Twilight New Moon

I am one of those crazy people who stood in freezing rain from 9-11 Thursday night to see the midnight showing of Twilight Saga New Moon. It was worth all the waiting, but I noticed quite a few interesting things as I waited.

The first is unrealated to the movie or the other people there, but about one person in particular. People do not like to not get thier way and will do anything possible to get thier own happiness established. This is not true for all people, but I think for 90% of the human race it is true at least 40% of the time. Most people at some point want to get what they want, and will make it happen. At the movie this was proven by one young woman who was not happy the theatre could not offer her a switch of tickets due to them being sold out. She had purchased a ticket and could not sit with her group. She hounded three employees about it, even using feminine wiles to get to one empoloyee, he ended up finding her a ticket, after she had already gotten one from someone else. Then when choosing seats, she was not happy that the rest of the group found the dead center seats of the second row of the theatre, as in up front next to the screen, to be a comfortable situation. She did not get her way on this one and had to sit elsewhere.

Other things noted at the midnight showing. Notoriosly the midnight showing of a much anticpiated movie is full of die hard fans that go to extremes to prove thier love for a book that is turned into a movie. There weren't many people dressed up like the characters, although they did exist, many had shirts on depicting thier favorite character(s) and many were reading the books while they waited, probably for the 20th time this year.

What really made me angry though, and I am going to soap box about this, was that people brought 8-15 year olds to a PG13 movie on a Thursday night at midnight. This meant these children would be up until 3 AM at the least watching a movie they could go to for the next three months at a decent time for thier age. They would probably miss school because of the late hour, and this teaches them it is ok to skip school to go the movies and hang out until 3 AM on a school night. Not many were unsupervised, most parents were there with thier children, just as vehemently awaiting the movie and screaming and clapping for the body of a 17 year old male actor without his shirt on. That was disconcerting as well, I think that he worked hard to have a muscular body, but 30-70 year old women do not need to sexually objectify this 17 year old actor in the form of applauding and whistling when his shirt was removed 30 minutes into the movie, and swooning every time it happend for the rest of the movie. This teaches the children, mostly young girls, that a man (boy) is only as good as his looks. They didn't do this when he was average looking and looked like a child with a baby face up until that point in the movie, but once his make-over type transformation with a hair cut and very muscularly toned body were revealed; watch out those women would have kissed the screen if they could have! This is a bad thing to teach vulnerable young girls. Not to mention the fact that his body was not objectified in the book. It was said that he was more physically fit and his hair was short, but it did not get into a sexual realm concerning his body. In fact, one of the main patterns in the books, as I have said before, is that sex is not for children, it is for the married more mature group of people who have saved themselves for it. NOT TEENAGERS! I hate that Hollywood feels the need to make this series of very moral and decent books into thier usual Sex crazed, love sick, immoral, "adult" audience type filth! Get a clue Hollywood, the books were written by a MOM for her TEENS, to show them what love should look like and how they should act, probably because she couldn't find any other form of media to get this point across! So why are your ruining it!?

Daily

There are so many aspects to daily life, and yet, it seems one day just flows into the next with no real definition. Some days go slowly, and some days go quickly. It always seems that when a day is going slowly we wish it to go faster, and when the day is going quickly we want it to slow down or wonder where it went.

Even if you have a routine, your day will have something a little different if you look for it. A new flower here, a new outfit there, a new person here, a new food there. Your favorite coffee place will move, or your job will move and you will find a new place for coffee. Someone will change thier routine which in turn will change yours because they were a part of yours. Or maybe you will have to just buy a different cereal than usual and that will change your routine.

No matter what happens in your daily time, there is a reason for every single second of it. God already knew what would happen in that second and He had a reason for it to happen that way. Sometimes you get to find out what those reasons were or can find a reason, whether it is the same as His or not, that is something we can't really know. Other times we will never know the reason, maybe it had purpose in someone else's life and they will eventually see the reasoning even if you don't.

Good, bad, happy, sad, mundane, boring, exciting, unexpected, routine, life altering; all of them have reasons.

Mind Reading

Have you ever called to have something delivered to your house, and been surprised that you needed the address in order for this to happen? Probably not! Because generally when you want something delivered you know where you are having it sent, but apparently not all people understand this whole delivery process, which I find amusing.

In the process of taking orders for work, I had someone that did not know the person's last name or thier address and wanted something sent to them. When I asked for more information they were surprised that I didn't have a way to find it myself, and that by them describing where the house was, I couldn't produce a last name and address myself. This was funny to me. If this person were to order pizza, or furniture, or cable, or anything else requiring someone to arrive at their home or workplace they would need this information, so why, in my infinite wisdom, would I be the person on earth that could magically come up with it out of thin air?? Sounds like a fun super power or something!!

If the last name could have been provided I would have been willing to try to look up thier information in the phone book, which I in fact did after I finally got that piece of information. Of course they weren't listed in the phone book, as many people these days aren't. So I struck out on that stroke of genius, but the person still didn't really understand what the address information importance was.

So this blog spot was provided purely for your entertainment, so I hope you at least grinned at this silliness. :)

Saying Goodbye

Today America said goodbye to 13 American Soldiers that were killed by another American Soldier while getting ready to deploy to the Middle East to serve thier country. Our President, whom I don't always support, gave a beautiful speech giving a glimpse inot the lives of those who died and making sure the American people know that there is no true religion that belives God would tell them to kill another person.

I can't imagine the shock those families faced the day that they were told thier loved one had been killed randomly or injured randomly while at work on the base where they possibly lived as well. We see our Military bases as places of peace and solace, where military personnel know they are safe from the terrors of this world when they return from a deployment or are preparing for one. A military base is a home for our military members, and should never ever be a threatening area. It is so sad that these families have been through this.

I pray for these people and their familes and hope that justice is served as it should be in these circumstances. I applaud our president for his role in the memorial service and in allowing us a week to show national support for these victims of horrible circumstances through lowered flags. I pray for and thank all the veterans in this country, as tomorrow is Veteran's day and they are honored for thier service. And I thank all thier family members for supporting them.

As I look at my husband in his Army uniform sleeping peacefully on the couch, I can't imagine what I would do in the situation these families are facing today. Thank you to all our Military men and women, for the sacrifices you make and honorable service you perform, no matter what capacity it is in, may God keep you and bless you and shield you from this kind of backward episode. <3

Childlike Intelligence

Have you ever stopped to listen to a child play make believe? Or listened to the conversations they have with themselves or dolls and toys? How about when you ask them about something difficult to swallow? They always have an answer that makes you stop and process it a little more. How often does a child say, "I don't know". If you notice it isn't very often until they get to an age where they just don't care to take time to think.

Children process the world in a much different way than the grown up world does. They take things into consideration with more compassion and more care of thought. The world is really thier playground, and the people in it are thier playmates. They view it as a place and a person that needs care and honesty. They are so trusting of everyone.

What happens to make them suddenly realize the world is not what they see it as, and suddenly thier innocence and honesty are gone. Suddenly they either don't care or don't like the world, and so they become little adults. Cynical beings in tiny bodies with attitudes and frowns. Most people don't remember the moment that made them change, and most people don't realize the moment it happens to a child. We need to find that moment and keep it from happening for a little while longer.

Children notice everything spoken, unspoken, done and undone. Keep this in mind.

A New Twist on Fall Favorite

My dad loves homemade apple pie, so I try to make him one each fall. I love to bake anyway, so this works out. So I made his pie a couple weeks ago, and I kind of goofed with the crust which led me to make a different version of apple pie, that I actually liked better. I know it isn't really all that healthy, but it combines two of my favorite fall treats and is still technically Apple Pie. You'll see as you read the recipe further down.

Peel and slice 8 Fuji Apples. Place in pan of water with 1 Tblsp. Lemon Juice and 3 Tblsp. All Spice. Boil for 10 minutes or until apples are soft, but not mushy.

Drain apples and set aside. Use one refrigerated pie crust that is quite soft, roll into a ball and then hand pat into pie plate and up sides almost to top of plate. Poke holes in crust with fork all around the crust. Cut 1/2 a stick of butter into little pieices and sprinkle on crust to spread out.

Pour apples into a bowl and add 1 cup honey and 2 Tblsp. all spice. Stir to mix and coat apples very well. Pour mixture into pie plate. Cut half of remaining butter into small peices and sprinkle over apples.

In bowl combine 1 cup uncooked oatmeal, 2 Tblsp. brown sugar, 2 Tblsp. flour. Mix with remaining soft butter and then crumble over the top.

Bake until topping is golden and crust is done.
The end result? A butter flaky crust with an apple crisp on top. It is delicios, truly now my favorite instead of just apple pie. You get the salty/sweet combination thanks to the buttery crust and yummy filling.

Thorns

I learned how to strip flower stems today at work, in a florist, and it struck me how large thorns can be. One of the other employees remarked how your fingers are usually green and sometimes red after stripping flowers because every once in a while you will get blood mixed in with the green goo on your hands.

This brought Jesus Christ to my mind. Christ had a crown of thorns placed on his head, and as I have learned through many theological classes and teachings, these thorns were huge, not like a rose thorn. They were vines of hard long thorns wrapped together in row upon row of pointed thorns going in all directions and then placed on Jesus' head quite roughly so they poked deep into his skin and tissues. I know how much my rough skinned hands hurt when a sharp rose thorn enters my skin, I can't imagine the thin delicate skin of my face and scalp being violated with large spikey thorns on all sides.

The sacrifice Christ made was not just one of love, but of self. He lost all sense of dignity and privacy and control when he was crucified, which is interesting since He is in control of this whole world. As the Son of God He could have kept himself from going through that kind of humiliation and suffering, but he chose to make sacrifices for us, to save us from our sins and then show His power by rising again on the third day to prepare our place in Heaven.

Thorns, they make thier statement quietly and painfully. What way do we make our statements?

Having a Job Again

It is a good feeling to have a job again. A purpose for the day. I love having a job to report to and to help people out. I am now working at a florist here in town, and its a small operation with a big heart and a lot of great people. I am going to learn the position of front clerk, helping people with loose flowers, picking out arrangements, picking up orders, placing orders. I get to be one of the people that takes what they say and make it into something beautiful. That sounds like a great job to me!! How often do you get flowers and marvel at how creative the person that made them is? Or how much time it took them? The amount of skill these women posess is awe inspiring to me, I could never look at a bucket of flowers and see what they see. So just like any other service industry position, I am learning a new sense of appreciation for these people called Florists! Next time you recieve an arrangement or go to the shop, thank those wonderful people in the back of the store that are making everything happen, they deserve it!

Red Shirt Fridays

I have talked about this before and sent e-mails before but I wanted to post here as well about Red Shirt Fridays. Read the Soldier's Creed posted below:

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my Warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

HOOAH.
Now, on Fridays I wear a Red Shirt. Many people all over America do this together, to make a statement to our military service members that we support them 110%. They see a Red Shirt on Friday and know that person is behind them. I have done this for many years, and I have a lot of friends who believe in Red Shirt Friday. If you don't understand why I support my Husband, a member of the Ohio Army National Guard Military Police, and all the other men and women that wear an American Military Uniform, then read the Creed again and think about how much sacrifice is required of them.

Thank a soldier, a veteran, a spouse of a soldier or veteran, a child of a soldier or veteran, the parent of a soldier or veteran.

How Twilight is Good For Everyone

I read all the Twilight books, and even the online version of the next book. And I must say, I think they teach teens a lot, and the rest of us who have read them. Look at the example Edward places for Teens, especially teen young men! He is the perfect gentleman, he will not have sex with Bella until he marries her, he protects her even when it means leaving her to help her. How many young men, or old men, do you know that would act like that for the woman they love? He is very patient, waiting over 100 years to find the love of his life, then he waits longer to marry her and truly take care of her. He doesn't act like he is better than her, he just acts like they are a team, a team where he treats her like a princess. And Bella is an example as well, even when things are going bad, she is thinking of others instead of herself. She overcomes depression, albeit a little bit dangerously, but she overcomes it in order to make the lives around her better. She helps her friends and family, and protects them. She trusts the man she loves, and forgives him for the things he has done to hurt her. I think we could all use a little of that, its called FORGIVENESS people! They have a true romance and love, its fiction, I know, but its something to learn from. Edward has had plenty of time to think about how to treat a lady like a lady, and he does one good job of it, so guys...read the book and take notes!
1) Sex is for marriage...end of story! If Edward can wait 100 years, you can wait too
2)Woo your woman, treat her like royalty....this will pay off greatly
3)Show your woman she can trust you...this will pay off greatly too
4)Don't make yourself more important or smarter than your woman....this will help you to keep your woman
5)Be Unique, if wa all wanted the same thing there would be one guy walking around in clone form

Ladies: take notes too
1) If he proves himself trustworthy.... TRUST HIM, don't spy on him
2) Let him be a gentleman...it doesn't belittle you, you are worth it
3)Pressuring him into sex doesn't make you a better woman...It makes it harder for him to respect you
4)Don't belittle yourself, as you can see in Twilight, it only confuses them more
5)Take the compliements from your man when he hands them out, don't deny them... He picked YOU for a reason

This is a great series, sometimes you can forget they are talking about Vampires when its the imporatant life Lessons you're focusing on. There is a lot of misguided information being fed to kids and teens and the rest of the people in this world, and our current state is proving it! Abstinence is not old school or uncool, it will save your future relationships and your sanity!

Apartment Life

Loud music, strange smells, pounding dumpster emptying semi trucks, community mail box setup, gross pools, paying to do the laundry, the list goes on and on. Apartment life is unlike any other experience there is. You cram many different people from different walks of life into one building or a group of buildings close together and then watch them co-exist.

There is the strange neighbor: he stands outside his car, holding his clothes and revolver that resembles something from a comic book super hero, while he talks on the phone is his spandex bikini briefs. His conversation is louder than you would need to be if you were standing in the subway. He waves as you walk by to get into the safety of your apartment, as if this is normal. Everyone holds thier clothing while they stand next to thier car in thier underwear. And by the way, he is over 40, not exactly an underwear model, and has very odd conversations about some very odd people he knows.

There is the angry neighbor: she sulks by with her laundry basket weekly, giving everyone and everything a dirty look, as if they caused her bad day. She never smiles and never talks to anyone. You imagine she has 40 cats living with her in the one bedroom top level unit she rents.

There is the loud neighbor: she sits outside on her patio waiting for the next unsuspecting person to walk by on thier way in or out, and then yells down to them to inquire about thier life and tell them all about her life whether they want to hear it or not. Oddly enough when people walk by after the first encounter they are always on the phone. Apparently they have learned how to get around her forward intentions.

Then we have the litter bug neighbor: this person is also the "my dog's poop can stay there as long as I want" neighbor. One day he was driving through the complex and every two feet he dropped a paper napkin or cup out his window. From the second he went through the main entrance until he winds his way all the way to his unit in the back. First question is: why? Second question is: where did all that trash in the car come from? Third question is: does his brain ever kick in? This person also walks thier dog and leaves the dog's poop laying in the middle of the walkway that you have to use to get from your building to the parking area. He also parks in the "no parking" area anytime he feels like it, making it difficult to get out to your car. He parks in other people's assigned areas and then argues with them as if his point matters when they get mad at him for taking the spot they pay extra for. As if he will win that argument.

There are many other neighbor descriptions that fit into various categories as well, but lets move on to the little things that make apartment life more interesting. New Year's Ever is always special in an apartment complex. One year we woke up to someone pounding on our door. The person was trying to get in, what they thought was thier unit. They kept trying to get a key in our lock, kept wanting us to let them in, as we argued through the door that this was our home, not thiers. They finally looked up to see the number in thier drunken stupor and then fell back up the stairs to the parking lot to try again. The next morning we went out to take out the trash and found empty plastic sandwich bags and lighters strewn about the stairs. One bag however was not empty, it was full of something resembling oregano, a large quart size bag of Oregano. Of course it wasn't Oregano, and it promptly went in the dumpster with the trash. A few months later a guy needed to use a cell phone, so we let him use ours and he told us about a wild party he had on New Year's and how he had lost a large bag of "weed". We just smiled and let him keep talking.

There was also the night a friend came in from out of town and brought in a long very odd looking Knife, he found it outside our window when he was walking up to our door. Nice little thing to know people are carrying around or dropping.

There is never a dull moment when you put that many people in one area to live.

How to Make a Set of Queen Sheets worth the Money

I just moved and redecorated my apartment. I have tried to save money on everything. We needed living room furniture and an entertainment center, and I needed curtains and slipcovers and wanted everything to match our teal/light blue and chocolate living room and our green and cream bedroom.

I looked at buying curtains, but the prices were very scary for decent quality curtains for large windows. I looked at buying material to sew my curtains, and that came out more expensive. Thought sewing has more creative options for matching your interior, it takes more time, and more money in the end. I didn't have either. While conversing with my mom we had similar ideas, how about using bedsheets to make curtains with? Take the top sheet and cut it in half and it would fit my windows with the two pieces pulled together. Great Idea, and so, I got a queen set of bedsheets that matched my decor perfectly, a chocolate curtain with light blue/teal medalion print and cut the top sheet in half and made a hem up the cute edge for my two curtain panels. Since the top is finished already I could have used it as a rod pocket by opening the ends but I like the "clip" top curtains better so I folded the finished edge down to ge the correct length and clipped them in place, perfect.


Now what to do for a table cloth and chair covers. I had two chairs that would float between the living room and dining area, and I had two pillow cases from the sheets. Voila! I put the pillow cases over the back of the chairs, and they now match and look great! I cut off the finished edge of the fitted sheet, folded it until it was the right size square and cut it to fit my table, and now it too is used in my living/dining room and matches the whole decor!

So, three different peices of the sheets made three different peices of my decor, and you would never know they were bed sheets unless I told you, which I just did!

Wearing a Mask

Have you ever gone somewhere in a mask or costume? Its kind of fun to act like somone or something else and have people guessing at who it us underneath. But when you try to talk to a friend or loved one or someone important and you're wearing that mask, it doesn't go so well. You have to take the mask off to reveal yourself so they understand what you were talking about and who it is in there.

You can't go through life wearing a mask. You have to be your genuine self so that you and everyone else knows who you are and what you are all about. If you constantly wear the same mask or you change masks depending on who you are with, you will forget who you are as a person,and your only identtity will become the mask you are currently wearing. When you meet new people they will think your mask is the actual person and you will have them fooled until the day you take it off, or it falls off accidentally, and then thier shock and surprise will turn into an inability to trust you becuase you were not honest and genuine, you were acting. A mask is only for people who want to act like someone else, you cannot be yourself if you wear a mask.

Remember that a mask can be fun for a short time, but you need to take it off. Acting is better left to people who get paid for it. And even then, they have to learn to take off thier masks. The late Heath Ledger said he struggled with the amount of acting he did for the Joker role in Batman, and in the end that role hurt him more than anything else. Lets take a lesson from that story and remember that a mask only hurts you and the people closest to you when you leave it on too long.

Graduation Speech for Massage School

The journey began in April 2008. At least on paper it did. For many of the students graduating today, the journey started months, years, or decades before. Some started at other schools, some in different classes, but all striving for the same goal. To help others through the use of our hands in therapeutic massage. A couple nurses, a truck driver, a few stay at home moms, a nanny, zoo educator, baker, loan officer, cosmetologist, retail associates, business owners, quilter, barista, chiropractic assistants, and a few other professions met each other one night and became class mates, friends, and family.
We were told to get used to each other because school would take the place of life, while life kept happening. Life didn’t let us forget it was still spinning out of control. We experienced death, weddings, unexpected set backs, surgeries, job losses, relationship problems, family mishaps, sickness, joy, good grades, bad grades, spouses gone for months at a time, children going to college, a couple injuries, and anything else you can imagine happening within 20 months to a small group.
That small group started out with 23, now we graduate with 16, some of those joining our starter group from other stages in school. We lost some, and we gained others, all very much a part of our school family. This brings up a question: Do journeys really end, or does your destination just become a stop off along the way, as you add new destinations?
We would like to thank our instructors, and the staff of the school for their organization, their knowledge, their love and support. We thank them for all the sacrifices we know they made for us to get our education, and to make sure we got a good one. The time they sacrificed, the monetary sacrifices and the sacrifice of time they could have been spending giving more massages and making more money, they decided to help us become great massage therapists. For that we would like to give Deb Bomkamp and Haleta Holmes each a gift to show how much we care about them and how thankful we are that they were our instructors. Deb and Haleta brought humor and color to classes that would otherwise have been boring and mundane. (if you have ever listened to our recordings of class you know we mean COLORFUL!) They made learning fun and made sure that we know our curriculum. They made coming to class enjoyable and helped us form friendships we will have for the rest of our lives. It is very obvious that they care about their students and their students care about them.
We would also like to thank our families and friends for their unending support and sacrifices as well. While we were at class and school functions they took our places and filled in our gaps until we could get there. They helped us study, fulfill hours of practice (some more willing than others), went to some of our class events, some children even came in to class with us when babysitters were no where to be found. Spouses dealt with our endless studying and stress from school, and some have even helped us build additions to our homes for our future businesses. Friends helped us with childcare and always offered to let us work on them, except for some of that “weird” stuff like TMJ work and abdominal massage. When we came at you with washable markers and wanted to draw the muscles on you didn’t hesitate, after all it wasn’t the weirdest thing we asked of you! But you all know how hard it was for everyone involved and how wonderful those free massages were! And you will all try to get those free massages from us for a while longer, we know, we already have all that figured out! And of course we have your names written in our scheduling books for weekly or monthly appointments.
So, we are continuing on the next steps of our journeys, and you are here with us! We appreciate everyone that has walked along side of us, walked ahead to pull us along, and walked behind us to push us forward. We look forward to the many stop offs, pot holes, speed bumps, construction, and smooth flat surfaces of the journey ahead, and the fun that road trips bring to a group of friends along for the ride. Thanks for joining us, and thanks for helping us, there is no one else like you on this earth.

Goosebumps are fun little happenings

Have you ever watched your skin when you have goosebumps? Did you know that is a muscle contraction making your hairs raise up and thus pulling your skin into "bump like" status? The erector pillae muscles surround each hair on your body and when your nervous system excites them they contract making the hairs stand "erect". I just got goosebumps from a breeze in the air, and watched my arms as the goosebumps settled down. I saw almost in tiny waves the hair relax a little more and a little more as the muscles lost tone. It was amazing really to watch the body at work. Such a tiny thing, and yet it can tell you a lot about your body and your environment.

Keeping up the Home

I have never ever been very good at keeping a clean home. I try, but usually it gets out of control and I end up frantically cleaning before visitors arrive. But as I thought about it when I moved this time I said, what if there was an emergency or someone stopped in unexpected, or maintenance came by for something while I wasn't home? My home would be a mess and I would be embarassed and so would my husband! So I am making concentrated efforts to pick up here and there all the time, keep clothes picked up, keep the kitchen neater, and so on. The kitchen seems to be my biggest enemy, even though I have a dishwasher. I always seem to find 10 other things to do besides clean up the kitchen. Probably because it is never ending, there is always some new dish to clean and some pot or pan to wash.

Having a nicely decorated home seems to make it more appealing to clean though. This time around I said I was not going to live in the basic white apartment, I painted in the living room, color coordinated everything and made it look like a home rather than a rental. This seems to make it more important to keep it clean, I put a lot of work into making it beautiful, now I want it to stay looking that way.

So now you know my deep dark secret, I can keep every other place I am in clean and neat as a pin, but my kitchen is the tack in my heel! :)