Hello…Again

I have been MIA for a while. Sorry about that but I have been on an adventure in pursuit of a well rounded life. I have had a lot of great experiences in the last few months.  

I think the greatest one was turning 40. I know your thinking “Whoa did she just admit to being older than college age?” People seem to think that women are vain and refuse to reveal their age.  I am not that chick.  I am grateful to have reach my 4th decade. Where I come from a lot of people didn’t even make it out of their 20′s.  I could have easily been a statistic but I had some great parents. And they showed me how great they are at my surprise party.  All 4 ( my Mommy and Pappy and my Daddy and Mama2) came together to show me how blessed I am to have them in my life. I was also in the company of most of my siblings. And I must say that they make me proud to be the oldest sister of such a beautiful, eclectic, talented, and intelligent group. My family has taught me to love each person for the unique being that they are. 

I also was invited to an Artist’s reception in the Education building at the Phoenix Art Museum. They were celebrating youth in Arts and my youngest daughter was one of two students chosen to represent her school. Her submission was a beautiful chalk pastel abstract.  I never would have thought she would have work hanging in a museum.  She never let on that she was a talented artist, let alone interested in fine art. I am awed by my 9 year old.  She taught me that no matter how well you know a person, there are always hidden treasures.  

I have also been out and about renewing relationships with people that I have missed in my life. I have also been severing some loyalties that appeared to be one sided. I have learned that sometimes I tend to put a lot of effort into the more challenging relationships and don’t make enough towards the stable ones.  I have decided that, that approach is all wrong. When you expend a lot of effort for naught, it causes self doubt. When you don’t put the effort where you should, it causes recrimination.  Both situations cause bitterness and broken relationships. So there are some people who I felt should be in my life that I am letting go of with love. 

Finally I have begun to delve back into online education for fun.  I am taking classes that I get a kick out of even if they are just “electives”.  I don’t feel the urge to finish my degrees. I feel the urge to learn for the love of knowledge. I have decided that society cannot determine my self worth nor undermine my happiness with a couple of pieces of paper.  I don’t need them to validate my intelligence.  I also have no desire to tamp down on my natural curiosity for the sake of regurgitating the accepted “facts”. I may change my mind later on but for right now this is what makes me happy. 

I have also renewed my commitment to moving to natural remedies, natural beauty and hygiene products, and whole food nutrition.  As a consequence of this commitment, I get to conduct experiments. I have to research recipes for food and hygiene. I have to cobble together my own incarnation of the item. Allow for variation. Test the product. This is another type of self education that I am enjoying immensely.  

I guess the theme of this post is to say that I am living happy right now.  I know that it may not always be as simple. Really, who would want only good times? Without the bad times you wouldn’t appreciate the good times. Every day would be so mundane. I have reached a really good place in my physical, spiritual, and mental universe. I hope that you find your balancing point too. 

 

How to Make a (Simple) Animated GIF

Reblogged from rarasaur:

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I know the internet has become a bit ridiculously inundated with animated GIFs, but they are a really easy-to-use tool.  They can help you convey a point in a stronger way, almost like a video-- without requiring the bogged down, slow-loading, plug-in-requiring user experience.  You can use animated GIFs to show a small moment (from a short video clip), or use them to show a progression (like a slideshow.)

Read more… 580 more words

How to Make a (Simple) Animated GIF

Reblogged from rarasaur:

• 
• 
• 

I know the internet has become a bit ridiculously inundated with animated GIFs, but they are a really easy-to-use tool.  They can help you convey a point in a stronger way, almost like a video-- without requiring the bogged down, slow-loading, plug-in-requiring user experience.  You can use animated GIFs to show a small moment (from a short video clip), or use them to show a progression (like a slideshow.)

Read more… 580 more words

Joel Osteen resigns, cites 'lack of faith', leaves Christianity

Reblogged from Joel Osteen Ministries:

Houston, Texas - CNN.com - April 2, 2013 - In a shocking and surprising development, megachurch pastor Joel Osteen has announced he is resigning from his post and leaving the Christian faith.

In a statement released on his website (http://www.joelostenministries.com), which appeared stripped down and bare, he said he has been questioning the faith for a long time. "I believe now that the Bible is a fallible, flawed, highly inconsistent history book that has been altered hundreds of times.

Read more… 350 more words

And the saga continues

I wrote about losing my phone. I told you how I was disappointed to lose pictures and information. I don’t remember if I told you about trying to remember my passwords to change them to new passwords. But I had to do that too.
I have a new phone. I have new passwords. What I don’t have is complete control over my email address. Someone has been sending out mass amounts of spam in my name. I have changed the dang password several times due to not being able to access my mail from my phone. I changed it on the 28th and actually restarted a paid account. I tried to open my email today and could not. I went to the desktop site and saw that my account had been suspended due to suspicious activity. I then was able to set up another password.
My issue is why can’t AOL suspend my account without me being a paying customer? Why does $6.95 a month make such a huge difference? Does the “hacker” now have my credit card info? Losing my phone was such an small thing but the ramifications can be huge. I am frustrated by the lowest common denominators of society. If they want people to buy their crap, be honest. Because as PT Barnum purportedly said, there’s a sucker born every minute.

Dragonflies

thoughts flitting through my mind 
like dragonflies
skimming over the surface
scared 
of what’s underneath
If I get to close 
will I drown
bog down
’cause my wings are wet
just hovering
making me nervous
I can see
into the depths
not into the unknown
here and back
there and here
around and around
just skimming the surface
wishing 
I could dive
but I am scared
of what’s underneath

In Your Eyes

it is in/ your eyes that/ I find myself/ without you/ there is no me/ left/ prayers fall/ from my lips/ not/ exactly/ what they seem/ I am awake/ inside/ a dream/ more alive/ inside/ when you bring/ my small death/ passion flames/ make/ nerves/ sing/ it is in/ your touch/ my holy sin/ I find myself/ with you/ there is much/ right/ prayers fall/ from my lips/ not/ exactly/ what they seem/ a trance/ quivers/ and shakes/ loves dance/ together/ we soar/ ecstasy and pain/ in my roar/ exotic treasures/ we/ mine/ in order/ to attain the divine/ you exhale/ my inhalation/ you bring/ about my devastation/ whispers/ of breath/ escape/ while/ you caress my hips/ seduced/ I am/ reduced/ because it is in/ your eyes/ that I find/ myself

Life

So I had pledged to post at least once a week but then life decided to show its sense of humor.  I wanted to tell you all about the Sunday we spent flying kites.  I wanted to tell you all about the jewelry order I had to prepare and send out.  I wanted to share the elation of getting my Tahoe road ready again. But then my phone ran away from home.  For a full week I had to suffer the withdrawals of not being connected to the internet.  I had to worry about whether I had too much personal info stored in my phone.  I had to bemoan the loss of pictures and videos from November until now.  I also had to bemoan the loss of my monthly cycle info from the last 3 years.  I had to remember my log in info so that I could change everything just in case some nefarious soul decided to write a blog post while pretending to be me. I realized just how important my phone was as a digital organizer even if I hate to use it for talking.  I know that this probably doesn’t matter a hill of beans to you all but let my story be a warning to you.  Back up all of your information immediately.  Don’t store passwords, credit card info or other identifiers in your phone because you never know when your phone will decide to hit the road for adventure and love.

Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley – Nah Mean – YouTube

Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley – Nah Mean – YouTube.

 

Weekly Writing Challenge: Dystopia! (The Musical)

Weekly Writing Challenge: Dystopia! (The Musical).

hmmm, more creative writing. I don’t know if I will be able to participate in this week’s challenge but I am going to try. If it’s not up by Thursday then you will know that everything became too much and my brain is now a puddle of goo. Remember the road to hell is paved with good intentions.