Call me Creativity....

Your Name's Power is Creativity

Your name's power is that it helps you be creative.
Your name conveys both purity and skill.
People who meet you can't help but think you are charming.
You try to live your life with people you trust, surrounded by nature.

your name's power

Long distance operator...

after I lost my mother I put a note by the telephone to remind me that I could no longer call her. Good, bad, happy or sad, she was gone and I could not share with her in the same way. I still have the note. love and miss you every day mama.

dancing in heaven 13 years.

Dear Winter,

I had composed a long letter listing the many reasons I feel you should depart as soon as possible. I decided that you have encroached far too long on my precious time to waste any of it in long diatribes. The four of us only have so much time in a year, three months to be exact. With that said I will be short and sweet with my request: Winter you MUST leave now.

thankyouverymuch,

Spring

p.s. the snow this morning...ha, not so funny.

Stranger in a strange land....

and as it happens to be, it's my own home.

All y'all give the most wonderful advice and I am forever grateful. Had I not listened to it I would have crumbled days ago. As it is crying for a few days will probably be all I need to grieve the end of a life-long relationship.

Thanks for checking in on me. I plan to be around this weekend to catch up with all y'all.

When you don't know what to say...

This is the post where I don't know what to say. I've been walking in a strange land these past few days...a stranger in a strange land.

My brother arrived Friday afternoon. We spent the weekend just hanging about the house, looking at pictures of the family, my parents and their siblings (how ironic), and, most recently, pictures of our own families. We've grocery shopped three times and eaten more food than should be allowed by law and God and my clothing manufacturer. We've talked. And cried. And talked.

Today my sister came over. She brought more food that none of us should have eaten and while I quietly observed, she and brother made pizza from scratch. It was excellent. Her being here however, was not.

I have been accused of having an agenda. My only 'agenda' is to not get sick or have another heart attack because of the stress these people cause me. Enough said.

'Thank you all so very, very much for your support and kind words. It means so much to me to come here and know that you are thinking of me or praying for me. I really can't express my gratitude to all of you. I am so lucky to have found you...and I will check back in with a full report as soon as I can...:)

A different kind of Friday...

This evening my brother flies into town for an eight day visit. We will pick him up at the airport and he will be staying with us. This is the brother that disappeared several years ago. He walked out of his house the day after Christmas, leaving his wife, his home, his life, and was not heard from again until last summer when he got in touch with me. We were unsure if he was hurt or perhaps even dead. He called with nary a word as to where he had been or why.

I bought his plane ticket and sent it to him.

The last time all of us were together was to attend our father's funeral and divide the estate. Hateful words were slung, things I could have never imagined, from the mouths of my siblings. Painful words that I tried to excuse in the name of grief, but I know better. You don't say things like that if you don't mean them.

I need to find peace with this.

We are hoping to have a little family reunion, the sibs and I, as we are older now and should realize that time is fleeting. It draws near for all of us. I am hoping to see my sister again. I haven't seen her for five years. I had words of anger with her husband at which my sister was not present. Three days later I had a heart attack. I blame him for the hateful, disgusting, demeaning words he used against me and my family. I will never forgive him. After my heart attack my sister visited me in the hospital once. She walked out of the room and never came back, never called. Sisters shouldn't be this way. There are so many things we have missed together. So many things we should have shared. Sisters should be friends.

Graduations, weddings, birthdays, Christmas, holidays and a new baby niece.

My younger brother and I still keep in touch. We have always been close as that is possible since we are almost ten years apart. I guess I do feel mothering to him in many ways and he makes his displeasure known. We have remained friends but time, work, and family take their toll on other relationships and we do not spend as much time with each other as I wish we would.

We all need to find healing and peace with each other and our lives. I'll be honest...I'm terrified. I've spent many hours wondering what to expect and telling myself that I have to remain distant from all the drama that family get-togethers can bring. My health won't tolerate it and my spirit is too fragile to try. I so badly want this week to be filled with love, joy, and happiness as we look through boxes and boxes of old family photos. I want to hear laughter and stories of when we were kids. I want to know all the things I've missed in the last five years and rejoice in the goodness that I pray we still carry in our hearts.

life is short,

break all the rules.

forgive quickly,

kiss s-l-o-w-l-y

love truly.

laugh uncontrollably,

and never, ever regret anything

that makes you smile.

Chair love...

I love this chair. l.o.v.e. it. (sigh) I have had it on my mind, day and night, since I first laid my eyes on it two weeks ago while perusing the Badder Homes and Gardens website. And yes, it's Badder. I'm not quite sure, what in particular enthralls me so, about this chair. I don't particularly like the style although it appears to be comfortable. And the price is within reason, $ 299 at Target, yes---Target! Anyway, back to comfort. It has that little back support pillow but the no arms element might be problematic for some people, namely me since I'm the one in l.o.v.e. with the chair. I'm not quite sure if I could stay upright in it without rolling off one side or the other. And getting up...what a dilemma that poses for me. I don't know how I would pull that off. But then I would have already rolled off onto the floor so getting up from there would be easier as I could use the chair as leverage. And the color...the color...not really me. And it goes with nothing in my current decor. I would have to decorate around this chair and I'm quite sure that is not in the budget. I find it pretty in an odd sort of way. It reminds me of something I am not quite sure of. I'll have to consider the possibilities of it all. In the meantime I'm still feeling the l.o.v.e. Does that ever happen to you?

From an Irish lass...

Happy St. Patricks Day

May God give you...

for every storm, a rainbow

for every tear, a smile

for every care, a promise

and a blessing in each trial

for every problem life sends

a faithful friend to share

for every sigh, a sweet song,

and an answer to each prayer.

Gardening grows....

..your life span.

Centenarians around the world come from many different backgrounds and professions, but one of the most common hobbies among them is gardening. As exercise, gardening strengthens the muscles, as a discipline it requires patience and cultivates fortitude and in the end it brings rewards and joy to its practitioners. Studies show that gardeners have lower incidence of heart disease and osteoporosis than non-gardeners.

from: Secrets of Longevity

Seven days and counting...

until spring. I can't remember a time when I was so anxious for spring to arrive. Enjoy your weekend everyone and be safe.

Shopping for roses?

"I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall."


Eleanor Roosevelt American, First Lady Quotes

Anticipation....

well, I've had computer issues, camera issues, and just plain issues that have kept me from posting the 200th post winner. So here goes:

Coffee Bean! the judge has spoken and your words about your grandma hit a soft spot with him. Congratulations!!

AND...~Peach~ you are the winner of the 'square root day prize.' Congratulations!!

This was fun. I love giving away stuff so I think I will do it more often. Winners please e-mail me your address so I can get your prize to you. As I said, I am having computer-camera issues so I can't post pictures of the prizes. Coffee Bean---you have won a lovely silver bracelet adorned with garnet and marcasites (my personal fav) from Circle of Hope. Circle of Hope proceeds benefit cancer research so check them out if you get a chance. And ~Peach~, i've got a gift certificate for you to Mimi's Cafe.

Last night I was sitting on the sofa, all nice and cozy near the fireplace, watching my favorite show "House Hunters." My husband plopped down next to me and I turned to ask him why he was still up. I thought he had already gone to bed. He replied that he had already gone to sleep and now he was leaving for work. I slept for 7 hours in front of the t.v. without moving a stitch. The fireplace was still on, the house-lights still on, the poor dog had not been put out to do her thing...gah! So what did I do? I kissed hubs good-bye, turned off all the lights and t.v., let the dog out, then in, and went down the hall, crawled into bed and slept for another 6 hours. And I'm still tired today. I swear every time I sit down I start to fall asleep. Hello spring.

I got a call this morning from my neurosurgeons office and they have an opening this week. I was on a cancellation list. Sooo I've had to run all over town today getting all my MRI's and X-rays, my EMG's and Bone Scans....awww God I hope he can find an answer to my back and leg problems. I really don't know where to turn after this.

I am working on just being 'me' more, as you all suggested. It's not easy and it's a little scary for me. I can't think of a time when it was o.k. for me to be me so have patience.

p.s. e-mail address jmwe4(at)yahoo(dot)com

Saturday slice of life...

Thank you all for making my 200th post so much fun. I really enjoyed your comments. There is much wringing of the hands as the judge reviews the entries and decides a winner. I will post the winner and a picture of the fabulous prize tomorrow as I cannot get my photos uploaded at this time. Laura-Peach- was the first one to answer ‘square root day’ so she will be getting a prize too. Congratulations Laura. Nobody answered the surprise question which would have garnered another prize. The answer was “Anticipation” by Carly Simon…name that song.

My ‘forever’ age would be 37. I was happy, healthy, two-legged, employed, and just plain fun lovin’. I had a job that I l.o.v.e.d. and was so happy to go to everyday. And…they were happy to have me there. I felt wanted and appreciated…I miss it so. I was relatively healthy and we, as a family, enjoyed many outdoor activities together. We were involved in/with our extended families lives and spent a lot of time with them, bbq’s, picnics,
Birthdays and holidays…I miss it so. We had a beautiful home and our marriage was solid…still is. I just look back and it seems so perfect…I miss it so.

The power has been out for about two hours. I always find it strange that we can lose power on a beautiful, sunny, semi-warm day. People are probably in shock from the sunshine and drove into a post or something. I also am surprised at how quickly the house gets cold. It seems that a ten year old house should retain more heat than it does. We’ve checked the amount of insulation and all the windows, doors, but I still can’t figure out where the heat goes. Maybe the skylights?

I opened up a new package of baking mix this morning and discovered something resembling pepper in it. I quickly realized that the ‘pepper’ was moving. ACK…gah…Do you think the little critters were in the package when I brought it home from the store. This has never happened to me before….I wonder if I need to fumigate my kitchen or at the very least throw away all my ‘baking’ supplies. Seriously…I am really freaked by this.

I am considering changing ‘Hearfelt Fridays’ to something else, something more appealing or interesting or…? I haven’t decided yet, but, Fridays are the day I get the least amount of comments so I think you all are bored. After 200 posts I’m still not sure which direction I want to take this blog. I prefer not to get into politic or religion, I am confident in my feelings about both and would rather not get into that battle. With that said...how do you come up with your blog material?

Heartfelt Friday...

having courage

does not mean

that we are unafraid.

having courage

and showing courage

means we

face our fears.

we are

able to say,

i have fallen

but...

i will get up.

maya angelou

Check your pockets...

Yay! Yay! Yay! for me!! This is my 200th post. Really?? you ask. How can that possibly be? My goodness, didn't you just start that blog? Well, you must have a lot to say. How will you celebrate??

Yes, this really is my 200th post. It really took me much longer than I think it should have or maybe longer than I had anticipated. I started this blog about 1 1/2 years ago so you can see I'm not an everyday blogger. I had no idea how much I would come to enjoy it. You have all made me feel so welcome and I look forward to your comments with great anticipation everyday. (anticipation, hmm, who knew I could use it so much...anticpation..is makin' me late...keepin' me waaaitin'...name that tune).

And now for the celebration part. I've thought and thought and re-thunk it over and found the perfect gift for you to give me. Whaaaaaat? you say. Didn't you know you are supposed to give me a gift? Yes...it's right here in the 200th post rules...'the poster will recieve the gift of her choice from all of her loyal commenter's on the anniversary of her 200th post.' Did you all miss that part when you signed on to create your blog? tsk! tsk! (thank-you caution).

Well then, since I'm such a good sport and your best blogger friend I will give you a present in the form of a prize, of my liking, and my choosing. So here goes: This will officially be called "The Jojo 200th Post Contest." I will not be announcing the prize as of yet (which means I'm not really sure I want to let you know what it is...I'm all about surprises). The contest will be open until Friday, March 6 at midnight my time (Pacific). You may enter only once. The judge, my husband, will make the final decision on Sunday and the prize, along with the winner, will be announced. To enter all you have to do is answer this question:

If you didn't know how old you are how old would you be, and why?

And just for fun...a bonus question...you can enter this as many times as you like but all answers must be on today's post. (There will be a separate prize to the first person who answers correctly).

What is the significance of today's date? (3-9-09)

There it is...good luck and YAY to me!

This is how I see it...

she's got 'em...I want 'em...*sigh*

There seems to be a lot of controversy over the fact that the Mrs. has gorgeous arms and doesn't mind showing them. Do you feel it inappropriate?