Mask Family Moments

Picnic

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:41:00 +0000

Boy, it seems like just yesterday I was just thinking that we should have a family picnic, and now the time is upon us. Boy how time flies...

Well, the final details of the picnic is as follows:

Saturday, August 20
Moores Park on the corner of Moores River Dr. and Beal
10:00a until dusk

Bring along your selection of meat to grill, a side dish to pass, table settings for yourself/family, a case of pop to share, and tupperware (or something comparable) for your leftovers.

T Shirts are being ordered this Saturday, July 23rd, so if you haven't yet, please order and get your money to me ASAP! Here is another pic of the shirts. The real version has a larger grill and larger type.

I'm looking forward to seeing my family and having an awesome time, good food and good fellowship!

See you all soon!

How do thoughts shape my world?

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:49:00 +0000

"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances." - Martha Washington

How very wise and how very true? These are wise words spoken by the wife of the very first president of the United States.

Ponder her statement for a moment. We may not LIKE our current circumstances, but our attitudes and thought processes determine whether we will be miserable or not. My thought is that attitude and disposition accounts for not only how we currently feel, but how successful we are in life. We have the capability to mold our situation into whatever we want it to be, for the most part. I wish I had realized this when I was a very young adult.

To take this a step further, we have choices. We have the liberty to change our circumstances if we do not like them. It does require work and effort on our part, and if we CHOOSE not to do the work required, then we must garner some acceptance of our circumstances. It really is that simple.

If we know where we want to be in life, we must devise a road map to get us there and determine what work is required to help us arrive to our destination.

I'll give you an example from my own life and my own current circumstances. I work a 40 hour per week job in a medical office. For the most part, I enjoy my work. What I do not enjoy is many of the people I work with. There is a lot of cattiness, game playing, back-biting and a level of sabotage that goes on in the office I work for. There are also many negative people who go around cursing and complaining the entire day, EVERYDAY. At times it is very difficult to get through the day because I am forced to sit immediately next to and interact with one of the most negative people in the office. Now, most days I talk to myself to maintain a positive attitude and get through the day. What do I tell myself? I tell myself that my situation there is temporary, and it IS. I have a plan. My job is part of the plan to help me get where I want to be, frankly because I need a paycheck. Let's face it, like it or not, a girl's gotta pay bills. Additionally, I will need lenders to loan me money when I am ready to venture out on my own. So my current job is an avenue on my road to success. Complaining or not putting my best foot forward would only be self sabotage because it could potentially hamper my chances of getting the finances I will need in the future to build my own business. Constantly kicking myself if I make a mistake or something doesn't go quite the way I anticipated it would, will keep me discouraged and if I stayed in that thought process I would eventually be miserable enough to give up on mostly everything. Thus, keeping my eye on the prize in the end helps me to get through my current situation and keeps my level of happiness and positivity up and gives me what I need to make it through each day. Furthermore, I CHOOSE to have a good and positive attitude in a negative situation. My thought process keeps me separated from the negative things that go on around me every day. I keep my focus and I don't lose site of the prize. Can you see that?

Did you ever take a road trip to someplace really exciting when you were a kid? For me that was an amusement park in Sandusky, OH, called Cedar Point. Going to Cedar Point was the trip of a lifetime. I can remember sitting on the bus, looking out of the window at the landscape and thinking…"Are we ever going to get there?" My excitement level rose and fell as I took in the scenery and saw places that I thought might be it only to get close enough to see that we weren't there yet. I felt like the road trip was going to last forever and just when it seemed it would, I looked out of the window and saw the silhouettes of the rollercoasters and rides in the distance. I had arrived!

Life and my journey are much the same. I don’t always like the journey but I know that it's necessary and I also know what's at the end of my current map. I am convinced that I am going to make it to the "Amusement Park". And just like the bus driver, I have a road map to get me there. I know exactly where I'm going. I haven't arrived yet. I don't have the things in hand right now that I will have someday. But I'm working towards getting there. Just the thought of knowing that makes me happy and keeps me traveling.

Now, I realize that there are variables that we have no control over and that sometimes things change our circumstances e.g. death and disaster. Sometimes there are smaller things that change our circumstances but most of these changes are temporal. They may cause us to deviate from our road maps or force us to take a detour, but they don't have to be permanent unless we let them.

You are only as successful as you think you are. The power of thought and attitude should not be underestimated. If you think that you won't succeed at something, YOU ARE PROBABLY RIGHT because your thought process will not allow you to even try to change your circumstance.

If you live each day in misery, ask yourself why? Why am I miserable? What would make my life NOT miserable? How do I get there? What would be required for me to have happiness? Define what happiness and/or success means to you. Once you have determined that, decided if you want to do what is required to get there. If you are willing to step out on a limb and do the work, GO FOR IT and keep your eye on the prize. Be content and happy knowing where you are going and what you will become in the future. If you are NOT willing to do what is required, for whatever reasons you tell yourself, (usually based on fear of failure) then ACCEPT the fact that you are choosing your circumstance and settling for the fact that life is what it is for you and this is as good as it gets. Therefore, you should choose to be happy because this is the life that you have, so why live it in misery?

Either way; as Martha Washington so gracefully put it, go forth and know that:

"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our DISPOSITIONS and not on our circumstances."

Dee Dee Walter

Open Houses

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:16:00 +0000

Hi Family!

I would like to thank each of you that took the time out of your busy schedules to visit Ronesha for her Graduation Open House. She will be attending Lansing Community College in the fall. She is aspiring to be a Homicide Detective. Cousin Dashi has offered to help her along the way.

BTW, it was a nice surprise to see Dashi and Djana, his wife! A pleasant surprise. On Sunday at Ashon's open house, it was really good to chat it up with family and get reamed by cousin Cheryl for being slow on getting written information out about family events. I told her that I have this blog and use social media, but she says she doesn't use social media. So I guess I'll have to get it together and do better about getting info to her! LOL

The food was good at Ashon's open house. The spaghetti was spicy and wonderful. Meatballs, potato salad, pasta salad, fried chicken, peach cobbler, fruit and a salad. Very good. Ronesha's cuisine included grilled hot dogs, veggie tray, baked beans, macaroni salad, fried chicken, potato salad, chips and salsa. It was a very good and very busy weekend.

I encourage the handful of family members that we have on here to send a link to other family members that you know so we all have a central place to get info and read up on family.

I will be placing one big order for T-shirts for the family reunion on Monday, June 27th. This is the final date so make sure you comment here or in box me on Face Book.

Finally, if you have content for our blog, whether it be birthdays, events or just a happy thought, please share. I don't mind sharing about my little family, but there are so many more of us. I will never list sensitive info like dates etc, so you are safe here!

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

A moment to be proud of

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:41:00 +0000

Hello family!

I just want to brag on our 2011 grads. Some of us were biting our nails through the whole year and others were smiling because they were certain of the future - none the less, our family is at least 3 Grads richer.

Congratulations to Khayree LaVaughn Halton, Ashon T. Mask and Ronesha L. Walter on the closing of one chapter of your lives and the opening of another.

As our Grads proceed towards their future destinations, let us pray that they have focus, tenaciousness, success and God's wisdom upon their lives! I love you and am proud of each and every one of you!

Hello Lovlies!

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:31:00 +0000

Hey everybody!

Just wanted to post and see what's good with everyone! I am so excited that Spring is in the air. It's seems that Winter just doesn't want to let go! But the weather is shaping up pretty good here. I know that we still have a few days of snow flurries in our future, but the promise of Spring and new beginnings is exciting to me.

As for me and my part of the the Mask Clan, we have some pretty significant changes coming our way in the immediate future. We have changed our family dynamics a bit, out of necessity. Knowing when things have to change and implementing that change is a hard job but sometimes we have to make tough choices for the betterment of our family and our future. Whew!

I'm still looking for family members to subscribe and follow our website as a way of keeping us all linked together and in the know. In addition, although it may seem early, it's time to start making some concrete decisions concerning our family picnic this August. If anyone is interested in lending help in any form, please comment here on the blog so I have an idea who the team is going to be comprised of. I'm so excited about this! Don't forget that we have T-shirts for only $10 hand delivered. (This means as long as I don't have to ship.)

Well, as always, I love you guys with all of my heart. Godspeed and be with you until we speak again!

Love,

Darylles

Hey Fam!

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:58:00 +0000

Hey beautiful people! How are you? Just thought I'd touch bases with you all and spread a little of that Mask love!

There are so many exciting things coming up for the family. I'm very excited about the family picnic in August. I love planning and I know that we are going to have the best time ever.

In addition to the picnic, there are a couple of high school seniors in our family that will be graduating this June. I thought I'd highlight them on our blog.

Ms. Ronesha Lavette Walter

Ronesha Lavette Walter, 17; is a senior at Lansing Everett High School. She is the daughter of Brian and Darylles Walter, (Ronnie Mask & Loretta Wells). Ronesha made the A-B honor roll this last marking period. She plays the clarinet in the Everett High School marching band. She has been playing since fourth grade. She is also in Jazz dance and has done that since 4th grade as well.

Ronesha co-organized and performed in a community wide talent production presented at Everett High School called "Lansing's got talent". She enlisted the help of a local radio station and secured free advertising for the event. She even got a couple of the DeeJays to be judges of the show. She performed and modeled in the show as well.

Ronesha won the Viking of the Month award for improving her academics and for having excellent citizenship in her classes.

Ronesha will be attending Lansing Community College for two years in the fall and will go on from there to a major university. She is planning on becoming a homicide detective.

Mr. Ashon Touere Mask

Ashon Touree Mask, 17; is an honor roll student at Everett High School in Lansing. He is the son of George and LaDonna Mask. He is a senior this year as well. Ashon is a member of the dance company. He is an excellent dancer and has been dancing since 4th grade. He is a member of the Everett High School Marching band and plays the tenor Saxophone. He plays tennis and ran track.

Ashon co-organized the Lansing's got talent show presented at Everett along with Ronesha. He modeled in the show as well as showcased his dancing talents. He has also been an escort for the Lansing Chapter of the Debutantes for several years.

Ashon has received several scholarship offers for college for band and academics. He is attending either Clark College or Howard in the fall. He plans to study law.

Mr. Khayree LaVaughn Halton

Khayree L. Halton, 17; is a senior at Lansing's Eastern High School. He is the son of Darryl (Bam) West and Bernetta Halton. Khayree is a beaming light in that he has managed to stay focus and overcome many challenges to complete high school, often walking to school in the dead of winter and using public transportation to get to school. He did not let the challenges of his personal life deter him from completing his school education.

Khayree is a member of the Lansing Eastern High School marching band on the drum line. During the football season of 2010-2011 we were treated to a showdown of the Everett High School band vs. the Eastern High School band. It was thrilling, as we were able to see Khayree, Ashon and Ronesha all playing together on the same field. It was exciting.

Khayree plans on attending Indiana Tech on a scholarship that he secured on his own. He plans on becoming an Information Technologist Specialist.

Let's take our hats off to our legacy and leaders of the future. Support them when you can and give them encouraging words and direction. We are really proud of them!

Love you guys!

Family...

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 03:15:00 +0000

Hi Family~

Hoping that everyone is staying warm and dry in this cold Michigan winter weather. According to the weather channel we were to get 2-3 inches of snow, but what I see outside is much more than that. Punxsutawney Phil said that we were going to have an early spring, and I was hoping that that meant spring was going to start this week. *sigh*

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that Marty's two kids, Karmin and Marcus II are moving to Texas with their mother this week. I'm not having the best feelings about the whole situation and I'm really hating that they are leaving the only family that they have ever known and had for all of their lives, but I am powerless to change it so I guess for now I'll just be a bit sad and hope that we will be able to maintain contact with them in the future.

For those of you who subscribed and who know about this blog, please get the word out to the rest of the family. We have a lot of family using the internet but only a handful of people who are actually subscribed. Also, please share stories and info that I can add about the entire family on the blog. I want to be able to share so that we all can enjoy.

Finally, if anyone wants to order a family T-shirt for the family reunion early, let me know and I can order. I can get the shirts for $10 and they are cute. I still have yet to find a way to post a picture, but I actually got my T-Shirt already and I love it. It has a BBQ grill on the front and says "Mask Family Picnic 2011" on the front.

Ashon Mask, Uncle George Mask's baby and Ronesha Walter organized and put on a talent show for their high school (Everett High School) in Lansing. They did a fabulous job and the show was good. They enlisted the help of Uncle Dicks girlfriend, Amy Rossiter, who works as a DJ of the adult "Quiet Storm" on 96.5 radio station in Lansing. Amy was a judge and also made it possible for Ashon and Ronesha to advertise the event on the radio station. Here are a couple of pics from the event. Way to go Ronesha and Shony!

Looking forward to hearing from all of you soon and as always loving you with all of my heart!

Dee

Missing my family

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:30:00 +0000

So, this is going to be a short post. I don't want to make anyone sad but I'm missing my family today. So many losses in such a short few years.

I just want to remember all of my family that has gone on from this world, and all of the different ways we had relationships and I know that you are missing each and every one of them the same way that I am! They are still in our hearts and we remember all of the joy they brought to us!

Missing the sweet soft loving voice of Aunty Z, the wisdom and wittiness of my mommy Sarah, the attitude and wicked criticism of cousin Leon, the mad swagger of Uncle Dick, the prudence of Aunty Rose and the very short lives of cousin Jeremy and Georgetta! Rest in peace and know that we will NEVER forget you! EVER!

Love you!
Your family

Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 02:39:00 +0000

HOMEMADE HODGE PODGE

Each month, this area will feature something that you can make at home, whether a recipe, a craft for the kiddies, or something for you -- hence..."homemade hodgepodge".

Hey Mask Family!

So, I know it's a little bit early, but do any of you have plans for Vtines Day? As for me, I don't have definitive plans as of yet, but I'm kind of re-thinking Vtines Day this year.

The main reason is: I feel really guilty when I go out with the hubs and leave the kids out. I think they should be included in the festivities sometimes. And to tell the truth, it gets kind of boring doing the typical things that people do on this day. Chocolate candy. Flowers. Dinner. Movie. Crowds. Lines. Because everyone is doing the same thing.

How about this for a nice and quaint Valentine's Day? Dinner and movies at home! It could be fun even if your sweetie is your son or daughter. Or maybe a few single girlfriends.

Dress up in your finest as if you were going to a restaurant. Set the table with linens and candles. Make a nice dinner and then retreat to the family room for a movie or two. Maybe even make it a game night with playing cards or board games!

Here's a dinner recipe for you to follow. Think about it. If you decide to do it, enjoy. And post here to let us know if you do and how it went! Maybe even post pictures!

How about cooking up a romantic seafood and pasta meal for Valentine's Day. The entree here is my absolute favorite!

Aunty Dee's Easy Shrimp Linguine Alfredo
• 1 (12 ounce) package linguine pasta
• 4 tablespoons diced onion
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 40 small frozen cocktail shrimp, thawed
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 6-8 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley
• Directions
1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain. Do not over cook.
2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large saucepan. Saute onion and garlic over low/medium heat until onions are clear. Stir in half-and-half and grated Parmesan cheese. Continue heating sauce, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Add shrimp and cook for 1 additional minute.
3. Place pasta on charger plates and spoon on shrimp sauce. Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with parsley.
*Serves 4

Sassy Sweet Salad
• 1-5 oz. bag Dole baby spinach, fresh
• 1-5 oz. bag Dole Spring Mix Salad greens, fresh
• 1/2 c. Ocean Spray Craisins dried cranberries
• 1/2 c. shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 fresh sliced strawberries, *optional
• Kraft Caesar Vinaigrette with Parmesan Dressing
1. Toss salad greens, spinach, Craisins and strawberries* together in a large serving bowl.

2. Sprinkle mozzarella on top of salad.

3. Serve salads as a side with Caesar Vinaigrette.

For a really romantic touch, add a bottle of Merlot or Exotic Fruits or Strawberry White Zinfandel. Arbor Mist is cheap and tasty!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mask Family Picnic

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:04:00 +0000

Time to get together, eat, play games, laugh, fellowship and love! I am planning the next Mask Family Picnic for Saturday, August 20, 2011. I have not decided on a venue yet, nor have I decided on details, but I wanted to throw it out there to get the word out and so that we can start planning.

Now, that being said, I am welcoming any help that I can get, raising money, researching information etc. I will be posting here any area that I can think of where I may need help. Please, if you have any suggestions, leave me a comment here, email me, call me, get in touch with me! (;-D)

I will be hosting games and contests for the yung-uns, some games for the grown and sexy, and I will be posting a sample of a t-shirt that I designed for anyone who may be interested in purchasing one!

I am so looking forward to this family picnic. I know that we are going to have fun, fun, FUN!

Save the date and think of how we can make this the BOMB!!!

P.S. Spread the word. Tell anyone that you know who may not have a computer etc.

Dee

My email address is: crafdeecorner1@yahoo.com

My name ---

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 02:51:00 +0000

Just a tidbit about Dee Dee. When I was younger, I had many many nicknames. Duke, Dunt Dunt, Kadunsky -- just to name a few. But Duke was the name that seemed to really stick. Everyone called me Duke. My mommy told me that Marty, (who stuttered really bad when he was little), had a difficult time pronouncing my name and it came out sounding like "Duke". So yeah, Marty gave me this name. Thanks, Bro!

At any rate, once I became a teenager, needless to say, I hated the name. It was not a name for a girl. I DID NOT want to be called Duke. But I had a hard time shedding it. My uncles and Granddaddy had called me that all of my life. I dug my heels in though, and pretty soon I stopped answering to Duke. I wanted to be called Darylles. My family eventually adapted to this (for the most part).

The final issue I had was the constant mispronunciation of my name from strangers. I had gone through life being called everything from derelict to delirious at school, doctors offices etc. So, towards the end of high school, I insisted on being called Dee Dee and introduced myself that way. I am known by people outside of family and close family friends as Dee Dee and have been for about 30 years now. When I'm out and someone calls me Darylles, I know that it's someone related, or someone that I went to school with who I actually hung out with.

Soooo, just wanted to offer that bit of info for those who may not have known. It's actually a name that has been with me for a long long time!

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Dee Dee Walter) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 02:45:00 +0000

Hello everyone and welcome to our family's blog.

I decided to start this blog so that we can all keep in touch and keep apprised of the things that are going on in the family. Not really personal things, not to worry, but things that would be nice to know. You know!

Anyway, feel free to post here and send me an email if you have something that you would like posted on our blog page. I will highlight birthdays,(only the month) anniversaries and anything that we feel is pertinent.

So sit back, enjoy, laugh, share and love!

Love you all immensely!

Darylles (Dee Dee) Walter

My email address is: crafdeecorner1@yahoo.com