Life explained

Paul Overstreet – Sowin' Love

So patiently she'd listen to our problems
And we knew she heard every word we said

She'd say, "Children this old world is full of scratches
And in your life your bound to have a few"
I guess that's why the good Lord gave us patches
So we could start each day out feelin' new

Scratches are the problems of this world, heartaches, hardships

Patches are friends, love, and hugs, and prayers

My published article on the importance of our military

How Operation Gratitude Shaped My Future


“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.”–Henry Drummond.

second guessing

A minute ago, as i was reviewing my practice college algebra quiz, i got a certain problem wrong. and i came to the conclusion it was because i second guessed myself. My first hunch was the correct answer. Then my creative mind kicked in and the gears started turning.
Don't second guess yourself in life. Going with your initial hunch builds confidence and self esteem. If it turns out wrong, ex algebra problem, then you learn from it.
Taking it to a higher, esoteric level; perhaps it's God, helping you along your journey.

Computer programmer teaches homeless to code

I'm glad to see the networks airing stories like this. There should be more of it. If Pdiddy created a network for music, someone should make a network for positive, life changing news

Why military are heroes reason #1638 rev.

The military deserve respect because they chose a profession which keeps them away from their families (even if the family is going through a hardship).

My husband is a Marine deployed in Okinawa right now and will be gone through the holidays. I am going through a miscarriage with our first child, and he can't come home to be with me. 

He is my hero. Every marine deals with loss and hardship in their own way. Mine deals with it on his own, and without me during this time. 

It breaks my heart that I can't comfort him and that he is hurting because he can't comfort me.

Military support organizations like Operation Gratitude get the support from Americans to the troops who don't see a lot of support like other military professions.

Largest gathering of Redheads!

Largest Redhead Gathering

Yes, I'm in the Guinness Book of World Records. Though it may be a very small article; but I'm still there

Redheads extinct?

I'm sure there's a number of people that jokingly say the world would be better if redheads were extinct. But this is a myth. If anyone would like to post sources on whether it's true or not, please feel free to leave a comment below this entry.

Otherwise, Long Live Redheads!

current unfortunate situation

 

My understanding of this is the only thing keeping me from getting pissed at God

Currently I'm at a low point- I'll just list them

Unexpectedly let go from great job that has a piece of my heart

Unemployed, with a deadline of funds running out approaching

Family's financial situation depends on me

Relative passed away Saturday (Rest peacefully Mary Louise)

and can no longer go on my Birthday vacation snow trip

feeling lost- can't figure out what my future career is (feeling behind)

One light there is I thank God for everyday - Jon

  

 He's certainly keeping me afloat. Of course besides God and his 'plan' he has for me (which is getting annoying now due to my cluelessness) 

Closing doors/ opening doors

It's important to try accept change, whether you like it or not. He has something different, better, in store for you.
I Thank God For Shutting a Door & Opening A New One. :) Thank God For Shut Doors.
God shut the door to my worst boyfriend experience, and opened the door to my best (&current).

2012

Glad 2012 is over. only got a little wiser, couple of lessons on love, a new car, and a new boyfriend :) so glad its over

A Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love, I would sleep,
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

 

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack; brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before.
My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December."
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram always remembers."

"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures; he's sure got her smile."
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life for my sister or brother,
Who stand at the front against any and all
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "Harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least?
Give you money," I asked, "Or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
for being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
that we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

I found this, Copyright to rightful owner

 

shucks!

Know what sucks?
When you realize you're mature enough to understand you're over-reacting & emotional because of your own accord, not another person's mistake.



being a grown-up stinks :p

Why is it women want what they can’t have?

Why is it chicks want what they can’t have?

It’s because we’re obsessive by nature, and we fantasize. So, we fantasize about what we want, and we become obsessed with it. But, of course, we can’t have it because it’s a fantasy.

#lessons:

patience (waiting), acceptance

note to teenage girls

There's always going be other people to compare you to other girls. You only need to worry about you.

"appears particularly strange" - LOL moment

fb post:
LOL moment - when you're so deep in thought, you snap out of it and realize what you were doing physically was such a strange stance,  a bi-stander would think "what the hell is she doing?"

 story:
appearance- i was wearing my boots & 'jammies, morning hair, wearing over-sized jacket

action - (in my opinion appeared as a monkey or gorilla gait) circling the pool, scuffing (lazy walk), holding home phone handset, chewing on a spoon/ playing with spoon in mouth

event - drifted from reality/ strayed from reality - pondering/ deep in thought & stopped dead in tracks; realized (the scene appeared particularly strange) if my dad was watching he'd be thinking "what the hell is wrong with this girl/ what the hell is she doing" "is she ok?"

after seeing multiple times a particular ad on fb, i wonder if true:
the worlds largest sperm bank denies redheads

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 

The soldiers who stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are hand picked and rigorously tested

'Each soldier must have strong military bearing, discipline, stamina and present an outstanding soldierly appearance. Each Sentinel must be able to flawlessly perform seven different types of walks, honors and ceremonies. They must retain vast amounts of knowledge concerning the Tomb, Arlington National Cemetery, the United States Army and their unit.'

They must be perfect citizens, retain honor, exist with integrity... etc. they are the example of the U.S. military.

Osama Bin Laden eliminated by US forces

4 months short of 10th anniversary of 9/11. end of global war on terrorism. this has defined a generation. this was a war on fear. Bin Laden was eliminated by US forces. US has custody of the body. overjoyed is an understatement. this feeling is indescribable

4 months short of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Remember where you were when it happened? Remember watching the faces coming out Ground Zero? End of the global war on terrorism. This war has defined a generation. The war on fear is over. US has custody of the body. Oh how it feels on the inside. So emotional. Over-jubilant. The feeling fabricates on the inside. God bless our Troops. God bless America

New years resolution...

Everyone should make this one of their New Year's resolutions:
appreciate yourself.
contemplate/review the following:
what you do/what you don't do; whether it be for yourself, for others, for animals, for the planet, for society.
do you do the right thing without trying? do you cheat in life in anyway? did you give back the extra 5 dollars change the cashier handed you?
did you abandon the young, un-wed mother you knocked up? do you deny this responsibility?
do you work hard just to provide, to please, for others' happiness? do you take another man's kids as your own?
do you/ did you serve in the military? do you/did you serve in the police force and are not corrupt? are you/ were you a fireman? are you in the medical field; are you a medical nurse/ doctor?
how you are; do you have principals? morals? integrity? are you a criminal? do you follow the laws without conscious effort?

Article from The Daily World

Redheads and More Redheads set record

DEBORAH TRACY

The Daily World

The scent of sunscreen filled the air as natural redheads of all ages gathered to establish a new Guinness World Record in Sammamish on Saturday. Hoquiamites Denise Baumgardner and her daughter, Hannah, 12, joined the sea of red tresses glimmering in the sun to set a record for the most natural redheads in one place at the same time.

All told, 901 redheads from auburn to copper to mahogany to strawberry got together, more than surpassing the Guinness requirement of 250 to set the new record.

The event, entitled "Redheads and More Redheads Day," took place at the Skyline High School stadium and was the brainchild of professional photographer Anne Lindsay of Sammamish. A "bottle" redhead herself and thus not allowed to count as one of the redheads in attendance, Lindsay has been working on a book, photographing redheads and collecting their stories.

"A lot older redheads say they were teased unmercifully as a kid; but not the younger ones. There's a rise in appreciation for redheads in the world," Lindsey said.

Redheads make up only about 2 percent of the population. The redheads were counted by two official "clickers" who were watched by two notary publics. The mass gathering resulted from a combination of public relations and social networking on Twitter and Facebook.

Baumgardner was "Facebooked" by a friend who had heard of the event. She was glad she and her daughter made the trip.

"We met a lot of nice people. It was fun to be with other redheads, we didn't feel like the minority," she said.

She acknowledges she and her daughter do feel a little different here on the Harbor, estimating there are only three or four kids at Hoquiam High with red hair.

"It's a great thing, I'm not dissing it. We are unique and we are blessed by that," Baumgardner said.

A second Redheads and More Redheads Day next year is scheduled for Saturday, July 16, 2011.