tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60019306971575387712024-11-01T05:38:29.499-05:00This is me. Sometimes I say what I mean. I always mean what I say. Read at your own risk. All text, thoughts, musings, works of fiction, etc. are solely mine and not to be reproduced, copied or pasted without the express consent of Sapphire Dragonflies/Erica Tomlin.Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-88004472420735147632015-07-02T16:51:00.001-05:002015-07-02T16:51:30.972-05:00

Oh my stars! Y'all done made me get out the blog for the first time in nearly a year. The world has gone mad and I'm about to tell you all you  need to know on how I feel about the whole thing. I'm about to get real serious. I'm about to address believers and non-believers alike. I'm going to address both groups separately but in the same post. Hang on, it's a rather uncomfortable ride. But

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-48847450205659395262014-08-31T17:43:00.001-05:002014-08-31T17:43:30.302-05:00

So, those of you who are with me on Facebook are probably wondering what in the world is going on with those Tomlin people. You're probably wondering where all this talk about G-d came from, and why in the world does she always put that hyphen in the middle of G-d when she types it? Why is she using all these alternate names for G-d? What's all this Shabbat and Challah stuff about?

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-33693802924871880162014-03-06T15:35:00.000-06:002014-03-06T15:35:02.059-06:00

When I was seventeen I had a step mom. There was nothing in the world I couldn't tell her. She took me in and treated me equally as one of her own and equally as the adult I so desperately wanted to be. She taught me that being an adult didn't mean you couldn't still have fun. She taught me what it meant to be a free spirit. She taught me what it meant to work hard for what you wanted. She

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-58159428902003952022013-09-14T19:20:00.003-05:002013-09-14T19:20:36.337-05:00

One would think that with all this free time on my hands lately I would've found time to blog more.  Mostly, I'm just trying to get a routine established. I also have significantly limited my time on the computer. After all, the hours of sitting in a desk chair, and what it did for the pain levels, were the very reason I stopped working. I had an MRI done shortly before I quit my job and

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-32555691096839369382013-08-09T06:29:00.001-05:002013-08-09T06:33:13.810-05:00

So, I've mentioned recently on Facebook that there are big changes in my life. Really big changes.... As most of you know, I've struggled for quite some time with fibromyalgia and a couple of other pain causing conditions. Fibromyalgia has pretty much taken over my life. It wouldn't be so bad if I had some kind of pain management. But, I don't. I've had adverse reactions to all three FDA

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-31477305824501677372013-07-30T12:38:00.000-05:002013-07-30T12:38:00.481-05:00

Have you ever stopped to think about what made your favorite teachers so great? In the past 24 hours I have. While I remember most of my teachers, there are only a few that really stand out. This isn’t just because I liked them on some instinctive level. These were the teachers that I actually learned from, the ones who made the subjects they were teaching me interesting, the ones whom I

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-53603993944375601112013-07-17T08:21:00.000-05:002013-07-17T08:21:18.262-05:00

But it didn't work out..... I used to be a chameleon Fading in and out Adapting by color Blending with my surroundings But someone melted my crayons....

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-79945182690832567942013-07-15T14:53:00.001-05:002013-07-15T14:53:14.320-05:00

This lady right here.... That's Debi. She makes me smile and not feel so old.  In fact, if you tell her you're too old to do something she'll say, "Says who? Why you gotta follow everyone else's rules?" So, thanks to Debi there's a hula hoop craze going on in my little world. See? Here's Debi hoopin'.       Now I'm hooping. J is hooping. My niece is hooping. My

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-49116188660142194202013-07-03T12:43:00.000-05:002013-07-03T12:43:47.430-05:00

It occurred to me today, just now really, that I haven’t devoted any time to writing about my own personal adventures lately--Hmph, lately, as if that were an accurate representation of the time that’s passed. It’s a shame really. There’s been so much I could have said over the last year about what’s been going on in my little corner of the world. I’ve watched friends divorce, watched a

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-17540516233139888082013-01-04T09:04:00.004-06:002013-01-04T09:04:37.841-06:00

It wasn’t supposed to end this way, you know - me, laying here birthing child number nine and contemplating the end of my life.  It’s the end. You can’t tell me any different. Childbirth is messy and painful, but not like this. It’s been four years since the last one, since the last time I paid for being loyal to that man by bringing another of his offspring into this world. Don’t

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-54734983260829818762012-10-25T09:24:00.001-05:002012-10-25T09:24:56.230-05:00

I had someone ask me to do something yesterday. Something I really don’t want to do. It’s not just a simple “I don’t want to” either. It’s more like not wanting to because it goes against my principles. I just can’t see myself stepping over my own line in the sand to do something like this for anyone, much less someone who is only a casual acquaintance. Which explains a lot; because anyone who

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-37049799985024998292012-10-11T14:42:00.000-05:002012-10-11T14:42:20.601-05:00

Have you ever been totally relieved to be free of a friendship that became a burden and a stressor, only to find yourself constantly bombarded with thoughts of that person? Wondering what’s new? I’m currently in that place. It’s absurd. Completely and totally absurd! In regard to Sheldon: I think it wouldn’t be such a problem except for the fact that I work in the same building as she does.

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-6200156290577340682012-09-28T11:01:00.001-05:002012-09-28T11:01:57.832-05:00

This weekend I'll be picking up this... Pictured are: 9 = Caron SnoSpun (Grey)  2 = Berella Heather (Teal) 7 = Berella Heather (Pink)  2 = Lion Brand Homespun (Shaker)  7 = Lion Brand Homespun (Edwardian) 10 = Famous Makers (Multi-color of Black, Gray, White) 7 = Caron SnoSpun (Cocoa Pink) 3 = Wool-Ease (Midnight Black/White)   My fellow knitters and crocheters will

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-18844387974999713382012-09-27T12:45:00.000-05:002012-09-27T12:45:06.155-05:00

I meet a lot of homeless people due to the location of my workplace. The mission that serves lunch at noon each day is just across the street and the traffic gets a little heavy starting around 11 a.m. There are two ways one could look at this. Depending on who you are, and which type of homeless person approaches you, it’s either an opportunity or a nuisance. Sometimes they stop and talk to

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-322484235174733862012-05-29T08:15:00.002-05:002012-05-29T08:15:38.020-05:00

This is my current inpiration. Grace Margaret Brown Hayes. My great x 4 grandmother. She has a story to tell. I've spent the last 5 years, off and on, trying to figure out what that story is. I'm currently researching but will begin writing soon. I'm so stinkin' excited...

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-64992143903312897072012-05-26T07:23:00.000-05:002012-05-26T07:23:55.235-05:00

"The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself.... Keepers of private notebooks are a different breed altogether, lonely and resistant re-arrangers of things, anxious malcontents, children afflicted apparently&

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-74100691213310233792012-05-25T09:24:00.002-05:002012-05-25T09:24:58.433-05:00

I’ve spent a great deal of the last few days explaining myself to other people. It all goes back to that self preservation that stems from anger and hurt – people not understanding why I can’t just pretend it never happened and move on. I’m gonna tell you what I’ve told them. It’s not over yet. “Person” is stuck in a vicious cycle of apologizing and lashing out. Things are only fine as long

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-46895336747724781332012-05-22T20:28:00.000-05:002012-05-22T20:28:32.516-05:00

I suppose it's not news to anyone that, for the last year, I've been in a very dark place. For the past 3 months, it's been even darker -- sometimes dangerously so. I wonder, if I had kept writing, if I wouldn't have been able to keep my head above water. Occasionally I've been able to come up for air, but most times I find it much simpler, somehow less painful, to close my eyes and relax into

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-7377077329443696562012-04-23T18:44:00.002-05:002012-04-23T18:44:47.383-05:00

I logged into Facebook this morning, overwhelmed by my own fog of negativity and saw a couple of posts that got my attention.  They referenced those annoying status updaters that never seem to have anything good to say. Those Negative Nellies, those Woe Is Me’ers, those Proclaimers of Gloom and Doom, that we all wonder if donkeys might fly by with hearts and flowers trailing out of their

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-20619190795600977442012-03-28T12:23:00.002-05:002012-03-28T12:23:49.911-05:00

So, there are new things and new old things going on in my world. Some I can speak freely about, and some I would love to speak freely about if I felt right about crossing the line between sharing stuff that’s mine and stuff that really belongs to someone else.I recently quit following a fibromyalgia blog that I had subscribed to. I also removed it on facebook. Initially, I had stumbled across

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-25772437584228268242012-03-15T11:52:00.001-05:002012-03-15T11:53:46.032-05:00

DISCLAIMER: This is strictly my OPINION based on my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with Lifetouch. You make your determinations based on your own experiences, not mine. :) Dear Lifetouch,My son is in the 4th grade at (deleted because I'm a smart Mama who is looking out for her kiddo). Since his first year of school when he started Pre-K five years ago, I do not have a single school photo of him.  I

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-53418852508059542152012-03-14T16:13:00.002-05:002012-03-14T16:16:57.392-05:00

This was the day we brought her home. She was so tiny. . She tried to nurse on Sky. Poor old girl let her, too. Here she is with Mom's little one, Margo. Sometimes she had bad hair days. I always thought she looked like  Phyllis Diller when she did. Mostly she just looked like a sweet little angel. We will miss you,  Princess Lola McFluffy. Just this

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-12902144507916520052012-03-06T12:58:00.000-06:002012-03-06T12:58:06.524-06:00

I love cake. I don’t think I can even begin to express to you how much I love cake. Cake makes my world go round.I wanted carrot cake, because it’s my favorite. However, I really didn’t have the energy to stand around grating carrots for my homemade carrot cake. So, I went to the grocery store to get one of those box cakes. They didn’t have carrot cake.Can you believe that? No carrot cake?*sigh*

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-65268408455260066702012-02-21T12:59:00.001-06:002012-02-21T13:01:08.062-06:00

So, I told you I would tell you about this picture. I had a few interesting guesses when I posted the photo on Facebook. But, in this case, fact is so much more amusing than fiction.We spent this weekend with my in-laws in Bastrop, Louisiana. We drove an hour and a half on a little state highway, through small town southern Arkansas, where outbuildings are better tended than the mobile homes

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6001930697157538771.post-75222793376986670762012-02-12T09:52:00.000-06:002012-02-12T09:52:06.889-06:00

The last time I saw my grandmother alive was twenty one years ago. No longer the sturdy red haired woman I knew. She was now rail thin, sitting slumped on her sofa watching Young and the Restless. Her once perfectly combed hair was now twisting this way and that upon her head, briefly reminding me of one of those troll dolls with the brightly colored hair that stood on end. A stroke had left this

Sapphire Dragonflieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381751043737337247noreply@blogger.com3