Thursday, May 30, 2013

Sometimes SH*! Just Happens...

Why is it you get plans made, and all of that seems to go South for the summer,  I guess! It's been that way for me all week long. I get my day planned out. Get up early, do my walking, check on the plants, and had trash day today. From there, everything I had set my mind to do, just fell off the wagon. It was cloudy. So, I felt I didn't want to wash rugs and then it rain on them. Then the sun came out! So, I go put the one that is still wet out to dry and it gets cloudy again!! My plans were to wash some rugs, but I had planned to play catch up here and write on the 3rd book. I wanted to let those know that may have read my Facebook post from yesterday, kind of what the "jealousy" issue is. Mainly, it seems very "coincidental", that every time I write something, or I come out with new poetry, or talk about certain subjects as far as Lupus, FM, CFS, RA, MS etc, this person just happens to say something also. This has just been going on and on. What I don't understand, is why? Here or on FB or where ever you want, you can have a group, a blog, anything you want, and tell people anything pertaining to any and every subject in the world! Mine may suck! So, why would someone take my stuff, or if I write a book, they have to suddenly make a huge writing of something and tell all about it!? Do I honestly care? No, it is a compliment to me. But, I cannot fathom "JEALOUSY"!!!!! It is one of my main pet peeves.!!! I been there , done that with a few women for bosses, that could NOT stand anyone that may in any way do something that could lift them up the corporate ladder. They were so damned concerned over greed and jealousy, that the job was not the issue. I went through it and I took that damned abuse for too long. So, for me, doing something such as this, is being JEALOUS! Of what???? of Me!!!??

So, I was put out yesterday and I posted in general my feelings on the subject. I never mentioned a word that would point fingers, I won't do that, never. But, what I wanted to do, is whomever is reading this, if they feel "guilty", then guess what??? It goes without saying a word.... I didn't even say they are on FB! I write here, and I write other places, and it could be someone more locally, that happens to read my stuff. Anyway, now that it said. It is done and over.

Back to my freaking schedule! I feel like heck. I have a horrid sore throat. I am still running around my house and yard in an old crappy shirt and a pair of boxers! I have not even found time to change... I noticed our sheets seems a tad "off"... so I washed them, which laundry was not in the plans today. Picking up limbs, and chasing the neighbors new little puppy back to its house 50 times a day gets time off the clock. The puppy is tiny. I guess a "tea cup" Chiwauwau...and even though they have the fence appearing like there is no way "Gi Gi" and it is a boy, LOL...could get out... guess what, he does!! Now the funny part is what happens next. The dog will not let anyone pick him up!!! LOL!!! He just runs round and round like a game to him, and just gets close enough, but not enough that you can catch him. It is hysterical watching them chase the puppy around the yard. Well, then he started coming over here. Every time now he hears my voice, he comes running. At first he did me the same way, then I could walk to their gate and he would go in for me. So, at least I could make it that far. Well, then after a few days, he started letting me pet him and pick him up!!!! OMG! Here is the NEIGHBORS puppy, and comes to ONLY ME!!! HAHAHA!!!! Okay, today he did let Jim pick him up once, but for the most part, me... and not even their kids. He will not go to them. I feel sorry for them sometimes... but then it is just too funny....

So, after chasing the dog several time home, trash day, then finally washed two rugs, washed the sheets and my favorite blanket, tried to decide if I should make something sweet! We finished off that awesome, if I say so myself, Poppy Seed Cake, with chocolate almond frosting, and it was delicious. Then I wanted to clean the floors where the rugs go. Of course, from there this, that and the other needs to be cleaned, put up, or whatever may happen in a day at our house. Even though I went through all of that, I can say I did get some WRITING DONE!! So, I am certainly not up to "Stephen King" daily word count but I may make my own daily word count keep me on tract. Actually I read that his DAILY WORD COUNT to write is 1500 words!!!! Not "characters"... words!!! That is huge to say the least. But, I shall never profess to being anywhere near any of our great writers. What is nice though, is getting a tip or two you can use from them to help your own writing skills get better. I know I have said this but I like Natalie Goldberg. Her book "Writing Down The Bones" is my mantra. I have read it numerous times, and the one thing that truly hits me is that she says to WRITE! It does not matter if it is online, in a notebook, with misspellings, on the sides the paper, whatever, as along as you write everyday! That does not mean it has to be good stuff... it maybe crap! But it is what keeps those juices flowing... that is what keeps you in gear and motivated... thus it makes total sense to me...

I promise more... lots more to come... count my words please!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

In Reverence & Memory of What Memorial Day Truly Means...

Thought I would write today! But, knowing the weekend is a holiday weekend plus we have the National Annual Polka Festival here over this weekend also, and usually the TX Motorplex has some kind of drag racing special here also, town will be nuts!! With some of our town lost in the tornado last week, they have had to re-route the parade and cut it down much smaller that usual. No of the huge floats on 18 wheeler flat beds will be able to participate due to it now not being in its usual routed process. OF course parking will be a night mare!!!! Thus I went early this morning to get some of the things I felt we needed for the weekend. I sure as hell do not ant to fight off the crowds and traffic. We have lost lots of parking space, we lost many eating places, and even one of our motels took a huge hit from the tornado, and had its roof ripped off. Thus, I don't think anyone will be staying in that one. I do not think the other ones here had any damage to speak of luckily. Yet even as "bad" is ours was, it does not even compare to Moore OK. So, we cannot fuss too much. It does devastate some of our businesses though, because many of them rely on this one huge weekend, and then a couple of other big events through the year to really boost their sales and give them the cash to do other things, and keep things running for the rest of the year. So, those folks will be hurting, I am sure. Several of our smaller little eating places are in the very midst of where the major damage is, plus a couple of them also suffered lots of damage themselves. So, as this holiday rolls in, I hope we all shall celebrate and have fun, BUT also keep a reverent spirit, and be in prayer for those who have lost home, job, and some even family and friends. They do not know even where to begin to put their lives back together again. My hopes are that prayers are answered, and through those that can, they will lift up the city of Moore, and help rebuild it better for those folks than it was before... Be safe this weekend, think also of our soldiers, our volunteers, those who do things above the call of their duty for those in despair, and remember those we have also lost that have fought the battle to keep us all safe... Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Rhia

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Letting Go.. Letting Flow... Trying to put the pieces back together again...

I am so totally thrilled over both books and want to talk about them. Yet, with all of the destruction going on around our nation and even right here in my home town, it is difficult for me to be elated over my newly published book, "Time Tattered Musings" - "Reflections through the Looking Glass of Pain & Wisdom". It is so full of things that "matter" in life, a great deal about chronic illness, pain, and how I have tried to overcome them. But, my best I feel is yet to come. I don't mean to "brag". That is not why I just made that statement. I said it because I feel my 3rd book will truly delve into my intimate journey of just how this illnesses and the chronic pain have changed my life in many ways, not all bad, not all good, yet I am still who I am in the "inner core" of me. They have not been allowed to destroy the person who I am inside. That is a hard thing to choose do to. I feel it is a "choice". You can absolutely "choose" to allow illness and pain to change you totally into someone you don't know. At times all of us "feel" that way. But, as a whole, you can also make a conscious choice NOT to have these issues change the person you are. That person who has snow skied, vacationed, been to other countries, painted, sewed, been with friends, helped family, volunteered, taken care of Grandchildren, gardened, been fishing, camped out, and you can make this list go on forever, yet you can know you are still that person within and without. What HAS changed is how you do things, deciding how to possible do something a different way, or allowing one idea or hobby to let go of, yet picking up another that you can now do, even with your disabilities from illness and pain. Yes, there are many of the what we used to consider normal activities of our lives, that we no longer can do, or we must do them at a slower rate, or possibly just had to stop all together. Yet, if you look closely, you can also find a new activity that will make you feel on top of that mountain, ready to shout to the world, YES!!! Look at ME, I CAN do this! I can be "useful". I can thrive, prosper, give back to others, and still be myself, even if I have to find alternative ways to do so. I shall try in my new book to relay that message to each and everyone who is suffering, who will suffer, who has suffered, or knows someone that suffers from all of the horrid chronic afflictions that "seem" to wreck our lives, much like the tornado's of 2013, have wrecked others lives in a different way. We often feel as if a wrecking ball has shattered us into a thousand pieces, that we perceive like we will never be able to put ourselves back together again. Yet, with love of self and from others, with a renewal of faith, with the guidance of hope, with our own "higher power", and with our own tenacity, we can do it! As saddened as I am by all that has happened over the past several days, I am bound and determined to persevere over all of the negativity that surrounds me, and tell it to "take a hike". I shall WIN!!!! And so shall you!!!!:) Rhia

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Just Difficult to Fathom! Such Horrific Storms - Mother Nature's Power (5/21/2013)

Last week when my home town of Ennis lost a great deal of their buildings in down town I was just in disbelief! It was hard to imagine that within 4 blocks of us, so much damage occurred. When I drive through the main portions of Ennis where we can get it is just still difficult to think that we had a tornado. A great deal of our main street in town is all blocked off because it is not safe. Or the buildings themselves are damaged so badly they are not safe to be around.
Now, last night in OK, I see what else a tornado can do. They are calling it an EF-4, but thinking it is probably an EF-5 or MORE! There is NOTHING LEFT!!! The town of Moore OK has been completely blown off the map! IT is just like a bomb went off in that town and many of the towns around it. When I see the complete annihilation, as if a war zone was there, that makes me feel fortunate. Those people have lost everything! Including now at least 91 of their folks there, and 21 of them children!!! There are no schools left, no houses basically left, no stores left, NOTHING!!! Cars are gone, places people worked are gone, everything that you need to live a daily life is completely demolished and some of it blown away for miles and miles away.
One gentleman stepped out of his storm shelter with his family to see his home completely destroyed. As he began to go through the rubble, he found a little 2 or 3 year old girl, already deceased he knew. He called the EMT, and of course they told him she was gone. He said after they took her body away, he sat there and just cried his eyes out. He was thankful his family was all safe, but totally destroyed that somebody's little girl was dead, among the rubble of his home. Then there are kids they found at one of the schools, they think actually drowned. They could not get out of a place that filled up with water, thus they passed away drowning. It just sends chills down my spine.

The thought that the main highway from OK City that runs down to San Antonio, was shut down in a large stretch in OK last night. The town of Moore must be right on I-35 below OK City, and about an hour and a half from Thackersville OK where we go to the Casino. There very highway we travel on up further from where we go to that very Casino, was shut down in a large stretch. I cannot fathom all of the dilemma that caused, with it being a main corridor from way above OK City down all the way through TX!!!

I am sure all of you have seen enough pictures of the damage in OK, so I will refrain from putting those up, but I will put a couple up of what happened in my town last week. We are trying to put things back together for the National Polka Festival which is here this coming weekend. We usually have about 200,000 people here for that, Memorial Day, and usually something going on at the Texas Motorplex! One of the best drag racing facilities in this nation. So, the race to get things together enough for the parade and facilities is one hell "of a race"! Yet after seeing the situation in OK this morning, I feel we are so incredibly fortunate, I have no room to gripe. Even though we do have a huge weekend ahead, we have a brand new store opening this week, that thank goodness I don't believe took a hit anywhere, nor did the Motorplex, even though our parade route and the down town dancing and activities will either not be there at all, or will be moved into a strange spot, rather than the usual place, we are still so lucky!!!!

We are once again expecting severe thunderstorms this evening. Of course it is that time of the year. Yet, after seeing the devestation of the past couple of weeks, we are all in the place we want to see "this time of the year" be over.
Like my husband said today, after what happened here in our town a week ago, with an EF-1 tornado, then seeing the damage and horrendous path of something that looks as if a nuclear bomb went off in OK, and other places around TX,, Ar, KS, and some other mid-western states, we are now officially CONCERNED and frightened when a "warning" comes over the radio. You get extremely worried after you have been through even a small one such as here in Ennis. Then within a week you see what can happen in a matter of minutes with a tornado a MILE WIDE go through a town about the size of our county seat of Waxahachie, and it makes you very nervous.

So, everyone out there they may have never lived through this kind of weather extreme such as something that can come out of nowhere, be on top of your home, and city within minutes, when even with as much warning  system, and technology as we have, can sometimes not mean anything when it comes to a "perfect storm" the size of this kind, a mile wide, staying on the ground for 20 minutes, with winds in excess of well over 200 miles an hour, even with 16 minutes warning, there literally was no place to really go, unless you had a storm shelter to get into. This one actually pulled the door OFF of a STORM SHELTER & nearly took the people out of it!!!!

As I keep busy today, picking up tree limbs from crazy wind last night, and baking a cake, cleaning house, putting color on my hair, and everything else I can find to keep my mind off my pain and illness today, but also off the pain and misery of what the hellacious storms can do...

I pray that everyone stays safe..... Rhia

Monday, May 13, 2013

Time Tattered Musings is Officially on Amazon!!! Mother's Day and Tis Monday...

Well it is Monday. The weekend was very nice, but it sure flew by too quickly. We had a wonderful time at the Casino yesterday! I actually was the one that came out ahead!!! I usually "break even" just about or do, but this time I came home about 100.00 over!!! So I was thrilled. LOL, I did not even make too much of a scene screaming hollering either! Usually when I win a fairly big win on a pull, I go bonkers! You would think I won a million bucks! My machine was make enough noise due to me winning that I did attract several people to watch! LOL, I won a little over a 100.00. I went and cashed that in, put it up, then went back, put a 5.00 bill in the same machine, and won another 50.00! So, actually I won about 120.00 all together if you take off me paying for breakfast, etc. Mom had a great time also. But, she was kind of "off" yesterday. It worried me a little. I have been noticing her having some issues with memory, being forgetful, and just some things that concern me. My Grandfather, her Dad, had full blown Alzheimer's. He got really bad the last few years. Then her Mom, also had Dementia, but it was well up into her 80's. Mom is going to be 79 in August. So, of course some "forgetfulness" is expected. Hell! I am terrible lately about lists, and needing lists for lists, and still forgetting stuff and I am younger! :) But, there are some things that just truly give me more of an impression her problems being a little more than just getting a little older and forgetting. She did not take her Casino PLayers card, and she always gets it. She forgot her watch, which she usually takes it. She got to the Casino, and we did not get in good, until she told me, she felt "turned around" and just lost. Well, it is HUGE!!!! But, she has been there enough to kind of know her way around usually. We try to stay somewhat close to each other, but often we wander off, and always have a time to meet at an exact place, so we can check on each other, and see what we want to do from there. So, we were supposed to meet at 4 in the afternoon at our entrance. Well, Jim and I went a little early. I had won and I did not want to spend any of that, LOL, so we decided to just go and get close to the door and wait for her. So, we were about 15 minutes early, but she usually shows up a little early also. But, 4 pm came, and she did not show up. So, we thought she may have lost track of time, or had not asked someone for the time yet. Or maybe she had trouble with a machine and was waiting on someone to come, or she usually goes to the Cashier window rather than using the machines like we do to cash our tickets in. So, we figured it was one or all of those making her run a little late. But 4:15 came and she still did not show. 4:30 came and went, and I told Jim maybe she thought we said 5 rather than 4. Well, about 4:50 she comes walking up. She again said she did a little lose track of time, but again she said she was totally turned around and almost lost as to how to get back to where we usually meet. Well, that really concerned me. Again she said when we got to the car, that she just had an "off" day from even when she first got up. So, again I am going to have to observe somewhat even closer that I have been. I really worry about wither Alzheimer's or Dementia, because of her "symptoms" and the fact it certainly runs in her close family. Anyway, we got home and the dogs did pretty good! Our house was still in one piece, LOL! But, we were totally worn out. Between getting up at 3 am, the drive there, all that walking (OMG I bet you walk 15 miles in a day by the time you go from one end to the other a few times), and then I drove home. So, we were tired but again it was a good Mother's Day! I hope all of you equally enjoyed yours! Of course my book is on Amazon.com now. It in the the paperback and the Kindle sections. You can look inside the book already on both! Here is the link to the paperback:
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Tattered-Musings-Reflections-through/dp/1481920642/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368447836&sr=1-1&keywords=time+tattered+musings


They have my "name" kind of messed up so both books at the moment don't come up together under my author name. I have an email into them to get that fixed. But they are both there. My 1st ones should arrive around Thursday!!!!! I am so totally thrilled! I am also ready to begin my 3rd book! When I get it started, I will let all of you know what I feel the title will be.

Hugs, Rhia