THOUGHT of THE DAY

She did not need much
wanted very little
a kind word
sincerity
fresh air
clean water
a garden
kisses
books to read
sheltering arms
a cozy bed
and to love and be loved in return.
snb

COURAGE HUMOR AND GRACE

WORD OF THE YEAR

http://www.christinekane.com/word/WordoftheYearWorksheet.pdf

Take a look at this worksheet....it was helpful in picking a WORD OF THE YEAR!

2014

A bad habit I’m going to break:


A new skill I’d like to learn:

A person I hope to be more like:

A good deed I’m going to do:

A place I’d like to visit:

A new hobby I want to try:

A personal achievement I will accomplish:

I’m going to do better at:

The one word that will synthesize the New Year:

HOW WILL YOU ANSWER THESE?!!!

I LOVE THE MAGIC

The SNOWMAN

Based on the book The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. 

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

Mark and Cookie woke me up at 7:30.

We made Pull Aparts for breakfast.

Jessette and Cole joined us! 

Presents were exchanged!

Lunch was prepped and enjoyed.

Stories where told, laughter was shared.

The kids all when their separate ways.

Cheree and I enjoyed some quiet time!! 

Christmas was very nice.
 I enjoyed my children so much.
We did the things we always have in the past,
the traditions... hot cocoa and Christmas lights.
We watched the light parade at the lake
and we spent an evening
with friends at Glendale Glitters.
Cookie and Zack put up the Christmas tree.
They hung the lights and decorations.
 We baked cookies and wrapped gifts.
 All the packages were wrapped
in brown paper and red ribbon, it was lovely.
We had pull-aparts for Christmas breakfast,
and a traditional Italian meal for lunch.
We gave gifts and we laughed.
My favorite gift
was the new ornaments that arrived by mail,
 I was so surprised and delighted.
I love Christmas. 

CHRISTMAS MORNING

I asked him if he was Vanna....

He asked who Vanna is...I felt old!

Cookie looks just like her sisters!

GIRL'S HOLIDAY NIGHT OUT

RED CHRISTMAS MAGIC

OH SANTA BABY.......!!!

WALKING OFF A LONG NIGHT

HAZEL

All she wants for Christmas is CHUNK!!!

HI....I'm Perky Sweet Buns!!!

LONELINESS

Word of The Day

STRESSED...Turn it around...DESSERTS!!!

I love yummy perspectives!!!

1913

I met a lady yesterday that was born in July 1913. 
She was sharp and sweet and funny and delightful. 
I hope to live to be 100 and have all her charming attributes as well!

A Message From Tom

Tom is my therapist. He is a nice guy. Most of the time I think Tom is just there to hear me talk through my issues out loud. But sometimes he gives me advice that is STELLAR! I am grateful for Tom. Recently he has been sending out email on different issues. This is the latest:

Life doesn't check in with us before it happens:

“Hey Joe, do you mind if over the next 6-months new neighbors move in, open a meth lab and have really scary dogs that act like they want to eat you when just try to get to your own front door?” 

Well, you could go and get yourself a much bigger meaner dog ……………………………….WRONG!

The key is how do I take care of myself and not make things worse. In some cases don’t have control. You can feel helpless and powerless. All the worry in the world won’t make a difference. It may be difficult sometimes to even know why these things are happening. 

So, what does one do?

How does someone cope in trying situations? There is an old prayer used in Alcoholics Anonymous that was originally written by the American theologian, 

Reinhold Niebuhr:

"God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things 

I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, 

and the wisdom to know the difference."

Ultimately we are all responsible for our own lives and managing them. Think about what you can change that helps. Can you ask yourself what you could do? Can I accept what I can’t change. What is my tolerance level? Is it too low and easily irritated? Is it too high and perhaps not letting me see the signals to make some changes? It takes courage to face ourselves and be willing to recognize what we do or think that contributes to the problem. If you can allow yourself to see how you may be getting in your own way the reward can be freedom of choice and less stress. When we are stuck blaming or not accepting what we cannot change, we are indeed stuck. We become miserable and risk feeling and acting like a victim leading to anger, feeling helpless, depression and anxiety. What all that adds up to is stress on top of a stressful situation. It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill.

A very wise old friend who has long since passed was helpful with imparting the concepts of perspective, tolerance, and acceptance. He was a psychologist by profession and his name was George. You see, George enlisted in the military at the beginning of WWII. He was 17 years old and lied about his age to enlist. It was early in the war after Pearl Harbor was attacked.                  

Somewhere in the Pacific he was captured and spent a few years in a Japanese POW camp. Any stories he shared about his captivity always had life lessons intertwined within the context. One story was about how conditions in the camp were not good for prisoners or the guards. Men were sick from malaria or dysentery and would agonize over their plight. Well, one day a Japanese guard took a group of them aside for a “chat”. He told them that the war would not last forever and one day they will all go back home. He told them to try and calm down by keeping this in mind. Amazing enough that “the enemy” would impart such compassion and wisdom, but his advice was a template that would define who survived and who didn’t. My friend described the survivors and the unfortunate men who did not survive. Of course, some would be taken by injuries sustained, disease and lack of proper medical treatment. The rest, as George described, were separated by their own perspective of their situation and inner ability to cope. Simply put, George described the men who would eventually die as not being able to stop agonizing over being in such a situation. He would say that the key was staying in the present and getting through one day at a time. Focusing on what to do to get through a particular day rather than on what they didn’t have or missed was paramount to survival. 

Perhaps the message from the Japanese prison guard is 

“this too shall pass”.

I can’t image what this kind of experience would be like to survive or how I would deal with it. I do know that his story has stuck with me and I find it helpful in times of stress. In less dramatic situations we are at risk of agonizing about what is or isn’t in our lives. By all means work with what can be changed, but also remember to not torture ourselves (and sometimes others) when we cannot change it.

WICKED WEDNESDAY SUNSET

RONNIE'S NEWS of THE DAY

 
Veronica - Looks like these crooks hit their Target 



Target says 40 million credit, debit card accounts may be breached 
Target said Thursday that data on 40 million of its customers’ credit and debit card accounts may have been breached by cyber-crooks during the busy holiday season.  The Minneapolis retailer said the unauthorized access – which occurred between the Nov. 27 start of Black Friday weekend and Dec. 15 – may mean that criminals now have shoppers’ names, payment card numbers, expiration dates and three-digit security codes at their disposal. 
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-target-40-million-breach-20131219,0,1326731.story#ixzz2nwtfD89U 



What does the dog say?  New device may tell us! 
 
We can hear it now: "Rover would like to go outside now." "Can Rex have a treat?" "SQUIRREL!!!" 
The Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery is the small Scandinavian research lab behind "No More Woof," and it stresses on its website that the device is just a work in progress. There isn't a finished product -- "yet." 
It's going to take a lot of research to capture animal brain waves, figure out which thought patterns they create, then translate that into something that makes sense in the human language. 
Some of the patterns the lab has discovered so far are pretty simple ones (but all very important in the doggy world): "I'm hungry," "I'm tired," "I'm curious who that is" and "I want to pee." 
But to translate even more thoughts, researchers need funding, which is why they've started a campaign on the fundraising site Indiegogo. The goal is to raise $10,000 and people can chip in various amounts: $65, for example, gets you a device with one sensor that can distinguish a few thought patterns like tiredness, hunger and curiosity. A $1,200-model would learn from your dog's brain and eventually allow him or her to speak short sentences like, "I'm hungry -- but I don't like this." 
http://www.hlntv.com/slideshow/2013/12/18/no-more-woof-dog-talk-bark-translate-english-indiegogo?hpt=hp_t3 



Georgia woman claims half of $648 million Mega Millions jackpot
A 56-year-old married woman has won half of the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot in U.S. history and has taken the cash option, which after taxes, will be about $120 million, Georgia Lottery President Debbie Alford said Wednesday. 
Ira Curry, of Stone Mountain, came to the lottery office with the winning ticket of hand-picked numbers, a mix of family birthdays and the lucky number 7. She did not appear at the afternoon lottery announcement in Atlanta. 
Curry bought the ticket at the end of the day Friday and it was a last-minute decision, Alford said. 
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/18/us/mega-millions/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 





SATURDAY 12/21/2013 
 

THERAPY

OPACITY

o•pac•i•ty


1. The quality or state of being opaque.

2. Something opaque.

3.

a. Obscurity; impenetrability.

b. Dullness of mind.

________________________________________

1. (Physics / General Physics) the state or quality of being opaque

2. the degree to which something is opaque

3. (Physics / General Physics) an opaque object or substance

4. obscurity of meaning; unintelligibility

5. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Photography) Physics Photog the ratio of the intensity of light incident on a medium, such as a photographic film, to that transmitted through the medium

6. (Philosophy / Logic) Logic Philosophy the property of being an opaque context

Oh The Magic.....

Quote of The Day

"The harder the conflict, 
the more glorious the triumph"   
Thomas Paine

I LOVE WINTER

1900

Beauty, good and love 

make all the difference in everything!

I am fascinated by Masaru Emoto's work. 

Way Cool

CHRISTMAS LIGHT PARADE AT THE LAKE

Indeed

Lovely

35th

1065

172

177

eek

FRONT ROW FOR ME

CHRISTMAS CHEER

WORKING TOGETHER

INTERESTING

OH BABY.....

WHAT GIRLS LIKE!!!

SHELBY GT500

THIS IS WHAT BOYS LIKE

HOLIDAY GIFT SUGGESTIONS

To your enemy,

Forgiveness.

To your opponent,

Tolerance.

To your friend,

Your heart.

To others,

Service and charity.

To the children,

Example.

To yourself,

Respect.

These are my Bosses....EVERY DAY!!!!

http://host-d.oddcast.com/php/application_UI/doorId=1177/clientId=299/?mId=50709874.2

DECEMBER

This December has 5 Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays!
This happens once every 823 years! Woohoo!!

STAND

                                                                         "Stand"

You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright

[Chorus:]
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand, Then you stand
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend till you break
Cause it's all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand

Everytime you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place
Oh

YOU

I went on an adventure

I wanted to see if you were real

I wanted to know

I took a deep breath

I took a chance

I trusted you  

I went on an adventure

I found my happy place

I found home

I loved you before
I love you so much more now
You are my ever after