Home Owners Associations...My POV

 Everyone has their own point of view about this or that, and I am no different. I have a very distinct opinion on homeowner associations because I've been on both sides of that issue. I've owned a home in one, and I've owned homes that are not in them. Let me just say, I prefer them. It's a matter of neatness, not necessarily uniformity. Can they go too far? Yes, absolutely, and that's when the homeowners form an alliance to either sue the HOA to force them to change or move and find one that better suits their needs.

    I understand that not everyone can adjust to the often stringent requirements set out by some of the HOAs that exist. To be honest, there are some that step way over the proverbial lines, and they do impose their way onto the people who spent their personal hard-earned cash on a home that happens to be inside that particular HOA. BUT..and this is a  HUGE one; the homeowner, or would-be owner, knew the rules before deciding to live in that HOA. I don't ever remember hearing of an HOA that cropped up after a neighborhood was established. I could be wrong.

    The most annoying rule that I ever ran across was that no flag could be flown on or around the outside of the house, and that included the American flag. We got away with it by forcing them to recognize the First Amendment, but it wasn't easy to do. Their reasoning was to keep down banners for rivaling teams, states, and countries, and to not cause an issue. I understand that, but no one will ever tell me I can't fly Old Glory. That won't happen. They allowed it as long as it was attached to the house or gate and was no bigger than 15" or something like that. I'm OK with a compromise. I kept my OU flag inside the house and hung my "Blue Star Mom" flag in a window.

    Most of the time, HOAs are there to keep the lawns straightened, cut, and cleaned. They are not there to lord over people, or to make them feel uncomfortable. Often times the units will have a similar look, so they want to maintain that for aesthetics as well as for maintaining the valuation of a home. Property values will decrease if a wayward neighbor has painted their garage a bright pink and their house trim a mustard yellow; or if they have 6 cars in the drive, two that are jacked up on concrete blocks, uncut grass, and vines that look like the Amazon rainforest in their front and back yards. Face it, when someone next door to you has a broken panel in their window, a few slats of wood missing from their fence, and plays their music 24/7 from a loud boom box, it's good to know there are rules and guidelines you could have imposed if you were in an HOA.

    Another reason, and perhaps the #1 reason I like living in an HOA is the fact that my fees literally pay for the insurance of my home from the studs out to the air. All contents and even the drywall are my responsibility, and they do have insurance for condos for that reason, but they have to pay for any hail, wind, fire, water, or vandalism damage that takes place outside the house and the roof. That alone is usually 70% of the fee. The rest (in most cases) pay for things like water, sewer, garbage pick up, and lawn maintenance. If there is a pool it pays for that. If there is security patrol or cameras being monitored, it pays for that. I'm good.

    If I had to pay $2100 a year for insurance but could save 70% that's a $14,700 savings, and the rest is about what I would end up paying for renters or condo insurance. Now, why would I say I save 70% of the $2100 if I pay the HOA fee? Why not the whole thing? Because it's only from the studs out - - I'm still responsible for the contents, the drywall, any specialty tile, carpet, etc.  I may have to pay $600 a year for that. My water/sewer bill would have been $60, my garbage would have been about the same, and to have someone maintain the lawns, pool, security, and cameras for that little money...yeah, I'm good. I know I've said that, but I am...I am OK with paying $220-250 a month knowing my exterior insurance is paid, my lawn will be cut, my house is watched, my water and garbage are paid, and I have a nice pool to use in the summer.

    Some HOAs do not have pools, security, or cameras, and some don't pay for water. You'll need to know your association to see what they cover.  If it's too much, don't live there. If they raise it, it's likely because it happens...inflation happens. Why people continue to complain about inflation is beyond me. We're not going to change it, it is going to happen. We need to just move forward; if at all possible. I know it's a hassle, it's terrible, but it really is JUST a first-world issue, and thank God, you live in the first-world right now. It could be so much worse. Look, I'm writing about the woes and cons of homeowner associations, not about bombs, insurgency, or war. There's a reason we are called blessed.

    Since I'm being so kind and sweet to the HOAs, I'll go ahead and talk a bit about the two times (besides the flag thing) that I had to complain about and felt that I had a right to do so.  When I moved into a condo as a renter, not a buyer, I was told I could have my two dogs and my two cats. The owner of the unit paid the fees and he never mentioned my animals to the HOA. I got a letter asking me to find homes for two of my pets, and I declined to do so. They fined the owner, and then he asked me to do the same, and I told him no. I had them when I went under lease. I was not renewed for the lease, as you can imagine, but it was a problem. I wouldn't have moved there in the first place if I had been told the rules. 

    The 2nd time was when my son had returned from Iraq and needed to blow off a lot of steam!  He had a big tractor tire that he bought and then brought to my place because it had a bit of a slope leading up from the road to my driveway. He and his Army buddy were rolling and flipping the tire over and over and we were reported to the HOA by a nosy neighbor.  I asked my son to put on his uniform, (not the fancy one) and when he did, NO ONE COMPLAINED...well, he complained, because it was really hot.  After the third time of wearing his camo, he took them off and went back to his shorts and tank.  Again, no one complained, in fact, several neighbors came by to either thank him or to watch him.

    HOAs are not the big bad wolf or the Lords that some think they are. They are there to keep peace, regulate, and be sure that nothing gets too far out of hand. If we had been asked to stop rolling the tire, we would have stopped. On that particular HOA, we were located (or situated) on the 10th hole of a great golf course in Indiana. We were not allowed to walk the golf course unless we were members, but we did anyway. I think we were reported twice; nothing happened. They just asked us to not make noise, not to approach golfers, that sort of thing. We adhered. It's not as if we were banned, fined, or cast out.  Most of these places have reason; they use reason. 

    All this being said, I am sure there are some horror stories out there about HOAs and how they completely restrict you from doing what you want to do. This is Halloween and one of the HOA rules in a neighboring association, not ours, is that kids from the association can trick-or-treat, but not others. They literally pass out passes to wear on their costumes. That's a bit too much, I would have to have something to say about something like that, but the underlying reasoning is valid. It is a more uppity posh hood and they don't want it to be trashed. During the Pandemic they even shut the gates and had a sign that read "No Trick-or-Treating is to be done in the HOA due to health reasons". (That was 2022!! A year after 90% of the lifts.)

    There you have it, my opinion. I would rather be in an HOA that was respectful and flexible than to be in one that is not, or to not be in one. It just makes sense to me. Whether or not it makes sense to you is a you-thing. You decide. Have a bright and cheery experience or go home...well, you know, move your home. 

Photo Credit: SimpleShowing.com

    

    

Pinterest and Menu Making

 I learned about Pinterest in 2014.  I was flat amazed. I can't even tell you how my brain took in all the information. To think that I could just go to one place, just one site, and put in literally anything possible and it would show up, was just out of this world crazy. Naturally, because I like to cook and eat food, I started there. I put in the words "chocolate" and "cake" and when 1498 different cakes popped up with 40,891 ways to make them; you know I was hooked. 

    Since that day I have literally used Pinterest to look up and to look at just about everything under the Sun. I use it very often for my menu planning, which assists with my grocery lists, and because I'm really frugal and like to do things as inexpensively as possible, but still get good quality, I love the suggestions I find on Pinterest.  I absolutely cannot overstate how very useful this site is for planning your weekly meals.

    What I've taken to doing now, after years of choosing relatively similar recipes over and over again, is to literally copy the recipes onto 3x5 cards, and yes, I am laminating them. I'm such a dork, but I don't mind being one. I know that I'll have my little cards separated in their box by categories such as: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, and then subcategories such as: Chicken, Beef, Fish, Other Meats, and Vegetable dishes. Then I'll have the side dishes, which may or may not be separated by colors: greens, whites, yellows, etc. I'll probably do: corn, rice, potato, leafy, and other.

    For desserts, of course, I'll do: cakes, cookies, pastries, candies, and others. God knows I'm going to find just as many of those to do as I do entrees. I don't use sugar, I cook with monk fruit, so I can have just about as many desserts as I dang well, please. I like that fact. I cook as if I was pre-diabetic (even though I am not) so that I never become diabetic; which I know is not the only factor, but it's a big one. I was just seen by my doctor who confirmed that I'm not pre-diabetic, but she did commend me for my eating habits, so I was pretty happy about that. 

    Pinterest helps me to choose different foods, types of dishes, colors, textures, and even flavors. I decided at the beginning of the week to not have the same things over and over again. I don't like getting into ruts. It's not fun, and Pinterest is free. I like it. I think making the little cards will help me to stay on track calorie-wise, portion-wise, and really just all-around-wise. It's a good thing. What I do is write out all the things I'm going to have that week, and then I make a grocery list using only the things I need. This helps me to not buy things I'll end up throwing out.

    I will say that I often buy things that I end up throwing out. That's been my problem for years. If there is one thing that Pinterest has helped me to do, it's to stay focused at the store, and therefore at home. I don't have that much waste, and what I end up putting in the fridge for the next meal (say lunch the next day) is generally a smaller portion than I would eat if I went to a restaurant. This helps me to lose weight, maintain weight, etc. It's a great plan - - and I'm really super happy it's working for me. I would say I hope it works for you too, but I don't know if I'll ever find out if you try it!! If you try it, I hope it works out for you too!!

    Sunday's pork roast with carrots, potatoes, and onions will be cooked in broth and apple juice. That's really cool and different. I'll have a green side salad with feta cheese and vinaigrette dressing, and for dessert, I'm making cherry tarts.  For breakfast this Saturday I'm making a tater-tot sausage casserole and we'll have a cup of coffee and a glass of cranberry juice (juiced in the juicer with apple juice). So good. When you buy cranberries in the bag and you juice them, you can then use the silt that comes off of them to make bran muffins! OMG...it just goes on and on. 

    Well, that's about it, it's my fun, but I will always share my thoughts. No extra charge!! You deserve the best!!

Photo Credit: Pinterest

Plan C...Because I Have One.

 From about February to April, just a couple of months, I worked for an idiot who thought he could both control me and try and get me to do unethical things such as not helping those who weren't "like us".  It didn't take me long to figure this guy out. I had a plan though; if I quit I wouldn't get unemployment. If I got unemployment, I could stay home, apply for great jobs, or even train for an even better job. That's what I did. I managed to piss the man off enough that he fired me. Then, because I could, I added his image and personality (as well as most of his actual name) to my next murder novel. He was killed, fileted, and fed to pigs; how's that for getting back at the boss without actually doing any physical harm? I can't be arrested for it!! 

    Plan A was to stay on unemployment the entire five months, train to become a Claims Adjuster, and by the end of the five months, hurricane season would be upon us. I would use my new skills to obtain a great entry-level position and make much more money than I did working for that man anyway. Claims Adjusters make really good money. If you didn't know, maybe you should look into it. HOWEVER, that all being said, it wasn't as easily done as it was easily said (or thought). I did actually get all of my licenses. I am an actual Claims Adjuster, but I'm not employed yet, and it's been six months.

    With my unemployment gone, I have to find actual work now, and the hurricane season in the USA didn't exactly amount to much. Most claims positions are for those who have experience. A newbie like me only gets hired during catastrophic events; this is sad, but it's true. We rarely ever get picked up without having at least a year's experience. How is someone supposed to get that experience? They get hired by a company such as State Farm, Progressive, Allstate, and others, and they train them, and use them as backups, giving them experience during fast and furious times. A person can work 12-hour shifts 7 days a week, but make bank doing it. Some people make $500 or more a day. Good money, right? If you can get hired.

    I went through the Pilot Auto Academy to learn how to estimate cars. I took the State Farm certification tests, and I paid to be licensed in nine other states other than my home state. I was told if I did that, I would be a shoo-in - - IF there was a big enough storm to warrant hiring me. I was literally (and still am) on over 20 storm rosters, just waiting to be hired by Eberl, Pilot, American Family, CNC, Crawford, Allcat, Renfroe, and others. NO ONE HIRED ME.

    Well, OK, it's time to think it over and do the next best thing; Plan B.  Instead of learning just how to estimate cars, I decided to learn how to also estimate property. This means houses, buildings, interiors, and exteriors of these and others, and it is a pay hike as well. If I can go into the field I can make even more. Some of these field adjusters pull in over $200,000.00 a year. I didn't see that happening, but the average person pulls in $80,000.00 a year, and that's not bad.  Plan B it was. I am now learning Xactimate, the software one needs to be a successful property estimator.

    The problem is, no one wants to HELP YOU do that. You have to do it all on your own, and once you do that, take the certifications, and get your own Xactimate subscription, suddenly they come out of the woodwork to offer you meager and low wages that a person who didn't have the training may be interested in. No, thank you. I've decided on Plan C.  MY PLAN...MY WAY...and they can either pay me what I demand or not, I really don't care.

    I'm going to go back to work for the State, but I'm not telling anyone which department I'll be working in because I don't need or want the hassles. I'll say this, I am an investigator. I've been an investigator for years, and they appreciated me right up to the time the director wanted me to be unethical. I refused, and he fired me. That was in 2016.  This was a complete guy, but he fired me for the same thing - - I didn't have to murder him in one of my novels, but I may later. God decided to take the man home, and those who worked in that agency remembered me from years back, and they called me to see if I could come back and work with them. THEY appreciated my honesty. THEY appreciated my ethical manners. I accepted.

    So, Plan C.  I will work for the State. I will receive adequate pay. I will receive good if not great insurance benefits, and I will be working primarily from home in my jammies. I will have to do some face-to-face interviews, so I'll throw on clothes at that point. For the most part, I'll work 8-5 Monday through Friday, and do the claims stuff on the side; after hours, on weekends, etc. Believe me when I say once I've got the training down I'll be 100% ready to do 3-5 claims a week and charge $200 each time. If the clients don't want to pay that, they can find another estimator. That's the best thing about working on your own and NOT needing their money.

    The State job won't start until around 11/6 so I can both study Xactimate, take the certification exams, and be ready to go.  I can possibly crank out another novel! Ha! You just never know...maybe it will be about those employers who think they can hang people over the cliff, dangling them with promises of being hired, all the while talking in their Zoom meetings about how many people they ghosted! IF that were the case, you can bet the "hero" of my book will find a few pigs, sharpen his or her blades, and spell their names correctly in his/her little black book - - which could be paisley if he or she wanted it to be.  Just sayin'.

    

Photo Credit: Treehugger.com

    

The Kitchen Junk Drawer. (or both of them)

 Almost every house has one. I have two. I know, I know, I'm one of those overachievers, it's true. I have two kitchen junk drawers. I put more "useful" junk in one of the drawers and less useful things in another. I have no idea how I actually choose to separate them, except that when I first put the item into one of the two drawers, I must make some sort of mental decision about whether I'll use it again, when I may use, it or if it just isn't bad enough to throw out...yet.

    I'm planning my exit strategy a bit early, and in doing so I'm taking notes as to what I will take with me when I move. I will likely not take much of anything from the junk drawers because my daughter will need whatever is in them when I do leave. I say that I have no idea what she'll need. What I have done is go to Pinterest and see what the experts (if there are junk drawer experts) say about organizing the messy chaos so that I can either narrow my needs down, throw out what I don't really need, or maybe just .... God forbid, do away with having a junk drawer; but I'm not sure that's even possible. 

    My new place will be so well organized that people will think I'm actually OCD. I'm not, but my place will be neat.  I'm buying literally everything the Pinterest gurus say I need. I'm excited about it. I'm getting drawer spacers, cabinet dividers, modules to put things on, space-saving wire things to hang things on, and I'm just too excited about it. I have about 50 food containers and I'm taking them with me. I'll need more baskets...I love little kitchen storage baskets.  

    I found a few things to help me organize my refrigerator too; a ziplock storage holder! WHAT? Yes, it's true.  One thing I saw that will save space in the freezer, is to put your meat into ziplock-type bags, flatten the meat, then stack them. Boom! I will likely only have 4 mugs, 4 plates, 4 saucers, and cutlery for 4. I'll likely have only a few kitchen towels, mitts, etc., as well, since it's just me. I'll have a washing machine, I can wash the towels. I'll even probably just do my own dishes....just sayin'.

    I looked into my first kitchen drawer and made a list of several things I have. We all have these things in our junk drawers. Pens, pencils, Sharpies, tape, wrapping ribbon, twine, scissors, a tape measure, pencil sharpener, nail file, batteries, measuring tape, bookmarker, watch, chain, flash drive, cards, dice, sewing kit, highlighters, wire, glue, a ruler, a lighter or two, and some other stuff. You get the picture. In the OTHER drawer, the one I say has the useful things, I have screws, tools, a hammer, more scissors, more glue, a corkscrew, electric hand blender blades, a small socket set, and a knife sharpener...and other stuff.

    I know you can relate. I bet as you were reading that you added to the list, and you thought "Yep, that's me" a few times. I don't have a spool of thread; my friend pointed that out to me. I don't have a pocket knife either. I've decided to get a little toolbox when I move and keep a small set of tools in it.  I'll get one drawer organizer and put the junk stuff in it, but I'll use the toolbox for the other. It will be kept in the garage or under the sink. Good plan.  I'm making plans for a house I'll buy in about six months. My plans have plans. My notes have notes.

    I've also been Pinteresting things today to see if they work. I put baking soda and peroxide on my old baking pan for 15 minutes and nothing happened. I'll add vinegar to it tonight and let it soak overnight to see if it does any better. I hope it does. I mean, I could also go out and buy new pans. It's OK...I can do that. I just haven't in something like 20+ years, that's all. I did recently break my 25-year-old crockpot liner, the crock bowl part...shattered into about 12 pieces when I was washing it. All three of my kids have volunteered to buy me a new one for my birthday. You gotta love kids who know you THAT well.

    My birthday is in about four weeks. I'll let them decide who will buy what. I need: 

• Crockpot
• Over the sink dish rack
• Drawer organizers for spices, junk drawer, cutlery
• Pantry baskets
• Refrigerator organizers
• New journals 

My kids are the best...the BEST....I would never ever trade them or sell them. I like them very much. Well, that's about it. Just making plans to make plans. Someone has to; those drawers are not going to organize themselves.

Photo Credit: It's a Southern Thing.

    

    

My Blood Work.

 I'm titling this blog "My Blood Work" because it is the journey I took, and the results I received, as opposed to anyone else.  I really hate it when I blog and then those who feel that they need to correct everyone send me emails saying that I'm wrong because...and they try to explain to me why it is that my personal experience isn't what should have happened. Don't bother, I delete negative feedback. Sorry, if that seems harsh, it's not meant to be. I just don't have time for nonsense.  What happens to me happens, whether or not it fits into their bubble or box.

    I hadn't had my blood work done officially or professionally since I had my last baby, which was in 1990. (Geez, she's really old, huh?) I have gone to the hospital for surgery, and you'd think they'd run tests at that time, but they didn't. They only took blood to see if I had any infections I think.  I think they may have asked me if I was pregnant, but that would have only caused me to laugh and I was in such pain over my gall bladder, that I think they must have refrained from asking such things.

    So, last week, because I could, (and this is hilarious because I've had insurance in the past) I decided to do the whole full panel blood work thing, which also included a physical and a urine test. I opted out of the pap and mamo, I'll do that another time. I wanted to do the bloodwork because I'm about to turn 62 and hadn't ever had my cholesterol checked. I have heavy-set friends, thin friends, and average friends (and family) all saying they think I should have my numbers run to see where I am. People think if you have high cholesterol you must be overweight. This is so not true.

    My good friend who can be called "thin" if not thinner still, has extreme issues with her cholesterol. My good friend who is quite heavy does as well, but you can't go around saying that all heavy people have higher cholesterol. It's just not true. Since I hadn't had it done I thought I'd go ahead and do it. It can't hurt anything, and in fact, it can only help. If I found out my numbers were off I would know what to do to make them go back into place.  Well, here's what they found.

    My "Total" was 202.  It's supposed to be under 200, so I'm right there. Slightly over. I'll work on that.  My "good", or HDL number was 49 and it should be 50 or higher. Again, I'll work on that. My "bad", or LDL number was 140, and that's the one that needs the most work. The better levels are at 100 or lower. That's where I have to really see a difference, but it wasn't in the "danger" zone, and barely showing up in the "risk" zone. At my age, it's normal, but I prefer it to be lower if it's supposed to be lower.  They did tell me I was overweight, and I knew that. Since about January of this year, I've been adding weight; it could be because I wasn't doing as much exercise, and it could be because I've written four books since then, and spend too much time sitting down.

    Plan of action? Sure. What I found to be really interesting was the diet plan I was given is the diet plan I am currently on now. In fact, they told me to eat more beans and I'm literally cooking them for lunch now!  (Hint: soak them 48 hours before cooking them 15 hours on low in the crock pot.) I will admit that I've not been as straightforward with it as I should be, but nothing too crazy. I need to cut out the fattier meats, add more fiber, and take a Vitamin D supplement. I already use psyllium husk, but not as regularly as I did before the first of the year. I also have increased my bacon intake since January, and that's probably not the best thing. I can do turkey bacon, I'm good. Again, there was nothing too severe going on, but it was funny when I saw the diet and thought to myself, "OK, this is what I buy now, I guess I'll just stop eating bacon, maybe take the hazel nuts out of my trail mix, and walk another 1/2 mile every day."  

    I will be 100% honest. I stopped the exercise program I had last year only because I was writing. I can pick that up again. I need to lose the same 30 pounds I had to lose before, and if I can get a grip on that I can all but guarantee the numbers will fall into place. Still, I'm pretty happy with the overall results. I do drink about 100 ounces of water, lemon water, and/or cucumber water every day, so I'm pretty flushed out; this is good. My Vitamin C levels were excellent. Woot!!  I watch a lot of Perry Mason, so I guess I can exercise during that, and I can walk around the complex again. My dog will be happy - - I think. She's only good for about a mile, then she putz out on me. Damn dog.

    The bottom line is if you think you need to get your bloodwork done, do that. My heart rate was actually higher than it normally is, but I had just walked up a couple of flights of stairs and watched a few videos on the Israeli war. I can stop doing that too; not the stairs thing, that's a good thing. I normally hoover around 110/80 or 120/80 at the most, and it was 140/74, so I need to meditate more...walk the stairs instead of running them, and limit my intake of the catastrophes that are taking place around us. Good plan....good.

Photo Credit: Me.

    

    

    

    

    

Book 10! PUBLISHED!! WOOT!!

 OK, so when you see the photo at the bottom of the page you're going to count the books and say, "There's only 8 books", however, there are two books that I've written that I don't have published through Ingram Spark. One of them, "With a Little Faith" may never be published again. It was a book I wrote, (my first, in fact) as a means of getting my emotions out of my body and head. It was therapeutic at best, and after this long, I can say that it may be, or could be considered an "ex-husband bashing" book. That being said, I didn't write 1/10 of what actually happened in my marriage to that man, so I could have been so so so so very much worse than I was. Just sayin'. I stand by what I wrote in the book, it's just that it may not be the best representation of what I should have done. I pulled the book; I may rewrite it, but I doubt I will.

    The other book, "Faith Alone, Stories of an Amazing Dog" was written as a chapter-type book for kids to read one chapter at a time. It has been translated into a few languages. Many teachers have this book in their classes and they use various chapters for examples of how a person could and should learn life lessons from a little yellow dog.  She's a rock star. It's not with Ingram, I don't need it to be at this time. If someone buys it, they buy it. I don't promote it. I promote the other eight books that are with Ingram Spark.

    My first book with Ingram Spark was "Jude's Almost Daily Blog Book" (The first one) I wrote it using Palmetto as a publisher, and they used Ingram Spark for print and publishing. I assume Palmetto still gets money when the book is sold, I have no idea. I would prefer it to go to Ingram Spark. I use them exclusively at this point. My next books were "Of Kilted Pleasure", my first romance novel, and "Jude's Almost Daily Blog Book 2".  "Of Kilted Pleasure" was published through Xlibris as well, but I took it back. I paid something close to $1500 for that book to be published, and they screwed it up. All of my books have errors in them, and most of the errors are not my fault, but I can't really change them without a huge hassle or having to dole out more cash! I'm not willing to do so, I hope people don't mind me being human.

    After I realized that I didn't have to pay anyone to write, format, edit, upload, or design my book and cover, I wrote more books. I've always had these books in my head, but because it costs so much to publish when you go through a publisher, I was limited as to what I could do. Now, because I know it's free, I'll be writing a lot more. I'll publish a lot more. This is a good thing. I'm a really happy person.

    Ingram Spark is hard to work with in some ways, I'm not going to lie about that. They don't call you, they email only, and they don't always answer your questions, so you have to email two or three times to get the right answer. Sometimes that takes days and it really delays things.  I hate it, but it is free. I have to remind myself of that fact.  Also, they make a mistake and it takes weeks to fix, such as uploading my file and saying it has -1 pages. I can't get the book processed until it is correctly paginated, but I can't do that until they release it, and it's a mess. It happened twice, two separate times, and I was forced to wait three weeks on one, and four weeks on the other.

    With Ingram Sparks, I have 8 books published and ready on Amazon in about a week's time. Two are romance books, two are murder books, two are blog books, and one is a biography while the other is a poetry book. I'll say this, I'm pretty happy about it. I don't like that one of my romance books, Edinburgh, is a 5x8 rather than a 6x9 book, but again, it was something I did, not them. I didn't want to mess it up further by trying to redo the PDF. It also has 2 random blank pages in it; both follow the end of a chapter, but it is upsetting that it's a full blank page and I can't remove it. I mean, I may figure out how to do it, but I don't want to mess up the interior.

    We live, we learn. If the books get to the point that they are selling like hotcakes I'll have it corrected, or maybe I'll just say I did it on purpose so people had a place to write notes....lol.

Photo Credit: ME.

    

Waiting on Life to Happen.

 The title is a bit misleading, I don't wait for life. I usually go out and get it. This time, I've done all I can do, and now I have to wait. I am not sitting still and waiting, I'm moving around, exercising, working out, walking, praying, eating, and reading, but I can't do more to make the various companies I've applied to do more than what they are doing. I want one in particular to call me today and say they'll hire me next week. That's what I want, but that doesn't happen these days. You have to jump through a few ridiculous hoops first; even after they tell you you're chosen.

    I won't say who they are, but there is a MAJOR claims company that is interviewing me, and we've gone past the 2nd interview stage. They had a writing sample requirement, and I did that yesterday. They sent me the information, the estimate, the photos, and the mock inspection. I had to fill in two portions of the written document. I had to give a general synopsis and then write up what I think happened using the photos and information given. There's really no wrong answer, but they want to see how you write, what you think is pertinent, and so forth.

    I really think I did a good job; I reread what I wrote before sending it. I did make one small error and I was upset about it, but then today they wrote to me and said they couldn't open their own Google Doc and wanted to know if I could send it back to them using Word. OK!!! I made the change of course, but I did tell them I made the change. You know, it could have been a test to see if I can change Google Docs into Word attachments. I wanted them to know I do know how to do that, and I made a change.  I meant to say "detach" and I said "detect", but you know, if you are capable of detecting a toilet it's a good thing!!

    Now, all I can do is wait. I'm the only person (they said) in the state of Oklahoma who will do what I do for their company. That's a lot of responsibility, but I love it. I am up for the challenges and the rewards. I don't have to be pushed, I'll push myself. I always do. I am the motivator in my life. I can't imagine not being able to kick my own butt when I need to. I have friends and acquaintances who just simply can't get up off their own ass to save themselves. They watch life pass them, I can't do that. I have never been able to do that. I make things happen.

    So, while I wait, I also apply for other jobs. You can't expect one to work out and then wait too long hoping. I put six weeks into waiting on a great claims company who swore they wanted me; but hey, if you want me...hire me. Six weeks and just yesterday they wrote to say they don't have any openings. Well, good thing I didn't put all my hopes in them; I applied at 11 other companies. I've interviewed with two. I am not going to wait for people to fulfill my needs. I have God for that. Prayer is real, and it does work.

    The same thing goes with my publisher. I have eight books with them, and still can't get the last two processed. It's always one thing after another. One mistake on each book was my fault, I admit that, but neither mistake could have or should have taken four weeks to process. THEY, the publisher, had my books (both of them) page count as -1.  NO WAY I'm writing that my book has -1 pages. One has 361 and the other has 398. The one that is 361 had to be an even number, and THEY didn't tell me that. It sat there in their waiting queue for four stupid weeks because they couldn't do their job and write to me to say it needed to be changed, but I couldn't change it. They have to release it so I can. THEY screwed up. I did need to upload the interior of my book again, but I can't do that until they release the process, and it took four weeks. 

    By the time they got one finished, I had another book waiting to be published. They did the same thing with that book, and I  nailed them. I wrote to them every single day until something happened. I wasn't willing to wait for them to get back to me. I flooded their supervisor's email until he/she wrote to me and said they would take care of it. You can't wait on people; people will let you wait. MAKE life happen. Get in there and nudge them if they need nudging. We have too many face-to-phone younger generational people working in the job market who are too busy keeping up with their social media to do their jobs. FORCE IT when you need to. Wake someone up and help them do their job if you need them to. Let them hang someone else's time, but not yours.

    I know that attitude isn't always popular, but I'm a leader, and I get in there with my people. I don't expect them to do anything I wouldn't do. The waiting game is something I can't control, but I can be productive during it.

Photo Credit: The Conversation

    

Times Are Changing!!

 It's a crazy and mixed-up world we live in currently. Not only are there wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes in various places, and everyone running to and fro, but we have Russia, Turkey, Iran, and literally EVERY other nation mentioned (by name) going against Israel and/or protesting the situation. The nations mentioned in the Bible, of course, use their old ancient names, but they are in fact, the same nations that are now doing exactly what God said they would do.  Can you even imagine the odds on that one?  

    Recently, someone in California (supposedly) won the biggest lottery in the history of the game. It was, they tell us, someone who literally only bought one $2 ticket. What again, are the odds? Well, to be perfectly honest with you, it's more likely that you or I would win three or four of these types of lotteries all in a row, than for the Bible to be wrong.  Let me explain. 

    When God inspired men/women to write the books of the Bible about 2/3 of it was prophecy. That's one out of every 3 verses if you want to think of it that way. LITERALLY, every last one of these prophecies that have come to pass, that was written, canonized, published, printed, and purchased, have been 100% on the nose correct with zero room for negotiation. Try that in any other religious or so-called holy script.  ONLY the Bible has been 100% correct. If it has been 100% correct thus far, what do you think the chances of it being 100% correct about Damascus being utterly destroyed to the point that no man lives in it; nor will they ever again. Listen, Damascus is still there today...but it will be blown off the face of the Earth; destroyed. How do I know? God said so, through the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 17 verse 1. You don't have to believe it, but I do.

    There are other prophecies that will happen soon as well; those pertaining to end times and those pertaining to the rapture of the Church. ISRAEL is not the Church. The Catholic Church is not the Church. Let's be 100% clear on that point. Those who love and desire Christ as their Savior, they are the Church. We are the Church. We are not all church-goers. We are not people who don't sin. QUITE the opposite. Let it be known to all that we all sin, every last one of us, but HE, Jesus died for us, and forgave us of those sins. His blood covers them. There is NO MORE need for blood sacrifices. You can't get better than the blood of Jesus. It is FINISHED, His words.

    We are not in the Ezekiel 38 war yet. For that to happen America will need to be gutted, taken out, destroyed, or otherwise captive. We are still here, as of today. When the RAPTURE of the Church comes, a lot (sadly, not all) of the Americans, will be taken. We will not be alone. Many around the world, of course, are Christians. When the Christians are gone, it will be so much easier for corruption to take place. I'm over generalizing of course, but America is currently divided. Think of the one side that will be taken, those who are conservative, love God, still think He is King, and have an obligation to uphold His word.  

    If that side is taken, and about 49% of the nation is left, think also that 100% of the children under the age of accountability are being taken. Now, that leaves America with about 27% of its people. Let's take it further and say there are 15% of those who lean to the right who are not Christian, and about 15% of the people who lean left are Christian, they wash out. Now, how about those with special needs who are unable to make decisions about wrong and right...guess what, they go up too.  America then will be left with about 24% of its people....some will be in the military, but a great deal of the military will be gone.

    It's easy now to see that America is no longer a strong power. Let's say at the SAME TIME of the Rapture there is an explosion and Yellowstone is taken out, or there's a massive EMP, something caused by Russians, or maybe ALIENS!!!  However you want to think about it, America must be depleted before the Ezekiel 38 war can take place. We're in the end times, yes, but not Ezekiel 38, not yet. HOWEVER, we are seeing the beginnings of it, and the setup of it, so we know we're that much closer, and if we're that much closer - - then the RAPTURE is that much closer too. (I know, it's quite profound, but it had to be said.)

    WHAT TO DO?  Oh, well, that's easy. Get your "house" in order and accept Jesus as your Savior. If He wrote the book through 66 men/women who didn't know each other and they still got it all correct - - you can bet He's telling the truth and He will keep His word. For all, all, all, everyone, who accepts Him, and truly repents of their sin, will be taken in the Rapture dead or alive...dead first. It's a thing...another promise. (although it really is only a matter of a split-second difference)

WHAT TO DO TO BE SAVED:

A = Acknowledge who you are; a sinner. YOU sin. Know that. You can't be perfect and come to God, we are not perfect. All of us have sin.

B = Believe that He is the risen Son of the Living God. There is no other god; no Allah, Buddha, Raj, or any other. ONLY Yashua (spelling may vary)  HE is Lord. 

C = Confess your sin. You know them. If you don't know them but know you have sinned, confess that. You don't need to go to church to do it.  You tell Jesus! You speak to Him just like you're talking to your friend. Ask Him into your life, into your heart. You don't have to close your eyes, you don't have to be on your knees. TALK to Him. He's waiting.

Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he will not see the Kingdom of God". What He meant was, to be born of the Spirit, through your confession and your belief. You don't even have to be baptized. Know you are a sinner, know you can't get to Heaven without Him, accept Him. That simple. He promised He would come into your heart and clean up your soul, then keep it. He promised!! He can't lie. 

    

Photo Credit: WELS.com

The Last Hour of Life

 Today we had an Emergency Alert Service test happen at 1:20 p.m. Central. I turned my phone off just in case it was more than what the Government was telling us. I didn't want to hear the loud alert, and I didn't want my phone to be pinged or subjected to anything; I just turned it off.  Leading up to the alert there were literally millions of folks with different thoughts about it. I had my opinions too. I'm sure that my thoughts will differ from those of others, and I promise to be respectful of their thoughts. I hope they are respectful of me.

    I think it was a way for the Federal Government to take a bit of control and do something that yes, alerts us, but did they really need to test it? Some say it's a requirement every three years; this was the 2nd time in 2 1/2 years, so I guess that's within reason. I think they do it to see who will comply, who will dissent, who will panic, and who pay attention; so many reasons. 

    What about those who do not know about it? They're driving down the road and get surprised. They could cause an accident. They could literally kill themselves or others just to see if the test is going to work or not. I'm not sure how much warning was given, but that's another test, isn't it? We have over 300,000,000 people in the country, and likely as many if not more phones! Some people have two or even three phones. I've heard that people have one for domestic violence purposes, but I know there are those who have them for "business" and pleasure as well.

    If 300,000,000 phones sound off at the same time, there's going to be a problem no matter how much warning is given. I liked how the Government flatly stated that they would be searching for or being alerted to "hidden phones" through the test. What data is needed for that? Why would the Government need or care about someone's 2nd or 3rd phone? Terrorists? No... an invasion of privacy. Control. Anyway, I have two phones because I paid for one and bought another one; a better one. I don't have them both activated, but I could. I could use one for my social media and one for privacy. 

    Other thoughts? It was daunting how so many people threw out conspiracy theories about 5G and such. Me included. I think it could have been a way to launch it, it is available in some areas, but not all. Perhaps they did that. I don't know, the Starlink and other satellites were saying that they'd run better after today. Makes me think this "test" had something to do with that. It can't just be a test. Nope, they'll use it for something else; they should...it's a vulnerable time, and they would be foolish to think people won't know what's really happening. 

    If I were the bad guy, I would have attacked Yellowstone at that time. I would have caused an EMP. I would have made sure that everyone was off their phones and internet for the time it took to drop the bomb or whatever.  If I think that way, you know others do too. I'm just a fiction writer. Others have done so much worse than what I think - - they make plans. What if this EAS, the Emergency Alert Service was the last thing we knew before the bomb, the EMP, the eruption, the purge? Well, then we need to know what our exit plan is. I know mine. 

    Americans survived the alert, but think about it. If older people didn't know it was happening they could have accidents and/or heart attacks. If there was a short-circuiting event, anyone with a pacemaker should have been given more warning, or a different one. Then there's the whole nano-bot microchip theory; whether it's true or not; we'll not know. We will never know the real truth no matter who believes we will. One side will always say this, and one side will always say that. When you try to look up anything at all, the actual information has been taken down.

    Until Jesus comes back we will not know the TRUTH. He is the TRUTH. He is the way, the light, the life, and our King. That much we do know. There will be those, sometimes including myself, who will believe that what we are being shown or told is not the truth. Pray. Pray about it, let God have it, and move forward. In a nutshell, that's really all we can do anyway. Not one of us is really in a position to take on the entire world. This world is not my home - - I'm just passing through.

    Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com

Let God Sort it Out

     I'm really angry right now. I think recognizing that is important. I'm not happy, and we don't always have to have that particular emotion to survive or even to thrive. I'm really angry. I have a right to be so, and it's OK if I am. Again, I believe having the withal to know this is good.  I was employed from Feb. to Apr. of this year, and I won't add it to my resume because the man I worked for is unethical, he's a liar, a cad, and he doesn't deserve to even be able to say he was my employer. He's perhaps the worst, or at least one of the worst, employers I've ever had.  We had a hearing today, a Tribunal Appeal really; he had failed to show up for the first hearing, and they gave him a 2nd opportunity. He used that opportunity to lie about me. I hate that.

    After the hearing, I wanted to punch him so hard in the balls. I really did. I had to refocus, rethink, meditate, and get back on track. I was the one-off track at that point. I was the one who needed to be realigned. He doesn't belong to me. His spirit doesn't belong to me. I am responsible for myself, not that man. I have two choices at this point; I can let that man hurt me further, or I can pray and get back in with what I know to be right. I will pray not only for myself, but for my former employer, who calls himself a Christian, but obviously falls so far from the mark, he needs God's help. I won't limit God on how that happens anymore than I would tell God how to fix my problems. I let them go! I place them (and that former employer) at God's feet.

    I didn't want to be kind. I didn't want to be nice. I didn't want to remotely seem cordial, but I am not my own. I was bought with a price; the blood of Christ. I am not in charge. I am not the one who decides. What I do matters; because others will see God in me or they won't. I want them to see God in me. I want them to come to Him because they trust what they saw in me. It's not how my human nature wants to respond; but thank you Jesus, I am not alone. I have the Holy Spirit in me literally restraining me from the evil I could do if left on my own.

    When God says to trust Him with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, that is what He's talking about. We aren't to do what we want to do, what we think is best, what we could do that would cause as much damage; we are to let go of the hurt, the pain, and the damage that was done to us. Let God do His miracles without our interruptions. We really don't know what is best; we just want to do what we want to do. NO. We must not let that happen; it never turns out for the best. NEVER.

    The rest of that verse says He will set the path straight. I need that. That's what I need. I need a good straight path right now. The good news is I'm not in charge; ice cream helps too. God made it; it's good. This is me....letting go.

Photo Credit: ThermoWorks.com