Jude's Almost Daily Blog

Frozen in Time - A Different Type of Tundra

2012-01-21T08:37:00.000-08:00

My son Reuben spent the better part of his four years in the United States Army in the greater frontier of Alaska; Fairbanks to be specific. There he must have had a million emotions. I remember him calling me on his 21st birthday telling me how badly it sucked and how he wished to God he had never joined the Army. I'm sure he was upset mostly because of the duty station choices made for him right out of basic. He asked me once what he did to piss the commanding officers off to the point that they gave him that particular duty station. "Why Alaska?", he kept asking, but after a bit longer, and a few more pouting nights, he figured it out. He may not have loved it then, not right there and then, but today he'd give anything to go back. Seems the boy left something up there worth the time it would take to chip ice cycles off his nose again.

We see pictures of the great Northwest and we saw AWWW and OOOOH when we are shown photos of the Northern Lights, their green and pink hues swimming across the sky at night, or maybe what is actually during the day since half the year is spent virtually in the dark that far away. We see the moose, the hills, the mountains, the streams, the first snow, and we think to ourselves how great it would be to travel just once to the area. Maybe we'd take a boat from one little island inlet to the next, see a whale or two jumping out of the dark and ominous abyss. Maybe we could see ourselves as passengers on the little planes with landing gear designed to float on water; maybe we just want to get away from the hassle and hustle of the cities we live in now, and a trip that far away somehow makes sense.

Reuben decided over a year ago that he was unable to fill up the wants and the desires that leave holes in his heart concerning Alaska. Give him the snow, the ice, the cold, the wind. He'll even weather this winter, one of the worst that area has ever seen - - he'll do it BAREFOOT for the chance to find that missing piece, that mishap-shaped hole he created, the one that fits perfectly into the center of his wounded yet beating heart. Reuben left more than a few skivies in the washing machine at Ft. Wainwright, he left the love of his soul. That piece of history cannot be repeated, and it can never be recovered unless it is recovered for good. I miss my old Reuben, I really do. I miss the one that laughed, and cut up, the one that put the JOY in my day. He's somewhere inside that man's body, I can see it every once in a while when he smiles, but then suddenly it disappears again - and it is gone.

I asked him what he dreamed about; just something to pass the time, maybe get him talking again. He told me he dreamed of holding her again, of kissing her. He didn't have to say her name. I knew it. She knows it. He's sorry he left...and I am too. I would give my own son away today if it would do him good to go. I would give him to her and pray for their lives together. Until then, he is a frozen tundra I suppose, suspended in a time much longer to live than most. A time where every minute is an hour and seconds don't even exist. He's just waiting on the Spring to thaw him into something resembling the man he was before he went the first time; but time doesn't work that way son, it never does.

I love you Reuben.

To Fire or Not to Fire

2012-01-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

I'm on the fence right now over the new Kindle Fire. I'm SURE an Apple iPad would do everything I wanted it to do, and probably a million things I had no idea it could do, but I don't want to pay out over $600 for it. I'm waiting on them to go down in price - - and they do. Kindle Fire offers more or less what I need such as reading, viewing, browsing, and watching TV/movies, but the iPad does more of the other things I want, namely e-mailing and editing of documents. Both have a wi-fi dependability that doesn't make me happy. I'd like to have the capability to use the iPad and/or tablet as a passenger in a car without worrying about signal going in and out. There's that. There's also the fact that the Kindle is smaller and easier to put into my purse! AAAGGGGHHHH!! I'm sure something will come along to help me make up my mind.

I was even playing around with the thought of just going without a tablet, but I could use one. I'm forever mistyping on my iPhone because my fingers are just too big, and I can't and won't carry my big laptop with me. It was smaller when I bought it, but now it's a giant compared to the technologies available. It's not that I have to be connected but I like to be. Actually with my job I don't have to be connected whatsoever, I can teach and go home and live in a cave and no one would care unless I didn't show up for work. Next year will be a different matter. I'm going to be teaching online courses and having the tablet will be so much easier than carrying the laptop into Starbucks and setting up shop. I do that, I go to Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, maybe even outside if the weather is nice, and I tell the students where I'll be in case they want to come by and have coffee with me. It will be very necessary next semester to have either the iPad or something like it; so I was hoping that the Kindle Fire would answer these questions for me.

In a few reviews I've found the Kindle Fire is NOT meeting up with the expectations of the purchasers. In one report the owner actually said she would throw the Kindle Fire into her fire if it acted up again. I don't know what she was or wasn't able to achieve with it, but I am NOT a geek - I am a dork. If I have to do more than turn it on and type there could be a problem. The Kindle Fire I'm told, is more for uploading and downloading, or as they say "pulling from the cloud" to give me the tv/movies and books or magazines I want to view. Well, I want to do more than view. I want to interact, design, create, move things around, e-mail, maybe even use it as a camera if it has that capability....how funny would that be, it would mean the return of the larger camera again.

So, it's the iPad for me I guess. Better start putting the pennies away now. Maybe Acer or HP can make something as good. I say this as I remember I have already thrown out a number of LG and Samsung phones with Android capabilities that were suppose to rival my old 3G iPhone. I'm keeping it. Fat fingers or not, it beats the heck out of the touch pads I've been playing with. I guess I answered my own questions. See how rewarding blogging can be? Just imagine if I could do this on the move...and I can, but just not today.

You Just Can't Please Them All

2012-01-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

Laura and I have been the fodder for a young girl's rants online lately, and there really isn't anything we can do about it. She (the girl, we'll call Kate) has a bit of a mental illness and I asked Laura politely once to be kind to her because of it. This would be kinder gesture on my part led to Kate's feelings being hurt and suddenly I'm the "bad guy" online. I've been told by friends and people I don't know that I've been marked and/or targeted by her banter but to be honest I'm not that worried about it. If I had done what she claims I have done some one of authority would have already have stopped me right? Maybe not, maybe I'm that clever...anyway, my point is that I just can't please everyone and so I won't really try that hard to do so. If my gesture was taken as pity it wasn't intended that way.

I'm reminded of the time I drove about 150 miles out of my way to deliver a dog to a woman who, after I had arrived, informed me that I needed to take the dog to the vet for a check up. Then I was asked if it would be too much of a bother to pay for the check up because the lady hadn't actually AGREED to take the dog until she knew it was OK. I smiled. I opened the gate to her yard, let the dog out and waved. For that I received a blasting online about how I abandoned animals. Me, the one person who I know goes all out of whack to be sure I accommodate the fuzzies ones...but it is what it is. I'm sure we have all been there, or have stories about how our good intentions or good deeds backfired.

Today Laura and I went to the barn where she boards her horse and I told my oldest daughter that if Kate were there I wasn't going to be mean or nasty, I wasn't going to ignore her as Laura had suggested, I was just going to be as nice and sweet as I possibly could be so that speaking poorly of me again may be harder on the kid. Who knows, maybe she just didn't want to be treated nicely. Maybe that was my bad, and I should have just let the chips fall. There was (and I am thankful) absolutely no drama! Lots of mud though. We were slinging it, but it was the real mud we were mucking through and not the type you throw with innuendo! Viva la Good Deeds, I say. I believe we should continue to be nice, continue to be sweet, continue to be the great people we were made to be, and if the nay-sayers don't like it, well they can eat a worm...no wait, let's make that a gummi worm. I don't need anyone writing how I was belligerent to the needs and caregiving of our slimy friends in ponds and creeks.

Back to the Chalkboard - Or More Appropriately, the Whiteboard

2012-01-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

So, I'm happy! I woke up happy, and I'll probably stay that way! I am about to start a new semester of teaching Ethics, Philosophy and English! YES! I'm one of THOSE instructors who just loves to get out of bed and teach someone something. It makes my day to see just ONE light bulb pop over a student's head. When the eyes open up, and the mouth drops just a tad - and then, wait for it....the SMILE! They get it! YEA!!! There aren't many teachers and/or professors out there working for the money alone. We wouldn't be doing what we do if we did. Nope, we'd be at the Financial Planning offices downtown, uptown, or on the streets peddling futures. Instead, I'm in the classroom training for the future. Hey, I'm selfish! What can I say? If I can get these guys to open up their minds and take real responsibility I'm that much better off considering they are my future. "Learn them well" as my old Philosophy prof used to say! "Learn them well".

This semester I'm teaching 5 classes: 2 English Comp., 2 Ethics, and 1 Intro to Philosophy. The Philly class is on Saturday mornings from 8-12 so we'll be up and at it before everyone else, just laughing and carrying on. One of the requirements is to bring your breakfast and pour my coffee for me when I get too busy and let it go cold. I'm all about team work. Socrates is one of my favorites to discuss. He and Teddy Roosevelt do as much as they can to teach my students what it is to be both intelligent and responsible with intelligence. If it weren't for Socrates I'd probably be one of those people thinking I knew too much, and perhaps I'd become arrogant as well. Socrates reminds me daily that I probably don't know anything at all really, and to delve too deeply into a subject may reveal to my brain that I was correct in assuming how very little I truly know. Then again, the fact that I want to delve is good - right? I think it is.

Teaching English is much more of a classic instructor's role for me. I'm required by the rules of the college to have the students meet criteria necessary to progress. We prod and trudge through academia on a much more traditional path; no one is asked even once in my English class to stand up and role play their favorite blabbermouth or explorer. We write, read, create, and revise. I like teaching English very much, it brings me back to reality. Reality is a good place to hang out from time to time, but my home is somewhere back in the mind. I'd rather think, dream, believe, and create than be, dare I say, civilized. At least I'm the Fun English Instructor. At least I have the same goals of seeing the students smile and laugh their way through the drudgery of developing outlines or determining how many adjectives should properly be applied to one paragraph. (For the record I require 15 adjectives per paragraph, and 8 sentences minimum)

Today is not a teaching day however. I must go back upstairs and put things away both in my room and in the closets. We've recently moved and though all of the boxes are now properly placed into the correct rooms I am finding that my room is so very hard to move around in. Boxes, bags of clothing, books, shelves, and shoes clutter my way. I put the 12 full boxes of CDs in a hall closet; my iPod holds their content. There will be a day when these plastic pieces will be valuable...like vinyl was. Remember LPs? No? Well, they were awesome. Go forth and learn something today! It will make you feel fantastic.

Green - a Poem

2011-07-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Green the grass rolls yonder
Setting fragrance free
Breezes flower, blooming
Bursting at their seams

Honeysuckle, Daffodils
Roses, creep like Myrtles
Draping. Swing. Mad Willow
Bend and show the world

Bend and show to everyone
The Oak is not so strong
She holds her ground,
But breaks to Wind's harsh song

Sing your songs sweet Sparrow
Counter speak the Doves
Listen Willow, feel them
Hiding in your gloves

Green your leaves drape covering
Busily sweep the air
Not for me to question
Not for me to care

Creep the Myrtles purple
Bloom and give to green
Willows kiss the future
Winter hands off to Spring

-- Jude Stringfellow
2010

Zen Baby, Zen!

2011-06-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's so funny! These babies, they think they can get one over on me. No way. Please, I've been zenning babies since 1986. I have it down to a science. Within a minute or so after I pick a screaming squealing kid that simply won't shut up I can have him or her flat on their backs resting in their cribs and either sound asleep or in that hazy-lazy spot of zen-perfection. Easy stuff. All I have to do is put my little ipod on New Age music, maybe something Celtic, maybe something Oriental with dings and pings and little tinkling bells....that's it. Happy, cool, calm, collected baby. I set the leathery soft over-the-ear headsets on large so they don't fit tightly, but snug enough they can hear it all. I can hear it too, so I turn it down just a notch as not to hurt the tiny eardrums, and before I can say "Highland's March" the baby is out!

I asked Caity to assist me with this project of course before Copeland was even born. When she was 3 or 4 months along I asked her to put the headsets over her belly bump so he could feel the vibrations. I wanted to spend the extra money and get her some wireless headsets but never got around to it. I do watch the cords when I set him down to be sure he's not tangling himself in them. He's gone - - out. I can hear him every now and then cooing something or making a very satisfied sound such as to say "Don't bother me Granny, I'm listening to David Arkenstone at the moment and can't be disturbed." He even moves his arms around like he's conducting. He wants to have his music played for him, he cries for it..literally. If I had to guess I'd say his favorite are the Celtic Christmas tunes or the band 2002, which is more New Age zenny and he likes the harp. That much I know.

So, go on you old-fashioned grannies out there rocking, carrying, pushing, strolling, and driving your grand babies around to shut them up, not me..we zen. We zen, and we zen, and we zen. As soon as he's old enough we'll meditate and I'll take him to a rock store so he can pick out pretty rocks for presents instead of guns and knives. That's just the way it is - - until Reuben brings him something else. Of course I'll get him a football to suck on, as soon as he can hold one.

Happy Daddy's Day

2011-06-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have a father of course, and I want to take a minute and acknowledge him today as it is HIS day. It is Father's Day and he is a wonderful father. He and I didn't (and don't) usually agree on anything whatsoever, but I still consider him to be wise and wonderful. He's fantastic in so many ways. Happy Father's Day Dad!!

I have another father I want to think about today and congratulate. Brandon! My grand baby's father. Brandon is just a young man, a very young man in fact, but he's a daddy, and today is his very first Father's Day. Today he was served his breakfast in bed (thank you Caity) and he was allowed to lay around, not do much, and watch anything he wants to on television - - it's HIS day!! He's choosing to spend his day of course with Caity and Copeland. They're going to go on a walk later on I imagine. It's too wet here in Indy to go to the Zoo, but he'll make up for that soon. He's going to be watching movies with them, playing, and hanging out. I told them about a new trail that Laura and I found, so I'll watch Copeland while he and Caity explore that. It's concrete and doesn't have all the slippery slopes that the nature trails have, so the rain outside shouldn't be too much of a factor. He's not made out of sugar, he won't melt.

So, Happy FIRST Father's Day to Brandon - - he's been a great daddy to Copeland since before he was born and I think he'll be a winner for a very long time. I have to really stand tall on my tippy-toes to hug him, he's about 6'4" but I did manage to get it done!!

Apparently I am Jeff Saturday!

2011-06-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

It must have something to do with the fact that my son loves Jeff Saturday's beard, or because Saturday wears number #63 on his Indianapolis Colts jersey. Whatever the reason is, it is only known to Reuben, but he has donned me to be "Jeff Saturday". Whenever I need to make a point to Reuben I do so by using football analogy. If I can't use a comparison to something dealing with football I try to use the next best thing; war. Somehow football and war are close enough that no matter what my point is, I can usually make it by finding something to relate it to using either of these two subjects. Well, today I was telling my son that I need to be more of a team player, more blended and less noticed. I recently lost another job because I was curious and asked too many questions about how the operations ran -- and in some cases you just can't do that and keep yourself employed. It wasn't as if I was being nosey, I was simply asking why the school I taught at (Brown Mackie College) was allowing students into the school who didn't have the mental capacity to complete the given curriculum ...it's a valid question.

Reuben looked at me from the driver's seat of the car and said "You know Mom, I'm getting a little tired of picking you up early and finding out that you lost your job because you think something isn't legal, or you think something could be done another way. You need to be more ... you need to be more like Jeff Saturday and less like Peyton Manning. Peyton has a right to know what's going on down the field, he's the leader, he's the quarterback, he's the one with the win or lose on his head. YOU, and Jeff Saturday, need to keep your head down, one hand on the ball, one hand on the ready to guard, and listen to full count before making your move. You never know, the QB may just call an audible at the last second." And with that I realized my son was actually being more like me....and I understood everything he was saying to me.

It wasn't that I wanted to cause trouble by asking the administration why they were allowing students into the college who were unable to pay back loans, or the fact that they were letting students into the college who had not even graduated from high school -- I just wanted clarification; and understanding of the situation. What I got was an ejection from the field for being up in the Head Coach's face during a play when I should have been on the field minding my own business. I get it.

Reuben explained that Saturday, as the Center, is in the middle of it. He's strong, quiet, paying attention, forceful but controlled, and he's the one the ball belongs to until he gives it away. I'm suppose to give my knowledge, training, and experience to the students not fuss with the coaches or the managers about the rules of the game. I get it. Besides, Saturday is a Pro-Bowler and he's cute too. I can be cute. I'm not gonna rock a beard like his anytime soon, but I can do this. I can be Jeff Saturday...even if I am Bears fan. I can do this. So....when do I get to be put back in the game?

What an Absolutely Wonderful Day

2011-06-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you, I woke up this morning from an amazing dream about having found new friends and old friends. We were all sitting at a table and talking. It was as if nothing had ever happened between us that was bad - - only good. Steve Carroll was there, don't ask me why, we've never met.

When I'm given the opportunity I try so very hard to make things as positive as they can me. Some of you know I run an EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) workshop when called upon to do so. You can find the site easily at: www.positivepower.weebly.com where I'm asked all the time if EFT really works. Well, this morning I woke up feeling great and I had about a 12 minutes EFT session last night with the dogs before going to bed. Oh, you didn't know? Yes, doing EFT, yoga, anything with dogs can help your meditation -- and theirs. They get petted, you get the stress out of your life. It's a win-win.

So, there I was meditating, candles going, soft Celtic music in my headsets(Not blasting Van Halen when I meditate) and five of the six dogs all around me just breathing and making those "gotta go to bed soon" sounds that dogs make. It just occurred to me that lately I've been sleeping with five of the six dogs and that's not fair. I don't even get the standard 14-inches of my full sized bed now. What is this? Reuben should take his Molly back, and Caity and Brandon should at least call one of their dogs to their room - - wait, I have too many kids living with me too! No wonder I'm using EFT and meditating!! LOL I love my family, I really do. Soon it will happen, and all the kids will go their ways again. It's been great to have them under the same roof this past year. Most families fight about that sort of thing, but thankfully my kids get along, love and help each other. Having Reuben home from the war is absolutely fantastic...can't say enough about that. He'll leave again in October, but it's been great to have him as the man of the house again.

Caity and Brandon of course have their new baby Copeland and within a few months they'll move out. I'm not sure Laura will ever leave me, but she always sleeps with her own dog! LOL...there's that.

So, yes, I woke up, I felt good, I prayed, made coffee, took the kid (Laura) to work, and sat down to write. My book "FAITH WALKS" is finished, and it's now time to get 200 of my blogs together to make another book - - the Blog Book. Appropriately titled "Jude's Almost Daily Blog Book - Volume 1". Should be out by Christmas, should make you laugh...and if not I don't know what I'll do; work a little harder maybe? Gotta run, but let me leave you with this - - the day is what you make it. The hour is what you demand, the minute is what you accept of it, and this second is not to be wasted. Love someone.

Copeland Elijah Wayne Stringfellow

2011-06-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

Caity woke up April 26 with a bit of a pain in her back, but thought she would be sent home if she went up to the hospital to be checked. She had been checked a couple of days beforehand, and was sent home. The nurses told her that Copeland wasn't going to be coming for at least a week, but Caity felt that she was already a week overdue. She was trying to get the nurses to understand that she had made a mistake in her previous calculations - - she felt that the baby was now overdue. (She was right!)

Baby Copeland Elijah Wayne Stringfellow came into the world at exactly 3:26 p.m. weighing just under 9 pounds. He was 8 pounds, 15.6 ounces and he was 21 inches long. He wasn't all that happy about being out of the warm belly either. He has a sort of serious minded expression most of the time. I'm not sure he's still really happy with us, but we sure are happy he's here! We currently all reside together until the kids get their feet on the ground; this gives everyone a chance to bond with Cope and give him the secure family feeling he needs. He has been a blessing from the beginning and we thank God for his health, his safe entrance, Caity's health, and all the stuff that goes with being a new member to the family.

Reuben wanted to be at the birth, but had to finish working. I can't even explain the look on Laura's face as Copeland was being born -- she was hiding at the top of the bed behind Caity. Oh, and Caity was something else too - - let me tell you. When the midwife came into the room and checked her, asking her if she needed pain meds or the epidural Caity wasn't sure she wanted anything. I spoke up and told them yes. She was dialated and ready to start getting serious; when I was in that position I was begging for help. NOT CAITY...if you know the brat you'd know she doesn't cry much, and even has a tattoo on the inside of her lip! She just doesn't feel pain like the rest of us...like normal people.

Copeland was born, we all relaxed, and Caity has been just the best mommy. She's a natural. For his part, Copeland is a good baby, a bit fussy, but he's a Taurus. We get that..just like his Aunty Laura and my dad. Can we survive another one? As long as nothing changes we should be fine huh?

Copeland's daddy's name is Brandon Wayne, so that's where the Wayne comes in. My dad is also Reuben Wayne. They came up with Copeland on their own; I think it's the name of a band they both like. We call the boy "Cope" or "Copey" and of course he's perfect....of course.

Attitude of Graditude.

2011-03-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, I sound like a broken record when I go on and on about being filled with joy and gratitude rather than being happy. Trying to make yourself laugh is one thing, but to think you can be happy in all situations is just silly. The key to being really full of the RIGHT emotion, the one that keeps your heart from worry and your head from spinning, is to THINK about it. THINK, think, think good and precious thoughts. By allowing your mind to think about the things you most appreciate, you bring on a sense of belonging for yourself within that thought. It's a place you go when you need to. It's a place you go when you want to. It's such a private club too; no one else is allowed in. Just you. You are it. You! You! YOU!

I try hard every day to think about the dreams I just had. I wake up and think hard about them, sometimes I can recall pieces. It's as if my mind is shutting off the access to itself and even I am not invited back into it. This morning I remember being out on a Sunday. Why I knew it was Sunday I don' know. There were very few others out, and I was in a mall or theatre; lots of doors, things to see. I rode around on a little motor-box, it was cute really and I felt the need to explain myself to another woman who was walking with her kid next to me. I think I said my daughter made me do it. It made her laugh -- and before she departed and went into another theatre or door she said "have fun" and you know - - I did. I was just in the place riding around having fun. I can appreciate that.

Appreciation is the bomb! That statement just showed my age. OK -- having the right mind set is everything. You start the day out right, you're able to work that day out with more grace toward others. I know when I'm being hurt by someone I sometimes feel like I could conjure up words to just blast them back where they came from, but then it hits me...that's not what they need. Remember the saying "Kill them with kindness"? It works. Gratitude brings harmony, it brings peace and you know what, I don't know about you, but I just don't see a lot of that peace stuff these days. So let me be the one to start it on its way back!

Take 3 minutes and just make a mental or real list of all the things around you right now that you can touch if you had to, that you appreciate. Just looking to both my sides and in front of me, without seeing the bed and comforts of sleep behind me; I could say: the computer, technology, books, chimes, food (I'm eating) and that stuffed monkey my son bought me from Alaska that's three-feet tall! I can think of other things like lotion, my cell phone, a flash light, and oh look...my glasses. You know I appreciate those. Give it a go. Find joy surrounding YOU. Bring back peace to yourself in the process.

Joy! Find it!

2011-03-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

When someone asks me if I'm happy, or how I'm feeling, I sometimes answer "I don't know if I'm happy, but I am joyful". I don't want to sound overly religious when I say that, I'm not trying to convert anyone, but JOY is so much more beneficial than happiness. Happiness depends on your emotional state. If you're not upbeat or gitty about something than being HAPPY is just not going to happen. HOWEVER, you can be joyful in most situations even the ones that seem desparate or sad.

JOY isn't giggles and rainbows. Joy is the understanding that it will be fine,it will work out, it will be honored, it will have a final good ending. JOY is knowing that no matter what you are still worth something to yourself and/or to someone else, and certainly (here is the conversion part) you are worth something to God. He wouldn't have made you if you didn't have some sort of purpose, be it big or small. JOY is the goal for all of my achievements. I can't begin to say that too often, because it is true. Without joy there is no hope; without hope there is no reason. We all have some desire, put joy in gear and if you don't have it, look for it.

I watched a show the other night where a boy about aged 4 told his mom over and over that he couldn't do something. "I can't do it" he said..and not surprisingly the mom sad up straight, crossed her legs and said "I know, let's blow 'can't' away and it can never come back!" Then she asked him if he was ready -- he was, and they both drew up all of the breaths they could hold and pushed out all the air and along with it, the CAN'T that had been inside...all of it. Can't is not welcome. It just isn't. It was fun to watch, and fun to do a little later on when a negative thought hit me. I was in the store, and yeah, maybe I looked like an idiot for a second, but I drew up my breath and blew out all the can't. IT LEFT ME...and I laughed. JOY.

So yes, be daring enough to make your neighbor wonder just a second or two if you haven't lost all your marbles. For no reason, and for every reason, find JOY in the things you overlook every day. You'll be so surprised, or maybe you won't be, how great you feel afterwards. Besides, happiness lets go sooner too. Joy hangs around.

Can the Law of Attraction Bring You That Someone?

2011-02-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you know all about the Law of Attraction. You've heard the words buzzng around, and maybe you've gone so far as to buy a book about it, or you looked it up and thought it sounds too good to be true. It's not too good, it is good, but it is as true as the brain in your head or the decision you make in your heart to do what is necessary to apply the law to your daily and even minute-by-minute needs. I know, I know, it's new-age right? No, it's not. The Law of Attraction may have been recently named but it a force that God created a long long long time ago. It's a LAW so it won't change. Think of the Law of Gravity, it does change, but not on this Earth. The Law of Attraction - reaches to the moon! (and beyond actually)

Can I really THINK a man into my life? One that I want, one that I think will be the best candidate to be that one, that right guy? Sure, and I'll tell you why? We spend too much of our time remembering things that didn't work out in relationships and we think out loud to our friends and those who will listen, that NEXT TIME it's going to be different. I don't know about you, but I have waited over 12 years this time and you know that by God and all things Holy, the next one is be nothing like that man I married; but I won't use negative thinking to make that happen because the Law of Attraction is very powerful, respectful of your thoughts, and obedient! If you think about it, negative or positive, it comes to you -- that thought (thoughts) create braided vibrations in time and find other vibrations out there being sent out by those types of people just because they live the way they do, and THEY are the ones to be attracted back to you -- whether or not you pick one to be a mate, that's up to you, but you will certainly ATTRACT one to you. DON'T think negatively - - just don't do it. Acknowledge that you have those thoughts and move on...fast.

When I think about it, I want a man who respects me and what I am currently involved in. I am a writer, a playful soul, a happy woman. I expect a man who expects me to be this way. I think on the intention of his thoughts, he intends to be with me, he intends to find someone like me, he's looking for someone like me, and I'm thinking of someone like him. It will happen simply because of the Law...it has to. There is no way out of the circle - - round and round it goes. You think, it attracts, you receive....so, since you're the creator of your thoughts,it only stands to reason, and good thinking, that you would think intentionally, deliberately, on purpose, for the things you truly want. THAT is the key to the gate. OPEN IT.

Oh, and as for that man that I'm thinking about, I'm not thinking about 100 of them like him - - just him. There is only one. God made him, He can bring the man around. He's better at it anyway. I messed up the last time.

4-D Ultrasound - - No One Can Hide!

2011-02-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Poor baby Copeland Elijah Wayne! He's just a little over 31 weeks along inside his mother (my daughter) and already we're spying on him. Surveillance cameras probing his every move already. He doesn't stand a chance. I bet by this time next year someone will have developed a way to fingerprint babies inside their mothers and then they'll match those prints with the ones they take when they come out so that they are sure the right babies go home with the right parents. Watch, you heard it here first.

Caity went to the Precious Peeks location in Avon, Indiana where we live, to get a closer and very personal look at her unborn baby boy Copeland. He's in there alright, and at 31 weeks he's finally decided he can't hide from the ultrasound tech. Nope, not anymore. Mr. Santiago, the owner and operator of the machines that allow us such a great look into the life of our little guy was just as glad as we were that he was able to capture little Copeland. Caity, Brandon and I have been to the facility 4 times to get the procedure done, which takes 30-40 minutes if you do it right; but he was always turning away from the camera. Shy of the paparazzi I suppose, but we're his family!! Caity was asked to move to the left, then to the right, then she was asked to stand up, and even once to do a hand-stand with the help of her sweet and extremely patient boyfriend Brandon. I didn't like hearing that she was doing that, but you gotta shake the kid from the corner every now and then!

Today he was forced to show his pretty face after she drank 16 oz of freezing cold water which eventually made its way to the placenta and Copeland instinctively moved the cord away from his face; the cord he had been using in the past to shield him from the wide eyes of the ultrasound probe. AHA!! We found you Copeland. You cannot hide any longer we know your weakness.....and of course, being a normal and perfect baby, he adhered to our begging and came out just long enough from under his warm folds of tissue to peek at us, literally opening his eyes, opening his mouth several times, and even sticking out his tongue. Naturally we laughed. Brandon got a little emotional and his eyes welled up - it's usually me that does that, but this time it was DADDY!!!

I will say that it's a bit expensive, and it's a bit of a luxury to take this step at this point and have your baby's portrait taken even before he or she is born, but the tech made it all worth it. He made Caity a DVD of the 35 min. session, he assured us that other facilities make you pay EACH time rather than guaranteeing you that you will have a good session. He recorded Copeland's heartbeat and put it inside a little fuzzy teddy bear for Caity, and made her 36 individual pictures showing her how he stretches, yawns, winks, blinks, and yes, sticks his finger in his ear to show us he's had about enough of us staring at him. Well, he had better get use to it - - we Stringfellows have cameras attached to our hands. If he thinks he's being invaded now, he hasn't seen the start of it.

April 27, 2011 is the due date. Drivers, start your engines!!

Priority! Priority!

2011-02-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

Oh, it's all about getting our heads screwed on right, isn't it? Remember your grandpa telling you that you had a screw loose in your head? I think I actually thought we were all put together inside our bodies like some sort of machine, a Frankensteinish thing where maybe you couldn't see it unless you were a doctor, but people actually had screws and bolts, and they could possibly come loose! I didn't want that to happen to me. LOL

Over the years, and more precisely over the last few years, forcing myself to prioritize my goals, dreams, and desires has been both a challenge and a process. I'm one of those believers in thought, believers in positive motivational thinking. I believe something can happen simply because I believe it. Remember when you picked up the phone to call someone and they were on the phone already calling you? How does that happen? Sure, there's the logistical explanation that you may be holding to a routine of calling a certain person at more or less a certain time, but for the sake of this point I'm putting it out there that you sent out a thought to the vast and wonderful universe that you personally had an intention to connect with someone and that thought, backed by intention, fortified by positive motivation, put a real vibration into the world and it matched up with another thought just like it -- you may have read about it in the popular book "The Secret", but it's been going on forever. This world of ours, a gift like no other, has a way of producing exactly that which we think about mostly or most strongly.

Getting my mind to separate thoughts, separate dreams, and to separate what I want, now that's the secret if there is one. I have to identify my idea and sit myself down to think about them sometimes. It helps to write it out, pray over it, write it out again, say it out loud and yes, tell someone so that the vibrations of what I want actually come out from my mouth and into the ever-all listening universe. I say God..I always give Him that credit since He actually made the universe. Priority is everything...because that's where the universe begins. It won't jump in the middle, it goes straight off the top - - whatever you are thinking in THAT moment, THIS moment, is what begins the force behind the manifestation which will eventually create that which you are thinking. EVERY time. It's called the Law of Attraction and it works. It really works. REALLY REALLY...it works.

Now what? What do you do first? Simple - - breathe. It's what you do next that counts.

Women's Radio Columnist - - ME!!

2011-02-26T08:07:00.000-08:00

That's right, I'm on the big screen -- depending on how big your monitor is. I'm working my fingers and writing for the Women's Radio syndicated publications online. I'm a real live columnist folks. People will read my work,fall in love and simply have to know more. Well, they can read my work now, and that's a start. I'm a blogger here, a writer out in the world, and now I am a syndicated columnist. You'd think I'd be paid. Why am I not being paid? LOL

Women's Radio has a great and long following of millions literally - it is one of the most respected women's sites known. If you get the chance to see it please do. Simply go to www.womensradio.com ad listen, read, write, contribute, comment, be a part of one of the largest and more exciting sites dedicated to women and their views. I know men are out there reading and even writing for the site. That's allowed, sort of like when a good looking, blonde, sexy, woman of mystery walks through a gentleman's club and every head turns. OF COURSE IT TURNS, she's a beautiful, blond, sexy, woman walking through a club full of men. Simple decision for you -- go to www.womensradio.com and read a little. I can't promise you that your head will turn at everything I write, but mine did. I wouldn't have written it otherwise.

The site is a great place to listen to shows, read blogs, read articles, and if you have the skills and desires you can be a columnist, a blogger, and/or a person who shares YOUR point of view through comments. We welcome you! Look at me saying WE. Wow, it's true, I'm ONE OF THEM!!! YEA. Thank you to Pat Lynch, President and Editor in Chief at Women's Radio. She found me on LinkedIn, another great social networking location where both men and women hook up and find professionals in their line of work to assist and be assisted. I've found so many wonderful and experienced people through these sites that they warrant being bragged about. PLEASE, if you are willing to help, or you need help with a project, gig, finding work, just put your fingers to the plastic and join a few social networking sites. BE a part of something. GET OUT THERE and make the difference ONLY you can. WE can do this. All of the WE in the world.

What Are Best Friends For?

2011-02-26T07:33:00.001-08:00

Some best friends take you shopping when you’re feeling bad and they bring you chocolate. Mine gave me the “eye” and told me to get over it. Being a life-long Cher fan, I’m just lucky she didn’t slap me across the face now and then and scream “Snap out of it!”. I say that, I may have just opened myself up to a rude awakening next time Jeannie catches me in a mood.

There are women out in this giant and wonderful world who climb corporate ladders, close multi-million dollar deals, create and maintain enormous budgets and hire and fire employees when necessary. Other great and powerful women run for office, run an office, write for syndicated columns (had to add that) and some are law enforcement agents, senators, who are always in the public eye or splashed across headlines in newspapers - - or on Nancy Grace selling their new book which will certainly forever change the way the world operates. Other women, other great women work hard behind the scenes, setting things up, getting things ready, and being there when we need them -- this is my best friend. Sometime back in the 1980‘s Jeannie felt a call to help children. It was a call that led her to her current position of educator, teacher, supervisor, and ultimate child care-giver at a fabulous Oklahoma City based facility called appropriately, Special Care. Working with minor to severe handicapped and/or challenged children comes incredibly easily to this woman, she almost makes it look as if she had given birth to the hundreds of kids I have personally witnessed her ministering to. It literally begs the question “what would they do without her?”

For me the question is moot. I don’t have to ever worry about being without my best friend even if we are geographically challenged for now. Jeannie has finally learned from her daughters Julie and Kristen how to set up and use her Facebook account! No worries, right? I can even get her to post a picture with just the slightest of instruction, she’s really coming along. To be honest with you Jeannie and I were instant soul-mates. I know I am taking a chance at embarrassing her by saying this, but it won’t be the first time; Jeannie and I were literally forced into our relationship as besties when her best friend and my best friend walked off together from the cafeteria table we were perched at on that first day of school. My sophomore year, her senior year, just the two of us alone but together - alone. I think it went something like this: “Hi, I’m Jude. I like the Bee Gees” to which she answered “Oh, yeah, OK I’m Jeannie and I like Barry the best.” Liking Barry the best, and telling me so was key to everything - I was a Maurice Gibb fan. We were both Oklahoma Sooner fans, so that was all it took to seal the deal. Maybe it took two or three more minutes of discussion for it to happen, but we both realized our friends weren’t coming back for us. We were stuck there in teenage hell at school but at least we had each other. That was August 22, 1978. Those two other friends never returned to claim us. Jeannie and I are best friends.

It may seem trite or simple for me to make the decision to interview my best friend for one of my first articles with Women’s Radio, and I assure you it was an easy decision. I wanted you to know Jeannie and to get the opportunity to celebrate her along with thoughts, prayers, and memories of your own best friend. It was an awesome experience to sit on my couch watching crime shows with her, texting sarcastic remarks about which CSI character would or wouldn’t do what they just did in public. If there’s one thing we do really well its texting and being rude to each other at the expense of television reality show character, an opposing football team, or in most cases a real life criminal being exposed on Headline News. Every day Jeannie and I text for hours - our way of keeping in touch. Sitting on the couch I asked her through phone messages what her ideal job would be, what her goals were, what she thought were some of the biggest highlights of her life. She knew she was being interviewed so she told me to do what I do best and just embellish! WHAT? WHAT, me, embellish? OK -- I thought I’d tell my readers about the time Jeannie broke into the Whitehouse before it was popular to do so, and how she danced with the President - - but it never happened. Jeannie’s most memorable moments involve watching a child without the ability to speak give their parents a sign saying they were loved. She helped a kid without legs skateboard, she moved a family once in the freezing cold weather because they’d lost their power and their child, her student, couldn’t be without electricity -- I half way expected her to say her goals were world peace and for all the animals to find homes where they could be safe. I wanted to slap her! If all the goals and aspirations my best friend have weren’t true or weren’t real, I may have suddenly become a Cher fan too; but they are -- that is WHO she really is.

Jeannie has it all really. She may not know it, but she does. She is loved by her family, she has a good home, a good job, a really cute car, and a dog that thinks she bakes treats just for her. Oh, and she has a really super cool best friend who loves to watch football with her and text rude and inappropriate things every night - - she really is THAT cool.

The Perfect Haunted House

2011-02-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

I'm an author of fiction (as well as a couple of memoirs) so I'm always looking for the perfect place to murder someone and stuff the body, right? You and I both know I'm talking through my pen, or my keyboard, I have no intention of really hurting someone. I don't actually, as the author, have to be the one to do the killing either, I was thinking about writing about someone, or a few someones who had already been killed -- say in a house, and then the main characters in my book moves in to the house and has to deal with the ghosts living there. That to me makes more romantic sense -- the forensic loving, cop-show-watching side of me says it's best I don't try to get too involved with the actual event of death as I'd just screw it up. I'd be thinking too much about it in the 21st century terms and end up bumbling a perfectly good 19th century killing!

So, I was online today looking at houses I may want to buy for myself when I move out to an area that's a bit more rural, but still close enough to Target and Starbucks. There's a city called Kokomo in Indiana that fits the bill. No, I'm not making that up, it really is called Kokomo, and it has TWO Starbucks! I like Kokomo! Just west of the city is an area with more corn, more farms, more nothing, and in the late 1800's farmhouses were popping up everywhere out that way -- some of them are still there, have great barns, land, horse property; and for me the author, it has a great bunch of forests, woods, streams, and gullies to kill someone on paper and stuff their bodies somewhere between Chapters 2 and 3.

I found a house that fits me. Two-story with a creepy creepy basement. It was built after the Civil War, but I want to think it was build on land that was fought over. It was the homestead of someone interesting and I'm going to find out who. It's a flat-faced colonial house with pocket windows, wide plank hardwood floors and it has great heavy wooded banisters and baseboards. I bet if I looked, it would have one of those awesome little closets under the stairway to store your vacuum and old papers in. I love those little closets, you can hide in wait for hours and scare anyone who comes in to visit -- WHY don't people check there first when they hear spooky sounds? I do!

So, I'm hoping the place is available for a lease purchase, and I'm hoping it has a nice ghost or two hanging out either in the barn or the house itself. I'm not opposed to living with those in the past as long as they don't try to force me to join them too soon. I may want to write about murder but I don't think I want to participate or volunteer too soon. When I think about it, the basement has a fireplace in it; that would be an awesome place to hide too -- say on Halloween when the kids come by for a party or something...no, I'd get stuck and the video to get me out would show up on YouTube. Never mind!

A Ravenclaw Among Griffendors

2011-01-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

For the longest time I thought Caity was with me in the House of Ravenclaw, but after thinking about it, she's just another Griffendor. Truth be told, she is one of the smarter LIONS out there, but she is still one of THEM. LOL

My own parents would fall into the House of Hufflepuff; mom with her painting, green thumbness, and desire to make everyone happy -- and dad, who I think had too much compassion to fish, would have spent another four years on that ship in Korea rather than being asked or required to shoot someone for any reason. Don't get me wrong, when backed into a corner the man would fight like hell, but since Pop is more or less known for walking and talking in circles, that just doesn't happen very often at all.

What did we do before J.K. Rowlings put us all in Houses? I'm amazed really, because she nailed it. There are 4 types of people out there -- me, I'm a Ravenclaw. What I'm doing in a house full of egomaniac, strong-spirited, combative, sporty types, I have no idea. Those of us who are more intellectual, more apt to run than fight, more apt to write about it -- we get it. There isn't a one of us that would FIRST pick up the knife to fight; there simply has to be a sensible way to negotiate peace, right? Well, that's me...I'm a peacemaking, peace-loving, peace-hoping, peace-wanting, peace-finding person, WHO happens to live among a bunch of fist-clinching, grab-a-weapon-now people, who stand on couches with remotes in their hands screaming at each other as they blast their opponents to hell with their thumbs!

Ravenclaw! RAVENCLAW!!! (Where are my headphones?)

If I had to think about it further, and I do, Laura was born a Hufflepuff, perhaps even raised as one, but after a while even she became a warrior type princess. She much more prefers to fight, kick, kill, and die for the cause, over and over again on her anime games and sites. I think she has 15 avatars....shamefully I admit, I don't have an avatar. I'm secretly afraid to make one. I think it will come to life and start running my life somehow. What if it doesn't think like me, but wants to take over the world or something? Can we really control an avatar once it's out there? Reuben - - oh my son Reuben....GRIFFENDOR....conceived, born, raised, will certainly die a full fledged 100% warrior-soldier - - no doubt. I think he was whispering battle cadences inside of me. Pretty sure of it. No chance he'll change houses EVER. Even Brandon, Caity's boyfriend, my new son, he's a freaking Griffendor! He's more of a follower, but he has great ideas, bright happy attitude, and he's there, a good friend always in the corner, just waiting for his chance to shine, and he does. He's perfect for my little girl.

FINE! Good thing we Ravenclaws have WINGS...at least I can fly up to the corner of the ceiling and think about pooping on them when it gets crazy. LOL I will survive. I am the MOM.....hahaha..I WIN. One point Ravenclaw!!

Sex and the City of Celebacy!

2011-01-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

Hahaaha....so, since I'm the blogger does that make me Carrie? I actually met Cindy Nixon once when I went to NYC with my dog. Cindy actually walked across traffic where SHE was causing a crowd to gather, and came over to kiss Faith. She's almost too thin in person, but on television looks about right. Makes me think not only how not thin I look on television, but how scary it must be for actors to feel that they have to maintain ridiculous figures to be loved from their always-looking-for-them-in-public-to-see-if-they-really-look-like-that-in-person audience. Cindy was very sweet, and Faith adored her shoes...she told me later.

This March, (and not that I'm counting), will mark the 12th anniversary of my decision not to be sexually active. I can think of better anniversary titles; but not one of them hits me in the face quite as abruptly. I mean, this morning I woke up and realized that because of the flu symptoms I've been fighting for over a week now, I've not had any coffee to drink....save one good sip that reminded me why I wasn't drinking coffee until I'm better. Being caffeineless is a lot different than being without a man....I really don't think I'm going to wait on the right cup of Joe to come around; and EVEN if I had to wait, if I was FORCED to wait on the right cup of JOE to bring me to myself again, I'd only have to go as far as the nearest Starbucks.

That's it! We knew it all along, it was in the back of minds! MEN can be manufactured to specifications and then poured out and served correctly if we so desire. NO NO NO...do not wake me up, I'm thoroughly enjoying this fantasy. If I want to equate men with coffee, it wouldn't be the first time. I remember once in Seattle, when I hadn't been thinking much about anything else but the fact that I was still not having sex, and someone from behind the counter asked me and asked me if I preferred a tall, hot, robust Italian or Pike's Place. I almost answered that I'd meet the man outback; then realized he was offering me choices of coffee flavors that were brewing that morning....still, I think I get points for a quick mind.

It's really not as bad as people think. I don't really REGRET the decision, it's just gone on so long that when or if Mr. Forever comes along and I try to go in reverse I'm just wondering if the gears will need to be replaced for lack of action or if they'll break from pressure. You can only imagine the thoughts that run through my head as Valentine's Day approaches. I think to myself, SOMEONE has to be sane and not have sex, so that the whole world doesn't spin and roll off it's axis! I'm just so proud to be called upon AGAIN to save the freakin' planet from RUIN! Brave, brave solider...LOL

Oh, I didn't tell you WHY I decided to be without men, without sex, without all the headaches attached to both -- it's a good story. I had kids ages 13, 9, and 8 and knew that they needed me and they certainly didn't need me bringing a man, or men, into their lives making manly-fatherly decisions, or statements to them, about me, about them, about us. We were in the middle of a bad ugly divorce, custody battle, then I won custody, and it just seemed that the word "MAN" was associated with everything that I had been fighting. It might not be realistic to think that all men were the enemy, but it was helpful in continuing my decision and keeping the promise to myself that I could make it on my own - - at least until my heart had given into a different way of thinking.

Well -- it's been 12 years. Will it be a Baker's Dozen before I find the ONE? Is there a ONE? I want to think so. I mean, I want to think that there's this guy -- a tall, curly haired, light eyed man, with a shy and quirky smile, maybe he's from back East, and he's been thinking about me for say.....29 years. LOL....leave me alone, I told you I haven't had any coffee in 6 days. I'm dying; I know I am. If I don't get to the roast soon I'll shrivel up....they'll find me in a corner wide-eyed and drooling which wouldn't be all that embarrassing, not as long as they don't take pictures and post them. What is it that I'm hoping to find this year in terms of the right MAN anyway? Is it necessary? Probably not, but the ONE thing about the ONE is that I don't need any help finding him. Infact, I would reject help finding him.

Believe it or not I get upset when a man starts off a chatty little small talk conversation with me. If you could see through the air-invisibles you would see horns sprouting all over me, red-flags flying all around, and air-horns blaring out the sound of "BACK OFF! BACK OFF! SHE'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE". It's not that I'm a shrew, nope, far from it, but I am just a Scorpio woman who absolutely chooses the man, it's never going to change, never ever ever never, and there's no reason for anyone to KNOW that....so I don't attack them if they sweetly, or gentlemanly approach; I simply smile and make some excuse to walk away. Sometimes I wish I was an Aries (but that only lasts about a second!) LOL

Pardon Me If I Don't FEEL Old

2011-01-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

So, it's what, a little after 1:00 in the morning, and I'm still cranking the volume up a bit louder than my mom says is healthy for my ears. I take in consideration that I probably lost most of my youth-hearing in the 80's during the more than 300 concerts I went to. I worked for Concerts West, it was my JOB to go...I showed up early, I stayed late. I enjoyed my job. What can I say?

Tonight, well it's Friday. I'm dancing and dancing, and just really moving, not doing too much. I mean, I don't wear the big-hair wigs anymore and sing out loud into the curling iron, those days are gone. I say they're gone, my daughter hid my curling iron; says it's not good for my OLD hair. HA! I laugh at her 21-ness. She can have the gorgeous locks, I don't care. I'm dancing, right? That's right. I'm dancing. YES, it is true, I have a Mueller knee brace supporting my right knee cap, but only because I don't want it buckling on me in the middle of a great Van Halen song, and stopping me from jumping off the bed and...oh, OK, that was a lie. I do manage to keep my feet on the floor most of the time now, but I can dream!

I got my new little 16gb iPod the other day and filled it up with 4000 songs -- I didn't know I have that many, but YES I did. The good news is I like the sound the needle makes on the vinyl as it scratches, so I played "Going Down for the Last Time" by Head East on the turntable, recorded it, then converted it to an Mp3 and now I can hear it the way they intended you to hear it -- SCRATCHY! ROTFLMAO...can I say that in a blog? Sure I can, I'm dancing! LOL

If the kids come into my room and catch me, then hell they catch me. They'd also better be prepared to join me, because even though they can't hear .38 Special riffing guitars and blasting out their Southern Comfort, they can at least interpret what they see me doing as being lots of fun, joyful, and it's motivating. Laura was hilarious, I walked by her earlier this evening while she was on her webcam explaining my actions to her boring dork nerd friends on an anime 2nd life game -- and she thinks I'm crazy! They stared at me....open mouthed, just sat there in their chairs eating potato chips and stale pizza rolls....I'm dancing!!! "Put on a little Dylan" HOOTIE!!! HOOTIE!!! That's right, I'm not feeling that old tonight. I just feel like dragging the yellow dog out from under the bed and making her do a two-step. Ever see a yellow armless dog dance? Well, she's awesome at it, she doesn't care if I look and act like a fool -- she's into me! She loves me! I'm her best friend.

Hey, what's that? Can't hear you! Can't HEAR YOU...sorry, nope, not now either, sorry, something about going to bed? I don't think so! No now, I'm hungry! LOL What I really think is awesome about my kids thinking I'm too old to stay up late and kicking back with my Credence, Bread, Bee Gees, Billy Joel, and Journey -- the best part, is they don't know what I know about these bands. They weren't there! They WERE NOT THERE -- I was, and this isn't a dance-fest, it's a TIME MACHINE! (I'm 17)

Be blessed!!

New Beginnings for 2011

2011-01-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it's been this long since I last wrote. I'm going to have to change the name of the blog to "Whenever Jude Gets Around to Writing it Blog!" Wow. Thanks for your patience.

Since the last post I've been with family for the holidays. My son Reuben came up to Indiana, where we are living now, and he had himself a heck of a time. We were concerned whether or not we would be able to show him a good time because a client of mine didn't get around to paying me, and it set me back -- not like Bernie Cornfeld, the Overseas Investments guy was set back in the 70's when he lost over $30,000,000 or even like Bernie Madoff has been set back -- but still not being paid the $5000 owed to me meant a number of things couldn't happen. Things like rent! LOL

Well, God is big right? He's GIGANTIC infact, and Reuben came up this way expecting to be happy and he was. He had a lot to think about when he got back to Oklahoma. Eventually he's thinking of moving here and opening up a fitness center. He's planning on finishing at least one more year of college in Oklahoma, then completing his studies at IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis) There's a reason they use initials...wow...that's a long name. If they had class rings and had to put that on the top it would weigh too much on a person's finger, possibly causing an accident.

Since we last spoke and/or you read what was happening in my life, I have met a great man named Derek Britt. Now, now, don't be thinking that I'm thinking that -- nope, his body, and his heart are taken! But I can still use his mind and connections. Derek is going to become my new production partner. He's going to write the children's books for me about Faith's life. His beautiful girlfriend Silvia is going to illustrate them. Derek is going to lead the production on the film about Faith, take my memoir to the right publishers, and just be the hero I need! (Put that in a bottle and you don't need gunpowder!)

Laura and Caity are getting to the point of realizing that an education could do them some good. When the Fall semester rolls around all three children should be attending some college somewhere. Caity is having a baby in May or late April, so she may decide to go online. Laura will no doubt put in a few classes at the local junior college and then transfer over to IUPUI as well. She and Caity are interested in Business, but I know Laura will attack the animal world of science as well. Caity may pick up a class on pottery, she's really very (amazingly) good at it. Caity use to do my homework for me in 1998 when I went to Oklahoma City Community College and she was only 8. She's good.

Animals are fine, friends are good. I'll write more tomorrow so you'll be able to feel like you're reading an almost daily blog - - something about that just makes me feel great. I'm writing again. I'm talking and I'm walking, and I'm working...now, someone please...pay me!!

Looney Tunes and Us

2010-12-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

If I had to equate my children, and also myself, to the cartoon character that best fits our personality, I would say that I am most assuredly Wiley Coyote. YES, it is true - - I am a genius. Nope, not making that up, or bragging about myself. It is a bonafide and verifiable fact that I, Jude Stringfellow, have an extremely high I.Q. For all that is worth, I still burn dinner from time to time, have had trouble paying bills, still can't figure out where the placenta comes from, but let me tell you - - when I get an idea in my head to make something, do something, or be something it will be done! I may get blown up, fall off a cliff, or be set back with instructions, but I will see my project through to the bitter end. Enough about me. Let's talk about my kids.

Reuben: Reuben is my man-child, my boy, my heart. He is a big, strong, energetic, bouncing-off-the-walls kind of guy, but he's also a guy whose always thinking. He's always got something on his mind, always got something going on, and he's not easily distracted. He's friendly, gregarious even, and above all he's fair. He thinks a bit too much at times, and that can be a problem; he doesn't always account for the little pleasures in life because of it. He's a romantic kind of guy, a traditional man, a man of high integrity, and he always enjoys a good gathering. The boy has to be the leader wherever he goes, but understands his place in the line-up on the field and in the military. Reuben, because of his size, voice, outrageous mind-set, and vivid imaginaton is best characterized as Bugs Bunny. I was going to pick Foghorn Leghorn, but to be honest wtih you, Foghorn is a bit lazy, and that's something Reuben never learned to be. He's the rabbit!

Laura: As much as Laura wishes she was Bugs, her demeanor is nothing like his. Bugs is up at the crack of dawn, Laura stays up til then. She is clever, sly, and creative, but she is also stubborn, moody, and likes to be alone. Laura could and would wrestle with a sumo but she'd run from a bee. She sees children and walks the othe way - - she sees kitties and puppies and chases them down. She loves animals of all kinds, shapes, sizes, and breeds, as long as they leave her alone in the morning and let her sleep late...and I mean late. She doesn't clean as well as she should, but gets mad at herself and then takes control of the chaos. Laura is a born sportswoman, a natural at riding, and she loves the outdoors. She is a talented singer, a gifted writer, genius perhaps, but keeps it under wraps. She carries a big gun (her weapon being her hands and feet) but keeps it under control until it is ultimately necessary - - she is alluring, and makes a good point when she argues. Laura is Marvin the Martian.

Caity: Please. Caity is the Chicken Hawk. There's no reason to lead up to it. There's no reason to explain it. She's just compact, quick, clever, determined, mean and nasty, and always going to get it her way. If someone argues with her, gets in her way, or otherwise tries to stop her - - she beats them over the head with a 2x4 plank of wood until they're unconscious, she drags them to the barn and then swings them by their feet, heaving them over into th pasture. It's really very clear cut. Caity has always been, and she will always be the Chicken Hawk. Now, that's not always a bad thing - OK it is, but that's the way it is, and I can't do much about it other than to stay out of the barn. I love this kid. I do try to appease her when I can, the consequences are just too severe....like an explosion you can't contain, you just watch and go "Ohhhhh, ahhhhhhh".

That's about it, yep. My family and the Looney Tunes. Makes me wonder which Disney characters we'd be. I'll think about it.

Going Green

2010-12-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

You can't go a day it seems without hearing term "going green" or without someone reminding us that we should be greener. I get that. I understand the concept of recycling, not using plastic bags, cutting down on the paper usage and of course I understand the reasoning behind unplugging cell chargers when they aren't in use. God only knows how much money and energy we all save when we work together and work smarter to save and conserve.

I have to tell you, I laughed just a little a couple of years ago when singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow suggested that we begin cutting down (severely) on the amount of toilet paper we use - - someone said she wanted the average butt to be cleaned using only 4 squares at a time. Not that I don't think some people's usage is extreme but I don't even want to think about cutting that that far. I may do it this next time just to see if I can - - but be sure I'm really close to the shower too. I don't know, maybe after a good trip to the toilet we could just take a few steps and hop into the shower for a second. Isn't that the whole idea behind bidets?

A time and place for everything. I say you know exactly what you need and you should only use that much. It's a strong position I'm taking. It's basically saying that we are instinctively capable of knowing when too much is too much. If I'm right, that would require us all to use more self control, something not all of us, including myself, is all that willing to do. What if, just say for example, that we didn't really need caffeine. No, seriously, what if that were true, and I had to face giving up coffee? To hell with that. Now, what I can do, is to be green as I can about it. I can use the type of coffee maker that doesn't use a paper filter. I can use a reusable cup to drink it from, I can even turn the used grounds back into the ground, and make for a happier planet....but I can' be caffeine free. I tried it, it sucked.

Looking around the house I found about 10 things I could do to save the planet faster, more effectively. I'm sharing my favorites with you. 1. Rather than using plastic bags for trash bags, we can use those new really expensive bags that are made of paper or biodegradable plastic/blends that go back into the earth. 2. I use a Brita filter now!! YEA. 3. I bathe at least one dog after I take my bath, to save water. I have 5 dogs so they rotate. 4. I don't buy take out from places that use plastic containers and yes, I bitch about them to their corporate offices! 5. I reuse my paper towels, which makes me a conservative person and a good Scottish woman! 6. I want to throw all my trash into recycle bins, but no one picks it up! At least my heart and my head are green, right?

Well there's more, there's so much more we could do. I think about it all the time when I'm driving and I see the trash on the side of the road, or the fences lined with debris - - WHO throws things out their windows now? I remember being a kid and seeing the Native Amercian Indian in the commercials with the tears running down his face as he stood in a polluted field or stream. BRING HIM BACK!! For a while we were doing all we could to help ducks and other birds by cutting through our 6-packs, but I'm not a soda or beer drinker, I don't have 6-rings to cut through. I would! I would tell the world to do the same, but for Pete's sake...don't litter.

I guess I've been a conservationist all my life. I don't remember ever being over the top wasteful with water, paper, energy, heat, gasoline. I walked everywhere I could if it was under a couple of miles, that is until I got older and the world became more dangerous, but when I was a kid I walked 5-10 miles a day without an issue. My parents knew I'd be home. Wow -- looking back, I know I wasn't rich growing up, but I had a good training program. Thanks Mom. (Oh, I'd say thanks Dad, but it was MOM who popped him in the head for throwing things out the window!) LOL He learned...right along with me.

Going green is essential to the survival of our planet, and it's not an option. Try to think of 5 or 6 ways you can stop polluting, wasting, or over-using. It must be done, and it just might be fun to try to make a good change in your life. Come to think of it, I keep my temperature inside the house at 69-70 all year round. If the AC doesn't need to come on it doesn't come on. If the heat doesn't need to be on, it doesn't come on. Wait a minute before changing the thermostat....can you put on a sweater or take one off? Just a thought...a happy, sharing, caring, giving, loving thought.

Moving Pegs Around

2010-11-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

You know that simple table game you see at restaurants that has a triangle piece of wood with a bunch of holes in the wood? The one with the colored pegs in it, where you have to move the pegs around, jumping over another one, but not skipping a hole? The object of the game of course, is to end up with one peg left. You succeed when you finish the game without baggage or objects (pegs) standing in your way. Well, I realized today that I could learn a great deal from that game. I seem to be moving things around, jumping over other things, putting pegs in places they haven't been before, or at least in a while - - I seem to be realigning my life, and that's a great feeling! I can actually see the end of the game working out for me this time. Somehow, with a little prayer and luck, I'm actually beginning to get the hang of this thing called LIFE! (Did I mention the prayer part?) LOL

Recently my good friend Cindy Papale introduced me to another good friend, Derek Britt, who is involved in many movie ventures, television, publishing, you name it the man has some sort of connection. Like me, he enjoys meeting people, helping others, and making himself available for them and in return we receive joy, love, and admiration, but sometimes we also get hired for really cool jobs, or we have the opportunity to write something for someone who can be furthered by what we write. The upshot of this friendship is that I will always be needed; I will always be able to do what I know I am capable of doing, and someone will benefit from it. I will also benefit from it, as that's what I believe God had in mind when He formed me. He gave me a bunch of writing and connecting talents, but He didn't put the gene in me that required a lot of recognition or money. I mean yeah, I want to work, be paid, eat, get nice things, and be thanked, but I'm not a money-whore or attention hog. As long as I'm being cared for and able to help out, I prefer going that route.

So, I'm moving things around. First I moved my family from Oklahoma City to Gainesville, TX when we believed a movie was being made about our dog Faith. The movie concept was in tact but the funding wasn't, the idea failed and I moved us back to Oklahoma. This year I moved us to Indiana to get away from a bad economy, to find a place where my girls could literally start over educationally, financially, emotionally, as well as spiritually. Indiana, in case you didn't realize it, is a REALLY great spot for that. Some fabulous people live here, and again, supernatural sources came through to find me the best landlord, the best place for Laura to ride, own horses, and work, and the best place for Caity to find work and raise her new baby -- Copeland is due in early May. Indiana's schools are some of the very best, and I'm stoked about the girls going to college, working, and becoming more and more involved with their community. Me? Well, I'm moving pegs again. I'm moving myself to Los Angeles, taking Matrix, but leaving the others here. I'm working on a project or two with Derek, and I'm hoping to break into voice-over work, writing, film, television, and you guessed it - - everything! I'm just so at peace about it. It's time!

So the last few pegs are needing to be moved, I see the holes, I know the game. I could sit back and mentally position each bright colored peg until the game is ended, but that's not how it works...I have to pick it up, jump another, move it to where it needs to be, and most importantly, remove the peg standing in my way to success. It's always been this silly simple game and I wasn't aware of it. There are great things often standing in our way to our own success; we have the courage and the skill set to move ourselves or we don't. I do have the power, the courage, and the training - - it's time to jump...forward! Always forward.

A Little Patch of Reuben

2010-11-16T07:52:00.001-08:00

When he was little my son Reuben would play "Army" in an area of the yard that was too hard to reach with the lawn mower. Subsequently the piece of land grew wildly and a bit out of control with foliage. From time to time I would try to clear it but each time I did I faced the wrath of a little kid that refused to called into the house until all of his missions were complete. There was a neighbor that I met only when she found me in the supermarket because Reuben was with me. She said "Oh, you don't know the joy this boy brings me every morning." She continued to tell me how she takes her cup of coffee and a breakfast bar nearly every day to the window just to watch Reuben play because from her point of view she can see him clearly - - she explained to me how he was completely in control of the invisible soldiers that he commanded, how he barked out orders, then swung around to play the part of each soldier taking orders. She was sorry to see Reuben go to high school. (Little did she know that he played every waking moment of his life then as well, but it was in the front yard with imaginary spectators watching him tackle the invisible quarterback.)

My parents live on a patch of land in the country where they have at least a half acre of what is called "Reuben's Patch" because over the years he would go into the wooded, overgrown weeds and vines to "hunt", "stake out the bad guys" or just be "at war". It was a perfect place for a kid with his size of an imagination. I remember looking at a piece of property with Laura about a year ago when Reuben was still in the Army. The backyard had 8 acres of land and in the far corner was a spot that would have been Reuben-esque. There were trees reaching to the sky and it seemed that their fat bushy pine branches were hovering over one another guarding the entry way, blocking out the would be humans who may have desired to destroy them for the sake of being able to see to the other side of the property line. This was truly a haven for the boy-man who would be coming to visit and need a place to hide with his mind!

Well, where I live now has four patios and no yard. I live on a golf course with acres and acres of wooded lands, creek beds, and places I know my son could sneak in, hide in, pop out, and scare the be-jeebies out of the golfers if he wanted to. However, something tells me he would refrain a bit at his age; but probably JUST a bit. One of my patios is about 12x15. It is gated, and has a concrete floor if you will. I have not touched it since we moved in. I have allowed it to grow over with vines, limbs, flowers, weeds, and all the leaves and pine needles that can possible gather do indeed gather there. It is a place I find quite peaceful - - and probably a place that raccoons and skunks like as well, I don't know. I call it my little patch of Reuben. When I get the hankering to think about him I open up the curtain and look outside. Since it's gated and fenced off no one sees it from the outside. I've been asked by the association to trim it down, but again because it's behind the fence I don't actually have to. I told them no, and addressed the fact that it brings me joy. If a critter really did live in it I would probably chase it out - - but I don't think it's housing anyone. It's just a little tranquil spot that screams "Hey Mom, MOM, MOM, MOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM.....bring me the Oreos please!

A Girl and Her Horse

2010-11-12T06:06:00.000-08:00

There's just something about men and their trucks and girls with their horses. I don't know where to start with my personal story because it has deep deep roots, but only a few blooms. I'm tell you that when I was little and knew absolutely nothing about horses I wanted one. My parents lived in the city, there were no real barns that I knew about where you could board a horse, and believe me, they weren't the type of people to every pay anyone to keep an animal - - far more pragmatic than that. If we didn't have our own land then we weren't getting a horse. It was that simple. My friends had horses, and that's where I eventually ended up; with my friends who had horses. I can rattle off the names of 5 of my close friends that saw a lot of me throughout the years because they owned a few horses.

As a young adult I did the impossible; I bought myself a horse. I don't know that I told my mom and dad. I may have, I probably did, but I know I didn't tell them the heartbreak of losing it because I was lied to, the man I bought him from was a crook and took my money, then told the police he was leasing the horse to me. I know I didn't tell my parents about falling off from a dead run from a 16.3 hand tall (that's tall in case you're not into horses) sorrel Thoroughbred gelding. I know I never told them that I was planning on stealing the horse back and trying to figure out a way to borrow dad's truck to do it. That much I know I didn't share with my parents. Girls and their horses - - there's a bond that clamps tightly around the heart and it really never lets up. I remember everything about the horse and I wasn't even that much in love with him. I was more in awe I think. He was huge, he was fast, he was gorgeous, and he was gone.

All these years later, and after having a daughter that was born to ride, I have found myself in the position of owning another horse. I almost got one given to me by a very special friend I've only met on the internet. She and I went into business together, and she wanted to buy me a pretty Appaloosa but things just didn't work out for the seller and the buyer to get things together. Timing seems to be a big part of owning a horse these days. I knew I didn't have the extra money to pay for one, but I really really wanted one. This same friend was able to buy my daughter a lesser trained horse, and Laura had the time, patience, and energy to bring to the barn and train her new horse; a bay colored Arab/Quarterhorse named Stryker. He's only three, gelded, and from all looks and tests seems to be an awesome choice for the price. Watching Laura with Stryker, and occasionally riding a barn horse I've been itching to get my own again - - until now. Now I have one.

Laura and I are believers of the Law of Attraction. We begin by accepting the fact that if we believe it whatever we believe in will come true as long as we continue to think about it, live as if it is ours, and pray hard - - really hard. God is so funny sometimes. He really is; I talked to Him openly and reminded Him of the tall, stately sorrel red animal I had in 1983. I reminded Him (God) that I was not an experienced rider, and thought that a Thoroughbred would be a bit much - - you know, too much actually. Did I mention we were believers of the Law of Attraction? You see, according to the Law of Attraction that which you lend your attention to is what is brought to you. That which you bring your thoughts around to is what is received. I thought over and over about how I didn't want a Thoroughbred. I thought over and over about how I didn't want a red horse. I thought over and over again how I wanted a shorter, tamer, slower horse that would be best for me, but it couldn't be a red horse, and it couldn't be a Thoroughbred. (Notice how I said it COULDN'T BE)

Well, the Law of Attraction only hears and understands your emotion. It doesn't separate good and/or bad, yes or no. It just gives you exactly what it is that you are thinking about mostly - - the strongest, and I really really didn't want a red Thoroughbred. I got a RED THOROUGHBRED!! LOL

I got online and found a lot of free horse ads on advertisements that are really set up for horse lovers. You would have to be a horse person to know where these ads are and that's a good thing as the average person looking may or may not understand all the responsibilities that go along with actually owning a horse. I was green as a fresh pine cone when I started out in my 20's. Today I know a lot more, but one thing I know is that I don't know enough. I will tell you the truth, I was not experienced enough for the big horse, and it is probably a blessing that I was only thrown off once! Angels probably held me in the saddle after the first throw. After finding an ad for a horse that seemed absolutely perfect for me; I filled out the contact information form and the first thing I laughed about as I looked over the ad was the fact that this free, well mannered, great temperament horse, the one I would be able to get for free, delivered to me, and she would be an amazing horse for me - - was red. She was too short to race, which is why she was being given away and that meant she was a full blooded Thoroughbred. Law of Attraction!

Well, bring it on! The wonderful woman (Ashley) that brought the horse to me was another amazing person. I honestly feel that we'll be friends for the rest of our lives. The horse is able to be registered, but without being raced, without being qualified to be a race horse, she was never registered. I can do that. I can name her. I can be her first real owner and that means so much to me. At 15 hands tall, my red Thoroughbred mare is named Boomer's Crimson Heart. She is the daughter of a race horse on both sides; Lion's Heart is her Sire and Meadowlake's Star is her Dam. I'm told they were average and I'm told they were unremarkable. These are terms that horse trainers use - - to me they are priceless. They made my baby.

Thanking my Lord today, thinking of the new relationship that started with a quest to see if there would be something out there for me - - I now believe even more strongly in the power of positive thinking. The thing is, I know also to be careful what I ask for - - and what I think about. Because I'll get it. A girl and her horse. It's a beautiful thing.

RSC - Recruiting and Staffing Careers (Beware)

2010-11-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

Let me start out by saying that the following story is MY SIDE of what took place between myself and a possible fraudulent company calling themselves Recruiting and Staffing Careers.

About a week ago I found Recruiting and Staff Careers (RSC) online and filled out the necessary forms to find myself a job in the Human Resource field of employment. Upon doing so I was contacted via e-mail by a woman calling herself Sandra Reese. She claimed to be the personal assistant to Paul Rosen; supposedly this Paul Rosen is out of Chicago, but his virtual office could be anywhere. He has a 310 area code phone number, but when you call it, you are quickly directed to his website. If you insist on leaving a message for him you are not allowed to do so, as his mailbox is full.

After agreeing to set up an interview online with RSC through a virtual site given to you when you apply, I upheld my end of the agreement and met with a group of others at 1:00 p.m. EST today. Of course you are given several options and times wherein you can say you are willing to do the virtual interview. THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO BE ON ALERT.

Throughout the day I was given e-mail and cell phone reminders to be on time, or even to log in early. I did this. I anxiously and eagerly awaited the online interview; even if I found it to be a bit odd that we were not asked to use webcams or have microphones to interact with the principals at RSC. It made sense to me after I saw that in my 1:00 p.m. session there were over 100 names of those also being screened for the 40 coveted positions that were being offered. Obviously if we were all given access to the RSC principals there could be confusion. At one point the interviewer even states that he will speak with you one on one at the end of the process.

At approximately 1:01 p.m. a little pop up screen on the right of the main screen shows a man dressed in a professional manner calling himself Stephen Morton. He is apparently one of the RSC recruiters, and his off-screen assistant "Jennifer" is given directions to put up a screen, take down a screen, to highlight something Morton wants to point out, or simply scroll through a page. They go to great lengths to make you feel as if the interview is real enough. Morton even makes a spelling error and corrects it online.

On the left side of the full screen you have correspondence from an individual known as "Cleo" who gives the interviewees instructions and direction as to what to expect next. At one point Stephen Morton asks you an "open" question and your two-way communication abilities are accessible. They are soon cut off and the answers of most of the candidates are shown to everyone - - I noticed that the two times we were allowed open access that MY answers did not pop up. I wondered about it, as my answers were typed faster than many that were available to be seen. This was the first red flag that alerted me that this was only VIRTUAL and not a real process or at least it was recorded and not live.

Morton calls out names and answers from the left to assure the audience that this is a live interview. For some this is a feeling of security, of being a real part of the process; but for me it meant testing the system. When the next open question popped up and again my answers did not appear, I knew something was up. There are three times in the interview where Morton asks you to click on the radio button to mark your understanding of the process. Interestingly the first time this happens he tells you that 43% of the audience is experienced in the HR business and 57% will be considered entry-level. As a professional I was upset that they would even allow those who were not experienced to interview with those of us who were, as obviously if there are limited positions available you don't give them to those who are not experienced.

The thought occurred to me also that if I was one of over 100 who attended the 1:00 session, and there were multiple sessions set for the day and tomorrow, how many applicants were actually being asked to participate and why would any professional group ask anyone without experience to continue past the first qualifying question of whether or not you had experience in the field of which you were applying for? Another RED FLAG.

As we moved through the session it became clear to me that the graphics on the screen were being set up or used to look as if they were being created on the spot, or at the time of the interview. However, with the knowledge I have of graphics, I knew this was also a program, a timed program, and one that was probably set and recorded to be played and replayed over and over again. This wasn't a live interview - - and to prove it I took it again! (Of course under another name)

Well, as you probably guessed - RSC is not a real company in terms of being what they say they are. They will SELL you the right to recruit for them for a fee of $297.00 which gives you access to vacant positions (or are they) and resumes of those who are applying for jobs (or are they?) so that you can match them up, call and set up interviews, sending out candidates (supposedly like you and I who are looking for real positions) and you are the essential public relations or human resource person of contact for these individuals. YOU are the company contact. YOU make the interview happen, the company places someone, and then RSC charges a 20% fee of the annual base salary and keeps 50% while giving YOU 50%. Essentially this is 10% of the person's 1st annual salary right? EXCEPT -- in the interview Morton assures you that jobs can start as low as $25,000 for an individual and go up over the $200K mark...and he also tells you or rather shows you, that you could make between $1700-8300 per placement. Now, I'm not math wizard, but 10% of $25,000 (minimum) is $2500 and 10% of $200,000 would be $20,000.00. It doesn't add up.

NEXT -- and hold on to your credit cards. The RSC representative wants YOU to pay them $297.00 for the right to use their information to make your appointments, set up the interviews, and he guarantees you that your initial fee will be paid back when the first candidate is hired. Of course. RED RED RED FLAG! BLOOD RED.

I terminated the virtual interview and began a calling campaign to find out exactly who these people are. Believe it or not, they won't answer you when you call - - but I did get one individual to write me back. They signed off as "Admin" and when I asked for their name they refused. They became flippant, arrogant even in their exchanges with me. I offered to have them visit on air with CNN about their practices and of course they agreed, but when it came time to really set it up, they wouldn't cooperate or give me names to contact for the producers to call. Of course they wouldn't.

Just be careful folks. I think they're a bunch of losers, but the sad thing is, they're working out of Chicago! I love that city with all my heart. Just be careful if you come across Recruiting and Staffing Careers.

Matrix is Missing - - Not Good

2010-10-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

Mr. Matrix ran away from home, but I don't think he meant to. He must have been roaming around the woods and the golf course and just thought he would go visiting ONE more house before he came back. His partner in crime, our little Jack Russell Teagan, did come home. She's not the type to go into ANYONE else's house. No way, she is the type (the Jack Russell Terrier type) that would stand outside someone else's house and bark at them as if the house was her own. Matrix takes another approach. He would waddle himself into their house, past everyone except the kids and show off that wiggle-waggle body of his. He's a mooch! He knows that kids have food, and that kids love friendly little dogs. He's not stupid. He'd take his collar off if he could, suck in his gut and pretend to be homeless - - he's that good! I think Matrix is actually living it up in someones house thinking he'll be brought home soon enough; but why not get all the love and hugs he can for now?

Being a perfect dog as he is; half Beagle and half Dachshund, Matrix is about 27 pounds, and only 15" off the ground. He likes belly rubs of course, but loves to nuzzle, cuddle and snuggle even more. Infact, if you start cuddling and scratching the old guy you have an all-day job. He'll push and nudge your lazy hand if you stop, and look at you with those ... well, those dog-eyes and tell you that you're being derelict in your duties. He obviously needs to be loved, and you obviously have hands to scratch him with. He certainly won't pass up an opportunity to sit on your lap or clean out your nose with his tongue. He's one of THOSE dogs that has to sleep with you, on you, under the covers, and as he's pinning your legs down and you're thinking he should move, the thought hits you hard that he's a dog and he's sleeping and it would be a blasphemous sin to move the animal...that's the thought I get anyway - - maybe that's why he loves sleeping with me.

I WANT MY DOG BACK!!

I let him out to go pee-pee but didn't realize Teagan was planning to dig a hole and go roam about the place. We live on a golf course in Avon, Indiana, and there are woods, creeks, deer to catch, squirrels, all sorts of golfers to visit, and then there are the miles and miles of nothing but cornfields to run through - - come on, it's a dog paradise!! House after house after house to find, kids to love, dogs to chase up and down fences...but sooner or later you'd think the boy would miss me and come home. He's not allowed out, and he knows that, but we do walk the course a lot and he's marked every single tree along the 10, 11th, 12th, holes as well as the front of the country club...he should able to find his way back. I just think he's in someones arms right now being held and kissed. They can call the number on his tag and find out that he's loved...I hope they do. Come home Matrix....I miss you!!

No, seriously mutt, get yourself home right now, I know you follow me on Twitter too. You see your face on my Facebook profile, get yourself home boy! (I love you)

IndyStyle and Pet Pals TV

2010-10-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

Faith and I have been in Indianapolis, or the surrounding area since the end of August. I've been so very very busy trying to find work, and working on getting my book published that I haven't really kept up with the blog. Rather than calling it "Jude's Almost Daily Blog" I may have to change the title to "Jude's Whenever She Can Spare Time Blog". Honestly, this area of the country is not only gorgeous it has some of the nicest people I've ever met - - and that includes those Southerners from my own homestate of Oklahoma! Hoosiers are really very kind people. If you have an opportunity to meet a few I'd highly recommend it.

This past week Faith was interviewed by WNDY-TV host Patty Spitler who has been in the television industry for more than 25 years. For 23 of those years Patty was on WISH-TV, a CBS-TV affiliate, as an anchor and reporter. Today she's with Indianapolis' first real pets and animals show called Pet Pals TV. I was honored to be a guest on the show this morning (prerecorded) where I spoke a little about Faith coming to Indiana to do more in the Midwest. It just seems like she has been to all the corners of the nation, and hasn't really made that big of an impact in the very middle of it. I love the Heartland! It's so full of great things to do, to see, to be a part of, and just watch! Some of my favorite teams are from no more than 2.5 hours away - - all of the Chicago teams really, but I do have to admit that I'm not really a Bulls fan; never really got into basketball, but since OKC has the Thunder I'm sure I'll have to join that force soon. I am however very much into baseball, hockey, football and horse racing! I don't know all the names of the players, but I love the sport(s) for sure.

I was downtown the other day and saw Peyton Manning out and about with friends. You don't think about things like that in Oklahoma because we don't have a professional football team. He's tall - - really tall. You know that from his stats, but when you're standing right next to him and looking up to see his big smile you think - - yep, he's tall!

I love downtown Indinapolis -- I met cops, horses, Starbucks baristas, attorneys, groups of people from the Future Farmers of America, and I ran into a beautiful red-headed girl wearing a German Barmaid costume selling apple dumplings and beer at lunch time. It was fun. One of things I did this week besides being on Pet Pals TV was to interview LIVE on WISH-TV's IndyStyle show with Host Andi Hauser. It was October 22, and it happened to be Andi's birthday! There was a little party on the set, and she had her favorite meal cooked on stage, and with that came an amazing triple chocolate cake! OH HECK YEAH! Oh, and we met Actor Chris Burke on set too. He was in town to promote a great cause, a walk that he and his musician crew do to bring about the awareness for the cure of Downs Syndrome. He is the BEST. He is so very very sweet, and literally fell in love with Faith the second he saw her. I hope to work with Chris in the future too - - that would be a blast.

Well, so much for what's going on right now. Like I said, I'm still looking for a permanent job, and I'm writing, hoping to get the book written and published very soon. I have 2000 names ready to buy it the second it hits the shelves - - which means about 3500 books will be sold -- to join the list and get a $3.00 off coupon just go to: faithwalksbook@gmail.com and sign up! EASY!!

Lets hope every week and month in Indiana is as good as the last one. Fall is a wonderful time of year and I'm soaking in as much of it as I can. I hear the winters can be....well, grisly cold. I may have to find myself a good pair of thermals and light up the fire! (I'm thinking caramel apples, hot cocoa, a good book! Maybe I'll watch an old Gary Sinise movie to stay a bit warm in my heart....you never know!) LOL

Not Everyone in Indy Races Cars

2010-09-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hey there! We moved to the Indianapolis area and believe it or not, we're not race fans. We're going to start telling people we are, and in fact, we're thinking of telling them we bought a race car and we're looking for a driver - - but we'll be sure and come clean about it after a while. No sense in being mean, right? We moved to an area just west of the city where the most prominent natural resource seems to be golf. I mean, we see a lot of corn and soy out this way, but 4 courses in a ten mile radius tells you that Hoosiers are rather serious about their game. Funny, we don't golf either! We live on a course now, we can see the golfers in the morning just after daybreak - - we've scared a couple of them when Faith walked out to greet them. We're nice, we wait until they hit the ball before we freak them out completely. LOL

There is so much to do here really - - Indy is close by of course, but all the little towns and cities around the main focus of Indy are busting with shopping and museums. They have so much to do that my kids are pulling me in every direction. We only have one car still. That has to change. Laura was just hired today so we'll be able to save up soon enough. She got hired when she walked into the barn where she wants to board a horse. First she has to buy the horse, but we can take care of that easier than a car. Horses are pretty cheap these days in this economy. I am going to be buying one myself, one that Laura can train.

Laura walked into the barn today to hug a horse and Lucas the main employee asked her if she was ready to start working. She had previously spoken to the barn manager about a part time job mucking and feeding on the weekends. She was so happy!! You could say she was dancing, but she was also trying to look composed. Last time I saw her Lucas had handed her a shovel and a wheel barrel and was directing her to the first few stalls she'll be working on. She was smiling and if you can skip while pushing a barrel she was skipping. Give a girl a horse and she's in Heaven - - poop and all. She's all over that job. I'll pick her up at 3 and she probably won't get into the car. She'll be shampooing or brushing someones horse.

Indy has a lot to offer; those who live here may not think so, but having come from Oklahoma where unemployment and crime is on the rise - - this is a haven of peace and quiet. They say boring, I say great. I don't need a race car. I don't need to see a Colts game (but I will you know, I will) just give me a Target, Old Navy, Kohls, and maybe a few artsy things to pass my time. I'm good.

Caity will be working at the bookstore soon, her boyfriend Brandon wants to get hired at a distribution center. I don't think it will be a problem. There are "Now Hiring" signs everywhere. Maybe I should keep that quiet so as not to cause a stampede - - lol.

I owe it all to my good friend Liz who kept bragging about Indy. It's all her fault. Thanks Liz!

Homemade Stuff - From Febreze to Fudge

2010-08-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

I am a DIY person in some ways, but not when it comes to plumbing, doing electrical work or building a deck. I crochet, bake, cook a lot, make jewelry, candles, even clocks. I made a really cool clock once and gave it away to a friend who absolutely loves it - - or says she does. When I picked up a bottle of Febreze the other day and realized it was over $5.00 I said to myself "REALLY? FIVE dollars for water, maybe some alcohol and fragrance?" I looked up the chemicals in the noted ingredients on the back of the bottle and was right; there's not much there other than water, alcohol, maybe some fabric softener and a few things used to make the diffused stream of liquid dry faster and not feel all wet when it hits the sheets and pillowcases. The only problem is I couldn't get it to do what I wanted to do.

I looked up the "recipes" online where some call for SD alcohol while others (more green types) prefer using white vinegar. There are a number of fabric softeners on the market, so to be as green as I could be I chose one that was both biodegradable and essentially harmless to my skin, eyes, and possibly even if I ingested it. I don't like to think of all the toxins we're putting into our bodies through our clothes in terms of detergents, bleach, softeners, some have formaldehyde in their mix! I DON'T THINK SO...not on my body. You have to be really careful of what you're adding to your laundry...you wear it!

Well, after using the stuff I made I wasn't really all that impressed with it. It had a more pungent smell from the vinegar; the lavender oil I added was nice though. I think I'll study up on it a bit longer - - maybe make a batch of blond chocolate chip brownies while I'm gathering information. Girl's gotta eat right? Oh, and I can throw in the fact that the internet has recipes for DIY shampoo, soaps, conditioners for your skin, your hair, your dog...did you know that a mix of Listerine (any flavor), water, olive oil and oil of clove can keep fleas off your dog? True story! It won't kill the fleas, but it keeps them off the animal and helps with the dry itchy skin they have from chewing. Baking soda and water helps you burp if you just can't get the gas out.

See what you can learn from reading or just doing a bit of off the wall research?

Indiana Wants Me - - Well, OK.

2010-08-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

I remember the song "Indiana Wants Me" from when I was a kid, and I'm not even sure I remember the gist of the lyrics...just the chorus. For some reason the guy couldn't go back "now". I'm a bit different I suppose,in that I'm not going BACK to Indiana, I'm just going there. I'm moving to the Indianapolis metropolis and hopefully finding work beforehand. If I don't find it beforehand I will probably substitute teach until I do find something I can do permanently and full time. Oh, and get this; as a substitute teacher in Indiana, a person has to have a four-year degree! THANK YOU! Coming from Oklahoma where the requirements are so lax and anyone can do it unless they've been convicted as a child molester, that's a big deal. I'm already proud of Indiana!!

I've probably already decided (if I had to be honest with myself) that I'll seek out teaching positions as well as sales positions. I'll try to get on board with a Jr. College as an adjunct while I'm working so that I can keep the blood flowing. Some vampires need blood to drink, I need to see bodies in front of me listening to me rave and rant about the misuse of certain words. I like it when I have a captive audience and they have to laugh at my jokes. Just kidding, I pass them if they don't. I also assign silly 2 page essays about Dachshunds, Teddy Roosevelt, and Dick Wolf's series "Law and Order" for anyone who doesn't turn in their assignments on time or look up the dictionary words I put up on the board. I do that because I know everything about these particular subjects and it's harder for a student to blind side me on it. Believe it or not a student once tried to say that Teddy Roosevelt was in Oklahoma territory during the run of the unassigned lands. I thought maybe the kid had hitched a ride on a Time Machine and had changed events....what did I know, right? LOL

Anyway, going to a new state to live will give my daughter Laura and I (and maybe Caity if we can drag her up there) a new start and a new perspective on life. We've been living in Oklahoma in a somewhat depressed state for a while - - hoping to see things change, hoping to have a better existence, but the state doesn't progress as quickly as you would hope. I love,love, love Oklahoma, but do need to leave it if I'm expecting to thrive and achieve goals other than raising a good family and working at a steady pace. For me it is a new chance at teaching, perhaps getting into the sales market again - - and of course the world of professional sports is a bit closer being only a couple of hours from Chicago! I've got the Colts, the Bears, the Blackhawks, the Bulls, the Hoosiers - - wait, that's college, I've got NASCAR - - which my son screams is not a sport, but I've got it now anyway!

Indianapolis is such a clean city, and on the list as being one of the safest areas to live as well...where we're going anyway. I have four really good and fantastic friends in the area that are helping me not only look for work (Thank you guys) they are mapping out where I should look for a place to live. They've volunteered to take me to dinner, to go shopping with me and to babysit Faith!! Who wouldn't want to babysit Faith! C'mon!! LOL. They're all just wonderful and I want to say another big THANK YOU for your continued prayer and support of my new journey...our new journey. I'm not alone in this one. I'm bringing the tall red-headed one.

We think we'll leave in just a couple of weeks. That means packing the house, but first we have to go through it, clean it, weed through what we don't want, and just start fresh. I called the Penske truck already, reserving it for a certain date. I'm doing this! YEA...and yes, yes, I realize Indiana has a city named GARY. No jokes please -- but I may go up and take a picture just because. LOL

NEVER Again - No More SWF for ME.

2010-07-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

The latest blogs about the Salt Water Flush have been fun, but I'm not going to be writing about them again because I'm not ever going to do one again! DAMN - I decided to do another one today on an empty stomach and I have to be honest, I'm sick.

I took the SWF about an 90 minutes ago. Immediately I felt that stupid headache again, the one that I wasn't sure was originating from the flush or not. It does! It did it the first time, and it did this time too. No more. In between laying down and closing my eyes as to ward off the light-headed dizziness, I'm finding that I feel like vomiting, but don't think it would help. I keep seeing visions of myself dry-heaving so I just stay on the bed hugging the Basset hound. Believe me, it takes a bigger dog to get through this.

I thought maybe I should eat something but the thought of swallowing anything made me sick to my stomach and I ended up sipping watered down grape juice. After you've had your first movement you do feel a lot better - - by the third one you think you'll survive and you start thinking to yourself that it may have been worth it. NOT FOR ME. I won't lie, drinking a tablespoon of sea salt in with a shot of water and then chasing it with a quart of water is hard to do it; it's effective in cleaning you out, and it may have other benefits too. The side effects however, are just too harsh for this girl. I don't mind the cleanse, but there comes a point that you say not this way. It's almost like having that third child; you say "why did I do that? She's pretty, she's nice, I like her, but damn - - she's kicking my ass!" At least that's what I say about it - - you may not. (Love you Baby Caity!)

I guess what I'm saying is that I do believe the SWF works. I just don't like the headache that goes with it; or the laying down to feel well enough to live through the process. I'm too busy, I'm up and at it all the time. When I'm forced to stop or lay down for 30 minutes I feel like I'm being held a prisoner in my own body. It's the worst thing for me - - except gall bladder and kidney stones, they were worse. So, as for me and my body - we will not be using the Sea Salt Water Flush method to cleanse again. Hopefully we'll get really smart and do things the ultra natural way and just juice more veggies, eat more fruit, and drink more water. I mean, I was doing that to begin with so maybe it'll work if I just keep doing it over and over again. Can't hurt.

As for that third kid? Well, she's MINE. I love her no matter what. There's NO WAY I'd do it again if I had the option, but I wouldn't trade her for the world. NOT FOR THE WORLD. MINE MINE MINE.

The Things We Do for Fat Part Two

2010-07-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

Hey, looky there - - it only took 14 hours for my belly to decide to cooperate and do what everyone's belly does in 1. YEA me.

I finally went to the bathroom and was able to "eliminate", I love that word. I was surprised that I didn't have an upset tummy or any wild gurgling notices beforehand. Just an urge to go and I answered the call. Not that I was able to withstand the urge because I wasn't. Had I been in a public place I would have been at the mercy of anyone who may have been in the stall beforehand. It was a good thing that I was home, and give me reason to encourage anyone doing the Salt Water Flush (SWF) to stay home until you have had at least one good movement - - they say it will continue and you will "eliminate" several times in a few hours. We'll see.

Wouldn't it be great if we could wake up, go to the toilet, alleviate all of our fat and unwanted food substances naturally? We could have a nice little party every day with the scale. We could feel healthy and happy without wondering if we're going to add an oz or two today. I always say to myself that I won't worry about it; but I do. My friend the great web designer up in NJ (Randall Goya) added a comment to my last blog about dieting claiming that his doctor told him to eat less but more times a day. I've done that, I do that. I'm one of those that don't eat processed foods very often at all. I eat next to no dairy products, I eat next to no meat products, maybe a little chicken. It's just that MY body refuses to cooperate with MY ideas that I have for it. I even show my body pictures of what it would look like if it would cooperate, but it won't listen. (and yes, I even tried holding the pictures closer to my ears so it would)

I'm not going to accept Randall's obviously correct statement that some of us were born to be rounder or more substantially built. To heck with that notion! LOL I say a person should be able to communicate with ones own body and come to an agreement....that's just my mind's opinion, but my heart agrees. I think it does, I like to pretend it does anyway.

Good luck with your SWF if you decide to do it. I'm told (by reading) that you can do it as often as you like, but to be aware as usual that any change to your routine could cause problems and you should consult a doctor first - - it's just smart to do that.

The Things We Do For Fat

2010-07-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

This is a good one. I still have a fatter belly than I want; for some reason, even though I diet correctly, exercise and do all the things I'm suppose to do I have this big fat round gut sticking out in front of my would-be-otherwise-toned body. So, I've declared war (again) on it and this time I'm bringing in the heavy hitters - - salt and water.

I read about the salt water flush over a year ago and never really understood what it could do for me because I couldn't get past the fact that people would put a tablespoon of sea salt (NOT iodized table salt) into a quart of water and drink it. Are you kidding me? No one would do that - - unless they do it the way I do it. It just makes more sense. I just put a tablespoon of sea salt into a glass of 3 oz of water, not a quart, and let it dissolve, THEN I drank that down, more like a shot. After I did that I was more than happy to follow it with a quart of fresh filtered water as a chaser! I couldn't get a quart of salty water down but I can shoot a tablespoon of it fast enough. It took 2 shots, but I got it.

So, now I'm sitting here waiting on the "results", which I'm told are nasty and I don't want to be in public when they do come. I'm told I'll be in the bathroom all evening, and that's OK - - I've got the shower prepared JUST in case things get really messy. Oh, you didn't want to hear that did you; my bad. I'm also timing it to see what sort of effects MY body has as opposed to the people on line. I'm feeling a bit full but not disgusting yet. I'm also wondering if the slight headache that is approaching has something to do with it, or if the stress of the day itself could be bringing it on. We'll have to test the theory again at a later date.

I don't know how often you're suppose to do the salt water flush (SWF) so I'll start with today and see what happens. If it's a daily thing - - I'm pretty sure I could do it, but I'd need to see dramatic results before I agreed to do it. I also need to remind you that I am NOT suggesting that you follow in my footsteps, and before you do anything like this or any other regimen please consult a doctor. You just never know.

The website I went to is: http://www.colonzone.org/salt-water-flush.php just in case you want to do this - - after you consult your doctor. It says the sea salt is NOT absorbed into your digestive system, as the weight of the salt pushes it through to the intestines and then it goes on to report that you'll release it through your anus, now there's a bit of news that no one expected...LOL of course it is, it's a flush! OK, it's been 15 minutes and the only change is my head still feels a bit light. So I'll hang on for a few more minutes before retreating to the bathroom just to wait. I'll let you know what happens. If I need to I'll put up a warning sign.

OK - - it's been one full hour and NOTHING. Not a belly rumble or anything. I'll come back tomorrow and update you on everything - - Part Two...on Number 2. Had to go there.

Day Two - Mercy Has Been Shown

2010-07-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I find myself needing a little mercy. Today I woke up, took my son to run a few errands and on our way back my car stopped working! It has been experiencing a great deal of problems since my son drove it through water a few weeks back (unavoidable really) and it's been just a little annoying to say the least. So today when the security light came on - - and the engine wouldn't turn over, I knew it was the same issue I had with it last week. It was fixed last week, and by a wonderful mechanic too. I called him to let him know there would be another moment for he and my car to spend a little time together. He's on his way up from Texas now. GREAT man.

Then, if you remember, I'm taking the weight loss thing very seriously now and am doing a master cleanse, something of a miracle some say. It's a variation on the lemonade/cayenne thing. The rumor is that actress/singer Beyonce has been doing the lemonade/cayenne diet from time to time and it works. Beyonce, and others may be stronger than I am. I can't do the diet or fast without eating. I do eat much less than I use to, I will say that. There are times I have to remind myself to eat. I get so busy and I'm full of energy from the cayenne or something - but it gets done. I have been eating so much better than I once did. If I had to do it all over, or if I ever get grand kids, there will be a new way of eating introduced. Absolutely. I won't say sugar is the enemy, but it's not a close friend.

So my car needs a new starter and there may be one in town just waiting on me to pick it up when I get my old one off the car and take it to the man at the salvage yard. If you haven't been to your local salvage yard you need to go. If going to the commercial auto stores are your thing I won't try to convert you, but I paid $30 for an Air Mass Flow for my car at the salvage yard where it was $217 at AutoZone! They both worked. Just because a car comes in broken doesn't mean the part YOU NEED is broken, right? I think I'll pay $35 for the starter and it was $159 at AutoZone. There you go. A break, mercy for me! Thank you God!

So while I wait on my neighbor to get home so I can borrow his car-jacks to get my starter off; Faith and I have been hanging out on the porch watching the world drive by. I treated her to a little lemon in her water and she treated me with a big fat smile and a kiss. I love dogs. Talk about showing you mercy - - DOGS are the best. They believe you're better than you are, and if I could someday be the person my dog thinks I am - - wow, I'd be flying wouldn't I?

Cayenne!! That's Hot!

2010-07-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

OK, you know me, I hear something can help me lose weight and I jump on it if it's natural and doesn't cost much. Well, enter Cayenne Pepper Oil. I've known for years that Cayenne can help your metabolism, it increases blood flow, works wonders on your circulation and does fantastic things for ones prostate. Since I don't actually have a prostate I imagine that the other benefits will be good enough - - and when you compare it to many other health food supplements cayenne beats the pants off them price wise. It's REALLY cheap, I think my 1 oz dropper bottle was $7.95 - - which makes it very popular with me; right up there with wild cherry juice!

Some of the natural benefits of cayenne pepper oil are outstanding, but believe me the bottle needs to come with its own warning pamphlet. When you think of cayenne sauce or Louisiana hot sauce, you think of the natural hot spicy taste associated with it. We put it in our stews, on our cornbread -- it's good right? Well, when you take cayenne straight from the bottle you need to be standing really close to a 44 oz cup of ice and if that's not enough, if your tongue and cheeks melt through that too quickly, you'll want to be close to a spray nozzle at the sink! OMG - - Paris Hilton would say it, you would say, I said it, THAT'S HOT! OMG THAT'S HOT. Hot enough to make you NEVER want to do it again, but you know you have to...if you want the millions of benefits it brings your body...and I do.

I've been reading up on it; Niki Bauer would be really proud of me. She's my English teacher friend that loves to try new foods that her husband Eric whips up Speaking of Big Eric (We call him that to differentiate between himself and his taller than he is son Little Eric), speaking of Big Eric, I'm having dinner with him tonight and I'll take my cayenne to the restaurant with me and tell him how stupid I was to take 30 drops of the magic liquid lava earlier today -- at least I took it with a good suspension liquid in 100% blue agave! I didn't just drop it in my mouth, but something tells me I wasn't too far off from just dropping it, damn, I think my lips look like they've been given a collagen treatment...puffy and tender to touch...seriously, it's DAMN HOT. Let me say it just one more time - HOT.

Now I'm reading that I can put it in tea. I knew I could put it in stew, so why not tea. Tea is hot, you drink it, it works wonders and maybe it will diffuse the scorching searing feeling I had in my mouth from the last time. I was funny though, I made Reuben try it first to see how he would do -- that's why I used the blue agave....poor kid. He's a great guinea pig. I did the same thing to him with oil of oregano; that's another herb (oil) you don't want to abuse. I had to blog about that too. His sinuses were cleared up immediately and stayed that way for days!

So, I have to run, but I wanted to post another blog first. May as well be this one, you may be thinking "what can I do to speed up my metabolism and make myself unbearably uncomfortable for 30 minutes?" Hey, I know the answer, take 30 drops of cayenne oil with a little honey or agave - - you'll feel pain in NO TIME!! Oh, but according to all the experts, your circulation, digestion, and if you're a man your prostate, will all thank you! Your tongue, your cheeks, your head - - no so much! LOL

I Kill People All the Time - - In My Mind

2010-07-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

As a writer I'm constantly thinking. I play games with myself -- putting my mind and sometimes my body into a film, a book, a thought, a story. I'm pretending nearly every minute of my life when I'm not actively engaged in reality. I prefer pretending, it's prettier, bigger, better, I have more money - - I have absolutely NO fat whatsoever in my dreams and I kill people - LEGALLY.

Writing is just that - - writing. It's a process of putting what you think onto paper, into a database, you put it somewhere so you can say you did it, it was your idea, and no one else can muscle in on it and call it theirs. Of course, muscling into someone elses haven and stealing their hard-thought out ideas is part of the writers fantasy, but we don't do it. Good writers don't do it, we respect the others and we kick ourselves for not thinking of it first....or at least not registering it first.

I was riding home from a botched arrangement the other day; a day I was suppose to drive my own car home but ended up in the jump seat of a stranger's van and believe me that gave me ample time to plan a murder...even my own. Imagine this: You're in a van, a stranger's van, a van of a man you've never met and wouldn't have met if you hadn't met him. He was just there when HE needed to be. He's the murderer -- he has to be, it was meant to be. SO, is he going to kill me, is he going to kill Laura (she was with us) or are we going to stop off somewhere between here and there and kill someone completely ignorant of our plan? PERFECT - - we kill someone together, I never see Mr. Van again, he doesn't know who I am, and the only connection we have at all is the repair shop where we met -- may I add, a repair shop that could be where he hides HIS bodies. I hide mine in the woods - - different woods. I tend to bring them to a hidden place, chop them up with wood choppers, put them on ice, mail the pieces to myself at different post office locations and then feed them to pigs all around the county. ARE YOU STILL READING THIS? LOL - - my bad.

The drive home - some 38 miles - was epic for the mind. Laura helped; she was in the back of the van. Pitch black, thumping around with electrical cords, a boom box, a tool box or two, loose tools and this van guy's bloody work clothes - - I mean, greasy work clothes. I just said bloody because I slipped right back into the plot. I burn my clothes, I walk out of the woods naked, completely naked - - so you can see where being wonderfully built physically without additional body fat makes me the ideal killer. Besides, I'm a former English teacher; unless the victim is a student or an administrator no one suspects me. No one.

Laura and I got home and she opened the back door of the van -- because she could. In my mind she was trapped, her hands were taped together, and she was trying to get out of the situation - - She looked me squarely in the eyes and said "Oh my GOSH mom, I totally killed three people! I was awesome. I was the lost little school girl right, well, they didn't know it, but I only look 12, I'm 21, I lured them into the van, I strangled them with the cord in the dark and then pushed them out on the side of the road when he slowed down!" I was laughing - - I told her I know. I know because I was behind her in another van, I stopped, picked the bodies up, threw them in the back of my van and we had to dispose of the bodies now....we laughed. We went to Starbucks and decided to leave the bodies, the van, the man, everyone back in the world of imagination. For now.

Tow - - Two For One. Not Really.

2010-07-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

They charged us for two tows, but that's OK. We have AAA Road Assistance. (Thank you Reuben) and for the record, the Broadway Towing Company of Ardmore did a really good job towing our two vehicles today to our favorite mechanic in Texas, Russell over at Rapid Repair of Gainesville, TX. RUSSELL is probably sorry he ever said yes to helping us about a year ago, but he agreed!! He's been our constant friend.

Getting to Gainesville wasn't the problem, and to be honest, there wasn't really a problem - - except Russell couldn't get to either of my cars today and I was stranded in Gainesville, about 38 miles away from home. Once the towing service truck pulled away and Russell informed me that he couldn't get to my car today I immediately called the trucker back - - to no avail. You never get HIM, nice as he was, you get his parents, who own the company. First his mom was befuddled by what I was asking - - simple enough; I wanted her son to turn around and come back to pick us up. He was going back anyway - - shouldn't be hard to get him to take us back. Well, that's what you would think. EXCEPT..it must have been a newly thought out concept too much for her brain, as she stumbled around the issue for a few minutes with me on the phone, all the while her son (and my potential ride) drove further and further from me. HELLO LADY -- call your son! Ask him to come back! How hard is that? Apparently so hard she had to put her husband on the line - - the owner of the tow service.

When I asked him to call his son back and tell him we needed to go back to town - - his answer was, and no, I can't make this up: "We don't do that." WHAT? WE DON'T DO THAT? We don't do what, turn around, help out folks, what part of it don't they do? He explained to me that his son was already on his way back - - I knew this, but he wasn't far and I offered to pay for the gas for returning. "No, we don't do that, we don't take folks back. We drop them off is all." Not lying, that's what he said - - do you think that's going on my report to AAA and to the newspapers in the area; because it is. The pen, and in this case, the keyboard, can be a very convincing tool for those of us who like to call ourselves CONSUMERS!

There I was -- stranded in Gainesville...it could be worse.

Russell is an adorable man, all gruffy and grumpy acting, but that's just an act. He quickly came up with a solution. After I called a few good friends and got no where - - he suggested that a local handyman "John" take us back. Of course I offered to pay for gas, and I did, but here's the fun part: John, of www.handyman-john.com drove a big white cargo van JUST like you'd think he would. Laura had to ride in the back with the boombox, the tool boxes, the electrical cords, and standing loose tools. I gave her the option of sitting on my lap up front with the big American flag stretched across the backdrop cage that separates the driver/passenger from all the dangerous flying metal should there be a sudden stop. She declined. She ..Laura became the flying not-so-metal that hit the backdrop cage when John had to come to a forceful stop...twice. OUCH.

All the way home John and I talked about his two daughters and their adventures. He's a young young man, but has a 12 and 11 year old daughters who are into everything. Now living near Chicago he rarely sees them, but never a more proud father could there be. It was indeed an adventure coming home in the pouring rain, in a van speeding down the highway at 80 mph apt to make sudden stops - - my heart and my prayers stayed in the back with Laura Cakes. Her occasional thuds quickened my heart constantly. When we approached our fair city I was brazen and bold enough to assume correctly, that our host wouldn't mind stopping first at Starbucks before taking me all the way home - - HEY, I paid him!! LOL

Thanks John -- told you I would blog. I hope the world calls you up and puts you to work now. Just incase you need a great handyman in the Southern part of Oklahoma and/or the Northern part of Texas, call John at 940-632-7489 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 940-632-7489 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Yes, I got his permission to add his cell) Fun times for all - - except Laura.

OH -- and the minute, I mean the minute I got home Russell called to say the car didn't take as long as he first thought. It's ready now. OF COURSE it is. Hahahaha...I'll pick it up Saturday when I have a ride. No sense hiring John again, but you never know, he was fun and full of talk-talk. Get this: his daughter has a singing contract at age 11. You just can't hope for more. Thanks John, thanks Russell - - thanks GOD - - we learned alot on this two-for-one towing day. I'm happy, the sun is taking a nap and letting the skies weep for a minute. It's a great day to be alive and know that the sound of your kid hitting the backdrop cage can actually mean that she's happy to be alive too. (Sorry Laura, I did offer you to sit in my lap!) LOL

Oil of Oregano - - NOT to be Abused

2010-06-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Nope, this is ONE herb you just don't want to mess with. Reuben (I call him "Baby Boy") found that out the hard way today -- and JUST like the time he put his hand into his Grandma's pepper jar I couldn't stop him, Reuben dosed himself under the nose as was suggested! OUCHHHH - and what a noise, very loud noise came out of my darling 24 year old son. REALLY very reminiscent of the day he was about 2 and popped his first jalapeno! A boy has to learn, right? Sometimes moms do need to be listened to before taking action. He won't be doing that again. My ears are still ringing, but probably not as loudly or as painfully as his nostrils. (He now says he can smell it, taste it, feel it, and he's not really all that happy with himself for not reading the instructions on the bottle.)

Boys are boys until they become men, then there's really not much hope for them now is there? Not when it comes to listening to mom, and not when it comes to reading the labels or following diagrammed instructions. They just have to find out for themselves how to sink or swim - - and in this case how to do the dancing thing when you've burned out the inside of your nose with an extremely potent herb designed to kill off bacteria. Noses have bacteria in spades. The herb was JUST doing its job, son.

We went to the FedEx store to send off a media pack to the Zippy Production Co. in Japan. That's when the lady behind the counter, who was wearing her "I Support the Troops" shirt noticed that Baby Boy was sneezing a bit, and sniffling. He was born in Oklahoma but has never gotten use to or immune to the pollens from the cottonwoods, pecans, dandelions, you name it my son is allergic to it just enough to make his sinuses rage a bit in the spring and summer heat. Angelina, the woman, quickly told him to try a little oil of oregano and then she said to put it under his nose, just a drop. She swore it would work - - she may be right, but the bottle is clear about NOT putting the oil directly on the skin without mixing it very well with olive oil first. Infact, its so strong (oil of, or extract of oregano) that it takes a full teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil mixed with just one tiny drop of oregano oil to make the right mix. NO ONE wants to put that much oil under their nose, so I'm thinking under the tongue would make a lot more sense.

I was right -- and as much as I like to admit that I'm right, I don't like to admit that my son who can stand in Iraq for a year holding a gun to protect me and who can drive a tank on two wheels when called to do so, can't or won't listen when I tell him what I know to be true about herbs. HELLO, I'm Celtic! I think I'm more Celtic than he is because he is actually 1/16 Chinese -- but then again, the Chinese are masters with various herbs and remedies -- suffice it to say my son didn't really inherit the herb gene. He did however steal all of the bravado and macho genes from whatever pool his DNA was swimming in. He's brave to a fault at times and even when he afflicted himself with the oil of oregano he immediately (after initially screaming and rubbing his face into the couch) went on the defence and crammed dry tissue up his snout to get all that he could -- but membranes being membranes the damage was pretty much done. Poor baby. He did learn from it, but still. It hurts a mother to laugh that much at her son.

OK, so the effects of oil of oregano can be very very beneficial to anyone using it correctly. It works to eliminate inflammation, it helps acne, or actually kills the bacteria that causes it. It works to aid stomach aches, indigestion, gas and so much more...and sinus issues too. But please, before you try anything new - - especially if someone from a store just mentioned it on the fly, please consult a doctor or pharmacist -- herbalist, someone! And, if you're not to manly to do so, please try reading the bottle for instructions. If you are too manly to read it, ask your mom!

Puppy Faith (10 inch plush toy) is HERE

2010-06-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the FAITH the Dog's Official Product Site!

Everyone needs a little "PUPPY FAITH"

Item Number: 3929394
Description: Reserve Your Inspirational and Hug-able "Puppy Faith" Plush Toy TODAY!

Custom made by the Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company & Distributed by Cher Marketing for only 14.99ea. (a portion of proceeds will go to help the Michigan Animal Rescue League & Community Animal Rescue Effort in Strawn Texas)

Soft and Cuddly "Puppy Faith" is 10" tall, golden color with an inspiring removable heart shaped message tag attached to her ear.

Contact: www.chermarketing.com or call: (248) 674-9339 to orer yours.

Ordering instructions: Please indicate the color golden and size small to complete form.

International Shipping, will be invoiced at $12.75

A 10% profit of Jude Stringfellow's PORTION OF PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO HELP ANIMALS IN NEED!
Namely Animal Rescue groups.
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Quantity: 1
Price (each): $14.99

WE ALL NEED A LITTLE "FAITH"

--->>> NO CHARGES WILL BE APPLIED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD UNTIL THE MERCHANDISE IS READY FOR SHIPMENT<<<---

Information, data or designs from this website may not be copied, archived, mined, stored, captured, harvested or used in any way except in connection with use of the site in the ordinary course for its intended purpose.

At Home on the Range!

2010-06-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

My son Reuben took me to the shooting range close to where we live -- by close you have to remember we live in the sticks, so about 40 miles out. If I were already living in Texas I would have said "just up the road a bit" to describe how far we drove so I could kill paper targets. It was fun, but more importantly, it was a life lesson in why I gave birth in the first place. The #1 reason I gave birth to my son was so that on this day he would rule supreme over me and thoroughly school me on self defense, self preservation, self protection, and why I should never join an elite sniper team. (Hint: because I suck at shooting)

You have to understand that even though I was raised in a Southwestern state (Oklahoma) and have been out in the woods I have not been hunting. I have not been target practicing. I have only shot a gun once and I think I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger with both hands. I missed then too. It was determined LONG ago that I'm far better shooting a rifle than I am a hand gun. I've been known to shy from a pistol; even dropping it, and then screaming because I thought it was going to go off in my hands or when it hit the ground for sure. Yep, I'm far better and more comfortable holding a longer barreled weapon and when I do I have a bit more confidence -- at least I can fake my non-nervousness and I don't shake or sweat where the bad guy can see me.

Choosing the right weapon is so important. I told the guy at the front desk I wanted something without a recoil and he showed me the door. At first I thought he kept guns outside where we had just come in from, but soon realized he was directing me to go home -- I laughed, but apparently he's not much of a joker. See why I don't date? Men are mean. Reuben gave the guy the old "man" head nod without saying anything and was escorted to the back office where all the rifles and pistols were kept. The guy finally cottoned up to me after Reuben explained my ignorance - - thank you son -- and I was handed a something or other deer rifle with the number .243 at the end, which I think shoots 30x30 ammo - - but that makes no sense to me. It should shoot 243 sized bullets right? Anyway, I didn't argue, I just listened to my son explain how to load it, how to lock it, how to cock it, how to aim it, and how to shoot it - - and he did this in one long sentence and only 1/2 of a breath. DONE. I had to ask him to do it again, but this time to slow it down a bit -- the gun master left the room before he became angry enough to use one of his guns on me.

We were the only shooters on the deer range. I was given a deer rifle for two reasons: 1. It's easier to explain to law enforcement I'm told. You have a deer rifle you may never be questioned as to why you own one. It's used to shoot deer. the 2nd reason is, you guessed it, it doesn't have as much of a recoil. Well, it does, but it's suppose to be easier for women and/or men who aren't used to shooting. I don't like to lie to law enforcement - - but I will never ever in my life, as long as I live, shoot at a deer. It's not going to happen. Not in this life time and not in any other life times that I am a participant of. I'm getting the rifle to protect myself and Laura from bad men, not good deer. So, Mr. Law Enforcer - - I'm getting a MAN rifle, not a deer rifle. There, I said it.

OK, so you don't think I'm a total baffoon,I will address the issue of aiming first. I did a very good job at shooting the rifle once I understood the concept of closing one eye and aiming with the open one. It ONLY works when you use the open eye to gauge the shot, and no one, not even my son got a chuckle when I tried to aim the rifle with the closed eye -- it was a joke! No one is funny at a gun range.

I practiced a few times and then began shooting. We paid for 30 minutes and in that time I shot at and wounded over 40 paper deer. I nearly cried thinking about their little paper friends, families, baby deer back in the storage cabinet and thought long and hard about asking for paper man targets since I wouldn't be aiming low enough to shoot a deer in the head or a man in the ---- oooooh, yes I guess I might be aiming low enough to shoot a man there. At least he would stop his approach if I did, wouldn't he? OK...I shot 9 deer after that. DEAD. All the deer that came after me after that thought were named "Mr. Bad Guy" and I killed every last one of them. No mercy for their paper friends and relatives - - they had to die.

Well, the rifle was OK, it hurt a bit and I realized that I can actually shoot right and left eyed -- or right and left handed. I'm equally good on both shoulders, and because of that I'm equally sore tonight from the not-suppose-to-have-much-of-a-recoil recoil....the .243 has a good recoil folks, it does. YES, it does. I can handle it because I have "shooter's shoulders" I'm told. How funny, when the assistant told me that I told him I also had child-bearing hips. He said he had noticed my hips when I first came into the office. I blushed and said thank you, but my son wasn't the least bit impressed - - he got in the man's face and asked if the rifle was on sale or if he could pay some now and pick it up in a month or so. It was on sale, but we decided to wait - - I decided to wait. I want to be sure I'm moving to the country before plopping down $550 for a rifle I'm buying to protect me in the country - - for the city "Mr.Bad Guy" I have my dogs, my daughter, and my Kaybar knife to protect me. (I'm not really bragging, but I'm fairly feisty with a blade) Reuben gave me a crash course on grappling as well. See, giving birth to this kid was so beneficial.

There you go - - settled. Once I hear the words "You're hired" and I find myself moving to the no-where zone of middle Texas, where all roads lead somewhere cool, I'll buy the rifle. I'm told the 30x30 ammo is cheap and that if I hang a couple of the paper targets outside the house I could actually detour a would be intruder. He may see that I missed the deer's head - - worry that I may not miss his if I aim the same way I did to put a hole in the center of the animal. Viva La long barrel.

Poems. (New book in 2010)

2010-05-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm posting a few poems which will be showcased in my 2nd poetry book. The first "Periwinkle" is available online at Amazon and can be ordered through your local bookstore. I am hoping to find a better publisher this time. Enjoy the works of a woman who loves to love.

RULED BY HEART

I couldn't ever start to know
The cravings of my heart
Her drum in me beats on its own
She lays out her own desires
I am forced to do her bidding
By fear that she may stop
If left alone she'd harden
Her need for me is soft

We fit together - harmonized
True, she rules us both
If she decides to fall again
If she desires to love
I won't fall, but have to wait
Wait until she frees me
I won't fall, but have to hope
Hope that she releases

I have but one heart to serve
She has but me to rule
Strange, our timing always off
Her silent beat abuses
Clinching to the next dreamt scheme
Silent beats - such thunder
Serve I will, devoted warrior
Pray she does not wander

Sooner Fan - - EVEN in my Dreams

2010-05-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sleeping is NO exception when you're a Sooner. You are a fan at all times.

I was sleeping, I was dreaming, I was singing "Boomer Sooner". I don't remember all of the dream, but for the most part I was in Los Angeles the 1st weekend in October, as it was just too expensive to fly back to Dallas to see the OU/TX Red River Rivalry game. I remember thinking "this is a dream, I could fly if I wanted to. I don't need a plane!"

In the dream I was at a party and of course, because I'm a dedicated Sooner, even though I couldn't be at the game I was listening to it on my iPhone. I had the ear plugs firmly in place, and could see myself sitting in the corner talking to myself. I wasn't REALLY talking to myself. I was talking to Head Coach Bob Stoops -- I do that. I stand up and scream at the man through the television set when he does things I don't agree with, and I nearly chest bump the flat screen when he does listen to me...but we won't go there, in the dream I was half way behaving myself because I was in public. I was at a party! NOT AN OU PARTY, it was some sort of a get together for the book or the movie...this had to be a dream, because in reality, I can't think of much of ANYTHING that will keep me from either sitting in the stands or staring at my TV on that hallowed autumn Saturday morning. NOT MUCH could stop me - - it never has.

WHAT should happen in my slumber, but in walks no other than TEXAS fan Matthew McConaughey! I couldn't believe my eyes. This guy is usually not only at the game, but making such a burnt orange nuisance of himself on the big tron....singing, dancing, getting crazy, saying things like "Hook 'em horns" please! LOL

I asked my new friend why he wasn't at the game and he saw my shirt - - my OU shirt. He rubbed his non-horns chest and said "I know! I KNOW! I had to be here today! I can't believe it!" Well, you know I did the right thing, I let the man share my ear buds....he may be a Texan, but he deserved to hear the game too. That's the Boomer Sooner spirit - - right? This way when we scored and beat their Longhorn butts he'd be there to see me celebrate! LOL (Some Texans would tell you that after the last game or two, that I really must be dreaming...this year doesn't hold much more promise, but WE ARE SOONERS! We will believe!"

At least I woke up with a smile on my face.

Wicked Whirlpool - - But I am Still Standing

2010-05-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

It's not like fighting authority, with the washing machine you have a chance.

There I was minding my own business because that is what I do, when I heard a noise coming from the laundry room in my little house. Currently I "stay" as my friend says, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, a town of about 30,000 so it's not a dot on the map, but it more like a smudge. I was listening to the noise this morning, trying to determine if it was animal, plant, mineral or some kid that had snuck in the side door. I thought long and hard about it because it was dark outside, it was just before dawn and I wasn't quite sure where I had put my Kabar. For those of you who don't know, a Kabar is a long sharp military blade. My son gave it to me for protection as he knows I don't do well with guns.

The noise was thrashing, it was thumping, it was terrifying, but the most I could do was to generate all sorts of images of some sort of killer stalker guy who had managed to get into the side door but didn't know where the light was and he must be falling over the Bissell steam cleaner trying to find the interior door. OH, that's right, the interior door...was it locked? I couldn't remember? Shoot, if it was open the guy could eventually find it and open it. He'd make his way through Reuben's nasty bathroom and then find me on the other side staring at him with a potted orchid in my hands. (Raised over my head of course for better leverage in times like these) Where the hell did I put my stinking knife?

The noise stopped. I rushed the interior door before the bad guy could find it and I locked it. I locked the damn door! Then, because I'm this way, I went outside in the dark, pushed open the gate, went around to the side door and pushed the heavy deck table in front of it. THERE -- now the guy was trapped in my laundry room. If he were really small he could crawl through the dryer's vent, and maybe escape, but I doubted it. Me and my overworked imagination had tricked this S.O.B. so now there was only one thing left to do, and that was to taunt the guy. I called out to him, but you know they never answer.

Laura was asleep of course, she slept through last week's tornadoes too - - it's like her to be unavailable in these stressful situations, but at least I had a clear vision of where I had put the damn knife. It was under the bed between the nightstand and the bed frame. Ha, of course it was because sleeping with it could be a problem even if it was in its leather sheaf. I'm a dangerous dreamer you understand and I have three dogs in my bed at night, no need for accidents.

Back to the bad guy - - he didn't say anything and I wondered if I should call the police. What would they ask me, what would they think about me pushing the table into the door rather than leaving the house with my cell so I could call them. I did think about that, but like I said I have my daughter sleeping and the dogs....wait a minute...the dogs. Not one of my dogs was barking while the guy was trying to invade the house. They don't pass up an opportunity to sound off every day when the mailman comes by, recently they let him have it three or four doors down! They hadn't made a peep....sleeping! They were still sleeping! They didn't even get up when I went outside. I think Matrix followed me out of loyalty, but he wasn't really thrilled that he had to.

After a few clear minutes of going over it in my mind and conversing with the dog as to what his thoughts were, I went back inside the house and opened (cautiously) the interior door leading from Reuben's bathroom to the laundry room only to find that there was no bad guy - - unless he was that small and had crawled through the dryer's vent. The washer however, had managed to find its way closer to the middle of the room and I think I heard it bitch about something being inside of it that wasn't fitting correctly. I can blame Laura this time...she's the only other person in the house right now and it was her fat comforter slumped over to one side of the Whirlpool...I felt pretty stupid.

At least I know one thing; Matrix loves me.

The Notorious Nick Posh

2010-05-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

I went to sleep last night after waiting up past eleven for Bryan (my personal Starbucks Shift Manager) to bring me a grande java chip frappucino. He had asked me if Laura wanted something before she went to bed, and had offered to bring her old mother one as well -- nice kid. So I said yes, and then started the clock. I won't say yes next time. It was a great and wonderful (as well as generous) offer, but waiting up to drink a fatty caffeinated drink may have led to this extremely interesting dream and I'm not really sure I'm cut out to be a detective novelist.

The Notorious Nick Posh appeared prominently in my slumber. I'll consider this writing proof of my copyrights, and therefore if anyone comes along and steals my idea I'll sic Posh on them immediately. Posh, in his day, had been credited with killing upward of 10 people over the past 12-15 years. He was hard to pin down has he'd been laying low after the Maguire brothers beat him senseless for the attempted rape of their sister Kate. That had been over 30 months, and since no brutal mutilations had taken place in Chicago's east side that could be nailed to Posh, the detectives of the XX precinct were all but convinced the brothers had scared the polecat into hiding for good, or maybe he was still floating somewhere on the banks of the Michigan looking like fish bait.

Here's the deal; Posh had an MO. After reading about a bloke in Guthrie, Oklahoma back in the early part of the century (20th)who had been shot during a bumbled bank robbery and having been over processed with the undertakers formaldehyde, Posh cooked the idea to intentionally use the stuff to stiffen up the stiff so tight he couldn't break, but he could be cut up cleanly enough. Posh then took several of the pieces that could be recognized, the head, the hands, and even the belly and mailed them to himself outside of Chicago -- to post boxes in post offices all around the area like parcels. From there he'd chop the pieces up using difference wood choppers that he borrowed or rented from locals. He even went so far as to go to Gary, Indiana once to borrow a farmer's combine tools to destroy evidence. Who cared if the other parts were found right, in 1939 it wasn't like those forensic experts of the future were going to catch Posh. He had it made.

Without more than a few words Detective Tom "Buzz" Irwin found himself back at work. Retirement wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and California's Malibu beaches wasn't any place for a Chicago native cop to hide out anyway. The chill of a hard Chicago winter hadn't gripped Buzz in two years but with Posh making a possible return, this time in the uppity Gold Coast, there was no one else qualified to go on the hunt. Chicago had a way of always seducing him. Always bringing him home.

That's when it happened -- I woke up. DAMMIT, I woke up. Now I have to sit down and write out some cheesy old period 20th Century serial killer novel with bad plots and sleazy evil characters oozing from the pages. It's either the Sherlock Holmes shorts I've been reading or my love for a hot, middle aged, raspy voiced, square-jawed detective that gives me this push - - can't simply be the frappucino. Wait, I hadn't actually described Buzz to you - - had I? OOPS, my bad.

That's my dream. It had all sorts of other details, places, people, action -- shouldn't take me too long to write it. I love writing in overt simple terms that can be read out loud and made fun of. Think Dragnet meets Dick Tracy meets me at the airport after too many cups of coffee. Should be fun.

It's A No-Go Lt. Dan! No Stalking Now.

2010-04-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry Gary, Ernie, Kimo, Carole, Danny & Beth, Gina, Julie, Mari Anne, Jeff, Ben and all the others -- Sorry Lt. Dan Band, I just won't be able to make it to the Chicago Hard Rock Cafe this coming week (May 7) as I have something more personal to attend. My big baby girl, as opposed to my baby girl, is turning 21. This will of course call for a celebration - - and though I would absolutely love nothing more than to stand at the edge of the stage grinning at you all, and taking in the lovely tunes that you play - - it will simply not be taking place.

Laura has actually invited me to be a part of her life - - and I will oblige. At first we planned on taking in Vegas, but she has invited far too many for that. We thought of Dallas and all the fun we could have there - - too far for some. So, we've compromised and we're going the BIGGEST casino this side of the Pecos! That's right, Winstar Casinos at mile marker 1 on the RIGHT side of that old Red River. All you Texans who have been invited will just have to Boomer Sooner it for the night, now won't ya!? Put on that Crimson and Cream and sing out loud! If you don't know the words they're rather easy to learn: "Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner...Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer - Soon-er." You stretch that last one out a bit....and you go "YEAAAAAAAA" at the very end. It may take a few practice runs, but you can do it.

So, stalking will not be on the agenda - - not for me anyway. Gary, you're a cute man, really you are, but you don't have what it takes to pull me away from the joy of my heart...well, OK, maybe just a little. I'll try my hardest to make it up to you and put stalking on my summer calendar; somewhere between moving and speaking at a million venues...but I swear, I'll do it someday. Everyone expects me to stalk you, so I guess I shouldn't let them down. Maybe someday, but not this weekend.

I'm hoping the Birthday Girl gets lucky and wins at 21 at least a couple of times. I teased her about being at a club on her 21st, I met the man I let get away on my 21st. Hey, John Patrick Maloney - - if you're out there buddy - - come back!! Remember that song by Randy Travis about the Operator connecting him to 1982...I would so do that again; at least for that one night.

Happy Birthday Laura Cakes. You'll be the prettiest girl at the clubs and I know one with the biggest smile. Good luck at the tables and who knows, maybe somewhere up in Chicago a certain band will be kind enough to sing Happy Birthday in your honor. Wish we could be there LDB...but it wasn't in the cards. (A little casino humor, sorry, couldn't pass..oops, did it again.)

Love ya.

So Not Easy Being Me in the Third

2010-04-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to finish a book I'm writing with the fantastic Seattle based author Rudy Yuly. In the narrative we are writing in third person, which means instead of saying "me" or or "I", which is so ingrained in all of us when we talk about ourselves, I am being forced to say "she" or "Jude". I call myself "Stringfellow" when I think I've used my first name too often. This is not easy.

For the first few days I couldn't get it done at all. I forced myself to think outside of my own head and my own experiences to try and relive or visit the stories that I was telling the world. I tried to get inside my own head as it were, and tell the story from the point of view that would seem personal to the character in the book, but not necessarily so to myself, or the co-author. It helps that I'm not the only author of this book -- it helps that he's there and he's able to see things from a more pure and clean perspective when it comes to retelling a story that didn't actually take place in his life. It's like a dream for me. I'm trying to remember the events, but they don't seem all that real anymore.

When I go back over the things that have happened to me and to my family since we've had Faith it just seems like a bunch of made up stories - - like Forrest Gump or something. Oh wait, if it's Forrest Gump I may actually get a shot at Lt. Dan! Oh, how fun would that be? OK -- here's my dilemma, should I travel down this fantasy road for a while, or get back on the reality train and tell the blog as it was suppose to be? Oh, I hate it when I'm obedient. LOL

Back to the blog we go.

Authorship is a gift I believe. I know it can be learned, akin to playing the guitar, a piano, or even learning the basics in a game of baseball. If you are bent on writing you will write. Some of us are given a gift for it, and other work at it. Like me when I'm picking at my guitar - - I can't for the life of me remember the keys and I don't hold the chords correctly either. I love the instrument and I want to play it more than anything - not actually more than anything I suppose, because I'd rather write. I find that writing is a more natural event for me, and even if I don't have much to say I still talk. I still tell, and I still show off. If I were a classic guitarist like my good friend Edgar Cruz I would be strumming right now and you'd never be able to read what I write, but you could at least hear what I play.

Writing in the third is so hard for me. It's the equivalent of picking up that six-stringed instrument and trying to make it talk to me. Trying to make it tell me what I'm suppose to do to make it sing. I no longer write my fantasies or my dreams out in a journal before I key them into a computer. Times have changed and I have obeyed the times. However, being able to write and feeling comfortable with a new method are two completely different things. I like the challenge - - it makes me realize I'm a bit vulnerable; but at the same time I know I'll often slip right back into the woods I am familiar with and hide deeply beneath the foliage I have lived in and with all my life. My pen is my sword and I am not willing to lay it down just yet -- not when the fight is in me and the need to protect ME...well, her...if we're talking in the third.

I am the only me I could ever be. This remains constant. In every point of view.

20 Innings - - Are You Serious?

2010-04-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

April 17, 2010 - - St. Louis, Mo! WOW...the Mets went to the Show-Me State and put on a show -- but it was matched. EQUALLY matched infact! The Mets went scoreless for 18 straight innings as did the Cardinals. Can you believe it? I turned on the television to hear the announcer say it was the bottom of the 19th, and I thought he was crazy!

Reuben and I sat down to watch the last 1.5 innings of a really interesting game. I tried to figure out how long that would take to play -- turns out it takes just under 7 hours. OMG - - 7 straight hours of playing baseball. I'm a Cubs fan, I would have probably stayed through the 20th, but to be honest if I was expecting to ride the bus home I would have had to count on my friends to take me home if I lived in Chicago. If we were at the opponent's home who knows - - we may have had a flight to catch, dinner plans, anything!

Laura is a Mets fan. She'll be thrilled to the outcome - - Oh, I didn't tell you. The Mets won the game in the 20th. It was the longest game in St. Louis history since 1974 and I believe I heard the announcer say the Mets had actually gone 25 innings before - - back in the 60's. Nope, it would not be an easy thing to sit through.

The two teams used 19 pitched. There were upward of 660 pitches, only 3 runs total as the Mets won 2 to 1, and the crowd had dwindled so far down that the only seats occupied were the first 10 rows. Of course those sitting up top came down during the mass exodus around the 12th inning - - I would.

So, that's the thrill of the day I guess for us - - we live a rather mundane life here at the Stringfellow house. LOL....and if you believe that, maybe you'll believe the Cubs can take the pennant this year! We'll see. We're only 10 games in and we're holding well so far! Go Chicago!!

Good Golly Miss Molly!!

2010-04-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well -- Good Golly! He went and did it now! Reuben went to the Ardmore Animal Wellness Center and he adopted himself a best friend. She's a full blooded female Basset Hound and the vet sets her age at about 18 months. She looks as if she has had puppies in the past, but she'll be spayed in just a few days so there will be no more chance of that happening. Miss Molly was named "Rosie" at the shelter due to her sweet and gentle demeanor. I can't imagine why anyone would let this pup go to a public shelter and not claim her, but that is the story we received.

Reuben and his brother Matt went to the shelter a couple weeks back to volunteer and Rosie was in a pen with dogs that were being kept so their owners could come and claim them. Yesterday she had been moved over to the other side of the shelter, the side allowing anyone from the public to adopt her. With her full blood status, sweet face, and really really great personality, it was a no-brainer that she'd be picked up in no time. Thank God Reuben was there, Johnny-on-the-spot! LOL I think he had a little help with the decision to go ahead and adopt Molly even though I am not moving out of the house with my dogs until July. He's right, in his defense, he is correct -- she wouldn't be there very long and she had already become decidedly thin from being stressed and not eating well.

Here, at the Stringfellow house, Molly fits in just perfectly. She was treated for kennel cough when she arrived in March to the shelter. She was dewormed, vaccinated, and had her nails and ears cleaned yesterday when he adopted her and took her to the vet for her first examination and once-over. It was determined that she could continue the Rx for her cough, but she was at the end of her prescription. She should be OK, not to mention (just so you know) my other dogs have all been vaccinated for KC and/or anything else that could be caught by bringing home another critter from a public shelter.

Reuben informed me that one of the reasons he got Molly early was so that he could watch the NFL draft with her this coming weekend. Everyone knows a man needs a good dog to watch the draft with. I'm more than sure that's going to be a long and drawn out cell conversation between Matt and Reuben, as Matt is still in the Army for another few weeks. Molly will no-doubt be taking Reuben's side every time.

Matt's looking around now for his addition to the house when he becomes a permanent resident of the Stringfellow house. He's adopting an English Bulldog from a rescue center somewhere in the United States. He just hasn't narrowed his search quite yet because he's not moving for another few weeks and I'm not moving out with mine until the middle of the summer - - please Matt, wait until I'm out of the little tiny house with the ever-shrinking yard before bringing in "Husker". Although, they say SEVEN is the number of perfection. Let's not make that happen - - OK? Thanks.

Reuben didn't waste anytime getting Molly her new purple collar and next week when she's spayed she'll receive her pretty shiny rabies vaccination tag proving she's 100% legal. Maybe when Reuben's not looking we girls will paint Molly's nails a bright pretty pink and do her ears all up in bows. Just for fun - - she'd like that. First things first, she has to gain a few pounds. Being at the shelter stressed her out a bit and she's way too thin right now. I'm pretty sure I saw Reub mixing her up a protein shake and adding a few eggs to it. I'll have to be sure and introduce her to the best pet food on Earth - - PRECISE. (www.precisepet.com) She'll be tip-top and awesome in no time. She's already stunningly gorgeous and sweet as can be...she may as well have the whole package!

Reuben's in love. (and he should be)

Open Invitation To Take a Bath With Me.

2010-04-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

If you're a dog and you live in my house it is apparently an open invitation to jump right on into the bath while I'm my most vulnerable. I know why I usually leave the doors closed now. With the kids away I thought I would leave the bathroom door open so I could hear the music from the living room drifting its way into my dimly lit bathroom...I was wrong.

First Teagan (a little yellow and white Jack Russell) decided she needed to drink the water -- it was hot and bubbly, but she didn't care. Her attention to the water caught King's attention - - he didn't hesitate or even leave skid marks, he just plopped right into the tub with me. Teagan followed.

King is a mix-breed St. Bernard/Dane and to be honest with you he's a bit clumsy too. Having him push and turn around in the water while I was trying to sit up to assist him was certainly worth a YouTube but there are some things just best left to the imagination. King really (and I mean really) wanted to take a bath.

I decided that since Teagan was so small she could be bathed faster and the sooner I got one of the dogs out of the bath tub the better -- that was my thought. As soon as I did manage to get Teagan out another dog made his way through the door. It was Yuki. He hadn't been in the room before - - unless he was being given a bath, so he was quite sure of what to do. He just leaned over the edge and joined us. Teagan proceeded to get away from me and then dry herself off on the sofas and when that wasn't sufficient she took off for my room to crawl and twist around on the comforter.

King sat down and kissed me squarely on the face. He wasn't in any hurry. It was almost as if he was saying "Go ahead, bathe Yuki, I can wait." So I scrubbed on the little Chihuahua-Dox for a while, found a towel, managed to get on my knees to get Yuki out and even dried him before he took off. Then came the fun one!

King just sat there with his back to me -- laughing. He was loving every single minute of it and the thought occurred to me that he may be part German Shepherd. My mom's dog Lady would kill to get into the water - even the garden hose was a source of joy to her. Who knows, a mix is a mix is a mix at this point. I haven't officially tested King's DNA -- I'm just sure he's a big 100+ pound dog with pretty long brown hair and bright big blue eyes. He's a ladies dog for sure.

After the tub was filled with dirt and hair I managed to climb out of it and dry both of us off...but the comforter still got used the second I released him. All those towels I washed and dried today - - getting it again tonight. I had to use 3 just to clean out the dirt and mess he left. Hey, at least my dogs are clean, right?

Matrix, the only dog NOT to get bathed was found on the bed too, but very safely under the blankets where he would be very difficult to grab or wrangle should I decide he needed to be cleaned. He lucked out...or I did, I don't know which!

Next time - - I close the door.

Almond Butter vs. Peanut Butter

2010-04-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

Wow - - can you even compare the two? Let's see, orgasm v. "Well, that was nice." That seems to be an adequate comparison between the two. Let's go with that.

It hasn't been that long since I went to the health food store in Oklahoma City where I decided to buy as many good and healthy things as I could afford. I promised myself that I would not spend ungodly amounts of money on pills, vitamins, minerals and supplements - - all of which are readily available, but I also promised myself that I would try to find the right balance of good food at a reasonable price. Then it happened -- I found the almond butter.

Everyone knows that peanuts are really cheap and that almonds cost a bit more. I don't do anything roasted, toasted, sweetened or shelled so buying the natural nuts was at least that much cheaper buying them in bulk rather than in prepackaged cans with logos and labels. I probably warranted myself another 100 nuts just for being the frugal Scots girl that I am.

Almond butter just made sense to me. I buy almonds to munch on, I should at least try the butter too. I can spread a little less and make the small jar go further than maybe I would the cheaper peanut butter -- even the organic brand, and I could maybe, I don't know, by sparing the amount also spare some calories, some fat, and make myself feel a little better for doing it - - that was the argument I needed and you bet, I bought the expensive jar of almond butter. I will say this, I had a choice of 4 and I picked the least expensive one. (gotta keep a sane mind somehow)

Well, I know this: I won't be going back to peanut butter anytime soon. Why would I? The overall taste, texture, and aroma kicks peanut butter in the nuts. Oh, I so meant to say that...I really did! It was tacky, but I said it anyway. If I had to pick a perfect food other than raw honey or maybe black beans it would be almond butter. You can think of a few ways to use it if you get really creative. I haven't actually tried mixing the almond butter with the black beans yet, but I have put a bit of raw honey on the other piece of 12 grain bread and let me tell you - - it's, well it's, it's a party in your mouth is what it is.

Someone out there in the almond growing world deserves a big thank you -- and maybe even a hug. Let me know if you find them, I'd like to shake their hand. Oh, before you go, could you turn out the lights? I think I just had a vision of Spc. Agent Seely Booth on the edge of the knife I just used to spread the almond butter - - I can dream right?

Stepping Through Different Doors

2010-04-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at the computer a minute ago eating my egg-omelet sandwich, when it occurred to me that I'm actually in the middle of a huge transition in my life. I'm going through different doors than I have been going through - - and I'm OK with that.

I'm backing off some of, if not all of the speaking engagements with Faith. I'm giving the stage over to Laura and over to Caity. I'm letting them have the fun of doing the shows, and the fun of handling a mischievious dog that does things on center stage when you least expect it. She will invarably walk off when she decides to and it may or may not be at the right moment in the speech! She just makes up her dogged little mind and does what she wants to do - - and that can be both challenging and unexpectedly humorous too. I've found out EXACTLY how witty and clever I can be when it happens! Faith is the source of many new thoughts and actions when I've been before a live audience. The girls need to experience that for themselves.

Before Faith and I hit the road I was a professor of English as well as a full time employed High School English teacher. I worked a great deal, studied, graded papers, taught people how to write and how to comprehend what they were reading. It was a great profession for me; I hated to give it up, but I did because I felt a calling. I had a mission and now that that mission has been met I am giving the reins of whatever it is that I've created to the next generation to create and develop it into whatever it is that they believe is best for the future of the mission with Faith.

That being said, I am still writing the definitive book on Faith. I am writing a series of children's books, and possibly creating a 501(c)3 non-profit wherein I may develop workbooks, and do workshops with kids to teach them about acceptance of themselves as well as others with special needs. It's a door that was opened by the work I've created with Faith, one I will be proud to be a part of. I am also embarking (no pun intended) on a sales and marketing position with a great dog food company - - Precise Pet Foods. Faith eats Precise Pet Food. It only stands to reason that if I were to become involved with selling or marketing a dog food product it would be the one she enjoys. It's another door she has opened - - well, Jesus opened it, but He used Faith to nudge the hinges.

The past four years of being on the road with Faith have been rewarding. I can't imagine where I will begin when I start telling the stories in the final book - - it will be a wonderful journey through my heart, through love, through struggles and through grace. God has been so very wonderful to both of us - - but there is another set of doors opening right now for me and I do have to walk through them.

Keep your eyes open. Faith will not stop her mission; she's bound and determined to be the best U.S. Army Sgt Dog out there, to visit more soldiers, to kiss more kids, and to be the one dog everyone remembers forever and ever. I won't be too far behind the scenes watching - - afterall, my babies are out there in front now. I have to keep my momma eyes open for them.

To all who love Faith and her message: THANK YOU...she's not going away, she's really just making a change and change is good.

I Have a Few Children

2010-03-18T09:37:00.001-07:00

Matt (Clark) is one of those kids of mine that I didn't know I had until after he was born, after he was raised, after he joined the Army and ended up my son's little brother. There's no changing it, it's just done. I have another son. This time I'm lucky to get a kid that has been potty-trained and he's been educated. That's good, because the sheer size of this one warrants that if I had actually had to feed him and Reuben at the same time I'm pretty sure I would have not been able to do it. I've seen them eat!

Matt and Reuben were in Iraq together albeit with different locations, different experiences, difference jobs - - they were thrown together by chance, but became brothers by choice. It was a no-brainer when Reuben got out that Matt would want to be with his brother. He's in the process now of getting released from duties, his time is up, he's ready to start all the crazy plans they've schemed up together over the past 3.5 years together - - plans like: taking a month long road trip and seeing America rather than the ice and snow of Alaska where they were stationed. Making plans to become co-mayors of a small town somewhere and just running the show - - everyone has to exercise, everyone has to work, everyone has to be squared away. That's one city I will try to avoid early in the morning.

Yesterday was the first time I got the chance to hug my 22 year old son. He calls me "Mom", but I know and am told that he has another one too - - a real one that really loves him and keeps a watchful eye as well. You can't ever really have too many moms I guess - - as long as Reuben understands he can't replace me, I'm good. The second he thinks he can I will have no other choice but to take out the other woman and show her what's what....does that sound possessive because I was thinking it did, just as it came out of my keyboard I thought...no, never mind. He's MINE, MINE!!! I'll share Matt.

This was Faith's first time to see her other boy too - - she and he had talked on the phone and had gotten to know each other through stories and through Reuben's mutual recommendations; but it was great to see them together and wow, she loves him. He was even out of uniform!! He must be family.

So, it's hats off, rifles down, and out of the Army for my other son - - remind me to tell you about Jonathan when we get the chance. He's even bigger than Matt! How do I do this? How do I find these guys? (Jon and Reu met in the 4th grade.)

WELCOME HOME SON!!!

Another St. Patty's Day! YES!

2010-03-17T09:40:00.001-07:00

(Baby Boy is HOME from the ARMY)
(www.brothersatwar.com)
(www.buycostumes.com)
(www.google.com)
(Mr. Gary Sinise)

YEA!!! St. Patrick's Day!!

I was so excited the other day when I went into a certain store that routinely carries t-shirts at an extremely cheap price for most seasonal holidays. I went straight over to the GREEN t-shirts, as St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. No, no, no, it's not my favorite day because Gary Sinise was born on this day, get that out of your head! C'mon, I do love the man, yes, and it's an added bonus that he was born green, but the real reason I love St. Patty's day is because my first born was DUE on this day, it didn't happen but it gave me something to look forward to - - he came on the 22nd to honor me (I was born November 22, his grandfather April 22, my bestie Jeannie was born June 22, and he wanted to be a part of that great building number doubled with integrity I suppose) I bought 4 t-shirts immediately, 1 large, 2 medium, and 1 small - - as my little brat Caity is still a imp and refuses to grow bones and flesh like the rest of us. WHERE did she come from?

Reuben is part Irish so he got the "Kiss me I'm Irish" shirt, my cute little shirt simple and white with a 70's style green collar very simply says "Lucky Shirt" in Kelly Green (Hi Kelly! Happy Patty's Day!) But why am I telling you this? Oh, I remember - St. Patrick's Day is the one day I can pinch people I really want to pinch and flirt all day long; laughing, telling stories, drinking green beer (and now I can do that with my son!) and sing Irish songs, dance, and do all things Celtic in the name of St. Patrick -- sometimes we even bring our pet snakes with us so that we can actually celebrate the true St. Patrick and show off how smart we are for actually knowing what St. Patrick did for Ireland! LOL

The pinching began early too - - Caity first. She had forgotten the #1 rule about St. Patrick's Day: it starts at MIDNIGHT! I got her good, then threw her the shirt! One down a 1,000 to go! To be honest I get more excited about the flirting, the dancing, the telling of jokes, and the friendship mingling (my house at 7P) than anything else. FUN TIMES.

GOOGLE totally got into it. Look at their moniker today!! SO pretty, so Irish, so Celtic, so GREEN...gotta love it. Oh, and the woman in the picture, the pretty one - - not me! Nope, nope, not me. She's from www.buycostumes.com and I am thinking about tracking that just as soon as I can - - OH, OK OK OK....one last mention of Gary before I go; Happy Birthday Mr. Sinise. Double Nickel! Did you ever think you would make that? Well, you're still very pretty...Happy Birthday!

To the others wearing GREEN today -- THANK YOU - - Go Army!!! (The good looking "soldier" in this picture is none other than Writer/Director Jake Rademacher. He's fantabulous and a bit Irish I think - - he was born in March! (26th) Happy St. Patrick's Day to the world, to the men and women defending us, and to my little boy - - most of the green drained out of him as he was actually born on the 22nd, but the emeralds of his eyes shine brightly - - a bit mischievously today, and I think he gets that from his mother's side of the family!

GREEN BEER FOR EVERYONE.....and if you're under aged - - go to Ireland for it because it ain't happening at my house!

I Want This House - So I Pray

2010-02-21T14:48:00.000-08:00

Prayer is good. I've decided that I am not really all that in charge of much. In fact, I don't know that I'm really in charge of anything. I like to think I have some control over some things, but in reality I'm only moving along in the direction that seems to be pushing me. It is really so much easier for me to NOT worry, and just let God have the reins on just about every decision. Now, if that sounds all churchy-churchy to you, and/or you think I should stand up for myself and be more of my own person - - too damn bad. I don't purport to be as perfect as Jesus, OK. He's got it going on, I'm just glad He's keeping me around for the long haul.

I've not had the luxury of saying I own THIS house, or I live HERE. I've been renting, staying, resting, waiting, existing for so long. I want to stop! I want to land. I want to own something that belongs to me and I can say this is where I live, this is what I do, these are my things, and I shop over there! I actually did think I would be living in Chicago. At the first of the year I dreamed of living in a high rise downtown, and not having a car, not having kids to worry and think about, not having to do much more than move about the downtown locales - - shopping, going to museums, enjoying parks, and hanging out. Of course, that would mean giving up a few things. I wouldn't be able to feed birds in the high rise, neighbors don't like that. In fact you get turned in, and the management fines you for it. I couldn't open the door and let my dogs out - - so I wouldn't have dogs. I couldn't watch Laura barrel race, rein, or sing. I couldn't really go from one end of the city to the next without catching another bus, waiting on connections or calling a cab, but I was willing to do that much. I didn't want to give up watching the kid play.

Caity doesn't play much. She's on her own, more independent, more into her thing. Laura likes to involve me. She's still a bit clingy and for now that's OK. I'm not sure I'm all that keen on giving her up either. The solution? Pray about it. We did and the answer was quite obvious - - move to Texas and get a house on land. The only problem with that is I haven't been paid yet, so even the house on land is a bit of a dream at this point - - albeit a dream with a more secured direction. At least I have the address, I've seen it, felt it, smelt it, I even have ideas about how I want to remodel, decorate and make it mine. Phase II of the plan - - get paid.

Just as soon as I have the book picked up by a major publishing house I'll either lease this one until I can buy it, or if I get enough, I'll buy it. I'm thinking lease for 6 months, fix all I need to fix with my life, and get the bank to OK a loan with enough down. The owners (current) are so kind. They are from Scotland and I love listening to them talk. I could listen all day! Smart too. I love smart people - - I learn so much from them. OK, good plan....more prayer...and we wait. That's the hard part, the waiting. I don't like that part. I like the getting, the buying, the doing, the working, the living - - I suppose there are lessons to learn at every stage. I just hope THIS stage is short. Very short.

With enough acres for Laura to build an arena, have her round pen, her barn/stalls and horses - - me with my vegetable and flower gardens, my french doors, office with a view and of course US with too many dogs and cats; we'll be happy soon. Did I mention I was going to buy lots of bird feeders? I am! I'm definitely feeding birds in Texas.

Raising Everyone Else's Kids Sucks

2010-02-16T16:13:00.001-08:00

I have my own three kids to worry about - - I don't really need (or want) to have to deal with the drama from others who decide to pull me into their lives either intentionally because they don't have parents who care or inadvertantly because they don't have parents who care. I will say this, the ones that have parents who care and simply don't use those parents get the QUICK version of my advice...usually it goes something like this "HEY, you have parents that care about you, grow up and go ask them to help you!" The longer, more detailed advice I find myself giving can be both borish and rude at times. I'm not the best backup plan out there. I tend to treat other people's kids the same why I treat my own, and that is to point out immediately that their drama-filled agony is getting on my last nerve and if they persist in forcing me into the mix I'm going to take over and it may not be pretty!

I sound like I'm ranting, but that's because I don't do blah-blah. I don't have compassion or empathy of any kind for kids who get all "Emo" and pout over their little make-believe would-be problems - - not when they can usually get over themselves and find a more productive way to spend their time. I don't do depression and I actually don't think most depression is real; that being said I do recognize that there is a real and seemingly increasingly growing problem with kids thinking they are depressed and acting as if they are depressed, which in turn manifests itself into reality through self-fulfilled and often self-induced crisis. I know, I sound all mean and nasty for not coddling the kids, but I don't. I never have and I won't allow myself to be coddled or patronized when I get sad or filled with negative feelings. I guess I was just raised to believe that if it's not a chemical off balance of the body and it's not physiologically founded - - you can get over it. EAT CHOCOLATE....work, get up and do something. For Gosh sakes - - EXERCISE, clean the house, or my favorite for students who just wouldn't stop pouting - - write a 5 page essay single-spaced without errors on what's making you so damn depressed! They were cured pretty fast; believe me.

OK OK OK, maybe there are some real situations out there - - but here's why I'm ranting. A kid called my daughter today, he got a hold of me. He called her from Pennsylvania saying he'd just taken twenty (20) 25mm of Benadryl and he wanted to know what was going to happen to him now. REALLY? Is this guy serious? Oh, I don't know kid, you're probably going to die! Call the poice NOW! That's what I wanted to say, but instead I went into Mother-mode and began the interview that no one should have to go into over the phone with a double-stranger. A double-stranger is someone you absolutely don't know, and they aren't someone you're ever going to meet unless something like this happens.

He was calling from a cell phone. I know this because I looked it up on Reverse Phone Look Up at www.whitepages.com while he was talking to me. I also Googled the effects and what he could expect so I could have something to tell him. I was trying to find out his physical location so I could send the police and maybe an ambulance to him. I didn't get that far. After telling him that he could experience dry-mouth, fixed dilated pupils, central nervous system shut-down, convulsions, and death, the kid hung up on me. I hope he was smart enough to use that time he had left to call for help. NOPE, he just wanted to call a few more of his friends. I know this because he got ONLINE (don't they always do that?) and had his little trip - ONLINE so that he could be the talk of the little social community he's involved in.

My daughter was able to call him back, and get his physical address from him. While she continued talking to him, showing him the attention I believe he wanted from her in the first place, I called the Malvern, PA police and filed a 9-1-1 emergency over the phone. I hope they find him and I hope they can get him some help. I have a few questions: Will the police find his parents in the livingroom when they get there? They probably will - - and you know what, they're not really to blame. This kid is 18, he's using his own room, his own computer, his own phone - - probably not even telling his parents the sites he goes to, and possibly even chiding them for asking if they do ask....another question I have is this: WHY is it important for everyone to YouTube their lives? I don't understand. I don't want to have that sort of access to someone's life and in this case his possible death.

Do me a favor - - if you have kids - - PISS THEM OFF and ask them who they talk to, who they hang with, what they talk about, what they do, where they go, what they think, and if they seem pouting, withdrawn or "depressed" get them up and working or exercising, do it with them if you have to. I don't ever want to have to worry about someone else's kid like that again. I just took 2 girls to the Academic Higher Education Center to take their G.E.D. because their parents didn't make sure they stayed in school and at 17 they read and write like 5th graders. Getting into college this fall will be hard, but it is necessary. High School is not the place for kids these days; not if the teachers are expected to be parents.

If you think this is ranting - - you're mistaken. This was the nicer version of Jude sounding off on people who don't parent their kids. Did I screw up - - yes I did! Over and over again, but the good news is my kids aren't going to be calling YOUR kids telling them they've overdosed and if they needed to read or write about it, they could. Sure one of mine has 8 tattoos and another has 6 (I think) but the last time I checked they were volunteering at the animal shelter, taking flyers around town warning people about a con-man in the area, and doing community service without being arrested - - Oh, and Laura took a couple of puppies back to a lady who was 8 months pregnant and couldn't get out to do it herself.

PLEASE...piss off your kids as much as you can!! Find out what they are doing!!

Reuben in Pads Again

2010-02-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

Just over 5 years ago my son hung up his cleats. He was a senior in High School and December marked the last game of his "career" I guess you'd say. Too small at 6'2" and 220 pounds to play for the University of Oklahoma, my son chose to go to the Army and become an American soldier. He just has that gladiator spirit; both on and off the football field. Having completed his tours and returning from Iraq as well as his 3.5 year duty station of Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska - - he has now turned his camo in for pads again.

The Ardmore Extreme is a minor league professional team located in southern Oklahoma. Believe me when I say there is NO SHORTAGE of these smaller minor teams around the Texas and Oklahoma border - - as well as creeping into the heart of each state. Reuben's team plays 10 games a season, and has it's own version of playoffs and a championship game. Without 20 or 30 teams close enough to drive to there aren't more than a couple of divisions but lots of football to play, and lots of noise to make. The mud we share with Texas after the recent snow fall this week only gets the players that much more excited to practice tomorrow in full pads.

Breaking out his old high school (Freshmen) jersey that I think he actually gave to me for safe keeping, he's on Cloud 9 tonight. We drove more than 250 miles today looking for the right helmet, more than that last week picking up pads, cleats, socks, the mask for the helmet, and other "Extreme" essentials. The actual jerseys are being made now, the real helmets being painted, but that didn't stop Reuben from going out and getting his own set of back up pads, helmets and shoes. He's even got a visor! He's ready - - he wants to hit something.

I took these two pictures of him and I had to laugh. Five years ago he was pretty big and had the long hair, the big heart, the goofy grin that said "I'm playing football! I'm playing football" but today it's all cropped hair, tattoos and that new foo-man choo moustache peaking out from behind a $350 helmet for practice. PRACTICE...and he almost bought an even more expensive one. I don't think you need a radio helmet for a minor league and I really don't think you need one with a computer for practice - - just sayin'.

The thought did occur to me though that I could learn to hack into it and give another play just for the fun of it - - in practice. I wouldn't do that in a real game. I promise.

Reuben did have ONE thing go wrong today while looking for his new head piece. He had to get a large youth rather than a medium adult. When I think about it, it makes sense. Reuben really is more of a large kid anyway. He'll have so much fun tomorrow - - I think I'll pick up a bottle of bleach on my way home from the field.

Ft. Worth by Way of Chicago

2010-02-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

It is true. I'm giving up my dream and desire of moving to a downtown Chicago condo for a while so that I can better facilitate my daughter Laura's dream of reining and barrel racing. We're not sure how it is going to work out completely, but if I'm living with her I can pay all the bills while she goes to school, sings, and reins. By living in Ft. Worth (or the surrounding area)at less than 1/2 the cost of living in Chicago, I can also afford to help my daughter Caity survive in Oklahoma and/or California - - wherever she lands. She will be a writer and can write from anywhere, but Laura's needs require that we live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I want to be close to a major airport rather than driving the 110 miles to DFW - - so, it's Ft. Worth, by way of giving up my Chicago condo. I won't cry too much.

All of my kids seem to have their minds and plans made - - but getting them there is the new path we're on right now. Caity can write from anywhere. I can help her submit and get picked up from anywhere. She can party and play and go to college online. Reuben will be playing football for the Ardmore Extreme (new blog tomorrow about that) while Laura needs to be with horses to get her heart and mind centered. When she's with horses, walking in poop and mud, as well as listening to them and breathing with them - - she's in Heaven. Heaven is a good place for all of us.

Reuben couldn't be more excited than he is right now about playing professional football. It isn't the NFL - - no money right now either, but he's playing, hitting, running, tackling, and working out. He'll attend college locally, and figure it all out I'm sure. He doesn't need Mom as much as the girls do for financial help, but maybe there will be enough to go around. I was never one to keep much of my own money anyway - - not with the babies needing so much of it. I just praise God I'm going to able to be there when they need me to facilitate those big big dreams they come up with. Watching them, helping them is far more rewarding. Here I was too; thinking I would be car less and kid less - not yet.

I have decided to buy a horse too and let Laura train her. The one I picked is a registered American Quarter Horse. She's registered as a Buckskin, but you can see she's dapple and more grey or dun. She's light or fair haired and her mane is actually gray not black. She is very pretty. I've decided to call her "Chicago" after the fine city I'm giving up to keep her. She'll live with Laura's horse "Molly" (soon to be renamed "Reno") a grey mare, somewhere between Ft. Worth and Weatherford, TX on an acreage with a few guard dogs, barn cats, wildlife and room enough for Laura to pull out that redneck of hers and go four-wheeling with her brother now and then. You have to do that when you live in Texas.

No worries on the Sooner front. I'm still wearing Crimson and flying the flag on Game Day. I intend on getting a gun license too of course, but maybe with the hidden underground tunnels and the backwoods get-away-trails I'll be OK.

What we do for our children. Here's the difference, so you know.

$500,000 in Chicago gets me a 2 bedroom, 2 bath 1500 sf. condo downtown.
$279,000 in Ft. Worth,TX gets me a 1800 sf 3 bed 2 bath with 10 acres fenced. WOW

Homestead Ballroom Gold - By Valspar Paint

2010-01-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

It's not quite official yet, but when I saw the color of the newest prototype plush toy for Faith, and saw that it was too yellow, I had to do something. I explained to Norma, my good friend who is handling the production of the plush toy through Cher Marketing, that we really needed a more accurate match. That's when I got the idea to literally take Faith to the local Lowes store and have their expert paint person do the best he could matching a card or twenty up against Faith's backside.

As one might expect, the top of the dog is not the exact color as the bottom of the dog. For that matter Faith's saddle or back area is a completely different shade of golden brown than her underside. What was really funny is that her ears are actually a little darker than the rest of her, but when Norma's company presented the first prototype with darker ears I was so quick to nix the color difference. Wow, I guess I don't spend enough time staring at my dog! She's so normal in that aspect! The project assignment turned out to be quite the little adventure.

Laura and I simply walked Faith through the front doors of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Lowes just off I-35 and Exit 32 South. We found the nearest handy-dandy associate which happened to be Kelly. We explained the situation to Kelly, and he took it from there. Now, naturally you just can't ordinarily walk a dog through the front doors of a business like Lowes without permission, but Faith is a bona fide Therapy Dog so she gets a few special perks for being so. She was admired by dozens of patrons and of course recognized as well. Camera phones came out and she was "on" again; she felt at home.

Kelly introduced us to Rocky Black, the man behind the paint counter. I suppose it works out well for Mr. Black to be in paint! His name embodies EVERY color possible! He was tall, handsome, sweet, and young, and completely up for the assignment. He got RIGHT on the job AFTER he took a few pictures of Faith for his fiance PFC (U.S. Army) Rachelle Higgs of Lone Grove, OK. Rocky said she'd be thrilled to know he not only met Faith, a contemporary Army buddy, but also that he was the one who helped us find the RIGHT color to send off to Norma to get over to the stuffed toy company so they can do another prototype with the new adjusted colored fur. Not that having a very yellow Faith toy is bad; but it should be as accurate as possible, right? LOL

Faith did her best to stand still, but she was a little leery of what Rocky was trying to do. We started off with the more famous brands; Laura Ashley, Eddie Bauer, and even Olympic, but wound up choosing a color from the Valspar paint collection called "Homestead Ballroom Gold". For those of you interested in seeing it online you would be better served going to Lowes and asking to see it in person. The online version is too light and seems a bit matte to me. Nevertheless, here is the link that will take you to Valspar's sight and to the color itself. http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Match-of-Valspar-3003-7C-Homestead-Ballroom-Gold-p/mpc0098980.htm

Upon deciding which color best fit the mutt -- allowing for shading, and a bit of vanity touch ups from the aging white hairs coming through her admitted golden tone, we feel pretty good about the match. It isn't perfect, but Faith isn't all that perfect either actually - - just most of the time. I tried matching up my own skin tone too and found that I'm more of a fair to beige boring than anything else. I would love to find a darker freckle on my pale pasty skin and claim it as my overall shade; but alas I am dull. LOL

There you have it. I have e-mailed Norma and given her the go-ahead to send the Valspar's Homestead Ballroom Gold color numbers to the stuffed animal company who will remain anonymous for a little while longer - - believe me, we will shout it from the rooftops when it is the correct time to do so. Not only that, we're hoping to get a commercial out of Lowes now - - wouldn't that be fun? Maybe we can do it in connection with a charity drive and have fun with that. My mind is just going in all directions. By that time PFC Higgs will be married to Mr. Rocky Black and maybe we can get the two of them involved with the filming if the director allows it. Why not? We can dream - - and in color apparently.

The Whey It Is!

2010-01-18T11:15:00.001-08:00

So, I have this task-master type for a son, right? I allowed him to move back in with me after he got out of the Army and since then he's been great to have around the house for the most part -- but I do actually remember the quieter, less abrasive household. It was nice - - it's gone now.

At least he lets me sleep in to 7:00 a.m. before demanding that I cook up a half dozen eggs and get his protein shake going. I wouldn't ordinarily do his bidding but I'm actually helping him eat the eggs and drink the shakes now. According to my personal Jedi I have to take in about 130 grams of protein each day to build muscle so that the muscle I'm now building can burn off the fat that's been hanging out in my gut for these past few (OK many) years. He's the expert on all things protein so I tend to listen to him. He's being kind and letting me off with an even 100 grams of protein, give or take since I'm also eating almonds, peanuts, and eggs during the day. His choice of protein shake is 100% Whey something something that he picked up at GNC. Me, being the Mom that I am, I am now doing internet research for cost effective comparisons and have found the same brand, the same size, the same exact product that HE bought at GNC for $64.99, at Amazon.com for $38.99 with .99 shipping. So, for $39.98 I'm getting the EXACT same thing he's getting for more. See, he's all about the protein, I'm all about the savings. He'll come around to my way of thinking next time - - what do you want to bet? LOL

We have cookies and creme, we have chocolate, vanilla, and now strawberry swirl. I put bananas and skim milk in mine in the morning, he pours in a couple of eggs and uses water - - but he's a monster and I'm just a monster's mom trying to lose 23 pounds and tone up. I think my son thinks he's Somalian - - he's not, but I think he thinks he should be - - he's almost got the war dance down to a T. (I should YouTube it) Protein makes muscle, muscle gets ripped and repaired constantly at the gym, and then breaks down and destroys all the fat inside of me.....YEA!! Can't wait. I have simple goals -- he's helping me meet them. One squinted-eyed, overbearing barked order at a time. God, I love my son. I'll actually miss him when I move to Chicago - - he won't come visit me. I don't know what it is about Reuben and large cities, but he doesn't do them. He was afraid they'd send him to Baghdad when he deployed to Iraq -- lucky for him they had him outside the rim of what could even be considered civilization - - his F.O.B. (Forward Operating Base) was one of the most remote camps in the country - - so far out it was closer to another country. He's not much into urban living.

He's threatened to fly into Chicago and have me pick him up and take him to a football game - - those types of crowds thrill him; it's the people on the streets, the big buildings, and rushing traffic that bother the kid. He'd rather be in the country driving a tractor over miles and miles of grain, or chasing his pig around the back 40. He complained the other day that he didn't actually have a "style" so he didn't fit in with the bigger city population. I looked at him; sized up his plaid torn shirt, loose jeans, old ball cap, scuffed up boots and beard and thought out loud "No Reu, you have "style" but they call that Red-Neck." For that I was given the approval of the smile - - the awe-shucks Mom look, and then it was RIGHT back to the lifting, the curls, the cardio, and the swimming. No rest for the weary - - or the fat!

Wednesday's Child

2010-01-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

What about the Woe-factor? I think about it and I believe it goes back to what we're told. I told myself I was born on a Wednesday, and according to the poem I must be full of woe. Therefore, I eventually became full of woe, or had my fair share of them. Is it real or is it conjured? I'm not sure, but it was there!

The poem is a little tattered, but it goes like this:

Monday's child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace
Wednesday's child is full of woe
Thursday's child has far to go
Friday's child works hard for a living
Saturday's child does all the giving
Sunday's child is blessed of these, this child sees the best in threes

So, according to the poem Caity and I are doomed. Reuben gives everything away, and Laura gets all that she wants in triplicate. How unfair would that be? LOL

I think the world is everyones marble and if we choose to play we will be both hurt and blessed. We will learn, we will dance, we will laugh, we will cry, we will participate in just about every event and we will be that much stronger because of it. If we choose not to play we may feel or believe we are safer than most, but in reality, the man in the cave is the one that truly suffers. Plato's prose on the people in the cave was straight forward - - read it sometime, but suffice it to say that people who have ventured out from their safety zone and seen the unforgiving, harsh, and true illumination of life (the light) have a much more difficult time returning to the darkness or even the safety of a cave that holds no adventure.

Full of woe? No. I'm going to choose to say full of experience. Full of life. Full of do-it. Full of being! This awakening is nothing short of miraculous if you have it in you to reflect both honestly and with a big enough light to see all the ugly cob-webbed corners of your life. Giving up any thing, and anything that is negative in order to break out of the pattern of a spinning downward spiral is not only necessary it is essential for upward movement - - growth.

One of the things I decided, and yes, I MEAN decided to do in 2010 is to choose to smile. CHOOSE to be happy. CHOOSE to reroute my thinking. CHOOSE to think before I ask, and CHOOSE to ask with more heart and more insight rather than just asking for the sake of asking. An example would be: a person you know puts their hand through a drywall and comes to you bleeding. You don't have to ask "What did you do?" You know that they did. A better question, a more production question would be "How can I help you?" followed by "You must be really upset about something to do something this drastic." The words, though hard to spit out in a moment of confusion for your friend, are the CHOICE that you make to communicate. Think first.

Thinking, giving thought, making an image in your mind really does set the wheels of creation into motion for your moment. You only have the moment. You are not guaranteed the next, and the last moment - - is gone. Plan, yes, by all means make plans, but do so with deliberate thought.

Wednesdays - - great days!

Brody Needs a Home

2010-01-08T12:27:00.000-08:00

LOOK AT HIM!! We named him Sir Henry Wallace Broderick, but we call him Brody. Brody came to our family about 3 months ago as a rescue from an irresponsible breeder. He's a full blooded Jack Russell Terrier, but we believe he may have been somewhat inbred. He does not respond or react as rambunctious as a typical JRT. He's so very kind, so very gentle, and rarely chews on anything! That's just not typical for a JRT, but it is GREAT news for anyone wanting to adopt him.

Brody came from a litter of 8 and was the biggest of the bunch. His sister Teagan (the yellow and white dog) is 8.5 pounds to Brody's 12. There were NO other dogs in the home or yard, so we have to assume he is from the same father and mother dog that were used over and over again to breed.

Brody was given to a young girl in this part of Oklahoma but she didn't get permission from her parents to keep him. She left him with me to foster and to find a good home. We've been feeding him Precise dog food and have gotten him 2 of the 3 shots he needs for rabies and parvo. He could also use a neutering. He's right at 6 months old now, and completely healthy and happy. He plays, runs, jumps, loves, and just steals your heart. He hasn't learned to go outside 100% yet, but he's working hard at it. He sleeps with you, and he is a definite lap dog. His coat is thick and the markings, as you can see, are amazing.

Brody has been raised with other dogs and cats. He has been roughed up by kids, and loves to play! He has never bitten or snarled, and he's staring at me right now because he knows I'm talking about him. He's pretty smart.

We have an interview process, and you would be responsible to come get him or pay for his journey to you if you were outside of Southern Oklahoma. We're willing to find him the best home possible, and hope that could be YOU. Please write to me at: jude.stringfellow@gmail.com or call my cell at 405 251-0210 if you're interested in giving Brody a forever home.

Jude

54 Degrees and Falling - - INSIDE

2010-01-07T19:00:00.001-08:00

That's right, I woke up to a house that was 54 degrees Fahrenheit! OMG - - I realize it's freaking cold outside; (about 20) that's why I let the pipes stay open a bit. It didn't matter that I did, the water in those pipes froze anyway and now as of 9:00 p.m. we have no heat and we have no water. The heating issue is being taken care of; there's a man in my attic now looking at the LACK of insulation. I wondered why my electricity bill was out of world, and now I know. The VERY good news is that I'll be able to negotiate with my landlord over the issue. The VERY bad news is that I don't know that the man in my attic will be able to do anything tonight. Oh well, we have six dogs...3.5 if you add them all up into one big ball of dog and sleep with them. King helps out, he's an even 100 pounds, but Teagan, who is on the other side of the weight issue, only tops the scales at 8.7 pounds. She's virtually worthless and has thin short hair -- she's got to go! LOL

The water became a problem early on as one would imagine. It didn't matter, I said to myself this is a good day and I'm going to be happy anyway! I stuck to it, and I'm happy. I'm waterless, and I'm wearing 3 sweaters and 4 pairs of socks; 3 on my feet and one on my hands, but I'm happy!! If my fingers miss the keys while I'm typing this you'll understand. Thank God for spell check. (Or as it looked before I used spell check: thkgiuyl sgo forh dusghte cke.)

The man in my attic tells me that the people who bought the house should have put insulation up in the attic before renting it. He's right. After all, we need insulation for the air conditioning too. My electric bills have been higher than they should have been all along - - negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. That's my middle name tomorrow!

I went to the gym to take a shower today and to use the facilities for other purposes. I also found myself looking at the inside of the bathroom stalls at Lowes and Starbucks. I hope the exterior heat (God's work) becomes a bit warmer soon so that I'm not standing in line both at the bathroom and to buy coffee...I'm not sure which I would actually find more important. That's really sad when you think about it. I bought an AC filter at Lowes today - - figured that may have had something to do with the air not coming through the house - - it didn't, but still I needed a new filter. I like it when I learn new things so buying the filter was great. I found out that 24x24x1 inch filters are uncommon, they're more expensive, and come in 2 brands where as the longer filters can be purchased anywhere for less but hey MY filter can be put in from either side! It's square! Somehow that made me feel good. I don't know why.

My daughter was so amazingly cute when she said "Oh hey, I bet if we wanted to we could make one of these." I don't really know what we would start with, or how we could fold it, wire it up, border it with the right size of cardboard, or even make it fit, but it was a great idea for a summertime project maybe. I say summertime because I'll be living in Chicago by then and can call her to see how she's coming along with that process. She really is cute sometimes.

I just heard the man in the attic - - sounded as if he was about to fall through the living room. The thought occured to me that he's probably frozen. I could probably offer him something to drink - - but that would mean driving to Starbucks again. Oh well, this is a great day and I'm going to smile about it. WHY? The man in the attic is actually rather cute! My imagination is simply popping at this point! LOL

"REUBEN" Translated : "Surprise!"

2010-01-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

There he is - - just another great kid, an American soldier and.... apparently a criminal. (LOL)

For the past few days our family has been enjoying the return of my first born, my son Reuben. Reuben was in the U.S. Army for about 3.5 years and spent a year in Iraq - - with what I may say, a great level of success according to his "war stories". I'm sure I need to record them now as they will no doubt grow and become rather exaggerated as time goes by. (Actually I look forward to that, my Grandpa had the wildest stories of when he served in the Big War of 1918. It was many years before I found out he was never in that war! LOVE that man.)

Here's another good Reuben story for Aunt Tammie!

Just before he was to come home on January 1, 2010 -- JUST BEFORE he was to get on the plane and come home to his MOTHER, my son was arrested or at least he was detained. Here's the story:

It was New Year's Eve and he had just celebrated the beginning of the brand new year, ringing it in with his good friend Chelsea at her family's home. They were kind enough to let Reuben drive their car to the airport or wherever it was he needed to go to get to the airport, but the CAR was missing a tail light. Reuben didn't know the car was missing a tail light - - but the officer thought it was important. Coupled with the fact that the car's license plate was partially covered in snow, the officer couldn't make a clear decision about the car and decided to pull the driver over. This particular moment was interesting in and of itself.

Reuben said he was thinking "NO! No! I'm about to fly out of this place! NO way he's stopping me. I wasn't drinking, I'm not speeding!" Reuben rolled down the window and presented his military license to the officer who asked him about his state license. Reuben is from the Sooner state, so he pulled that license out and handed it over as well. A few minutes passed and Reuben was asked to step out of the car for what he was certain would be a passable sobriety test - - it wasn't. The officer quickly hand-cuffed the boy and had his friend's mother's car impounded. Fun times!

While waiting in the backseat of the cop's car Reuben found out that his Oklahoma (Go Sooners) license had been suspended for non-insurance. HELLO - - he has been in the ARMY for 3.5 years. Surely someone figured that out when they went to renew and couldn't reach him. NOPE - - in Oklahoma if you don't HAVE insurance you get your license suspended. It happened to me once when I switched from Progressive to State Farm. Progressive didn't bother mentioning to the State Departments that I had simply dropped them, they told them I was no longer insured. I WAS insured but not with Progressive. Apparently it is MY job to tell the State Department of Public Safety when I switch insurance companies. REUBEN was in the ARMY. The fact should have been registered somewhere - - and it was, but the State Department of Public Safety doesn't really care.

It was 4:10 a.m. my time, and 1:10 a.m. his time. He was to be up and at the airport in 4 hours but was stuck - literally stuck, to a bench in a Fairbanks, Alaska police precinct for having a suspended Oklahoma license for non-insurance. This too should pass - - but would it pass quickly enough for the boy to make his 6:50 flight out of the great frontier and back home to his mom who was laying in bed minding her own business remembering how very lucky she was to be leaving the GREAT state of Oklahoma soon - - Go Sooners. I can say that much for our state...GO SOONERS! I won't go so far as to say I admire the laws or the procedures in the big offices downtown or on the Capitol's grounds. There are many issues to address in the Oklahoma legislature. ONE WOULD THINK that if a man or woman could show evidence that they stood in Iraq or Afghanistan for about a year holding a gun to protect the state's citizens that a waiver would be in place if they just happened to NOT tell said state they were going off to protect said state! BUT no....$350 to reinstate the said state's license. Is that fair? I don't think so. (maybe they found out my son likes to go curling. I'd charge someone extra if I found that out)

It took just under 5 hours to process my son. He was released and someone, someone very sweet and kind, drove him to the airport where he was LITERALLY the last person to board the plane, and then only after they were announcing his name for the very last time before considering him a no-show. THANK YOU Jesus - - and very sweet person who drove him to the airport.

HOMEWARD BOUND...and determined to follow his mom in a few years and move to a state with a bit less rigid rules and regulations. One that perhaps allows you to buy wine in the grocery store. Oh, wait, you didn't know that about Oklahoma? Well, all I can say is - - we have a HELLUVA football team!! ONE HELLUVA football team down in Norman! Go Sooners!

Hurry Up and Weight!

2010-01-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

Oh, sometimes I just make myself laugh - - like today. I went online to get the free trial special for the Acai Berry thing coupled with the total body cleanse thing right? You only pay shipping and supposedly they give you a month's supplies worth of the next miracle pill(s) out on the market and you lose all the ungodly weight you have been packing on for the past several years. It's a good deal right?

I made the call. When I did a recording came on telling me that the call may be monitored or recorded for quality purposes. Well, let me tell you - - the Acai place wouldn't take my secured debit card (a money card rebate VISA) because they say they couldn't verify it. I offered to send them a money order but they explained they couldn't take that form of payment either. When I asked why I was told they needed to be able to VERIFY that you are the correct person who has ordered the pills. WRONG ANSWER - - in my opinion the ONLY reason someone would refuse to take a valid form of payment, either through a real live debit card, money gram, or money order, or even a personal check, is because they're probably wanting to RECHARGE you on that bank card VISA after such time you choose to withdraw from the "program".

I explained to the very sweet woman on the phone that I was not interested in a "program" but only the free trial. She went on to explain to me (in very rehearsed verbiage) that it was the "program" that facilitated the free trial. If you didn't continue purchasing the product through your bank card VISA, the order could not be completed. Apparently the "quality purposes" gods were not happy when her explanation and our conversation was terminated. GONE. She must have said too much. I can only imagine now that Eugenia is receiving a bit of "program" training now. OOPS.

After being rejected I decided to make my way to the very local but helpful health food store in my tiny town. I'll be happy when I can make this same trip in Chicago and have a bit of a better selection. To my great pleasure and surprise the health food store had at least 3 products to choose from. Each product contained 500mg of Acai extract per pill and suggested using 2 pills or 1g of the extract on a daily basis. When I revisited the online site it wasn't clear how much Acai extract you were being given so I recalled the 800 number and pretended to be a new customer. The amount you would receive if you paid for it online would be - - wait for it - - 200 mg per pill. Wow, and they charged $18.00 per bottle and you had to buy two bottles at a time, and shipping. I think I paid $12.00.

The other part of the online "program" mentioned using a total cleansing product such as the one I use now, "Colon Clenz" by Body Gold. The amount suggested was the same amount I use daily now, so no changes will need to be made. I just had to laugh a little at my initial naive thought process. Did I really think for a second I could get something for next to nothing that would work? Maybe I'm still an optimist after all these years of being batted around in the real world - or maybe I just haven't decided to accept the real world and try to make mine a bit more pleasant. That's got to be it!

The "program" mentioned that the average person on their testimonial site lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks. They had pictures and everything - - everything including the fine print that states that these particular people had weight loss that wasn't typical. OK - what is typical? The overall research I conducted rendered 4 pounds in 2 weeks. THAT was after you coupled it with a good diet and exercise. OF COURSE you can lose 4 pounds in 2 weeks if you eat right and have a good exercise program! So, what is the Acai and the total cleanse for? Well, breaking it down I would say for antioxidants and waste.

Bottom line - - eat right, exercise, poop, and be nice to everyone you meet on the streets and in life; they all have issues and my not be feeling their best. A smile is always a good gift.

How's It Working Out So Far?

2010-01-06T10:27:00.001-08:00

OK, it's been 3 days and I'm still alive. I'm doing High Intensity Interval Training. My goals are to: (a) lose 23 pounds (b) tone up the mid section (c) not die from dehydration during the process. I just about failed my 3rd goal on my very first day.

The baby boy (Reuben) is home you know, and the world as I knew it has turned upside down. This man, this son of mine, is one helluva task master. He gets up too early. He cooks too much. He demands that we eat more than we're use to eating. He forces me to gym far earlier than my body was really prepared for. He also forces me (now, since I nearly fell off a machine from dehydration) to drink water/Gatorade from the minute I step into the gym to the minute I float out of it from having filled myself with gallons of electrolytes. He's a monster.

The ladies walking on their treadmills next to me seem to be laughing. My son will stare at me in the mirrors and point at himself (I'm behind him and he sees me in the reflection) if I'm not walking hard and fast enough, or if I'm not drinking. He gets up from wherever it is that he is and starts to walk over to me - - arms puffed out, chest out, chin high, and that LOOK in his eyes as if he's about to cram the nozzle of the 1/2 gallon bottle down my throat. I pick it up before he makes it all the way across the floor. Sometimes I wait to make him go a bit further, then I tease him with the bottle as if I'm pouring it on the floor. He smiles.

During the time I'm actually doing the 20 reps 5 times I'm thinking about the hot showers. I'm thinking about the wine I'll drink that night. I'm thinking about weighing less than Gary Sinise if and when the time comes that we meet and work together on stage - - that seems to be a relatively good motivator because the actual training is brutal and it hurts. It hurts when I'm doing it. It hurts later. It hurts when I sleep, and yes, it hurts now when I'm typing. I think my arms have divorced the rest of my body. My belly has enough fat on it still not to be too contrary, but its day is just around the corner! Soon it too will hate me. For this I'm happy.

Well, three days and in pain. Good. Oh, and lucky for me the boy has taken a few days off to visit friends in the city. I'll have to rewind the video of him staring at me and squinting his eyes - replaying it in my mind will keep me on the machine, on track, and certainly in a good mood. You just have to see it. I have to admit, I love the kid for thinking his mom needs to be in tip-top shape...it's an ironic event for him. I know that no matter how buff I get, no matter how tight I look after all this - - he will NEVER let me step outside in a bathingsuit or a short pair of shorts. NEVER....it's all for the gym...where I wear cool-wear and sweats.

I will say this: I've caught the ladies on the treadmills staring back at Reuben when he does his squats. I've had to giggle a few times, he's clueless.

HIIT Me! (H.I.I.T. Highly Intense Interval Training)

2009-12-31T18:57:00.000-08:00

Oh, you don't know about H.I.I.T.? Well, don't feel badly, I just found out and I'm 48. Highly Intense Interval Training is simply this: specific exercises using greater weight than you are use to using. The idea (simplified) is to use the weight training specifically targeted to build certain muscle groups, i.e. the arms, the legs, the butt, the gut. (Can you tell I'm not an expert?) Now, I'm not a fitness trainer, I'm not a medical doctor, and I don't have all the answers, but it seems to me that if the U.S. Army can do this type of fast and furious training and get the results they've been getting -- I should at least give it a try.

Here's what I know: I go to a gym and I noticed a guy doing extreme weight training for a very short period of time. He didn't come back the next day, but he did come back the day after that. I asked him about it. I asked him why he did a 15-20 minute work out with heavy weights and lots of reps, and why he lowered the weight amount after the three set. He said it was the H.I.I.T. method and he said he felt kind of funny talking about it because there was a time that he was fired for telling someone about it.

See, the H.I.T.T. method has been used for years by professional and college athletes and the trainers in these professional and college level gyms are all but sworn to secrecy about it, or so he said they were. He told me that as a professional trainer in L.A. for 2 years he saw many people's lives changed by the method and he wanted to share this style of exercise and program so that others could lose more weight, burn more fat, and become healthier than they have ever been. His boss had other plans. By leaking out the secrets of the high-paying mega bodied celebrities and athletes to the common man/woman it put the gym at jeopardy. If someone loses the weight faster than usual they may leave the gym and there goes the mainstay of the facility. The celebrities and athletes were pulls, draws for clients to keep paying, but the trainers knew they had limited time with these people. The regular clients were told that steady 30-60-90 minute work outs with treadmills, bikes, laps, and crunches or classes were best for them.

Jake, the ex-trainer and now buddy told me that he's kept his weight down to what it is by using the H.I.T.T. method, and that he's shared the training program with about 10-15 of his friends who have kept their weight down and bodies in toned shape for years - but that telling the average person is hard because of all the things we've been told in the past. Sometimes people just don't believe that 15-20 minutes 3 times a week is all you need. But the physics prove it is.

I looked it up - - studied it and now am about to employ it. I encourage you to do the same. NOW, if you're one that HAS to have a book to look at, there is an e-book by a couple called the "15-Minute Fat Furnace" and you can download it for about $5.00. I just prefer doing the study myself and talking to Jake who I think I can trust - - at least I can physically see with my eyes that he's in shape; I have to trust what he says is true.

For 5 minutes you use as much weight as you can handle for a certain group of muscles. Let's say we're doing upper body today. Do the chest first, all the machines you can with as much weight as you can take for 20 second reps. Fast and hard reps for 20 seconds and then rest. Change machines during the 5 minutes is OK if you want to, but keep the area of the muscles focused. Rest between machines for about 30 seconds. 2 or 3 reps should do it per machine. Then target the arms for the next 5 minutes - again with as much weight as possible. Rep. rest. rep. rest. The last 5 minutes is done at a medium weight level and slower reps. It's sort of a cool down period. Again, focus on the chest for 5 minutes, and then the arms for 5 minutes. It takes 20 minutes total.

OK....and this is REALLY important. Shower. Take a shower or soak in the hot tub for a while to get the muscles loosened up. Over the next 24 hours your body will be screaming at you - literally shaken by the intense work you put it through, but that's OK. The nostrils and mouth are bringing in so much more oxygen than they normally bring in and you're body is burning so much more fat because of it. In most cases (I read) 9 times as much fat!

This workout is done 3-4 times a week. One day you focus on the top part of your body, the next time the lower half. Oh, and you have to eat sensibly. You know how to eat correctly, just do what you know to do and do it early enough. If you have to eat later in the evening eat fruits and vegetables or nuts. The H.I.I.T. method is real, and I can't believe I didn't know about it before; but I didn't. I do now, and I think I'll keep a journal to see the dramatic difference. Wish me good work, luck will have nothing to do with it.

The BEST Year! 2010

2009-12-30T12:41:00.000-08:00

Some people eat black-eyed peas and cornbread for good luck on January 1, but I plan on doing something FAR more productive. I'm going to pray and thank God for the gift of allowing me to receive my son Reuben back from his 3.5 years in the United States Army. WHAT a better way to start off an amazing year? God is GREAT.

When I heard Reuben was going to be coming home for Christmas I was really excited. I thought to myself "Oh, the perfect Christmas miracle story ever!" My son would be coming home on Faith's 7th birthday, and she would be so unaware until she saw him and then go crazy in the baggage department at the airport when she realized it was him. Oh, it was going to truly be the moment of a lifetime...but the Army changed their minds. They recalculated my son's departure date and set it back to January 1,2010. Of course I felt deflated at the news - - but then I realized that if he was coming home on the VERY first day of the new year then the new year must be so much better than the closing of this past year!

OK, it's all in how you look at life, right? Take a lemon and turn it into lemonade as they say - - just decide to see the bright side, decide to see the light! My son is coming home on the first day of a year that is destined to be so very amazing. My book is going to be picked up by a publisher. Anthony Tortoriello and I are going to do a children's book! My daughters will be employed full time. My son will attend college and play ball. The Faith Train is pulling out of more and more stations! Cher Marketing is going to sell lots and lots of Faith-inspired gear and we can help animal shelters like C.A.R.E. and the Michigan rescue groups that Norma backs. My daughters will enroll in college and probably NOT play ball - - which is a good thing really. I'll be moving to Chicago to write! I'll be carless and kidless and have only one dog (Faith). I'm going to meet friends in person who I've only been acquainted with online. I'll be working with people who I both admire and love...this is going to be a banner year. THANK YOU Jesus for holding Reuben's arrival. WOW - - who would have thought?

So, this having been a great and educational year, I am looking forward to the new one with the surprises, the gifts, the laughs, the soldiers, the work, the books, the move, the kids, the man....EVERYTHING. I may even get a new turtle this summer for keeps...you just never know what a girl has planned for a great and new start from a great and new year.

Viva La Life! Choose wisely!

After Christmas Promises to Myself

2009-12-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

I do it every year and actually, to be honest, I've kept my word! I bought myself a great recumbent bike last year and I ride it all the time. I'm taking it further this year and getting myself into the gym on a daily basis. I wanted to get a few pounds off before I actually started the hard-core training. One thing I don't want for myself is to have muscles sitting on top of fat cells. The plan to remove the fat surgically hasn't changed - - but I can at least get as much of it off as I can on my own (or with the help of Ug-Man the trainer) and then go under the knife.

I'm in a bit of a situation here - - currently I live in a small town in Oklahoma, where the gym is nicely priced, I can get to it easily, work out daily, and have the best of the best with regard to personal trainers because they have more equipment and more team members than the average big city facility. However, the problem is that I'll be moving to Chicago soon and live in a glorious downtown condo with a fitness center on a certain floor but without trainers and I'll have to work out my schedule to avoid the uppy-yuppies that parade around so wonderfully in brightly plumed outfits that fit just a bit better than my own.

When I do move I hope I at least have a shot at fitting in - - and by fitting in I am referring to the Spandex. At this point I have 23 pounds to go. I know I can muster the will, strength, and persistence to carve about 11 off before the doctors carve off the rest. When we're all (all of us) finished I should be a well-rounded, and/or curvy size 9 body standing 5'7". Nope, not going for the wispy look. Not going for the run-way model -- just me a little smaller here, a little flatter there, and by all means a LOT flatter UP there. Anyone want an extra pair of boobies just let me know, I plan on leaving 1/2 of mine behind....thank you 2010! This is going to be the year of change.

Promises, promises, promises. I trust me, and when I say something I mean it. If I promise myself I'll do it then by golly and all things holy I'll do it. This will be the year of persistent health, better eating, more salads, less meat (if that's possible) and more and more and more attention to the smile. Don't be surprised if in the future you encounter a metal-mouthed, red-headed, Jude walking right up to you and smiling big enough for you to see the wires! If I'm paying for them you're going to look at them. It's MY turn, thank you very much, and this is the year the girl gets an overhaul - - I don't mind the sweating if you don't.

Santa in Baghdad - Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T15:58:00.000-08:00

The red glow was unmistakeable.

The young soldier saw him coming from the air and warned the others - - his eyes couldn't believe what he was witnessing first-hand. It wasn't a missle, it wasn't an air assault of any kind. It was a sled, a very large sled, pulled by 9 furry reindeer; the first with a signature red-nose. The light from Rudolph's nose blasting through the Middle-Eastern fog...just before midnight.

As the soldiers came out of their make-shift barracks to greet the old man they did something they never do - - they put down their weapons. There was absolutely no threat here. Hooves landed softly on the sand, clattering and tearing at the soil as Santa called for them to halt. This visit was his first of the very long night that lay before him.

From their vantage point they could see that there were no presents in the sleigh for them, but then again, they knew each one of them were a little too old to expect anything from Santa - - but still there he was. One of the soldiers that approached the slick red sleigh was a woman; a Spc. infact, Ali Hargis of Ardmore, OK. She smiled as she reached to hug the old man - - and he accepted her. As he drew her close to squeeze her tight others wondered why she had been chosen, and how she knew instinctively to go to him. It wasn't magic, not really. Ali's little brother Rocky had just recieved HIS gift from St. Nick. He wanted to wish his big sister, his hero, a Merry Christmas. Santa and Rocky were Facebook friends. Of course he would know where she was.

Santa stood before a hundred or more soldiers - - and he did something he doesn't usually do. Santa cried. As he stood perfectly still in the dead of the night, a sense of unspeakable awe surrounded every one of them. Before he turned to continue his long and wonderful journey around the world Santa paused. With his chin held up just a little higher, and his lips trembling ever so slightly, the old man's right hand came up as he addressed the soldiers perfectly - - with a salute. "Gentlemen, Ladies" he whispered, "Thank you so very much. Thank you." Not another word was spoken. How could it be?

As the reindeer bowed their heads to show honor and respect Santa jiggled the reins twice. It was then that the silence was broken, and as if in unison the soldiers waved and called out "Merry Christmas Santa!" and with that, the soldiers picked up their weapons again and continued doing what they do - - it's my turn now to say it.

THANK YOU. Thank you so very very much!

Happy Birthday Faith - - 7 is a Good Age

2009-12-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

Faithy is 7 today, she's celebrating with her brothers and her little sister under the bed. I made them all eggs with cheese and they're just chomping away, kicking each other out of the way, and pulling on each others tails to get to the bowls that aren't their own. They're just such dogs!

We have six dogs right now. All of which are ours. We're not fostering any others at this time. When I move to Chicago I'll take Brody with me and of course Faith. She and I will have to cuddle really close to get away from the Chicago wind, but it looks like it may be as late as Spring before I get that opportunity so who knows. Brody's real name is: Sir Henry Wallace Broderick. I named him. He's a special needs little guy too -- he was dropped. The damage isn't too bad, but he's just a bit slower than most active and off-the-wall crazy Jack Russells. He's the little tri-colored dog.

We have Brody's sister Teagan, she's yellow and white - - a very normal and active Jack Russell. She belongs to Caity and will travel with Caity when we all disperse and go our separate ways. While Caity currently also owns King, and I also own Matrix, these dogs will go to live with Reuben when he comes home in January and sets up his homestead. He will have a nice backyard and will be able to take great care of the mutts given to him in love. Matrix is 10. I don't want to force him to move to Chicago where he'd be in the apartment more than outside. He's use to going in and out the backdoor at least 20 times a day if for no other reason than to say that he does. He would go crazy in a high rise.

Laura has her little Yuki mutt. He's a black Chihuahua mix with the disposition of a tiger or a big bull that has no intention of letting you in his fence. He down right adores Laura and we think he actually worships her. We love on him of course, but the instant she comes into sight, hearing, or smell, we are worthless beings in his heart. She is his world. She will of course take Yuki. For a while Laura and Reuben will be together, until such time that they both realize that they love each other but can't live together -- it's probably going to take 3-4 months.

So, all together now, the dogs are happy, laying around and playing. Soon they will be in separate houses living in California (Caity) Illinois (me) and Oklahoma (Laura & Reuben) - - it's a good birthday for Faith; one I hope she remembers and cherishes for a very long time. We think she's pretty happy - - she's still wagging the tongue anyway.

Humbled and Honored - Thank You

2009-12-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

When I was called by Sue Manning of the Associated Press and she asked me a few questions about my dog Faith, I was sure her story would be heartwarming and it would probably be picked up by a few of the papers and television news anchors across the country. I even went so far as to let myself believe that a handful of countries outside of the United States would be picking it up too. I know Faith is popular in Japan, Australia, and the UK for example.

About a year ago I began asking God (yes, I do that, I talk one on one with the Almighty and I actually believe in my heart that He cares about me enough to listen and respond)to help me to understand my mission with Faith. I wanted Him to show me something, and I remember asking Him to bless me, but I added a caveat. I said out loud "God, bless me beyond my imagination" let me see something that I couldn't have foreseen. Well - - that happened.

December 17, 2009 my dog's story as told by Sue Manning over the wire was the #1 story on capital news agencies such as MSNBC and Yahoo! My dog's face (and sadly my non-makeup face LOL) was seen everywhere - EVERYWHERE. What I was most surprised with were the numbers coming out of Russia! RUSSIA!! Who knew? I was floored and I was excited!! WOW - - my web developer was just as shocked. He started spitting out numbers and techy stats at me faster than I could say "I really don't understand a single word you're saying to me right now." I say that a lot to Randall Goya. He's one of those IT guys -- you know, a real geek. Someone I have only dreamed of being - but know my brain would explode if I tried any harder than I do now to "get it". I don't get it.

HUMBLED is the only word I can use, and hey, being a SOONER -- "humble" doesn't come to mind or heart all that often. This has been a very humbling year - - both with football of course, and with my dog. I have just been so amazed at the outpouring of love and the feedback we have been receiving on my site at www.faiththedog.info. I say it all the time; when I feel down I just have to look up a few of these comments and know that whatever I may be experiencing at that moment will pass -- it has to, I have a job to do. I have work to finish, and it includes talking to, hugging on, and walking around with a little yellow mutt who simply chooses - chooses- to smile. It's not the easiest decision sometimes, but one I have to make.

Thank you Sue. Thank you Yahoo! Thank you WORLD!! (But mainly - - Thank you Jesus. Without your sense of humor and plan to give a little dog to a lady with a big mouth - - YOU ROCK!)

Who Wants to Sleep in Seattle?

2009-12-14T10:26:00.001-08:00

Well, the answer to the question "Who wants to sleep in Seattle?" would be FAITH. She was such a tired puppy after all the fun she had at the PX and BX and then the Public Market.

We went to Seattle to celebrate Faith's 7th birthday. It won't be until December 22, but we knew we'd have fun going up a little early! The Associated Press came out, they brought Manuel Valquez as a videographer from Seattle. We got to play with him a bit. He's adorable. He said he'd rather cover stories like Faith and the soldiers anyday! He is usually stuck following boring professionals and business situations! Of course it's more fun following a happy-go-lucky mutt with a bunch of soldiers!!

We played at the Ft. Lewis BX with Ultimate Fighter Todd Duffee -- photos coming soon, and we played with the Buffalo JILLS, the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders Alyssa and LaKeisha! WOW are they gorgeous, and YES, LaKeisha is 6'6" I think. They're fun! We took our pictures with these girls and pretended we were Jills too! AS IF!! LOL

We played with soldiers, we played with Airmen. We played with staff from both the BX and the PX, we played with families of the soldiers, and we played with thousands of people at the Public Market including the Fishermen! Caity is in love with one named Ryan, so we had to stop by and have her picture taken with him. It will be loaded soon too, and I'm sure they'll be married and she'll have free sushi at the reception! LOL

We went to the original Starbucks, but we also went to Faith's #579 and #580th Starbucks too. She and I have been to so many stores you'd think Starbucks would want to make us their spokesperson/dog! We'd say yes....if they asked. (Go ahead Starbucks, ask!!)

We truly had the best times again - - as we always do, and I wanted to thank Pat McGhee of the Ft. Lewis PX for hosting us. He took us to an Open House where we met lots of higher ranking soldiers who were having an awards ceremony. Faith met Jason Haynes, the guy who MAKES the challenge coins for the soldiers. He's going to make one JUST for her!! I'll get to pass them out to people who have helped Faith to make it this far in her journey.

We also met up with author and fantastic ghost writer Rudy Yuly!! Photos soon! Rudy and I are writing Faith's book "Faith Walks" and I can't tell you how much fun that was. You meet someone online, you work with them, talk on the phone, get to know each other, but meeting in person!!! That was fun and great and rewarding. He said his ex-sister in law is a dog psychic and she'll be so jealous that he got to meet Faith in person!! I hope to meet her soon too. That will be fun to see what she has to say about Faith's future and maybe she'll let me in on a little secret Faith has been keeping from me all this time! LOL

Well, we had so much fun we didn't sleep that much - - but Faith did. She crashed every night and slept hard! She was of course ready for the fun and frolick of the next day -- and with love for all the OPS staff at the PX including: Meghan, Little Maegan, Elizabeth, Nora, and Mary - - THANK YOU!!!! Thanks for putting up with us, and for going with us, laughing at my jokes - - which is hard sometimes, and for just being great!!

Oh, and thanks to Tom for being so sweet to Caity, she may actually marry you too, and Todd Duffee, and Denton Blane Everett, so at least you'll see her every once in a while right? LOL....no worries, she's young, she'll survive love and fantasy alike.

Twisters and Storms = OMG

2009-12-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

Why is it that we untouchable humans get the fear of God in us when the weather kicks up a bit? I'm the biggest wussie, bigger than any of them. I have always fallen flat on my face first thing and acknowledged the power of my Almighty God. I'm not about to oh, I don't know, sit on top of a mast and scream at God to bring it on...nope, let Lt. Dan do that, for me it's a bit more like falling to my knees in the closet with the mattress over my head when the winds reach 250 mph and they're 10 miles away. That's me praying and begging God to forgive me for making fun of Sarah Kesler in the 2nd grade! God just has a way of getting to me in a storm.

It was 2003 I think, Laura and I were on our way back from Arnett, Oklahoma, a little community way out West. So far west you could say Eastern Texas Panhandle and still be describing it. The area is KNOWN for being the starting point for whirlwinds that turn into tornadoes. It is just a point on a map, just a little piece of land, but over that land are clouds and winds forming from the weather combining after moving east from the Rockies and North from the Gulf. If you live in Lawton, Oklahoma or Arnett/Gage, Oklahoma, you don't worry so much because the winds only START there - - they move on!

Laura and I were coming home, home was EAST of Arnett -- and so were the winds. My car was moving about 70 mph but the winds, God's winds, decided to pick it up a bit - - they ran closer to 100-110 mph, and within minutes of the radio broadcast alerting drivers to pull over -- we were engulfed. We had baby tornadoes, F1 and F2 factors both behind us and in front of us! We were in the middle and with absolutely NO WHERE to pull over it was up to GOD Himself to keep His winds rolling and spitting around us, I couldn't let the one behind me gain on me, and I couldn't creep up on the one in front of me. Talk about a constant and open means of Divine communication. God and I are on a first name basis of course, but I was actually thinking about letting the 13 year old drive while I confessed everything possible in the passenger seat. I would have too, but she was more interested in praying herself and asking God to help, stop or do something.

When we did finally find a place to pull over it was none to soon. We found a bathroom at a convenience store with a solid metal door. It was open, we could see that from the road. We pulled into the parking lot, jumped out, got into the bathroom, locked the door (as if) and then I pushed baby Laura (13) behind the plumbing of the sink and just laid myself over her. Within minutes the twister behind us had passed us and we were safe to travel again behind the storm, but all the while knowing it was going where we were going. I couldn't reach my other kids because cell towers were down. BACK TO PRAYER! God works better than U.S. Cellular at this point.

When we got home and found my two others in the shelter and safe, coming out of it and eating popcorn - - I thought "Wow, I'm so glad I don't have to convert to Christianity, I'm there." You never hear of anyone begging Satan or anyone else to help them in a storm - - seems like most people understand that these matters are controlled by God. Call me crazy, but I think He just likes to hear from me sometimes...I figure the more I talk to Him BETWEEN the storms the less I have to confess when they do show up. Besides, He know my sins...He made me.

I've read where some people convert to God or faith during a storm - - OK, that's probably good, but what about when the tide is fine and all the clouds look like marshmellows? I'd like to think this would be a good time to thank Him for the day.

Tiger Woods Effect

2009-12-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

Whatever goes on with this man has absolutely NOTHING to do with the diet and/or commitment I'm on, so no, this blog won't be that much about what I'm eating today. I will say that I was a very obedient committed person and did what I'm suppose to do. That's me, I always do what I'm suppose to do -- sit here minding my own business constantly. There just seems to be a lot of stuff going around me at all times and from time to time when I stand up, no longer sitting down while minding my own business, I get hit in the fact with drama - - and lots of it. THANK GOD for Tiger Woods! The attention really isn't on me that much these days. Sorry T. That was low and I didn't need to say it - - when you wake up from your Ambiene (sp) NAP I'll apologize for real.

OK - - is it just me, or doesn't it seem like the men in Hollywood are getting more or less caught with their proverbial pants down? Listen, if it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and looks like a duck ladies - - you can bet it has mites and scratches itself in public while wading through mud. He's A MAN!! Now, that being said I do know two men that wouldn't cheat if they were billionaires and could get away with it; my dad - - who would have to ask permission and mom would never say yes, and my son, because he....oh wait, there's my dad! My dad would simply just go to town and buy a few things and come home and ask Mom what she thought of them. I think Mom actually took out a part of Dad's brain when they got married, the part that said "Oh hey look, another woman!" She's mean like that.

I think the situation with Tiger is ugly at best, and although everyone is talking about it I just wish they'd stop -- which of course means I should stop. I think men in Hollywood are absolutely under the microscope now, and there will no doubt be a few "damage control" tactics soon being revealed wherein a man of higher expectation will come forth and make the announcement that yes he has been unfaithful to his wife, names will be named, talk will be talked, but it will be out there without being the subject of an exposure! It may be a good thing, it may draw out the truth behind so many "rumors" or "secrets" and then it will all be rolled over and discussed, but having been brave enough to come out with it rather than being caught with it - - may be the difference between keeping those endorsements. Sort of like when Michael Phelps was caught smoking weed - - so what. I'm Nike, I'm EverReady, or I'm Wheaties, I'm not going to pull a deal over it - - maybe I'll reach another group of people not usually associated with my product. However, I'm a right-sided conservative business company and I see the player(s) aren't playing the "family" game the best they could - - maybe I'll give the endorsement to someone else. Tiger will be fine - - he'll lose millions but he has more. It's not a money issue that Tiger or any of these people have to deal with - - it's age-old MORALS and integrity - - tell the truth and nothing really that bad happens. (maybe a little)

That being said, I bet the Tiger Woods Syndrome as it is being called, will be a virus infecting many men and women who will have to make the publicity call as to whether they want to tell the truth and keep the fans, or be caught taking a nap while driving, wrecking their cars, and having beautiful models beating their company car with their 3 iron - - or was it a wood? Do they even play with wood clubs now? Shows you what I know. I do know this - - if Dad ever did caught by Mom having an affair - - we'd all laugh. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US - - nope, the truth is, that one was a keeper! (and MOM can keep him. I couldn't be married to him. He's a Democrat!) LOL

Day Whatever of the Commitment - I Feel Great

2009-12-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

OK, so let's see, let's count. Today is the 6th day of the commitment, the diet, the way of life, whatever you want to call it. It's not been the slightest problem so far -- well, I did go one full day without blueberries and that was a major set back. I had to fall back on cranberries and just DEAL with it! LOL

In the morning we're still blending - bananas, blueberries, hummus or garbanzo powder, yogurt, and now I throw in those billions of cultured live cells that you can pick up in the health food store (liquid). I'm so freaking healthy guys! Just so freaking healthy. I do the coffee of course as well, and drinking water is just what I do. I think between the coffee, the tea, the water and the juice, I've raised my 95% water capacity to 98% and I'm more than sure I'll be solvent if I step out into the rain or snow this weekend in Seattle. Just one big puddle...and 2% of bone.
The dogs will love me. I'll go down in history as making a grand sacrifice for the animals in my life.

There's no way I can tell you if I've lost weight, I think so, I believe I have, but because I don't weigh myself there isn't a number to tell you. I'm thinner. I'm pulling up the jeans easier, I'm bending over in the jeans easier, and I'm dancing faster, more smoothly - - this is a good indicator that I'll be juicing a bit longer than the original 21 days. I'll keep up the habit, can't hurt and with the way my waist seems to be trimming down some I may not have to fear the KNIFE so much. The doctor can use a much smaller blade now....put away the machete Doc, it's better now.

So, we're getting rain and possibly snow here in Oklahoma. I have my phone and weather guides on my computer set to whatever the weather is in Chicago. Visualizing is everything, so I go into the Chicago mode now and then and see how my new condo is doing. I pull it up on the Google maps and stare at the front doors. I check out the area web cams and see the people bustling, moving around -- that's going to be me all wrapped up and cussing at the wind! I'm going to be the one trudging to the store for a couple of bags of groceries and fighting back the blistering blizzard. Can't wait - - and I'll do it with LESS weight on my butt....all the more reason to celebrate, and to add a bit of a kick to my step! YEA!!

OK, now you're wondering what EXACTLY I really am putting in these juices aren't you? LOL

Today for lunch: 1 cucumber, 1 vine ripe tomato, 2 carrots, 1 sweet small sweet potato, 2 granny smith apples and a cube (1") of ginger - - and I'm full! Not to mention I have this mental illusion that I can actually spin/leap from one building to the next up in Chicago to get to Dominick's, but I'm wondering how I'll manage it on my way home with the bags bulging...probably can't. Sigh.

Trig? Tripp? Triangle? I Can't Keep Up.

2009-12-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

Let's just say that I've never believed that Trig Palin, the 5th kid, was actually born to Sarah and Todd Palin. Sarah, according to two sources now, has called Trig her (and I quote them) "little retarded baby boy". Now, call me crazy, but if my kid had down-syndrome I wouldn't refer to him as retarded. I'm not even all that politically savvy and I know the difference between addressing someone as challenged and someone as retarded. Seems to me that the MOTHER of little Trig would be a bit more careful with her words; as well as the way she holds HER baby. Bristol holds Trig lovingly. I've seen Sarah's way of holding Trig, and believe me, it's as if she's being forced to babysit! Sometimes I think Piper gets in her way, she wouldn't have had another kid at her age and there's NO WAY IN HELL she boarded an Alaskan Airlines plane in Dallas after she confirmed with people in Alaska by telephone that her water had just broken - - wow, does this make me cynical? NO, it makes me concerned that a leader in my own party could think for 1/2 a second that any of us was truly that ignorant. JUST TELL THE TRUTH PALIN!

I hadn't even heard of Andrew Sullivan until Sarah Palin decided to write a book that I have read several excerpts from. I have yet to read the book entirely as I just can't wrap my brain around the Trig question. As a mother it REEKS with (in my opinion) lies and substandard explanations about her pregnancy. Seems NO ONE really knew about her expecting until the end and wow, looky there -- a baby! Oh, but where's Bristol? NO ONE could really give us that information now could they? When asked by a journalist about a possible cover-up involving Bristol and her teenage boyfriend which may or may not have been Levi Johnston, reporters say Palin was ready to sue reporters for asking! HELLO -- they can ask anything! As a candidate for the Vice Presidency of our nation - - you bet your butt you're expected to answer these questions too. Why would I want ANYONE in office that can't answer THAT question? PLEASE!

Well, to be honest with you, and I guess now that General Patreaus as answered honestly about it; I didn't vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin this past election. No, I didn't vote for Senator (now Pres.) Obama either. I wrote in my choice for President of the United States of America as I'm sure at least a few others did. I wanted Colin Powell. Since he didn't run I didn't add a Vice Presidential choice but come to think of it, maybe General P would have been a pretty good choice. At least I can say with near perfect accuracy that neither of them had embarrassed me, their party or the nation by NOT answering simple and straight forward questions like "who is Trig's real mother?" Would it really matter if anyone had said Bristol? That's like saying you don't dye your hair, or you didn't get vanity surgeries. Having babies out of wedlock isn't the end of the world. I don't recommend it. I did it too, but it's not the worst thing that can happen - - lying is. Did you hear me? LYING is the worst.

Levi's not the brightest bulb in the box, but I gotta hand it to the kid, he's not letting the hockey-mom hunter get under his skin, and something tells me that as little Trig and Tripp grow up their DNA may be very interesting for say - - a science discussion!

Day 3 - and Actually Not Really Counting

2009-12-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

So, it's my third day on the juice diet but I have to repeat that I hate the word "diet" so we'll do the commitment thing again. Third day being great to myself, and doing a bit more research on all the benefits of juicing things like ginger root, horseradish, and things that make your eyes water. I am amazed at the information you can pull off the internet. I found a great recipe for "Purple Passion" which I'll try tomorrow after I go back to the Farmers Market for a few fresh grapefruits. Today it was a standard: Tomatoes, carrots, blueberries, sweet potato, celery, and cranberries - - but I did throw in a cube of ginger!!

Purple Passion:

8 oz of blueberries
1 1/2 of a grapefruit
1 cube of ginger (juiced)
2 small or 1 medium apple

JUICE THAT and drink it. Wow - - powerful stuff. I'm told it will not only have all the antioxidants one needs for the day, but ginger helps with stomach problems, gas, bloating, even helps to eliminate bad breath like garlic does. It use to be the 2nd most popular spice in India and Europe back in the day, right next to pepper. I can see the similarities. Ginger is really strong, but unlike pepper it can be juiced easier and has a certain aphrodisiac effect as well - - yeah, and that can't be bad right? LOL

So, my littlest one asked me (on my fourth trip to the store) to pick her up a comb so she could better even out her haircut - the one I told her was a bit choppy. I did that. I got her the comb. Turns out I didn't need to spend that $1.55 after all - - I mean, maybe in 6 months she can use the comb again, but not at this moment - - as you can see from the photos up on top, she has nothing up on top now! This is my life people. I come home to this sort of thing on a daily basis, and NO I am not really shocked anymore. I think of it as another day, another adventure. Today she has no hair, tomorrow she'll be starring in a new Sci-Fi or something, or I'll have new furniture, perhaps my bathroom doors will be inverted, or my Christmas tree limbs pushed upward creating an ARROW effect. I have NO idea what to expect with Caity, and that's OK...I love the journey.

Laura? Oh, she's working, paying bills, dancing, singing, and learning to speak Japanese, same as she was last time - - but I still don't turn my back on her too long either. She has an mischievous streak in her at times too. Another day, another good and happy memory.

17 more days until my son comes home!!!!

Smoothies, Yoga and Muddy Paws

2009-12-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

What a day so far! I woke up to the wet muddy paws of an over grown puppy. King had been let out and he played a while and then when he came back into the house he immediately greeted me with his large slobbering face (St. Bernard/Dane mix) and his freshly soaked muddy paws -- he has four of them. All four of these paws were decorating my bed and corrupting my sheets and blankets while I lay there covering up my face so as to protect myself from his overt rambunctious play....and that my friends, is my alarm clock!

It really is a good thing that I have an alarm clock otherwise I'd sleep past 10 and miss out on all the fun stuff that people do in the morning. I'm going to have to start setting the electrontic type clock soon and wake up around 7:30 not only to be the one to let the dogs out, but also to go to yoga class! When I move to Chicago one of the things I really am looking forward to is yoga! Since Chicago is so freaking cold in the winter time I'll wait until it thaws a bit to join so I can get my 1.5 mile walk in before class as the class is actually held on or near DePaul University - - I'll be in Streeterville just a bit north. CAN'T WAIT

OK...and now for the update on the weight thing. I made myself a dinner last night of 6 veggies and 2 fruits. I drank it all and thought a little carbs won't hurt so I toasted a muffin too. I always toss in a little protein powder with my drinks giving me the garbanza bean boost I need to take on the world -- and you're suppose to watch the protein intake when one goes on a juice diet too. This morning I made the BEST damn smoothie I've ever made. Ready:

1 large banana
2 oz of Raspberry Goyi juice from V8 Frusion stuff
4 oz skim milk
1 heaping Tablespoon of gabanza bean protein flour powder
1 raw egg
and a little clove powder -- because I can

I blended it up and BAM - - wow, wow, wow, I'm in love, I'm in Heaven, I'm fine! Just after drinking it I thought I can't wait to do this again tomorrow. I make myself wait - - I could completely spoil me, but I won't. However, lunch is JUST around the corner and it looks like: tomatoes, zuccini, carrots, cranberries, sweet potato and 2 Granny Smith apples are on the menu - by on the menu I men IN the juicer. YES. LUCKY ME!! I'm so good to me.

And now, to bathe the dogs, wash the linens, and start all over again.

You Can Do Anything For 21 Days Right? LOL

2009-12-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Here we are on the 3rd of December. I've decided to make the next 3 weeks JUDE days, just days for me. ME, ME, ME, ME, ME....because I'm needy. I love me, and I tell myself all the time that if I hadn't been me, and I had just met me on the street or probably at a Starbucks, I'd like me. I'd find me to be happy, open, and honest, not to mention cute and sassy -- oh, and if I wasn't dating (which I'm not) I'd ask me out of a date and I'd probably go - - so these next three weeks are just about that. What I would do with me if I could - and I can, so I will.

Me and I are going on a 21-day date with the juicer, the blender, and the salad bowl. For the next 21 days I'm on a 2/3 juice diet and 1/3 solids. For breakfast we're doing the banana, strawberry, zucchini smoothie, and of course we'll mix that up a bit. For lunch it's all about the 5-8 servings of veggies and fruits, and for dinner the same. The difference is, I'll throw a small salad in 2 or 3 times a week, and a several handfuls of nuts and raisins. God knows, I love raisins.

According to the internet and all the sources I can find, going on a juice fast before a holiday like Christmas is perfectly acceptable. It can actually train the mind and body NOT to over eat at parties and gatherings, and it can be a great excuse not to over indulge at all - - just say "Oh, I think it looks great, probably tastes great too, but I'm really trying to stick to this commitment I made for myself." I don't like the word "diet", it's meaningless these days - - so, it's a commitment. I don't know if I can do it the full three weeks, but I can try can't I? I still have that 20-25 pounds to go, and I think it may help.

Oh, and the best part is, I'm exercising too, going to the gym, and doing the balance ball at home with my daily yoga stuff. Who knows, maybe I can give myself a new body for Christmas....at least a healthy one. Juicing is so much better for you than eating the fruits or veggies in chunks. You get 7-10x the nutrients from them. Oh, and I throw in ginger root, sage, all sorts of herbs along the way - - it's all about the antioxidants....that's the part that cleans you out and releases the fat junk hanging out in the cells....more ginger please, thanks!

There you have it, let's see if I can do this, and what I'm thinking along the way - - just 21 days I promise, then it's CHRISTMAS!! Oh, and I'll tell you about Reuben coming home and the girls working, and all that fun information - - but remember, it's all about ME! LOL LOL LOL....go ahead, it's OK to slap me. (I may like it!) LOL

Crimson or Orange? What's best for the Season? LOL LOL LOL

2009-11-28T15:16:00.000-08:00

Oh, I make myself laugh sometimes. I do it just because it releases the nervous tension. The nervous tension I had BEFORE the game started that is - - the OU/OSU game that is...Bedlam. There is only ONE other game we Sooners really get all tensed up and scared about and since we barely came out of Texas with our pride stomped on with a 14-13 loss to the Texas Longhorns, the Oklahoma State Cowboys was the last of the nerve-ending games. No worries...we got this one.

EIGHT years is it now? EIGHT years in a row I think we've beat the Cowboys, but I'd have to look that up, I lost count and wouldn't want to be overstating it if it's only 6 or 7. I know last year it was a mere 61-41 win. We only beat the Pokes by 20. THIS YEAR - - well, we shut them up, I mean, we shut them out....27 to what? Oh yes, to ZERO...zippo....nata! I should try to rein that in a bit before I get my tongue chopped off by a few of my really good friends wearing wilted colors up in Stillwater tonight. Sorry guys, we may not have beat Texas Tech like you did, but we beat the snot out of you today - - even with the 1 hour first quarter where the referees weren't sure which side of I-40 they were closer to. OH, and before you say a damn thing about DeMarco Murray's fly-in leap to the make the first touchdown, I want it on record that I said it wasn't a touchdown! I wanted it reviewed, I wanted it replayed, because I can't stand all the whining about it later on...but since we beat you by 27 - - no worries.

Thanksgiving is OVER....Christmas is coming....no brainer on the title question. Should we be wearing Orange? NO. No way - - CRIMSON baby! Another full 365 days of bragging our faces off to any and every Oklahoma State University alumni, current student, faculty, or just someone silly enough to show up wearing something with Pistol Pete on it. I think it would have been hilarious if the Norman police had arrested the mascot for shooting off his guns in the city limits! That would have been so funny - - and probably been worth the ticket price! Oh wait, the SCORE was more than worth the ticket price!! 27-0...say what? YES, 27 points Oklahoma, ZERO for Oklahoma State. Or as Jeannie's daughter Julie put it "Shut out means SHUT UP!"

Wow, I really should stop before I upset the others living in my house. We have a house divided you see; something I swore wouldn't happen. When the girls enrolled in Oklahoma State University in 2007 I kicked them out. They lived ON THEIR OWN. We don't do the house divided thing. Sooners live in this place....there's a sign on the door just in case you weren't sure. SOONERS LIVE IN THIS HOUSE! The sign should read "Don't even think about ringing the door bell if the game is on" but I don't have that sign. I have the one that says "SOONERS LIVE IN THIS HOUSE!" but I guess now I can add "WINNERS LIVE IN THIS HOUSE"....what do you think? No? Oh, you're only saying that because you either wear orange, or you aren't from the .... the SOONER STATE...wow, did you see that, it's not the COWBOY state, it's Oklahoma, the SOONER State..yes. LOL couldn't resist.

My daughters dropped out of school in 2008, but they'll go back in 2010 and they'll be Cowboys again...I don't know why. Oklahoma has a far better medical program. I suppose they won't be going into medicine. It's the only thing I can think of. Laura will get her B.A. in Business Management, and Caity in Business Finance. They'll be rich and I'll say thank you for letting me off the hook that much earlier! BUT...and I mean this, I hope they don't try to get football scholarships because they can't play very well. Wait a minute, they don't have to play well to get one at Oklahoma State do they? Sorry, my bad.

LOVE YOU guys up that way - - you know, up NORTH, in that....place. Good luck next year. There's always next year. Looking forward to it!! You'll recognize me, I'll be wearing CRIMSON with 90,000 of my closest friends. I call dibs for first in line at Starbucks!!!

Soon To Be Carless!!

2009-11-24T15:47:00.000-08:00

I have a great new friend online named Mike Doyle. He's the author and/or writer of the blog "Chicago Carless" www.chicagocarless.com and he is fantastic and funny -- not to mention he actually lives the way I can't wait to live! WITHOUT A CAR!

I love the fact that I can drive, don't get me wrong. Now, if everyone else in the auto-owner world would also take a minute to learn the rules and laws from behind the wheel we'd all be THAT much better off right? Last year my best friend STEVE (a 2005 Focus) was completely smashed, destroyed, and murdered when a 74-year old woman without insurance decided to pull out into oncoming traffic - - by oncoming I mean ME. I was driving, I was the oncoming traffic. I was in the right, she was in the wrong and the fact that her eyes had been dilated the day before is the ONLY reason I used the word MURDER. It may have been negligent carslaughter, OK, but it was death to the STEVEster and that meant I was walking....until my adorable Dad saved me and gave me his car to drive. (There's another related story about Steve being fixed and then I lost him again, but we won't go there, it's boring and makes me cry when I think about it). Thank you Dad for your loving and kind gesture. I promise just as soon as I put the car in my name - - wait, I'll just give to Caity and she can do that. Good plan.

Losing STEVE made me realize that I am far too dependent on the car. Living in Oklahoma City one is 100% dependent on a car. Living just about anywhere except a larger city like Chicago or New York makes one completely too dependent on cars because most cities don't have the set up to handle those of us who would use the alternative if it were made available. I'm not moving to Chicago JUST for the theatres, jazz, great shopping, and free outdoor concerts - - well, the good food is a pull, but there is another reason...I will be CARLESS IN CHICAGO. (Remember, this Carless in Chicago is NOT to be confused with Mike Doyle's blog Chicago Carless www.chicagocarless.com - - follow Mike) LOL

When I'm carless I won't: Pay for gas, pay for insurance, have a car payment, buy a new bumper, get my tires changed, have a blow out on the highway forcing me to call the Highway patrol in 100 degree dry heat and wait 2 hours for it to be fixed. I won't run out of gas because the fuel sensor lied. I won't experience the waiting at the stoplights - - I WILL WALK THROUGH THEM. I won't forget to pay for my tag and get a ticket. I won't speed. Wait, I don't speed now. I won't be passed up for not speeding. I won't have to worry about my neighbors kid keying my car. I won't have to keep my car inside to avoid weather. I won't have to pay for parking. I won't have to look for a spot to park and go shopping. I won't have exhaust smells in my house from the car warming up. I won't have anyone smoking in my car. I won't worry about who sits in front - - there won't be a front!

In my new life, in my new condo, in my new city - - soon - - I will walk where I can. If I can't walk I'll take the bus. If I can't do that I'll take a taxi, and if I really really have to have it, can't do without it - - I will use a ZipCar (www.zipcar.com) and I will NEVER pay for gas or insurance again! $10 an hour and really - - that's all I'll need it for. Groceries can be delivered in Chicago, and I can literally walk to the Mag-Mile from my backdoor - EVEN when it's 5 degrees outside. I probably won't, but I could, and having that knowledge of I COULD, makes me happy.

There just aren't words to describe the loss I felt when I lost my little STEVE. We had been together from coast to coast to coast and back to the other side, top and bottom of our great country. We had been together 3 years and 85,000 miles...that's a lot of miles for 3 years people....I loved that little car. (Rumor has it that STEVE opted as a hotel now and then for the kids when they drove him too. He was that versatile....that beloved....and he is missed. There will simply never be another STEVE. R.I.P. my friend)

YEP, looking forward to being in the big city soon - - Jan/Feb maybe. No more payments, gasoline, insurance, traffic...oh I'm repeating myself. I'm sorry. It's just so....so...amazing. sigh.

What a Girl Wants!

2009-11-22T11:32:00.000-08:00

THIS IS FUNNY!!

For weeks I have been telling my friends and my family that on my birthday (today) I'm going to go to the Old Time Soda Shop in Ardmore, OK and have a burger and fries and a big bowl of ice cream, maybe a shake, and just really let the world know I'm relaxing this one day out of the year. No diet on November 22, 2009 - - NOPE, not going to happen right? So, here's the funny part.

When Laura dressed up a bit old fashioned from the 50's and took me to the shop which is downtown we didn't see any cars outside! We thought "OH NO, it's not open on Sunday!" That was true, the shop wasn't normally open on Sundays, but that wasn't the problem. NO...Benji the owner was tearing out the walls today with his work crew Mark and Juan! They were taking down every wall, re-opening great side windows to let in the Eastern light, and they were painting, staining, changing carpet, changing electrical and mechanical things - - not only was it NOT open, it was being torn down inside the joint. Which of course meant that the graffiti on the walls was being torn down, which meant the "shout out" from Faith was being torn down too!

See, all I really wanted, if truth be known, was a big bowl of their freshly churned Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate ice cream! I didn't care that much about the burger or fries, and secretly wanted to keep to the diet a bit - but I wanted my kids to think I was throwing care to the wind. OH WELL -- whatcha gonna do? Well, here's what I did -- I told the guys fixing up the place that it was my birthday, and I fully intended to scoot over their mess and enjoy my ice cream! (LAUGHING)

They agreed! Mark went straight to the back and brought out a big big bucket of Dutch Chocolate and he and Benjamin (Benji's son) fought the hardened ice cream for a good few minutes until they were able to knock out, chip out (without getting the drill) a full bowl of the good stuff. They didn't even charge me -- why? No register was open, and as Mark pointed out - - HE DOESN'T WORK THERE anyway!! Hahahaha...how fun is that? This would ONLY happen to me, and it would only happen in Oklahoma where we just don't care about simple protocol. Benji, the owner, was out running around in Mark's truck getting supplies -- so Mark just went into the kitchen of Benji's place and made due! THANKS GUYS....and Benji too, he loved the story when he came back.

Mark, Juan and Benjamin wanted to know more about Faith since I pointed outs he had been there and I left her "shout out" on the back wall. They've decided to take a picture of it and put the picture in a frame on the new walls! YEA! I went home after taking Laura to work, and I brought the real Faith back to the store so Benjamin could get his picture taken and brag in school tomorrow about having met the world's most photograpahed dog in person! They were great, and what a way to get what you want on your birthday!

100 POUND Puppy! King Leonidas

2009-11-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

Our baby mutt has grown up and in less than 1 entire year he has managed to grow to the evenly round score of well -- 5 score! He's 100 POUNDS now. I would have thought, given his giant breed mixes, that he would have reached that weight and more by the time he was six or seven months, but alas, he's a smaller more petite St. Bernard/Dane/Husky mix. Must be the Husky that kept him in his minute tiny frame. (It was fun watching Caity lift him so he could be weighed)

When Caity and I went to the Noah's Ark Animal Shelter adoptathon in February 2009, I was a board member of the shelter -- that means one thing: I was almost required to adopt a puppy. I knew it was a duty really, but then again, adopting dogs has never really been a foreign idea to me or anyone else in my family. With Caity Baby, adopting another dog was almost as easily as breathing in her next breath...she just does it, and we expect it. My question was "Why did she have to pick the biggest puppy in the place?" He was absolutely huge but he was also absolutely undeniably adorable! Those big sad blue puppy eyes - blue! We were goners.

So, King Leonidas got his name easily enough - - being named for the actor Gerard Butler who played the King in the movie "300". Remember the eyes? He's pretty too, and our King was pretty, and big, and hairy - - just like Butler. At just under 8 weeks King was a floppy 16 pounds and as he lived in our house, eating all we could give him, he grew. It wasn't too long after his fourth month that we discovered he had specific allergies that caused his hair to fall out all over his body - - for a St. Bernard that could be rather embarrassing. It was determined that poor Mr. King could no longer consume human food - - he had to stay away from all wheat and/or grains completely until we narrowed it down. ENTER Precise Pet food. Oh, I love Liz Levine-Morken of Precise! She found King (and the others) the best food for his terrible case of the hairlessness backside. He's all healed up now, and really, he doesn't realize he's missing out on too much - - he can have cheese now, so he's good.

For a hundred pound dog you'd think he's be a bit more aggressive, and I shouldn't say this because all the bad-guys out there may try to get past his ferocious roar to come into our yard or home - - KING is a wussie-dog! Seriously, if the bad guys came in he'd greet them kindly and probably show them his lately chew-toy (my new shoe) and he'd take them on a tour of the house where they'd no doubt meet up with the real guard dog - YUKI, the Chihuahua mix; now that dog will tear your leg off one bite at a time! (I can just hear King saying "Oh c'mon Yuki, they're nice, let's just forgive them and play!") Nope, not a guard dog - - not a fighter yet. I'd say he's more like the lap dog you wish your 10 pound dog was, or the 2nd best farter in the house behind Laura. King couldn't be scary and tough if you paid someone to train him. If Caesar was to whisper to King he'd find out that King probably likes High School Musical, soft jazz and key lime pie....I mean, it's not a bad thing, but it was just so completely unexpected. You hear the words Gentle Giant and you now have a new face to put with those words - - King's big woolly bully face. I love the way his jowls slap around and make that flapping noise...he just looks at me when I do that.

At 11 months and a few days, Mr. King (or Kingston, Kingness, Kingly, Hey-Dog, and/or Big Dog)hasn't even learned to hike his leg yet to pee. We think it's because Yuki (11 pounds) told him he couldn't. We're pretty sure that's it, and he doesn't mind. He just obeys...just obeys...and looks at you with those pretty blue eyes. We're still goners for this guy. He's got us all exactly where he wants us, which for King is the OTHER side of the bed because he's taking up one half for sure. Oh, and he's not picky either, he'll kick any of us out of our beds without prejudice - - any one of us.

Happy Birthday To Me! (November 22)

2009-11-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

Mariel Hemingway, my Facebook friend, was born on the EXACT day that I was - - here's the proof that God decided one of us should be gorgeous! Hahahha...I love you Mariel, you won that one! At least I have "cute" going on. Some say I got that from my mom, but you should see her father. He was the cutest of the bunch. Old, nearly hairless, big honking nose,ears that stuck straight out and I think his mouth was a bit large too - - and those BEAUTIFUL dentures sparkled! He was adorable.

Being born just three days after my Pop, the day before Thanksgiving, to a set of parents that already had 3 other kids under the age of 3 and 1/2, one may think that I was a bit spoiled. I would have to agree with you on that one. I am 100%, no make that 200% spoiled; just ask my sisters - - Andie was mistreated because she was the oldest, Linda was mistreated because she was the middle kid (and she was mean as hell) and Mike and I were spoiled!! Mike was the only boy you see, and I am - - and will forever be - - the BABY!!! Even at 48, I'm the BABY!! I love my title.

So, what will I do this Sunday to celebrate my 48th birthday on this Earth? Probably hang out with the two most gorgeous young ladies in the world and have ice cream somewhere. My baby boy is still in the Army, but he'll be home soon. A couple of years ago he surprised me on my birthday and came home a little early for R&R - - I was so thrilled!!! In 2006 I was kissed on my 45th birthday by none other than Jesse L. Martin - - and THAT is one heck of a way to celebrate one's birthday ladies. He is so handsome, and he smells - - SO - - good. This year, Ardmore, Oklahoma has me clasped in her hands. I think the girls and I will walk the streets of Downtown, go to the Old Fashioned Soda Shop and just have ourselves a shake. Maybe I'll write my name on the graffiti wall and just be someone special for the day.

My birthday, so close to Thanksgiving, has always been a day for reflection and for thinking about what all God has done for me - - and that could, if I wanted it to, take all day just thinking about that. I suppose for 2009 I can honestly say that I am so very thankful for so many things not the least of which was getting out of Texas when I saw the light - - but I returned too. I went to Strawn and Gordon to hang out with the "Ladies" and Andy Martin of C.A.R.E. and we filmed a little segment for a T.V. show. I've been recorded many times this year on T.V., radio, and podcasting for Faith's message, and that's amazing. I met Norma Palen and Cheryl Maguire of Cher Marketing, they'll be taking Faith's message even further. I met Anthony Tortoriello in 2008, but this year we've gotten so much closer and he's now the official photographer for Faith. I couldn't have made the website without Randall Goya! Man - it has been an enormously fantastic year. Oh, and I have to wave and say hi to CINDY PAPALE .... I met Cindy online too.

The one thing I believe I'll call my birthday present this year is the great proposal that Seattle based author Rudy Yuly and I have come up with called "Faith Walks". A 51-page book proposal now in the hands of the best NYC publishers and editors that Ken Atchity (my agent) could find. Perhaps for my real birthday they'll call Ken and tell him it's a "Go". That will be cause to celebrate....and change my life completely for the much much better. However, kissing Jesse L. Martin was fairly close to perfect! LOL

So, Happy Birthday to me....I love it. I'm exactly where I should be, and Jesus is more than invited to celebrate Sunday with me at the soda shop. I wonder what He would order if He was there in person/God. I bet it's chocolate, WE ALL KNOW He created it because He loved it up in Heaven, c'mon....it's CHOCOLATE. Me too God, me too. Thanks for 48 years.

Dropping Those Brats Like Hot Potatoes! LOL

2009-11-15T12:41:00.001-08:00

Maybe it was the $733.00 phone bill. Maybe it was the fact that I've walked over, stepped over, fallen over,and swam through more than my fair share of unfinished laundry in the hall, the bathroom, the living room, the laundry room, and Caity's room. Or maybe, just maybe it was the 3,897th animal that made its way through the front door -- not counting the 9 field mice we caught this week with traps. (sigh)

Whatever the reason - - I DROPPED my girls like hot potatoes and I don't even think I'll say I'm sorry. Nope, not going to say it. (OK, maybe a little, teeny-weeny bit)

The envelope was innocent enough, but inside it was a monster! $733 dollars for a little over 1 month's bill with U.S. Cellular, a company I have been faithfully paying hundreds of dollars to monthly. The girls were asked, no they were told, that we were on a family plan, that Reuben helped pay for it, that they had certain amount of minutes, and certain amount of texting and/or pix texting. I think we had the unlimited regular texting due to Caity's penchant for texting more than 5000 messages a month (of record) -- when she's not sleeping (and maybe when she is) she's texting. The pix text is what did it this time; and the overage minutes. It would be fair to say that I was within MY limits -- I always try to be good that way -- but the brat, I mean, the baby, little baby Caity, JUST DOESN'T GET IT....she's not thick headed, she just doesn't care! Only one way to stop her - - cut her loose.

Tough love? OK - - or survival.

I asked U.S. Cellular to cancel my account 100% and not to allow Caity and/or Laura (Poor Laura, in trouble by association) to be added onto my account again. Something tells me Laura will have a phone next month, and Caity will be borrowing mine and/or Laura's to text her life away - - I have limited texting, so I'll have to either hide the phone or upgrade; I'm thinking I'm just going to move to Chicago and be done with her. I told her she couldn't follow me - - the building I'm moving to will have secured access - - she tried to make me feel bad by claiming to become homeless and standing outside my building with a sign that reads "My Mother Lives Here and Refuses To Help Me". I told her the flip side of the cardboard should read "Even Though She Helped Me for 19 Years and Gave Me Too Much" - - to which she added that the next cardboard piece would read "But She's My Mom So She Has To Help"....Chicago can get pretty cold in the winter. I'll buy her an extra pair of socks.

I used to call Reuben "Little Eagle" when I would make him make decisions even though I was standing there with him. I'd say "Little Eagle, make up your mind" So now he's just "The Eagle" and says it was the best thing I ever did for him. He's all about kicking the brats out - - even though he's taking Laura in with him. She works and contributes to the world at large - - Caity is....well, she's Caity.

What I predict will happen will be similar to a person standing too close to the curb when the bus comes by and splashes a cold wave of water over them for being too silly to back off -- it usually only takes ONE TIME before they seem to see the bus coming and stand back just a bit...that's my Caity!! ALL WET and cold will be the one thing that gets through to her - - she'll land on her feet. She's amazing.

The best thing for my kids - maybe not your kids - - is to move away!! The big ONE bedroom apartment way way up in a secured building in the snow, in the ice, in the wind......maybe by Spring the kid will get it! I'm sure she will. Besides, I'm a sucker, I'm helping her get herself started in a little strip mall jewelry store in Los Angeles. I'm not really really really dropping her. I'm just - - running away as fast as I can.

What I Won't Miss

2009-11-10T07:48:00.001-08:00

OF COURSE I'm going to miss the stuffings out of my baby girs. I didn't misspell that, I call my daughters "girs" because Laura called herself one when she was 2. My girs are the best of the best of the best in the world - - but thank GOD and all things Holy, I am leaving them far far behind and going to Chicagoland! They need this as much as I do.

I decided to make a long list of all the things I won't miss when I move. It just seemed more positive and upbeat than all the things I may miss -- so here we go. I hope you can relate - - but don't judge OK? Thanks.

I won't miss messy rooms - girls sleeping til past 2:00 p.m., not getting up and helping me clean, not getting up and helping me pay bills, not getting up and at least mowing the lawn. Laura (in her defense) is now working, but when she's not working she's sleeping. I don't remember my mother being so kind - - but I'd rather let them sleep than fight with them at this point. Too many (too many) years of fighting has led me to the exodus in the first place. They love me, I love them, let's leave it at that.

I won't miss the trash not being emptied, the dishes not being moved from their room to the kitchen. I won't miss putting my shoes up on top of the table so the dog can't get them. King likes to chew! I won't miss the farting, the constant farting - I won't miss it. We have too many dogs. I won't miss their music, their anime, the way they steal my computer - my wallet coming up short (Caity) and I won't miss the drink and food concoctions being created at 2:30 a.m. but left out and in the open for the new kitchen mice to sample - LAURA.

I won't miss the laundry piling up, the dust, or the needless books and/or additional shoe collections. I won't miss the couch being covered in sheets and then having to wash the sheets daily because Oklahoma is muddy and dogs are dogs. I won't miss the area I live in much - - the Walmart, the drivers who don't know what YELLOW means, or how to actually STOP at the red light. I won't miss the lawn needing to be mowed, or the back fence needing to be fixed - - currently the landlord has a bed frame up against the gate to hold it in place (are you KIDDING ME?) I laugh sometimes as to what is acceptable to some; but it's not my house.

I won't miss having ONE car and three people that have to be here, then there, and back here again. I'm the only one allowed to drive the car as it belongs to my Dad and he doesn't (for some strange reason) trust Caity to drive the car. She has a license! I say let the brat drive, it would eliminate some of my stress -- but until I pay for the Pontiac I must obey the Pop! I won't miss the car either, I'm giving it up to Caity just as soon as the plane takes off!! GOOD BYE POP and G'Ma! I LOVE YOU...I will miss my parents, they're actually perfect people.

I won't miss the utility companies - in Chicago my bills are paid with the rent! YEA! I won't miss the wasps that fly in just because I want fresh air. I'll be on the 27th floor in Chicago - - I think that's high enough to avoid wasps. LOL I won't miss the hungry opossum outside that insists that I feed him or he'll tell his buddies. I missed feeding him one night and he stood at the door smiling - - if you've never seen a possum smile you aren't missing much, it's ugly. I only feed him because he's 200 years old at least and can't see to leave the yard. The dogs just watch him, they never actually engage him. He squeaks they bark, it's over.

I won't miss the tiny laundry room where I have to stand on a step to open or close the dryer door. I won't miss the banker that still asks me for my ID after she's seen me 1000 times and even borrows sugar and baking soda from me. What's up with that? I won't miss much actually - - I have a very good life here in Oklahoma. I love my kids, I love the dogs, I love the state - - but it is time to go. It's time to kick the birds out of the nest and if they won't fly, it's time to fly myself and let them sit back scratching their heads and wondering about it....oh wait, no worries, Reuben gets Laura and 3 of the 6 dogs. Caity's moving out with friends in California with another mutt (Teagan) so I guess all is well as long as Reuben doesn't end up hating me. He shouldn't, I'm giving him Laura not Caity - - yep, all should be OK.

I may need to alert ARNOLD that she's coming -- I can do that.

Crying Like a Baby - - Or More Like a Silly Woman

2009-11-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

I woke up a few days ago to the site of black rice under my kitchen sink. That can only mean one thing -- I have mice in my house. So, because I don't have a cat, and I don't have a snake, I couldn't expect to catch it and have it be used as a natural source of food. I set out trying to find a way to catch the thing and put it back out into the open field from where it came.

The city I live in obviously hasn't had many women like me - - women who don't want to kill the mouse, but want to let it continue living it's little grey furry life outside where he/she truly belongs. I say that, I say they belong outside, they may feel they have the right to live with me in a warm house with ample food supplies and great pools of water (dog bowls). I began searching the stores for live-traps but didn't have any luck. I got a few stares, I got a few laughs even, but I didn't find any live traps....so I waited.

When you have one mouse running around the chances of there being two or three are pretty good. Waiting isn't the best solution. I'm not afraid of them, meaning when they run from the frig to the stove I don't scream. I usually talk to them and say "C'mon I don't want to have to kill you, can't you just go outside?" They don't speak English, these mice. They don't ever speak English - - they don't get it. What they do get is into my dog food, into my apples, into my candy - - and of course when one of them actually ate through my Dove's chocolate bar wrapper stealing my precious chocolate - - my decision was made a bit more clear. He/she had to die.

The choices are terrible! (A) glue boards will certainly do the trick, but they die of starvation and they scream out in fear when they get caught. (B) the wooden/spring traps are scary to work and take two or three tries every time and usually the mouse can outsmart me - - not usually, always...but at least they die quickly. The problem with that is I do not want to take a 1/2 mouse out to the garbage can and try to pick up the other half without looking at it because I'm crying and I can't see straight. (C) poison is out of the question! I say out of the question -- I have dogs. I can't have poison standing around. Even the little black D-Con "house" things are scary because my dogs like to chew things. Wow...no good choices.

Finally after talking to the mice, and not being listened to; after realizing their sex lives are far more aggressive than my own and knowing NO mouse wears a condom, I decided that waiting even a week would prove to be a family affair. I got the glue boards. At least with the glue boards I KNOW I'm going to catch mice -- and spiders, and scorpions, and moths, and anything else silly enough to go under the appliances. I KNOW they work - - they're cheap, and the BEST part is I talked my daughter Caity into tracking them and throwing them out when necessary. Not IF necessary, these things work every time.

It happened. Just a few minutes after I sat them in place one of the curious furious came creeping out and didn't like what he/she saw and darted - - not making it across the board before being caught. Wham! FAST! and then I cried. CRIED, and CRIED, and CRIED. I knew I would. I ran to Caity's room and begged her to kill it fast. She did. She used a little bleach on a q-tip and it drank its last. WHY do I have to have such a soft heart? WHY do I have to care so much? It's a MOUSE and it's nasty right? NO, it's not nasty - - they just become nasty if they stay inside. I understand the food chain - - I do. I understand the reason these guys multiply so fast is to keep up their end of that chain too - - owls, snakes, other rodents eat them. They're quite popular lingering down at the lower end of the chain - - but I do wish they'd stop lingering in my house. I can't take much of this.

God bless the Caitys of this world - - and the Laura's too - - I think she may actually speak MOUSE; not sure. One down, many more tears to go. (sighs)

It's a Starbucks Thing!

2009-10-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

You know, I knew I liked this Gary Sinise guy! Look closely -- here he is on set at for the CBS-TV show "CSI-NY" and instead of drinking from the little blue and white GREEK cups which are an absolute staple in NYC, he's drinking from MY favorite, the Starbucks cup! Now, I will admit - - on my first trip to NYC I did hunt down a street vendor and I did buy a cup of coffee and a bagel for a $1 so I could keep the cup and say I did it. That was a priority to me, sort of my way of saluting the guys on Law and Order that I watched for mega-years. Out of the more than 100 Starbucks stores in Manhattan I have been to 67. Faith and I (my dog) have personally been inside 574 different Starbucks stores, NOT including the kiosks at the airports. She has actually walked into 574 stores to date...WHAT a great tribute to a wonderful company.

Heck, I like Starbucks so much I convinced my daughter Laura (cute red-head) to join the ranks of the best Baristas in the world - - she's in Ardmore, OK right now, and will be going to Ft. Worth, TX soon. Some of my best friends were Starbucks Baristas, it's how we met.

I need to write a book about the stores I've been to - - the people I've met. Sure, there are the famous people: I've seen and/or met Allison Janey, A.J. Buckley, Samuel L. Jackson, Jesse L. Martin, Vera Wang, and Gray Frederickson in various stores across the country - - but it's the OTHER people that matter. It's the Andrew Wests, the Julie Smedlunds, the John Harringtons, the Peggy McQ's and Pam Lindsays...and the J.D. Whites that matter to me...the people who talk to me about politics, love, sex, music, money, vacations, Chicago condos, and oh the BARISTAS!! Some of them will flat out sing to you when you request it -- Andrew West, aka GAMBIT. I've had Starbucks Baristas volunteer to drive me home when my car didn't start. I met one in Dallas and he transferred to Jacksonville, FL and I met him again and he remembered me!! I wasn't with the dog at the time either, he just remembered me....that was amazing to me.

So, salute to Mr. Gary Sinise for his Starbucks loving habit! Salute to my dog Faith who has been to just as many Starbucks as I have been to! Salute to my beautiful daughter Laura who is picking up the singing barista status that "Gambit" started -- may the coffee flow, the caffeine keep you awake, and may all your lattes come out just the way you like them. What do I like at Starbucks? Well, I like my coffee like I like my men - - and if you know the sizes of the Starbucks coffees it will make sense to you when I compare it to "the man"...I like my coffee tall, strong,a little sweet, a little spicy, bold, full-bodied, robust, Italian and HOT...just like ... well, Sinise! OH, she went there! LOL

12 YEARS in PACKER Captivity - I am Free

2009-10-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

My boy was 10 years old when he came home from school and announced that he was going to be like Reggie White! I about fell out of my chair. Reggie was the ONE MAN that I had prayed to God about when I was pregnant with my son and not married. I wanted my son to be giant, strong, worthy, God-fearing, and yes, I wanted him to play football. There was NO GREATER man on the field in 1985 (when I was pregnant) than the Philadelphia Eagle's (Not a Packer yet) Reggie White. In 1996 when my baby made that announcement, Reggie was a Packer. We became Packer fans at that minute. No more Chicago Bears for me. I was told by Reuben that (according to Reggie) you had to pick your team. You had to make a choice. You were either a Packer fan or a Bears fan and you could not (under any circumstances) be both a Bears fan and a Packers fan. (The question was, what was I going to do with my Walter Payton jersey?) It was - - Good Bye Superbowl Shuffle, and Hello Pack! Reggie was too big to argue with. He had made a very lasting impression on my son.

Over the next few years Reuben met Reggie on a number of personal visits and occasions. Each time Reggie hugged him, told Reuben to be the best Mama's Boy he could be, because there "ain't nothing better!" Reuben was the man of the house by age 11 and if he said no Chicago Bears - - well, OK, I'd just have to fold up the old SWEETNESS jersey, and root for the Pack. I even wore the Cheesehead.

Reuben knows I'm moving to Chicago. He's 23 now, old enough to be make all of his own life changing decisions, and so I approached him today with one I wanted to make. I wanted to be released from my pact to be a Packers fan for life. I wanted to go back to being a Bears fan for a number of reasons. The Packers were never really MY team, I was a fan by proxy - - all the while, unbeknown to my son, I would secretly cheer for Da' Bears when Reuben wasn't listening -- and if I had nothing else to do, and wanted to rile the boy up -- maybe get a good fight going, I would root for Da Bears when HE WAS LISTENING!! Those were fun moments! I love them...I run fast and hide, but I do love teasing the boy. I did it when he was in Iraq just to make him scream into the phone! It worked.

So, today, October 22, 2009 -- after 12 years of being forced to hide my pride, and to keep my mouth shut on matters of Da Blue and Orange - - I was RELEASED!! It was 5:05 p.m. Central Standard Time.....I was allowed to, by permission of the man of the house, to become (or return to) a Chicago Bears fan again!! YEA!!!! Now, don't get all blown out of shape when you read that the man of the house had to, or needed to give me permission - - it's a respect issue. I let the boy believe he's in control of a few important things, and he lets me think he's a virgin! Hahahahaa...Oh, that's funny, never mind, I'm laughing, I'll be OK in a minute.

I am a Chicago Bears fan again. Wow, just the thought of it makes me want to run out and buy season tickets now. I can say this; although and even though I'm not suppose to, I'm going to be a Packer's fan too - in that I will hope they do OK. I will hope they do well. I will hope they don't get injured and I will pray for their toes to stay warm on the Frozen Tundra....unless they play Da BEARS!! I love it!

THANK YOU REUBEN!!! Oh, and if Reggie had remained an Eagle, well, then I'm sure we'd have been Eagle fans. We're just still 100%, no wait, 1000% Reggie White fans. There ain't no better thing to be. God has Reggie now, and we'll see him when we get to Heaven. He remains my son's eternal hero, and that's OK with me.

I may still be able to fit into my Walter Payton jersey! I just have to find it!

More Like "Provolone Hill Puppy"

2009-10-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Photo of the REAL Swiss Mountain Dog is not mine. Just found it on the internet.

We're not telling Brody, our new Jack Russell terrorist, that he's not a REAL Swiss Mountain Dog. We're telling him that his is a "cousin" to that breed, better known as the "Provolone Hill Puppy". You can see by his markings that he's going to be absolutely beautiful when he grows up to be the mammoth that he looks like he could be - - but for now he's just a little thing, a bit too small to jump on the bed without assistance.

Dr. Wayne Dyer would be so proud of me for the empowering and encouraging lectures I give to Brody, whose full name is Sir Henry Wallace Brodrick. I tell Brody that he's big, he's tall, he's brave, he's determined, he's tough, and he's on the path to the being the best Provolone Hill Puppy ever! I read quips and little quotes to him every day from my enlightenment calendars - - things like "From this day forward you are who you believe you are!" I tell him that he's doesn't have to be 120 pounds to be a Big Dog. King can be do that - - Brody just has to be Henry Wallace Broderick, the best puppy God intends him to be. (Right now he's working on surviving being tackled by his more agile and aggressive little sister Teagan who needs absolutely NO encouragement...none. She's got the Jack Russell heart of the fearless down just pat!)

For years I have had a picture of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog on my refrigerator and I sometimes tease Matrix with it, telling him that he'll be replaced when he dies with one of these - and I point to the picture. He usually turns his nose up and walks away - - he knows I love him. For years I've told the kids that if we ever do get a big dog it's going to be a GSMD....and then Caity brought King home. Well, OK, but I want my Swiss Mountain Dog right? I mean, I'm the mom! I'm the one paying the bills (why is that?) I'm the one with the right to say who does and who does not live here (no I don't but I like to pretend I have that power.) So, when Caity got around to ALSO bringing the two little puppies home for us to foster - - for us that means keep, I fell head over heels in love with Brody. Even secretly giggling when the person Caity gave him to got in trouble with her parents and couldn't take him - - OK, c'mon, I only laughed a little bit. I wasn't mean about it, and she never really saw me do it either.

I kidnapped Brody immediately and began whispering in his ears that he was going to be the biggest Provolone Hill Puppy EVER....and where that wasn't quite the very very same as a Swiss Mountain Dog - - it was close! I've always wanted to be Native American, but that's not going to happen either, so I listen to Spirit music, and I go to the woods and meditate - - there are steps you can take to be whatever you wish! For me, I dream. For Brody, he just has to keep gnawing on the giant bones, pretending to be a power chewer and next time when his little sister grabs him by the throat and pulls him to the ground he can.....growl or something. Maybe, if she doesn't take his head off for it.

He's still young, we'll do this! Manifest it Brody boy! Manifest it!!