Good rules to live by...

If you know someone who is or has been in an abusive relationship, please tell them about isurvive.org Also remind them to use a safe computer their abuser does not have access to. Someone at work sent me the following wise words in an email. It seemed appropriate to share. ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other. THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want. FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it. FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye. SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married. SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight. EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much. NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely. TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling. ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives. TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly. THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?" FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk. FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze. SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: R espect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions. EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship. NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice. TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

So symbolic

The more I look at this picture I took this past weekend, the more it makes me think. This hood ornament was perched atop a crumbling beauty of the past. While the rest of the Caddy seemed to be slowing becoming one with the earth, the ornament retained her shine and beauty. It reminds me of Death in Venice or Priscilla Queen of the Desert (I think). When the Drag Queen's necklace breaks, the rest of the group laugh an pronounce him dethroned. His answer is to put his false teeth on top of his head as a tiara..and retort "I am still queen". Because I have been on the Abuse Survivor's site so much, it also evokes someone who is keeping up appearances for those around them. Could also be someone who is suffering from an addiction or affliction and hides it from those they love. Maybe I'm just thinking to much or reading to much into things. When I take photos, usually tons at a time, I often am drawn to a few in particular which talk to me...It's like they are saying something, these objects, and it is my job to translate, because they have no voice of their own. As I stood looking at this now decrepid hunk of metal, covering my nose to avoid the smell of mold...I couldn't help but gaze, transfixed, at the beauty of the queen on the hood, wondering what things she had seen. Hmmm what will I see today....and will I appreciate it? I too, will be carrying a body which will be rusty and achy some day..and will need to rely on the joy I am feeling now. I remind myself of that all the time...I am really blessed and know that I will be a smiling old lady!

Rainy days and Tuesdays....

Actually I think it's a pretty good combination. Here in New Jersey its been pouring all day. Dave and I finally get a break this week...YEAH! Actually it gives me a chance to catch up on a bunch of stuff that didn't get done last week. Now I'm depressing myself :) I have to first finish my "pen flowers" for the church sale in November. My dining room table is covered, end to end, with silk flowers and pens covered in florist tape. As soon as I finish the pens (till the flowers run out!) I can box them up and drop them off at the church..and see my table again! That's what I'll be doing tonight until dinner. I'm making meatloaf since its one of those easy dinners you make and bake. Tonight I also have to turn in my last test and try to whittle away at the Tort Law course. Tomorrow is web site day, when I will be emailing (finally) some screen shots to someone to get a direction. Thursday is dinner with Mom and Dad in PA, which we can't wait for. It's stinky being so far away from one set of parents. Friday I have to get a bunch of stuff done to handout on Sunday about domestic abuse. I have a new position that involves community awareness kinda...I basically get official permission to bug everyone at church to get involved in great causes. I am not bothering in November and December because we already have so much stuff going on. So I figure I'll slip this in in October. I plan on making a bunch of copies and asking people to take them and leave them in places where someone who needs them might find them. I have to warm up to really bothering everyone :) All this while we are working on a refinance of our house.... Well I'm off to try not to maim myself with a glue gun again..I've already burned two fingertips and don't need to lose any more. Stay safe and don't forget to FEED THE HUNGRY WITH A CLICK A DAY!!!!!

Happy Sunday

Good Day to Everyone!! The collection closed for Kristina ending with 171$ which I will be sending this week. Yes, her birthday was last week, but a co-worker of mine had the money and decided to call out sick for a week. I was initially very upset and hurt about this, but there is nothing I can do about it, so... the card will still hopefully be a tremendous surprise, albiet late. I've been doing a lot of thinking about Domestic Violence Awareness Month lately. Probably because of being on the ISurvive message board. I am trying to put something together that could be handed out or left at various locations for someone to put in their wallet if they see it and need it. Until then, following is a information listing the National Hotline which has referrals for all 50 states and is manned 24/7. Also listed is the message board location. Did you know that Liz Claiborne is donating a portion of her proceeds for all online sales to a Domestic Violence Fund? Pretty cool. This week I will also be providing a lit of online resources. It's really important though If you a victim and your abuser has access to your computer that you access the boards and/or sites from a secure location. Internet history is very easy to track. Please be safe. If you have Microsoft Word, you can cut and paste the following onto a Business Card format, print on paper, cut out and leave anywhere. If one person who needs it sees it, you have helped someone. If you or someone you know is frightened about something in your relationship, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224. Help is available to callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Referrals available for all 50 states. Another terrific resource is ISurvive.org. It is a safe place to talk to other abuse survivors via message board and live chat. Remember not to use your home computer, as your history can be tracked. Today my heart and prayers go out of all of you suffering in silence and feeling the weight of a horrific secret that you shouldn't have to carry. You aren't alone and it isn't your fault. Know that.

whoa baby

I have some serious organizing to do! As I said earlier Dave & I had wanted to be out of the house more as well as more involved in our community. Ask and ye shall receive! We are currently at church 2 or 3 nights a week. We have Wednesday night Bible Study (learning a lot!) and classes for membership as well as various things gearing up for the very busy upcoming holidays. The Holloween party is coming as is the annual bake sale, which is a blast. This coming year will find Dave on the Trustees Board and me (I think) on Pastor Parish Relations Committee. They voted the other night, but we haven't heard officially yet. These positions start in January. I am also to chair an Outreach Committee which I am absolutely thrilled about...boy are the wheels turning! I plan of getting all my ducks in a row and coming up with some outlines of things I'd like to do along with a list of possible sponsors. Did I mention no budget LOL. Also I'm still stopping in at ISurvive.Org as a moderator on Fridays and Saturdays. Kennedy and I are having a hard time getting in touch regularly as we work to build a website for Masaba Rural Dev. Organization. It's tough for him also with a sick family member. That's a lot on his plate..must email him today to see how he and his family are doing. I worry when I don't hear from him for a while. On Mondays we attend the Culinary Workshop at Shoprite and are having a blast! I'm really learning a lot and have already duplicated some of the recipes at home. Cooking is so much fun. I have to find some wiggle room for my photography (or I will lose my good rating on the photo contest site Soaphoto.com where I didn't post AT ALL last month) and Blogging and my Podcast. Finally, I have one last test to turn in for the Web Design course before getting the final book. I will do that either this morning or this afternoon after work. I have yet to start my Tort Law for Paralegals course, but do have the book and hope to get the first test done before Monday. So there you have it! I seem to be okay with the appointments, but am having trouble slotting specific times for the studying and Website, because they don't have a set time. I am working on that though..any suggestions would be welcome. :) Today I am going to close the card and collection I've been sending around at work for a wonderful young woman whose birthday is early next week. She is truly amazing and an inspiration to me. Dave and I send cards every month for the kids on Make A Child Smile , but when I read about Kristina, I wanted to do something more. Go ahead and read about her; I'm telling you that you'll want to send her a birthday card! This is someone who truly is an example of what we should all be more like as we make our journey through life. Click the picture for information about Kristina Dave and I are hoping the rain stops today because there is a local Catholic Church having a super festival chock full of Polish food!! Pierogis and Keilbasa YUMMMMMM, oh and a clam bar! Crossing my fingers for dry by 5pm. Well that's all (haha) for today. I hate being a Type A! My friend Anthony at work (my work husband who is exactly like Dave..Justice League included) says that it just means I found what I'm meant to do in life and should conside these activities my 2nd part time job. Maybe he's right. After several accidents I've had where I should have been kaput I always felt like there was a reason; something I was meant to do...hmmmm we'll see. Have a wonderful day and stay safe in the rain.