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 |   My thoughts/experiences/feelings/beliefs, depending on my mood. Blah, blah, blog. |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **  Winner of "Best Blog of 2011" for "The Quills"  . Previous winner of "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Round 1. A big, heartfelt thank-you to all of my fans and supporters!  Welcome to the randomness, silliness, craziness, and all-around tomfoolery – what a great word that isn't used nearly enough – that is my blog. Don't get me wrong, it isn't always silly and crazy. Sometimes it's serious or sad but, more often than not, it's comical. Nonetheless, it is always entertaining. I try to see the fun in life. I'll add to it as much as I can so make sure you check back often.  Feel free to leave a comment or review to let me know you stopped by.  DISCLAIMER: If you are someone who gets offended easily, then you shouldn't go any further. I'm up-front, to-the-point, sarcastic and honest (sometimes brutally so). I tell it like it is, or the way I think it is. If you don't get offended very easily, then you've come to the right blog. All are welcome. The fun is free! My life is an open book blog. Hilarity and chaos ensue... ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Day 6 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Funny Friday!The "How To" article is a staple of popular magazines. We don't always need informative-yet-boring "How To" articles...what we sometimes need is "How NOT To" advice. Try to make us laugh and tell us a good way of not doing something. This is an easy one. My "How NOT to" advice has to do with marriage. If you don't want to marry an asshole, then don't marry my ex-husband. That is all. You're welcome!  |
Day 5 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Again...from the War Chest...Do you believe in miracles? Why, or why not? I’m probably going to go to Hell for saying this, but at this point, it’s really go big or go home. Being the HUGE sports fan that I am, whenever I think of miracles – or just hear the word ‘miracle’ – I automatically think of this. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] For those of you that don’t know, that’s from the 1980 U.S. Men’s Olympic hockey team. That epic win in Lake Placid was one of the greatest moments in sports. I may have only been 3 years old at the time, but I can remember my dad and my brothers being ridiculously excited. Since I idolized them, I was excited, too, even though I had no idea what was actually going on, or how historic that moment truly was. However, I don’t think that’s what Fivesixer  was referring to with this prompt. I am a spiritual person. I’m also a religious person. I don’t go to church all that much, but I have a relationship with God that suits me just fine. In my opinion, you don’t have to sit in church every week in order to be a good Christian. I’m not knocking those who do – not at all – that’s simply my belief.I think my biggest issue with organized religion is that I’m very analytical and extremely scientific-minded. That being said, I have questions. A lot of them. If what the bible tells us is true then evolution is not. Evolution has been proven by science. The bible? Well…have you seen or read The Da Vinci Code? I know it’s fiction, but there are some valid points. I’d always thought that, which is why I probably loved the book so much when it came out. Some religious diehards probably view this as sacrilegious. I’m OK with that. We’re all entitled to our own beliefs and opinions. I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I believe he was a divine man, but still just a man. I believe he was able to perform miracles, but that some of the stories in the bible are just that, stories. Miracles happen each and every day. Whether it’s a child’s laughter, a newborn’s first cry, a loving couple saying “I do”, flowers in bloom, a bright, sunny day, the sound of waves crashing to the shore, love, laughter, sloppy, wet dog kisses, an amazing sunset, a beautiful rainbow, a starry sky. I could keep going…and going…and going. Miracles happen all around us if only we take the time to see and appreciate them. If you couldn't surmise by all the things I've written above, my answer is yes. I do believe in miracles.   In Other News  There was a police officer shot and killed in Philadelphia today. As you know, Chris is a detective with the Philadelphia police. I’ve dated cops before, but this hits home. Rest in peace, Officer Robert Wilson III. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Please take a moment to say a prayer in his name. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Police-Officer-Shot-in-North-Philly-29...  Music, Music, Music  Could someone do me a solid and take this guy to church already? Please. And thank you. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 4 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : From the War Chest...Name a time when you broke a rule or law. Did you get caught, or did you get away with it? I am about to disappoint all of you. No, not because I’ve done something terrible, but because I am an incredibly boring person. No, seriously. I have ALWAYS been labeled “the good girl”. When I filled out the paperwork for the apartment I’m in, Jen went with me since I had already asked her if she wanted to move in with me. Even though she doesn’t pay to live here, she still had to complete a background check too because she’d be living here. Both of our background checks came back within 5 minutes. They said they’d never seen that happen before. I told them that we were really boring people. Now, back to our prompt. The only thing I can think of happened back when I was in 6th grade. I was at a sleepover at a friend’s house. There were 5 or 6 of us. When the adults were asleep, one of the girls – not me – had the brilliant idea that we should sneak out. I think she wanted to meet up with her boyfriend or something. I was dead set against it. We all sat there arguing for a long time. Finally, I agreed to go with them because if I hadn’t, I probably would have been ridiculed in school. You know how important fitting in is during our formative years. We snuck out and went all the way over to the other side of town. We got caught by the cops. They drove us back to the house where we were staying. We all got into A LOT of trouble from our parents and were grounded for what seemed like an eternity at the time. And so ends the story of my life of crime. I told you I was boring!  This prompt made me think of something I wrote as part of an activity for WDC’s birthday back in 2011. At the time, I was one of the group leaders of the Talent Pond. The Talent Pond’s activity for WDC’s birthday that year was the Great Writing.Com Birthday Caper. Linked below is my police statement for the theft that occurred. I implicated quite a few people, too, and linked to items in their ports as part of my statement. Some of them are no longer valid items, but you can still get the idea. It was a lot of fun! I had a blast writing it.
Dateline  I met Chris one month ago tonight.  Music, Music, Music I obviously had to go with this song tonight. Enjoy and good night!! [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 3 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Seeing as how it's only the 3rd, I don't think it's fair to do an actual "Two-Fer Tuesday" prompt. Instead, pump your own tires...share with us an item of yours that you're especially proud of. Bonus points for today if you choose to review one of your fellow challengers' items (and you submit the review using the tag in your entry). It's like a "community spirit" thing!Welcome to this edition of Tuesdays with Morrie…I mean…Julie! I hate talking about myself, tooting my own horn, or pumping my own tires as Norb put it, but that’s our prompt for today. It’s hard for me to pick one piece that I’m proud of. That’s not bragging, either. I find it tough to choose because, quite frankly, I think my writing stinks. While perusing through my portfolio, I came across a piece that I wrote as part of a prompt for the very first round of the 30DBC. I decided that poem would be a fitting item to share with you all.
Here is the entry (with the prompt), if you’d like to read that as well, "Invalid Entry" . I guess the poem isn’t all that bad. It did win Honorable Mention in "Invalid Item" and was also later published in a magazine.I know this is a super short entry tonight, but I just got home from my nephew’s confirmation. By nephew, I mean Jen’s son, Dylan. It’s been a long day. I promise I’ll write more tomorrow, but I’m spent right now. I'll try to get to the review part of this prompt tomorrow. In Other News Fivesixer ’s e-mail with the prompt also said, “20 Challengers this month! I've got my work cut out for me!”You’ve got it allllllll wrong, Norb. We’ve got our work cut out for us. There are some seriously heavy hitters participating in the challenge this month. Looks like I’m going to have to put my game face on and get serious.  In other words, quit your whining!  Haha, just kidding! You know I love ya, twinner! Dateline Tomorrow it will be one month ago since Chris and I met. Awwwwww..... Music, Music, Music When I read the part in the prompt that said it’s a community spirit thing, for some reason, my brain immediately thought of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. I can’t explain it either, but there you have it. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 2 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : WILDCARD MONDAY!! March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb (or vice/versa). What are you most looking forward to this spring?Have you ever wondered where idioms like this come from? Maybe I’m the only nerd that does. Some believe that it is due to the positions of the constellations at the beginning and the end of March. Leo, the Lion, and Aries, The Ram (or Lamb) and their prominence in the night sky during the month of March.I honestly couldn’t care where the expression came from. What I am looking forward to the most is the lamb kicking the lion’s ass right on out of here. Figuratively speaking, of course. I’m pretty sure the lion snacks on lambs in the real world. I hate Winter and everything about it. I don’t like cold temperatures. I hate SNOW, wind, ice, sleet, freezing rain, shorter days, and anything else that I deem to be unpleasant about the most dreadful season of the year. I am a Summer baby at heart. Always have been, always will be. I do enjoy Spring, but my allergies don’t. With everything in bloom, I typically end up being a sneezing, sniffling, puffy-eyed, itchy mess. Sounds attractive, doesn’t it? Allergy medication, eye drops, tissues, and nose spray are my springtime staples.  I know you guys are jealous.Basically, anything we can do to fast forward through Winter and get to temperatures well above 75 degrees Fahrenheit (I felt the need to clarify for my non-U.S. readers like Brother Nature  ), I’m all for it. Bring on longer days, sunny skies, green grass, suntan lotion, BBQs, swimming, going to the beach, walking the boardwalk, and driving with the windows down, sunroof open, & music blasting.  Those are just a few of my favorite things about Spring and Summer. Dateline My good friend, Andy (aka Jakrebs  ), called me out for failing to provide a Dateline update lately. Sorry guys! Things have just been crazy, so here’s an update for you.Not this past Saturday, but the Saturday before (February 21st), he got snowed in here. He had his kids for the entire week before so we hadn’t seen each other at all that week & we missed each other. I had plans that Saturday night. My roommate and I were having our friends, Misty and Angie, over for a Girl’s Night In. Chris came here since I had stuff to do to get ready for my Girl’s night.The plan was that we were going to hang out, grab lunch, and maybe catch a movie or something. We knew that there were snow showers coming, but the news said it would only be a dusting and nothing more. Like I said, I was supposed to have a Girl’s Night In at my place that night. Chris also had plans with his buddies that night. The girls were supposed to be here at 6:30. Chris was going to leave here at 4:00. I’m sure you guys see where this is going. Around 4:00, I took Bailey for a walk. It was like a blizzard outside. We had already far exceeded the "dusting" that the local meteorologists were calling for. (Note to self: In my next life, I want to be a meteorologist. It's the only occupation I know of where you can be wrong 90% of the time and still get paid a crapload of money.) I told Chris and he went out on my balcony to see how bad it was. We turned on the news to see what they were saying. Of course, they were saying it was going to be stopping within the hour. He said he was going to wait another half hour and then leave. A half hour later, it’s still like a blizzard out there. So he was going to give it another half hour. During that time, Jen sends a text saying she’s being sent home from work because they’re closing due to weather. At the same time, Misty and Angie are texting to say how bad the roads are. I’m relaying all of this to Chris. I told him that he could stay if he wanted, but if he was going to leave, he should probably do so sooner rather than later. We went through several more iterations of Chris saying he was going to give it another half hour. Jen (my roommate) literally works around the corner and it took her almost an hour to get home. She was telling us how bad it was out there. Chris said he was going to try to leave, despite both Jen and I telling him that he should just stay. He said he didn’t want to interfere with our Girl’s Night. We BOTH told him he was being ridiculous. But, he’s a man, so he’s stubborn. I’m a worrier, so I was ridiculously worried about him driving home. He lives about 30 minutes from here and that’s with no traffic and no weather-related issues. He kissed me goodbye, promised he’d be careful, and told me he’d let me know when he got home.About 20 minutes after he left, Misty, Angie, Jen, and I all decided that it was too risky to have the girls come here. We rescheduled for the next day. So, our Girl’s Night In became Sunday Funday Girl’s Day In. About 45 minutes after Chris left, he texted me saying that he was going to be knocking on my door momentarily. I thought he was busting my balls and that he was actually home. Lo and behold, as I was replying to his text, there was a knock at my door. He said it took him about 15 minutes just to clean off his truck. When he got on the road, traffic was bumper-to-bumper. I am right near the highway. Seriously, it’s about 3 minutes from my house. He couldn’t even GET to the highway. Between the icy roads and traffic in general, he couldn’t even get there. It took him more than a half hour to try to get to the highway entrance, turn around, and come back to my place. I was SOOOO glad he didn’t get on the highway. There were so many accidents. Chris, Jen, and I (and Bailey, too, of course) just hung out here. We had dinner, and we drank…and drank…and then we drank some more. Beer, wine, moonshine, and even some shots. We got HAMMERED. Jen, in an effort to embarrass me in front of Chris, decided to pull out our old yearbooks and some old photo albums. For being my best friend for over 24 years, she doesn’t know me very well. I don’t embarrass easily. We went through the yearbooks and photo albums, told stories from our childhoods, and laughed for HOURS. Seriously, I don’t think I have ever laughed that hard in my entire life. Chris and Jen both said the same thing.The next morning, I made breakfast for the 3 of us and Chris went home after that. Bailey has become very attached to Chris already. When he left, she watched from my front window. She usually only does that when I leave. Last week was kind of a blur with my aunt’s passing and everything I found out about my brother. My aunt’s funeral was on Thursday. When that was done, I went to Chris’s. We went out for a nice, quiet, relaxing, candlelight dinner. Then we went back to his place and watched the Flyers lose.  Aside from the fact that the Flyers suck, it was the perfect ending to an absolutely terrible day. It was just what the doctor ordered.Chris and I did not see each other this weekend. I had plans on Friday night and he had plans on Saturday night. That’s one of the reasons we decided to do something on Thursday night. I’m not sure when I’ll get to see him again. This week is pretty busy for both of us. I’m guessing that we won’t see each other until the weekend.  Music, Music, Music I’m going to leave you with a little Spring Love Stevie B. style. Enjoy and think warm thoughts!! This Winter has been too long and far too cold! [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] And here’s an additional song, just because it’s a good song and it has Monday in the title.  That thumbs up is for the song, not the fact that it's Monday. I hate Mondays about as much as I hate Winter. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 1 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : The Sunday News: Pick a random article from the headlines and talk about it. Share your opinions and feelings about it. Encourage a conversation.Well, it’s March. You know what that means, right? It means that we’re now back to an official round of the 30DBC. I signed up, even though I already know I won’t be able to blog every day. I’ll be away for a week for work, so it’ll be difficult to blog during that week, but I’ll try my best. Today’s prompt is perfect, in my opinion. March also happens to be Endometriosis Awareness Month. This is something that is very near and dear to my heart. Here is a headline I found: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/womenshealth/20150301_Endometriosis__fertili... It took almost 8 years for me to get a diagnosis. Eight long years of suffering with pain that was excruciating and unimaginable. There were numerous visits to doctors & specialists, medications, and being in-and-out of the hospital. Finally, a laparoscopy confirmed the diagnosis. I was thrilled to finally know what plagued me, but my happiness was very short-lived because moments after being told what it was, I was also told there is no cure. My doctor went on to say that it was one of the leading causes of infertility and, with a case as severe as mine, I may never have kids. I was 19 at the time, so I wasn’t ready for marriage and children yet, but it was something I had always dreamed of having…someday. I went through many more years of enduring pain that was so bad that there were days that I couldn’t even get out of bed. When I tried, I collapsed. I had 4 laparoscopies, but they only provided temporary relief. I was Stage 4. My doctor said he’d never seen anything like it before in his life. He told me it was everywhere. He was a specialist at a teaching hospital. With my permission, he used my case as a reference when he taught. I was “Patient X” to his students. He told them about all of my treatments, the medications (including the experimental ones we tried), all of the surgeries, my numerous hospital stays, and he showed them the images taken curing each of my laparoscopies. I kept hoping that, one day, one of those students would eventually find a cure & that, in some small way, I had helped. I still hold out hope for that. On January 14, 2011, Endometriosis almost killed me. I had to have a hysterectomy to save my life. My body was so weak that the surgery itself almost killed me too. My doctor told me that I was a miracle & the only thing that saved me was my strength & my will to fight. I told him that I wasn’t done here. Endometriosis took my chance to ever have a child. It took my marriage. Endo almost took my life, too. I took it back. We need a better way to diagnose and treat this awful disease, and we deserve a cure. That’s a status that I posted on Facebook on December 2, 2014 for Giving Tuesday. It was liked and shared by the Endometriosis Foundation of America. The post on their page received almost 500 more likes, 80 shares, and numerous comments. I felt the need to re-share it here, as part of today’s entry. It’s definitely fitting. Endometriosis is a robbing disease. My question is, for those of you that have heard of it, how many of you thought it was just bad cramps? You can be honest. It’s OK, because it’ll prove my point about needing to raise awareness. Part of today’s prompt is to encourage a conversation about it, so that’s what I’m doing. Converse, people, converse! Music, Music, Music I couldn’t really find any songs about headlines or news, but I think this one comes pretty close. It certainly mentions many things that have made the news over the years. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
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