Resolution or Not to Resolute? That is the Question

     Every year I see many people making New Years Resolutions. I wonder how many of them actually keep them. I know I've made many in my life and well, to be honest have not kept many of them  So several years ago I decided I would no longer make resolutions, at least not just on New Years Day.

     I see New Years Resolutions as a sort of ticket to many people giving them the official opening to do just about everything they find wrong and resolve to change their behavior at the end of the year.  So many people lie, cheat steal and pretty much live a hedonistic lifestyle until December 31 when for some reason they feel this draw toward making resolution to do better, become a better person or whatever better there is out there for them to be. So they make these unrealistic resolutions, "I will not drink in the new year", "I will not cheat on my spouse in the new year." and so on. Things they should do just because they are the right way to be. This sets people up to fail because the heart has not changed, just the mind for that one "romantic" night. Yes romantic, I say romantic because romance has many meanings, some are  having a fascination or enthusiasm about something. So on December 31 many people are enthusiastic about doing the right thing. Then a few days later the romance dies and they revert back to their old ways.

     Other less moral resolutions are those to eat better, exercise more and get healthy. Well those are also things that become romanticized with the end of an old year and start of a new. We as people want to cleanse ourselves and become a purer being. For some reason we seem to think that December 31 is the time to validate these plans. Then the new year comes and goes, we as people forget those resolutions and go back to the unhealthy ways of life. Mostly because the allure of that romantic resolution drew us in, not the reality that maybe we need to get healthy and eat better.

     So with those thoughts in mind I decided years ago to no longer make resolutions or rather promises to myself that I will not keep. I work hard to live my life as I believe is right all year long form start to finish. As for healthy eating and getting healthy, I am not always successful there but am working on it. I know making a resolution on December 31 will not prepare me to "get healthy" it will most likely set me up to fail. All resolutions must be a way of life, they must be something we do out of either moral belief or a desire to get and stay healthy. So the answer to the question is no resolution, mindset change is the way to succeed.

Star Wars Before New Hope and Beyond

     I saw the first Star Wars movie when it opened at the premier theater in Los Angeles. Yes the premier! Back then it was a big deal but not quite as huge as they thought it would. be. It was something new and different and people were excited to see it but I do not think anyone had a clue the kind of phenomenon it would become.

     My uncle purchased our tickets the day before I believe and we waited in line at the premier theater for 2 hours. The theater was amazing, I can't remember the name of it, this was back in 1977 and I was 14 years old. I was just excited because this was my first time in such a theater, it was huge with tables in the middle isle where you could get table service food.  My best friend was with me and we were having the time of our lives.

     The movie began and I fell in love with the story instantly. I also fell head over heals for Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill. Han was very handsome too but Luke was mine I purchased every souvenir I could find, from magazines to figurines.. Star Wars was funny, action packed and something completely new. It was also just Star Wars at the time, New Hope had not been added to the name yet.

     I was not able to see Star Wars again until it came out on video in 1981 I was excited because it came not too long after I had seen Empire Strikes Back. I was very thrilled when Empire Strikes Back came our in 1980. I went to see it several times at the theater with my aunt who was also a huge fan.

     My aunt and I patiently waited for Return of the Jedi to come out and waited in line for several hours to see it. We did not get to see it in a fancy theater but we did not care. We were just excited to watch it. I do not know how many times I saw it at the theater.

     I was super excited when the three movies came out on VHS. All of the first three Star Wars movies consisted of humor, adventure, excitement and offered a light side to a dark idea of good vs evil.

     In 1999 a new Star Wars movie was released and it took me several years to watch it. The movie did not interest me at all because Star Wars was Luke, Leah, Han and the gang, not before they were born. I finally broke down and watched Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones on VHS before Revenge of the Sith came out. I must admit I did like them and I liked Sith too but they did not have the qualities I loved about the original 3. I did not watch them over and over again like the original 3. They were dark and on the depressing side plus I did not care about the characters as much as I did the characters in the original movies. They didn't become "friends".

     Then I heard they were making a new Star Wars, I was so excited but a little aprehensive until I learned it would include Han, Luke and Leah. I went to see the new movie recently and I loved it just as much as the original Star Wars I saw in 1977. The new characters are light, funny, complex and lovable just like the originals I loved. The story had that same feel to it too. It was not like the last three which were dark, dreary and even though I liked them, depressing. The characters were not likable and you did not fall in love with them like Luke, Leah and Han.

    So now we have entered a new Star Wars era, there will be more movies to come. I am excited for the new venture and well it must be said "May the Force be with us all."

Drunk Man Missed Daughtry

     My post about New Year's Eve drunkenness made me think of this drunk guy i sat next to when I went to see Cavo, Lifehouse and Daughtry in Salt Lake City, Utah.

    Back in 2010 my sons and I went to see Lifehouse and Daughtry in Salt Lake City. Cavo was there too but we did not know that until the show started. I believe were were at the E Center.  Well they serve alcohol at this event and many people were purchasing their drinks before and during the show. From what I could see there were no limits on the number of drinks you could buy.

     Next to me sat this young man, around 22 or 23 years old I believe. He and his girlfriend each had a beer and they were very friendly. Before the concert began he told me how excited he was to see Daughtry. He said that he had come to the concert just to see them. He was so excited, he was like a kid in a candy store. I was excited for him too because we were also excited to see Lifehouse and Daughtry was a bonus. We had bought our tickets to see Lifehouse.

     By the time Cavo came on, they were first, the young man and his girlfriend had downed one beer and went to get another. These were large mugs of beer mind you. They were having fun watching the concert and when Cavo was done he turned to me and told me how excited he was for Daughtry again. I could see that thrill in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

     Before Lifehouse came on the couple had another beer and during Lifehouse's set I lost count on the times they left to get beer. Lifehouse was done and it was time for Daughtry to set up. I could tell the man was very drunk by this time. He was extremely foul mouthed and very obnoxious.

     Finally the band he had been waiting to see was on. Even though I wanted to punch him because he was so annoying I felt excited for him to finally see the band he had come to see. I believe he had driven a long ways for this concert just like us and so that moment had finally arrived. The lights came up, Daughtry took the stage and everyone was cheering. I looked over at the young man to see if he was as excited as I knew he would be and he was not excited, he was dazed and then before I knew it he was sound asleep. He had passed out cold.

     I will never forget that young man who traveled to see one of his favorite bands getting so drunk that he missed the band he came to see. It made me sad for him that drinking was more important. I wondered how many other things he missed in life for the "pleasure" of being drunk. I thoroughly
enjoyed the concert and so did my kids, we will be able to tell about it for years to come. That young man can only say that he was there and more's the pity for him.

   

It is Not Necessary to Ring in the New Year Trashed

     I can't say I think people who drink alcohol are bad people. I know a lot of great people who have a drink or two but I can say I believe alcohol is bad for people. In my mind there's nothing positive that comes from it. My point for this post though is not to really talk about how good or bad it is for someones health it is more to point out my confusion as to why people think getting trashed on New Years Eve is the way to celebrate ringing in the new year.

     As New Years Eve approaches I hear some people talking about how they plan to get complete wasted on New Years Eve.They seem to think that is the way to ring in the new year. I hear some saying how it just isn't New Years Eve if they aren't wasted. That baffles me to no end. Why is it important to get wasted to celebrate the start of a new year? I do not understand our societies fascination with the idea that you have to be  mentally out of control to truly enjoy something.

     My experience with drunk people on New Years Eve is that many of them end up fighting, crying or passed out. My ex used to get drunk every New Year's Eve and while there were a few times he was awake to ring in the new year, most of the time he was passed out before it rang in. When he was awake to ring it in he was sickening and you know that New Years Kiss...well uh... no thank you! Then the next day most trashed  people don't even remember ringing in the new year. If they do remember it is in a cloud of fog from the hangover they feel.

     I don't even understand those who think they have to make a toast to the new year with alcohol. What is the purpose of that? Is it just some kind of strange tradition that people have? Why not make a toast with grape juice, especially if you don't even like the taste of alcohol. It is better tasting and you remember what happened the next day. Yes I know just one toast won't get a person drunk but most people don't start with that one toast, they are already trashed before that one toast but want sober people to toast with them with alcohol. Maybe it helps them feel better about themselves for being so obnoxiously drunk.

     I cannot even remember the last time I touched alcohol, being married to an alcoholic soured me on the taste or smell. I don't even like to be around drunks anytime especially New Years Eve. Some of the best times I've had ringing in the new year actually were bowling one night, a sledding party when I was a teenager and playing games with friends. I did not let the drunk people around me ruin my fun when I was in mixed (drunk and non-drunk) company, my ex to be specific. Most of the time he was not even a part of the final celebration and the rest of us, the sober ones, rang in the new year and remembered it so we could tell about it the next day.

A New Look at the Term Happy Holidays

    Prior to Christmas every year I see a lot of people on social media stating that they will be keeping Christ in Christmas by saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holiday’s" this Christmas season. While I believe in keeping Christ in Christmas too I also have a different take on the term “Happy Holiday’s”.  This take is not one I have always had but after much thought have come to the realization saying Happy Holidays does not mean you are removing Christ from Christmas.

     When people say Happy Holidays it is usually long before Christmas Day so really it is not actually Christmas. It is close to Christmas, but New Years Day is a holiday celebrated during the winter holiday season too. So in saying Happy Holiday’s many people are celebrating all of the holidays that are near each other.

     Really if you think about it, saying Merry Christmas a week or two before the actual day is kind of silly. Do we wish people Happy Birthday every day before their birthday? No we wait until the day of heir birth, so why say Merry Christmas a week before the actual birth day of Christ? It is not Christmas day on December 23, 24, or even 21. It is the time of Happy Holiday's. 

         Thanksgiving is another reason this issue came to my mind. One day a clerk at the store wished me Happy Holidays a few days before Thanksgiving and I thought that was fitting since it was not yet Thanksgiving Day but close to it.  So I wondered why that same ideology could not apply to Christmas too.

     So before getting offended by the term “Happy Holidays” and think people are removing Christ from Christmas maybe look at it in a new way and just enjoy the holiday season. I do keep Christ in Christmas but I keep him in my life all year, saying Happy Holidays before Christmas Day does not mean He is not a part of Christmas day or the season and it for certain does not mean I am taking Him out of my life.

My Thoughts on Changing Highway 666 to 491

      I used to live on what was called Highway 666 in Colorado. I have heard it was named 666 because it was the highway where highway 6 and Route 66 met at one point. The highway runs through parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah.  I thought it was neat living on Hwy 666. However, many people were superstitions and fought to change it because they said it was evil so in 2003, those who were superstitious won and state transportation officials decided it needed to be changed to Highway 491.

     Many people had called highway 666 The Devil’s Highway and the Highway to Hell. So many people believed that the highway had a lot of accidents because it was named 666, it was cursed. They never thought for a minute that maybe there were a lot of accidents because people drive fast on highways. I don’t even think they even looked at other highways to see how many accidents they have on them. The state just let the superstitious people have their way. Personally, I thought it was silly and my own personal experience regarding the highway was that it made no difference what it is called.

     I remember when I made business calls and would say that I lived on Hwy 666 some people would totally freak out. They would ask if I was scared to live there. I just laughed and told them no. I was actually surprised that they even gave it a thought.

     In the years I lived on Highway 666 there were no accidents in front of my house, and I lived right on the highway. A couple of years after the name changed to 491 there was a semi truck that wrecked right in front of our home, actually it came close to ending up in our living room. I saw my first fatal accident on the highway after the name was changed to 491. One of my son’s friends was in an almost fatal accident and paralyzed while it was 491. I have known others killed on the same highway after 2003.and on December 23, 2015 we had a bad accident on highway 491 that involved multiple vehicles. So hmm did the name change really change anything? I say no.

     I no longer live on the highway but travel it often, my experience is that there have been more accidents on the highway as 491 than when it was 666. Regardless of whether or not that is true, the name of a highway does not make it evil, there will not be more accidents on the highway because of its name, accidents happen because they happen, a group of numbers won’t make or prevent them.

Presenting Yourseld Poorly For Hire

     The new craze now days is to look for work online. It is a good way to reach out and find out who is hiring and a good way for employers to get the word out without payiing for advertisement. It is not as efficient as it was in the day where you "hit the pavement," but it works.

     Many employers look to the social network sites such as Facebook to search for prospective employees. I think this is just fine but I have noticed some of those prospetive employees do not present themselves well in just that short time they post on Facebook.

    If I were hiring someone from Facebook I would not hire the person who uses text lingo typing "do u know of places who r hiring?" I am sorry but that is just lazy to me and whether or not it is just text lingo, it makes me think the person is not  that bright. It makes them look dumb in my eyes.

   Another thing that would turn me off of a prospective employee is for them to just post "places hiring." That to me says they are too lazy to even type a full sentence, or not smart enough. It also makes me wonder if they are saying places are hiring or if they want a job.

    So come on people, if you want a job present yourself in a way that tells an employeer you are not a complete moron and you can type a full sentence and do know how to type full words. It is not that difficult. Good grief, job hunting has been made easy, you just sit at home and say you are looking. Don't be so lazy that you can't present yourself better than the simplistic way I've seen lately on Facebook.

     That is my rant for today.

Social Website Friend: Real Life Enemy

     I have wondered for a long time why people remain Facebook friends with people they hate in real life. It has been a question that has been on my mind for quite some time.

     I see people post things about people they just cannot stand in real life but yet they remain friends on Facebook. They sometimes get into these little Facebook fights and it can get ugly. I keep thinking as I read the posts in the fight, surely these people will unfriend each other if they dislike each other this much.  I know, I should  just move on and not read the drama dribble but for some reason curiosity drives me to keep reading, maybe I just need a chuckle.

     What is interesting is that I know these people who dislike each other so much are not friends in real life. Some of them don't even get into fights on Facebook but remain friends there. They comment about each other from time to time just because and the relationship on FB remains.

     Personally I do not want people I don't even like in real life to know what goes on in my life. I wonder if those who keep the non friends around want them to be jealous or are just curious about the person they do not like and what happens in their life.

     Either way  I am still confused about it all and still wonder why anyone wants to have anything to do with people who drag them down because anyone you dislike that much drags you down whether you know it or not...

Let Them Be Kids

     Today as I was thinking about my little grandson entering Head Start at barely 3 years old and thinking how he is still acts like a baby in many ways it made me realize that he is just a baby. He has only been on this earth for 3 short years. Learning how to sit still is a huge job for someone his age. I thought about many other kids his age who may seem older in some ways and that caused me to rellize that is so sad and it might just be possible that one of the reasons kids struggle so much in the world today, why kids are having babies as young as 13 years old, why kids are experimenting with drugs as young as 6 years old, why so many kids are finding it hard to cope with life as teenagers and later young adults just might be because society expects them to grow up too fast. They really are never allowed to be kids, that is being taken away from so many kids and well, that is sad.

     The learning bar has been raised for Kindergarten age kids to the point that Kindergarten is no longer the transition into becoming a school student, now children need to be prepared for Kindergarten by going to Head Start. In Head Start they also lose some of their childlike ways because they are expected to grow up way too fast.

     By first grade kids are expected to know how to read. If they don't most of the time they are labeled with some sort of learning disability. They are placed in special classes or groups and even though those labels might not be place on their little forehads they are imbedded into their being to the point many young kids never have the confidence to succeed. They always feel "dumb". Maybe if they had been allowed to just be a kid a bit longer they would have succeeded later in their school career.

    Don't get me wrong, I do not think there is anything wrong with kids learning things at a young age, but it is wrong to expect them to learn too much at a young age. It is wrong to rob them of those precious years when they are carefree, silly and young. A three year old should be worried about imagination play and learning the things he or she wants to learn. He or she should not be forced to act like a five year old at three. If he is immature at three, that is ok because well, he is just three.  If he still wants his mommy at three, that is ok. He is just a three year old.

     My little grandson knows his ABC's, can count, recognize numbers, knows his shapes and colors. He is also very cuddly and sometimes clingy. He acts like a three year old, sometimes he acts like a baby and well, that is fine since he is a baby, or maybe toddler is the better word.

    He is headed to Pre-School in a few days because sadly like many parents in todays world, both of his parents have to work and grandma has to work to survive too. So, he has to enter the school age world. My hope is that he can still be a baby in many ways, it is ok for him to want to play, it is ok if he is clingy and acts like a baby sometimes...because well, that is what he is.

     Society is so ready for kids to grow up and succeed at such a young age when emotionally they are just not ready. Let the kids in Kindergarten color and play with crayons. Let them play with dolls, play house and whatever fun dramatic play they enjoy. Yes they can mind and yes they can learn but society needs to stop taking away their childhood and expecting more of them than they are able to give.

     Taking away their childhood sets many kids up for emotional hard times later on, they can't cope with the teen year struggles and many can't cope with adulthood either. So while they are kids, let them be kids.

Songs Written by Blake Miller

    My son is an amazing musician and writer. his name is Blake Miller and I know someday many people will know his name because of his amazing talent.  Blake has written some beautiful and amazing songs. He has been in a few different bands. One of his bands actually was on its way to becoming known but the lead singers decided to back out. I am not sure what the reason was. My personal opinion is that they don't want to really make a go of muisc but to just play in the small town we live in. My son, Blake, on teh other hand wants to make a living playing his music and wants it to be heard by everyone. He knows that will never happen until he moves to an area that appreciates his amazing talent.

     I love sharing his music though. The songs he has written are amazing, so I am going to share some of his music here on my blog. I also have the EP that he and his old band Arsenic Kitchen recorded for purchase. If you are interested please let me know and you can purchase one for $5.00.

     Here are a few clips of some live performances. My son wrote all of these songs and is the one playing the lead guitar..the on with the hair.

Air that I Breathe Acoustic
Air that I Breathe
Scars
Shanghaied
 

Pondering the Point of it All

     Have you ever had so many strange and well, way out there thoughts in your head that you just feel super overwhelmed by those thoughts. They are so much bigger than you are, they are in many ways very scary. It is kind of a heart in your throat type of feeling but you know that these thoughts are so much bigger than you are yet, your mind keeps thinking them. That is the kind of morning I had, a pondering the point of it all, the point of life, why we are here, why we live our life each day, where will we go when life is done, is there truly a God, is He truly the creator of the entire universe and well, what if when we die we are....just gone..then why did we live to begin with?

     These thoughts are sometimes disturbing, they are sometimes liberating but most of the time they leave you wondering...wondering if what you believe in is real, true and right. wondering if other people ever get these thoughts in their head. These thoughts seem to go in circles in your mind too..it is hard to explain but I will give it a try. I will start with my first thought and move through all of the thoughts. Some of them were actually a part of a prayer to God asking Him to help me understand these strange thoughts in my mind.

     My first thought came as I was just thinking about death. I was thinking how truly scary the thought of death is. Then my thoughts turned to what comes after death. Is there truly a Heaven? Can I handle the thought that there might not be anything after death? No I cannot, that thought made me feel very scared and sad. So I went back to wondering about Heaven and thinking about what Heaven is.

     Heaven to me is a place where people go if they obey God and do as He wishes them to do, they follow His rules. Heaven is paradise, I am not sure what kind of paradise. I wonder a lot of times if we will have bodies there or just be these ghostly spirits flying about. I do believe that Heaven will be perfection and well, somewhere I truly want to be.

     My mind then took me then to the question of, "what if none of it is true, what if the Bible is not true, what if God is not real? Then what? We live, we die, end of story." my mind could not fathom that at all. It was a very scary thought, as scary as the thought that I might not go to Heaven, as scary as the thought of gong to Hell where I will live in eternal regret. That is one scary thought. It all felt so overwhelming.

     So then my mind wondered what is the true path to Heaven?  I mean. all churches think they have it, they all believe in their hearts that they are the true church and they are the ones who will be with God in the end. I used to know what I believe and most of the time I still do, but these strange times when my mind is wondering, I wonder.....do I really understand? What do I really believe? Is it enough? Does it really matter?

     I know so many wonderful people who are all on different paths to Heaven, so which is right? Which one of these amazing people I love will end up in Hell? What will get them there? I do not want anyone I love to go there. That thought breaks my heart.  I think then of myself and know I do not want to be there. Then I go back to wanting to be sure I know how to get there. I want to be on the right path. The Bible is a very confusing book that opens the door to many different interpretations. Which one is right? Which are wrong? Every person who believes they are on the right path believes that as strongly as the other.

     I also wondered why God did this, why we are even here? I mean is he sitting there watching his little subjects as we all struggle in one way or another? If God did not put us here, then again, why are we here? What is the point of all of this if we live and then we die?

     My mind also went to reincarnation, yes I actually wondered if somehow we die and come back again in another body. Of course I do not believe this, but my mind did approach that thought this morning. It was yet another overwhelming though, that I die and come back in another body.

    To be dead is like being asleep, it is a realm that we really will not even know but I think of the fact that there someday will be no me here on this earth, I will no longer feel or think these thoughts, I will no longer exist... and again, I'm overwhelmed.

    Back my mind goes then to Heaven and Hell, different beliefs and why God did not make the road to paradise easier? Not really easier but the understanding of the Bible easier. Why isn't it clear that we just do this or that and we make it to Heaven? Why is it such a puzzle? Did He not want everyone to make it to Heaven? If so, why does He feel that some should go while others don't make it? The Bible is confusing and there are so many ways to interpret it. So who is right, who is wrong? Where will I end up?

     Finally I had to stop thinking, I had to pray to God because I do believe He is real even if I do doubt things sometimes. I believe the Bible is real but do questions some interpretations and find it hard to understand a lot in the Bible. I do wonder sometimes about those who interpreted it and wrote it, did they get it exact? I am not sure, the only thing I am sure of is that I do want to make it to Heaven and I want those I love to make it there too.  I also know that in 50 years none of this will no longer  matter to me and this morning as I was thinking about that I wondered again about the idea that I will just be sleeping and be no more...or existing forever in Hell.

    I know for me if the Bible just said clearly that I should do this, and better not do that, I would gladly obey. I do not kill nor want to kill, because of God and it is wrong, I do not steal because the Bible states clearly that it is wrong but then there are other things that are in the grey area and those are things that could send a person to Hell, so those are the things that scare me when I am pondering it all.

     In one Bible verse it says that it is wrong to cut your hair if you are a woman, in another verse it says that it is wrong to eat shellfish, then in another it says if a child disobeys, he is to be stoned to death. (I am not quoting verses here because this is not a biblical article, it is an article about my thoughts and how confused they can become)  Most women cut their hair, many eat shellfish, and I can't think of anyone who stones to death a disobedient child. So which law do we choose to follow? Do we just follow the commandments and also show care and love as Christ did when He walked the Earth? Those are the things that baffle me most of all.

     I think that is why God said we could not handle knowing everything, it would drive us mad. I know He did not say that in those exact words but that is what He meant. It does make me feel like I am a bit "mad" the crazy kind of mad, when I try to fathom and ponder the point of it all.

Their Boots are Made For Walkin

     It doesn't mean you did something kind  because you feel guilted into it. It only means you are a pushover who lets people walk on you...and well, being a person who lets others walk all over you is something that is very hard to change. Yes there are a lot of people who walk over others, I am not sure if they realize it or not...really I don't see how they can't see that they are like that but maybe they are that ignorant.

     I have let people walk all over me for years. I do like to help people out but sometimes I am also guilted into helping people who really should have stood on their own long ago. I get told that they just have nowhere else to go, they really need help. So I give in when I really don't have the resources to help them out, I barely have the resources to take care of my own family.

     People tell me I don't have to help other people, I don't have to let them take advantage of me and I should stand up for myself. Well I know that, I know it better than anyone else could ever know it but I just can't seem to say no. Instead I just fume inside and become angry at the ones who are taking advantage of me.

     I wonder why I can't just stand up and say to these people, "you really need to find a way to do things on your own and I'm sorry for you but I just can't help."  I just can't do that and it makes me mad at myself.

    Then on the other hand, if people would not over step their boundaries I might not mind helping them out. But, most of them take over and seem to think that you owe them something. They get angry when things are not going their way, in your home. They do things that put you out in your own home and well that makes me even more angry and causes a lot of friction. But instead of just telling them I seethe inside.

     I have actually asked things of people who I help out and they seem all ok with what I ask, then when it comes down to it, they don't respect me and what I ask  of them.  I never ask them to help pay for the water they use or the extra electricity it takes to have them around, I just ask them not to do certain things that I just don't like in my home. Now it would be nice if they would help out with the water and other things since they are not family and I owe them nothing. I mean I am giving them a home where they shower and have light and electricity for their devices...do they offer to help pay for that extra water they use? Nope instead they buy new toys etc.

     I do think if one time these people who I help out would do what they say and really appreciate the help by being respectful in my home and respectful of my wishes I might not mind helping out. But so far the ones I've helped, the non-family people,  have not shown me that. Well actually one person did, but only one.

     So here I am back to wondering why I help people who I really do not want to help, why I let other people guilt me into it and why I let people walk all over me. That is a question I still ask, because if I am not doing it out of the kindness of my heart then well it really isn't being kind and it is letting people walk all over me.. I still wonder why I can't just say no.

    So as the title says, Their Boots are Made For Walkin and they walk all over me.....hopefully I can find a way to start kicking back!

My Pet Peeve: Pets in the Grocery Store

     Today at Wal Mart I saw two different people with dogs in the store. Neither of them were service dogs. The first one was a filthy little poodle or something like that. It was in the front of the shopping cart and not very well behaved. The people were feeding it and they did not look like they needed a service dog to go shopping. It did not have a blanked in the cart to protect the cart and well, I am sorry but that is where people put their food and I just don't want to put my food where a dog's butt has been. What do creatures do from their butt, we all know and well that is not clean. I am sure other people would not want me to take my grandson to the store, let him sit bear butt in the shopping cart with an unclean rear end.  So why is it ok for people to put a dog there?

     The next person I saw with a dog was a man who had a huge dog on a leash. The man was not blind and the dog was not well behaved either. As the man walked around the store the dog sniffed the food on the shelves. To me that is just not acceptably behavior and a service dog would not do that.

     I went to management and they said there is nothing that they can do, I called the health department and they said there isn't much that can be done. Everyone is so worried about protecting the rights of people with animals but no one seems to care about those of us who do not want to shop for groceries in a "pet" store. They don't want to offend them but it is ok to offend those of us who don't  care to put our food where an animal butt has been or we don't want to purchase food an animal has sniffed.

     There is also the issue of people being allergic to animals like me. I itch and can't breathe good if I get animal hair on me. I have to buy groceries so why should my allergies be triggered because someone wants to take their pet to the store. The service animal again is another issue. There are ways to protect people with allergies from the animal hair.

     My suggestion is that a person must have service animal papers to take an animal into the grocery store. That person must also have a blanket for the animal and the store should provide special animal carts for people with animals to protect those with allergies from the hair. The dogs that are not in carts should be well behaved. That is what makes me mad, service animals are well behaved. they do not act like pets. They do not sniff the food, some behave better than children. Pets should never be allowed in a grocery store. People need to leave them at home.

Working Toward Enjoying Life Again

    I was creating a post for my FB status and decided, why waste my time writing a FB status post, why not just post on my blog and share. Of course I am not sure who all reads my blogs but that is ok too. Not sure who even reads my FB status either ha ha.

     I have been working on my book this morning....I am also looking for places to move to as well...So far top teacher pay scale vs home purchase etc is in Casa Grand Az. Need  I need to check Queen Creek I just haven't done that yet.

      I am really going to try to make it work here in Colorado one more year but not sure I will be able to. I just find myself more and more depressed daily and depression makes it hard to want do anything...getting out of bed is a struggle, I don't want to clean or even do the things I love. I only get out of bed because I absolutely have to...then I get bored  and boredom is depressing too, I don't like boredom so am thinking moving sooner might be the best thing

     I don't like bored eating either...it makes you gain weight and I don't wanna gain weight...funny how a post goes from working on my book to gaining weight...lol

     Right now I am struggling to decide what I want. I know I am extremely unhappy, restless and bored. I just want to be happy, satisfied and enjoy life. I mean I don't have a lot of years of life left, my life is more than half over so I don't want the last years, the ones that really should be the most free and fulfilling, to be my worst and the right now life is just not fun.

     Now don't get me wrong, I do not expect life to be perfect and I don't expect to have fun all the time. But I do want to at least wake up each day looking forward to the day and what it might hold, I do not like waking up each day wishing night would come because I am not satisfied with the day and just want it to be over. That is just no way to live.

     All of this is in my control though, I have to find what it takes to feel like life is truly worth living again, I have to decide exactly what I want and find ways to get what I want. That is not easy and will require sacrifices but I have to find a way to get to that place in my life. It will take a while to get there because I know where I am right now is where I have to be. I think that is the hardest thing for me.

     So this next few weeks will be working toward finding  ways to enjoy life again. I know one thing is that I need to stop this bored eating since I do not like the extra pounds I have put on. I need to find a way to be satisfied with life right now so I can start enjoying the things I love again.

Struggling To Survive

   

    Lately I have been thinking about how sad the debt to income ration for most people in the US or at least where I live is very unbalanced. It is sad that people can barely make it on wages that ate one time were great. Yes things cost less then too but the debt to income ratio changed so much that wages did not increase accordingly based on the cost of living.

      Currently where I live in Colorado the average hourly wage is under $10 per hour. The average rent is around $850.00 per month for a fairly small home. Renter pays pretty much all utilities. So let's just say a person is lucky enough to make $10 per hour which is a gross of $1600 per month if they get 40 hours which many employers do not offer. Uncle Sam takes on average at least $300 from that, possibly more. So that leaves a family roughly $1300 per month. From the $1300 per month comes the $850 in rent leaving them with $450 to live on. Out of that $450 they have to pay utilities, gas for vehicles, food and other incidentals and necessities such as clothes etc. That is all if a family rents. If they buy a home it is sometimes less pr month but still that $1300 income just does not go far at all. It is no wonder people struggle to survive. 

     As I think back to when I first got married and my then husband earned $5.00 per hour. That was good money for us. Later he really hit it big and got a job where he made $8.00 per hour. When I started working at a hotel in 1985 I was feeling great to make $4.00 per hour and then later went to work at a greenhouse making $5.00 per hour. At $5.00 per hour our gross income was $800.00 per month when only one of us worked. We took home around $600.00 per month and did just fine. Later when my ex made $8 per hour we were rolling in the dough when he brought home around $1000 per month. We were able to pay rent, buy food, pay for a vehicle, auto insurance, gas and even buy a boat and vacation at Lake Powell a few times each summer. 

     It is sad that things have changed so much that someone making $10 per hour is actually in poverty level while back in the 80’s we felt rich making $8 per hour. Times sure have not changed for the better and again I find it sad that people struggle to survive.

Reporting Thief Using Date Stamp

     I am reporting a thief who stole my work and it is not easy. I have to show a link to the work but it was written and published on Associated Content which later became Yahoo Voices which are both now gone.  I do have the original piece on a hard drive though with the date stamp of when I wrote it. The thief's date stamp is over a year after. So, hopefully this will provide enough proof to report this person and get my article taken down from his/her site. I also hope that somehow he has to pay me for any profit he made from my work.

     My purpose with this blog is to use this link for the DMCA since I no longer have a link to show them because Yahoo is gone.

     Here is my screen shot from my hard drive. I did write the article under the name The Dangers of Removing Cursive Writing from Education for Yahoo but originally it was titled as below.  The article itself is the same and I will submit if required to do so.

I Was Plagiarized: Time to Expose the Thief

     When you write an article, post or any piece of work online it belongs to you. That is a part of the intellectual property rights. It is very unnerving and infuriating to have some lazy piece of crap steal your hard work.

     I used to write for Yahoo Voices and they closed. I am now in the process of moving all of my pieces elsewhere but always check to make sure they are not still in the search database so I don't plagiarize myself. Yesterday I was checking on one of my pieces and when I googled the title I had a hit. But the piece was not written by me. Someone else had used my work on their page. I was furious.

     The thief messed with the wrong person though. I will not just sit still and let him have my work. I am reporting him to the US Copyright and then to Google. I know it isn't a huge deal and the post wasn't a huge one but I bet this person does not have one piece of original work on his blog. He stole mine word for word.

   

Two Year Old Grandson is Such a Smart Boy

     My little grandson amazes me. He is just like his dad and his uncle, so very smart. He has known his shapes since I can't remember when. I think when he was just over a year old. He has been able to count from one to ten for a while too.  He knows several nursery rhymes and also knows a lot of songs including Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. But he is not limited to kids songs lol. He even knows the songs from Nightmare Before Christmas and some Winnie the Pooh songs.

     While reading his nursery rhyme book he kept saying the page numbers as I read. At first I just thought that he was randomly saying them but last night I noticed that he had them right. So, I created some flash cards for him to see if I was correct. To my surprise I was! He knows all numbers from 2-8. He gets 9 and 6 confused thinking its 6 and doesn't have 1 down yet but I am sure he will soon.

     Of course being grandma I had to take a video of him. This little guy will be three in August. I've seen many kindergarten kids who don't even have number recognition skills. Yea I'm a proud
grandma!

Toddler recognizing numbers

Blake Miller Covering Metallica Nothing Else Matters

     Ok now it is time for mom to really show off. My oldest son Blake is just well, one heck of a musician. His talent amazes me and he just gets better every day. He lives and breathes his music and I know someday he will play with others who will match his talent.

     One of his favorite bands has always been Metallica. One of my favorite Metallica songs is Nothing Else Matters. It was one of the first songs Blake learned to cover. He won't play it with any of his bands because he said that not just anyone can sing a Metallica song.

     One night while he was playing at open mic with his former band Arsenic Kitchen, he decided to try out one of the Coffee Shop owners guitars. He picked it up and was just messing around. That is what I am sharing here.

    Nothing Else Matters Covered By Blake Miller

Arsenic Kitchen Shanhaid

 My son is such an amazing guitar player. He has been in a few different bands and sadly this one almost made it. They actually had a CD and a contract with an agent. Sadly the two lead singers decided to bail at the last minute. I don't know for sure why but from what I have seen with one of them, when success knocks on the door, he bails.

Hopefully my son will find band members who are dedicated. I think that the lack of dedication some of the band members showed was part of what resulted in the break up of this band. My son is dedicated to his music and wants to make it his career, he would get upset at the other band members for their lack of dedication.

My son is the one playing the lead guitar, the one with the bushy hair. I hope you enjoy the video. I will share more of his talent.

Oh and he wrote this song. It is also on CD if anyone wants one, contact me.

Arsenic Kitchen Shanghaid

Seller Beware!! My Craigslist Experience: Scammers to the Left of Me, Scammers to the Right

I had never used Craigslist much for many reasons. One of them was the site is way too busy for me but the main reason was that I had heard it is full of scammers and crooks. Well I found out first hand that is true.

I decided to finally give Craigslist a chance and posted a couple of my sons guitars there to sell. I listed them a bit higher than I would accept because it is always best to work down, you can never work your way up.

My first sale experience was with a guitar I had listed for $300.00. I had an offer for $200.00 which I accepted. Then the buyer sent a message stating that she had other items she needed to purchase in my area and would be sending me a check for above my asking price if I would give that money to her "mover" when the guitar was picked up.  She said that she would pay me $100.00 for my trouble. I knew this was a scam but I played it out.  I waited patiently for the check she sent me knowing it would not be worth the paper it was printed on.

The day after the first sale I was excited when I received a message from a buyer wishing to purchase one of the guitars. I was asking $1200.00 and they offered $1000.00. I told them that I would accept that offer. So then they went on to tell me that they had sent me payment through Paypal and I needed to go to the link they provided and accept their offer. I was excited since it was Paypal but leery because they also said that there were other items they wanted to buy and added an extra $100.00 for my trouble if I would get money to their "mover" for them. Well, it all sounded fishy to me so I went to my Paypal account, not their link which did look legitimate. I did not find their deposit in my account. I let them know that I did not find the deposit when I went to Paypal directly. Surprise, I never heard from them again.

I did decide to click on the scammers Paypal link and it looked just like Paypal. That was as far as I went though because I knew it was a scam. The link to log in was there too and I am sure if I had put in my log in information they would have had it and would have hacked my Paypal account.

So back to the first buyer. I received a check via UPS two day mail for $2500.00 made out on an Insurance company account. That was of course another red flag! I played along though, I took the check to the bank and they told me just what I thought, it was not worth anything. They took a copy of the check to have on file.

I sent an e-mail the "buyer" and told her the check was not good. I never did get a response regarding my message but she did send me an e-mail asking me if I had gotten the check and then explained that she needed me to deposit the check, keep the amount for the guitar and an extra $100.00 for my trouble and then send the rest via Western Union to an address she provided.  Well at this point I replied again telling her that my bank would not even allow me to deposit the check because it was no good. I told her if she would send me a good check I would sent money to her "mover" once the check cleared my bank.

I did not hear anything back to so figured this was all over until I got a threatening e-mail telling me that she knows where I live and many other things. I told her I still had the check and she replied asking to see a copy of the check. I scanned it, covering up my address, and sent her a copy. That was the last I heard from her.

In the mean time I received another similar offer on one of the guitars. Fed up with the scams on Craigslist and the fact that they don't really protect against this type of thing, I removed all items and will never deal with that site again in any way, shape or form. If the people running the site were more diligent at having rules on the site this type of thing might not happen. I've never had an issue such as this on eBay.

Not too long after the threatening letter my bank called me asking for all information I had on this scam.  I gladly gave it to them. I have it all gathered together and plan to turn it over to authorities once I figure out who I need to turn it over to.

Seller beware of Craigslist and beware of anyone who wants you to deposit money and then send them money via Western Union. It is a scam!

The Reason for this Blog

There are always times when I think of something I want to blog about but find that I don't have a blog for it. I also find that  the article really isn't something to create an entire blog on. So, I decided that I would create this miscellaneous blog spot where I can just write about those things which are not a part of one of my titles....

So anchors away on this here new journey....