A Lil' Something That I REALLY Needed to Read Today...

The following is something that was sent to me, via email, from a very dear and close friend of mine. I don't know if she felt lead to send this particular email to me, but I believe God chose her to send this to me today for a very good reason. Before I opened this email, I had been stressing and struggling for several days over a personal situation between me and my younger sister. In fact, I lost sleep over it last night and then all this morning, I was stressing over it and could not focus on anything else....So, the timing of this email was incredible.... While reading this email, the hairs on my arms started to stand on end and I got chills...I KNEW this was meant for me and it spoke directly towards my situation. I was speechless and moved....sometimes, our friends don't even realize what a blessing they are! It is clear that God is working thru my friend in helping me out in this situation. How I love my friend so much and how I love the Lord with all my heart and soul! Here is what the email said:

Let it go...by T. D. Jakes

There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk. I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone. When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay. Let them go. And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person, it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead. You've got to know when it's dead. You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it. Stop begging people to stay. Let them go!! If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to ..LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to past hurts and pains . LET IT GO!!! If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth... LET IT GO!!! If someone has angered you ... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge .. LET IT GO!!! If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction . LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents .. LET IT GO!!! If you have a bad attitude... LET IT GO!!! If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better... LET IT GO!!! If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him... LET IT GO!!! If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship.... LET IT GO!!! If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves.. LET IT GO!!! If you're feeling depressed and stressed .... LET IT GO!!! If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you needto... LET IT GO!!! Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. GOD is doing a new thing for 2010 !!! LET IT GO!!! Get Right or Get Left .. think about it, and then LET IT GO!!! "The Battle is the Lord's!"

Who did Obama Beat out for the Nobel Peace Prize?

I should note that the following candidates are just a small handful out of the 200 or so proposed candidates that Obama beat out....there were SO many that actually DID something that, in my humble opinion, could/should have won this prestigious award...If any of you know of other candidates, not listed here, that you feel deserve recognition, feel free to comment about them on here. :-)

And a few of these candidates are as follows:

Chinese Human Rights Activist Hu Jia – imprisoned for campaigning for human rights in the PRC.

Denis Mukwege: Doctor dedicated to helping rape victims

Wei Jingsheng, who spent 17 years in Chinese prisons for urging reforms of China’s communist system.(Not to mention the symbolic value of awarding a Chinese dissident on the 20th Anniversary of the Tianenmen Square Massacre.)

Greg Mortenson, founder of the Central Asia Institute has built nearly 80 schools, especially for girls, in remote areas of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past 15 years.

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, a philosophy professor in Jordan who risks his life by advocating interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims.

Afghan human rights activist Sima Samar. She currently leads the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and serves as the U.N. special envoy to Darfur.

Piedad Córdoba: Colombia's 'woman of peace'

Now, I know there are those out there that are happy that Obama won this award and have voiced their opinions in his favor. I have no issues against whomever feels positive about Obama. Good for them and enough said. Well, it's America and I've a right to voice my opnions and thoughts, no matter what, if it's liked or not. I don't push my views on others, so, if you don't like what I have said, hop on off my blog, dear. :-) But I do say, in upmost respect, that I do not agree with Obama winning this award. I am not going to lower myself to a scum level and call him names and stuff. I just don't believe he has done anything worth winning this award. That said, have a good one, yall! God bless...

Oh, the things to do at the Fair!

Friday, we went to the fair. We had a blast! We watched the cattle show, saw every animal from A to Z, ate the best fried foods you can imagine. If I'm gonna clog my arteries, it's gonna be by the most awesome fair food. I'm talkin' fried oreos, fried twinkies, funnel cakes, turkey legs, gyros and so on. An endless parade of food that we should only eat once a year, lest we die of a heart attack. Now, everyone knows that if you're gonna eat a full and heavy meal or several snacks, then you should prolly wait a few before getting on those rides. Not me! We had an awesome time on the rides, playing those wonderful scamming games and just taking in the whole experience of the fair. We checked out the 4-H exhibits and bought a few souvineers at the cute lil crafty store places. We sat and ate our fried foods, while sitting around listening to the bands play their great music and we finished off the day by going and laying out on the grass and watching the fireworks. What a day! We walked forever, which is why I'm not guilty about eating the fried stuff. I only wish I took more pics! All in all another great fair experience gone by for 2009. It's that time of year for everyone, where the fairs hit town. Just about everyone I know goes to these and for good reason. Not only can it be tons of fun, but super educational. Next Monday, I'm using our fair experience for my Daughter to write a paper about. I think her favorite experience was getting to go on the Agri-lift. I agree. That was a pretty awesome ride, getting to ride clear across the park in a ski-lift type ride, above the tree tops and tiny ppl below. Very cool, especially at night! So pretty! My other favorite experience, is the same as every year. I love watching the livestock shows...I schedule the fair dates and times around the livestock show schedule. My fair day is not complete without watching a few classes at cattle show...Well, that's my dish on our fair day. What's yours?

Do I have a famous twin?

Is it true? I've been told by tons of ppl (even complete strangers) that this chick and I look a lot alike....her name is Rashida Jones and she is a famous actress. What do you think?

This is Rashida Jones on the left and on the right is me...

Not just time gone by...

Funny how traumatic events tend to make you take in the more simple pleasures and relish them a lot more! It's a beautiful day! We had a near death experience the other day. Saturday, to be exact. It wasn't me that could have died. I won't go into much detail, as I really don't like to relive it, but our Daughter choked on her food and it was a VERY close call. While our Daughter doesn't seem to be shaken over it, Hubby and I sure are! This sort of thing will stay with you for a long time afterwards... It was very scary and what was no more than mere seconds passing by during this ordeal, seemed more like hours, gone by in slow motion. It was horrible and one of those moments in your life that you could look back on thirty years from now and see it just as clearly and vividly; feel all the emotions felt at that moment, just as it could have happened the day before. But the silver lining in this is two things. One: An old but wise lesson learned the hard way: Don't scarf your food! Take your time and chew completely, as well as taking smaller bites. Two: I sure do enjoy my time with my Daughter even more than I already did. I didn't think it was possible to enjoy her even more, but apparently, it is, especially when faced with the hard reality that I could lose her at any time. While I've always enjoyed a good snuggle with my Daughter, it's become something more. Snuggling and spending those minute moments with my Daughter, are not just time gone by, but an event. I hold her a little longer. I REALLY look into those baby blue eyes of hers and REALLY listen to what she has to say. Tho, I've never neglected my Daughter before, from now on, I take in ALL facets of our time together and cherish them. Out of a horrible moment in our lives, comes a blessing. Life sure tastes sweeter! Enjoy your loved ones, people. If I can pass along anything I have taken away from this experience, that I want to pass along to you, it's for you to REALLY spend time with your loved ones and to cherish them and those little moments that make up the big picture. Don't spend time with them just to pass time and say that you spent that time with them. Not as a desperate attempt to be with them in case they die soon. Just BE with them and genuinely enjoy that time together, not thinking of death and letting it cloud over and marr the real experience. Truly cherish them...

Rain and things....

Don't you just love it when it rains? I'm into those steady showers...but not so much when it's lightening and scary outside...too much stress. I love the kind of rain, where you can smell the grass and trees afterwards...it's so fresh and invigorating! It's been that way most of the day today. It was pretty overcast and depressing before the rain and I always say, "If it's gonna be all grey outside, then it might as well rain." And when it rains and I'm inside, I all of a sudden feel warm and cozy and dry. I'll snuggle up with a good book, or watch some tv, while under the covers on the couch. If it's cold out there, I'll even start a fire and grab a cup of hot apple cider or hot chocolate. Mmmmm...but since it's not cold, I'll just snuggle under the covers on the couch and do something relaxing...today, it started raining right after school lessons were over, so I snuggled up on the couch and watched some Desperate Housewives reruns...It's shaped up to be a pretty cozy day....it started out like any other, non-descript, bordeline-boring day and then when the skies decided to break out their lovely showers on me, my day turned into a wonderful day! I love the rain!

And Part Three...The Animal Control

Well, we thought it was all over, at least, we thought there was no more that would happen after the encounter with the crazy neighbor who loves our dog just a little too much. After her threats and snide remarks, we thought there would be nothing more to it. Gone were my worries that our dog would be stolen since we padlocked our backyard fence and put in the invisible fence to keep our dog from coming up to the fence to anyone that should come up to it to bother her...well, looks like we were wrong. Apparently crazy old ladies take offense when their neighbors suddenly padlock them out from being able to come in to pet on their dog. I guess we crossed the line with her when we put in that invisible fence and prevented her from being able to pet on our dog. I guess she decided to take revenge on us. The spiteful old bat. Yesterday, while on my lunch break, I heard a knock on the front door. Before I reach the door, I could see out the window and I saw, parked in front of our house, an animal control truck. I immediately knew what was happening. I was not worried on bit. However, I was a bit shaken that our neighbor actually lowered herself so low as to call them out here to, I guess, TRY to stir up trouble. I know our pets are well taken care of, so I wasn't worried one bit that they might be taken away. I was just ticked beyond anything that this was actually happening. In the recent past, Hubby and I playfully joked around that our neighbor would call the animal control on us, as she subtly threatened to do to us not long ago, so she could have our dog. We didn't think she would actually do it. We were actually more worried that she would somehow steal our dog, which is one of the other reasons why we invested in the invisible fence. It would be a lot more difficult to climb our backyard fence and carry/hoist a 50 pound dog over it, while the dog would be hollering loudly because it's collar would be going off while outside the fence limits. Not to mention our dog is micro chipped and we can track her. So, with those worries set aside, we managed to put this crazy lady in back of our minds and relax some.... Until yesterday....
So, anyways, there's the knock on the door; the animal control vehicle parked in front and I answer the door. I cheerfully smile and warmly greet the animal control officer. I immediately invite her in and ask what's going on. SHe says, they recieved a phone call about our dogs that they needed to come check on them. Plural.....DogS... So, someone who knows we also have a strictly indoor dog...Hmmmmmm...a red flag pops up in my mind on just who exactly would call on us. Now, WHY would someone call the animal control to check on animals? Well, normally, it would have to do with abuse and neglect. So, anyone who is going to take the time to call the animal control, had better have good reason, other than waste their time for reasons of jealously and spite. Clearly, my hubby and I are not in the abuse neglect category in animal care and I was ready to show this kind officer lady just that. I waste no time and I introduce her to both dogs and both cats. I bring her out back and show her the dog house and invisible fence we installed a few weeks ago. The officer comments that she likes our invisible fence and that it's a good idea. She also commented on how healthy and happy all our animals are and she then says, "I just don't know why she would call..." I said, "Oh, so it's a woman that called?" And the officer replies, "Well, I'm not at liberty to say. It's anonomous..." I say, "Well, I have a pretty good idea who would call ya'll and why." She looks at me and says, "Well, apparently, it's a HUGE misunderstanding..." I said, "Nope, it's not a misunderstanding. I believe it's the neighbor lady right over there" and I'm pointing at the crazy old hag's house right across the backyard fence, "who's been harrassing us for our dog. She tried to trade her own dog for ours and we refused and then she had the bolts to come over to our house one morning and threaten us by calling ya'll, if we didn't give her our dog or give our dog to her grown Daughter." She looks at me in shock and then smiles says, "Wow....well, I still can't say who it is, but it sounds like ya'll have a problem on your hands..." I say, "Well, apparently, it wasn't a threat when she implied about calling ya'll. She definitely called ya'll. I apologize for the inconvenience our neighbor has caused you guys." The officer shakes her head and says, "Well, there's no reason for me to be here and we've got nothing on ya'll, so you just keep doing what your doing. I'm going to go ahead and head on then." I walk her back through our house and to the front door and say good day. On the one hand, it was a nice confirmation that we were doing a good job with our dogs and have nothing to be concerned about should that crazy old bat try to call in the animal control on us again. And maybe the animal control won't take her seriously, should she call them again...On the other hand, I'm ticked that we were inconvenienced with this visit, my Daughter was scared when the officer showed up, wanting to see our pets and I can't help but think what in the world are the neighbor's thinking, if they saw this animal control vehicle parked in front of my home??? Every fiber of my body wants to run right on over next door and bang on this witch's door and yell at her...but I won't. I have discussed this with my friends, a couple other family members and my hubby. All have different ideas and suggestions on how to handle the situation. I want to go over there with my hubby and talk to the husband to see if he's aware of his insane wife's actions....my husband has different ideas, as in, doing NOTHING. Another friend of mine thinks we should not say a thing to them. I can see where both my friend and hubby are coming from and understand that if we didn't do anything, then maybe the neighbor lady would be dissapointed to see that we are not so angry and bothered enough to go over there and yell at her, as well at the dissapointing fact to the witch that our dog is still in our back yard and not going anywhere.I'm sure when she calls to follow up with the animal control on their visit to my home, they will tell her what a waste it was for them to stop over here, well maybe not in those exact words, but I'm thinking it would be along those lines...I have no clue now what to do about this mean old lady. It really is up to my husband since it is his dog, but it was ME that had to deal with the animal control...I guess we will prolly end up not saying a word to them. Oh and up until this point, I was letting our Daughter continue her friendship with this lady...NOT anymore. If this lady pulls ONE MORE stunt on us...she will be getting served papers...she is already past the line of harrassment....