Getting my feet wet...

It has been a long time...but it feels good to be here again. Who would have thought that blogging would not be considered a work function. I mean, how is one suppose to start the day without visiting the few places that inspire you? True there is always the home computer but after sitting in front of a computer for 9hr plus a day, it takes more than a little will power to prop oneself back in front of another at times when you do not need to be there.

There has been so many ups and downs the past year I would not even know where to begin. One of the most life changing things that has happened was my 15yr old son being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
There was a time that I was so overwhelmed and lost that I thought that I would never find my way. But I made, we made it. The world did not stop and life continued. Life is full of lessons, some we make it through and walk away and some we take away what we made it through.

Our family has seen a lot of death this year. My uncle was the one that hit the hardest. Although we were not as close as most, he held such a special place in my heart. He was such a good man, a good friend, a husband, a father that I had often wish that was mine.
We are not all cut from the same cloth and acceptance is sometimes hard to swallow and the day of his funneral I swallowed all the had been keeping me from having a relationship with my father and seen him for him and not just all of his flaws. He may not be there all of the time or be there in the way that I want him, but he is there and that is more than a lot of people can say.

As life continues to go on I continue to learn and grow. Compasion is probably my biggest weakness, but is also my greatest reward.

Spell of the Moon

Spell of the Moon - by Lynette M. Shoup

Gentle winds blowing softly

Talk to me spell of the moon

Lift your sweet voice up to me

And sing me your happy tune

In threads of white and silver

Wrap me in your soft cocoon

Cover me in mystery

In the sands upon the dune

Cast aside my deepest fears

Talk to me spell of the moon

Take me far away with you

Before the hour strikes noon

Clouds erase my memories

With you I want to commune

Running with the dark of night

Off to your secret lagoon

Now seeking my greatest escape

On a stormy night in June

I am forever greatful

To meet the spell of the moon.

Thinking back

So often people share their stories of the past and all the great memories they have. As I sat here this morning, trying to think of a glorious story to share, I have come up with nothing.

Now as I did not have a bad childhood, it was also not full of fond memories like all childhoods should be. Growing up with an alcoholic father and a brother with an attitude that would out do any teenager going through puberity does not leave a lot of room for the good times to roll.

I can only remember one time my father going on a trip with us as a family, and that was only because it was to go look at a timeshare in NY that he was interested in. If the price was right and the deal made, he would then have a new fishing retreat that only my brother would ever get to enjoy. We did take family vacations but they were always without my father. My grandmother was always willing to fill the void and for that I am very greatful for her, at times she was the best father anyone could ever have.

Even after my parents separated and my father tried to bond his new family with his old one, the "family" vacations were limited. The first year we all, my step brother and sister, my step mom, my father and brother and I, packed up and headed for a lake in NY. Ahh, any girls dream, a week away from her boyfriend and fishing, it just could not get any better than this. Even though it was not my dream vacation, I have finally got my father away from civilization and all to myself so I was going to make the best of it. The week went by quickly and all in all it was a good week even though I never got to spend one on one time that I so desperately wanted with my father. We headed home with promises of a beach vacation for the girls the next year. To this day I wait for that call that my new family and I will be going to the beach for the summer vacation we were promised so long ago. I wonder if my father ever thinks about it?

Dream job??

It was another great weekend, beautiful weather, great times and great people.

After finding out there was a shooting at/outside of the local wave pool that my son and I were at yesterday, I decided to get on line to see if I could find out more as the person that told me about it lacked in the detail department and I had missed the news. So while searching for the information I came across the following headline:

Company's Want Ad: Condom Testers Needed

In Melbourne Australia, Durex is recruiting 200 adults as product testers. Both male and femals are invited to apply and their applications are to include an explanation of why they would make an "expert" condom tester.

Now why there is not pay for this job of condom tester, each member will receive a pack of Durex sex products and a chance to will 1,000 Australian dollars.

Now to me, this article screamed porn movie. What could be more appealing to a porn director than a room full of 200 people having sex. Assuming of course that the testing was to be done onsite.
I could go so many directions with this article, but I think will leave that up to you.

Do you feel lucky?

Do you feel lucky? Well Saturday is one of if not the biggest days for superstitious across America. Saturday will be 7-7-07, in numerological terms that's about as big as it gets for superstitious. It is said that about three times the normal number of people planned to get married that day at 7 in the morning no less. In a Tennessee football stadium, Christians will gather to pray on a day that had good Biblical implications for many. The number seven represents a covenant.

According to the experts (and we all know how they work), Saturday is no more or less likely to be lucky than any other day. But try telling that to casinos across the country who are counting on the "7" themed promotions they will be advertising to attract superstitios gamblers.

"The numerology on this day -7-7-07- is aphenomenal," Harijiwan wrote on his web site. "Seven represents the aura. Three sevens equal 21 (2+13). Three represents the positive mind. And the 7 p.m. hour and you have four sevens, which equals 28 (2+810). Ten is the radiant body."

I am not sure what all that means, but I sure hope I get lucky on 7-7-07 and you do too.

Busy, busy, busy

It is a busy day today and I suspect it will be that way for awhile, which is not necessiarily a bad thing, makes the work days go by fast and it also means that I have a job.

The 4th was good, I did not do the traditional bbq and fireworks, instead B and I went to the movies and dinner. It was amazing to see how many people were at the movies yesterday, it was pretty crowded and some shows were sold out. My 4th picnic will come on Saturday as we will be celebrating my nephew's b-day which was actually the 4th. By this point in the summer, I am actually burnt out on the picnic thing but have many more to attend.

Let Freedom Ring

"Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day, be celebrated through America, by the sons of freedom, from age to age till time shall be no more. Amen and Amen." Virginia Gazette on July 18, 1777

Gives you goose bumps, don't it? I have always gotten goose bumps when our national anthem is played. It is such a powerful song and stands for a lot of things for a lot of people, including myself.

Although July 4th is celebrated as America's official split from Britain's rule and the beginning of the AMerican Revolution, the actual series of events show that the process took far longer than a single day.

We celebrate the 4th of July for the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 declaring us independent from Great Britain. It was not until a year later, on July 4, 1777 that Philadelphia marked Independence Day by adjourning Congress and celebrating with bonfires, bells and fireworks. As we all know this tradition spread and the observations across the nation became even more common at the end of the War of 1812, and in 1941, Congress declared July 4 a legal Federal holiday.

These words are from the last letter that Thomas Jefferson ever wrote:

"May it be to the world, what I believe it will be...the signal of arousing men to burst the chains...and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That fourm, which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. ...For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them."