Summer Haiku

Summer breeze sweetly

Blows through the fields cooling me

Refreshing my soul

 

The word I chose: Soul

**I did this as part of a writing group.  Diana started with WATER then left us with SUMMER…I now leave you with SOUL.  Write your own haiku and keep the chain going :)

Wordless Wednesday

Cheers,

Growing My Own Tree—With Respect

“What you respect you will attract…” –unknown.

Many of us, myself included have gone through life with good economical times and not so good economical times.  Especially when things get tough, we’d like to stumble upon a money tree of sorts, kind of like the one you see pictured here:

One that will solve all our problems, pay off the all the debt we owe, and make our life grand and worry free.  If one found such a tree would it be worth the value that was printed on the tree’s leaves?? 

I’d venture to say, probably not.

This leaves us wondering…why?  Why us?  Why do we have it so hard and those people over there have it so easy?  Lots of questions, and not so many answers.

For me, I had to learn how to respect the dollar, especially the ones I earned.  This is probably one of the toughest lessons I’ve learned over the years and I am still learning. Probably heartbreaking to know that I didn’t learn the crux of the lesson until I was well into adulthood.

Growing up, I would save and save and save my money…I remember being about 9 or 10 years old with $1100.00 in a savings account.  I thought I was rich.  But where did it get me?  I had family members in need and the money was “borrowed” but never returned.   I remember being upset when I learned that my money I took pride in saving each birthday and Christmas was loaned out, without even as much as someone asking if they could do so.  I was hurt, but I got over it rather quickly.  You see, I was carefree and worry free, my basic needs were met and my childhood was one of the best you could ask for.  However, when it came to saving money, I learned a lesson…but not exactly the lesson you’d want to teach your child.  I learned that if you save your money, someone else will invariably spend it, so you might as well beat them to the punch.

So upon becoming an adult, I lived pay check to pay check.  Like everyone else I acquired bills and brought in money, and if anything was left over, I thought I should enjoy it…I had that right…after all, I didn’t want to lose it or have someone else take it and spend it for me. 

This worked well for a long while.  I scored jobs and positions, moved my butt up the ladder and made more and more money.  I was good at paying my bills and having some money left over to enjoy.  And in theory…it worked.  But I will tell you my biggest faux pas…I did it ALL without a budget.

(That will make some of you cringe).

It wasn’t until I read Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness that my stomach turned a few notches and lunch wasn’t as desirable as it was when I ate it.  Some of his basic principles on money are pretty much everything you already heard your whole life growing up, but he puts them in a practical way and lays out a plan anyone can follow to get out of debt.

He starts with telling you to make out a budget and print it out on paper.  This is probably one of the simplest things you can do to actually “see” where your money is going.  Then as you get paid, you account for each and every dollar you are spending. The eye opener for me was learning just where my dollars were going.  I can’t say that I am proud of the way I lived, but I will say that the book taught me what I didn’t already know.  It taught me how to wisen-up with my hard earned money.  It taught me to budget, save, plan, and respect the almighty dollar. 

A few years back, my husband and I read the book together and we got the workbook.  We devised our budget, accounted for each dollar, put our emergency money in place, and started knocking out our debt.  We’ve been in this plan almost 2 years. Our debts are almost paid off now, including our van and our second mortgage.  We have two bills left which are the mortgage and my student loan.  We figure it will take us another 2-3 years to knock out both of them and we will be debt free and able to start building wealth.

The plan Ramsey lays out not only has us living frugally and within our means, but it has taught us (namely me) financial discipline and respect for the hard earned dollar.  No, we don’t drive elaborate vehicles or have the largest house on the block, or even own the most expensive furniture, but what we do have is a peace of mind that little by little we are ridding ourselves of debt.  And once we do that, we can start building wealth and living comfortably.

I no longer pine for the old money tree because I’ve planted my own seeds for my very own tree.  I look forward to the day I can actually start pruning and cultivating my own “tree”.  I’ll do it through sweat and tears and elbow grease…the old fashioned way…but it will be my tree.  I’ll appreciate it given all I’ve learned and I’ll give it the respect it deserves. 

Cheers,

Interested in reading Dave Ramsey??  Check these out:

   

Or go to your local library and check out his books.  Knowledge is power!

"The Summer of Pork"--Part II

Well, Summer of '2011 is well underway. In Florida it is hot and sticky and a little bit buggy, though I have been pleased that the County decided to send a Mosquito truck our way not too long ago, which made things considerably more tolerable outside. (The mosquito trucks came out so scarcely the last couple years that I actually had to make calls to "Mosquito Control", and one evening, while my husband, youngest sister & I were out front grilling hot dogs over our fire pit, the truck drove by and I hollered for him to keep spraying! I didn't want him to let off the spray just because we were grilling a few dogs. I much preferred to be able to check my mail every day without being on the verge of needing a blood transplant). So even though our summer has been hot & muggy, I can't complain too much about the bugs as of yet.

Despite the soaring temps and sticky humidity, we still like to get outside and light up the grill. That is in part because we don't want to crank up the oven and stress our poor air conditioner even more, but also moreso because we simply like the act of grilling food over open fire and how good it tastes! Last year we had this old car sitting out front that we were anxious to be rid of. It just so happens that someone came by and offered to barter with us: in exchange for our old car, they'd trade us a whole hog and $100. I said, "Absolutely!" I'd gotten to the point of just wanting to give that car away, but why not fill the freezer in the process? They quartered the pig and my husband picked it up. Because it was too much for me to handle we used the $100 for butchering services, and we were very pleased, we got a load of bundles back, wrapped neatly in freezer paper. We had all sorts of fresh pork in packages. We referred to the summer of '2010 as our "Summer of Pork", because we had pork so many ways. BBQ'd, roasted, stir-fried, made into specialty sausages. And the pork has lasted a full year. Now our freezer has dwindled down to the last few white packages, and I can't believe that soon I will be forced to buy my pork from the grocery store at premium prices.

This weekend I decided to make a special "Cuban roast pork" out of one of the fresh hams (fresh hams are just regular pork, the "ham" portion of the pig, but not "smoked" like most people know hams). I marinated it in fresh squeezed lime & orange juices, olive oil & garlic....then I grilled (barbequed) it for 4 1/2 hours. I didn't use any wood chunks this time, just charcoal, as the Cubans typically aren't big on smoke flavors. And besides, I thought we could use leftovers to make pressed cuban sandwiches for lunches! As I BBQ'd and turned the ham, I brushed it with a mixture of fresh squeezed orange juice, beer & olive oil to help keep it moist. The first couple hours were a little touch n' go safety-wise. We tried to fashion a 'drip pan' out of heavy foil but it wasn't working out so well, and I was having to contend with flaring grease fires when I opened the lid. Unfortunately, opening the lid gave the fire a rush of oxygen, encouraging it. And turning the ham squeezed out more juices, causing sudden, large flare-ups...the flare-ups would shoot up past the top of the open grill lid, even burning the wood handle! At some point I realized that I might, inevitably, end up with severe burns to my arms as I tried to manipulate the ham around with long BBQ tools, I just never knew where the next large flare-up would occur. I was as careful as I could be and fortunately ended the whole BBQ ordeal burn-free. Which was good since I did not feel like visiting the ER today. And I refrained from my usual sipping of a glass or two of wine during the BBQ process, both because I needed to be sure to be on my toes completely, and 'cause if I did end up in the ER with 3rd degree burns because of a rogue flare-up, I didn't want my chart to read, "woman consumed alcohol while grilling over and open fire". While I knew I would not be "passing out" on the grill, that is how it'd read. One glass of wine and suddenly you're a bozo who decided to get loaded and grill. I think I was more afraid of the negative publicity (since I work in healthcare) than I was of the actual risk of burns! Fortunately I came out of it unscathed.

I sliced/cut up the grilled pork after it had a chance to cool some, and I drizzled it with mojo sauce. Yum! I served it with my version of "Spanish Risotto" and a mix of green beans and sliced zucchini. Served alongside a refreshing salad, some Cuban bread and a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc, it was simply scrumptious!! And we are looking forward to our pressed Cuban sandwiches this week. Happy Summer to All!!

Kathy

Shaking Things Up—What all Parents Deserve!!

Our lives are quite full.  My husband and I have 5 children and a mini-schnauzer, and not a day goes by where our day isn’t jammed pack with having to do stuff.

At midnight, I go to work until 06:30am in the morning. I work from home which makes things a bit easier logistically.  My husband gets up at 05:30am and starts getting ready for work.  We start getting kids on school buses around 07:30am and the last one departs around 08:15am.  I start homeschooling my one child right around 08:30 or 09:00 and we are usually done by 2:00pm.  Which gives me about a 35-40 minute break before the school busses start dropping off the other kids.  By 4:00pm the kids are all home.  By 05:00pm my husband is home and has to start on dinner and I have to go to bed so I can get back up a 11:30pm.  There is only about an hour of time from 10:30pm to 11:30pm that my husband and I can even spend together and usually I’m so whipped…that time is spent mumbling through my sleep.

Oh in between that whole schedule above…there are things like doctor appointments, parent teacher conferences, soccer practices, field trips, laundry to do, house cleaning, mowing the lawn, sleep overs, scouts, youth group, church, school functions…the list is endless.

After awhile…the monotony of going, going, going really catches up to my husband and me as parents!

Well a few months back, my Mom had a three day weekend and asked if the kids wanted to come over.  We said “yes” and cancelled all of the kids plans and invited the mini-schnauzer over to her house too.  We were finally going to have a weekend to ourselves!

After I dropped them off, I came home and to my surprise, my husband decided to shake things up a bit!!  I walked in the door, and he had this twinkle in his eye and he says, “Guess what?”  I have no clue, so I give, and he says, “I booked a reservation at the Hilton downtown!”  I was so stoked.  You just cannot imagine.  I immediately packed my bag and off we headed to a real weekend get away!!

Oh boy, this place was great.  He secured one of the penthouse suites up on the upper floors!! I walked in and there was a bottle of wine and a fruit tray sitting right there.  Now for this gal…that was just perfect.  The place was huge and the bedroom suite was to dye for.  Hot tub right in the room, over looking the western side of Columbus.  I no sooner put my bag down and he says, “Come On.”  He takes my hand, and we walk back out to the car, and he drives me down to German Village for dinner.

Of all ironic things, there is an Irish restaurant down there…and knowing how much I love to go to an Irish restaurant, I was so pleased.  All through dinner we were holding hands, and making googley eyes and just reconnecting as a couple. I had goose bumps and butterflies as the anticipation of our weekend together was building  Dinner was served with a nice bottle of wine and since he doesn’t drink wine, he had a Irish Stout Beer.  Then we shared a cheesecake dessert!!  It was awesome.

We left and headed back to our hotel.  We decided to get into the hot tub, where he brings me the wine and cheese tray the hotel set out for us.  We opened the big window shade and watched the sunset over the western skyline.  He sits there and feeds me grapes and cheese cubes.  It was totally romantic.  I finally get out because we all know I HAVE to go brush my teeth. (My fettish).

So I took off my wet bathing suit and slip into something really comfortable and totally silky.  I brushed and flossed my teeth and I was absolutely ready for what came next.  My husband was ready too. I crawled in bed and he gathered me into his arms.  He gave me a hot, savoring kiss and then we did the one thing all parents deserve to do when they get a break from their kids…

We got the BEST DAMN 8 hours of sleep EVER!!

No interruptions, No phones ringing, No kids screaming, No doorbells chiming, No dogs barking.  Just two madly in love parents, getting the best damn sleep they’ve had in almost 15 years!! 

Shaking things up is an understatement!!  I don’t think our bodies had any clue what hit them after all those zzz’s and when we woke up the next morning, the first thing we did was call the kids to say we missed them and check up on the dog!!  And we thoroughly enjoyed our time together for the rest of the weekend!  Hey, we even got to take a NAP that second day!!!

So there you have it.  The biggest shake up to hit me and the hubby in the last year!!  And I have to say, if I could, I’d do it all over again!!

 

So have you taken time to Shake Things Up lately??

Cheers,

My Other First Love—Don’t Call Me Gabby

I am submitting this post for BFF 240 "My First Love".  It was written last year for another blogging prompt--but I wanted to share it again. 

I just blogged the other day about my first love…but there is another first love that I thought I should mention.

While others were enlightening us about their boyfriends, dads, Granddads, or their love of books and music…I instantly thought of my FIRST LOVE and it wasn’t any of those.

The one thing I can say for certain that I love more than anything is my connection with the world and it all started with one of these:

I loved that thing with all the numbers on the buttons!!  I can tell you for certain that I had phone numbers memorized before I have memories to speak of.  How is that, you ask?  Because my mother told me so!!

When I was three I called my Great Grandmother long distance and I spoke to her on the phone…for a really long time.  I was told that I was in my parent’s bedroom playing with my dolls and being really good just talking away like I normally did, except, I picked up the phone and called my Great Grandmother and chatted away for three whole hours!!  My mother said she remembered walking in the bedroom and saying who’s on the phone?  And I said, “no one” and hung it right up.

A few weeks later, she got the phone bill, which revealed a 3 hour conversation with my Great Grandmother, who lived in another area code.  Unfortunately, she was a bit senile and she recalled that I called but couldn’t tell my mother what on earth we spoke about for three hours. Now that right there had to be an interesting conversation!!

Oh…but my love of the phone did not end there…no no no!

I became this amazing walking rolodex. I knew everyone’s phone number and most people’s work number as well.  Yellow Pages?? Who needs them?  I memorized phone numbers incessantly.  You can bet your bottom dollar that I knew the phone number to the local pizza store.  This got me in trouble once or twice…as I had to learn the hard way to ASK before ordering pizza or before calling people at work to bug them. *snickers*

As my teenage years approached, it was no different. I loved the phone. I used to talk to my friends and my other First Love for hours on end.  So much so, that my mother put a second line in our house, just so I didn’t take up the phone line when she wanted to use it.  I not only loved using the phone, but I loved the art of conversation.  Yes I was a typical teen—I spent hours planning everything and the only time I wasn’t on the phone was when I was out and about making those plans realities!!

Freedom came in the 90’s when I moved out on my own and got me a cordless phone!! OH BOY I was so thrilled with that invention.  Now I could not only hold a conversation, but I could walk around my apartment and get stuff done too.  It was just as fun to talk on the phone and put on my makeup as it was to do it looking in the rearview mirror while driving. *batting my eyes** (Okay, I wasn’t THAT bad).  And being out on my own, means that I did a lot of dialing under the influence too.  Yes, I’ll admit, I was that much of a junkie when it came to the phone…but mostly I called people who wanted to hear from me at the time…such as my boyfriend or my best friend.

The end of the 1990’s brought upon a new age in phones…the cell phone.  When that Verizon Wireless guy showed up at work and offered us discounts, how could I refuse? I have to admit the pricing really stunk back then, but we thought it was a deal at the time.  And seriously, how could I pass up an opportunity to have a phone on me while I was driving the car??  (Before you go there…I worked nights…I needed it just incase *wink*). 

This unfortunately, lead to my downfall in memorizing phone numbers.  You see, the fancier the equipment got, meant the more numbers we could store inside that phone, which meant, I didn’t necessarily have to memorize everyone’s home, work and cell numbers.  These little devices did the trick for me!

Cell phones gave me the freedom to go everywhere and stay connected.  It is kind of sad to think, that I really don’t even need my home phone anymore…but I keep it around, because I just can’t part with my First Love. 

With my latest cell phone upgrade, I can even surf the net and download apps and go read blogs!!  I am connected now more than ever before---except---if I lose the darn thing, I am completely lost.  I now totally rely on this thing to memorize all the phone numbers for me!! 

(How pathetic is that???  LOL)

So now you know about my other First Love.  And oh, please, the name is Jenn, not Gabby!!

P.S.  I still prefer to get a call on my cell vs. texting…but I’m trying really hard to go with the modern flow of things.

Thanks for reading along!!

Cheers,

Another World

 

I’ve been wanting to write this post for sometime, and yet not until this morning did I feel the timing was right.

Some of you know I dream.  I dream quite a bit. Some of my dreams are significant and I can’t shake them…some dreams I have are just dreams. My significant dreams are validated almost always at some point, although there are a few dreams that I’ve dreamt that are still waiting on that validation.  I call these mystery dreams because I’ve had them over and over and haven’t quite figured out their meaning or the significance of them.

A few years back for Christmas, my mother gave me a leather bound journal to write my dreams down.  Sometimes, over the course of time, details will start to fade from the memory of my dreams, so anytime I dream I almost always write them down when I wake up.  This really helps when they begin to be validated because I have a written record of the actual dream with which to compare it.

Lately, what I refer to as my ‘significant’ dreams have been more and more frequent.  The complexity and the depth of these dreams have meaning beyond what I am able to comprehend. I’ve written them down each time I have one and I am forever writing down the details.  Sometimes I don’t have words for what I have felt, seen or experienced during these dreams but I keep writing in hopes that it will somehow bring understanding.

When I experience these dreams, it is as if I have entered another world.  I cannot quite describe that feeling, other than if it weren’t for me writing them down, some are so vivid that I would, over time, confuse my dreams for my memories.  I know I dreamed as a young child, because sometimes I’ll recall a memory and my Mom or someone close to me will say, “that didn’t happen.” Yet I can recall details and events leading up to and after the memory in question. Turns out, I must have been dreaming.

I’m still trying to get a firm grasp on what these recent dreams are all about. Validation will come given some time, I know I just have to have patience.  I can’t help but wonder why there are so many ‘significant’ dreams so close together.  I feel as if the increased activity is this other world preparing me for something, but I can’t figure out exactly what.  For now,  I just thank God for these dreams and feel humbled and honored that I have this wonderful gift.

Do You Dream?

Do You Write Down Your Dreams?

Have You Ever Had Your Dreams Validated?

Thanks for reading along,

Cheers,

First Love—GBE2

When I think of “First Love” I think of a lot of things.  I was a teenager who fell in love in high school and at the time I could see my whole future with my first love.

I have a lot of sweet memories when I think back on my first love. I think of blushing.  I think of smiling, a lot!  I think of butterflies in my stomach. I think of long car rides. I think of long phone conversations. I think of skipping school.  I think of going to the beach, the mall and the airport.  I think of tenderness and innocence.  I think of desire and passion.  I think of happiness.  I think of love.  I think of sadness.  I think of the break up.  I think of freedom.

Yes, I said freedom. 

I didn’t get over my first love very easily or very soon.  We broke up because I was moving 1000 miles away to go to college and he was joining the Army.  It didn’t make the break up any easier.  Really if the truth be known, my first quarter of college was probably the most depressing time in my life, ever.  I didn’t know this great big world without being his girlfriend.  I didn’t want to know either.  How foolish.

Then something changed.  I realized my heart had a lot to give.   I realized I had freedom.  And I had just begun to taste life and all its fullness. I had loved once and I lost it and for what it was worth…I could move on a little wiser from the experience.

And damn, did I have fun!!  I fell in love again too a couple of times before I found my husband.  I realized that the break up with my first love was tough but not the toughest I’d ever encounter.  I also realized at some point had we stuck it out, it probably would have never lasted. Hindsight is always 20/20 so they say and I’m so glad I got to move on and experience life…experience that freedom!!

So…here’s a song about First Love’s…by one of my new favorite artists right now. I really love her voice, but this isn’t my favorite song by her.  Anyway…have a listen and the lyrics are below.

Lyrics: First Love

So little to say but so much time,
despite my empty mouth the words are in my mind.
Please wear the face, the one where you smile,
because you lighten up my heart when I start to cry.

Forgive me first love, but I'm tired.
I need to get away to feel again.
Try to understand why, don't get so close to change my mind.
Please wipe that look out of your eyes, it's bribing me to doubt myself;
simply, it's tiring.

This love has dried up and stayed behind,
and if I stay I'll be alive,
then choke on words I'd always hide.
Excuse me first love, but we're through.
I need to taste the kiss from someone knew.

Forgive me first love, but I'm too tired.
I'm bored to say the least and I, I lack desire.
Forgive me first love, forgive me first love, forgive me first love, forgive me first love, forgive me, forgive me first love, forgive me first love

**************************************************

So what do you think of when you think of your first love?

I hope you enjoyed.

Cheers,

 

**Post written for the GBE2 Blogging Group on the topic of True Love**  Want to join a great blogging group??  Click on the banner in the right hand column that says GBE2 and it will take you to the group wall on Facebook.

TGIF—Except for the Exceptions

I had so many plans today yesterday.  Seriously!!  I did…but none of them quite worked out the way I had wanted.

The day started out with us having to take our dog to the vet.  We have a miniature schnauzer and he’s 15 years old. He’s been having trouble getting to his feet, and sometimes when we help him up he plops right back down.  Fearing the worst, I planned to go to the vet with my husband because I was really worried that he might have to be put to sleep.

Except…I work nights and I slept through the whole vet visit.  I guess I just couldn’t wake up to go.  Turns out…he has severe arthritis, but it is treatable.  He started on pain medicine and joint supplements today.  It might take a few days to see an improvement, so I’m hoping that we can at least make him comfortable.

Finally, I got up out of bed around 10:00am.  Only had three and a half hours of sleep, but it was enough for the moment.  Decided I would head to the grocery store a get a few things and pack up and take the kids to the pool.  Well…that was a great plan, but then my oldest needed to be some where at 3:00pm and if I got the kids to the pool at 1:00pm there’d be no getting them out of the pool and back home in less than two hours.  So we decided to go at 4:00pm and this way my husband could go too.

Except a thunderstorm rolled in right when we planned to leave *sigh*— Not the evening I had planned.  The storm cleared out by 6:00pm, but by then I didn’t want to go…so my husband took the kids to the pool and I stayed home.  A weird Friday as things did not go according to plan…but I’m looking forward to Saturday and Sunday being much better!!

I’ve been in a funk for most of the day.  I normally don’t get into these funks, but the whole day just seemed to keep backfiring.  It happens. I can usually deal.  However, having only 3.5 hours of sleep makes it a little harder to take it in stride. I really need to get closer to 6 or 7 hours of sleep in a row.  I swear tomorrow will be better!! And really?? Today wasn’t all that bad, considering.

Except, I need to vent just a little. I promise…once this rolls off my back I’ll feel so much better :)

Today, I learned that sometimes people do mean and spiteful things, even when they are no longer in your life or supposed to be hanging around.  I also realized that mean and spiteful people can live behind a mask of niceness and friendliness and sincerity, which is all self-serving.  I finally figured that out, once their mask came off.  I have no use for these sorts of people in my life.  I find that yes, I have to forgive but I don’t need to necessarily forget.  And when they strike again, I just have to forgive again.  So I keep my distance, wish them the best, and focus on my real friends. 

And let me tell you, I love my friends!! Most are warm, loving, positive people.  They are awesome, talented, and inspirational. They bring light and joy into my life and put a smile on my face each and everyday.  They are genuine, selfless people with good intentions.  I try to always reciprocate that …because I’ve always believed in being the best friend that I could be to each individual. I try to encourage and support them however I am able.  I make it a point to give love and kindness and above all else, be honest.  If you are reading you are probably one of my friends and you know exactly what I’m talking about! 

So there…that’s my rant!  I feel so much better now…thanks for reading me out!!  If you’re still here, you’re still a real friend.

Oh and here’s a video…just for the occasion. I promise it’s a good one!!

 

And of course, it is no longer Friday…it is Saturday now…

So here’s to a great weekend!  Much love, light and joy to all my friends!!

Cheers!!  Jenn.

What Inspires Me—Thursday’s Thoughts.

This is the first topic for Thursday’s Thoughts, a new mid-week blog hop for The Writers’ Post.  The theme is “What Inspires Me…”  There could be a gazillion things that inspires me to do one thing or another and my list could be absolutely endless.  I have a knack for rambling and I sure don’t want to ramble on here for days holding you prisoner to a blog post that never seems to end.  So, I’ve narrowed it down a bit and here is my take on what inspires me…to write. 

Reading by far is one of the biggest inspirations I have when it comes to writing, just about anything.   It could be an idea, a string of words, a plot, a character’s development, or even poetry of some sort that touches that creative part of my brain and I’m off to hammer down another chapter or blog post.  I don’t mean that I take that author’s ideas …but in a way…my brain will run away with a simple phrase and catch a life of its own.  For example, I once read, “In the back of the alley” and my brain went instantly to the image of my friend’s driveway, which was accessed through a back alley and there was always this Red Honda parked next door, which another friend had been driving one like it when she was driving drunk at 80 miles an hour and slammed into a motorcyclist who wasn’t wearing a helmet but somehow survived only coming away with a really bad case of road burn.  Somehow I’ll take all that and turn it into some scene about road rage. Wild tangents of inspiration, I like to call them.  

It is funny how television could never do what reading does for me nor could going to the movies.  There just isn’t a lot of imagination in watching something.  Think of it this way…take two identical photos…one in color and one in black and white.  Which one seems more interesting?  Most people will say the color photo, but for me that is anything but interesting and rather boring.  The imagination is all but sapped out of the color photo because the color does the imagining for you.  The black and white photo is definitely more interesting for me because my mind’s eye is allowed to fill in all the details: color, depth, life, etc.  Television and Movies are those inspiration zappers and I prefer to read.

(Now right there was a wild tangent!)

Dreams are probably one of my favorite ways to gather inspiration for writing something.  I’m a vivid dreamer and day dreamer.  I could spend most of my life off in another world, but that wouldn’t help me along in this one.  My day dreams inspire me, because much like reading, when I see things happen in real life…my creative brain takes off in a certain direction and inspiration is born.  So much so with my night dreams. I actually will wake up and write down (with real pen and paper in a real leather bound journal----ahhhh the joy!) my dreams.  Some of them turn out to be just dreams.  Some of them are rather significant and I use my written accounts to validate the dream later as events take place.  Sometimes, just rereading what my subconscious played before me in previous nights, gives me inspiration to take a piece of that and turn it into some form of writing. My dreams mean something to me and so tapping into the subconscious recesses of my mind…brings about a lot of inspiration.

Encouragement is probably the key for me to be inspired to write and put it out there.  I’m rather self-conscious about my writing.  That may shock some of my friends.  Especially when I write fiction, I constantly worry about putting myself out there.  I’ve always believed in writing for myself and that is part of my worry.  I do write for myself more so than to please an audience…and thus a piece of me is sent out there.

Sadly, I’ve been discouraged in more ways not to continue than I have been encouraged. (No worries, my online friends have been my biggest source of encouragement).  However, I’ve been told things like, “Why do you waste your time on that stuff?” and “I can’t believe you wrote something like that.”  The list of this sort of discouragement goes on.  I could handle it better if they turned it into constructive criticism, because honestly, I learn from that sort of input and actually get inspired from it.  It isn’t some form of constructive criticism when people remark as they often do…it is flat out discouragement.  And it will ZAP my inspiration to nil when I hear it.   It can be awful, especially when a piece of my exists in that writing.  And the sad truth is that I am reluctant to put myself out there more than I do.  I’m getting better at building that leather skin though, so look out!!

I started a fiction series on RedGage and I transferred it over to a blogger because I finally got enough encouragement from the people at RedGage to put myself out there a little more.  If you ever want to read this bit of fiction, and give me your honest thoughts, (don’t feel obligated to tell me it is something worth continuing if it is not), I’d surely appreciate them. It is called the Estelle Series, and these are just short stories about a girl living in the depression era, who has an extra sense about her.   I’ve drawn some of these from stories I’ve been told.  I need to edit and publish my 8th 9th and 10th stories online…but haven’t quite found the time. Anyway the 1st thru 7th stories can be found at http://theshortstorygal.blogspot.com/p/estelle-series.html 

So reading, dreams and encouragement are all ways I find inspiration to write.  Where does your inspiration come from?  What inspires you?? 

Cheers

 

This has been a post for Thursday’s Thoughts, a mid-week blog hop for The Writers’ Post (group) on Facebook.  All writers are welcome to join in on the fun.  If participating in the blog hop this week, please feel free to submit your blog post URL below!!

Thursday’s Thoughts—Blog Hop

Wait a second, it is only Tuesday Wednesday!!  So what is this all about??

I’ll explain, but first, I need you to hit the play button on this video and listen while you read!!

I have a small group on Facebook called The Writers’ Post.  It is a group open to writers who want share their blog links and maybe pick up a few more readers and get a dose of encouragement along the way.  I have to say, of those who joined, we have some excellent writers in our group!!  And I would love to have this group grow!!

I am already part of a few writing groups that do weekly or monthly themes and I think it would be great to do this in The Writers’ Post as well.  However, when thinking about it, I didn’t want to offer an inspiration or theme on the same day as these other groups, so I decided a mid-week inspiration would be a nice complement and not be so overwhelming!

So the Creation of the Thursday’s Thoughts on The Writers’ Post is now commencing!!  (YAAAAY!)  This will be our first week and our first theme is “What Inspires Me…”   Oh and don’t feel like you HAVE to join in each week.  Participation is voluntary!

So here’s what you do. I’ve incorporated Linky Tools, (thank you Beth!!) and when you get to the point where you are ready to submit your post for the Thursday’s Thoughts, you go down below and select “Get the Code” from Linky Tools.  COPY the code and go back to your blog post you’ve written for the blog hop.  Switch to HTML mode in your blog and at the very end of all that mumbo jumbo PASTE the code and hit save.

Once you’ve done that and you view your post, you will see Linky Tools at the bottom of your post.  From there, you enter your blog post URL to the hop and you’re in!!  OH and you can also leave links on the group wall for the topic.

Take your time, you don’t have to submit on Thursday.  I will open the hop on Thursdays and close them on Wednesdays.  You have all week to join in the fun. This week, I’m posting early so that you can run through this and invite some friends!! The more the merrier!!

Well…what are you waiting for???

LET’s GO TO THE HOP!!!

CONTROL—GBE2

What do you think of when you hear the word “control”?

Mind Control.

Pest Control.

Experimental Control.

Weed Control. Control Freak. Controlling Agent.

Government Control. Weight Control.

Population Control. Control Measures  Birth Control.

Control Panel. GUN CONTROL control issues

Animal Control  Media Control

FLOOD CONTROL  Breathing Control  TAKE CONTROL

REMOTE CONTROL  Disease Control.

HUNGER CONTROL  Pain Control

Seize Control   CONTROL KEY

Out of Control!!!

Okay, so you ready??  Are you sure??

Take a deep breath in…

Now let it out.

Release all that control just for a moment.

Refreshing isn’t it?

Sometimes in our everyday lives, where control is all around us…it is good to just take some time to breathe in and breathe out and let it all go for a few moments and know the only thing you need to be in control of is yourself.

Put a smile on your face and know you may not have control over much that happens in your life today…but you can always take a few moments to just be. And focus. And regroup.  And relax.

Wishing my friends a blessed week!!

Cheers,

I Survived—BFF 102

This is probably going to be one of my more personal posts I’ve posted here.  And although I don’t normally get overly personal about my past relationships…the I Will Survive song by Gloria Gaynor (the inspiration for this week’s BFF theme), takes me right back to almost 18 years ago.

I was in love.  Very much in love.  I honestly thought the man I was dating would be my now and forever.  He was in the Air Force Reserves and while we didn’t start out as a regular couple we eventually became one. There was a force of attraction between us that was strong…stronger than anything I had known up until that point.  We didn’t just bond physically, we bonded emotionally and intellectually as well. 

I was a head strong young 20 something.  I knew what I wanted and when I wanted it.  When I graduated high school, I wanted to go off to college, party my ass off, find a man, and get married 4 years later.  Notice, the education part of that equation wasn’t in my vision of what I wanted.  Funny, I didn’t graduate until years later. 

Anyway, the timing fit…having him in my life at that point in time.  We were very absorbed by each other’s presence. It is a kind of weird sensation…but sometimes just being near him doing nothing special  would just take my breath away, my heart would flutter, and I’d almost well up with tears.   Yes, he very much had that affect on me.  

And I think it was pretty mutual.  He used to stare at me to the point that it would almost drive me crazy and then he’d just smile and say, “I could just watch you for hours.”  I never understood it because I knew I wasn’t that special to watch or that attractive to look at for that matter.  I guess he must have thought otherwise.

There was only one problem with our relationship.  We indulged entirely too much into alcohol.  I think to this day, I knew my limitations…that of course is subjective.  He on the other hand, would go overboard…a lot!  Usually we were imbibing together…on occasion when our work schedules wouldn’t line up, I’d find myself tracking him down and getting him home before he wound up in jail.

Unfortunately, our relationship was tested. I vowed to myself early in life that I would never let a man physically hurt me.  I figured if a man were to hit me then it was a sign that he really didn’t love me, and I never ever wanted to be anyone’s punching bag.  Funny how fate chose this man to be my real test of that.

I came in to his apartment about 11:30 one night, having just gotten off of work.  He was watching some movie on t.v. and a couple of his buddies were there, drinking beer and laughing and having a good time. 
Now, by this point, we had known each other about 18 months and never once had I ever witnessed him getting physical with anyone.  So unsuspecting, I walked in and sat down next to him on the couch.
He immediately bounced up and walked back to the kitchen like he was pissed.  Figuring I had done something to upset him, I followed him to the kitchen and simply asked what was wrong.

Suddenly, I was shoved back toward the door and his hand clutched my throat, pinning me up against the door.  He was wildly angry and he started yelling at me about being late from work.  Where had I been? Why wasn’t I home earlier? Did I think to call? Who had I been with?

I couldn’t answer, his grip was too tight.  My eyes watered and I somehow managed to fight his grip off of me.  He was really drunk that evening, I could not only see it in his eyes, but I could smell it coming through his pores.  He finally let up and walked away.

I took my purse and left.  I went to my apartment and I cried tears of frustration and anger. I knew he had crossed a line…a line that was never to be crossed with me.  The problem was, I was very, very much in love with him, and although he had done the “unthinkable” I couldn’t just shut off my emotions over this one incident.

At the same time, I vowed to myself that I would never let a man cross that line.  And that vow proved to be stronger than even my love for him. 
It wasn’t a clean break.  He was apologizing the next day, he’d never done that before and would never do it again.  The whole time, he was standing before me in tears.  What had he done? How could he have screwed up the best thing that had happened to him?  He wanted forgiveness and he would promise to do what it took to make sure that he never hurt me physically again.

I finally caved and held him in my arms as he wept, I wondered, “How will I ever survive this? How will I ever let him go? How will he ever let me go?”

It wouldn’t be the only time I took him back in my arms…because my heart didn’t want to let him go.  However, I never fully embraced the love we once had and it broke us.  My head spoke to my heart and told me I could do better.  I could find someone to love who would love me just as strongly and just as deeply and who would never ever lay a hand on me.

I would survive the heart break that followed our eventual break-up.

And I eventually found the real deal.

Summer’s Here…Now What?? Let’s Blog!!

I have five kids out of school as of today!  And as a Mom who works nights, I can tell you this is going to be a challenging summer!

They were complaining at 1:00pm today they were bored.  Say what?  I didn’t get off of work til 09:30am and I was only 2 hours into my nap.  Oh no!

Now my older two children (15 &12) can help watch the younger 3 perfectly fine, so I don’t mind catching a nap during the morning so we can spend our afternoons doing something.  Today was a bit of an exception because I had to work over.   Usually I’ll take my morning nap from 06:30 to 09:00am and then I’ll have the day with the kids.  (It is summer, they can sleep in right?)

So I have goals for this summer for the kids.  They may not like them, but at least they won’t complain they are bored.

Plan 1:  Clean their rooms top to bottom, take out clothing that they don’t fit into and thin out the toys.  

Plan 2:  Hit the library and join the summer reading program.

Plan 3:  Assign chores to each child and have a reward chart. 

Plan 4:  Swimming, Biking, Playing Ball, and Going to the Park / Creek

Plan 5:  Plan indoor activities for rainy days: Cooking, Baking, Arts & Crafts, Board Games, oh yes, and Writing!!

I also have plans this summer. I want to continue taking photos with my camera and putting them up on RedGage to earn Christmas money for the kids. Doing so, means I have to get out there and take photo walks, which means I exercise, which is one of my daily goals.

And I want to make it a goal to blog at least once a day; whether it is working on my Estelle Series or just blogging about everyday life here on Wine-n-Chat.  I want this to be a summer of writing and making connections through writing.  I have a tendency to let my writing slip…and day dream about it instead and this doesn’t really help me flourish in my writing endeavors.

Now I will shamelessly PLUG in my Facebook group. *blushes*

For those of you reading this, if you have a blog that speaks about every day life, a personal blog, creative writing blog, poetry, prose, etc., and you’d like to join a little group on Facebook to connect with other bloggers, please click the picture below and join The Writers’ Post.

All are welcome to join, but this is not a group for review type blogs, business blogs, tech blogs, advertising websites or other types of sites that don’t pertain to writing.  This is a Writer’s Group.  The idea is to connect with other bloggers and have fun in the process.  Come join us…and invite some fellow writers along!

So what are your plans for the summer?

Cheers,

Life Style Changes…A Journey of Mind-Set

“One should eat to live, not live to eat.”—Benjamin Franklin

I went to Florida in November and came home disgusted with the pictures we’d taken there.  I’m quite over weight as is my husband and well…some days I wonder, “What the Heck Happened to Us.”

I started in December…with working out and making small changes to my daily eating habits. I was reading labels and trying to eat the right foods.  I’ll admit is was hard because I was going one direction and the rest of the family was going another.

Then in January, my husband was diagnosed with diabetes.  He was given a chart and told to eat certain types of foods in certain proportions and to take a little blue pill and it would get his sugar under control.  My husband said then, “This is not a diet.  Diets are temporary. This is how I have to live.”

So we all jumped on the bandwagon with him.  Eating healthier together is what I wanted since December and this was my opportunity to get everyone on board.  We cleaned out all the cupboards, went to the store, and started over from scratch.  Let me tell you this is NOT easy when you have 5 kids.

Our kids are healthy and all maintain a healthy weight, just as we did in our  youth and early adult lives. I did not really reach an over weight status until my 4th child. By the 5th child, it seemed this was my lot in life and I’ve struggled on and off through the years to take it off and keep it off.  My husband’s weight steadily increased after the removal of his gall bladder in his early 30’s.

Anyway, our decision was to go ahead and try to instill the healthy habits my husband was now forced to reconcile with,  in each of our children’s lives, as well as our own.  We decided that we needed to take steps to get our children interested and involved in their food choices.  We implemented buffet style dinners…such as a salad foods and wrap foods including each of the food groups.  We explained portion sizes and including a slow sugar if they chose a fast sugar and we told them that a variety of color is always good.

Participation is important for kids when you are going to root up their lives of junk foods and sugars and bring them into the world of healthy choices and good foods.  Our children may have grumbled at first, but they’ve embraced these changes…partially because they know the choices are better for them, but also because they really like the quality family time it brings.

They also exercise with us…and because of the rain…that hasn’t been totally consistent as of late…but we do it each nice day out we can.  We walk, ride bikes, play ball or swim as a family.  Sometimes they get bored with it, but yet they don’t ever really want to miss out.  It feels good to be included.

I am not saying I’ve been perfect in any of this and either have the kids.  My husband sticks to it like religion and the results are evidence of it.  I’ve lost 27lbs since December.  My husband has lost 57lbs since February.  We sat down tonight and figured out a way to improve my numbers through small tweaks here and there. 

The most important change he told me I needed to make was I have to sleep and eat at consistent times.  Working nights is really hard in a family of 7 because it means I sleep when everyone else is awake. I have to make sure I get ample sleep and let my body get the rest it deserves. I also need to eat at the same times each day.  So we sat down and did my schedule and coincided my middle meal with our family dinner time so we could keep our daily activity in tact.

I’ve had some recent health issues as well. Thankfully it was not my heart. I’m hoping that the game plan my doctor and I have planned will lead us to the answers I need to get whatever is causing the pain to stop.  In the mean time, I aim to stick to these lifestyle changes and participate in them with my family.  We only have one go at this life and I have to make the best of it.

Thanks for reading!!

Cheers,

No Answers, No Trust

Howdy peeps!!

I just want to give you a brief update from my last post.  I have seen the doctor and we have a game plan, so I will post something once I have some answers to share. 

One of my biggest pet peeves is a lack of communication. I went to college and I have a bachelor’s in communications and I have to say that if I had more time or less kids or both, I would have gotten my Masters, maybe even my PHD. I had always dreamed of teaching in a University…but that dream was shelved a lifetime ago.

That said, I have always been the type of person that likes to know what I am dealing with. I have this saying, “I can handle anything as long as I know what I’m dealing with.”  And I’ve found with most things in life this is absolutely true.

This carries over well in business.  The one rule I had as a manager in a logistics company, the one rule I stuck by when I had my own business, the same one rule I stick by in my current job…is communicate, communicate, communicate.  Sure no one likes to give their customer bad news, but they will be able to deal with bad news a heck of a lot better than dealing with no news or no answers.  No answers = No Trust.  And it doesn’t forge a good business relationship.

Recently, I was in a situation on a more personal level, where I was treated poorly and I wasn’t the only one who was mistreated.  I never was given a reason for the poor treatment and ironically either was anyone else.   And without any reasons to ponder or answers to contemplate, I realized it was for the best to just walk away completely.  That was tough because there were people involved, but I don’t deal well with unknown variables and I don’t like guessing games.  I enjoy straight forward honesty, even if it is something I don’t really want to hear. I can deal with anything if I know what I am dealing with.

I find myself in another peculiar situation, with a business.  I’ve really liked doing business with this company and I’ve made some money from the whole ordeal.  My hopes are dwindling because the financials are NOT straightened out and I haven’t been paid.  I have approached them now for three weeks to try to figure out what is going on and get some answers, but as of today I don’t even have an acknowledgement from them, set aside some auto-respond message from my attempts to email them.

I have no idea why they haven’t responded to me or the countless others that have contact them, ( I am not the lone ranger in this situation either), but as in the other situation, I would really appreciate some straight forward honesty.  Acknowledging I exist would be a great start…telling me they are looking into it or will get back to me would be a cool second step.  And possible DOING something about it would be even better.  But as of now, I don’t know that they’ve done anything about all of this…because they have failed to communicate. Maybe they have done something or are currently doing something about it, but I wouldn’t know and either does anyone else.

I can just say, the lack of answers has built a mound of suspicion and a huge lack of trust.  I am not a skeptic, please don’t read this that way, I am a realist…and more often than not a lack of communication is either because they haven’t gotten the message or they are procrastinating in delivering bad news or they just don’t have their priorities straight.  Any way you slice it, this isn’t good for business or for maintaining good relations. 

I’m going to continue to give this company the benefit of the doubt for another week or so, then I think it is going to be time to walk away.  I don’t deal well with unknowns…and communication would work well to reestablish the trust. I’m hoping for the best…

PHEW!! Time to crack open a bottle of wine and just relax…

Cheers,

Lost and Found–GBE2

This past week has been quite an experience for me.  It started out with severe chest pains and some problems breathing.  And it ended in me accumulating a huge medical bill.  And yet, I still can’t tell you what is wrong with me.
The chest pains were intermittent and I called them episodes because they lasted about 35 minutes and then I just had a slight lingering pain.  It was alarming because my younger brother has had high blood pressure right out of high school and in his 30’s he’s had some scary stuff go on with his heart.  And basically my mom and her whole side of the family have heart problems. 
So by Wednesday, after having episodes at least daily, I decided to have it looked at.  I went to an urgent care to have an EKG done, except that didn’t go according to plan. The doctor, with no other patients in the building, decided he needed to call a squad.  I wasn’t in any pain at the time, but he didn’t want the liability and off to the hospital I went.
And in the hospital I landed.  They treated me with the urgency as if I was suffering a heart attack right then and there. I was rather relieved as the tests kept coming back negative.  I was there 23 hours and 15 minutes, and conclusively, they ruled out that I did NOT have any heart problems.
The problem with this is that at 22 hour mark of being in the hospital, I had another episode…another attack. It lasted about 35 minutes.  And when the doctor came in and announced it was not my heart and I get to go home, I was in the midst of this attack. 
Unfortunately for me, the hospital doesn’t really care, once they figure out it is not your heart, how much pain you are in, they will do what it takes to get you out of their hospital before the 24 hour mark.  See once you hit the 24 hour mark, they have to admit you.  And this means the insurance company picks up the ER tab in full.  And if they release you before 24 hours then you get to pay your portion.
I can honestly say, I’ve LOST all faith in the medical system. Because at 23 hours and 15 minutes into my stay, they walked me out the front door.  The pain was subsiding by then, but not completely gone. I had no answers and  I felt like no one really cared.  These attacks are scary, I feel like my life is on the line each time I have one.  I don’t know why I am all of a sudden getting them, because I’ve never had them before Friday May 27th.  And I’ve had at least one every day since the first one.
I was told to go to my primary doctor and have her figure it out.  But that will cost me more money…and well…that seems to be in rather short supply in this economy, and will be a lot shorter when I get that great big ER bill.  In the meantime, I continue to have these episodes, only now I feel more hopeless because I don’t know what to do for them and it seems the medical professionals have led me to believe that it doesn’t matter what I go through as long as it is not my heart.
Not reassuring in the least.
Well…I changed my commenting system on my blog here.  After all the reports of people being unable to log into blogger and comment, I was looking for a way to fix the problem.  And then I went to my twin’s blog and seen she had changed her commenting system over to Disqus.
I liked it immediately. It was super easy to use, with various ways to log in.  The best thing I like about it?  Is that I get to reply to each individual comment, like we did in the Myspace Days!  This is a feature that I loved about MS and that I’m glad Disqus offers in their commenting format.
The only real downside is that when I implemented Disqus on this blog, all the previous comments disappeared, but they can still be located in the “Comment” tab across the top.  So, in a small way,  I have to start over with the commenting. .
However, so far, it works like a beauty and I’m so glad I FOUND it!! 
So in a week, I lost faith and I found Disqus, How’s that for my take on Lost and Found??
Hope you all are having a great week!!

Cheers!!
 

The Versatile Award

I’m a little slow at getting to my awards…here is the first I was given a few weeks back.  The next one will be posted in a day or two!!

 The Versatile Blogger Award was given to Wine-n-Chat by Word Nerd!

Word Nerd…I’m honored to receive this award…and by the way….YOU ROCK!
So there are some rules that go along with this award and here they are:

1. Winners- Put the above image in your blog.
2. Include a link back to the person who gave it to you.
3. Tell 10 things about yourself.
4. Award 15 other bloggers.
5. Contact the bloggers you awarded and let them know they won.

10 things about me:

1. I have the gift of gab, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
2. I’ve gotten blog awards before, but never did anything with them.
3. I’m part of several writing groups on Facebook.
4. I enjoy reading others’ posts and commenting.
5. I work nights…so technically I’m a night owl.
6. I work from home and I absolutely love it.
7. I have been working from home since 2003.
8. I always appear online on Facebook, I am not always there.
9. I love to laugh
10. I’m blessed!

Fifteen Featured Bloggers: Here we go…drum roll please!!
1. The American Grandma
2. When a Southern Woman Rambles
3.  Mrs. Mary Kidd
4. Darlene~Bloggity Blogger
5. Off the Record with Debbie and Tony
6. Really?! Wait! What?
7. The Kate Escape
8. Just One Voice
9. Fresh Coffee Lover
10. Raised Eyes
11. The Musings of Justin Kogneeto
12. GBE2—Lady Montana
13. Sweetsusieg on Hub
14. From the Mom Cave
15. Wilkerson Wise

If you’ve already been awarded this prestigious award by another member…than don’t feel you have to do it a second time…just know I really enjoyed your blogs when I came by to read them!!  Keep up the great work!  Cheers, Jenn

Summer Girls—BFF 101

See those three seats??  They are taken and they are reserved for my two best friends.  There should be four seats, but now there is only three.  I’ll explain.

The majority of my high school years were spent on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  We lived about 40 minutes north of Clearwater Beach and we spent a lot of time cruising around in my friend Kathy’s Hyundai with the words Phenomenal written across the top of the tinted windshield. There was Kathy, Sandy, myself and sometimes, Nick, Jay, Miley, or Cindy cruising with us.  It just depended on who was allowed to go at the time. The music was usually blasting out of Kathy’s suped- up stereo system and speakers. We were just as carefree as any group of teenagers could be having fun cruising the strip with all the other cruisers and their suped-up vehicles.

Sometimes we would all get the day off from our various jobs and be able to actually go to the beach and have fun…playing frisbee or volleyball, swimming in the Gulf and just living the Florida life.  It was something that at the time, I sadly took for granted. I thought I’d always be able to do this with my friends…but life marches on and I moved to Ohio to go to college. (And I’m still here 21 years later).

A couple of times we were able to take some mini-vacations, either to Long Boat Key or over to Pensacola and hang out on a “fancier” beach and stay in a nice hotel. It was so much fun and we always had a good time.  The trip we took to Long Boat Key was most memorable.  Miley, Sandy, Kathy and I drove the two hours south of where we lived to the hotel on that beautiful white sand beach and beautiful blue waters.  Four of us girls went and spent time snorkeling in the Gulf and hanging out on the beach, getting dressed up to go out to dinner, and coming back to watch the sun set over the Gulf waters from our hotel balcony.  If only we could recapture some of those moments and relish them a little longer.

I think we briefly spoke of doing a reunion trip to Long Boat Key last year, but with me living in Ohio and all of us working, that is easier said than done.  And sadly, Miley wouldn’t be able to join us as she’s passed on.

So incase we ever make that reunion a reality.  Those three chairs are reserved for us girls…this time old enough to sip a margarita or a pina collada or a glass of wine, while we reminisce and catch up and enjoy some time away.  Gosh, that makes me want to start planning it right now!! 

So here’s to us “Summer Girls” a bit of a flash back song…but reminiscent of those days gone by…

Summer Girls dedicated to my Besties Kathy and Sandy and to Miley, RIP.

This is my contribution to the BFF Group on Facebook.  If you enjoy a writing challenge and would like to join, anyone is welcome!