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Just living life and being sassy!

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I am a mix of introvert and extrovert. I am not fully committed to either side. In my opinion I am a healthy balance between the two. I do not want to be completely cut off from people but sometimes I like to be alone and don’t want to be around anyone.

Large crowds are not my favorite thing though. Most of the time I will avoid them as much as possible. I do not go to the grocery store until after 9:00 p.m. When I go to Walmart or Target I wait until after 10:00 and I only shop on weekdays. There are fewer people and it is much more peaceful.

Concerts on the other hand are something I love to go to. It is one of the few places where I can tolerate the crowd of people and the close quarters when you sit and when you walk around. The concert experience is worth it. They are not for everyone, like my daughter and my husband, but I go regularly and love every one.

To go and hear a band you love sing and play their music live is a completely different experience from listening to them on the radio, CD or even watching them on YouTube. You get to see more of their personality live and learn a little more about them. You also have a new appreciation for their music.

I mostly listen to Contemporary Christian Music but also enjoy Rock and Pop. I like country music as well, but I do not listen to it very often.

A friend and I went to see Mercy Me and Tenth Avenue North over the weekend. This was my first time seeing them both and they did not disappoint. One HUGE plus for going to a Christian concert is that there is no alcohol served so there are no drunk people. Not always a problem at concerts but it can be.

Mercy Me.

Tenth Avenue North.

Several years ago I took a group of teenagers to see Switchfoot, great in concert by the way, and they were serving beer there. Two of the guys in our group got beer spilled on them, something you don’t want to happen when you are the only adult with a group of other people’s kids.

Switchfoot. Jon Foreman of Switchfoot.

My favorites in concert are Skillet, TobyMac and Daughtry. I have seen TobyMac and Daughtry more than once but Skillet only once. Definitely wanting to see Skillet again. They are amazing in concert, very high energy and a great show.

TobyMac.

Skillet.

Daughtry.

It is sometimes hard to get good pics on a phone due to all the lights, but it is better than nothing. Something for the memory books.

Who are your favorite bands in concert?

  Large Crowds and Concerts I am a mix of introvert and extrovert. I am not fully committed to either side. In my opinion I am a healthy balance between the two.

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Biological Father vs. Adoptive Father

Biological Father vs. Adoptive Father

My parents divorced when I was six years old. My father cheated on my mother so she left him. Two years later she remarried and her husband adopted my brother and I. He has been a good father to us, and we have always considered him to be our dad.  I have not seen my biological father (“real dad”) since the day he left. For many years he did not keep in touch with anyone. He never helped my mom…

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DIY Guy

I am married to a DIY guy. He is a do-it-yourself guy all the way. Most of the time this is great. It is nice having a guy around who can fix just about anything, build something, paint, put in new flooring, etc., etc. If he can do something himself he sure ain’t gonna pay someone else to do it. Even if it is something he has never done before, if he thinks he can do it, he will. On the flip…

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I have been asking myself this question for the past year, where has the motivation gone? When I was in my 20’s I developed a passion for working out. It was part of my routine 3-4 times each week. It made me feel better, look better and sleep better, and I didn’t let anything get in the way of my exercise. I didn’t answer my phone or even the door when I was working out, as I have always worked out at home. Well there was a brief time when I first started out when I went to two different gyms but I got tired of it so I bought workout videos (yes it was VHS back then).

  Some people find it difficult to stay motivated to work out at home but I didn’t. In my 20’s I worked jobs where I sat down most of the day so I knew I needed to exercise regularly because of that. This habit continued on into my 30’s. Even during my pregnancies I would exercise and after a brief rest after each baby was born I got back in to my routine. Of course there would be times I would want to skip it but for the most part I was faithful. My love for eating what I want, and not getting fat kept me motivated.

Then I entered my 40’s.

The desire was still there but waning a bit and I started doing lower impact workouts. Premenopause kicked in and my thyroid went haywire so I started putting on a few pounds. By the time I was in my mid 40’s my desire to workout was gone. I knew in my mind that I still needed it but when I was not busy I just wanted to watch TV or get on the internet. I kept exercising, but the bare minimum. It was all I could do to get in twice per week.

Now I’m in my early 50’s and not much has changed. I still have no desire to do it, but on the days I get one in I feel so much better. I get a lot of achy muscles in my neck, shoulders and back and when I exercise I feel much better. Sadly this is probably the only thing keeping me doing as little as I do.

In November last year I purchased a new workout program. It was marked down for the holidays so I bought it then and planned to start in January. Well now it is February and I have not started it yet. I am still going to and I am hoping this is just the thing to get me motivated again, something new and different.

I don’t want to fall apart in my 60’s because I let myself go in my 50’s.  I want to live a long and healthy life.

So where has the motivation I once had gone? Well, maybe it is partly the hormonal changes we women go through, and partly the influence of facebook, instagram and twitter. I think all of these social media sites are great to a degree but I also think we can get lazy because of them. We sit too long in front of our laptops or phones when we should be out taking a walk or being active.

My main goal for the year is to have more balance in my life. I want to limit my time online and be more productive and more active. How do you stay motivated and active in your life?

  Where has the Motivation Gone? I have been asking myself this question for the past year, where has the motivation gone? When I was in my 20's I developed a passion for working out.

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Spiritual Battle in Washington

When I watched the State of the Union Address I was impressed. I am continually amazed at the kind of President Donald Trump has become. He was not my first choice for President in 2016 but he is proving that he means what he says and he truly seems to want what is best for America. While watching the SOTU and noticing the Democrats who would not stand or even clap, even on issues they support, I…

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I’m taking a risk here by talking about this, but I have thoughts and they need to come out. I’m not trying to start an argument or even a debate, but I welcome comments. Please keep it civil or your comments will be removed. Thank you in advance.

I have never been a racist. Now I know what some of you are thinking, that is exactly what a racist would say, but it’s true. I have always believed that we are all created equal by God.

I grew up in the Midwest in mostly white towns and neighborhoods, but I always made friends with minorities. I didn’t view them as different, but I was aware that many people did and that made me feel sorry for them and want to be nice to them even more. I wanted them to realize that not all white people are like that.

When I moved out on my own and started working in the city I had a lot of coworkers and bosses who were minorities. I even dated a couple of black guys who were also coworkers. When I started going to church in my mid 20’s it was probably about 3/4 white and 1/4 minorities.

Now I live in Texas and have for many years and am exposed to a lot of minorities. Churches we have gone to here are usually about 50/50 when it comes to whites and minorities. I have had several black friends but none that I’ve been super close to or would call my best friends. I say all of this to show you what my experience is with minorities, mostly black people.

It seems to me that people have become more and more divided over the past decade. Not only that but more and more black people are protesting and crying racism. Some were not even wanting to celebrate Independence Day because they said they are ashamed of their country. Really? Are things truly that bad? This is hard for me to understand. It seems to me that things have gotten better over the last 50 years.

As a white woman I would just like to explain how I see things. I see more and more men and women of color getting modeling and acting jobs, becoming Mayors, Governors, Congressman and Senators, high paid athletes, CEO’s, business owners, college professors and more.

So when I see people like Jada Pinkett Smith complaining about not enough blacks on the Oscar nominations I have a hard time taking that seriously. There are black actors who have gotten nominated numerous times and won awards as well; Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Jamie Foxx, James Earl Jones, Don Cheadle and Idris Elba to name a few.

Could there be more people of color getting nominations? Of course, but there are a lot of white actors who have never won awards as well. You don’t see them protesting.  There are A LOT of actors, but only so many can be nominated and even fewer win. I think Jada was fighting the wrong fight. Maybe not enough black actors get the roles they deserve. But I have to be honest here, I don’t think her husband is a very good actor. He’s okay but not that impressive. The list of names above are all better actors than Wil Smith. Just sayin.

And what about the take a knee protest? This also seems like nonsense to me. We honor the flag for those who fight for our freedoms and what this country stands for. So in my opinion when you take a knee you are not honoring those who fought for your freedoms in America. Is this country perfect? Of course not, but perhaps these people who think it is so terrible here should visit other countries and see if they still feel the same way.

Why do so many protests by minorities turn violent? When violence is added to a protest it is no longer a protest but a riot. Do they really think this will help their cause? It only makes them look bad and most people no longer want to hear anything they have to say. They lose their credibility when they incite violence.

There have been stories in the media about cops mistreating blacks and I am sure that some of this goes on, but sometimes what I see is black people who show no respect for police officers. Some argue and yell at police and then wonder why the cops get violent with them. Put yourself in their shoes. They don’t know if you have a weapon and what is in your head. If you are showing anger towards them then you might try to harm them. They have to try to stop things from getting worse. They are there to serve and protect so they should be shown respect instead of argued with and yelled at.

I am not saying that I am right or wrong but just sharing my point of view, as a white person. I think many white people see what I see and we do not understand all of the protesting.

Racism I'm taking a risk here by talking about this, but I have thoughts and they need to come out.

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The Things We Do For Family

Sometimes we surprise ourselves at what we will do for those we love. Even better when we surprise our loved ones by what we will do for them. I am not an animal lover per se, but I am not an animal hater either. I’m just one of those people who would choose not to have a pet. I have two children and a husband so I do not really need one more living thing to take care of. Five years ago we…

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In mid December I flew to Cincinnati airport to meet my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for a mini vacation together to see the life-sized Noah’s Ark and Creation Museum. I have wanted to see the Creation Museum for many years, and once I heard about the Ark being built I knew I had to get there. If you have never been I highly recommend them both. They recommend one full day for the Ark and two full days for the Creation Museum and that is exactly what we did. Both are so well done, you will not be disappointed.

To see the Ark up close was amazing. It is the size of the original Ark in the Bible so you really get a feel for what it was like. To think about Noah and his family in there with all of those animals is really incredible. Those women deserve an extra crown for that. I’m not sure how well I would have handled it. My husband says if I had been on the Ark we would have fewer animal species today. He is probably right!

Look at this thing up close! It truly is mind blowing that Noah’s family built an Ark this size.

Yeah, we look pretty small next to this grandiose vessel.

That’s me and my mother-in-law. I like to keep it classy when taking pics.

Inside is beautiful and amazing, but also practical and well thought out. They show animals that would have been on the Ark and possible ways they would be fed and cared for. Here are just a few. They estimated that each family member would feed and care for 85 animals per day. Can you imagine!

Just a few animals. We took too many pics to put them all here. They were very real looking though.

Noah talked and the bird on the desk moved its head the whole time. Very well done.

Noah and the dove.

The world is deceived.

One of the 7 D’s of Deception.

On to The Creation Museum.

Adam and the animals.

Adam and Eve.

God’s Word.

Methuselah. He talked and moved as well.

Noah and one of his sons building the Ark.

Egypt.

Outside was decorated for Christmas and it was beautiful. These pics do not do it justice as these are from my phone. Here are just a few.

It was difficult to decide which pictures to include in this post. I tried to choose those that might pique your interest. We didn’t have a lot of time to do other sightseeing but we just stumbled on this spot by the Ohio River. I bet it is beautiful in the summer and fall.

We were on the Kentucky side of the river, but on the other side is Ohio.

We kept seeing a lot of these white trees.

I hope you enjoyed your peek into the Ark and Creation Museum. Hopefully you will one day be able to visit it for yourself.

Girls Trip, December 2017 In mid December I flew to Cincinnati airport to meet my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for a mini vacation together to see the life-sized Noah's Ark and Creation Museum.

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Happy New Year 2018

Another year has passed and is in the history books. When a new year is beginning do you make new year’s resolutions? I always do, but I like to call them goals because that is what they are. We should always be setting new goals, or renewing old ones, each year. If you want to grow and change and achieve more then you need to be setting goals. There is something about a new year starting that…

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Don't Quit

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is strange with its twists and turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won…

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Let There Be Light

Let There Be Light

Yesterday the hubby and I went to a movie and dinner for date night. We wanted to show our support for the new Kevin Sorbo movie, “Let There Be Light.” We made the right choice. It was a good movie and very well done. If you are not familiar with Kevin Sorbo he played Hercules in the 90’s TV show. He also starred in “God’s Not Dead.” He plays an athiest in Let There Be Light just as he did in…

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Holidays and Family

The holidays are right around the corner, which gets me to thinking about family. I miss seeing family regularly but it just seems to multiply during the holidays. I want to share Thanksgiving and Christmas with my parents and my brother or split the holidays between my family and my in-laws. We have been away from both families for 20 years now. Oh wow, that just hit me. I didn’t actually…

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I am beginning a new adventure, actually a new lifestyle change. I am tired of being overweight and craving sugar all the time so I am going on the Ketogenic Diet. Ninety percent of my life I have been skinny and able to lose weight easily. Now that I am in my 50’s it seems to be much more difficult. The fact that I do not have the desire to workout as much as I used to does not help either.

  My doctor recommended this diet to me about 6 months ago. She told me to try it for 6 weeks to reset my system and said that I would no longer crave sugar and carbs. At the time I didn’t know if I was ready for such a drastic diet change. Give up coke and bread and dessert?

  Six months passed and I had not lost any weight so I decided to go for it. I am ready and feeling determined. I went to the bookstore to buy a book or two on the diet and discovered that a doctor I have followed for years online wrote a book about this diet! That was a confirmation to me that I am doing the right thing. So of course I bought his book and another book which is mostly a cookbook.

I started the diet on Friday so I just finished my third day. The first two days were rough because I felt pretty bad (carb withdrawal I’m sure), but day three was much better and I felt like myself again.

Diets have never been my thing. When I needed to lose weight I would just cut back on carbs and sugar and I would lose the weight. The closer I got to age 50 the more I noticed a change in my body, that dreaded slowing down of the metabolism. Sadly, my motivation to keep working out faithfully was slowing down right along with my metabolism. I was beginning to feel like Carbie.

  This diet journey will not always be easy but if I start losing weight and feeling better that will motivate me to keep going. It is time to take better care of myself and not just go on a six week diet, but make a lifestyle change for a better, healthier and hopefully longer life.

  A YUGE change for me I am beginning a new adventure, actually a new lifestyle change. I am tired of being overweight and craving sugar all the time so I am going on the Ketogenic Diet.

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Friends in High Places?

Friends in High Places?

I’m sure we all have friends in low places. You know the type, the ones who take more from you than they give. Sometimes it is good to help out a friend who has hit bottom and try to lead them back to where they need to be, but we all need friends in high places. Those friends who are always there to pray for us, give an encouraging word or even tell us the truth no matter how difficult it is are…

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Is It Over Yet?

Is It Over Yet?

I was born in the Midwest and I love the weather there. You experience all four seasons and I love that. In Texas summer seems to go on forever. Summer is my least favorite season of the year. I know, I’m in a minority as most people love summer, even in Texas. The number one reason I dislike summer so much is because I am a very hot blooded person. I overheat faster and tolerate being in the sun…

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Growing up I didn’t read books as much as I do now. I was an average kid who played outside all the time and when it was time to come inside I was watching the television. I enjoyed writing though, although not stories so much as letters, notes, diary entries and lists. It’s too bad that someone, a parent or teacher, didn’t nurture that interest in writing at a young age. The public education system really needs to be overhauled, but that is a whole other story begging for its own blog post.

As I got older I started reading more and more, but writing less and less. Our electronic age has created a world where people do very little actual writing. However, true writers adapted quickly to this change and fell in love with their laptops. For me life got busy having children and being a stay-at-home mom. My children love reading and are both good writers as well. Now that my children are getting older I am getting that writing bug again. Actually I have had it for a couple of years now but have procrastinated on getting started.

The time seems right so I have started this blog to get me writing again. It is still new but I am excited and enjoying it so far. I am planning on just taking it one step at a time and see where this blog takes me. Who knows, I may get a new inspiration and completely change things. My goal is to write a book. I have several ideas but do not feel completely ready for that commitment so for now I will take it one step at a time, one day at a time. The task of writing a book sometimes sounds exciting and other times overwhelming, but if we wait until we feel 100% ready we will never move forward. Our goals should be big and stretch us a bit, or even a lot. I recently ate lunch at Panda Express and this was in my fortune cookie. This is a keeper.

  My Writing Journey Growing up I didn't read books as much as I do now. I was an average kid who played outside all the time and when it was time to come inside I was watching the television.

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Nothing like a hurricane to show man how small he is. Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast as a category 4. That is a large and dangerous hurricane, and apparently one that big has not hit the Texas coast since 1961.

We live 3 hours from the gulf coast. I would not want to live any closer than that. Honestly I would prefer to live further north altogether. There is a lot to love about Texas but I am just more of a northern girl.

When I see storms like this it makes me think of how man gets full of himself and thinks he is invincible and nothing can stop him.  Man is sometimes so smart and creative and does amazing things throughout the world, but sometimes he gets full of himself and thinks he doesn’t need anyone or anything to help him, including God. When a man is extremely intelligent, rich or powerful he does not see his need for God in his life. He forgets that his talents come from God, or perhaps he is unaware. It makes me think of the Tower of Babel. Man was full of himself then as well and thought there was nothing he could not do, including building a tower to heaven. God put a stop to that and put man back in his place.

There are many theories out there on what is to blame for the extreme weather on earth. One theory blames man because of the chemtrails they spray trying to “control” the weather. I hope this is not true, but considering how much man likes to control things (aka play God) I guess I wouldn’t be too surprised. Another theory is that God is sending them to get our attention and draw us to Him. This would not surprise me either, especially considering how divided we seem to be lately.

On a positive note, when there is a disaster like this people come together in unity. They help one another without regard to skin color or political affiliation. This is when mankind shows his best side. If only this behavior would last longer and not take a disaster to make it happen.

Let me encourage you to go out of your way to be nice to people, lend a helping hand where needed, or just say something positive and encouraging to someone. If everyone would practice random acts of kindness the world would be a better place. It can be contagious so spread it everywhere!

If you are interested in giving towards Hurricane Harvey relief here are two good organizations.

  Samaritan’s Purse

World Vision

Showing Man He is Small Nothing like a hurricane to show man how small he is. Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast as a category 4.