Early NYE dream ....

I so often write stories about going back in time and having a do-over, that I wasn't too surprised when I had a dream of such (laying down post-dinner zzz) ... what was unusual, however, was the location I found myself living in --

I wasn't 'just' living back in my parents house w/ my parents --

I was living out of the closet my father built in the basement, the one with two doors whose overlights came on when you opened the doors ... the closet that ended underneath the stairs.

I've pondered the meaning in this dream - yeahhh, yeahhh, closets and stairs are obvious metaphors ... but I was pretty sure it was something other than that -- and then, it dawned on me --

I am feeling so lost///unmoored, financially frightened, in my current life, that I not only want to go back in time - not make the same mistakes! to also be under my parents roof & protection -- I want to hide out there, away from everything -- but in a spot where I feel comfortable & where I know the really good guys, can find me (especially Dad - that was his auto tools closet, partially).

Here's praying for a far better 2015, where I no longer have such deeply-dreamt desires + + + 

Rough day; trying to find gratitude ....

When I was out and about on this Tuesday, someone wished me "Happy New Year!" and I had to be honest with her:  I don't think so, honey, but thanks anyway ;-  

It's been a really rough day (physically, emotionally, and financially) and what I really REALLY need to do is to find some gratitude!!!  Things like this I usually do orally to God or written in my current journal ... but just before the day of NYE here, I thought I would blog them, so - here goes:

My eyes can see.  I have eyeglasses, w/ prescription lenses, & have even saved webpages w/ eyeglass frames I would like to have in the future (aye-aye!  ;)  )

I have two beautiful kitty-cats that love me.

I have food in the house (boy, do I ever!).  I even have peppermint candy in more than one type, for my postnasal drip tickles!  And I have coffee that's not stale and for right now, I'm still drinking the liquid creamer, and not the grit.

My electric is on (apparently ...!)

I can access quite alot of tv on my computer (even if it's not always the exact programs I want to see! -- seeing programs: refer back to previous entry ;)  )  I do have a computer - that works!

I have pillows, a bed, blankets, and it's all indoors (hey, at least for right now ;- )  Ditto with all the standard items in my own bathroom.

I've learned to keep some of the cold drafts out of the front door w/ no weatherstripping with my bathrobe and a towel ... also, I have a blanket at my feet, Dorothy-socks, and a lapwarmer that purrs!

I can drive, and I do have a vehicle.

My legs may hurt like hell & are stiff but hey! I can still walk around!!!

I do have friends that can be accurately put in the category of godsends!  And thank you God no one gave me anything weird for Christmas like novelty candy reindeer poop!!!

There is no snow emergency or hurricane going on here ... altho it is down to the teens - brrr!

There is no wine, no beer, no hard liquor, nothing of that kind, in my apartment ... thank you God that I don't have to live around that, either, because on days like today ---

Morrow in the Middle: December 24th: Holiday Lights and Teachers

Morrow in the Middle: December 24th: Holiday Lights and Teachers: Three years ago, my younger brother passed away a few days after Thanksgiving. We had all enjoyed a unique Thanksgiving that year, not on...

Workers in Maine Buy Out Their Jobs, Set an Example for the Nation

Workers in Maine Buy Out Their Jobs, Set an Example for the Nation by Rob Brown, Noemi Giszpenc, Brian Van Slyke — YES! Magazine

[Official Video] Mary, Did You Know? - Pentatonix

Where Are You Christmas lyrics- Faith Hill

How exactly does a man with his hands cuffed behind his back produce a gun and shoot himself in the chest?

A Death In Louisiana

A Dad story ....

I realized that it has certainly been a while! since I've shared a Dad story on my blog here ... so to begin this story, let me first quote a Biblical passage:

Isaiah 40:1-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
The rugged land shall be made a plain,

When my parents purchased there suburban home, there was one design flaw that my mother just couldn't accept:  the backyard came with a little lawn ... and then a gigantic hill!  The neighbor to the left of us had such a hill, that rose nearly straight upwards in such a way that was fascinating for us kids but backbreaking for adults who attempted to terrace it! ... As I grew-up, I realized - hmmm, they have the hill ... and the subsequent houses going down that way also have hills (altho none as large) ... why don't we???  And so my Dad told me this story:

My mother took one look at the hill - one look at my father - waved her hand in dismissal, and said, "Get rid of it, Artie."  She had complete confidence that even tho he didn't work in construction - didn't even have his handyman tools he later came to own - that *somehow* he would do just as she requested.  He would figure it all out!  

This story, to me, is what I always looked for in a partner ... and what so many times I was heartbreakingly disappointed to find out I didn't have:  someone you could present a challenge to, and, without any further intervention on your part, would find some way to make that happen .....

My father noticed a guy with a bulldozer working several blocks away.  Now .. this was the late 50s, altho I dare say today, in my own life, this would have significant economic incentive to me, too!  ... Dad walked over there, waving a $20 bill that immediately got the guy's attention.  "Hey, pal, can you flatten a hill for me?"  

Sure!  No problem!  Lead the way, sir!

And the next time my mother was looking out her kitchen window, she saw exactly what she wanted:  a nice flat backyard :)

Reparation to the Sacred Heart: a prayer for troubled times

Reparation to the Sacred Heart: a prayer for troubled times

In a relationship with the famed crime writer .... while married ... and how it all turned out

"Whatever happens, we have to find some good in it!"

Happy ... Evacuation Day!

Evacuation Day: New York's Former November Holiday | The New York Public Library

Open Letter to EAUS

Dear Elkton Area United Services,

... and how dear you are!  Really!  For such a small town, you provide a wealth of decent food to those of us who are struggling ... even to single people, which to be honest I've seen in no other area I've resided!

But we must do something about the pickup system.

We stand out there in the cold, or the heat, for a half hour, more ... and then the line is even slower once we get inside.  And there is no place to sit down ... even tho quite alot of us collecting food are seriously disabled;  I've seen oxygen tanks, walkers, canes, and heard about others with back problems and fibromyalgia like myself ...

Today, unfortunately, is typical for me:  as grateful to God as I am for all that I rec'vd ... I am in agony.  My legs spasmed and jumped when I lay down in the bed; my heels are giving me sharp stabs - I've even yelled at my beloved cat for jumping on the back of  my chair, for the shockwaves it sends through my body in its sensitized fibromyalgia state.

Please, can we do SOMETHING?!! about this system?!!!!!!

georgia-man-shoots-and-kills-driver-who-mistakenly-pulled-into-his-driveway-allowed-to-plead-to-a-single-misdemeanor-with-no-jail-time-and-a-500-fine/

http://jonathanturley.org/2014/11/20/georgia-man-shoots-and-kills-driver-who-mistakenly-pulled-into-his-driveway-allowed-to-plead-to-a-single-misdemeanor-with-no-jail-time-and-a-500-fine/

L.ive Y.our D.ays I.nspired A.new!

God at work!

Survivors of School Shootings, meet .... excellent video - movie on the way!

888,246 poppies

PAUL CUMMINS: Tower of London poppy artist and University of Derby graduate 'in line' for OBE | Derby Telegraph

Remembering The Veterans

PHOTOS: Poppies tumble as Redhill remembers | Surrey Mirror

Very accurate post on men, and what they incite in women

Souls of Black Women: Snapped: Why did Shannon Crawley have to kill Deni...: This murder happened in 2007 and it involved Shannon Crawley, Denita Monique Smith (r.) and Jermeir Stroud.  Jermeir had met the deceased v...

Someone Like You: A Guide To Ordering Coffee in Italy ☕

Someone Like You: A Guide To Ordering Coffee in Italy ☕

Far away from home, Joe Mixon?!!!

By chance I happened upon the Oklahoma State 'Sooner' football player who will avoid jail time because of something that happened, his coach is dancing, shucking, and jiving, saying he was far away from home the first time ever and that's why it happened --

Pleez.

Here's the deal:  you're in a bar ... and sure you're drinking ... and this girl, she's drinking,too.  And sure ok mebbe she got a little mouthy, you got mouthy back - enough for her to slap your face.  However, Mr. Mixon, apparently no one ever taught you, so I'm using my blog to teach you now:  No matter what some fool woman does to you, you do not punch her in the face like a man, breaking four facial bones!!!

Gaaad, I hope he doesn't grow up to be another O.J. and other such athletic types who run crazy with --

-- well, you know --

Being far away from home.

Delilah, today

When I came home from running a few necessary errands today, at first - I couldn't locate Miss Delilah -- and I know I left her in the apartment!  (Besides ... she truly is a creature of the night: she doesn't like to go out during the day -- ergo, she wouldn't have snuck around my legs as I exited.) ....

And then, I found her ...

She was resting in the living room closet --

Nesting on a stack of unopened mail I tucked in there ....

I figured that - while I was out - some type of outdoor noise must have been cresting to a scary-for-a-scaredy cat! level, and she realized the closet door was ajar, so ... Besting I go in here until Mom gets home!  As long as I don't pee or poop, Mom doesn't mind at all where we cats go guesting (defined as a non-typical place for Mom, but mebbe not so much for someone who meows!)!  

In fact, Mom thinks of it as cat-jesting  ;)  Actually, we cats feel it adds some zesting to our Mom's day!!!  

It's Time for Catholics to Embrace Halloween | Word on Fire

It's Time for Catholics to Embrace Halloween | Word on Fire

A worthy woman who would be so thankful!

Sometimes, we get stuck ... and that's what has happened to a dear friend.  So, in this digital age, she has started a gofundme site, and her address there is:  http://www.gofundme.com/gfgj30

I would appreciate any prayerful considerations for my friend - thank you!!!

It's All About Purple: She's a Pinball Wizard...

It's All About Purple: She's a Pinball Wizard...: Well, not really...but I sure did have a lot of fun! Silver Ball Museum is located right on the boardwalk in Asbury Park. If you are e...

It's All About Purple: Radio City...

It's All About Purple: Radio City...:   Christmas Spectacular Featuring The Rockettes for 81 years... and the world famous, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers   New...

Raindrops On My Head: So What's it Really Like?

Raindrops On My Head: So What's it Really Like?: I'm writing this from the children's hospital where at this moment my little girl is having a brain scan under general anaesthetic. ...

Boots on display at Ft. Campbell for Military Survivor Appreciation

Boots on display at Ft. Campbell for Military Survivor Appreciat - WSMV Channel 4

They're Glad They Didn't Call Me! (updated)

My friend here was a little nervous when she recv'd a phone message from the local social-service help agency, to get in touch with them on an important matter ...

... she was greatly relieved when all they wanted to know was --

What would you like for Christmas???

Boy, I'm sure glad they didn't call me!  Because what I would like for Christmas - do you know what I would like ???

A life do-over.

Nah, I don't need any frying pans, thanks .... just, you know, what I asked for!
--------------------------------------------
Since I've written this post earlier today, I've had time to think about this ... and I realize - I could write this as a Twilight Zone episode, couldn't I  :)   ... Sure!  Woman comes in and out of all the choices,  she asks for something they don't have ... and ... the dedicated director decides to see if she can't just make that happen for her  :)

Small Fiber Neuropathy Fibromyalgia Study Raises Questions

I believe this!  Back in 2006, my daughter had a sensitive spot on her back which looked like a suspicious skin cancer ... it turned out to be overactive nerve endings, which is exactly what fibro is





Small Fiber Neuropathy Fibromyalgia Study Raises Questions

Cruise In Classic Car TV Show - Episode 316 - Hartville Ohio Car Show

23 Adorable Pet Costumes

23 Adorable Pet Costumes

The Flight That Disappeared 1961

I don't get girls ... and I'm 51

My neighbor's son just came down to tell me some news that possibly I took harder than he did:  his girlfriend just broke up with him.

The reason???  Well, you see, he was good to her - he took her out to eat on paydays, bought her this and that - and she doesn't feel she's worth all of that, even tho 1/2 of there relationship consisted of going to the church where her daddy is the preacher.

And she wonders why her two teenage boys are so rotten ...

Be that as it may ... 

At this stage of my life, I wouldn't mind at all someone taking me out on paydays, and buying me cigarettes and maybe even cat food, if I needed it ... because as cruddy as I feel most days -- I know I can be a decent companion who would appreciate and value what I'm given and - even more so - I don't buy the garbage that someone has to be rotten to be in my life!!!

Now, whose taking me out for dinner on payday???  Ray's Diner, is plenty fine w/ me!

Someone Like You: Call Me Out Upon the Water.

Someone Like You: Call Me Out Upon the Water.

Someone Like You: Into the Storm.

Someone Like You: Into the Storm.

Mystical Union Is Not a Fairytale

Mystical Union Is Not a Fairytale

Social Justice at Your Local Restaurant

Social Justice at Your Local Restaurant

Raindrops On My Head: Tiny Time-On Waiting In Cars.

Raindrops On My Head: Tiny Time-On Waiting In Cars.: You know that story about the professor with the container of rocks that looks full up, then he fits in pebbles, sand and finally water to d...

"Bold, Confident & Courageous,” (I could sure use some of that!)

St. Louis evangelist Joyce Meyer attracts thousands downtown for conference : Lifestyles

Marianne Williamson "Everyday Grace"

Journey with Gastroparesis: GP Fighter - Emma

Journey with Gastroparesis: GP Fighter - Emma: "Don't give up, continue to strive for your goals."  -Emma Tillman A couple years back I read a fascinating research articl...

Crime Investigation Australia: John Ernest Cribb's Case

It's All About Purple: Saturday Critters ~ 44 ~

It's All About Purple: Saturday Critters ~ 44 ~: Welcome to Arrow Acres Alpaca Farm ...my happy place.   I spent a few hours on the farm last Sunday, to help the Alpaca celebrate Nat...

Brought low .. is it jealousy, or is it 'just' sadness???

I've always bonded well with other women - especially people's moms, and aunts, and such ... and as my life has gone along, I've bonded especially well with women in my own type of situation:  you were the best mother you could be, and whaddya get?  Rotten kids!  Dysfunctional, mentally ill, addicted - whatever the label, the type of adult children you pray for incessantly and mebbe go to support groups for, too ....

A friend of mine just ushered me into her home to meet her son's new girlfriend - and gave me a glowing review of this young woman, too, on the side .... her knockabout son - not the worst of the lot, mind you - seems to be settling down to a more polite, more Mom-helpful, and more loving and definitely more physically present, adult child, and this girlfriend of his seems to be helping that along - like the left hand to the right hand:  one works better if you also have the other ....

Politely, I had to excuse myself ("boy, its getting COLD out here!") because I didn't want to start crying all over my friend - we'll call her Anastasia, mother to four - one devoted, one out there but at least he calls on holidays, one definitely lost - and now, this one, this turnaround child --

Am I jealous, Lord?  Or is it 'just' sadness and an aching feeling - a scab picked off a wound - that I'm all by myself, and I've been reminded of it, and its a wound that goes to the very depth of me...

Last week in Confession the priest spoke to me about taking my eyes off distractions and focusing solely on God, who Loves me Best Of All .... and I've been trying, and praying to - I have! --

-- but then I see Anastasia's blessing come home (quite literally) and I want to cry my broken heart out. 

Maybe that's what I need to do:  cry, empty it, and make more room for God, who Loves me Best Of All.

Being Mirrors: Fear

Being Mirrors: Fear: I spent much of August experiencing great fear and anxiety. I was truly humbled and brought to my knees when my first mammogram showed some ...

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: Offering it Up (or "Making a Good Intention")

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: Offering it Up (or "Making a Good Intention")

Mother Angelica Live Classic - Anger - 8/2/1994

"I was just a pawn" ... in memory of Sandra Cano

Sandra Cano, Doe of Doe v. Bolton Abortion Case, Passes Away

By Bryan Lash

It was 1965. Sandra Race, the seventeen-year-old daughter of an Atlanta City sanitation worker, was growing up in a poor neighborhood when her life was about to be changed forever. She had already dropped out of school; poor grades, the taunts of classmates about her weight and the disfiguring smile from Bell's Palsy were too much for her to face each day. Her mother tried forcing her and once nearly broke a broomstick across her back in the process. Like most adolescents, Sandra dreamed of romantic encounters with some "knight in shining armor" who would provide her with affection and attention. Adolescent insecurity and vulnerability would soon blind her senses and dull her better judgment. In her fragile emotional state, Sandra was a willing pawn for anyone who showed her the slightest favor.

Around this time, Sandra met Joel Lee Bensing, a gas station attendant and occasional day laborer from Hugo, Oklahoma. Sandra was smitten by the smile of this 22-year-old man. Her emotions soared. Having known him for only 2 days yet reeling from Joel's attention and affection, Sandra readily accepted an invitation to Stone Mountain Park, a popular recreational area 25 miles away. Somewhere along the way, he convinced her that a trip to visit his family was in order. Thirteen hours later they pulled into Hugo, Oklahoma. When she called her panic-stricken parents, her father threatened to have Joel arrested for kidnapping. Upon their return to Atlanta, her father beat her with a belt. The couple was then driven to Alabama where Joel was forced to marry Sandra in a civil ceremony.

A week after they were married, Sandra found out that her husband was serving probation for molesting two different 5-year-old children. Over the next several years Joel was charged again with molestation and kidnapping. He would appear only a few days out of the month and was in and out of jail their entire marriage. Sandra's other relationships were also tenuous. Sandra's father died, her mother remarried only weeks after his death, and Sandra's stepfather proved to be a very demanding and many times an abusive man. He resented the presence of another man's six children and was not inhibited in releasing his frustration with verbal tirades and physical assaults.

Joel never properly provided for either Sandra or their four children. Things were so tight that on many occasions Sandra's family could not house her. Sandra's younger sister Barbara recalls:

"There were times when Sandra and her children would have to sleep at the Salvation Army Center at night. In the morning she would have to leave there and sit all day outside until the Center reopened in the evening."

It was during this time that her mother's frustration was cause for her to take out a series of "lunacy warrants" on Sandra. She did her best to provide for her children but there were too many factors working against her. Sandra was taken to the state mental hospital at Milledgeville and her children placed in foster care. Undaunted, she was soon released. Sandra readily admits that at this time in her life she was emotionally unstable, but she loved her children and was trying to provide for them in very difficult times. She wasn't into drugs, alcohol or prostitution. She wasn't living a wild lifestyle. She was by her own admission just "poor, uneducated, naive and ignorant."

In March 1970, at her wits end, barely 22 years of age, married to a convicted child molester, her children in foster care and pregnant with her fourth child; Sandra Race Bensing went to Atlanta Legal aid for help. Poverty-stricken, this was her only avenue for legal assistance. She was seeking a divorce from Joel and legal help in getting her children returned to her from foster care. The friendly faces and willing ears were a welcome "oasis" to Sandra, who had seen little of either her entire adult life. Her new "friends" there soon introduced her to an attorney named Margie Pitts Hames who was eager to help with her "situation." Sandra saw Margie as the "life preserver thrown to a drowning man." The only problem was that Ms. Hames' unstated solution to Sandra's predicament was not what Sandra had in mind. Margie's plan was abortion first, and then divorce and freeing the children from foster care. Sandra was kept in the dark and told only that her case had something to do with "Women's Rights." When asked once about the subject of abortion she responded "she did not believe in it, for herself, but could not speak for anyone else."

So began the murky legal journey through which Ms. Hames dragged her virtually blindfolded client. Court documents presented by Hames show that Sandra applied for an abortion at Grady Memorial Hospital, the only place where the poor could obtain an abortion. Hames ignored the fact that Sandra had already stated her opposition to abortion; in fact, extensive searches done at both Sandra's request and that of Georgia State Senator Pam Glanton has turned up no evidence of such an application. Next Ms. Hames, in partnership with Sandra's mother, arranged an abortion for Sandra at Georgia Baptist Hospital; Sandra had no knowledge of this plan. When Sandra finally found out about it, she fled to Oklahoma alone. She had never traveled alone before. Sandra had avoided the abortion others had arranged for her. Hames filed a class action suit in U. S. District Court naming Sandra Race Bensing as Mary Doe: the only pregnant woman in the action. Allegedly, the pregnant Bensing was denied an abortion at Grady Memorial Hospital by the abortion review panel; her case was then taken, reviewed and approved by another review panel at Georgia Baptist Hospital. The case was presented to liberalize the Georgia abortion law so a woman could abort her baby at any point through the ninth month of pregnancy without the interference of a panel of doctors as the statute directed.

No evidence has ever been found to verify the claim Sandra was either seen or rejected by Grady Hospital. Hames named Sandra as the plaintiff, even though Sandra Bensing did not ever want or seek an abortion. She only wanted a divorce from a convicted child molester and help in getting her children back. Grady Hospital officials neither saw nor rejected her alleged abortion request. So Sandra was presented as a pregnant woman seeking an abortion, to which she was adamantly opposed, whose non-existent request for an abortion was therefore never heard or discussed by hospital officials. While she was on a turbulent emotional roller coaster, her emotional state was not cause for her to seek an abortion as alleged by Hames. Her actions demonstrate the opposite: when she found out an abortion had been scheduled for her at Georgia Baptist Hospital, she fled and only agreed to return if she did not have to have an abortion. Sandra was never asked to testify before any court official and convey her supposed ardent desire to have an abortion. Sandra was a pawn in the hands of a feminist ideologue. Her attorney, Margie Pitts Hames was after abortion on demand and believed she was doing something great for women's rights, all the while ignoring the rights and wishes of her client.

---------------------------------------------------------

Later in her adult life:  In the end, Cano ended up giving her baby up for adoption, considering her life situation at the time. Abortion, though a case was argued in her name, had never been an option as she told TheBlaze, “I couldn’t live with the fact that I had shed a baby’s blood.”

Sandra Cano, the ''Doe'' in Doe v. Bolton is a Pro-Life Speaker and Activist. Sandra is speaking out against abortion through education, ministry and love. Sandra started a ministry called Wonderfully Made Ministry, Inc. to be able to go forward and to get the truth out about Doe v. Bolton and the pain it causes the mothers and fathers when a child's life is taken though abortion. Her mission is to speak out and offer help and support to other ministries in the fight for life. Sandra wants to see other children's lives changed for the better. Sandra Cano has battled for over thirty-four years trying to get her voice heard and the truth about the lies and deceit of Doe v. Bolton. Sandra is  a grandmother of two children that she's raising for her daughter. Sandra comments that she had to become a grandmother in order to experience motherhood. 

My biopsy today

Back when I was taking care of my Dad, one of the doc's I had to take him to was a dermtalogist, to have potential skin cancers removed ... according to Dr. Lee (a top-rated derm), the Coppertone my mother religiously slathered on all three of us, making us look like white ghosts on the beaches of Manasquan, was no better than skin lotion - it didn't measure-up with any real sun protection - so another consumer lie told to us, yeahhh ...

I've had a change in a freckle on my arm, and - to be honest - the last time I saw my doc (which was recently) - I didn't say anything ... but as it's on my forearm, I'm always noticing how it went from looking like a chocolate M and M, to an asymmetrical, itchy, light tan - whatever it is.  And so I reminded myself about what Dr Lee said, and how Dad's skin cancers were frozen off with liquid nitrogen but all evaluated to be nothing too serious, and so I called my doc and made an appt... didn't help when I told the scheduler the reason for the appt, and she trilled, "OH!  We'll get you in RIGHT AWAY!!!"

Thanks.

Actually I wasn't even too worried about it until she started the procedure - and had to keep going out for bigger biopsy punches ... this sucker was 8 mm, and it required three stitches to close my arm.  As she gave me cautions about not holding it underwater (making me wonder how I'm going to do dishes, for one thing) and how to very carefully take out my own stitches 7-10 days from now (no dissolving ones?!), I was sitting there being as smiley and humorous as she's always known me to be... but starting to get very scared! on the inside ....

Test results Friday OR Monday.

I didn't see this one comin' - sure, I'm disabled, and I have some ideas on where that could all go - but this -nah, I didn't see this one.  

Prayers + good thoughts, appreciated!!!

Stevie Nicks Confirms Song “Sara” Was About Baby With Don Henley She Aborted

Stevie Nicks Confirms Song “Sara” Was About Baby With Don Henley She Aborted

In Memory of Joan Appleton

Former Clinic Worker, Abortion Activist: “We Created a Monster”

Rocker Steven Tyler of Aerosmith Haunted by Girlfriend’s Abortion

Rocker Steven Tyler of Aerosmith Haunted by Girlfriend’s Abortion

Video Shows Jahi McMath Alive, Moving Her Toes

Video Purportedly Shows Jahi McMath Alive, Moving Her Toes

"I Dreamed I had an interview with God..." (Author Unknown)

AN INTERVIEW WITH GOD I dreamed I had an interview with God. “So you would like to interview me?” God asked.“If you have the time” I said. God smiled. “My time is eternity.What questions do you have in mind for me?”“What surprises you most about humankind?”God answered...“That they get bored with childhood,they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.That they lose their health to make money...and then lose their money to restore their health.That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived.”God’s hand took mineand we were silent for a while.And then I asked:“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?” “To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves be loved. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.To learn to forgiveby practicing forgiveness. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,but is one who needs the least.To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings.To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.”"Thank you for your time," I said humbly. "Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"God smiled and said, “Just know that I am here... always.” -Author Unknown

"A lighthouse to all souls ..."

Mirjana’s Message – February 2, 2010

   Mirjana was in Naples, Italy, when she had her February 2^nd  apparition.

 “Dear children; With motherly love, today I call you to be a lighthouse to all souls who wander in the darkness of ignorance of God’s love. That you may shine all the brighter and draw all the more souls, do not permit the untruths which come out of your mouth to silence your conscience. Be perfect. I am leading you with my motherly hand – a hand of love. Thank you.”

Irving Francis Houle -Family man who bore the stigmata

Irving Francis Houle -Family man who bore the stigmata

Garabandal Padre Pio and Joey Lomangino

: EWTN To Air ‘The Crusades’ A Timely & Important Mini-Series!

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: EWTN To Air ‘The Crusades’ A Timely & Important Mini-Series!

: ACN News - The calvary of Julienne: When a Catholic woman marries a Muslim man

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: ACN News - The calvary of Julienne: When a Catholic woman marries a Muslim man

Archbishop of Mosul: "Recognize genocide against Christians"

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: ACN News - Archbishop of Mosul: "Recognize genocide against Christians"

Top 100 Songs of the year you graduated high school, meme

I saw this on someone else's blog, and I really liked the meme!  She graduated in 1976, so many things were very recognizable to me (including my #1 all time favorite song!) ... I graduated in 1981 ... taking my cue also from her, I'm marking the ones I especially liked with *
and the ones I especially didn't like with --

1. Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes
-- 2. Endless Love, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
-- 3. Lady, Kenny Rogers
4. (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon
-- 5. Jessie's Girl, Rick Springfield
* 6. Celebration, Kool and The Gang
* 7. Kiss On My List, Daryl Hall and John Oates
* 8. I Love a Rainy Night, Eddie Rabbitt
9. 9 To 5, Dolly Parton
* 10. Keep On Loving You, REO Speedwagon
* 11. Theme from "Greatest American Hero" (Believe It or Not), Joey Scarbury
* 12. Morning Train (Nine to Five), Sheena Easton
13. Being With You, Smokey Robinson
* 14. Queen of Hearts, Juice Newton
15. Rapture, Blondie
16. A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do), Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio
17. The Tide Is High, Blondie
* 18. Just the Two of Us, Grover Washington Jr.
* 19. Slow Hand, Pointer Sisters
(This song & I have a weird story ...) 20. I Love You, The Climax Blues Band
* 21. Woman, John Lennon
22. Sukiyaki, A Taste Of Honey
23. The Winner Takes It All, Abba
24. More Stars, Stars On 45
* 25. Angel of the Morning, Juice Newton
26. Love On the Rocks, Neil Diamond
27. Every Woman In the World, Air Supply
* 28. The One That You Love, Air Supply
29. Guilty, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
* 30. The Best of Times, Styx
31. Elvira, Oak Ridge Boys
* 32. Take It On the Run, REO Speedwagon
33. (There's) No Gettin' Over Me, Ronnie Milsap
* 34. Living Inside Myself, Gino Vannelli
35. Woman In Love, Barbra Streisand
* 36. Boy from New York City, Manhattan Transfer
* 37. Urgent, Foreigner
* 38. Passion, Rod Stewart
* 39. Lady (You Bring Me Up), Commodores
40. Crying, Don Mclean
41. Hearts, Marty Balin
42. It's My Turn, Diana Ross
* 43. You Make My Dreams, Daryl Hall and John Oates44. I Don't Need You, Kenny Rogers
45. How 'Bout Us, Champaign
* 46. Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pat Benatar
47. The Break Up Song, The Greg Kihn Band
48. Time, Alan Parsons Project
* 49. Hungry Heart, Bruce Springsteen
50. Sweetheart, Franke and The Knockouts
51. Somebody's Knockin', Terri Gibbs
52. More Than I Can Say, Leo Sayer
53. Together, Tierra
54. Too Much Time On My Hands, Styx
55. What Are We Doin' In Love, Dottie West
* 56. Who's Crying Now, Journey
57. De Do Do Do, de Da Da Da, The Police
58. This Little Girl, Gary "U.S." Bonds
* 59. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
60. Giving It Up for Your Love, Delbert McClinton
61. A Little in Love, Cliff Richard
* 62. America, Neil Diamond
63. Ain't Even Done With the Night, John Cougar
* 64. Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do), Christopher Cross
* 65. Another One Bites the Dust, Queen
66. Games People Play, Alan Parsons Project
67. I Can't Stand It, Eric Clapton
68. While You See a Chance, Steve Winwood
69. Master Blaster (Jammin'), Stevie Wonder
* 70. Hello Again, Neil Diamond
71. Don't Stand So Close to Me, The Police
72. Hey Nineteen, Steely Dan
73. I Ain't Gonna Stand for It, Stevie Wonder
74. All Those Years Ago, George Harrison
75. Step By Step, Eddie Rabbitt
* 76. The Stroke, Billy Squier
77. Feels So Right, Alabama
78. Sweet Baby, Stanley Clarke and George Duke
* 79. Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg
80. Cool Love, Pablo Cruise
81. Hold On Tight, ELO
82. It's Now Or Never, John Schneider 
* 83. Treat Me Right, Pat Benatar
84. Winning, Santana
85. What Kind of Fool, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
86. Watching the Wheels, John Lennon
87. Tell It Like It Is, Heart
88. Smoky Mountain Rain, Ronnie Milsap
89. I Made It Through the Rain, Barry Manilow
90. You've Lost That Loving Feeling, Daryl Hall and John Oates
91. Suddenly, Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard92. For Your Eyes Only, Sheena Easton
93. Beach Boys Medley, The Beach Boys
94. Whip It, Devo
95. Modern Girl, Sheena Easton
96. Really Want To Know You, Gary Wright
97. Seven Year Ache, Rosanne Cash
* 98. I'm Coming Out, Diana Ross
99. Miss Sun, Boz Scaggs
100. Time Is Time, Andy Gibb