In My Daughters Opinion.....

After I published my entry my daughter called me at work. I read her a paragraph and she commented that my blog has gotten political. She is right. My Blog was initially created to talk about the wedding and then progressed to family happenings and then I somehow got political. I want this blog to be something that my grandchildren will read so that when I am gone they will understand who I was and what I was about. I want my memories to be kept here. I want my heart to be on each page whether I am funny or not. I will continue to comment on what is happening within my world but I will be writing more about me and mine. I will write about the past that is still real in my heart. I will introduce my future family to the ones that have long gone before my memory gets dim. Thank you Beck for the wake up call.
Love mom

Jesus, Paul , Boobies, Coochies, and the Russians

This is going to be a long blog with several different topics as evidenced by the title. First issue is a friend told me during a discussion about the fact that we have a socialist for a president that if that was true than Jesus was a socialist. OMG. Well here is my answer. In Matthew 26:8 when Jesus was getting his feet washed and perfumed. His disciples questioned him about the waste when the money could have been used to give to the poor. Jesus told them(paraphrasing here) to back off that the woman did a nice thing for him. He also said that the poor will always be with you but you will not always have me. Then let's visit with Paul.. those of you familiar with the bible will remember that Paul was Saul before he was blinded and convicted by God and went off to serve the people. In Thessalonians (3:6-15) Paul warned the Thessalonians to keep away from every brother who is idle. The rule was that if a man did not work he shall not eat. Now think about what is going on today. We have a group of jackasses and elephants in Washington who are hugely busy making sure that the idle get to continue being lazy and we get to pay them to be that way. In Thessalonians 3:14 note that Paul really hits them hard with the admonition that if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him in order that he may feel ashamed. Take that Nancy, Harry, Barney, and Barack!!!! We are fast approaching a time when the government will be entrenched in our lives from home ownership to health care. It has got to stop. The people who can make it stop is ourselves because once the nanny state programs are in effect we will pay the devil to get rid of them. When did we become a nation of sheep? When did we stop caring about our freedom to choose what is best for our own selves and just handed the reins to the bozos in Washington.

Last week we had a semi wake up call when "a committee" in Washington determined that women didn't need mammographies and pap smears as often as we are getting them that they are scary and unnecessary. Okay for those that didn't hear this.... also included in one of those scary unnecessary tests was self breast exams. Sounds like the beginning of heath care rationing to me and to a lot of my medical friends. When my cancer was diagnosed I didn't find a lump. My small malignant tumor was found on my mammography and that test saved my life. Now as I was over 50 I would have been able to get a yearly mammography done but what of the many friends that I met during my therapy and treatment that were found with breast cancer, many under the age of 48. These women would be dead if we followed the new guidelines. The news channel had a family practice doctor arguing on behalf of the government and a specialist dealing only with women's health arguing on behalf of the current standards. Now I don't know about you, but trust a nurse on this one, go with the specialist. The family doctor they had on had to be picked for her looks because she is just stupid and it showed. Looks don't mean anything if you don't have research and brains behind them. The cancer society and complaints from thousands of women caused Harry Reid to stand up and down play the whole event assuring women in the United States that they would get what tests they would need. Yeah???? For how long Harry??

Did you all know that Hillary Clinton went to Russia? She was hoping to meet with Vladimir Putin but he took a side trip to China and Siberia instead. What a huge slap in our face. President Obama stopped all missile defense agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic to make the Russians happy in hopes that they would support sanctions against a nuclear Iran. Well Russia made a statement at the P5+ 1 meeting that sanctions would frighten the Iranians. I have a question??? Can something actually frighten those crazy sons of bitches? Well Obama is a putz and we are double putzes for putting this pussy in the White House. We are seen all over the world as weak and ineffectual. It scares me that France has bigger balls than we do. We sold out our friends in Poland and the Czech Republic for nothing... send in the clowns!!! No wait....... you don't have to send them in just turn on C-SPAN.

Oh, that thing that happened at Ft. Hood? Mr. President you are spineless. That attack was single act of terrorism. Why are you so afraid to admit that, and want call it by another more gentle non threatening name.

Oh and by the way Mr. President, you and Eric Holder???... good idea bringing those TERRORISTS from Gitmo to stand trial in NYC. Do you lay awake at night and think of these brilliant ideas on your own?? Your lack of compassion and understanding of human nature astound me. When history gets done with you(if you don't manage to fix the books!), you might even beat President Carter as the worst leader this country has ever known. I am looking forward to 2012.

Accupuncture and Zumba OMG

Tuesday I had a session in acupuncture done to help my sore lower back. My back is constantly sore for many reasons. The first and main reason being I have a few pounds that I carry in front and it multiplies the pressure on my lower back each and every time I move. John a Lafayette acupuncturist(leave me a note and I will give you his number) is one that my children have successfully used and I felt I would give him a try despite my morbid dislike of needles. First of all there was no pain. Every once in a while I would feel a "shock" in the nerve that was not unpleasant. I had needles in my back and down my legs to my feet in one or two in each hand. I am here to tell you that I will not miss my appointment next week. My lower back hasn't felt this good in a long time.
I went to the gym yesterday and did my 40 min. on the treadmill and decided to take Lisa up on her offer to attend her Zumba class. Lisa is Bronson's lovely wife and the mom of his equally lovely baby daughter. Lisa is a bouncy, fun, young lady who looks you directly in the eye when she is talking to you... and makes you BELIEVE that you can do Zumba. I have done many things in life that have looked foolish and I figured ....what's one more? The class had people of all sizes. No one stopped dancing and pointed at me and said to throw me out because I couldn't keep up and I didn't know the routines. They were way to busy keeping their own selves on target and up with the music to notice the large sweaty woman in the front. Lisa you are amazing. Girl if I had your energy I could probably get my house clean. I lasted 15 minutes with a few breaks during that time. I walked out on rubbery legs and Bronson made me a protein shake... remember I had said that you earned one if you had vigorously worked out.... well dadgumit.... I earned one. It wasn't wedding cake but it was good.
Lisa I will be back. I will do 20 minutes the next time. I will be able to swing my hips and move my arms like I am supposed to. I will be able to keep on the right foot and shake the right leg. I will be able to move in a circle... swing my hips and wave my arms. My goal is to last 20 minutes and to memorize one routine... the rest of the time I'm just going to move and have a good time.

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho, It's To the Gym I Go

I discovered a profound truth recently and I wish to impart this knowledge to all my blogging friends. It doesn't matter how many gyms you have joined you must go to them and use the machines for anything to happen to your body. I have been a member of some of the best gyms in my town and towns nearby. I have belonged to at least 2 gyms at the same time and have yet to lose more than 20 pounds. 3 weeks ago I decided that I needed a NEW gym because I was still fat. I scouted around and looked at a new gym that was open 24 hours. The problem with this new gym is that it is not staffed during the time that I would be there. I questioned the owner stating that I was of a certain age that cardiac problems have been known to occur...and what would happen if I had a heart attack while on the treadmill. There is a slim to none chance that would happen because I would probably need to be exercising vigorously and not just watching the TV. He happily stated that they have an AED( and AED is an Automated External Defibrillator.. a device that is used to provide a hands free cardiac emergency evaluation and subsequent electric shock if needed) . I said (somewhat incredulously) you want me to use it on my own self? I don't think this boy took the AED classes to heart. At any rate that is way to risky to me so I returned to my own standby gym that I pass on the way home and announced that I needed to lose 100 pounds in the next month but I would be happy with 20. Rayleen smiled and raised her eyebrows(bless her heart she didn't fall down laughing)Bronson the owner said you can do it!!!! That's the kind of positive attitude that I needed. This gym is the best. They have nice people, good equipment and it is staffed with people who can work an AED.... better still they are the kind of people who know that you can't use the AED on one's own self. Big plus is that they have the best protein shakes to be consumed after you have worked out vigorously.... I haven't had a protein shake yet. I went 3 days then got sick. I will go back on Monday. I really feel better after about 40 min on the treadmill at 3 miles an hour and then on to the elliptical. When I get above 5 minutes on the elliptical I may treat myself to a protein shake!! I will keep you posted on my return to good health via diet and exercise.

Happy Birthday Becky

28 years ago today I gave birth to my daughter Rebekah. Her dad wanted to call her April. I'm not sure why and for some reason the name Rebekah was on my heart. Stan agreed and Rebekah she became. Her middle name is from her Aunt (Nancy Elaine) She was born at 12:30pm at St Joseph's Hospital in Bryan, Texas. She was delivered by Dr. L. Rasberry. In attendance in the delivery room was her daddy Stan and her 'Aunt' Jojo. This delivery couldn't have happened quickly enough for me.

I was living in Tulsa when I found out I was pregnant and within 2 days(seemed like)I was in maternity clothes. I was sick intermittently throughout the day and I would up-chuck without warning. I was in the grocery in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma shopping and was looking at the meat. I didn't feel sick but as I looked over the bacon I just threw up, in the case. The meat man was not happy with me and I was encouraged to leave the store. Like I would really like to hang around after that episode. I was the size of Manhattan and miserable. My bra size had increased to EE's. My nurse friend Bryan W. would tape my boobs in a figure 8 and bring the tape over the back of neck so that I could breathe. My favorite food was french fries with mustard and ketchup and I indulged every night. By the time we moved to Bryan I had gained nearly 100 lbs and my 'cankles' were awesome sight.. or so I have been told. I hadn't seen my feet in months. Lady Di and Prince Charles married just months before she was born. I remember laying on my side in bed watching the wedding on a small black and white TV and feeling very huge. I still had my size 10 string bikini made out of a black crochet type material. My worst ever day was when I thought I would go outside and sunbathe and I got my little suit out. Just to give you an idea I was 120 when I wore that suit and by this time I was well over 200lbs. 4year old Joshua looked at me and said 'WHOA mommy!!' I have no idea how I could have thought I would fit. I was hysterical and packed up Joshua and went to the Dairy Queen at the end of the block we both were happier after we had cones.

I went into labor early in the morning. I was at the hospital by 7:30am and had an erratic labor. During my entire pregnancy Becky hardly moved. She was saving it all for the labor part and kicked me every time I had a contraction. She kicked so hard that my boobs would bounce. Dr. Ras finally decided that because of slowing heart rate that he would drag her out with forceps. Let me tell you that it felt like my brains were being suctioned out. She arrived screaming weighing in at 10 lbs and 9 ozs and she was 20 and 1/2inches long Stan tells me that she was big enough to carry a football. My friend Jojo pronounced her beautiful I looked at this black haired baby of mine through happy tears and whispered to the nurse "where is her nose" I didn't think the others had noticed that she didn't have one. She had such chubby cheeks that her nose was barely visible. The nurse Ms. Pat promised me that she would fix the problem and my baby went home 3 days later with her little pug nose where it was supposed to be.

She was my mother's last grandchild and my mother-in-laws first granddaughter. She was adored by her big brother and protected from birth by Sam the Boxer(a story for another day) She was my angel, her daddy's girl and the answer to her big brother's prayer. Happy, happy birthday precious girl. I wish you so many more.

Love Mom

Manners

Recent events gave me my idea for tonight's posting. Manners. My knowledge of manners comes from my Momma. Probably most people got most of there manners whupped into them by their parents. I only had one parent that I recall teaching me anything worthwhile. Well that's not quite accurate. My dad briefly had his law office in the front room of our home and on a summer day he had clients and the door was open. There wasn't air-conditioning back then and screens in the doors and windows kept the breeze up. Well for whatever reason I took it upon myself to go to the door and stick my tongue out at my father. He got up and walked outside and smacked me on my well deserving butt. I can't remember why I did that but I can still remember the bitter metallic taste of the screen. I took from that experience that sticking my tongue out at my father was a big no-no. He didn't say anything to me to reinforce that this was poor manners but as I grew I took care that when I did stick my tongue out I couldn't be caught. I was a closet tongue-sticker-outer.
My momma taught me that you didn't belch out loud, you always said please and thank you, you offered your seat to anyone older than you, you sat with your legs together and you didn't touch your body parts even if they itched. Ladies don't spit, pass gas or forget to flush the toilet. If you stayed at someone's house you offered to clean the table, wash or dry the dishes, and tried not to be a pest. You didn't eat the last thing in the bowl if you had guests and all guests were given the best selections of food. You learned to write thank you notes and call everyone Ma'am or Sir. I could go on for days about this but the one thing that I want to hammer home is that it is common for people to issue a blanket invitation to friends to come eat, come visit, drop in, or call. Take it from me. They mean every word they say but it is beyond rude to take someone up on a blanket invitation without first calling. You have to give the future host an opportunity to do the dishes, comb her hair, sweep the floor and RENEGE on the invitation if the time isn't right. You never,never ever inform your host that you are coming over by having someone else call. Manners dictate you must call yourself and tell the host that you are taking them up on his or her offer especially if the host is going to be put out by more than a cup of coffee and a danish.
End of my rant.

God Boxes

I was very stressed out this past 2 weeks and over the weekend talked to my sister Barb. She told me about God Boxes. This is where you put a problem with which you are having issues. The problems can be about a person, finances, current events, whatever it is that has you bound up and tearful, stressed out, worried, angry and ill. You close your eyes and picture a box and put the person, problem, bill, health issue etc, in that box and close the lid and give it to God. Then don't worry any more about it and let God deal with the issue. If the problem leaks out then you prayerfully reseal the box and give it back to God. Obviously for someone with my intelligence this is a metaphorical fix to just keep me from having a heart attack and missing my cruise. I put a recent problem I was having with a person into the box and within 2 days the problem was gone. Some metaphorical fix!!! It was over and done. Okay so maybe I'm not so smart or just maybe my faith has been lacking but all I know is that after that result I spent some time putting things in boxes and I have a warehouse full. The one I have Nancy Pelosi in has a handle on the side and plays music: once a day she pops up and scares the shit out of me.(sorry I couldn't help it... it just slipped out of me.)