsp;to chat, so I will finish this post later...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Awww, we had a great talk about his school, girlfriend, and just his life in general. He is great&amp;nbsp;at sitting up with me when I can't sleep. Someday soon he will be out on his own, and I will miss this. I am so grateful, thankful, and blessed to have these wonderful boys. I wouldn't have it any other way. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-8005315237965071101?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/11/boys.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-90QvXMK_ei8/TsyqWniHtYI/AAAAAAAAAc8/qZT3pecvnnY/s72-c/boys.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>4</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596522382677342386.post-7356552097197214359</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-21T17:52:04.540-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">eating disorder recovery</category><title>Anorexia And My Family</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i-u9vVb2S24/TsrY5elTfBI/AAAAAAAAAcw/Wp9zfxzM8Kc/s1600/Marilyn-Monroe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i-u9vVb2S24/TsrY5elTfBI/AAAAAAAAAcw/Wp9zfxzM8Kc/s320/Marilyn-Monroe.jpg" width="195" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;My son posted this picture on Facebook the other day, saying that this was the body type he preferred. It doesn't surprise me, but I've always been worried about how my anorexia affected my children. I know that it was hard on them when I went in-patient. I think it has made them more aware of the societal pressures to be thin. It still frightens me that I find the thinner body more attractive, and wish that were more my natural body type, but I am learning to accept the shape that I am. I'm doing so well with my eating, and even during times of stress I'm managing to keep up with my intake. Being hungry still freaks me out, and I wait until I can no longer ignore it before I eat, but I'm sure with time I will get used to the feeling without letting it cause me anxiety. Thanksgiving, as most people with eating disorders will tell you, is difficult. I get overwhelmed with so many choices, and the amount of food. I still feel like people watch me, looking for signs of my illness, but it is most likely only in my mind.  I'm just trying to focus on spending time with my family, and not worry so much about the eating part. I'm wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5596522382677342386-7356552097197214359?l=hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://hereandnow4angel.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-son-posted-this-picture-on-facebook.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Angela)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i-u9vVb2S24/TsrY5elTfBI/AAAAAAAAAcw/Wp9zfxzM8Kc/s72-c/Marilyn-Monroe.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>8</thr:total></item></channel></rss>

